We've got a longer one tonight! Happy reading!
F POV
I didn't waste any time, heading back to the cabin, trying to ignore the ache in my chest, I dialed Aro.
"Ah Felix, how are things? Have you dealt with that pest?" he asked.
"One pest, yes. Marcus there?" I pressed, not in the mood for games.
"Yes, both Marcus and Caius are with me now, what is the issue?" He sounded more alert now, responding to my own urgency.
"My mate was injured; it affected her memory. She no longer remembers our time together and seems to be back in a time where she was with Cullen." I growled out the name, the bane of my existence.
"Ah," came Marcus's brittle voice, "poor thing, she's a feisty one. I can of course confirm that bonds do not disappear; she is still same girl as before, so you are still and always will be her destined mate. However, I did see the ghost of a rather strong bond between her and Carlisle's eldest when they were in Volterra. Though the bond had withered, I'd assume now it's back in place, unlike her memory of their separation." He sounded grim, which wasn't helping my case at all.
"Suggestions?" I asked, there had to be something.
"My boy, "Caius hollered, even though we were closest in age out of all three brothers, "seduce your mate. She may not remember you, but you remember her, you remember everything about her, no? When have you ever been known to play fair, Felix?" I could practically see his grin, unsurprised by his suggested approach. He had a point though; I did know Bella. I knew her mind and her body. I could work with this.
"Very well," Aro said, "our deal is still on, but I would prefer your mate to be accepting of her fate, so do make sure you are once again, what do the kids call it? Back on? Yes, make sure you're back on before you change the girl. Call if you need assistance or advice from Caius, though I do hope you know what you are doing after being alive all these yea—"
"Yes, Aro. Thank you, all of you. I will keep you updated." I snapped my phone shut, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Soooooo, boss man," Alec started, rocking on his heels, "are you gonna take Caius's advice? Because he sounds like he's onto something, and based on the scent I've run into a couple times…"
"Out." I grunted, pointing to the door. He huffed, trailing out after his sister who went to go check on her mate and update him.
Dem turned to me, "whatever you need, man. You know Lil B will figure it out, she can't forget you, or us, we're family now."
I sighed, "we'll just have to figure out how much she remembers and find ways to get her away from the Cullens." I surmised, plans already forming in my head.
Dem looked pensive, "there is one potential ally that just might help us out a little bit," he started, looking at me hesitantly, "got any treats on you?"
B POV
My head was pounding as Charlie drove me back home. My car was at Jake's getting fixed up, Edward told me their cover story for what really happened.
All I could remember was Laurent staring me down and the sound of loud growls filling the air, making his eyes grow wide. Large paws thundered around us, then I woke up in the Cullen's house. Edward had come for me after all. He said he's never really left; he was waiting in the wings for Victoria to reveal herself. After Laurent was attacked by some wolves, the Cullens finished him off. As they were occupied with Laurent, one of the wolves who was apparently working with Victoria, pounced on me, their claws digging into my delicate human skin, causing the long gashes I was now sporting. Alice and Jasper handled the wolf while Edward spotted Victoria and hunted her down, bringing about her demise and my safety.
It still hurt that he'd made the decision to leave and let me believe he didn't care for me without consulting me. I'd been a mess the past months without him. I also remembered that Jake still hadn't reached out after his continued radio silence, I made a mental note to google how long mono lasted when I got home.
But something still wasn't adding up, even in my muddled brain. I could've sworn it was March when Laurent attacked me, I'd been checking my calendar to see how long it had been since I'd had contact with Jake, and I had a test coming up that week. Charlie and the Cullens assured me it was April and I must've just had a few gaps from the accident. But for some reason, there was this feeling of unease in my bones, the hole in my chest from when Edward left was stitched closed by his presence, but it still felt like there was something else. Almost another wound, like my body was on lower power mode, conserving energy for some unknown reason. Maybe it was just the blood loss and head injury, but I couldn't shake the feeling that despite the return of my family, I wasn't quite at home.
We pulled up to the house and Charlie helped me out, it was late afternoon and I felt like I needed a nice long nap despite the three day's rest. Carlisle said I'd be sleeping a lot over the next few days as my body worked to regenerate blood cells and recover from the trauma. Charlie hovered, dithering about in my room before I shooed him away. He'd brought me snacks, sports drinks, water, books from Carlisle's library, extra blankets, and a heated water bottle before I told him to go chill out. I was fine and would call if that changed.
