Chapter Six

Bella ended up going to Newton's Olympic Outfitters, her eyes scanning over the impressive business. It might have multiple locations, but it was obvious Mike's parents knew what they were doing, and if they ever wanted to expand, they would have no problem doing so. Still, Bella had to admit the taxidermy pieces that were hanging on the walls and placed in different sections of the store on the ground in different poses that proved their strength were creepy. She didn't look at them that long, their lifelessness more unsettling than anything else.

She had barely entered one of the long aisles when Mike popped out from the end of the aisle, beaming brightly when he saw her. He was wearing a plaid button up shirt with a nametag on it: Mike. His hair was still gelled back, and he still looked as though he was supposed to be in a grade below eleventh. His teeth were straight, but they didn't make Bella's stomach flutter with butterflies.

"Bella! It's great to see you! So, what are you doing here? Planning on going camping?"

Mike came forward and Bella fought the urge to take a step backwards, instead she straightened her back and gave him a small smile. She wouldn't be intimidated or try to shrink in and become something in the background. Not that it would work.

"I wanted to come and buy myself a camping backpack and a compass. I'm planning on going hiking in a few days, so I want to be prepared," Bella confessed, Mike stared at her a little bit longer. The silence was awkward, but he quickly realized she wasn't going to add to what she already told him.

"Oh, okay. Well, follow me. I'll get you your things," Mike instructed before he took Bella throughout the store and got her the things she needed. He was curious as to why she wanted to go hiking, camping, but he knew he wouldn't get any answers he wanted if he kept pestering her.

Mrs. Newton was standing behind one of the cash registers, dressed in all shades of pink. Her fingernails were long, sharp and bejeweled. Her hair was pulled up in a bun on the top of her head, while she was wearing a pink plaid button up shirt, pink camping vest. She had some more expensive set of earrings that didn't seem to suit the job occupation Mrs. Newton had.

"Bella! It's so wonderful to see you! Before my husband and I had Mike we traveled all around the country. We fell in love with Forks right before we had Mike, there are countless places that you'll enjoy. I have a brochure–"

Bella glanced over at Mike; he was messing with some of the candies that were on display not that far away. "I'm going to visit a place Edward and I would hang out at, to see if it will help me with my memories. I read that it's near his house…but…"

Mrs. Newton nodded her head before she reached underneath the counter and pulled out a notepad. Using a pink glitter ink filled pen, she wrote down the directions from the shop to the Cullen house. She blushed a moment later as she handed it over to Bella.

"Sometimes Esme had parties in the gardens of the house, where she would invite the townspeople to meet some of her charities, she would give money to. She didn't do it a lot, but I know the directions well enough, the house…. well, you'd know it when you see it."

Behind them Mike tripped, and they could hear something crashing onto the ground. Bella's eyes widened when she turned her head, noting that Mike was holding the head of a deer, horror lighting across his face when he realized he had destroyed one of the taxidermy pieces. Mrs. Newton began to chew him out, saying he wouldn't get paid for the amount of time it would take for them to replace the deer.

It wasn't until the weekend, that Bella was able to put her hiking/camping gear into the truck and drove as far as she could until she knew she would have to get out of her truck. She'd have to go by foot then, but she hoped she wouldn't be heading home late enough for Charlie to feel the need to have a search party go after her. It would have been mortifying, to know that her dad had automatically jumped to the conclusion that because she was running late it meant she wasn't going to return.

She drove towards the Cullen House, her heart racing in her chest. She couldn't help but wonder what the house would look like. She had learnt from everyone at school the Cullens were rich. It only made her even more intrigued to see how the house would look like.

Rain was cascading down from the dark sky above her, randomly, enough for her to groan before she arrived at the concrete driveway that led up to the house. The house was hidden from the thicket of the trees near the street.

A mini meadow, she realized, as the truck began to go up the smooth and almost reflecting gray concrete driveway, which curved as though it was a frozen silver river. The trees around her were grown out, the branches of the trees needed to be trimmed back. Nature had already begun to take over, and it was only about a month since the Cullens had left. Perhaps they liked nature to be striking, since it was nature, or maybe they had forgotten to trim the trees back before they left and now that they were gone the trees were allowed to grow without restraint.

There was a cliff face in the meadow, where the house seemed to be built into the cliff. The dark obsidian stonework and cherrywood paneling made a different aesthetic than Bella expected. There were three different floors of the house, with random parts of the house longer than other parts, some of them had long and skinny balconies. There was floor to wall windows that made up the house, and Bella could easily see as her truck pulled up to the driveway she could see her trusty, old truck in the reflections as though she was looking into a lake instead of at a wall of windows.

