I know it's pretty boring so far and I'm sorry. It will get better I promise.
Chapter Three.
I heard the opening of our front door and light dance like footsteps prancing through our door.
"Alice…" Edward moaned. I sighed but rolled out of bed. I spun around and faced Edward. He looked quite perturbed, sitting in bed with his arms crossed. I sped into the closet as I heard Alice entering the hallway. Edward refused to move from under the comforter on our bed and was still rested there when I emerged from the closet wearing a light green t-shirt over a pair of faded jeans.
There was a timid rap on the door and Edward turned over, pushing his face into the pillow. I went to the door. I opened it a crack and peeked my head around the corner.
"Good morning sunshine!" Alice's chipper voice greeted me as soon as the door handle turned.
"Alice." I said cordially, opening the door wider.
"Alice Cullen." Edward's muffled voice sounded through the pillow, "It is 5:30. Have some sanity."
"Have some dignity, Edward." Alice retorted smiling, "At least Bella put clothes on." Edward didn't reply, he just kept his face shoved in the pillow.
I attempted to muffle a few giggles before stepping outside."Bella," Alice began in a pleading, coaxing voice. It reminded me of the dim humid memory of her warning me of the graduation party. Oh, dear. A party.
I moaned and gave Alice a pitty-me look before stalking off to the main room. She followed in pursuit, not letting me escape.
I plopped onto the couch and looked at her expectantly. I evened out my breathing. Alice stared at me and sat on the couch leaning on the other armrest.
"Bella." Alice stated again. It sounded more of a complete sentence rather than the beginning of a speech. "It will be her first."
"Ugghhh! No. I will not be the center of another gathering. I can't even think of any excuse to have one! Honestly, Alice. I know you adore parties but I just can't take it. Throw one for Rose!"
Alice stared at me quite confused. She tilted her head to one side, a calm, questioning gaze on her face. Then she smiled a perceptive grin.
"The party was not for you, Bella." Alice explained smiling, flashing her perfect teeth. I simmered down and could quickly feel myself regaining calmness.
"Oh. Then who?" I asked.
"Renesmee." Alice said. That reminded me, I listened and heard her soft, even breaths in her room. She was still asleep.
"Oh!" I said with more excitement. "But her birthday isn't in a few months."
"Well, I thought it would be nice if we had two separate parties. A human one, then a vampire one. The vampire one being first, of course." Of course, we wouldn't want the scent of humans to be tantalizing to our friends.
"Excellent." I commended Alice on her excellent thinking.
"Really? I thought this was going to be difficult." Alice said, "Bella, its her first actual birthday. No. But she has already grown so much, she has a limited amount of birthdays until she stops growing." Alice did an imitation of her pictured argument between us. I realized that my initial opposition to the party threw off Alice's visions.
Edward emerged, at human speed, from around the corner. "I thought you would be opposed to it too." He looked much more chipper than earlier.
"I think it is an brilliant idea." I replied shrugging. Edward opened his mouth as if to say something but quickly closed it. I heard little footsteps moving around Renesmee's room, and the slow, even breathing now had accelerated. Edward had appeared behind me and was rubbing my shoulders.
Rensmee's fast feet were sprinting down the hallway. She appeared around the corner and dived into Alice's lap.
"Auntie Alice!" She shrieked.
"Good morning, sweetheart." Alice replied, embracing Renesmee.
"Mommy, Daddy, I'm hungry." She stated, rubbing her eye.
I laughed. "Good morning to you too." Renesmee smiled.
"I think we should go to the main house. I'm sure when Jacob gets here he would love to hunt with you. Or we could just go right now…" Edward teased.
"No. Let's go wait for Jake." Renesmee answered back quickly.
"Good morning!" Renesmee sang as we entered the house. Rosalie was the first one to appear. She was wearing a floor length robe that blew out behind her like a cape as she flew down the stairs. Renesmee unlocked our hands, took one bound towards her, and was quickly scooped up into Rosalie's arms. Jasper came down, followed by Emmett.
"Esme and Carlisle are out hunting." Jasper explained. Edward nodded, walking over to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"Good morning." He whispered, brushing his lips against my ear.
Rosalie sat on the couch next to Emmett, leaning on him while Renesmee bombared Rosalie with questions about possible activities for the day.
"Jasper, lets go for a walk." Alice stated, skipping over to Jasper and reaching for his hand. He followed her obediently. Edward began pulling me after them. I skidded to a stop and he urged me forward. I pulled back my shield. Leave them alone. Even though Alice decides to invade ours at times, they still deserve some. He smiled but continued to urge me forward. I stood my ground and shook my head, Persistent…I trailed off before snapping my shield back in place. He yanked on my arm. Wow, he was being persistent. Was there some secret hidden in Alice's words? I pulled my shield off. Oh. Right. I forgot you could hear her thoughts for a minute. He nodded and pulled me after him. I followed complacently to Alice and Jasper. They had stopped outside the back door. Jasper's expression went from playful to confused as we emerged from the doorway. He looked from Edward to me. I shrugged. Alice and Edward began running, pulling Jasper and me with them. Once we were a few miles from the house, Edward and Alice stopped our run.
