*DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the Twilight Saga and it's characters. This is purely artistic fiction drawn in inspiration from Stephanie Meyers words.
*This story features dark Edward.
* Jacob maintains his pre-wolf personality, but a little animosity with his transformations.
*Includes a stronger Bella arc.
*The timeline begins after the infamous cliff jump incident in New Moon and divulges from the original.
*Quileute wolves do not imprint on anyone unless both parties are at least 18. There are NO huge age gaps (ex. 4 and 16), and it happens between anyone regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
*Quileute wolves also do not cut their hair out of respect for their personal and spiritual beliefs. It does not affect their transformations.
*There will be warnings for certain chapters that contain disturbing imagery that some may find triggering.
*This chapter features a pov change.
*WARNING: READER DISCRETION ADVISED!
Brief eating disorder and r*pe mentions below.
BELLA POV
Time passes unnaturally—a phenomenon I have yet to fully accept, or remotely understand. In total, I spent a little over a full week in the hospital. Every hour felt like twenty, and I'm still reeling over the encounter with Edward. Albeit an unknown blessing in disguise, I can only remember up until just before the bite. A lot of that night happened entirely too fast to process. Some parts are more prominent in my memory than others. Falling into a tree trunk from one or two stories in the air was indescribably horrible, but the fiery, agonizing torture of venom was on another level. When it raced through my veins, the sensation was just as unbearable as the first time I experienced it. I'm still recuperating—in more ways than one. Carlisle told me it will take up to nine weeks for my broken bones to fully mend. As predicted, my mind will take a lot longer to recover, and I know Jake will faithfully be by my side for however long it takes. All of my hard work, the effort I put into building myself up… shattered in an instant.
Thankfully, while I was out of school, Angela selflessly volunteered to take notes for me. Even with only missing a week of the last month of senior year, I spent even more time in preparation for graduation. I knew I had an ironclad claim to whatever university I desired with my near-perfect SAT and ACT scores, but my overdeveloped sense of perfectionism would never allow me to fall behind. The more time I spent studying meant I could graduate on time with the rest of my friends, and wouldn't screw up my 4.0 GPA. Jake didn't mind, he was thrilled to be able to spend any amount of time with me. I guess that to any normal person, an unforeseen brush with death would reveal sudden humility—newfound respect for how fragile life is.
A harrowing realization emerged in my thoughts. I'd have to walk across the stage and grab my diploma with the use of crutches. I forgot about walking with a heavy cast and titanium alloy rods in my leg for a moment. The prospect of balancing my full weight on metal supports, which made me even more clumsy than before, was utterly daunting. I dreaded it—I was positively terrified. Would I fall on my face right before my name was called? After I left the stage? I didn't want to graduate now. To any sane person, I was sure my fears were viewed as grossly skewed. Especially since there was something else looming on the horizon. We were running out of time.
While I was trapped in the hospital, the date on which Alice predicted the war to happen was less than two weeks away. Another type of preparation was about to be underway. Tonight was the night the Cullen's and wolves planned to meet together to mediate, strategize tactics for victory, and generally alleviate any tension between the clans. Jake was extremely leery about involving me at all, but he understood I would sooner jump off a cliff again than sit around and be useless. He did prefer to watch over me, rather than someone else.
His voice was delicate, pleading, "are you sure you don't want to stay here?"
"One hundred percent sure. I've done enough resting," I nodded.
"There's no convincing you, is there?" He sighed.
"Not really—no." I would have crossed my arms but the cast and sling my right arm was in prevented me.
"Please just promise me that you'll stay close to Alice or me." Concern painted his copper-hued face.
"No guarantees," I smirked, I was excited to see Emmett again. He wouldn't be quiet nor proper, not in the slightest. I'd always seen him as an older brother. "Besides, you'll be busy doing wolfy things. Can't exactly stand next to you while you're fighting."
"Bella," he glowered, warning me gently, "I will not hesitate to sink my teeth into any of them when it comes to your safety."
"None of them are going to hurt me... so long as I don't trip and magically cut myself. Jasper might have an issue with that." I shuddered.
"Not helping." He gritted, balling his fists.
