CHAPTER EIGHT
Her bags were packed. One medium. One small. Next to the luggage sat the portable bassinet. A box of diapers, size two, and another reusable bag filled with formula.
"Do you have enough bottles?"
"I think so," she whispered.
"Are you sure about this, Bella?"
I felt sick.
"We'll be fine, Edward." She turned to me and grasped my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
I looked down at Evie. She was tucked into her car seat, bundled up. She looked up at me, and my nerves increased tenfold. This wasn't right. This wasn't safe.
"If we don't leave now, we won't make it by nightfall."
I sighed. "Maybe we should rethink this. She's not ready. You're not ready."
Bella let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Edward, we're going into the city for the day. How much more crap could we possibly need? I still don't see a reason to take the portable bassinet. She sleeps fine in her car seat. Are you really going pull over for two hours, just so she can sleep in a flat position? I only agreed to bring it so you'd shut up about it."
"HA!" I snapped my fingers at her. "I knew you were placating me. We're bringing the bassinet just in case we get stuck and have to spend the night in a hotel. You don't want Evie sleeping on hotel sheets. Even five-star hotels don't wash their sheets well enough. You have no idea the number of germs and pestilence…"
Bella picked up the diaper bag and Evie and began to walk out the door.
"If you can get it into the car by the time we're in the car, you can bring it."
Challenge accepted.
Even going the long way around, so I wouldn't get in Bella's way, I managed to have the car packed and ready by the time she sat in the front seat and buckled herself in.
She looked in the backseat and saw the mound of extra blankets sitting behind the driver's seat.
"The trunk full?" she asked.
I started up the car and began to drive down the path, ignoring her.
"Great, at least I have a reason to not buy anything today. We don't have the room, even if we wanted to."
I shook my head slightly. "I'm sure they can ship it."
The drive only took a half-hour. I could have made better time if Bella hadn't squawked in my ear the whole way about driving too fast with a baby in the car. Unfortunately, with the weather being what it was, we didn't have much of a plan for the day. As nice as it would have been to go to a lovely park or take a stroll through Pike Place Market, neither of those things would do when the average temperature couldn't even get above fifty.
I drove into the parking garage for the nearest mall. The whole point was to get out of the house and be among the living…no pun intended. Bella stepped out of the car and then folded her arms across her chest with a look in her eyes.
"Where else are we going to go? You want to take the baby to a museum or the Space Needle?" I asked, already preparing for the argument I knew would ensue the minute I chose this place. I popped the trunk open and placed Evie's car seat on the ground.
Bella smirked.
"I wasn't giving you this look because of your choice of destination. I was giving you this look because, out of all the houseful of supplies you had to bring along, we're missing one very key item."
I looked quickly through my trunk, trying to figure out what she meant. Bella turned her head slightly and looked pointedly at a family who was getting out of their SUV. The father pulled a large item out of the back and popped it open in seconds. A stroller.
I wanted to smack myself in the head. I hadn't even thought to order one.
"I can just carry her," I defended.
"Aren't you supposed to blend in? Carrying a baby around really isn't ideal for most humans."
I sighed and looked around.
"I'm sure they'll have a baby store inside. We'll head there first."
After we found a stroller that would fit the car seat, we were finally off and ready to blend in with the masses. Mostly, we would window shop. Bella rarely wanted to patronize a store. Christmas was coming, so I tried to get a few ideas on something I could buy her that she would truly enjoy.
I was surprised to hear her heart speed up when we walked by a store named Sur La Table. A kitchen supply store from the looks of it, but then I remembered she had once spoken of a desire to attend culinary school.
"Do you mind?" she asked.
"No," I said, probably a little too emphatically.
Bella's eyes lit up the moment we entered. Her hands danced, as if they wanted to touch the items, but she refrained. I wished I could hear her. Her heart sang as we walked around the store. I wanted to offer her the credit card, but I knew she would never take it.
I pushed Evie around, her eyes dancing with the lights from above, as she took in all the shiny objects. I looked at my watch and saw it was nearing time for her feeding, so rather than waiting for her to explode into an unholy, screaming mess, I chose to be proactive.
"Bella, you stay and look around. I'm going to feed her on the bench that's just right outside the store, okay?"
"I can do it," she offered, preparing to leave.
"No, go ahead. Most of this is lost on me, anyway. Here, just in case," I said, handing her the card.
I pushed the new stroller out the door and sat down, preparing the bottle.
"Okay, you. Are you ready for yum-yums?" I cooed, reaching into the car seat to extract Evie. By the way, Bella called it yum-yums. It was just something I had picked up.
I pulled the baby out with ease and placed her in my arms just so. Evie took her bottle with no complaint, as I smiled down at her perfection.
