Chapter Nine: Beauty Parlor
I woke up the next day inspired to finish the sonnet I had started yesterday. I lost track of time and before I knew it, the clock read 9:55. Alarmed, I jumped out of bed and threw on the first clothes I could find. The doorbell rang and I rushed to get it.
Alice and Rosalie were both standing there. "I knew you wouldn't be ready. Doesn't matter anyway. We are going to make you look perfect for Emmett." Alice said as she walked through the door and headed down the hall.
Rosalie took my hand and said, "Don't worry. I wont let her go overboard on you." I noticed she had a large bag over her shoulder.
"What's the bag for?" I asked as we followed Alice.
"You. It's makeup, hair supplies, and spa stuff." Rosalie answered.
"I thought we were doing that at your house." I exclaimed; wasn't that the plan? That was what they told Charlie.
"Emmett wants to be the one to take you to the house and introduce you to the family for the first time. It means a lot to him so we stay here for the beautification. Alice and I are leaving at 11:45 and Emmett will be here at noon." Rosalie explained.
"Ok, then. I guess my boyfriend has more of a right to introduce me to his parents than his sisters do. Even if those sisters are my friends." I agreed. I barely contained my glee that Emmett would be here in less than two hours. Rosalie smiled at me as we walked into my room. Alice was going through my closet, taking out items she liked.
"Wow, you don't have much here. You could use a little more variety in your wardrobe, Bella." Alice sounded surprised. I guess she had a lot; more than I did at least.
"We can't all afford designer clothing, can we." I shrugged, looking at her clothes appreciatively. She was wearing designer everything from her Kay half-karat earrings to her Gucci boots.
"Fair enough. Rosalie, help Bella while I find something decent." Alice said, heading to my dresser.
Rosalie put the bag on my bed and opened it. She handed me a few expensive looking bottles and a loofa. "Here, use these to take a shower with. They'll make your skin and hair feel amazing. Trust me." She winked and shoved me in the direction of the bathroom. I shrugged and did what I was told.
When I was done, Rosalie handed me some underwear and a wraparound robe I had never seen before. I put them on and saw Rosalie setting up manicure and facial stations on the counter. It all looked expensive, like I was in a ritzy beauty parlor.
"Is this really necessary?" I asked as I looked over the supplies. "I mean, do I really need a facial to see my boyfriend?"
"There's no stopping Alice. She demands that you need it. for a human, you are really pretty though. I can see why Emmett wants you." Rosalie was sincere in every word.
"Thanks but I'm not. Compared to you, I'm the ugly duckling standing next to a beautiful swan." I quoted that classic nursery rhyme remorsefully. I wasn't secure in my appearance; too plain next to all Rosalie's splendor.
"As I recall, that ugly duckling turns into a swan more beautiful than all the rest. Don't compare yourself to me; it's like comparing a delicate angelfish to a hunting eagle. Both are beautiful but too different to make a good contrast. Mine is inhuman beauty." Rosalie said as she squeezed my shoulder lightly.
"Hey, if I guess right, would you tell me what you are?" I asked hopefully.
She pursed her lips for a second, and then gave me a sly smile. "If you guess right, yes, I will tell you. Tough for Emmett, but I wont lie to you. I doubt that you'll get it right, though."
"Well, right now I'm thinking you are a fallen angel." I admitted.
"Put your hands in the bowls." She ordered, gesturing to the bowls of solution to start the manicure in. "We aren't angels. Creatures of mythology yes. Angels, fallen or otherwise, no."
Well there was something. Inhuman creatures of mythology. I tried to think of creatures that are like that as I put my hands in the manicure bowls. There were few creatures that looked like humans but weren't.
"Shape shifters?" I asked hesitantly.
"Nope. This is how we are forever." She replied coolly.
"You're immortal?"
"I'll never change from how I look now, none of us will. We're frozen like this until the world comes to an end or another of our kind destroys us. Whichever comes first." She sounded a bit bitter about that.
"Are you gods?" I blurted out stupidly.
"No, although there are some of our kind who believe we are superior to humans. I don't believe that, though. I wish I was still human." She kept that bitter note at the end.
Still? As in, she once was a human? Well, that narrowed it down. Unless they were something I had never heard of before.
"Nymphs? Pixies? Fairies? Banshees?"
"Well, Alice is rather pixyish but no. You haven't gotten it yet. Hold you head up so I can apply the face mask." She said as she twisted my hair onto the top of my head. I did what she told me.
She smeared some stuff on my face, careful not to get it in my eyes. "Want me to help you with your mask?" I asked, even though I didn't think she needed it. Her skin was flawless.
"No, I don't need it. We don't get pimples. Just sit back and let us take care of you. Emmett is going to die when he sees you." Rosalie replied with a smirk.
Rosalie gently pushed me so that I was sitting on the toilet. She got to work on my on removing the calluses on my feet. I remembered how I got them. Shoes were not my favorite articles of clothing and I didn't like socks. In Phoenix, it was sandals or nothing. I never wore shoes in the house; they were the first things to come off when I got home. As a result, I had tough soles and rough feet. Rosalie didn't seem to mind though.
"Sorry about my feet. Yours are probably perfect." I said as my stomach rumbled. I hadn't had anything to eat today.
"What was that?" Rosalie sounded confused by the sound my stomach just made. That's odd. I'd never seen any of them eat, I just realized.
