When Bella finally woke up in the hospital, she was blinded by white lights. To her pleasure when she woke up, Alice was right by her side. She did wonder where Edward was, but at the moment she was at peace despite the pain she was in.
"I'm so glad we got there in time. How are you feeling." Alice asked in a soft voice.
"Sore, a bit tired, but so happy you're here."
Alice smiled and stroked Bella's cheek.
"Same Bella. You're going to need to stay here for six days and then we will all make a flight to Forks. You will make a swift recovery but you still might be in a cast for prom."
Prom Bella thought? Edward was going to take her to prom, that bastard. He knew she didn't want to go and now with a busted leg, it would be even worse. Alice saw Bella's displeasure and nodded.
"I agree with you of course. The last thing you need is to be on display with your busted leg, but Edward is a pusher and a 'romantic' in those affairs."
Bella looked softly to Alice and asked,
"Will you be going with Jasper, to prom I mean?"
Alice nodded and took Bella's hand.
"We have a chance for girl time if you like. I know how you don't like to be the center of attention or even the busyness of prom. You will want some peace."
Of course, Bella thought and looked around the room.
"Edward is speaking with Carlisle, discussing what they will tell Charlie when they call him again. He's going to not be so keen on Edward but thankfully he loves me." Alice laughed.
Who wouldn't love you Bella thought as she started at Alice's gentle gold eyes. If she had never met Alice, Bella would have thought she was an angel in heaven, a delicate little pixie, and a precious nymph. Bella felt her heart race and Alice smiled softly.
"When we get back to Forks, do you want me to sleep over? Charlie is going to need help taking care of you since...well...you're going to need help in terms of showering."
Bella blushed a deep red at that statement. The thought of Alice needing to touch her and bathe her naked body because of her injuries made her feel... tingly. Her soft dainty hands lathering her body...
"Bella, you, okay?" Alice asked.
Bella snapped out of her thoughts and simply nodded.
"Edward is probably not going to be happy with you touching me like that. He's a bit old fashioned and he might think you're seducing me under the guise of bathing."
Both women laughed and Alice shook her head.
"Edward will need to grow up. He can't spend every night with you and Charlie is already mad at him for what had happened. Besides, it's not like Charlie would let Edward help you bathe right and we want to spare the awkwardness from your dad, right?"
Bella nodded and blushed a bit more.
"So, is that going to be a thing until I'm fully healed?" Bella asked with a glimmer in her eye.
Alice smiled and asked,
"Would you like it for it to be a thing, Bella? You could always just have me help and I can go home if you prefer Edward watching you."
"No please let it be you." Bella almost begged.
Alice got startled by that reaction and she felt almost... protective when Bella begged for her. She cupped Bella's face and playfully kissed her cheek.
"Well, I guess Edward won't have his nights until you're fully healed. Guess I will have to be the one to tell him that."
Bella nodded and her thoughts lingered on her kiss. Soft, gentle, delicate, heat, passion, and that was just on the cheek. Bella hoped it would have...no she wanted Edward Bella thought but yet Alice was almost calling to her. Why did she feel this way if Edward was her soulmate?
"Please do, I feel lately he's been forceful...more so than usual with me. I care about him Alice but I just hope I am what he wants and deserves. I just don't want him to leave me Alice."
Alice frowned at that statement and there was a slight pang throughout her body. Something just felt wrong but Alice couldn't figure out why. Bella seemed so happy with Edward yet something about their relationship was starting to show something a bit dark.
"Edward doesn't hurt you, does he?" Alice whispered.
"No but wouldn't you know that? You can see visions, can't you?"
"I try not to misuse my gift or invade my family's lives unless something is really wrong. Why, should I be keeping an eye on him more Bella? Please tell me."
Bella shook her head.
"Is it abuse if he's dead set against turning me? I don't see the appeal of him staying with me when I'm old and grey and he's still young. It's cruel that he might be toying with me, knowing there's a way we can be forever he hasn't considered that an option. This whole thing could have been avoided if he or anyone just turned me." Bella asked.
Alice did agree with Bella and nodded.
"I agree, this whole ordeal could have been spared but we also needed to think about Charlie and Renee. We would have probably needed to have you be dead to them and that would be something you would resent us all with. I would hate for you to ever hate me."
