Chapter 17 - family meeting
BPOV
The following night the family gathered in the dining room for a family meeting. Edward and I had spent the better part of the day and night holed up in our cabin, but Alice had called and told us to get back to the house for a family meeting. I had used that excuse to head back a little earlier to put some space back between us. I felt a bit guilty for using him like this. I knew he wanted more, but I still couldn't give him those few words. I had spent the past few hours hidden up in my room as the rest of the family wondered what was going on with me. I had refused to speak with Rosalie and I had heard her speak to Edward. Well, more like blame Edward. I had quickly turned on my music then, not wanting to hear what they would discuss.
But now I couldn't avoid him. I trudged down the stairs and headed towards the dining room. Almost everyone was there already. Only Alice and Edward were missing. I sat down next to Esme, who took my hand in hers and squeezed it gently.
'Alright Alice and Edward should be here soon.' Carlisle said, looking pointedly outside. I frowned at that. I hadn't heard them leave. But right on cue the backdoor opened and they walked inside. Alice was frowning at something, but Edward was smiling. His eyes locked on mine almost immediately and he smiled wider. I gave a small smile back. He quickly sat down opposite me and Alice sat down beside me.
'Now that we're all here.' Carlisle said, drawing everyone's attention. 'We need to figure out our next step.'
'Our next step?' Emmett asked, slightly confused.
Esme nodded. 'We can't leave Charlie alone. We need to protect him.' She said. I smiled at her gratefully. She squeezed my hand again.
'And we need to see the Denali clan. They might be able to help Bella with her shield, and we need to get information about what they told Laurent and find out what he might have said to Victoria.' Carlisle added.
'So we need to split up?' Jasper asked, looking at Alice with a small frown.
'I would like to avoid that.' Esme said quickly. I silently agreed with that.
'So we head down to Forks first and wait for the redhead, then go back to denali once she's taken care of?' Emmett suggested.
'We first need to make sure we are welcome in forks.' Carlisle reminded him.
All eyes turned to me expectantly. And I realized I had still not called Jacob. 'Ah… I forgot… I'll call him tomorrow.'
Rosalie laughed and Carlisle shook his head with a small smile on his face. 'It's alright. Tomorrow is fine.' He assured me.
'Good.' I exhaled in relief.
'I think we should head to Denali first.' Edward said looking at Carlisle. 'We don't know if Victoria is in Forks. We don't know if she has the information about Alice's visions or not. We should be cautious about just heading into this blind.'
'I agree with Edward.' Jasper nodded. 'If she's indeed evasive and canny, just heading blindly to Forks could be dangerous. Especially if our theory is right and we can't rely on Alice's visions.
'yes. I think in this case we need to be careful.' Carlisle agreed.
'So we head to Denali?' Rosalie asked.
'I think so.' Carlisle said, looking to Alice and Edward. Alice looked at Edward for a moment and a silent understanding seemed to pass between them.
Then she nodded. 'Yes, Denali first. If we catch the flight tomorrow evening we should arrive in two day's time.'
'What about Irina?' I asked. Though I had never met the Denali clan, I was hesitant to meet all those vampires at once. And since Laurent's demise had kind of been my fault, I was worried she was going to blame me for his death.
'What about her?' Edward asked confused.
'Well, Laurent made it seem like they were… you know… together… won't she hate me?'
'Mates?' Carlisle asked Edward.
Edward and Alice shrugged. 'I'm not sure. I didn't see it.'
'If he went down to Forks for Bella on Victoria's bidding I can't imagine it was a very strong attachment.' Edward said.
'Unless his fear for Victoria was big enough, or she threatened Irina.' I said, giving him a cold glance. He froze for a moment and swallowed hard. I had just thrown his own actions back at him and I immediately felt guilty. Although he had been doing well, this was one of those things that needed to change about Edward. He just assumed so much and seemed to completely forget how he had acted in some similar situations.
'You're right.' he said after a moment.
'Alright so if there was a true mate bond, than Irina might resent Bella. But does she know Laurent tried to kill Bella?' Rosalie asked. 'if you ask me Edward has as much right to resent Irina.'
'Alright, enough.' Carlisle said soothingly. 'I'll call tanya and announce we're coming. If Irina knows Laurent is daead because he tried to kill bella, then she'll let me know and we can figure everything out from there. There's no need to jump to conclusions. I'll call her now.'
Edward nodded to him. And with that the meeting was over. Carlisle flitted up the stairs to his office, closing the door behind him to call Tanya. Emmett and jasper headed outside for a wrestling match, Alice joined Esme in the downstairs office to discuss plans for a new project. Rosalie headed into the living room after throwing Edward a pointed look. I remained seated and stared down at my hands. Edward remained as well.
'Can we take a walk?' he asked after a moment of silence. I glanced up at him. His expression was carefully blank as he looked at me. I frowned at that. What was he hiding?
