Part III 'A Brand New Bella'

Chapter 8

After Bella's 'slight' mishap at the Cullen house, they had to speed up their moving plans.

As Bella finished off her second deer in the forest, the Cullens kept a close eye on her. They were happy to see that she seemed to be in control of her feeding, without making a mess. She drank her fill without wasting a single drop of blood, and the area remained untouched. The Cullens were relieved and hopeful that Bella would continue to stay controlled as they made there move to there new home.

"Okay, everyone," Carlisle said with a heavy sigh. "We need to come up with a cover story for what happened. The house's explosion was in a remote enough location that no one should have heard it, but we need to be prepared just in case."

Turning to Jasper and Emmett, he continued, "I think it would be best if you both came with Esme and I to set up the scene to look like a gas explosion. Then, once your done, you can make an anonymous call to the authorities saying you heard something. That should start an investigation, and we can say that everyone was away from Forks at the time. Esme and I will be at the hospital when we get the call of the explosion, and we will go to the site to speak to the investigators."

Carlisle paused for a moment, looking at everyone to see if their were any objections. "After that," he said, "we'll salvage what we can and relocate. Our previous plan of moving to Colorado still seems like the best option to me. Does anyone have a better idea or any objections?"

The rest of the Cullens were silent for a few moments before Alice spoke up. "No, I think that's the best course of action. We need to get out of Forks as soon as possible."

As some of the Cullens sped away to take care of their cover story, Edward turned to Bella. "How do you feel now, Bella?" he asked, his voice laced with concern. After what had happened the last time he had been too close to her, he was understandably wary.

"I feel amazing, Edward!" Bella exclaimed, her voice full of energy. "Everything is so different now, like a whole new world has opened up to me. I can see everything, and it's so distracting! My thoughts are all over the place, like my brain is moving in a million different directions at once. I'm sorry if I'm babbling, it's just hard to stay focused on one thing right now."

Bella paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "And about earlier...I don't know what happened," she admitted, her voice softer now. "But I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you like that."

Edward's expression softened, and he reached out to take Bella's hand. "It's alright, Bella," he said gently. "I know it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known what was going to happen."

Bella nodded, grateful for his understanding. "Thank you," she said, "I just...I don't want to hurt anyone, Edward. Especially you."

As Bella, Edward, Alice, and Rosalie waited in the forest until it was safe to return, Bella began to take stock of herself for the first time since she woke up from the change. She bent down and picked up a rock, crushing it to dust in her hand. She marveled at the ease with which she had destroyed it and examined her hand, which showed no signs of injury. A smile spread across her face.

She then turned her attention to the rest of her body, looking at her arms and legs. To her surprise, she saw that all of her scars had disappeared. She couldn't help but feel grateful for this gift. Bella glanced down at her chest and noticed that it looked fuller, but she decided to wait until she saw herself in a mirror before she thought about it too much. She then wondered if her face looked any different, and couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement at the possibility of discovering more about her new self.

Bella now thought of the endless possibilities that being a vampire opened up to her. The idea of being immortal was hard to grasp, but it also meant that she had all the time in the world to do whatever she wanted. She could reinvent herself multiple times over the next hundred years, take on new careers, and travel to places she had only dreamed of before. It was liberating to think that there were no limits to what she could achieve now. Her excitement grew as she began to envision all the incredible things she could accomplish with her new life.

After the Cullens put their cover story into action, Carlisle and Esme arrived at the scene to meet with the initial investigators. As they were surveying the wreckage, Bella's father arrived, looking stunned at the destruction before him.

Chief Swan shook Carlisle's hand while looking over the area of devastation. "I'm so glad to hear that no one was injured in the explosion."

"Yes, thankfully all the children were away at the time." Carlisle said, trying to convey a relieved expression on his face.

"Thank god Bella was away when this happened. With her bad luck with accidents I'm sure she would have been smack dab in the center of the explosion if she had been here." Chief Swan said to Carlisle and Esme who gave each other a look and nodded along.

Chief Swan continued, "I tried to reach Bella the other day, but her phone went to voicemail. Have you informed her and Edward what happened to the house?"

Esme spoke up, "We talked with them a few days ago. They said they were going to be camping in Maine for a week as a fun getaway before their school year started. You probably won't be able to contact them for several more days. If we hear from them, I'll let her know to contact you."

"Thank you, Esme." Charlie looked around, and other than the garage, everything else was gone. "Do you have any idea where you will be staying now?"

Carlisle spoke up, "Actually, while it's greatly unfortunate, this accident has accelerated our plans to move. We had not told anyone yet, but we were planning to leave in the coming months, but it feels like this was a message that we should leave now."

Chief Swan looked sad. "I'll be sorry to see everyone go," he said. "You've been a great doctor to the people of Forks, Carlisle. Your skills will be sorely missed, and Esme, we'll miss everything you do for the community."

"Thank you, Charlie," Esme said with a sad smile. "We will miss Forks as well. It's such a beautiful area," she paused to look around at the devastation, and then turned to Carlisle, hugging him tightly. "I'll really miss this house, too. It held so many precious memories for us," her voice trailed off, and she took a deep breath to compose herself, she knew she would be crying if she was able.

