Chapter Twenty Three: Night in the Forest
I woke in pitch dark and fumbled for the remote, turning it to allow in shafts of golden light. I blinked against it. I checked the clock, it had gone nine o'clock, I'd been asleep for well over twelve hours! On a chest of drawers to the side of me I recognised my clean clothes. Beside them, Daniel had also thoughtfully brought my wash bag, my hairdryer and there were a stack of towels too. I got out of bed grabbed the things and went in search of a bathroom. I found one a few doors down, set the shower going and freshened up under a stream of warm water.
When I arrived back, there was a fresh cup of coffee on the dressing table. I sipped it gratefully and sat down to comb through my hair.
"Good evening." Said a voice that made me smile. I turned to see Daniel leaning on the door post. "May I come in?"
"Sure. Thanks getting my stuff and for the coffee."
"You're welcome." He said down on the bed. "Feeling better?"
"Yes, I can't believe how long I slept."
"You needed it."
"I have a lot more questions." While I'd been in the shower a great many had come to mind.
He smiled. "I don't doubt it. I'll see you downstairs in a little while."
Washed, dressed and supplied with more coffee and another bagel; Daniel and I left the house with the last golden rays of what must have been a glorious summer's day.
"I think I should start by showing you why I can't be in public on a sunny day." He walked into a patch of sunlight and I gasped, as his face refracted a million tiny rainbow sparkles. "You see? People would notice someone doing this." I couldn't reply, I was awestruck by how beautiful he was and I didn't even think it was possible for him to be even more so. I joined him in the circle of sun and reached up to touch his cheek. He felt just as hard and cold as before, but close up his skin looked as if it were made of diamonds.
"Amazing." I breathed. He covered my hand lightly with his own, but mine did not stop moving. My fingers crossed to touch his lips; there had been another question that had sprung to mind whilst I was in the shower. I'd been thinking about Edward and Bella and how a vampire and a human had managed to conduct a relationship. "Is it possible for us to kiss?" I asked quietly.
"Technically, yes; but you need to be careful of my teeth."
"Why?"
"They're razor sharp and coated in venom." His expression was serious. "You mustn't come into contact with my teeth."
"But we can kiss?"
"Technically." He said again. There was something about the way he said that. The pained expression was back on his face. So it was possible for us to kiss, but something was stopping him. I tried to see things from his perspective. He was going to kiss someone who part of him wanted to kill. Ah, I got it.
"You'd find it hard to kiss me?"
"Yes." He admitted. "I'm not sure I trust myself. The last time I even thought of trying my venom started to flow and it was all I could to resist you."
"That night at the Newton's?" He nodded. An idea suggested itself to me. "What if I'm the one doing the kissing?" I asked. "What if you're the one standing still and holding your breath and I'm the one moving my lips?"
"That could work." He whispered.
I'd make it work! I would find a way to kiss him, but I stopped short of adding 'even if it kills me' to the end of my sentence. Somehow that was a phrase too close for comfort. Despite him feeling like he was made of stone, he had a softness about him that overrode every impassioned plea of reason in my head. Reason told me he was a killer; but my heart told me that he was just a man looking for love and that I wanted to be the woman who loved him.
I let myself be drawn in to the sight of his lips. There wasn't even a hint of movement from him as I gently pressed mine to his. I might as well have been kissing a statue. But within a second or two it was like I was on fire! A hunger for him tore through me and I was unable to stop from trying to weld myself to him. I kissed him in absolute desperation, this was desire of a magnitude I had never before experienced and my body responded as it felt commanded. My arms clawing at him and I felt angry that I didn't have and extra pair of hands to remove my clothes. Want him? Oh I was far beyond that now; this was in the realm of need!
But suddenly I was away from him and Daniel was staring at me with wild eyes as I was held by an invisible force. I looked down to see hands on my shoulders. I strained against them, trying to get back to Daniel, the desire for him still burning on my lips.
"Careful." It was Edward who held me. "That was too much for him. Daniel?"
"It's OK, it's easing." The statue came to life and the wildness gently faded from him. "That was a close one." He closed his eyes and the relief was palpable.
