Chapter Twenty

Under the deep green canopy of the trees around me I was safe and sound, the water in front of me was cool and calm. There was no rustling throughout the woods nor were there any rustles that came from the water in front of me. The picnic blanket underneath me was not completely comfortable but it was doing its job fine. I smiled out at the sight of Alice in a bikini while on an ice cream pool floatie. Her vintage fifties black and white one-piece bikini had a red bow that was wrapped around the middle and was sewn so that the red bow was against her left side. Her spiky air ruffled from the wind that came, her black sunglasses doing nothing more than being a shield from me seeing her golden irises.

Vampires did not need to have to have sunglasses on to protect them from the sunlight, they wore sunglasses so that they could hide their eyes. That much was obvious, though they could not say in the sunlight that long. They could at least make sure that no one would find out the truth.

Edward was sitting against the tree that was closest to the water, reading a novel with a balanced interest. He was not too far gone into his novel to not notice Emmett shoot me a mischievous smile before he started to run in the direction of where the broken tree was. It was on higher ground, so it made sense that he would be going to the trunk that was half on land and half hovering above the water. It was a perfect angle for him to attack Alice from her spot on the water.

Edward dropped his book and ran in the direction of where Emmett was, "don't you dare! You've already pranked her earlier!"

A sigh next to me made me turn my attention away from the teenage boys to where Esme was sitting next to me in a comfortable ensemble—a light weight t-shirt and some denim shorts. A pair of stylish flop flops were sitting next to the picnic blanket. She would have had a light sun burn across her face from the sun if it were possible, but the light twinkling of sparkles on her skin was the only evidence that the sun was affecting her to a certain extent.

"Emmett listen to your brother!" Esme chided, though there was a faint amusement that was in her voice. I could tell that she could let go for the time being, when I had said I missed being in California during the summers she had went ahead and decided that we would go down to a secluded spot at the river, Bogachiel River.

"Come on, Mom!" Emmett whined, as though he was going to get her on his side. He had become more mischievous whenever I would go and visit them, I knew that he wanted to keep his mind off Rosalie, and I wanted to keep my mind off Jasper if we both could.

"No, Emmett! Do not bother your sister even more than you have already done so, young man. You don't want your sister's revenge against you prank to be worse, now do you?" Esme arched one of her eyebrows up in a motherly manner, the light scowl on her features enough for Emmett to slump.

"All right, all right. I won't prank her then," Emmett grumbled, earning a look from both brother and mother before he started to head away from the perfect jumping spot to land in the water next to his sister.

Edward had barely sat down where he was before he was rushing towards the fallen tree, jumping from the tree before he could catch him. As he catapulted from the tree and fell into the water it splashed loudly and hit Alice full on. Her whole outfit and herself was covered with lake water, enough that she screeched at her brother. She had already spent an hour on choosing which bikini she wanted and doing her makeup, along with fixing her hair so that it was flawless, now though it was ruined due to her brother jumping into the water.

I flinched as Alice fought the urge to cuss, only using verbal attacks towards her brother. Emmett had no reason to be insulted with what she was saying, it was obvious that this was not the first time around for decades when it came to him pranking his sister. Edward on the other hand glared at his brother, as though he was ready to respond to him for messing up his mate and wife's outfit that she worked so hard on choosing.

Esme sighed, before she turned her attention towards me. I was reaching into the cooler that she had brought with her, ready to eat one of the numerous sandwiches she had made for me before we came here. I almost moaned in happiness when I ate the sandwich that she had made, I was certain that even Gordon Ramsey would be impressed with what she had made.

Alice started to come out of the lake, dragging her floatie with her, having already created a revenge plan against her brother for his prank he had done. As she reached the shore and sat her floatie a good place away from the shoreline Edward reached over and grabbed a beach towel before he wrapped it around Alice. She reached up, her tippy toes arching upwards as she pressed a kiss against his cheek in appreciation. I did not feel any jealously towards this sweet gesture.

Sure, I longed to wrap my arms around Jasper and tell him how much I loved him, but it was not the time to do so. I wanted to make sure that he was comfortable around blood before I would do more sweet gestures around him. I would let him be the one to initiate them.