"I can never hate you, Alice. You're just so... special to me. Losing you would hurt just as much as losing Edward, maybe even more."
Alice smiled at Bella's words and she took Bella's hand in hers. She glanced over Bella's body and it broke her.
"I thought we wouldn't be able to make it in time... but my sister somehow knew about us and saved you."
"She wasn't alone, she couldn't have been. While she was by my side while I was in pain, someone else had to be fighting James. Based on the voice, it had to be male so maybe a mate of hers maybe?" Bella told Alice.
Alice seemed a bit taken aback that her sister had a mate. Then again, she only had a photo of when Cynthia was nine or ten, so she must be a full-grown adult by now. Only question was, why had Cynthia decided to come to Phoenix and help Bella, a human she never knew. Could it be that... did her sister have visions too.
"If I see her, I will ask her. I do remember something though, she might have had visions like I did when we were humans, it's a feeling I have. However, she's never met you and we hadn't met since we've both been human. All she's mentioned in her letter minus apologies is that if I am not here, she will take care of you." Alice told Bella.
Bella vaguely recalled Cynthia, same golden eyes and similar facial features to Alice, voice a bit more mature and sultrier, but still had a softness to her that made Bella calm.
"Sounds sweet of her. She must care about you Alice, so much so she wants you to have your best friend."
Alice saw visions in her head of her sister deciding to leave Phoenix and will be making her way to Washington with a male vampire. She couldn't see any decisions of Cynthia aside from hunting animals and couldn't see her deciding to meet with her. Alice felt a bit hurt by the decisions or lack thereof, but Cynthia must have plans, but what she couldn't say.
"I hope I see her soon Bella. It's odd why she's playing this sort of game with me. She must be seeing something I'm not and it's frustrating. Why couldn't she just stay so I could talk to her?"
Alice looked upset and Bella stroked Alice's hand.
"I'm sure she would love to meet you, but maybe it's just hard for her. It must be weird for her as it is for you. I remember also vaguely that she will meet me again when my heart breaks and if I want to be myself again...do you know what she means?"
Alice had one idea but it was a vision she didn't want to linger on since it had to be an impossibility, a pleasant one but an impossibility nonetheless. Alice shook her head.
"No, but if Cynthia is anything like me, I wouldn't be wary of her at all."
Both women heard a knock on the door with an older brunette woman with laugh lines and a tan complexion.
"M-Mom?" Bella asked.
"Yes darling, I got here as soon as I could once Dr. Cullen told me what happened."
"And what happened?" Bella asked, looking over her body. She wondered how Alice and the Cullens could explain this.
"Edward came to talk some sense into you and so did I with Carlisle. When you got to the hotel, you tripped on the stairs horribly and took a nasty fall into some windows. We got you here as soon as we could." Alice informed/lied to Bella.
Bella's mom looked to Alice and Bella, seeing how the two of them looked so happy.
"Well, I will give you two a moment to catch up, I'm going to speak to Edward about something."
"You'll be back, right?" Bella asked.
Alice smiled and nodded, kissing her cheek before leaving the room. Renee, Bella's mother, looked at Bella and softly smiled at her.
"Alice is such a lovely girl Bella. She cares so much for you."
"And I care about her mom. After I get out of here, I'm returning to Forks. It was stupid to leave over a guy and put them and you through this." Bella apologized.
"Guy? You mean Edward? Dr. Cullen's son, bronze hair, good looking guy, that's why you were leaving?"
Bella looked to confused and she asked,
"Yeah. He was... I guess he still is, my boyfriend. We just fell madly in love and he's been good. He just was getting too jealous and I had to leave to get away for a bit."
Renee didn't seem to buy Bella's story and she asked,
"He's not forcing you to come back, is he? He's not making you do things without your consent is he?"
"What no mom, god no. He's old fashioned and maybe a bit protective, but he cares. Why is it hard to think I have a boyfriend?" Bella questioned.
Renee made sure they were alone and asked,
"Well, I thought well...the last time we had a talk, you told me that maybe...you weren't sure of yourself in the romantic sense. You were asking how I knew I loved Charlie and now Phil, and if maybe you weren't sure if there was a guy out there for you. "
Bella turned red and hoped Edward was not hearing their talk right now.
