A/N: I am not sure I want to continue this story any further. Mostly because I am not getting enough REVIEWS.
-M
Beautiful
Chapter Five: Secrets
It had been three days at the Cullen's house and we had fallen into a routine. Alice and Emmett would wake me up while Rosalie made me breakfast and Carlisle read the paper. They would all give me the same goodbye every morning as they left for school, leaving Carlisle and I alone for the day. Esme would always be outside or in Port Angels. Not that I was complaining. I liked spending time with Carlisle.
During the day, Carlisle and I would be in his study. He would either fill out paper work or read and I would read or work on homework. Some times we would talk about different books and just have a light conversation. Mostly about Edward or Alice. Then I usually fell asleep because of the medicine and then wake up to Esme bringing me my dinner in bed. I would hang out with Alice and Rosalie or Edward and Emmett and Jasper a little before it got too late and I let them head to bed.
At night I would fall asleep but I still had nightmares, but instead of waking up to a room full of concerned eyes, I would just feel a pair of strong cold arms lift me from my bed and then lay me down on the familiar cushions of Carlisle's couch in the study.
It was my third day at the Cullen house, but Alice convinced Charlie to let me stay another night so I could have a slumber party with Alice and then go shopping with her and Rosalie in Seattle tomorrow since it was Saturday. I, all but willingly, agreed since Carlisle said the concussion should have subsided.
I was laying on the couch in Carlisle's study, reading a book of poetry from his vast collections as I waited patiently for the rest of the Cullen's to come home from school. I could hear the tapping of rain against the glass door from the balcony and the crackle of the fireplace. Every so often I could hear Carlisle turn a page in the book he was reading and I sighed contently. It was comfortable reading like this with him. But even as I tried to read the same poem for the eighth time, I couldn't help but let my mind wonder.
I often thought about Carlisle and then I would feel guilty because he had a wife and I was just being immature. I just didn't know why I was more drawn to him that the other Cullen's. They were all remarkably beautiful but Carlisle… Well, he was Carlisle. Perfect. A Greek God. And I was just Bella. Plain old boring, Isabella Swan. I had nothing on Esme.
I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind as I flipped the page and then heard a car door close. I instantly knew I had a brief moment to wait for impact. I sighed and set the book down, standing in front of the door with my arms wide open.
Being in the same house as Alice means you learn really quick. And just like I thought, Alice came rushing through the door, flying into my welcoming arms and giving me a tight hug. I laughed softly as I heard Carlisle chuckle behind us. She let me go and the talking instantly started.
"Come on Bella! I am going to do your hair, make-up, clothes, wax," she counted off on her fingers.
"Whoa!" I said raising my hands to silence her. My cheeks were red as I hissed at her, "I am not waxing anything!"
I was all too aware of Carlisle standing behind us and this only made the embarrassment grow. "Daddy!" Alice chimed, "Isn't it normal for women to wax down there?"
I groaned and hid my face in my hands, not having the strength to actually look him in the eye. I heard him clear his throat, "Well, uh… Alice. You see, sometimes a woman- what I mean is. When a woman does such a thing, it can sometimes make it more pleasurable uh…"
I cut him off, "But I'm not having sex!"
I covered my mouth to prevent any more blurting of my mouth. Alice giggled and sang, "But you just might!" I couldn't even look at Carlisle as he cleared his throat once again. Alice grabbed me by the elbow and led me out of the room as she skipped down stairs.
"Oh, hold on Alice." I said, pulling away, stopping in front of Edward's door.
"Bella, wa-!" Alice called but it was too late. I had opened Edward's bedroom door and I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"What. The. Hell." I said clearly.
"Bella…" Edward began, his hands up as he got off the bed. I didn't care that he only had his boxers on and Esme was only wearing her bra and underwear. It pissed me off. H-How could they? How could they do that to Carlisle? Oh shit! Carlisle!
"Bella, you have to understand th-" I cut Edward off.
"No, Edward," I sneered his name, "You need to understand!" I hissed. I was beyond pissed. "How the hell can you do that to the man who loves you more than anything?" I yelled, getting into his face now.
His eyes turned black and then I saw Esme put her hand on Edward's shoulder. It only fueled the fire inside me.
"And you!" I pointed at Esme, "How can you do this to him?"
"Bella, nothing was going to happen-"
I cut her off, "NOTHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN? Edward has a freaking boner! I'm pretty sure something was going to happen. I'm not that ignorant, Esme!"
Just then I sensed someone staring at me. I turned around to see Carlisle standing in the doorway. My heart broke.
