Author Note - Sorry about the delay getting this chapter out, but real life kicked me swiftly up the arse this week.
I have however finished writing this whole thing and it will appear as quickly as I can type it now.
Thanks to Content1 for all her help and ideas. She helps me make Kali who she is.
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter.
Here we go, time to see what happens as Edward finds out about Jake kissing Bells.
Team Jasper!
Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I just fuck it up for fun.
Chapter 20
Bubble-wrap / Crossed lines
The list Alice had provided me with was nothing short of ridiculous. It contained the makings of of a festival style sound system, lights, heaters, air conditioners, ice-makers, smoke machines, lasers... The girl had lost the plot. After insisting that everything on the list was absolutely necessary, I was sent out to Olympia to hunt for the items that she deemed 'life or death important'. Although, I personally didn't see how a forty two inch plasma TV was necessary for a graduation party.
I was shopping for at least four hours. When I finally had everything on the list and had gone through an entire packet of cigarettes to try and control my unnecessary rage at every shop assistants that treated me like an imbecile with 'daddies credit card', I was finally heading home. It shocked me just how quick to temper I was. I think it meant that I should hunt soon, but if Alice had anything to do with it, I would be wrapped up in preparations and party plans for a whole week.
Emmett's jeep was precariously loaded with as much of the equipment as was legal and safe, It wouldn't hit anywhere close to its top speed due to the sheer weight of the payload I was carrying. Rosalie would have to check the suspension on this when I got home. In hindsight, a quick drive to Seattle to get my Hummer would have been the better option. It had better traction and the space was favorable in compassion to the Jeep. Hindsight is a wonderful thing... I would have to buy them a Hummer or a semi-truck or something if Alice continued on the way she did.
"Kali, I wouldn't let her hear you say that out loud..." Oh, good! Edward was home. He could help me unload half of this shit with the other two boys. "I'm sitting with Bella, I can't," He pleaded quietly.
"Bullshit! Get off your shiny, glittery arse and come and help. Bring the human with you, she can help too!" I thought sharply as I pulled into the garage.
"She's not a vampire.." He protested.
"She's not a cripple either. Stop treating her like one!" I shouted as I got out of the car.
"Go get him, Kals!" Emmett boomed, holding a fist out for me to bump it with mines.
"Stay out of this, Emmett." Edward growled. I heard bodies shifting in the living room as I opened up the back of the jeep. "Where are you going, love?"
Bella spoke as she moved towards the garage. "I'm going to help."
"Bella..."
"Don't try and stop me, Edward." Bella let out a little growl all of her own. I couldn't help the smile that spread all over my face at her attempt at looking fierce again.
"You could get hurt, love," He said. I could tell from the tone of his voice he was trying to Dazzle her. I could almost see his eyes turning to liquid gold as they burned with an intensity that should have floored the average human's will power in seconds.
"Stop it!" Bella demanded. "I am going to help, even if you don't." Her footsteps sounded as she made her way towards us. Emmett quickly placed the huge box he was carrying on the floor and dropped to his knees.
"What the fuck are you doing?" I hissed, putting my own burden on the pile in the back of the garage that Alice was hiding behind, taking inventory of my spoils.
"Just wait," He said, looking towards the door. Alice started laughing hysterically, and it was really pissing me off. Before I could bring Edward's gifts into my mind to find out what the hell was so funny, Bella walked into the garage and blushed furiously. Emmett began to fall forward into a low bow over and over again while chanting 'We're Not Worthy'. I erupted into giggles as Emmett worshiped his little sister for her tenacity. Edward suddenly appeared at the door, his face a storm of anger and frustration, but he-wisely- held his tongue. I would hate to have to bring him down a peg or two in front of everyone. That would wait until Bella was home and safe and it wouldn't embarrass him for me to rip him a nice big new one in front of her. His eyes darted to me and his unspoken fury grew.
