Sunday came and Bella had made some progress despite the fact it had only been two days since the attack.
Bella had spent quite a bit of time with Jasper and was now able to be alone with him without fear of him hurting her, though she didn't like to be touched. She could be in the same room as Emmett and not be afraid, as long as someone else was around and was comfortable around both Rosalie and Alice. Bella was still afraid of Edward hurting her and Rosalie had made sure her mate was never alone with him. Carlisle was still angry with Rosalie and spent most of the time away from the house so he didn't start a fight.
"How did you sleep?" Rosalie questioned from the chair beside her bed.
Bella shrugged. She still had the same nightmares. She had only spent a few days here but it felt so much longer. "I slept okay," she replied honestly. There were a few hours that she managed to sleep nightmare free. She had a feeling Jasper had a lot to do with that.
Rosalie looked away from Bella. "Jasper wants to talk to you," she said. "Will you be okay being alone with him while I get you some breakfast?"
"Sure," Bella said. Jasper would never hurt her. She knew that and most of the time she believed it.
Rosalie kissed Bella's forehead and left the room, just as Jasper walked in. "Hello Bella," Jasper greeted.
"Hey Jazz," Bella said. She patted the bed beside her. She found sitting beside Jasper comforting. He constantly projected his emotions but unless someone was sitting close to him they wouldn't be able to feel it. He was so calm all the time and Bella found it relaxing.
He walked over to the nightstand and grabbed Bella's cell phone before sitting down at the far edge of the bed. Jasper fiddled with the phone for half a minute before handing it to Bella. "I added my phone number," Jasper explained. "If you ever need or want to talk fill free to text or call me anytime."
"Thanks," Bella said taking back the phone.
"You have questions," Jasper stated.
"I was wondering about your story, why you were changed," Bella admitted.
Jasper chuckled. "I will tell you," he promised. "But now is not the best time. It is a rather long and in depth story. Perhaps tonight if Rosalie agrees."
Bella frowned. "Why does Rosalie have to agree?" she questioned. It seemed a little strange that Jasper needed to permission to spend time with her.
"It is customary for a male vampire to ask permission to be alone with a mated female," Jasper explained. He glanced at Bella. "You have not completed the mating process. It puts Rosalie on edge. When it comes to a newly mated couple, especially one that hasn't been marked, it is always better safe than sorry."
"Is it like that for all of you?" Bella wondered. Somehow she couldn't picture Jasper asking permission to be around Esme.
"In the beginning yes," Jasper replied. "Now it's not necessary. I know Emmett and Carlisle are no threat to my relationship with Alice."
"Rosalie mentioned you don't feed on humans because of your ability to feel emotions," Bella stated.
"That's true," Jasper agreed. "I had to stop to preserve my sanity."
"What about animals?" Bella asked. "Do they have emotions?"
"You know you are the first person to ever ask that," Jasper laughed. "To answer your question, yes they do have emotions but they are not as strong or evolved as ours. It makes it easier on me."
"The others do it to appear more human right?" Bella asked for clarification. "That's why you go to school."
Jasper nodded in confirmation. "Carlisle despises his life as a vampire. It is not my place to tell you his story but I will say he tried many times to kill himself and failed each time. He didn't succeed and decided to do everything he could to be as human as possible."
"I'm glad he didn't succeed," Bella admitted. It may be selfish but without Carlisle she wouldn't have Rosalie or any of them. Jasper smiled. "But I still don't get it."
"Which part?" he questioned.
"If he hates this life so much why did he change all of you?" Bella asked. "Why force you all to live this life if he didn't want it?"
"Carlisle didn't change me or Alice," Jasper told her. "I don't believe he ever intended to change anyone. Edward, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett were all close to death when they were changed. Edward was first. I believe Carlisle was lonely and wanted a companion. Then came Esme, his mate. Carlisle had hoped Rosalie would be a mate for Edward." Bella made a face at that and Jasper laughed. "Yes it's hard to consider them in anything other than an antagonist relationship." It was quiet for a minute while Bella processed the new information. "The only one that hates this life more than Carlisle is Rosalie. She had similar mind set as you. Why curse her to this life when he didn't even want it?"
"She's happier now," Jasper added. "Now that she found you. Finding our mate makes life worth living. I can feel the change in her. Emmett saved her life. Without him, without his love, she would have walked through the nearest fire. I know you're jealous of their closeness but it's because of Emmett that she's still alive."
"I'm not jealous," Bella denied.
"Sure," Jasper agreed. He cocked his head. "Rosalie's done with your breakfast."
"How did she learn to cook so fast?" Bella asked curious.