Alice paused as she began to head in our direction, beaming at what she had just been greeted with in her mind, another vision that she had been graced with. "Carlisle is going to come down here! He got off work early!"

I could not help but show the same excitement as she did, after all Carlisle was a second father to me. In the few months that I had been in his presence it was almost as though God had blessed with me another father that I could love. I had prayed for so long to have another father that loved me unconditionally, after Renee started dating again I had hoped that she would find a husband once more that would love me so unconditionally (Phil was a close fit, but things were not as natural as it was with Charlie or Carlisle were).

I focused my attention on the beauty that was around me, the way that the leaves swayed from the gentle breeze which wisped through. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as all the noise around me seemed to fade away, my mind flashed towards Jasper. Seeing the sun above me reminded me of Jasper, the way that his eyes resembled a deep topaz. They were both the sun and the moon to me—in the warmth of the sunlight he would have the brightest smile and in the depths of the waxed yellow full moon they would be mysterious. His mind would be running over different things that I could not comprehend or try to in the least.

Time seemed to move differently when I was with the Cullens and Hales, though this time it was only with the Cullens. My ears perked up when I heard the sound of a branch breaking behind me, allowing me to know that someone was making their way down the trail towards us—though it really wasn't a trail to begin with. Vampires were not very into taking the traveled roads, they often went to those that were not so often used.

Turning my head around I smiled warmly at the handsome vampire father that was coming towards me. Esme smiled warmer than me, I could see the love that was brimming to the surface—water bubbling out of a heated pan on the stove.

It made everyone around them stop and stare, having never imagined that they would see such unconditional love and faithfulness like the pair in front of me had (the other couples in the family did so too, but Esme and Carlisle were the top on the list when it came to their looks they gave each other).

While everyone else was wearing comfortable clothes, well Alice was wearing her cute retro bikini and Emmett was wearing swim trunks, the rest of us wore simple clothes. Carlisle was the one that had the most done up ensemble, mainly since he was a doctor after all. They did have dress code, though he did not wear his doctor scrubs. He was wearing a simple dark dressy button up shirt with some light trousers and a trusty pair of dress shoes.

"Hello, love," Esme greeted him sweetly before she got up from her spot on the picnic blanket. She reached him and kissed him on the cheek just as sweet as her voice had been, before she hooked her arm around his and lightly pulled him towards where I was sitting. The moment they sat down Carlisle rolled his neck back and stretched some before I could not help but turn and hug him in a daughterly manner.

In the absence of anyone else, away from those that were not the Cullens and Hales, I never hugged Carlisle with so much dependence. I had heard enough rumors throughout town that people were afraid that I had an unhealthy attachment to Carlisle, I was almost as dependent on him as I was with Jasper. I was going to be a homewrecker because I would have Jasper believe I needed Carlisle in ways that were not in a family like manner. He would think that I would want Carlisle and not him, I would split a crack through the middle of the family.

The only saving grace on these people was the simple fact that this set of vampires were not violent, they did not respond to provokes by those around them. They were accustomed to the strange stares they got, the dark rumors that spread like disease throughout the towns they would inhabit.

They did not have me in their life before, this was the first time they had a human in their family, looking inside as a mate of one of them. Everyone had been a vampire before they would even find out that they were vampires, they would be practically strangers in the house. I was the first one to not be transformed into a vampire and then welcomed into their home.

"Bella." I turned my head, noting that Edward was looking at me with a stern look, which let me know though he could not reach my thoughts he could still tell the stressful thoughts that were going on in my mind.

I blushed and tried to tame my thoughts, though I froze when Esme reached over and began to run her fingers through my hair in a motherly manner. Renee never did manners like this, she would hold me when I would have nightmares and assure me but she never was much on staying that long (she still wanted to get as much sleep as possible) and she also didn't run her fingers through my hair.

Esme did this, it was a second nature to her. I was another child that needed to be loved unconditionally, despite my age. I sometimes felt that I was more reclusive than a seventeen-year-old should be. I should want to go and hang out with the others from school. I should have gone to that dance with Jasper, I should have done more adventurous things. Then again…some would think that my surrogate family being vampires could be considered a brave act. Well they would either believe I would be brave or very stupid. I would like to think it was the latter.