My phone rang from my bedside table, and I picked it up, "Hello" I answered sluggishly.
"Bells! Oh my god, I heard what happened, are you okay? Want me to come over?" Finally, my friend's sunny, but worried, voice carried through the line.
"Jake!? Is the mono gone now?" I asked, trying not to get too excited about his sudden resurgence.
"Mono? Bells…what are you talking about?" he asked hesitantly.
"What do you mean? You haven't answered me in forever, Jacob Black. You've been dodging my calls and Harry and Billy keep telling me you're still sick. So, what is it? Do you have mono or just an aversion to me?" I accused.
"Bells no of course not!" he spluttered, "Bells, honey, what do you remember, what's the last thing you remember?" he questioned.
"I was annoyed that you couldn't come searching for a hiking spot with me, so I went on my own and…and hit a deer." I finished, almost blurting out the Laurent part.
"Bella," he started, slowly as if afraid to frighten me, "my mono cleared up two months ago, we've been hanging out since I got my clean bill of health," he cleared his throat, "you even met Sam and the two of you got along, heck, you get along with pretty much his entire gang. Bella, what's going on?"
I paused, thinking over what he said. Edward would've told me all this, this couldn't be right. Unless he was trying not to overwhelm me with too much information. I sighed. That was probably it, one thing at a time so poor little Bella's human brain could adjust to all the changes. It was probably for the best though; he was always just looking out for me.
"I'm not sure Jake," I answered, "Edward came back, and his dad saved my life. Things are a little hazy because of my injuries and they've affected my memory. My timeline's a little fuzzy, but I'm sure he would've told me about my time in La Push if he thought I could handle all the information at once." I tried to reason.
"What? No Bells, and how would he even know what you were up to if he wasn't even here?" he fired back.
I couldn't tell him about Alice's gift, she was able to keep tabs on me while Edward hunted Victoria, that's how they saw her and Laurent's attack, that's how they rescued me from the newborns with a little help from some nomads while they also took on the wolves.
"Look Jake, I'm exhausted, and I need to recover. Can you come by this weekend, and we can talk?" I asked, hopeful to see my friend again.
"Sure, sure" came his trademark reply, "I'll see you Friday Bells, try to stay out of trouble please, and listen to Charlie!"
I was a little confused by his last statement, but shrugged it off, saying goodbye and hanging up my phone.
"Bella" a voice breathed, making me jump.
"Edward!" I still couldn't believe he was here now, and it wasn't a dream. Sitting on the…couch in my room? I'd have to add that to my list of questions, because last I checked there was a rocking chair in its place.
"Love, maybe you should put your phone away for now, Carlisle said screens and electronics in general aren't helpful towards your recovery." He said softly, extracting my phone despite my frown.
"Okay," I surmised, it was doctor's orders after all. "Have you hunted?" I asked, taking in his dark amber eyes.
"No, I was coming to check on you and assure you everything would be alright now that we're back together. I will leave for a hunt as soon as you fall asleep and promise to be back in the morning." He smiled down at me, looking every bit as beautiful as he did before he left.
I sighed, "I'm still a little hurt that you took all this time to come back to me. I know you were hunting her, but how come you didn't come to me when you and Alice saw how much I was hurting, falling apart without you?" I accused, lip trembling as I looked up at him.
He approached the bed, sitting by my head and running his cool fingers through my hair.
"I know, love, and I'm more sorry than you'll ever know. It nearly killed me to watch you suffer, but I had to stick to my plan, Alice could only see it working if Victoria truly believed I'd left you alone, an easy target. It was only a matter of time before I came back to you, never a question as to whether or not I would do so." He leaned down, brushing his cool lips against my forehead.
I closed my eyes, ready for the familiar blush to spread and my heart to race embarrassingly. But for some reason, my body did not react in the ways it usually did to Edward's close proximity and physical affection. His breath didn't make my head spin as it washed over me, and I didn't feel the desperate need to pull in lungfuls of his scent. I chalked it all up to my 'brain trauma', there was no way the unfairly beautiful being in front of me no longer affected me beyond my own control.