"Shit." I cursed under my breath and went up to him slowly.
"Carlisle…" I began. His eyes snapped to mine, "I am so sorry…" And that's when I lost it. I felt a sob escape my throat as I ran to him wrapped my arms around his waist. I felt his fingers run through my hair.
"Shh…" he whispered, "Why are you sorry, Isabella?"
"Well…" I sniffled and looked over my shoulder at Edward and Esme who were now completely dressed. "Yo-You're wife and s-son were-were…"
I couldn't get the words out as I looked up at Carlisle and saw a look of hurt in his eyes. I heard him sigh and gently pick me up from under my arms. We were face to face and I tilted my head in confusion, blinking away the tears that were blurring my vision.
"We need to have a discussion." He breathed and I couldn't do anything but nod.
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Carlisle's Point of View;
It broke my heart to see Isabella crying for me. Oh, if only she knew the truth. I had learned so much from her these past three days and I loved everything about her. She was sweet and intelligent. Someone I could really picture spending the rest of my existence with.
But what happened when she would grow old and die? Was I going to let her become like that? No. Maybe. Its up to her. But then again, now I had to explain to her our existence because Edward couldn't keep his needs in check. If I didn't know better, I would have guess he had planned this. Would she fear us and run? Umm… Of course!
Even in my thoughts I couldn't find hope for a better outcome. I sighed and carried her downstairs and the rest of the family followed. We went our natural speed and once we hit the bottom stair, Isabella spoke up, "Whoa… Uh, what was that?"
I chuckled and set her down on the couch. She sat and I sat across from her on the love seat. Alice sat in Jasper's lap next to Bella, and Esme and Edward held hands while standing to my right. Rosalie and Emmett came over and sat to the free side of Bella, Rosalie mimicking Jasper and Alice's position on the couch.
Bella looked around at all of us and said, "So are you guys finally going to tell me what the big secret is with the family?"
That shocked everyone. I looked at her with wonder and everyone's eyes snapped to her. But she held her ground and crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed even though there was a pink blush making its way to her cheeks.
"Now Bella," I began, gaining her full attention. I have her a smile and continued, "We are not like other people."
She tried to fight back a smile as the corner of her mouth twitched, "Yeah, I figured that out already."
"Well, first of all," Edward stepped in, "Esme is mine. She is married to me." He gave Bella a grin as he kissed the back of Esme's hand. Bella's face was confused and I nodded, "It's true."
Bella pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Wait. So you're telling me that Edward is seventeen and married to a woman that is twice his age? Don't get me wrong, age to me doesn't matter. Bravo, Edward. She's hot. But come on!"
Emmett's booming laugh filled the room and the rest of the family chuckled at her statement. "That brings us to our next topic." I said.
"Bella, we're vampires." Alice chimed. "Way to be blunt, darlin'." Jasper spoke behind her.
Bella started laughing. Wait, laughing? "Uh… You okay, Bellsi Poo?" Emmett asked poking her arm.
Bellsi Poo? Really Emmett? I thought. Edward just snorted.
"Wait, wait. Come on. Do you expect me to believe that?" She asked.
"Emmett!" Rosalie screeched as he pilled her up with one hand.
"See? We have super strength!"
"Steroids." Bella said as if it were obvious.
"What? Oh, whatever! Hater! You don't get muscles like this from that crap!" He flexed like he did in the hospital with Rosalie in his lap. She turned and smacked him up side the head.
"Bella, look at me." Edward chimed. She did as he said. He ran into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and came back in two seconds flat.
Bella's eyes became wide as saucers. Oh no…
"Oh my… Y-You're vampires?" She asked as she looked at all of us.
I was bracing her self to start screaming and to run out of the house but then all of a sudden I hear a sigh and her leaning back in the couch.
"Explain." She said simply.
She listened to every word. "First," I started holding up one finger, "The Volturi are the leaders of the vampire world. They enforce our laws and protect the secret of our existence."
"Second," Edward spoke up, "Our diet." We all looked at Isabella but she didn't seem phased.
"We hunt animals. My favorite is grizzly bears!" Emmett boomed. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. Bella's lips curled into a smile.
"But don't be too comfortable." Edward warned, "We are still attracted to human blood. Though animal blood takes an edge of the thirst, we are still never fully satisfied."
"Its okay. I trust you." Bella said, her smile never faultering. I couldn't help but look at her in such amazement. She was just a fragile human but her will and soul were stronger than any of ours…
"But I am the newest, Bella. I am still not use to it completely. I still have my slip ups." Jasper whispered. I would have thought that Bella missed what he said but she spoke up.
