Thank you very much for your wonderful reviews, messages, alerts, and faves. I truly appreciate your taking the time to chime in with your thoughts. Don some capes and fangs and spend Halloween with Rex and Bella!
This story is AU/OOC.
All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
Mature readers 18+ only please.
Jasper's POV
In mid-August, we made our move to our house in Beverly Hills—prepared to clean everything like we had with Jenks's other homes. There were two security gates leading to the stone-walled compound. Once we got inside, we were amazed. The house was humongous, meticulously maintained, and it appeared as if it had never been occupied. The house was still unfurnished, and, except for some minor accumulated dust, there wasn't much cleaning that we needed to do. There was a tennis court and a swimming pool in the back, as well as a beautifully manicured rose garden that surrounded a vine covered gazebo where we could sit and relax. A little further down the path, there was a bath house with a gigantic jacuzzi pool, a bar, flat screen TVs on each wall, and a spa shower with a stripper pole. Hmm...what the hell is that all about?
Bella and I walked back to the house and toured the inside again. This time, we noticed a manila envelope sitting on the kitchen counter which we hadn't noticed before. We pulled out the letter inside and started reading it.
Dear Jasper and Bella,
I thought you might need a 'vampire friendly' house to live in while you both attended law school. The high walls will protect you, allowing you both to venture outside within your property and enjoy the sunshine without fear of detection. The double gates will give you a chance to run in case you're ever in a situation during which you encounter unfriendly vampires—which, by the way, I highly doubt since you seem to have eradicated all of them.
The gazebo and the rose garden were designed with you in mind, Isabella. I thought that it would be a nice sanctuary for you to read in. I had pink roses placed here because they've always been your favorite, ever since you were a little girl. I hope you like it.
The bath house was built recently for you, Jasper. I thought that it would be a good place for you to soak in the tub, watch a game or two, and have a few drinks with the guys. The shower room was placed there because...well...I know that you have some strange fetishes, judging from the hotel rooms you stayed in during your trips to Las Vegas. I may be old, but I'm still a man—ironically, I can relate to your kinky tendencies. Too bad I'm so old that even Viagra won't help me anymore.
I'm so proud of the fact that you're both finally going to law school. At least, you'd better be going or I'll come back from the dead and haunt you. I've enclosed the name of the company that's been maintaining the property for me in case you want to continue using them. They've been paid up until the end of the year. They come every Tuesday at two pm.
Remember that I told you that Beverly Hills has the highest concentration of vampires in the United States. You'll never meet a friendlier bunch, though. Study hard. Make me proud. Would it be overstepping my boundaries for me to say that I love you both and have faith in you? Well, I do. You've both made an old man very happy throughout the years.
With Love,
Jason Scott Jenks, Esq.
"Aww...baby, come here." I pulled my teary eyed wife into my arms. "Shh...he was a good man."
Bella was whimpering unintelligible words. I held her and calmed her sobs while we sat on the kitchen floor. I took a look around at our new, unfurnished house—painstakingly planned and built for us by Mr. Jenks with love and care. If I could be half the man he was, I would be a great man. I vowed, at that moment, to strive to become like him.
Over the last few months, we said our goodbyes to our family and they wished us well. I didn't say goodbye to Alice, but Bella did. She went to visit Mike and Alice, with Riley, and explained that we were leaving. Apparently, Alice broke down in her arms and started crying—apologizing for all she did to Bella. She admitted all of her wrong-doings—which so-far, we had only told Riley, Vicky, Laurent, Irina, Carlisle, and Pete about, then told Bella that the only reason why she never told anyone the rest of her story was because she knew that I would cut all ties with her. And then, Bella did something that I would have never been able to do, she forgave Alice. She told Alice that she needs to love herself and love those around her even more, even if they can't return the love. And above all, she told Alice to respect the boundaries that other people set and that it was okay for her to set her own boundaries too. Bella told Alice that, for now, she would be open to keeping in touch with her via email. After that, she simply held Alice for six hours straight.
Riley said that just the simple act of Bella forgiving Alice, and talking to her calmly, did wonders to her psyche. She was finally showing improvements. Riley joked with Bella that she needs to forget about law school and go into counseling, at which time he would quit the medical field and go into private practice with her. Bella told him that she'd think about it.
I knew that Riley was going to miss Bella, he loved her like crazy. In private, later, he asked for Veronica Miles's phone number. He, Vicky, Laurent, and Irina had talked and wanted to go and thank her and Chris personally. I understood why they needed to do that. Those four, together, were Bella's parents. They each had a hand in shaping her into the woman she's become today. They were visiting them at their house this week. Veronica and Chris had invited them to their home for a visit, they wanted to meet the four of them too. Pete and Carlisle had flown down together to thank the couple last week.
"I love you, Jasper," Bella murmured.
"I love you, too, Bella. Now, let's figure out how to furnish this place. It's a tabula rosa, we can create our own dream home," I said, changing the subject.
"Yeah, it's beautiful here. We need to call in some painters, though. The walls are too plain."
"I agree. First, we have to figure out this damn state. I know nothing about California except for the two weeks we spent in San Diego when we were learning to sail, do you?"
"Nope, I know a lot of movie stars live in this area, though. Maybe we'll run into a few of them."
"Possibly, we..."
My train of thought was interrupted when we heard a chime coming from the intercom that I had no idea that we even had. "Hello?"
"Hi, we're Peaches and Herb Home and Garden Caretaking. We were hired by Mr. Jenks to maintain your property. It's Tuesday, we're here for our weekly maintenance. Are you Mr. Whitlock?"
"Yes, let me buzz you in," I said, then turned to my wife, scratching my head. "Which button do you think it is?"
"It's the round, white one on the bottom right hand corner of the panel, Mr. Whitlock," the man said, helpfully.
"Um, thanks." I pushed the round, white button and a couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang.
I opened the door and was shocked out of my boots at the sight of the couple standing in front of me. They were vampires.
They casually stepped inside with all of their equipment. The man held out his hand for me to shake. "My name is Herb Stoneridge and this is my mate and wife, Peaches. It's a pleasure to finally meet the people for whom we've been maintaining this home."
"Um, nice to meet you, too. This is my mate and wife, Isabella. My name is Jasper Whitlock."
"Welcome, we'll just get to working because we have four more homes on our schedule today."
"Uh, thank you."
"No problem. Why are you so stiff? Haven't you ever seen another vampire before?" Peaches asked us.
"Um...yeah, of course, we have. It's just..."
"Ah, you're from out of state, aren't you? You need to relax more, go with the flow. That's how we roll in California. We'll get out of your way now."
Bella's jaw had dropped to the floor. She was staring at Peaches and Herb, completely stunned. I took my hand and clamped her jaw shut for her.
Peaches and Herb were thorough and meticulous. They took about a half an hour to maintain our house and do the landscaping at vampire speed.
Afterwards, they came to talk to us, "Is 2pm on Tuesdays a good time for you?"
"Yes, it's fine. I'm assuming that you have a key to enter the property if we're not home, right?"
"Yes, we do. And don't worry, we're both bonded, licensed, and insured. We're paid up through the end of the year. If you'd like to keep us on after that, we can draw up a new contract in mid-December. We've been in business for ninety-nine years and we haven't had a single complaint," Herb said, proudly. "Anyway, here's our card. Call us if you need anything."
"Thank you," Bella and I both called out.
"Did you notice that Peaches smells like peaches and Herb smells like basil?"
"Huh, interesting. I wonder if they couldn't remember their names and came up with Peaches and Herb based on their scents," I pondered. "Baby, we've got to go and buy a bed. I don't care about anything else, but a bed is a must."