"That's right, Mr. Chivalry. We will be talking later!" I shouted in my thoughts. He nodded once and went to hover over Bella as she helped Emmett move a box.
Jasper had to take control of the situation at one point. Edward wasn't calming down and his high and mighty attitude was seriously pissing me off. Edward was pissed and I was pissed and for some reason, Alice was really pissed. Jasper had sedated the room long enough for us all to complete the unloading of the Jeep and for us to store it properly. Once Edward got Bella home and returned, he was incensed. He walked in the front door, through the living room and right to the back door without uttering a word. He wrapped his long fingers around the doorknob and he turned to look in my direction. I squared my shoulders and got up from the couch where I was sitting with Emmett and Jasper. One to one time apparently.
"Go easy on him, sis. He's just a boy." Emmett teased. His concern would have been almost believable if it hadn't been for the fact that he was looking forward to Edward getting read the riot act. Edward glared at him before he turned and left the house. I followed him out, the sounds of muttered warnings and encouragement trailing behind me. I chose to ignore most of it. This was something that Edward and I had to talk about and talk about alone. We hit the river, leaping gracefully before taking off at a sprint into the woods. After fifteen minutes, he came to a sudden and graceful stop. I over shot the landing, as it were, having to turn and walk back to him. He was leaning against a tree, his hands fisted so tight, the skin over his knuckles was more white than normal and looked ready to split at any second. He lifted his head as I approached him.
"Kali," He began calmly. "I have to control myself around Bella. Every touch, embrace and kiss are all calculated. They are checked and re-checked to make sure that I don't hurt her. Everything I do, everything that I am is designed to protect her and you undermine that by allowing her to put herself in a dangerous situation."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I replied, barely keeping hold of my rage at his accusation. "Edward, she carried two fucking boxes and one bag the grand total of twenty feet. The only danger she was in was from paper cuts when you snatched the boxes from her like they were nuclear weapons!"
"She could have fallen and hurt herself!" He argued, his tone now matching mines.
"With five vampires in the room, one of which is a psychic? I doubt that."
"You don't understand, Kali," He muttered, taking the bridge of his nose between his fingers. I rolled my eyes. I fucking hated it when he did that.
"No, you don't understand, Edward. She is fragile, she breaks easily. I get that, I really do. But Edward, she is a big girl and you are treating her like a baby!"
"I am trying to protect her! Don't you get it?"
"I get it. I promise, I get it. But try and see it from my perspective, okay? She is a human, a clumsy one at that. She will fall over and we won't always be there to catch her. She needs to fall sometimes so that she can learn to pick herself back up."
"I have to protect her, Kali." he growled.
"Yes, you do. From psychotic vampires and temperamental werewolves and would be rapists and all manner of beasts and monsters... but you can't protect her from being human. She needs to learn how to take care of herself and she can't do that from her 'Safe Bella Bubble'." I moved to stand beside my brother. I didn't want to fight with him. I understood why he behaves the way that he did. Bella was fragile. I found myself doing all kinds of complex calculations in my head just so that I could give her a handshake.
Edward interrupted my train of thought. "So you can see my point?" He asked, stepping forward and placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Edward, I understand you, but you don't seem to understand me." This wasn't working. I would need a new plan.
"Which is?" he asked.
"Edward, what do you want for Bella?"
"I want her to be happy,"
"Do you want her to be one of us?"
"No." He snapped.
"You want her to stay human?"
"Yes!" He growled, his anger getting the best of him. Good, I needed him pissed off for this to work.
"Then why aren't you letting her live like one?"
The next thing that I registered, I was forty feet away from where I was and my chest was throbbing like hell. The fucker hit me! My vision flooded crimson as I fought to control myself. I sat up off the ground, pulling my knees against my aching chest and resting my arms on them. I stared at my hands, wondering why -for a creature with a perfect memory- I couldn't recall how to un-fist them.
"Control yourself! Control yourself! Control yourself!"
