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Chapter 6:
"Yes!" Alice beam excitedly.
"I hope you aren't showing off too much." Carlisle gave her a kind yet reprimanding smile. It dazzled me for a moment. He was every bit as beautiful and flawless and Rosalie and Esme. He also had the same shade of amber-gold eyes, which was very different from Alice's blue ones. If both her parents had amber eyes, how did Alice end up with blue?
"Well…" Alice thought for a moment. "Not too much."
Carlisle turned to me. "It is really good to see you again, Bella. I trust that Alice has been a good host?"
"Y-yes, of course." I stammered. He sounded so sincere, it was impossible to mistrust him. Although I found it hard to believe that he was glad to see me—I was just the farmer girl his daughter had taken a liking to.
Carlisle had purplish smudges under his eyes, indicating that he needed a good night's sleep. But he looked alert and wide awake. He didn't look as disheveled or exhausted as someone ought to be after a fourteen hour shift at the hospital.
"What happened here?" His gaze moved to my bandaged arm.
"Errr… it's nothing. I tripped."
Alice took a step forward. "She fell while we were playing dress up." She threw an angry glance at me, "And I think she's injured. Could you take a look at it, Carlisle?"
Did she just call her father by his first name? That was odd.
"Of course," Carlisle stepped into the office and motioned for me to sit on a chair. Once seated, Carlisle gently unwrapped the bandage and examined my arm. He slowly stretched out my arm, and I winced. "Sorry, Bella." He said sincerely. He continued to examine my arm, asking me where it hurt and what motions were painful and which were pain-free.
"There is quite a bit of swelling, I would say it's definitely possible you fractured your olecranon."
Horror washed through me. This was not what I wanted to hear. Whatever it was, it sounded expensive. Charlie refused to seek medical attention for his back because of the financial implications, and there was no way I'd make Charlie pay for this.
"My what?"
"Olecranon, it is one of the bones in your elbow." He rolled back on his chair. "You won't be able to use it for a while. And if it is a fracture, I would say between six to eight weeks."
Another wave of horror. Six to eight weeks? Our farm would fall to pieces. My insides began to feel very cold. Oh, no.
"Bella?" Alice asked, a fair amount of concern in her voice, "Bella, you're turning green. Carlisle, what's going on?"
"Are you in pain?" Carlisle asked, placing a hand on my forehead. His skin was abnormally cool against my head.
"No, no." I assured them. "It's just, I can't really take time off work. My dad can't work right now because of his back—I need both my arms." I did my best to keep the hysteria out of my voice.
"Bella, you must stay off your arm, do you understand?" Carlisle said both firmly and kindly. "I'm sure I have a splint here somewhere…" He stood to search his office.
When I looked back at Alice, her eyes were wide with grief. It was the most heartbreaking thing I had ever seen. "Oh Bella!" She said with remorse. "I'm so sorry."
I had to fight the urge to reach out and touch her perfect, sorrowful face. I sat on my hand to stop myself. "It's not your fault I'm so clumsy." I waited for her face to look less morose. When she didn't recover, I spoke again. "Alice. Really, this isn't your fault."
Alice opened her mouth to retort, but her father had found the splint that same moment.
"Ah." Carlisle lifted the pile of fabric and wooden sticks onto the desk, "Here it is. Come here, Bella."
Happy for the change in subject, I strode over to his desk. I was impressed with his quick work of the pile of straps and wooden rods. I would have never had a chance to assemble such a thing. In a few seconds, Carlisle had my arm in a sling, and my elbow in a split reinforced with rods.
"You must wear this at all times—except for bathing."
"I will, thank you." I bowed my head, unsure how to properly express my gratitude. The Cullens were much too kind.
"You are welcome." He strode over to the door, "And Esme insists that you stay over for dinner, Bella. We would all love for you to join us."
I opened my mouth to protest, I couldn't possibly intrude any more than I have already. But before a single word came out, he flashed us both a kind smile, and ducked out of the room.
Alice led me outside next. We walked side-by-side among the Cullen's vibrant flower garden. It was very artfully done. No color, pot, or railing seemed out of place. A brick walkway led us to a magnificent marble bird bath. And passed the bird bath, the walkway continued to a cute wooden gazebo. Vines with tiny pink flowers crawled up the gazebo's paneled walls. It had a very fairytale-like quality to it.
Alice winked at me and led me inside.
"This is very lovely." I told her.
"It's one of my favorite places. Especially when my brothers are home," she pouted, "they can get very noisy—especially Emmet."
