Stories, Realities, Mistakes

He strolled into the room, his expression calculating as he sat next to me on the bed.

I put down my book, turning to him. "Is something the matter?"

He smiled lightly, leaning over to run a finger along my cheek. Then he put his hands in his lap, looking down at them.

"My family has decided to come." He murmured, and he looked over to me so quickly, then back, that I wasn't sure he'd even done it. "They're going to stay here for a while with us."

I felt a familiar feeling creep into my stomach, a coil that told me to be afraid. A house full of vampires.

I shook my head. Vegetarian Vampires. Won't hurt me. My breathing quickened nonetheless, but from nerves more than anything.

"What if they don't like me?" I asked in a small voice.

He stared at me for a few moments, and then he burst into fits of laughter.

"You're going to be in a house full of vampires, and you're afraid they won't like you?" He chortled.

I smacked him lightly on the arm without thinking about it, and my hand froze as my entire body stiffened.

He noticed, his eyes suddenly filling with worry. "What's wrong, Bella?"

I looked down to the hand that was still on his arm, then back at his angel's face. I was surprised to see that there was no anger in his expression, just complete and total adoration. It made me dizzy.

He took the hand in his own, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. I blushed bright red, feeling the heat spread through my body.

He smiled at my reaction, the obvious frantic beating of my heart.

"Do you like that?" He murmured, bringing it to his lips and kissing the center of my palm, then to my wrist, up to my elbow, and finally right to my neck.

I shut my eyes, letting a light moan escape my lips as I felt his cool lips at my pulse point. I was too distracted to even be scared, my reaction to his body overpowering everything else.

When he pulled away, smirking, I whimpered. I opened my lids to find that his eyes were a dark, dark gold, almost black. I shivered at what I saw there. He was hungry. Only not in the vampire way, not even in the human way. He was hungry for me. I saw the lust in his eyes for a few brief seconds before he controlled his expression, jumping off the bed and strolling to the door.

"You may want to get dressed," He said, his words half-strangled, "They'll be here around noon."

When I first met the rest of Edward's family, it shocked me at how amazingly gorgeous they all were. They looked like a family, what with their similar eyes and skin color. However, I realized after studying them more, they were all completely different.

Alice, Edward's youngest sister, was apparently psychic. In fact, the second her petite, yet still amazingly proportioned body bounced through the door, I was met with a cheery, "Hey Bella! I already know we're going to be such great friends!" I liked Alice immediately, it was hard not to, and I found myself smiling as Edward ruffled her short black hair.

"Give her some room to breathe, Alice." Edward warned gently, his voice full of amusement and adoration for his little sister.

Jasper, Alice's fiancée, was just as interesting as his mate. Jasper controlled moods, something I experienced firsthand as I felt a flood of calm rush over my body the second Alice pulled him over to me. He had blonde hair, which left an odd contrast to his darker features, but it somehow made his demeanor more endearing. He was very laid back, and I heard the trace of the Southern accent. Jasper was the newest vampire, the last one to enter the Cullen family. He had a harder time controlling himself, so he kept his distance. I tried not to think about that too much.

Rosalie, Jasper's twin sister-Well, at least that's what they told everyone- was possibly the most beautiful person I'd ever seen. Her long, wavy blonde hair fell down to her lower back, and her body was the exact kind of thing you'd see on the cover of 'GQ' magazine. Her face was strikingly beautiful, every feature perfect. She seemed to know how pretty she was, standing with a posture that just screamed confidence. I tried not to be too hard on myself as I took a hit on my self-esteem just by being in the same room.

Emmett, who was Rosalie's boyfriend, was, in one word; Huge. He looked like a body builder, someone who constantly goes to the gym to have muscles on his muscles. Just like the other ones, he was beautiful in the extreme, his dark hair shaved down. He seemed to be the goof-ball of the family, immediately after walking through the door screaming at the top of his lungs; "HONEY! I'M HOME!" He was intimidating in a different kind of way than Rosalie, and as he swatted my hand away so he could take me up into his arms for a bone-crushing hug, I couldn't figure out if I was more scared of Rosalie or him.

All of them so different, and yet still so similar.

Carlisle and Esme, Edward's parents, were the ones I was most nervous about meeting.

"It's so wonderful to finally meet you, Isabella." Esme said, lightly pulling me into a motherly embrace. It was painful like Emmett's, but more maternal. It made me miss my mom.

