Hi everyone. Wow it's been awhile hasn't it? My leave has taken longer than I predicted and I am truly sorry for that. Reading those well-wishing reviews has put a smile on my face though, and I thank you all for them even if I haven't given a personal reply to each. It's been a rough 4-5 months and I can't say if I will be back to writing fan fiction on a regular basis again but I have a brand new chapter here for you at least. I hope it's not disappointing after such a long wait because I basically had to start all over and fresh from my mind because my carefully laid out storyline from before has gotten a little blurry around the edges and I don't have any notes from before to go by either. I have been unable to write even this much until now but I admit that even when I had the time some 5 months ago I was unsure whether I should even post it at all. I actually have this story finished with different character names but they didn't seem to have any life to them and they were flat and boring if you know what I mean. So I am re-writing the storyline with Twilight characters and it's been fun and I believe the characters have more life to them because I have something I love to go off of, but the storyline and the facts that they use are years of collective hard work from me so I do claim those. I have had one short story published in the past and I want to leave things open because I would love if my version with my characters could be published someday. I just need more practice giving life to the characters and this is it. Just to make it clear:
My claim: The original storyline and the way I express the spiritual facts.
The Disclaimer: I do not own the names of the Twilight characters, their personalities however changed from the book, slight references to anything Twilight or generally anything Twilight related in the least.
I truly hope you enjoy this chapter. I know to anyone else the gaps in the story are probably terribly frustrating but I promise every little detail will be explained at some point later on and it's a mystery story so don't come complaining to me if you don't understand something right away. I would love it if you left a review with questions/comments or even a simple thumbs up. If my previous author's note prevents some of you then a PM would be more than appreciated.
One last thing, just in case this isn't clear. The paragraphs in italics will always be either Bella seeing Ava's memories or Bella seeing her own memories. When she is seeing Ava's she will have some of her own thoughts but because she is in Ava's memory she will experience what Ava is feeling and she will think as Ava did. Thanks and without further delay:
-
My senses are suddenly overwhelmed with the scent of saltwater, the blinding but beautiful blue sky as far as I eye can see, and the sound of waves hitting the ship. I lose myself in the beauty of the day and the anticipation of what I am sure is reaching our destination. After some time I am startled out of my daydream by shouting from around the ship. I look ahead once again and see land! I am almost too excited to think clearly but I manage to compose myself enough to go back down below the decks and gather my few belongings. When I reach the deck again the dock is close enough that I begin to see faces. After what seems like a lifetime the ramp is finally in place and I rush to it before it becomes too crowded. I see him at once...waiting to the right with the familiar grin that I have missed so much; everyone else seems to fade away I rush down even faster than before. He starts to come forward with open arms. When I am almost at the bottom my foot catches on the rough wood and I feel myself loose my footing. He instantly catches me and holds me close, murmuring his love and laughing with me. We both cry tears of joy.
I feel myself suddenly bolt upright, automatically turning on the bedside lamp and going over to the door. I open it and stand at the top of the staircase, my mind still fresh and foggy from the dreamt memory. From below I hear the door open and slam closed and I rush down to see who it is. Halfway down I realize that the smile that has haunted me since last night is at the bottom. He starts to say something but cuts off just as my bare foot slips on the last step. In a split second I rationally prepare myself for the impact of the bare hardwood floor but what I end up feeling is a pair of soft, warm, leather clad arms. My face is inches away from his soft green eyes and dangerous grin...it is only then that I fully realize that this is Edward... not who I now realize from my dream was Hayden, full of life and love. They aren't very similar is looks but they do seem to be entwined in fate somehow. How can they not after what just happened? I felt the love between Hayden and Ava and it was breathtaking.... a love that great should be cherished, and lived out to it's fullest, not ripped away like it so obviously was. To be that much in love and to live with the loss of not fulfilling it for any amount of time must be a torment. Tears for true love lost and the pain that Hayden and Ava must still be endlessly going through, fall down my face.
"Hey...oh. If catching you makes you cry then I would hate to have not been here to catch you", he laughs but does not let go of me just yet. When I don't answer right away he seems to realize that something else is wrong, "Are you alright?".
