Chapter 37 Return of Miss Brown Eyes
BPOV
It was three in the morning when Alice tapped lightly on our bedroom door and asked us to come down and talk about a plan for my big day at school tomorrow.
I'd slept a little so was a bit groggy when I hit the bottom of the staircase and saw the whole family already on the sofas waiting for us to join them.
"Hi guys." I said hesitantly. I felt like I had been summoned to the principles office.
Alice was giggling and I shot her a quizzical glance as I took a spot next to Esme. Edward sunk into the seat beside me and put his arm along the edge of the sofa and began to stroke my shoulder softly.
"Rose, I'll pay to have the window on your car fixed. Sorry about that." Edward told Rose, who waved him away saying it was nothing and she'd organize with Sam to order a replacement.
"Ahh yes, Sam called while you were…well, Sam called, Edward." Carlisle said with a smirk a mile wide. "The message was the pack has scoped the nest and they have a lock on the scents that were present. He has spoken to the elders and they are all in agreement that the pack will assist us in anyway we require but will not provoke or attempt to approach the trio."
"Thanks Carlisle." Edward said.
"I need to get out there myself Edward, I need to see for myself these three so I can begin to see what their plans are." Alice was saying, but Edward was already shaking his head before Alice had finished her sentence.
"No Alice. It's too dangerous. Marking their scent is one thing, actually going out there trying to meet them is idiocy." Alice was about to protest but Edward bought his hand down from the back of the sofa and held it out in front of himself to stop her from speaking, she looked affronted. "Sorry Alice, but it's too risky. If you haven't had any contact with them by the time Bella is ready to give birth then I'll take you out there myself and you can introduce yourself, but for now we steer clear." Alice huffed but realized Edward was deadly serious and would not be moved, even though she pouted unashamedly.
Esme shuffled forward a little and turned to face me slightly before asking, "Bella dear, how are you feeling about going to the school tomorrow?"
"I'm really rather excited actually. A bit concerned about my eyes though." I looked around the room and saw them all grinning at me, obviously they had a plan and I was the last to know. Again.
Alice came and sat on the coffee table facing me; she put a small box in the palm of my hand and said I could thank her later.
"Contact lenses? Huh, I never thought of that." I chuckled.
"They wont last long though. The venom in your eyes will dissolve them in about two hours, so you'll have to replace them through the day, and they'll make your eyes irritated, but it's the only thing I could think of to disguise your coloring." Alice grimaced but I smiled widely.
"Don't apologize, jeez, I hadn't thought of anything so a little irritation wont bother me." I opened the package and saw a dozen pairs of muddy brown lenses in little blister packs. "I should have a trial run yeah?" I asked and Alice nodded. I excused myself and went to the downstairs powder room to have a crack at putting them in.
EPOV
I kept my eyes trained on the powder room door and let the conversation of the family drift around me. I was only half listening as they droned on about mundane things like what their own eye colors had been before they were changed and how much longer it took them to be able to go to school as Bella was about to.
When I heard the door latch I sprung to my feet and was in front of the bathroom door when she stepped out.
It might have only been a few months since I'd last seen my Bella with brown eyes but I was still shocked to my core!
She was gorgeous – it's not that she wasn't always gorgeous – but with dark brown eyes, with her pale white skin and ruby red lips…there was no way to hide how turned on I was. I wanted her, again, right now.
She smiled, I'd been read, and she pressed herself up against my chest, purring into my ear, "I'll keep them in."
Yes please I told her as we made our way back to the living room.
"Oh wow, look at you sis!" Emmett bellowed, earning him a reproving look from Esme, to which he just shrugged and let his dimpled smile do all the work. Esme was soon grinning at him indulgently. He always got away with shit like that!
"Different huh?" Bella shrugged and everyone crowded around her telling her how weird it was to see her with brown eyes again.
Soon the novelty wore off and we were all once again in our seats and ready to discuss strategies for today's foray into the human world.
"I think we should all hunt before we leave, right?" Rose asked and we all nodded and agreed that was a good idea. We'd go out as a group, which we'd not done since before Bella's change. I'd enjoy that and I knew Bella would too.
"I advise you to take your own car Bella," Carlisle said, "That way if you need to leave you can do so without drawing too much attention. You'll need to work out amongst you who will go with Bella if she leaves."
