BPOV
We're on our way to Edward's house and it's starting to feel like we're never going to get there. We turned off of the highway about five minutes ago and we're driving down a long curvy road through the forest. Alice is talking my ear off about some new clothing line that is coming out this year. At least I think that's what she's talking about. I'm not really listening. I can't believe I'm going to meet Edward's parents. Well I've met Carlisle before on my many trips to the ER, but now it's different. I'm going to be meeting him as Edward's mate. I've never met Esme, but I've heard wonderful things about her from Edward. I'm so nervous I'm practically vibrating in my seat. I know Edward can feel it because he's holding my hand and running his thumb across my palm soothingly. It's not working. What if they don't like me? What if they disapprove of our relationship because I'm human? What if Edward pulls away from his family because of me? I know he would never leave me because neither one of us would survive it, but what if they don't like me so he pulls away from them?
"I wish I could hear your thoughts right now my Bella so I could calm your fears. There's nothing to be nervous about. They're going to love you for all of the reasons I love you." Edward says calmly.
"I love you too…but I'm still nervous." I tell him. He just sighs and kisses the back of my hand.
Finally there's a break in the trees and a large white house comes into view. Well, house might be an understatement, this place is more like a mansion. One whole side is made up of glass. I can only imagine the beautiful view they have from inside. Next to the house is what looks like a large garage. My suspicions are confirmed when we pull in and I see about a dozen different vehicles. My mouth falls open and I'm pretty sure my jaw is on the floor.
"You'll catch flies that way love." Edward laughs
"Holy cow! Why do you need this many vehicles? This is ridiculous." He just shrugs like its no big deal.
"We like cars. Now come on, let's go talk to Carlisle"
He's at my door before I can even reach for the handle. He grabs my hand and we walk inside together.
The inside of the house is just as beautiful as the outside. After giving my coat to Edward to hang up, we walk into the living room. I think I might throw up when I see Edward's parents sitting on the couch. They both look up at us and smile in greeting.
"Hello Bella, welcome to our home." Carlisle says as he stands. He looks at Edward and I see Edward nod briefly before Carlisle gives me a soft hug.
"Thank you for having me Dr. Cullen" I tell him as I awkwardly hug him back. "Your house is amazing. Seriously. You should have a tour guide." Nice Bella! Again with the word vomit.
He just laughs. "Thank you Bella and please call me Carlisle. It's nice to see you when you're not injured." He winks playfully at me and I just blush.
"Bella this is my mom, Esme." Edward says as he directs me to the breathtakingly beautiful woman who is now standing behind Dr. Cu- Carlisle. She smiles brightly at me and rushes to hug me.
"Isabella! It's so nice to meet the woman who has stolen our Edward's heart." How can someone who is technically below freezing give me such a warm and motherly hug?
"It's just Bella please Mrs. Cullen"
"You can call me Esme dear if I get to call you Bella. The name suits you. You are very beautiful."
I blush as Edward murmurs his agreement.
"Well I'm guessing this isn't just a social call, so why don't you tell us what's wrong?" Carlisle says and raises an eyebrow at Edward. He leads us to sit down and Edward surprises me by sitting in a giant overstuffed chair and pulling me onto his lap.
"There was an incident at school that we would like to talk to you about, Carlisle. And I also would like for you to give Bella a physical exam."
"Of course, its no trouble at all. Why don't you tell me what happened and then we can go up to my office."
Edward starts telling the whole story of the school day including how anxious it is to be away from each other. I fill in the blanks of his story about Mike and he does the same about after I passed out.
"We don't know what happened but as soon as Mike touched me, I immediately went unconscious. Do you think it could have something to do with the mating connection? Or do you think I'm sick?" I ask anxiously.
"Well you said that you were feeling very anxious and antsy while being away from each other correct?"
"Yes" Edward answers while I nod.
"Isabella were you feeling any pain before Mike touched you?"
I blush and look down.
"Maybe a little. The longer I was away from Edward the more uncomfortable I got and eventually it was becoming painful."
"Why didn't you tell me love?" Edward murmurs in my ear pulling me tighter against his chest.