He pulled back, giving me my favorite crooked smile of his, "rest, Bella, get some sleep. By Monday you'll be able to return to school, so take these days to recover. Alice will come by tomorrow too, she's got some new clothes for you," he chuckled at my eye roll, "she claims she's missed out far too much on Bella barbie time these past months, please try to indulge her just a little, for me." He pleaded, smiling softly at my nod.
"Sleep, love, we'll talk in the morning," I let my eyes droop as his cold hands smoothed down my comforter, tucking me in more snuggly. Seconds later, I was out cold.
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I wasn't sure how long it had been since I passed out, but I knew it wasn't time to wake yet. I felt as though I were in a dream state. Cold fingers were running through my hair, so I figured this was either a dream or I hadn't passed out fully, and Edward was still waiting for me to fall asleep.
"Bella," a voice crooned lowly, a different voice that pulled at something in me, it was the same voice I heard coaxing me awake, the red eyes Edward said belonged to a nomad who'd helped them with the wolves. But something felt different about his voice, it almost felt comforting. "Amore mio, come back to me" his tone was dark, making me shiver involuntarily, my body flushed, taking on a mind of its own as I felt the ghost of cold fingers running down from my hair and along my waist underneath my blankets.
I felt chilled lips pressing against my neck and could've sworn I heard "mine" in that same low voice, demanding but also welcoming. I felt a moan on the tip of my tongue, but held it back. What the hell am I doing, dream or not, this clearly isn't Edward.
I snapped out of my dream, bolting upright. I looked around my room in confusion, hand going to my head as it spun a little at my abrupt movements.
I turned over, tucking the blankets back up around me before letting sleep pull me under once more. This time my dreams were filled with red eyes watching me, so many red eyes everywhere I looked, but instead of being unnerving, it felt like I belonged.
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In the morning I woke up, stretching out until my fingers brushed against cool skin. Opening my eyes, I smiled sleepily as I gazed up at Edward, his crooked smile peeking out.
"Morning beautiful," he sighed, as if he'd been waiting forever to say it, "Charlie will be leaving soon, your friend Jacob called, insisting to come over and help you feel better. I'm not sure I like his motives, but since your father doesn't know we are fully back in each other's lives yet, you may have to endure his presence for a short while today."
I frowned; Jake was always welcome. He may be kind of in my bad books right now, but seeing as he was making the effort, it's possible full forgiveness was on the horizon.
"What do you have against Jake?" I asked, I knew about their legends, and even though they were right about the Cullens being the infamous Cold Ones, it seemed odd for Edward to reciprocate prejudice.
He huffed, looking up at the ceiling, "his family and some other members of his tribe often give Carlisle a very hard time, so I find it difficult to be fond of someone who thinks so little of one of the most respectable men I've ever known. Not to mention there are certain things about Jacob Black that I am bound not to say" he finished, lips in a grim line as he looked ahead before fixing his gaze on me again "though I do believe if you pressure him about his odd behavior, you may just figure it out".
He looked at me pensively before continuing, "Not to worry, love, I understand you grew quite fond of each other during my absence. I won't come between friends, just make sure you're very careful around him. One more thing, Bella, the nomads who helped us, one of them is in your classes as she found her mate in the school. There are three others, but Carlisle has asked them to leave or stay further away from the city as this is our territory and they're human drinkers." He said, making me shiver at the thought of multiple human drinking vampires prowling around in the night. My eyes widened, flying up to Edward's, but he answered before I could ask: "They agreed not to hunt nearby and have been doing so in Seattle or further, we've just become rather…uncomfortable with their prolonged presence." He finished, one hand coming up to smooth out the worry line I knew was creasing my forehead.
"Well, if you're certain then I'm okay with it. Maybe now you'll have a reason to stay nice and close to me as much as possible" I grinned, liking the idea of more physical contact with my…boyfriend?
He laughed, shaking his head, "yes, of course love, how could I forget."
He leaned in and morning breath be damned I was not going to miss out on this opportunity. His cold marble lips pressed against mine, but instead of heat rushing into my body, urging me to get closer, I felt like I was, well, kissing a rock." I pulled back and smiled, hoping it didn't come out as a grimace as I wondered what went wrong. I thought I saw Edward's body tense as well, but I'd probably just imagined it. Deciding to blame my body's continuous questionable reactions, I ran a hand through his wild hair, getting out of bed and running off with some clothes to the bathroom for my human moment.