"It's a learning process, for both of you." Edward peered over my shoulder. "I'm sorry to drag you away, but you were only a second from Daniel losing control." I touched my own lips, confused as to what had affected me so profoundly. "It's a chemical that coats our lips." Edward explained, answering my question. "The first time you experience it, you get it at its most potent. It's part of the arsenal of weapons at a vampire's disposal."
"That's a weapon?" I asked.
"Yes. One designed to incapacitate you."
"And get me out of my clothes." I thought.
"That too." He added, seeming to answer my silent question. "Slightly unnecessary if you ask me. I'll leave you now; Daniel's got himself back under control."
"Thanks Edward." Daniel replied. "Another one I owe you for."
"You don't owe me anything; you know that's not how it works." Daniel nodded and Edward gently pushed me back towards Daniel. "Try again. This time it'll be easier to rein it in and it'll get even easier the more you practice. See you later." And he vanished in an instant. I stared in disbelief, feeling only the breeze of his departure on my face.
"Wow." I said softly. "Can you do that?"
"Sure." He replied and promptly vanished leaving me alone in the glade. I laughed, not able to process things. Daniel appeared back from nowhere in front of me, causing me to gasp with shock. There was amusement, mischief even in his eyes. He came close and laced his fingers through mine. The cold was less of a shock now. I gazed at him, absolutely lost in wonder for a moment until my eyes found his lips and I started to crave more of that chemical. Almost from instinct I leaned into him, allowing his scent to fill my lungs, his beauty to fill my sight and as if I was under the influence of the most suggestive drug on the planet, I had an overwhelming desire to get naked and let him have me. The potency of it shocked me and I felt the heat of a blush rise in my cheeks. Daniel stepped away.
"Oh no!" I sighed and turned away, embarrassed that I couldn't control myself.
"Don't feel bad. This is going to take practice. Besides, blushes fade after a minute or so." Daniel stood behind me, placed his arms around me and pulled me back into his chest. As he did so, his hand found a gap between the top of my jeans and my t-shirt. Cold hand met warm skin and I reacted exactly as I always did: I jumped in shock and laughed hysterically.
"Sorry, sorry!" I giggled. I turned back to him and held my arms out in explanation. "You have cold hands."
Daniel rolled his eyes in amusement. "Tell me something I don't know." I saw the glint in his eye a fraction before another shock of cold hit my stomach, sending me into more paroxysms of laughter. He did it again.
"Stop it!" I laughed, pulling down my t-shirt.
"No, I like hearing you laugh, it makes me happy."
"You can make me laugh without doing that. That's unfair!"
He wrapped his arms around me. My gaze settled on his lips and I stretched upwards to try to kiss him again. He bent his head to meet me and again our mouths met. This time I was ready for the effect and as it hit I kept myself better in check. But I couldn't fail to respond to the feelings coursing within me and I kissed him with more force than perhaps was wise. But Daniel was kissing me too, his lips moving against mine and his hand slid upwards to gently support my neck.
We stayed like that for ages and we only broke apart when I realised that my lips were turning numb.
He ran his thumb across them and smiled. "Your lips are a little swollen."
"I'm not surprised." I tried to say, the feeling was very much like a fading shot of novocaine. I chuckled. I lifted my fingers to my lips and felt how enlarged they were. "Some women pay good money for lips like these."
"True."
"I think they need kissing better."
"I think they need a rest." He grinned. "What say we go for a run?"
"A run?" I scoffed. "I don't think I could keep up with you."
"Well, I'll do the running; you can ride on my back."
He lifted me onto his back and walked into the forest. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my face against the side of his head. His walk became a jog and then he broke into a run. It was amazing, he hardly jostled me at all and he ran smoothly through the trees, curving around them as if he could almost sense their presence not just see them. At one point I realised that there was no way a normal human being could run this fast and was just about to say so, when the landscape around me disappeared in a blur and I would have been thrown off his back from the acceleration, had he not grasped my arms to hold me. The only part of my field of vision that wasn't blurry was the bit right in front of me and even that was moving toward me at a faster rate than was comfortable. On and on he ran, up a steep slope, never breaking his stride until we came out of the trees and onto a ledge. He came to an abrupt halt and took his hands away from my arms.
"You can get down now." He said, but I couldn't move from shock. I wasn't aware I'd stopped breathing until my system, becoming oxygen deprived make me gasp in a huge breath of air. Daniel turned his face and kissed my cheek. "Sorry if I scared you."