Carlisle was more formal. "Nice to meet you, Bella." He said kindly, shaking my hand.

Edward had one arm over my shoulder the entire time, and it seemed he was trying to make me feel more comfortable. It felt nice, knowing he was right there.

"Dinner time?" Edward asked me suddenly, and every pair of eyes in the room turned to me.

I blushed, not comfortable with the sudden turn of conversation. Edward could see the panic in my eyes, and he quickly corrected himself.

"Shall I rephrase?" He asked, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. "Are you hungry, Bella?"

Everyone began laughing, and I let a nervous chuckle escape my lips.

"Um, not at the moment." I lied, but I didn't want to be rude and eat in front of everyone.

Edward nodded his head, but I could see than in his eyes he knew what I was doing.

Carlisle put one hand on Edward's shoulder, saying, "You were very strong, my son. I'm proud of you."

Edward hung his hand as if ashamed. "I'm sorry for the man-"

Carlisle interrupted. "The past is the past. We can't do anything about that now." Edward nodded his head reluctantly.

Carlisle turned to me. "So, Bella. Edward here tells me you are friends with a werewolf."

I winced.

"Jake." I muttered, my stomach giving a strange pull.

Carlisle nodded. "I figure they'd be around since James and Victoria had come back."

The names weren't familiar to me, so I figured they must have been vampires.

I nodded my head slowly. "Yeah, I was with Jake before he started acting odd…" I trailed off, not sure of what to say.

Everyone seemed to be focused on me at the moment, and I couldn't help the blush that colored my cheeks as I looked at the ground.

There was a moment of silence, and I guessed that no one knew what to say.

Then Esme directed her attention to Edward, putting her hand on his arm. "How are you, dear?" Her genuine concern made me feel like I wanted to cry for some reason.

He smiled sadly. "I'm dealing."

They all watched in shock as Edward put his arm around my shoulders.

There was a beat of silence and then I heard Alice squeal.

'OMIGOD, EDWARD!" she exclaimed, her voice making me wince.

Edward stared at nothing in general, but then he winced. I felt him pull me closer absentmindedly.

Emmett groaned. "Can someone please explain to me what the hell just happened? I hate it when you two do this."

Edward looked to Alice, astonishment and wonder on his face. "Alice? How….?"

"I don't know! But it's so real! It's gonna happen! Oh my gosh, Bella!"

She ran over to me, pulling me from Edward's grasp. "We're gonna be sisters!"

I looked to Edward, confused. He shrugged, patting Alice on the head.

"I can read Alice's mind when she has a vision." He explained. I chuckled now, understanding Emmett's reaction.

"Wait!" Esme said, walking closer. "You mean…?"

"Yes." Edward answered curtly, his eyes were suddenly annoyed, his body tense.

"What was it about?" I asked, looking to Alice.

Edward grabbed me, twirling me out of the room.

"It's nothing." He murmured when we were alone, averting his gaze. "Absolutely nothing."

It wasn't until about a week after the Cullens had moved in that I realized the reality of my situation.

I was in a house full of 7 vampires.

7 amazingly beautiful vampires.

Damnit!

I knew my family thought I was dead. They probably stopped looking for me by now. The thought made me weep.

That's why, when Edward claimed he'd gone to speak to Alice about something 'Important,' I'd curled into a ball on the bathroom floor, and began sobbing.

I let the sobs wrack my body as I clutched at my sides, letting the tears run out.

I barely noticed the stone cold arms wrapping around me, gently rubbing my back in soothing circles. I was far beyond caring.

I didn't want Edward to see me like this, didn't want anyone to see me like this, so I tried to get away. But they just tightened their grip.

"Let go." I said, the tears choking me.

"No." The voice wasn't Edward's, and it made me jump. I looked up to see Rosalie, her eyes filled with reserve but compassion.

She smiled meekly at me.

"You looked like you needed a hug." She said honestly, opening her arms wider so she could hug me tighter.

I continued to sob, not really caring anymore. She rocked me back and forth gently, patting my back.

When I finally got a grip on myself, I sat up and she let me go. We sat awkwardly for a few moments before she spoke.

"I never got a chance to tell you my story." She murmured, her eyes far away.

I shook my head, rubbing my eyes.

She took that as an incentive to continue.

"It was so long ago…"

I had fresh tears in my eyes by the time she was done, and she looked like she'd be crying if she could as well.

"That's terrible." I whispered, giving her a sympathetic smile.