Parking outside of the garage, Bella took a deep breath before she unlocked her truck door and hopped out. Her casted leg thundered onto the concrete driveway; she was aggravated but her leg was healing fairly fast. A miracle, while the rib belt around her waist reminded her of the extent of her injuries even more. She hated it, how she had to be reminded how she was broken, both on the inside but also on the outside.

Taking a deep breath, where she could have the crisp air fill her lungs, Bella straightened her back and went forward, her eyes taking in how the weeds that were throughout the meadow were starting to grow a little too high. The only sound she could hear was the chirping of the birds, everything else was complete silence. It was unsettling, she was used to the sound–she was used to the television being left on in the living room at Charlie's house, and Charlie snoring when he fell asleep on the couch.

Going up the concrete front steps that led onto a cherrywood front porch, Bella put her hand on the frosted front door before pushing gently. The door opened without hesitation. Her eyes widened as she awkwardly stepped into the house, noting how the house was mostly an open floor plan, with a hallway to the right that probably led to another part of the house.

The walls were all white and there were priceless paintings that were hanging on the walls, the flooring was white marble and off to the left there was a dais of the same marble with a piano sitting on top of the dais. A kitchen was separated by a half wall, cherrywood like the outside, and a dining table set was in the middle of the room–a modern wooden and glass dining table set that looked as though it belonged in some high-rise apartment complex in Seattle rather than here in Forks.

Bella still went over to the piano but didn't try to step onto the marble dais, partly because of the fact that her leg was still broken. Another part being she hated the crutches she was currently having to use, since she would have three more weeks before she would be able to walk on her own properly.

She had to choose this place instead of hiking to the meadow, since she would have to wait till, she was free of her cast and crutches. Maybe she would miraculously remember everything that had happened three months ago. It was still a blank slate for Bella, it wasn't as though one morning she would wake up and suddenly remember something and hallelujah, progress!

Amnesia wasn't like that. People would slowly remember things, if it was destined for them. Or they wouldn't regain their memories.

Bella wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter, when it came to her. She didn't take it personally, at least she wasn't Lucy from 51st Dates. She wasn't being welcomed with Adam Sandler wanting to still be with her even when she had lost all the memories of him. This wasn't some romantic fantasy, where she would be swept off her feet. This was real life.

She went away from the dais and went over to where the other parts of the furniture were, they were covered with white sheets. She didn't see a reason why she should move the sheets. It was obvious that the Cullens had decided to move so suddenly and must not have cared about all their things being here. They didn't have anything here they wanted to bring with them, which she had to admit was quite weird.

Going to the modern staircase that went upstairs, Bella's footsteps were so quiet as she went down the second hallway. The doors were closed, though when she opened them, she didn't like how the bedrooms were in pristine condition. The beds were made, the vanity tables still had perfume and makeup bags sitting smugly on the vanity tables, letting Bella know that the sisters both had their own rooms–and also seemed to have shared those bedrooms with their significant other.

Rosalie and Emmett's bedroom was a pink modern aesthetic, everything was in clean lines. There were silver touches, along with rose gold touches. There were paintings of landscapes that were across the walls, all of them were of national parks. They were still girlish, of course, but there were little hints that Emmett was there. In all the girliness there was Emmett, he let her take care of the bedroom.

Alice and Jasper's bedroom had warm tones for colors. Earthy colors, but elegant. The bedroom set ended up being all oak, and there was a television stand which was actually the trunk of a tree. The tree could have easily been pulled out by one of the Cullens, but it was beautiful. The room reminded Bella of a hidden forest oasis for faeries, only those who could be in touch with nature could appreciate how the bedroom was.

A large wooden cross was nailed above the only closed and locked room of the house. Bella tried to jiggle the lock, but it was closed, so that meant whatever was in there it was something only one person in the family would have the key to. Bella imagined it must have belonged to Carlisle then, since it was the only backstory, she hadn't read in her entries. So that meant she would learn about Carlisle being who he was, and how he became a vampire, when she would come and visit the house.

She didn't care to look in the other bedroom, knowing it must have belonged to Carlisle and Esme, on this floor. Instead, she was curious as she noted there was a staircase that went upstairs. She went up them, her casted foot thundering on the staircase. She focused on making sure not to fall down behind her, the last thing she needed was to go too far and end up hurting herself, only for there not to be anyone to help her in the end.