"Okay, so lets plan." Alice said, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Edward sat across from her, Jasper on the left of Alice and me to the left of Edward. We sat for hours planning out every detail of Renesmee's surprise birthday party. Alice had party planning down to a science and only needed to inform Rosalie and get her opinions. After what seemed like a few hours, Alice stretched her legs. Jasper was laying back on his elbows with Alice resting on his broad shoulders. I was watching Alice's blank facial expression and waiting for her to share her vision with us. Her face came back to life and a wide grin was plastered on her face.
"It will be perfect." She said, placing her hand under the side of her face. She was using Jasper as a lounge chair. I smiled. Then I noticed that I was using Edward as a pillow. He was lounging on his side, and my head was resting on the side of his stomach. "I hope she'll like it. I still don't know."
"Alice, she will. How can anyone not enjoy your parties?"
"You never did." She pointed out, sounding hurt. I blushed and looked down.
"On the outside…" I muttered.
Alice's face lifted and she sat up. "So you did enjoy yourself, sometimes?" Alice asked excitedly.
"Sometimes." I admitted. I thought of the wedding, I enjoyed that party immensely, but then I also thought of my eighteenth birthday. The dreadful night that Edward remembered the constant threat I was under by merely being around him. I enjoyed some of the parties, and some presents weren't too bad either. Our cottage certainly was my favorite.
Alice beamed at me before jumping to her feet. "Jasper, would you mind accompanying me on a hunting trip?" Alice asked sweetly, gazing at her blonde lover who began following her away. Only then did I notice how dark their eyes were. I looked at Edward's eyes. They were still molten gold from our recent hunting trip. I assumed mine were a deep amber. I continued staring at Edward's eyes, but my gaze drifter to his straight nose, down his smooth jaw line, and to his lips. Moving at the same time, Edward rolled onto his back and I crawled on top of him.
With my head tucked under his chin and my hand under the collar of his shirt, touching his smooth skin, I heard the chirping of birds and the scurrying of a squirrel up a tree. I could feel the slight rise and fall of his chest under me, taking in unnecessary oxygen. All of which sent waves of serenity over me. I tilted my head up and kissed Edward's jugular. I rolled my neck, allowing my head to fall on his shoulder where he quickly enveloped my cheek in layers of soft kisses. The hand at my waist, under my shirt, pulled me onto the ground. Edward was hovering over me, placing delicate kisses on my neck and shoulders.
After the kissing subsided and our hormones settled, a reminder popped into my mind. Renee. Renee was coming to see Renesmee, to see me. I sat up abruptly, letting my legs fall on either side of Edward's hips.
"Renee." I whispered my explanation. Edward sat up and whispered "Renesmee." Our faces were less than two inches apart. I quickly pecked him on the lips, leaving my hand to caress his cheek. He pulled me up and we ran towards the house, linked by our hands.
I could hear the sounds of the house and soon saw the grass line. I took a huge bound and leaped into the air, landing with a light thud on the ground. Edward was next to me, but I hadn't heard him land.
"You didn't jump did you?" I asked dully.
He shook his head smiling. He had ran faster than gravity could pull me to the ground.
"Congrats." I mumbled. He had a gigantic grin spreading across his face. I grimaced back at him and began stalking away. He caught up and intertwined our fingers together. I tried to force the smile down and return to my grimace, but I ended up losing that battle. I grinned back and leaned into him, not for support but just to feed my hunger. My hunger and need to be as close to him as possible. I heard Renee's voice and perked up instantly.
"Come on." Edward sighed while rolling his eyes, pulling my forward. We walked gracefully across the lawn to the back door that led to the kitchen. He opened the door and motioned me in, bowing. I curtsied mockingly and stepped through the doorway.
Rosalie was now fully dressed in a lavender, long sleeved, v-neck sweater dress. It hugged her in all the right places and caressed her curves perfectly. I wondered if I could ever pull any dress off as well as her. No, probably not. She glided over to me and hissed, "Your mom arrived about fifteen minutes ago and Esme went hunting with Alice and Jasper. Renesmee and Jacob are still out. Carlisle is up in his office researching god knows what, asking not to be disturbed! Emmett and I have been attempting to entertain her even though me and her are not exactly best of friends." I interrupted her by walking past her before she could finish her rant. "Where in all hell do you think your going?" She seethed.
I stopped walking but didn't spin around before whispering back, "To save you from any more suffering."
"Oh." I heard her defeated, softened voice from behind me. I also heard Edward's muffled laughter and the air swooshing past her hand as she smacked him on the back of the head. Then her heels began clicking after me.
"Hi Mom!" I exclaimed walking into the living room.
"Bella!" My mom shrieked, rushing to give me a hug. She was sitting in the chair and Emmett sat on the couch. Their body positioning and clearly shown the awkwardness they both felt. Emmett mouthed "Thank god." Before walking silently over to Rosalie. I giggled over Renee's shoulder during our quick embrace.
