Chapter 11: The Scent of a Human
BELLA'S POV
That night, after making love to Edward for however many hours, we listened to music until I lost count of how many CD's we've listened to. Now the sun was kissing the horizon signifying the start of a new day. It would take some getting used to, the not needing to sleep at night.
As I lie next to Edward with my head on his chest, I contemplated our future. Everything was so surreal now, like I was living in a fairytale. I loved it! Being with Edward for and eternity is the best gift anyone could have ever given me.
I sighed and smiled against my love's chest. "Happy, Love," his voice rippled through the very core of my undead body.
"Very," I answered.
"Do you feel like getting up?"
I nodded, and sat up in the bed. Edward followed after and smiled that favorite crooked smile. I stretched my arms above my head and purred contentedly as the muscles of my body relaxed. Hearing a groan from the other side of the bed, I turned to Edward.
"What?" I asked.
"You're so amazing Bella. I love you," he whispered.
I smiled brightly, "I love you too."
We kissed briefly before I jumped up and dashed into the bathroom. There I showered and put on some loose clothes. Afterwards, Edward and I made our way downstairs. In the kitchen Carlisle was reading the newspaper and Esme was cleaning.
When we entered, Carlisle looked up and smiled, "Good morning you two."
"Good morning to you, too," I greeted.
"I must say Bella, I am very proud of your speed of adapting to the hunting of a vampire," he complimented.
"Thank you, but really I just followed the scent. I just did what felt right."
Esme came up smiling holding a cloth in her hand, "And that's what makes you so special Bella. Normally new borns can't control their instincts when hunting. You are a rarity indeed."
I giggled, "Well when have I ever been normal?"
"I heard that!" Emmett agreed, waltzing into the room.
"Emmett, shut up," Rosalie quipped.
I laughed at the couple and turned to Carlisle. "So what do we do today?"
Carlisle shook his head, "You'll have to ask Alice that one Bella."
"Where is she?"
Edward started laughing, "She's with Jasper at the mall."
"Oh." I pictured Jasper being forced to carry Alice's bags and couldn't help but laugh at the mental picture that created. We all moved to the living room and sat on the couch to talk. I was comfortably seated in Edward's lap with his arms wrapped lovingly around my waist. Emmett was playing a video game on the T.V with Rosalie watching. Esme and Carlisle were conversing softly. Before anyone could say anything, Alice and Jasper came through the door.
"Hey Bella! Guess what!" Alice shouted.
"What!?" I asked with fake enthusiasm.
Edward chuckled at my teasing. Alice playfully glared. "Well I thought you would like to have some new clothes instead of the one's you used to have that don't fit anymore, but I see how it is."
I smiled. "Would if it help if I said I was sorry, Alice?"
"Immensely."
I got up and pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry Ali."
"Ali?" she questioned.
I looked into her eyes and smiled. "Yes, Ali."
Jasper started laughing along with Emmett and Edward. Rosalie giggled. Alice squealed, "I like it! How come none of you have ever thought of that before?"
"It just never occurred to us Alice," Jasper stated.
She shrugged, 'Oh, okay."
Emmett smacked his forehead.
I addressed her again, "What was that about clothes Ali?"
"Oh yes," she clapped her hands together, "Since the clothes you owned when you were human no longer fit, I went to the mall and bought you some new clothes."
My eyes widened and I rushed up to hug her, "Thank you Ali. You're a big help!"
Everyone laughed at my enthusiasm. I grabbed the bag that Jasper held out for me and dashed upstairs. I was back in about 15 seconds with a fresh pair of jeans and a shirt that said "I'm not staring, I'm just watching my prey" in deep red. Edward stood up and walked to me. When he reached me, he wrapped an arm around my waist and stood behind me. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked again.
"Whatever you want to do Bella. It's up to you," Alice said, happily.
I bowed my head to think of something to do. When I couldn't think of anything, I turned to Edward. "Any ideas?"
He chuckled and whispered something into my ear. It was so low that none of the other family members heard it. He pulled away with a smirk on his face, and I began to laugh. Emmett paused his video game and looked at us suspiciously, "What's so funny?"