I closed my eyes once more, appreciating the feeling of having a mother and father on either side of me loving me as though I was their daughter and loving each other unconditionally. It still hurt sometimes that my parents did not work out, life was hell watching their arguments when I was in elementary school, then in middle school they slowly started to understand each other.

"We should start packing up and head up to the house, preferably fifteen minutes at the most. There's a storm that is supposed to be coming, you can call your dad Bella, he should say yes so you can stay the night with us." Alice held her arms up above her head as though she was stretching or was a ballerina, allowing Edward to put her coverup on her small frame easily.

She stood on her tippy-toes and kissed him on the cheek, he responded with a kiss on the crown of her head. I smiled softly at the sight before me. I was fine with just holding Jasper's hand when we were out in public or having him wrap his arms around me so that I could just be in his arms. I did not have to have random kisses of declaration on my cheek, lips, or forehead.

If his hand were out there, ready for me, when I was having a mental breakdown then it would be the best form of love, I could have from him. It would show he had no problem with my disorder. It was this I missed the most with him gone, not having him wrap his arms around me or have one of hands in mine.

Esme helped me up from the picnic blanket and with the help of Carlisle, we got the things together that were around the picnic table while Alice was helping Edward get a few of his books he had bought—putting them into her beach satchel that she had bought with her (well the name had nothing to do with what location Alice was when she had the satchel—any smart person would know that vampires were not going to be wandering down the beautiful beaches of the Florida Keys or the Caribbean).

Emmett was standing by the fallen tree with his eyes set out at the lake, I did not know how far his eyes he could see but I knew he must have been looking in the direction of where Alaska would be. I frowned softly, wanting to say something, but not knowing if I wanted to a moment later. Emmett was not someone who talked so freely about his feelings, and despite his attempts of pranks on his sister and brother everyone could tell he did not give it his full.

"Come on, darling," Esme's voice radiated, and I reached my hand out, she took my hand in her cool one. I turned my attention away from Emmett, my eyes flickering towards the opening of the trees.

As though she noted what I had done she gave me a reassuring smile, "it is all right, sweetie. He is just missing her, that is all. It is what we do when we are not in the company of our mates for a long time. I know that you feel the same way, ever since Jasper had to go up to Alaska."

I nodded my head, agreeing with her. Carlisle was in front of us, moving at a normal speed. If someone looked at us they would think that we were a simple group of humans, well apart from the gold eyes and the beautiful features the others had compared to an actual human.

By the time we arrived back at their house, Alice was right. It had started raining when we had gotten onto the street that their house was on. I had checked the clock in the car and noted that it was exactly fifteen minutes. I did not think I could ever be truly used to how she could almost always get the future right, even though she and the others had told me countless times that the future was not set in stone. There was no way that Alice could have one and only one outcome come true. There would be other outcomes if they were thought of, a worthy contender.

Alice was right, when I called Charlie, he had told me that he was all right with me staying at the Cullens' house. I knew that I was blessed with a father that had trust towards me staying over the night with someone else's family. I knew that if I were younger, he would not hesitate to tell me that I had to stay home, but he trusted the Cullens with a trust that was never ending.

I knew that it was silly, but I often slept in Jasper's room. It was still smelling like him; I often admired the southern touches that were in the room. It was completely different than his siblings' bedrooms. It was everything that was comforting to me. It made me grounded, allowed me to know that he was real. It was not as though it was an oasis and before long, I would find out that everything had been made up. No, it was solid and kept me sane.

After I changed into one of Alice's silk blush hued pajamas she had bought for me in the times that I would spend the night with her and the others I came downstairs to see that Alice was looking through the large amount of movies they had collected throughout the decades.

Esme was sitting at the couch with a book in her hands, I could tell a moment later it was the bible. She was reading with rapt attention; in fact, she had a journal that it was off to the side on the side table. A pen and highlighter sat next to the leather journal. I smiled at the sight; I had begun doing morning bible devotionals with her in the mornings that I had spent the night before.

