Bella's Point of View
I was able to completely relax when I checked on Ezra and Kora. They were sleeping peacefully in their rooms, unaware of all that has happened tonight. I didn't want them to know that in the next coming days we all would be in so much danger.
I decided to wait out on the porch for Edward and Darius to return. Tonight was beautiful, the stars lit up the sky above. Normally this would have brought me some kind of peace, but not tonight. I had so much on my mind. There were so many things to worry about.
It felt like I had been sitting outside for hours before Edward and Darius returned. I couldn't read Edward's expression as they approached, but Darius was an open book. His face was completely flushed, more so as his eyes met mine.
"H-hey mom," He stuttered for a second, with a sheepish smile.
I opened my arms out to him. "Come here." I said barely above a whisper.
He did as I said and sat down next to me to hug me. He seemed to relax in my arms, like he did as a baby.
"I'm proud of you honey." I said to him quietly, before letting my arms drop. "Tonight was pretty stressful, how are you feeling?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine. I feel like… things are changing… but it's a good thing. Like, this nightmare might be finally over. There is hope."
I nodded, kissing the top of his head; which seemed to bring an embarrassed look to his face. "You are very right." I admitted.
Demetri was changing, hopefully for the better. If I can get better control over my abilities Caius won't be a threat to us anymore. We could live normal lives. That is all that I ever wanted for my family.
Edward took a seat on the other side of me, wrapping an arm around me, pulling me into his side. I let myself relax into his arms and let out a long breath.
"You should try to get some sleep Darius." I said smiling towards my son. I had noticed that he was yawning. It wasn't often that Darius showed signs of fatigue.
"I think I will." He nodded as he stood up. "If I'm not up in the morning, please wake me up. I don't want to miss breakfast."
There was no doubt in my mind that Darius was actually looking forward to seeing Casey in the morning. He knew that she would be coming over for breakfast. The thought was terrifying to me. My son was beginning to have feelings towards girls. It was a harsh reminder that he was growing so fast.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure that you are up." I said, unable to help but give him a look. The look on my face, suggested that I knew his true wishes. Darius accurately read my expression, he knew exactly what I was silently communicating. His face was burning now, as he ducked his head and made his way inside the house.
Edward chuckled, leaning in to leave a kiss on my cheek. "I thought that I was the mind reader around here."
I laughed quietly with him, letting my head rest on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to embarrass him. I know this is a confusing time for him. I just wanted him to be aware that I knew how he felt. I don't want anything to ever be a secret between us."
"Understandable. He's a good kid." Edward said as he pulled me into his lap. I curled myself as close as I could to him, and for the first time tonight, I felt completely safe.
We sat in silence for a while, just watching the night sky. It was so quiet. The only thing that I could hear was soft conversations coming from each of the surrounding houses. Mostly it was the Denali coven that I could hear. It sounds like they were having some kind of game night over there. There was laughing and cheering, along with some curses and accusations of cheating.
At Jada's house, you could hear the ferocious love-making between her and Emmett. I quickly stopped listening in and went to listen towards Avery's house. As much as I really wanted nothing to do with her and Demetri's life; I was curious to know if Demetri had pulled through his coma.
It didn't sound like he had returned to reality yet. I only heard a wailing infant cry and Avery and Alice's hushed conversation.
I had noticed Alice's expression when she left with Avery. She looked like she was in pain, but I didn't understand why. It appeared that as soon as Casey entered the room and began speaking with Darius, Alice just…. Became…. Broken.
"Did Alice seem… upset to you?" I asked quietly as I looked up to read Edward's expression.
His face changed only slightly, his brows pulled together as his crooked smile turned into a frown. "Yes, she was." He spoke carefully.
"And I'm sure that you most likely know why that is." I continued.
He nodded with a sigh. "It's not really something that she wanted me to talk with you about. It is something that she wanted to speak with you about privately… in the near future. But I'm not so sure that she will do that… now that Casey has entered Darius' life."
It didn't take long for me to put the pieces together. I always had a nagging suspicion that someday Alice and Darius' relationship might change. Of course if I could choose for my son to be with anyone, I would have loved for it to be Alice. But that wasn't something I could control. This was Darius' life, and he deserved to choose who he fell in love with.
