Bella's POV
As I arrived at the Cullens with Peter in tow I couldn't help but be filled with all my memories from my time in Forks. Coming to live with my father, meeting Edward my first day at Forks High. Jake, the wolf and his obvious attraction towards me. Jake telling me about the cold ones and outing himself as a shape shifter at the same time. James' infatuation with me, Victoria's as well. The vampire army they sent to kill me. The Volturi sticking their nose in where it didn't belong and ultimately sealing my fate. Graduation and then my change. I guess my life was doomed from the moment I entered this town and I had no one to blame but myself as it was my decision to move here. I guess it didn't matter though. I now enjoyed my life with the Volturi, but it was lonely and I hated that most.
Peter was being oddly silent and I knew that from the brief amount of time I had known him it was not normal. Something was up. I was still trying to figure him out. He seemed harmless, but I knew that all the truly bad ones came off that way. They were good at what they did, so good that they had every one fooled. I wasn't buying it. I would keep Peter close until I figured him out or until he slipped up. No one could hide their true self forever.
"What?" Peter asked. "Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face? Is there a piece of human flesh stuck in my teeth?"
I shook my head. Peter was either really good at pretending, or I had it all wrong. Either way it was wiser for me to keep him close to me.
"I'm just wondering why I've never crossed your path before, Pete, can I call you Pete?" I asked, echoing his words from earlier when he asked to call me Bella.
"Sure," he replied, but he seemed confused. Why he was confused? I had no idea and nor did I care to. "The world's a big place, Bella, you can't expect to see it all and meet everyone."
Maybe he was right. I knew it was impossible, but I found it hard to believe that someone as talented as Peter would go unnoticed for this long.
"Maybe I'm a figment of your imagination," Peter said, laughing at me.
I turned to look at him, maybe he was right. I reached out and punched him hard. I smiled when I made contact and he hit the ground. He definitely wasn't a figment of my imagination.
I walked up the stairs to the Cullen house and opened the door. There was no need for me to knock as I had known them for just over a century now, they were my family.
Peter picked himself up off the ground and ran to catch up to me.
"Hello?" I called out when no one came to greet me.
I wondered where Edward was, he seemed awfully excited on the phone, telling me that he had a surprise for me yet he was nowhere in sight.
"It's a ghost town," Peter said, wisely staying behind me.
Where was everyone? If they jumped out and yelled surprise I would kill them all.
"Oh, you're here," I heard from behind me and I would recognize that voice anywhere, it was Rose. She walked into the house from outside.
Ever since the events of my eighteenth birthday Rose had it in for me, who was I kidding, she hated me way before then, but the fact that I was the sole reason her 'fake' twin brother was pushed out of the house didn't help things. I didn't hold it against her though because I missed him too and I couldn't help but feel responsible for him leaving. I know he wasn't a Cullen technically, but when I met them he was there and now he wasn't, he hadn't been here for a long time. It's the reason I never celebrated another birthday after I turned eighteen, I didn't want anyone else to leave. I knew it was irrational, but it didn't matter.
"Where is everyone?" I asked her and she stayed silent. "Rose, can't you just tell me what's going on? Where is Edward?"
"Edward's gone," she said and my heart dropped. Gone where?
"Rose, spit it out," I growled at her, but she never faltered. Even though I was very powerful she had never been scared of me.
"Edward knows Tanya isn't his mate and he's accepted it," she said.
He had? This wasn't the news I wanted to come home to. It was a complication I didn't need.
"Look, I don't want to talk about this with you," Rose said before leaving.
Oh, it was so good to be home.
I knew where Edward was, there was only one place he went when he's upset and that was his meadow.
"I need to go," I told Peter. I knew I needed to find Edward and calm him down before he did anything stupid. "You can stay here."
I turned to look at him and he nodded his head. I was surprised that he didn't have a witty comeback.
"Okay," he said, looking at his phone intently. "I will wait here for you."
He seemed preoccupied. It would be so easy to snatch his phone out of his hand and look at whatever was distracting him, but I never liked to take the easy way.