"Oh, so sheets, towels, soap, shampoo, and the like doesn't matter to you? You do realize that we either left everything for Char in Houston or donated everything except for Jenks's journals, the forgery equipment, and our important books, photos, and whatnot, right?"
"Don't forget, we have that suitcase filled with clothes that Amanda gave us."
"It does come in handy to have relatives in retail, doesn't it?" Bella said. "Amanda has good taste, too."
"Alright, let's get everything inside." It only took us three trips and we were done. We literally brought the bare minimum with us. Bella and I walked around the house again to survey the house so we could get a general idea of what we needed. We walked downstairs to the basement, and there was laundry hook-up, but no washer and dryer. We had to add that to our list, too.
I took her hand and we left the house, ready to discover whatever else California had in store for us.
Ten weeks later...
Bella's POV
We were finally settled into our new house. It was still not fully furnished, but getting there. The interior was painted in gorgeous hues of blues, creams, and tans. I had them do our master bedroom in a bright raspberry. Jasper protested, but I pointed out that he got to choose the paint color of every single bedroom we've had in the past. I also told him that we weren't putting a stripper pole in the room. He actually pouted for a week straight. I couldn't believe it. Then, the bastard went out and had a show shower with a stripper pole installed in our master bathroom. I swear my husband can be such a spoiled brat sometimes.
Law school was actually quite challenging and an incredible amount of fun. It was interesting because Jasper, Rex, Rose, and I all had differing opinions on certain issues. There was no right or wrong answer in law, it was the way we presented it that mattered.
It was Friday, on Halloween night, Em, Rose, Rex, and Tanya were over at our house lounging. We had a ton of Halloween candy ready to go to pass out to the kids. Rex was surfing the internet when he started chuckling. "Hey, guys, check this out. It's a listing of mixers that they have monthly in Los Angeles. They've got mixers for many groups: Asians, Christians, Catholics, Jews, the Irish, Italians, Native Americans, Canadians, Muslims, Indians, Wiccans, African Americans, Latinos, Vegetarians, Strippers, Trekkies, Actors, Cab Drivers, Mechanics, Bankers, Cannabis Lovers, Swingers, you name it. Oh, and Vampires."
"Vampires? Come on, fucker, you're kidding me?" Jasper scoffed.
"Nope, it's listed right here. It's put together by the Vampire Association of California. Hey, it's tonight at The Venom Nightclub. We should go. It's Halloween and all."
"I'm not going to some stupid Vampire mixer, Rex," Tanya stated. "You can go if you want to. You know it's only going to be a bunch of weirdos dressed in capes with plastic fangs and carrying fake blood."
"Aw, come on guys, you're no fun."
Tanya, Jasper, Rose, and Em all rolled their eyes at Rex. I was kind of intrigued though. "I'll go with you."
"I swear to God, you two take the cake on weird," Rose said, slapping her palm on her forehead.
"Hey, we should stop at a store and pick up capes and plastic fangs," Rex suggested.
"Good idea. Let's go."
"See ya later!" Our mates, Rose, and Em all shook their heads incredulously at us. They were used to me and Rex trying out new things, and California was teeming with new things for us to do.
We stopped at the costume store and picked up capes and plastic fangs. We headed over to The Venom Nightclub on the Sunset Strip where the event was taking place. We donned our capes and fangs and walked inside. There were two groups ahead of us being carded. They were also wearing capes and fangs. The groups were let in through the doors behind the bouncers.
We handed the bouncers our licenses, looked up, and were in complete shock. They were vampires. One of them took one look at our outfits and started laughing. The other one spoke, though, "You guys must be new to L.A. Are you here for the mixer?"
Rex and I nodded our heads.
"Boy, you two don't talk much, do you?" He ripped our new capes off of us and tossed them into the trash bin. "Lose the fangs before you head upstairs. You'll be the laughing stock of the mixer."
I gulped, I was completely immobile as anxiety shot through my system. Rex picked me up bridal style and carried me upstairs.
"Hey, can't she walk?" the other bouncer called up.
"Rex, we should leave," I whispered. "Who knows what's going on upstairs."
"Yeah, maybe you're right."
We turned around to leave, but we were shoved inside the door by the mob of people...no vampires behind us.
I molded myself to Rex, then started shaking. He held me close to his body as we reached a long reception table.
"Hi! My name is Ginger. I'm part of the welcoming committee for our little mixer here. You must be new to town, what are your names?"
For some reason, Rex and I were both so stunned at the sheer amount of vampires that neither of us could speak. This was a rare event because the two of us were actually very outgoing.
"R...Rex," he managed to sputter out.
"And your mate?"
"B...Bella."
"Nice to meet you, Rex and Bella. You might want to get rid of those plastic fangs." She held out a small waste basket in front of us. We both disposed of our toy fangs.
Ginger printed our names on name tags and stuck them to our shirts and motioned us to go inside. Rex kept one arm around me the whole time. I don't know why I was so frightened. Maybe it was the fact that I've never really socialized with any vampires other than family. Rex was also anxious. I could tell by the way he kept pulling me in closer to his chest and inhaling my scent, that's what he did to calm himself. It's always been that way.
We observed our surroundings as the other vampires socialized. They all seemed to be extremely at ease with each other.
"Maybe we should try to get to know some people, Rexy," I suggested.
"Yeah, they seem okay. It's so weird, we have no problems getting to know humans, but since these are vampires we've both crawled into some sort of a shell."
"Okay, let's start by ordering drinks at the bar."
We were heading towards the bar when a scuffle broke out at the front entrance. Oh, just great.
Rose's POV
An hour after they left, Jasper, Tanya, Em, and I were sitting in the living room talking about how absolutely ridiculous Bella and Rex could be sometimes. I mean, come on, a vampire mixer? The type of humans that go to those things were deluded ones that are drawn in by the fantasy of vampires that they read in novels or see in movies. But the real morons were my sister and brother who actually got their kicks out of hanging out with these weirdos. Since we've moved to California, those two have gone back to their routine of taking strange classes together. The dance classes are fine, of course. I don't even have a problem with the cooking classes and the craft classes. I had to draw the line when they went to a Catholic Church, pretended to be an engaged couple, and inquired about their marriage preparation program. I mean, what the fuck? That was worse than that ridiculous Lamaze class they took while we were still living in New York. At least it served it's purpose in teaching them pain management. Now, they're taking a class called Underwater Basketweaving—weird, yes, but at least it's a craft, and they get college credit too.
"How the heck do you guys put up with those two? I have a hard enough time dealing with Emmett and his strange obsession with Star Trek. I mean, those two went to a vampire mixer. Do you know how weird that is?"
"Rose, if Bella and Rex don't get it out of their system, they become fidgety. You remember how Rex was when Bella was on her honeymoon for ten years, don't you?"
"Do I ever! I never want to set foot into another dance class again!"
"Neither do I!" Tanya declared.
"Nor I," Emmett agreed. He had to go to a male stripping class with Rex.
"No shit! Bella tried to get me to go a Samoan Fire Dancing class with her while we were in Samoa. That's where I drew the line. I tried to explain to her that we were vampires and fire is lethal to us. She said that she could shield us, and I told her that I wasn't willing to...what the hell?"
"Rose? Jasper? Tanya? Hey is it Rex and Bells?" Emmett asked.
The three of us were clutching our chests because we'd all suddenly felt immense pain. Emmett, who was the only one thinking clearly, quickly ran us out of the house and ushered us into his Hummer. He took the wheel and started driving towards the club where the mixer was being held. By the time, we arrived, the three of us were fine. The pain had receded, but Tanya and I were still completely on edge so we barreled out of the vehicle while Emmett and Jasper looked for parking. We plowed through the line of people waiting in line before we were stopped by...vampires?