"Whoever is closest at the time, either me or Alice." I looked to Alice and she nodded her agreement.
"You've got Geography first up with me Bella, so you will be okay there. Then you've got Trig, but I'm right next door so I can keep an ear out for you then too." Alice said and Bella nodded that those two lessons would be fine.
"We'll all meet in the quad for the morning break, so no fear there." Rose offered, again earning a nod from Bella.
"Seth is going to want to show you off at some point Bella, probably in the quad as he meets Chloe there for the early break." Jasper told Bella, to which she giggled.
"What have I got between the morning break and lunch do you know?" She asked me and I told her she had double English. "Bugger, nobody in there with me, or even close, are you?" She asked the family and they all shook their heads. "Okay, it's only an hour, I can live with that. And if I can't I can just excuse myself and wait it out in the trees by the parking lot, right?"
"Of course. Just call for one of us and we'll come keep you company, or hunt, whatever you want to do." Emmett said.
"No!" I roared and I felt both Bella and Esme jump beside me in shock.
"What?" Carlisle was on his feet in an instant, crouched and ready to fight.
"Shit, sorry Esme. I didn't mean to be so loud. Forgive me love." I patted Bella's shoulder, she was looking at me with wide scared eyes. " Sorry. Bella can't hunt near the school, those three bastards are out there."
"Oh shit, sorry Esme. I forgot about that." Em said, nodding in my direction. "Right, well, if Bella needs to hunt she just drives out of the parking lot. Simple."
"I agree, but not alone. Okay Bella?" I asked her and she nodded. "Either me or Alice, okay?" I asked again and she nodded.
BPOV
Edward was wired. Sprung so tight I was worried he'd snap at the first sign of me struggling. I was going to have to work doubly hard tomorrow to control my thirst and my reactions to it if it was bad. Who am I kidding? It was going to be bad. But I could do this, I knew I could. I would have to concentrate really hard and I'd have to be smart about my use of oxygen and how far to push myself before my thirst became overwhelming. I hoped the others would understand, and forgive me, if I failed.
"What is it love?" Edward whispered, leaning over and looking at me with a worried look.
"Um, well, I was just thinking, I don't want anyone to think they've let me down or failed me or anything if I can't cope tomorrow. I'll just come home, I wont do anything bad, I promise dad." I looked to Carlisle with wide eyes so he'd know I was sincere. "I wouldn't ever do anything…you know, to a human, to make you sorry you gave me this." I held up my wrist and shook it, making my Cullen bracelet jingle.
"We know sweetheart. We're so proud of you already, so you just do your best tomorrow. It's for your benefit that you're going, so there is no harm in saying it's too hard, there'll be plenty of opportunities, I'm sure." Esme patted me on the hand and I felt an instant wave of love flush over me at her kind words. I chanced a look at Carlisle and was intrigued to find him staring at me with a very odd expression on his face.
He leaned across Esme and took my hand in his, touching my bracelet quite delicately and said in a soft voice, "You could never make me sorry Isabella. Ever." And with that he let my hand go and sat back against the sofa. Edward resumed rubbing my shoulder but his touch was more insistent as he mulled over Carlisle's words. He was both in awe and very proud to have me at his side and have his 'father' so enamored with me. For the first time since my change I missed my blush!
"Are you looking forward to seeing Angela?" Rose asked, breaking the silence in the room, at last.
"Yeah, I am. I mean, I talk to her almost every night on the phone but I haven't seen her in over a month, she started thinking I had some sort of flesh eating virus there for a while." I chuckled and Carlisle screwed up his nose, laughing a little I noticed.
"Newton is going to be insufferable." Edward moaned beside me but I didn't take too much notice. To Edward Mike Newton was insufferable for merely breathing!
"You have him in your Gym class don't you?" Jasper asked with a wicked grin on his face.
"Yeah, I do, which I guess I have right after lunch, right?" I looked to Alice and she nodded.
"Well then, there's your chance." Jasper scoffed but I didn't catch what he meant until Edward snorted beside me, obviously reading in Jasper's head what his idea of my 'chance' was.
"What?" I asked first Jasper then Edward. Both of them shook their heads so I asked one, or both of them to spill.
