Edward.
As I grabbed another CD from off of my shelf, I couldn't help but smile in elation while remembering yesterday's events. Though I knew that we weren't completely healed, I couldn't deny myself the happiness that tingled among every inch of my body. I had always known that kissing Bella was an extraordinary delight, but yesterday completely blew my mind. It was so much more intense, much more astonishing and passionate when I didn't have to worry about breaking her. I was surprised that I had the strength to stop where I knew our intimacy was heading, but it needed to be done. No matter how much I ached for it.
Of course, Jasper had picked the perfect time to stay indoors. He felt the lust from where he sat downstairs, and from Alice's thoughts, was having a hard time keeping his hands off of her. I would have laughed, if he hadn't of told Emmett. I was used to the constant teasing that he dished, but I knew Bella's newborn temper wouldn't sustain his insulting comments. Then again, Bella was stronger than him at the moment. I chuckled at the idea of her becoming angry at him.
I neatly placed the CD, which was a compilation of jazz music, into the box with the rest of them. Bella stood on the opposite side of the room, removing various posters and pictures from off of my walls. We were staying true to Carlisle's claim and heading to Alaska. It was the perfect place for Bella to learn natural control. And the perfect place for us to be alone and start anew. I smiled at the thought of it.
"What are you so happy for?" I heard her ask playfully from across the room. I chuckled again.
"I have my reasons."
She rolled her eyes, but threw me a grin before turning her attention back to the pictures in front of her. She plucked one out that was hidden behind a larger picture, and brought it close, examining it. I watched as her eyebrows burrowed in confusion, and she made a soft hmm noise. I moved from my spot by my shelves, and crossed the room quickly. She held the picture up for me to see.
"Who are they? I've never seen this picture before."
I delicately took the picture from her, only glancing at it once before I answered her.
"That's the Denali clan. The ones who reside in Alaska. You'll be meeting them soon, considering that's where we'll be staying until Esme can fix up our house," I explained, and she nodded, frowning slightly. I knew it was bothering her to not know everything. I smiled, and pulled her closer, raising the picture before both of our eyes.
"That is Carmen and Elezar, they're mates. Beside them are Irina, Kate and Tanya," I announced, pointing to each of them as I reached their name. She was staring curiously at one figure, and I followed her eyes to where Tanya stood, smiling brightly into the camera. I cocked my head to the side, trying to read her expression. I watched as a flash of recognition crossed her features, before it turned into a deep frown.
"What's wrong?" I asked, immediately alarmed. She coughed once, lowering her face. My fingers gently grasped her chin, and I raised it without hesitation. I met her gaze, and she sighed, looking back at the picture once more.
"This .. this is Alaskan clan?"
"Yes. Is something wrong?" I inquired, concerned. She cleared her throat. I almost smiled at the familiar look that she gave me. As a human, it was usually accompanied by a beautiful rush of faint red blood to her cheeks. She was either embarrassed or uncomfortable. I didn't like the idea of either, but tried to hide it. I knew it was bugging her for me to be so insanely over-protective.
"Rose .. before I was bitten .. that night, she told me about them," she explained quietly, while gesturing back to the photograph. "She told me about how you showed no interest in any of the females, but I was just wondering .." she trailed off, lowering her head once more. My fingers were at her chin again, and I tried to pull it up. This time though, she held her stance. I sighed, crouching to the floor so I could look up at her face. I smiled softly at her, making her snicker quietly.
"What is it, Bella?"
"Did any of them, you know, show any interest in you?"
Her voice was trembling, but I felt my own body tremble once at the question. Of course, it was ridiculous to get her all worked up over nothing. But I knew my Bella, and I knew her reaction would be anything but calm if I told her that there had been one. She gasped suddenly, making me swing my head back toward her. She was frowning as she stared down at me. I rose, standing straight once more.
"Which one? Please don't tell me it was this one," she mumbled, before pointing a finger to Tanya's grinning face. I gulped, and grimaced. She let out a small growl, and muttered something under her breath that sounded like "damnit, figures."
"I let her know that there wasn't any hope for a future relationship. There's nothing for you to freak out over," I said cautiously, raising my arms. Her head snapped up from the photograph, her eyes angry.