"Relax, everything will be just fine." I leaned into his arms, resting my head on his chest. He quieted, pulling me deeper into his embrace without hurting my lame arm.
"I will try," he exhaled, "for you."
"Does this mean I get to see you phase?" I looked up at him, watching his facial expression change with rampant curiosity. A sly grin tugged one corner of my lips upward.
"Absolutely not. It's dangerous to be near us when we transform, and you're not allowed to see me naked," his scowl melted, revealing a devilish smirk, "not yet anyway."
A rosy blush darkened my cheeks, "that's not what I meant." Of course, he would think that's why. Truth be told, I was just interested in learning more about that side of him.
"I dunno, Bells. You can be just as mischievous as me." He tossed his head back and laughed heartily.
"Are you saying there's a very specific time—where I can see you naked?" I paused, glancing down at my feet.
"Yeah, kind of. I think that's more of a personal, one on one, just 'us' sort of thing." He rubbed my shoulders assuredly. "Don't you?"
"Oh," I swallowed dryly, "yeah, now that you mention it." My face felt like it was on fire. Where did all of my confidence go? Out the window?
"I'm sorry, did I make you uncomfortable? You didn't seem like you had any issues discussing this before." He tilted my chin up to meet my sheepish gaze.
"It's not that. I don't know what changed," I was genuinely confused.
Nothing was different from how I viewed Jacob before the accident. If anything, his saving me only strengthened our indestructible bond. Perhaps, it was deep set in my newly developed body dysmorphia. How could he find me physically attractive when I'm encased in umpteen layers of plastic and will need continuous rehab to walk properly? My body was so emaciated from starving myself for a year, it's why my bones snapped like twigs in the first place. My wounds, and eventually scars, would probably disgust him. I found them extremely unsightly even before the removal of my casts. Another reminder of my paper-thin humanity.
"A lot has happened in a short amount of time. Remember what I said? Don't be so hard on yourself." Sometimes, he was too wise for being eighteen. I forgot we were the same age rather frequently. "We don't have to talk about that stuff if it bothers you, Bells."
"That doesn't bother me," I cringed, "how can you still love me when I'm a walking disaster?"
"I love every part of you. From your messy hair down to your cute, little toes." He thinks my toes are cute?
"Even the scars? My leg and arm won't ever look the same."
"No matter what. I love you unconditionally, Bella." He caressed my exposed right hand, careful not to move it too much.
He rubbed distinctly over the crescent moon-shaped scar James had left. The identical wound from Edward's bite was healed, but I worried about revealing it's nature. That little attribute might detour Jake, knowing that the intimate place he loved so much was defiled. I raised his large hand with my free one to skim the bandage over my neck.
"Even here?" I whispered, staring blankly at the wall.
"Listen here, little one." He cupped my face, locking his eyes with mine. He was stern and yet so tender at the same time. "I love you. More than anything. Body, soul, and mind. You can't change how I—"
My cell phone was ringing, I shifted to pull it out of my pocket. My eyes darted from him to the bright screen, it vibrated loudly in my hands. He nodded his head, and I pressed the button for speaker phone. Jake would need to hear what was being said. Not that he wouldn't be able to when it wasn't on speaker. Enhanced hearing was an unusual trait—part of his werewolf affliction. The caller ID listed that it was Alice.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hi, Bella. Is your other half ready for the meeting?" Her spritely voice crackled through the receiver.
"Hey, Alice. Yeah, Jake's here with me," he leaned closer to the mouthpiece.
"I'm good to go. Still meeting in the woods beside your house at 8 tonight?"
"Yes, all of us are here aside from... Edward. He is in Denali with our cousins." She trailed off. Jake looked as though he wanted to say something but bit his tongue.
"The packs will be there soon."
"Good. We'll see you then," Alice was more cordial toward him now. It was nice to see them being more tolerant of each other, "talk to you soon, Bella. Can't wait to see you!" What was she planning now?
"Talk soon, bye Alice." The dial tone sounded and I pressed the end call button.