"Hey! There's a line to get in!" someone shouted at us.
"Ladies! You have to proceed in an orderly fashion," a woman at a reception desk stopped to tell us. She was a vampire, too. We were surrounded by vampires. Oh my fuck!
"Where the hell is my mate?" Tanya shrieked. "He's in trouble!"
"What the hell is this? Is this some sort of vampire cult? Are you trying to brainwash her? She's very susceptible to weird shit, you know. I want my sister! Give her back to me!" I hollered. I was ready to throw down with the entire establishment.
Jasper and Emmett came rushing up the stairs.
"Just tell me who your mate is and I'll locate him for you," the woman said.
"Rex Whitlock."
"Oh, the newbies."
Rex and Bella rushed up front.
"Oh, there you are!" Tanya gasped. "I was so worried about you. Rose, Jasper, and I felt the pull and we rushed to you."
"Wait a minute! Rex is Bella's mate, isn't he?" the woman asked, confused.
"What? He's my mate!" Tanya yelled, appalled.
"Well, then who is Bella?"
"His wife!"
"You allowed your mate to marry someone else? You're very progressive," the woman commented.
"Huh? He's married to me! Bella's married to Jasper."
"Who's Jasper?"
"That would be me." Jasper waved to everyone with a grin on his face.
"Wait a minute, but how could she feel the pull?" Another vampire pointed to me.
"They're probably mates—lesbians, you know," some guido vampire with a name tag that read Vinnie said. "Hot lesbians."
"I happen to be highly tuned in to my sister! Emmett is my mate. Bella is Jasper's mate!"
"Alright, alright, let's get these newbies checked in. There's a line a mile long behind them," the woman prompted.
We were all asked our names and given name tags. I pulled my sister into my arms immediately, while Rex held onto Tanya.
"Hey, are you sure you're not lesbians?" the guido named Vinnie questioned. Can he put more grease into his hair?
"No, we're not lesbians," I stated.
"Too bad, you'd be hot naked."
"Hey! That's my mate you're talking about." Emmett stood up to his full height and got up into his face.
"Whoa, you're tall man. Angelo! Ricky! Get the fuck over here!"
Jasper and Rex immediately flanked Emmett.
"Whoa, whoa! We don't mean any harm. We just want to know if you want to play some ball with us. You know, with the guys on the weekend. We can usually gather up enough guys to get two teams together. One of our friends has a thousand acres of farmland up in Valencia. What are your names anyway?"
"I'm Emmett McCarty, this is my brother, Rex Whitlock, and this is my brother, Jasper Whitlock."
"You're Jasper Whitlock?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Thank fuck! I need my license updated. I've been driving with an expired one for the past nine months. Which one is Rosalie McCarty?"
"That's my wife."
"The lesbian? Forget Jasper! Um, maybe you can do my license for me, sweetheart."
We were suddenly surrounded by all sorts of vampires needing everything from updated driver's licenses, marriage certificates, contracting licenses, and a whole bunch of other shit.
"Hang on!" I said, popping out from behind the guys. "Who told you to contact us? And who the fuck are you people?"
So, the mixer suddenly turned into a meeting. The woman that was up front took charge. "My name is Ginger Fontaine. I'm the head of the Vampire Association of California. We've been in existence since the Gold Rush in 1849. We all live peacefully and quietly, and we all own businesses or have jobs within the community. Most of us feed from animals, some feed from humans. We never pass judgement on diet choice. Our only rule for human feeding vampires is that they only feed off of violent criminals or the terminally ill."
"Excuse me, how did you manage to stay under the radar of the Volturi for so long?" Jasper asked.
"We immersed ourselves within the community. It was easier for those of us with golden eyes, of course, but when colored contacts were mass marketed in 1981—life became much easier for everyone. The Volturi rarely set foot in California and they really had no reason to. We've never had one incident to flag their attention and we don't advertise the fact that we exist."
"Yeah, but what about the mixer?" I asked.
"The human mixer is downstairs, the actual one is upstairs. Did you notice that you were separated at the entrance?"
"Well, I kind of rushed in here so I may have missed that."
"I noticed when wifey and I first walked in. We were carded and sent upstairs. They took our capes from us. We wondered why we were being separated. We were going to turn around and ask them, but there was a mob of vampires behind us so we couldn't move," Rex explained.
"No wonder you two looked terrified when you first walked in. We'd never seen newbies—that's what we call vampires that are new to California, look so frightened."
"That must be why we all felt the pull," Tanya concluded. "I keep forgetting how young you two actually are. You've never really been exposed to vampires en masse except for family." She pulled Bella in for a hug and squeezed Rex's hand.
"Well, Em and I haven't been exposed to a mass of vampires either," I noted.
"I know, but Rexy and Bella are more sensitive."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I'm fucking sensitive! I'm so fucking sensitive that I rushed up here to save my sister and your mate!"
"I swear to God, you can be so touchy, Rose!"
I thought about it. "Yeah, you're right," I chuckled and gave Tanya a squeeze.
"You still haven't told us who told you about Jasper and Rose," Em said.
"Isn't it obvious," Bella interrupted. "It was Mr. Jenks."
"That's right," Vinnie said. "We all received letters in the mail about a year ago stating that Jasper and Isabella Whitlock, and Rosalie McCarty would be handling the transactions from now on. We've all left messages on the phone number he gave us, but it keeps going straight to voicemail."
"What phone number?" Jasper asked.
"Oh my God! It's that cell phone he left us in the box," Bella said. "Um, exactly how many members are a part of the Vampire Association of California?"
"Oh, only about three hundred eighty-seven, actually we need to add six to that number with you folks joining us."
Rex and Bella both started counting on their fingers to add the numbers together. The four of us were used to it by now. I, personally, thought that the dyscalculia diagnosis was the best thing ever for Bella. She pouted for weeks after she was first diagnosed because she was so embarrassed. It took Rex to talk to her and tell her that she was still smart and that she just processed her numbers differently.
"Um, three hundred ninety-three?" Rex asked.
"That's right," Ginger confirmed. "We dearly need your assistance. Mr. Jenks's family has been handling our paperwork for five generations. He told us that his daughter, son-in-law, and his sister were next in line to assist us. We didn't realize that you were vampires. Well, come on, let me introduce you to everyone."
We followed Ginger around and were introduced to maybe two hundred vampires—that was everyone that was at the venue tonight. We met doctors, construction workers, nurses, beauticians, police officers, school teachers, psychiatrists, accountants, small business owners, mechanics, plumbers, electricians, and even a dentist who also had evening hours two nights a week to work on vampires.
"But vampires don't need to see a dentist," I pointed out to him.
"That's the common thought, but it's simply not true. Although it's impossible for vampires to get cavities, we still need to brush our teeth, floss, and get two cleanings a year due to plaque buildup."
I instantly covered my mouth, I hadn't brushed my teeth since my change.
Rex and Bella hi-fived each other. They both had looks of vindication upon their faces. We all used to laugh at the two of them, Riley, Mike, Claude, and Tony for continuing to brush and floss their teeth as vampires. It was a human habit that they simply couldn't break.
"Told ya so," Bella muttered.
"Shut up!" I growled.
"Touchy, touchy. Your teeth won't be as bad as Jasper's. He's way older than you."
"Oh my God! If Jasper's teeth are bad, mine are going to be atrocious. They didn't have toothbrushes when I was human," Tanya gasped.
"Don't worry, Thomas here is over seven hundred years old and I was able to fix his teeth up just fine."
