DISCLAIMER: Some lucky lady named Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight!I don’t own a thing,just playing with her Universe.
This plotline, however, is mine. I really don't see the point in stealing something I'm already providing for free, so please refrain from plagiarizing this story. Thank you.
Finally, if you are not old enough to vote, you probably shouldn't read my fic. It's accordingly rated and that should be enough to deter you. However, I know how curious teens can be. I will not take responsibility for you reading this if you aren't over the legal age. That's your parents' job not mine.
To all those old enough to vote, happy reading!
Chapter 9: You're mine
"These flowers, which were splendid and sprightly, waking in the dawn of the morning, in the evening will be a pitiful frivolity, sleeping in the cold night's arms."
Pedro Calderon de la Barca.
Light filtered through Bella's closed eyelids. She felt the sun's rays warming her skin. She heard birds chirping and the sounds of a stream in the distance. She heard tree leaves dancing to the rhythm of the wind. She smelled the tantalizing scent of blossoming flowers and grass around her. She tasted the freshness of spring in the air. The forest was making music; music that captivated her senses and spoke to her heart.
Warm, electric fingers caressed her body. She could feel them leaving a trail from her fingertips, to her knuckles, to her arms, to her neck, to her jaw, and finally resting on her cheek. The fingers brushed her flushed face, touching her as if she were a precious flower, frail and beautiful, a flower that could be destroyed by the slightest excess of force. The fingers worshipped her.
"Open your eyes," a sweet voice crooned. The voice was magical and its command was like 'open sesame' to Bella's eyes. They couldn't resist the compulsion to open and greet the owner of that bewitching voice.
Slowly, Bella opened her eyes. She had to blink several times before she got used to the glare of the sunlight that threatened to blind them. When she finally did, instead of the face she expected to see, she encountered a face that had only starred in her nightmares thus far.
"Anthony," Bella's voice whispered, but it wasn't the voice she was familiar with. It was slightly different, and she immediately recognized it as her aunt Marie's.
"Welcome back Sleeping Beauty," Anthony grinned widely, with a blissful expression that confused Bella. She had grown used to a pained one; the happiness painting his features seemed foreign.
Marie's feelings were also out of the ordinary. In Bella's last dream Marie had been feeling indescribable sorrow. Now, Bella could only feel peace from her aunt. Peace, happiness, pleasure, mischief.
"If I'm really Sleeping Beauty why hasn't my Prince kissed me awake?" Marie asked, her tone playful.
"Oh really?" Anthony taunted as he moved himself on top of Marie's body, "is that the game we're playing? Oh well, if a kiss is what the Princess wants then a kiss the Princess shall receive."
Anthony's lips descended on Marie's. Bella could feel the same electrifying sizzle she felt whenever she kissed Edward.
Bella felt herself, or Marie more like it, get lost in the kiss. She could feel herself get carried away with the onslaught of sensations Anthony's lips created. Bella was shocked by how alike it felt to kissing Edward. It was a surreal experience, and in a way, she knew she was kissing him, since she was certain he was another spectator in this dream, only through Anthony's eyes. However, what was startling about the experience was not the similarities, but the differences.
The second kiss Edward and she had shared felt more potent than their first one. They had crossed many invisible boundaries with that kiss. They had pushed themselves more, enjoyed themselves thoroughly, but they had still stopped the situation from going much further. She had felt a need, buried deep inside her that wanted to take over but she had resisted it. Her body was ready for more, but her mind was not.
In this kiss, however, both mind and body were working in tandem. No disagreements, no differences; they both wanted the same thing and were ready to take it.
Anthony's hands wandered to places Edward's had not dared to explore. Bella could feel her skin igniting where he touched. He placed his right hand around her neck, his thumb gently caressing her jaw, as his tongue coaxed her mouth to open. Bella felt it all as Marie happily obliged to Anthony's request, and whimpered as soon as his tongue entered her mouth. Anthony's left hand ventured lower, descending at a torturously slow pace, touching her in places that made her entire body burst into flames.