"I see," I muttered lowly. "She had a vision… of the two of them?"
Edward nodded slightly. "At this point, there are two possible futures. It's a coin toss. Either Alice or Casey."
"I feel bad for Alice being in this situation." I said letting my eyes close. "After losing Jasper… She and Darius really stayed close and connected. I would have been thrilled if they became romantic partners."
I felt Edward's soft lips planting kisses down my neck. His touch melted the tension from my body. It soon felt like I was floating. I felt my instincts controlling my body as I pulled Edward to my lips. We kissed passionately, becoming distracted in our own moment of bliss.
I was now straddling him as our kisses continued heatedly between us. I knew where this was going and I eagerly began to stand up and pull him inside the house. We didn't even make it up to our room, we ended up on the living room couch.
I couldn't get myself closer to him, but I tried desperately as he began removing his clothes. I hadn't even noticed that we were both out in the open, completely naked. Edward thought quickly and pulled a huge furry blanket down over us, shielding us from view. I struggled to keep my voice quiet as Edward and I made love. The thought of being caught by the kids crossed my mind, but it was too late, there was no turning back. I needed him now.
We made love until the sun began to rise in the sky. We could have continued for the rest of the day, but we knew that wouldn't be possible. There were little ones in this house depending on us.
Sex as a vampire was something that completely blew my mind. The pleasure was intense, something that I don't think my human body could have standed.
Edward sat back on the couch, a content look on his face as I wrapped the blanket around my naked body. He retrieved his pants and covered himself up as well.
"I'm going to get cleaned up so I can start breakfast." I smiled, leaning over to peck his cheek. "Do you mind checking on the kids?"
He stood up without hesitation. "No problem." With that he moved at a human speed as he walked out of the room.
It didn't take long for me to get showered and dressed, I decided on something comfortable to wear, just a sweatshirt and an old pair of sweatpants. If Alice saw my choice I'm sure she would have been appalled.
The thought of Alice, reminded me of the conversation that I had with Edward last night. I wanted to talk with her, about the situation, but I didn't know what to say. There was nothing that I could do to change the future. There was nothing I could say that would bring her any peace.
I went to work in the kitchen, lost in my thoughts. I decided to make a few eggs, fry up some sausage patties and bacon, toast some english muffins and brew some coffee. With a few slices of cheese, I created at least a dozen breakfast sandwiches. I made a variety of ones that were sausage, and some I used bacon.
Turning to my phone, I gathered a breath and exhaled noisily. Part of me didn't want to make this call, but I knew that I had to have a conversation with Avery.
I dialed her phone quickly and held my breath to wait for an answer. It rang for a long time before it was answered by a tired yawn.
"Hello?" Avery's voice sounded weak.
"Avery, it's Bella… how are you?" I kept my voice professional.
There was a pause. "Bella… I'm fine. How are you?" Her voice sounded tense. I could hear shuffling in the background now.
I ignored her question. "I'm calling to invite you over for breakfast. It sounds like it's been a long night."
"Really? I-I mean… yes, I would love to come over for breakfast." She spoke breathlessly.
"Is… Demetri… awake?" Even speaking his name out loud, made me angry. I just couldn't accept him. I tried to move past it, but I couldn't. I didn't want to. I wanted him to be the villain of my story. He didn't deserve redemption.
"No, he is still completely comatose. He doesn't move, he doesn't even breathe. It's like… he is dead." Her tone sounded worried, which only annoyed me further.
I decided to quickly change the subject before I got mad at her again. "Alright, well… breakfast will be in half an hour."
"I'll be there." She responded with warmth in her voice.
I didn't want to give her false hope. I was still upset with her. I wasn't sure if we would be able to move past this. But I wanted to try. I wanted to sit down and understand her point of view better, before I made my choice. To become her friend… or to wash my hands clean of her and her problems.
I had one more call to make, one that wasn't quite so awkward thankfully. As soon as I hung up the phone with Avery, I called Rene. On the first ring, Rene answered, sounding wide awake for a change. Rene usually slept in, in the mornings. She would normally wake up closer to noon.
