Burning Candles

Summary: (Set during Twilight) Curious because of Edward's strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and decides to pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though.

Chapter 2: Forgiven

I awoke with a snap. Was I dead? Was it a dream? Okay, I must have been dead because that all seemed too un-real. What had happened was like a night-mare, so maybe I was just dreaming. I sighed in relief as I realized that I was lying on a bed. Okay, my bed is a good start. It was actually a great start. All that was just a dream, I was just dreaming and none of that happened. I breathed in and placed a hand to my chest. I stopped abruptly as I realized that my heart was not beating. Holy shit! Does that mean I'm dead? Oh my God! I'm dead. Charlie is going to die over this. Oh my…oh my! What am I going to do? Well I can't really do anything now since I'm dead!

"Calm down." A cool voice ordered from the corner of the room and I looked around. I hadn't noticed anybody over there before. I looked at a boy that I had never really seen before except once at the lunch table all the Cullens shared…the Cullens? What was one of them doing here? "It's going to be okay Bella now." His voice was cold, but friendly.

"Who are you?" I asked softly.

He moved out of the shadows and smiled icily. "I'm Jasper Cullen. I'm Edward's brother." He replied.

Oh my God! It was all coming back to me now. I had gone over Edward's house to confront him about why he hated me so much and met his mother Esme. I had been reading 'People' magazine when I got a paper-cut. I then went go see Esme and over-heard Rosalie and then the blood seeped out of my wound and then… and then, Edward attacked me. I looked over at Jasper and raised my eye-brows in confusion. Why had Edward attacked me in the first place? Was he some kind of super-natural creature? Was that it, huh? I didn't understand and that horrible feeling as something hit my neck. I shivered as I remembered that.

"Uh… Jasper?" He nodded, to show me that he was listening to me. "Why exactly did Edward attack me?"

Jasper flinched, only to regain his composure a couple of seconds later. "I think you need to come with me Bella." He said and stretched out his hand to me. I looked at him for a second and then looked down at my own hand. It was a milky white, the same color as the rest of the Cullens. What was happening? I grabbed Jasper's hand and he led me down the winding stairs. He gripped my hand as we entered the living room and then released my hand, pushing me to sit down on the couch. I looked at him curiously when I noticed the rest of the family was there. Rosalie, Esme, the person who I assumed was Carlisle, the second girl from the lunch table, the third boy from the lunch table, and Edward.

"She's awake." The second girl from the lunch table cooed and stood up and walked towards me. I backed slightly away which only made her laugh. "My name's Alice." She whispered to me and I nodded, the words sticking in my throat. "Bella, you don't have to be scared. There's nothing to be scared of."

I wished that I could have believed her, but it was hard. Edward had attacked me. It was hard not to be scared around them. I looked down at my hands and remembered that my skin was whiter and I felt a bit different. "Why am I here?" I finally asked and Alice sat down next to me. "Can I go home now?" I asked stupidly and Alice shook her head sadly.

"Carlisle," Alice whispered, but I could still hear her. I looked towards her and then back at Carlisle who was just the person I assumed he was. Wow, he really did look like a movie star more then a doctor. "How should I explain this to her?" She questioned and Carlisle sighed and stood up.

"Explain what?" I questioned.

"Bella…" Carlisle started, "we're not really what we seem to be."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked and Carlisle stood in front of me. I was not gaining any of this. I really just wanted to go home and sit and ponder over my thoughts. I wondered how long I had been gone from home. "I—um—I really think that I should get home." I said firmly and Carlisle shook his head. "Wait," I said suddenly, "how long have I been out?"

"Three days," Alice replied grimly and I shook my head.

"But what about Charlie?"

"We called him Bella," Carlisle explained. "He knows that something happened, but he just thinks that it was a minor injury. I told him that you would be back sooner then he could imagine. He sounded worried, but he believed me." I nodded at him in disbelief.

"So what did happen to me?" I asked.

"That's what I was getting too." Carlisle stated and I nodded, motioning to him to continue with his theory. "Bella, we're not what we seem to be… we're vampires."

