So much to unfold here.

The song for this chapter is Human by Christina Perri.

Connect with me!

Twitter: teamdemonmonkey

Facebook: teamdemonmonkey fanfiction

Disclaimer: I'm only doing this for a friend. I don't get anything from it but her undying appreciation. I certainly don't get to have fun with Emmett and the boys in my head.

Chapter Two: Human

CPOV

"Carlisle," Alice said urgently as soon as I pulled up to the house. I noticed that the house was oddly quiet. Something must have happened. I hurried from the car and Alice met me on the porch.

"What's wrong," I asked her, already working out logistics if there was a need for our sudden departure.

"The new girl, Bella Swan," she said and I nodded. Charlie Swan's daughter had come to live with him and was quite the talk of the town. "Edward ran into her today and she's… she's his singer, Carlisle."

"Did he-" I began to ask but she cut me off.

"He didn't hurt her. Jasper and Emmett dragged him out of the school and into the woods. He took off for Alaska from there, said to tell you he'll call."

"And Bella?"

"Rosalie and I took her as far away from him as possible. She's unharmed." I sighed in relief.

"Thank god Edward was able to control himself once they were separated," I murmured.

"Rose is helping Esme pack so she can join him." I then noticed the sounds of Rosalie in the garage, loading luggage into a car. Esme was upstairs grabbing their things.

"Will they come back?"

"That decision hasn't been made yet," she complained and I smiled at her pout. A multitude of futures in her head and it still wasn't enough.

"Please keep me updated on Edward. And if Bella poses a threat to our staying."

"I don't think that will be a problem. I don't see Bella being an issue. Actually, I think we're going to be great friends. Even Rose likes her." Rose rarely liked humans. Truth be told, she seemed to only tolerate us most days. "I'm going to see if she wants to hang out or something." My children made it a point not to get involved with humans as a general rule. Most humans steered clear of us.

"Do you think she would be comfortable with that," I asked curiously.

"Yes. It's like she wasn't affected at all the way other humans are. She even tried to stare down Rosalie. She's got… something. I want to learn what that is." Endless possibilities flew across my mind as to why this might be. "Anyway, Emmett and Jasper are waiting in the woods by her house just in case Edward didn't actually go to Alaska. I'm certain he has but we wanted to make sure, just in case."

"That's probably wise. We know that the others were not so lucky with their control," I lamented. I directed Alice into the house and set down my briefcase. I pulled my coat off and placed it in the closet while Alice caught me up on the day's events at school. Bella was the center of attention but no one else had noticed the near accident between her and Edward. I wandered up the stairs to Esme and Edward's room, stopping just inside the door.

"I'm so sorry, Esme," I told her and she turned and wrapped her arms around me.

"It could have been so much worse. I'm just happy that nothing happened."

"How long do you think you two will be in Alaska," I asked her as she released me.

"I'm not sure. It might be better if we… I'm just not sure if he has the control to come back and not kill her," she fretted.

"Take all the time you need," I assured her.

"It will be okay," Alice chimed in from behind me. "Everything is going to work out perfectly." Esme embraced the two of us before heading to the garage, doing the same to Rosalie and then sped away. I stared at their empty room, an overwhelming sense of melancholy leaving me hollow. Edward had been my longest companion and Esme almost as long. I'd been overjoyed when they had fallen in love even if I had often felt like an intruder on their intimacy. If Edward didn't have the self control to come back would they just live separately from us? Would we move to be near them?

"Don't worry so much, Carlisle," Alice reassured as she slipped her hand into mine, leaning her head against my arm. "We'll all be together again before you know it." I smiled slightly and squeezed her hand.

"I always worry about my children. It's what fathers do," I teased and she giggled. She extricated herself from my embrace and floated down the stairs as Rosalie came in. I wandered after her with a final glance at the empty bedroom.

"Tanya just texted that Edward is with them. I'm going to call Emmett and tell them to come home," she announced before wandering off with the phone pressed to her ear. I laid down across the couch with Alice at my feet and we waited patiently for the boys to make an appearance. A few minutes later, they came stomping in, soaked with the rain and laughing. Alice jumped up and ran at Jasper, wrapping herself around him and kissing him enthusiastically. Rosalie followed after them silently.

