Chapter 4

The next morning I woke before Emmett and I couldn't just sit around waiting for him to wake up so I quietly grabbed some clothes and got dressed, in the bathroom, before heading above deck. I was still careful of my foot but it was much easier to move around; Emmett was right the fresh air did do it a lot of good. It's wasn't even close to being healed yet but it was much better and hurt less.

I stood at the railing watching the water as it lapped against the side of the ship feeling way too much envy towards the fish that I could see swimming around freely. I felt like I was being tortured by being kept away from the water and this time my will wasn't strong enough. I figured it couldn't hurt anyone but me if I took a little swim. I quickly made sure that no one was around before I removed my clothes that Emmett gave me and just jumped right in.

The feel of the cool water on my skin was amazing. It was like I had never experienced being underwater before. Even though I could feel the excitement coursing through my veins my heart stayed with its calm rhythm. The weirdest part was getting used to having my tail back, of course I was more used to it than legs but it took a moment to remember how to maneuver in the water.

I swam under and all around the ship several times before I needed to break the surface to breath and when I did there was Emmett looking down at me smiling. "Having fun?" I bit my lip before I nodded and continued to move from side to side with my head above the water. "You look angelic in the water, the most beautiful creature I've ever seen." This time I looked down as blood rushed to my cheeks because no one has ever called me beautiful before and it felt really great to hear someone say those words.

When I finally dared to look back up at him he was still staring down at me with his dimpled grin on his face. "You should get in, the water feels amazing." He shook his head at me and just kept smiling, "Why Not?" This time he looked out passed me towards the horizon, "Because I need to get the boat moving again, if I don't make it to land by tomorrow then I will be out of food and clean clothes." I didn't miss that he used the word I instead of we and I was afraid he thought this meant that I didn't want to stay with him anymore.

I swam over to the ladder that was down in the water as I called over my shoulder, "Well can you help me out of the water." He slowly walked the length of the ship before he was at the ladder and was looking down at me. "You don't have to come with me. I told you before you're free to go whenever you want to." I raised myself up so that everything was out of the water except my tail and my arms were as high up on the ladder as I could reach. "I know; I'm just not ready to go yet… Unless you don't want me to come with you then I completely understand."

Emmett slowly squatted down in front of me and pulled my arms up so they were around his neck and grabbed my waist pulling me out of the water. I got him completely soaked when he pulled me from the water but he didn't seem to care as he carried me towards my chair where there was now a towel waiting for me. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face because that meant that he really hoped that I wouldn't want to leave and that I would be getting back on the boat, but then I wondered how long he had been watching me.

As soon as he sat me down on the chair he started to dry my tail, "Emmett," he looked up, "I can dry myself." I almost laughed when I a saw a blush spread over his entire face. "You know I'm really glad you weren't leaving." I grabbed his hand in mine and smiled, "Me too." We both sat there in silence for several minutes just looking into each others eyes before he jerked his head and jumped up from the chair.

"If we're gonna make it to land I should really get to work."

He ran a hand over his hair and looked around the boat before running over to grab my clothes and bring them back to me, "You'll probably need these." I took them without looking up at him and whispered my thanks before he went to work pulling up the anchor and getting the boat in motion.

The breeze from us moving helped to dry me faster than normal and I was able to get dressed in no time. I wasn't sure how far we were from wherever Emmett wanted to land so I just sat there watching him operate again until I drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

I woke just in time to see the island just a head and I was so excited and nervous that I was actually bouncing no matter if I was sitting or standing. "Wow you're like a Mexican Jumping bean right now." I raised my eyebrows at him completely confused by his reference. "Sorry, you probably have no idea what that is." I shook my head. "I don't but if they bounce all over the place like I am, then yeah that's probably a good description of me right now."

He placed his hands on my shoulders, "Why are you so nervous?" With not being able to move around anymore I began rubbing my hands together but then he grabbed them and stopped that nervous tick. "I've never been around humans before, except you. What if they can tell I'm different? What if someone locks me away in a cage or they cut me open or do experiments on me or…" Emmett grabbed my face in both of his hands, "Bella, stop." I looked him dead in the eye, "No one will be able to tell you're different and I promise I won't let anyone hurt you…. Do you trust me?" In his eyes I saw nothing but truth so I took a deep breath and nodded as much as I could with him holding my face. He smiled at me and I almost had a heart attack when he pulled me to him giving me a hug and kissed my forehead before he went back to work on the boat.

I stood there for a few minutes dumbfounded about what just happened. I wasn't sure if he meant that to mean anything or if it was just to comfort me in a time of need but if felt like something more to me. I decided to file that away for the time being and focus on the task at hand and that was to pretend to be human.

When we finally were able to get off the boat I was so excited and nervous at the same time. They were sure to see me and know I was different but Emmett had assured me that no one would think I was anything other than a beautiful woman, which made me blush redder than a crab. I knew from my friends and from looking at the others in our community that I wasn't unattractive but I never thought of myself as anything special.

"OK so first things first, we need to get you some clothes cause you can't keep wearing the crap that I have on the boat."

