AN: oh wow guys. thank you so much for the reviews! im glad you guys are enjoying the story so far! And don't worry. I have many chapters planned that are going to include the likes of Victoria, Edward and the Volturi.

Keep the reviews coming! let me know what you like about it!


Chapter 3

Seeing as it was the last block for the day, once the students finished their final game of dodgeball, Bella dismissed them, and the kids all filed out of the gym making their way to the changerooms. Jasper glanced at his teacher standing. "Ma'am. I'll see you later tonight." The Texan nodded his head in the direction of the brunette and made his way to the changerooms.

Bella wandered into her office and packed up her bag. She glanced up when Irina knocked on her door. "Hey B. Kate said to meet her at the car after school. She had a spare block last so she's just finishing up some paperwork she was behind on." Bella nodded slightly and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Why so pensive?"

The human looked up at the blonde sister shrugging. "I had Cullen's in my last two classes. Well technically a Cullen and a Hale. Alice was in my third block and Jasper in my fourth." Bella shrugged as the blonde linked arms with her as the two moved towards the car. "They're coming over later with Carlisle and Esme if that's okay?"

Irina just nodded humming as the brunette pushed the front door to the school open. Bella looked around and noticed Alice and Jasper slip into an older car. She nodded slightly to the pair who had made eye contact and waved slightly before they drove off. Bella noticed how odd it was that they were in such an old car. Something that clearly wasn't worth a lot of money. That along with Alice getting put out first in gym and Jasper not participating made Bella wonder about what the Cullen's had gone through.

Now she wasn't saying she felt sorry for them or felt like they deserved any sympathy compared to the crap Bella went through, but she did notice. Had their family truly fallen apart after they left Bella? She could see in both the eyes of Esme and Alice that they were both clearly not in a good place by the lack of warmth and light in their eyes. The lack of confidence in Carlisle and lack of bounce in Alice's bounce also helped solidify it.

Irina pinched Bella's hip lightly to garner the human's attention. "Earth to Bells." Bella's eyes snapped towards the golden eyes in front of her. "Where did you go there babe? I said its fine to have the Cullen's over." Bella just shook her head then smiled towards the vampire.

"Sorry got lost in my thoughts." Bella muttered smiling slightly. She yelped lightly when she felt Kate pinch her waist as she came up behind the other two. "Hey K." She smiled turning around to face her mate. "Ready to head to your place?" Kate just nodded and hummed slightly as she intertwined their fingers and made their way to the car.

Bella slid into the front seat next to Kate as Irina took the back seat, muttering something about being older so 'she should get the front seat cause she's 1000 years old after all'. Her mumbled just made Kate laugh out loud towards her sister. "Stop being a baby Rina. You can have the front seat on Monday." Bella turned around to face the pouting vampire and had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing at the face Irina was making.

"For being a thousand years old you sure do act like you're twelve. If it makes any difference, I challenge you to a game of Call of Duty when we get home." Irina's face lit up with a huge smile and nodded enthusiastically towards the human.

"You're on!" The blonde laughed as the brunette turned back around to face the front with a small smirk on her face. Kate rolled her eyes at the two in the car as she pulled out of the parking lot. She pulled on to the main street and headed towards their house in the middle of nowhere. As Kate pulled into the driveway Irina was out of the car before the other blonde could even stop the car.

When Bella finally found her way into the living room, she saw Irina sitting on the ground in front of the TV holding one controller out for her. She grabbed it and plopped down after throwing a pillow under her bum to help with her comfort. Kate walked into the room with Tanya a few minutes later. Kate automatically made her to behind her mate and wrapped her arms around the human's waist.

Bella instinctively leaned back into the blonde's arms as the vampire placed her chin on the humans' shoulder. "You guys are honestly 12 not 25-year-old women. Or in Irina's case, a thousand-year-old woman." The two just rolled their eyes at Kate as they started the game.

It was around 2 hours later when the Cullen's arrived, Bella and Irina were still dueling on CoD as neither had earned enough points to win. They kept really close in score as Bella killed Irina, Irina in turn then killed Bella with a grenade.

"Take that leech!"

"Oh no you don't. HA! Loser!"

"Oh, I'll get you for that!"

"Bite me!"

"In your dreams human."

Bella scoffed as she felt Kate's growl rumble in her chest at Irina's comment. Carlisle and Esme made their way into the room and rolled their eyes at the two as they sat next to Tanya on the couch. The two had spent the night before watching Bella and Irina fight like a couple of 12-year-old boys over the video game they were both truly engrossed in.

"Eat my dust bunny muncher." Bella growled as she blew Irina up with a grenade and made a decent step ahead in the game. Kate looked up and smiled at the couple as Carmen and Eleazar made themselves comfortable on the armchair. When Bella beat Irina 10 minutes later did she finally turn around and face the Cullen's. "Where's Alice and Jasper?"

Esme furrowed her brows and glanced at Tanya who just shrugged. "Bella had both in her class and she invited them over with you guys." Irina explained to everyone except the three teachers. Esme nodded and leaned back into Carlisle after shrugging one shoulder. The Hispanic couple were just about to say something when the vampires all heard the car pull into the driveway.