"Just my stomach. I'm hungry. You don't eat, do you." I didn't say it like a question. I knew I was right.
"Oh, right. No, we don't eat human food. Well, we need nourishment but you wouldn't want to see us eat. It would be… Dangerous for you to be there while we hunted." She said, staring at my throat with her dark gold eyes.
My mouth fell open as I realized what the Cullens were. She was waiting for me to say something but I couldn't. There was something stuck in my throat and I couldn't swallow it down. I lurked for the sink, yanking my foot out of her cold grasp as I did, thinking I was going to spit up whatever it was that caused me to have difficulty breathing. The only thing that came out was a word.
"Vampire."
"Yes. We aren't going to hurt you. You aren't going to be harmed. We aren't like that. Please believe me, Bella. You are safe with us." She said sincerely from behind me.
"Rose, what did you do?" Alice sounded angry and appalled as she burst into the bathroom. "Emmett was supposed to tell her. She was supposed to hear it from him!"
"What was I supposed to do? She guessed right and I wasn't going to lie to her. You would have done the same thing and you know it, Alice." Rosalie retorted.
"Bella, are you ok? I promise we won't hurt you. We don't hunt humans, I swear. Please look at us." Alice begged. I was still over the sink, afraid to look at the two vampires behind me.
"Give me a minute, I need to think." I croaked at them. A second later, I heard the bathroom door shut.
Emmett is a vampire. So are Alice, Rosalie, and the rest of the Cullens. I can't believe I didn't see it before. They drink blood to survive. How could I trust them?
Alice said they don't hunt humans. Does it really matter what they are as long as they don't harm innocent people? A voice in my head asked me, probably my brave logical side.
But they're mythical monsters, things of nightmares. Can't trust them. My scared sense of preservation-what little I had- said in a small voice.
They have never harmed me or have the intention of harming me. Emmett saved my life. Logic reasoned.
Monsters, cant trust them. Fear was just a whisper.
I shut them both out with one thought. I love Emmett. I had already decided this. It didn't matter what they were. I refused to shut them out of my life just because they were different. That was close-minded and would break my heart. It was unthinkable to let Emmett go. I couldn't do that. Alice and Rosalie were such good friends. I couldn't let them go; it would kill me.
I took a deep breath and found my conviction. Keeping firm to it, I opened the bathroom door and walked into my room. Alice was waiting for me.
"Where's Rosalie?" I asked, looking into Alice's golden eyes.
"She went downstairs to find you something to eat. Do you want us to leave?" Alice whispered like she was afraid of scaring me.
"No, I have questions." I stated.
"I have answers. You might want to take that mask off soon. It will dry and burn if you leave it on too long." She told me.
"Ok, can you help me get it off?" I asked.
"Sure. Go ahead and ask your questions. I can talk while I help you with the mask." She offered, leading me back to the bathroom.
"So you said you don't hunt humans?" I asked and she nodded. "So what do you eat?" I needed to know this if I was going to trust them.
"We drink the blood of animals. An unorthodox lifestyle for a vampire but it allows us to be more human. We can interact with humans and form bonds of love more easily. We Cullens are more civilized than other vampires." Alice explained as she wetted a washcloth.
"So there are vampires who do hunt humans?" I asked.
"Yes. Our lifestyle is rare. We've only met one other family who abstains from human blood like we do. We will protect you from the others, I promise." She sounded so sincere as she stared into my eyes.
" Have you ever hunted a human?" I asked in a whisper as she wiped my face.
"I have never tasted human blood. Most of us Cullens haven't." she said matter-of-factly.
"Has Emmett?" I asked, knowing I would forgive him if he had.
"As long as I've known him he hasn't. I met him twenty years after he became a vampire so I don't know about his early days." Alice was solemn.
Rosalie came in with a bowl of cereal. "Hey. Are you ok, Bella?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Rosalie. I'm still thinking all this through, though." I told her.
"I thought you might want some breakfast. I still remember how to make cereal." She offered me the bowl.
"Thanks. What time is now?" I asked, accepting the bowl.
"11:15. If you want, we can call Emmett and tell him not to come." Rosalie offered as I took a bite.
"You have thirty minutes to finish with me. Might want to get a move on, don't you think?" I said with confidence.
"Ok, then. Tell me where your v-neck dark blue sweater is, Bella. I can't find it." Alice said throwing the cloth into the hamper.
"How did you…? Never mind. It's in the laundry room, dryer." I was about to ask how she knew about it but I didn't think I wanted to know. She breezed out of the room and left me with Rosalie.
Thirty minutes later, my hair was curled and falling loosely onto my shoulders. I was wearing my sweater, a casual-looking but still expensive pair of jeans, and new Gucci boots. I was very subtly made up with a light dusting of silver-blue eye shadow and sparkly lip-gloss. Sapphire earrings and a matching necklace was a perfect compliment to the outfit.
" Thanks so much, you guys." I said, holding my arms out to hug them. They hesitated for only a second before putting their arms around me.
"So does this mean that every thing is good?" Alice asked, nervously. I could tell that she wanted me to say yes.
"Let me see Emmett before I answer that. Tell him that I know but don't give specifics. I haven't figured out my reaction yet." I explained.
"Ok, see you later, Bella. Hope everything works out." Rosalie said. She looked a little sad that I hadn't decided yet. I nodded to them and they left.
A minute later, I heard the convertible start then pull away from my drive.