"I'm not scared." I said, managing to find my voice. "Just stunned." I slid, rather ungracefully off his back and leant forward, resting my hands on my thighs to get my breath back. When I looked up again, Daniel was standing on the edge and looking out at the panorama of Olympic National Park below us.
"This is one of my favourite places." He said, sitting down and dangling his feet over the side of the ledge. I sat down beside him. He put his arm around me and pulled me into his side. He was exactly like reclining against a wall. "I love the view from here." It was stunning, I couldn't disagree with that. "I hope this isn't too much for you." He said.
"No." I thought of some more questions to ask him. "You said there are twelve vampires in your family; can you tell me more about them?"
"Sure. So you know now that as well as traditional vampires there are those who hunt animals, not humans. We're very much in the minority. As well as our family, there is one other family in Alaska that we class as cousins and a facility our family runs in Italy to help other vampires who want to make the switch. Other than that, we're not aware of any others who choose to live this way. It's is a choice we make; it's not something that comes naturally. The desire for human blood is always there, it's about mastering it. Animal blood has benefits in that it calms us, allows us to live together and alongside humans. But it has its downsides. It's not as potent as human blood so we're not as physically strong as traditional vampires."
"So how did your family get started?"
"It started in the 1640s in England when a man by the name of Carlisle Cullen was changed into a vampire."
"So Edward's whole family are…?"
"Vampires, yes."
"And they were all at Forks High? And Dr Cullen worked at the hospital?"
"Yes." He smiled.
"And nobody guessed?" I was incredulous.
"Nobody until Bella Swan came along. People keep away from what they instinctively fear. I know you felt that fear around me, Edward told me."
"Yeah, about that, can Edward read minds?"
"Yes."
"Oh…" I suddenly realised the implications of that.
"He's very discreet and for the most part he blocks his family out. Apart from Ness, who he can't block out." Daniel chuckled.
"Why?"
"He doesn't know, but she's his daughter, so there must be something going on in her DNA that links them."
"So there's Carlisle and he's… wow, nearly 400 years old?"
"Yes, he's the reason we're all here. He was the one who decided he didn't want to kill people and almost by accident discovered that he could survive on animal blood. He was alone until 1918 when he was working in a hospital in Chicago. It was during the height of the Spanish Flu epidemic and Edward was dying. Carlisle bit him and changed him into a vampire. I have absolutely no idea how Carlisle managed to stop. I don't think I have the strength."
"So it's more than just biting?"
"Yes, we're at our least human at that moment. You can never be around me when I hunt," he paused, "because I would kill you." His face was tense; I didn't want him to be sad.
"Tell me about the rest of them." I said, trying to distract him.
"Carlisle transformed Esmé in 1921; again she was close to death. They married in 1923. Carlisle discovered Rosalie close to death in 1933 and transformed her. Emmett nearly lost his life to a bear attack in 1935. Rosalie was out hunting, saw him and brought him all the way back to Carlisle, who transformed him. That's how the family was until one day in 1950, when Jasper and Alice showed up. Now that is one weird story. Alice is wonderful, don't get me wrong; but to know right from your first moment of being a vampire, who your mate is going to be and that you're not going to meet him for another eighteen years?" Daniel shook his head. "That kind of knowledge would drive me mad." I must have been looking at him questioningly. "Alice can see the future based on people's decisions."
"She knows what's going to happen?"
"Yes, but as people change their plans the outcome changes, so it can be a moment by moment thing."
"Does she know what's going to happen to us?"
"Well… That depends on you."
"Me?"
"She can't know our future unless both of us have agreed to be in it together. When I last spoke to her about it, you hadn't chosen me, so I was no part of your life."
"You think it might have changed now?"
"I hope so." He smiled. "So back to story," he continued. "Bella joined the family in 2006. Edward changed her after Ness's birth and that's how the family was until last year. Carlisle, Esmé, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Alice lived in the house. Edward, Bella and Ness had a cottage in the forest."
"And then Ness started school, the same day I started there?"
