Disclaimer: Not mine
A/N: You all better be reading Dalloway5906's Bittersweet. I mean it, it is wonderful to read how she describes Rose's life before and after her change. It makes me kinda like Rose a little bit… no I would not go that far, I still hate her. But I try for Dally's sake.
Getting closer! The next chapter is already written and I am half way done with 39. We should be wrapping things up around chapter 42, and then a delicious epi!
Thanks for everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it really means a lot to me that this little story is nearly at 600 reviews! I did not get a chance to reply to the reviews, but they are still staring at me from my inbox and I will reply!
BPOV
For the love of all that is holy, can we not go five minutes without all hell breaking loose? Alice's piercing scream was echoing off of the trees surrounding the clearing. Jasper was trying to comfort her, but by the devastated look on his face, the emotions pouring out of her were distracting him. I turned to Edward, expecting him to be able to reassure me that Alice would be fine after her vision had passed, but his face was contorted into an agonized grimace. I placed my hands on either side of his face, gently rubbing his temples.
"What is going on baby?" I whispered, trying to get him to make eye contact with me.
"They are coming." He breathed as Alice's cried turned into pathetic whimpers.
"When? Who?" Esme shouted as she looked up from Alice's crumpled form.
"Maria sent a hunting party to gather information. It looks like they have a tracker with them as well as someone whose gift is similar to Jasper's." Edward said as Alice's head whipped up in his direction and they shared a meaningful glance.
"No! Stop this right now!" I shouted, pulling Edward's face so our noses were touching. "This stops now. The evasive answers, the secretive looks, I have had enough. We all need to know exactly what is going on if we are going to be able to stand together and fight."
Edward sighed and gently removed my hands from his face. I could see red marks on his perfect skin from the pressure of my fingers.
"Of course, you are right my precious girl. Alice told you about the vision she had with you and the playground?" He asked and I slowly nodded.
"I thought the only way Maria would ever be able to coax you away from us would be to have someone who could control a person's emotions, as Jasper does."
"You fucking bastard." Jasper's quiet voice interrupted. "You actually thought I would have something to do with Maria again?"
"Jasper, no." Alice whispered, reaching up to try and grab onto him as he shrugged away from her.
"I never doubted you Jasper, but in Alice's vision, Bella looked exactly as she does when you are manipulating her emotions. What did you expect me to think?" Edward answered quietly.
Emmett jumped in front of Jasper as he tried to rush towards Edward. Esme gasped as she watched her family slowly coming apart. Edward pushed me behind his body as Emmett struggled to hold onto Jasper. Rose was staring at Emmett and Jasper, her eyes glazed over. Carlisle was comforting Alice who was silently sobbing as her brother and husband fought against each other. How could things have deteriorated so quickly? My mind was spinning as I listened to the vicious snarls coming from Jasper and Edward's answering growls. This was not the strong, untied family I knew. What was happening to us?
"Stop!" I yelled as I pushed away from Edward and spun in circles, searching the trees around us. I could feel the electric humming of my shield as I was unconsciously deflecting the hits from someone's powers. That is what was causing our family to turn on each other, someone was messing with us. A slight movement in the high branches of a tree near the house caught my eye. Sitting there, up high in the tree was someone I knew. Her look of extreme concentration gave me the time I needed to gain control of my shield and project it across the clearing, protecting my family from her manipulation. Jasper immediately stopped struggling with Emmett and his face was adorably confused. I could feel Edward turn towards me, his eyes following mine up into the tree above us. Noticing that her powers were no longer working, her beautiful face morphed into an angry scowl as she jumped out of tree, landing gracefully on her feet.
"I see you have made some progress with your shield. Last thing Maria had heard, you were pretty useless." She said as she slowly walked towards me. I could feel Edward's muscles tensing next to me, ready to pounce if she attacked. I put my hand behind me, signaling him to stay back. I had a tenuous hold on my shield, and I wanted to make sure I stayed between the two of them. From the corner of my eye I saw Alice's face go slack as she had a vision. Her blinding smile a second later confirmed that my plans were going to be successful.