I left the Cullen house and Peter seemed to stay where he was. I kept my vampire senses on him until I could no longer, but he didn't even move let alone utter a word.
I turned my mind onto the task at hand and headed for Edward's meadow, praying that he would be there. I knew my best friend wasn't the best at dealing with things and he had been cut where it hurt most, his mate, Tanya. We all knew they weren't meant to be and we let Edward know our feelings on the matter, but he was happy being blissfully unaware and as their relationship hurt nobody we let them be, but now everything was fucked up.
It was all very human, love, a base instinct. I thought back to my own human life and only one memory stood out clearly, my eighteenth birthday. Jasper, the odd one out in the coven, he was so fierce, so protective. The moment my blood spilled he lunged for me. It was so chaotic, so confusing, but there was something else there. Maybe I was remembering it wrong, but I swear that there was a single moment in time where I could see into his soul. I knew it was stupid. I was a human and humans aren't good at seeing the whole picture. I wished it had happened with my vampire memory so I could remember every single detail no matter how insignificant, but I couldn't. The attack, or act of heroism, I still wasn't sure, ended and I never saw him again. The Cullens told me he left, but Edward broke down a few weeks later and told me that Jasper was forced away. I had hoped he would come back when I was no longer human, but it never happened.
I came upon Edward's meadow and I could see him lying in the middle of it. I walked over to him. There was a time where this was our meadow, when everyone was sure we'd mate, but it wasn't meant to be. Edward was just a friend and I liked it that way.
I walked over to him and knelt by him, moving his hair out of his eyes.
"Ed," I said and he opened his eyes, "I just heard, how are you doing?"
"I don't know," he said. "I knew it deep down, but it just hit me."
"I'm sorry," I told him.
"Why?" Edward asked. "You always told me she wasn't the one, but I never listened to you. Don't you want to tell me I told you so?"
"No, Ed, I really don't. I know how much you want to find your mate and I am sorry that Tanya wasn't the one."
"You're not just saying that?" he asked.
"You know I wouldn't just say something for no reason. Have you finished sulking yet?" I asked him and Edward glared at me.
"Bella, you've been back two minutes and you already want to leave me."
"Edward, no. I left my 'companion' at the house and I do not trust him alone, or with others for that matter."
"Your companion?" Edward asked, sitting up. "So he is a potential mate then?"
"Maybe for someone, but not me," I said. Peter and I would never get along that way.
"Oh." Edward almost seemed disappointed.
"Don't worry," I told him. "We'll both find love one day."
"It would have been so simple if we were mated," Edward said. "We would have gotten married and then I would have changed you. We would have lived in a house on the Cullen land, it would have been perfect."
I tried not to shudder at the thought. That wasn't what I wanted at all. I didn't want to stay still, I wanted to live. I managed a smile and Edward smiled back.
"It's too bad," I agreed with him.
Edward stood up and I brought him into a hug.
"I missed you bestie. How long will you be staying?" he asked.
"I don't know, but know that I missed you too." I really had. Edward was the only person I could truly call my friend.
"That doesn't sound promising," he said. "Why did you even leave in the first place?"
Ah, there was the reason I didn't come home often.
"You used to call me amazing, Ed, don't go back on your word now."
"I'm not."
"I can't stay here and be amazing, I just can't. I'm doing good with the Volturi, Ed. I thought you had let me go."
"I have. I just miss my friend and now with Tanya… I will be alone again."
"Have you told her yet?" I asked.
"No, I thought I might have changed my mind, but it's set now. We never even had sex."
"You didn't?" I asked. It seemed all Tanya wanted was to get into Edward's pants, it made no sense.
"That makes no sense."
"Hey, it was my decision, you know me, I'm waiting for the one I love, for marriage."
"Ed, you're crazy. I would never be able to have your restraint."
"So you've had sex then?" Edward asked and he almost seemed offended. "With whom?"
"Human or vampire?" I teased.
"No way you had sex with a human."
"You're right," I agreed. "He was technically a wolf."
