The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer, Summit Entertainment and anyone else who may legally claim ownership. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 4: Fun
Charlie appeared disapproving as Bella entered the kitchen Saturday morning. "Headed to the Cullen's again, Bells?"
"I'm not going to their house today, Dad." She poured herself a cup of coffee. "They rented an ice skating rink. We're playing hockey." Bella laughed.
"Well, that's..." Charlie's brow crinkled as he struggled for words, "…just be careful, Bells, you know you tend to get banged up when you try a new sport."
Bella smiled. "I get pretty badly banged up when I play an old sport too. Don't worry, Edward doesn't want me to play."
"I thought you broke up with Edward?"
"Yeah, Dad, I did. He's still my friend, though. He really doesn't think I should skate at all." She looked resigned. "It's just easier not to argue with him."
Charlie gestured to the new pair of skates hanging from the strap of Bella's backpack. "Then, what're the skates for?"
"Alice bought them for me. She's optimistic. Even though Edward refuses to let me on the ice, she insists I'll get a chance. I kind of hope she's right. I mean, I know I'll injure something." She laughed ruefully. "But it's my body to injure, right? If I want to try then I should try, shouldn't I?"
"Of course you should, kiddo, you just be careful."
"And you be careful fishing. Don't drink too much beer and fall in."
"I would never do that... again."
They both laughed, but their levity was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"I'll get it, Bells, you finish up your coffee."
Instead, Bella emptied it in the sink and quickly filled the cup with soap and water, leaving it to tend to when she got home. In the living room, she found her father laughing with Alice. "Okay, what are you two laughing about? Not me skating, I hope."
"Never," Alice assured her. "We need to go now." She took Bella's hand and skipped down the steps.
Bella hesitated when she saw only two of the Cullen's cars parked on her street.
"You're either in the Mercedes with Carlisle, or you can ride with Jasper and me. Edward and Rosalie got into a race to Seattle, so those are your only choices."
Carlisle gracefully exited the driver's side of the Mercedes and circled the car, at human speed, to hold the passenger door open. As he wasn't expected at the hospital, his professional comb back was nowhere in sight. Instead, his blond hair swept casually over the side of his face when he moved. He was dressed in low rise, skinny jeans. His shirt tails were peeking out from below his form-fitting black cashmere pullover. Bella's heart skipped a beat as her gaze fell to his open French cuffs. He had forgone cufflinks and the interior of his wrists were exposed. Carlisle's voice drew her attention. "I suggest that you choose me." He made eye contact with her and gave her an enticing smile. "If you want to keep a hold on your sanity, that is."
They both looked at Alice as she stuck her tongue out at Carlisle. "I suppose you should take Carlisle up on his offer, Bella. If you ride with us in Edward's Aston, I'll be riding in Jasper's lap, and I know how nervous that can make some people."
Carlisle laughed. "Not nervous, Alice, I know you wouldn't drive to endanger anyone."
"But it is really annoying," Bella added, turning to Carlisle and giving him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Carlisle, I'd love to ride with you." Over her shoulder, she flashed Alice a cheeky grin.
Carlisle held his hand out to Bella. A pretty pink blush crept across her face as she took it. His old world manners always made her feel like all of his attention was centered solely on her. Her natural instinct to blush when she was the center of attention never failed, it was something she usually hated. However, in Carlisle's case, she found that she didn't mind it as much. His attention was something she inexplicably found herself craving, if a blush was the result, she'd endure it.
Once they were backing onto the road, Bella turned to Carlisle and asked, "Aren't you going to join the race?"
They both looked to where the back of the Aston was disappearing in the distance. Obviously, Jasper and Alice had decided to try to catch up with Rosalie and Edward. "I would," Carlisle replied with amusement in his soft melodic voice, "on most occasions. But today, I would prefer to prolong my time with my lovely passenger." His warm gaze swept over Bella. It was appreciative without being intrusive.
Carlisle's appraisal made her very glad that she had worn the outfit Alice had laid out for her. Instead of the jeans and sweatshirt, she had planned to wear, she was wearing a long sleeved dress. It sported a knee-length full sweep skirt with matching leggings. Her entire ensemble was a soft, ice blue. Alice told her the fabric would keep her warm, and more importantly, it would flow beautifully as she learned to skate. She had reminded Alice that Edward wouldn't allow her to skate, but Alice had ignored that. Her thoughts were interrupted by Carlisle's voice.
"We never finished our discussion last night."
"No, we didn't."