She reached the third floor of the house, her eyes landing on the only door in the hallway. She went down the hallway, still finding the silence eerie. Well, it wasn't completely silent, her footsteps still made some sound though it wasn't much.

She opened the bedroom door, noting how three out of four of the walls were complete ceiling to floor ceilings. There was a futon that was up against one of the windowed walls, along with a bookshelf against the only wall that didn't have windows where there were so many CDs that were against the bookshelf. There was also a stereo. The ground was a white carpet, and the walls matched.

This must have been Edward's bedroom. It was so different from her own bedroom. Sure, her bedroom was a lot simpler than Jessica's. Then again everyone's bedrooms were mostly simpler than Jessica's. Jessica's bedroom was so loud. It was so much different than Bella's, and Bella didn't know how to feel about Edward's bedroom. It was so bare and didn't seem as though it had any personality to begin with.

She was too busy staring around her that she didn't notice until a moment later a figure coming out of the forest. The figure was a black man with long dreads that fell to his shoulder blades. His eyes were a bright red, unsettling. He was dressed in a fuchsia purple button up shirt, silk, along with dark washed jeans and boots. There was a bone necklace against his shirt that also had feathers that were in between the bones.

The vampire brought his head up, his eyes landing on her. Before she could react, he lunged forward, landing on the window. His fingers dug into the window, and he went to smash it completely only for Bella to scream and stumble backwards. She went to run away only for him to smash through the windows completely and land on his feet, he smirked when his eyes landed on Bella. She fell to the ground, her eyes widening completely.

"A-Are you the one who bit me?"

The man frowned and turned his head to the side, confused at what he was hearing. "What do you mean, do you not remember what happened?"

Without thinking, Bella spat, "You need not mock me. I didn't ask for them to leave. I didn't ask to lose my memories. So, answer me! Are you the one who changed me?"

"No. It was James. He bit you in a ballet studio, in Phoenix. Your Cullens ended up killing him. One of the Cullens ended up sucking the venom out of your wrist. Such a pity, we wouldn't be in this predicament if they hadn't been so hasty," the man stated, making Bella catch her breath at hearing what they were telling her.

It didn't take long for her to piece together the scene. She had gotten all these injuries from a vampire. She hadn't fallen down three flights of stairs. She was almost glad she hadn't remembered this; she didn't want to imagine the nightmares she would have if she had remembered the whole being bitten thing, or having Edward take the venom out of her wrist. (She knew it was Edward, after all he was her boyfriend at the time)

"Are you going to kill me?"

The man nodded his head, "unlike James I'm not going to draw this out. I will make sure you will die fast. It is the least I can do," the man said, making Bella stiffen once more at what he was telling her.

Somehow, she seemed to feel her body working again, and without thinking she ran out of the room. She only reached half-way through the hallway before she heard howling in the distance. She froze, once more, before the vampire lunged at her and made her fall onto the carpet.

Then a crashing sound downstairs, and the thundering of claws hitting the marble downstairs. The vampire was the one to stiffen this time. His body went rigid, and Bella barely had time to try and move when she was welcomed with a group of wolves running down the third-floor hallway, their fangs revealing and letting Bella know they were ready to kill the vampire.

The vampire didn't hesitate to rush out of the hallway and back towards Edward's bedroom. The wolves followed after him, though one of them paused near Bella. She crawled backwards against the wall, nervous at the large wolf that was in front of her. She could see how the eyes looked familiar, in fact they reminded her of Jacob.

The wolf sensed how she didn't feel safe around it. It gave her a saddened look before he followed after the rest of the wolves. Bella stayed where she was, not knowing how to process this still. She didn't think that this would happen. She didn't expect for some vampire to appear and tell her they were coming to finish her off, but at least he told her who had bit her.

Eventually Bella picked herself up from the floor and went to the stairs. She slowly went down the stairs, noticing how there was mud and dirt that were everywhere from the paw prints of the wolves. She couldn't help but chuckle some, as she tried to imagine the Cullens coming home and seeing all the dirt and mud that was in their pristine house. They deserved it, with how they abandoned her in probably her time of need.

Reaching the first floor, Bella also noticed how the front door was off of its hinges. It was evidence of how powerful the wolves were. It only made her more terrified of them. They might have just saved her life, but they were just as dangerous as vampires in her opinion.

Leaving the house, after she looked around one last time, Bella promised herself she would never go to the house again. This was in her past; she was not going to come back. There was no reason she should have come to begin with.

Nothing was familiar to her, there was nothing which sent memories to her. She didn't know why she would have expected for all her memories to flood towards her, making sure to remind her all that had happened and how she deserved what had happened.