We exchanged knowing glances and quickly exited my room, carefully descending the stairs. Charlie was on a late patrol, still under the impression he was going to come across a busted up, lifted truck in the area. We felt bad knowing we were continuously lying to him. Especially me, but it was for his safety. There was leftover lasagna I made the night before in the fridge so he wouldn't go hungry. He worked so hard, it was the least I could do. I left a note on the counter that I'd be out late, and it was the weekend anyhow. I awkwardly shuffled into my big, red Chevy with Jake's help and headed towards the Cullen's. Once we turned onto the immaculate drive, a strange, overwhelming wave of nostalgia washed over me despite being there a week ago. I didn't have a clear memory of it; I was still under the heavy influence of morphine at the time. It was for the best. We parked beside the glass and wooden hybrid of a house. It was a marvel to behold, even after all the time I'd spent away. Esme's architectural designs were always so beautiful to me.
Jake led me through the woods by carrying me bridal style after we exited my truck. It was much easier that way and took less time. The sun was setting in front of us, lazily sinking behind the vast horizon. The sky was saturated with fluffy cumulus clouds, each one reflected differently in the brilliant, waning light of day. Carnelian, violet, and cerulean hues splashed across the atmosphere, producing a dazzling landscape that looked like something out of a famous oil painting. San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk by Claude Monet might have been a close comparison. We reached a spacious clearing, where there were few trees surrounding us. Sam's pack was already there, having phased before the arrival of anyone else. They did not trust the Cullen's as I did, and Jake was starting to. Leah was still human for the time being, leaning casually against a thick pine tree.
"About time," she huffed, "I see they let you out of the hospital. Now I know why Jake took so long." Leah chuckled affably, it was weirdly soothing to see her. Which each meeting, I felt closer to her than before.
"Yeah, I wouldn't let him leave me at home." Jake set me down on wobbly feet by Leah. I openly leaned against him for support, avoiding putting too much weight on my broken leg.
"Seems you have a knack for finding trouble, Bella."
"Looks that way," I groaned, "feels that way, too." I flashed a playful grin.
"I bet," she looked to Jake, "when are the leeches supposed to get here?"
"At 8—so any second now. Don't blink," some of the other wolves had moved up closer to where we were standing. Jake had acknowledged them briefly and averted his gaze to watch for the Cullen's.
He was right. As fast as they were, they were completely silent save for the gust of wind that rushed past with their inhuman movement. Alice and Jasper were the first to arrive, followed by Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. Leah disappeared under some of the darker, more plentiful parts of foliage behind us and phased. The loud cracking sound of her bones rending reverberated clearly throughout the opening we were in. Carlisle stepped forward, addressing me first and foremost. His eyes were golden again, a fact that comforted me.
"Hello Bella, it's wonderful to see you doing so well. Good evening, Jacob," Carlisle smiled warmly, "are we ready to start?"
"Whenever you are, doc."
"Excellent. I'll have Jasper do a lot of the talking and demonstrations. He has experience with newborns—freshly turned members of our kind. They are what we'll be dealing with when the time comes." Jake nodded and looked down at me.
"Will you be ok without me?"
"I'm tough. I think I'll manage." I kissed his cheek, his jaw popped open in surprise. A mild blush graced his features.
"A-Alice." He called to her.
"I'm here." Alice appeared beside us. Jake stepped away from me, and ever so carefully, she took his place. She might have been a few inches shorter than me, but I was content. Alice was my best friend, that would never change.
She beamed, "lean on me all you want—I had a nice grizzly bear buffet before this. I'm not even remotely hungry." Jake shot a frown at her before he too, disappeared into the brush to phase.
I winced this time as the deafening sound echoed through the empty space. His wolf form was much larger than I'd remembered. Perhaps, it was the sheer amount of pain I'd been in that clouded my mind. His towering height and strong build were comparable to a fuzzy tank, a definite affinity to his robust size as a human. Jake was arguably the largest wolf, aside from Sam, who I recognized as the one with ebony-colored fur. His commanding presence and silence alone made it known that he was the Alpha of that pack. He was the first wolf I'd seen in the meadow the day Laurent tried to attack me. I preferred Jacob's russet-colored fur, which was just as luxurious and beautiful as his human hair.