"Um, I'm over a thousand years old," Tanya pointed out.
"Maybe we should get you in tonight after the mixer." He took a penlight and started peeking in poor Tanya's mouth. "Uh, yes, definitely after the mixer."
After a few more hours of chatting with everyone, the mixer ended. Tanya wanted to go straight to the dentist, but she refused to go alone so we all tagged along. She wouldn't sit down in the chair and, after seeing the equipment, I was fully on her side. So were Emmett and Jasper.
The dentist, Gene, had Bella sit in the chair and get a cleaning done to show us all how simple the process was. The four of us were still wary so Rex went next. It seemed easy enough. I took a deep breath and sat in the chair. It actually wasn't too bad, but the grinding and whirring noises were really intimidating. Emmett went after me. The idiot actually had a cavity from when he was still human that he had to get filled with some sort of special resin infused with filtered venom particles that Gene had invented.
After Emmett, we finally got Tanya in the chair. The dentist told her that she'd have to come for cleanings every month until he got her teeth back on par. Emmett and I were on a six week cleaning schedule. Bella and Rex only had to return in six months because, according to Gene, he'd never seen teeth so meticulously cared for—human or vampire.
Now, all we had to do was get Jasper in the chair. The great Major of the Southern Wars was cowering in the corner freaking out. It took Rex, Emmett, and Gene to physically pick him up and sit his ass down, then all five of us had to hold him down just so Gene could take a look. He kept begging Gene to knock him out, but he was told that there was no vampire anesthesia that he could think of. When all was said and done, Jasper had no cavities, but needed to come in for a cleaning every six weeks along with me and Emmett.
Gene gave each of us a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss, then said he'd bill us later for the procedures. He also suggested that Jasper, Tanya, Em, and I invest in electric toothbrushes. Oh my God, who knew being a vampire would be this complicated.
Instead of going home, we all headed to Jasper and Bella's house afterwards because we needed to talk. Clearly, none of us were expecting Jenks to refer clients to us. On top of that, all six of us were kind of freaked out by the sheer amount of vampires that we had come in contact with today. What the fuck?
Bella's cell phone started ringing. "Hello?" she answered.
"Hey, baby girl, it's your granddaddy. You sure had a big night, didn't you?"
"Yeah, couldn't you warn me?"
"Nope, it wasn't in the stars. Sush and I both knew that this move of yours to California would bring about something big for the six of you. Now, go look inside the closet in the office, the one you've never even opened. Use your house key to open it. I think there's something for you there. I love you and I'll be up to visit over Thanksgiving, okay?"
"Okay, I love you, too."
"Good girl. Now lemme talk to Rosie."
Bella passed the phone to me.
"Hey, Pete, what's up?"
"There's a fucking '67 Shelby sitting in a junkyard in East Los Angeles scheduled for destruction. Can you check it out, see if it's in good enough shape for us to tinker with, and if it is, pick it up for me?"
"Sure, no problem. Text me the info on it."
"Go in the morning, okay?"
"Okay, Pete. Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
"It's a Shelby."
"I know! I'll handle it, okay?"
"Okay. Bye. And uh, Rosie?"
"What?"
"I miss you."
"Now that might be three of the most heartfelt words I've ever heard you say to me, Pete."
"Yeah, well, it's true. It sucks not being able to work on cars with you. You do have a garage at your house out in L.A., don't you?"
"Of course I do. And, uh, I miss you, too."
"I'm hanging up, I don't want anyone thinking I'm turning soft. Bye." Click.
"Aw, now that was sweet," Tanya gushed.
"Holy motherfucking shit!" Bella yelled from the office.
We all rushed to see what she was going on about. She had the closet door wide open and she was sitting cross legged inside, staring at the contents. It seemed to be a filing room filled with files. There was also brand new forgery equipment sitting on the shelves. Bella reached up and pulled down a lone manila envelope. Inside, was a disc. Jasper booted up his laptop, inserted it, and hit play.
Jenks appeared on the screen. He was very old, but still spry.
"Surprise, my chosen ones!" he greeted. "So, Jasper, Rosalie, and Bella—you three are going to be taking over my business. I told you, previously, that Beverly Hills has the highest concentration of vampires in the United States, there's a reason for that. You can build secure fortresses like the one I had built for you and the public isn't any wiser because there are so many like it in the neighborhood. On top of that, no one bats an eyelash if you haven't aged because so many humans get plastic surgery there. But, Beverly Hills isn't the only place with a high concentration of vampires, I probably should have said California as a whole. Have I shocked the three of you, yet?"
All six of us nodded our heads up and down at the screen.
"So, let me break things down for you. The closet in the office contains files on the vampires in California. Five generations of my family have been handling their documents and carefully guarding their secrets. This responsibility now falls to you three. Jasper and Bella feel a sense of obligation so they'll do it. Now, Rose, knowing you like I do, you're probably saying to yourself, "Why the fuck do I have to do this?"
I stood up and yelled, "Oh my God! What the hell? Why the fuck do I have to do this?"
"I'll tell you why you have to do this. You made a promise to my father that you would guard his secrets for all of eternity when he taught you how to forge your own documents. You also told him that should anything happen to me or him, you would take over the forgery business. Now, did you just say that so he would teach you how to fake your own identity or are you an honorable woman Mrs. Rosalie Lillian Hale McCarty?"
Jasper paused the video. Emmett raised his eyebrow at me. Everyone else just stared at me. "I'm honorable," I said, simply. Jasper hit play again.
"I knew you were honorable, I was just testing you. You can still run an auto repair shop, just do this part time. Now, let me tell you about the vampires in California. They're all a peaceful bunch. None of them have ever been in trouble with the law and all of them have managed to successfully live under the radar for many years. They've settled permanently in California without the humans around them becoming suspicious about them not aging. All of these vampires work hard, therefore, when it comes to fees, I charge them based on their income. I have a sliding fee scale that I use. The chart is in the file cabinet. The Vampire Association of California has a fund to assist those who need help paying for the documents. Don't ever tell any of the less wealthy vampires that they don't have to pay, they're very proud and become easily offended. Work something out with them, barter their services in exchange for yours, or work out a payment plan with them. My fee chart is also in the file cabinet. This chart only applies to the vampires in California. The most important part of this business is you accept cash only. No checks, credit cards, or anything that can be traced. Jasper, I know that you know how to make assets disappear from under the radar of Uncle Sam. Your skills will come in handy here."
"Fuck me, this guy had everything all figured out," Rex commented.
"Since we're on the topic of clients, there's one in particular that I hope you can help. His name is Juan Gonzalez. He was only sixteen years old when he was changed in Mexico. He can't read or write very well, but he's a hard worker. He usually works at various fast food restaurants and many of the vampires hire him to do odd jobs so he can make some extra cash. He lives in a trailer that I sold to him for a hundred dollars. Yeah, I know they cost more, but I felt really bad for him. This is where you come in, Jasper. Manuel knows you. He said that he was changed to fight in some vampire war in Texas and a kind vampire, known simply as the Major, told him to run before he had to end his life. I'm assuming that you're the Major he's talking about. I'd like for you to visit him with Bella and convince him to earn his GED so that he can get a better paying job. He can't keep working for minimum wage, I'm sure you agree with me. I'm sure you'll be able to convince him somehow. Please do this for me."
"Jasper, do you remember him?" Em asked.
"Yeah, I do. Maria told me to cull him, but I just couldn't do it. He was just so young and friendly. I gave him some money and told him to run to California. I told him that he'd be safe there because I knew that Maria never ventured to that state. It looks like he took my advice."
"Jasper, if you convince him, I'll tutor him," Tanya offered. "I'm at home during the day anyway."