I called Jake and he let me know he'd be over in an hour, which gave me plenty of time to have breakfast and veg out a little before confronting my abnormally large friend.
As I descended the stairs, I smelt toast and eggs, hopping down the last few and murmuring my thanks to Edward as he set out some avocado toast, eggs, and fruit on a plate. I munched away happily while he told – or apparently retold me—what he and the family had been up to while I believed them to be gone.
The timeline of events between now and March still seemed off to me, but I was hoping maybe Jake could help sort that out, maybe after he fessed up to his weird behaviour.
Edward stiffened less than an hour later from his place on the couch, gently massaging the soles of my feet as I told him all about my adventures with Jake. His smiles seemed off, but I'd imagine it wouldn't be easy hearing about your mate off spending alone time with another man.
A knock sounded at the door, and I got up, answering it as the knock pattern began to repeat. I pulled open the door, resting against the jam with my arms crossed and one eyebrow raised, "look who finally decided to come out and see little old me" I accused, eyes narrowing.
"That would be my cue to leave, please, Bella, call me if you need anything. I won't be too far." He said, dropping a kiss on my forehead before vanishing.
"Bells" Jake breathed, swooping down and scooping me up, legs twirling in the air as he laughed happily.
"I'm so glad you're okay, we weren't allowed to help because the fight wasn't on our side of the treaty line, and Sam was adamant that we only act if asked or provoked. I was worried sick. Thank god they finally caught that psychotic bitch." He finished, frowning as if Victoria were in the room.
His comments made me pause, eyes going wide. He shouldn't know that, why does he know that? "Jake" I began carefully, "what are you talking about? Who would the Cullens be 'getting'?"
His eyes widened in alarm, "Shit. Right okay Bells well here's the thing, there's something about me and some of the other guys in the tribe that's a little different too. That's how I'm in the know about the blood suckers. I—look, it's easier to show you then tell you, you'd figure it out for yourself anyways, just like last time." He scoffed, remembering I time I couldn't imagine, where I apparently played detective successfully.
I followed him out back, leaning against the back door as I watched him skeptically. "Well, what is it?" I prompted, getting impatient and a little bit anxious at his increasingly erratic behavior.
"Right. Okay, sorry Bells, just please try not to freak, okay?" he looked earnest yet nervous, but some tension eased from his shoulders as I nodded my head in acceptance.
"Turn around for a sec unless you want a full show, and I bet a certain bloodsucker would have my head and my nuts if you got an eye full." I spun around, blushing a bit as he chuckled behind me. Then suddenly, his chuckles cut off and I turned back around. In his place was a giant dog—no, wolf. I stared at him, mouth hanging open in shock when a memory of something Edward told me came forward: "wolf pounced on you, nearly killing you. That's how you got those marks on your body, how you almost died" he'd choked a little at the end as if reliving the traumatic ordeal.
As his words swirled around in my head, I blindly grappled for the door knob behind me, "I know what you or one of the other Sam clones did to me. What the wolves did. Just because my memory is gone it doesn't mean you can take another swipe at me, a second shot at killing me." I spat, turning the knob and pushing open the door, still facing my ex best friend, "stay away from me, Jacob Black or I'll call the police. We're pretty tight if you didn't know. And I don't want to see any of your little friends marking their territory around here. Leave, now." I said firmly, despite shaking like a leaf. He shifted human, naked as the day he was born, and took a step forward, his expression lost and heart-breakingly sad.
"Bella?" he asked, as if still utterly shocked by my reactions, "please, you don't mean that, why—how could you say that, what did Cullen tell you, why are you back with him anyways! He's not even—" he was cut off by a loud growl as Edward appeared suddenly, crouched between Jake and me. I sighed in relief at his welcome presence.
"I think you heard what my mate said, Black. Leave, now." He said firmly, posture rigid.
"Fine, I'll go, but Bella, he's not telling you everything! You have to believe me—"
"Enough!" yelled Edward, "you're violating the treaty if you stay, leave now and spare yourself the dignity, mutt." He ordered, on the verge of attacking my childhood friend.
"Jake", I said tiredly, causing his eyes to shift to mine, "please, just go." I begged firmly, watching as his face fell and he turned, bursting into an enormous russet wolf before taking off into the trees, a piercing howl sounding out as he retreated into the dense woods.
