Chapter 8 (Both Sides of A Dream)
E.P.O.V
Her head lay on my lap, and I played with her hair.
I don't think I played with a girl's hair before…I thought as I looked down at her angelic face.
"Emmett, take the turn here to Bella's house. We're going to clean it up and paint it so the paint will dry while the meeting goes on," Alice said as the car stopped in front of Bella's house. Alice and Esme got out of the car and we were off again to the Cullen house… Or I guess Bella called it a sanctuary…
Once the car stopped I picked her up. She was so light in my arms, I could easily use too much force and squish her…and she's so thin. Why? Does she not eat healthily?
I brought her to my room, and placed her down gently on the soft, dark blue silk sheets around her. The blue looked so nice with her skin.
"Edward, can you give me a hand?!" Emmett asked.
It's not like Emmett to ask for help… I went down the stairs to see Emmett lugging in boxes and bags.
"Alice called and asked us to put these together for her. This one should make a bed, this one a shelf, and this one a makeup center with a mirror…and drawers. Oh! And she said to bring in the bags and all the other junk. She also wants us to put the clothes in the drawers and the stuff on the shelves."
My eyes were wide open now!
"Carlisle, Jasper!" I yelled, and they were next to us in a second, probably missing their wives.
"Carlisle, you build the bed; Emmett you take the makeup center thing; Jasper will take the shelves, and I'll build the drawers! Once we are done we'll go to moving all the shopping bags! We have little time before the women get here, so we need to work fast!" I said, and grabbed a box to the side and brought it in to the living room.
Everyone else followed, and we were all on the floor trying to figure the thing out! Jasper was done first, and Carlisle was in close second, followed by me and then Emmett.
"Okay, now the shopping bags! Look inside! If it's makeup don't even bother to take it out of the bag cause Alice will have fun organizing it, just put it on the makeup center thing. If it's clothes umm… let's see… there are six drawers in the makeup center thing, so let's do it this way. The top right drawer will be for underwear… Rosalie! We need you to put that in the drawer!"
"I'm reading! Go away!" she called back.
"Okay! You see a bag with Victoria's Secret you just put it on the side! Anyway…if it's DVD's, Books, CD's, or anything around that put it near the shelves and then we will organize it last!" I finished.
"Dude! We're so whipped!" Emmett said.
"They're your wives. I'm just trying to save your butts for when you don't get the job done."
"That's why I called you first!" Emmett said, and we got to work. By the time we were done there was one bag left…
"You get it!" Emmett said.
"No, no; umm, Jasper, why don't you?" Carlisle said.
"Umm… No thank you… Edward should…" Jasper said.
"Why me?!"
"It was your idea, and we did everything else! Everything is in their proper place! The books, the CD's, the clothes. We even made sure to leave out the clothes that should go into a closet!" Jasper protested.
"Guys… what are you doing?" Alice said from behind us, making us all jump.
"Nothing!" We all said at once.
"Boys, you did a tremendous job! Hey is that a bag in the car?" Esme asked, walking outside.
"No… well yes…" Emmett seemed at a loss. There in front of us was a pink Victoria's Secret bag. Alice looked at it, then at us like we were crazy.
"Why don't you just get it?" Alice asked, and reached into the bag, pulling out some mango strawberry cream. All our mouths dropped open.
"But…but we thought…" Emmett was stunned.
"You didn't actually think we would let you put away Victoria's Secret bags, did you? They're at Bella's house," Alice said as the two girls walked into the house to get a closer look at our work.
Emmett, Carlisle, Jasper, and I looked at each other, shrugged it off, then went into the house to check the clock.
11:55 p.m. the clock said, and we met the girls in the dining room.
"Okay, now I wanted to talk about Bella," Carlisle said, sitting at the head of the table. We all knew that when Carlisle called a meeting, there was a very important reason.
"Is there something wrong?" Esme asked.
"Dose anyone else get the feeling she's hiding something?" Carlisle asked, and we all nodded.
"When we searched the house we saw lots of alcohol and broken glass… Bella's father must be an alcoholic," Alice said.
"I can't believe that room we saw was Bella's bed room," Esme said, and if she could cry I could tell water would have been brimming in her eyes.
"When Charlie's answering machine said he was away Bella didn't feel sad… more relieved…"
"The way she has been acting today… It's like she's trying to relive her life, she was so clingy… just like a little kid."
"I thought it was cute."
"We all did," Carlisle smiled.
"But didn't her parents ever tell her not to talk to strangers, and didn't her father care that she has been running off at night?"
"I don't know…" Jasper said, and was thinking very hard about possible solutions.