Jake crouched down beside me so I could pet him, his tongue lolling in place and tail idly wagging. An action I knew was from a place of deep trust. I ran my good hand through the bulk of his furry mane, peering into his much larger, innately canine, amber-colored eyes. He whined softly and inched closer. Alice grimaced, crinkling her short, slightly up-turned nose.
"I'm gonna have to bathe twice tonight to get the smell of dog out." She stuck out her tongue, grinning at Jasper, who was closer to us at that point. He seemed a little hesitant around me since our last encounter. When he turned and faced the wolves, his demeanor immediately altered to a more serious and refined one. He carried himself differently now, almost like he was right at home. It was the first time I'd seen him relax in my company.
"Newborn vampires aren't like the ones you know," he began, pacing back and forth slowly. "Human blood lingers in their muscles, making them a whole hell of a lot stronger and more dangerous than an older vampire. They are wildly inexperienced, unstable, and somewhat predictable in their blood lust."
Jasper turned to Carlisle, "we are all seasoned, vegetarian vampires, and willingly choose to feed on only animals for nutrition." He continued, "contrarily—a newborn vamp has an extremely hard time controlling their thirst. Oftentimes, if not always, giving into their urges to feed on humans—"
"Jaz'," Alice interjected, her voice a bit more gentle now, "don't forget to explain why we think they were created." He nodded briefly, his expression just as soft toward her.
"Thank you for reminding me," he crossed his arms, recalibrating, "we believe the reason why this army was created—was to wipe out our coven and the packs in one fell swoop. This attack was deliberately planned by one, singular vampire that we share history with. She wants vengeance."
Jasper peered in my direction, locking eyes with me, "Victoria is her name. We killed her mate because he was hunting Bella. She couldn't seek her revenge alone, so she made an army to blindly follow her into battle against us." I grimaced, I felt dizzy as my stomach turned. Jake snarled at Jasper's insinuation, which resulted in the other wolves growling in disapproving stereo.
"Our kind typically likes to live in nests, traveling in close-knit packs to claim territory that we hunt in," Alice piped up.
She straightened, stepping forward with my weight distributed evenly, "when Jaz' was turned, he was unwillingly drafted into a coven of great size created by a vampire just like Victoria. She fought for power and land, turning unsuspecting people. They were used as disposable pawns. This is why Jaz' knows so much about newborns. He was forced to make them as second in command, and ultimately to end them before they rebelled against their leader or seldom became too powerful."
"Wow. I didn't know that." I admitted, feeling a pang of shared sympathy for Jasper.
"We've come to an accord then. All of us believe that no more harm should come to Bella. She may not be a vampire like us, but she is a part of our family now." A melancholy smile graced Carlisle's exquisitely sharp features. His sentiment helped calm my nerves.
"What are we waiting for, then? Let's get this party started. I wanna break somethin'." Emmett boomed, laughing while he flexed his impossibly huge biceps.
"Hold on, Emmett," Esme admonished, "let Jasper finish."
Emmett frowned and hung his head in defeat, "sorry, bro'."
"S'alright Em'," Jasper chuckled, "as I was saying, newborns are much stronger and faster than older vampires. Therefore, you need to learn their attack patterns. They are desperate hunters," he paused, coming over to unzip a backpack Rosalie reluctantly carried. She sluffed the straps of the bag off, looking painfully indifferent compared to the others. I knew she cared, somewhere deep down inside. She wouldn't have visited me in the hospital otherwise.
"This," he held up a trash bag in his hand, "is what they will go crazy for. Inside this bag is not just Bella's scent—but old blood. We'll use it to lure them in, distract them, and finally: ambush 'em." Jasper scowled, mashing the bag down into the backpack yet again. He threw it onto the ground disparagingly. I hoped my dried blood wasn't negatively affecting him.
"Thank you for your contribution, Jacob," Esme smiled toward him, her perfect, heart-shaped face amicable as always.
"Can we fight now?" Emmett complained, shuffling his feet uneasily.
"I don't see why not. Let's show the wolves what to expect," Jasper grinned at Emmett's eager attitude.
"Bring it on, Texas!" He yelled, bending his gigantic body into an offensive position.