"Jasper thinks it might be a good idea to sort of put to rest the idea that you are clumsy, that's all. But he knows its not a good idea, right Jaz?" Edward nodded pointedly at Jasper who, although he nodded, did not look like he knew it was a good idea at all.
"I'll think about it." I giggled, looking at Alice who threw me a quick thumbs up. Trying to change the subject – and hopefully putting an end to the conversation so we could hunt – I asked Edward if he was looking forward to our last class of the day tomorrow.
"Yes." He said out loud, but then he smiled down at me and pressed his fingers into the base of my neck a little harder as he pushed his thoughts to me. 'Oh yes Miss Swan, we have Biology last lesson. I intend to make it most memorable.' His eyes were dancing with a mixture of mirth, excitement and pure lust. I shivered slightly at the intensity of his stare.
Alice broke my reverie by reminding us all to come straight home after school because we had to set up for the dance. Edward groaned and Alice shot him a warning look before announcing that everyone, including Carlisle and Esme were required, hands on deck, for the festivities. I was to be let off if I couldn't handle Chloe being so close but other than that all the family were expected to play host and to actually dance. I giggled a little at being let off if I needed to hunt but Alice shot me another warning glance and told me that she'd see if I was actually thirsty or if I was simply 'piking out' as she put it. Great. Bloody dancing Nazi!
EPOV
The family ran together in a group across the lawn and jumped the river in our various fashions, each leap as distinct as our personalities. I hung back and watched Bella as she launched herself from the end of the jetty and executed a perfect swan dive before landing deftly on her feet on the other side and resuming her run through the trees.
I would never tire of watching her, so strong, so agile, and so very, very beautiful.
"Come on Edward, keep up!" She called over her shoulder to me, holding her hand out for me to grip as I ran to her side.
In such a large group hunting was always going to be a logistical nightmare. The small herds of deer that congregated close to our home weren't enough to feed eight hungry vampires and the larger beasts that lived in and around the forest there were too few in numbers to feed more than one or two of us at a time. The larger group split into two when we hit the denser trees and scrub to the north. Alice, Jasper, Bella and myself continued on north while Rose, Emmett, Esme and Carlisle headed west back along the river in search of bigger game.
Alice and Bella ran ahead, their hands joined across the divide between them as they ran. Well, Bella ran, Alice sort of pranced her way through the forest. She was a very strange creature my sister.
Jasper ran beside me thinking all the while about the sounds around him. He was hungry too.
The girls stopped dead when they smelled the bobcat to the East of where they stood. I watched, burying my chuckle, as Alice warred in her head about allowing Bella the kill or simply dashing off and hoping she got there first. Eventually, after what seemed an age but was more than likely half a second, Alice tipped her head to Bella and I watched as my fiancé took to the trees in hot pursuit of her morning meal. Alice shrugged to herself and flew off in the complete opposite direction to try her luck elsewhere.
Jaz came to a stop beside me, tipped his head in the direction Alice had gone and he was off after her. I went in the direction Bella had taken but at a much more leisurely pace. Neither of us was ready to share her hunt, yet. I was so fucking thankful to just have her with me, and her wanting to be with me, that I could be patient for that part of our relationship to come. As long as it took, I wasn't going anywhere.
As usual I took to the trees and made my way through the higher branches until I found a good spot to watch her as she tackled the bobcat to the ground and bought him into her lap. He smelled delicious and I couldn't deny my own thirst as I smelled the first hint of his sticky life force flow between her lips. Bella could see me and was watching me through her lashes.
Bella was all vampire as she drank but with those dark contacts in she was exotically human too. It was the most curious, erotic mix of genres I'd ever seen. I wanted her, badly. Very. Fucking. Badly.
I watched as she pursed her lips more firmly over the puncture wounds on the animals neck and sucked harder in order to get the last drop. As the big cats last heartbeat rang out between the trees Bella tipped her head back and groaned in pleasure. The trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth, such a dark ruby red against her pale skin, ran down her chin and came to settle in a heavy droplet at the base of her throat. I wanted that droplet. Like I've never wanted anything in my life before.
Her eyes flew open as she read the thought in my mind. She dropped the carcass at her feet and was at the base of the tree in which I was perched in a millisecond. She hadn't wiped the trickle of blood from her lip at all so I was at a loss as to what she wanted from me.