"Cooking channel," Rosalie answered, walking into the room with a plate of eggs, bacon and pancakes and a glass of orange juice. "It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't sleep."
She sat the glass on the nightstand and carefully placed the plate in Bella's lap, on top of the blanket because it was still hot. "Thanks," Bella said. She took a small bite of the eggs and was pleasantly surprised. "This is good."
Rosalie beamed. She pulled the desk chair over to the bed and sat down. "I'm glad you like it. Charlie will be here in two hours," she told her mate. "Alice said he won't notice anything and won't ask any questions."
"Did she happen to say how the trip to La Push will go?" Bella asked, cutting up one of the pancakes.
"She's can't see your trip," Rosalie admitted. "She can't see anything associated with La Push."
"Why not?" Bella asked. "Is her gift broken?"
Jasper laughed. "Don't ever say that to her," he warned. "But no her gift isn't broken." He looked at Rosalie for permission to continue.
"Do you remember that Quileute story Jacob told you?" Rosalie questioned. It was best if the news came from her and not Jasper. She had a feeling Bella wouldn't be too freaked out.
Bella frowned. "All he told me about the Cold Ones," Bella said thinking back to the story she tricked Jacob into telling her. "Wait," Bella exclaimed. "He said something about the tribe being descended from wolves. I remember that because it was strange." She looked back and forth between Rosalie and Jasper. "No way, they are werewolves?"
"Not all of them," Rosalie said. "We don't know how it works but we do know it runs in families. We met Ephraim Black, Jacob Black's ancestor. It's likely your friend Jacob is, or will be one of them."
"So Alice can't see werewolves," Bella realized. Rosalie and Jasper nodded. Bella focused on Rosalie. "Are you worried because Alice can't see anything?"
"Yes," Rosalie said honestly. "I won't stop you from going. They won't hurt you. I'm certain of that. But that's why I wanted you to have a phone, just in case you need me. It gives me peace of mind."
"Okay," Bella agreed. If it made Rosalie feel better then Bella would keep her phone with her and not complain about having one.
She ate half of the food on the plate. Rosalie cooked way too much food for her to eat. She pushed the plate away and Rosalie grabbed it and sat it on the nightstand. "Well I'll leave you to get ready," Jasper said climbing off the bed. "Have fun today Bella."
"Thanks Jazz," Bella called as he left the room.
"I'm going to clean up with kitchen while you get ready," Rosalie said. She kissed Bella's cheek and left the room with the dirty dishes.
Bella took a long, hot shower. She wiped the condensation from the mirror with her towel. Bella towel dried her hair before drying off the rest of her body. She pulled on her clothes and found a hair tie in a drawer so she could pull her hair back. She double checked her appearance and plastered on her best fake smile so Charlie wouldn't realize anything was wrong.
A knock at the door made her jump. "Bella, it's me," Rosalie called. "Charlie is on his way."
"I'll be right out," Bella promised.
The bedroom was empty when Bella got out of the bathroom. She found a Dartmouth sweatshirt laying on the bed and the Harvard one was nowhere to be found. Bella grabbed the sweatshirt and threw it on over her t-shirt. It smelled like Rosalie and that's all that mattered. Rosalie's scent was comforting to Bella, just as Bella's scent comforted Rosalie.
Bella walked down the hallway, glancing in each room as she went. She hadn't had a chance to explore the Cullen house so she had no idea where anything was. Three doors down from Rosalie's room she found Emmett standing in what looked to be his bedroom.
"Hey Bells," Emmett greeted cheerfully. He dropped the Call of Duty game back into the bin where he kept his games. "What brings you to my room?"
After Bella was brought to the house Emmett cleared out his things and moved into an empty bedroom. Rosalie ended their physical relationship, which wasn't necessary because he wouldn't have continued knowing Rosalie was mated to someone else.
"I… I wanted to say thanks," Bella said walking into the room. Emmett frowned. "For helping Rosalie… after… well you know… thanks for being there for her."
"Anytime," Emmett said honestly. He turned to face Bella but kept his distance. "I know this is all new to you, being mated to a vampire and all. Rosalie loves you and I know you don't love her right now, no one expects you to love her yet, but don't hurt her please. She deserves to be happy, you both do, so promise you won't hurt her?"
"I promise," Bella said. She hesitated for a second before walking over and wrapping her arms around Emmett.
"Don't move," Alice said from downstairs. "You will scare her if you do."
Emmett did as Alice said and didn't move. After several seconds Bella pulled away from Emmett. She turned to leave but Emmett stopped her. "Wait," he said. He walked over to his closet and pulled out a stack of comic books. "Jazz told me you were interested in some comic books. These are some of my favorite." He handed the stack over. "I mostly only have the superheroes like Batman and Robin, Superman, Super girl, Fantastic Four, Spiderman and the X-men. Superman is my favorite. It's kind of like us you know? Without the heat vision, x-ray vision, flying and weakness to Kryptonite."