"Mon amour…" Anthony moaned as his lips abandoned Marie's, but not the rest of her, for they sensuously started to draw a trail from her jaw to her clavicle. Marie gasped and writhed beneath him, while he lazily explored her.
Bella felt Marie's hands abandon the death grip they had on the blanket she had been lying on, and place them on Anthony's lower back. She could feel how they leisurely ascended underneath Anthony's shirt, greedily exploring with growing fascination the secrets Anthony's smooth back hid.
She felt how his muscles rippled under her touch, the flickers of scorching fire between her fingertips and his skin. They moaned, gasped and groaned as their hands and mouths wandered each other's bodies.
Anthony's hands continued to move lower, his right gripping Marie's waist, his left descending even lower and hitching her right leg around his waist. Marie cried out softly when her lower half came in direct contact with Anthony's. Bella felt ashamed at how much she was enjoying herself through Marie's feelings. This level of primal need wasn't something she was prepared for yet, but Marie's slightly older body seemed more than ready and willing to continue.
Anthony pressed himself harder to her. He grunted as he rocked his hips against hers, creating a delicious friction between them. Bella could feel how Marie's blood caught fire, heat pooled in her belly and spread through her body like molten lava coursing through her veins.
Marie was drowning in sensations, Bella along with her. Anthony was everywhere. He was in the sunlight. He was part of the trees and the creek. He was part of Marie. She could feel him, his touch, his breathing, all of him under her very skin. He burned her from the inside out.
Marie could no longer keep her eyes open. Try as she might, they closed on their own. The feelings exploding within her were overpowering the core of her being. She was held captive with no escape, not that she wished for one.
"I love you Anthony," Bella heard Marie's voice sigh as she sunk her short nails into his skin. "I love you so much."
"I love you too, poppet," an unfamiliar voice groaned, and Bella felt Marie freeze. That voice, Bella thought, her soul being filled with dread. She didn't know who the owner was, but somehow, deep down she remembered the voice hatefully.
Slowly, Marie's eyes opened, revealing to Bella who was lying on top of her now. Cobalt eyes greeted her instead of the emerald ones she had desperately hoped to see. Marie started to squirm, trying to free herself from the strange man's hold as fast as she could. Now didn't seem fast enough for Bella.
The man was handsome, had dark blonde short hair, sharp features, and a lean body. But there was a coldness about him, a grim aura that surrounded him. He looked like a demon; seductive, predatory, dangerous.
He smiled cruelly. He was enjoying Marie's struggle, Bella could see it in his wintry blue eyes.
"You know I love it when you wriggle under me, my poppet," the man sneered. "You'll just get me more excited."
Marie thrashed about in an effort to throw the man off her, but he was too heavy.
Marie's desperation grew, as did Bella's. What was Marie trying to show her with this dream? What was this guy going to do to her?
Bella watched with growing panic the man's lips descend to Marie's neck. She felt disgusted when he nipped her earlobe, licking and sucking, probably leaving a mark.
He grabbed Marie's wrists when she tried to push him away, and placed each of her hands above her head, holding them there with one hand.
Bella felt helpless as he proceeded to place open-mouthed kisses all over her exposed neckline, tasting her, making her feel dirty. She felt hot tears falling down her cheeks, Marie's cheeks. She wanted to wake up before things could go any further. It was one thing to know through Marie's diaries how tragic her life had been, another entirely to experience it with her.
His mouth ascended the length of Marie's neck, reaching the side of her head, while his free hand descended lower, found one of her legs, and started to stroke her inner thigh under her dress, much too close to Marie's most intimate place. Bella felt ill.
He positioned his lips next to her ear and murmured directly into it, "You're mine, and I will find you wherever you go. Remember that my sweetIsabella."
Bella screamed.
-x-x-x-x-
Edward was stirred awake from his dream by an embarrassing problem he really didn't need while sleeping next to the only girl he had ever liked.
