A/N: So, enjoy the Bella not thinking they can hear her in this chapter…and I reused Carlisle's favorite book from Bridges… but I think it fits him (Or maybe it's just because I love it so much)…Read. Enjoy. Review…
Trip Around the Sun
Chapter Five: Friday Night
"Hey Alice," I answered my cell phone, it was Friday night and I was sitting on the couch with my feet on the coffee table so that my knee could be straight.
"Hey, Bella," said Alice happily on the other end of the line, "I was wondering if you wanted to come over for a sleep over tonight, we'll pick you up."
It had been a two days since I had seen Carlisle at the hospital, and the dreams were not relenting in the least. Our little scene in the elevator had added a whole other series of dreams the last two nights. I had, in the process of not wanting to have to see Carlisle, rejected at least three invites over the Cullen house. I felt really bad about that too, I wanted to hang around with Alice and Jasper outside school, but as long as Carlisle was going to be around too I would have to concentrate on not drooling rather than paying attention to them. I started to rack my brain for a new excuse. I had used my knee pain all week…
"I, can't, I promised my mom I would call her tonight," That had to be the lamest excuse in the history of the world.
"Bella, you can call her from here," said Alice reminded, and then her tone turned sad, "Unless you just don't feel like coming over, which is totally understandable."
"No, Alice," I said, she already knew how to guilt me, "I'll come over."
"Good, I'll call dad, he gets out of work in a few minutes, and he can pick you up," said Alice and I tried not to groan out loud.
"I can drive myself," I said and I heard her sigh.
"Jasper already called him, he's on his way," said Alice and I rolled my eyes.
"Alright," I said and hung up quickly to avoid screaming over the phone.
I maneuvered myself up to go pack for the night and was cursing just about at the top of my lungs at Alice. Charlie wasn't home, so I was free to say just about whatever I wanted. I cursed Alice to high heaven as I propelled myself into my room and emptied my backpack onto my bed. I then proceeded to throw clothes into it as I stormed around my room.
"Alice!" I yelled, as I sat on the edge of my bed and zipped up my bag, "Your dad is freaking amazing! He makes my heart go all crazy and I cannot be in a room with him longer than a few minutes or I think my heart will fail me. Yeah sure, make him pick me up. That'll go over well I'll either have jumped him or be dead by the time we get to your house."
I finished my rant as there was a tooting of a car horn from the driveway. I looked out my thankfully closed window to see Carlisle's Mercedes sitting in the driveway waiting for me. I took a deep breath and threw my backpack over my shoulders, grabbing my crutches as I left the room and hobbling down the stairs and out the door. I got down the front porch steps before Carlisle came to meet me and took my backpack for me to the car. He opened the door for me and helped me into the front seat.
"You doing ok?" Carlisle asked watching me carefully before restarting the car, my heart, as always pounding with his presence, "You seem, distressed."
"I'm ok," I said taking a deep breath and he nodded with that smile that made my heart skip.
"You're sure?" He said, "Because you know if you ever need to talk about anything, I'll talk to you, any time."
"Thanks," I said, and my heart stopped pounding momentarily as he put his hand on my head rest and turned his torso around to look where he was going as he backed out.
I couldn't breathe. the simplicity of his hand being that close to my head brought back my first dream of him. I blinked, trying to clear my head off all the fog that was going into it, but I couldn't. Not when I was so close to him, sitting there in the car. I started to mentally telling myself off, what about your resolution?
"Yeah, you'd probably want to talk to Alice anyways," He said as he took his hand off the head rest and looked over at me kindly as he started towards the Cullen house.
"Yeah," I said, sure I sounded like a complete idiot.
"I cannot tell you how happy I was when they started bringing you home," He said and my entire internal system did a summer salt before he continued, "Alice and Jasper needed a new friend, they don't really hang around with anyone but each other. Well, other than you. I was kind of curious why you haven't come around in the past few days, Alice said she's been inviting you."
"Been busy," I replied with instant guilt, some friend I was, and he nodded as he watched the road.
"Well, our door's always open for you, Bella," He said and I swear I almost floated a few inches off my seat, Keep your head Bella.