Charlie asked politely, "Do you know where you will be relocating to?"

"We're pretty set on Colorado," Carlisle answered. "I haven't finalized a job there yet, but the family thinks it would be a good fit for us with our love for nature."

Charlie nodded and replied, "Well, I wish you all the best of luck. I'm sure Bella will enjoy visiting you in Colorado."

Esme smiled at Charlie's comment, "Thank you, Charlie."

Their conversation came to a close as the investigators called Charlie over to discuss their findings.

Later that day, after the authorities left, everyone packed up what they could salvage and they soon hit the road. Luckily the garage was far enough away so it survived with the cars. Carlisle and Esme took his Mercedes and the rest piled into to Emmett's oversized Jeep.

Emmett insisted on driving, and Bella quickly realized why as they hit the road. The Jeep was massive and powerful, and she couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement as they sped down the highway. The wind whipped through her hair, and she laughed as Emmett took a sharp turn, sending them careening around a bend.

"Faster Emmett, don't slow down!" Bella shouted, laughing.

Emmett just grinned, pushing the Jeep even harder. "Wait a second who are you? What have you done with our shy, reserved little Bella?" he teased.

Bella rolled her eyes but said in a sad voice clearly hamming it up "I'm so sorry, Emmett, I thought you knew. That Bella died in the explosion earlier today. You're just going to have to deal with me from now on." Bella laughed with the rest of them but secretly she thought there was a lot of truth to that statement. She leaned back against the seat wrapping her arms around Edward but when she looked up into his face he had a blank expression. The car veered around another mountain turn with the Jeep rumbling beneath her. It was a welcome distraction from the events of the past few days.

Bella learned that the Cullen's had houses all over North America. They had decided to move to there home near Glenwood Springs in Colorado which was a resort community around 100 miles west of Denver.

As they drove towards their new home, Emmett explained to Bella about the surrounding area. "This house is going to be amazing for you, Bella," he exclaimed, his voice full of enthusiasm. "It's not one we've used before to live in year-round, but it's perfect for you now. It's in a stunning location, far away from prying eyes, and it's big enough for you to really spread your wings."

Bella couldn't hide her excitement and immediately started asking questions about the area. "What's around the area? What can we do?" she asked eagerly.

Emmett was more than happy to answer her questions and began telling her about the underground caves that were famous in the area. "We can explore the caves and even go further in to see parts that humans have never ventured to before," he said excitedly.

Bella's eyes lit up with excitement as she imagined herself exploring the unknown. Emmett continued to fill her in on all the adventures they could have, what types of wildlife were in the area and even taking in the beautiful scenery. Jasper also chimed in, telling Bella about the amazing skiing in the area.

Bella couldn't wait to try skiing, something she had never even contemplated doing before due to her poor balance. But now with her new vampire body, she knew she could try anything and everything.

As they drove, Emmett and Bella talked for hours about all the new things she could do with her vampire abilities. The excitement was palpable, and Bella couldn't wait to start her new life in this beautiful place Emmett described.

During the drive, Bella couldn't help but notice that Rosalie was still being quite distant towards her. Despite her attempts to make small talk, Rosalie seemed to be holding back. Bella made a mental note to make a real effort to connect with Rosalie as Bella really wanted to create a lasting friendship with her.

Meanwhile, Alice was already planning all there 'weekend shopping trips'. As much as Bella loved Alice, she hoped she could use her 'newborn year' as an excuse to get out of them. She didn't want to disappoint Alice, but the thought of spending the weekend shopping for clothes didn't seem very fun to her.

Bella couldn't help but notice that Edward didn't seem as enthusiastic about her thoughts as she had hoped. He offered his own thoughts and opinions, but often found fault with her suggestions. Although she tried not to let his comments get to her, it was difficult when he seemed to be constantly criticizing her plans. Despite this, Bella remained determined to focus on her own goals and ideas, hoping that they would eventually see eye-to-eye.

Bella was most looking forward to learning how to fight from Jasper and Emmett. "I can't wait to start training with you guys," she said, a huge smile on her face. "I want to be able to protect myself and everyone else too."

Emmett chuckled. "Don't worry, Bella. We'll make sure you're a bad ass in no time."

Jasper was also thrilled at the prospect of training Bella. He felt invigorated by her positive energy and enthusiasm. "I'm looking forward to it too," he said, smiling at Bella. Jasper had never had the opportunity to spend time with Bella as a human, so he was glad they could finally make up for lost time now.

During the journey, they stopped to hunt several times and take in the breathtaking scenery. Bella insisted on stopping at many vista points along the way, marveling at the beauty of her surroundings with her new eyesight. Alice couldn't resist teasing her, "We'll never get to Colorado at this rate!"

Once they arrived at their new home, Bella jumped out of the Jeep before it had even stopped. She walked up to the house, calling out to the rest of the family, "I promise to try my hardest not to destroy this house too!"