Saying the words out loud, helped me to pay attention to them. I would regret ripping him apart later when I had calmed down. I focused on the ground as I waited for the angry to subside long enough for me to ask him what the fuck he was playing at.
"Kali," Edward said softly. His remorse and shame was clear in those four little letters. I forced myself to look at him. Never before had I seen an angel look so guilty. He held his hand out for me to pull myself up and I snarled at it viciously. He pulled his hand back a bit, but never taking it all the way back.
We stayed like that for nearly ten minutes until I calmed myself down. He stood over me, both protective and apologetic, waiting for me to bring justice to him. I kept my mind purposefully blank. I knew he didn't hurt me on purpose. He was lashing out and I would allow it. At least I didn't break easily. How he hadn't killed half of the population of Forks out of sheer frustration, I wasn't sure. I opened my mind to him and focused.
"You and I are going to have a love/ hate relationship, you know that, right?" I thought, finally looking into his honey-coloured eyes.
"Kali, I am more sorry than you know." He said, holding out a hand for me to take. The second that my hand was in his, I was off the ground, crushed against his chest and being thoroughly squashed.
"Edward, let me go. I am being squished and my chest kind of hurts." I teased, knowing he would release me instantly.
"Are you alright?" He asked, scanning my upper body for physical damage.
"Quit eying me up, will you? I'm fine. Just pissed off. Do you ant to explain why I am forty two feet away from where I started this conversation?"
"Kali, I live with the constant struggle of keeping Bella alive. No-one ever questions my methods."
"Really? Even after the 'Incident'? I'm sorry, but I am calling bullshit. Keeping her safe and keeping her trapped are two totally different things. Humans get sick, they fall over, they bang their heads, they break some bones...it's normal." I said. I sounded like I was begging him to see my point of view. "Protect her from lunatic bitch vampires and horse-sized wolves, but don't protect her from being human."
"I'll try. She is my everything, Kali. I couldn't live in a world where she doesn't exist. If anything happened to her, it would kill me."
I nodded once, giving him one more squeeze around the middle before letting him go.
"Alice is going to dismantle me," Edward groaned, taking a slow step back.
"Why?"
"She was angry with me earlier. She must have seen-" He struggled to finish the sentence out of sheer embarrassment.
"She saw you hit me?" I offered. His eyes snapped to mines and the sorrow and shame was back.
"I have never hit a woman like that before, Kali. It's not an excuse because there is no justification for what I did, but I am so sor-"
"If you say sorry one more time, I am going to hit you back!" I threatened, silently hoping that he would push it. One good shot would be enough to make me feel better, I was sure of it. His eyebrows quirked and his mouth fell into his crooked grin. He took a step back and raised his hand, curling his finger, motioning me to go ahead. I felt my own eyebrows rise in surprise with him nodding his head, allowing me to go for it.
I grinned as my mind fell blank, stepping towards Edward who now stood with his arms by his side and a shit-eating grin on his face. Cocky fucker thought that I wouldn't be able to get him. I took a step forward, focusing on his gift, and thought about punching him in the shoulder. He began to sway to the left and right, anticipating my moves. I followed him, shifting from side to side while moving forward until I was less than three feet away, switching ideas too quickly for him to catch me then there was a loud CRACK! He wasn't here anymore. He was thirty feet away and face down in the dirt.
"Damn it," he muttered, picking himself off of the floor and brushing mud off of his shirt.
"I can read your mind as well, Edward," I reminded him, offering him help; to stand.
"Did you have to punch me quite so hard?" he complained, rubbing his chest just over his heart.
"Did you have to hit so hard?"
"Touche." He said, smiling.
"You up for a quick hunt?" I asked, tasting the air. There were a couple of deer nearby and my temper- or lack thereof- was proof enough that I needed to hunt.
"I have to get back to Bella," He murmured.
"No problem. I'll grab a quick bite and head home."