I looked at him in shock. Okay, he was just joking with me right? So I know that they were probably playing some horrible trick on me and all, but like – this was a little too far. I looked at him in disbelief and then I started laughing. "Okay, okay you got me. I know you guys aren't vampires."

"Bella, stop being difficult." Edward piped in. He actually talked to me! I rolled my eyes at him, so now he was finally talking to me. I clenched my hands together and looked up at Carlisle again.

"Seriously, you want me to believe that you guys are vampires? That's impossible. Vampires are not even real in this world!" I glared at Edward for awhile until I turned towards Carlisle. They weren't really vampires, were they? But they seemed so serious about it! Was that why they were so weird? Why they didn't hang around – oh my. "You guys are really vampires?" I questioned softly and Carlisle nodded. "No way."

"Yes way." Alice commented and I looked over at her, my mouth twisting in thought.

I pointed towards myself, my new complexion still puzzling me. "Yes, well I believe you, I guess. But what does this have to do with me?" I questioned and Carlisle sat down on the coffee table. I could see Esme fidgeting with her hands and Rosalie was starring blankly ahead of her. The other boy—I had yet to find his name—was looking over at Edward. Edward was starring at me and I glared back for awhile. I was still angry that he had treated me like a piece of dirt the first two days of my stay here.

"Well you see Bella, that day that you came to the house—" Carlisle started, but Alice cut in.

"Bella, Edward bit you." Alice explained simply and I looked at her peculiarly.

I crossed my legs and looked at the whole family. They all said nothing. Edward wasn't even looking at me anymore. "Okay, so Edward bit me. So wouldn't I be dead now?" I asked because it was true. If Edward was a vampire and he had bitten me, that would mean that I would be dead right now, wouldn't I?

"We got him off of you before he could fully kill you Bella." Carlisle explained and I nodded, waiting for this all to sink in and for me to start screaming. It didn't come, I felt completely numb. "We couldn't get the venom out of your blood stream in time Bella, you're a vampire now."

"Oh, um… wait, what was that?" I questioned, hoping and praying that I had misheard him, but he still had that serious look on his face. I turned and glanced at the rest of the family, they were not moving at all. "I'm a… I'm a vampire?!"

"That would be correct Bella." Carlisle said softly.

Oh dear God. Oh my God. Vampires, real life vampires were sitting in front of me and now, I was vampire. That was all, it was plain and simple and they thought I was being difficult about it. I sat there fidgeting, trying to keep my thoughts contained, but emotions were burning down my throat and towards my non-beating heart. Okay Bella, I chanted to myself mentally, you can accept this. "I—I…" I was at a lost for words. "Alright."

"Bella, it's going to be okay—!" Alice started, but stopped short at my answer. "Just like that Bella, you don't even… you don't even care what happened?" She questioned softly and I shook my head.

"I think it just hasn't set in yet." I whispered my voice barely audible.

Alice nodded. "That's totally understandable."

"This is crazy." I scoffed and pressed a hand to my temple and thought for awhile. "What am I supposed to now?"

Carlisle looked at the rest of his family before turning to Edward and turning back to me. "Bella, we all think that it would be best for you to move in with us because of the circumstances. You are a new vampire and your thirst for some things like humans is going to get stronger. It would be best if you were under our supervision until you get the hang of being a vampire." I looked at him as if he was speaking a different language.

"You want me to leave Charlie?" The words fell out of my mouth.

"That would be for the best Bella."

"But—but, he's my father." I argued. "What am I supposed to tell him? That I suddenly got changed into being a vampire on accident and that I'm leaving forever to move in with you guys?!" I questioned fiercely and Carlisle shook his head.

"Not forever Bella, just for now and don't worry I'll talk to Charlie."

I massaged my temples and tried to resist the urge to bang my head multiple times on something. This was all making sense, but it was such a big surprise, my mind couldn't grasp the fact of what was happening. "Explain, somebody please explain." I whispered.

