Into the Woods
By: Everleigh Allen
Chapter 27
"Bella!" Alice yelled into the Swan house, bounding through the front door. She walked into the kitchen greeted Charlie with a wink and dropped off a brown bag of donuts right in front of him. "Hey Charlie! Sorry I let myself in, but I didn't want you to have to get up. Is Bella awake?"
Charlie nodded with a smile, digging through the bag for a moment before he pulled out a sprinkled chocolate glazed donut. Alice was his new favorite person. "I heard her shuffling around in her room but she may be in the shower. I try not to impose on her when she's in her personal space."
"That's definitely a quality," Alice smiled at him, staring him down as her eyes started to glaze over.
Her head cocked to the side, watching the vision unfold for several moments before she blinked the haze away.
"You, Chief Swan, are a naughty boy!" She laughed.
But Charlie was confused. "What?"
"Oh, nothing… You'll want to wear a nice, SOLID colored shirt on your date with Sue. No flannel, Charlie."
"I haven't even asked her-"
"She says yes." Alice waved the array of self-conscience comments that were coming, away, "You may even get lucky if you do this date right. I see it going two different ways, but both good."
"You see that?"
"Oh, yes! And I see Bella needing an overnight bag! Don't worry; she'll be at my house by eight, for sure. So you can have an empty nest."
Charlie looked quite uncomfortable with Alice's comments. "Um, thank you?"
"Welcome! I am going to go check on Bella now, I know she needs me." Alice said as she walked away. But then she stopped, turned to Charlie and sang the classic anthem to porn, "Bow chicka wow wow…" swiveling her hips suggestively just to watch Charlie blush.
It was just too easy.
Alice stomped up the stairs, letting her presence be known, although she knew Edward could read her mind. "Let's go, Bella!" Alice called, hearing a thump on the floor. Alice opened the door and wasn't surprised seeing Edward standing there and Bella on the floor flushing.
Edward gracefully picked her up onto her feet, biting his lips to buffer the grin at Alice's thoughts.
"You two are totally, obviously being very naughty!" Alice whispered yelled with feigned dismay. She smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "I am kind of impressed Edward, you are totally taking advantage of your teenage girlfriend right under daddy's nose!"
"I am a teenager, too, you know, and I wasn't doing anything of the sort!"
Alice scoffed. "Whatever. Keep your secrets. We've got to get moving because Emmett and Rosalie are meeting us in the woods. Carlisle and Esme will be there soon after, around noon."
"Where in the woods?" Bella asked. She had a really bad feeling about Alice's plans.
Alice smiled in wide creepy grin, "You'll see! I just hope you heal fast!"
Edward's face was rigid, teeth clenched and his fists were instantly clenched at his side. "No." he grinded out.
"Yes." Alice countered, crossing her arms in defiance.
Edward glared, moving towards Alice and bent over, getting into her face. "I'll never allow it."
"Allow what?" Bella sighed, bored with yet another almost silent conversation.
"Oh, not much… You will just be playing the sacrificial lamb today!" Alice beamed, happily. "Yay!"
Bella gasped in shock turning to Edward for more sane answers.
Edward sighed, "This was not my idea. It was Emmett's. But they want to replay the night in the woods where you bled on the forest to see what happens in the light of day."
Bella sneered with disgust, but the idea wasn't far off of what she had already been expecting to do on her own, not that she was going to say that to them.
She wasn't brave enough to do it on her own.
"This is not a very well thought out plan!" Bella shouted, but then cupped her over her mouth, remembering Charlie was just downstairs. "There's got to be another way. Me bleeding out around a bunch of vampires is not an ideal situation. I am not dinner."
"Very true," Alice nodded. "Although, you would be lunch as it would be around noon, remember? And Jasper already wants to eat her so it will be interesting to see if he can control the blood lust."
Alice looked perplexed for a moment before shaking her head with a smile.
"Jasper has little if any self-control. I won't allow him to go if he is any risk to her." Edward said with a clenched jaw. Only his lips barely moved.
It was kind of sexy.
So was the way he was so protective.
After all, it's quite romantic when your vampire boyfriend wants to save you from other vampires trying to eat you.
Only he does the eating.
Bella snickered, blushing.
Edward immediately looked at her, wondering why she was suddenly flushed and aroused, looking at him with hooded eyes.
But he didn't have much time to ponder since Charlie was walking up the stairs. Edward moved into the closet as Alice moved Bella to sit on the bed, Bella's back toward the bedroom door and opposite the closet so she wouldn't accidently look at it and give Edward away. Alice saw that Bella was going to and so she wanted to thwart any issues there.
"I'm heading to work," Charlie said, popping his head into the room after he knocked on the door.
"Have a good day, Dad. Be safe." Bella said nervously. She was a horrible liar.
Charlie eyed her carefully and then Alice who was grinning acerbically at him. It put him instantly on edge as if the girls were trying to hide something from him. "You going to be okay here by yourself?"
Bella shrugged, "Sure. I am hanging out with Alice. She wants to go hiking."
Charlie looked at Alice pointedly and said, "Keep my girl safe. Watch out for the wildlife."