"I didn't want to worry you and besides it goes away once you're with me so it's not a big deal."
"You being in any kind of pain is a big deal to me love"
"I'm sorry." I tell him and kiss him softly on the lips.
"Well," Carlisle starts, "I think what happened has everything to do with the mating connection. When vampires are newly mated they become uncomfortable when they are away from their mates. Bella I asked if you were in pain or just discomfort because I've never dealt with a healthy human who has mated with a vampire before. I want to know what effect the connection is having on you." He explains and I nod. "Another aspect of the connection between newly mated vampires is that when a person of the opposite sex touches you, it is extremely uncomfortable and even painful sometimes. Vampires are very territorial creatures especially with their mates. Now after some time, you will learn to have someone of the opposite gender touch you without it hurting, but it will always be uncomfortable." He stops as if to see if we understand and we nod at him to go on. "Now I think the reason you fainted Bella is because your human body can't deal with the vampire feelings that are happening to you. You hurt more when you're away from Edward because as a human you are weaker and unable to handle the separation like a vampire. I think you fainted when Mike touched you for the same reason."
"So no male will ever be able to touch me except Edward?" I ask interrupting him. "What about my dad? What about walking down a crowded hallway? I can't pass out every time a guy brushes up against me!"
"Well I think the reason you reacted to drastically today to Mike touching you is because your body was already under so much stress from being away from Edward for so long. I believe that if Edward had been with you, you wouldn't have fainted it just would have been uncomfortable and possibly painful. To answer your other question, in vampires this does not apply to family and I think the same thing has happened to you. I hugged you when you arrived and you had no pain correct?" I nod in agreement. "Because I changed Edward and my venom runs through him, we are family. We will have to see how you respond to Emmett when he and Rosalie come home, but I think it will be the same because I changed him also. Emmett, Edward, and I all have a venom connection because I changed each of them. Also when was the last time you touched Charlie?"
"I kissed his cheek last night and we were constantly bumping into each other as we did dishes."
"Did you feel any discomfort then?"
"No, not that I noticed."
"Than my theory proves correct. Charlie is your father, therefore half of you was made from him. You are a part of him. So he should be able to touch you without any problem. This aspect of the connection isn't meant to keep you from showing affection to your family, it is to protect you from other males who might have inappropriate intentions. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah it does. Wow this mating vampire stuff is going to take a little while to get used to." I say kind of dazed, and they all chuckle.
"Don't worry Bella. I'll help you." Edward whispers in my ear.
"Now about your medical exam. Do you feel sore anywhere? Edward you said you caught her before she hit the ground, but did any part of her hit?" I shake my head as does Edward. "Than I think there is no reason for an exam. The cause of your fainting spell was purely because of the mating connection and if Edward caught you when you fell than there's no reason to worry."
"Thank you Carlisle for all of your help." Edward says "Now I think if you don't mind Bella and I are going to go up to my room and spend a little time together before I have to take her home."
"No problem at all. Make sure you say goodbye before you leave Bella." Esme says.
Edward stands with me in his arms as I nod at Esme. Suddenly Edward's moving at a ridiculous speed up the stairs. I squeal and bury my face in his neck. His chest rumbles as he laughs. We come to a sudden stop and Edward sets me on my feet.
"Whoa" I say as I sway and try to catch my balance. Edward grabs a hold of my shoulders to steady me. "You do that all of the time?"
"Yep." He grins and nods "I love it. It's one of the only good things about being a vampire."
"Okay, well we'll have to do it again sometime, with a little warning, so that I can see what you like so much about it." He agrees and grabs my hand pulling me into the room. The first thing I notice is a giant bed in the middle of the room. Why would he need that? He doesn't sleep. I blush as I think about all of the reasons he would want a bed besides to sleep in.
"Alice got us that the first day we met. She saw that it might come in handy." He says as my blush deepens. I move quickly past the bed, trying to ignore it, and come to a stop in front of his bookshelves. He has more music than anyone I've ever seen, and his sound system looks ridiculously expensive.
"I know you said you love music, but this is a little overkill."
"I know, but I never know what I'm going to be in the mood to listen to. Being a vampire means I have a lot of down time."