"Where is everyone else?" She asked looking past my shoulder. "Not that I don't enjoy you, or Rosalie, or Emmett."
Edward stepped out from around the corner and waved.
"Edward!" Renee said with enthusiasm. She went over and gave Edward and even briefer hug than mine. Almost as if on cue, Alice and Jasper walked into the living room with smooth complexions and smoldering gold eyes, holding hands.
"Alice!" Renee exclaimed. She practically pushed Edward out of the way to get to Alice.
"Hello, Renee." Alice laughed. The sudden impact of a full-grown woman would knock the air out of most people of Alice's petite stature, not Alice. She stood sturdy. "Did you tell her?" Alice asked looking around Renee to me. I shook my head and made a nasally sound implying no.
"More surprises?" My mom asked, flopping into a chair. She laughed exasperated and turned to me, waiting for me to tell her.
"Not a surprise for you." I explained. "Renesmee. We are having her first birthday party in three months. Would you and Phil come back down?"
"Of course!" My mom stood up from her chair in excitement. "Who's planning it?" She turned to Alice almost as soon as she asked the question. "Can I help? Over the phone, of course."
"I would love it!" Alice said, and with that they were off to the dining room. Jasper's eyes went from following Alice to me, then back to Alice, before following her into the dining room.
Edward walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist. I sighed. He raised one arm and tucked my side bangs behind my ear.
"Overwhelming?" He whispered. Again with this whispering; there was no point. Almost everybody in the house would be able to hear us.
I nodded and leaned my head into his chest, smelling his sweet, sugary scent. He laughed and shook his head slowly. I pulled away,
"What is so amusing?" I asked, smiling.
He pulled me into the dining room. Alice, Renee, and Jasper were sitting around the table. Jasper was leaning back in his chair, while Alice and Renee were focusing on a huge piece of poster board. On it was color swatches of pastel colors, typed lists, and what looked like sketches of rooms.
I couldn't help but burst out in laughter. Alice glared in my direction.
"What is so amusing?" She repeated my previous questions, but our voices couldn't have been more different. Her melodic voice had a sour edge to it.
"It's a birthday party. Grab a cake, throw some streamers around, and buy some presents."
Alice didn't react, instead she went back to throwing her energy into her decoration scheme.
Abrutply, Alice folded up the poster board, which I now noticed was an oversized manila envelope, and whisked it up stairs. Less than two seconds later Renesmee and Jacob's footsteps were heard coming from the woods. Alice reappeared downstairs. We all drifted into the living room. Edward and I sat down on the piano bench, Renee sat on one end of the couch while Alice leaned on Jasper on the opposite side.
I heard the back door open and close, then, like a bullet, Renesmee had her arms wrapped around my legs.
"Hey Bells."
"Hi, Jacob."
"Edward." Jacob nodded. "I was wondering if Nessie and I could go visit my dad later today. Do you think we could borrow your car?"
"I don't see why not." He said shrugging looking towards me. He almost looked like he wanted me to argue.
"Only after Renee leaves." I said.
"Right." Jacob agreed as Renesmee ran over to Renee's arms.
"Well, how has your day been so far?" Renee asked harmlessly.
Renesmee looked at Edward.
"No." He said so quietly that I was sure that Renee didn't hear. She was still staring at Renesmee waiting for an answer.
"Good. I went for a walk with Jacob. A bird landed right on his arm!"
"Wow. That's very interesting. How did he get the bird to land there?" Renee asked.
"He just whistled and it came!" Renesmee exclaimed. Edward's eyes tensed.
"Oh." My mom said questioningly, cocking her head to one side.
I pulled Edward up from the piano, up the stairs, down the hall, and into his old room.
"What's wrong?" I asked, "What happened?"
"She understands." He answered.
"Explain…" I asked
"She understands." He repeated. Clearly he didn't understand that when I said explain that repeating what he had said wouldn't help. I opened my mouth to speak, but he began again.
"She understands what we are. But what she doesn't understand is why Jacob hangs out with Nessie and us. She has noticed that we are cold and that Nessie is warm. She didn't understand why Nessie looks like us but is so different, now she understands. She was upset for a fraction of a second but she quickly realized that it must be what you wanted."
"Oh. She understands." I said accentuating the 'understands'. I didn't quite know what he had meant by first, but I knew he would have difficulty saying 'oh, she understands that we are vampires, and that we drink blood.'
"Does she care?" I asked quietly. He looked up into my eyes,
"No." He whispered incredulously.
"Edward?! Bella?!" My mom's frantic voice came from downstairs.
"No." Renesmee instructed Renee.
"Edward?! Bella?!" Renee called again, but louder more frenzied. She choked on my name and then whimpered.
Edward's eyes shot straight into mine, his eyes were hard as metal and his body went rigid. Neither of us inhaled, the only sound was of Renee's whimpering, and the three heartbeats from downstairs.
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