Summary - "Bella is an average girl, struggling with her homosexuality and her life at home. Can the love of not one, but three vampires help show her that she shouldn't be afraid? A/B/R/V".
Author's Notes – Inspired by my dear friend Hollowgo...
Rating - Older Teen to Mature
By: WDG and Lash_Larue
The Garden of Four - Chapter Twenty Nine – Caught With Your Hands in the Cookie Jar…
Bella groped the soft flesh with her hands, pulling while her mouth was otherwise occupied. Rose groaned and tugged at Bella's dark brown hair in hopes of setting the pace a little faster. Bella grunted and picked Rose up from her lap and then pulled her back down a little harder. She couldn't believe they were really doing this in the school bathroom, of all places. All she knew was that as soon as she walked out of her first class Rose had grabbed her and dragged her into the bathroom, saying something about Victoria teasing her and that she couldn't wait. Next thing Bella knew Rose had pulled Bella's pants down and was riding her for all she was worth.
It wasn't long after Bella began to feel Rose's climax settle that she heard the bathroom door being pushed open and the sounds of feet walking on the tiled floor. She was reaching up to cover Rose's mouth with her hand when the door to her stall was forced open, and a smirking Alice and Victoria stood there.
"Oh, both of you are so busted!" Victoria helped Rose off of Bella's lap.
Blushing, she just begun to pull her pants up when Alice made a small joke.
"Yeah, both of you have been caught with your hands in the cookie jar…"
Bella sighed and shook her head before smiling and finishing up getting dressed. All four of them were still giggling when they entered the lunchroom, and Bella held out all of their chairs before finally setting down herself. Opening the lunch her mother had made her, she took in smell before grinning.
"Mmmm, leftover lasagna with breadsticks, God, I love it when she sends me leftovers."
Emmett took that as his cue to crack a joke and said, "You're lucky enough to ever even have leftovers with your black hole of a stomach."
Bella stuck her tongue out. "You're just jealous because I can eat all I want, and you can't, you big old brute."
Edward chuckled and smiled before asking, "So, how is your father doing, Bella?"
Bella turned to him and said, "He seems to be doing fine, he looks a lot more fit and he really is putting away the food like I was when I first started, although I can't really say I have slowed down much on the eating."
Emmett smiled and asked, "So when does the old man want a rematch with me, now that he can really take me on?"
Bella took a drink of her water and said. "I'm not sure, lately he has been spending a lot of time down at the library for some reason. Although I'm not exactly sure, I think it has something to do with a woman, 'cause when he does come home, he smells….well he smells like my dad, but its like there's this light and flowery smell lingering on him, ya know?"
Alice giggled and rubbed Bella's thigh, "I think your father might have found himself someone to spend his time with down at Shelia's school."
Bella sputtered "Say, what, now?"
Alice giggled even more and said, "Awww, no need to get jealous, Bella. Your dad will still spend time with you, it's just that, well, now he wants some love that you just can't give him, if you get my meaning."
Bella blushed and shook her head. "Ewww, I so didn't need to hear that."
Emmett let out a busting laugh once more and Bella flicked a spoonful of sauce at him. Emmett just barely dodged it, and said, "Hey now, come on, it is funny as heck."
Everybody but Bella seemed to think so, at any rate. Bella just didn't care to think of it at all.
Bella sort of half-expected to be ambushed by either Alice or Victoria before the day was out, but gym was done and they were leaving school and nothing more had happened. They did get a kick out of Lauren skipping her shower and trying to sneak out of the locker room unnoticed.
Bella smiled sweetly at her and waved, then kissed Victoria right on the mouth. Lauren ran.
"Hi dad, I'm home!" Bella called as she entered the front door.
"I'm out back, Bells," came the reply, and Bella dumped her books on the couch and went through the back door into the yard.
Charlie was busy around a brand-new, and absolutely huge, grill.
"It's a real beauty, isn't it?" he asked proudly. Bella supposed that it was, it was shiny stainless steel, and had a couple gas burners on the side which were currently occupied by a couple of pots.
"Since when did you learn how to cook, dad? It smells great," Bella admitted.
"I'm a guy, Bells. Grilling is in the genes," Charlie explained. "And Billy and Jake came over and helped me get started. They brought dinner, too."
