Chapter 6

Apov

Today was Christmas, yippee ! One of my favorite holidays. It gave me an perfect excuse to decorate the house. And Esme was so kind enough to put me in charge of decoration, much to the dislike of Emmett. And this year, I made the house even more cheerful.

In the living room stood the biggest tree I could find. It was decorated with Christmas balls, a bunch of lights, beams, ribbons and on top stood a beautiful angel.
And everywhere in the house, I placed little Christmas trees, decorated with fake white snow. The stairs were decorated with beams in a silver, gold or red color.
I also made a little system so that every room had a little music number when you opened the door. The living room was 'Jingle Bell', the kitchen 'all I want for Christmas' and so on. It was really playtime for me.

And Bella helped me. She was so kind enough to help me with picking out the decorations and garnish the house.

Since a few weeks, she became more relaxed and started to talk more to us. Edward had caught her in his room and there, she talked for the very first time in months. I and Esme tried for months to let her talk again. She responded but nothing verbal. She simply smiled or nodded. And with Edward, she spoke. He didn't even had to do any effort.
Since then she started to change. She wasn't so afraid anymore to open her mouth. Like something in her mind just switched. It was a real breakthrough.

She really was a lovely girl. But it was frustrating me like hell that I couldn't see her future. I tried so many times. But mostly I couldn't see a thing.
It felt like something was blocking me, like I was hitting some sort of wall. But once or twice, I managed to see a little hint of the future.
However it was always the same vision. I could see Bella smiling, see her running in the sun through the woods. She was holding hands with somebody. Unfortunate I never saw that person, just his hands. But I was almost certain that it was Edward.

He was so changed since Bella arrived.
When he saw her in that blue dress, his whole face lightened up. I never saw that expression on his face. It was so endearing to see.
And I knew that he was watching her every time when she made homework with me. Edward would sneak behind the door and occasionally steal a glance around the corner. He just couldn't hide it. The love and adoration almost dripped off his face.

I also had my suspicions about Bella. Every time she saw Edward or we talked about him, she started to blush. Very lightly, but noticeable. And since the incident in his room, it only became worse. It was very clear to me but the two lovebirds were to chicken to confess their feelings for each other.

"Bella, are you almost ready?" I yelled.

She was in that shower for almost an hour. It was taking too long. I still needed to get her in that dress, do her make-up and her hair. What was taking her so long? It was not like she had to clean a lot. She practically never left the house.

Then finally the door opened and she came out with only a blue bathrobe around her body.
"I'm sorry, Alice. It's just so refreshing." she said very timid.

"It's not a problem, Bella. But I have to get you ready. It is Christmas! That disserves something special."

Bella groaned.
"Do I really have to?"

"Yes, you do! We can't let Rosalie walk away with all the glory."

"I heard that, Alice!" Rosalie yelled from her room.

"I know. Please, Bella? You know I would never put you in something that wouldn't look good on you. Trust me?"

She signed and then looked at me.
"I do trust you. Just… nothing extreme."

I pulled her in my arms and gave her a big hug.
"Never. You will look like a masterpiece. Now, let's get started. We don't want Edward to wait any longer?"

And just as expected that little blush made his entrance on her cheeks.

Epov

It was Christmas, one of the most enjoyable holidays of the year. Families were gathering to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. That was at least the original reason for this feast. Now, it was only a motive to come enjoy a great dinner and open a bunch of presents.

I was sitting in the couch, waiting for my sisters.
As we were vampires, we didn't have a big dinner with salmon, stuffed turkey or Christmas pudding. Our way of Christmas was just opening the presents together and enjoying our time as a family. Sometimes we went hunting in the evening. But maybe this year we would skip that as Bella wasn't a great hunter.

That was very strange. She was a vegetarian, seeing her eye color. But the first time the girls went hunting with her, she didn't catch one thing. She kept missing her prey. Even a baby elk was too difficult to catch. Alice had to do it for her. It made me wonder how she survived all those years as a vampire.

"We are ready!" Alice said while entering the room accompanied by the lovely song 'Jingle Bell'.