"Yes. Charlie knows everything and has done for a while. As a young child, Ness grew at a phenomenal rate, so there was no way that he wouldn't notice that. He worked it out for himself and confronted Edward about it. He's come to terms with things amazingly well. Once Ness's growth had slowed down, it was going to be possible for her to mix with humans her own age – well, apparent age. Now she's mature she won't change, so her time in any place is going to be limited. Charlie thought it would be a great idea for her to come live with him for a while. She could do the last two years of High School so he could spend more time with her and she could experience living as a human."
"I would never have guessed she was a hybrid."
"We use the term 'well camouflaged' about Ness, because she is. She doesn't have to hide away on sunny days, she doesn't have cold skin and she has a heartbeat, even though she's just as durable and immortal as we are.
"And she eats human food?"
"She eats both, although he has to hunt to keep herself in balance. Let her go too long without hunting and she gets crabby."
"She fitted in well."
"It wasn't trouble free, being human wasn't as easy as she thought it would be and the stress of it all was why she ran away to San Francisco last June, which is where I come into the picture. However, there are still more members of the family for me to tell you about and you know all these ones."
"What?" I asked, questioningly. "I know other vampires?"
"Yes." He smiled. In fact you have met all but three of the family over the course of the last year."
I stared at him amazed and then something popped into my head. "Gold eyes!" I exclaimed. "The couple at the ice rink had gold eyes!"
"Yes, that was Carlisle and Esmé, they couldn't wait to meet you. They run the facility in Italy, but came back especially, when Alice told them you'd be in Seattle."
"Really? Oh my goodness! And that guy I saw you with beside the rink, you said he was your brother. So that was…?
"That was Jasper. He was propelling me away from your blood."
"Oh." I remembered, I'd cut my lip that day.
"You didn't meet Alice, she'd stationed herself in a store she'd seen you want to go in, but Mike took you for lunch instead, so she didn't manage to engineer a meeting. Rose fixes cars." He looked at me and waited for me to pick out the right person.
"The woman fixing your Jaguar?"
"Yes. She tells me at length what's wrong with my driving. She's insisting I take lessons from her." He chuckled.
"And I know the rest of them?"
"Yes. Well, you know Edward and Bella and Charlie and Ness. Obviously, as you now know, wherever Ness is so is Jake and he's part of our family too. I'll come on to him later; those two are another piece of weird. Shall we see some more of the forest first?"
"That would be good." Daniel got up and helped me to my feet. The sun was nearly gone from the sky now and it was twilight. He pulled me onto his back and set off through the forest, not running as fast as he had before, but still faster than any human could run.
"How fast can you run?" I asked.
"Flat out? Seventy one miles an hour." He couldn't see it but my law dropped open. "I'm running at forty two miles an hour now."
"How can you tell?"
"From the abilities we get as vampires. Judging distance and speed is very important for our survival."
"Can you run the fastest in your family?"
"No, that honour belongs to Edward; he can get up to eighty six miles an hour."
"Wow!" We entered a little glade through which a stream meandered. Daniel set me down and I perched on a fallen log. He came and sat beside me. "So tell me who the rest are?"
"Up until the most recent years, the family has grown because Carlisle saved those close to death. That's true of Bella, but prior to that she'd made the decision to become a vampire so she could be with Edward. She was the first one who'd made that choice. None of us, not me, Jasper, Alice or any of us ever had a choice. Carlisle has always maintained a policy of only changing those who have no other hope of survival. But he hadn't bargained on Ness, or the influence of other vampires. I don't think it's going to be too difficult to work out who two of our other family members are, or were. Things haven't been easy over the last year."
"Jess and Dan?" I said, thinking of the novocaine comment Dan had made and guessing at the tragedy of Jess's death that he was alluding to.
"Yes."
"So Ness started school and as you know, made friends with Jess and Dan. On their birthday there was a party."
"I remember! It got busted, they were drinking."
"Yes and so was Ness. A hybrid vampire on vodka is not a good combination. Do you remember the video that got posted online of her?"
"No, I didn't see that."
"Well, that attracted the attention of the… vampire police, the Volturi."
"That doesn't sound good."
"No it wasn't. They are charged with keeping our existence secret – amongst other things - and so one of them was despatched to deal with Ness. They sent their most-feared enforcer, a female vampire; but things didn't quite work out as she planned. It's a familiar tale when an older woman falling for a younger man, but in their case twelve hundred years is quite an age gap. But still, she fell head over heels in love with a seventeen year old boy from Forks High School."