"Well, I did, and I love his family too, especially Alice. She's been nothing but the best friend I always wanted."
"And she always kisses you on the cheek?" Renee asked with a slight smile.
"Yes, but she means well, we are best friends."
"Such a great friend too. I'm glad you have her Bella. I just want you to be careful and that you're not going to make the same mistake I made. I did love your father for a time, but maybe I loved the idea of being in love and Charlie and I soon fell out of it. I'm just making sure you're not settling and that you're comfortable with who you are before you get into things too deeply."
Bella rolled her eyes at her mom but in some ways... did she have a point? She did love Edward, but was it just an idea that she loved him? She did seem to find her relationship so fast and almost like, he lured her in. His words echoed in her mind 'Everything about me draws you in', which caused Bella to be worried. She did feel strongly about someone and the someone in what maybe would have been her final thoughts, oddly was Alice. Bella shook her head since they were close, but Edward was the one for her despite the eerie words he told her before they became a couple.
"Mom please, I know who I want. It's Edward and well...I love him."
Renee sighed since something didn't seem right about this. Clearly, she saw her daughter was struggling and didn't know what to do about it. She wouldn't care if Bella ended up being a lesbian and in love with women so long as it made her happy. It seemed to her that Bella was settling with the first guy who showed deep plans of interest in her, and he just happened to be good looking. Renee hoped her daughter wouldn't make such a mistake.
"Alright sweetie, I will. But you know you can always talk to me about anything right?"
Bella nodded and Renee hugged her daughter.
Alice meanwhile was waiting outside Bella's room and she saw Edward coming in with a very furious expression on his face. She growled at him and whispered,
"Bella needs to rest."
"Don't lie to me, you promised her you would be back so that's bullshit. Mind telling me why I read your thoughts about you bathing Bella and sleeping over every night." Edward growled.
Alice rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Of course, he goes to that, the prude. He thinks that anyone touching Bella that's not family at this point is a threat. Edward's part of a coven and he decided to show Bella his family, that included her. She's not sorry she and Bella are close and that Bella trusts her to help when she's injured.
"I told you to stay out of my head Edward. Besides, no way in hell you'd be allowed to bathe her and Bella wants me to watch her until she's healed. Charlie loves me and he's really not a fan of yours so it's a healthy friendship. By the way, what is your angle? You know Bella gets turned so why are you fighting it and denying her choice." Alice hissed.
Edward rolled her eyes.
"Rosalie hated that she was robbed of a choice to consent to turning into a vampire. I don't want Bella to squander it."
"She wants to be with you, which I am starting to question why if there is a fear in her eyes with you. You better not be playing with her heart Edward and you 'finding the one' isn't just a fetish to you."
Edward gritted his teeth.
"Why would I be with Bella for fetish needs Alice? I should be asking you why you value her friendship so much. You've had Rose as a friend for years and now you're jumping on Bella like a dog in heat."
"You like her because she's immune to your mind reading, but you still have a hold on her. You don't want Bella to do nothing but admire you, be at your side, and treat her like she's fragile."
"She is fragile, hence why she's in the hospital because of us." Edward hissed.
"Because of you. If you had just gone with my option..."
"You mean death sentence and damnation." Edward interrupted.
"Look I am not fighting you here since Bella doesn't need this shit or hear us argue. Go inside to make your 'girlfriend' happy. She wants you and she wants to be sure you still love her."
"She will love me." Edward smirked as he pushed by Alice to see Bella in the hospital bed.
Renee saw Edward and gave her daughter time alone with her boyfriend. Once she was gone and out of earshot, he kissed her lips hungrily. Bella was taken aback by this by reciprocating the kiss, even though it felt a bit weird to her. She pushed him away which Edward glared at.
"Why did you do that Bella?"
"Because you caught me off guard and it felt aggressive. I'm already yours Edward." Bella told him.
Edward grinned but also sighed.
"Sometimes I wonder about Bella. It seems like every freaking guy in Forks wanted you and I really don't get it. Sure, I love you, but you must hear some of the vulgarities they think..."