"Anything to report," I asked idly while they shook the rain from their hair.

"No, sir," Jasper answered. "She didn't say a word about what happened,even after Jessica Stanley called to give her the dirt on us and ask if she and Alice had met before. Mike Newton apparently told her that Alice and Bella were 'chummy' before Biology."

"She seems sad," Emmett added.

"How so?"

"I don't know what brought her here to live with her father but she was watching old home videos and crying after school. I think it's safe to assume something happened to her mother." I frowned, my dead heart hurting for this girl.

"Jasper, what did you get from her?"

"She's definitely depressed. Resigned, grieving, guilty. A lot of emotions but she's definitely not happy."

"Well, that will all change after she and I become besties," Alice promised and I laughed. I waved them off and they left, separating to go to their bedrooms and engaging in intimate activities that I mostly tried to block out. I didn't usually feel my loneliness quite so sharply but without Edward and Esme around, I suddenly felt like a burdensome third wheel. I decided to go for a run and give my children some privacy. I put on a rain jacket and left the house, taking off through the trees at a pace only slightly faster than human. I relished the fresh smell of the earth mingling with the rain as the wind hit my face.

I found myself in the woods behind the Swan house. I heard two heartbeats and walked around the forest line of the house to see Charlie's cruiser in the front yard. The sound of tinkling dishes echoed in the otherwise silent room and quiet breathing.

"How was school today, Bells," Charlie finally asked.

"It was fine. The school here is smaller than in Phoenix. I'm not used to people knowing so much about me before I've even met them."

"Not much happens around here. You're kind of a big deal," Charlie admitted sheepishly. "I'm sure things will die down after a week or two."

"Yeah," Bella muttered. Silence filled the space again.

"Did you make any friends?"

"Yeah, I guess. Jessica Stanley showed me around. And Alice Cullen gave me her phone number." I stilled at the mention of Alice's name, waiting to see if maybe she was going to mention Edward's strange behavior to her father.

"Dr. Cullen's daughter?"

"Yeah, both of them actually. Alice is kind of weird."

"Don't let their oddities push you away. We are incredibly lucky that Carlisle's sister wanted to live in a small town instead of a city. He could be making four times what he makes here. But people still gossip and judge. His kids have never set a toe out of line and he's patched me up more than once."

"I like them," Bella assured him and he grunted in response and then the deafening silence returned, only broken by the occasional sound of silverware moving over plates.

"Look, Bells, I… um… well, I know that things have been hard since your mom… well, since you moved here. But I want you to know I'm here for you. I know I'm not Renee but… I love you. I will do anything to help you feel at home here." I heard Bella's breathing hitch with the mention of her mother's name and I could hear the thickness in her voice when she answered.

"I know, Dad. I love you too." They embraced and then I heard lighter footsteps moving across the kitchen floor and the sound of dishes being set in the sink. "I, um, I think I left my books in my truck. I'm going to go see if they're in there," Bella said with forced lightness as Charlie moved into the den and turned a sports game on. I made sure I was invisible amongst the trees as the front door opened. Bella stepped out and if my heart had been beating, it would have stopped.

She was beautiful.

Her heart shaped face was framed by thick, long waves of chocolatey auburn hair. Her delicate skin was so pale, she almost could have passed for one of our kind. She was biting her full bottom lip and her warm brown eyes were filling with tears. She held her arms around her slender frame, like she was holding herself together. She pulled the truck door open and climbed in, closing the door behind her. As soon as the door closed, sobs overtook her and she shook with the force of her tears. I longed to join her, to pull her into my arms and calm her shaky breaths and the torrent of tears running down her face.

Why was I so struck by her? I'd been alone for over three hundred years. What was it about this young woman that had me forcing myself to stay absolutely still? I didn't know and I was disconcerted that my instincts to protect her were testing my control so thoroughly.

There was something about Bella Swan. And it was more than being Edward's singer.