Bella's POV:
I never knew someone's lips could make you feel so hot and bothered.
His lips were so soft yet firm as they left trails on the side of my neck, where the place burned with shame and disgust from the night before.
How could this man make me feel loved, and cared for? How could one of his simple touches change what I felt before?
I felt better. Even better than before.
Better enough to sleep peacefully.
When I woke up, Edward was gone and the door to my room had been slammed open, surprising the hell out of me enough to pull the gun Edward had left with me on them.
I squeezed the trigger, letting one round go as a warning, instantly regretting it when I saw who stood on the other side of that door.
"Easy, Bellerina, we are simply here to invite you to the spa for some facials and full body massages…" Alice slowly said.
Her tone instantade my fingers itch as I stared at them blankly.
"Don't you people knock? Or is invading a person's privacy one of your many talents?" I asked,as I debated whether or not to drop the gun or fire another shot to watch them scurry away, before sighing, and lowered the gun and replaced the safety onto it before slipping it under one of my pillows.
"Bella, we aren't here to bother you. We simply wanted to invite you to the spa. For facials, abd massages, maybe a manicure and pedicure..." Rose said carefully.
She stared at me apologetically, causing me to instantly like her, before turning to reply to her in a dry tone. "I know what a spa is, Rosalie." I muttered, before turning to look out the window, to let my mind wonder.
"Bella, honey?" I heard someone call my name, causing me to turn in their direction.
"Hm?" I replied, turning to look at the person.
"Do you wish to go to the spa with the girls? Or would you prefer to stay here, maybe go on the boat later?" Elizabeth asked me, with a kind smile.
"I would prefer to stay here…." I softly replied as I turned away from them.
"That is perfectly alright, sweetheart." She replied before turning to look at the girls to give them a stern look. "You heard her. She is not feeling up to it. You ladies can go ahead and go. I expect you back before nine. For a late dinner. No excuses." She ordered, shooing them out of the room.
"But she should cuh—" Alice replied.
"Mary Alison, if you truly wish to get to the spa, then I suggest you go now." Elizabeth said, looking at her unblinkingly.
"I was juhs—" She tried again but Rosalie wrapped an arm around her shoulders and covered her mouth as she and Esme pulled her out of the room before mouthed 'sorry' to me before shutting the door behind her and the other two.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and scoffed before turning to look at me with an amused smile.
"Were they bothering you, dear?" She asked, her expression dropping.
I shook my head at her, sighing as I looked down at my hands.
Edward's ring, along with the pretty blue Sapphire ring Elizabeth gifted me for last Christmas were the only things that adorned my fingers besides the nude colored nail polish that painted my manicured nails.
"Do we have to get married tomorrow?" I asked her, staring down at my hands again.
She sighed, looking troubled for a moment before her expression turned stoic. "Bella, you're officially eighteen today. Consider should consider yourself an adult. As such adult, you will be dragged into certain situations, but that doesn't make you an adult. What makes you an adult is how you react during, throughout and after the situation. That is what will determine your maturity. Now, I ask you, what do you wish to do? Do you want to marry my boy? Do you want to leave? What do you want?" She asked me, as she took my hand into hers.
Her words were true. Though I was technically an adult. I needed to prove that I was such. If I left I essentially had to start over, I had no one. I would be alone. So, what did I want to do? What could I do in this situation?
There was nothing in this world that I craved more than to have a loving family. One that loves me, protects me, and cares about me. I felt like I already had that with the Cullens.
But did I really have it? Or did they simply see me as a simple charity case?
What would happen if I left? Would he care? Would he let me leave or would he fight for me to stay? Did he love me back?
"If I wanted to leave… Would any of you care?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around my legs and looked down at them.
She stared at me in disbelief for a moment before clearing her throat. "Of course, we would. We all care about you. Ed and I, we see you as the daughter I always wanted. My boys see you as a little sister, well, not Edward, he is completely head over heels for you, but all the others see you as such." She said with a smile.
"—" I opened my mouth to snark something when I saw the look she was giving me, causing me to close my mouth immediately.
"Let's not ruin your special day by speaking about the filth. He'll be taken care of soon enough. For now, let's finish discussing what you want. Tell me, dear. What do you want to do?" She asked me.
I shook my head in response, turning my back on her to stare out the window.
"Isabella, we can't read your mind. You need to tell us what you want and need." She replied, gently.
"I want—I want to travel. I want to go to a University. I want to wait. I want time… I want to be normal…" I said as my voice began to crack.
Before I could control it, my vision blurry and I began to hiccup, as I brought my hands up to cover my face.
"Oh sweetheart, I am so sorry you had to go through all of this. I truly am. But what if I told you that I could help you? What if we get to wherever you want, just travel to get your mind off of all this situation? Would that help you?" She asked, as she tried to soothe me like when I first arrived.
Her words only serve to make my already hectic breathing worse. It soon becomes frantic, erratic before I begin seeing black spots, as my hands begin to numb and I feel my body fall back onto the mattress.
The last thing I hear is Elizabeth's terrified outcry and someone else rushing into the room before everything goes dark.