Chapter Six
No Matter Where We Go
Shortly after eleven the next morning, Bella found herself lazing on Edward's leather love seat beneath a large bay window filled with grey sky and Seattle's typical lone stratus cloud. Her eyes were glued to a large fracture running through the ceiling's plaster, but all she managed to register was the memory of her housemate's sultry gaze and full lips inches from her face. In her human life, she'd never been one for sadism, let alone blood play; but the memory of Edwards cool breath and teeth mere inches away would prove helpful on those boring, rainy days ahead. Well, sunny days, in Bella's case. She wasn't entirely sure about a Vampire's relationship with sunlight, but every piece of literature offered the same cautionary tale.
To Bella's chagrin; however, these thoughts were never meant to be shared with the object of her desire, just replayed on an endless loop behind her eyelids. Edward and Bella had enough on their respective plates, neither needed a fling.
"Isn't that how we ended up in this mess," Edward had muttered the night before. Meant to be a half hearted joke regarding his actions and motivations at the time of her change, Bella couldn't help but feel hurt by his callous response to the most intensely intimate moment she'd experienced since her break up with Jacob. Of course Edward didn't know this, but his stupid vampire powers of seduction had somehow tied an invisible, white hot wire around around her sluggish heart. The wire tightened with every retreating step. A few silent minutes passed before Edward finally excused himself to another room.
The distance between Bella and Edward did prove to lessen the suffocating electric currant. Relieved and slowly learning to breathe again, Bella soundlessly crawled onto the nearest couch. She'd continue to lay there for the next eight hours recalling the single most thrilling moment of her new undead life.
Around noon Edward's loafers could be heard on the wooden stairwell. Bella sat at attention, the buzz of electricity sparking to life again. He'd changed his clothes and found time to shower, his warm, spicy scent filled the room. Bella swooned involuntarily.
"Alice has informed me that Jasper is worried about you," his tone remarkably formal. "She thinks it's best if you return for a while. At least, until we can think of a way to… uh."
"Kill Bella Swan?" She offered. Edward flinched.
"You could disappear?" He said. "Elope with a wealthy business man in Montana. Cross the border north and set up camp for a few years? You would have to leave this life behind. Those options are better than attending your own funeral or being wanted in a Volturi witch hunt." Edward's brow furrowed, his expression troubled.
"Have you encountered the Volturi?" Bella asked, feeling a pang of despair come from Edward's direction.
"I have," he muttered, taking a seat opposite Bella. "When they learned of my gifts, they tried to lure me into the guard. I was never the militant type."
"What do you mean?" she asked, her mind conjuring pictures of Edward surrounded by riches and monetary things.
"I'm a telepath, I can read minds just as easily as a pedestrian eavesdrops. Coveted by the Volturi for nearly one hundred years. Similar to Alice's gift, though hers requires a physical connection."
Bella's posture became rigid. He'd heard every single one of her embarrassing thoughts since the moment they'd met. He'd listened to every swoon, every drugged out hallucination, every lapse in control that resulted in a lost life. Edward immediately noticed the frantic change in her body language.
"I'm almost certain you have a power too, Bella." his tone hopeful. "It piqued my interest while you were human. It's more pronounced now that you are like me."
She sat with baited breath. "I've heard stories about Vampires that cannot be read by our leader. We call them shields. If you possess this gift, you're safe from all psychic Vampires, including myself."
"You can't hear my thoughts?" she exhaled, experiencing extraordinary catharsis. "How was Alice able to get in my head?"
"I'm not entirely sure, though, I do have a theory," he said, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "I am no expert, but I'd love to introduce you to my father and hear his opinion."
Bella zippered Edward's boyish expression and sheepish posture, a stark contrast to his very formal and regal attitude. Was this his strange way of asking her to meet his family? Was she imagining all these quirks to ease the crush she'd developed on her sire?