The Quileutes had welcomed Charlie like a brother when Bella had told them about changing Charlie. Everyone was frankly relieved, since the Quileutes all liked and respected Charlie anyway, and having the chief of police in the know would help them keep their secret from the rest of the people of Forks. It sure wasn't like Charlie could tell anyone now.
"Oh, I feel a little better about dinner then, Billy can cook," Bella allowed.
"Smartass, have fun at school today?"
"I have got to quit blushing," Bella commanded herself. "Usual stuff," she said out loud. "So what's for dinner?"
Charlie lifted the lid on the grill and began basting the huge piece of meat with sauce from one of the pans.
"Elk haunch, Jake killed it last week and it's aged just right. Dinner will be a while yet though, this has to cook kind of slow."
"Well, at least we don't have to worry about cooking it well done any more," Bella joked, and Charlie chuckled and nodded in agreement. Bella's nose quivered, and even with the rich smell of the roasting meat she could pick out that floral scent overlaying Charlie's own.
"So, umm, dad," Bella began uncertainly, "is there, umm, anything sort of – new – in your life that you want to maybe tell me about?"
"I can dunk flatfooted from the foul line now," Charlie answered.
"That's great, Emmett says to bring it on anytime, but I was meaning something maybe a little more, you know, personal…"
"Spit it out Bells, what's on your mind?"
"I was wondering if you maybe had a new lady friend," Bella mumbled.
"What makes you think that?" Charlie asked her.
Bella tapped her nose, and Charlie blushed. Then he sniffed the air and looked at Bella with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, and Bella blushed too.
"New rule," Charlie declared, "if we're gonna keep from going crazy we have to promise each other not to ask any questions based on what we smell on each other. This wolf stuff has a real disadvantage for a father-daughter relationship. I'll tell you about things when I'm ready to, and you can do the same. Deal?"
Bella was bursting with curiosity, but she saw the sense in it. They just did not have an ordinary relationship, and there was no use pretending they did.
"Deal," Bella agreed, "so, what's her name?" Bella couldn't help but try it.
"Welching already," Charlie said, shaking his head, "why don't you go make us a salad, Shelia says greens make your coat shiny."
Bella cracked up and went to the kitchen to make a salad. Charlie whistled happily as he turned the meat.
"Man, that was great, dad! Almost as good as Esme's cooking," Bella told him.
"Thanks kid," Charlie replied. He crunched a large bone with his teeth. "That's kind of fun, I think I'll do that next time I have t-bone at the steak house."
"Be my guest, but don't blame me if you wind up in a zoo somewhere," Bella retorted.
"Oh. Yeah. Bells, I know you think of Esme as your mother, and if you want to call her 'mom' around me I won't get confused. God knows she's been more of a mother to you than Renee ever was."
"Thanks dad. You know, I have heard of worse fathers than you," Bella admitted. Charlie smiled his thanks, he was a little afraid to try and talk just then.
"Go relax dad, I'll clean up," Bella told him, and Charlie grabbed a beer from the fridge and went and turned on the television.
"Lots worse fathers," Bella thought as she washed the dishes,
Renee recognized the return address at once; it was after all the only prison she had intimate acquaintance of. She could only think of one person there who might write to her, and when she opened the letter she found that she was right.
"Hey baby, how's the outside treating you? It's just not the same here without you, and my new cellmate is as ugly as a mud fence, so no need to get all jealous."
Renee was startled to realize that she felt reassured by that statement, and she read on.
"I'm up for parole in a few weeks, and I might actually make it this time. Do you think you can swing it to pick me up when I get out? I really miss you…
Love, Ruby"
Renee walked over to the nearest mirror and examined her tattoo, it was completely healed, and she thought it was very beautiful with the delicate flowers surrounding the claim Ruby had made on her.
She realized that she felt excited at the prospect of seeing Ruby again, perhaps even starting a life with her. She also realized now why she had been so upset with Bella when it became apparent that she was attracted to girls. People despise most in others what they fear most in themselves.
"Renee, you are one hypocritical cunt, you know that?" she said to the woman in the mirror.
The woman in the mirror nodded in agreement.
"Alice says that the Volturi still haven't decided when to come and visit," Carlisle told Charlie that evening when they were all gathered at the Cullens. Apparently someone has been raising a newborn army somewhere in China. The Volturi can't ignore that, the last thing they want is for the Chinese government to start hunting vampires."
"I guess not," Charlie agreed. "Well at least maybe we have a little more time. No sense in dragging our feet though. Can we count on them coming to the house, do you think?"
