CHAPTER 24 – UNVEILED
Coldplay – Everything's Not Lost
If you ever feel neglected,
If you think all is lost,
I'll be counting up my demons, yeah,
Hoping everything's not lost.
A/N: A little tidbit to rile you up. I know it's short but thought I'd tease you a bit. (I know – I'm mean)
Forgot to inform you that Esme's room and the closet and the dress she's wearing are all on the website. Link can be found on my profile.
The dress was slightly short at the front which exposed my legs but it then trailed on the back, covering the back of the dress as it grazed my bare ankles. I was thankful for the cardigan as it covered my back and I was not too sure about how much I was willing to reveal.
For some reason, I felt nervous which was why I tried to be quiet and inconspicuous as I stepped out onto the patio but it didn't work as they all turned to me, surprise coloring their expressions when they took in my attire. I was sure I looked very different to the dirty and drenched girl that they had seen before.
Edward's eyes met mine, widening as they trailed down my whole form. His eyes darkened and I couldn't decipher the emotion that was playing in them.
M – Esme moved towards me and took my hands in hers, "You look..." she seemed to be lost for words as she spun me around. "stunning" she finally decided and I blushed, looking away from her face and onto my feet. "You look so much better in that than I ever did" she spoke again and I could only feel myself getting hotter by the minute.
"I knew blue suited you" Alice came towards us and did the same as she made me twirl for her, "Don't you think Edward?" she inquired and I snapped my head in disbelief, surprised that she would even ask that but also happy that she did because I had been wondering the same thing.
Edward continued to gawk at me and I smirked at his expression
"Edward?" Alice asked again but he didn't do anything so Emmett slapped his back.
His eyes moved around the room before his stammering began, "Uh – I – Well" he shuffled around awkwardly and scratched the back of his head as he looked at anything but me.
I felt crushed by his lengthy silence and Esme and Alice's compliments were now lost on me so I pulled the cardigan close to myself, not really wanting to show myself anymore while trying to fight back the unnecessary anguish that filled me.
It was completely ridiculous for me to want to cry.
Emmett looked between me and Edward before moving forwards and clapping his hands together, "So…Bella, can we see you do…well whatever it is you were gonna do?" he asked.
His childish excitement was entertaining and hard to say no to. "Um sure" I answered and they all walked towards the garden and began to follow after the rest but I was stopped. Electricity prickled my skin and I looked down at the hand holding mine. So soft and so gentle…
"Bella" he breathed my name and I felt the shiver ran through me with the tenderness in his voice.
I stopped walking and froze as I stood close to his body, hoping that my heart wasn't beating too fast so I took deep breaths to prevent him knowing what he did to me.
Removing my hand away from his, I took a step back from him to which he frowned at. I ignored that and looked up at him but found his eyes were now watching my hand with an unknown expression so I pulled him out of his thoughts by finally speaking, "Yes, Edward"
Just saying his name earned his attention and he looked up at me with gleaming eyes but I was more surprised by his following whisper.
"You look really beautiful"
My breath hitched and there was no escaping how fast my heart beat just with his words. All I could do was hope that he hadn't noticed the sudden change.
He smirked at me.
Oh yes…he noticed.
Having already embarrassed myself, I turned away from the stupid smug vampire and rushed as I quickly trailed down the porch steps in a hurry but stopped where the rest of the vampires were while ignoring their amused looks and knowing smirks.
They'd noticed too.
Pushing away the self-conscious thoughts, I forced myself to erase the embarrassment that I was feeling by distracting myself, "Okay, let's get going" the smile I sent them was strained but I didn't care as I turned and looked onwards, smiling at the sight of the gorgeous garden flowers.
Alice tapped my shoulder pulling me out of my stupor, "Do you need anything?" she asked and I declined with a small shake of my head.
Looking back at the bright colors, I felt the warm sun rays on my face and listened to the low whistling of the breeze. I felt it move me as I slowly fell to the ground on my knees. "Just quiet" I murmured but still didn't turn to look at their answering expressions.
Placing my palms onto the grass, the life was awakened with the contact and I felt as the energy heated my skin from my fingertips before flowing through my body and wrapping me up in the warm glow. It was enough to distract me from the past five minutes.
Within seconds, I was connected.
The familiar fire burned in my chest as I was awaked once again.
Complete silence...and I was all alone.
My fingers dug into the earth's surface and I could feel as the burning power vibrated through me, growing even more intense as yesterday's rainfall had moistened it. Blending two elements made it – well me, even stronger and I finally released.
Beneath my feet, I felt the ground below began to rumble but before I could actually smile and revel in the powerful feeling, several audible gasps were released from behind me breaking me from my concentration which then lost the connection.
