Connections
The whole way home I listened to the family as they bickered about who it was. Carlisle was the only one who had it right. The red I had seen earlier was Victoria's. There had been no mistaking it. Because she had been mixed in the actual color of green, meant only one thing, that the newborns of Seattle were all hers. We were in a lot of trouble.
I followed in after Jasper as Emmett loudly announced where our intruder had gone. My eyes locked onto Bella's immediately. She sat next to Edward, her face seemed distracted, most likely worried about her father. Jasper gave Carlisle the shirt we had found and when Carlisle did not know the scent, I knew my assumptions were correct. And as Esme and Emmett spoke I saw Bella's face change. She was thinking of her options, and then she trembled.
"It was a newborn." I said aloud, still looking at Bella. I felt everyone's eyes on me. Bella looked up and finally seemed to notice me. She tried to remember me as Edward stood up next to her. She looked up at his movements, drawn to his every step, like a lost kitten.
"What?" he asked, getting closer? I looked at him calmly. That seemed to frustrate him some.
"The newborns," I paused as everyone kept looking at me as though I were crazy. I sighed. "The ones in Seattle." Their eyes got slightly bigger as they realized what they had over looked.
"But why were they in Bella's room?" Esme asked.
"Newborn's wouldn't have enough constraint to keep Charlie alive." Carlisle spoke, making Bella tremble again.
"One with orders would."
"Orders?" Alice questioned.
"From their maker."
"Which would be…?" Edward didn't look at me; his eyes were drawn to the scar on Bella arm. The mark that James had left. He had answered the question in his mind.
"The only one who wants Bella dead." I looked back at her. "Victoria." the name rolled over my tongue, sour etched on ever syllable.
Everything seemed to make sense now, but no one seemed to notice it. They took my statement as a question.
"The timing of it was too perfect…. This visitor was so careful to make no contact. Almost like he or she knew that I would see…." it refuted Esme's safer comment and confirmed my dangerous accusations. Esme fought for her point, trying to ease Edward's mind…which was tarnished as soon as Bella opened her mouth.
"We shouldn't wait for graduation." I didn't need to be here for this. I past Edward as he began to comfort Bella with "its okay" and "we'd know if you're really in danger." Which what was exactly what she was in. Newborn's sucked and with our numbers they were extremely dangerous.
I met Rosalie outside. Her face reminded me of something. She was glaring out into the woods. Her lips gutted out in frustration and the first words that came out of her mouth were, "we're going to have to watch over her. Again." Bitterness, yup that was it.
I shrugged. Not like we hadn't done it before. And she was the one who didn't want Bella to be a vampire. I laid in a lawn chair until Edward took Bella home, then I went inside. I was confronted with a chart. It was titled SURVALIENCE and my name was written first. I looked at Esme with a sad expression.
"Esme." I said painfully, "it's supposed to rain tonight." my voice whined and protested.
She didn't return any remorse. "It rains every night dear." I growled and grabbed my coat as I left.
I got to the house just a little after them and waited at the front door for Edward to greet me. He excused himself and came out.
"Hey." he stood under the over hang as I glared at him. My hair was already drenched.
"I. hate. your. girlfriend." I pronounced each word signally.
"I know, I know." he said understandingly. "Just sit in a tree and try to keep dry." he smile and kissed my forehead. "Thanks for coming and looking earlier."
"You are not welcome." I emphasized and turned to go up a tree. He watched me, then went back inside.
Edward left then came back and sang Bella to sleep. I could hear his musical voice through the walls of the house. And even though there was nothing to see, I kept watch the whole night. This was going to be the worse job ever.
When I got home in the morning, right when it had stopped raining of course, I rung out my hair. It was frizzed and disgusting. My clothes were sopping and even though I tried to stay clear of Rosalie so she wouldn't get upset, she still saw me and started to complain to Esme, making sure she wouldn't have any nights like last night. Only days for her.
After taking a shower and changing into some dry clothes, jean shorts and an old shirt, I could hear Edward talking to Jacob. My tensions were eased when I realized it wasn't face to face but phone to phone. Then he started to talk to me.
I'm going to thank you and make up with you now. he told me, a smile stuck in his thoughts.
Oh really? replied, trying to peek but ended up being blocked. Jacob's voice came in over his, talking about rearranging the treaty line, for awhile at least. I could feel my shoulders rise in excitement.
"That's an interesting suggestion." he smiled hearing my reaction. "We're quite willing to renegotiate. If Sam is amenable."
I started to shout at him. You really mean it? Oh Edward, I leapt in the air and ran out of my room and into Alice's. She looked at me like I was crazy. I thought of going to the reservation and seeing Seth, talking to him, seeing him look at me like he had before, while watching my future in Alice's mind. It slowly disappeared. I hugged her and started to jump up and down, like a giddy four year old getting a toy she had begged for.
"I'm going to get to talk to Seth." I over smiled at her.
"Oh great." she rolled her eyes and laughed lightly.
That night was the Quileutes' bond fire. I had heard the story before, about the tribe and the third wife. But I wanted to see how Seth took the information. After all, he seemed to have imprinted on me, and the evil vampire was female, and blonde. I wondered if imprinting could fade if you were terrified enough. At the end of the story his eyes were wide. Fear? Some part of me hoped not.
I wanted to ask him myself, to know if he had since I couldn't venture into his mind. So I looked into Jacob's. Seth was going to watch the line in the morning, scouting. I'd go then.
It was midnight now, leaving at least six hours to get ready. I would cover up most of my skin, that way I wouldn't startle him to much.
The time passed quickly as it usually did when you were a vampire. It was soothing and exciting all at the same time. I casually looked at myself in the mirror. I wore a blue long sleeve top that synched under the bust, and flared to the waist. My white jeans made my legs look somewhat longer and the black heels helped as well. I had my hair twisted into a ponytail with my bangs and a few long pieces curling out. Everything was perfect.
