Chapter 22
Through Cassie's eyes
Jacob got back a few minutes later, and then left again, which promptly cut off any interesting humor he could have brought. It sucked that he had to go sleep. Yeah, he needs sleep, but I was bored out of my mind.
I tried watching television, but I just couldn't concentrate with vampires around. Every time one shifted in the slightest bit, the hairs on my neck stood up.
Jacob came back and collapsed on the floor. His exhaustion seemed to rub off on me, that or Jasper was playing with me. I curled up on the floor a few feet away from him. I shut my eyes and ignored the vibrations of the earth.
I felt safer with the wolf there. I was actually able to take a nap. I trusted Jacob enough to wake me up if one of them went wild and started attacking the only people in the house with heartbeats.
Of course, a little snippet of safety doesn't do much against raw instinct and upbringing. I fell in and out of sleep, since I couldn't find anything better to do than nap.
Every time I woke up, I smiled. Jake snored, and it amused the crap out of me. It wasn't a heavy chainsaw sound, more like a soft jack-hammer. Ha, ha, just kidding, it was a heavy chainsaw.
When I really woke up, it was time for me to leave, because Charlie and my mother would be getting home soon, and they didn't know where I was. I tiptoed out of the house, using air bending to almost glide so I wouldn't wake the snoring guy.
The next day, Charlie was on the phone with Bella, laughing. I felt a wave of anger crash upon me. What was she doing? What on earth made her think she was going to get through this? Why was she getting his hopes up? It made no sense! Even if she did live, she wouldn't be able to see Charlie for years, was she going to play sick that long?
I was in full pissed off mood when I entered the Cullens house that day, ready to chew Bella out the second she smiled at me.
"Bella, what the hell is your problem?" I stormed over to her. She shrunk into the cushions, and Rosalie hissed at me. I didn't care, I was going to say what I had to say and I was going to be heard.
"First off, you don't even know if you're going to make it out of this. Why the heck would you talk to Charlie? Do you have any idea how much he's beating himself up every day over this? You're just freaking selfish, you don't have to see the pain in his face every day!"
"I'm going to live." Bella argued. I scoffed and held my head high, feeling superior.
"Oh please!" I shouted. "That… that thing is killing you. If it wanted blood so badly, why didn't it just take a bite? It's killing you, Bella." I said.
"She's not hurting me." Bella stated. Edward hovered nearby. I gritted my teeth.
"Not hurting you?" I laughed. "So the broken rib is nothing then, huh?"
"Cassie, that's enough." Edward commanded. I glared at him and continued. I decided to get back to the subject that actually got to Bella; not her pain, but someone else's.
"Charlie will be devastated when you die." I said. "Why are you leaving him to my mother and me? You know we can barely take care of ourselves, let alone a grieving human."
"I'm not going to die! Cassie, you need-"
"And if you live? Will you attack him because you're thirsty? Will you tell him you lived only to avoid him because you would kill him? Bella, there are flaws in your plan!"
"Cassie! That's enough." That was the most emotion I had heard from Edward. I smiled.
"Don't even get me started on what this is putting Edward and Jacob through." I muttered and moved on to the kitchen, leaving her before she could come back with something stupid.
After about an hour later, I moved to the television in the living room. Bella flinched when I walked in. Sitting on the ground near Bella, I flipped through the channels.
"Cassie?" Bella asked shyly. I looked up at her.
"What?" I asked her a bit too harshly. Rosalie hissed. It was kind of weird having her there listening to Bella's conversations.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you." Bella said. Rosalie scoffed, "There's nothing to be sorry about. It's her fault." She soothed Bella.
"Kay." I said, ignoring Rosalie. Finding something interesting, I started watching it, very aware of the constant presence of the vampire.
"Well, Cassie, aren't you going to say sorry back?" Bella interrupted the show, sounding peeved.
"Not really. I don't know what kind of world you live in, but here in reality, sorry usually isn't good enough. Besides, I'm not sorry I said that. I meant it all." We lapsed into silence, watching the man on the screen dive into shark infested waters. I was surrounded by vampires; I knew how he felt.
The next day, the beautiful version of a baby breaking my sister from the inside, broke her pelvis. Great, huh? Isn't pregnancy the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?
Jake walked in, and Alice informed him of the new broken bones. I was spending too much time with Team Let Bella Live. I let out a sigh when Rosalie informed us Bella's pelvis was still in one piece. The vampires walked downstairs, Edward holding Bella. She was clutching onto a cup of blood.
