Happy New Year everyone! I'd like to take this time to thank each and every one of you for reading and reviewing my story! I truly appreciate your support. Peter and Char will show up in your beds and give you their undivided attention or you can just watch them go for it, if that's more to your taste.
This chapter contains torture, a lying psychotic pixie, and the Major.
This story is AU/OOC.
All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
Mature readers 18+ only please.
Esme's POV
What a shitstorm! I finally make amends with my favorite son and daughter, then the Psycho Bitch returns unannounced with a mate. I know why she's back too. It's not because she wants to see the family, it's because Carlisle and I decided not to replenish her bank account. About a week ago, we received a phone call from our bank stating that Alice wanted a one million dollar cash advance. The bank called us because she was already overdrawn by six hundred thousand dollars. Carlisle immediately restored the funds so that the account was at zero and then ordered that Alice Brandon no longer be permitted access to that account. We left her with the black credit card for the time being.
Now that she's back, though, we'll be canceling her card as soon as Monday morning rolls around.
I scanned the devastation in the living room. Most of it was caused by Isabella and Alice fighting. The front door would need to be replaced immediately. Fortunately, I have some extra doors stored in the basement. Emmett can install it. There were holes all over the walls, a window was completely shattered, and a few pieces of furniture were completely unsalvageable. There was also a stain in the hardwood flooring that Alice had caused when she dripped venom all over it.
"Mom, I'm sorry about the mess I made in the living room." Bella approached me, remorsefully. "Jasper and I will pay for any repairs and replace anything that needs replacing." It didn't escape me that Alice didn't apologize at all for her part in the damage.
"Oh, my darling girl, don't worry about it. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. We're always prepared for any eventuality."
"Mom, I'll get to work right away." Jasper said enthusiastically. "I can fix that window for you in a snap! I know how to do them now."
Oh, hell no! Carlisle told me what Jasper did to his own house in Cambridge just this week. Apparently, a contractor had to be called in to put in a whole new side of the house because Jasper became a little overzealous with his power saw. Besides, after what he did to our home near Chicago, there was no way I was letting him near any type of tools.
"Uh, I just thought of something kids, before we get started on any repairs, shouldn't we do something about the Newton boy changing in our living room?" I said. "His screaming is giving me a headache. Why don't we put him in Alice's room."
My daughter Victoria stood up and got in Alice's face. "Pick him up! Now!"
Alice snapped to attention and did as she was told. She picked her mate up bridal style, cradling him to her chest. She, then, proceeded to walk towards her old room.
"Alice, your room is no longer in that wing. We had to give your room to Amanda. You understand, don't you? She is Edward's mate, after all." I pointed towards the servant's wing on the far corner of the house. "Your room is located in that wing."
"Mother, that's the servant's wing." Alice protested.
"You're in no position to complain, Alice. There are several empty rooms in that wing for you to use. Amanda's old rollaway bed is in one of the rooms, as well. You can place Mike on it so he can transform comfortably."
"How could you? How could you give my room away to Amanda? She called me a bitch over the phone and she tried to drain my mate!"
Jasper stepped in this time. "Alice, you knew that Amanda was a newborn, yet you brought your human mate into this house. You've been a vampire long enough to know the risks."
"Are you saying that it's my fault?" Alice asked defensively.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. Now take your mate and put him in a room before I snap his neck for that incessant screaming. You know that I don't have a problem with ending his life—or yours." The Major threatened his ex-wife with coal black eyes. Alice's eyes widened in fear and she took off running to the servant's wing with her mate in her arms. Victoria, flanked by Peter and Char, followed her.
"We're going to need to call a family meeting." Carlisle said.
"I agree." Eleazar said. "I believe you need to set a few ground rules for Alice. She obviously knows nothing about newborns and the fact that her mate will become one in roughly 72 hours is cause for concern. She also can't be set loose into the world. The girl is too unstable."
"Okay, let's go brainstorm in my office." Carlisle suggested. "Esme, can you hold down the fort for a bit?"
"Of course I can. I'll whip them into shape." I replied jokingly and made a whipping sound.
As soon as they heard that, all the kids started running around the family room trying to straighten it out. Emmett immediately got started on installing a new door while Garrett and Riley plastered some of the smaller holes in the wall.