"Can we not have this talk again Edward? The last thing I want to feel here is annoyance and fight with you."
"Yeah, sorry right. Look I understand you and Alice are close, and will be close; but don't get too deep with her. I would hate for us not to not work out and you lose her too." Edward informed.
"I won't lose her; she made that clear." Bella voiced in a stern tone.
Edward chuckled and he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
"And let me make this clear Isabella. I love you more than anyone on this Earth. You shouldn't dare be distant with me and know that if you break me, you're going to break harder." Edward whispered coldly.
Bella frowned and crossed her arms.
"Am I just prey to you or your girlfriend?"
Edward scoffed and cursed in his mind.
"That was just melodramatic poetry Bella. You really think you're the only one who was drawn into this relationship. I was too..."
"By my blood, you made it clear. I find it scary since you're supposed to be a vegetarian. James said a lot of scary shit to me and I need to know you're the guy I think you are." Bella interrupted.
"Bella please don't curse, it's not fitting for a woman to curse."
"Alice wouldn't have minded it." Bella muttered and Edward gritted his teeth.
He needed to calm down, he thought. He needed Bella, wanted Bella, desired Bella, and he wanted Bella under his control. Edward stared intensely in Bella's eyes and nuzzled her neck.
"You're too precious for me Bella. I should be your main concern, if I'm not happy shouldn't that be a concern of yours."
Bella felt a wave of guilt and she nodded. He felt his presence in her and that made him smirk.
"I will allow Alice to come over every night to help you bathe and sleep over, but I must be your date to prom. The minute you are well, I get to see you at night again. You will be my love, my life, and my mate. Do you understand Bella? My life is nothing without you and your life will be nothing without me. Without me, there is no Alice."
Bella believed Edward's icy words and hung on to them.
"I understand Edward. You will never leave me?" Bella asked.
He grinned, he had her under his spell and his control.
"You are my life. You're the only thing that would hurt and enrage me if I lost you." Edward spoke in a lush husk, making Bella's spine shudder.
"Edward.' Bella almost moaned.
"Yes, my love?" he asked.
"When will you turn me?"
He hissed.
"I'm not having this talk now. I refuse to dam you for an eternity. You will live a life with me and not have an eternity in the night, and that's all." Edward whispered.
"You're not the only vampire I know." Bella told him.
Edward saw red and gritted his teeth.
"Alice wouldn't dare, she won't go against me. She also saw you die and become a vampire. The first didn't happen so the second will not happen either." Edward told her.
"I'm not betting against her. Like you, she's someone I can trust with my life."
Still fighting, why is that? A mate is supposed to be forever tied to them and be much easier than this. Carlisle and Esme didn't have this problem nor did Rosalie and Emmett. Edward had this pull for Bella, yet it seemed Bella didn't have it or was weaker.
"I think it's time for more medicine. I'll; get the nurse." Edward told her.
"Wait...can you not. I don't need them." Bella argued.
Edward ignored her and got a nurse to inject her with sleeping medication. Bella soon grew groggy and Edward kissed her cheeks and lips softly. Edward also kissed her ear lobe and muttered,
"We will talk more about our lives together when you awake my angel. You can argue all you like, but you will belong to me and belong to me as a human."
"Kay." Bella said with a tired smile.
"I love you Bella, with all my being." Edward whispered.
"You too." Bella grumbled.
Edward kissed her once more before she went into her sleep. I heard Alice wanting to walk in but I growled loudly.
"Out."
"No, I told Bella I would be here, but you meddle yet again."
"You're going to have her the moment she gets out of her. Let me have my time with my girlfriend. You will have your friend soon enough. For god's sake, get out and leave us be." Edward hissed.
Alice sighed and raised her hands in defeat.
"Fine, but careful. You will need to feed soon enough unless you want to cause a scene or accident Edward." Alice informed him.
Edward soon smiled as he heard Alice leave them in peace. He grinned at his love, his prize, his mate, his prey, and chuckled.
"There's not a person or vampire alive that will be able to match what we have love. You are mine Bella and you will be until your dying day. Even if I decide to leave you, you will wait on me with your broken heart for me to fix. Isabella Marie Swan, you fate is sealed."