It was truly starting to agony Emmett.
She was followed by Rosalie and finally Bella. Again, she looked absolutely beautiful.
This time she wore a strapless, red dress. It looked gorgeous on her. I glanced at Alice, thanking her in my mind for her creation. She winked at return.

"Don't you worry. I told you she would look wonderful. When are you guys going to trust me?"
I laughed with her response.

"Ok, I think everybody is here. Who wants to start?" Esme asked.

"I will!" Alice stood up and took the first present from under the tree.

Almost all the presents were opened.
Jasper was reading his new book concerning the war, Emmett was playing his new game on the playstation and Rosalie was admiring her new shoes and earrings. Everybody was enjoying their presents. They gave me a few CD's and Alice got me a original LP of Ray Charles. Esme had received a new drawing desk, Carlisle a few books about the history of mankind and medical evolution and Alice… Well, let's just say that we soon need a bigger house for her wardrobe.

But for Bella, it wasn't finished yet. She only had two presents. Jasper and Emmett had given her a sketchbook and a complete box full with pencils. Alice and Rosalie gave her a whole new outfit, containing 3 pairs of trousers, 5 t-shirts, 5 tops and a beautiful coat. It was obvious that she liked all her presents. But the best was yet to come.

"Now. Bella, Carlisle and I want to give you our present. But it's not here. It is upstairs." Esme said while standing up.

Bella raised her eyebrows, not expecting this. We all stood up and went to the second floor. On your left you had my room but on the other side there was another room that wasn't occupied. Not yet. We all stood now before the door of that room.

"Honey, you've been living here with us for a few months now. And we thought that you deserved a room on your own now. You may go in."
Esme stood back and Bella opened the door. When she opened the door, she was shocked.

"OMG, I can't believe my eyes."

Her room was painted in a crème color with one wall in red. On the right there was only glass. Against the red wall stood her bed, a black framed bed covered with white sheets. There also was a little desk and behind the door stood an enormous bookshelf.

"Look, Bella. Here's the door to your own bathroom. You have a bath including a bubble function, a luxurious shower as we all know that you like to take long showers, two sink and a full length mirror. Just like my bathroom. And this is your little closet."

"Alice, that is almost as big as my room."

She looked so surprised. And the funny thing was that she helped Esme with decorating her own room. My lovely mother never told her for what she was designing. Bella turned around and looked at my mother. A single tear was running down her cheek.

"Thank you so much."
She ran to Esme and gave her a big hug.

"I can't believe you did this for me. I'm not worth all of this."

"Of course you are, sweetheart. You are part of this family now."
That only made her cry even more.

"Thank you, Carlisle."
Bella looked like she was going to give Carlisle also a hug, spreading her arms towards him. But eventually she backed away. She was still a bit uncomfortable with men.

"It was nothing, my pleasure."

"Come on, it's time to sing a few Christmas carols." Alice said and dragged Jasper downstairs followed by the rest.

"Oh, Alice. I'm sick and tired of those stupid songs." Emmett yelled.
But I stayed behind. There was still something I had to do.

"Uh, Bella? Can you wait a second?"

She stared at me, not knowing what was coming.
"I still have my present for you."

I pulled my present from behind my back, holding it in front of me.
Bella was still staring intensely at me. At these moments I really wished I could read her mind. But she was a mystery for me, a closed book.
It was completely silent in the room. The tension was almost painful. Carefully she took the present from my hands and opened it. I really hoped that she would like it. She torn the paper off and held the package in front of her.

"I noticed that you like books. So when I saw this, I really wanted it for you. Something to start your own collection… I hope you like it?"

She still hadn't said a word. She only looked intensely at the book. It was a compilation of Jane Austen's novels. I was started to get a little nervous. What if she didn't like it? What if she really hated it and thought that it was a joke. Maybe I picked up the wrong signals. Finally she looked up, tears ready to fall.

"Edward, it is wonderful. This is something I always wanted. Thank you so much."
She smiled at me, a big, genuine smile. It made my heart meld.

"You're welcome, Bella. Anything for you. Merry Christmas."

I just want to thank you for your support.
It gives me great pleasure to know you all like my stories so far.
I just hope that the next chapters will also please you.
But thank you so much for reading my stories and giving your commentary. XXX