Edward was inspecting two rather large body-sized dents in the wall. "Mom, do we still have drywall down in the basement?" He asked.
"Yep, I saw some." Emmett yelled from the side. "I saw a window down there too.
Edward ran down to the basement to grab the supplies.
Peter suddenly made an appearance in the living room. "Major, Victoria is asking for you."
"Oh, thanks. I'll be right back." Jasper took off to see Victoria.
"You know she wasn't really asking for him. I just saw the end result if Jasper would have helped Eddie install the drywall. We would have all been staying with the Denalis for a couple of months." Peter whispered. "I told Vicky about it and she's going to stall him while we all work fast to get the drywall up. Oh and if he comes out before we're done, Bella's gonna have to take him upstairs and give him a blow or something."
Always to the point, my Peter is. He is extremely caring though and thank God he had the foresight to come out here and stop Jasper before he pulled another home destruction.
"Okay, no problem." Bella said. "Let's get this drywall up."
The kids all worked together to fix the walls. Riley seamlessly replaced the shattered window with a new one from downstairs.
"Riley, how come you're so good at home repairs?" I asked.
"Oh, I worked construction during the summers while I was attending college." He said.
Well, that'll come in handy. How wonderful! I took a look around and I noticed that my boys and the Denali boys were all very adept at home repairs. Everyone, but Jasper, that is.
"Hey guys! Any work left for me to do?" Jasper asked eagerly. Oh dear! There's still a bit more work to be done on one of the walls.
"Um, Bella wants to talk to you." Edward said, pushing his sister towards her husband. He then whispered in her ear. "Get the fuck upstairs and take one for the family."
"Uh, right! Yes. Yes, I do need to talk to you right now. Upstairs though. This is very important." Bella pulled Jasper upstairs with her.
"Is Belly Mama going to blow Little Major now?" Amanda asked.
Where is she getting this stuff? It has to be Peter and his lack of filter. Although, Edward was getting pretty bad these days too. I wasn't about to discourage him though. The boy was finally acting his age.
"Yes she is." Char said. "Belly Mama is very talented that way. You want to go listen at the door?"
"Charlotte!" I chastised.
"We'll do that one day when the parents are at work." Charlotte said.
I ran my hands through my hair. I loved Charlotte, but the girl was at times untamed and could be exasperating. She and Tanya were both put on disciplinary probation last week for attempting to blackmail their professor with a sex show. Then, to make things worse, we received a letter stating that due to her poor grades, Charlotte was now on academic probation as well. Apparently, the Denalis received a similar letter for Tanya as well.
Edward and Riley both feel that the academics are too difficult for them. Tanya has never once been to school in her entire life. She's a thousand years old and they didn't have schools back then for girls. Of course, Kate and Irina were in the same situation, but they were more diligent.
Charlotte, on the other hand, was changed during her junior year of high school in the 1940's. Education has changed a great deal since then and she simply wasn't academically prepared for college. Carlisle and I made the decision to pull Char out of college and have her begin high school starting with her freshman year in the fall. Edward and Tanya will be attending with her.
"Hey, mom, I think we're done here. As soon as the joint compound dries, we can start painting. Lucky you had all the supplies downstairs." Emmett said.
"Okay, honey, thank you." I gave Emmett a peck on the cheek. I took a look around and everything seemed to be in order.
"Aunt Esme, what are we supposed to do with Alice's baggage outside?" Irina asked. "There are over a hundred bags. I can't believe she made the human unload everything by himself."
"Just leave them dear. She can bring them all in by herself. I don't want any of you offering to help her either." I said.
A few moments later, Carlisle called all of us into the dining room for a family meeting. We all made our way into the room and found seats around the table. Victoria and Char entered the dining room with Alice. They shoved her onto a chair directly across from Carlisle then went to sit by their mates.
"Where are Jasper and Bella?" Carlisle asked.
"Belly Mama is blowing Little Major, but Esme told us that Char and I couldn't listen at the door." Amanda reported.
"Thank you, sweetheart." Carlisle said to Amanda. "Will someone go get Belly Mama and Little Major please?"
Just then, a disheveled looking Jasper and Bella, still clad in their Elvis Presley pajamas, wandered into the dining room. Jasper plopped himself onto a chair and pulled Bella onto his lap. I noticed Alice gritting her teeth and glaring angrily at them.