She was nearly done when Bella walked out of the store with a small bag in her hand. I was happy to see she had at least bought something.
"It's just a small hand grater. We didn't have one…" she said, handing me my card back.
"No worries. She's almost done, and then we can move on," I replied, looking back down at the baby. She finished up, and I looked up to see Bella smirking at me.
"What?" I asked.
She looked around and then back to me.
"I think you just made nearly every girl in here wish she had a baby…if they came with someone like you."
I looked around to see a few women passing, and they were looking at me while I lightly bounced Evie to try and get a burp out. She was right. For the most part, the female population in the great mall of Seattle seemed impressed with a man holding a baby.
"It must be so weird and yet very flattering to hear so many girls and their dirty little thoughts about you," she said, sitting down next to me.
"Honestly, I've kind of learned to tune it out. There are a thousand people here. I can hear all of them at once. I can focus on just one and hear his or her thoughts, or I can tune it all out. For the most part, I usually tune it out. I find most people's thoughts to be dull and repetitive."
"Really? You must've been bored to death when you could hear me," she replied.
"No. Never bored. Irritated sometimes, but never bored."
She laughed.
"You had a tendency to think up every cliché on vampires. I had to keep reminding myself that you didn't know any better."
"Well, if you ever get the ability to read my mind again, I'll be sure to replay the musical episode from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in my head." And then she began singing, "She does pretty well with fiends from Hell, but lately, we can tell, that she's just going through the motions. Faking it somehow."
I gave her a look and replied, "Okay, you just made me glad I can't read your mind."
She began to giggle, and Evie finally let off a burp. I picked her up and began to place her back in her car seat, securely buckling her in. Bella stashed her purchase under the car seat in the provided basket, and I pushed the stroller onward.
"So, what's that girl thinking?" Bella quizzed me.
I snorted, looking at the frazzled, auburn-haired woman in a stained, stretched-out yellow shirt. She looked to be in her late thirties.
"Every damn Christmas, I stress myself out to find him the perfect gift, while he spends two seconds in Bath and Body Works plucking out a cheap lotion. I'll buy him a pair of socks and show him…"
"She's upset because she knows her husband will buy her something cheap and thoughtless for Christmas, while she plans to spend half of her paycheck on a gaming system he's been wanting."
Bella cringed and gave the woman a half-smile as we passed.
"What about him?" she asked, nodding her chin towards this big, thick guy wearing a muscle tee. He reminded me of Emmett.
"You don't want to know," I said.
She giggled. "Nuff said. I have a pretty active imagination."
"Oh…not nearly as active as he has. Good Lord help the girl he's meeting up with later. I don't think he realizes it's physically impossible for a human to bend that way."
"Human? So...not impossible for a vampire?" she asked.
I looked over at her and stood a little taller, replying smugly, "Not impossible for a vampire."
Unfortunately, one of the many things I'd had to endure over the years while living with my family had been seeing all the imaginative ways they could use the special abilities afforded to us in an amorous manner.
Bella busted into a fit of laughter, and I had to admit, seeing the smile on her face brought on my own.
"Hungry?" I asked, as we moved towards the food court.
"Yes, please. I probably should change her before I eat."
We walked toward the cafeteria-like quarters and assessed the area to find a decent, clean-looking table.
"Why don't you tell me what you want, and I can have it ready for you when you come back."
Bella pulled Evie out of her car seat, while I handed her the diaper bag.
"Use the changing mat. God only knows what disgusting excrement was left behind by the last kid."
She rolled her eyes and then gave me her food order. I watched as she headed off toward the white hallway, carrying Evie in her arms. Even then, I could already feel something was wrong, but I told myself I was being paranoid and pushed myself off to her Hotdog on a Stick.
I sighed, waiting in the line, already turned off by the smells and looks of the food carried by the people walking past me. I looked around at the other food options, wondering why Bella would have chosen this place. The others didn't seem nearly as offensive.
I stepped up to the counter to place my order.
"Hi, what can we make for you today?"
"EDWARD!"
My head snapped in the direction of the long white hallway, but at this angle, I couldn't see a thing.
"Can I help you?" the young girl looked at me, but in her head, she was questioning my sanity. "Why are the cute ones always crazy?"
I didn't say a word, trying to focus on the thoughts of others to find anyone who had seen Bella.
"Sir?" the girl tried again. "I should call security. He's looking like he's thinking of taking out the place…"
"Would you please be quiet!" I barked.
"Yep, he's crazy."
I left the line and immediately headed towards the white hallway. I knew something was wrong. I had heard Bella. I knew it was her thoughts and not her actual voice.