"I'll help, too," Emmett offered.
"That'll be great."
Jasper pressed play, once again.
"So, make me proud. Enjoy law school. Rose, I'm pretty sure you've enrolled in law school, too. You'll make a fantastic lawyer; especially in litigation—you'll intimidate the hell out of the other side. Remember, and this goes for all three of you, show no fear during court proceedings—ever! And always keep your poker face on. Isabella, you should probably work behind the scenes because you tend to wear your feelings on your sleeve. You can't pretend to be cold and unfeeling like Jasper and Rose can."
Bella paused the video. "Am I really like that?" she asked.
"Yes, you and Rex are both like that," Tanya confirmed. "Even when you dealt with Maria, you showed every emotion under the sun. Your emotions alone must be a wet dream for an empath like Jasper."
"Huh, interesting," Bella pondered, then clicked play again.
"Well, that's about it. Good luck with the family business. Remember, I'll be watching you from up above, or down below, or wherever the hell God decides to put me so don't fuck up. I'm proud of you kids."
Jenks winked and smiled at us, then abruptly shut the camcorder off. I couldn't help myself, I started sobbing, so did Bella, and Tanya. Jasper remained stoic, but his eyes were wet with venom tears. After a few minutes, we all started discussing Jenks's final message to us and the group of vampires we met at the mixer tonight.
"Well, guys, tons of shit happened tonight. How the hell are we going to deal with it? I mean, we can't very well leave these vampires to fend for themselves. It wouldn't be fair if we only used the talent that Jenks taught us to forge documents for ourselves only," Jasper pointed out. He was running his fingers through both my hair and Bella's—he did this to relax himself.
"I agree, you guys really should do this for the vampire community here," Rex said.
"Same here," Emmett agreed.
"Well, I'm glad that you two feel that way," Jasper said. "Because you two and Tanya are going to learn how to forge documents too. Rose, Bella, and I can't possibly forge three hundred and ninety-three documents for the Vampire Association of Greater Los Angeles and our family in Texas by ourselves."
"What?" Rex protested. "Why the hell do I have to do it too?"
"Because if it weren't for you finding that mixer online, we wouldn't be mixed up in this business, that's why. Why the fuck you and Bella went to a vampire mixer, I have no idea. Sheesh, you two are so weird sometimes."
"Hey, Bellsy, Rex, there's a Star Trek Convention next weekend. Wanna go?" Emmett asked.
I rolled my eyes. My mate was another weirdo.
"Sure," Bella said excitedly. "Can we dress as Klingons this time?"
"Okay, Sissy."
"Bella, can't you do something girly like get your nails done or something? And your hair looks like shit again. You'd better run a brush through it before Irina comes up for her visit in three weeks or she'll bitch at you to no end," Tanya pointed out.
"I just got my nails done with Rex. He makes me go for a manicure when he gets his weekly ones," Bella pointed out.
"Weekly manicures, Rex?" I asked, incredulously. "Do you realize that you're more high maintenance than Tony? And he's gay!"
"I've always been more high maintenance than Tony. It takes a lot to look this good."
"Fuck me, you and Riley should move in together. He still wears deodorant."
"Doesn't everybody?" Rex asked, quizzically.
We all had a good chuckle, then went back to the topic. We agreed that the six of us would run this as a family business. No other family members would be privy to any of this information, which meant that the office would be kept under lock and key with a security camera guarding the door at all times. Edward was the exception. So far, he was the only lawyer in the family, and we would need his help, considering that four of us were still in law school and two haven't even started yet.
Emmett's POV
Rosie left to check out the Shelby for Pete about an hour ago. She took Jasper's truck in case there were some parts she could use at the junkyard. We were all still hanging out at Jasper and Bella's, reeling from the shock of last night's events. Tanya and Bella were sitting in the dining room trying to figure out the best way to decorate a lamp with Swarovski Crystals. This was Tanya's new business venture. She noticed that everyone in Los Angeles liked sparkly things so she decided to make and sell sparkly things. Jasper, Rex, and I were vegged out in the family room watching a football game.
I couldn't help, but think back to last night's mixer. Rose and Tanya rushed in there looking all feral. Jasper and I went to park the Hummer, then quickly walked into the building. Two bouncers pointed us upstairs. I think that's when we both noticed that the bouncers were vampires and the people trying to get up the stairs were all vampires too. We heard Rose and Tanya screaming their heads off, so we pushed through the line, walked upstairs, and were greeted by even more vampires.
After talking to these vampires, I realized that Carlisle had it all wrong. Sure, vampires weren't as prevalent as humans, but there were more of us than Carlisle knew. He was also wrong about all of the moving around that we did, too. It simply wasn't necessary. There were ways around it and these vampires in California figured it out. On top of that, we could have friends, play sports, and lead normal lives instead of packaging our family up in one big group and hanging out with only them. This was a much healthier way of existing.
Jasper's intercom chimed to rouse me out of my thoughts. He went to answer it.
"Hi! This is Vinnie from last night."
"Uh, sure, let me buzz you in."
A minute later, there was a knock on the door, Jasper opened it, and about ten vampires about our age walked inside. A couple of them had footballs in their hands.
Vinnie introduced us to everyone. "So, are you guys coming or what?"
"To what?" I asked.
"I told you last night, we're going to play some ball in Valencia."
"Sure, I'm game," Jasper stated.
"I'm up for it too. Jasper, I need to borrow some sneakers," Rex said.
"Help yourself, they're in my room."
Tanya and Bella came scuttling out of the kitchen to check out the commotion. The men instantly turned to my gorgeous sister and the alluring succubus with huge friendly grins on their faces. The girls both smiled and waved.
"We're going to go play some football in Valencia, babe," Jasper told Bella, pecking her on her cheek.
"You do that, honey." Bella winked and waved us all off. "Have fun."
A minute later, we were in my Hummer in a caravan of four vehicles to Valencia, California. When we arrived at the sprawling field there were about ten other vampires waiting for us, all ready to play some football. Shit, Riley and Mike would eat this shit right up.
We actually played tackle football. We had to put back together a couple of dismembered limbs, but it was all in the name of fun. Afterwards, we headed to Jim's house—he's the guy that owned the field. We sat and drank some liquor and talked. There were so many different stories of change that it was mind-boggling. In Jim's case, he was changed during a drought when a vampire came across him, felt bad for his situation, and changed both him and his wife who turned out to be his mate. The land in Valencia has been in his family since 1825. He was changed in the 1930's during the Great Depression. He's an orange farmer and employs only vampires.
Then, there was Vinnie. He was actually from Brooklyn, New York. He was in a major car accident in 1989 while he was delivering some pizzas. Fortunately, Angelo saw the whole thing. Angelo and he had been best friends since they were kids. He had disappeared the year before when a drunk female vampire decided to change him during a trip to Chicago. He had just gained control of his bloodlust, and come home to Brooklyn, when he witnessed Vinnie in a head-on collision with a mack truck. Angelo changed him right then and there and ran Vinnie across the country to California while he was still changing and screaming his head off. A member of the Vampire Association of California came across them and helped them to get settled in. They actually owned and operated a popular pizza joint in Los Angeles. They couldn't eat the stuff, but they could make pizzas and subs blindfolded because their fathers owned competing pizza shops in Brooklyn.
We told them about ourselves and about our family in Texas. Everyone was excited to meet the few that would be visiting us over the holidays. We told them about Riley and Mike. One of the guys said he actually played football against Riley while he was attending USC. He said that Riley was a scary and fast motherfucker that could have gone pro. We told him that we're pretty sure that he would have been chased off of any NFL team for being so high maintenance about his appearance. I mean for fuck's sake, he gets his hair trimmed once every ten days by Claude.
