IMPORTANT A/N

I am a 21-year-old Pre-Nursing student, going to school full-time, and working full-time. I'm sorry that I suck at updating, but my education must come first. As much as I love writing, more important things hold my attention at the moment. I appreciate the constructive criticism, the positive and negative feedback, ALL reviews, ALL favorites, and ALL follows. Stick with me, please. I have much planned for this story.

Love you all!

Izobella

CHAPTER 8

EPOV

I fidget in my seat, tapping my heels together.

"There's no place like home, huh?" Emmett chuckles from across the room. I glare at him in disbelief, as does Rosalie, who proceeds to smack him in the back of the head. "Ow, Rosie!"

"Fucking unbelievable." She scoffs, shaking her head. "He's a wreck! Look at him!" Emmett turns his stare from his wife to look at me, but Rosalie taps his cheek, turning his eyes toward her. "On second thought, just leave him alone. Don't look at him. Don't even think at him." I smirk when he catches my eye for a moment before she grips his shoulder, turning him back around.

Jackass, he chortles silently.

My smile widens for a moment before it drops suddenly; I can hear a new voice. I sit up straight, my brow furrowing in concentration. My siblings all turn to look at me, sitting tightly as well.

I'll probably just get Brian another skateboard... No, I got him one last year... Whatever, you can never have too many skateboards. And for Tiffany... I roll my eyes in disbelief, scoffing at this woman's thoughts.

"Who the hell starts planning Christmas presents in July?" I question out loud, my tone colored with annoyance.

"Um... Hello?" Alice raises her hand with an attitude that rivals my own, but I ignore her, returning my attention to the stranger's mind.

The longer she spends making a Christmas shopping list, fiddling with her wedding band, the angrier I become.

"Edward!" Jasper snaps from across the room. I stop tapping my foot and tugging my hair, looking over at his pained expression. Please, he begs, his eyebrows raised earnestly. I take an unnecessary breath to calm myself, nodding.

When I go back to the woman's mind this time, she is speaking to someone in a large room. Chairs and couches crowd the floor and a bookshelf in the corner contains books on depression and suicide.

I stiffen.

"Why isn't she ready?" The woman asks, inspecting the chipped polish on her thumb nail. "They're all supposed to be out of bed at 8 am. It's already past 9."

"She had a nightmare again last night; I figured it wouldn't be too bad of me to let her sleep in. It is her last day here after all."

Linda; I pick her name out of the woman's mind.

I like Linda.

"If they want to take her, that is." I growl at the woman's snide comment but relax a small amount when Jasper sends a wave of calm over me.

Linda sighs. "Faith –"

"Good morning." I freeze my tapping feet and close my eyes, trying to prepare myself as Faith's eyes swing over to the hallway.

And there she is... But she isn't. She isn't really there.

Her stare is blank as she looks between Faith and Linda, her mouth set in a line that turns down in one corner. Her head is tilted to the right as she assesses the two women skeptically.

Her hair is flat and dry.

Her skin is pale and dull.

My breath shudders out of my lungs, my head falling into my hands.

"I'm sorry that I'm late. I slept in. And I figured it was too late to feel bad about it, so I took my time making my bed." She smirks at Linda, her face softening slightly as she stares at the older woman.

Still so fucking beautiful.

"Let's go, Isabella. They're already waiting." Faith goes back to inspecting her nails, wiggling her fingers in the light. I roll my eyes, shifting my attention to Linda's mind instead.

Oh, darling. She shivers as she hugs Bella, squeezing her as tight as she can, mindful of her protruding stomach.

I close my eyes tightly, cutting off Linda's thoughts to be with myself for a moment. I take another deep breath and squeeze my knees so tight I can hear my skin begin to crack under the force.

Suddenly, my hands are forced from my knees, gripped in cold, manicured fingers. Her lips touch my forehead and she wraps my arms around her waist as she places herself on my lap.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I know it's hard." Rosalie murmurs against my skin, running her fingers through my hair. My breath leaves me as I shudder, pressing my face against her collarbone. She rocks me gently, humming in time with the movement. After my heartrate has returned to a somewhat healthy pace, Rose places her hands on my temples, smiling softly as she tilts my head back to look into her golden eyes. Her soft smile begins to blur as my mind focuses on the memories she's sharing with me.

"Are you excited?" I asked – although I already knew the answer to my question – as we walked hand-in-hand toward the house. She nodded frantically, nearly jumping out of her skin.

"You know I am! Which is why I don't understand why we're walking at a human pace. Can't you just pick me up so we can run?" She stops walking, holding her arms out for me to pick her up. I laugh, shaking my head. Frowning, she grabs my hand again and sighs, continuing our walk along the edge of the river.

"It's your last day as a human, I think you can take a moment to enjoy everything. Including walking. Cause you'll never want to do it again." Her exasperated sigh is very loud and dramatic, but she nods nonetheless. I smile, rolling my eyes.

We spent the rest of the walk in silence, swinging our arms between us as the river roared and the birds chirped. As we neared the back door of the cabin, her hand reached for the door nob and her heart began to race. The door swung open as she began to hop around, throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing hard enough to strangle any human.

"I'm going to be a vampire." She pulled back, smiling up at me. "I'm going to be a vampire!" She squealed, running into the house. "I'm gonna be a vampire," she sang repeatedly, jumping around the kitchen. I laughed when Carlisle rounded the corner with his eyebrows raised. His shocked eyes questioned me, his brow furrowing when he gestured to Rosalie. I laughed again, shaking my head.