The moment his howls hit my ears I collapsed, caught in stone arms as sobs began wracking through my body, shaking my frame as I clung to Edward. He picked me up and carried me inside, laying me down on the couch with a pillow tucked between my head and his lap.
Alice appeared as well, "I'm so sorry Bella, it was the only way you'd be able to really understand. If we'd told you ourselves the wolves would've come after the family because we'd be breaking the treaty we have with them." She said, looking miserable.
"It's okay Alice, I get it, I just don't understand why Jake or any of the Quileute tribe would want me hurt, or dead. It just doesn't add up…" I sniffled, burrowing more into the pillow as Edward's hand rubbed soothing circles on my back.
"We're not sure Bella, I can't see around the wolves, all we knew is that you had to find out again on your own. Maybe Victoria had something on them or struck some sort of bargain, you'd have to call and ask them yourself." She said, though I felt Edward stiffen at the mention of my contacting the very beasts that nearly took me away from him.
I reached up and patted his chest lightly, "don't worry, I won't be reckless. If I decide down the line that I want to call them to get answers or closure, I'll do so with one of you nearby just to be safe."
"Thank you, love, that's all we ask. All we want is your safety, Bella, it's our top priority."
The following days passed by in a blur of eating soup, graduating to solids, reading with Edward, then slowly catching up on the schoolwork I'd missed. It seems one of the nomads – the one in school with me—was able to collect my work and bring it home. I was slightly surprised when she showed up at my house, looking dwarfed by Edward's height.
"Bells" she breathed, a small smile appearing on her face, only to drop when I grimaced back, unsure of her name or how much we really know of each other.
"Umm, hi. Thanks so much for getting my work for me. It's Jane, right?" I asked, smiling a little at her nod.
"Yeah, we have almost all the same classes so if you'd like I can help you catch up with everything you missed this week, even chemistry. Tristan, my mate, usually helps you with your chem work but we didn't want to overwhelm you so he passed the work on to me." Her small porcelain features morphed into a genuine smile as she spoke of her mate, and I felt some sort of connection to her almost.
"Ok, well, would you like to get started? We could work at the kitchen table…" I trailed off, suddenly unsure of myself.
She grinned back at me, eyes ruby eyes twinkling, "sounds good, B, let's do it!"
A few hours later I was sure of a few things: Jane was pretty cool, school was going to take up a lot of time probably until graduation, and chemistry would never be my strongest subject.
"Thank you so much for the help" I praised as Jane and I gathered all our stuff and packed it away for tomorrow.
After she left, I decided to make some easy chicken alfredo for dinner, finally feeling up to eating heartier foods, and wanting to have a good hot meal with Charlie when he came home.
Just as I was mixing the pasta into the sauce, I heard his keys in the door, "wow Bells, you really didn't have to, but I'm sure glad you did, it smells amazing in here" he called out, discarding his jacket and boots before coming into the kitchen.
"Hey dad, thanks. I don't know why but I was just craving chicken alfredo, so I figured why not? How was work?" I handed him a plate and we both dished up, heading into the living room to put something on TV while we ate.
"Good Bells, good. Finally quieting down now that all the attacks and missing reports in Seattle have died down. They're still missing a bunch of people, so the detectives down there are going crazy trying to figure out what happened, but crime itself seems to be returning to normal rates." He sighed, rubbing his stomach contentedly as he swallowed down his first bites of dinner.
"Bells you did it again, this chicken alfredo is great! You'd been on a role too before the, ah, accident. Lots of great meals, always something a little different, got your old man branching out with these bland taste buds" he winked, stuffing another piece of chicken into his mouth, eyes sliding closed with delight, making me snicker.
"Well dad, I'll make sure to grab some groceries tomorrow so I can get more for dinners. Did Mrs. Newton tell you when my next shift would be when you called her?"
He nodded, "Yeah she said you could come in for you usual Thursday night shift if you were feeling up to it, and your Sunday close next weekend."
"Okay, thanks dad, I'll talk to Mike at school tomorrow and let him know I'm good to work."
"As long as you're not taking on too much too soon, Bells, your body did suffer a major trauma last week, you're lucky the concussion doesn't seem to have effected your day-to-day life besides well…" he trailed off, a light blush on his cheeks.