I laughed at the cute expression on her face. I've seen her happy, angry, and embarrassed, but her disgruntled expression was the cutest thing I'd ever seen.
"What's funny?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Nothing, just your expression." I reached out to tuck a stray hair behind her ears, "You are very cute you know."
Alice blushed—actually blushed from the compliment. It make me giggle harder.
She frowned at me, turning a shade redder.
I leaned towards her, unsure where the sudden boldness came from, "Oh Alice," I told her, sweeping the non-bandaged part of my hand down her cheek, relishing in its softness. "Don't be embarrassed, it's one of the things I love about you." I whispered softly in her ear. I had the pleasure of watching her tiny body shudder under my breath. It was very satisfying and arousing. Her smell, the smell of sweet lemongrass and vanilla filled my lungs. I was tempted to lean into her neck, breathe her in—God, she smelled so good. I stopped myself in time, my lips only a millimeter away from the soft, fragrant flesh of her neck.
It was almost painful to pull away, but I did. I could be creeping her out for all I knew.
I looked down at our feet, unable to meet her gaze. She was probably looking at me like I was crazy. I knew now that it was a bad idea to come here. I was having a hard time controlling myself. If I wasn't careful, I would ruin any potential of friendship—if I hadn't already.
The silence dragged on, and it was making me edgy. How could I repair this situation?
"Bella?" Alice spoke in a whisper. I looked up to meet her gaze, and was surprised to see her expression. She did not look angry, but tormented by something, as if she were warring with herself to find the right things to say.
"Do you not like touching me?" She asked with a sad look in her eyes.
That question took me off guard. I blinked at her, shocked. "No—I mean—yes I do," I stuttered.
She raised a perfect brow at my contradicting answer. She probably thought I was incompetent.
She brushed her hand against the bare skin on my uninjured arm. I shuddered. It felt so very good. "Every time we come close to touching, you pull away like I'm electrocuting you." Her voice sounded frustrated.
"No, I don't mind at all." I said. I did not dare tell her the truth, you have no idea what your touch does to me.
But this did not cheer her up. She still looked sad. "Then why do you look so afraid?" She whispered.
"I'm not, just nervous." I admitted.
"Why are you nervous?" She leaned in closer so that the side of her body was pressing against mine, and it made it very hard to concentrate.
I was not going to confess the unspeakable desires I felt. It would be a one way ticket out of Alice's life.
"I don't know Alice." I snapped defensively, leaning away from her warm body before the feel of it could take over my self-control.
I immediately regretted it. The hurt expression on her face made my heart tighten painfully. I had hurt her. She turned away from me, her eyes looking suspiciously wet.
"Alice?" I asked softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean snap at you."
She sniffled.
Great. I made her cry. Feeling terrible, I reached out a hand to put on her shoulder, but stopped. My bandaged hands would be rough against the bare skin of her shoulders, so I let it fall back to my side.
"Alice?" I tried again.
No response, just another sniffle. She did not turn back around. She probably did not want to talk to me, or even look at me. But I couldn't leave her here, that would make me even more of a jerk.
I sighed and scooted closer to her. With rough bandaged hands and an arm in a sling, I didn't have a lot of lot of options for physically consoling her. So I leaned over her shoulder and placed a kiss on her cheek. I felt her go rigid, and her sniffling immediately stopped.
"I am really sorry, for hurting your feelings." I whispered softly in her ear.
She turned around then, "It's all right," she sniffed once more, "I'm being silly, aren't I?" She gave me a teary smile.
"No you're not, I'm just a big fat jerk."
She laughed her tinkling laugh.
"I suppose I forgive you then."
For a reason she would not specify, Alice had the sudden urge to see Firerain, although I was suspicious it was to see how well I'd been taking care of him.
When we reached Firerain, he was snacking on the Cullen's perfectly green lawn. I jogged up to him in horror. "Oh no, Firerain that's not for you to eat!" I swatted his large head with my palm. He looked up at me and snorted in distaste.
"It's quite all right." Alice skipped to my side and patted Firerain's head. "There is plenty of grass to go around," she cooed at him, pushing her fingers through his matted red-brown fur.
I found myself very jealous of Firerain in that moment. Never thought I'd see the day where I would be jealous of my mule.
Alice flitted around Firerain, inspecting his messy fur and kneeling to look at his dirty hooves. She reminded me of Jacob's little sister, Rebecca, who always loved feed and groom Firerain.
"He could use a good brushing," Alice said, "And he looks a little skinny. Is he eating enough?"
