Chapter 21:

Disclaimer: I own nothing

The conversation with Tanya had definitely let my observations grow and become easier to understand. It allowed an insight that I didn't have before over the vampires and their instincts—which also helped explain some things that had happened before that I didn't understand.

For example, when Tanya looking ready to murder about everyone who ever looked my way lustfully or looked at me for too long. Or, the way she hugged me to her side when she felt the claim she had been subtly laying on me was threatened.

It was also good to help me judge her reactions based on what we did. Part of her instinct as being a vampire and having a claim on me, was that she also wanted to mark me—which was basically having sex with me. She could easily lose herself, and that caused us to proceed with caution in case any incident could happen that we both knew I couldn't handle.

Anyway, off of sex with Tanya and onto another example; their absolute need to be involved with my recovery. I understood being the family of my girlfriend and wishing to support me, but the drive they had to be a part of it was much stronger than that. They were practically diving straight off a cliff into it, and, in a way, I was a little flattered they actually had such a need to.

Knowing exactly where I stood with the Denalis was also a benefit in my confidence around them. I no longer had any doubts on where exactly I was seen in the family—if I was just the girlfriend or the girlfriend they were practically signing the marriage papers for—now I knew for sure they saw me as their sister—and they were showing it.

The few times Charlie had been around the Denalis and me at the same time allowed him to see how genuine their affection towards me was. Kate and Irina treated me like the little sister they had always wanted with jokes and pranks, but never went over board or anything to piss Charlie off. Carmen and Eleazer were slightly more parental in their actions towards me, but that was mostly because of their personalities, and they still participated in some sibling like things.

Charlie had made several comments to me about it in private, saying how he actually saw the connections between the Denalis and the Pack—how they treated me, of course. His admiration for them was certainly growing as they spent more time together, and I couldn't be any happier because of it.

And so, as I sat there in the café in my usual booth, I couldn't help the small smile at my thoughts. I loved being around the Denalis more and more after every time I was with them at all. The connection between us was strong and I loved having the strong, stable hold on something to keep me grounded.

I hummed as I turned the page, taking a small drink of my coffee from the mug distractedly. Tanya and the Denalis were out hunting and Charlie was currently on duty. So, I decided it would be a good time for me to read and have some alone time at the café. I hadn't really been in it since the day Tanya and I finalized our relationship, so it was a win-win either way.

My eyes scanned the page when a body suddenly slid in front of me with a plate soon following. I looked up as Max gave a small grunt, shifting in his seat with his lunch in front of him. He adjusted himself and his lunch. "Hey, Bella."

"Hi, Max," I replied. I marked my page and set my book down on the table. "I see you decided to sit with me today for your lunch break."

He nodded and nudged the plate forward. "I figured we could share," he explained as I looked down at the food for the first time. "It's all healthy, don't worry, and I get a discount here, so eat up."

He was right about the food being all healthy. There were two halves of a sandwich that would personally fill both of us up, probably. It was piled with cheese, tomatoes, ham, lettuce and some other things I couldn't place as well as macaroni and a salad on the side for us to share.

I nodded, giving him a smile as I reached forward to grab onto of the halves. "I think I will. Thanks, Max," I said, taking the sandwich to my mouth and took a bite. It was delicious—almost as good as the biscuits.

He grinned and nodded, taking the other half for himself. "You're welcome," he said. He took a bite and chewed it quickly before he swallowed. "So, you and Tanya, huh?"

I forced myself not to roll my eyes at the suggestion—of course he would want to talk about that. I, instead, nodded. "Uh, yeah, unless you think us kissing and cuddling at this table was something else?" I asked rhetorically.

He chuckled. "Hey," he said, raising a hand, "don't blame me. The whole place was practically recording it mentally."

I snorted. "I saw that," I said. I took a bite of the sandwich and chewed it thoroughly before I swallowed. "However I'm surprised none of them did actually record it. I'm pretty sure those boys in here would've enjoyed watching that as their jerking material."

Max snorted, covering his mouth as he said, "I'm sure they've had pretty intense orgies sense they saw that show."

I mentally flinched. "That is…actually disturbing to think about."

Max laughed, swallowing fully to shake his head. "Well, you better get used to it since the whole town was gossiping over Tanya's new relationship. No one could believe that you had won the heart of the irresistible woman."

I shrugged. "Natural talent." I took another bite of the sandwich.

He smiled. "Apparently," he agreed. He took a drink of his coke and cocked his head to the side as I swallowed my bite. "So, how did it happen, anyway?" he inquired after putting the coke down. "Last time you were in here you were moping as Charlie forbade any contact with them before he fought with Kate in front of the café."

I nodded with a sigh and took a drink from my coffee. "Yeah, I suppose it was," I agreed. I took another bite of the sandwich, now halfway done with it. "I don't really know how to explain it, really. After that day when he yelled at her, she came to my house with Irina. They practically kidnapped me and took me to their house.

"Charlie came over of course and things were leveled out. They found out about why Charlie didn't want them around me—the whole broken heart thing along with my cancer—even if they didn't learn it was the Cullens. After that, things fell into place and I guess Charlie gave Tanya his blessing to try a relationship because she gave me all of their numbers before we left.

"Anyway, she asked me to go out on a night in the city with her. I agreed and we actually had a pretty good night together. We watched a movie and then went walking in the park and, uh…" I trailed off, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

He grinned. "Did you guys kiss?"

I shook my head. "No," I said. "Well, we almost did, but a kid threw a Frisbee that I had to dodge before we could."

He frowned. "That sucks."