"That's okay Jasper. I have faith in you." She patted his knee and smiled at him. Suddenly I felt a wave of calm and appreciation fill the room.
"Whoa. What was that?" Bella asked looking at us.
"Oh! Yeah, some of us have special abilities." Alice chimed in.
"Like…?" Bella inquired.
"Well, I can see the future." Alice said proudly, "And Jazzy here is an empath! He can feel emotions and make others feel them as well."
She nodded her head in understanding and then looked at Jasper with sad eyes. "Oh Jasper…" She patted his hand.
Even for a three hundred year old vampire, this human was confusing me. "What?" Rosalie asked.
"It must be so hard on you Jasper." Bella said.
"What on Earth are you talking about, Bella?" Rosalie clarified.
"Well… Isn't bloodlust an emotion? So doesn't Jasper feel all of yours and his all together?" Bella explained.
That never occurred to me before. But now that she says it, it does make sense. We all snapped our heads to Jasper. "Jazzy, is that true?" Alice said looking at him.
Jasper opened his mouth and then closed and as he sighed and nodded his head. I instantly felt guilt. Our whole family would treat him as the weak link when in fact he had the most strength.
"You are very strong Jasper. You should be proud." Bella added and squeezed his hand. Jasper smiled at Bella.
"She is right." I added. Jasper smiled and nodded at me.
"Okay, how the hell did she get so smart all of a sudden?" Rosalie asked. I could hear the laughter in her voice.
"I'm just observant I guess." Bella shrugged. "So anything else?"
"Well, Edward can read minds." Esme said. Instantly I heard Bella's heart rate increase and the color drain from her face.
"Whoa there, Bellsi Poo. I've seen corpses with more color than you!" Emmett joked. I
"Y-You can read minds? Oh, please Edward, I'm sorry for yelling at you and Esme, please just don't tell anyone my thoughts, please!" Bella was pleading now and I could see the panic in her eyes.
"Bella, shh…" I said, "He can't read your mind."
Confusion flashed across her face, "But you just said-"
"You're the only exception." I said and smiled.
"And is pisses him off!" Emmett boomed.
"She isn't scared about our diet, but she is freaked out if someone can read her mind. No self-preservation." Jasper chuckled under Alice. That caused a blush out of Bella.
"And…" Rosalie said softly, "We aren't able to have children…"
Bella looked at her and whispered, "I'm sorry, Rosalie. You would have made a wonderful mother."
Rosalie looked at her shocked but a small smiled tugged on her lips. "If it makes you feel better, I can't have kids either." Bella added.
"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked. We were all curious now. A blush pooled in Bella's cheeks.
"Well, uh… That has something to do with my secret." She said shyly, a frown pulling at her lips as she gently bit her bottom lip. God I loved it when she did that.
"About that Bella, when are you going to tell us about it?" Edward asked. I sent him a glare but he ignored me.
"Uh… I guess now is better than never. But is there any other basics I need to know about you guys?"
"We can't sleep or cry. We have super everything. We have heightened sense such as vision, smell, touch, and thought." Alice counted off.
"But the other night when I woke up from my nightmare, you looked like you had tears in your eyes." Bella said.
"Oh, that's venom. We have it in our mouth too!" Alice said opening her mouth wide for Bella to see. Bella looked inside.
"At least your breath smells nice." Bella chimed, "Even if you do have death spit."
Everyone laughed at that. "Oh, I love it! Death spit!" Emmett boomed.
"Oh, and Carlisle is the only one of us that doesn't have a mate." Alice whispered to Bella, even though we could hear her. Bella's cheeks flushed and I gave her a smile causing her to turn a shade darker.
"So. Your secret?" Edward proded.
Bella sighed and looked at me and I gave her a soft smile. She smiled back and stood up to pace the floor, probably thinking of how to start.
"Okay. It all started when I was eight." She began and looked around. Once she knew we weren't going to interrupt her, she continued with a sigh, "My parents split and I was living with my Mom and Phil. When we moved to Arizona near his family, we were really dependant on his parents. He was adopted along with a couple of other siblings."
She took a deep breath and continued, "Well, one day a big kid was getting off of the bus at the junior high school and he accidentally hit me on the back of my head with his instrument. It hurt but it was nothing more than a bump. I cried and just wanted to go home. So when I got to the elementary school they called everyone but no one could come get me except Phil's father, Mike."
