Chapter 12

"You two could at least pretend you're happy for me." Bella's voice sounded annoyed when I pulled into her house.

I wondered if I could break her brothers' necks for a change. It seemed like whenever I came to visit, Stefan and Damon were trying to make her feel miserable. But when I brought the issue up with Bella, she just huffed and said it was what brothers did to their sisters. I would argue, of course, that I had sisters and I would tease them sometimes, but my intentions were never bad.

"My family history is very complicated. I would be a hypocrite if I said they treat me way too harshly." Was Bella's usual response.

During this last month of dating Bella, I found out a few things about her and her family. Damon and Bella used to be very close growing up, partners in crime, confidants, and always there for each other. Stefan was their little brother whom they both wished to protect at all costs, especially from their tyrant of a father. Stefan was spared a lot of beating and abuse because of his big siblings taking the blame and claiming his innocence. But when Bella and their mother Lillian were sent to the tuberculosis tents, everything changed.

Damon was too upset about losing his sister and mother, and taking all the fault onto himself became too hard to bear. Stefan started seeing the truth about their family, but still believed in the truthfulness and justice of his father's judgment.

Everything changed completely when the brothers became vampires. Damon, who loved Katherine with all his heart was devastated and broken when he thought she was dead. Stefan forced him to accept his eternity and become a vampire. But what was the point when the love of your life was dead? I knew I wouldn't be able to live in the world where Bella didn't.

After that, Damon cut ties with Stefan, basically promising him an eternity of misery. Bella left with Damon, thinking she might be able to calm his wrath and rekindle the love between the siblings. She wasn't able to do that in the first couple of decades, so she came to visit Stefan, but he had gone off the rails at that point. His thirst for blood, which resembled my own at times, was uncontrollable. It changed him, he became psychotic and ruthless. And so Bella did the only thing she thought could help, she asked for help from the Originals. Kol compelled Stefan to stop feeding like a ripper.

This was one of the only time she mentioned him. Bella's story with Kol was still a mystery to me. Bella never talked about him or their relationship. I didn't want to push her in case it would hurt her feelings. The last thing I wanted was to make Bella cry again. And as long as she knew she could talk to me about it when she was ready, it was enough for me.

The siblings came together at the beginning of 2000 in Mystic Falls after Bella received news from Zach Salvatore that Stefan moved in with him. Bella moved to Mystic Falls to check on the property and her brother when she found out the real reason behind Stefan's move. Katherine's doppelganger Elena. Yet another supernatural entity I knew nothing about. I wondered if our seclusion from the world was the cause of our ignorance.

"After seeing what Katherine did to my brothers, I couldn't just leave. One doppelganger already killed him once. I wasn't taking any chances." Bella explained her choice.

Katherine turned out to be alive, which was painful to bear for Bella. She thought her to be her best friend, and she grieved her as such for many years. Katherine, deciding to play a game with Salvatores and in hopes of getting away from Klaus, killed Caroline. But not before Bella gave the girl her blood to save her life. Bella hated herself for condemning Caroline to this life, it was one of the reasons she couldn't bear her company. Caroline was a constant reminder of Katherine and the broken friendship between the devious woman and Bella.

"Elena did ruin my life," Bella told me once. "I was right all along, she was just like Katherine. Katherine killed my brothers, Elena killed the man I loved."

Bella was stuck between two sides. She couldn't do anything that would hurt her brothers, but she also couldn't help but hate Elena and her brother. Bella moved out of the Salvatore house and joined the Mikaelson family at their estate, mourning the loss.

From what I understood, Mikaelsons treated Bella like family, never mind the fact that her brothers were partially responsible for their brother's death. I suppose spending such a long time in someone's company, made them feel like family.

I felt it with Rosalie first, and then with Emmett and Jasper. Alice was different though, her visions helped me recognize her as my sister almost right away. Seeing constant glimpses of the future conversations and activities that we were going to share, sort of makes it unavoidable.

Bella cut ties with her brothers for a while after that, the pain was just too much to bear. She didn't want to lash out at them and risk losing her brothers forever. Damon and Stefan were on Elena's side, and only after they found out the reason why Kol was trying to stop them, did they apologize. They still were too involved with Elena for Bella's liking. Bella returned after Stefan told her Damon sacrificed himself to bring people back from the Other Side.

Bella worked tirelessly to get Damon back, no matter the cost. Eventually, he returned, but all he seemed to want was to get Elena to remember him.

"How selfish could you be? Erasing the love of your life from your memories…That's low, even Katherine never fell so low." Bella snorted. "I kept all my memories, good and bad, painful and uplifting. Because as long as I remember him and all the memories that we shared, he has a connection to this world. Kol lives in my memories and my heart. He lives in me and all the others who loved him. Elena erased him from her life, erased all the love he shared for her, all the good things he had done in his life."

"Some people are weaker, they can't deal with such a loss." I offered.

"They have to try harder then." Bella shook her head. "Erasing one's memories without trying to do anything else beforehand is a cowardly move. For someone who claims to love my brother, Elena gave up on him awfully fast."