"I'm not freaking out!" she bellowed. I winced, and she slapped her hand over her mouth. Could you ask Bella to not freak out a little quieter? She's louder than the TV! I rolled my eyes at Emmett, and sighed. I pulled Bella's hand away from her mouth.
"Sorry," she whispered, her tone apologetic and pleading. "It's just that .. she's ridiculously gorgeous."
I smiled at her, shaking my head. Bella easily surpassed both Tanya and Rosalie's beauty added together as a human. As a vampire, well, let's just say that I would never give Tanya a second glance, even if I had been interested. Bella hadn't the faintest idea of how utterly breath-taking she really was. Guess I would have to start reminding her on a daily basis.
"There's no comparison," I assured her, kissing a spot below her ear. She groaned.
"I know there isn't!"
I laughed, shaking my head. I left another kiss on her smooth skin, before returning to my spot at the shelves. I lowered another CD into the box, before turning around. I grinned at Bella, who was watching me curiously.
"You are the most breath-taking beautiful creature to ever grace this planet. Whether you accept it or not, it is true."
She rolled her eyes again, but smiled softly, and tucked the picture into the small folder with the rest of them. We continued to work in silence, with the occasional questions from Bella, or the humming of low tunes that would pop into my head as I picked up random CDs. Emmett and Jasper were watching a football game downstairs, while Alice and Rosalie packed their belongings, not trusting them to do it neatly enough. They were gossiping quietly from Alice's room, folding clothes as they chatted. Alice was mid-sentence while they discussed housing options in Alaska before I heard her gasp loudly. I closed my eyes, knowing what was coming.
Red eyes. They were everywhere. Bright, crimson colored pupils that followed the actions of the person in front of them. A bushel of frizzy red hair stepped from the crowd, her eyes slightly darker and dominant. She was grinning, her mouth moving fast to form words. She turned her head, and spoke to the vampires that stood behind her. They emerged from the darkness of the forest, approaching her to stand by her side. They stood in silence for a minute, before they quickly scampered away. One, two, three, four .. it was hard to count how many there were. She yelled a command, her mouth opening wider. They all came to an abrupt halt, moving quickly toward her. She held out an item of clothing, and they all sniffed for a second before dashing quickly away. A tall, muscular young man with scruffy blonde hair whispered something into her ear. She smiled once, before reciting a name. Bella.
"Alice!" I roared, not bothering to wait for Bella before I stomped quickly into her room. She already had the door open, waiting for me. I paced quickly, as Alice waited patiently for Bella to enter the room as well. She moved to my side, touching my arm. I sighed heavily.
"What did you see?" she asked Alice, determined and eager. I frowned, but quickly hid it. It was very easy for me to forget that Bella wasn't so fragile anymore. But even as a vampire, it was still in my nature to protect her from any harm. The idea that Bella was going to be included in this, that she was going to be fighting alongside us if that's what it came to, nearly ate me alive.
"Victoria has created an army of newborns. Their eyes were so red, and they were so wild, I know that's what they are. They're coming for you, Bella. They had one of your shirts. They must've took it from Charlie's house-"
"Charlie!" Bella gasped. "They were in the house? Was he hurt? Was he-"
"No, Bella. I would've seen it if-" Alice stopped once more, and another vision engulfed us both.
Charlie was quickly back-stepping, until his body hit the wall behind him. His eyes were wide with fear as he stared at the figure in front of him. He cringed, and cowered his head as the red-eyed figure stepped closer, lunging forward.
The vision stopped, and I felt my body freeze with an uncomfortable sheet of ice. Alice was frantic.
"Charlie," was all she sputtered out.
Bella.
I let out a shrill yelp, before quickly dashing out of the door and sprinting quickly down the stairs. I ignored Edward and Alice's frantic pleas for me to stop. Charlie was in danger. I didn't stick around to hear what Alice's second vision was of, but from the second his name escaped her lips, I knew it wasn't good. Carlisle met me by the front door.
"Bella, what's-"
"Stop her!" Rosalie screeched from the top of the stairs. I growled loudly at her, clawing quickly from Carlisle's grasp as I tried to break free. Why were they holding me? They had seen it. Charlie was in trouble! I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Why were they doing this? I felt another pair of arms constrict around me, and I immediately recognized the scent as Jasper's. I groaned. This was really starting to get annoying. I glanced up at Carlisle's worried face.