"Kali?"
"Yeah?"
"Sorry, again," Edward turned about and headed to the house. I realised that he might not actually be an out of control vampire. He was just a kid. A normal, seventeen year old kid who was trying to look after his girlfriend. I smiled at the idea and headed out to hunt.
I didn't go to school the rest of that week. Well, the one day of it that was left. There was only the Friday left of school now and I honestly couldn't cope with doing another day. The mere thought just about shoved me over the edge. I hung out around the house, mostly. I helped Esme in the garden a lot though. I found spending time with her to be remarkably peaceful. I didn't to much actual gardening but I spent a lot of time with her just laughing and talking. I found it odd that although the story was that Carlisle was my uncle, I always considered him to be more like a brother. Esme, however, felt like a mother in every sense of the word. Her face was breathtaking when I explained this to her.
"Kali, I will be whatever you need me to be. I love you the same way that I love all my other children. You ARE one of my children, despite our rather impressive age gap,"
I didn't have a response to that. The only thing I could think to do was to give her a hug. God, I squeezed her so tight and crushed her to me, putting everything that I had into it, hoping she understood the sentiment behind it. It had been ten weeks since I officially became a Cullen and I had spent a good whack of that time trying to figure out what exactly it was that I had done to deserve a family like this. Esme released me when we heard Alice's phone ringing. I beamed up at my mother and went inside. Alice was having an argument on the phone with Edward.
"I know where she is, Edward, her future just disappeared." I hissed loudly. She was going to see the wolf.
"I'll be home soon. Is Kali home?" Why the hell was Edward asking for me? I motioned to Alice to give me the phone and was slightly surprised when she gave it up without a fight.
"Edward? What's wrong?"
"Nothing really. Do you mind coming for a quick drive with me? I need to discuss something with you." He sounded upset.
"What kind of question is that?" I demanded. "Of course I will. when will you be home?"
"Two minutes."
"See you then," I said, snapping Alice's phone shut and handing it to her. "Alice, don't look for that conversation."
"Why?"
"Because he wants to discuss something privately, Alice."
"I can't control what I see, Kali," She pouted.
"If you see it, that's fine. But do not look for it." She just huffed her response and went upstairs.
"Is Edward alright?" Esme asked, coming front he kitchen. I could feel her concern and it mirrored mines.
"He's okay, Esme. I think he just wants to get some stuff off of his chest."
"Why you, though?"
"I think he finds it hard to talk about what is happening with him and Bella with all the happy couples around. I think he just needs some venting room." I shrugged my shoulders. "I'll take care of him, Esme. He is my brother and I will help him." She didn't have anything further to add so she just nodded and headed back in the direction of the kitchen.
I looked down at myself. Shit. I was covered in mud from the garden and there was no way Edward would let me into his car looking like this. I headed up the stairs and froze outside Alice's door. I should probably apologise to her for my attitude before...
"There are clean clothes on your bed for you, Kali." She said, opening her room door.
"You get a second, Alice?"
"I know what he did." She stated. Her tone made sure that I didn't mess about.
"Are you referring to the discussion that myself and Edward had last night?"
"Yes, I saw what he did to you."
"Ah,"
"What did you say to him?" She demanded. I could tell that she couldn't decide to who be more pissed at. Him for hitting me or me for provoking him.
"I questioned his methods," I stated. Alice's confused expression indicated to me that I should probably continue. "I told him that he should stop treating Bella like a baby."
"Oh,"
"You didn't see that?"
"I just saw you getting hit. Did he hurt you?" her voice fell to a whisper that even vampires would have had difficulty hearing.
I shook my head. "I hit him back." I replied in the same hushed tone. Our conversation was cut short by the sound of Edward's Volvo hitting the driveway at speed.
"Shit!" I exclaimed, earning a rather motherly huff from downstairs. I quickly got changed, grabbing my phone as I went and jumped out of the bedroom window, and landing inches away from the bonnet of Edward's car as he came to a stop.