They dove right back into a heated debate over the merits of relational art verses non-relational art. By the time they reached the skating rink in Seattle, they had agreed that both types of art had equally as much to offer.
Carlisle opened the car door for Bella and held out his hand to her, engendering a shy smile and another soft blush. They glanced at the subdued people on the street beyond and entered the rink quietly, laughing over how much importance people were still putting on last month's Seahawks' Superbowl loss. Their laughter ceased when they noticed a minor battle in progress.
"You forgot them, Alice, you go replace them!" Edward insisted belligerently.
Jasper shook his head and smiled. Looking at Edward, he spoke, "You might as well take Emmett and go the sporting goods store. It's no good tryin' to argue with Alice."
Alice bounced up and kissed Jasper on the cheek, before turning to Emmett. "Get going. Now!"
"What's going on?" Carlisle asked.
"Alice forgot the pucks," Emmett supplied. "We're headed out to get some now."
"Just a minute," Edward growled. Edward stormed over to where Bella stood beside Carlisle. He took her hand and pulled her to a row of stands behind the shield. He was clearly upset when she wouldn't meet his eyes. "I want you to stay right here. This is really no place for you at all. I don't know what Alice was thinking by bringing you. It's not safe for you. We can't play at," he dropped his voice, even though the building was empty except for the Cullens, "vampire speed, or the ice would be destroyed. But we're still faster and harder than humans. So you need to stay right here for your own safety."
Alice's voice was like the tinkling of ice in fine crystal as she called out from across the rink. "Stop being silly, Edward. Bella is fine. Just go."
Edward spun to face Alice. "You would have had her skating!"
"Of course I would! There's no reason she can't learn to skate if she wants to."
"She'd get hurt!" Edward seethed.
"Maybe," Alice returned, "but it should be up to her if she wants to or not. Besides, we all have pretty fast reflexes. She wouldn't get seriously hurt."
"She didn't even bring the skates you bought for her, Alice. She obviously doesn't want to skate." Edward huffed in exasperation and called over his shoulder to Emmett. "I'm going to get the pucks now. You coming?"
"I'm with you, bro," Emmett replied.
As Edward and Emmett left and the others began unpacking their supplies, Carlisle moved to where Bella was seated. He leaned casually on the barrier in front of her. His voice was soft and concerned as he spoke to her. "Why didn't you tell him you brought your skates?"
Bella shrugged and looked at the floor.
"Isabella," Carlisle's voice was soft. His tone drew her eyes to him. "May I see your skates?"
She shrugged again. "Sure." She had put them in her backpack in the car, so they wouldn't damage the luxurious leather upholstery. She took them out and handed them to Carlisle.
He pretended to examine them for a minute and then he dropped to his knees in front of Bella. Before she could ask what he was doing, he looked up at her through the shimmering flaxen locks that had fallen over his eyes when he knelt. She couldn't help but smile at the boyish charm he was exuding. "Isabella." His voice was playfully beseeching as he held her skates up. "Will you skate with me?"
That drew Bella out of the cheerlessness Edward's words had created. She laughed merrily at Carlisle's antics. "I shouldn't, it will make Edward mad."
There was an innocent plea in Carlisle's eyes as they gazed earnestly into hers.
"Okay, Carlisle." Her voice was full of laughter. "I'll try to skate with you. But, I must warn you, I'm a hazard even without sharp blades on my feet."
"It's a chance I'm willing to take." He smiled winningly. "May I?" he asked, indicating her skates.
Her laughter subsided and she nodded her assent. In mere seconds, Carlisle had her skates on her feet and her sneakers tucked under her seat. He stood and offered her his hand. She took it wordlessly and allowed him to lead her to the edge of the ice.
Her face was wreathed in wonder. "You didn't dazzle me."
Carlisle stopped moving. "What do you mean?"
"You wanted me to do something and you looked me in the eyes. But you didn't dazzle me." She gestured between their eyes and slipped a little.
Carlisle steadied her by her elbows and waited for her to continue.
"When Edward wants me to agree to something, he looks me in the eyes and I really don't have a choice. I'm compelled do what he wants. I call it dazzling me. But when you looked in my eyes, you didn't do that." Bella waited as Carlisle considered what she had told him.
Carlisle was obviously appalled. "Do you mean that Edward uses vampiric allure to persuade you to bend to his wishes?"
"No, he just, he somehow convinces me to do what he wants with his eyes."