Carlisle cleared his throat and started the meeting. "So, Alice, why don't you start by explaining how you met your mate to us."
"I was shopping at Walmart in Portland, Oregon when I ran into him. I had a vision that I'd meet him there, that's why I was in the store. We dated for about two weeks before I moved in with him. He was running Newton's Olympic Outfitters in Portland. His parents died in a car accident a couple of years back and he now owns the family business. He owns three stores, one in Portland, one in Port Angeles, and one in Olympia."
"Well, Alice, now that he's changing, how do you intend to handle his business? I doubt he's going to want to lose his stores. Did you consider all of this beforehand?" Carlisle asked.
"Actually, yes. We had planned on asking you to change him when we got here. He's left his stores in the hands of a very trusted associate and he'll check in with his employees every few days. Mike is actually an extremely shrewd businessman. This has all been coordinated to the T." Alice said.
"That's nice, Alice, but some warning on our part would have been nice. You were extremely selfish in thinking that I would readily agree to change your mate. You haven't called or kept in touch except for when you asked us to bail you out—we had no idea what was going on in your life. Quite frankly, you both came at a most inopportune time. With Rex, Bella, and Amanda, we already have three newborns in the family and, now, you've so rudely sprung your own newborn on us. I'm not pleased, Alice."
"Well, I don't understand why it's such a big deal? Why the hell did you change Bella anyway? She's not meant to be part of this family anyway. I've seen it." Alice said.
"Lie." Riley stated.
Alice just ignored Riley and continued talking. "Bella, I'd appreciate it if you'd kindly remove yourself from my husband's lap."
"Psycho Bitch, there's no way that Little Major is your husband. He's Belly Mama's husband." Amanda informed Alice.
"Why are you talking all funny. What is your problem, Amanda? Why are you treating your best friend like this?" Alice paused to think, then screeched all of a sudden. "What the hell do you mean that my Jazzy Pooh is Bella Swan's husband?"
Emmett angrily piped in. "First of all, you delusional bitch, let me remind you that you and Jasper got a divorce five years ago. Your idea, remember? Second, Jasper and Bella got hitched in September and they're in happily wedded bliss right now. They fuck like crazy and they love each other even crazier. Third, and this is the most important point, don't ever fucking talk down to Amanda or Bella again or I'll rip your annoying head right off of you. I won't even fuse it back on. I'll throw it on a stake and let you watch as our lives go on without your sorry ass."
"How could you Jasper? How could you marry that whore? How do you think it makes Edward and me feel?" Alice had completely lost it.
"Actually, I'm very happy for them, Alice." Edward said. "I'm a happily married man and I think Jasper is the perfect husband for my sister."
"You too, Edward? You've turned against me too?" Alice then turned to Bella. "You greedy, manipulative, fucking bitch. You've turned my entire family against me. You conniving, little whore!"
Bella smiled at Alice. "I'm so happy you brought up those points. Edward, Jasper, and I have a few questions that we need answered. The first question is, how long have you known that Jasper and I are mates?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Alice shrugged her shoulders.
"Lie." Riley said.
"Oh, I know it's a lie." Edward stated. "I heard your thoughts at Bella's party after Jasper tried to take a bite out of her."
"What do you mean, Edward? I was devastated. I was about to lose my best friend at the time and my husband—all because he was weak and had no control of his bloodlust."
"Lie." Riley said again.
"Excuse me, who the hell do you think you are accusing me of lying?" Alice asked Riley.
"Oh, pet, I would suggest being honest from here on out. My mate is a walking lie detector. He knows whenever you tell a fib. Let me also remind you that the Major can feel whenever you're being dishonest. He's an empath, remember? You're just spouting out lies, left and right, aren't you?" Vicky had a menacing scowl on her face.
"No, I've been telling the truth all along." Alice said.
"Lie." This time Riley and Jasper said the word simultaneously.
Amanda suddenly started chuckling. "This is so funny. It's like you guys are playing a game. Psycho Bitch says something and you have to guess whether or not she's telling the truth."
"Uh...something like that, little one." Jasper confirmed.
"Why do you keep calling me Psycho Bitch, Amanda?" Alice asked.
"Well, duh, because it's your name." Amanda said with conviction.
"Truth." Riley said. We all started chuckling.