"Dan?" I guessed.
"Jane." Daniel said.
"No!" I was stunned. "Jane? As in Will Randall's sister?"
"Yes. But she's not his real sister."
"So Dan married her?"
"Yes."
"She's… twelve hundred years old?"
"Yes."
"But they're not together anymore?"
"No, the events of Christmas put paid to that. She sent divorce papers through in January and as you know, it's been like watching a man die a slow death ever since. Dan doesn't consider himself part of our family anymore, but we do and it's tough watching him go through this. Especially as everyone thinks it's to do with Jess's death and it isn't."
"But he's bound to be cut up over the death of his sister."
"Yeah. Sort of."
"So Will? He's a vampire too?"
"Yes. Ness was very determined that the two parts of her life would not meet. Sadly for her, Jess is a walking vampire magnet and snared Will at The Shed one night. Jess, working out pretty soon afterwards that Will wasn't human, understandably kept him hidden from Ness and Dan. Ness was trying to keep Dan and Jane apart and wasn't paying attention to what Jess was doing. The whole lot collapsed in on Ness when Jane and Dan ended up together and Jess ended up pregnant by Will. Add that to a bunch of other problems and poor Ness ran off to San Francisco and straight into me."
"But you said Bella died giving birth to Ness. Jess wasn't pregnant when she died."
"No, Ben was born safely in July. Hybrid pregnancies last twenty eight days and apart from broken ribs and needing a hysterectomy, Jess came out remarkably unscathed. The family learned a lot from Bella's experience with Ness." Summer finished, Jess went back to school and spent every spare moment with Will and Ben."
"Until Christmas." I turned around to him. "Was that the girl who said had died, that night I met you after Christmas? You said you'd spoken to her partner?"
"Yes, I'd spoken to Will."
"He must've been distraught."
"He was."
"How is he now?"
"They're good. The three of them are living in Alaska."
"Three…?"
Daniel smiled. "We thought Jess was dead. When I spoke to you that day that was genuine, we thought we'd lost her. But it turns out her family have previous when it comes to vampires and he'd come to collect her."
"Jess isn't dead?"
"No. We believed Jess had been caught up in the explosion, but Edward picked up that one of Jess's friends had seen a vampire and from that he was able to piece together who it was and they set out to find her. They found Jess a few days later, but by then she'd been officially pronounced dead, her death certificate issued and her funeral carried out. She couldn't go back without serious questions being asked. She'd already made the decision to join us, although she'd planned for it to be some time in the future. In the end, it made it easy for her to be where she wanted to be, with Will and Ben. Will changed her back in February. She's our newest vampire."
"And she's living in Alaska?"
"Yes, with our cousins. Sometimes I wish she were here, we could do with some intervention with Dan. So that's everyone: Carlisle, Esmé, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Edward, Bella, Ness, Jake, Charlie, Will, Jess, Ben, Dan, Jane, - even though they don't feel they are - me… and you, if you want to be."
"Just like that? Part of your family and they barely even know me?"
"When vampires decide who they want to be with, there's no going back. I'm sorry if this seems a little previous, but I've chosen you. Vampires mate for life and I let myself fall for you before I was sure how you felt about me." He looked embarrassed.
"Vampires mate for life? But you're immortal." A choice I had not expected lay out in front of me. "I… could become a vampire?"
"If you want to be, I would never force you and if you say no, then that's OK, you have a choice." He was at pains to reassure me.
"But you said vampires mate for life and that you'd chosen me? What happens if I don't choose to become a vampire? What happens to you after I die?"
"Then I'd miss you every day for eternity."
My blood was suddenly pounding very loudly in my ears as what he'd said sank in. I looked at him. "And you've chosen me?"
"If you'll have me."
"And I get you keep you forever, this isn't just a casual thing for you? You don't have a harem somewhere and I'm just another one for that."
"No. There were a couple of girls in college, Helen and then you."
"You didn't date anybody after Helen?"
"No, divorce takes all the fun out of dating."
"No pretty vampire girl to catch your eye?"
He shook his head vehemently. "Absolutely not. No, with you it was love at first sight."