"Yep! Jake included, I know. And don't worry, I won't be telling Bella about your hot date tonight." She winked, loving the shock on Bella and the flush on Charlie.
Alice totally knew where Bella got the blushing from.
"Dad?"
"Oh, yeah, I have a date. Tonight. With Sue." Charlie stammered.
Bella grinned and nodded. "Bout time."
"Yeah, well," Charlie sighed with an awkward smile, fidgeting.
There was several more awkward moments before Charlie went on his way. Edward moved out of the closet as Alice was packing Bella an overnight bag.
Then they left for their hike.
Into the woods.
When you have super speed, agility, and immortality being around a human without all that is quite annoying.
Jasper was grumbling loudly at the stubborn human that was taking her "sweet ass time" hiking through the woods, instead of opting to piggy back on one of her vampire friends or even her vampire boyfriend.
He also went on to say that he had soldiers with gangrene that were faster than Bella.
That he had soldiers amputated and bleeding out that walked faster than Bella.
That he even had soldiers suffering with small pox and yellow fever, and yet they were faster than Bella.
Edward just smirked watching Bella go slower and slower.
Ever defiant.
But with the summer solstice days away and Bella's mother arriving soon, Bella was feeling anxious about the all of the things going on in her life.
Especially, walking into the woods knowing full well it could be a very deadly thing for her.
"So, I was thinking that you can bleed on a tree and we can look to see what happens to the tree with our superior sight obviously, and what happens to you." Alice babbled and Bella nodded her head, because she was stating the obvious. Bella assumed she was nervous, but that would be ridicules, right?
"That's the plan," Bella sighed, grabbing a bit of a mossy branch and using it to pull herself up and over a fallen log.
"Oh, and I also brought a note book for notes, although we remember everything, you may want it."
"Thanks, Alice." Bella said as she rolled her eyes.
"I don't want to bellyache, but I've known barrel shirts faster than you," Jasper drawled and Bella huffed with annoyance. "In fact, I've seen some soldiers on the buck and gag, faster than Isabella Swan!" He laughed and Edward glared at him.
"You're not funny, Jasper Whitlock." Rosalie sneered. "The girl wants to walk. Although it's tedious for us, it's her right."
"Rosalie," Jasper drawled, "butt-out."
"You're imposing your will on her! That, I cannot tolerate." Rosalie gave Jasper a hairy eyeball, and pushed his shoulder.
Jasper allowed the push with a scoff but then flipped upside down and landed on a branch. "Feminist." He whispered, listening for the growl, his remark was sure to get.
Rosalie didn't disappoint. She growled, jumped up on the branch and swiftly knocked her "twin" off of it.
Obviously Jasper allowed the play since he laughed and landed on both feet right in front of Bella. Bella gasped, startled, as the move was virtually silent.
"Boo," Jasper smirked at her and then at Edward's growl he turned and ran with Edward on his tail.
"Boys, immortal or not, are all the same." Bella said with a frowned and Rosalie and Alice agreed.
Moments later, the group came to the spot that Jake had brought Bella.
"Who gets the honors to make Bella bleed?" Emmett asked. "I call dibs."
"No dibs." Edward declared. "And no blood until Carlisle gets here."
Emmett scoffed. "You're going to be able to cut open your precious Bella, Edward? I think not. And Jasper's out for obvious reasons. Rosalie may be tempted eat her and Alice?" Emmett frowned dramatically, "won't want to get the splatter on her clothes."
"That's true." Alice nodded vehemently to the group but winked at Bella. "I do see the splattering of bodily fluids, although I didn't bring protection- I did bring a band aid or two."
"That leaves me," Emmett grinned widely, "You into blood-play, Bella?" He winked at her but Bella turned her head away in embarrassment.
"Emmett!" Rosalie admonished.
"What? She could be! There are all kinds of fetishes out there! Hers is probably to dabble in blood-sports via vampirism." He pointed at Edward as if it proved his point.
"You're a moron." Rosalie sneered at him with disgust before she hit him on the back of his head.
"Oh, verbal foreplay," Emmett moaned, turning to Rosalie. "Don't start something you can't finish, babe." She started to back up into the trees while he stalked toward her.
"Children, not now," Carlisle sighed, walking up to the group with his wife, Esme, at his side. She smiled graciously before taking Bella into her arms for a light hug. "We're finally all here, so we best get started. I have to be back at the hospital at six."
The group agreed and they slowly moved around Bella circling her, all smiling wickedly at her.
Bella froze in place as a shiver of wind chilled her spine.
Clouds started to cover the bright blue sky and then there was silence within the forest.
"Shall we begin?"
.
A/N: Let the bloodletting begin!
barrel shirt: barrel worn by thieves for punishment.
buck and gag: A form of corporal punishment used during the Civil War era. The soldier set on the ground, and had his hands and feet bound. His knees were drawn up between his arms and a rod inserted under the knees and over the arms. A stick was placed in his mouth sideways. The offending soldier was normally placed in full view of the command and had to endure this punishment for hours. It was normally reserve for shirkers, stragglers and drunkards.