Bella broke the silence. "Now, Psycho Bitch, one more time—how long have you known that Jasper and I are mates?"
Silence. Complete silence from Alice. She clamped her mouth shut and refused to talk.
Jasper's eyes suddenly became coal black as he transformed into the Major. He gently took Bella off of his lap, placed her on the chair, and kissed her atop her head. He stalked over to Alice with a deadly scowl on his face. "Looks like you want to do this the hard way, Alice."
The Major picked up Alice, chair and all, and put her down in the corner of the dining room. He snapped his fingers. Victoria and Peter were at his side in a flash. "Riley, Edward—join us, I could use your skills."
Alice started shaking uncontrollably. Her eyes were filled with raw fear as the Major penetrated her with his pitch black eyes. "I believe, Alice, that my wife asked you a simple question. How long have you known that she and I were mates?"
"I...I...I t...t...told you. I...I...don't kn...ow w...w...hat you're t...t...talking a...a...about." She stuttered.
What a fucking idiot! She's lying in front of a walking lie detector, a mind reader, and an empath. Not to mention the fact that Victoria, Peter, and the Major are three of the deadliest vampires in our world.
The Major snapped his fingers and I heard a terror filled scream from Alice as Victoria and Peter each removed a ring finger from her.
The Major then looked to Edward who responded immediately. "In her mind, she's thinking that she doesn't want to tell the truth because she fears for her life. This might also be a good time to tell you that the final thought she had when she smiled at Bella's eighteenth birthday party was that Bella would be dead before you ever found out she was your mate."
"Thank you, Edward. I appreciate your honesty." The Major snapped his fingers again and this time Alice's two middle fingers were removed from her. She howled in pain. Without warning, the chair that Alice was sitting on was removed from under her and she fell to the floor with a resounding thump.
"On your knees, pet." Victoria ordered. Alice instantly got to her knees. Victoria slapped her across the face. "The Major is through with these games and so am I. I want the whole fucking story now! Let me remind you that I haven't started teaching you your lessons yet and that you made a 'vampire's promise' to my sister, Isabella—your mate's savior. Now start talking or you'll be a gift to the Captain to do with as he pleases! I'm sure you're aware that he's an expert in methods of torture."
Before Alice could speak, Jasper called out, "Char, be on standby. One more lie from the Psycho Bitch and you have my permission to snap her mate's neck."
"Noooo! I'll tell you everything! Please! Not Mike—please, he's innocent." Alice begged.
"Speak!" The Major ordered.
"Jasper, you and I both knew from the beginning that we weren't mates. I already told you before that the birthday party was all planned so that you would drain Bella. I also told you that my back-up plan was for Victoria to drain her. What I didn't tell you is that I knew that you and Bella were mates." Alice inhaled a deep breath. "Twenty-three years ago, I saw a baby girl being born at Forks General Hospital. The card taped onto her hospital bassinet read 'Baby Girl Swan.' I thought it was odd that some unknown baby would make an appearance in my visions so I searched through them. I was floored when I saw that the baby girl in my vision was your true mate. I saw that we would be moving to Forks in sixteen years and that Bella would be moving there the year after. I saw that Edward would immediately be captivated by her beauty and his inability to read her mind. The two had a lot in common with a shared love for literature. Edward would mistakingly think that Bella was his mate when in fact, she was his singer."
"I didn't know you sang for Edward Mate, Belly Mama. What kind of songs did you sing to him?" Amanda asked excitedly. It was a serious moment, but we all couldn't help, but giggle at her innocence.
"She sang Elvis songs to me Amanda." Edward chuckled.
Alice continued. "I got another vision that told me that I wouldn't meet my mate, nor Edward his, unless Edward dated Bella. I encouraged the relationship knowing that there was a good chance that he would drain her because she was his singer. Unfortunately, Edward's love for Bella transcended any desire for her blood. He was desperate to keep her human so I used that knowledge to make my plans. You see, even though you weren't my mate, I didn't want anyone else to have you, Jasper. I like to keep what's mine. Would it be okay if I skipped over Bella's birthday party?"
"Yes." The Major said.