She gulped and I felt a sense of calm wash over us. She smiled at Jasper and he just nodded his head, giving her an encouraging smile. I was trying to keep my emotions in check but I could feel the anger and distress start to rise within me.
"Long story short, he was letting me sit in his chair in the living room and when I did, he got on his knees in front of me and slipped his fingers down my pants and panties… He told me how he wished he could," She took a deep breath and I could smell the salt of her tears as a single tear ran down her cheek, "how he could make love to me." She whispered. I felt a growl rise in everyone and Bella looked around.
The anger in my rose and I had to grind my teeth to keep my cool. I wanted nothing more than to pick her up and comfort her. But I didn't want to scare her. She wasn't mine. Yet. I would wait. But I wanted my Isabella.
"You guys are starting to sound more like werewolves rather than vampires." She joked as she sniffed and quickly wiped away her tear.
"I'm going to kill him." Emmett growled.
Bella laughed, "Don't worry. I already went to court. He's a registered sex offender." Emmett smiled softly.
"That was very brave of you, Bella." Alice said softly. A sense of pride filled the room and Bella looked at Jasper again with thanks.
"Then why can't you have kids?" Rosalie asked.
"Well, when I told me mom about Mike, I had to get a physical. When they… checked me. They noticed that something wasn't right with my ovaries. I just doesn't produce what I need to have them."
"But what about Phil?" Edward asked.
"What about him?" Bella snapped. We were taken back by this and Bella sighed.
"Sorry… I should have guessed you would realize that there is more than just Mike." She sighed and paced the floor even more.
"Once when we were taking a trip to North Carolina, we shared a hotel room. He was drunk and he just… Touched me. It made me uncomfortable so I hid in the closet until he fell asleep. I didn't think much of it. I mean, like, he was drunk but I don't think he would do it again."
She sighed and Jasper snapped at her, "Don't ever blame yourself, Isabella Swan." Her tiny frame jumped and ran straight into me.
She hopped into my lap and moved my arms to shield her. Emmett started laughing, "Ha! Jasper scared you."
Bella glared at him, "Did not!"
"Really?" he scuffed.
"I was just… Shocked! Jasper is like… A bunny." She smiled as she said it.
Alice and Emmett were laughing so hard it made me glad to know they couldn't breath. Jasper huffed as he sent a wave of calm throughout the room again.
I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her in my lap as she looked at everyone, pulling her against my chest.
"Go on with the story, Isabella." I whispered in her ear. She blushed but continued, "Well, uh… Then we were in the pool one night and he was getting pretty drunk. So I went to bed early. He said he couldn't sleep and honestly neither could I."
Her hands rested on my hands that lay over her flat warm stomach. She squeezed them gently before continuing, "And we decided to watch a movie. It wasn't something that was new to us. We did it quite often. But then I fell asleep and woke up to him forcing me to… Perform oral sex." She whispered the last part out.
I was furious. How could some one hurt Bella like that? Its no wonder why she is afraid of people in general! If I could cry, I would be weeping for Isabella. She was confused and afraid to trust. She had every right to be. But I was going to make it so she would trust me. I had to. I loved her.
"Isabella," I whispered in her ear. She turned her head to look at me and I saw the tears stain her cheeks. I used my thumbs to catch one as I said, "You are already considered family. We will do anything to protect you.
"Aw GROSS! ALICE!" Bella yelled. I didn't notice that Alice had come up to Bella and I and licked her cheek, tasting her tears.
"What?" She said innocently.
"I don't want your death spit all over my face!" Bella whined and wiped the cheek Alice licked. I chuckled and I was a little jealous that Alice got to do that.
"So what did I taste like?" Bella asked, still wiping her cheek.
"Very sweet! Kind of like strawberries." Alice chimed.
"Really?" Bella asked. I was actually curious too so without hesitation, I licked Bella's other cheek.
I heard her gasp at my actions. "She's right. Very sweet." I said softly.
"Hey! You didn't yell at him!" Alice whined.
"I don't mind his death spit!" Bella shot back, a blush on her cheeks.
Alice giggled and chimed, "Oh, Bella, Bella! I know something you don't!"
"No duh!" She said and continued to mumble under her breath, "Stupid future telling vampire…"
I was surprised that Bella didn't mind me being so close to her. Not that I was complaining. Her warm and scent were simply intoxicating to me and I loved every moment I got with her. I just couldn't wait until the day I could call her mine.
A/N: Well, that is the end of this chapter. Review and I will have Carlisle lick your cheek. ;)
-M