Author's Note:
Thanks for your continued support and reviews! In this chapter we have a bit more of an interaction for Rosella. I apologize for any errors or mistakes; Grammar is not my forte. Please continue to review and let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Summary:
Anyone who know Alice knows she is about as patient as a two year old child. She has good intentions, but she is sure eager. Bella tries to withstand a trip into the city with her, Rosalie and her newfound blood-lust. What's life without a slip up or two?
Chapter 4: Taming the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
After the phone call ended, Alice was overly excited to go shopping once again, she insisted on us going to hunt so that we could go to Port Angeles. You know, just in case. I was hoping to talk with Edward, but after the phone calls he went straight up to his room. I was more than sure he was putting me off.
Alice invited Rosalie to come along for the hunt, her response was something to the effect of "I'd rather be torn into pieces and burned." I am pretty sure there was an explicative or two in her version though. The others left for school, so it was just Alice and I in the woods. She was kind of fun to watch run, she liked to take the high ground as much as she could and bounce tree to tree. I wondered if she would be offended if I nicknamed her spider monkey.
We didn't go nearly as far as we did yesterday, Alice was far too eager to leave for shopping. I got my first taste of deer, which was good, but a lot less satisfying to catch. I can see why Emmett preferred Bears and other dangerous animals. My appetite surprised me once I started to drink, the need to quench my thirst was stronger than anything I had known. It was funny because until then I didn't think I was really that hungry. I was barely done with my deer when Alice was already rushing me to head back towards the house. I growled at her out of instinct. My kill was my own. She threw me from the deer and into a tree. I quickly snapped from my instinctual rage and felt a blush that she would never see.
"I…I'm sorry." I said bashfully.
"You don't think I've had to handle worse than you?" She said with a hand on her hip. She gave me a smirk.
When we reached the house, Alice called out to Rosalie to get herself down and in the car. She was so impatient that she didn't even go in the house. Luckily, I didn't make a mess like I did the other day, because I was pretty sure I wouldn't have been given he time to change. I made conversation with Alice as we waited for Rosalie. I was pretty sure we had a minute since I didn't think Rosalie was rushing to get in a car with me.
"So, Rosalie called me Porcelain yesterday, why?"
"Just ignore her, that's just what she has always referred to you as." She was checking her lipstick in the mirror above her until I didn't respond. She sensed that I wasn't satisfied with that answer. "She thought you were fragile." She said with a shrug.
I internally pouted that I had a nickname that was less than positive. It's not like I was a complete wimp when I was human. I mean, I did hang out with vampires, not only that but I tried to rescue my mom from one of the said vampires. Ever the psychic, Alice must have sensed my feelings towards this revelation.
"Look Bella, none of the rest of us called you that. We really liked you, and we love you now. Don't worry about it."
Rosalie made her way out of the house and into the back seat. She was less than pleased to be going. Tension filled the car as her own rear hit the seat; I was starting to sense that Rosalie's special ability was laser eyes. I could feel the burn in the back of my head at certain points. I didn't dare turn to face her; my nerves wouldn't let me. Maybe I was a wimp. Alice had tried to greet her; she didn't put too much effort into it. It was just her being polite.
Despite the obvious tension in the atmosphere, the drive was pleasant. Alice explained to me where we were going to go to shop. I had never heard of any of the places she mentioned. I pretty much got all my clothes from Wal-Mart, Target if I was feeling flashy. We made some conversation, although it was mostly Alice telling me stories and more gossip. Before I knew it, we were arriving at Port Angeles.
I could smell human blood already. I would have probably been going crazier had I not fed just before we left. My throat had a low intensity burn, but it was nothing I couldn't handle at that moment. The smells around us did invade my thoughts constantly though. As we made our way out of the car the smell hit me stronger. Alice paused to inspect my poise. She was looking for any signs of a crack in my volition.
"Alice, I'm fine. "
"I'm just making sure; we don't want to have any accidents." She said as if it were the equivalent of spilling a glass of water.
"I'm not saying that I'm not thinking about it, but I just fed, it makes this easier." I said feeling a little more confident with each word.
"Okay, well let's go then. We will keep an eye on you."
The three of us began walking the streets of Port Angeles. They had me wear sunglasses to hide the red in my eyes, just until we hit the costume shop for some brown contacts. When we arrived at the costume shop, I was a little surprised. I had expected a cheesy Halloween store, what I got was a costume, collectables and all out-nerd shop. Inside were two men who, if I had to guess, had never been on a date. One was tall, skinny, with dark greasy hair. The other was a shorter chubby teen with curly hair and a face full of acne.