Bella chose to avoid the question altogether and circle back to her good friend Jasper. "Can you give me a lift back to Jasper's apartment soon?" she asked, smoothing out the blood speckled pajamas she'd spent the night in. "And maybe a change of clothes would be nice."
Edward ignored his previous line of questioning and quickly agreed, leading Bella up the creaky staircase off the den to the second story of his home. Shelves, ancient books, and trunks covered every inch of wall space; though not a particle of dust could be seen amidst Edward's curio collection.
"I could never keep this place clean," Bella mused.
Edward chuckled, "you would be thrilled at the number of tasks you can accomplish with an extra ten hours in your day and super speed." He stopped at a heavy wooden door to the left of the stairs. "This is my room," he said, softly pushing the door open. She noticed the smell of fresh linens and vacuum lines on the deep purple rug.
Bella stepped inside, her eyes following the ornate carvings of the wooden queen sized bed in the center of the room. It stood below a colorful pane of stained glass, a relic from an age older than Edward. The room was scarcely lit, but Vampire eyesight required very little illumination to adjust comfortably.
Edward pulled open the doors of an oversized armoire to the right of his bed, a small collection of simple clothing pieces were tucked inside. He grabbed a dark green sweater and a pair of black lounge pants before presenting them to Bella.
Instinctually uninhibited with her body from years of touring, Bella quickly shed her soiled pajama set to the ground. Edward closed his eyes after stealing a glance at the shocking number of tattoos Bella had collected, but remained steadfast with his offerings in hand. She swiftly dressed again, taking the time to roll the extra foot of fabric on each limb to an appropriate length.
"How do I look?" she said, striking her best front woman power pose.
Edward opened his eyes, a warm smile spreading across his face. "You ought to keep that sweater. It suits you." The boyish grin had returned.
Traffic was light on Forty-fifth Street as Edward's beige Studebaker raced toward the University District. Within minutes Edward had expertly parallel parked one street over from Jasper's apartment.
"I'll be in the area if you have any trouble," he assured, unlocking the doors. Bella refused to move an inch. "Bella, Jasper's your friend. You've proven that you can handle this. He'll be fine."
"Yeah, I know I don't fuckin' want to hurt him," Bella huffed, clearly becoming agitated. "But what if he cuts himself? or I can't control it."
"Focus on me," Edward said, giving Bella's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'll keep watch from the roof. You'll be able to hear me from that distance.
Bella took a deep breath before exiting the car. She walked the mere city blocks to Jasper's front door, a long neglected buzzer system barely managed to function as she rang Three-R.
"Who's it?" Jasper's anxiety bleeding through the intercom. "Bella?"
"It's me, Jazz. I'm…" The obnoxious buzzer interrupted Bella as Jasper unlocked the door.
The third story rear unit door was open by the time Bella had reached the final landing. Jasper sat on the couch with his arms crossed, his slipper clad feet tapped in silence.
"What's the deal?" he shouted. "I took you in to get you off dope and you disappear for who knows what?"
"I'm not high, Jasper," Bella whispered. She shuffled into the apartment and closed the door behind her. The thudding of Jasper's rage fueled blood pressure was burdening her grip on reality. A light tapping on the roof reminded her of the lone comrade she'd acquired in this new life. The cord wrapped around her heart pulled upward. "I stayed with a friend in Laurelhurst."
"Oh, Laurelhurst? Are the junkies heading east now? Raiding the medicine cabinets of old millionaires?" Jasper's venomous tone caused Bella to shrink away. He was right. Junkies disappeared randomly, they couch-surfed, they weathered the streets; Bella was no different than a common drug addict. Except she was dead and craved blood, not smack.
"I ran into an old friend from college, Jasper. I promise. I'm fine, I'm sober," she held her two palms up as a sign of her surrender.
"Which friend?" Jasper sighed, humoring Bella's story.
"Edward," She quipped.
"Does Edward own a home there?"