I placed a mischievous look on my face. "Emmett, I challenge you to an arm wrestling contest."
The room went dead quiet. No one spoke, and all attention was on Emmett. He was looking at me as if I had grown an extra head and sprouted wings. Then he busted into a roaring laughter. "You're kidding right?" he gasped once he composed himself.
"I'm completely serious Emmett….unless you're scared," I teased. I knew I had him then. His expression changed to that of determination.
He growled lowly. "I accept your challenge Bella. State the time and place and know that you're going down."
I strode up to him and looked him in the eyes. "Right here, right now Emmett. And I believe that you will be the one admitting defeat."
He chuckled, "Very well. Let us prepare then "little sister"," he sneered, playfully.
Everyone who had been intently watching the exchange between Emmett and I cheered for the oncoming challenge. I turned to see Edward smiling encouragingly at me. I walked up to him and smiled. He leaned down and kissed me lightly. Esme and Carlisle stood up. Esme cleared her throat to get our attention. "Alright now, I don't mind if you arm wrestle but you will do it outside. I will not have you wrecking the furniture."
"Yes mom." "Yes Esme."
We all departed from the living room to go our separate ways for the time being. "Edward and I went upstairs to his room. We both lie comfortably on his – no our – bed and just stare into each other's eyes. Edward gently stroked my face and body. He was smiling tenderly at me and I grinned lazily at him. I snuggled up to his chest and closed and let myself get lost in the sound of his unneeded breathing.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but I was brought out of my thinking by Edward telling me I needed to get up. "Ed- ward," I whined. I heard him let out a small chuckle. I sat up and looked at him. He was still lying down on the bed beside me. "What is it Edward?" I questioned.
"Unless you wish to forfeit, I suggest we both go to the backyard where one very impatient vampire is waiting for an arm wrestling match," he smiled.
I jumped up when it hit me. "Then let's go!" We both were in the backyard in 3 seconds. Set up in the yard was a broken tree stump which was to be used for the match. I walked up to Emmett and smirked. "Ready to get creamed Emmie?" I said sweetly.
He glared, "Emmie?" I heard Jasper and Alice laughing at my nickname.
I sat down at the stump and gave Emmett a look. Still glaring, he sat down quietly across from me. I stuck my arm up in ready position. Emmett took my hand in his enormous hand and grinned. His cocky expression returned and he said, "You are SO going down Bells!"
"I don't think so Emmett," I purred, teasingly.
I heard Jasper whisper quietly to Rosalie, "I bet 1500 on Bella."
"I'll match that bet Jasper. I'm with Emmett," Rose smirked.
My eyes widened. They were betting on who would win? I guess it wasn't that shocking. I turned my attention back to Emmett and smiled. Edward came up between us. "Alright. Get ready. GO!" Edward shouted. And the match was on…
I laughed lightly at the concentrated look on Emmett's face as he we both pushed on each other's hand. My hand was beginning to be slightly pushed down, and I saw Emmett begin to smile. I grinned as my hand almost touched the stump. Then, faster than anyone could see, I whipped my hand around and smashed Emmett's hand into the stump. The stump cracked under the strength. There was a silence before I heard Rose curse and Jasper cheer for his win.
I stood up and laughed. I felt Edward wrap his arms around me. Emmett was cursing along with Rose. "Told you Emmett," I said, sticking my tongue out.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," he pouted.
I ran up and hugged him. I looked up and gave him the puppy dog pout. "You're not mad at me are you Emmie," I whimpered.
The yard had gone silent again as the rest of the family watched. Emmett had a look of horror on his face. My lip began to quiver as my little act pressed on. Emmett cracked, "Alright, alright already. You win Bella. I'm not mad. I could never be mad at you."
I squealed and hugged him before dashing back over to Edward. Edward was laughing at my ability to manipulate Emmett. "Bella that was mean," Edward chastised softly.
I giggled, "I couldn't resist. It was nice to tease him for once…" I stood up on my tip toes and whispered into his ear, "What do I get for winning?"