"I'm telling you; the underworld universe vampires are superior in every way to Dracula. Marcus is faster and stronger!"
"Dude, what movie did you watch? Dracula is older and stronger. I don't even think…" The tall greasy twenty something was interrupted by our presence.
Both guys stood blankly for longer than seemed natural. The chubby boy's mouth was agape. I could instantly smell that he had snacked on Cheetos and mountain dew earlier. He also wore a small memento of his snack on his chest in the form of orange dust. It occurred to me that they probably didn't get a lot of women in this store, especially women like Alice and Rosalie.
"I prefer the vintage Nosferatu myself, sure he is not as flashy as the new adaptations, but he has a certain air about him, don't you think?" Alice added to their conversation as if she were a best friend to these guys. She possessed a charm most likely not caught by them, judging by the still blank looks on their faces. The tall greasy shop worker composed himself remembering suddenly he should speak and that staring with a jaw slack was rude.
"I…erm, I agree actually. Welcome to Dark Ventures Emporium, is there something you are looking for today?"
"Just picking up some color contacts for a party we are going to later. We are looking for a chestnut brown, do you have any?"
"We have deep brown, here…" He reached under the counter pulling out a case of different colors. After some consideration she purchased the contacts. As he was cashing her out, the chubby boy gained the courage to speak to Rosalie, who was quietly looking at some of the merchandise on a close by rotating rack.
"So, if you and your friends like folklore and monsters, we get together with some friends every Saturday night to LARP vampires and other creatures. I am a werewolf, we could…I don't know…maybe grab some dinner beforehand and you could be my date?"
Rosalie turned her attention from some voodoo dolls to the chubby boy with guts. She looked him up and down. I'm not quite sure if it was my imagination, but I was certain I saw Rosalie give out a small laugh. I wish she did that more, it made her seem pleasant, if not just for a second. Her face fell flat, but her left brow curved upward in her answer to his request.
"Tempting, but no thank you." She said. In that next moment his world crumbled. His positive face fell, though I'm not sure Rosalie noticed. She promptly moved to join us as we walked out of the store with our purchase. Alice, being the ever-polite woman, she waved and wished them a good day.
After that we went to several stores. I had my new contacts in, but they were a bit irritating. I felt like my vision was somewhat impaired, like looking through a dirty window at the world. I was doing well around other humans, luckily the town wasn't too crowded, and the stores were almost empty. I suppose this was the advantage and strategy of going on a Monday morning. I still felt a little like a wolf in sheep's clothing. Freely walking through a herd of unknowing sheep.
Alice had told me she was proud of me in a low whisper a couple of times after being in stores with multiple people. It meant a lot that I was not disappointing my new family. I have to say, the torture of the low burn in my throat was nothing compared to the torture of playing dress up with Alice. I adore the girl, but she knows no limits when it comes to clothes shopping. I could totally see why Jasper needed some time to recuperate. The whole day Rosalie silently followed us. As the day wore on, I felt slightly less tension between us, as if she was forgetting about the fact that I destroyed her priceless baby.
Towards the end of our day we had accumulated too many bags to carry, well, too many to carry and look human. Not many human women casually carry tens of full bags on their arms walking several blocks. At least not with a smile. Alice offered to go grab the car, I offered to go with, but she insisted on me staying with the bags. I think she just wanted to torture me more by leaving me with Rosalie.
It had been only about five minutes of silence before a strong smell of blood struck me. The low burn in my throat turned to a raging flame. Human blood was so intoxicating that I lost myself. Before any thought or reservation, I set off in the direction of the blood. It was probably a good thing that we were waiting behind a store in an alley way because I lost all ability to act human. I was running at vampire speed when I spotted the sight of the wonderful sweet blackberry and wine smell that teased me so much. A couple was standing near the water; he was helping her up from a fall she had taken. They were both a little more than buzzed. I could see a scrape on her shin and a small amount of blood trickling down her leg.
I sped towards my target, venom pooling in my mouth. I pushed the man off my prey, he must have flown ten feet where he hit his head on a lamp pole. I grabbed the woman quickly and embraced her. I hand my left hand over her mouth, holding her tight from behind. My right hand held her tight around her waist. I went to sink in my teeth to her smooth neck when I was suddenly pulled from my prize. My head was yanked back and I was thrown at least fifteen feet. I landed less than gracefully. I quickly got up to my feet, a loud growl escaping my mouth. I looked to see Rosalie crouched and ready to defend what was rightfully mine.
