Rosalie POV
I gently stroked Bella's back as she slept. Her hand was still resting on my chest and I didn't bother to move it. After an hour of Bella waking up due to nightmares she was finally sleeping peacefully… with a little help from Jasper.
"How is she?" I asked my brother.
I never should have told her my story. Now she was having nightmares because of me. The small scratch on her face, the restlessness she was feeling, all my fault.
"You can't blame yourself," Edward said from downstairs. "She deserved to know. She's strong. She just needs time to process everything."
"Edward's right," Jasper said softly. "She deserved to know."
"It's my fault," I muttered brokenly. I had caused Bella so much pain.
"Rose, it's not your fault," Jasper said firmly. "If the situations were reversed, wouldn't you rather know?" I growled at the thought of anyone hurting Bella the same way I was hurt. "Relax Rose. You know we would never let anything happen to Bella."
I tightened my grip on Bella. A small part of me worried that someone would take her away. A normal human would be uncomfortable with my arms locked around them. Bella, however, wasn't normal. She shifted closer to me, taking comfort in my cold arms. She really was the strangest girl, and she was all mine. She actually loved me.
"Jazz," I started.
"Yes, she's in love with you. She's been in love with you but she didn't realize it until now," Jasper responded.
"I don't know what to do," I whispered.
"You're overthinking this," Jasper said gently. "Nothing has changed."
"Everything has changed," I hissed at him.
"Bella loves you," Jasper said. "She's not expecting anything from you."
"How is she?" I whispered.
"She's stable," Jasper answered. He leaned back in the chair. "She's going to need you close by for a while to help reassure herself that you're okay."
"I shouldn't have left," I said sadly.
"You needed to hunt Rose," Jasper said. "Bella wouldn't want you to starve."
"Next time I'll go while she's awake," I decided. Bella liked spending time with the others so it would be easier to leave her.
Jasper didn't say anything. He knew he couldn't change my mind. Not that he would want to. He'd been bugging me to hunt for a while.
I thought about my conversation with Bella earlier. She agreed to go on a date with me. The problem was I never planned a date. There were so many things I wanted to do for her. For this date privacy was best. If we went out in public then we couldn't speak freely.
I stared out my bedroom window. It was still dark outside. The sun wouldn't rise for another two hours. I glanced at the sleeping girl in my arms and an idea hit me. But I would need help from Alice and from…
"Whatever you need Rose," Edward promised.
"Thank you," I muttered.
"What are you planning?" Jasper asked curious.
"Do you remember when we were out hunting past Seattle?" I asked him. It was a hunting trip only he and I went on a few years ago right after we moved here.
"Yes," Jasper said
"There's that waterfall and a short hike," I continued. "It's not popular during the winter since the water is so cold so it should be empty. Bella would love it there."
Alice, who was unusually quiet during our exchange, was suddenly excited. "Oh, that will be great! Edward, Jazz and I will help set it up." I heard several clicks on her laptop. She better not be trying to play Barbie Bella again. I told her she wasn't allowed to without Bella's permission. She had her own mate to dress up.
Edward snorted as he heard my thoughts. I ignored him as Alice danced into the room. "When?" I asked her.
"Friday," Alice said after a minute. "It'll be sunny in the morning, so we won't be going to school. But you can pick her up and go straight there."
"Humans?" I asked. I couldn't be outside with humans. I frowned as I realized Bella had never seen me in the sun.
"She'll be okay Rose," Edward said. He now stood in the doorway, not wanting to come too close.
The others were confused. I quickly explained. "Edward's right. Bella will be fine. There will be no other humans around. I'll keep an eye out in case that changes."
"Thanks Alice," I started thinking of different ways to approach Charlie. Would he let Bella spend another weekend with our family…with me? He had to be getting suspicious.
"You should tell him about you two," Alice said. "He'll be okay with it and it's the best way to get him to say yes."
"He'll be okay with it?" I knew how much Charlie meant to Bella.