"Did you see the scars on her arms, and those bruises?" Rosalie asked, and all the girls nodded.
"What?" Emmett asked, hating to be out of the circle.
"We got her into a shirt that had short-sleeves and saw some scars, so we experimented, putting her into things like really short shorts and halter tops to see how far the scars go and well… they were really bad," Rosalie said.
"You don't think her father did that to her do you?" Esme said with fear in her eyes.
"It's best not to jump to conclusions. From what I hear Chief Swan is a good, respectable man and no one talks badly about him. We should keep an eye on her; watch her once her father comes home….okay?" Carlisle asked, and before we could reply a scream sounded from my room…
"Bella!" I yelled, and we were all in my room the next second, both shocked and relieved. Bella was on the bed, sleep-talking.
I was shocked that she would scream in her sleep, and relieved it was not something that could kill her.
"Help! Please! Edward!" she screamed, creating a new wave of shock. Sweat beads were all over her face, and she had a death grip on the blanket around her.
"What do I do?" I asked Carlisle.
"Talk back or wake her up," Carlisle said. I didn't want to wake her unless absolutely necessary.
"Bella?" I said her name, and she relaxed a bit.
"Edward don't leave me! Please don't go…don't let her take me!" Bella was turning side to side, fear all over her face and implanted within her voice.
"Shh… I'm not going anywhere… I won't let anyone hurt you… you're safe…" I whispered and held her hand; it was warm and gripped mine so tightly it would have hurt a human.
I put my hand on her forehead…
"Carlisle, I think she has a fever," I said, and he went into doctor mode as he put a hand on her forehead.
"You're right. Esme can you get a cold cloth please?" Carlisle asked, and she was out of the room in a second.
"Can I make soup? I hear it's good for a human if they're sick!" Emmett said.
"You got that off of a TV show!" Rosalie said.
"So!" Emmett yelled back.
"Okay Emmett, Alice go with him so the house doesn't burn down," Carlisle said as Esme walked back in and placed the cloth on Bella's head.
Esme started humming her favorite song that I wrote for her, and Bella calmed down more.
"How did you know what to do?" I asked.
"I learned it when I was human…" Esme said, starting again.
A crash! came from the kitchen and then Emmett's voice followed.
"Now look! I told you to open the can before putting it into the microwave!"
"I told YOU to do that, but you said it would be fine!" Alice shot back, and Esme went to go help them out.
Bella started to fuss again, so I started to hum the first thing that came to my mind. It was sweet and beautiful…just like her. It was a lullaby, and not before long she was again in a soft sleep. I watched the rise and fall of her chest, and the patterns of her breath. She was so angelic. Before I realized what I was doing I kissed her forehead, and watched a small smile appear on the edges of those full lips … …
B.P.O.V
It was dark. I knew this dark all too well, and I was not surprised to hear a chuckle from the corner and candles lit the walls…
"Dear Bella, you're back…" my mother said as the room started to get hot.
"Not for long," I said, and tried kicking the wall in-between two candles. There was no exit.
"You're right, justice must be paid." The men from before come back, and I found them knocking me into a wall. The candle burned into my back, and I let out an ear-piercing scream. The room was almost at an unbearable heat.
"Call your hero now? If he dare come…he probably forgot all about you…" Mom taunted.
"Help! Please! Edward!" I screamed, and the whole room went silent as if waiting for a reply…
"Time to take you where you belong…" Mom said, and pulled out a dagger… and then I heard it…
"Bella…" It was his voice, but my mother didn't stop as she brought the knife up, ready to kill me.
"Edward, don't leave me! Please don't go. Don't let her take me!" I yelled, struggling to get free.
"Shh… I'm not going anywhere… I won't let anyone hurt you… you're safe," he said, and a doorway appeared. It was incredible…it had no edges and looked more like a half oval. It went down like a tunnel, and the sides were black marble just like the room. A figure with a long, black silk cape appeared. He pulled back his hood, and I was so happy to see…Edward.
He wore all black, giving him this sexy and dangerous look, and his pale skin seemed to glow in the darkness. He ran over and pushed my stunned decaying mother to the side. He gave me his hand and I squeezed it.
"Edward…" I whispered, but could not say another word for his lips were on mine. I closed my eyes and deepened the kiss, entwining my hands though his hair. He pulled away and I noticed our surrounding had changed… It was a meadow… Beautiful… with flowers and all… we were standing in the shade of a tree… Edward laid down in the flowers and pulled me down with him. My lips burned from the feeling of his on mine, and I was truly happy to be in his arms, my forehead against his, just taking in the surrounding tranquility…