"Was that really necessary?" Edward asked, smiling.
"Absolutely." I decreed, climbing into the passenger seat. The car was in motion again before I even got the door shut. "So what's the plan, captain?"
"We are going for a drive," He stated and floored it. Neither of us spoke again until we hit the highway.
"What's happening, Edward?" I asked, wanting him to say something. The tension was just about killing me.
"I wanted to talk to you or Jasper about the training we need to do and I was going to have Alice look after Bella, but she suggested going to Jacob's house instead." His monotonous tone was scaring me a little.
"And you let her go?"
"Yes,"
"Well done," I said, placing a hand on his knee and feeling slightly proud of my baby brother.
"Huh?"
"You are letting her be a grown up and making her own decisions. Well done."
"She cares about him," He said suddenly in a small voice. As the words escaped his mouth, the knuckles on his hand went bone white as he gripped the steering pain in his eyes chilled me to the core.
"Edward, you are going to break the steering wheel, now pull over." I demanded. The last thing he needed was to end up running up the back of another car. He hit the hard shoulder and rolled to a stop. He leaned forward, resting his head on the steering wheel.
"He is her friend, Edward," I said. I could tell from his reaction seconds ago that it went deeper than that. He needed to talk, not to be badgered. I bit my tongue against the questions that threatened to spill out of my mouth. When I trusted myself to speak again, I tried to reassure him. "I'm not going to bleed the information out of you. I am your sister and I love you, regardless of what you have to tell me. I will sit here with you all night if that's what you need."
We sat in silence for a couple of minutes. I focused on the road ahead of us and on trying to be a good sister. He needed to do this in his own time, that much was obvious, but the curiosity was just about killing me. He took a steadying breath before speaking. This was it.
"I am going to talk and I need you to try and understand and listen, okay?" I sent him a silent 'yes' and waited for him to begin. He took a couple of seconds to compose himself before he started to talk again.
"Kali, I am a monster. We all are. We end lives to sustain our existence. We are soulless creatures and for nearly one hundred years, I have never considered myself to be anything more. Bella has changed me completely, but she hasn't altered my view on what I- what we are. I love her more than any words or images can describe, but she deserves so much more that what I can give her. She is so fragile, so breakable. A bad trip, a fall, illness- even nature- could take her away from me in a heartbeat. The very thought kills me." He was finally losing the plot. I had honestly never heard a vampire ramble before, but this was something else. He was so far gone that he didn't even make comment on my thoughts.
"When I realised how I felt about Bella, there were only four options. One, hope that she didn't care for me like I cared for her. That she just go on and live a normal life. Two, assuming that she DID care for me, I would leave, forcing her to forget about me. Three, stay with her during her human life and find a way to follow her when she died. Four, give her what she thinks she wants. Take away her life- her soul- and condemn her to walk in the shadows as one of the damned for all of eternity."
"Is that how you see us?" I demanded "Condemned and damned?" I forgot that I wasn't supposed to be speaking until he was finished, but fuck it, he was pissing me off with his pessimistic 'we are all going straight to hell' theories.
"Yes, that's how I see us. You aren't supposed to be interrupting," I mumbled my apologies and shut up.
"I chose option three for us. I didn't have the strength to leave and I wouldn't change her. After what happened in Phoenix, I was scared for her. Humans aren't built to live in our world, Kali. They are too fragile. She was and still is, constantly in danger. I continue to put her in danger.
"At her birthday party, my worst fears were confirmed. My own brother almost took her from me. A single drop of her blood turned every vampire in the room into a savage. I couldn't be around her but I could keep her safe. I forced the family to leave. I told Bella we had to go..."
His face clouded over and his eyes bore unimaginable pain. He wasn't going to be able to finish this story. If I was going to help him, I would have to know. I focused on him.