Bella laughed. Being around Emmett was so easy. "Emmett," she said. He looked up from the stack of comics. "Do you think we could hang out sometime? Maybe you could teach me to play Halo?"
Emmett beamed. "Sure," he said excited. "How about Monday after school or—"
He stopped talking when Edward walked into the room. "Hello Bella," Edward greeted. "Emmett."
"What do you want?" Emmett asked as Bella backed up, closer to Emmett.
"Bella's father is almost here," Edward said. "It's only polite I say goodbye to our guest."
"If it was anyone but you I would be more likely to believe you," Emmett said crossing his arms over his chest. "This is my room, now get out."
"How are you adjusting to your new room Emmett?" Edward asked with mock concern. "You switched so suddenly. It was surprising. Though I admit it is much more pleasant not having to hear you and Rosalie go at it like a couple of animals."
Emmett's lip curled back exposing his teeth. He knew exactly what Edward was doing and he didn't like it. Bella flinched at Edward's words. It was no secret Emmett and Rosalie were together, Bella knew that, but hearing Edward mention them 'going at it' was too much information to her.
"Get out," Emmett snarled. "You don't get to come in here and comment about our relationship. Now get the fuck out before I make you."
Edward ignored his brother. "It was good to see you Bella," he said focusing his attention on his mate. "Perhaps next time we could spend more time together?"
Bella had no idea what to say. "Charlie's here," Alice yelled from downstairs.
Bella sighed in relief. She had never been happier to hear Alice's voice. "Come on Bella," Emmett said putting his hand on Bella's back. He felt her tense at the touch but ignored. He was more focused on getting Bella away from Edward than Bella's comfort. "I'll walk you downstairs."
Edward glared at Emmett as he practically pushed Bella out the door. It seemed the rest of his siblings were now conspiring against him. He needed another way to get to Bella. He couldn't believe Rosalie was allowing her to spend time with those filthy mutts.
Edward smirked. The mutts, it was perfect. He needed to find some way to get the mutts angry enough to put Bella in danger, or for the others to think she was in danger. Then he could swoop in and save her. It was the perfect plan. She clung to Rosalie now because Rosalie saved her. But if he was to save her then Bella would cling to him instead and he could woo his mate. The only thing he had to do now was find a way to make his plan work without putting Bella into too much danger.
Rosalie was pacing in the living room. Edward was with her mate and Alice had told her not to go. She said Emmett would protect Bella. It wasn't that Rosalie didn't trust Emmett because she did. If there was one person Rosalie would trust with Bella's life it was Emmett. But it was Rosalie's job to protect Bella and standing here while Bella was upstairs went against she knew.
"She's coming," Alice muttered.
As soon as Bella was downstairs Rosalie went to her side and wrapped her arms around Bella's waist. She buried her nose in Bella's hair and breathed in her scent. "Rose, are you okay?" Bella asked concerned. Rosalie grip on her was tight and was starting to get uncomfortable.
"Rose, let her go," Jasper instructed softly. Rosalie didn't relax her grip. "Rosalie you will hurt her."
Rosalie immediately let go of Bella. "I'm sorry," she whispered to her mate.
"I'm okay," Bella assured her. "Just a little too tight. Are you okay?"
"I don't like you around Edward," Rosalie admitted. "And Alice told me not to interfere. I'm sorry."
Bella held onto Rosalie's hand while Alice went to answer the door. "The doorbell hasn't rang though," Bella said confused.
The others laughed. "We can hear Charlie walking up to the door," Jasper told her.
The doorbell rang and Bella thought Alice was going to rip the door off its hinges in her eagerness to answer the door. "Hey Chief Swan," Alice greeted.
"Morning, its Alice right?" Charlie asked. Alice nodded. "Right, morning Alice. You are rather chipper this morning."
Alice laughed. "We've been up quite a while. It's amazing what coffee does," she lied.
"She's good," Bella whispered.
"That's Alice for you," Jasper chuckled.
"Is Bella ready to go?" Charlie asked. "I promised Billy we would be there for lunch."
"Yes, she's in the living room. Come on in Charlie," Alice said stepping aside to let the man in.
Bella tightened her grip on Rosalie's hand when she heard Charlie's footprints. "Bella it's going to be okay," Rosalie whispered. "But you need to loosen your grip before you break your own hand."
Bella let go of Rosalie's hand and instead grabbed ahold of her shirt. She took several deep breaths to calm herself. "Hey Bells," Charlie greeted, completely obvious to Bella's internal issues.