I pointed a saucy fork at him, "you mean besides being like Dori from Finding Nemo? Yeah, I could've really done without that. Dad? What was I like the past couple of months?" I hedged, knowing my cop father had to help fill in some blanks.
"Well, Bells, you spent a ton of time down at the res hanging out with the boys after Jake's mono cleared up," my eyebrows rose at that, so Jake was kind of telling the truth, I must've been okay with the whole wolf thing before, "you were out there at least four times a week, doing homework, going to bonfires, cooking with Sam's fiancé Emily. They were like a little family to you. Then, Alice Cullen carted you off to Italy to rescue her tormented brother, that Edwin boy. But you seemed quite unbothered when they came back to town, come to mention it, the past few weeks Bells, you've been happier than I've ever seen you. We had dinner together regularly, you still went down to La Push, just not as often, but I'd still hear you chattering away to Jake and his buddies on the phone often. I just hope whatever put you in such a good mood carries on now despite your accident," he smiled at me, reaching over to pat one leg before digging back into his dinner.
We ate the rest of dinner in silence, watching a baseball game together while my mind was really a thousand miles away. Italy? Alice? La Push? Something still wasn't adding up, and I had a strong feeling I'd find out when I went to bed tonight, or at school tomorrow.
As I predicted, once Charlie and I went up to bed, saying our goodnights and settling, my window was sliding open and cool arms were around me while Edward settled on top of the covers beside me.
"Please explain, Edward, I'm so confused." I begged helplessly, my head spinning from all the contradicting stories.
"Bella I'm so sorry, I didn't want you to have to be bombarded with everything that happened the past couple of months. Alice saw you having a meltdown if I told you everything at once. We thought starting with school was the best approach so you could get on track and graduate like you wanted. Then Jacob threw a wrench in our plans by aggravating you today, but I promise I was going to tell you, love." He looked a little afraid as his eyes flickered between mine.
"Oh Edward, please just tell me, I promise I'll be okay. I just need to know everything, I don't want to feel to clueless all the time" I sniffled, wiping away a stray tear that seemed to break his resolve.
"Okay." He relented, taking a deep but unnecessary breath, "in March Alice came to get you. You'd been doing reckless stunts with the wolves, and she thought—we'd thought you'd died, Bella. I couldn't take it, I—I went to the Volturi to have them kill me because I couldn't live this life without you." My hands clutched at his as he continued, needing contact to remind myself he was in fact here and okay. "Alice convinced you to come after me, and you managed to get to me just in time. We flew back to Italy together and you allowed me to start courting you again after much groveling on my end. The ordeal with Laurent and Victoria was difficult to manage last week because with the wolves interfering, Alice was unable to see it until it was too late. I'm so very sorry Bella." He said softly, fingers pushing my hair behind my ears, golden eyes peering into mine, searching for something.
He must have found it, because the next thing I knew his cold lips were moving against mine. But just like the last time, there was no spark, no current or desire raging through my body as he pressed his body in closer to me. I forced myself to extricate from his embrace, glancing at him sheepishly, "light-headed" I said, the best excuse I could think of.
He grinned cockily at me, "ah my sweet, sweet Bella, I've missed your blush and affections" he ran cool fingers over my cheek, gazing at me lovingly.
I sighed, nestling down into my blankets and falling asleep to the sound of Edward humming my lullaby.
The next morning, I awoke to find a note from Edward saying he went home to change and would be back to pick me up for school. I smiled, but it turned into a frown when I spotted clothes laid out already for me at the foot of my bed, "Alice" I groaned, scooping up the offending items and putting them on.
I got ready for school, getting dressed reluctantly, having a small breakfast, and grabbing my bag just in time to trudge down the front steps and up to Edward's Volvo. I paused, seeing Jane leaning against my truck, looking a little caught out.
"Umm, hey Jane, what's up? Are you coming with us today?" I asked, looking back and forth between the Volvo and the beast.
"Oh right, sorry Bells, we always take your truck to school together. I'm sure there's room for all of us in Edward's car though, so let's go!" I could tell her smile was definitely forced, but I still smiled back, finding a sense of familiarity in her presence.
We all piled in with Jane in the back and me up front with Edward. I turned around in my seat so I could see both of them more clearly, "So how many classes do we all have together then?" I asked.