'Alright.' I said. I knew we needed to talk. And I would rather not let everyone in the family know everything.
Edward stood up and gestured for me to follow him. I sighed and pushed back from the table and followed him out the door. We set off across the lawn at a human pace. Edward had his head bowed and his hands stuffed deeply in his pockets. He seemed deep in thought and I didn't want to shake him out of it. We walked in silence until we were deep into the woods. Finally he stopped walking and turned to face me.
'I'm sorry.' he said softly. He took a deep breath. 'I shouldn't have assumed anything in there.' I nodded once in acknowledgement. 'I thought we should perhaps… clear the air.'
'What do you mean?' I asked looking away from his gaze.
He groaned softly. 'Bella, you've been avoiding me again.'
I heaved a sigh. 'I'm sorry.'
'No, I didn't mean it as a reproach.' He said immediately. 'I just meant that maybe we could talk about it?'
I bit my lip and nodded once.
He sighed in relief. 'I want you to feel comfortable enough to come to me to talk through your feelings, Bella. If I don't know what's upsetting you I can't help it, or help solve it.'
'You're right. We need to work on our communication if this is ever going to work again.' I muttered.
He gave me a small smile and nodded. 'Will you tell me what's bothering you?' he asked.
I took a deep breath. 'I… I feel like I'm using you. The other day… I shouldn't have done that.'
'The sex you mean?'
I nodded and looked away from his gaze. 'I shouldn't be leading you on when I'm still so unsure of everything. I just… I needed you… but it's unfair to treat you this way.'
He surprised me by chuckling. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. Why would he laugh at me? He stepped closer and pulled me into his embrace. I tried to resist, but I couldn't deny how right it felt to be in his arms.
'Is that it?' he asked, almost incredulous.
'Isn't that enough?' I muttered into his chest.
He chuckled again, his chest rumbled against my cheek. 'Bella. Vampires respond to emotions a bit differently. Especially new vampires.'
'I know. Jasper told me after I attacked you.' I mumbled.
'Yes. Sometimes we revert back to our baser natures. We go on instinct. Newborn vampires even more because everything is new and fresh and raw and overwhelming.' He took a deep breath and then held me at arm's length. 'The point I'm trying to make, Bella, is that it is absolutely normal for you to need me like yesterday. I need you the same way. I understand why you might feel conflicted about it, but you don't need to. It might even help you sort through your feelings. Sometimes you just need to listen to your instincts. And exercise is always a good way to deal with emotional issues.' He said winking at me.
I rolled my eyes at him. It seemed the virtuous vampire I had met as a human had completely left the building. Was Edward turning into an acutal teenage boy? I chuckled once to myself at that idea. Edward cocked an eyebrow at it.
'What?' he asked when I didn't volunteer anything else.
I shook my head. 'Just that… you know... you seem to behave more like a normal teenage boy these days. I seem to remember you as much more… ' I paused for a moment struggling to find the right word that wouldn't offend him.
'Uptight?' he volunteerd himself. I chuckled and nodded. He chuckled once, but then turned serious. 'I've been trying to change my ways, Bella. I know I've made mistakes in the past. When you were human I was… obsessed with you, with keeping you safe. The thought of you getting hurt, haunted me. It made me blind to your needs, and your wishes. I was selfish. My family made that abundantly clear as well. I'm determined not to make those mistakes again.' He said firmly.
'Thank you for that.' I murmured, turning my face into his chest as I hugged him tightly.
'No problem.' He said and I could hear the smile in his voice. 'Do you want to go to the cabin or return to the house?' he asked after a while.
'I'd like to go back to the house, if you don't mind.' I said softly.
'Bella, of course I don't. I told you: your pace.' He assured me once again. I nodded.
We started walking back again and I remembered something. 'What did you and Alice talk about tonight?'
Edward smiled. 'It was not much. She just wanted to warn me, wel.. us.'
I frowned. 'What about?'
'Well, she saw the future for us was bright and almost solid. But there were some hurdles in our path.'
'Could you make it a little less fortuneteller-y?' I grumbled. He grinned at me.
'I'll try.' He promised solemly, but cracking a grin at the end. 'She wanted to warn me about Tanya.'
'Tanya?'
'She's a Denali cousin. The Denali cousins are still single. They've not found their mates, but they love humans while they're searching for their real mates. We've lived together a while and we visit each other regularly.' I bit my lip, fearing where this was going. 'Tanya has over the years expressed some interest in me. Alice warned me that if we went there this time, she would again pursue the issue. She wanted to warn me beforehand so I can be firm with her.'
'She wants you as a mate?' I hissed between clenched teeth. A surge of jealously swept through me, but behind it hid something uglier. A small part of me immediately started fearing for the worst. What if Tanya was so beautiful she lured Edward away from me? How could I compete with an immortal who'd been around for decades? She was probably wordly, beautiful, experienced…
A sharp tug on my hand pulled me from my thoughts. 'Stop that.' Edward said softly. I frowned.