"I won't hurt you" I whispered truthfully but kept my eyes shut and didn't turn around when saying this. "I promise" and it was the truth. I couldn't imagine myself inflicting pain on any of them – even Rosalie.
When nothing was said, I hoped that meant that they would be quiet so I pushed my hands back into the earth and the connection returned with the contact and I felt myself fall deeper into the trance that was brought on with that feeling.
This time when the ground rumbled, I heard a small squeak but continued to focus so I wouldn't be ripped away from it.
This energy flow was enough and I felt it stretch out towards the other forms of life in Esme's garden and I envisioned the white ones on the right, blossoming further and when I opened my eyes I could see them growing which only made them gasp some more.
When the connection was strong, I opened my eyes and looked ahead at the fountain and focused solely on the water which made the energy vibrate in my fingertips. Bringing my hands from the ground, I focused on the fountain ahead and put my palms out toward it and watched when the water swirled around into a form of a tornado that circled around the middle but I was in control so no drops were splashed around.
"Oh my!" someone gasped but through my daze, I couldn't decipher who it was.
The power was so strong that I was able to subconsciously shift the breeze and felt as it grew into a wilder and fiercer wind that whipped my hair around in frenzy. Realizing this, I tried to control it before it was out of hand and heard as the wind howled, following my commands.
I began to laugh once again as I felt it overwhelm me and I would've added fire into the mixture but I didn't want to end up losing too much control and end up burning down their beautiful house.
Someone moved near me and when I snapped my eyes open, I was met with Edward's piercing eyes who was kneeling in front to me, maintain eye level before his lips parted, "You're amazing" he finally breathed out in awe and fascination.
A flicker of movement caught my attention. I swiveled my eyes down to his palms which were placed onto the shaking ground, his fingers inching closer to mine. Even though my breath hitched, I couldn't find it in myself to actually move away so I kept my fingers still and trusted him.
All air left my lungs as his fingers slowly moved in towards me…
"Hey guys, who's you're friend?"
That voice.
Whipping my head around, I dropped everything that I was doing as I turned only to be met with my past.
The power was instantly tranquilized and everything was long forgotten as I looked straight into the familiar kind golden eyes and I watched how they widen once he set his warm gold eyes on me with surprise before he whispered, "Isabella"
He remembered.
Before I knew it, my arms were wrapped around him as thankfully his were now encircling my torso. "Stregone", a sense of familiarity overwhelmed me as his name left my lips in a quiet whisper.
All I could think of was that he remembered.
Everything would be okay.
A/N: Ooh… Carlisle has come home and he knows Bella? But how? Any ideas?
Valentine Rain – You were correct. It would've been a bit boring if she ran away do I decided she's stick it out and suck it up.
chyna76 – Nice to meet another writer. Hope you post it and can't wait to read it. I'm just like you because fanfiction is too addicting and I always check for new stories before bed. Just my luck that you stumbled upon this story – love that you are enjoying it. Thank you for your compliments and for reviewing. I'll keep trying to update as soon as possible.
Multi-Fandom-Lover123 – Great review. In reality I think we'd all be freaked if surrounded by a bunch of vampires. If you ran, it would say you were normal. I am so touched (teary-eyed) that this is one of your fav Fan fiction – a real honor. Hope you enjoyed this update and thank you as always.
IzzyPure – Wow…you certainly have an interesting life. I wish I was there to hear you singing and in latin too? As long as you had fun, I guess…What was the reason for no sleep? (Fanfiction?) Serious moment – sleep is a very important thing so you need to get your full 8 hours. If you don't you can end up being crazier than usual. I know because I've been there. Serious moment over – Aww…happy times with family. I love the monkey bars but I'm kinda tall so I'm just holding onto bars while walking on tip toes. Boo. Good luck on your audition and wish you all the best. Just relax, make sure you get a good night's sleep and maybe eat something healthy – like oats or porridge :S. I'm sure you'll be fine – just trust in your yourself and all that BS. It's alright about not reviewing – at least you did it now and I appreciate.
May Bacon be with you.
cecilia4059 – Very big step for Bella so you guessed correctly. Would've been a downer if she ran away and the book was done. She's already in too deep so they're already more involved than they should be so we'll just have to wait and see…
Horses-are-my-life – I know about the patient thing but I'll be doing my best. thank you for the love to the story. Happy that you like it and you're reviewing.
InLoveJA - As always, thank you for the help with the changes. Ah…so you are the Guest. I had an inkling it was you but what's sure – the Happy Writing thing gave you away but I couldn't be sure. Thank you for your help and for reviewing.
Twilight Rocker 12 – I've been using Holey Cheese and it's spreading like wildfire but don't worry I gave the credit to you. Thank you for understanding. I'm a last minute person so it's partly my fault but I've cleared up some things so I could make space for this update. Hope you liked it and thank s again for reading and reviewing.
Until next time…