"What movie do you want to watch, Bella?" Alice popped her head out from where it was looking down at the collection that was in the television cabinet that sat smug underneath the impressive sized television set. The color was a soft baby blue, a striking hue against the white walls and floors, along with the leather couches that were facing the television.

I sat down next to her, seeing that the movies were sorted by year and alphabetized by the title. There were very few horror movies, it was obvious that Esme ruled the house when it came to the movies that were appropriate in the house. She did not want anything violent and bloody in the house, though there were some action movies that seemed to take place on the battlefield.

Smiling when I reached the movie I wanted, I plucked it out of its place, Alice squealed in happiness when she noted that I pulled out The Princess Bride from the collection. It had always been a favorite that I had, I had watched it when I was a little girl with Renee.

Esme glanced up from what she was doing, smiling when I had picked out a movie that she enjoyed immensely. I could not help but think that this movie reminded me of them all and their devotion towards their mate. They would go through hell and back to be reunited with each other just like Wesley and Buttercup did.

As we watched the movie, I soon found myself understanding Buttercup more and more. I could feel as though I would do the same as her. I would feel numb if I had to marry someone else, only if I thought that Jasper was dead. Though I doubted very much I would not marry someone that was not Jasper.

I paused when I discovered that I had thought easily that I could imagine myself marrying Jasper. I did not know what he would think about me and marrying me. He would not want me to subject myself completely, fully with their life. It was one thing for me to be there with them when I was young and before I would go to college. It was another thing if we married each other, because I was certain we would not just let me grow old and die.

Alice arched her eyebrow when she turned to me, as though she was the one who could read minds and not Edward. As far as I knew it would not be surprising if she had hidden the ability to read like her husband and mate could. She almost smirked at me but kept it contained.

Footsteps heading down the stairs made me turn my head, noting that Carlisle was heading down the steps. He was wearing just a normal t-shirt and comfortable pants. He smiled when he saw the movie that was playing before he came over to us. He sat down in one of the armchairs, his eyes turning towards the screen in front of him and not keeping his eyes on the three occupants that were in the room.

When Buttercup and the others escaped from the castle and the movie transferred from them to the Grandfather and his grandson I sighed and slumped back against the couch. The afghan blanket that was draped over the top of the couch for me was soon taken and wrapped around me. I soon moved so that I was leaning against Esme. She had already finished studying the bible and welcomed me warmly in her arms. I sighed in content and made myself at home in her arms.

Outside the rain was still heavy, making me wonder if the weather was as bad as it was down here. Jasper and Rosalie would be fine up there, a snow blizzard would have little effect on the vampires, but still I hoped that the weather was not as bad as it was down here.

I went to bed when it was around ten o'clock at night, kissing both Esme and Carlisle on the cheeks before I hugged Alice goodnight. I did not know where Emmett was, though I felt he was ether working on one of the cars that were in the garage or he was taking a walk outside. I worried for him; he should not have been depressed. He needed to be happy and joke more.

In Jasper's bedroom I pulled back the covers and slipped underneath them. Taking a deep breath of the sheets, I smiled and curled even more into the sheets. I knew he would be upset if I video called him, he always wanted me to get as much sleep as I could. Just because he could not sleep did not mean that I did not need sleep.

For the rest of the summer I soon created a pattern with the Cullens and at home. I made sure that I spent the same amount of time with Charlie and with the Cullens. The rumors were still as present as ever. They still thought that I was a homewrecker, that Jasper would come home for fall break and learn that I had decided to leave him for Carlisle.

I never voiced this to Jasper, afraid that he would come home and decide that he would make sure to prove that he would never leave me. Alice nor the others told him of the rumors. Instead they allowed me to have this peace of nirvana with Jasper, knowing that this meant the world to the both of us.

I hoped that he would come back when school started back again, prepared more with his bloodlust. If not then I would still stick by and wait for him to come back, no matter the time and distance that we were apart from each other.

author's note: about a month or two ago I had another Grand-Mal seizure. It's part of the reason why I've been so wishy-washy with the whole upload thing. I was going to start uploaded four chapters per upload but realized that it was too stressful for me. So I'm sticking with two chapters per upload. Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter and the next one.

-Ems