"Bella, good morning my sweet." Her tone sounded so cheerful that it instantly brought a smile to my face.
"Hey mom, how are you?" I asked, as I opened up a few boxes of donuts and cinnamon buns.
"Oh Bella, little Greg is finally walking, I was able to get a video of it. He is really growing, right before our eyes." Rene sounded emotional.
"That's great mom." I chuckled.
I could remember when all my kids started walking, it was so exciting, although I couldn't enjoy the moment. I knew that my kids were growing faster than they should. And it scared me to death. To think that someday I would lose them.
"I know that we are going to have our hands full now, he will be making messes and scaring the life out of me each time he comes close to the stairs." Rene sighed. "But anyway, what's your plans for today?"
"That's actually why I was calling. I was wondering, if you could watch Ezra and Kora for a few hours today?"
"Of course, maybe your father and I could take them out fishing today. I know Ezra was really looking forward to that."
"Thanks, I'll be heading out to the woods today to do some training with Casey. Why don't you come on over for breakfast? I'm making a bunch."
Rene's excitement was clear on the other end of the phone. "Yes that sounds great, you always were the better cook. We will be over soon."
"Sounds good, I'll see you soon." I said, feeling a grin come to my face. It was hard to be in a bad mood when my mother was in such high spirits.
It wasn't long after I hung up, that Ezra and Darius made their way into the kitchen. Darius was dressed in one of his newer outfits, it was clear that he was putting forth effort to look good today. It didn't take long for me to figure out why.
Ezra on the other hand, looked like she had just rolled out of bed. Her hair was a mess, and she was still in her cute little night gown. Erza's eyes went to me, deep brown, like mine.
"Mom, I'm thirsty." She whimpered, holding her neck.
Quickly I got out her cup and got her some of the freshest blood that we had on hand. "Go ahead and sit down, I'll get you something."
Darius patted the top of his sister's head before moving past her to get a plate. He picked up a few sandwiches and a donut, before pouring himself a cup of blood. He sat down at the table with a smile. "Thanks for breakfast mom."
"No problem," I smiled toward him, before handing Ezra her cup.
She didn't hesitate to start drinking. Relief came to her face instantly. Without any further fussy, she made herself a plate as well, only getting one sandwich and a donut as well. She sat down next to Darius.
"Is your sister awake?" I asked as I poured myself some blood as well.
Ezra nodded, taking a big bite from her sandwich. "She had a nightmare, so dad is up there with her. Trying to calm her down."
This wasn't something new. I noticed that Kora had nightmares often. I was beginning to get worried about her. Out of her siblings, she was the closest to being human. She didn't grow nearly as fast. She never had a thirst for blood. She didn't have the inhuman strength. She was so fragile.
After a short amount of time, Avery was the first to come, to my surprise, she came with only Casey by her side.
Avery hesitated by the entrance of the kitchen, a timid look on her face. When our eyes met, she looked down at her feet.
"Alice thought that I could use a break, so she is staying back with Elijah." She said quietly.
Casey smiled brightly, linking her arm with Avery and pulling her fully into the kitchen. "That food looks great, lets dig in Avery."
I nodded causally. "Help yourselves."
Avery and Casey both filled their plates and took seats at the table. I noticed that Darius couldn't take his eyes away from Casey for a second. His face turned red as she chose to take a seat right beside him. I could hear his heartbeat quicken as she turned to smile at him.
"Good morning to you Darius." She spoke to him with open kindness.
I saw Darius swallow hard, before giving her a shy smile. "Good morning Casey, nice to see you again."
Seeing my son act this way was heart-warming, but at the same time, it was hard for me to watch. I knew that Alice was hurting. I knew that unrequited love was misery.
Finally, Rene, Charlie and little Greg arrived. The kitchen was now completely full. Rene got her plate and comfortable sat at the table, slipping naturally into conversation. Charlie stood back from the table, sipping at a cup of blood by my side. He was analyzing everything, a content look on his face.
The smile on his face widened as Edward and Kora entered the room next. Kora's vibrant green eyes scanned over all the people in the room, before she hid behind Edward's leg. She was truly, a lot like me. She was shy in front of big crowds like this.