Jane smiled back, more genuine this time, "we have just about every class together aside from chemistry, but you have that with Tristan and he's been tutoring your grade back to life in that class so he should be able to catch you up again in no time!" she enthused, casting a satisfied grin towards Edward.
"Well Bella, we don't have any classes together actually. You weren't entirely pleased with me when we first returned, so the family didn't want to crowd you. You actually don't have any classes with any of us. But, if you'd like, I'd be more than happy to get that sorted out for you." He offered, throwing a smile my way.
For some reason, the idea of having some space put me at ease, and I felt myself answering before thinking, "Oh no, don't trouble yourself, really. I have Jane and I'm sure Jess and Angela are even in some of my classes."
Jane was nodding along so I figured I was right, then she shocked me by adding, "yes and you've gotten a little closer with Lauren lately, you have a couple classes with her as well. By the way she might want some feedback from you on some advice she gave a week ago…if she asks, just tell her it went really well." She smirked at me, casting a glance at Edward. I looked over and saw his steering wheel crack underneath his stone hands, "woah! Edward, your car, what's the matter with you?!" I exclaimed, watching his usual controlled demeanor slip.
"I'm sorry love, I just don't think Lauren is a very good choice as far as reliable friendship is concerned. She hasn't always had the nicest things to say to or about you. I just want you to be careful about who and what you associate with."
I frowned at that, I'd like to think I was a pretty good judge of character, despite having lots of friends who can kill me easier than I could crush an ant. I turned to my mate, the one who was supposed to value my opinions, "do you think I'm that naïve, that just because I'm a young, weak human that I can't even figure out who is decent enough to be included in my social circle?" I questioned, feeling a little on edge.
He back tracked, "No, of course not, Bella, I'm merely trying to do what's best for you. Nothing more, I promise."
I sighed, unbuckling my seat belt as he pulled into the school parking lot. I got out, ignoring the stares and walked alongside both Edward and Jane as we approached the school.
"Bella! Bella! Come here!" before I knew it, Lauren had already accosted me and began dragging me away from everyone towards the girls' washrooms.
"Okay," she said turning to me with her hands on her hips, "spill! Gimme all the deets, how did it go!?"
I blushed, unsure of what exactly Lauren could have helped me with but remembered Jane's words, "it went really well Lauren, thank you so much for your help. Honestly, you're a lifesaver." I gushed, hoping it would be enough.
Apparently, the flattery worked; she laughed before replying, "I bet he sure felt like you'd saved his life…or sent him to heaven. I'm so proud, my little Bella growing up! Well let me know if you need help with anything else. Us girlies gotta stick together." She smiled before we left the bathroom as the bell rang.
The rest of the day passed by really slowly, Jane was a godsend keeping me up to date in all our classes so I wouldn't feel completely lost. Last period, she carted me over to her mate, Tristan. I'd heard a lot about him, even that I was the one who introduced them. We headed into chemistry together and boy did he keep me afloat. By the end of class I felt a little more at ease with most of my subjects. The combined efforts of Tristan and Jane with the work Jane brought over last weekend and Tristan's excellent tutoring skills were probably going to be the key to my academic success.
At the final bell, I decided to head to my locker and clear out my books to see if I had any notes from the past couple months to help with my upcoming assignments and assessments. Grabbing everything I could see, I walked out of the building, only to see Jane and Alice staring each other down by Edward's car.
"Hey, everything okay?" I questioned, eyes ping ponging between the two female vampires.
"Of course, Bella! I was just talking to Jane about having a little gathering at our place Friday night, it'll be nice to have you back with the family—even though you've been with us constantly, I know it might not feel like it for you." She finished, nearly buzzing with excitement.
I looked towards Jane who had a sour expression on her face, "Will Jane, Tristan, and the other nomads be there?"
Alice frowned, "Bella, Edward told you how we feel about having human drinkers on our territory. Jane has a mate here, so she's an exception. The others, however…" she trailed off, wincing as if unsure whether they'd cause some disappearances around town.
I crossed my arms, if they were Jane's coven mates shouldn't she get to spend some time with them and her mate? "Alice it hardly seems fair that Jane can't be around her coven and mate more often. And besides, I'd really like to thank them for helping you guys with Victoria, I haven't really been given the chance yet." I argued.
