Familiar Strangers

Chapter Three

I felt like a common debauchee just staring at the empty house across the street. There were no lights on. Not even the porch light and one window sat halfway open with the sheer curtains swaying with the night breeze. The shivering throughout my body was constant, the aches endless as I stood there with tears streaming down my numb face. I couldn't see very much in the dark, but I could see that many people had stopped here in the last week to drop off lit candles meant for mourning of someone special in their lives that were now drenched from the rain. Cards were strewn about after the wind carried them in all directions in the yard. All for my passing father I gathered, all for a man that meant the world to me even if I wasn't too good at showing that, but I knew he knew. It was just our way. We were both the same in many ways. Neither of us had to say much to each other to know what we thought or how we felt about something. Our awkward moments were collectively identical, so it wasn't a far stretch to know what not to say. I miss him.

Everyone that I have ever loved has died in some way. To be honest, I have too. What I felt back at the cemetery with Gabriel must have been an attempt at my imagination of some sort. It had to be. I was always a loner anyway, but to be left alone...completely alone is something entirely different.

My eyes narrowed downward towards the wet pavement road in front of me. I gathered my strength to walk towards the house, but I...I just couldn't do it...not yet. How was I supposed to walk in the house knowing that my dad wouldn't be there to greet me home?

My muscles tensed to the point that I noticed that the small rigid shiny key to the house in my hand had cut through. Yeah the sight or smell of it usually provoked my insides to do the one thing I hated, vomit, but right now that was the least of my worries. I had to conjure up the nerve to walk over there. The house stood in front of me and the woods behind me. Soon the woods began to look safer to me than walking into that house. Crazy as that thought was that is exactly what I did. I turned and marched my delusional rear end right into the woods, but I didn't get very far before I heard a voice.

"I'm sorry sweet Bella, but I cannot allow you to walk into these decrepit woods at night unaccompanied. Care to explain to me why a young woman such as you for the second time tonight is carelessly putting herself in harm's way?"

My thought process went directly to my bloody hand. How stupid of me, but then again how smart of me or so I thought. His eyes followed mine; he inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring. I figured my time was up. I was about to die, but then his coal black eyes twinkled against that huge white ball in the sky and a smile formed yet again on that face of his. I couldn't decide if I were upset or just plain mad by it. I knew only one thing and I wasn't sure how I knew it, but I knew he wasn't going to kill me. Men...they're so unpredictable. Why couldn't I just be right for a change?

"Bella, it's true that you don't know me well enough, but I can promise I didn't follow you to drain you."

To say that I was only slightly irritated by this was an understatement. I was seriously disappointed. All I could get out of my mouth was, "Really? Well...doesn't that just...suck." A deep beautiful laughter sprung from his chest and then it somehow changed melody in the middle and changed into one of...remorse or something. Before I knew it my legs buckled beneath me and instantly we were eye to eye with one another. His jaw constricted with tension as he spoke.

"Bella, please try to refrain from causing me any sorrow. I don't care for you just falling to the earth like a wet noodle. You could hurt yourself." his eye lids lowered partly, only showing a half moon shape of his onyx-ed eyes and all I could think of was how life was so cruel. First Victoria denounced my blood and now Gabriel. What was so wrong with my blood not even a vampire wanted it? All emotion evaporated within me at that moment and I could tell that Gabriel knew it. He looked at me and I swear I could see moisture filling his eyes and then he reached his hand out and held my chin up so he could look directly at me and said.

"Such a shattered soul you are, Miss Bella. Can I tell you something?"

Hm, maybe, maybe not... "Yes. "Way too easy giving into him.

"I don't always hunger for blood. I mean..." Frustration planted itself between his brows. "What I mean is...the smell of human blood doesn't consume every desire that I have. I do need to tell you that yes your blood for some reason is like a rare delicacy that I could only beg to try, but it doesn't make me rabid as it would someone else. I'm...a different kind of vampire if you will, and right now isn't the proper place to explain. You're threatening to make yourself sick. Can I please escort you home?"

Not rabid...for my...blood? A different kind of vampire…? I'm in a heap of confusion. Wait...escort me home? Home was right up the hill from whence I came. Home...

"Bella, I've met my share of pale faces in my time, but I don't see how my simple request could have you looking like one. After two attempts by you tonight at being reckless with your own life, I highly doubt you can get rid of me so easily until I make sure you have made it home safely and behind locked doors, so please allow me to walk with you until you are home."