"Okay, so we all know what happened at the birthday party. What I didn't tell you is that we would have left Forks in an attempt to keep Bella human anyway. More than anyone, Emmett would have been consumed with guilt from abandoning his little sister. Exactly one year later, Emmett would have gone looking for Bella, found her, and brought her to New Hampshire. Jasper, you would have seen her and immediately recognized her as his mate. I couldn't let that happen. I searched through my visions for a solution. The only way to prevent the events from occurring would be for Bella to spill blood at her birthday party. That one incident should have been the catalyst for her death. You would have drained her if Edward hadn't pushed you from her and Emmett hadn't restrained you. If not, Victoria would have been waiting in the background to drain her. I saw it clearly in a vision. Victoria and an unknown male vampire were huddled over a limp, lifeless Bella in the forest of Forks, hours after Edward abandoned her. After that, whenever Emmett would return to Forks, he would never find Bella. I assumed she was dead. Obviously, I made a mistake. That's it. There's no more to tell."
"Truth." Riley confirmed.
"I see where your visions failed you, pet. Riley and I were huddled over Bella in the forest because we were trying to keep her warm. She had passed out and was numb from the cold, and you're right—she did look lifeless. I picked her up and took her to the abandoned house in Forks. I gave her a warm bath, bundled her up in blankets, and just held her. I'm just thanking whatever God there was out there that your vindictive little ass couldn't see any further than Bella laying lifeless on the forest floor. There's no telling what your manipulative little mind would have done otherwise." Victoria sneered.
Amanda suddenly stood up and walked over to Alice. She slapped her across the face and spat out. "You're meaner than the evil villains in the movies. You're even meaner than Esme. I don't like it when people are mean to Belly Mama!" She, then, turned around and ran into Bella's arms sobbing.
Did she just call me mean? Oh dear. She must still be affected from me trying to force a wedding on Bella which, in turn, caused the only mother she knows to leave. Oh, I'm devastated. My temper got so out of hand that day that I've permanently scarred Amanda. I'll have to discuss with Bella what we could do to fix this situation.
Alice suddenly turned to Amanda. "You should talk, you greedy, little bitch. You only married Edward for his money. You didn't even love him. What? Is everything all cool now that Daddy has his millions from the Cullen coffers?"
The look of devastation on Amanda's face was apparent. She sobbed wildly into Bella's chest. Peter's eyes turned the blackest I've ever seen them. "You know, I don't like to hit women, but since my daughter insists that you're a boobieless boy, I'm gonna make like you're not female." With that, Peter slapped Alice across the face and ripped both of her arms off. He grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up so that she was eye level to him. "You ever so much as utter one word to my daughter that's less than kind and I'll make sure that that pansy assed prick you call a mate ceases to exist. You got that?"
"Y...y...yes." Alice shivered.
Peter then dropped her to the floor and went to a bawling Amanda. He and Bella quickly retreated from the dining room to comfort her in private.
The Major's eyes were pitch black. I looked around the room and so were everyone else's.
Carlisle suddenly stood up and turned to me. "Esme, dear, would you please bring Alice's purse to me." I quickly ran to the living room, grabbed Alice's purse and handed it to my husband. He rifled through the purse and found her wallet. He opened up the wallet and removed it's contents—her debit card, store credit cards, and the all important black credit card. She had roughly 146 dollars in cash—he placed that back into her wallet. He removed the checkbook from it though.
Alice was looking up at Carlisle with tears brimming her eyes. Carlisle just took everything and shredded them between his fingers. "Daddy, why? I need those things. How am I to live?"
"Alice, your transgressions against my family are unforgivable. Intentionally keeping a mate from a vampire is punishable by death under Volturi law. You're lucky that I'm not going to report you. The intentional pain that you've caused Bella, Jasper, and Edward is downright appalling. You made a 'vampire's promise' to both Bella and Rose that you'd be forever in their debt and I'm going to make sure you hold true to that promise. Your mistress, Victoria, will be teaching you some lessons in morals and values. You will work hard at learning your lessons until you are truly remorseful for your actions. At that point, you will apologize to all those who deserve an apology. I'm warning you that your apology should only come when you have truly learned your lesson, not one second before. You are fully aware by now that we can tell when you're being dishonest. Meanwhile, I will no longer be supporting you. You have 146 dollars to your name at this point. I suggest you use it wisely. In order to remain in this family, you will have to go out and find work. You no longer have the option of attending school. I will not be purchasing a single item for you, that includes, clothing, gasoline, and car insurance. You will also pay taxes like every American citizen. The one thing that I will do for you is obtain a new driver's license for you and clear your arrest record. I've also taken care of any outstanding debts that you have."