In a very un-Alice move, she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and tapping her foot in annoyance. "Fine, Bella" she snapped, surprising me, "they can come, but if I see anything, anything going wrong, they're out for good." She smiled at the end, waiting for my approval.
"That sounds a little too final to me Alice, you can't just make them leave when they aren't even breaking any rules. Sure, they're human drinkers but they can't be all bad. I mean look at Jane, who could resist that angelic face?" I made my case, jerking a thumb towards her picture-perfect cherub smile. She still had her blue contacts in, but they'd started to disintegrate, making her eyes a purple color, adding to her otherworldly beauty.
"Whatever, Bella it's on you if they snap and attack someone in Forks and then the dogs come after us all" she sniped back, eyes narrowed.
I idly wondered if Alice had hunted lately, but when her posture relaxed and Jasper's arm slipped around her waist as he whispered something to her, she seemed to come back to normal.
"Bella, I'm sorry, yes, they can come. We just need to be careful where they're concerned, that's all." She smiled again, but it didn't seem to reach her eyes.
I nodded, looking to Jane who merely shrugged, "alright Cullens take us home so we can get the beast and go grocery shopping, Monday is human food stockpile day" she grinned, linking her arm through mine.
Edward slid into the front seat as I sat in the back with Jane this time, frowning a little at me in the rear view mirror before speaking, "Bella, I just figured I'd help you with your groceries, or you can just give me a list and one of my family members would get everything you need. This way you can relax and get a head start on schoolwork so we can spend more time together in the evenings."
I pursed my lips, "Nope. No can do, Edward, I read online routine helps with memory loss. Also you know I don't like people running around doing my bidding like some slaves. I want to go get groceries. And besides, Charlie doesn't know about us yet so he'd be pretty suspicious if you took me to get groceries." I raised a brow at him, knowing I'd won when he sighed, pulling out of the parking lot.
"Alright, love, but please be careful and call me if you need anything."
I caught Jane rolling her eyes and lightly swatted her leg.
An hour later I was pushing my cart along the aisles, tossing things in from my list and chatting with Jane about school and how things were progressing with her and Tristan.
I was reaching up to grab a box of Charlie's favourite cereal when the box slipped over my fingertips, only to be grabbed by a much larger, and colder hand.
My eyes followed along the long arm, which was encased in a leather jacket, until my eyes met green ones, sparkling down at me.
"You usually do better when shopping with immortals who are less vertically challenged than…others." He said, smirking down at me.
I blanked, there was something about those eyes and this store and this man that seemed very familiar to me.
"You shop with Jane and I?" I was skeptical.
"We take turns, though neither of us are very good at sharing." Normally any sane person would back away from his close proximity, or shy away from his sheer size, but I didn't feel uncomfortable in the slightest. In fact, I found myself enjoying his presence a little too much, which then made me step back quickly, yanking the cereal from his hand and placing it in my cart.
He walked along side me quietly for a while, before pausing, as if hearing something in the distance. A grin stretched across his face and he leaned in close, ignoring my squawk of surprise to whisper in my ear, "I will see you Friday, until then, if you need me, you have my number" he pulled back with a wink before vanishing.
I turned back around to see Jane plopping a bag of onions into the cart, smirking at something over my shoulder. I turned to see the Volvo come hurtling into the parking lot, its driver looking anything but pleased.
I looked back at Jane and sighed, shrugging as I continued on.
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A POV
Our opportunity presented itself in the matter of seconds. I saw it, and Edward froze, also seeing our chance to win her back. We had to act fast. Now that we knew exactly what he was capable of, if she were to join him—them, they'd be unstoppable. We couldn't let that happen. Carlisle was easy to reel in, the rest were…reluctant or clueless.
We'd done well separating her from the mutts, but the guard members would be different. Jane was already weaseling her way back into Bella's life and we couldn't have that. They were getting good at making last minute decisions; they knew her schedule and how to get around my gift well enough to catch the drop on us a few times.
Friday night would have to change everything. I could see it. All we had to do was keep them apart long enough and once she's changed and lost most of her human memories we'd be able to manipulate her affections and use her abilities to leave the Volturi behind until we were ready to take them down. All we needed was our shield.
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So a lot is riding on Friday's outcome...but the guard still have some time before then to lay a little more groundwork! R&R 3