"What, you mean me bundled up in every layer I could put on and standing in a parking lot?" I said, thinking back to last October when I'd seen him for the first time.
"No, wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and black heeled boots."
"What?" Had we met before?"
"I clearly made an impression on you." He said wryly. "I was stood in the hallway outside the gym at the Civic Anniversary. You came in, said hi to me and then ran into Ness and Jess who were just leaving. Do you remember?"
"That was you?" He nodded. "I don't know why I didn't… oh, yes I do. It was the day I'd told Scott that we were through. Sorry, I was in Gloria Gaynor I will survive mode. Men were a more primitive species that day."
Just then, Daniel's phone beeped. He pulled it out on his pocket and read it. "Bella wants us to stop by the cottage, there's news from Ness."
"She's in Italy with her band."
"Yes, playing for a bunch of vampires."
"But the rest of the band are human?" I saw the danger.
"Yeah and they know that should they even think of the band as lunch, the Cullens will hunt every last one of them down. Besides, Jake's with her and he's enough of a deterrent." Daniel stood up.
"You were going to tell me about Jake."
"I will; but later. Let's go to the cottage." He pulled me onto his back again and set off through the forest.
It was dark when we arrived at the cottage. It was set in a clearing, but I couldn't see a road or any paths that led to it. It was low and stone built, with a pale wooden door. On both sides of the door there were pots and growing up the exterior walls were honeysuckle and clematis plants. From one of the windows came a soft yellow light. As we approached the door opened and Bella greeted us.
"Sit down, make yourself at home. The cottage was deceptively spacious. We were in a large room the far right end of which was divided into a small kitchen. The main section was simply furnished with two sofas, an armchair, a coffee table and an entire wall of bookcases, stacked with books of all ages and conditions. Along the top ran dozens of framed photographs of the family. Some old, from the 1920s or 30s, through to one of Jake and Ness, that must have been taken on her graduation day. I sat down and Daniel pulled me close which wasn't something I objected to at all. I smiled at his enjoyment of being able to hold me. I pressed my lips gently together and found that they still felt tender.
On the far left of the room was a passageway and it was from here that Edward emerged, carrying a laptop which he placed on the coffee table.
"She's sent photo's, but read the email first." There was a snicker from him.
"I think it's lovely idea. "Bella said. "She's right; it's the perfect excuse."
"Yeah, whatever." Edward grinned and pulled a little tube out of his pocket. He handed it to me. "Something to help with the swelling."
"It's good stuff." Bella chimed in. "Put it on before you go to sleep and in the morning they're pretty much back to normal. Oh and a word of warning. Don't think you're the one who can do the biting. I chipped my tooth on Edward once."
Daniel laughed heartily. "You should write a book Bella, you and Jess. 'Dating Vampires for Dummies.'
"I don't think there'd be much call for that." Bella pointed her finger at Daniel. "And don't let him warm his hands on your stomach, they think it's hilarious."
Daniel and Edward laughed.
"He already did that." I confessed
Bella narrowed her eyes. "Daniel."
"I'm sorry. I just like hearing her laugh. So what does Ness have to say?" He picked up the computer and placed it on his lap. He put his arm about around me and left me with no doubt that I was included in reading the email too.
"Excuse the sweary abbreviations. I wish she wouldn't do that." Said Edward.
I turned my attention to the screen.
From: rcc
To: eamc ; imsc ; djmc ; cs ; rlhc ; emc , mabc ; jwc ; wrc ; jmt ; bwrc
Hi Guys!
Sorry for the one-size-fits-all email, but I've only got a few minutes before the sound check for tonight. We've only been here one day and already Chrissy wants to kill Stacey more than I do. Jake's nicknamed Dan 'Deathwish' as he's obsessed with busting into the Volturi Headquarters to see Jane (she isn't here, she on business in Bulgaria). Jake's also threatening to phase at even the hint of a red eye, so it's going to be an interesting wedding! Demetri is amusingly nervous and Trine is so, so lovely!
The Villa is totally gorgeous and the photos that Grandma sent don't do it justice – she's excelled herself and the place is HUGE! It's not a villa, it's a castle!
Jane being away is the reason why the wedding was this week, so they could get Dan in and out without Jane knowing. Apparently she flips if you mention him. I saw her picture on the board in reception – CEO of the 'Solace Foundation' WTF?