Jasper moved closer to Bella so he could calm her and not affect the rest of the room. "Thanks Jazz," Bella muttered under her breath. "Hey Dad."
"Ready to go?" he asked.
Bella nodded and turned to hug Rosalie. "Thanks for everything," she whispered. "I'll see you Monday."
"I'll see you Monday," Rosalie repeated. "If you need anything just call."
Bella gave Emmett, Alice and Jasper a quick hug before following Charlie out of the house. She climbed into the police car and buckled herself in. "Did you have fun Bella?" Charlie questioned.
"I did," Bella confirmed. She did enjoy her time at the Cullen house with Rosalie.
"I didn't see Carlisle or Esme," he commented. "Or there other son, Edwin is it?"
Bella snickered. "It's Edward Dad," Bella corrected. "He was, uh, not feeling well. Carlisle was called into work and Esme had to run some errands," she lied.
Charlie nodded. "So what did you girls do? Alice seemed pretty excited when she called."
"Mostly hung out with Emmett and Jasper and played video games," Bella lied. "I spent a lot of time talking to Jasper. He's really into history too, mostly Civil War era."
"That's good," Charlie commented. "I'm glad you have some friends."
"Me too," Bella said leaning against the window.
"Bella," Charlie began pulling up to the stop sign. "Are you okay? You seem different."
"I'm fine Charlie," Bella lied.
"Those Cullen boys, they didn't do anything to make you uncomfortable, right?" Charlie questioned. Bella could tell he was uncomfortable with the subject but he was pushing through because Bella's safety came first to him. It made Bella grateful to have Charlie as her father.
She briefly contemplated telling Charlie the truth but decided against it. She didn't want to hurt him. It was better she suffered alone. "Jasper and Emmett are gentlemen," Bella assured him. "Honestly, even though we don't know each other too well they are like brothers to me."
"Okay," Charlie sighed in relief. "You would tell me if something was wrong though?"
"Of course Dad," Bella said, feeling guilty for her lie.
Charlie pulled the police cruiser into Billy Black's driveway. There were no cars other than theirs but Bella could see several bodies moving through the window of the Black house. "He invited several boys from the tribe," Charlie told Bella.
Bella took a deep breath. She could do this. She could get through a few hours here. She could.
A mere thirty minutes later Bella found herself at the beach, sitting on a log. There were so many guys at Billy's house that Bella couldn't handle it. Her palms were sweaty and felt nauseous. She had to get out of that house before she had a full blown panic attack.
She wanted to call Rosalie but decided against it. It wasn't even an hour since she left the Cullen house and she didn't want to seem clingy.
She heard a branch snap behind her and she turned around, ready to scream for help. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," one of the boys that was at Billy's house said.
"It's fine," Bella said wrapping her arms around her legs. She sniffed Rosalie's sweatshirt, trying to keep herself calm.
"I'm Paul Lahote," Paul introduced sitting on the other side of the log.
"Bella," Bella said.
"I know," Paul laughed. He glanced at Bella and saw her face buried in the sleeve. "Are you cold?"
"No," Bella said.
Paul frowned. "Bella, are you afraid of me?" he questioned.
"No," Bella said shaking her head.
"You know about us." It wasn't a question but Bella nodded anyway. "I take it it's because of the Cullens." There was no hostility in his voice which was surprising considering they were natural enemies.
"Actually it was Jacob that told me," Bella corrected. "The Cullens just filled in the blanks."
"You are mated to one of them," Paul realized. "They don't get close to humans and I can smell one of them all over you." He sniffed the air. "I can smell a few of them but one scent is stronger. It's all over that sweatshirt. Makes me think they are marking their territory."
"Something like that," Bella said. "Her scent is comforting."
"Her?" Paul questioned. "I figured to Edward Cullen. The rest are all mated, or so I thought."
Bella winced and shook her head. The thought of being mated to Edward was horrifying, especially after hearing he did nothing to help her. She still couldn't believe she was ever infatuated with him. "Rosalie and Emmett were never mated. They were together for convenience. They do love each other but it's more of a 'you're my best friend' type of love."
"Rosalie, that's the one you are mated to?" Paul questioned. Bella nodded. "Which one is she? The little one?"
"No, she's the blonde one," Bella corrected. The most beautiful of all the Cullens, she added silently. "I thought you guys hated the Cullens."
"We did," Paul said honestly. "The younger members of the tribe still assume we do but it's not true, not anymore. About a month before you came to Forks one of our young ones got lost in the woods. We didn't even realize it at first. A nomad started to hunt the boy and Brady was rescued by one of the Cullens, Jasper was his name."