It was apparent that a normal conversation wasn't going to happen on my behalf and I'm sure he knew that. He was looking for a simple nod of my head to answer his request, but for some reason my brain decided to fire up correctly. I soon realized that he had been following me this entire time and sarcasm was about to play its role when my voice already manifested into a snarl at him.

"Do you come here often?"

He was...laughing...at me. Full blown laughter... I wanted to smack him right then, but thought better of it considering what he was. So instead I drew my knees up and wrapped my arms around them and waited for his laughing fit to die down a little. Moments later after he saw me in a not so happy mood, he stopped abruptly and turned serious.

"Bella, I'm sorry, but your face didn't match your sarcasm and it was quite hilarious, but in all seriousness yes, I did follow you here as you have already suspected, but only to ensure you arrived home safely and that was all. I told you once before that I would never lie to you and I hope you believe me if not anything else at least believe that."

After hearing 'I did follow you' and 'home safely', everything else was mesh in my ears. Home...I didn't have a home anymore really. I just knew that I didn't want to be alone and I couldn't bring myself to go into the house. "I don't...have a...home."

"You can't be serious Bella?" his face was disconcerted.

I lifted my head to look at him, bewildered. What was I not serious about? I don't recall saying anything out loud. "What...what do you mean? I didn't say anything to you...did I?" Now I wasn't so sure.

"You said...never-mind. Bella, do you have a place to live?" He was straight and simple and to the point.

Oh no, I did say it aloud. Nothing ever goes right does it? No easy way to remedy this mistake. I could feel that the flood waters were about to burst through the dam I was trying to keep up, but it wasn't avoidable. They fell down my cheeks and I rested my tired and warn out head on my knees sideways without saying a word at first. Gabriel said nothing as I broke down. A few agonizing minutes later, the whaling stopped leaving dry crackly flakes in its wake. He was patient with me, kind and respectful to my strange set of circumstances. He deserved a small portion of truth so I told him about the house...the empty house.

"Gabriel, I do have a place to...live, but...I can't bring myself to go inside. It's too..."

"Soon..." Is this something that was becoming common with us; finishing each other's sentences?

"Yes...I just can't do it. There's a motel close by the diner, I'll..."

"No you will not Bella. You are perfectly safe to stay at my humble abode. I won't hurt you, this I think you know. It'll be fun and you won't be alone. I will tease you though like a little sister if that's what you want. You can stay as long as needed until you can gather your bearings enough to go back. Please don't fear me, you have nothing to fear from me except a pillow fight maybe." He chuckled.

I swear in that moment, I had stolen a little piece of sunshine somehow. I chuckled to myself. "A pillow fight in which I won't win going against a vampire." I smiled.

"So you accept my offer? I will worry too much if you don't and to be truthful Bella, you shouldn't be alone right now. You need a friend and that is exactly what I offered earlier tonight and that is what you will receive if you choose it."

The sincerity coming off him came in huge waves. Why was I choosing to trust another vampire? This wasn't something that I could explain. It was just there; the feeling of complete trust in him. Not one bone in my body cringed at his offer. I just trusted him and that was that. I agreed.

He lifted me with ease into his arms. I was about to protest until he told me, "Not another word from the stubborn woman in which I am taking in. You are freezing from being out here so long and I have to get you warmed up before you get deathly sick on me."

I didn't argue with him after I evaluated how cold I actually was and before I knew it, the natural wind on top of his inhuman speed collided against my body making me feel like I was in one of those wind tunnels that instantly made your skin peel back abnormally. Hypothermia was my main concern, but I didn't have to bear it for too long because he had me inside his house before I could even realize we had gotten there.

I was now sitting on a dark brown davenport and wrapped up in an afghan watching him preparing the fireplace. I wanted to look at my surroundings, I really did, but coming from the bitter cold outside and into the warm air inside; after I stopped the teeth chattering and my muscles weren't in knots, somehow I fell asleep and hard.

~~Gabriel~~

Had I overheard other human's as they spoke to their dead relatives? Yes, I had, but hearing a voice such as Bella's sounding so...empty as if her world had disappeared altogether was heart stopping. It truly was something that made me want to take her in my arms and hold her to show her she wasn't alone. Why did I want to do that for someone I didn't know? I had no idea, I just knew by listening to that beautiful voice of hers although more than sad, just tugged at my lost heart. I wanted to say to her aloud that I will fix her; I will fix her broken heart and the broken soul that should have never been shattered into a million pieces to begin with. I could feel how drawn to her I had become.