"Would you be able to forgive her?" I asked.

"I could forgive her for Kol, even though she doesn't deserve it." Bella's arms were closed on her chest. I could tell she hadn't forgiven her for that yet. "But I could never forgive her for erasing my brother. Seeing him so happy to be back and then him crumbling inside because the person he was trying to get back to doesn't remember him…I could never forgive her for that."

"Why are you helping Damon bring her back then?"

"I'm here to make sure he doesn't get himself into another mortal danger for a woman." Bella shook her head.

"You're an amazing sister, you know that?"

"Would you like to make my brothers think that as well?" Bella laughed again.

I would. I certainly would love to be able to compel them into treating Bella the way she deserves. But no matter how much I tried, mostly with Stefan, it was pointless. He just kept saying that this is their family and it has been the way they lived for over a century now. Elena was a big part of his life and he could never be able to turn his back on her.

In the meantime, I kept thinking about what Bella said a few weeks ago in our meadow. Maybe with Elena back, her brothers could stop terrorizing her, better yet, they would have their answer and Bella could stay with me in Forks. I knew they would leave soon, trying to find another one like me who would be able to break Elena's curse.

It was during one of the nights that I thought I found a solution.

Bella cuddled up on top of me, her steady heartbeat and soft murmurs clearly stating her being asleep. These moments with her I treasured the most. She looked so calm and happy. The adorable little smile she had on every time she fell asleep was something I would put my life for. I wanted so badly to hear what she was thinking, I wished to see her dreams, to see what was making her so happy.

"Bella?" I asked when I saw her eyelids start to flutter.

"Mhm…" She asked still sleepy.

"Good morning." I couldn't help but smile when I saw her barely opened eyes looking up at me.

"Good morning." She spoke groggy but with a smile. I leaned in to leave a small kiss on her lips. "I don't want to leave this bed."

"What about school?" I chuckled.

"I'll go again in a decade or two." Her head fell back onto my chest.

"And what if I told you I think I know a vampire who would be able to save Elena?"

Bella's head shot upward again, her eyes now looked determined, staring straight at mine.

"Seriously?"

"I've thought about it a lot. I think she might be the one. There's just one uncertainty." I spoke with my hands raised, hoping I wouldn't give her too much reassurance.

"Tell me more." She sat down on the bed, and oh how good she looked at that moment. Her hair fell down her face and neck, her cheeks nice and plump and her lips opened slightly. As if reading my mind, Bella lifted my face. "Edward, concentrate."

"There's this vampire, she's a friend of our cousins in Denali. I've only ever met her once, but I know she has a gift for evading dangerous situations." I explained. "She is a sleepless, tireless creature and would be able to sense how dangerous this curse is."

"Edward…" Bella breathed. "...She has to be the one, right? Or am I missing something?"

"I don't know what her connection with Elena might be. I know you believe it to be our similar species, but...Wouldn't it be just too easy? Either way, they look completely different, and she's a couple of hundred years older than her." I shrugged.

"Well, I have to talk to her. You don't know Elena, maybe I could find something that the two have in common. Is there any way you can contact her?"

"I'll call Tanya, she's the Denali coven leader. Hopefully, Victoria left a phone number or her address with them." I offered. "But…I'll only do that if you go to the shower and accompany me to school today."

"Manipulator." Bella huffed and then chuckled, in the next second I was the only one left on the bed and my shower was running in the bathroom.

I laughed at her impatience and took my phone from the bedside table. A quick search leads me straight to the Denali house number. The call was picked up almost immediately, and an upbeat voice greeted me.

"Hey, Carmen, it's Edward." I smiled. "Everything okay up north?"

"Splendid. It's very nice to hear from you. What about you guys?"

"We're doing just fine, thanks," I assured her. "Hey, is there any chance you guys have a phone number or an address of your friend Victoria?"

"Sure, Laurent still keeps in touch with her, I'll get him to send it over once he and Irina are back from the hunt."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"No worries. I gotta run though. Tell the rest we miss you and hope to visit sometime soon."

"For sure. Bye."

"Ciao."

"Did you hear that?" I asked, facing the bathroom.

"You know I couldn't resist." Bella chuckled. "Now that you're done talking, do you want to join me?"

I grinned, quickly jumping off the bed and taking my clothes off in one go.

The bathroom was hot, the steam from the shower enveloped the entire space, making the shower door and the mirror fog up. Bella creaked the shower door. Her hair wet clinged to her naked body and a mischievous smile spread across her face. She summoned me inside with her pointy finger and I couldn't wait any longer.

Her skin was soft and hot under my touch, droplets of water running down from my arms down to her body. Her heartbeat increased and she pushed herself onto me, jumping in my arms, hugging my hips with her legs. Her warmth sent a jolt of electricity down my spine.

My lips found hers immediately, the passion, almost resembling aggression was eating me alive. Never in my life did I feel so incredibly lucky to be alive. And as we became one, I couldn't imagine being happier.

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