Chapter 18

Bella's POV

I opened the door and groaned when I saw who it was.

"Why are you here? I sent a thank you card for the flowers." I said sighing. Aaron Abbott walked in without an invitation. I shut the door and turned to him.

"I'm not here for you for once. Where is Reid?" He said looking around.

"We are having dinner with guests, Aaron. You need to leave now." I told him. He scoffed.

"Where is Reid, Bells? This is between me and him." He said crossing his arms.

"Well you brought this to my house so it's between you, me, and him now. Why do you need Reid?" I said.

"No, no, no cupcake. This is between Reid and me. Garwin! Garwin, get your ass out here now!" He called out.

"Aaron, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. You will not come into my house and yell out like some hillbilly! Get out now." I told him.

"Not until I talk with Reid." He snapped.

"Aaron! I'm gonna stop you right there from talking to my sister like that." Caleb said walking in. Everyone else filed in behind him.

"Or what Danvers? Give me a lecture?" He scoffed.

"Aaron, you need to leave. Now! I won't have you disrespecting anyone in my house." I snapped at him. He turned to me.

"You know what bellsy? Why don't you and I make a deal? I forget what Reid did to my car, if you work it off, doing what I want." He said smirking. My anger flared. I swung and nailed him in the jaw as hard as could.

"Get him out of my house now!" I yelled. I growled and stormed off to the kitchen. I threw the wine bottle at the wall. I paced back and forth then leaned against the counter and took a deep breath. My anger rose again. I yanked open the fridge only for the door to come off. I growled again and threw it out the window.

"Isabella." I heard Elijah.

"Don't. I'm angry right now and not in control." I growled at him.

"You're bleeding." He told me. I looked down at my hand and sighed. He grabbed a rag and covered my hand.

"For someone that claims he cares, I'm surprised you didn't bite your wrist and offer it to me." I told him.

"I do care. That's why I am in here checking on you and not snapping that vile humans neck. As for the blood, your brother would find a way to kill me." He said sighing.

"Nah. He knows I like you." I said shaking my head. I flashed my eyes and healed my hand. I unwrapped it and went to wash off the blood. I dried it and Elijah took it in his hands. He kissed the back of it, then my palm and wrist, then entwined our fingers together.

"Baby girl." Pogue said walking in. I looked at the door.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You okay?" He asked looking between Elijah and me. I nodded and removed my hand from Elijahs.

"Yeah. I'm much better now. Caleb finally decide to kill Abbott?" I said crossing my arms.

"No. He just asked Klaus to compel him to forget everything that happened tonight." He said sighing. I rolled my eyes.

"Why? The moron is just gonna do it again." I scoffed.

"The human me would've done the same. I see why I resemble your brother." Elijah commented. Pogue laughed and shook his head. Caleb walked in and looked at the fridge and window.

"Really?" He asked sighing. I shrugged and held out my hand. The window and the door were fixed automatically. Elijah stood there a bit shocked at what just happened.

"See? Perfect." I said.

"Let's take a walk. Now." He said nodding to the back door. I sighed and nodded. Elijah shrugged off his jacket and handed it to me.

"Thank you." I told him. He nodded. Caleb and I walked out back into the gardens. We sat down on the bench and he flashed his eyes. He was blocking them from hearing us.

"What's on your mind big brother?" I asked him.

"He has that look. Every time you laugh, smile, he falls more in love with you." He said looking forward.

"Who are you talking about Caleb?" I asked confused.

"Elijah." He answered. I nodded then shook my head at him.

"He's in love with another girl. Like with every other guy I've dated, they always go for the other girl in their life. I'm just his girl in waiting, until she figures out who she wants." I said looking at my hands.

"You fell in love with him too, didn't you?" He asked.

"How could I not? He's everything a girl wants. A gentleman, he fights for his family, will kill for anyone. But like I said, he's just waiting for her to become available." I said biting my lip.

"That why you're hesitant to stay here any longer?" He asked.

"Yup. When I think our mother has endured enough torment of her own mind, I'll release the compulsion off of her and we can return home." I said looking up at him.

"Baby girl, she didn't mean any of the things she said." He said grabbing my hand.

"Yes she did. She always wanted a human child and she didn't get it, so she took it out on her last hope on a child." I said. He sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"I miss our sibling talks. We don't get to do them anymore." He said rubbing my arm.

"I miss them too. And its because we argue, not talk now." I said leaning into him. He laughed and kissed my head. We stayed like that for a few minutes. He sighed and stood us up.

"Well if it makes it better, I approve of this vampire than the other three in your life." He said as we walked to the house. We walked to the foyer as everyone was leaving.

"Jake, Paul there are two rooms upstairs if you want to give Marcel his space back." I told them.

"Thanks Loca, but we got to head back to the Reservation. Got to be second in command for when Emily goes into labor." Jake said laughing. I hugged them tightly.

"Call me as soon as she goes! I wantto be in the waiting room." I said excitedly.

"We will. You know bells, you and I can." Paul said smirking. I slapped him before he could finish his sentence.

"I deserved that." He said nodding.

"How about I drive you two? What time is your flight?" I asked them.

"We're taking a cab. You're to irritable in the morning, especially after no sleep." Jake said laughing. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Fine. Just be careful." I told them. They nodded and walked out with Marcel and Thierry. Those two weren't much for talking this evening.

"Isabella, it was a wonderful dinner tonight." Niklaus said kissing my hand.

"Aside from the drama from Aaron, it was. Thank you for coming." I said smiling. Rebekah hugged me and promised to call tomorrow. Elijah stepped forward.

"Is he staying the night?" Pogue asked. I looked at him and cleared my throat.

"Only if he wants to." I said glaring at him.

"Not tonight, Isabella. Ill let you get settled with your famiy." Elijah said nodding. I nodded and handed him his jacket.

"Ill walk you to your car." I told him. He nodded and said his goodbyes. We walked outside and stopped at his car.

"Tonight was wonderful. Thank you." He said.

"You're welcome." I said nodding.

"What did you and your brother talk about earlier?" He asked leaning against his car.

"Mother. After I feel she has had enough mental torture, I'll let off the compulsion and we will return home." I said biting my lip.

"Which will be?" He asked.

"I'm not sure." I answered. He nodded and looked at the ground.

"What about us, Isabella?" He asked me.

"What about us, Elijah? We haven't made any commitment of sort. We have only told each other we've fallen for each other and have had really great sex." I told him. He went to say something but his phone rung. He sighed and pulled it out.

"Excuse me. Hello Hayley." He said. I tuned out the conversation. He hung up a few minutes later.

"Well?" I asked him.

"I have to go. But I will be back in a few days and we can finish this discussion." He answered. I nodded.

"Okay. Great." I said. He touched my cheek, then leaned down and kissed me gently. I pulled back and bit my lip.

"You should go." I told him. He leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes and sighed. He released me then got in his car and left. I let out the breath I was holding and walked inside the house.