I rolled my eyes. "He eats well, as you can tell since he's eating all of your front yard." I glanced at the rose bushes, relieved to still see them intact. "He's always been on the small side, he was the runt of the bunch."
Alice looked puzzled, "Horses don't have litters…"
"No, but he was a twin. His sister was born very robust and strong, but he was very weak. The only reason we were able to afford Firerain was because they didn't think he would make it."
Alice's eyes came alive with interest. She cocked her to the side, implying for me to elaborate.
I sighed and began the story. "We really needed a work mule for the farm, but couldn't afford one. But my dad took me to see a new foul for sale anyways. Well, she was much too expensive of course, but that's when I saw Firerain." I gave Firerain an affectionate look, but he returned my stare with another disgruntled snort. He was still angry at me for swatting him. "He was so tiny. Just a tiny red ball of fur curled up in their barn. When I asked how much he was, they didn't want to sell him, he was very weak, and they were sure he wouldn't live past weaning." I stroked Firerain's soft ears. "I approached him anyways, but when I got near—well you know me, I tripped and fell, and startled the crap out of him, and he bolted across the barn like a firey comet!" I laughed at the memory. "I was ten years old. I begged my dad to let me have him, but he was not sure. He didn't want me to be sad if he died, it was around the time my mother left. In the end, he bought him for me anyways. I bottled fed him every few hours. He took much longer to be weaned than a normal foul. Weeks passed, and then months. He grew much stronger, and here we are today. He's a little scrawny, sure—" I buried my face into his fluffy head, "but we made it, didn't we Firerain?" I whispered to him.
When I looked back at Alice, her eyes were glistening with tears. I stared at her in confusion. What did I do this time?
She launched herself at me, hugging me tightly. "Oh Bella!" She cried.
Still confused, I padded her gently on the back. My injured arm burned painfully under her squeeze, but I did not dare protest.
"You too, Firerain!" She leaped to Firerain and buried her tear streaked face into his neck. He threw me a confused glance that mirrored my own. I shrugged at him.
"What an awe inspiring story!" Alice sniffled.
I chuckled. Her theatrics were quite adorable.
Alice insisted on giving Firerain a makeover, just as she had done on me. After removing all of his reins, we led Firerain to the backyard, where Alice procured a wire brush, and then started with his matted fur. I started on his hooves, clearing out the caked on mud.
And several hours of hard work, Firerain was looking very handsome. His fur was shiny and soft.
I was very impressed with Alice's stamina. I wouldn't expect a girl of her social class to manage standing on her feet for so long. A layer of sweat dewed on her forehead and she looked exhausted, but she hadn't quit until Firerain was completely tangle-free. She was tougher than she looked.
She stood back, putting her hands on her hips to admire her work—just like she had when admiring her work on me. Except something was different about the twinkle in her eyes. They did not bore into Firerain with the same intensity.
Esme called us for dinner. We sauntered up to the bathroom to clean up.
My heart thumped loudly in my chest as I stood at the foot of the stairs. I had to change clothes again, and was in another one of Esme's or Rosalie's unwanted gowns. But even their discards were worth more than anything I would ever make. I was nervous to make an appearance. I was wearing their clothes, heavily bandaged, and entirely unfit to eat with their family.
Alice gave me a push. "Come, don't be afraid, they don't bite." She winked and towed me forward.
Esme smiled at us when we entered. "It is wonderful of you to join us, Bella dear," she turned to Alice, "Would you like to introduce us to your friend, Alice?"
I swallowed nervously when everyone turned towards me. I looked at my feet.
"Everyone, this Bella. And Bella, this is Rosalie and Emmet," she pointed towards the couple. Emmet was a very large man with rippling muscles. He grinned at me, a dimpled and childish grin, which contradicted his intimidating stature. Rosalie on the other hand, did not acknowledge me. She simply stared down at her food, her beautiful face contorted as if she smelled something bad. I returned Emmet's grin.
"Nice to meet you." I said.
Alice moved her hand towards the two men on the other side of the table, "and this is Jasper and Edward," Jasper was lean but muscular, with golden hair and a stern expression. Several scars covered his handsome face. He nodded at me in acknowledgement. Edward was more boyish than his brothers, and had messy bronze hair. He gave me a curious smile.
I smiled at them.
"And you've met Esme and Carlisle."
The Cullens all looked very different from each other, and utterly the same. While their features and hair color varied greatly, they were all pale, had gold-amber eyes, and were very very good looking. Alice was different. She was indeed very pretty, but her eyes were a bright ocean blue, and a healthy amount of color would flush into her cheeks when emotion took her.