"Boys...," Alice murmured sarcastically, rolling her eyes and smiling at me. I returned her expression and glanced back up at the dueling men.
Jasper was quick to answer Emmett's challenge, and not long after beginning, was easily able to overthrow his strong-armed, broad attacks. Emmett began to become irritated the more times Jasper anticipated his actions, knocked him over and whizzed by him.
"See? This is why you should never turn your back on a newborn," he chuckled, gently shoving Emmett's head downward. "If you go for the obvious kill, you will lose—"
While Jasper was talking, Emmett hooked one of his large arms around Jasper's left leg and tossed him thirty or so feet in the air. He landed deftly, quietly calculating his next move on Emmett. The wolves seemed to be amused with their antics and watched anxiously.
"What's that about losing—loser?" Emmett belly laughed, cracking his knuckles. A flash of blonde hair resulted in Emmett getting knocked onto his back. A thunderous clap echoed when he made contact with a tree.
"One more thing... never underestimate your opponent." Jasper wiped the dirt off his hands onto his faded, holy jeans. "Next?" He turned to face Carlisle, who nodded in acceptance with a sly grin. Emmett was back on his feet and charging at Jasper.
"Nope, it's still my turn," he collided with Jasper, another blow cracking through the trees. They wrestled, too fast to be seen, until once again, Jasper came out on top.
"If you insist, big fella," Jasper's southern drawl was quite prominent in this moment. Emmett was so jubilant, at home with the chaos of fighting. When he got back up onto his feet the fifth or sixth time, I was sure Rose was getting annoyed. I didn't think he'd ever give up until she tapped his shoulder.
"My turn," she kissed Emmett. Rose and Jasper were zooming back and forth on the forest floor, twin blurs of lightning. Neither one landed a single hit on the other. Several minutes elapsed and Rose had finally thrown Jasper onto his rear, sporting a satisfied smirk of a much deserved victory.
Rosalie purred, "I win."
"Hell yeah, babe," Emmett affectionately kissed Rose back and draped an arm over her shoulders.
"Bless your heart, Rose. I'll let you have this one," Jasper smiled wide, "shall we try adding some of our furry friends?" He gestured to Jake specifically and I felt the firm urge to object. There was no way I'd be able to keep him held back though.
Emmett crossed his arms plainly, withdrawing from Rosalie's side, "as long as they understand it's nothing personal. This is just training."
A growl of dismissal sounded and Jake haunched down, baring his huge teeth in playful response.
"Oooh, I think we've got a winner." Emmett narrowed his eyes, pressing all his muscular weight forward into another offensive stance. "Be my guest, pup."
That did it. Jake lunged forward, smashing into Emmett's body. They rolled around on the ground for a long while until Emmett tossed Jake off of him. Leah immediately tagged in, jumping into the fray. The 'fun' continued for another hour or so. Once all the energy had been spent, and all egos had been quashed, Jake and I regrouped at the Cullen's house. Sam and his pack left, expecting a follow-up on info before the fight in two weeks.
"What else can I do to help?" I asked, worried that I wasn't doing enough. Everyone was risking their lives for me after all.
"Everything is pretty much taken care of, Bella," Alice replied flippantly.
"Yeah, you'd just end up vamp lunch if you tried to do anything." Emmett joked, affectionately ruffling my hair, "I have to say, you'd make one bad ass lil' newborn."
"Tough enough to take you on, huh?" I playfully fake punched his arm and he pretended to be hurt, recoiling from my hand slightly. Jake was not so keen on his remark and shot daggers at him.
"You can't say stuff like that, babe. You'll upset the doggy." Rose added, an icy edge to her angel-like voice.
"Watch it, Blondie," Jake hissed, increasing his protective hold on me.
"Rose, play nice, please." Esme chastised Rosalie, giving a rare side-eye glance. Carlisle hid a well-placed smirk from her. Esme was always peace keeper, but undeniably had the last say.
"Well, there is one thing," Jasper began thoughtfully, "although, it might bother your boyfriend, Bella."
"What? What could she do?" Jake questioned, trying to keep an open mind. That surprised me.