"Door is unlocked Al." Irina called out confusing Bella who just looked up startled at the blonde. "They just arrived."

"Ah." Bella nodded in response as she cuddled back into Kates arms again. Alice and Jasper walked into the room and were shocked by how close Bella was to Kate.

"Miss Swan. It's nice to see you again." Jasper smirked at the brunette who just rolled her eyes chuckling lightly. Alice skipped over to the couple on the floor and plopped down beside Bella. Bella just smiled in a tight line at the pixie.

Bella bit her lip as she looked down at her lap. She thought maybe things would be okay since she was fine with just Esme and Carlisle the previous night and she could handle Alice and Jasper one on one. She felt an anxious twitch in her stomach as she squeezed her eyes shut willing herself to not cry. She reminded herself she was no longer the meek little girl who cried over anything.

Everyone was staring at the brunette until she snapped her head up. "Don't stare at me!" They all quickly averted their eyes except for Kate who just squeezed Bella's waist. Alice glanced up at Jasper wondering where Bella's emotions were, but the man just squinted his eyes then groaned and rubbed his temples when he tried to focus in on Bella's emotions.

"You won't be able to read her emotions anymore Jasper." Everyone's heads whipped around to look at Eleazar who just shrugged to all the curious stares he was receiving. "Just like Edward could never read her mind and now I'm sure Alice can't see her future." They all turned to Alice who just pouted and leaned back against the couch crossing her arms over her chest.

Esme sighed and ran her fingers through Alice's hair to calm the young girl down. Alice closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the woman's lap. The others all turned back to face the human again and she shifted in Kates lap and buried her face into her shoulder. Kate ran her fingers through brown hair kissing the humans temple.

Irina chucked the controller that Bella had been playing with towards Jasper and everyone got the hint to move on with the conversation. Jasper and Irina played their game, Alice had moved so she was up on the couch with Esme and had buried her head into the motherly vampires shoulder, Carlisle and Eleazar had retreated to the Hispanics office to talk about his findings with the doctor while Carmen and Tanya played a game of chess.

Kate stood pulling the human up with her and lead her up the stairs and into a bedroom. Bella could feel herself being pulled on to a bed and back into Kates arms. "What happened in there Bells?" She asked quietly pushing some hair out of the humans face. "When Alice and Jasper came in you got really quiet. I thought you and those two were fine." Bella squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

"I thought everything was okay to be honest. Jasper and I had a really good conversation during the seniors pe class and Alice and I also spoke and things seemed to be okay. Also, last night was so easy with Esme and Carlisle!" Bella rubbed her face with her hands. "I don't understand why all of a sudden I feel so anxious."

Kate cupped Bella's chin and brought it up to face her. "Bella you went through a traumatic event. Something that involved four of the people downstairs. It's understandable if you feel anxious around them all at once."

"I'm fine though. I dealt with the trauma and everything is alright." Bella said with a small pout that Kate couldn't resist. "I'm over the fact that they left me with no goodbyes and no apologies. I dealt with the baggage I had to deal with. I got meds for the depression and anxiety. I went to a therapist over the suicidal thoughts. I'm fine!"

Kate sighed as her mate spoke and shook her head. "I'm sure you did love but it's different now that you're facing the people who meant the most to you when they left. You-" Bella slipped off the bed and snapped at the blonde.

"I'm fine Kate. I want to go home now." The brunette said as she head down the stairs. Esme looked up at the staircase where Bella was making her way down. "I'll walk home. It's not that far." The teacher grabbed her bag and threw her coat on. She was at the door before anyone said anything.

"Someone will drive you home." Kate said firmly grabbing the keys and her bag. Bella glowered at the blonde.

"I'm walking home Kate. I'm fine." Kate shook her head but glanced over at Esme who had coughed lightly.

"I'll drive her home Kate…" Kate sighed at the caramel haired woman but nodded knowing that Bella was probably more willing to go with anyone but the person who just pissed her off. Esme stood and made her way to Bella, passing Kate on the way. "I'll talk to her about what just happened…" She muttered, to lowly for the human to hear, to the blonde vampire who just nodded.

The Cullen met Bella at the car and unlocked it allowing the human to open the door and get in for herself. Bella slid in then turned to stare at Esme. "You didn't open the door for me…"

"Did you want me to?"

"No."

"Well then there you go. You are capable of opening your own door." Esme said in a matter of fact voice as she pulled out of the Denali's driveway. "There is no need to baby you. You are a grown woman and deserve to be allowed to be that. No one is allowed to treat you like a child because you are not." Bella just stared at the woman beside her as she wrapped her mind around what the vampire had said. "However, I do warner a right to tell you off if you do something stupid and or reckless." Bella chuckled and leaned back in the seat.

"That only seems fair." Bella smiled at the woman she saw as a mother. "Only you hold that right." She muttered watching the trees fly by. As she pointed out the turns to Esme, she realized that if she had walked home she would have been home around midnight.

"Lost in your thoughts there Bella?" Esme mused as Bella turned to look at her. "Where abouts did you go?"

