Disclaimer: I have no ownership rights to Twilight or any of its characters. But I do own this plotline.
Thanks to those of you who reviewed. Same goes as last time: Please read and give a brutally honest review. Thanks!
I awoke in a bed, and though I had never in my life been in this room before, I knew exactly where I was. In front of me was an entire wall of glass overlooking a gorgeous forest with a river snaking through it.
"Bella?" quietly questioned that voice, smooth as silk, which I could never tire of.
My head immediately snapped to my left where I saw Edward. That beautiful face! My heart nearly broke to see the despair that covered every inch of it.
Before I could even blink, I was cradled in his arms; my face squished into his chest, his chin on the crown of my head.
Strange, I thought, his arms don't seem all that cold anymore.
I tuned into what Edward was saying. "Bella, I am so, so sorry. I never should have left you. I love you so much."
"Edward," I interpreted him, "I love you too. I was stupid to fall into such an obvious trap." Edward chuckled unbearably sadly.
"Do you even realize what had happened?" questioned Edward.
I thought back over what I could remember. James, the unbelievable pain, Edward's despair. "Am I -?" I couldn't even say it.
Edward hung his head in shame and that was my answer.
Before I even really thought about it, my lips were on his. "I love you," I whispered.
For the first time I stopped to actually listen. I could hear five beings throughout the house. Alice and Jasper were downstairs talking to Esme. Rosalie was in the room she shared with Emmett fixing her hair. And Emmett was attempting to convince Rosalie of something. Carlisle must have been at work.
"What about my leg?" I asked while wiggling my toes. I couldn't help it, I was curious!
"As the…transformation…was completing, your body repaired itself."
Horrible as it sounds, I wanted to try out my new vampire powers. I broke free of Edward's grasp, and with unnatural speed got off the bed and…fell flat on my face.
"You have got to be kidding me!" I mumbled. I would not let this be my accented 'talent'.
Edward snorted as he failed miserably to hold back his laughter while scooping me back into his arms, taking me back to the bed. I glared at him.
We just lay there for a while, me cradled in his arms, each thinking our own thoughts, when a gently knock followed by a timid, "Can I come in?" snapped us back to reality.
Alice poked her head in through the door of the guest bedroom. "Edward, can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Of course," he replied as he moved gracefully towards her.
They began talking in their low, smooth, fast language. I caught a few words. Bella, Phoenix, the truck, Renée, Charlie.
Oh crap. "What about Renée and Charlie?" I asked.
"Well," Alice replied, "Renée called late last night and I told her that you had needed to talk to her because you saw on the news about some crime in your old neighborhood, like, oh I don't know, stolen sports cars and arson," her quick glance towards a smiling Edward did not escape my notice, "and you didn't want her going home too soon. I told her you were out on a date so she couldn't talk to you. She also asked me to tell you that she and Phil say 'hi' and that they miss you, but not to worry because Phil got signed."
"As for Charlie," Edward cut in, "Since it's only Thursday evening, that buys us some time. Not much, but still. What we were thinking was this: Sunday morning you drive your truck back home. You apologize to you dad for the way you acted and for worrying him. Explain how you drove all the way to Phoenix, but then realized the mistake you were making. Really all you'll need to say is that you needed time to think and the drive from Forks to Phoenix and back gave you more than enough. Don't worry, either Alice or myself will be with you the whole time to make sure you don't…um…lose control."
Did they really have so little faith in me that they though I'd eat my own father? I suppose I was thirsty, but I really wasn't ready to admit it.
"So whenever I'm 'alone' with Charlie, one of you will be with me?" They both nodded. "What about school?" They looked at each other and sighed. I could tell they'd been expecting this question.
Edward ran his fingers through his hair then replied, "That's what we're attempting to figure out. Being surrounded by humans like that takes immense self-control and it would be far too obvious if one of us were to follow you around all day. As of right now, the best we've come up with is lots of extra hunting trips and maybe a trip or two to Port Angeles to see how you fare surrounded by people with us to keep things under control."
As I thought about it, it all made perfect sense. I obviously couldn't go to Phoenix to wait out the rest of the year, so I'd have to remain in Forks. Since I'd be in Forks, I would either have to live with Charlie and adapt to school or be confined to the Cullen household where no one might see me by accident.
I got up off the edge of the bed where I'd been sitting and walked over to them. I gave Alice a hug, then went to Edward.
As I put my arms around his neck, he wrapped his arms around my waist. After a quick kiss, I pulled my head back, looked into those captivating eyes, and, with a smile, said, "Sounds like a plan."
I think this chapter came out much better than the first one. It's a little longer, but it said what I wanted it to say. I really worked on trying to accurately capture the character's personalities. Please review!
P.S. The first two chapters came really easily, but I'm trying to think of a good way to move the plot along, so just a heads up!