I secretly decided to catch up on my blood bending, and why not? They had, after all, supplied me with some blood to bend. Well, technically they supplied Bella with blood to drink, but it's the same thing. Bella looked at her cup inquisitively, but then brushed it off.
Jacob told the Cullens where it was safe to hunt and Rosalie refused to go. I guess she thought we would knock out Bella and kill the baby. I didn't blame her, because I was honestly considering it just to piss her off.
Jasper and Emmet were downstairs, ready to hunt. Seeing how Jasper was the one who attacked Bella for a paper cut, I froze the blood, hoping it wouldn't give off as strong of a scent. Bella looked at the cup again, as if to wonder why it had gotten so heavy.
The hunting party left and I unfroze the blood, even leaving it warm for her. Jacob and Rosalie began to banter about blonde jokes.
"You look tired." Bella commented. Was it her job to state the obvious, or was she running out of things to say?
"Dead beat." Jake admitted.
"I'd like to beat you dead." Rosalie muttered. Even though I was on Jake's side, I barked a laugh. Rose was witty.
"Did you say something?" Edward asked Bella. No one had said anything dimwit, you're losing it.
"Me? I didn't say anything." Bella said. Edward asked her what she was thinking and Bella said something about an island and feathers.
"Say something else." Edward whispered.
"Like what? Edward, what's going on?" She asked. Edward placed his hands on Bella's sickly swollen stomach. He claimed the baby like the sound of her voice. Bella exclaimed something about a holy bird, and Edward shushed her, saying she had startled the baby.
"She's happy." Edward said. He, Bella, and Rosalie began discussing baby names, cooing over the thing. Okay, big whoop, Edward could read its mind. So what? That doesn't change the fact that it was still killing Bella.
"Go, Jacob." Edward said tossing him some keys. "Get away from here." What, did they want some family alone time?
Jake ran to the garage. I don't know why I followed him, I just felt like I had to. He was hurting, and me being me, I wanted to help.
"Jake, are you okay?" I asked him.
"Do I look okay to you, Cassie? Just shut up, you don't care anyway." He jumped into a fancy looking car. The fact was, I did care. His lashing hurt, and I knew if I were him, I would have thought I didn't care either.
I was never able to show people I cared though. I just didn't know how. Besides, keeping people at an arm's length was much easier. You couldn't get hurt that way. Maybe I had become too friendly with Jake. I had made myself vulnerable to him. I decided it was time to quit that. Love is how people get hurt.
Moving back into the living room, pulling my previously mean demeanor into play, I scowled at the loving family. Edward gave me a sympathetic look, but didn't acknowledge me much.
Leah stormed in, and I smiled. Leah loathed Bella, and Bella needed a good, vulgar, talking to.
"Bella, may I speak with you?" Leah asked. I immediately decided I like Leah. She was like me, going through a tough time, seeming mean, yet just in pain. The Cullens left the room. Leah looked at me expectantly. I laughed.
"No way am I missing this." I told her, letting her know that I wasn't going to stop her.
"Do you have any idea what you're putting Jake through?" Leah started. "Stop being such a bitch and leave him alone! You have no fucking idea what the hell you are putting him through. He's trying to get the hell over you and you just can't accept the damn fact that he's not yours! You choose the fucking leech. I'm tired of hearing about how crappy of a mood he's in! Let him go, Bella." Edward rushed into the room, growling at Leah. I jumped up, ready to defend her if necessary.
Leah saw the tears on Bella's cheeks and walked out, her job had been done.
"Sh, Bella, it's okay." Edward soothed her. His head snapped in my direction. "Why didn't you stop her? Leah was hurting Bella! Some sister you are, watching her get verbally abused."
"I'm sorry I didn't stop Leah for telling the truth. You would know if it was lies, Mind Reader." I said. Edward growled and went back to soothing Bella. I felt Jacob approaching the house in that car. I decided I didn't want to face him after that moment of hostility. I went back to my human house.
Told you she was coming! GRUMPY CASSIE! And a little bit of grumpy Leah, my favorite character in the series… Does that say anything of my view on the books? I just came up with this story when I was reading BD and wanted to jump into the book and slap Bella. I couldn't do that, so I created Cassie to do my dirty work.
Okay, so, comment question!
What will Cassie do when Renesmee is born?
Read and Review!