I licked his ear sensuously and nuzzled his neck. I heard him groan and smiled at my achievement. His arms tightened around my waist. "What is it that you wish My Love?" he asked.
I pulled back to look into liquid pools of gold. "Can we go to the meadow?"
He kissed me softly, "Of course."
We turned and began to run into the forest. I laughed as I kept up easily with Edward's speed. We arrived at the meadow in record time and lie down in the grass. For a while all we did was lie there enjoying each other's company. Finally, I turned to Edward and spoke.
"It's so amazing…being a vampire. Everything is so different."
He looked at me. "Yes it is. Being a vampire isn't all bad I guess."
I giggled, "And you made such a fuss about changing me."
"I guess I was afraid that if I changed you, when you woke up, you wouldn't love me the same anymore," Edward admitted.
I rolled so that I was hovering above him, straddling his hips. "Don't ever think that I will love you any less than I have ever loved you. You are my whole reason for living Edward." Then I leaned down and kissed him deeply. He returned the kiss with equal fever. I opened my lips and our tongues battled for dominance. Edward broke the kiss to flip us over and trail hot kisses down my neck where he suckled on the juncture between my neck and shoulder. The moment was ruined, however, when a scent hit my nose like nothing I had ever smelt before.
Edward froze above me. He took in my tense posture and his eyes hardened. "You have to fight it Bella. It's a human. You have to fight the temptation."
What he didn't know was that I was trying hard not to gag. This smell was the most putrid thing I had ever had the displeasure of inhaling. I pushed him off me easily and sat up, coughing. I brought my hands to my nose and tried to get a clean breath of air.
"Bella are you alright?" Edward asked, worried.
"If I could throw up I would," I gasped, "this is the worst smell EVER!"
Edward turned me to look at him. "Bella do you realize that you just said that the scent of a human repulses you?"
I paused for a moment. Then I giggled. "I guess this is a good thing?"
Edward didn't answer for a moment, and I assumed he was in deep thought. He answered about a minute later. "I'm not so sure Bella. Maybe we should talk to Carlisle about this."
I nodded in agreement. We both stood up and began to run back to the house. When we got back, Edward called for Carlisle. He was up in his study, so we made our way up there. We entered quietly and sat down in the exact same chairs as before. Carlisle looked up and smiled. "Is there something wrong you two?"
Edward glanced at me before answering. Taking my hand in his, he spoke, "Not really, but there is something I would like to inform you of."
Carlisle nodded, "Very well."
"When we were in the meadow…Bella smelt a human," Edward said slowly.
We heard several gasps from outside the door. I looked up and the rest of the family was standing in the doorway. They all filed in and took different places around the room. Carlisle looked a bit worried. "Did something happen?" he asked.
I looked away embarrassed, "Well something did happen, but not what was expected."
"What do you mean Bella?" Alice wondered.
I took a deep breath, "You guys know how when I was human, I got sick from the smell of blood right?" They all nodded. "Well that trait passed on to the vampire me."
Edward and I waited for the information to sink in. It took about 5 seconds. "No way!" Emmett screamed.
I giggled, "Yes Emmett. The scent of a human still repulses me."
Carlisle spoke, "That's amazing Bella. You truly are one of a kind. I don't see anything wrong with this though, so if that is what you were concerned about, then don't worry."
Edward let out a sigh of relief. I smiled, "Thank you Carlisle."
Alice was suddenly in front of me, "You know what this means don't you Bella?"
"What?" I asked.
Alice looked to Rosalie. "SHOPPING!"
"Alice you just went shopping this morning," I cried.
She smiled, "Yes, but without you."
I sighed. There was no winning anyway. "Alright."
"Yay!"
"But you owe me Alice," I warned.
She giggled and grabbed me. We were on our way to the mall before I even comprehended what was happening.
Okay. I am so, so, so, so sorry that this chapter has taken so long. Never again will any of my readers have to wait this long again. I've been very busy these last few weeks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one will be up soon! I promise!
REVIEW PLEASE!