"He loves Bella and wants her to be happy," Alice said. "He's already thought about confronting her."
"He thinks she's dating one of us?" Alice nodded. "Who?"
"He doesn't know. That's why he hasn't confronted her." Alice paused. "His best guess is me." I growled. "Only because I'm the one that calls Charlie to get her to stay with us."
"If we were to tell him…" I started. I would be happy to keep our relationship a secret if it would preserve Bella's relationship with Charlie.
"I don't foresee any issues," Alice answered. "The only one that Charlie seems concerned about is Emmett and that's just because he looks so much older."
Bella stirred in my arms. "Rose," she muttered. She sighed and was silent again.
My cold, dead heart felt like it would start beating again. I loved when she said my name while she slept. I loved that she thought of me in her dreams.
I had been alive for ninety years and nothing was more important than the human girl in my arms. Nothing would ever matter more to me.
"I'll talk to her when she wakes up," I decided. Ultimately, it was up to Bella whether or not we would tell her father.
"It'll work out Rose," Alice said vaguely.
I rolled my eyes. She was worse than one of those carnival psychics. Edward snickered at my thoughts.
One by one my siblings left my room, leaving me alone with my sleeping mate. I heard when Emmett, Esme and Carlisle returned from hunting. Carlisle went up to his room to shower and change for work.
"Alice," I called. "What do you see happening today?"
"Noting," Alice said after a minute. "Bella will want to stay close to you today." There was a pause. "Charlie will call to check on her around six." I glanced at the clock. We still had over an hour. "She won't be up in time. You'll need to answer the phone or he'll worry."
"I don't want to wake her," I said.
"She won't wake and Charlie will ask her to call him back," Alice promised.
I sighed in relief. Bella needed sleep. As happy as I was that Charlie cared enough to check on her, I couldn't wake her, not after the night she had.
"Rose," she muttered again. I could feel her hot breath on my neck. It felt nice. Her warm body warmed me up even if it was just for a minute.
Bella's phone rang and I yanked it off the nightstand. "Hello," I said before it could ring a second time.
"Bella," Charlie said confused.
"No sir. It's Rosalie Hale," I said.
"Oh, where's Bella?"
I glanced at Bella, still asleep in my arms. "She's still asleep. She was up late with Emmett and Jasper playing video games," I lied.
"That's good. I'm glad she's having fun with you guys." If only he knew. I don't know which would be worse for him. The nightmares or the hormones? "Can you have her call me when she wakes up?"
"Of course Charlie," I agreed. "Do you need her home today?" Please say no. I wasn't ready to let her go.
"No, no. She can stay. I'm getting ready to go fishing. I just wanted to check on her," Charlie said. "Enjoy your day Rosalie."
"Thanks Charlie. You too. I'll have Bella call as soon as she's awake."
We said goodbye and hung up. I placed Bella's phone back on the nightstand. There was a knock on my door. I was so focused on Bella I didn't hear anyone approach. "Rose," Esme called softly.
"Come in Esme," I called to my mother.
Esme's eyes locked onto Bella. "How is she?" Esme asked concerned.
"She's calm now," I said. I ran my fingers through her hair.
"Emmett said it was bad," Esme said sadly.
"They couldn't wake her," I said. "They had to call me back. She was screaming for me, clawing at herself. I don't…I thought she would never wake up."
"She'll be okay," Esme said confidently. "She loves you Rose. She's trying to process through everything she learned. She is only human after all."
"She is," I muttered. It was one of the many things that I loved about her. I didn't want her to turn. I wanted her to stay human. But now I realized I wanted her to stay human for me, not for her. I could see that I was trying to take away her choice. As much as I wanted her to have a future, I wanted her with me more. So, if and when, she decided she wanted to turn, I will turn her. The one condition I had was that I would not turn her before her high school graduation.
"Are you okay dear?" Esme asked moving closer to me.