"Father, that's ridiculous! How can you ask me to work? Why are you being so cruel to me? How come Bella doesn't have to work?"
"Isabella is no longer under my jurisdiction. While she remains my daughter, Jasper has taken on the responsibility of supporting her. What they choose to do is none of my business." Carlisle answered.
"Yeah, well, Jasper gets his money from you which in turn makes Bella your business too." Alice responded snidely.
Jasper spoke up. "Alice, I have money. I've always had money. I just chose never to share it with you. You were never my mate, after all."
Alice let out a shrill, ear piercing scream. "You lied to me! You lied! You never said that you had any money. How dare you! I gave you over sixty years of my life! You owe me!"
"I don't owe you jack shit, bitch! Maybe if you were kinder and less manipulative in those sixty years I would have chosen to share the wealth. You, yourself, dictated how we should spend Carlisle's money. Besides, throughout the years, I've reimbursed Carlisle countless times for your uncontrolled spending out of my own coffers."
"He's right Alice. Jasper has more than paid his fare share for your outrageous spending habits. He did it out of a sense of responsibility because you were his wife—even if he didn't need to." Carlisle paused before he spoke again. "Now, you have a choice to make. You can either choose to stay with our family and live under the new rules I've enacted for you or I can turn you over to the Volturi for your crime of keeping Jasper from his mate. Make a decision Alice!"
Oh God! I love it when my husband is commanding. I think I'll let him dominate me in the bedroom later. I need to be punished anyway. Oh! My panties are getting wet just thinking about him. Carlisle turned his head towards me, smirked, then winked. Oh swoon! That man certainly knows how to turn me on.
"You've left me between a rock and a hard place. I will choose to stay with my family and live under your rules. I don't want to be put to death by the Volturi."
"Your choice is made." Carlisle stated. "Vicky, kitten, she's all yours."
"Major would you be so kind as to assist me in reattaching her limbs? I fear I don't have enough venom to go around and the Captain is currently indisposed." Victoria requested.
"Of course." The Major said maliciously.
We all rushed out of the dining room before Alice's screams started.
Carlisle swooped me into his arms and ran me upstairs to our bedroom. "Has my Esme been a bad girl?" He said.
"Oh, yes, a very bad girl." I replied. This is going to be a gloriously, long night. I could tell.
Peter's POV
I'm pissed off! So, fucking pissed off! That little vindictive bitch had no right to hurt Amanda the way she did. Sure, Bella and I both knew that Amanda would find out the truth about her human self eventually, but not now—not this way. Amanda was sobbing in Bella's arms. We were in her room trying our best to comfort her.
I heard the other's quickly retreat to different rooms as soon as Carlisle was done laying down the law to Alice. The bitch started screaming almost immediately. I had almost no doubt in my mind that the Major and Vicky were making the reattachment of the limbs I removed, extremely slow and painful. They were going to reattach her arms only to remove them, so Alice would have to go through the process of reattachment over and over again. It was a form of torture that the Major used countless times while in Maria's army. I didn't have an ounce of sympathy for her, though, after hearing the true story.
Alice knew that Bella was Jasper's mate from the moment she was born. She should have told Jasper about Bella as soon as she had that first vision twenty-three years ago. I have no doubt that he would have gone to Bella immediately and kept an eye on her from afar. Jasper told Carlisle, Emmett, and me about how Bella had to work to keep things afloat from the time she was eleven because her mother was so irresponsible. We were so outraged after hearing that, that the four of us had to run all the way to Canada to cull some trees. If Jasper had been keeping an eye on her, he would have made sure that Bella had a safe, happy, and secure childhood. Alice keeping the information about Jasper's mate to herself had hurt Bella in more ways than one—she had, in essence, destroyed Bella's childhood. I guarantee that the Major was currently reminding Alice of that fact right now.
I was roused out of my thoughts when Amanda spoke. "Would you tell me what I was like as a human? Was I really a greedy bitch? Did I really only marry Edward Mate for money? Please tell me. I need to know."