"Uh, yes. He inherited a family estate," she said, proud at how little she'd deviated from the supernatural truth.
"I'd like to meet him," Jasper declared, reclining on the couch and switching the television on. Jasper's hostility hung in the air like smoke, but the initial confrontation was over. Though, Bella could tell her roommate would have more to say at a later date.
Bella sauntered over to the couch and settled in next to Jasper. He flipped through channels mindlessly until he settled for an old Jersey Shore marathon, a show they frequently watched together in college on the very same black leather couch. The two friends chuckled and occasionally broke the silence to reminisce. Bella attempted to hide her lack of reliable human memories, but Jasper was hard to fool.
An hour later Jasper ordered pizza and beer, casually alerting Bella to the fact that he was expecting company soon. "The boys are coming over. Angela should be tagging along."
Bella blanched, but remained couch-bound. Her eyes wandered to the front door and the fire escape, "Do you have any cigs, Jazz?"
"I do, but you need to go outside to smoke," he said, lightly tossing a pack of Marlboro 27's to Bella.
"I was gonna burn one on the fire escape."
"Yeah, that's cool."
Once outside, Bella habitually lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply. She pined for the buzz of nicotine. The dizziness, the coughing, the peace and warm content that would swarm a brain after a long drag from a cowboy killer. She sighed.
Edward had left his rooftop perch a half an hour before, though Bella could still feel him nearby. Keeping tabs, no doubt. He was crazy to allow such a troubled newborn Vampire to face her friends. She'd proven untrustworthy after she mercilessly stole the lives of two humans without a second thought. Even still, her wandering brain fantasized about bloodshed and the feeling of Edward's fangs on her skin. She was unraveling.
Ten minutes or an hour could have passed before Bella was alerted to the presence of her bandmates. Carefully crawling through the window, Bella waved with the arm of Edward's oversized sweater wrapped around her hand. Raven haired Angela swept in for a long overdue hug and was met with Bella's cold, rigid body. A nearly inaudible growl escaped Bella's lips. Angela recoiled immediately, but kept her signature cheery grin in place. "Girl, I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Angie," Bella said, breathlessly.
"Way to show up to practice, Bells!" Eric hazed. "But don't worry about it, we got a new gal." Mike lightly smacked his bandmate on the back of the head. "She sucked. Canned after one practice. Glad to have you back, Swan," he said shoving half a slice of pizza into his mouth.
Bella smiled sadly. Was this the moment she resigned from Paper Dolls? Would she pack up her belongings in the dead of night, leave a note professing her love for a rich man in Laurelhurst, elope to Montana, and forget Isabella Swan had ever existed?
"Actually... Hey Mike? Can I call a band meeting right now?" Bella said hesitantly. Her anxious fingers effortlessly dug into the bottom of the window sill.
"Don't tell me you're quitting the band, Bells. I was kidding," Eric countered. Jasper came to Bella's defense.
"Dude, what the fuck? We all knew this was going to come out at some point. Bella's very sick, no thanks to you idiots. Support the choice she makes." Jasper's complexion was turning ruddy with anger.
"Thank you, Jasper," she muttered. "You've been great to me this week and I didn't deserve an ounce of it." Jasper attempted to discredit her claims, but Angela reached out a hand to quiet him. "I think it's best if I get professional treatment."
"I agree, Bells. But how expensive is rehab?" Mike said, ever the unwavering realist. "I'd pay your way in full if I could, but none of us are prepared for uninsured medical care."
"I could ask my parents," Angela piped in. "They helped my cousin out with his pill problem, completely saved his life."
"You've all done too much for me the past few years. You've consistently tolerated the fallout of a space cadet completely out of touch with reality," Bella said, sadness for her lost humanity coloring her tone with an eery, omniscient nuance. A simple night in with her best friends had turned into an autobiographical eulogy. Isabella Swan was dead, Paper Dolls would be forgotten with the next wave of rock roll. Tragedy was all she saw anymore.