I shifted Bella and myself so Esme could lay on the bed beside me. "I'm okay," I said. "When I saw her here screaming… I didn't know what to do. I was terrified. For the first time since that night I was turned, I was actually terrified."
"It's okay to be scared Rose," Esme said kissing my hair. "She's your mate. If you weren't scared then you weren't meant to be. When I was turned Carlisle was afraid to leave me alone. No matter how irrational it was he was afraid of me being hurt again."
"Does that feeling ever go away?" I asked.
"No," Esme said. "You'll always worry about her. It's worse now because she's human but you'll ever not worry." I nodded. I doubt I would ever stop worrying about Bella. Even if she was indestructible. "What are you guys going to do today?"
"No plans," I answered. "Unless there's something Bella wants to do, we'll probably hang out around here."
"Hmm, I suppose I'll need to go to the store then," Esme said thoughtfully. "Do you think Bella will want anything special to eat?"
"She loves whatever you make Esme," I assured her.
Esme got off the bed. "I better head to the store," she said. She glanced at Bella. "It'll be alright Rose. You'll see."
"Thanks Esme," I said softly.
The next two hours went by slowly. Normally time meant nothing to me. But ever since I found Bella, I became more and more aware of the time. Waiting for her to wake up was torture. I tried not to be impatient. Bella was exhausted and needed the sleep, plus I was rather content holding her in my arms. The issue, if you could really call it that, was that I wanted to spend time with her.
It wasn't until eight that Bella started to stir. "Rose," she muttered. I touched her cheek. "You're still here."
"Of course I am," I whispered.
"But you were supposed to be hunting."
"You need me more," I told her. "I'll hunt later."
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
Bella frowned and thought about it. "A little," she said after two minutes of silence.
"Esme went to the store so she could make you breakfast," I told her. "Can you wait or should I make you something now?"
"I can wait," Bella said quickly. I studied her face but I couldn't tell if she was lying. "Is everyone else home?"
"Carlisle is at work," I answered. "Emmett and Jasper are playing video games and Edward and Alice are playing chess."
"Edward is still here?" Bella whispered.
I could hear Edward standing and moving to the window. "She knows we can hear her, right?" Emmett laughed.
I bit back a growl. "Do you want him to leave?" I asked. Part of me, a small part, wanted her to say yes. That was the part of me that was jealous of their relationship. There was something between them that would never go away. I knew Edward still cared about her and Bella cared about him. Even if it wasn't love it was still a part of her, I would never get.
"Sorry," Edward said from downstairs.
Not your fault, I thought to him. It really wasn't as much as I wanted to blame him.
"No. He can stay," Bella said.
"What do you want to do today?" I asked. It didn't matter to me what she wanted to do. I would be happy regardless.
Bella bit her lip. "Can we stay here?"
"Sure," I said with a shrug. I knew my siblings, and Esme, would love to have her around. "Was there anything you wanted to do?" Based on the look on her face it was obvious she hadn't thought it through. "It's okay," I said pushing her hair back. "We can figure it out later." Bella leaned against Rosalie. "Did you have any more nightmares?"
Bella frowned. "I don't think so. I don't remember."
Rosalie nodded. "That's good."
"What did you do the rest of the night?" Bella questioned.
"Not much," I said vaguely, not wanting her to know my plans to surprise her. It was obvious Bella didn't believe my lie but she didn't say anything. I felt guilty but I knew it would be worth it.
"You need to call Charlie," I informed her. She glanced at me. "He called while you were asleep. I told him you would call him."
"I'll call him in a bit," Bella promised.
We sat quietly for a few minutes. I heard Esme's car pulling into the driveway. Do you plan on staying here all day?" I asked curious. It didn't bother me if she did want to stay in my bed all day.
"No," Bella answered. "But I'm comfortable." She scooted closer to me to prove her point.
I laughed and kissed her cheek. "Come on. Esme is home." I lifted her out of the bed and carried her downstairs.