I laugh without humor at the sight I must be and shake my head as I pull myself somewhat reluctantly out of his arms and back on my own two feet. I try to cover up my embarrassment and directly answering his question by walking towards the kitchen, "Thanks. Smacking my face into the floor first thing in the morning would have really made my day".
He chuckles at my attempt to soften the mood but still looks apprehensive, "Your welcome. Are you always this clumsy?".
I hastily wipe the tears off my face and lift my broken arm up slightly to answer part of his question, after all it was caused by partially by my clumsiness. "Apparently I can master a pair of heels but on bare feet I am useless".
"Did you wake up suddenly from a bad dream or something?", he stubbornly goes back to the reason I started crying.
"I guess you could say that...hey you know those spikes on your jacket are really dull", I hastily change the subject to the first thing that pops into my head. The last thing he needs to know is that my dream was no simple dream.
He laughs, "I should hope so, or I might have hurt you more than the floor would have".
I smirk grimly as I reach into the fridge for the milk and turn towards the cupboards. I stand there for a second, trying to remember where the bowls and cereal are kept.
"Third one on the left has the bowls, the pantry door beside the fridge has cereal", Alice says groggily from the doorway.
"Thanks. Hey did Emmett come home last night? I didn't hear him come in. I didn't go to sleep right away". I take a random cereal box out of the pantry and grab three bowls from the cupboard and three spoons from the drawer below that.
"That's part of the reason I am here", Edward speaks up, "We all crashed at Jasper's and since Em has no intention of going to work today the three of us are going to have a practice. Of course Jasper is eager to see you Alice and Bella your welcome to come and watch too".
"We have a phone", Alice says bluntly.
"Where does he work?". I interrupt.
Alice eyes Edward with a suspicious grin before answering me, "He is supposed to be learning to take over my Uncles newspaper but he is as stubborn as our father about skipping out as much as our father is about his son taking over for his brother someday".
I nod, "But I would think he would want Emmett to go into medicine like him".
Edward bursts out laughing, "Can you imagine Emmett as a doctor?".
Alice smacks him, "If he did want to be one then he sure wouldn't have supportive friends. Eat", she pushes the cereal and the milk towards him but he only shakes his head with an amused expression on his face.
"Oookkk so why the pressure on him running the paper if it's alright that he is not interested in being a doctor?".
Alice shifts uncomfortably in her seat, taking a moment to answer. "Well, umm... because my mom loved the paper. She always had the highest hopes for him in it, and when Emmett was little he used to make up these adorable one page scribbles about the household news. My parent's thought he was born to take over for my Uncle", she smiles wistfully at this memory, "But don't tell him I said that, he will kill me. Those were just childhood games though, he is his own person now".
Edward solemly comes into the conversation again, "I respect Carlisle and all that he has done for me over the years", He looks meaningfully at Alice, "But sometimes it's infuriating how he just can't see that his son is not going to follow in either his own career path or his brother's. Emmett has made his own choices along with Jasper and I; we are band brothers until the end".
Alice gives me a look that clearly means that there is a lot she needs to tell me alone, "And our father is even more stubborn when it comes to anything to do with my Mom. He thinks that Emmett not wanting to do what our mom wanted for him does not honor her memory. It made her so happy and it makes my father angry to think that Emmett does not want to remember that. The paper is practically a legend around here and it has always stayed in the family. Even though my father did not dedicate his life to the paper himself he grew up around it and it would break his heart to see it go into the highest buyers hands instead of father to son like it has for countless generations", she says the last part with a bitterness that I didn't know Alice even had.
But from the way that she has always had a certain look or tone while mentioning home and her mother I have always sort of known that there was a lot unspoken pain and loss. Part of being a Medium is also about being naturally very observant. Unlike some friendships the inevitable secrets have not hindered our fast friendship and I know that she will tell me when she feels ready, just as I will tell her certain parts of my past when I am. I only nod in response and we lapse into silence.
"So Edward what was your other reason for coming by?", Alice suddenly chirps, back to her old self and with no trace of the hurt and the venom that was in her voice from before. I am not fooled though.
He grins and starts to get up from his chair, "I had a special errand to run".