"Bella?" I asked, confused. If she wanted me to come down I'd not do it. Her hunt was not complete, while the scent of the animals blood was thick in the air and its blood was still outside her body I was loathe to risk it.
Bella ran the tip of her index finger through the line of blood at her throat and looked at it, her now brown eyes wide. She held the finger out to me. "I won't hurt you Edward." She purred.
My cock twitched in my jeans and I ached to run my hand along the line of buttons just to give myself some friction. I was frightened and filled with lust all at the same time. I wanted, so very badly, to share this with her but was unable to move.
BPOV
I could feel the blood congealing on my skin as I stood at the foot of the tree. In a few more minutes the opportunity would be gone and I'd have to wipe the dried blood off myself. "Please Edward." I begged as I took a small leap and used my free hand to steady myself on the lower branch of Edward's tree.
I stayed lower than him, in case his fear overtook him and he fled, he wouldn't knock me out of the tree himself. I reached my finger up towards him a little more, pleading with my eyes for him to take it. I could see him lean a little lower on the branch and I knew from his mental thoughts that he wanted to, very badly.
I hopped to higher again, slightly to Edward's right, my eyes never leaving his as I moved and settled myself on the thicker branch. "Bella?" He asked quietly.
"Please Edward." I whispered again, holding my hand closer to him, past the trunk of the tree. I wound my free arm around it and held myself to it so that my body was pressed against the cool bark. Edward moved towards me, bracing himself against the trunk too.
'This is dangerous.' He was thinking.
I began to shake my head. I kept eye contact with him and straightened out my arm so that my hand was just inches from his slightly parted lips. The blood on my fingers was almost totally congealed now. The flavour would be lessened already but it seemed Edward didn't care. He still wanted it, still wanted me to share it with him, no matter how frightened he was of the consequences. I'd never hurt him, it was the furthest thought in my mind as I touched the blood to his bottom lip. His tongue ran across his lip and I felt him stiffen as he tasted what I'd offered. It wasn't the blood itself that was causing him to growl as he was. I doubted he even realized he was growling as he took my whole finger into his mouth and sucked hard.
EPOV
This is dangerous. I'm smarter than this. I should've let her feed in peace. This is dangerous. God I want this. I want her. I should run. I can't run. Bella?
I looked into her eyes and saw the desire in them. She wasn't coveting a kill or trying to dominate me so I'd leave her hunting territory. She wanted me like I wanted her.
I gave her one last opportunity to turn and run. "Bella?" I asked. She nodded and I reached around the trunk of the tree and pulled her to the branch where I stood. I gripped her hips firmly with my hands and she threw her head back, offering me her throat. With one long lick I mopped up the spill from her kill and drank it down hungrily. It was almost completely dry now but I didn't care. I didn't want the blood, I wanted her skin in my mouth.
"Yes Edward." She purred as I bit down at the juncture of her throat and collarbone. She threaded her hand into my hair and tugged, holding me to her more firmly as I opened my jaw and dug my teeth into her harder, eliciting a delicious moan from under my lips.
I moved my hands to her ass and pulled her up against me, letting her feel how much I wanted her. She moved her free hand behind us and braced us against the tree trunk allowing me free reign to knead her beautiful ass harder as I sucked the last trace of her kill off her pale and slender throat.
The logistics of having her in a tree were formidable but Bella took matters into her own hands by reaching above us and gripping the branch above as I opened her jeans and pulled them to her ankles, mine quickly following. Never breaking eye contact she swung, using her wrists, and wrapped her legs around my waist. With one swift motion I was inside her. The second she covered me completely her mental voice screamed out my name.
'I know baby, I know.' I told her as I began to pump into her hot, wet centre. She swung from the branch with each thrust causing her hips to grind back into me with each outward pull I made. I wanted her hands in my hair, her fingernails in my skin as I had her, but it was impossible in the tree as we were.
'Oh god Edward…so good…I want to touch you too…love you…so good…' she told me as I pulled her ass to me tighter, seating myself deeply inside her.
I bent my lips back to the base of her throat and began sucking for all I was worth. How I wished I could still mark her as I had when she was human! There was only a feint trace of her kill left on her skin but I lapped, sucked and nipped at it anyway, hungry for what remained.
She began whimpering more loudly and I knew her release would be swift and violent in this position. I watched her beautiful face as she rode the wave of ecstasy that overcame her. 'Love you…so good…mine…' she growled in her head as she came undone on top of me.
