I knew what to expect from my family when I got home so I wasn't surprised when Lucas ran to me while I was closing the door. He put his hands on either side of my face and looked at me with a half mad, half worried expression.
'Do you have any idea what you just put me through?' he asked, straining to keep his voice even. Freya and Callum entered the hallway with Cynthia walking along behind them. She looked at me and threw me an apologetic smile. I smiled back and then refocused on Lucas who was waiting for an answer.
'I was just with an old friend' I explained, avoiding the real question 'nothing to worry about.' His face then became even angrier.
'I know you used to know them Bella, but there was still a chance that they had changed. They could have hurt you'. Of course he was only thinking of Edward. The whole Cullen family were a potential threat to our family but to him Edward was his own personal threat.
'They would never have hurt me' I told him. Even though it had been sixty years since I had seen them all I knew that Carlisle wouldn't have changed his ways. 'Anyway, I only went to see Alice'.
'Bella, you don't seem to understand how much danger you were in. They already hurt you once, what's stopping them from doing it again?'
'That's different' I said refusing to take my mind back. He saw the pain twist in my face and his eyes softened slightly.
'I don't think it is' he whispered hugging me close and kissing my hair.
'I'm sorry' I apologized 'next time I'll tell you first'. He pulled away to look me in the eye.
'Next time?' he asked.
'Well you can't expect me to live along side them and never go to see them again, especially when I've just remembered'. He could understand this surely.
'No, Bella. Definitely not' he said in a stern voice, his eyes going hard.
'You can't stop me. I'll just go when your not here'. I couldn't believe he was trying to stop me from seeing my former family.
'Then I'll just have to be with you from every minute of every day' he said in a confident voice.
'Oh c'mon' Cynthia said butting in 'how would you feel if you were in Bella's shoes? You would want to go see them too.'
'Cynthia this is nothing to do with you, keep out of it' Lucas said turning his body slightly to her direction.
'It's nothing to do with you either. If Bella wants to see her old family I think we should let her' she complained. I smiled at her appreciatively.
'Cynthia it's much too dangerous' Freya said moving slightly closer to me and Lucas.
'Are you going to ask Freya to but out too?' Cynthia asked 'or are you going to let her talk because she's on your side?' Oh great I thought. I was beginning to split my family in two.
'Of course it's nothing to do with her either but she's making a reasonable statement' Lucas argued back. I moved past him and Cynthia just as Callum had begun to join the conversation. I made my way up to my room and sat cross legged on the bed. Why wouldn't Lucas let me see my old family? He didn't know how it felt to be ripped from them and left with nothing. If only there was some way to persuade him that I was in no danger. That would be next to impossible. He was the most stubborn person I had ever met.
I would have to sneak out when he was distracted. If I could gain a head start he wouldn't be able to catch me up. None of them would be able to. I listened downstairs and heard angry voices shouting at each other. This was the perfect time to go. They would be too consumed in the argument to notice I was gone until it was too late. I walked out onto the balcony and breathed in the night air. Then I crouched down and sprung lightly off the wood, landing silently on the balls of my feet. I ran quickly through the forest trying to find Alice's scent. She would be the only one that I would recognize. As I had assumed it wasn't long before I heard somebody chasing after me. Pushing my feet harder I sprinted as fast as I could, weaving through trees and the occasional rock.
'Bella, wait up' Cynthia's voice rang out in the silent night. It was completely quiet but her voice seemed like it belonged there. I held my breath trying to figure out if anyone was with her. When I was sure she was alone I stopped and turned around to face her.
'Are you coming with me' I asked a little excited.
'No, no. Lucas wants to make a deal with you' she said stopping beside me and brushing her hair out of her face. My face fell.
'I don't want to make any deals with him' I said sourly and slowly began to walk away from her.
'Please' she said following me into the dark undergrowth 'it's actually quite reasonable. Just listen for one moment'. I sighed.
'Fine, go ahead' I told her stopping again.
'He says you can go' she began. I stared at her in astonishment. Lucas never usually was swayed on his decisions. 'If you let the rest of us go with you'. I pursed my lips thinking deeply for a moment. That was reasonable.
'But what's stopping me from going now? I could just go straight to Alice's home without having to agree to anything' I said though it would be more convenient if my family were there.
'You could go now but wouldn't it be best to introduce your own family to them. What difference would a day make anyway?' Cynthia said trying her best to persuade me.
'Urgh, fine then. We'll go tomorrow. They'll probably see us at school so I can talk to Alice then' I said running in the opposite direction back to our home. Cynthia sighed in relief and ran to the left hand side of me. When we got back Lucas was waiting for me again. I was prepared for his anger but he merely hugged me.
'Do you think it would be such a bad idea if I chained you to the wall?' he said kissing my forehead. I laughed and was relieved I wouldn't have to have another argument with him, or at least not tonight.
'I think I need to go hunting' I told him feeling the burning in my throat. It was so inconvenient having to go out all the time and feed. At least I wasn't human; they had to eat at least three times a day.
'You can never stay in one place for long can you?' he asked but took my hand and ran into the cool night. After a bit of running I decided to ask a question that had been eating away at me for a while.
'Why did you change your mind?' I asked him. He knew what I was talking about instantly.
'I changed my mind because I was being unfair to you and I began to see that you did know them, much better than anyone else did' he told me, looking down to smile.
'Wow' I said in surprise. He chuckled beside me. The air became sweet and I quickly changed my direction. I concentrated on my senses until I found an elk drinking water by a river. Lucas dashed off into the trees to hunt a deer that had just sprinted away. I launched myself at the elk and landed in a heap with the animal in my mouth.
'Very graceful' Lucas said sarcastically pulling a dead deer along by its legs. I smiled and began to drink the warm blood. After about three elk and a deer I was feeling full. Lucas walked through the trees, his eyes a honey coloured gold.
'Finished?' he asked. I nodded and we ran back home just as the sun began to rise turning the clouds a baby pink.
Sorry it's so short. I promise to make the next one longer and much more interesting ^_^