"I believe so, they know Jane came here, it's the logical starting place, and they know it's fairly isolated," Edward supplied.
"I've got some ideas," Charlie told them, "but at least one of them is going to be kind of expensive. Far more than I have, anyway."
"That won't be a problem, Charlie," Esme assured him.
"Thought maybe not, but I didn't want to presume. First, am I right that you can't be sure a vampire is really dead until he or she has been burned up?"
"Quite right," Jasper confirmed. Jasper had burned a lot of vampires in his day.
"Is it hard to do? I mean, once you get them disassembled and all," Charlie asked.
"It takes a hot fire to get 'em started," Emmett answered smiling at the memory of Jane burning, "but we burn pretty good once we catch."
"Nicely put, Emmett," Victoria said, pretending to throw up.
"Well, he asked," Emmett countered.
"I've got that covered, then," Charlie assured them, "Emmett, how are you with a shovel?"
"Better than a backhoe," Emmett assured him," but not as good as Rosie. Bella ought to be able to dig pretty good too."
"Smartass," Bella growled, but she couldn't help chuckling a bit.
"Since Jane is out of the picture, who are the biggest threats?"
"Alec, Jane's brother," Alice said, "he has a power that can make you go completely deaf and blind. Usually Jane knocks everybody down, Alec renders everybody more or less helpless, and then the fighters do the dirty work. They're very powerful and skilled."
"Especially Felix," Emmett said grimly, "he's an asshole, and he's mine."
"Also Chelsea," Victoria said, "she can break the bonds among allies, and she and Marcus together can then shift allegiances to the Volturi."
"Then there are the leaders, Aro, Caius, and Marcus who Victoria just mentioned," Carlisle said.
"Tanya and her sisters will deal with Aro," Emmett said firmly, "he's the one who passed sentence on their mother. He maybe had what he thought was a reason, but they don't much care about that."
"I've got it figured how to deal with Alec and Chelsea," Bella said, "good thing you've got those paintings. I take it they won't have changed much, huh?"
"Not so you'd notice, no," Carlisle confirmed.
"I'll coordinate with the Quileutes and the lycans," Bella told them, "Jazz, you're going to organize the good guy vampires?"
"Yes, except for Emmett. There is absolutely nothing to do with Emmett except turn him loose," Jasper confirmed.
"I hope none of the wolves gets us confused with the Volturi," Rose said worriedly.
"I've got that covered," Bella said with a grin, "I just need to know how many other Vampires will be on our side. Oh, and their shirt sizes."
"Is there really no chance to avoid a fight?" Esme asked, she was terrified at the thought of losing any of her family.
"They'll have a chance to," Charlie assured her, "but from what you've all told me I don't expect them to take it. We're all agreed that once the fight starts we're bound to finish it, right? None of them escape." Everyone nodded grimly.
"I'll give them a chance to surrender," Bella said. "One chance, and if any of them do they'll have to satisfy Edward that they mean it. I'm not going to have any of us looking over our shoulders when this is done. If they all show up, they all go down. If some of them stay behind we go after them. We're going to finish this once and for all."
Every nodded and broke off to start planning for the war to come. Bella went with Rose, Victoria, and Alice to the family room and spend some time with each other Alice made herself situated in Bella's lap while Rose and Vic nuzzled into her from the sides.
Rubbing her hands up Rose and Vic's back she nuzzld Alice's neck "I love you...I love all of You so much...so please during this fight stay close to me, don't get to far away or pick a fight you can't win... I don't know what i would do if something where to happen to any of you I...I" Bella hadn't felt this emotional in a while, gripping her mates tighter to her she let herself partial shift so she could wrap her tail around Alice.
The girls all wrapped Bella up in their embraces and cuddled closer to their lover. Alice pulled back a little and kissed Bella on the head "Don't worry nothing is going to happen Bella, we will all protect are family and ourselves, I know nothing is going to happen"
Bella nodded and kissed each of girls with a passion before pulling away "When...When this war is over...when all of this is settled and in the dust, I am going to show you all just how much you mean to me...all of you at once no more of this one on one stuff, I love all of you equally and that's a promise I am going to keep to all of you, not that the one on one stuff isn't amazing, its just will I fill its a little unfair to all of you"
End Chapter 29
Wow its been a great ride you guys soon the end is coming near only a few chapters left.