I didn't want to do this. She wasn't ready to hear the truth. She had a rough night after almost making chow out of Alice's mate and I didn't want her to have to go through the pain that the truth would inevitably cause. I spoke, trying to make it as simple as possible for her to understand. "Amanda, human you and vampire you are two completely different people. I have to admit that I didn't like human you very much." I inhaled a deep breath. "Human Amanda was very greedy and had a very closed mind. I can't say if you married Edward for money though. That's something that only Human Amanda can answer."
"Amanda, you have to understand that from the time you were a little girl..." Bella stopped to think before she spoke again. "Oh fuck it! Amanda, I'm not going to sugar coat this for you. I'd be doing you a disservice if I did. I want you to listen to what I have to say and then you can ask me or Peter any questions you may have. Amanda, you were brainwashed by your human father from the time you were born. Your father is a pastor at a church in Dartmouth. He kept you sheltered and away from society by homeschooling you until you were ready for college. By the time you went to Dartmouth College, you knew nothing about the world at large. You only knew whatever your father taught you and you were unable to think for yourself, let alone function without his input. He encouraged you to date and marry Edward because he knew that the Cullens were wealthy. Your father wanted you to convince Edward to finance a new ministry for him. Edward refused, of course. I met you after you and Edward were married. The first time was at your wedding reception. We didn't get along at all. It wasn't until you woke as a vampire that I started to care for you."
"Why did you suddenly start to care about me?" Amanda asked.
"Well, let's just say you kind of attached yourself to me. I don't know why, but for some reason, you gravitated towards me and Peter. For a while there, you'd only listen to the two of us."
"So, are you saying that you only like me because you have to?"
"No, not at all. Peter and I love you. Believe me when I say this, neither Peter nor I would ever do anything we don't want to do. We took care of you because we wanted to. We wanted to make sure that this time around you developed a healthy mind and a more open outlook on life. That way, when you get over your bloodlust and are finally able to attend school, you'll get more out of it."
"Amanda, Bella and I love you—that's unconditional and eternal. We promise that we'll always be there for you and we won't ever let anyone hurt you. If someone ever says or does something to hurt you, I want you to tell me or Bella immediately. In fact, you can go to anyone in this family except for Psycho Bitch."
"Why did Edward Mate marry me if I was such a bad human?" Amanda asked.
"You know what, little one, that's a question that you have to ask Edward yourself. I can tell you that he loved you then and he loves you even more now. Part of it probably has to do with the fact that you're mates, but you should never doubt the fact that he loves you because he truly does." I reassured her. "Now, I don't want you to worry your pretty little head off anymore. I want you to stop thinking about human Amanda because that's not who you are anymore. You're Vampire Amanda and you can think for yourself and as soon as you're over your bloodlust, you'll be ready to face the world."
"I love you, Petey Papa, Belly Mama." Well, now, that shit just makes me melt. I know I have venom tears in my eyes because, damn it, I just eat up sentimental shit like that.
"I love you too, little one." I replied.
"Ditto, Amanda." Bella simply said. "Now, what do you say we go watch a movie in the family room? Your choice."
"Okay, I'll meet you there. I have to do something first." Amanda said excitedly.
As we walked out of Amanda's room and shut the door behind us, I had a sudden urge to hug Bella—so I did. We stood there hugging for the longest time until Bella pulled away and said, "She'll be okay, Pete."
"Thanks, Bella." I sighed. "I can't believe we have a kid together."
"I know and she's older than me." She chuckled.
"Yeah, well you're wise beyond your years." I said. "I still can't believe you're a newborn. I've never met a newborn with enough control to change someone. You're something else, you know that?"
Bella shrugged. "You know that I only changed the dumb shit because I didn't want Amanda thinking she was a murderer, right?"
"Yeah, I know that. That's what makes you so beautiful." I, then, had a thought cross my mind. "Bella, do you understand what a 'vampire's promise' is?"
"Not at all. Care to explain."
"Sure thing. A 'vampire's promise' is basically a lifelong debt. The vampire who made that promise, usually in a time of distress, is basically promising to always look out for your best interests. Alice won't be able to cross you or Rose—even if she tried. If your lives are ever threatened, Alice has to do all that she can to protect you—even if she dies in the process. If she does try to do wrong by you or Rose, it's an offense punishable by death under Volturi law. Alice knows this and you can remind her of the fact too. I have no doubt that she'll still be a bitch to the two of you, but Alice can no longer pull massive, manipulative shit like she did in the past." I explained. "Speaking of which, her shrieking has stopped. I wonder if Vicky and the Major are done reattaching her limbs."