We spent yesterday hanging out by the pool and it got me thinking, that as I don't think any of us have anything on for the next couple of weeks, wouldn't it be a great idea that once the band have gone home, for me and Jake to stay here and for you guys to join us? It's Dad's 115th soon, Ben's first birthday next month, it's Carlisle and Esmé's eighty fifth wedding anniversary next weekend and we didn't manage to get together for my Graduation – so how about it? It would be wonderful if we could, please, please, PLEASE! I'm also hoping that in the last 48 hours miracles have happened and that Daniel's sorted things out with Stephanie. I hope she can come too. Also, Grampa, could you please hurry up and tell Heather about us, because I'd love it if you two could come as well!
Please think about it, but more than that, please say yes!
All our love
Jake and Ness xxx
"So are we going?" Daniel looked to Bella.
"I'm packing already." She replied. "Edward's more reluctant. Something about not wanting attention drawn to certain things?" She smiled. "I think he's getting a little sensitive in his old age." She darted across the room in a blur and appeared sat by his side on the sofa.
"It's not that, I simply fail to see why Ness feels it's imperative that we mark people's birthdays. It's not relevant if you're not adding to the total."
"Oh suck it up Edward, she wants to do this. As she pointed out, it's not just your birthday we'd be celebrating; we'd be celebrating other things. We should go, even if we're there to mark her Graduation, I felt cheated that we couldn't be there."
"You couldn't be there because of the sun." I said, realising why Ness had been so upset that day.
"Yes," replied Bella. "It was the only day I've ever prayed for rain, or that Principal Greene would do things as he's always done. We were stood in the trees bordering the school, but it wasn't the same."
"I remember; she was looking over there."
"There are certain cruelties to this life." Edward added. "And that was one of them."
"So, Italy?" Daniel turned to me.
"Me?"
"Yes, you're included. And if I'm not mistaken, Italy's on your list of places you've always wanted to visit." His face held a degree of triumph.
"That's true."
"So? Do you want to go? Meet the family?"
Meet his family? Certain worries about his family presented themselves in my head.
"The only potential difficulty is with Jess." Edward answered my thoughts. "She's only four months old; but between Jasper and I, we can head off any situation that might arise, and Will won't let her out of his sight. Our family is increasingly spread out, so opportunities like this are becoming scarce."
"All the more reason to celebrate people's birthdays and anniversaries, so we get the opportunity to meet up. That could be Ness's motive. Perhaps she's trying to keep us all together." Bella's argument seemed logical to me.
"You could be right." Edward agreed. He turned to me. "Stephanie? It's your call."
I was scared, but less because I was going to some vampire clan gathering, more because I was actually going out of the country. "Yes." I said hesitantly. "I'd like to go."
"Good." Edward got up and retrieved the laptop. "I'll book tickets."
Daniel placed his cool lips briefly on my forehead. "Don't worry, we'll look after you."
"I don't speak any Italian." I confided to him.
"Neither do I. But luckily for us, Edward's fluent."
"And Carlisle and Esmé are too." Edward added. "And I hope Ness will have picked it up."
"In a week?" I questioned.
Edward nodded. "Yes. I'm hoping that she might finally use that brain of hers to its full potential, instead of using it to keep one step behind Pete Degrassi."
"She did that intentionally?"
"Yes," Edward replied. "She didn't want to stand out. Once Alice told her that Graduation Day would be sunny, she saw no reason to be the one out the front making the valedictory speech, if we couldn't be there to see it."
"I knew she was capable of more." I added.
"She is. Right, there we are six tickets."
"Six?" I asked.
"Things went well with Kael?" Asked Daniel.
"Very well!" Bella grinned. "Looks like I'm getting a stepmother."
"But how do you think she'll take the news about us?" Daniel added.
"She took it amazingly well." Edward replied.
"It's done? Already?"
"Yes. This afternoon was interesting. There are not many kitchen tables that can claim to have had two vampires, a human, an angel and a nephilim sat around it. You should explain the whole thing about Kael, Uriah and the Quileutes to Stephanie."
Daniel looked at me. "I will."
"What's that?" I asked.
"The whole thing about you and why you ended up being the target of so much this last year."
It would be good to finally know.