I pushed the stroller faster, while attempting to keep my pace as human as possible. I was listening hard for Bella's voice, trying to pick her out of the enormous crowd who had come to the mall that day. My mind shifted through all the voices in my head, trying to locate her, as panic began to set in.
I let go of the stroller and left it behind, not worried if it would still be here when we came back. I reached the end of the white hallway and found Bella speaking to the couple I had once seen in her mind when I could still hear her thoughts.
"We gave you everything and you skip out? This is how you show your gratitude?"
"Cal…" Bella whispered, pulling Evie closer.
"You didn't even want her. We had a family all lined up. Do you know what you cost us…" the woman closed in. It looked like she was reaching to pull Evie away from Bella. "Let me see this thing…"
No one touched my baby!
"Bella!" I said, running to meet her. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
"Who the fuck is this?" the man thought, eyeing me testily.
I slid my way through, and Bella immediately handed me Evie.
"I'm sorry for interrupting. Are you friends of Bella?" I asked, attempting to keep it casual. Inside, I pictured all the ways I could drain the two. Slowly, so they could feel the life leave their bodies. But I wasn't the only one having dark fantasies, and it was hard to say for sure who was more in need of a therapist.
Bella moved a step closer to me, and I shielded her with my body.
"Old friends. And you?" the man asked.
"I'm her fiancé," I lied. I pulled Evie up and gave her cheek a soft kiss. "I'm sorry for interrupting your reunion, but honey, we have to get going if we're going to make that appointment."
I turned to look at Bella, and she didn't even look like she was in this world. I took her hand and pushed past her accosters.
"Nice to meet you," I said as we passed.
The man nodded his head, but his thoughts challenged me. I laughed internally, knowing how quickly this man would cry for his mama if I had two minutes alone with him. He thought he could take me. He planned to track down Bella, and he wasn't even worried in the least over the problem I could pose on his little plan.
I didn't exactly know what these two humans could have done to cause such a reaction, but whatever it was; I knew I was one of the few people who could bring Bella peace.
We got back to the abandoned stroller, and even Bella's purchase was still in the bottom. I placed Evie back inside and strapped her in. Her diaper was still full. I'd have to change it when we got to the car.
Bella hadn't said a word. I was not even sure her eyes had blinked once. She followed me, staring straight ahead, giving no sign of life within.
We made it down to the car, and I told her to go ahead and get in, I would take care of Evie. I changed her diaper on the backseat of the car. Thankfully, she was still small enough to accomplish this task without too many issues, other than the steep slant in the seat, which caused her to slide down.
Once I had her redressed, I buckled her back into her car seat and then finished placing the items from the stroller back into the car. I then realized that, since we had brought too many things, the stroller wouldn't fit, so I left it behind but noted the brand, so I could purchase another when we got back to the house.
I slid into the driver's seat and saw Bella's blank stare continued. We were ten minutes into our drive when I finally decided to see if she would talk to me.
"Bella…I know you're…having a moment. Are you okay?"
She unfroze from her stare and slowly looked over at me.
"Can you pull over?" she whispered.
I slowly pulled the car over onto the gravel shoulder, and Bella fumbled for the door handle. She managed to get her head out the door before she completely emptied the contents of her stomach all over the Maple Valley Highway…and my car.
I cringed, but I refrained from saying a word. I knew no amount of detailing would get that smell out. Oh well, I guessed it was a good thing I was already looking into an SUV upgrade.
Bella spat a few times, and I could smell the salty tears that began to slide down her face.
"I'm sorry," she softly cried.
"Don't be sorry," I said, handing her a handkerchief.
She sat back in the seat, and her head landed on the headrest, as she wiped her mouth clean. She looked down at my handkerchief and began to trace the initials on the soft white fabric.
"I think I'm okay…enough."
She pulled her door closed, and I stopped breathing, unable to handle the odor she had left behind. I pulled back out onto the road and hurried home. This time, Bella didn't complain about my speeding. In fact, a few times, I pushed the car over one hundred miles per hour just to see if I could get a reaction. She didn't notice.
We arrived back at the house, and I got Evie out of the car. Bella only managed to pull herself out, leaving behind everything, even her purse and diaper bag. No matter, I could go and get it later.
My keys dangled and jingled as I opened the lock. Still no word from Bella, and it was positively torture to not hear what was going on in her head. It would have been a kindness for her to let me in, so she wouldn't have to tell me what had just happened. But alas, nothing came.
I followed her up the stairs, and she went straight into the bathroom, leaving me with Evie. I placed Evie's car seat on the round wooden table and pulled her out. I changed her diaper and even made a bottle for her in the time Bella was in the bathroom.