'I thought you couldn't read my mind.' I muttered.
'I can't. but I know you well enough by now to guess a good deal of them.' He reminded me. 'I know you're comparing yourself to her. Which is unnecessary and exactly what Alice warned against.' He took a deep breath. 'Bella. Tanya means absolutely nothing to me. I see her as a friend of the family. That is all. She never held any attraction for me whatsoever. I do not love her. I will never love her. Please believe that.'
I took a deep breath and nodded. I tried to take his words to heart. I knew he was sincere. But still this feeling was hard to shake.
'Tanya will probably make a pass at me when we get there. I'll make sure to be as short with her as possible. I will do everything I can to assure her of my feelings for you. but I'm begging you, Bella, please if she does something you don't like, or if something makes you feel uncomfortable or unsure of my feelings, tell me immediately. I don't want this to come between us.' His eyes tightened as he looked at me and I could see his worry. Alice must have really frightened him by the possible outcome if he didn't warn me of this.
'What did Alice see exactly?' I asked, trepidation filling me. 'I need to know so I can prepare myself.'
Edward looked at me for a moment, but then nodded. 'She saw Tanya hugging me when we first arrive. It wasn't a friend hug, it was inappropriate. It made your jealousy rear its head and that in turn angered Tanya. Because of that first impression things just go in a downward spiral which only got worse and worse by Tanya's belief that I was using you to make her jealous. She eventually sets up a sort of trap… I walk into it, sadly, which I definitely won't. but she would make it seem like I would kiss her right at the moment you walk in the room.'
I groaned, knowing what my emotions would do then. 'And I went ballistic and attacked you both, right?'
Edward smiled sadly. 'In one of the variations, yes. It will be quite an ugly battle, with parts of tanya and myself missing.' I stared at him horrified at that. 'But another variation is that you run away because of it. You decide I've had enough chances and you just up and leave us. We don't find you again after either. You just… disappear.'
I could tell this caused him considerable distress. I put my hand to his face. 'I'm sorry.'
He smiled at me and shook his head. 'Bella. It's a future possibility. It hasn't happened. You've nothing to apologize for.' He turned his head and kissed my palm then he placed his own hand over mine. 'We know now. We can change it now.' He said fiercely. I nodded in agreement. 'I've asked Carlisle to inform Tanya beforehand that I am no longer available.' Edward continued. 'It should stop the initial bad impression.' He mused. 'If not, I will immediately put a stop to her friendliness and set her straight.'
I nodded. 'I'll try to keep in mind that you don't return her affections, nor ever will.'
'Good.' Edward kissed my hand again. 'If things do somehow get to be too much, or if Tanya doesn't understand, please… tell me. I've arranged with Carlisle that we will then head off early. We'll just head down to Washington before the rest of the family. We could even try and see if Kate would join us so you can still practice with her.'
'But Esme…' I started. 'I coulnd't do that to her.'
'Bella, everyone wants what's best for you. You've been an amazing newborn, but you seem to forget you are infact still a newborn. We want you to be comfortable. And if Tanya is not making you feel comfortable, then we will do any and everything we can do to make sure you won't have to spend a minute more with her. Trust me, everyone supports this descion, should we have to make it.'
I took a deep breath and nodded. 'Let's just hope it won't come to that.' I murmured.
I started walking again and Edward followed me. we switched to lighter topics and for a moment we fell back into our own little world where we were just Edward and Bella. The little world I had loved so much when I'd been human. When all the walls were down and we were just together and enjoying each other's company.
Too soon though the house doomed up in front of us and Carlisle was waiting on the porch. Edward smiled.
'I've spoken to Tanya.' He announced as we ran up to him.
'And?' Edward prompted.
'It seems she took your being unavailable in stride. I heard no malice from her, so I believe we are good there.'
Ibreathed a sigh of relief. 'and Irina?' I questioned.
Carlisle blew out a breath. 'they had presumed he'd died. But they hadn't known why he had left or who killed him.'
'You told him?' Edward asked slightly incredulous.
'I couldn't very well not. I told them Victoria had instructed Laurent to hunt down Bella and kill her. I told them that he had turned her accidentily instead and that the wolves of La Push took him out in the process.'
'How did they take it?' I asked in a small whisper.
Carlisle shrugged. 'Tanya seemed to understand. She wasn't a big fan of Laurent apparently. He wasn't taking the diet seriously and she doubted if he had genuine feelings for Irina. But she wasn't sure how Irina would react. She did promise to make sure that Irina would not blame Bella, though.'
Edward nodded. 'Good.'
'So we're heading to Denali in a few hours?' I asked. Carlisle nodded. Edward turned to me and smiled.
'Let's go pack.' He said smiling and kissing my cheek.