I growled louder and ran at her, no thoughts running through my head, only instincts controlling me. I reached her with offensive arms ready to rip into her. She easily grasped my hands, turning my body into a hold. She had me in a tight bear like hug. I struggled to get free; I think I hated her more than she hated me. How did my newborn strength not win? She held me in a compromising grasp.
"Bella, you need to control yourself!" She said sternly into my ear. She was trying to be quiet; as to not cause any more attention to our situation, but her voice was cold and demanding.
"Mine!" I shouted with a growl.
"Control yourself! You don't want to do this. Focus Bella! This is a human, you will regret this later!"
I said nothing; I only struggled against her strong grip. She had me too tight in her embrace to wiggle out. The smell of the human's blood burned my throat like a hot iron. The human was in shock, she was scared but said nothing, only staring from her position on the ground. Her mouth was open in awe of what she was witnessing. I could smell the alcohol on her breath. My thoughts began to return with these observations. I was still enraged but other emotions began to invade my being. I saw the fear on the human's face. I caused that fear; I caused the second human to bleed against the lamppost not more than ten feet away.
"Bella, we need to go, we can't be seen here. Pull yourself together." I stopped struggling against her grip. She didn't waver in her hold.
"Okay, I just…are they okay? Is he…?" I couldn't get out all the words swirling in my thoughts.
"He is fine, can you control yourself?"
"I don't…I don't know."
"I am going to let you go, I need you to run. Run away from here right away. Do not stop, do not let yourself turn around. Run back to where we were and keep going, I will follow." Her voice was so firm, no one would have power against that tone.
"okay." I said worried that I was a danger to myself.
With that she loosened her hold. In less than the blink of an eye I was gone, I was back to our things. Alice was pulling up in her car, but I didn't stop. I could not disobey Rosalie's instructions, I just continued. I ran in the alley until there were no more alleys. I ran across an empty street and into the woods. To the best of my knowledge I would see the road we traveled here on soon. It took me only minutes, but I found our highway. I stopped there.
Minutes later Alice found me; She must have seen everything in a vision. Her and Rosalie were together in her car and when they picked me up they pretended to be normal. I was so ashamed that I did that; they probably sensed this and felt bad for me.
"Hey there Bella, c'mon sweetie, let's go." She said with the window rolled down.
I sat there in the dirt on the side of the road, my hands on my head. I ignored her request. She put the car in park and got out. Her small feet paced towards me tentatively and sat down, but not without a small grunt from the dirt that was bound to mess up her pants.
"Bella, it's okay, you are less than a week old. We expected you to do much worse, actually. That's why we are here." She comforted me with her arm on my shoulder. I said nothing.
"You will get better, honey. You were doing well until someone bled. It will get easier, I promise. " She said softly.
"You guys are all going to hate me, what if I can't be stopped, what if I am alone? What if I kill someone?" I would have been crying had I been human. She laid her head on my shoulder and held my hand.
"None of us hate you, and none of us will. You won't ever be alone. Let's go home Bells."
She got up and offered her hand to mine. I grabbed her hand with a small smile and got up. We brushed our pants off, got in the car and made our way home. On the way home I surprisingly felt no tension between Rosalie and me. I was a bit worried that she would be mad at me for trying to rip her arms off. Maybe she felt pity for me since I failed so poorly. I looked at her in the rear view mirror periodically, but she never seemed to notice. She only watched out the rear window. I wondered what sort of thoughts were in her perfect head. I worked up the courage to speak to her when we were almost home.
"Hey Rosalie, thank you for saving me from myself." I said shyly. I could see her in the mirror; she continued to watch out the rear window. After a moment, when I had convinced myself that she would not respond, she did.
"I didn't do it for you." She spoke in a soft voice without turning.
When we reached home, we grabbed all the bags in one trip. We no longer had to pretend to be delicate human women. We made our way up to the porch when Edward came out of the house to meet us.
"Oh, no." Alice said under her breath. Her face was full of worry.
I looked at her questioningly. Before I had the chance to ask what she meant she greeted him, though he did not seem to be happy to see us. He looked to be somber, deep in thought. He spoke without any detectable emotion behind his words.
"Bella. Will you go for a walk with me? We need to talk."