"Show me, Edward," I asked, watching him as he closed his agonised eyes from me. My head whirled with his memories. Images of the forest, silent but for Edward and Bella's conversation. Seeing her heart break in front of his eyes and knowing it was his fault.
"You're just not...good for me, Bella."
"Not good enough for you."
"No."
"Well, that changes things...a lot."
"It's alright, human memories fade and you will forget me."
"And what about your memories?"
"Our kinda are easily...distracted. I suppose I will always love you- in a way,"
The memory shifted. The forest was speeding backwards and echoes of Bella's voice chased a now sprinting Edward. Her yells for him, hearing her
scream his name over and over again was torture. Sobs crashed against the trees as Edward ran- Painful, tearless, racking heaves. I couldn't take anymore and I shoved Edward's gift to the furthest part of my mind, futilely pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes in an effort to purge the images. I would never get rid of them. They were burned into my brain now.
"Oh, Edward, what the fuck did you do!" I wasn't angry. I was shocked. I understood his intent, but his methods were horrific- cruel to the point of barbarism.
"I did the only thing I could. She wasn't going to let go, Kali, and -god help me- I wanted to stay, but I couldn't risk hurting her like that. I needed her to believe that I had moved on. If she thought that, she would move on too."
"I am assuming that your plan fell through?"
"I broke her, Kali. I broke her heart and her mind and her spirit when I left. You saw it from Jacob." I shuddered at the memory of Jacob's thoughts. Bella looked decimated in his memories, serving as a reminder - for him- of just how dangerous our kind was. When he read MY thoughts, he tried to stifle a sob...and failed miserably. Though no sound came from him, his whole body shuddered violently. Grief for the damage he had done.
"What happened after you left?" I pressed.
"I wandered, my family fought and pleaded and screamed at me to see reason, but I wouldn't. I left her to the mercy of two psychotic vampires and a pack of uncontrollable mutts." His final statement sparked a memory of the wolf, Jacob's, reaction to Bella's physical appearance.
"One of the wolves cares for Bella." It wasn't a question, but I still expected some kind of answer.
"When I was gone, Bella sought solace and comfort. She found it in Jacob Black." My stomach rolled a little as I fought valiently to surpress either the growl, snarl or his that I know would be coming. "He took the pieces of her that I shattered and he started to put them together again, little by little. He put her back together after I broke her. He love her and he despises me."
"So? Bella love you."
"The bond those two have won't fade in time. She loves him." His head made contact with the steering wheel, as if the weight of his those last three words buckled him.
"She is IN love with you, Edward. It's completely different." I reasoned. It took me a few seconds to get it, but I realised that him leaving, his superior, know-it-all mentality nearly killed them both. It was a cock-up of almost apocalyptic proportions.
"It was. I will never be strong enough to leave her again."
"You fucking better not or I will dismantle you." I growled.
"I couldn't even if I wanted to. It just feels like the more I try to keep her safe, the further I push her towards him." He sounded so defeated.
"Well, that was because he doesn't coddle her but, seeing as you aren't doing that anymore, there will be no more problems. Just remember, that she is physically older than you and a girl and therefore far more mature than you will ever be. You need to trust her judgment."
"With every fibre of my being, I hope you are right." He whispered, finally opening his eyes. His gaze fell onto my feet. I followed his line of sight and groaned. How in the fuck did I not notice that I had no shoes on. Next to my bare feet, right at the back of the foot-well, was a silver rectangle.
"Bella forgot her phone." I stated. Daft little human.
"You have no idea." Edward grumbled, reaching down and retrieving the phone. "How is she supposed to call and have me pick her up if she doesn't have a phone to do it on."
"Don't worry, Jacob will take her to her house and she will call you from there. Why don't we go to her house and wait on her there?" I suggested, briefly wondering about how to explain my bare feet to Bella.
Count on Edward to save the day."You have a pair of shoes under the back seat from our hunt last week if you want them." He pressed his foot down on the accelerator, apparently liking my idea quite a bit.
