Chapter 8

Help/ Practice Makes Perfect

Help, I need somebody
Help, not just anybody
Help, you know I need someone, help

Help! - The Beatles

Flash Forward

Just as Sadie fell asleep, the phone rang. I cursed it in my head and ran to get it; I picked it up on the second ring.

"Hello," I breathed.

"Bella?"

I sucked in an unneeded breath. "Mom,"

"How are you?" she asked, clearly nervous.

I cleared my throat. I hadn't heard from my mother since the day I told her I was pregnant. She didn't know about the twins.

"All things considered, pretty good." I told her. "How are you?"

She sniffed. Was she crying? "I'm so sorry, Bella, for everything." I sat down at the kitchen table.

"Mom, it's okay." I reassured her.

"No, it's not." Her voice was thick. "I wasn't being a good mother. I wasn't there for you when Charlie passed or when your baby was born. I'm so sorry for missing such a big phase of your life."

I sighed. I wasn't mad at my mother; I was never mad. I was hurt by her actions, but nothing I couldn't forgive her for. She was my mother.

"Mom, it's okay." I paused. "I have some bigger news." I didn't wait for an answer. "I had twins." I braced my self.

There was a long silence before my mother spoke. "Twins, wow, that's a surprise."

"It was." I agreed.

"What…" she hesitated. "What are their names?"

I smiled. "Noah Charles and Sadie Elizabeth Cullen,"

"Those are beautiful names. How are you handling being a mom?" she asked a slight excitement in her voice.

"It's hard, harder than I expected." I confessed.

She chuckled; I had missed her laugh. "Parenthood is your biggest challenge, but it is the most rewarding." She paused. "Bella, would you mind if I came to see them?"

That shocked me. I didn't think she would want to come to Forks.

"Yes, that would be great." I told her. We discussed when she would come and decided to do it on one of Phil's away games. I hung up with her and was nervous. I loved my mom, she 

was like my best friend, but I sensed a growing apart. I guess that happens when you don't talk to some one for months, but this was different.

Finally the day arrived when my mom would fly in from Florida. I was so nervous and Noah and Sadie could feel it. Sadie was panicky all day and Noah would go into a full blown out crying fest when I left the room.

My mom was going to rent a car and drive to Forks from Port Angeles. I paced in the living room, looking over at Sadie and Noah in their swinging seats. They had both fallen asleep after I had feed and burped them. They were almost six weeks old and they were growing so fast.

They were both wearing gray hoodies and dark wash jeans. I had a striped sweater hoodie over a gray tank top with jeans.

I heard a knock at the door and I went to answer it. There stood my mother.

"Bella!" she exclaimed and enveloped me in a hug. I returned the hug with out the force; I didn't want to break her. She pulled away from me and held me at arm's length. Her eyes ran all over me, studying me. "Wow, you look wonderful."

I pulled myself the rest of the way out of her grip. "Thanks. The babies are sleeping, so you need to be quiet." I told her in a low voice.

"Of course," She brushed past me and into the living room where the twins were sleeping. She walked over to them and frowned at first, but then she started smiling. "Well, they don't look a thing like me."

I shook my head. "No, they take after their father."

Renee snorted which caused Noah to jerk awake. I could see the tears form in his eyes and I rushed over to get him. I cradled him in my arms and ran a hand over his head. He was comforted by being rocked in my arms, but not enough to go back to sleep.

"May I hold him?" my mom asked. I carefully put him into her arms. She looked over Noah, searching for something, anything that makes him look related to her. She frowned as she found nothing.

"Noah looks the most like him." I told her, my voice soft.

"How can you even speak about him after what he did?" She retorted; her loudness disturbed Noah, who whimpered. That made me angry. So many people spoke badly of Edward.

"He is their father and I love him." I told her, my voice low and harsh. Sadie was fully awake now.

Mom was shocked and angry. "Love him? Bella, he left you. You were pregnant and he left."

"You left me too." The words left my mouth before I realized what I was saying. But my words had already done their job. Mom was hurt.

"Bella," There was tears in her eyes.

"That was the time that I needed you the most. I didn't have Charlie, and I didn't have Edward. You should have understood where I was coming from. I was alone and scared." My 

voice was thick, but no tears fell. My mom put Noah back in his swing and came over and crushed me in a hug.

"I'm so sorry Bella. I should have been there for you." My mother cried onto my shoulder. I inhaled her scent. It was stronger now, but she still smelt like how she always did, fresh and clean.

"It's okay," I mumbled into her shoulder. She pulled away from me, wiping away the tears from her red-rimmed eyes. Sadie, feeling the tense atmosphere, started crying. I picked her up, letting her head rest on my shoulder, I rubbed her back. I hummed my lullaby to her. I listened to the CD I found all those months ago, nearly everyday. It's what I played as the twins fell asleep, it comforted them and me.

Soon Sadie stopped crying. I held her so that her back was against my chest and I had one arm underneath her bottom and the other wrapped around her.

"Bella, you're a great mom. I'm really sorry." Mom said as she watched me comfort Sadie.

"I know you are." I told her. "When does your flight leave?" She looked down at her watch.

"In a couple of hours, I should get going." I set Sadie into her swing and embraced my mom. "I'll call you every week." She pulled away from me and smiled.

"It was good to see you." I told her as we walked towards the front door. We hugged one last time and she got into her car and drove off.

I shut the door and let myself slide down it. I wrapped my arms around my knees and let my head drop. The burning in my chest was painful. I dry sobbed and the sound filling the silent house. My emotions took over my rationality at that point and I just let it out. I heard two high pitched wails coming from the living room. I jumped up and went to my children. They were both fine as soon as I put their binkies back into their mouths. I smiled at them. I jumped and turned around as I heard my name said. I was face to face with Victoria.

"Hello Bella," her voice was much higher pitched than I thought it would be, very child-like. I was too stunned to speak. Victoria was like nothing I had imagined her to be. Her face was blank, not a hint of emotion. Her hair was still bright, but relatively calm. Her burgundy eyes jumped back and forth between Noah and Sadie.

"What do you want?" The shock had worn off some and I was on the defensive. My voice was strong. I knew I was strong enough to defend my children.

Her faced stayed blank as she spoke, "I was thinking of a mate for a mate. But," her eyes broke away from my face and looked behind me. "Edward's children would be even better."

"These are not Edward's children." I lied. She cracked a smile then.

"They look a lot like him." She looked me up and down. "You don't seem like the type to cheat. Plus, how else would you be a vampire?"

I growled at her then. "I'm not the weak human I once was."

She laughed then, the sound of that of a small child. "But you have weakness, two of them."

"They are just infants. Would you really take the life of two innocent children?" I questioned her. I was trying to dig into the small part of her brain that still held that sympathy for children.

Her brow furrowed and she bared her teeth at me. "Don't try and play head games with me. James is dead because of Edward. Edward needs to suffer the way I did." Her eyes focused behind me again. "When you least expect it, Bella, that's when it will happen." Then she was gone.

I quickly got the twins up stairs and into my room. After they were fed I gave them a bath and changed them into their pajamas; I dressed Noah into a green sleeper and Sadie wore a yellow one. I took a quick shower and changed into a hoodie and sweat pants. I got Noah and Sadie to sleep by putting on Edward's CD. As soon as they were asleep, I shut it off.

What was I to do? I couldn't run; Victoria would just find me. I could only hope that Rosalie and Emmett would come to visit soon. Who could help me?

That's when it hit me: the wolves. They probably already caught Victoria's scent. I scrolled through my contacts I found Billy's number and listened as the number dialed. After the fourth ring a deep voice answered the phone.

"Hello?" I identified the person as Jacob.

"Jake, it's Bella." I told him.

"Bella? Why are you calling?" He sounded shocked and curious.

"Has your pack caught the scent of a vampire other than me?" I asked him, hoping he gave me the answer I wanted.

His voice was guarded. "Yeah," he spoke slowly. "Why?"

"It's a long story, but she's after Noah, Sadie and me." I told him. I heard his sharp intake of air.

"Why? What happened?" He asked, rushed.

I sighed. "Do you remember last spring when I got hurt in Arizona?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, I didn't fall down a flight of stairs. A vampire, James," I felt chills run down my spine as I said his name. "He was hunting me and he hurt me pretty bad, but Edward, he saved me. Well James had a mate, Victoria, the vampire who wants to hurt us. She lost her mate and now she wants Edward to suffer like she has." I took a breath. "I need help. I can't fight her on my own."

Jake sighed. "We've been trying to get her, but she has a knack for escaping. We've almost gotten her twice but she keeps getting away from us." He paused. "I'll tell Sam and we'll have some one take a run by your house."

"Thanks Jake. So, how are you?" I asked him. I hadn't talked to him since I jumped off the cliff.

"Tired," he yawned and I laughed. "Sam has us pulling double shifts with this bloodsucker running around." He paused. "Sorry about the name."

"It's okay. You can call this one what ever you want." We laughed.

"How are the babies, Noah and Sadie right?"

I smiled. "They're fine and right now, they're sleeping. How's Billy?"

"He's doing okay. He still upset about, well, ya know." His voice was apologetic.

Sadness covered my voice. "Yeah, I know. It's hard, but it's getting easier. I just wish he would have gotten to see Noah and Sadie. He would have made a wonderful grandpa."

"He would have." Jake agreed. There was someone talking in the background. "Bella, I have to go now. I'll tell Sam."

"Thanks Jake. Bye."

"Later Bella." He hung up. I set my phone on my night stand. Well, at least I could rest knowing that there was someone out there. I was still on edge, though. I couldn't get her words out of my head. I understood why she was doing what she was doing. She had lost the one she loved, and in that fact, I sympathized with her. But she was threatening my children, the people who I would die for. What would happen to them if something happened to me? They couldn't go to my Mom's, what if their "vampire" side came out? There was only one option.

I flipped my phone opened and started scrolling through the names. I found the one I wanted and hit the call button. They answered on the second ring.

"Hello,"

"Emily, its Bella." I said, hoping she would remember me.

"Bella! How are you, how are your kids?" she asked excitedly.

I smiled, grateful that she remembered. "They are wonderful. Listen, I have something to ask you. Its kind of big."

"Sure, what is it?" She asked, worried.

I sighed. "Emily, if something would happen to me, I want you to take Noah and Sadie."

"Bella-"

I stopped her. "Emily, I would want you to try and find the Cullen's so that Noah and Sadie could be with them."

"Oh," she paused. "I would love to do that for you Bella." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." I told her.

"No problem." There was a deep male voice asking Emily who she was talking to. She said my name and the voice said something I couldn't hear. "Bella, I have to go."

"Thanks Emily, bye." I hung up. Well at least that was taken care of. I laid down on my bed and thought about Edward. I let my memories of him seep over me, wrapping my body in a cocoon of happiness. I missed him, everything about him. His warm, golden eyes, those hard lips that were always so gentle with mine, the way the wind would play in his already messy bronze hair. The thing I missed the most about him was him lying in bed with me, his arms wrapped around me, his soft voice humming me to sleep.

Edward, where are you?

Edward's POV

So sweet I can hardly speak
Due to such trauma in my teeth
But your body language is telling me that you're worth the pain

I've become what a mother wouldn't want in a son
And I have done a few things I regret

But practice makes perfect
Practice makes perfect sense
To me.

Practice Makes Perfect- Cute Is What We Aim For

As ran through the dark streets, I only had one thought, one person on my mind: Bella. She was all I thought about, ever since that day in the forest. I never thought and I didn't want her to believe the lie. I wanted her to see through it, to stop me. But I was so damn convincing. I had to leave her there, calling my name, wanting me to return. Of all the things I have done in the past ninety some years that I have spent roaming this earth, lying to and leaving Bella was my biggest regret.

I wanted her, I needed her. But I had to stay away, for Bella's sake, I had to. She deserved so much more than me.

I ran past a sign that read, "Welcome to Pennsylvania". So that's where I was. I hadn't been paying attention to where I was running. I stopped on a bridge and looked down at the river that ran underneath it. I looked up and gazed at the stars.

With out the night, we would never see the stars. Not that you see them much here.

Bella's words slapped me in the face. Everything reminded me of her. I started walking across the bridge and I saw the bright lights of downtown of what ever city I was in. I stopped in front of a restaurant. Quaker Stake and Lube. I walked inside. The place was crowded with families and groups of friends.

I took a seat at the bar and order a beer for appearances. I sat there and stared at the TV that was playing a baseball game. The bartender asked for my ID and I gave him one that said I was twenty-one. He placed the beer in front of me. I picked it up and set it back down. I tried to block out the thoughts of those around me and focus on my own.

Bella.

I missed her. Her deep brown eyes that saw right through me, her soft, warm skin that glowed, her long hair that always smelled of strawberries and her warm lips that fit perfectly with mine.

How could someone as wonderful, as beautiful as Bella, love me? I was a monster, one that was a danger to her.

But my life was miserable without her. She was the sun in the dark world that was my life. I would always try and imagine what kind of life was having.

It was a Friday night; she was probably out with her friends, maybe even on a date. The thought punched me in the stomach and I rejected it. But that's what you wanted, I told myself. 

True, I wanted her to move on and have a happy, normal life. That included getting over me. But I was selfish. I didn't want her to get over me. I wanted her to be happy with me. No, I chastised myself; this is what's best for Bella.

I repeated that in my head. It kept me away.

I suddenly saw someone sit next to me. It was a young girl, fourteen or fifteen.

"Coke on the rocks," she told the bartender who just smiled at her and got her a drink. She had dark blonde hair. She was wearing a white tee shirt with jeans and dirty Converse. She turned towards me and smiled.

"Hi," she stuck out her hand. "I'm Nicole." I wonder why he looks so sad.

I shook her hand. "Edward," She was shocked by the coldness of my hand. The bartender gave her a cup full of ice and Coke with a curly straw.

"Aw, you remembered the straw. I'm touched." She took a sip and turned back to me. "So everyone in this place is happy and having a good time, everyone but you. Who broke your heart?" Her short legs dangled off the bar stool. I turned to face her and was met with a young face shaped by long hair. She had blue eyes. No wait, they weren't just blue, there was green that surrounded her pupil.

"No one broke my heart." I told her.

What a lair. "Sure. Now, let's try the truth." She took another sip of her drink. Her thoughts were so innocent and carefree. She was truly concerned about me.

I sighed. She smelled good, nothing like Bella but still it was floral, but fresher, clean like.

"Let's start with her name." she suggested.

"Her name is Bella." I told her.

Just like my cousin, Bella Rose. "So what happened?"

"I left her." I told her and her brow furrowed.

"Why?" she questioned.

"It was better for her, a better chance for her to have a normal life." I told her the most truthful I could.

"Does she love you?" She took another sip. I bet she does.

"Not as much as I love her."

She snorted. "Right. Edward, listen to me. I bet you any money that she is as down in the dumps as you are."

I raised an eyebrow. "How would you know that?"

She shrugged. "You seem like a hard person to let go, to get over. Did you even talk to her about your decision? Did you see how she would feel about you leaving?"

"No, but-" She cut me off.

"There you go. You were being a stupid boy and tried to make the best decision with out even asking how the girl felt about it."

"I would have stayed. She would have convinced me to stay." I told her in a rush.

"If your resolve is that weak, then maybe you should have stayed. It's obvious that you miss her." She placed a hand on top of mine and leaned forward. "Go back to her. Talk to her. I'm sure what ever you said to her, she'll forgive you." She smiled warmly at me.

"And if you're wrong," I asked.

She shrugged and laughed. "You can come back and kill me. But I'll warn you now, I'm usually not wrong." She hopped down from the stool, carrying her drink.

"Nicole," she stopped and turned to me. "Thanks."

She smiled, "Your welcome. I hope everything works out for you." She went and sat back down at her table. Hopefully he'll listen to me. Any girl, who has him, would never just let him go. He'd better go back.

I smiled and paid for the drink. I walked out of the restaurant. I stuck my hands in my hoodie and started walking again. Maybe she was right. I laughed out loud then. A human was the one to knock some sense into me. No vampires were able to do it, but this small human girl was.

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