I went gently down the stairs and Edward was waiting for me at the bottom. He'd just changed too.
"You look very nice." he smiled lightly. "Visiting someone?" he questioned with his crooked grin.
"Yes." I smiled back at him. He had already seen my plans and he had no objections. If he had tried to argue with me, he knew he would have lost the battle.
"Don't push it." he said lightly. "It might hurt you."
"Everyone gets hurt Edward." I smiled at him. "We can't always be safe and protected."
"Yes," he said thoughtfully, looking down. "I suppose you're right. See you later."
I turned around waving over my shoulder and heading out the front. It took mere minutes to meet the line. I positioned myself behind a tree, my body small enough to fit behind its medium sized trunk. I held onto its sides tenderly, my hands soft against its rough bark. It was there that I waited for him. I watched where he was supposed to be position, where Alice had seen my future disappear only hours ago.
The sun rose and lit the land around us. In mere minutes I found him. He was coming from the trees, his paws indenting into the dewy ground. I moved my hands slightly and he flinched and bared his teeth. He got low to the ground ready to attack whatever it was in the distance. He was so young though, it seemed impossible that he would have changed already. I realized how small he was compared to Jacob's wolf size. He looked fragile.
I came out from my hiding place, unwillingly because the sun was emitting from the treetops and it scattered along the river that separated our lands. I shined more than the crystal water. My hands looked as though there were covered in gloves which had been bedazzled. I could only think how my face looked. He realized it was me instantly and could only stare at me. I didn't know if that was a good thing or bad thing.
My feet moved back into the shadows, I hated not knowing what he thought of me. What if I had frightened him? How could I know? But as my feet took me back, his paws moved him forward. He came as close to the edge as he could and a low moan came from his chest which stopped me instantly. He moved his head back motioning for me to come forward again. I moved willingly, putting myself on the edge like him.
"Hi." I spoke softly. I was shining again, but I still could not hear him. I glowed in his eyes, shinning brighter than a diamond ring. He looked as though he was lost in a dream. I laced my fingers in front of me and started to twiddle them. "I remind you of her don't I." It wasn't a question. To him, to them, we were monsters, and I only looked like the evil vampire who killed the people in his clan.
He blinked several times then looked at me with wide eyes. His head started to shake back and forth. Quickly, he backed into the trees and I could here him shifting. He came back with some shorts on and a wide smile.
"No." he laughed. "I pictured her much taller, and bloodthirsty." he paused and looked at the space between us. "You don't look hungry at all." he commented, still smiling.
"I'm not." I had eaten before coming here. The breeze pushed his way and once his nose wrinkled I sighed. "I put on perfume. I'm sorry for the smell."
He shrugged. "It's different. I'll get use to it. It's not that bad really." he smiled at me and looked me in the eyes. "You look really nice." he ended, still intertwined within my topaz eyes.
"Thanks." I'd been waiting to talk to him for so long, and now that I could, I didn't know what to talk about.
"Sam said he can't stop me from talking to you." his voice took me by surprise. "He said that since I've imprinted it's out of his hands." he paused. "He also said you can read minds." The words came out eager. Sam had probably told him that to frighten him, it obviously didn't work. I nodded, then he started again. "We can communicate by mind too, but you probably knew that already."
His body seemed to lean forward, but he quickly realized we weren't allowed any further. He looked around and his eyebrows furrowed. Frustration. He looked back up at me.
"So… can you hear me?" he smiled.
"No." I shook my head. "I don't know you well enough. I have to have a connection with someone before I can hear their thoughts. I'm not like Edward, but I also don't have to worry about space. Once I know someone, I can hear them anywhere. The more I know them, the louder they are."
"Awesome." he said enthusiastically. "That's so cool."
He wasn't afraid at all. He was interested, excited, eager, but not terrified. There was a light in his eyes, a spark that seemed to take me in. It was warm and comforting. It was real.
"Jake told me that when he went to see Bella, you didn't hurt him. He tells me that you weren't really a threat." he looked down. "Could you have hurt him?"
I smiled. "Yes, if he ever got on my bad side."
"I like Jake a lot. I wish he was Alpha sometimes." he told me truthfully. "He wouldn't have told me not to try to find you." he frowned.
"Sam did that?" I questioned. I knew it wasn't out of Sam's ability to do that. But I didn't know all of the tricks and trades of the werewolf life.
"Yeah." it came out forcefully. "He said that you were bad news."
I smirked. "He's probably right. A vampire can be very dangerous."
"You don't look like you've ever hurt anyone in your life." he objected.
"I haven't. That's why I don't smell as bad, my venom has not been tinted." I smiled. "I have a lot of self control."
He laughed. "So Jake's safe?"
"Yeah." I chuckled and looked over to where the water flowed over to the ocean. One mixing with another, but part of the same thing. But both different. One old, one young. One flowing, one almost set in a permanent position, only allowed to go back and forth. To crash upon a land where it didn't belong. I questioned who was who.
"I wish the others could talk to you." Seth said, looking out into the distance. "They would like you, I'm sure." he peeked back over to me.
I wish Sam liked you. he thought. That was it. We were connected.
"Me too." I commented on the unsaid. "He could have killed me once, but he didn't. So I guess he's not all bad."
He looked at me, his eyes bright again. "You can hear my thoughts?" he questioned with excitement. I nodded. "Good."
"You should turn back now." I told him. "If you're gone from thoughts for too long, Sam will get mad." I nodded and went back into the woods and came out as a wolf. We continued to talk until it was time for Paul's watch. I promised him we would talk soon and very softly in his head I could hear him say I love you.