Into the Woods
By: Everleigh Allen
Chapter 6
~O~
Bella got out of the truck, begrudgingly and as soon as her feet hit the gravel driveway, the dark haired girl squealed, "Bella's here!" and clapped her hands wildly. Bella felt fatigued just watching her.
She wasn't sure she was going to have the energy to successfully engage the girl.
The truck door swung closed with a long, strangled moan of metal and Bella instantly recoiled away.
The woman before her had a wild look on her face.
A wide, somewhat scary grin with lots of white teeth bordered with red lips and wild dark eyes watched every movement Bella made.
"You do not even know how long I've waited for you to get here." She gushed.
Bella blinked wildly. It was an annoying side effect of her nervousness and confusion.
"Alice!" A female voice admonished, "Quit scaring the girl."
Bella watched Alice back away, but her eyes stayed on Bella. It was like a haze had come over and she was no longer all there.
"Awesome." Bella thought as she walked up to the front porch. She left Alice behind in her daze and was greeted by Mrs. Cullen who quickly came forward to meet her.
Bella's cold and clammy hand was instantly grabbed and shook by Mrs. Cullen's cold one, and then rotated to shake the blond man in flannel's hand. He was introduced as Jasper Whitlock, Alice's boyfriend.
A man with reddish brown hair that defied gravity moved around the others to come forward next. When he clutched her hand, she felt a little punch of energy- like a shock to her system that radiated over her entire body. It was odd, but most likely all of the static electricity after the storm and Bella's habit of dragging her feet.
"Hello, I am Edward Cullen." Edward's eyes were dark and watchful but when he lifted her hand and kissed it, she almost lost it right there. "It's a pleasure." Edward said with a voice made for hot, dirty-talking sex.
She took a moment to wonder about what he may say next... but then she noticed everyone was looking at her.
Apparently, her sexual attraction was embarrassingly magnified and perceptible.
"Hello," she said, squirming.
Emmett laughed as Edward took a slight inhale of her hand through his nose.
Jasper excused himself upstairs.
"Should we go in, right? It's pretty cold out here from the rain." Mrs. Cullen practically cooed.
It was weird.
Her pearl necklace was funny to Bella, though. It had a teardrop pearl that sat right in between her cleavage.
She imagined Edward giving her one and blushed.
Bella may or may not have had a sick mind when it came to Edward Cullen.
Who wouldn't?
~O~
Dinner was quickly served and sitting before everyone in a blink of an eye but no one was eating.
They were all sitting around the dining room table, all looking thoroughly uncomfortable and all were playing with their food while making small talk. Edward sat next to Bella and she could see him looking at her from the corner of his eye.
She knew because she was looking at him the same way, too.
"Our parents usually don't cook," Alice said with a creepy wide smile from across the table. "We usually like our food on the run."
"Alice," Dr. Cullen hissed from the head of the table.
"What?" She glared at Carlisle. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "We usually do fast food is all I meant."
Bella took a bite of chicken and nodded, not sure what to say.
Good for you?
I like fast food sometimes, too?
"That's nice," Bella said politely but instantly felt dumb. "It makes life easier, I guess."
"Oh, yes." Alice agreed, wide eyed and serious. "Better than having to hunt something down when you're really starving, right?"
"I know I can get murderous when I'm hungry!" Jasper laughed.
Esme started choking.
Edward smiled.
Bella was confused.
Dr. Cullen turned to Bella. "Have you had the pleasure of meeting anyone in town yet, Bella?"
Bella swallowed the bite of potato that she had just put in her mouth before answering. "Uh, well, my father had a group of friends and boys from the reservation come over to watch a game my first night here, but other than that, no."
Edward was suddenly rigid, but relaxed seconds later, glaring at Alice.
"I hear they are a nice group of boys. Though, I haven't been inclined to meet them, yet." Dr. Cullen added indifferently.
"They are definitely a breed all their own," Esme laughed.
"I find their disposition… unappetizing." Jasper drawled and Alice fervently nodded her head in agreement.
"I feel like I am outside on many inside jokes," Bella grunted. She shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth, uncaring to all the eyes on her. She swallowed her bite and then said, "I agree, though, I haven't met all of Rez boys, but the few I did weren't very… courteous."
Esme nodded in understanding. "Such shame etiquette isn't taught in schools and such, any longer." She sighed with exasperation. "In my day manners were required in polite society."
Dr. Cullen agreed, wiping his mouth with his napkin.
"Southerners usually have impeccable manners," Jasper added, his head cocked to the side and his dark eyes expressive, "I heard you lived in New Orleans?"
"I'm from New Orleans, too!" Alice screeched, trying to divert the conversation. "What a small world!"
But Bella ignored Alice and her eyes narrowed in thought, wondering how much Charlie had told the Cullen's about her. "You heard that?" Jasper nodded, "From whom?" She asked curiously.