"She could place small pieces of her clothing all over the battlefield to confuse them. Better yet, pricking her finger and wiping fresh blood on them would drive the newborns crazy."
"No, that's too much. We already have the dress," Jake shook his head defiantly. "No dice. It risks the whole operation if they break ranks and came after her."
"I told you he wouldn't like it." Alice was sitting on Jasper's lap, her arms wrapped like a loose scarf around his neck.
"Of course, he wouldn't. B-but I want to help, so that's what I'm gonna do." I stammered.
"Bella. No." Jake urged, holding my shoulders.
"Jake, this is all I can do. I'm not just gonna roll over and play dead." I realized what I said a little too late.
"Really?" He stifled a near-silent laugh at my unintentional pun. A collective giggle wormed through everyone in the room.
"I'm serious—I don't like playing the damsel in distress."
"You're not. But this is life and death—"
"Leave the fighting to us, Bella." Carlisle politely interrupted, "you can trust us. We won't let you get hurt by our kind ever again." His eyes were full of great sorrow; he probably blames himself for Edward's attack.
"I do trust you. All of you. You're the family I always wanted growing up," I felt tears well in my eyes, my throat burned from holding them back. I meant every word. I wished I had a full home life but instead all I got was flighty Renee and Charlie once a year—then no time at all for several years.
"You've always been so accepting and kind to us, it's a small token of gratitude. We wish to repay your generosity." Carlisle smiled now, pulling Esme closer into his side.
"Try not to worry, dear. You're under enough stress as it is and need to focus on healing," Esme agreed with Carlisle, extending a stiff, cold hand in solidarity. If she wasn't already a vampire, I expected her to have the warmest hands. I nodded quietly, turning my attention back to Alice who was now beside us.
"Since graduation is coming up—" she paused, an impish grin drawn on her perfect lips, "you'll need to pick out a formal outfit." Alice clapped her hands together, unbridled glee swallowing her features. "C'mon, Bella! Let's go see if I have something for you to wear from next year's Versace collection."
I gave a resigned sigh, accepting the fact that I would always be a dress-up doll for Alice. Ironically, I didn't mind it too much. I didn't have any siblings so the attention was nice. Jake tried to follow us before Alice narrowed her eyes at him.
"I don't think you'll want to sit around while we try on clothes," she winked, "it'll be a while."
"It's not the worst thing in the world. I like the end result," Jake said, unfazed. He'd already gone through the motions when I looked for an outfit for dinner with Billy. This was nothing new.
"Oh, that's awfully surprising. Maybe this one's a keeper after all, Bella." Alice's eyes went wide.
"You're makin' us look bad, dude." Emmett scoffed, tossing his arms up.
"Only one of us, I think." Jasper chuckled.
"I don't like clothes. They're so annoying," Emmett was not so quietly firing back at Jasper, the sound dissipating as we ascended the stairs. I tried hard not to laugh.
As we passed the old room I had come to know as Edward's, it was completely empty. No lingering boxes, not even a stack of his beloved records left behind. A blank, 12 x 12 void, dark and vacant. No shred of evidence that anyone had ever lived there beforehand. A polarizing thought struck me. Was it by their doing, or his own? Did they reject him? Jake increased his hold on me slightly, pressing a kiss to my hair. I hadn't noticed I was trembling when we walked by the room. Did Jake smell Edward still?
We entered Alice's 'wing' of the house. She had three separate, equally large rooms to herself, one for each section of a small department store. She cycled through multiple sections of her runway-sized walk-in closet before settling on an arm full of dresses. I grimaced, noticing they all shared a common attribute. They were all short. Did Alice mean to pick them specifically based on her size? Or strictly just to spite me? Surely, she chose the later, because she was a fashion designer. I didn't doubt that she probably knew my measurements by heart. She hung the swath of dresses up beside the door to her grandiose bathroom.
"Here. I picked a few from every season for the next two years," she noted, thoughtfully assessing some of the pieces she chose.
"Thanks, Alice." I didn't know where to start. This wasn't my area of expertise.
"Don't mention it. Soon enough you'll have a whole new wardrobe." Alice beamed once more, resuming her search through her monumental collection of clothes. "I'll have to gift some things to Jacob, too. I noticed him wearing almost the exact same outfit the last two times I've seen him."