"Thanks," I said and he smiled again, "And I'm sorry, I haven't been around."
"It's ok, we all understand," He said with a flicker in his eye, making my heart stop, did they all know? Then he added, "We've moved many a time, it takes a while to get settled. You're all settled now though, right?"
"Yeah," I lied, truthfully all my stuff was still in suitcases around my room, and my floor was full of clothes, I would have to deal with that soon, "Just about."
"And your classes?" He asked as he pulled into the driveway.
"Had most of the curriculum in the major classes is the same as last year," I said, "Its just the electives that are new really."
"Well that makes it easier on you," He said as he took the key out of the ignition and grabbed my bag from the back seat and got out of the car.
I positioned my crutches so that I would be able to get out of the car without further injuring my knee and when I went to open the door it was already open. Carlisle had my backpack on his own back and was holding my door open for me with a smile. He offered me his hand, which I couldn't resist using to help myself get out of the car. I'd rather him feel how shaky my hands were than have him have to pick me up out of the dirt.
I placed my hand in his palm and he closed his hand around it. I marveled at how cold his hand was as he used his muscles to lift me almost entirely by my hand safely out of the car. While his hand was cold, my hand seemed to fit inside of his perfectly. I had to try ridiculously hard to appear unaffected while the adrenaline rushed through my brain, I was surprised it wasn't leaking out my ears.
"Your hand's cold," I told him as he let go and shut the door for me as we headed towards the house.
"It's an occupational hazard," He replied with a small smirk, "Plus I have terrible circulation."
"I can't believe that," I said as we walked up the steps to the front door, "You seem like you take care of yourself pretty well."
"Thank-you," He replied as I once again wanted to go hide behind a rock or something, my brain and my mouth had some serious reacquainting to do.
"Bella!" Alice called happily as she bounced into the room and gave me a quick hug, "Did you eat yet?"
"Um, yeah," I said as Alice motioned for Carlisle to put my bag on the couch.
"I thought we'd sleep down here," She said, "It's got the best location, not to far from anywhere."
"Ok," I said and Alice beamed as Jasper walked into the room.
"Hello, Bella," He said politely and I nodded with a small smile in return.
Carlisle soon dismissed himself and Jasper from the room, offering to play a video game with Jasper for a few minutes before he was off to read. I sat on the couch with Alice and waited for Carlisle to leave the room, my heart actually slowing as he did. Alice beamed at me as she sat down on the couch next to me.
"Wanna watch a movie?" she asked and I nodded anything that might possibly take my mind off the desire to go watch Carlisle play Wii.
The main actor in the love story styled movie was blonde, I could've killed Alice. Then again, she didn't know what she was doing, but the movie certainly was not helping me. Though, I did have to admit the actor wasn't nearly as devastatingly handsome as Carlisle, but I was sure that that train of thought was not helping me either. I spent the majority of the movie trying not to pay attention to it.
Once the movie was over I pretended I was too tired to stay up much longer, and Alice went and got us pillows and blankets while I called mom. I curled up on one of their couches and closed my eyes, desperately trying to fall asleep. Alice seemed to be even more tired than I had pretended to be, and was asleep within minutes. I tossed and turned a little before I finally just stared at the ceiling.
I finally fell asleep for about an hour, before waking up and checking my phone to find out it was about midnight. I sighed and was thankful that my dreams hadn't been majority about Carlisle, mom always told me I talked in my sleep. That would have been terrible, 'oh yeah I had the strangest dream, your dad was getting eaten by a giant, that's why I kept calling his name Alice'. I probably wouldn't even have been able to get that out without letting my traitorous blushing getting in the way.
I decided to go get a glass of water in the kitchen, and tiptoe-limped by Alice so as not to wake her up. I really didn't feel like using my crutches to make the ten yard trip into the kitchen. I limped at a more normal pace once I got closer to the kitchen. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet, filled by way of the tap on the fridge door and went to sit at the table. I was immediately taken aback.