RING RING
"Bella?" Edward's phone had barely gone through its first ring coupling before he had it to his ear. "You left the phone- I'm sorry, did Jacob drive you home?"
"Yes, will you come and get me please?" She asked in a tight voice.
"We are on the way," He replied instantly. I wondered briefly if I should get out the car, but he turned to look at me, shaking his head. His brow furrowed as he asked Bella what was wrong.
"I want Carlisle to have a look at my hand? I think it's broken."I had to suppress yet another snarl, settling for a loud hiss that the engine noise covered nicely.
"What happened?" Edward's face went blank.
"I punched Jacob." She stated, rather stoically. I bit my tongue as the bubble of laughter that was building in my chest threatened to escape. Pride ripped through me like wildfire at the thought of Bella punching a werewolf in the face. Edward, however, did not look quite so happy.
"Good. I'm sorry you got hurt though."
"Wish I had hurt him," She growled. "I didn't do any damage at all."
"I can fix that." Edward suggested. I felt like crowing victoriously at his thoughts. I was already dreaming up ways to fix that fucking mutt.
"I was hoping you would say that." Bella sighed. THAT wasn't like her. She hated violence and the idea that she would willingly allow it was ridiculous. What the hell had that dog done to her? Edward asked her the question that was rattling around in my head.
"He kissed me."
I flew into the back of the passenger seat as Edward pressed the accelerator into the floor of the foot-well.
"You are going to break it!" I thought. He wasn't listening to me anymore. We were only two streets away from Bella's house now.
"Is the dog still there?" Edward asked through clenched teeth. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard, I was convinced he would be holding a handful of plastic dust if he didn't cool it.
"Yes," Bella answered. Good, Because I was going to do some serious damage this time.
"We are around the corner," Edward stated before the phone in his hand became a small silver plastic lump in his hand. "I am going to rip that mutt's legs off" he threatened.
"I'll help." I offered. We took the corner at ninety miles an hour before screaming to a stop outside Bella's house. The stench of wolf was sickening and I had to fight the urge to gag. By the time I had opened the car door, Edward was already on the pavement and halfway up the path to Bella's house. When she opened the front door, my rage spiked as she cradled her visibly damaged hand to her chest. I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets to stop me punching a hole through anything... like a wall of a wolf or something.
"You must have put some force behind this." Despite his clear outrage, Edward still managed to sound proud of Bella. I had to admit that I was a little proud of her myself.
"As much as I have, not enough apparently." Bella grumbled as I moved forward, finally trusting myself not to kill anything in public.
"I'll take care of it," Edward promised.
"You deal with the mutt, I'll put Bella in the car." I thought, moving forward and taking Bella from him. The wolf stench increased as Jacob appeared at the front door and I instinctively hissed my displeasure. Edward looked more like a vampire than I had even seen him. The youthful, energetic light that usually danced in his eyes was gone and they were flat black and furious.
"Jacob."
Shit. I knew that tone. Even and smooth like silk and velvet and somehow, he sounded more dangerous than ever. He didn't need to shout, he just needed to speak.
"I don't want any fighting, do you understand?" Charlie Swan arrived at the front door, trying to diffuse a situation that he had no hope in hell in controlling. I could only hope beyond hope that he didn't get hurt in the crossfire if and when this thing kicked off. "I'll put on my badge if it makes the request more official."
Yeah, like that would help.
"That won't be necessary, sir," Edward said. He was barely keeping his shit together. The mutts thoughts must have been excruciating. Bella's head whipped around to look at her father.
"Why don't you arrest me day? I'm the one throwing punches." She suggested sarcastically.
"Jake, do you want to press charges?"
"Nah, I'll take the trade any day." Cocky fucker! I was going to enjoy turning him inside out. I shoved my hand a little further into my pocket.