I dropped Jasper and Rex off at their homes a few hours later. We all had probably one of the best times ever since we'd been changed. All in all, I thought the move to California was probably the greatest decision that we'd ever made.
Three weeks later...
Carlisle's POV
A few of us were visiting California. I, for one, couldn't wait to see my two girls. I missed them so much. I knew that I had to let them go, though. One of the things that I learned during my marriage with Esme was that the tighter I held on to someone that I loved, the more likely it was that I would lose her. It was what happened between me and Esme. She held on so tight that I wasn't given the freedom to grow. Chelsea wasn't anything like Esme, she was the complete opposite. She never told me what to do and I was the same way with her. When I decided to get back into medicine, she backed me up a hundred percent, just like I did when she decided to open an adult toy store with Charlotte.
I wasn't surprised at all when Jasper and Bella decided to go to law school at Jenks's alma mater. They owed it to him. The man had singlehandedly managed to keep Bella safe for her entire childhood. I was so naïve about Alice back then. I trusted her implicitly and, never once, thought that she could be so vindictive. Alice, on her part, felt dreadful about her actions, especially in light of the way Bella had forgiven her. Riley, Sush, and I have been trying to figure out how to handle mental disorders in vampires so we could help Alice. Riley was pretty sure that she suffered from bipolar disorder on top of her NPD. If she were human, we could deliver medication to her, but as a vampire, it was impossible.
Riley, Vicky, Peter, Charlotte, Laurent, Irina, Tony, Claude, Chelsea, and I had just landed at the airport. We were all going to be staying at Jasper and Bella's house. They apparently had a monstrosity of a house in Beverly Hills built for them by Mr. Jenks. We had rented two cars and had just arrived at their house. I pushed the button to the gates leading to their house. One gate opened up, then a second, and we were able to drive in.
We pulled to a stop in front of their house which looked like it should be featured on 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,' and got out.
"Motherfucker!" Tony commented in awe at the structure. Before we could even press the doorbell, Jasper, Bella, Rex, Tanya, Emmett, and Rose came bounding outside to give us all hugs. I wanted to hug Bella, but Laurent wasn't giving her up anytime soon. Selfish bastard.
We walked inside their beautiful home and were shown to our rooms. After that, we were given a tour of their house. Jasper said that we could all hang out and watch a game in the jacuzzi. I was definitely all for that. He also said that we were going to play some tackle football this weekend with everyone. That could work, with eight of us guys, I was pretty sure that we could get a good game going. We never counted Claude in with the guys, he liked to be counted with the women.
We had just settled into the living room when the doorbell rang.
"Yo! It's us, let us in!" a thick Brooklyn accented voice called. Jasper pushed the button to let whoever it was in.
"Visitors?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah. Everyone wanted to meet you guys." Jasper said.
Well, that's really nice. Jasper must have made some human friends at law school who wanted to meet us.
"Chelsea, try not to mate anyone, honey," I said.
"Carlisle, I deal with humans all day long."
"Yep, that's what worries me, sweetheart," I murmured, kissing her on the lips.
A couple of minutes later, he opened the door and those of us visiting were all shocked to the core. About twenty vampires came walking into the house carrying booze. We men moved our mates behind us to protect them. Oddly, whenever this happens, Chelsea and Claude move me and Tony behind them after we initially move them behind us. I guess it makes sense, Chelsea and Claude were stronger than me and Tony. Besides, it's the initial thought that counts. Tony and I would protect our mates if we could. Over the next hour, more and more trickled in until there were about fifty guests making themselves at home in the house. Jasper, Bella, Emmett, Rose, Rex, and Tanya were so busy greeting everyone that they didn't have a chance to explain anything to us.
"So, Jay, introduce us to your family," one of the guys requested. They all turned to face us.
Jasper finally introduced us all to them. It turned out these were their new friends in California, all members of the The Vampire Association of California that has been in existence since 1849. I nearly collapsed when I learned that there were three hundred ninety-three members in all, living completely in peace, and permanently, in California. The members spanned all different professions, from doctors to farmers to a life coach. What the hell is a life coach?
Tanya introduced us all to a dentist named Doctor Gene Fange, yes, that's his real name. I was fascinated to learn that vampires needed to partake in oral hygiene, too. Apparently, Emmett had to get a filling for a cavity that he had left from the time he was human. He took a quick peek in our mouths. We were all going to see him tomorrow evening at seven pm for our very first dental appointments as vampires and for some of us, like me and Chelsea, the first time ever.
Suddenly, one of the vampires recognized Victoria. "Hey! I know you!"
"You do? From where?" she asked.
"I'm Angelo. Your name's Victoria. You're my maker. You changed me while I was visiting my cousin in Chicago. We had a good time together, didn't we, babe?"
"I don't recall..."
"Aw, come on. It was 1988, we met at a bar called Butch McGuire's and you were chugging Irish Whiskey from a bottle. You were already three sheets to the wind when I met you, and you started telling me about some asshole named James who kept cheating on you. We both got really shit faced and started dancing on a table and got thrown out of the place when we started taking our clothes off. You told me that you wanted to get back at James and I told you to go ahead and use me. So, you threw me onto your back, ran me into the woods, and we went wild and crazy. You asked me if I wanted to be your vampire and I said..."
Vicky interrupted, "And you said, 'whatever floats your boat, babe,' so I changed you. Then, I told you not to venture out into the daylight, only feed at night, and left before James found me missing. I'm so sorry. I was drunk, foolish, and careless."
"Don't be. I died having sex, and great sex, too. Every guy dreams of that. On top of that, if you didn't change me into a vampire, my buddy Vinnie here would be dead. It was fate, I was meant to be a vampire. So, don't sweat it, I'm happy. Anyway, whatever happened to that asshole James?"
"Oh, Jasper and Emmett killed him. He tried to kill Bella."
"No way!"
"Um, yes way."
"Man, I would have clobbered someone for trying to kill Bells."
"Thanks, Angelo!" Bella yelled from the kitchen. Just what the hell is my daughter doing?
"So, do you have a mate?" Angelo asked Vicky.
"I do, he's the guy standing by the wall over there growling at you and being held back by Jasper and Emmett. Riley meet Angelo. Angelo meet Riley."
"Whoa! You're the guy that Brent said he knew. Brent! Where the fuck are you?"
"What is it?" Brent asked.
"I just met Riley Biers. You're right, he is a scary motherfucker. He keeps growling at me for some reason."
"Brent Sanderson! Dude! What's up?" Riley snapped out of his growling and greeted his friend. "Brent played ball for USC when I was playing for Washington. Our stats were neck and neck each season."
"You're coming this weekend to play football with us, right? We have about thirty guys together so far. They all signed on as soon as they heard you were visiting. We should be able to get a good game going. You take one team, I'll take the other. What do you say?"
"You've got it man. I haven't played real football in ages."
We all walked around socializing and getting to know these nice vampires. I actually met quite a few doctors at the party. I always thought I was unique in being a vampire and a doctor, but these guys said it was no big deal really. According to them, it was actually a fairly normal profession for vampires to become involved in because it didn't require outdoor activity. It actually made sense, that's why I chose medicine in the first place.
For years, I had thought that the coven that I created was unique in it's way of existing, but it appeared that I was wrong in my assumptions. Before Bella came along, we virtually secluded ourselves from society, and especially from vampires other than the Denalis. When Esme and Rose started working outside of the house, after we abandoned Bella in Forks, things started to change. It was the start of everyone developing their own sense of self. When we came across Bella again, five years later, she was with Riley, Vicky, Laurent, and Irina. The way they lived was so different from the way Esme and I lived. They constantly interacted with humans and they pursued their own interests instead of living in seclusion. They showed us there was a new way to live, but these vampires in California were even more different.