She nodded, wrapping her arms around her knees. "I got a happy ending, though. I love Emmett more than anything. But with you…." She trailed off, but she didn't have to finish.

"My father is probably going crazy." I said, shaking my head and willing myself to hold it together. "And my best friend, Jake…."

She took my hand. "This will all work out. I promise. It's just…. Edward is very stubborn it seems."

I nodded in understanding. "Because of the… Volturi?"

She nodded, but I heard the false note in her voice. "Yes. But it'll be okay. I just know it will." There was a secret in her eyes, something I thought I should know, but I didn't press for anything.

I jumped when I heard a knock at the door. I wondered why she hadn't been startled, then I understood she'd probably heard Edward coming from the second he stepped out of Alice's room.

"What's going on?" He said, his voice suspicious. He was shooting a very obvious stare at Rosalie, wondering what she was doing in here.

He looked to me. "Bella! What's wrong?" He kneeled down next to me, wiping his hands under my eyes. I must have still been crying. "What did you do?" He said angrily at Rose.

I put my hand up to stop him. "She didn't do anything. We talked."

He looked to Rose, who was smirking at him, and debated whether or not to believe me.

"Honestly." I added, pushing his shoulder down so he'd back off. "She helped me."

"With what?" Edward asked, that accusing tone still in his voice.

"I helped her with what you're too stupid to see." Rosalie said, getting up off the bathroom floor. She smoothed down her clothes. "She needs to go back to her family, Edward."

I was completely surprised by her answer, but I seemed to be frozen on the floor.

Edward made a growling sound in his throat. "Mind your own business, Rose."

Edward had gotten up as well now, and they stood glaring at each other.

"She misses them! Can't you see that? Would you stop being so selfish and think of the consequences for once! Do you really want her like this? Do you want her to be damned to this just like the rest of us are? And think about her family, Edward! Can you imagine how hard they're going to look for her, how heartbroken they are? And what about her mutt friend? What if the dog catches on? Jesus, you're so stupid sometimes."

Edward clenched his teeth. "She doesn't have to become like this. Alice's visions change."

"What?" My voice was so unexpected and high-pitched Edward and Rosalie both jumped.

Edward looked at me for a moment, confused.

I felt like I was drowning. "Alice had a vision? Of me….b-becoming l-like you?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

Understand slowly filtered over Edward's face, and suddenly everything went blurry.

I barely heard Rose, sitting next to me, shaking me, calling my name…

Everything was suddenly very clear.

Edward wouldn't kill me.

Edward would turn me into a vampire. Just like him and his family.

The thought made my stomach churn.

"Rose? What do we do? Go get Carlisle, please." Edward's voice, the only thing that was clear during my little black-out.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Two very worried gold ones were staring back at me.

"Oh, God, Bella." He said, taking my face in his hands. "Are you okay?"

I registered the fact that Edward was touching me, and that it made me feel all better for a moment.

Then I registered that I should be scared.

"Get your hands off me." I said slowly, unsurely.

Hurt displayed across his face for a moment, but he didn't release me.

"Edward. Now." I growled, louder this time.

He slowly took his fingers away from my cheeks, looking like he'd just been kicked.

I stood up, leaving him on the bathroom floor as I sprinted out of the room.

I didn't think about the other vampires in the house, didn't think of how fast they could catch me and how easily I'd be dead after that. Edward had said I wasn't allowed to escape….

My adrenaline was the only thing that kept me going all the way to the front door.

But two very cold hands stopped me from opening it.

"No, Isabella." His voice was cold now, dripping with anger. There was none of the former nice Edward that I'd come to know. He was acting like what he was now. A monster.

The tears came into my eyes without me willingly allowing them to. This was Edward. My Edward.

But I couldn't do this. I couldn't become a monster. Who was my biggest alliance to anyway? Edward or Jake?

My head swam from exhaustion and betrayal, and I turned around to face him.

"Please." I whispered, tears streaming from my eyes and onto my cheeks. "Please just let me go."

His eyes became mocking and he came closer to me, all the while pushing me back against the wall.

"As you wish, Isabella." He muttered, and I flinched as his hand came up, taking hold of my skull and slamming it back against the wall.

I caught a glimpse of his beautiful golden eyes, and that's the last thing I remember before the blackness consumed me.

...

A/N I know it's a lot to ask right now, but PLEASE don't hate me!

I'll review as soon as I can. ;D

Thank you for all your reviews and thank you for reading!