"Mortality?" I asked her. "What about it?"
"Your mortality, to be more specific," Bella said.
"Well, what about my mortality?"
"Jasmine," Bella began, "I know how it feels to want to be part of the immortal world and being told no. Trust me, I went through almost three years of it and the whole thing went beyond ridiculous. It was almost like, it was decided that I would be a vampire but the arguments Edward and I got into afterwards were just for show. I couldn't stand it, I remember being up night after night arguing with him about it until he agreed to.
"But when the day was close for me to turn into one of the living dead, I was scared. I couldn't take the pressure. What I wanted was what I feared. I remember even asking Edward for another year, just to be able to go to college. Then Renesmee came along and I couldn't get rid of her. As soon as I knew about my little nudger, I just had to keep her. I wanted the feel of being a mother, something I'd never thought twice of.
"I never realized how much I was giving up, never understood why Edward was so caught up in the little things about being human. I thought they were all ridiculous. Prom was one of the many things he made me do before my heartbeats ceased to be." She laughed at the human memory.
"So what you're saying is…?" I asked her. I wasn't sure if she was all for me becoming one of them or if she was gonna go all Edward on me and say that I should think about this.
"What I'm saying is, Jasmine," she said, "you need to think about this."
I knew it.
"I always questioned Edward and why he wanted me to think it through. I knew I wanted to be part of the Cullens. I wanted Alice, my eternal shopping buddy, Emmett, the brother I never had, Rosalie even. And I knew I wanted Edward forever. But, Jasmine, you have a lot more to give up. I didn't even have to give up seeing my human family and friend; my self control is a lot better than most of the Cullens'." She said it proudly.
"I have no family to give up, Bella," I murmured. "I only have family to gain. And my family is all vampires," I reminded her.
"You have more to give up than you're saying, Jasmine. By me becoming a vampire, I was gaining the love of my life. If you turn into a vampire, what'll happen to Seth?"
After realizing what she'd said, Bella clamped her right hand over her mouth. She murmured something that sounded like "Shoot. I promised Alice I wouldn't say anything…" Bella looked to me to see if she was forgiven. I gave her a strained smile and a nod to tell her it was all right.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"No, no, Bella," I assured her. "Don't be sorry." I strained another smile to comfort her.
"Well," she said after a long silence. "What a direction this conversation has taken! I come in here to tell you that if no one will bite you, I will and now, I've completely changed positions!"
I gasped. I felt so betrayed.
"So…you won't bite me?"
"Oh, well, think it through, Jazzy. I don't want you giving up mortality because of me, really. Besides, Alice and Jasper are already gonna burn me when they find out I'm telling you this, I don't need to give them more of a reason to." Bella laughed.
"So…only when I think about it?"
"Only when you think about it," she agreed.
"I'll think about it, Bella. I promise I will."
"Let's hope you stick to that," she said.
"I will," I vowed.
Bella smiled. "Now come here and give your aunty Bella a hug." She extended her arms and I went over to her and threw my arms around her neck. I pressed my lips to her ear.
"Thanks, Bella," I said.
"You're welcome." She giggled. "Now, can you get off of me because you still smell—"
"Like werewolf," I finished for her.
"Mmm…" She was trying hard not to complain. "Yeah."
"It's okay," I said. "I get that a lot."
"Fabulous," Bella murmured.
"What?" I asked.
"Nessie brought home a pet…" she said. "Renesmee Carlie Cullen I do not want that cub inside the house! Esme's going to be very angry if it gets stains on her new carpet!"
"But momma!" I heard a whiney voice say from downstairs.
Bella laughed. "Nessie, get that animal out of the house or I'm calling your father!"
We waited for a second or two until Bella smiled.
"The cub's outside again," she said nodding.
I laughed. "Great?"
"Great," she confirmed. Bella pulled me off the bed and pushed me toward the closet. "Jasmine, please change. Those clothes reek of wolf."
I chuckled. "I thought you'd gotten used to the smell," I teased.
"Just because I got used to it doesn't mean it doesn't smell the same," she answered.
I laughed and Bella left my room. Inside my closet, I picked a random outfit and headed to the bathroom. Maybe if I took a shower, no one would complain. I'd smell human and that didn't seem to bother anyone.
The showed unknotted the tightened muscles in my back and washed away my thoughts. When I got out, I felt calm again. It was then that I noticed I'd gotten the outfit that looked like my mother's. I unfolded the already crumpled picture and laid it down in front of me. I found it funny how it didn't make me cry anymore. The picture of my parents actually gave me happiness now. I couldn't fathom why. Maybe I'd needed to talk to someone about it. Or maybe Seth just had a calming affect that Jasper couldn't give me. I looked at the picture again and smiled a real smile. My parents had gone to heaven together, which made me smile even more.
I stepped out of the steaming hot bathroom and headed down the stairs.
"Morning, everyone," I said as I took in the Cullens and the werewolves in the living room.
"Good evening, Sleeping Beauty," Seth greeted me. I laughed.
"Hey, she had a long day yesterday," Bella said in my defense. She winked at me and I smiled. "Cut her some slack."
"Fine," Leah said. "But next time, I eat your breakfast."
Alice brought in a plate of something that smelled delicious. I had no clue what it was but I knew I would eat it gladly.
"Better than water and rancid chicken, no?" Seth teased.
"Way better," I said. I took a big bite of the soft bread Alice put in my lap and stifled a groan. It tasted so good, all this food.
The rest of the morning continued with some chatter. Some about me, some about the Cullens, the werewolves, my mortality slipped in there by accident but Bella covered it up before anyone really noticed. After an hour or so, I could tell Alice was having another vision. When she snapped back, she did something too fast for me to see, said something too fast for me to hear. I knew she'd spoken to Renesmee because she's the one that spoke.
"Hey, Jazzy," Nessie said. "Up for a shopping trip?"
"Yeah, Jasmine," Rosalie chimed in. "It'll be fun."
"Sounds great, just us girls," Bella added. "Up for it, Leah?"
"Nah," Leah resisted. "I don't go on shopping trips with bloodsuckers and leechlovers." She winked at me when she said the last part to make sure I knew she was joking. I tried to smile and she laughed at my grimace.
"Shut up, Leah," Seth and Jacob murmured at the same time.
"It's settled then," Alice said. "We'll take the Ferrari. That okay with you, Rose?"
"Sure that's fine, Alice."
The next thing I knew, I was in a shiny red car and Alice was putting it in drive.
"Yes, Alice, of course I'd love to come," I said sarcastically. "Thanks for asking."
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You know you want to," she said.
"True," I admitted.
Before we were on the road for a minute, Alice was already speeding down the highway at 108 mph in a 40 mph zone.