Her truck was waiting for her, rusty and red. It was normal. It was something she could rely on, even if she didn't get that much time with it. Who knew how long she would have the truck last? At least it was something that wouldn't leave her.

Getting into her truck, Bella gave one last look at the house. She paused as she went and pulled back, her eyes landing on the woods. She could see smoke that was lifting into the treetops. Could the wolves had gotten to the vampire and murdered him?

Was that a way for them to kill vampires, to burn them to death? Did they make sure to rip them apart so there was no way for someone to put them back together? She didn't know how they killed the vampire, and to be honest she didn't care to find out.

Charlie hadn't come home yet when she arrived back at the house. She went inside and noticed how it was getting close to dinner time. She hadn't expected she had stayed over at the Cullen house for so long, then again, she had almost been killed by a vampire. She had been traumatized and she didn't know how long she had sat in that hallway.

She was working on dinner when Charlie came home. She could hear him head upstairs so he could change into his casual clothes and out of his uniform.

She hummed as she cooked, making a meatloaf and some mashed potatoes. There was also some asparagus, she would cook them in the oven also. She wouldn't put them into a pan on the stove. She knew Charlie preferred to have his asparagus cooked in the oven. It was something she had shared with him.

Charlie came downstairs a moment later, he looked into the kitchen and gave a small smile to her. He sniffed the food that was making before he entered the kitchen. He came up to her, making her almost jolt but she noticed him in the corner of her eye a moment later. She sighed as she turned and looked at him, she almost was tempted to reach her hand up and rub at her wrist, but she didn't want him to glance down and notice the bite mark. At least it was faint, barely recognizable.

"Oh, I see you're making meatloaf. You didn't have to go through that much trouble. I could have been fine with one of the frozen meals in the freezer," he stated, only for Bella to roll her eyes and give him a small smile.

"Are you saying that you don't trust my cooking? I mean I know that I'm no Gordon Ramsey," Bella teased him, making him assure her it wasn't that. He just thought she didn't need to cook a meatloaf and make some sides, since the meatloaf would take an hour to cook.

When dinner came, Bella sat down at the table and began to eat, only to pause when she noticed how Charlie was peering at her with more intensity than she expected.

"Is something wrong? Did I burn the meatloaf, or the asparagus?"

Charlie shook his head. "No…you just seem different today. I know that you've been acting differently since Renee died…"

Bella didn't flinch when he mentioned Renee. They hadn't really talked about her since the funeral. It didn't seem like something they needed to talk about. Neither of them was close to her near the end. Bella had always hated how Renee had treated her, but now she understood that some of it had to do with the brain tumor. That didn't excuse her behavior, but it made sense.

"No. I've just been dealing with some stuff lately, it's nothing to do with Renee. I'm too tired almost all the time," Bella confessed, she didn't want to imagine the look on his face if he told her about what happened.

What she said was true, she was tired all the time and she also was dealing with the fact she had also been almost killed by a vampire today only to be saved by wolves. She knew they weren't plain wolves, there was something supernatural about them. She also knew they weren't werewolves. Werewolves didn't change during the day, no matter how many novels there were out there that claimed werewolves changed during the day.

They were silent the rest of the dinner. Charlie knew there was no reason to try and press her more. He wasn't Renee, he wasn't someone who had demanded answers. It was a relief for Bella. It especially helped for her mental health. It was kind of shitty right now, to be honest.

Eventually dinner was over. Bella cleaned the dishes, getting most of the gunk off, before she put them into the dishwasher. She put one of the cleaning packets into the dishwasher before she shut the door of the dishwasher and turned it on. It began to make the humming noise, allowing her to know it had started. She didn't have to worry about having to stay up longer and cleaning the dishes even more because the dishwasher hadn't done its job.

Heading upstairs, Bella brushed her teeth and her hair before she went into her bedroom. She changed into her pajamas and climbed into her bed. She didn't want to write in her diary, she felt it was wrong of her to write in it right now. She wanted happier times before she would write into it again, even if it would take a couple of years.

Turning off the lamp on the nightstand next to her, Bella curled up underneath her bedspread and tried to keep from crying. She almost died today, apparently not for the first time. Tears fell down her cheekbones anyway, as her heart seemed to break some.

Would she ever be able to get away from her past? Or would she always be defined by it?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: here you go, Chapter 6 of Handle with Care. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, you're in for a surprise in the next chapter. (wink).

as always: Twilight doesn't belong to me

-Emmy

edited: 3/25/2020