I sat in the rocking chair and began to feed Evie. I didn't hear anything coming from the bathroom, and it concerned me. Bella's heartbeat was the only sound coming from behind the closed door.
I finished with Evie and placed her on my shoulder to get a burp from her. If Bella wasn't out by the time I finished, I would go into the bathroom myself.
Thankfully, it didn't get that far. Bella opened the door just as Evie burped. She didn't look any different. I had hoped she would have spent the time running some cold water over her face to help snap her out of this.
Bella didn't even acknowledge my presence, as she went over and fell into the bed, curling up under a blanket.
I brought Evie over and laid her down next to Bella, choosing to sit on the other side of the bed.
"Bella, please, tell me what's going on."
She cringed and didn't respond.
"Please…"
"What was he thinking?" she asked softly.
There was no way I would tell her. At least not everything. She didn't need to know the horror fantasy show the guy had put on in his head of the lewd acts he wished to inflict on her, while his wife watched from the corner.
"He wants to find you."
Her chest shuddered, and her eyes closed shut, leaking out a few more tears that slid down her cheeks.
"Bella, it'll never happen. You're safe here. You're safe with me. I promise."
She looked up at me with her watery eyes and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. Her gaze went to her daughter. She reached out and softly squeezed Evie's tiny hand.
"After her father didn't want to help us…" she swallowed before continuing, "…I had nowhere else to go. My father said he didn't have the time or money, either, so I decided to go to the nearest big city. Seattle.
"I found a shelter that helped young pregnant women. The Mercers, Cal and Regina, were so good to me. For the first time, I had hope. They'd take me to my doctor appointments. They helped me find part-time work, so I could save up some money. They gave me a room to stay in and food. I thought they were a blessing.
"There was another girl there. Bree. She had a drug addiction problem. They helped her get into a program. I was six months pregnant, and she was eight. I noticed Regina talking with her, telling her that she was too young to have a baby. Giving her options, like adoption. She said she could help her.
"When it was time for Bree to have her baby, the Mercers went along with her. They brought her back and then…Bree didn't want to give him up. They were so angry. I overheard them….yelling at her. Telling her she'd ruin her life...ruin her baby's life, but Bree wouldn't…she couldn't…
"Then…one night, I heard a commotion outside. A couple of vehicles pulled up and took them both. Bree…was screaming…" she began to break down, "…screaming as they took her baby away. One car for the baby, and one van for Bree. I never saw her again. I have no idea what happened to her. I tried to tell myself there was more to the story, but I know something went wrong. Horribly wrong.
"And then, I turned eight months…" she finally looked up at me, "…and Regina came and had the same talk with me. Told me I should give her up. Told me I'd ruin her life if I kept her. So, I ran. I left everything. My stuff, all the money I'd made…
"I was only on the street for two days when I began having contractions. I was still two weeks early, but she came. I lied to the hospital, gave them a fake name. Told them…I was heading back home. But those first few days, I kept wondering if Regina was right. Would I ruin her life? Maybe I should've given her up. But I love her so much. And now, we're going to spend the rest of our lives…running."
"Bella…" I began to contradict her last statement.
"No. As much as I'm thankful for everything you've done, you're not going to be around forever. I mean…even if you live forever, you won't be in our lives forever. I just have to come up with a plan. I have to get out of Washington. Maybe even get out of the United States. Go as far away as I can."
I shook my head.
Bella petted Evie's head and snuggled into her blanket.
"Can you stay here until I fall asleep? I just want to feel safe…a little longer…" she yawned, and her chest shuddered again.
I sat back against the headboard and got comfortable.
"Go to sleep. I'll stay all night."
It took nearly an hour before she went down. I waited patiently, going through every conceivable option. Around one o'clock in the morning, after I'd fed the baby and gotten her back down using my special maneuver that seemed to help, I was ready for the first phase of my plan.
I stood from the bed and headed towards the window to place as much distance between me and Bella as possible without leaving. I knew I could be quiet, but I still didn't want to risk waking her up.
I pushed a button on my phone and waited.
"Well…it's about time. I'm not sure what I did to make you want to wait so long."
"Esme…Mom…I need you to come. I need you to come to Ravensdale, and I need you to bring the whole family."
Phase one…swallow my pride and ask for help.
Phase two…we go hunting.
AN: Thank you for reading and reviewing. I know a lot of you wanted another chapter right away. I wish I could give but I find keeping a posting schedule doesn't make me pressured to write. I have chapter nine done and will work on ten tonight and hopefully after ten is done I can get back to Time Changer. Really hoping the new years weekend will allow me some me time to write.
Thank you DOLLYBIGMOMMA for editing!
STORY IS MINE. CHARACTERS BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.