I looked down at the shorts and shirt I was wearing and I didn't think they were that bad, yeah the shirt was tight and the shorts were being held up only because of the belt I found at the bottom of the bag but I didn't think it was that bad.

"OK, then where do we go to get clothes?"

"Um, I'll take you to the mall but first we need to stop and get someone to help us."

"Who?"

I wanted to throw something at him as he ignored my question and started walking off without me. I called out to him but he just kept on walking as if I wasn't calling him at all. I walked, as quickly as I dared, towards him hoping he wouldn't really leave me alone without any idea of where I was. I figured if I actually got lost then I could at least try and remember my way back to the boat and wait for Emmett there, but who knew when he would make his way back there.

When Emmett got to an intersection on the pier he slowed down to look for me and waited for me to catch up. "Sorry, I forgot that you have no idea where you are." I blushed when he reached down and grabbed my hand before he continued to lead me towards wherever we were going.

It took us only ten minutes of walking along the coast to get to our destination, a bar. "Emmett isn't a little early in the morning for a drink?" He chuckled but continued inside. It was dark inside and really quiet. I had never seen a place like this before and I was sure that it was amazing when there were people there, not that I had anything to compare it to. The closest thing to a bar, or party, that we had in our community was our dinners. Daddy insisted that we all get together to eat dinner every night as if we are a big happy family.

"Sorry man we're clo…. Emmett!"

I stopped walking and let go of Emmett's hand when the man behind the bar jumped over it and ran towards us lifting Emmett off the ground in a huge hug when he reached us. "You son of a bitch, where have you been? It's been like two months since we've seen you around here." He looked over Emmett's shoulder noticing me as he spoke, "And this time you have a girl with you." Emmett slightly turned his body allowing me to come closer to them without being the center of attention. "Yeah, Jasper this is Bella, Bella this is my best friend Jasper."

Jasper stuck his hand out grasping mine and gave it a firm shake before saying, "Yeah some best friend; you disappear for two months without even a word. Although I can't say I blame him, if I were dating you I wouldn't want to share you with anyone either." I couldn't stop the blood from rushing to my cheeks at the compliment and it just got worse when he leaned down and kissed the back of my hand. "OK that's enough of that." Emmett took my hand from Jasper and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I've never seen him like this before and I have to say it's nice to see he cares. Since we've been alone on the boat we haven't had the chance to interact around other people so seeing him like this was a major change.

"Jasper I could really use your help back here."

"Rose come out here and see who finally came back."

A door behind the bar swung open and a tall blonde carrying a box emerged, "What are you yelling about? Oh my God, Emmett we thought you were dead." Just like Jasper she jumped over the bar and ran towards us and jumped into Emmett's arms, he had to remove his arm from around me to catch her. They held onto each other longer than I thought was entirely necessary and when he put her down she didn't step back right away but instead waited until Emmett draped his arm around me again.

"Um, Rose this Bella," he looked over at me, "Rose is Jasper's sister, they run the bar together. Their dad used to own it but left it to them when he retired." This time instead of sticking her hand out to me she leaned over and gave me a quick hug. "It's nice to meet you Bella." I smiled when she stepped back, "Likewise."

"So what brings you back to the island Emmett?"

"Um, I actually need a favor from Rose," She nodded for him to continue. "Can you take this," he pulled his wallet out and gave her a card, "and Bella and get her some clothes and any other necessities she might need?" She nodded and stuck the card in her back pocket. "Dude, you didn't like kidnap her or buy her on the black market right?" I covered my mouth to stifle the chuckle that erupted from me but I figured it wasn't worth it when Emmett started laughing out loud. "No, I didn't kidnap or buy her. What the hell is wrong with you?" "Hey I'm just saying what everyone is thinking. But if you didn't then why doesn't she have any clothes?" I ran a hand through my hair pushing it back and out of my face, "I ran away from home. My dad wanted me to marry someone that I didn't even like so I ran away."

"You ran away but didn't take any clothes with you?"

She had me there; I had no answer for that and I wasn't gonna tell her 'well when I ran away I had a tail so I didn't really need clothes.' "Rose, stop she isn't on trial or anything and she certainly doesn't need to explain herself to you." She looked ashamed before she nodded and then smiled at me, "Are you ready for a shopping spree on Emmett?" She jumped up and down and clapped her hands together as she spoke. Before I had a chance to say goodbye to Emmett and Jasper she was dragging me out the door.

"OK so what exactly do you have, so we can figure out what you need?"

I stuck my arms out to the side and stood there, "This is what I have." I thought she was gonna scream but she just smiled and dragged me further into the crowd of people. I was glad that she didn't just start walking away like Emmett did but I did feel strange with her holding onto me like I was a child who would get lost. Once we got to where the stores were located she let go of me and we wondered aimlessly from store to store until she was satisfied that I had everything I would need.

By the time we got back from shopping I was exhausted and I just wanted to lay down and sleep but Rose would have none of that and took me upstairs to her apartment and helped me get cleaned up for the night. "Do you want to take a shower and get cleaned up?" I could feel the blood drain from my face and my eyes got huge but Rose had her back to me and didn't notice. "No, that's ok." "Alright then sit down and let's get started. By the time I'm done with you Emmett will be begging you to never leave him."