"Isabella." Carlisle's voice was soft and caring. "We all have to use that power to help us keep our world secret. Sometimes we use it for the good of others, as well. But no one in our family uses that ability for self-serving purposes." Carlisle's voice changed as he thought about what Edward had done to Bella. He was clearly outraged. "For Edward to do such a thing, to someone he professes to care about, is unthinkable. It is abhorrent." Carlisle stopped and took an unnecessary breath, as he visibly calmed himself.
"He doesn't use it on me all the time." Bella rushed to reassure Carlisle. "I don't mind it when Edward does it, not really. I'm used to it. It's just that you were so very different. You convinced me to skate, when I had absolutely no intention of it, and you did it without dazzling me."
Carlisle leaned down to Bella. His ardent whisper caused his breath to caress Bella's cheek. "I do not want you to skate if you don't want to."
"I do want to skate. I really wanted to all along. I was holding back because of Edward. I'm glad you convinced me."
Carlisle didn't look like he believed her.
"I really am glad you asked me to skate. I'd hoped that I'd get a chance." Her voice had become impassioned. "That's why I brought the skates Alice gave me. Even though Edward was clear about not wanting me to skate, I wanted to. I still want to. I only said anything because I was confused. I don't understand why you didn't just dazzle me like Edward does."
"I find dazzling, as you call it, to be highly offensive when it's used in a personal relationship. It is disrespectful, and that's putting it mildly. Truthfully, I believe it is the utmost in cruelty to use that power to take away the will of someone you hold dear. How can there be any respect, any trust, in a relationship where both people aren't entitled to their own thoughts, their own opinions, beliefs, and desires? To dazzle someone is the worst kind of violation. I had no idea that Edward would do such a thing. Had I known I would have intervened. I would never allow someone to use you like that." Carlisle noticed that his vehemence was making Bella uncomfortable. He gave her a small smile. "Please, forgive me, it's a topic I feel strongly about."
"There's nothing to forgive. It's part of what makes you such a good person, Carlisle. I love your passionate concern for people."
"You are always so gracious, Isabella," Carlisle intoned softly.
Bella smiled. She had always hated it when anyone used her full name. Carlisle had changed that. It was practically sinful the way his voice and accent seemed to venerate her name. When he called her Isabella, it felt as something warm and wonderful was trailing down her spine, making her feel all sorts of things that she was not yet ready to admit to herself.
Carlisle smiled and released Bella's elbows. He ghosted his fingers down her forearms to take her hands again.
Instantly, Bella's brain stopped relishing the way Carlisle said her name. She was utterly enthralled by the feel of Carlisle's fingers on her sensitive forearms. It was intoxicating even through the soft fabric of her sleeves. She had to suppress a delighted shiver at the feel of his touch.
"Shall we skate, then?" he asked with a charming grin.
His playfulness had returned and Bella couldn't help but flash him a nervous smile. "Yes!" Her tone left no room for Carlisle to doubt her genuine desire to skate.
Carlisle led Bella to the center of the rink; she was very wobbly but she didn't fall.
"Don't be afraid." Carlisle spoke encouragingly. "You will fall, everyone does." He flashed her a disarming grin and continued in a conspiratorial tone. "I've heard that I have amazingly fast reflexes, I won't let you get hurt."
"I trust you, Carlisle."
"Good. Now, just get your footing." He let go of her hands.
"Carlisle!"
"You'll learn faster if I don't hold on to you. You won't get a feel for your own balance if I'm too close to you, your skating space will be compromised." At the look of fear on Bella's face, Carlisle glided the small distance to her side and took her right hand in his left. "Maybe if I hold just one of your hands it won't slow your learning down too much."
"Slow is good. I like slow." Bella smiled.
"Okay, slow it is." Carlisle smiled in pleased indulgence.
They skated slowly side by side. In the middle of their third circuit around the rink, Bella's feet slipped out from under her. She flailed for balance but that only made it worse. The ice was rushing up to meet her. She squeezed her eyes shut. The impact never came. When she opened her eyes, she found herself held securely in Carlisle's arms. She blinked at him in confusion for a moment. Her confusion quickly dissolved into laughter. Carlisle's chuckle joined her laughter as he stood; in one fluid vampiric motion, he had them on their feet again.
Neither Carlisle nor Bella realized how long they had been skating. Bella barely noticed when the others joined them on the ice. They stayed on the opposite side of the rink, to give Bella room to learn. Bella was unaware of Alice taking a call from a frustrated Edward, she didn't hear her explain to him that if none of the stores in Seattle had any pucks he and Emmett would have to keep going until they found some. She also didn't hear Rosalie complain that she wanted to play hockey, that she knew Alice had intentionally left the pucks behind, and that she also knew Alice had bought out all the pucks in the greater Seattle area to give Bella time to skate. Neither did she see Esme hand Rosalie money as Jasper and Alice skated off and completed a perfect pair spin. She was having way too much fun to pay any attention to them.