They virtually had their own society within a human society, and they managed to combine the two successfully. For example, with sports, they couldn't really go out and participate with humans, but they had their own little sports leagues. They had tennis, golf, basketball, baseball, boxing, you name it. For football, they had a group of guys that gathered together when they could on the weekends so they could play. They didn't wait for thunderstorms and what not so as not to arouse suspicion amongst humans, they just went and did it.
A few hours later, the guests all left and we settled in so we could finally talk to our family in California.
"So, how in heck did you come across these vampires?" Riley asked.
"Well, it was actually Bella and Rex," Emmett replied. "You see, what happened was, they decided to go to a vampire mixer on Halloween thinking it was some sort of a mixer for humans pretending to be vampires. They went dressed in capes and fake fangs and everything. When they got there, they were segregated into groups by the bouncers. They were sent upstairs with the real vampires and the humans were sent downstairs for their pretend vampire mixer. And, that's how it all started. They really are a cool bunch of guys, aren't they?"
"Yeah, they are. So, when are we playing football with them?"
"Saturday, up in Valencia."
"Good, I want to run through drills with you guys before we meet up with them. I'm not losing to Brent Sanderson."
"Riley, it's just a game."
"No it isn't."
Geez, Riley became so competitive when it came to football.
"So, Vicky, tell us more about what happened with that guy Angelo." Char wagged her eyebrows at Vicky. Riley started growling again.
"Oh my God! That was so embarrassing. Um, I was pissed off at James because he took off on one of his expeditions. That's what he called his trips when he went to visit his whores. Laurent wasn't around because he was in Massachusetts visiting his wife's grave. Anyway, I had already had about twelve bottles of tequila when I went to the bar in Chicago and I was completely gone. You know how I don't do well with tequila. When I got to the bar, I ordered some Irish Whiskey and well...you know the rest of the story. I feel so horrible."
"Aw, Vicky, we've all done stupid things in the past. Trust me, I've got a ton of stories that I'm not proud of," Jasper soothed.
"So, do we really have to go to the dentist tomorrow night?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, and it really isn't that bad," Bella shrugged.
Somehow, looking at Jasper, Tanya, Emmett, and Rose's horror filled faces, I didn't think that Bella was being forthright.
The next evening...
Now, I know what it's like to be a patient instead of a doctor and I don't like it. I don't like it at all. Riley, Claude, and Tony passed their dental exams with flying colors, but the rest of us—dear God in heaven, our teeth were put through the wringer. It hurt. It was fucking painful! I had three cavities that had to be filled—left over from when I was human. Then he took some metal instruments with a titanium attachment and started scouring my teeth as if they were dirty pots and pans. I actually bawled like a baby. Claude had to hold me afterwards to reassure me because it hurt so much. My mate refused to give me any comfort stating that I had to man up and grow some balls. Sometimes she can be so mean.
Afterwards, Riley and I went out for drinks with our new dentist friend, Gene. The rest of the gang decided to do a bit of sightseeing. Gene called a few of his buddies, all of whom were in the medical field, and I felt like an idiot. Why? Because there was so much that I didn't know about medicine or vampirism. One of the vampires, a female named Lorena, was actually a psychiatrist. From her, I learned that psychiatric disorders in vampires were about as common as they were in humans.
"Think about it, Carlisle, when we become vampires, venom courses through our veins and repairs any ailments we had as humans. Physically we become more capable than we ever thought possible; all of our senses become intensified. Our brain capacity becomes endless because our neurons become more enhanced. If you think on this wavelength, any human emotional, mental, psychological, or psychiatric disorders we had while we were human becomes more enhanced."
"That would explain a lot," Riley sighed. "I'm a clinical psychologist as well as a physician. For years, I've been counseling my family on various psychological disorders or issues ranging from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Frankly, I thought that my family was unique in their emotional troubles."
"That simply isn't the case," Lorena stated. "PTSD is the most common disorder amongst vampires. For many, the trauma of becoming a vampire is enough to cause PTSD. I've counseled quite a few vampires with PTSD."
"What about Narcissistic Personality Disorder?" I asked. "Currently, we have a female within our family that suffers from a severe case of NPD. Riley suspects that she also suffers from Bipolar Disorder. He and I are learning quickly that we simply aren't equipped to handle her case."
"First of all, if she's within your coven, you're both too close to her to make any major progress with either disorders. Vampires must be handled differently. Does she have any gifts?"
"Yes, she's a seer. She has visions. With her visions, she has a tendency to become overconfident, especially when the family becomes too reliant on what she sees."
"I'm sorry to say this, but she needs to be separated from her family for a while in order to make any progress. I take it with both disorders, she's shunned many family members."
"Yes, there are quite a few who refuse to have anything to do with her. She's hurt many members of our family in the past."
"I can help her, but she'll have to come to California. Does she have a mate?"
"Yes, he'll be very receptive about helping her."
"She'll have to come alone, and live with me and my mate. Since vampires don't have hospitals, our in-patients stay with us in our house. We have two rooms that we use as a private in-patient clinic for vampires. We only have in-patients every ten years or so. My mate is also a psychiatrist, he has a home office so he's home all day. We also call one of our friends who's a registered nurse to watch the patient while he's seeing clients."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Riley said. "I'll bring it up to her when we get home. Um, how much do you charge for this sort of thing?"
"Well, obviously, vampires don't have health insurance, but they also cost less than a human patient too. The average cost for a human psychiatric in-patient is roughly eight-hundred dollars a day. We charge five-hundred dollars per day for treatment. Of course, if they're financially unable to afford the fee, we do offer a sliding scale, and the Vampire Association of California have a fund to assist with this type of thing."
"Oh, no, that won't be necessary. They can manage."
"How long will the treatment take?"
"It depends on the patient, but on average, a patient with Narcissistic Personality Disorder will take approximately three to four months until she can cope with her disorder. We'll also have to have some of her family members who we deem are important in helping her to overcome her disorder fly up for a session or two—that's only if they are willing. If they aren't willing, she'll have to learn to cope with that possibility as well. It's extremely important that those family members choose on their own and are not guilted into interacting with her. It'll only make things worse. Her mate is a given, of course."
"Of course," Riley said.
"I'll also be working with you. I take it that you've been her primary counselor?"
"Yes, for roughly thirty years now."
"Thirty years?" she asked, amazed. "My God, she needs help immediately. How are you holding up? This can't be easy for you."
"I'm fine. I have ways of relieving my stress and I never hold my feelings in. I learned that lesson long ago. You're right, though, I'm too close to the patient to offer her any adequate counseling. I'll refer her to you as soon as I return home to Texas."
Riley had just lied to Lorena. He wasn't fine. I knew he wasn't fine. He's been increasingly short tempered and it's always after he sees Alice for counseling.
"That's fine. Here's my card. We can discuss the patient in detail later." Riley and I both gave our business cards to Lorena. She filed them away in her purse. Hopefully, Alice will finally be able to get the help that she needs.
Two days later...
Riley's POV
I had just finished handing Brent Sanderson his ass during a friendly game of tackle football and we were now gathered in Jim's house pounding back a few and talking.
"You asshole!" Brent joked. "You were fast as a human, but you're even faster as a vampire. Not fair, I'm only average speed for a vampire."
"Sorry, dude. So, how did you get changed?"
"You remember my mate Dina from the party, don't you?"
"I sure do. She's cute."