"That's because some of us can't afford to buy out a shopping mall." He laughed, helping me situate myself behind the door to the bathroom. I balanced on my good foot, waving at Alice to come help the uncoordinated. Me.
"Oh. I forgot, Bella. I'm sorry. It's been a long time since I was human." She flashed an embarrassed smirk, piling into the enormous bathroom and shutting the door. Alice brought the stack of clothes and hung them on the hanging rack situated by the door.
"Do I have to try on all of them?" I groaned, pulling off my loose fitting t-shirt and throwing it onto the sink. She impatiently crossed her arms in the reflection.
"Yes, Bella, I need to know. I think you might be a winter but I'm not convinced." She held up several colorful dresses to my pale skin and I inadvertently rolled my eyes.
Alice picked at the worn strap of my black bra, "this thing has seen better days." She laughed softly, helping me shrug out of my sweatpants. It's all that would fit over my cast. "While you're here, I'll have to gift you some nice lingerie sets."
"Is that completely necessary? What I have now is nice."
"Yeah, nice enough to Goodwill, maybe. Bella, I hate to break it to you, but you can't wear clothes this long. You're my best friend—practically my sister. I simply can't have you dressing like a vagabond."
"If you say so." Alice stuffed me into multiple dresses, some that were so elegant and beautiful that they made me feel poor just by existing.
All of these dresses still had tags on them, and the number most of them amounted to was more than I'd made in six months of working at Newton's. A lot more. Probably worth more than Charlie's annual salary. My face paled when she set aside one that easily cost as much as a down payment on a speed boat.
"Something wrong, Bella?" She molded her stone-like hand to my forehead, "you turned pale."
"Nothing, Alice. Are we done yet?" I huffed, my leg and arm were aching. It had been a few hours since I had any pain medicine.
"Just about. I think this one will look really nice with the cap and gown color. It complements your complexion." She held up a black, fitted dress that was scrunchy. It felt a lot like t-shirt material, so that was a plus. I glanced at the tag and my mouth hung open in sticker shock. It was twelve hundred dollars.
She giggled, "now for shoes! Err... shoe."
"Alice." I hissed, feeling exhausted.
"Okay okay, I'll let you leave. We'll save them for another day soon. Promise you'll come back?" She helped me re-dress and held me in a tight hug for a moment.
"Yes, I promise. Who else would I want to spend my time with?" My heart was steady, I did enjoy our time together. It made me subsequently miss Angela. I needed to see her soon. I pondered how things were going with her and Leah.
"You're not just saying that?"
"No, I'm not just saying that. I missed you too much when you left Forks. I emailed you several times every day," I swallowed uneasily, "it hurt me even worse to know I lost you as well."
"It wasn't my decision." She frowned, a disappointed and morose look on her pixie-esque face.
"I know..." I wasn't blaming her.
Alice wrinkled her nose, "you need another shower."
"Wolf smell?" I quipped, exiting the bathroom with her. She held onto the stack of clothes while we went back downstairs.
"Yeah, it's awful." She gagged, sticking out her tongue.
"Speak for yourself." Jake arched an eyebrow, staring at all the clothes Alice was packing into bags to take home. I'd have to keep pushing them into my closet so Charlie wouldn't notice. No one was around the living room except Rosalie, which was an odd occurrence.
"Did you find an outfit for graduation yet?" She stared blankly at me.
"Yeah, Alice picked it out." I replied quietly.
"I have something for you, too," she said, barely audible, "it's from Emmett and me."
"Really? What for?"
"As a way of saying, 'we're sorry you were dragged into this mess'." She had that bored, indifferent look again.
"Alice told me how much you've suffered at the hands of our broth—Edward—and I can see it now, too."
I was silent, Jake tightened his arm around my waist. He must have been wary of Rose's intentions.
"It's hard not to see it now." I responded, nonchalant.
"Well yes, anyone with eyes can see that." Rose retorted, before relaxing again.
She softened, I'd never seen her this way, "I'm sorry. What you went through was awful. I empathize and relate to you, in a way." I stared, unsure of how to process this.