We walked hand in hand into the family room to see Vicky ordering Alice to bring all her shit into the house. "Please, could you just reattach my fingers? There are over a hundred bags out there." Alice begged.
"Pet, you have your thumb and index finger on both hands. The Major and I were very generous when we left those attached. Now get to work and stop your moaning!"
Christ my sister was scary. She even gives me the heebie-jeebies when she's in her lethal mode.
"Hey guys, how's Amanda doing?" Jasper asked, unclasping Bella's hand from mine and taking it in his own. Jealous fucker.
"She's fine. We explained some things to her. We had to tell her the truth about her human self, though." I said. "I think Bella's way worked the best, she just told her straight without sugar coating it for her."
"You know, bro, you're a big softie." Jasper chuckled. "What are we doing now?"
Just then, Amanda came bounding out into the living room. She was wearing a t-shirt with a print of a steaming apple pie and a message that read 'I Feel Like Warm Apple Pie.'
"Amanda, where did you get that shirt?" I asked.
"Oh, Edward Mate gave it to me the other day. He found it at the same place as his 'Suck Me Beautiful' t-shirt."
Bella and Jasper looked at me. I even had Victoria's complete attention now. "It wasn't me. I swear! Don't you think I would have bought out the store if I found a t-shirt shop like that?"
"Good point." Bella said. "So, what movie are we watching?"
"American Pie. You said I could pick. I brought Edward's copy out because it's on Blu-Ray instead of DVD."
"Okay, American Pie it is." I said. We all settled on the sofa to watch. Riley soon joined Vicky and Char came bouncing onto my lap. Edward zipped in to join Amanda and before we knew it, everyone, including the Denalis were all crowded around the big screen watching the movie. Carlisle and Esme were the last to join us.
"Oh, how nice, a family movie night!" Esme exclaimed. "Are we watching a Christmas movie?"
Well shit, this is pretty uncomfortable. I never expected to watch American Pie with my mama.
"Um, kind of." I said as I shifted uncomfortably on the sofa.
"Hey, how come we can barely hear Mike screaming now?" Emmett asked.
Good point. He was screeching to high heaven a few minutes ago and now we could barely hear him. He sounded muffled.
"Oh, I put a ball gag on him." Tanya informed us. "The guy screams like a girl."
A ball gag? I never considered using one of those. Pretty creative if you ask me.
We were watching the infamous pie scene when Alice, who had been hobbling around carrying luggage into the house with her two fingers suddenly said, "I can't believe you're watching such a vulgar movie! Amanda, this isn't like you at all. Aren't you worried about what your father would say?"
"Oh, Petey Papa was the one who first showed me the movie. I'm not worried at all." Amanda answered confidently.
I pulled Amanda in for a hug and whispered, "That's my girl."
Alice shook her head in disgust and went back to work. She was having a lot of trouble picking up the bags with only two fingers on each hand, but no one bothered to help.
As the movie came to an end, Esme said, "Well, that was certainly educational. Is that what high school is really like these days?"
"I agree about it being educational, mother." Edward added. "I sure learned a lot from the movie. I can't wait to start high school again."
"Me too!" Tanya gushed. "Amanda, on my honor, we'll get that bloodlust under control so you can start school with us."
"I'll work hard, Tanya. I promise." Amanda vowed.
"We're gonna have so much fun!" Char piped in.
Christ Almighty! The four of them in high school together. That should be a clusterfuck and a half. I'm gonna have to start scenting my wife like Jasper and Emmett do with their mates. I don't know how I'm gonna handle hundreds of horny, hormonal, pimple faced high school boys surrounding my mate.
We all settled into a discussion of how high school has evolved throughout the years. I couldn't help, but look around the living room and smile. My family was big, loud, raucous, and cooky—but they all had huge hearts. I belonged with them and it felt great! I was finally a part of something crazy, wonderful, and beautiful.
Alice certainly knew a lot more than she had previously admitted to? I hope she's not hiding anything else. Do you think she got what she deserved or do you think that Carlisle, Vicky, and the Major were too lenient with her? I'd love to hear what you thought about Alice and the other events in this chapter. I promise to write back. XOXO