I sat down in the chair that she pointed to and waited for her to work her magic. She messed around with my hair for a while, twisting it and pulling until she sighed and let it all drop back down to my shoulders. "Bella, how attached are you to the length of your hair?" I looked over my shoulder to see if she was serious and I could tell that she was deathly serious. I had never thought of cutting my hair before but that was because I was underwater most of the time and it really didn't bother me. However, I did notice on the ship with Emmett that my hair does make it a lot hotter than is necessary but I don't want her to cut it all off.

"Um, I don't want it too short but I guess I could cut some of it off. Why?"

She grabbed a pair of scissors and a ruler before she came back and measured my hair. "How about I cut off about 12 inches; that way your hair ends just before your shoulders begin. Then I can give you layers and frame it around your face." I had no idea what layers meant but 12 inches seemed like a lot to cut off and I wasn't even sure that Rose was good at what she was talking about doing. "Have you ever cut someone's hair before?" She shrugged her shoulders, "All the time, I cut Jasper's hair and my best friend's at least once every two months. I promise it won't look bad and if it does I will pay to have to have someone fix it for you, deal?"

I stared at her hand as if it were on fire but decided to take a leap of faith and shook it, "Deal."

I sat in the chair for what felt like hours before she told me she was finished cutting my hair. I, of course, wanted to see it right away but she refused to let me get up and go to the mirror instead she started putting stuff on my face. I was terrified I would look like the scary lady we saw in one of the stores. Her lips were bright red with dark pink circles on her cheeks and bright blue coloring on her eyelids, she was terrifying.

I started getting antsy when she was tracing the bottom of my eye with a pencil. "If you don't stop moving I'm gonna poke your eye out." I sighed but sat still until she was done with whatever she was doing to me. When I was finally allowed to stand she threw some clothes at me and told me to get dressed. It was weird wearing a bra but at least I didn't have to ask her to help me with it, I could figure that out after seeing the model dolls at the store. It was very uncomfortable to wear but I assumed Rose knew what she was doing when she bought all of this for me.

Rose walked into the room just as I had gotten my last piece of clothing on. "Oh my god you look so sexy, Emmett is gonna flip a lid!" I wasn't sure what that saying meant but I figured by her reaction that it had to be a good thing. I just wish that the skirt Rose picked out for me was a little longer, I felt like my butt was hanging out and it didn't help that my underwear didn't cover my butt either, I think Rose called it a thing, no thong, and it was extremely uncomfortable.

"Here come look in the mirror."

I was glad that she let me wear flip flops because there was now way I would be able to walk in the shoes that she was wearing. When I got to the mirror I almost thought I was looking at another person. The girl looking back at me had chin length silky curls that surrounded a heart shaped face. The makeup she put on me made my green eyes pop out as if they were screaming 'look at me'. I was so happy that I was almost in tears but Rose jumped in and told me I couldn't cry because it would ruin my makeup. "OK I'm gonna go downstairs and let the guys know you are coming down wait a few minutes and then come down." She squealed before hugging me and running down the stairs.

I still couldn't believe that it was me in the mirror. I was so used to having long hair that I couldn't stop grabbing at the ends of my short hair and looking in the mirror thinking it was someone else looking back at me. After I was finally able to accept that it was in fact me looking back in the mirror I took a deep breath before making my move to the door and down the stairs towards the bar below.

"Rose, you didn't scare her off did you?"

"Oh will you please stop being so dramatic she just needs a minute before she comes down here."

I cleared my throat drawing everyone's attention towards myself. Even though Jasper and Rose were looking at me as well the only one I was looking at was Emmett, his reaction was the only one that mattered. He slowly stood from his stool and just stood there until Rose gave him a nudge on the shoulder towards me. It felt like he was walking in slow motion as he approached me but in reality it probably only took seconds and it just felt longer because I was afraid of what he was thinking.

When he finally reached me he still didn't say anything and I was starting to crack under the pressure of his stare. I looked down at the ground and wrapped my arms around my waist to hind myself from him but he quickly pulled my arms down and lifted my chin up sp that I was looking at him again. My chin was trembling as I waited for him to say anything and finally he spoke up. "You look, beyond beautiful. There's not a word out there that would describe how amazing you look right now." I couldn't keep the relieved sigh in or the blush that covered my face at bay. "It's all Rose she's like magic." He shook his head disagreeing with me, "No, it's all you she just gave it a little polish but the beauty was always there."

I heard a gagging sound and looked over to see Jasper sticking his finger down his throat pretending to be sick then Rose smacked him on the back of the head. "You're just jealous because you don't have a girlfriend, let alone one who looks anything close to how sexy Bella does." I couldn't hear them anymore because they were speaking in hushed tones but you could tell by their body language that they were bickering like siblings do.

I took the time to actually look around the place and noticed that there were several more people wondering about and seemed to be working really hard and getting stuff ready for the night. I wasn't paying nearly enough attention to what Emmett and Jasper were talking about until Emmett was pulling me towards the doors to leave. "Are we not staying here with Jasper and Rose?" He didn't verbally answer me but shook his head and continued to lead me out of the bar and down the road.