"What you don't know is that I don't hate you. I don't particularly like you, but..." She was still, her eyes locked on the ground at my feet. "Bella, I envy you."
"What?" I said, trying to understand that impossible statement. "That's ridiculous."
"No, it's not," she murmured, "you have opportunities none of us can have."
"Like what?"
"A chance at a real life, a family—children."
I swallowed dryly, my eyes fluttered shut. Not another person trying to goad me into kids.
"None of us had a choice," she paused, "take me for example. My human life was perfect, absolutely, and wonderfully perfect. I was engaged to the most eligible bachelor in town, Royce King. Unfortunately, I barely knew him. I was young and in love with the idea of love." I reopened my eyes, leaning further into Jake's arms.
"On the last night of my life, I left a friends house late and wasn't far from home. I was stopped by Royce and a bunch of his friends who were belligerently drunk. He tried to take off my dress and when I pulled away, he didn't like that," Rosalie's smile disappeared, "him and his friends took turns raping me. I was laying in a pool of blood in the middle of the street when Carlisle found me. He thought I was dead—and believe me, I wanted to be."
She grinned wickedly, "I got my revenge on them. One by one. Saved Royce for last. I wore a wedding dress just to kill him in," Emmett entered the room and hugged her from behind, "I was a little theatrical then."
"I'm sorry, Rose." A residual pang of sympathy stabbed my center.
"Don't be. Things got better when I found Emmett. I saved him from a grizzly attack in the Appalachian mountains. Didn't even touch a drop of blood."
"I thought she was an angel from Heaven." He said warmly, kissing her cheek.
"We'll always be this. Frozen in time, unable to grow, to age. That's what I miss the most: possibilities," Rosalie sighed. "Anyway, come with us."
"Oh yeah, the gift," Emmett smirked, "you're gonna love it!"
They led us out to the triple car garage where my truck was parked in.
"Wait—why's the truck over here?"
"Minor detail. Check it out," Emmett opened the hood, revealing an entirely new motor.
"You replaced the engine?" Jake seemed queasy, the truck had come from him before it was mine.
"Yeah, something with heft since this rust bucket barely made it over fifty without shaking—also, I didn't do the work, Rosey did. She's the mechanic."
"Don't hate the truck, Em'," I swatted his shoulder, looking down at the shiny new parts. Mechanics made zero sense to me.
"You… you're a mechanic?" Jake looked at Rosalie with definitive disbelief.
"Why's that so hard to understand, mutt?" She scowled, turning to face me.
"I never said it was. It's not every day you meet a model/mechanic/vampire rolled up into one person." Rose seemed taken aback that he didn't insult her.
"Thank you, Rosalie. I don't have to worry about the engine puking out on trips to universities anymore." I hated accepting gifts, but knew I couldn't skirt around them with the Cullen family.
"It's real nice. Is that a v8?" Jake gleamed, observing more details the longer he stared, "and turbo?"
Emmett, Rose and him talked about cars for a solid ten minutes before I interrupted. I was really in pain now but I wished I didn't have to interject during their bonding time. I loved seeing them interact this way.
"Hey, does Carlisle have anything at the house for pain?" I winced, I'd over done it. Staying on my feet and going without medicine for too long came with consequences.
"Of course, he has a second hospital stashed away in his study," Rose showed mild concern, "he won't mind if you help yourself."
"Let me help," Emmett checked with Jake before he lifted me off the ground effortlessly. "I'm good at picking things up and puttin' 'em down."
"Yeah. We know, big guy." I patted his shoulder with the hand that wasn't throbbing.
We left not long after that, Charlie was already asleep by the time we got in. Jake and I followed suit, but as I delved into the subconscious world of dreams, they were ominous and full of painful memories. I always had nightmares but these were on another level. Jake woke me up a few times to comfort me, and the last time I drifted off, I visualized Jasper and Rose as humans. The dream was beautiful—some place between reality and fiction—where we coexisted with the Cullen's like normal adults and nothing supernatural was involved.
Time went by even faster now; it was only a matter of time. Would I be ready to face Victoria? I didn't feel like I would ever be prepared.