"Oh," Alice jumped in. "Everyone knows, actually. It was quiet the scandal seventeen years ago." She got a dreamy look in her eye as if she was reciting a passage from a book, "A pregnant, newly married teenager runs off to N'awlin's for no apparent reason… an impossible relationship ending in heartbreak." Alice sighed, dramatically, putting her head in her hands.
Bella rolled her eyes.
"Some rumors get a second life when someone new comes back into town." Jasper provided apathetically.
Bella scoffed. Her jaw was tight and locked in anger. She ran her hand through her hair but stilled when she heard Edward take in a deep breath.
Weird.
"Well, no wonder Renee didn't want to come back here," Bella whispered under her breath, but they all heard her clearly. This was not what Bella expected when she came to Forks. The small city was full of judging eyes and barely concealed whispers.
She wondered how Charlie dealt with it all this time.
No wonder he wasn't getting laid.
No one wanted to touch that drama.
"Of course no one's judging you, dear," Esme reached over and grabbed Bella's hand in a soothing, motherly way but it felt more like being comforted by one of her mother's carved rocks. Bella looked over at Edward and saw his tight jaw, and thought that he was angry but when he turned toward her, she could see it in his eyes.
They were pained.
"Dessert!" Esme clucked, and excused herself from the table. "Carlisle and Alice, bring in the dinner dishes!"
Alice and Carlisle groaned, but did as they were asked.
Bella realized that she barely ate a thing before the empty plates were carried away.
"Mmm, desert sounds good." Jasper drawled. "I would love something sweet and succulent to sink my teeth into. Wouldn't you, Edward?"
Edward, with his eyes still on Bella looked from her eyes to her lips and then down her body before he said, "Yes."
Bella shivered although the Cullen's house was suddenly very, very warm.
Or maybe it was just Bella.
"Well, thank you for dinner. It was all so illuminating." Bella said, finally walking out of the Cullen house.
She had been subjected to twenty questions from Carlisle, Emmett, Alice and Jasper.
Every move she made was watched by Edward. He was eerily quiet. There must have been an internal battle going on with that one since he was smiling one moment and frowning the next the whole time she was there. Bella also thought she saw his fists clench whenever she moved.
She was fed and fed and fed by Esme and then she gave her a bag of all of the food in Tupperware containers.
For her and Charlie.
Bella suspected that they weren't use to hosting dinner parties and that she wanted to impress.
They also seemed intrigued to watch her eat.
But Edward was also touchy feely.
First the kiss on her hand, then a fingertip slip here, and a light touch there, a hand covering hers for mere seconds, an intake of breath, and his nose sliding over the thundering heartbeat on neck during a hug.
So intimate.
Border lining on inappropriate.
He lit her body on fire.
So imagine her surprise when Jasper and Edward excused themselves to check if her truck was going to make it the 5-10 miles home.
Edward suspected that it wouldn't.
Jasper insisted that it would.
Bella sent out a text to Charlie that the truck had a flat, it was changed to the spare, and she was headed home.
Saying 'thank you and goodbye' was… odd.
Jasper chomped his teeth at her and then smiled.
Alice, quirky as ever, dazed off for a moment before she grew lucid and laughed.
A full on cackling laugh.
Then she pulled Bella into an uncomfortable embrace before declaring they would be great friends.
Bella felt it rude to disagree. She wondered if the girl had ever been institutionalized and if so, why did they let her out?
Edward only said a few words and the ones he said made her hot and bothered.
"You feel so good in my arms… Mmm, so warm."
He may or may not have licked her neck during their hug goodbye since she felt something cool run over her skin but she couldn't be sure.
She needed a cold shower.
So, with her keys in hand and after the male Cullen's gave her truck yet another once over to make sure it was drive worthy, Bella was on the road.
It was a quiet drive and Bella was happy to have a moment to think.
She thought about everything she had learned about her mother and her time in Forks.
She could understand being upset, but to just up and leave without giving her father a chance?
To make drastic choices that would affect three people's lives so selfishly?
How dare she?
Her thoughts went to her phone as it lit up the cab of the truck. Bella's mother was constantly calling and even though she knew she was being rude by not answering she couldn't help it.
What would she say to her?
Should she forgive the past?
Or should she question the woman as to why she would want to drown herself and her unborn baby, leaving her husband and running away?
Was that even an allowable question?
Of course it was!
With a swipe of her finger, the call was easily ignored.
Bella pulled into the driveway and Charlie was sitting on the front porch, Vitamin R in hand.
"Glad you made it home safe, tree," he said as he got up and walked around the truck, checking out the tires. "I feel bad that I didn't check the tires, before I let you go. That's a good way for a tragic accident."
"Don't feel bad. I am fine. Emmett Cullen help change it, I didn't even get out of the truck." She smiled.
Charlie released his breath with a chuckle. "Good girl."
"I even palmed the pepper spray." Bella laughed, especially when Charlie pulled her into a hug with a laugh.
"I'm glad you had fun and made it home safely." Charlie gave Bella a soft, whiskery kiss on top of her head. "I'm heading to bed. Good night."
"Good night."