"Well, it was the summer right after college. I had been drafted by the New York Jets and was getting ready to leave for training camp the next day. I was partying it up with my buddies when I saw her from across the room. I was completely drawn to her. When my buddies and I were getting ready to leave, I bumped into her and I felt tingles running up my arm. I was so drunk that I told her, and she said she felt the same thing. The next thing I knew, we were making out in my car, and she lost control and bit me. And that was it, that's how I became a vampire. Freaky, huh?"
"So, what do you do for work now?"
"I'm a nutritionist at Cedar's Sinai Medical Center."
"That's funny," I chuckled.
"I know, right, but I graduated with a degree in Nutrition Science from USC so that's what I do."
"I have a question, how often do you guys switch jobs and what not?"
"Oh, about every ten to fifteen years or so. The thing about living here is that it's big enough so that you can easily switch jobs and not be found out. Besides, there's such a high turnover that most humans don't stay at the same position for more than five or six years. They go out looking for better and bigger opportunities. There's one guy that's been working at the same hotel for sixty years. No one suspects anything because the longest anyone has stayed has been eight years. He just goes into the personnel files and updates any paperwork every ten years or so."
"Whoa," I said.
We headed back to Bella and Jasper's after that. California was looking really good to me. I wanted to be able to play sports on the weekends and hang out with buddies who weren't my family. Besides, I missed Bella like crazy. Those of us here this weekend were the ones who missed the six who moved here the most. We understood their reason for moving. They wanted change, and above all, they craved privacy. Everyone in this state seemed to have that. They didn't live in big groups. There were no covens. Usually it was just one mated couple living together and establishing roots. It was all so normal. I liked it.
They had everything figured out and had a huge support system too. They knew how to get around the sun without attracting attention. They just told people that they have Polymorphous Light Eruption Syndrome, or sun allergy, and their employers completely understood why they were covered from head to toe when they arrive at work and made sure that they aren't placed in work areas near any windows or outside. Apparently, many humans in California suffer from sun allergy. I still liked Bella and Jasper's way the best. They dressed up in Arab headgear when it was sunny out. The thing about Los Angeles, though, is that even when it was sunny out, you could easily go out without detection due to the air pollution. I noticed that the smog doesn't allow the sun to filter through so when the smog index is high, you could generally go out in your normal attire as long as you were prepared.
"You're pretty quiet, Riley," Jasper noted. "What's up with you?"
"Let's go for a walk," I suggested.
"Alright, come on."
"What's up, Rye? Your feelings have been all over the place today."
"Are you happy, Jasper? Here, in California, I mean."
"Yeah, I am."
"What about Bella? Is she happy?"
"She's happy, she has lots of activities to keep her busy here. For fuck's sake, she and Rex are taking Underwater Basketweaving for college credit."
"For real? That's a real class?"
"Yep, leave it to those two whack jobs to sign up for it." Jasper paused for a moment before noting, "You're not happy, though. What's wrong?"
"I'm sick of my life Jasper! I really am. I'm a doctor and I have a license in clinical psychology, yes, but the whole family seems to want me to solve their problems. It's stressful when it's your family instead of outside clients, it adds a new dimension to everything! Then there's the privacy thing. I'm obligated to keep everyone's secrets, but that puts me into an uncomfortable position. I don't mind counseling when it's something easy, but when you've got shit like Alice's NPD it takes a toll on you. She did more shit to Bella than even Jenks knew about. She admitted them all to me which tells me that she really is making a genuine effort to get better, but still—I can't be the one hearing her out. Bella's my sister! Fuck! I need goddamned counseling myself to get over all of this shit!"
I was losing my shit in the middle of a residential street in Beverly Hills. I think hanging out and letting loose made me consider my options and I just flipped out all of a sudden.
"Come here," Jasper said, then abruptly pulled me into his arms and held me while I cried it out. I was crying, for the first time as a vampire—I was crying. I just realized how fucking unhappy I was with my life. I wanted to go on a fucking ten year honeymoon like Bella and Jasper. I wanted to explore my options. Above all, I wanted to get away from it all.
"I can't take it anymore, bro," I sobbed into his arms as we parked our asses on someone's lawn.
"Riley, I've been alive a long time, and I've seen and gone through shit you never want to experience. I used to be like you, I used to want to solve everyone's problems. I used to think that if I could only get everyone to live in harmony, then I would be happy. I realized that it simply wasn't possible for me to solve everyone's problems—it wasn't my responsibility. A great man once said that I can't be responsible for everyone because, in the end, everyone is responsible for his or her own choices and the consequences that accompany them."
"Who was that?" I asked.
"It was you, Riley. That's what you told me before I moved to California. You don't owe anyone any explanations. Go and live life for yourself with Vicky. Take a long vacation. Use any of my properties—just go and be happy, bro. Bella and I will be waiting for you, just like you've always waited for us."
A minute later, Vicky came rushing towards me with Pete and Bella on her heels. "Riley? Are you okay? I got worried. I felt the pull."
"I'm fine, hon. I was just feeling stressed, but Jasper helped me work everything out. Everything is going to be better now, I promise."
And I knew it would be. I was going to take Jasper's advice and run with it. It was time for me to start living life for me and Vicky. Hell, she needed a break too. We'd finish off the school year and start planning. That would give me enough time to get Alice into therapy and tie up any loose ends.
"Just make sure you send a postcard from wherever you take off to, okay kid? Don't be assholes like Jasper and Bella," Peter sighed. My clairvoyant great-grandfather must have known this was coming.
I couldn't wait to see where Vicky and I were headed for next.
Our vampires got a heck of a shock when they arrived in California, didn't they? And Mr. Jenks was a devious one, he basically gave Jasper, Bella, and Rose no choice, but to take over the family business. What do you think of their 387 new vampire friends? What did you think of Carlisle's thoughts? He was given a new outlook on vampirism, don't you think? Do you think that Bella did the right thing in forgiving Alice? Do you think Lorena will finally be able to give Alice the help that she so desperately needs? Do you think Riley will be able to convince her to go? Do you think Jasper was right in telling Riley to go live his life for himself for once? Let me know your thoughts on this chapter. I promise to respond. :) XOXO mama4dukes
A/N: I've gotten several requests for a listing of the vampires in Life Happens, So Just Roll With It, and their ages. So, without further ado, I shall post the list down below. Obviously, this is an OOC story so their ages will be modified.
Jasper Whitlock (age 20)
Isabella Swan-Biers Piper Whitlock (age 22)
Emmett McCarty (age 20)
Rosalie Hale McCarty (age 18)
Carlisle Cullen (age 23)
Chelsea Cullen (age 22)
Peter Piper Whitlock (age 27)
Charlotte Piper Whitlock (age 17)
Riley Piper Swan-Biers (age 23)
Victoria Swan-Biers (age 24)
Rex Fantasia Whitlock (age 29)
Tanya Denali Whitlock (age 17)
Tony Fantasia Whitlock (age 37)
Claude Whitlock (age 41)
Laurent Denali (age 24)
Irina Denali (age 22)
Garrett Denali (age 22)
Katie Denali (age 23)
Eleazar Denali (age 27)
Carmen Denali (age 26)
Edward Masen (age 17)
Amanda Paine Masen (age 23)
Michael Newton (age 22)
Alice Brandon Newton (age 19)
Alistair Rothchilde(age 28)
Esme Platt Rothchilde (age 26)
Amar Desai (age 24)
Amrita Desai (age 21)
Sahil Desai (age 22)
Sushmita Desai (age 17)
Felix Goodwin (age 21)
Gianna Goodwin (age 24)
Marcus Volturi (age 20)
Renata Volturi (age 23)