"Dad, you have a baseball bat in your room, right?I want to borrow it." I couldn't help myself. I giggled. The idea of Bella hitting a home run right off this mongrels head was hysterical.
"Let's go get Carlisle to have a look at your hand," I suggested, quickly throwing out the American accent Charlie had heard before. "Before you wind up in a jail cell." I pulled her towards the Volvo and loaded her gently into the back of the car, winding the window down as I closed the door. "Punching werewolves, Bella?"
"He deserved it," She muttered. I touched her shoulder in support.
"I'm proud of ya, sis," I winked at her before turning back to the testosterone fest that was being displayed in her front yard. Charlie had disappeared and Edward and the mutt were now about twenty feet apart.
"I'm not going to kill you now, because it would upset Bella." Edward said, taking his tone back to the soft and smooth velvet. It was terrifying. Bella promptly huffed at his reasoning, but apparently the people next to the Volvo were being ignored right now. "But if you ever bring her back damaged again- and I don't care who's fault it is; I don't care if she merely trips or if a meteor falls out of the sky and hits her on the head- If you return her to me in less than the perfect condition I left her in, you WILL be running on three legs. Do you understand that mongrel?"
Internally, I was dancing with Joy. I would help him take this complete waste of space out. Gladly.
"And if you ever kiss her again, I WILL break your jaw for her."Edward promised, his tone sounding, if possible, even more deadly.
"What if she wants me to?" Jacob asked, arrogant as ever.
"Are you fucking delusional?" I hissed, but I was still being ignored.
"If that's what Bella wants, then I won't object." Edward shrugged his shoulders. I couldn't tell if this was nonchalance or an act. "You might want to wait for her to say it, rather than trust your interpretation of body language- but it's your face."
Jacob's grin had me leaving Bella in the car and stepping forward to stand next to Edward. I placed one hand on his shoulder as a sign of solidarity for my brother before turning to the fleabag who was polluting my oxygen supply.
"Jacob," I began, applying the same cadence to my voice that Edward had." I'm not entirely sure how the dynamic of your friendship with Bella works, but if you ever force any part of you onto her again - and I mean a handshake, a hug or anything else- I will rip the offending body part off and burn it in front of your face. You will not force any part of you onto my sister again, or I will take great pleasure in tearing you to shreds." I snarled, turning and heading back to the car.
"I didn't force anything onto her, leech!"
"Her broken hand tells me something different, MUTT!" I quipped, before sliding into the drivers seat of the Volvo. I turned around to inspect Bella's hand. Two theoretical medical degrees should make quick work of this. "How are you feeling, Bella?"
"Irritated,"
I giggled once. "I meant physically,"
"It's swelling again,"
I lifted her injured hand away from her chest, I ignored the burn in my throat and allowed my cold hands to soothe the burn from the broken bones. I gently began to work my fingers on my free hand along the skin of her fingers and knuckles.
"I think something it definitely broken in here. One of your fingers maybe, but definitely one of your knuckles though." I said sadly.
"I've had worse," She admitted, causing me to shudder at the very thought of the kind of trouble she could get herself into. She ignored my discomfort and focused on the two men outside.
"Yes, may the best MAN win," Jacob sneered.
"Sounds about right, pup." Edward growled before turning around and heading towards us.
"Edward, get in the back with Bella, I'll drive." I thought, turning the engine over.
"Thanks," He muttered, before climbing in next to Bella and I was rocketing down the street before he even had the door closed. I wanted to get Bella to Carlisle and have her hand looked over and strapped up. More than that, I wanted to get Bella away from the complete monster standing on her porch.
Author note - Ok, so that was the longest chapter I had done yet.
I was a little sketchy about Edward breaking down a little bit, so I need some opinions. I have an idea further down the line that might work, but your response to this one will help me decide if I want to put it in.
Thanks for taking the time to read my story and if you like it, please review. The reviews make me smile.
Next Chapter - Graduating Pains.