I nodded. "Yeah, it did," I agreed, "but I was really just concerned for the kid and his older brother since Tanya was glaring at the elder for interrupting."

Max smiled. "That would have been a sight to see, I bet. You and Tanya, caught up in the love that filled the air as you stared deeply into each other's eyes. You lean towards each other and then…FRISBEE!" His call made the costumers present turn around to look at us as his hands were up in the air. I blushed slightly, taking a bite of the sandwich to help hide my face as he continued. "And next thing you know, the moment is ruined and you are both left unsatisfied."

I nodded. "Yep, pretty much," I said. I smiled. "Now that I look back on it, it is pretty funny." I took another small bite of the sandwich, washing it down with my coffee before I continued. "Back the story. So, the car ride home was tense, obviously as we had almost kissed, and it wasn't any better when we got to the house. We exchanged the awkward fare wells and…Well, I guess Tanya got tired of waiting and she decided to be brave, because she pulled me back from leaving the car and kissed me."

Max grinned wickedly, making a few "awe" and "oh" sounds as he wiggled his brows suggestively.

I rolled my eyes at him and waved my hands. "Therefore we came here to clarify that we were dating and on the same page which is what you saw," I said. I took another bite and covered my mouth, "Now you are all caught up."

He nodded as he took the last bite of his sandwich and wiped his hands off. "I'm glad I'm in the loop now," he said. He grabbed one of the forks and dug into the macaroni. "And Charlie is alright with this?" He gestured with his fork before he put the food in his mouth.

I nodded as I swallowed. "He's coming around," I said. "I think he likes that Tanya is respecting boundaries Edward didn't. He also likes that the two of us aren't always alone and I'm spending time with both him and the Denalis amongst others."

He nodded. "And he isn't as suspicious of them?"

I snorted. "Of course he is," I said. "He's my dad; it's his job." I drank my coffee. "However, he is a little more trusting of them, and they have already passed his standards for the Cullens a while ago, I'm pretty sure."

Max did a fist-pump. "Point for Denalis."

I smiled with a chuckle as I set down my sandwich and picked up the other fork. I stabbed it into the macaroni and nodded. "Large point for the Denalis. It's really boosting up their ego too much, I think." I stuffed the macaroni into my mouth.

He laughed. "I'll knock 'em down for you if needed," he claimed. He tapped two fingers against his chest. "Besides, no one can beat me in the world of Charlie's approval as I am a boy who is your friend and is gay."

I laughed. "True," I agreed. I took another bite of macaroni and quickly swallowed it. "However, you may get competition now as they are involving themselves in my recovery."

His brows rose. "Really?"

I nodded. "They took me to a check-up the other day and are planning on taking me to the next chemo. I told them a hundred times they don't have to, but they insist on getting involved."

He hummed, cocking his head. "They are really going to get high up on his list if they keep that up, then," he said. "It is nice, though, them wanting to get involved with your cancer treatment."

I nodded. "It is," I agreed, "and it does help keep our schedule loose. Charlie can also go have fun with friends, and that is something he desperately needs."

Max nodded. "I'm not doubting you. My family was kind of like that when my sister got sick. She had to practically force us out of the house to make sure we continued to live our own lives and not focus everything we had on her. I think it made her feel like a burden at times."

I nodded in understanding, taking some of the salad. "It does a little, I suppose," I said. "Mostly, though, I just don't want him to have me as the only company up here. Back home he would go to the Reserve with me and hang out with his friends there or go fish. He needs to do the same up here, and having Tanya and her family helps with that a lot."

I took another bite as Max nodded. He took a bite of the macaroni. "How did they take it, anyway?" he asked. "Your cancer, I mean?"

I shrugged. "As good as they could," I said. "Irina was the one that figured it out, though. She felt my port while she sat next to me in the car when they 'kidnapped' me. They were shocked, of course, but they digested it and are supporting me the best they can—as you know."

He nodded. "That's good. If they didn't I'd be a little nervous."

I snorted. "No kidding," I agreed. I took another bite of the salad. I chewed the food between my teeth before I swallowed, pushing my fork forward for more macaroni. "I told them—about dating their cousin, I mean."

I put it in my mouth as he raised his brow. "How'd they take that?"

I shrugged. "They were…mad, honestly." I shook my head as soon as I saw him start to frown. "Not at me, though. It was towards their cousins for how they treated me in the end." I rubbed the back of my neck. "They were up here after they first left me—that was when you met them. According to the Denalis it was a different story the Cullens told and, well, they weren't too happy learning about what actually happened."

Max took in a breath, nodding slowly. "Oh…I see."

I nodded. "Yeah…so nothing has really gone right with the Cullens over the past two years, it seems," I said, giving a small smile to try and lighten the mood.

He nodded and shook his head, staring at the table. "Geeze, no offense to them since I met them a few times, but they sound like one fucked up family," he blurted.

I couldn't stop my laugh that erupted from my chest. I shook my head, smiling widely as he shrugged. "What?" he asked. "It sounds pretty true from what I'm hearing."

I grinned and pushed the macaroni around with my fork. "They are pretty complicated," I agreed. "I'll give you that."

He shook his head, seeming to still be digesting the new information. He took a bite of the macaroni as he thought, giving a few snorts here and there with a few grumbles under his breath. Then, after a few minutes, he said, "Will Tanya kick their asses? If so, please video."

I grinned wickedly. "I'll see what I can arrange for you, Max, if there does happen to be a brawl that I do not need to get involved in," I promised, taking another bite of the macaroni.

"You better," he said with a snort, diving into the food again. "Otherwise I am no longer bringing you any free lunch when you come back here."