"Rosie," Carlisle's confusion turned into laughter as he watched her dance on the table in the middle of the cabin. "Rose!" He yelled, grabbing her attention. She smiled widely, running toward him and jumping into his arms. He laughed again, standing firm as he caught her.

"I'm gonna be a vampire," she sang again in a giddy voice, her ocean eyes sparkling as she stared at Carlisle. He chortled once more, hugging her gently as she wiggled around.

"I'm considering changing my mind," he chuckled. "Considering how much damn energy you have already." She rolled her eyes, hopping out of his arms and running toward the back of the cabin. I was behind her in a moment, watching as she froze in the doorway. Which I understood once I looked inside

The room before us looked rather daunting, lights pointed at the single twin size bed in the middle of the room, and a lone table next to it covered in syringes, a stethoscope, multiple tubes and bags – one was filled with venom but the other three were empty. I felt her shudder beside me, nearly laughing when she imagined Carlisle pushing too hard on her chest with the stethoscope, popping her like a character in a nickelodeon she had once seen. I quickly sobered, however, when she began to shake, imagining the pain she was about to experience.

"Rosie…" I gently touched her shoulder causing her to jump and turn to me, tears in her eyes.

"It'll be okay, Rosie. I know you're scared… But it only hurts for a moment." Her smile is fake as she looks up at me, her blue eyes filled with fear. "Hey," I tug on her hand gently, pulling her into my arms. Her muscles relax slightly as she leans on me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Carlisle works at a hospital. He got the sedatives, the morphine, the IVs, everything. You're going to be okay. It'll be painless. You'll just fall asleep human, and wake up a vampire." Her thoughts flare up again when I say the last part and she smiles.

It doesn't take much to convince her to lay down on the small bed, but she still grips my hand tightly, her fingers turning white. Carlisle enters the room quietly, coming over to stand on the opposite side of the bed. He quickly sets to work, wiping the crook of Rosie's elbow with a bitter smelling antiseptic and inserting a needle into her arm with no issues. Rose released the breath she had been holding; her hand still held mine, but she relaxed slightly, her fingers going back to their pale pink.

"It's okay," I murmured gently, brushing a lock of golden hair out of her wide eyes. She nodded, taking a shaky breath.

Carlisle twisted the tube of the IV, attaching a bag to the needle. He averted his eyes as I soothed Rosalie, attempting to give her some bit of privacy. She hated showing weakness, and it was rare that she showed it to anyone but me. He always tried to respect that.

But this time, as he turned to grab the syringe of morphine, Rosie grabbed his hand, tugging gently. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he let her pull him back toward us.

"I know I'm not dying. I know I'm probably being over-dramatic," she admitted and I snorted, shaking my head. She sneered at me, yanking her hand from mine to smack my arm in annoyance. I chuckled again, grabbing her hand back in mine. She turned away, trying to hide her smile. "As I was saying," her eyes swung to me accusingly. I shrugged. "I know I'm not dying, but I want to say before I fall asleep that… I love you guys. I can't imagine my life without you. Carlisle, you've treated me like your own daughter, and I can't thank you enough for that." Her eyes began to water as she squeeze his pale hand in hers. He smiled, twitching his fingers in reply. She turned to me, tears finally falling. "You are the best brother I ever could have asked for." She paused, looking down at our entwined fingers. "Mom would be so proud of who you've become, of how much you've cared for me." My eyes stung with venom at her words, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"Okay, okay." She huffed quietly, taking her hands back from us. "I'm ready." She smiled. "So fucking ready." Carlisle chuckled quietly, barely able to stop himself from chastising her language. He slowly twisted the tube off of the IV, snapping the tip of the syringe in it's place. I watched curiously as Rosie's eyes began to droop almost immediately, giggles bursting from her lips.

"That stuff is amazing," she chortled, her eyelids fluttering. "I love you, bubby." She murmured quietly, her eyes finally closing. I smiled, rolling my eyes at the nickname.

"I love you, sissy." I indulged her – although she was already dead to the world – before gripping her forearm in my hands.

"Ready?" Carlisle asked from the other side of the bed, silently placing the syringe on the table. He grabbed her other arm, careful to avoid the IV as he lifted her wrist to his mouth. I smiled, my heart jumping with excitement.

"Yeah," I nodded, my grin widening before I opened my mouth, biting through the soft skin of her wrist and pushing venom from my gums.

I blink as my surroundings change once more, the light filtering in through the windows causing Rosie's gold eyes to shine. I breathe deeply, closing my eyes and leaning my head against her chest again.

"Thank you," I murmur, grateful for the distraction. She hums softly, brushing my hair back from my forehead to kiss me once more before standing and nearly floating over to her husband.

Emmett would never admit it, but his thoughts at the moment are goo as he admires his wife's soft heart and hard exterior.

I chuckle, turning away when she sits on his knee and begins to purr quietly against his hair. Soft voices grab my attention out in the hallway and I open my mind, returning to my snooping.

" – need saving Isabella, more than most people I know. And you're right here in front of us dear." Carlisle speaks to Bella nonchalantly, portraying the altruistic doctor perfectly. I roll my eyes, fully aware that his actions are just as selfish as my own; we want our Bella back. "If we could be involved in your recovery from your disheartened state," Carlisle continues, "then we will take the risks that come along with being a part of that."

I watch curiously as Bella mulls over Carlisle's words, doubt coloring her brown irises. She chews the inside of her lip and blinks rapidly, eyes focusing suddenly as her posture straightens.

"I'd like to meet your children. And you can call me Bella." She smiles gently, and my shoulders sag in relief.

And immediately tense when they begin to stand, Faith guiding them toward the room me and my siblings are currently crammed into.

Fuck.