As Bella became more sure on her feet, she and Carlisle picked up a considerable amount of speed. Carlisle let go of her hand, and she laughed as she skated away from him and then back to him, again and again. The open smile on his face told her that he was having just as much fun. She loved the feeling of gliding on the ice. She sped up, skating away on her own. She skated into a turn, as with anyone new to skating the inevitable happened, she began a descent into a bad fall. Carlisle was too far away to reach out and catch her this time. She immediately realized that at the speed she had been skating, this fall was going to hurt.
Carlisle saw her begin to slip and he propelled himself towards her. He had to skate at almost vampiric speed to get to her in time, making it impossible to stop and simply catch her. Instead, he lowered himself to the ice and slid under her. He reached up and grasped Bella mid-fall drawing her to him and tucking her safely into his body. He shielded her from harm as they spun and slid across the ice together. They finally came to a stop a few feet from the side, resting in a tangled heap of limbs. Bella looked into Carlisle's eyes, causing them to both give into gales of laughter. They were so caught up in their amusement that they didn't hear the accompanying laughter of Esme, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper from the other side of the rink. Nor did they notice Edward and Emmett enter the rink with a bag of hockey pucks.
"Bella," Edward hissed. "Do I have to be with you twenty-four hours a day to keep you safe from yourself? I told you not to skate. I knew you'd have an accident. It was foolish to bring you here. I should never have let you come."
Emmett's booming voice echoed around the rink. "You took Carlisle down with you, good one, Bella!"
Carlisle's mirth was extinguished completely at the sight of Edward's enraged face. Carlisle disentangled himself from Bella and helped her to her feet. She was looking at Emmett as Edward stalked towards them. Carlisle watched silently as Edward grabbed Bella by the arm. He was not impressed with his son's attitude.
Bella struggled to free herself from Edward's grasp. "Edward, Alice invited me, not you. I didn't get hurt. I was just skating. Millions of humans do, you know."
Edward practically roared with fury. "None of those humans are as accident prone as you are. Do you have any idea how much I have done to keep you safe?" Edward shook Bella violently.
Carlisle was horrified by Edward's treatment of Bella. "Edward, you forget yourself!"
"Stay out of this, Carlisle! You let her skate." Edward glared at Alice and then his glare landed briefly on each of his family members in turn. "You all knew she shouldn't skate."
Bella tried vainly to pull her arm free of Edward's iron hold. "I was having a good time. Nothing happened."
Edward turned and pulled Bella against his side. "You were flat on the ice when I came in. Was that the result of nothing happening?"
"I'm just learning. I fell, everyone does-"
"You are not everyone, Bella. You are incredibly clumsy. You can barely walk without injuring yourself! Why would you try to ice skate when I told you not to?" Edward's face softened. "Bella, the thought of you injured, or worse... I can't risk that. You know how much you mean to me. You are my other half."
"No, Edward! You have to stop talking like that. I am not your other half. I'm your friend and nothing more. I won't even be that if you don't cut this out. It's not your risk. It's mine. Let me go!" She increased her efforts to free herself from his grasp. Edward allowed her to put about a foot between them but he still held her forearm in a bruising grip.
The authority in Carlisle's voice resonated in the silent rink. "She asked you to let her go. Release her, Edward. Now."
"This is none of your business, Carlisle!" Edward growled. He whipped around to face his creator, taking Bella with him. Her skate-clad feet slipped out from beneath her and a sickening snap echoed as her arm broke in Edward's grasp. At the realization that he had hurt Bella, Edward immediately let go of her. He didn't stop to think that there was still momentum from his turn when he released her. Bella flew to the side wall at an alarming speed. No one could get to her in time to prevent the impact. When she hit, chaos broke out.