"Jasper rescued a child," Bella repeated in awe. He was always so hard on himself and Bella couldn't understand why.
"Yes," Paul confirmed. "He singlehandedly destroyed a nomad vampire, one of his own kind, to protect one of us. We can't hate him for that. We aren't fond of the others but our respect for Jasper keeps us polite and respectful to the rest."
"Rosalie's not a bad person," Bella told him. "She protects me and keeps me safe."
"Bella, I get this feeling that something happened to you," Paul said, trying to figure out the best way to broach the subject. Bella tensed up. "I'm not going to force you to talk. I know better than that. But if you need me for anything, even if it's just to distract you, I'm here for you."
Bella pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Paul. It would be nice to talk to someone who wasn't part of Rosalie's family. Paul took the hint and punched in his phone number. He handed it back and she tucked the phone back in her pocket.
"Bella, the person that hurt you… and there is no use lying, I saw you flinch anytime one of the guys walked by you… are you in danger in being hurt again?" Paul asked concerned.
"No," Bella said closing her eyes.
"Okay," Paul said. "Do you need anything?" He could practically feel her discomfort.
"I want to go home," Bella muttered against her sweatshirt.
Paul looked to the house. "I can drive you home if you want," he offered. Bella nodded. "Okay, let me go tell Charlie you're not feeling well and I'll see if Sam will let me borrow is car."
Paul took off running toward Billy's house, leaving Bella alone on the beach. "Paul," Sam greeted, making Paul in the driveway. "Is everything okay with Bella?"
"She's mated to one of the Cullens, Rosalie, just like we thought," Paul said. "She's really uncomfortable around all of us." He hesitated. "Something happened, I don't know what for sure but I have a guess. I'm going to drive her home. Can I borrow your car?"
"Sure," Sam agreed. "You know where the keys are, just make sure Emily doesn't need it."
"Thanks," Paul said gratefully. "I'm just going to go tell Charlie she's not feeling well."
Paul walked into the house with Sam right behind him. "Chief Swan," Paul greeted walking up to Charlie and Billy. He glanced at Billy before turning his attention back to Charlie. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure son," Charlie said grabbing his beer and following Paul away from the crowd. "Is everything alright? Did you find Bella?"
"I did," Paul confirmed. "She's on the beach. She's not feeling well. I wanted you to know I'm going to drive her home, if that's okay."
Charlie frowned. "Is she okay?" he asked concerned. "She seems different."
"It's not my place to say anything," Paul said. Paul could see that didn't help ease Charlie's concern. "I'm sure she will be back to normal when she gets some rest."
Charlie wasn't completely convinced but he didn't want to push it. "Do you want to take the cruiser?" he questioned, searching for his keys.
"No thanks Chief Swan," Paul said. "Sam's letting me borrow his car."
"Alright," Charlie said. "Tell Bella I won't be out too long."
"Yes sir," Paul agreed.
Paul ran to Sam's house and picked up the car. He drove to the small parking lot close to where Bella was. He got out of the car and ran back to Bella. He found her in the same spot he left in in. It didn't look like she had moved since he left.
"Bella," he called softly. Bella jumped at the sound of his voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I have Sam's car, whenever you are ready to go."
"I'm ready," Bella said standing up.
She followed him to the car. When she got there she was nervous. While she didn't think Paul would hurt her she wasn't sure it was a good idea to be alone in a car with him. "If it makes you feel better you can call your vampire," Paul suggested.
Bella took a deep breath and climbed into the car. If Paul was going to hurt her he wouldn't have told her to go ahead and call Rosalie, not that she was going to, she couldn't rely on Rosalie for everything.
The fifteen minute car ride back to her house felt twice as long and Bella couldn't be happier when he finally pulled up to the curb. "Thanks for the ride," she said gratefully.
"Call me if you need anything," Paul instructed before driving away.
Bella went straight to her room and sat down on the bed. She took her deep breath and started rubbing her arms. She was uncomfortable. Her skin itched and she was feeling claustrophobic. She walked over to the window and opened it. She needed the fresh air.
Bella paced her in her room. The cool air helped but it still wasn't enough. She pulled out her and brought up Rosalie's contact information. She was about to dial the number but changed her mind and tossed the phone on her bed.
She went through the same routine, pick up the phone, pull up Rosalie's number and toss the phone back down, several times. She saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She turned to the open window and saw someone sitting in the tree.
In her panicked state she couldn't identify the figure. She opened her mouth to scream but before any sound came out the figure was out of the tree and in her room, covering her mouth.
"Bella, it's okay," the figure said. "It's just Jasper."