Alice took the opportunity to jump into the conversation. "Well you see Bella, we vampires have lived here for a very long time – I'm not going to go into full detail, let's just leave it at a very long time – and we have kept from being discovered for that same time period." I nodded, urging her to continue. "Vampires cannot sleep, age, or really feel pain physically." I cringed at that, so I wouldn't really feel anything? I was going to be seventeen… forever? "The rest of the vampires out there, usually drink human blood." I cringed again. "But our coven that you are going to live with drinks only animal blood. It is inhumane if we drank human blood. We have all been sworn off of it. We would like it if you too Bella would swear off of drinking human blood."

Honestly, the thought of even biting a human made me very sick. It repulsed me to no end. "Absolutely," I said. "No human blood for me ever. Can I go live with Charlie now?" I questioned, a little too eager for my own good.

"I'm sorry Bella," Carlisle said again. "It's an instinct for new vampires to drink human blood, your instincts will take over when you get thirsty and you could attack the first person that you see. It would not be a good ending."

I grimaced. "Alright, I'll stay with you guys for now."

"That's great Bella! I am always open to my new siblings!" Alice said happily and clapped her hands together, creating a louder sound then I thought she would. I nodded at her and she smiled again. "You will move in as soon as possible?" She questioned and I paused before nodding my head.

"And when is that?" I asked.

"Now." Edward said, standing up. "I should take you to your house to pack."

"I'll get your new room ready honey." Esme said sweetly and looked towards Rosalie and Alice. "You two will help me, will you not?" She asked and Alice nodded cheerfully, I was already starting to like her, while Rosalie slowly nodded her head. Her attitude towards me hadn't changed at all. Esme gave me a short hug before walking towards the two winding stair cases. Jasper smiled at me before Edward grabbed my roughly on the arm and pulled me towards the door. He opened the passenger door of the car for me and I stepped in. I looked around the clean interior and sighed. Their family was perfect. Edward moved into the drivers seat of the car and looked at me.

"Something wrong?" Edward questioned softly and I shook my head.

"I guess not, I just think that the facts haven't sunken in yet." It was the truth, the facts that I was going to be a vampire forever hadn't really sunken in fully yet. I would go to hysterics sooner or later. "It's kind of hard to accept in just a matter of half an hour." I whispered and Edward nodded.

"Understandable," he said with a slight smile. "You'll get used to it though."

I snorted. "I hope so."

"Trust me," so now he wanted me to trust him? A little while ago, I had repulsed him although I did kind of understand why he had tried to keep his distance from me. "You'll get used to it after awhile."

"So why did you attack me?" I asked carefully.

Edward stiffened still. "You really want to know?" I nodded and he sighed. "When you were a human, you had the most alluring smell I had ever smelled in my whole life, it was amazing because I had never been addicted to humans since I had sworn off of them over a hundred years ago. When you walked into biology the first day, I was going to attack you then and there, but I tried to resist the urge since Carlisle has been doing everything for our family and I didn't want to destroy what he had built for us. When you came to that house and you were bleeding, I couldn't take it anymore, I had to attack you and that's exactly what happened." He finished and I nodded.

"I get it," I interjected. "I understand now, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"For telling me." I replied simply.

He nodded and didn't say anything. I was glad that there was silence so I could concentrate on what I was going to tell Charlie or had Carlisle already called him? I bet he had already called him, knowing Carlisle and everything he was probably a really organized person and had already called Charlie. "Forgive me Bella…" Edward breathed and I looked over at him.

"For what?"

"For damning you for eternity." Edward snapped.

"I'm sure it's not that bad Edward." I said softly and Edward shook his head as he muttered something below his breath that sounded like: "she will never understand." I was pretty sure that was what he said, but I couldn't hear him clearly. "I'll get used to it, you were just following your instincts, I understand." It was then that I realized that we were in front of my house. He nodded towards me and I got out of the car, being careful not to trip over anything. My new found legs assured me that I was not going to trip over anything. I walked into the house and was surprised when Charlie was standing in the hallway, a bag ready. I knew that Carlisle would have called him already.

"Dr. Cullen thinks it's for the best Bella, they're not sure what happened to you…" Charlie trailed off and looked at my closely. "Bella, what did happen to you? Did they give you plastic surgery?"