"I am still pretty useless, until you try to mess with my loved ones." I said as I moved closer to her. I could feel my shield absorbing her attacks as she tried to manipulate our bonds again.
"You see Chelsea, for some reason I need to have the correct kind of motivation for my shield to work. It is just your bad luck that you have given me that motivation by trying to fuck with my family." I snarled as I quickly closed the distance between us and wrapped my hand around her throat.
"It was really not that hard to break your ties you know, especially with that one over there. He does not want to be here, he is only here with you because of his bond with his mate." She rasped, inclining her head towards where Jasper was standing.
"Your mind games will not work with us Chelsea. I know it is difficult for you to understand, because you have never seen a family like ours before, but there is nothing that can tear us apart." I snapped as I tightened my grip on her delicate throat. Her eyes bulged slightly as the pressure increased, cutting off her air and leaving her blessedly silent. Edward gently laid his hand on my shoulder as he whispered in my ear.
"I think you should let Jasper and Emmett deal with her Bella."
I was shaking my head before he finished speaking.
"No Edward, she is mine." I growled as I brought my other hand up to her throat and squeezed with all my strength. I looked deep into her eyes, which flew wide as she suddenly realized that I was going to bring an end to her existence.
"Any final words?" I asked sweetly as I loosened my grip so she could take a breath.
"Maria is going to destroy you all." She groaned as she tore her eyes from mine and stared at someone across the clearing.
The high pitched squeal surprised me as I tightened my hands, breaking her spine as her head flopped uselessly to the side, her eyes gazing vacantly. As I dropped her limp body to the ground, I looked around at my family. The boys looked awed, most likely surprised that I had the strength to take her down. Alice and Rose had big smiles stretched across their faces, their sisterly pride evident. I could not see Esme's face, she had it buried in Carlisle's chest. Edward was quickly beside me as I continued to stare at our mother, silently begging her to look at me. I was shocked when she finally did raise her eyes to mine. The disappointment and anger was clearly displayed across her features and as I heard Edward's quiet gasp, I knew her thoughts were saying the same.
I pushed away from Edward and ran into the trees, pushing my legs faster and faster as I tried to rid my mind from the memory of my mother's face. My breath came out in ragged sobs as I finally had to stop when I found myself on the shores of an immense body of water. Looking around I realized that I was at the Arctic Ocean. A quick calculation in my head showed me I had run over 1500 miles from home. I collapsed on the icy ground, willing myself to forget the way Esme looked at me. My breath came out in white puffs, a testament to how cold the air was. I could barely hear the quiet footsteps approaching over my sobs. I took a deep breath of frigid air, trying to figure out who had followed me. I would have thought it would be Edward or possibly Emmett, since my biggest brother was so protective. I was surprised when I realized that it was Carlisle who materialized through the trees. He sat down next to me and rubbed his hand up and down my back as I continued to have a mini-breakdown.
"You realize she was beside herself when you went running away." He whispered. I knew he was right, even if she was disgusted with me, she was still a mom and would be worried about me. I could not catch my breath to speak, so I nodded.
"Edward thinks Chelsea managed to get past your shield at the last minute causing Esme's bond with you to be severed." He said. It made perfect sense, I was distracted and was not sure if I had maintain my shield while I took care of Chelsea. That must have been who she was staring at. My cries slowly faded to quiet whimpers and I could finally speak again.
"Does she still hate me?" I whispered, the thought of my beautiful, warm mother hating me making my stomach tighten.
"We can't understand it." He said, and I knew he did not want to say the words out loud. She did, she hated me. My sobs started again and Carlisle pulled me up into his arms, pushing my head into his chest. The reality hit me and my cries turned to screams so loud, large chunks of the glacier we were sitting on went crashing into the turbulent water below.
I dimly recognized that Carlisle had stood and was slowly walking back the way we came. At some point in the trip my voice must have finally given out and I was left unable to speak. My arms wrapped uselessly around Carlisle's neck as we got closer to home. I could feel Edward's presence as he gently took me from Carlisle's arms and slowly sat down, cradling me in his lap.