Darius took notice and spoke up. "Hey squirt, are you hungry?" He grinned towards Kora.
Kora's eyes brightened at Darius' voice. Timidly she nodded her head as she moved back into view.
"Come on over, I'll make you a plate." Darius moved his hand out to her.
Without hesitation she went to Darius and took his hand. They both went to the counter and he helped prepare her a plate.
Ezra made a face, watching the two of them.
I knew that sometimes Ezra felt a little envious of all the attention that her sister got. I knew that at times she felt that she wasn't as important as Kora. Edward and I talked with her several times about this. We all loved them equally. Kora just needed a little extra help, because she was so close to being human. She was in a sense, the baby. Today Kora still appeared to be no older than five years old.
While Ezra and Darius seemed to age more and more, every day.
Edward came over to my side and wrapped his arm around my waist. The moment I felt his touch, I felt all my tension leave my body. This was a rare moment, to have my family all here together. They talked and laughed, everyone was getting along. This was what I was willing to fight for. I wanted every day to feel like this.
"Grandma, are we finally going fishing today?" Ezra wondered with a hopeful look on her face.
"Yes we are, you and Kora will be spending the whole day with grandpa and I. Does that sound good to you?" Rene smiled as she took a sip from her coffee.
Ezra beamed. "Yeah, I can't wait." She turned to Darius now. "You're going to come with us too, right?"
"Actually, I have plans today. Maybe some other time." Darius said as he took a bite from his donut. I could see clearly on his face that he was attempting to hold back his embarrassment.
I had listened to his conversation with Edward earlier this morning that he wanted to come with us to watch me train with Casey. I knew that he just wanted to be close to her… watch her.
Ezra frowned. "Come on, you promised that we would go."
"I promised that I would go fishing with you, yes, but not today. Okay." Darius said folding his arms across his chest. "I have somewhere else to be."
Ezra narrowed her eyes, before grabbing a hold of Darius' wrist. "Tell the truth." She said with a serious gaze on him.
"I want to watch mom and Casey train." The words flew out of his mouth. He seemed completely shocked that he admitted those words out loud. He glared at Ezra for a second. "I told you not to do that anymore."
Ezra let go of him and shrugged her shoulders, she still appeared to be angry with him.
Edward spoke up now with a firm look. "Ezra, we talked about this. No using your abilities on others."
Ezra had recently found out she had abilities of her own. She was able to bring the truth out of others, just by touching them. It went a little deeper than that at times. Sometimes she was able to pull out thoughts from someone's mind and force them to speak them.
"But dad, he was lying to me." Ezra huffed.
"There is a better way to find the truth. It isn't nice to force someone to tell their secrets." Edward said, shaking his head.
Ezra looked between Edward and I now. "But mom is forcing Demetri to be honest with himself."
At her words, everyone's sights went to me.
I sighed deeply. "It wasn't something that I did on purpose. I would never try to force anyone to do something they didn't want to do. It's not right. Everyone has their right to choose."
Ezra pouted, turning back to Darius with reluctance on her face. "I'm sorry I made you do that." Her voice was quiet.
Darius patted the top of her head, a smile returning to his face. "It's alright. Just please… don't do that anymore."
Ezra smiled now and gave him a nod. "I promise."
With that, everyone was back to talking amongst each other. Little Greg was walking around the kitchen, stumbling and falling a few times, but he picked himself up each time and continued to explore the kitchen. Charlie didn't take his eyes off him. I could see how proud he was.
"Bella, do you think there is something you can do… for Demetri." Avery asked quietly. "I know how you feel towards him… but I'm worried that he is never going to wake up."
"Honestly Avery, even if I wanted to help him; which I don't, I have know idea how I can help." I said shaking my head slowly.
"Demetri will wake up, when he is ready to make another big change." Casey spoke up with a grin. "Right now, he is in the middle of a war inside his mind. If he chooses to accept his demons and move forward he will wake up. If he can't get past this, he won't."
"He will stay like that… forever?" Avery spoke with pain in her eyes.
"That's right. Trapped in a dream-like state for the rest of his life." Casey concluded.
It was awful to think this way, but I really hoped that he would stay asleep for the rest of eternity. It would be too good a fate for him.