I love you too baby I told her as I pumped her harder, reaching for my own release. As it began to make itself known in the pit of my stomach Bella let one of her hands go and bought it to the back of my head. She gripped my hair in her fist and tugged my head backwards so I was forced to look into her eyes as I came. "Mine." She snarled as I spilled into her.
'Mine' I agreed silently as I rocked against her for the last time, spent.
I let her slide off my waist and held her steady while she pulled her jeans back up, then she held me steady while I did the same. With one last deep kiss we jumped down onto the ground and ran back to the clearing to wait for the family to join us.
As the sun rose over the mountains we began to hear the first feint sounds of the family running towards us, all from different directions. Rose and Emmett got to us first. Rose had sticks all through her hair and Emmett had a devilish grin on his smug face.
As Alice and Jasper approached, from the other end of the clearing, Jasper was still tucking his shirt back into his trousers, Alice too was grinning from ear to ear.
It wasn't until Esme and Carlisle came out of the woods that the laughter began.
Esme was wearing what was left of Carlisle's shirt. It had been a nice dark blue color but was now smeared with earth and what smelled distinctly like lynx blood. Carlisle himself still wore his pants but the ends were frayed and he was barefoot. They came to stand before us and I lifted my fist. Carlisle bumped it with a wide smirk and Emmett guffawed with real purpose. As we were each reaching for our mates hands Esme's delicate giggle could be heard through the trees. "If you come back fully clothed you're just not trying hard enough."
BPOV
I checked my book bag and saw the little box of contact lenses was tucked carefully in with my wallet and house keys. I reread the good luck message my parents had sent me and then I tucked the cell phone into my jeans pocket.
"Ready love?" Edward asked, taking my bag for me and slinging it over his shoulder with his own.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I said quietly, taking a look around the room to see if I'd forgotten anything.
Esme met me at the foot of the stairs and hugged me tightly to her, telling me again how proud she was of me and saying that she knew I could do this, to just try my best.
The three cars were parked in the driveway when Edward and I stepped out into the gloom that was the Forks winter. Rose and Emmett were in his Jeep because the BMW window was yet to be repaired from yesterdays altercation with Edward's fear. Alice was sitting in the passenger seat of her beloved yellow Porsche and Jasper was just getting into the drivers seat as we approached my equally beloved Elise.
"Good luck dear." Esme called from the front steps and I paused to give her a little wave. I slid into the drivers seat and smiled to myself as the car roared into life. I followed Emmett and Jasper out of the driveway and we were soon arriving at the entry gates to the school. Edward leaned over and put a firm hand on my thigh.
"You can do this, love." He smiled that gorgeous lopsided grin he knew I loved so much and I smiled and nodded in agreement. I could do this.
I took a long, cleansing pull of the air in the cabin of the car and pulled to a halt beside Emmett's Jeep.
Edward pulled our book bags from behind his seat and asked me to stay there while he came around and opened my door for me. Ever the gentleman!
With one last mental 'you can do this' from Edward I let him appear to help me from the seat. I leaned against the side of the car, trying to get my bearings as the flood of human scent hit me square on.
The mixture of scents made it impossible to put a smell to a face, which with my particular habit of assigning relationships might be a problem today. If I couldn't name the scent I couldn't trick my brain into thinking about how they fit into their respective families.
I assured myself this would be easier once I was inside a classroom with smaller numbers around me.
I felt Edward give a little tug on my hand and then we were, all six of us, walking towards the picnic tables through the slight drizzle of Washington's almost constant rain. The first to approach us was Angela, thank god. She ran the last few steps toward us and threw herself into my arms, hugging me tightly and saying how pleased she was that I was at least able to come on the last day.
She stepped back away from me and looked me over, her head tilting to the side, probably trying to work out what the difference was.
'You're doing so well beautiful girl.' Edward told me as I pulled out of the hug and smiled widely at Angela.
"How are you feeling?" She asked me and I smiled again.
"I feel great, thanks Ange." I replied, sucking in the air around her in tiny little gulps to avoid too many scents at once.
"Everyone is so excited that you're coming today. Ben is in a meeting with the careers advisor so he said he'd see you at first break. We have Trig together second, so we'll catch up some more then yeah?" She asked hopefully and I said of course we'd catch up some more then and that I was looking forward to seeing Ben again too, of course.