Bella's thin pale form was fast asleep on my Davenport and all I could do was stare as if I didn't know better than to do something so inappropriate. I could be making myself useful in the kitchen knowing she would be hungry when she woke. I knew she wouldn't sleep long being in a new place with a creature she just met. No one could sleep very long in her situation, so I stood and walked away giving her some privacy while I made a late dinner for my new and unexpected guest.

I made myself into a fine chef of many different styles of cuisine. I've had plenty of time to get it right. Tonight I decided to make it simple. I didn't want to overload Bella with so much, so simple was good. With what I knew I had to explain to her after she woke from her slumber. Bella didn't seem the kind of person to let something go if it were bothering her. So I mastered how I would explain things to her once she asked and I hoped that I could ease into it.

Bella looked like a spaghetti kind of person or so I hoped. I was adding the meatballs into the sauce when I heard her stirring about. I promptly walked to the corner of the doorway and waited for her stunning brown eyes to fully wake up. I was caught off guard when I heard her whisper the name Edward.

"Please, don't do this." She said.

I wanted to wake her from the nightmare, but I didn't. One; I knew this had to be Edward Cullen she spoke of and two; Bella had to try and heal herself as much as possible. I had no part in this, but I remained confident that I could help her in some way. This internal battle I could not do anything about.

I met the Cullen's a time or two when I wanted to. The thing was is that I knew that Alice could see into the future and I knew that Edward could read minds. I stopped them both from doing either one in regards to me. They didn't like what they couldn't see or read. This made them nervous. I never much liked anyone knowing anything about me so I had no choice but to stop them. I didn't cast judgment on them or the rest of their family. I honestly thought they were fascinating, but with stopping the two, they went with what they had which was nothing on me and proceeded to leave both times. I didn't hold any grudges for their reservations, but...

"Hello?" Bella called out. I must have been in deep thought. I rushed as subtly as I could to not scare her with my sudden presence.

"Hello Bella, do you feel better?" Human or not; it didn't mean that I had to lose my gentleman ways.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." She said as if the wind outside seeped in carrying her voice right through the entire house.

"Are you...?" her stomach answered before I had a chance to finish asking my question. I smiled down at her as she held her stomach with embarrassment. "Sorry, I should go."

"I made you dinner, Spaghetti and meatballs. Would you like to eat?" This was something very new to me; nervousness wasn't something that I was used to. Bella looked sheepish at first, but then I could tell her nose took notice of the aroma of seasonings and sauce in the air and she smiled.

"That would be great. I love Spaghetti. Uh, thanks."

"Not a problem Bella, follow me and I'll grab you a plate."

She followed but then hesitated right before the threshold into the kitchen. A peculiar look and a shade of pink covered her cheeks. I couldn't figure out what she was thinking and then she went to speak.

"Uh, I really don't want to eat in front of you Gabriel. I know you..."

"Bella, you won't be eating in front of me. I will be eating to." I thought that was simple enough, but a sudden look of horror flashed across her face.

"What? You bring your dinner...home?"

Oh no, how could I forget the basics of someone knowing that you're a vampire? I had to fix this before it got out of hand. I put my hands up; shaking my head right to left in an effort to show that is not what I meant. "No Bella, I'm sorry, that is not what I meant at all. I meant that..." Oh this was going to sound completely crazy to her, but I had to tell her. "That, I was going to eat Spaghetti with you. I'm quite hungry myself and I know you are famished. Before I confuse you anymore, let's sit down to eat and I can explain." the shade of pink on her cheeks disappeared and pale white intervened, but she walked the rest of the way into the kitchen and sat down. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the table, her full lips almost pouting as she grabbed the fork in her hand and held onto it, tightening her grip.

"You have got to explain this to me before I go mental."

"I can do that Bella." I went to speak but stopped. I wasn't sure where to start this. I wanted to tell her everything about me; something I had never done for anyone before her. I'd only met her tonight and yet here I sit in my home with a person that I felt completely comfortable with which again has never happened before her. I couldn't figure out what this all meant, but I was sure only time would convey its true intent. For now, I decided I should just go with the basics and let her tell me how much to tell. It was all up to Bella. So I began with the introduction of how I could eat human food and would work my way backwards in the hopes she wanted to hear it all.

"Bella..."