"I know that Demetri isn't our favorite person. He caused a lot of pain and suffering to most of us in this room. But it isn't fair for Elijah, or even Darius for that matter. They would lose their father." Rene said with a glum look.
Darius shook his head. "I lost my father long before this ever happened." He looked to Edward now. "I have a father, I don't need a second."
Edward smiled slightly and nodded.
I was thankful that Darius still viewed Edward as his father. Even though Demetri was beginning to fix their relationship. My son was still hurt, like I was. He wasn't ready to give Demetri a chance to be his father again. Darius had Edward and he was content with that.
"To be honest, it's Elijah that will suffer. Maybe Demetri was turning his life around. Maybe he would become the father he was supposed to be." Darius continued.
Avery sniffed, tears coming to her eyes. "Let's not speak like Demetri is never going to wake up… please."
I could see, from the faces of everyone at the table, that they felt bad for Avery. The subject was quickly changed again. Rene took Ezra and Kora with her to get ready for their day. Charlie, little Greg and Darius went out to the living room to probably turn on the baseball game.
This left Edward and I with Casey and Avery.
"I know that Bella wanted to speak with Avery about Demetri this morning. So I would like to get the ball rolling on that." Casey said with a twinkling smile. She pulled her blonde locks from her face as she looked between Avery and I. "Avery is in love with Demetri. The same way that you are in love with Edward. And you, Bella, absolutely hate Demetri on an earth-shattering level."
"I think that I have the right to hate that man." I shrugged my shoulders. "He ruined my life."
Avery nodded. "You have the right to feel that way. But Demetri only improved my life. He was the reason that I'm here, right now. With his child and surrounded by others that accept me. I could never find this kind of happiness if I never met him."
"He raped you and attempted to kill you." I said with a frown. "And you weren't the only victim. There were countless other women that he did that to, but he actually killed them. It was sheer luck that you survived."
"He was giving in to the darkness inside of his soul. He believed he was a monster. He acted like he was a monster. But there was a part of him that wanted to be better. He wanted to be a good man to you and a good father to Darius." Avery spoke with resolve.
"That doesn't change the fact that he hurt people… killed innocent people." I argued.
"Yes, he did… and let's not pretend that every other vampire has done the same thing. Emmett has taken innocent lives… even Edward, I'm sure of that." Avery said looking at Edward.
Edward turned away, guilt dancing in his eyes. "Yes, I have. And I live with that regret every day of my life."
"Maybe so, but Edward and Emmett… and the others… they didn't rape anyone." I spit at her.
She was really beginning to get me upset. How dare she bring up Edward's past. Edward and Demetri were nothing alike.
"You heard his past. You heard what his father did to him. Bella. Demetri is a broken man. His father had distorted Demetri's mind. Anyone with a past like his… would be the same way. But the point is, Demetri doesn't want to be that monster. Not anymore. He wants a chance at a normal life. He doesn't want to hurt anyone." Avery said with a pleading look.
I sat there for a minute and let the information flip around in my head. I knew that I was biased. I had personal trauma from Demetri. Maybe I would have been more understanding of his situation… if I hadn't been one of his victims. For a moment, a flash entered my mind, of the feeling of cold metal restraints around my wrists.
I shivered. Pain erupted through me, leaving me in a state of confusion. I quickly forced the thought from my mind.
Edward noticed, and gently rubbed circles on my back. "Are you alright love?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
I nodded to him, and just tried to focus on his soothing touch.
"What you just felt was a memory trying to resurface." Casey said watching me with a look of curiosity. "It was from a time when you and my mother were together… in the same situation." A look of sadness came to her face now.
I really was beginning to think that I didn't want to have this particular memory back. It seemed so painful. I was afraid of remembering. I didn't want to know what I had gone through. I was happy being blissfully ignorant.
"If you could remember, you may feel differently toward Demetri." Avery said quietly.
I highly doubted it.
"We have our work cut out for us today. I think we should get started." Casey said after it was quiet between us.
With that being said, we all prepared for what would soon be… a long day. I had a feeling this might end up being the hardest day of my life. I knew that I would have to get my memories back. And I just wasn't sure if I was ready.
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