"Please don't tell me it was Jacob."
Oh, it was too easy to rile Edward up.
"No, it was a threesome with Alice and Embry."
"No way!" Edward said and I couldn't keep it in any longer, I burst out in laughter. "That was not funny," Edward said, trying to calm himself down. "I'm going to kill you, Bella."
"You'd never be able to kill me," I told him. "All seriousness though, I'm not a virgin."
"Are you going to tell me who?" he asked.
"Why, you probably won't know them?"
"I don't care," Edward said. "I want to know."
I let out a sigh.
"His name is Makka."
"Is?" Edward asked and I let out a groan.
"Yes, is."
"How have you not told me this before?" Edward asked.
"My life doesn't revolve around you, not anymore," I said.
When did you meet this… Makka?"
"After I left here."
"Is he Volturi?"
"Edward, I never should have told you. He's not Volturi. I just met him on one of my trips and we hit it off. That's all you need to know."
"But he's not your mate? You're just having sex for fun?"
"Yes, Ed, you should try it someday."
"No, thanks. Are you going to see him again?" Edward asked.
"We all have needs, so yeah, probably."
"How's the sex?" Edward asked, almost whispering it. Who did he think would hear him? God?
"It's indescribable," I answered simply.
"Oh, indescribably bad," Edward said. "I knew it."
"This conversation is over," I told him. "You're clearly not mature enough to participate in it."
"I know I should care about that comment, but I don't," he said. "I like how I present myself in front of the Lord."
Oh god. This was so not worth it and it was wasting time, but at least Edward wasn't thinking about Tanya.
"Let's head back to the house," I said before taking off, Edward followed me.
We were nearing the house when Peter's voice reached me. I slowed down to listen in. Edward looked at me and I nodded my head.
"Oh, that is so disgusting," Peter said, "tell me more."
Edward and I started walking just listening to Peter's conversation.
"So he had the neck wound," Carlisle said, "but it wasn't two perfect teeth marks, the skin was completely shredded. The vampire had taken his feed and then left his kill. The guy looked dead, but I could faintly hear his heart beating."
"And then what happened?" Peter asked and I rolled my eyes, of course Peter would already have Carlisle on his side, that boy was way too charismatic and it reminded me of a certain other vampire I once knew, Jasper.
"I get him into the operating room and he had a blood clot. It must have dislodged and it was heading for his brain, but it got stuck, right in the jugular where the vampire bit him and it stemmed the flow. The human survived because the blood clot, that was on its way through his bloodstream to kill him, blocked the blood flow."
"That is simply unbelievable," Peter said as Edward and I stepped into the house. "Cut out the vampire part and you could write your findings on it, Carlisle, it would rock the medical world for sure."
"Hmm," Carlisle pondered, "that is not a bad idea my friend, not a bad idea at all."
"Peter," I said and he was by my side in an instant. "Did I tell you to interact with anyone?" I asked him.
"No," he said, smiling widely, "but you didn't tell me I couldn't either."
Well he had me there.
"Ow, what the hell?" Edward said holding his head and looking up at Peter. "Why the hell are your thoughts all static?"
Peter had static thoughts? What was going on? What was his gift?
"Oh, sorry," Peter said, "I've got my brain tuned into the wrong frequency." Peter pulled the weirdest face I had ever seen and pulled down on his earlobe three times.
I was starting to feel that we'd be better off if this particular vampire was dead. I mean, I hadn't heard of a disabled vampire before, but surely Peter was one of them. The things he did, the things he said, it wasn't normal.
"Okay," Edward said, "that's better, I can hear you now."
I looked at Edward and his face turned into a frown. What was Peter thinking about now?
"I…" Edward stuttered out. "I…"
I looked back at Peter, but he was looking at Carlisle.
"This isn't right," Edward finally settled on before running up to his room.
I looked at Peter and he was grimacing. It's as though part of him was happy and part of him was not. It was odd and I wondered exactly what he was thinking to make Edward and himself react that way. I needed to figure out Peter's game now, the Bringer of Darkness would just have to wait.