Carlisle was sitting at the table, and I assumed he had been watching me from there since I had come in. The moon was shining in through the window and shining almost perfectly off his hair. He was in a plain old white t-shirt and drawstring pj pants. He smiled at me and I felt the adrenaline rushing back at me.
"Good evening, Bella," He said as I got enough of myself together and walked over to sit down across from him, "Where're your crutches."
"I didn't think they were necessary," I said and he chuckled.
"You have to take care of injuries properly or they won't heal properly," He scolded, but I could tell he was joking, "But seriously don't worry, a few feet won't hurt it. What're you doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep," I said, before taking a sip of water, his eyes were watching me carefully, "What's your excuse?"
"I have a slight sleeping disorder," He said, "I don't think you and Alice are cut out for this sleepover stuff, aren't you two supposed to be playing loud music and keeping Jasper and I up anyways? I've seen quite a few movies to that effect."
"I was never really into all that teenager stuff," I said and he nodded.
"I've noticed that," said Carlisle, eyes twinkling.
"Not that hard to miss," I replied and he nodded, Damn he was literally perfect, just way the hell out of my league.
"No it's not," he said, letting out the most amazing chuckle, "Alice tells me you were quite taken with my book collection."
"Um, yeah," I said, his smile never fading from his face.
"Do you have a favorite?"
"Author or book?"
"Don't they usually coincide?" He asked and I shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess they do, usually," I said, "Wuthering heights."
"A classic," He said, "Interesting. You know, I have one of the first copies ever made of that one."
"How?" I asked.
"Easy, you just have to, um… know the right people," He said, "Along with a mixture of pure luck and being in the right place at the right time."
I chuckled a little.
"What's your favorite?" I asked curiously and he made a thoughtful face.
"You're going to laugh at me," He said and I shook my head.
"Never," I said as I realized that my heart was starting to relax a bit.
"Well I don't really have one specific," He said, then added sheepishly, "But, if I have to name one, A Tale of Two Cities. I've been liking it more and more now it seems."
"Why?" I asked curiously, for some reason I just wanted to know everything about him, and this was a start.
"I'm going to sound like a girl, which would be the point at which you would laugh," He said with a smile, "I like that Carton does whatever it takes to make his love happy, even when it isn't him that does. He knows that he could never make her as happy as Darnay, and he could have let Darnay die and then take Lucie for himself, but he doesn't. Her welfare means too much to him. He truly loves her."
"I always hated the ending to that book," I voiced and Carlisle looked at me oddly, "No, it was obviously genius, but who in their right mind would pick Darnay over Sydney?!"
"The society wasn't the same back then as it is now," He said and I chuckled.
"Well thank God," I said and he laughed, "But really you should be with the person who loves you, and you love him. That's what bugged me about Lucie, she picked Darnay because it was more socially acceptable."
"What makes you say that?" He asked, "It never says anything about all that in the book. She loved Darnay more."
"It was a total cop out," I said, "Her dad liked him more. And how could you love a man who's family was so terrible? How could anyone love him anyways, without his family when Sydney was walking around."
"It seems you and Lucie have opposing tastes," Carlisle pointed out and I shrugged.
"If she didn't love Sydney, she wouldn't have requested that Darnay give him a second chance," I said and he shrugged, "She wouldn't have let a guy like that around her kids if she didn't feel for him."
"Hey," Jasper said, alarmed as he walked in, his eyes seemed a little darker, but that was probably from the very little lighting in the room.
"Jasper!" said Carlisle, nearly jumping out of his seat and walking over, standing between Jasper and I, "Since you're up, could you take out the trash?"
Jasper nodded and went to it as I headed back to the couch.
"Good Night," Carlisle said, and I stopped, heart pounding about to leave the kitchen, "Sweet dreams."
I nodded, 'Yup they'll all be of you.'
"You too."
--
A/N 2: Ok, so the next chapter should be up Monday-ish, sorry for those of you who have been used to the everyday thing, and I am having a belated birthday party tomorrow(or today, depending on when you're reading this), (I turned sixteen about two weeks ago, they just put a party together for my family... yeah mom and dad are right on the ball... lol jk).... perhaps your reviews can persuade me though... ;)
