Flashback
A very human Bella was walking through the forest after having a
fight
with her father Charlie. She tripped on a root, and stumbled
forward and
landed on the cold hard forest floor.
"Damn."
She hissed.
There was a laughing in the background.
"Who's
there?" She called.
"No one." The voice called
back.
"Oh, well now I believe you." She said
sarcastically.
The voice laughed again as she shifted around to
catch a glimpse of
anything. Anyone. She didn't see a things until
the fangs sunk into her
neck. At first she struggled, and then she
gave up, this was what she
wanted all this time anyway.
"I'll
be here the whole time." The voice cooed.
After three days
the man with the voice started to get worried about
her
transformation, well because it wasn't over yet. It had lasted
for only one
more day to his and her relief.
She opened her
eyes to stare at a beautiful topaz eyed brunette beauty and
realized
that she was in love.
End Flashback
"Interesting story." Edward grimaced. "But that
still doesn't answer all
my questions...Riley." He said.
I
blushed from embarrassment, how was I going to explain this
without
hurting him?
"It certainly doesn't answer all my
questions." He said seeing my blush.
"I wanted to
forget." I whispered. "I wanted to forget everything
and
everyone, and most of all I wanted to forget myself. So I
changed my
name...and I started over.
"You wanted to
forget me." He said. It wasn't a question.
"You don't
understa-" A yawn broke through and my eye lids
drooped.
"Perhaps another time Riley." He said with a
crooked grin, and then he was
out my window in a blink, I
collapsed against my bed and my eyes closed.
My eyes
creaked open and light flooded in. Along with a very
irritated
looking Damon.
"Who's Edward?" He
asked.
"Who's...who?" I asked confused. And then all
the memories of last night
came flooding back to me. Edward. Oh
god.
"I...I have no idea." I lied
"Rie, don't
lie, you suck at lying." He said.
"He's-"
"Isabella
Marie Swan get your clumsy butt down here right now!" I heard an
annoying pixie like voice scream.
"I've told you a
million times we don't know anyone nave Isabella!" Aiden
yelled
at her. When I reached the stairs I could see Sam and Aiden
not
holding off jut Alice but all of the Cullen's. Yup, all of
them.
"Bella!" She squealed upon seeing me, finally
finding the strength to
break through them and she was on me in an
instant. Tackling me to the
ground.
"Riley!" Damon
yelled worried. "Get off Riley right now you stupid
little
twit!" he roared prepared to charged Alice if
necessary.
"Damon...I'm...I'm fine." I said standing
back up.
"Little sister!" Emmett thundered, being the
next one to charge up the
stairs to hug me. If I had been human
his hug surely would have killed me.
"H-hey Emmett." I
said.
"Come on!" he said enthusiastically, and pulled
me down the stairs to my
ex-family.
"Hey everyone."
I said looking them all in the face. Esme, Carlisle,
Jasper,
Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward.
"Bella, where have you
been?" Jasper asked.
"I've...I've been around." I
said. I guess Edward told them about how I was
changed.
"You
know Bella. Between you and me, Edward really misses you."
Emmett
snickered and Edward hit him in the head.
"Oh."
I said awkwardly.
"Edward?" Damon asked.
Edwards
head shot in his direction.
"You're...Edward." Damon
said slowly. Edward gave him one quick nod. And
Damon pounced,
quicker than I had even seen him.
"Damon!" I screeched.
"Damon stop!" I yelled. Edward and Damon were now
both
rolling on the floor swinging at each other. Each landing a
few
punches here and there.
"Edward Anthony Mason Cullen!
You quit it this instant!" I screamed, and
to my surprise he
did. Taking the opportunity I raced forward and caught
Damon mid
strike.
"Damon?" I whispered wrapping my arms around
him. "Damon don't." I said
near tears. His arms slowly
came around me. I had no idea how long we
stayed there like that,
just trying to calm each other down.
"Sorry Riley." He
said.
"It's okay." I muttered and looked back over at
six very shocked,
horrified, and concerned vampires.
"Um,
Aiden, Sam, Damon. Meet the Cullen's'. Carlisle and Esme. Jasper
and
Alice. Emmett and Rosalie, and Edward." I said pointing
them out.
"Hello." They all growled and I
grimaced.
"Bella...is that really you?" Esme
asked.
"It's...it's me." I said giving up; there was no
use in trying to hide it
anymore.
"Oh Bella I've missed
you so much. I couldn't stand losing one of my
daughters; you must
know...it was terrible." She sobbed into Carlisle's
arms.
"Yeah, I'm sorry.' I said.
"I too, lost a
daughter." Carlisle said, seeming a little more than upset,
I
think he was one of the ones along with Edward that fully grasped
the
situation.
"And here I am without a little sister!"
Emmett boomed. "I know a
solution." He smiled.
"You
can't take Riley." All three of them jumped in front of me. Oh
god,
not again. I didn't need a fight.
"Guys."
I whispered, and they straightened up.
"I think...I
think we all need to sit down and talk." Carlisle said. I
nodded
and led them into the living room. Thank god I had gone
through that whole
shopping phase a while back or there wouldn't
have been enough seats.
Aiden, Sam, Damon and I all fit on one
couch. The Cullen's divided
themselves between another couch, and
love seat and a recliner.