"Alice saw Charlie. He's in danger!" I pleaded desperately. Carlisle frowned, his eyes moving to Alice, who frowned and nodded. I grimaced. I knew it was true, but I had a faint hope that maybe I was just over-reacting.
"I think it would be wise if you stayed here while Edward, Alice, and I checked this out."
My face fell even more, and I gulped down the hurt. This was my father. Sure, I was probably causing him emotional distress and damage, but I loved him. Though my human years spent with him were awkward and uncomfortable, damnit, I love him! Why would they keep me here, worrying and frantic while they checked on my own father?
"If he is .. hurt, it wouldn't be a good idea for you to be around the blood. It's more safe with Edward and Alice," he explained gently. I shook my head furiously.
"I resisted him the other day! I'm strong enough, I know I am!"
"I'm sorry, Bella. Please just stay here with Rosalie and Jasper. I will bring my phone and call you as soon as I see what's happened," he said, his voice finalized. I gulped, lowering my head to the ground. I yanked myself away from Carlisle and Jasper's grasp, moving to stand across the room. He knew I was angry, and sighed. I wouldn't accept any apologies right now.
Don't get me wrong, I knew that this was for the best, but I still couldn't help but feel disappointed. This was my own father, and I couldn't even help protect him. I was extremely grateful for them, but right now, I just needed to be unnecessarily angry and blow off my steam. I felt Edward's cool hands grip my forearms, and I moved my head away to look somewhere else but at him. He sighed heavily.
"Bella, please, you want him safe, don't you?" he murmured gently. I nodded, still not meeting his eyes. His fingers were at my chin, for what felt like the millionth time that day, and he pulled it to his face.
"Everything will be okay. We will take care of it, I promise."
I nodded, and let him embrace me in a warm hug before he left quietly with Carlisle and Edward. I felt like a failure as I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room with Jasper. I snuck a look at the blonde vampire who was standing next to me. He was frowning at me.
"Don't feel like that, Bella. This isn't your fault."
I opened my mouth to protest, but he sent me a sharp look. I couldn't help the laugh that flittered from my lips. Jasper was beautiful, just as the rest, but he wasn't very good at looking angry or intimidating. When I saw the confuse glance he was giving me, I closed my mouth to try to muffle the laughs. His lips twitched into a playful grin, as he reached a hand out and pushed me gently.
"So, what now?" I asked, taking a breath as I threw myself down onto one of the couches. Rosalie plopped down next to me, grabbing the remote control and switching the television on.
"We wait for Carlisle to call," I heard Jasper say as he sat down on an armchair. I nodded, trying to pay attention to whatever was on the screen. The nerves were getting to me, though. My fingers danced impatiently across my knees, which were curled up to my chest. I clicked my tongue, frantic for a quick call from Carlisle. Let him be okay. Please, if there is a God, please let Charlie be okay. I hadn't realized my eyes were closed, but when I opened them, I saw Jasper glaring me. I winced.
"Sorry," I mumbled. I shifted my eyes back to the television screen. Rosalie had stopped channel surfing, and left it at some television show on MTV. I recalled watching it once with Jacob. It was called Pimp My Ride or something.
There was a sharp knock at the door suddenly. I looked at Rosalie curiously, who shrugged. Esme glided through the backdoor, meeting us in the middle. She looked equally confused as the knocks became louder and more impatient. Esme stepped closer to the door, and just as her hand was about to turn the knob, a familiar voice shouted through the wood that separated us.
"I know you blood-suckers are in there. Open this god damn door, or I'll break it down myself!"
Ah, drama! How I love thee. Haha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm going to try to make them a bit more eventful & interesting now, just so I don't put anybody to sleep. Sorry if my other chapters were boring, but you've read this far so obviously you're still awake. And for those of you who asked, yes I did create that necklace. I did it with PSP 8. If I had any jewelry making skills whatsoever, I would buy the stuff and sell them, but the last success I had with making my own jewelry was with one of those shrinky dink machines, haha. But feel free make your own if you like it! Anyways, I just want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas! I know some places celebrate Christmas on the 24th, so if you're reading, I hope your day is wonderful. The best gift you guys could give me is to review & let me know how this chapter was! You guys always leave me smiling. :D Have a wonderful Holiday!