Alice and I took our seats. The Cullens began talking animatedly amongst themselves. Esme asked Carlisle and her burley son-in-law how work went. Carlisle spoke about a few patients of his, and mentioned how the influenza was making an early round this season. Emmet spoke about large hauls of timber, and where the biggest development in the city would be. Jasper was very interested in the new infrastructure plans.
I tried to copy the Cullen's eating etiquette, unsure of which fork to use. Charlie and I had never used so much silverware before. But it was difficult to copy them because they didn't seem to be eating at all. Whenever I looked up, they were merely pushing food around their plates, distracted by their conversations. Did rich people only pretend to eat? If so, how did they last? At least Alice seemed to be eating. Unable to resist the mouthwatering dishes, I dug in.
I did my best to be discreet about taking seconds—and even thirds. I tried to stop myself from seeming too greedy, but in the end, I got fourth and fifth helpings. Esme's cooking was delectable, and I didn't know when I would ever eat this well again. It was shocking to think that rich people ate these sorts of thing every day, slow roasted beef, tuna dip, pasta with tomatoes and sausage, pudding—I would be lucky to have non-moldy bread back at the farm.
Dinner wasn't a quiet affair. Emmet's booming laughter seemed to shake the house. I was afraid Alice or any of the other Cullens would ask me questions about my life—but they refrained, and for that I was grateful. Talking about my life at the farm would be very embarrassing.
By the time the Cullens began leaving the table, I was so full I nearly fell asleep. A warm peck on the cheek brought me back from my food-coma haze. Color flushed where Alice's lips had touched me, and my heart responded by fluttering in my chest.
"Is it time for bed, Bella?" She smiled at me.
"It's getting late, isn't it?" I sat up, "I should get ready to go."
Alice frowned. "No it's too late! You should stay the night." She turned to Esme. "Can she?"
"Of course you are welcome to stay the night, we would be glad to have you." Esme smiled sincerely.
The overwhelming kindness made me feel terrible. I was imposing on them again.
"No, it's all right, but thank you."
Alice turned and gave me her most heartbreaking pout. "Please Bella?" Her bottom lip trembled. "Won't you stay the night?
This expression made my heart sink. I groaned internally in defeat. How could I say no to her when she made that face?
"Sure, Alice."
When her expression shifted into a cheerful grin much too quickly—I knew I had been tricked. She already had me wrapped around her finger, and knew how to pull the strings.
"Thanks you for dinner, Mrs. Cullen. It was delicious. You are an amazing cook."
Esme looked pleased by the compliment.
Alice and I excused ourselves and headed upstairs. She left me alone in the guest room to clean up, leaving a pair of cotton pajamas on the bed. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and bounded out of the room.
I treated myself to a hot bath. Staying with the Cullens seemed like a luxurious vacation. After the bath I slipped into the soft comforters of the guest bedroom and sighed. This was a luxury I would probably not see again.
A soft knock came upon my door.
"Yes?"
The door cracked open, the hallway light illuminating the dark room. A small silhouetted figure entered.
"It's just me." Alice said reassuringly. I knew this declaration was supposed to make me feel calm, but it had the opposite effect. My heart launched itself into race.
She closed the door behind her, returning the room to its former blackness. I heard her footsteps approach my bed and then stop. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She whispered softly. But for some reason, she did not sound sorry at all.
"No," I whispered back, "I'm awake."
She lifted the edge of the covers. "Do you mind if I join you?"
My heart lurched again, pounding harder than ever. "Of course not, go ahead." I tried to sound nonchalant about it, but my voice cracked.
She slipped under the covers and snuggled closer to me. Her warm body pressed itself against my side. I could feel the slick material of her night gown slide against my cotton pajamas. I clenched my fist together. It was much too tempting to feel the silky material that covered her body. "I'm sorry, am I being greedy with your time?" Alice whispered to me.
With the distraction of her presence, it took me longer than normal to process her words. "Um, no you're not. I don't mind."
"Good. Because I can't seem to stay away from you." She moved even closer, closing any space left between us. She had fitted herself inside the curve of my body, and place a hand over my waist. The sweet smell and delicious warmth made me dizzy. My skin burned agonizingly where she touched it. How could such an innocent touch make my abdomen tighten in arousal?
My god, how was I going to survive this night?
How will Bella fare with temptation? Stay tuned for chapter 7 ;)