"Bella...Riley. I have a
feeling that you're going to have to start at the
beginning."
Carlisle said.
I did. I told them how I was changed, how
Damon was the one who changed me,
how we fell in love...that was
more difficult. I told them about my powers,
how I could control
fires, and change peoples looks, and keep all my human
traits,
they seemed pretty impressed.
I told them how I changed my
name in an effort to forget who I was, and
everything that had
happened to me, which only happened...almost never.
I told them
how the Vultori had started snooping around, and how Aiden had
beaten
them off, and how after that he moved in with us. They seemed pretty
impressed that Aiden could take any of the Vultoris' people.
Then
I told them how I had found Sam mid-change and brought him back,
and
how he was the newest edition to our family. They seemed
slightly hurt by
me calling them my family...but they were, they
had been for over 60 years.
"And so we've come full
circle." I said taking Damon's hand in mine.
"Bella,
I don't care what you've done. You are family. Please come
home."
Carlisle said. Aiden and Sam hissed, and Damon
tightened his hold on me.
"I'm sorry Carlisle, but I
can't leave my family. I'm sorry." I said.
"Bella,
we are your family." Esme whispered.
"No, Esme,
you were a good idea of a family. It could never be mine, not
now."
I said truthfully. I could never be around Edward ever again and feel
completely at home.
"Bella Don't be an idiot."
Rosalie said breaking her silence for the first
time.
"I'm not." I said.
Edward was shifting
uncomfortably in the recliner, like he was on edge. I
felt bad
this had to be tearing him apart.
"Bella this is
stupid!" Alice yelled. Then the phone rang and I sprang up
to
get it, it was the only person who ever called us here.
"Hey Jake!" I said holding the phone to my ear.
"Bells! How are you, it feels like it's been ages!" he
said.
"It has been old man." I laughed.
"Hey, I'm only 20 ya know." He said defensively.
"Yeah, you're twenty in looks, but just you wait you'll pop a
hip one day."
I muttered.
"That'll be the
day." He laughed.
"So whatcha need?" I
asked.
"Well the pack is having a cook out this
weekend and we were wondering if
you guys wanted to join us."
He said honestly.
"Oh I'll ask the boys but I have a
feeling that it will be a yes." I said.
"Great!
I'll go let Quil know, you know if you ever get sick of the
leech
boys Quil has his eyes on you." Jake said.
"Yeah, the day that mutt gets his paws on me...that will surely
be the day."
I said.
"Well bye Bells. See ya!"
Jake laughed
"Bye Jake." I hung up the phone and
plopped down by Damon again, all the
Cullen's eyes on me.
"Bella...who was that?" Jasper asked.
"That
was um...Jake." I said.
"That was Jake?"
Aiden perked up a bit, they were like just friends. "What
did
he want?"
"We are cordially invited to the packs
cook out this weekend, they said
that they'd even serve your deer
rare if you'd like." This got a chuckle
from all the boys,
and me more stares from the Cullen's.
"You still talk
to Jacob?" Edward asked.
I looked over at Edward's
weary stare.
"Sometimes. Uh, yeah." I said
awkwardly.
"So he can talk to you...but not us?"
Edward said getting up, I heard Damon
growl.
"Edward,
calm down." I heard Carlisle whisper.
"No, I
cannot calm down." He said pacing the room angrily. "Bella,
this is
utterly ridiculous. You need to come back home with
us...today." He said.
"No." I said simply.
"No?" He stopped in his tracks so glare at me.
"No, Edward. My family is here, and however strange it may
be, I have my
part of my family in Forks still. I will not abandon
them like you did me!"
They all flinched back at my words
all now wearing hurt and sympathetic
expressions. All but Edward.
"Bella, you don't have a choice, I will not stand by and
watch you endanger
your life this way. You're coming with
us...whether you like it or not." He
stalked over to me,
faster than ever, before anyone could move, he grabbed
my wrist. I
was pulled off the couch in an instant.
Then we were running, I
was slung across his back, and whatever kind of
vampire I may be,
I was not in love with high speeds.
"Edward Mason
Cullen you take me back right now!" I screamed.
I heard him
let out a loud growl, and then he speeded up.
"Riley!"
Someone was calling behind us. My sensitive vampire ears picking
it
up, though no one was trailing us...I knew the call had come from
the
house
We ran for what felt like ever. Until he slowed
to a jog, and let me slip
from his back, falling to the forest
floor with a thud.
"Ouch!" I protested, even
though we both knew that it didn't hurt. I stood
up and turned
back the way we came, ready to run, but he grabbed my hand
and
spin me into him. Wrapping his arms around me, restraining me in a
hug
that felt...somehow...wrong.
"Edward let me go!"
I protested. Wriggling from his grasp. "What's the
meaning
off all this?" I said stumbling backwards.
"Bella...Bella...My love." He said looking me straight in
the eyes, something
within his...it...it scared me.
"Edward, you can't keep me. I need to get back to my family!"
His strangled
growl filled the forest again and I jumped.
"WE ARE YOUR FAMILY!" He thundered. "We always have
been. How did you think we felt when we went back to Forks to see
you, and we found that you
were...dead."
"What?"
I mumbled confused.
"Let me tell you." He said
caressing my cheek, and I shrunk back. He let
out a frustrated
sigh and began his story.