I guess that makes sense. On the other side of the room is a black leather couch pushed up against the all glass wall. Walking over I admire the view and rest my hand on the glass. I feel Edward's cold body come up behind me and his arms snake around my waist.
"Do you want to talk about what Carlisle said? I know it's a lot to take in." He asks as he nuzzles his face into my neck. As if I could talk or even think while he's doing that.
"I don't know. I don't really have a problem with it. I don't really want other guys touching me anyway. As long as you're with me it will be okay. I was mostly worried about my dad and your family, but it sounds like that's not an issue. It's also good to know that it swings both ways. I don't want any girls touching you."
"You don't need to worry about that Bella. The only woman I want touching me is you. You're the only one I see."
I reach back and run my fingers through the hair at the base of his neck.
"Good" I whisper.
"Mmmm" he hums in reply as he starts kissing my neck and I tilt my head to the side to give him better access.
Eventually he spins me around and kisses me quickly but passionately.
"So we have an hour or two before I have to take you home. What do you want to do?" He asks after I catch my breath.
"We could listen to music and just talk. We are still kind of getting to know each other."
"Sounds perfect, love" he says and walks over to the stereo to turn some music on, classical of course.
"You know there are other genres of music?" I ask, sarcasm dripping from my voice.
He grins up at me.
"I know" he says but doesn't change the music. I just roll my eyes.
We end up cuddling on the giant bed, using up only about a fourth of it, talking about our pasts.
"It was crazy" I tell him laughing "The blender exploded and stained three of the four walls in our kitchen. We had to paint the fourth wall red just to make it match. That was the last time I ever let my mom use the blender." I laugh. "It's nice to talk about my mom and not be sad. Of course, I'll always miss her, but we had some really good times together."
"I wish I could have met her. I would thank her. She raised you to be the woman you are and I couldn't be more thankful for that."
I don't know what to say so I just kiss him softly.
"She was an amazing woman. That night changed my life forever…in more ways than one." I finish in a quiet whisper.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" He asks timidly.
"Yeah I want you to know."
"Take your time love"
"It was a rare stormy day in Phoenix, and I had to stay late at school. It was a Friday and I was tutoring younger kids in English for extra credit. I was only 13, so of course I didn't drive. On normal school days I would walk home or ride the bus depending on the weather. Well the school bus had already left of course and I didn't want to walk in the rain. I was so selfish." I whisper and I feel Edward squeeze me and kiss my forehead "Anyway I called my mom to pick me up. It was so dark out and it was raining really heavily. It was normally about a ten minute drive, but mom was being extra cautious because of the rain. We were almost home when we were t-boned on the driver's side. It was a drunk driver that hit us. Our car flipped twice before landing in the ditch." I feel Edward blow out a long breath against the top of my head. "I woke up in the hospital three days later. My dad was there. He had flown out as soon as he heard about the accident. They told me that my mom died on impact and likely felt no pain. I guess that was supposed be a comfort. I had a broken arm, a broken ankle, lots of cuts and bruises, a concussion, and a broken rib. I also had some internal damage. They had to rush me to surgery. My uterus was damaged in the accident and they did everything they could to stop the bleeding but the damage was too extensive." I take a deep breath "I'll never be able to have children." I whisper.
I twist to lay on my back. Lifting up my shirt I show him the scar on my lower belly where they cut me open. "I lost almost everything that night. The only thing I had left was my dad…until I met you." I look up and find Edward looking back at me with the saddest eyes. He wipes away my tears softly and kisses my forehead.
"You're so strong Bella. So strong. I can't even bear to think about what could have happened to you that night. I'm so sorry love. I'm so sorry." He whispers over and over. I can't say anything so I just lay there and let the tears roll down my cheeks. He kisses each one of them away. Slowly he brings his hands to the bottom of my shirt and lifts it just enough so he can see my scar again. He runs his finger across it so gently that I can barely feel it. Soon he leans down and follows the path of his fingers with his lips. My breath hitches and a new round of tears start.
"I love you so much Bella. More than you'll ever know."
"I know Edward. Believe me, I know. I love you too."