Bella smiled softly as she pointed out her driveway. "Just thinking about how long a walk that would have been." Bella quickly turned serious as she turned to look at the woman as they pulled up to her house. "Esme… I know that I overreacted to Kate but I…" She sighed deeply. "I had put what had happened behind me but being in that house… with all four of you… I just started freaking out."

I really want to spend time with all four of you without starting to go into a panic attack. I want what we had before you left. Without Edward. I love you more than words can say but I'm not going to lie that I'm super nervous that you guys will just up and leave me again. I know I can trust you and Carlisle a little more. This charm means more than just being part of your coven. It means you actually want me to be part of your family."

You guys chose to give me this. I just need… time? Space? I'm not sure but something…" Bella trailed off looking back down at her lap. Esme cupped her cheek and brought Bella's face to look at her.

"I know that you aren't going to be able trust us right away and that it will take time to adjust to being part of our family again. However, I can tell you right now that Carlisle, Alice, Jasper and I are not going to fight this sitting down. I love you sweetheart more than I can put into words and I will do anything I can to protect you." Bella bit her lip as the tears tried to fall down her cheeks.

She took a deep breath closing her eyes, the tears finally falling down. She felt a cool hand wipe the tears off her warm cheek and leaned into the familiar hand. "I don't want to be alone tonight Esme…" Bella muttered as she felt the sobs start to wrack over her body.

The years of holding back everything. 6 years' worth of anger and betrayal and sadness and guilt finally poured out of Isabella. Esme gasped lightly and had the human out of the car and up to her bed quickly. She pulled the duvet over the girl and laid down pulling Bella into her arms. Bella for her part buried her head into Esme's chest, wrapping one arm around her waist clutching her shirt. The other hand fisted around the sheet below her as her sobs shook her body over and over.

Esme finally allowed herself to breath when she noticed Bella's breathing even out as the human fell asleep attached to the vampire. The caramel haired woman very carefully reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. She bit her lip as she noticed she had missed 4 calls and 7 texts from Carlisle and Alice. She punched in Carlisle's number and held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" Carlisle answered the phone. "Esme? Why weren't you answering your phone! Where are you?" Esme sighed quietly and ran her fingers of her free hand through Bella's curls.

"I'm lying beside, well actually more underneath now, Bella in her house. We were talking in the car and it seemed 6 years of emotions finally came out in body wrenching sobs." The vampire whispered quietly to her mate through her phone, quietly enough to not wake the human. "She has her arm wrapped tightly around my waist and her hand is clenched in a fist on my shirt."

Carlisle sighed into the phone. "I'm assuming that you are going to be stuck there all night then?" The doctor asked his wife who just hummed in response. "Alright well I will see you when I can. I love you."

"I love you too Carlisle." The woman breathed to her husband as they both hung up the phone. Esme laid her phone down on the bedside table and rubbed Bella's back through her shirt. She pulled the girl up a little more, kissed her head and leaned her head against the pillow closing her eyes.

Bella woke up around 9 am the next morning and snuggled further into the pillow she was laying on. She kept her eyes closed as she took in the scent of lavender and cinnamon. She felt a small chuckle coming from the pillow, which she now realized was a vampire. The nights events played out in her mind and she blushed pulling back and looking at Esme sheepishly.

"I'm sorry… you must have been really bored laying here all night." Esme smiled softly and pushed Bella's curls out of her face softly.

"Bella dear, you seemed really upset last night and I couldn't leave you alone when you were so distressed." Her eyes darkened in colour but went back to the golden colour Bella was used to. Bella furrowed her eyebrows and laid back down, her head on the pillow next to Esme who turned her head to face Bella. "I know from experience what being in that state of mind can do. I was not going to leave you alone." She stated again.

Bella opened her mouth to ask a question but thought better of it and quickly closed her mouth. She studied the womans face, she now saw the bags under the womans eyes. The pain behind her eyes. The way she couldn't smile in her full manner anymore. "Bella do you want to hear my story?" Bella bit her lip.

"I don't want to make you upset or anything… you don't have to…" Bella muttered blushing lightly. Esme just smiled softly and went into her story. By the end of it Bella had sat up and had tears running down her face. She launched herself into the womans arms and buried her face into the womans shoulder.

Esme pulled the brunette close and smoothed Bella's crazy curls away from her face. "Esme… I'm… you are… I love you so much… I want nothing more than to have you back in my life… as a mom…" Bella muttered into her shoulder. Esme smiled widely and kissed the top of the girls head, she pulled her back and wiped the tears from Bella's face.

"Bella, I love you so much as well. I want nothing more than your happiness. I will be whatever you want from me." Esme breathed out smiling softly at the girl. "Now… I think we should probably think about heading to the Denali's so everyone can know you're okay." Bella nodded slightly and wiped the last of the tears from her face.

"I'll go get changed and showered. I shouldn't be more than 20 minutes."

It was around 40 minutes later that the two women pulled into the driveway of the Denali house. Bella slid out of the car and made her way into the house. She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a small growl halfway to the door.

Her heart fell into her feet as she turned around slightly and saw the flaming red hair of Victoria. She felt Esme step up in front of her, letting out a growl.