A distraught Edward tried to run to Bella only to be thrown forcefully back by Carlisle as he passed him. Edward crouched and lunged at Carlisle who deflected him easily. Carlisle was at Bella's side without pause. "Jasper, Emmett, hold Edward," Carlisle ordered, his voice calm and authoritative. "Esme call 911. Alice, get my bag." All of this occurred in the blink of an eye. Carlisle brushed Bella's face with the back of his elegant fingers. "You're going to be fine, Isabella." He smiled reassuringly at her as he began his evaluation. Her airway was clear. Her breathing was fast, but her breath sounds were good. He carefully felt her neck and spine and found them injury free. She was bloody, but her external hemorrhaging wasn't enough to cause concern. The fracture of her arm could likewise be ruled out as life threatening. She didn't appear to have any other breaks. His vampire senses automatically checked her for internal bleeding. His preternatural sense of smell located bleeding in her abdomen, as well as in and around her head. Her blood pressure and pulse felt as expected to his sensitive fingers. He began a quick neurological check. Without taking his eyes off Bella, he accepted his bag from Alice. Carlisle looked in Bella's eyes. "You hit your head," he said gently as he cradled her to him, "and your side and arm were injured."
Bella woke slowly. She didn't open her eyes because her lids were too heavy. She tried to remember why. Vague memories floated to the surface of her mind in bits and pieces. She remembered the sound of approaching sirens and she remembered begging Carlisle not to leave her. He had held her hand and talked to her as he rode in the ambulance with her. She remembered Carlisle stroking her hair and maintaining eye contact with her as her clothes were cut off her body. She remembered becoming agitated during her scans because she couldn't see Carlisle when she was in the medical machinery. She remembered Carlisle promising someone a wing. She wondered why someone would need a wing, and how Carlisle could get one. She wondered if they'd been on a plane. She tossed her head in an attempt to clear it. She remembered Carlisle telling her that he had to scrub. She had clung to him. She remembered his whispered promise that it would be the only time he had to leave her. Awareness of her surroundings began seeping in. She could hear Carlisle on the phone, transferring money from an offshore account. She heard him sending it to a hospital in Seattle. The wing was a hospital wing. He had donated a whole wing to a hospital in Seattle? She heard him end the call abruptly as someone entered the room.
"Carlisle." It was Edward speaking. "I-"
"Do not speak to me." Carlisle's voice was quiet and dangerous. Bella had never heard that tone from him before. "If it were not for Isabella, you would be banished, and your protection extended by the treaty with the Quileutes would be void. I will refrain from declaring your formal expulsion from our family until Bella recovers. Your fate lies entirely in her hands. Believe me, you do not deserve the reprieve her recovery will afford you. You almost killed her. If she had coded during transport or if she had died on the table, I could have done nothing to save her. I would have had to stand by and watch her life be extinguished." Carlisle's voice was utterly terrifying as he spoke each lethal word with quiet promise. "If you ever do anything to harm Isabella again, in any way, I will rip you apart and burn you to ash myself." There was a pause as Carlisle obviously tried to collect himself. "Since the day I was born I have never done violence to another for any reason other than defense. Neither have I understood how one person, or vampire, could wish to cause harm to another. Until tonight."
Silence prevailed for a few moments, broken by the sound of something being torn and crushed. "Edward Masen, you will never again wear my crest or use my name. You are disowned. I renounce you completely. You leave for Rochester immediately. You will keep yourself in the house in Rochester. You will not leave there except to hunt animals and return without delay. If Isabella should ask for you, I will send whichever member of my family can best tolerate the sight of you long enough to bring you back."
The sound of Edward slumping to the floor, tearlessly sobbing, was the only sound for an indeterminate amount of time.
Carlisle's tortured voice broke the silence. "I stood by while the inside of Isabella's body was explored in hopes of finding and repairing the damage you did to her before it could kill her."
Edward's voice was a broken whisper. "I'm so sorry."
"I almost... we almost... lost her. She almost died. How you will live with yourself, I do not know. But I do know this, you sicken me to the very core of my being. You who were my first made companion in this life, my son, my brother, my friend. Never have I felt so betrayed. Never have I felt such loathing for another being. I am beginning to wonder how you treated Isabella when you were pressing your suit for her. I discovered today that you employed supernatural coercion, which is in itself, heinous. If I discover that you have abused her in any other way I. Will. Destroy. You. This solemn oath I swear by God."
"Carlisle," Edward began pleadingly.
"No!" Carlisle interrupted him, his voice quiet and deadly. "Go, Edward. Go now, before I change my mind and I decide your fate here and now."
Bella heard the door close.
"Carlisle?" Her voice small and hoarse from the anesthesia.
Carlisle didn't bother with human speed; he was at Bella's side before she finished his name.
"Bella & Edward's relationship in the Twilight series (as written by Stephenie Meyer) meets all fifteen criteria set by the National Domestic Violence Hotline for being an abusive relationship."