I look up at him, too shocked to say anything. He only grins and nods his head in response before leaving through the back kitchen door. Alice looks at me smugly before reaching for the cereal box, "He sure is mystery isn't he?"
-
An hour later we are both browsing through the racks at Alice's favorite second hand store. I have been eager to finally see this place since she has constantly talked about it since I met her, and pretty much everything vintage she owns has come from here. At first glance the place looks so old it could be an antique itself, the wood floors are worn smooth with countless generations of feet, dust seems to hang permanently in the air and every available surface is covered. I don't find it unpleasant though, and I can easily see myself spending hours here feeling at home while digging through the piles of seemingly endless treasures.
"The boys all have part time jobs so when they all have the time off, or in this case they make it so that they all have the time off, they like to make a day of practicing and composing new songs. They will still be there when we are finished here, and it's not like they suck or anything so all their hard work will pay off someday"
I smile, "That's true, this place is amazing so it may take awhile".
She giggles, "Mimi, the owner, loves this place as if it were her baby. I can never seem to get a straight answer out of her where she finds all this amazing stuff though. Either that or there is just so much that I am always trying to dig to the bottom. As long as she continues to stuff more into this place ill be happy though, it has a little bit of everything".
"So you've been coming here for how long?".
Her face suddenly clouds over, "I am sorry about this morning. I should have told you all of that and more before you came so you wouldn't be stuck in a conversation clueless like that. My mom used to take me here every Sunday since I could walk. She died twelve years ago of cancer when I was 8...but sometimes it still seems like yesterday".
"I'm sorry, and it's alright Alice, it's not like Edward or anyone else for that matter can expect us to know everything about each other...I always sort of knew anyway".
She smirks, "That's the thing about being best friends with another Medium, even though my Mom is no secret and I knew I would have to tell you about her eventually you can leave a lot unsaid and you just kind of...know".
"Yeah. I bet you have a lot of memories here".
She nods, "Sometimes I come here just to feel close to her, I know it sounds silly but we always came here together, it was our day each week together, so I feel closer to her here then at home",
I see a flash of white light and turn my head around the rack to see what it was, but whatever it was is not there anymore or has moved out of my sight, so I focus on the conversation again. "No it's not silly, I can see and feel that this place is really special. Having memories and a place to attach them to must be nice. I have memories of the school since I was 10 but that's it. You can't exactly call the memories at my Great Aunt's good ones either".
She stops browsing and turns towards me, "I know we are getting sappy and sentimental but I want you to know that you are always welcome at my place. I mean long after we graduate and even before that, I can't imagine what it's like to feel like you don't belong somewhere that no-one can take away from you. My family may not be as close as we used to be and we have some major problems but my father has always made it clear that we always have a place to go because we are family and no-one can take that away. You are pretty much family now too, sis".
I am almost too stunned to say anything and I turn away slightly so that she does not see the tears threatening to fall, "Thank you Alice".
"Your welcome and I mean it. Now what do you think about this?", she tactfully changes the subject by holding up a black silk peasant style blouse.
I instantly fall in love with it. It appears to be very good condition like everything else here so I snatch it from her and sling it over the ever-growing pile of clothes slung over my useless arm."Wow! That would look amazing with my jeans and my flats, and a tight belt".
She laughs, "I thought it would. At this rate your going to need another suitcase to go back with".
I smile and nod, going over to the counter to put down my selections so far. As I am going back over to where Alice is standing I see the white light flash across my vision again...and a few seconds later once again, as if something small but light is floating past but not taking up my whole vision. I stand there trying to blink away whatever it was and after a moment it does not return.
"Bella?", Alice is suddenly beside me.
"Yeah?", I rub my eyes with my left hand.
"Did you see something over there?".
"No. No it was just a trick of the lighting. I'm fine", I say hastily...almost convincing myself.
Alice looks unconvinced for a moment, "We will have lots of time to look around in here another day, why don't we head over to Jasper's now? It will be fun and we can relax".
I nod and paste on a smile as Mimi comes out of the back and Alice introduces me to her. Somehow I know that my stay in general will be anything but relaxing.