"She does not hate you. She is just a little confused right now." He whispered in my ear. I laughed silently at his stupidity. I saw the way she looked at me, I knew hate when I saw it. Chelsea had broken the love and trust that bound us together as mother and daughter. I had no idea what it would take to earn back that trust.
EPOV
When Bella sprinted away from me I panicked. I started running after her, only to be stopped by Jasper.
"She is a mess right now Edward. She needs some time to decompress before any of us try and bring her back. And I think you are the last one she needs to be around her right now." He said as he held my hands behind my back.
"What do you mean, I am exactly who she needs." I demanded, but as I listened to his thoughts I realized that Jasper was absolutely correct.
You know how Esme really feels, you heard it and I felt it. I have no idea how she managed to get past Bella's shield, but Chelsea completely decimated the relationship between Esme and Bella. In place of the love and respect, she only feels hate, anger and contempt for Bella now.
I looked over Jasper's shoulder and watched as Rose and Alice fell naturally into Esme's embrace, and my heart clenched as I realized Bella would not be welcomed into Esme's arms any time soon.
"What do we do?" I whispered.
"I'll go find her son. I'll bring her back." Carlisle said as he stepped away from his wife's side. I could hear the disappointment in his thoughts at Esme's actions, but I knew she had no choice but to feel the way she had. Chelsea had completely changed her, and she had no other option but to hate Bella.
Carlisle went running in the direction Bella had disappeared and Esme watched him with a scowl. She thought he was betraying her by going after Bella. I felt Jasper's arms tighten further as he felt my anger and Esme's betrayal. I wanted nothing more than to smash my fist through her perfect face when she wondered silently if Bella was luring Carlisle away in order to seduce him. Jasper and Emmett carried me into the house and sat me down on the piano bench as Rose and Alice escorted Esme upstairs to their bedroom.
"Dude, what is going on?" Emmett chuckled. He quieted quickly when he met my furious gaze.
"Chelsea dissolved the bond between Esme and Bella. Now all Esme can feel is hate towards her." Jasper explained. My hands were clenched into fists as I listened in on the girl's conversation on the upper floor.
"I am so glad that girl is gone. I hated that she was coming between us, my daughters." Esme cooed.
Edward, she really detests Bella now. All I can see is this causing a rift between us when Maria comes to fight. We need to find a way to fix this. Alice thought as she let Esme fuss with her hair.
Emmett's disbelieving snort brought me back into our conversation.
"Esme loves Bella, there is nothing that could change that." He demanded.
"Chelsea's gift seems to sever the connection that deals with trust in a relationship. If Bella can some how earn back Esme's trust, she might be able to win back her love as well." Jasper said. I wondered if he had been able to feel the emotions being cut when Chelsea attacked Esme.
"I need to go and wait for them." I said quietly as I slowly got up off of the bench and started walking towards the door. I could hear her quick footsteps coming down the stairs before I heard her speak.
"Edward, where are you going?" Esme questioned as she came over to me and pushed an errant curl off of my forehead.
"I need to go find Bella." I said, my voice emotionless. I could hear her thoughts getting angry as I said this. She wanted me nowhere near Bella for fear she would corrupt me.
"I'm going." I growled before she could speak and turned and flew out of the door. I met them 100 miles away from the house. I could see how broken Bella was, and Carlisle's thoughts of how she looked when he found her made my breath catch in my throat. Bella had told me very little about her mother, but from what I could tell they never had the typical mother/daughter relationship. Bella had been forced into a parental role by the time she was 10 years old, having to deal with the bills and making sure that both she and her mother had food to eat. I knew she was thrilled to able to have the kind of relationship she had with Esme, since she missed out on it with her real mother. Now she had nothing.
"She does not hate you. She is just a little confused right now." I said quietly. I could feel her body shaking with disbelieving laughter. I wanted nothing more than to hear her voice, but Carlisle's thoughts had explained that she had screamed herself mute.
"She needs some time. Alice can see that if we are not able to repair your relationship, Maria will use it to separate us. And if we do not fight together, we will fall."
A/N: Don't hate me, I have a plan! See you Sunday!