I would have blushed at his comment if I could have. I had forgotten that I hadn't looked in the mirror yet. "What are you talking about Dad? Of course I didn't get plastic surgery, exactly what did Dr. Cullen tell you?" I questioned and Charlie sighed.

"Dr. Cullen told me that they were still doing tests on you for something they found in your arm. It was not normal or something like that." I nodded waiting for him to continue. He sighed again, this time deeper. "Be careful Bella, I would visit from Dr. Cullen told me that it would be better if I didn't. I'll miss you Bells."

I almost choked. It didn't make sense, if there was something wrong with me, why wasn't anybody like escorting me places? Oh well, Charlie bought it and that was good for now. "I'll visit soon Dad." I promised and grabbed the bag gingerly from his hands. "I'll see you later." I said softly and walked out the door, I wasn't sure when I would return or if I would return at all.

Esme had really out-done herself. I had just gotten back from getting my stuff from Charlie when Esme whisked me upstairs and showed me around the room. It was perfect, almost exactly like the room I had when I was living with Charlie which was only about a couple of days ago. The bed was a queen size and a rocking chair occupied one of the corners. I smiled as my eyes finally rested on a mirror. On the car ride back to the house, Edward said nothing. I thought about this as I approached the mirror. I gasped as I peered into the glass. My eyes were the same color as the rest of the Cullens' and my hair was longer and shinier and more beautiful. My features that I had thought were plain were more defined and beautiful. I stepped away from the mirror, thinking that I would faint from this beauty that I had never experienced before. I was not beautiful in my human life, my 'after' life made me beautiful.

"Are you alright?" A voice pondered from the doorway and I spun around to see Alice. I nodded and she smiled brightly. "C'mon downstairs with me Bella, you still have to meet the rest of the family! Actually, the only person that you haven't met is Emmett, he's Rosalie's husband." She said quickly and I nodded again, before letting her pull me downstairs. I was grateful that I didn't fall down the stairs. She pulled me into the dining room where all the rest of the family was seated. I looked at the third boy from the lunch table and smiled. Emmett was his name. "Emmett you know Bella, Bella this is Emmett." Alice said playfully and I smiled at her gratefully.

"Is there something we need to talk about?" I questioned after Alice had told me to sit down.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and said nothing. I hoped that she wouldn't be like this forever. That would be very… horrible. Carlisle cleared his throat and looked towards Edward. "We just want to tell you Bella that we don't think it would be good for you to go to school or really leave this house until a little longer."

"Understandable." I said softly and Carlisle nodded.

"Don't worry Bella," he said gently and I looked towards him. "Things will get better after this." I was going to hysterics probably. It had finally sunken in. Alice and Esme were by my side in a couple of seconds. Alice wrapped her arms tightly around me as I tried choking back my tearless sobs.

"It's going to be alright Bella." Alice cooed and I nodded.

I really wished that I could have believed her.

End of Chapter 2: Forgiven

Authors Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews! I really loved reading all of them. I am so sorry about the late update! I have been busy this past week with tests and projects and all that junk. I just want to explain this chapter further so you don't get confused or anything. Bella is a vampire, she moved in with the Cullens because they didn't want her attacking anybody and Charlie is oblivious along with Renée.

Facts for the remainder of the story:

1. Renée and Charlie will come back into this story, I don't know when, but they will return!

2. Laurent, Victoria, and James are also going to be in this story, Laurent more then the rest of them. No Volturi though! If I make a sequel to this, then they will come into play.

3. Jacob… well let's just say that yes, Jacob is going to be in the story and he's going to cause a lot of trouble for Bella and Edward. (HINT HINT!) He's not a werewolf yet, so you know, he's not going to attack her or anything. The rest of the group (Sam, Paul, Jared, etc) will definitely come into this story next chapter.

Well, that's all the foreshadowing I'm doing for this chapter! If it was confusing at all, please tell me and I'll try to clear things up. I think that this was the most difficult chapter for me because I had to find a way for Bella to react to her new life-style. Alright, I hope that you liked it!

Review please!