Streams of students were marching up the hill towards the front of the building now, the bell could only be a matter of moments away, so the air around me was thick with the delicious smell of human. Rose gave me a pat on the shoulder as her and Emmett moved away from our group and headed off to their first classes.
Jasper kissed Alice lightly on the cheek, wished me good luck and went off to his locker before his first class of the day.
Edward was reluctant to leave me with Alice but his first class, Spanish, was at the far end of the rear group of buildings so he needed to leave now to get to his locker and get to his class before the first bell sounded. Alice stood right beside me, her hand clutched firmly in mine. Edward stood on my other side, his hand also being clenched with mine. I didn't want to let either of them go. Ever.
"I'll give you a minute." Alice said, backing away slightly and resting herself against the closest picnic table.
Edward pulled me to him, crushing me against his chest, his nose buried in my hair as he did when he left for school of a morning, memorizing my scent. 'I love you Bella…forever…I know you can do this…call my name I'll be at your side in a heartbeat.' He told me as his lips covered mine in a chaste – for us – goodbye kiss. Out loud he said, "Newton is planning to question you second lesson, remember who you are, you're a Cullen now. I'll be waiting outside your classroom to walk you to second period. I love you Miss Swan." He kissed me again on my cheek and was gone.
EPOV
It was harder to leave her standing outside the admin building than it was to leave her at home with Esme!
I should've felt infinitely better but I felt fucking horrid. I was throwing her to the wolves! Not literally, there was only Seth at the school. But the children in her classes were going to be merciless in their questioning and I'd not be there to help her at all. Not until last period which now seemed an awfully long way away.
I slid into my seat in the Spanish class nodding to Ben as he came to sit by me in the empty seat.
"Hey man, it's gotta feel good to have her here today yeah?" He asked enthusiastically. I could tell from his mind that he'd not seen her yet, he'd had an appointment before school. One he was dying to share the outcome of with someone.
"Yeah it does. Thanks." I told him with regard to Bella being at school. He was still thinking about the turn of events with the careers advisor so I put him out of his misery and asked. "What did Mr Clough have to say then?"
Ben smiled and turned to face me, obviously pleased for himself. "He says I've got the grades to apply to medical school. I have to take advance Chemistry next year but other than that he thinks I've got a good shot at the Ivy Leagues!" He was just about bursting with pride that he'd worked hard enough for this chance.
I was pleased and envious for him. I'd completed medical school twice already but would never know the joy of actually helping a patient through an illness or surgery. But I was pleased that Ben would one day be able to realize his dream. He would make an excellent physician. He was intelligent and hard working and was a good-hearted person in general.
"That's fantastic. Congrats." I told him, clapping him on the back as the teacher came into the room to start the lesson.
I made sure I was ready to leave the second the bell would ring. It would be tricky to get to Bella's first lesson classroom, walk her to her next class and be back to my own without using some form of inhuman speed, but I'd do my best to make it happen that way.
BPOV
I walked with Alice into the classroom and sat in the front row. It wasn't my normal seat, nor Alice', but I needed an exit strategy as Edward used to like to call it.
Alice slid into the seat beside me and gave me one last squeeze to the shoulder to wish me luck.
As the classroom filled up around me I could feel all the curious eyes settling on my back as the teacher droned on about Southern Hemispherical Weather Change or some such blather.
I longed to turn around and stare them down but I realized that this was what I was here for. To let them all see that I was alive and well and that I was happy and passionately in love with Edward. I doubted I'd ever be back, especially not once our baby was born, so I had to keep the Cullen pretense at all costs. If that meant showing my face here today and being the circus freak that everyone stared at all day long then so be it. I'd do it if it made Edward happy.
I clenched my jaw shut and tried my best to look human. I fidgeted with my hair, I crossed and uncrossed my legs every few minutes. I toyed with my pen, I huffed when everyone else huffed and I stifled the odd yawn for good measure. Alice looked pleased with my performance so I felt okay.
When the bell rang I got excited, knowing Edward would be waiting for me at the door. My biggest test today was going to be my next class. I wouldn't admit that to Edward, or to the rest of the family. I wasn't too worried about battling my thirst today, I was worried about curbing my animal nature around Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory.