Summary: Months after the rest of the Cullens' return, and during the her senior year, Bella finds herself content but wary. With her future to think about and Victoria out to get her- tension is no stranger. And what happens when Edward finally returns- but his presence only complicates things?
" We'll get through this Bella, because we have each other."
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Stephanie Meyer is the respective owner, I'm just fooling around with the characters.
Bella stood at the front door of Angela's home after ascending the couple of steps to the porch. Well-groomed potted plants with elegant-looking flowers and trays marked with the seeds of freshly planted additions decorated the entrance- with a wooden rocking chair- dingy garden gloves resting on the armrest on the far right. The periwinkle color of the walls complimented the atmosphere of the home quite nicely, and it never seemed to chip or fade.
Angela's mother always did take great care of the house.
After a few knocks on the door, she sighed. Sticking one hand in her jean pocket, she adjusted the leather strap to the bag on her shoulder that was starting to feel a little heavy with all the college information packets she had gathered over the course of the school year stuffed inside, as well as the envelopes of info that was sent to her via mail.
She also had pajamas for that night, personal hygiene items and clothes for the following day, seeing as she was going to spend the night at Angela's instead.
Charlie was informed before she left so he wouldn't have to worry after her.
She figured it would be nice to have some girl time that wasn't Alice dragging her to the nearest mall. It had been a long time since she'd been at a sleepover anyway.
Angela appeared from behind the door- a large grin spreading across her pale, reddish lips. She was dressed in dark sweatpants and a loose-fitting grey v neck, with her long, brown hair spilling down her shoulders and resting just below her breast. It was different, because Bella usually saw her with her hair pulled into a ponytail or tucked into a loose bun.
She bit her lip subconsciously, having wished she had picked something that comfortable instead of grabbing for her jeans.
" Bella! Glad you could make it!" Angela exclaimed, and leaned forward to embrace her.
Bella smiled after pulling away. " Me too."
" Mom! Bella's here!" Angela called out to the kitchen then after Bella stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
" Hi Bella honey!" Her mother shouted then, and Bella chuckled. Ms. Weber appeared from the kitchen and approached her whilst wiping her hands on the dishtowel she was holding, before throwing it over her shoulder and embracing Bella in a warm hug. Bella smiled at the cinnamon aroma that always seemed to emit from the middle-aged woman and started to feel even more at ease.
" Oh it's so nice to see you again Bella! How have you been?"
" Good." Bella replied. " And your flowers on the porch, they're beautiful."
" Thank you dear," Ms. Weber replied with a flattered smile. " Those African Violets won't nurture themselves. Would you like a glass of water?"
" No thank you." Bella replied. Ms. Weber just smiled and patted her lightly on the shoulder. " Well dinner should be ready soon. Angela, be a dear and grab the flour from the top shelf on the pantry."
" Sure Mom." Angela replied with a chuckle. " Bella you can just head up to my room. I'll be there in a sec."
Bella nodded and ascended the stairs the second level of the house, where Angela's room was located in the hallway on the far right with the door slightly closed. On the far left was her mother's room, with the door also closed. Bella opened the door to her friend's room and it creaked open. She walked inside, observing the floor next to the bed that was plastered with college brochures. The desk where Angela's laptop was, was much worse. The brunette cringed at the thought of her having to go through every one of those pamphlets.
She hadn't brought nearly as many with her, just the few she had received in the mail within the time span of a few weeks at a time.
" Sorry about the mess." Angela piped as she walked in, shutting the door behind her gently. " Let's get started then."
Bella nodded and dropped her bag onto the bed, where she took a seat, watching Angela already get to work at the desk- ruffling through papers.
" Alright so, me and my mom talked, and naturally she wants me to go to a college close to home." Angela began sighing. " But I definitely don't want to be going to college in this town. I mean I've grown up here my whole life, I think I deserve to see what else is out there."
Bella listened as she scanned the own stack of papers she had retrieved from her backpack and laid across the bed.
" I got these brochures in the mail from UCLA and the Academy of Arts in New York," Angela continued. "They seem to have amazing arts programs, particularly good ones for aspiring photographers like me. If I were to get accepted, maybe live on campus if the money's right. So I'm thinking New York, or at least California first. I've always wanted to go to California."
" It seems to be a lot sunnier there. But then I'm sure everywhere else is sunnier than Forks." Bella muttered.
Angela smirked. " You'd like it there Bella. And who knows, you might get a tan that actually stays."
"Ha ha." Bella said, rolling her eyes. When she had visit her mother in Jacksonville a while ago she had come back with skin that was still pale as milk but had a slight beige tint to it. All of her friends seemed to notice at school, even though she couldn't really see what the fuss was all about when she barely noticed a difference. It didn't last long though; and within a weeks time she was back to being as pale as the Cullens.
" I'd probably just be one of the graduates that decided to stay in town anyway. Maybe go to a community college in the area or something." Bella added, and Angela gaped at her with wide eyes.
" Are you crazy? Community college? And in Forks? With your grades?-"
" It's a hell of a lot cheaper Angela-"
" There's financial aid for that. And loans if you really have to, but you don't even have to worry about those until have you graduate." Angela explained.
" Oh goodie." Bella replied sarcastically. " I'm not even sure about my career goals yet. It would give me time to think." Bella said thoughtfully.
" Or maybe, this is about the Cullens."
Bella froze. Looking up slowly her friend's eyes as there was silence, she sighed. " No.. it's not."
" Bella," Angela pressed. " They're going to graduate too ya know, and I'm sure they're applying for only the best colleges in the country, or probably the world. So you won't be leaving them behind if you do decide to go somewhere farther. They'll be away too, and I'm sure Emmett would call you everyday and tell you how much he misses you."
Bella blushed.
"And Charlie," Angela added with a chuckle."- he's a tough guy. I don't think he would mind too much."
Bella nodded. She had thought about where the Cullens would be going to college if they ever decided to enroll. They could get in just about anywhere with their looks alone, but their money and grades helped too. But Bella had come to learn that every year they decided they wanted to graduate high school, they would move eventually to another location just far enough so that no one would know who they were, and they would start anew as the new kids at some high school.
They never really went as far as college anymore, now that they received every Bachelor's and Master's they wanted.
There was no need for thousands of the same thing.
" The point I'm trying to make is that you should apply to any college you want to, and not be so concerned about everyone else. They'll be fine, and they'll be happy with wherever you decide to go and support you one hundred percent."
Emmett had even told her something similar at school the other day.
That she wasn't completely stuck at Forks, not if she didn't want to be.
" Just think about it Bella."
After dinner, Bella helped remove the plates and utensils from the table and into the sink, where Ms. Weber and Angela started on the dishes. She offered to help more but Ms. Weber just shooed her away- with Angela telling her she could go up to her room and unpack her things for the night. She kept her clothes in her bag, but decided to put her toothbrush and body wash in the bathroom.
Afterwards, she changed into her pajamas- a tank top and black yoga pants, before grabbing her cell phone from her bag. She raked a hand through her hair and walked out of the room and towards the bathroom down the hall. She could hear Angela and her mother talking and giggling from downstairs and she smiled, remembering when she had those moments with her own mom.
She closed the door shut to the bathroom and quickly dialed a number on her phone. Holding it up to her ear, she smiled when he answered after the first ring.
"Angela boring you already?"
She rolled her eyes. " No, Emmett. Just calling to check up on you is all."
" Shouldn't I be the one doing that sweets?" He retorted.
" Looks like I beat you to it."
" Well then," Emmett replied with a sigh. " Everything's just peachy over here. Just got back from a hunt not too long ago with Jasper. We did some poking around the town and there's still no sign of Victoria, or any other vampire for that matter. You're safe right now as far as we're concerned."
Bella smiled, though it was a little strained. " What about.. Edward?"
" Alice says she had a vision of him hunting near Arizona. So he shouldn't be back for a few days at the most, with his current state. Vampires with that kind of rage can't just do one day vacations. I should know." Emmett said with an aggravated chuckle.
" How are you feeling... by the way Emmett?" She asked, remembering how angry he was about Edward in the cafeteria.
He chuckled. " Well, second time hunting in three days I think did me in for now. I think I'm a little too full of elk blood."
She sighed. " Emmett-"
" I promise you I'm fine Bella. And you're okay too and that's all that matters right now."
Bella swallowed and stepped back to lean against the wall. Shutting her eyes, she sighed into the phone- her heart hammering in her chest just thinking about the bronze-haired vampire.
" I hope so." She sighed again. " I miss you."
He chuckled. " I miss you too and it hasn't even been a day." Bella smiled into the phone and opened her eyes to look in the mirror.
She screamed.
Dropping the phone onto the floor she gasped as she saw his face in the mirror.
It was Edward. Staring at her through the mirror from behind her- and she turned around in shock.
But then was gone.
" Wha-" She exhaled shakily, spinning around to see where he could have gone.
Nowhere to be found.
"Please don't tell me I'm going crazy." Bella muttered as she looked into the mirror again. She sighed, realizing there was obviously no one there.
No Edward, not anyone- and it would be nearly impossible seeing as she would have seen or felt a blur even, from the window.
She could hear shouting coming from the floor and her heard snapped to her phone.
She quickly picked it up. "S-Sorry Emmett-"
" Bella what the hell happened? Is everything alright?" Emmett asked frantically. Bella raked a hand through her hair and sighed shakily.
" Yeah um, Angela decided it would be fun to uh- scare me. " Bella said with a laugh. " False alarm Emmett, sorry."
Emmett exhaled, relieved. " Shit Bella, try not to make me going into cardiac arrest a reality okay?"
She chuckled and shut her eyes again as rubbed them with the back of her hand. " Wasn't my fault. I'll try."
" Some friend you have." He replied with a laugh. " I'm not nearly as devious with my own family."
" And your family would tell you that that is an absolute lie." Bella replied with a smirk.
" Point taken."
There was a knock on the bathroom door. " Bella?" It was Ms. Weber.
" Hey I have to go."
" No worries Bella, have fun. I love you."
" I love you too." She replied, and ended the call. She quickly headed to the door as it was pounded on again and swung it open, revealing a confused-looking Ms. Weber.
" B-Bella what on earth-"
" I-I'm really sorry Ms. Weber-" She said and felt her face grow red with embarrassment. " I-I thought... I saw a spider near the sink, but it turns out there wasn't one."
" Oh dear." Ms. Weber said. " You almost gave me a heart attack."
" Again I'm really sorry. It won't happen again I swear." She looked behind Ms. Weber. " Where's Angela?"
" Oh, out in the backyard to turn out the garden lights. She should be back up any time now."
Bella nodded awkwardly and exited the bathroom and towards Angela's room.
But before she entered, she stopped- thinking she heard something coming from downstairs.
There was a bump against the wall and she jumped. What was that?
And then she heard a scream.
" Angela?" She cried out, and hurried down the stairs. Ms. Weber was hurrying after her, equally as startled an started crying out for her too as they neared the sliding doors to the backyard. Bella pried the doors open and raced out into the field. Calling out for Angela again she peered into darkness and she spun around, her head whipping in every direction, searching for her friend.
" Angela!" She cried out, frantically.
" Angela honey? Baby, where are you?"
" Angela!" Bella's heart sped up in her chest, as she peered and saw nothing, and heard absolutely nothing.
And then Ms. Weber screamed.
Looking in the direction of where the flashlight had been pointing, Bella's heart almost stopped.
Ms. Weber, crying, hurriedly ran to the side of the house where Angela was slumped against, seemingly conscious, but was holding her hand to her neck. She shakily held onto her daughter, crying, and trying to stop the bleeding all at once.
Bella rushed over and gasped, noticing blood seeping from the wound that she couldn't see and kneeled down frantically.
" M...Mom?" She asked shakily, tears streaming down her face. " M-my neck... he-it..."
" Keep pressure on that Ms. Weber! And try to keep her awake!" Bella ordered as calmly as she could.
Bella whipped out her phone and quickly dialed the ambulance, staring at her friend with wide eyes.
Her eyes were beginning to water when the call was answered.
" Nine-one-one emergency?"
" My friend's been attacked."
Author's Note: I know, it's been a seriously long time since I've updated, but college life has kept me pretty busy.
Not to mention there's always something hectic going on in my personal life.
But do not fret, for I have returned, and with a chapter worthy of an apology I hope.
I really do appreciate all the alerts, messages and reviews I've still gotten for this story. You're all so patient with me and I am really thankful for that.
Thoughts on the chapter?
Excited for the next one?
Didn't you know? Reviews make me happy.