The dream had felt so real that he was a bit confused when he opened his eyes and found himself in Bella's room, lying in her bed, instead of the meadow where he had been.
He had had another dream involving Anthony and Marie, but it had been so different from the last one, as different as night was to day.
He felt Anthony's happiness like his own, his awe as he admired Marie's beauty while she laid on a blanket and the sun rays bathed her skin, making it glow.
Last night, when he had found Marie's picture, he had seen some similarities between her and Bella. Similarities he hadn't been able to appreciate in his last nightmare due to how poor the lighting had been and how upset he had felt. In this new dream though, the moment Marie opened her eyes he recognized them immediately. They weren't just any brown eyes, they were Bella's.
He had felt strangely guilty when Anthony started kissing Marie, like he was cheating on Bella with her own aunt. They hadn't labeled their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but he had every intention of asking as soon as he could. Still, in the end, he reasoned he was kissing Bella, since she was probably experiencing the kiss through Marie's eyes, as bizarre as the whole thing was. Thus, he allowed himself to enjoy the moment. It felt a lot like kissing Bella anyways, so imagining it was her wasn't all that hard. Speaking of which…Edward looked at his lap and groaned.
Of all mornings to wake up feeling like this, it had to be this morning, the one morning he woke up next to Bella. He blushed in embarrassment and turned to look at the girl who inspired such feelings in him. She was so striking in her sleep. Always was – but there was something about the vulnerability she displayed when she was slumbering that made her beauty more ethereal. She was a fairy tale princess, his princess if he had any say in it.
He carefully lifted Bella's right arm, which was lying across his chest, and placed it over the pillow he had been using. Bella snuggled into it and Edward smiled, touched by how adorable she looked nuzzling his pillow. He slowly rose from the bed, trying not to wake her, and walked to her bathroom.
Once inside, he locked the door behind him, and considered his options to solve his… problem before Bella woke up.
In the past, when he had encountered such a situation, he had taken a long cold shower to make it go away. At that very moment he didn't think that was a feasible solution though. Bella would surely wake up the minute she heard the shower, and ask why he was taking one, in her bathroom, so early in the morning.
He really didn't want to answer that question.
He knew of another solution, but the idea of using that one deeply mortified him given where he was.
The only idea he had left was trying to will the problem away. He wasn't sure that would work, but it was the only plan he had thought of that he could put into action without making any noise or embarrassing himself.
He sat over the toilet seat, and thought of anything that would take his mind away from the kiss he had experienced in his dream and the gorgeous girl sleeping a few steps away.
"Think Edward, think…it has to be something gross or creepy," he murmured to himself. He remembered the time Alice captured a toad and kissed it, shuddering at the memory. She was five, and had argued it was a Prince and she had to kiss it to turn him back to his human form. That had been one of the most disgusting things he had seen in his entire life. Sadly, it didn't do the job and Edward grumbled in frustration.
"Okay, think of something repulsive," he commanded himself. He thought back to the time he went fishing with his brother and they had hit a deer on the way back with Jacob's truck. That had been an outright revolting experience. He had been twelve, and had never seen so much blood in his life, not even in movies.
The memory was finally making his problem disappear and Edward was beginning to feel relief flooding his system when suddenly he heard Bella moaning.
He quickly jumped to his feet, and ran to check on her.
He found her writhing in bed. Making agonizing noises as if she were in so much pain she could no longer make her voice obey. He rapidly realized that maybe they didn't necessarily share the same dream every night. Perhaps while he had been having a very nice one, even with the uncomfortable situation he had found himself in after it, she had been having a nightmare.
He sat next to Bella and briefly considered the best way to wake her up without startling her too much. However, when her cries increased in volume he realized he had to rouse her no matter how. Her distress weighed heavier on his heart than his own could ever do.
So as gently as he could manage he picked her up in his arms, hugged her closely to him and rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.
"Shush…I'm here, wake up, my love. I have you," he cooed next to her ear, placing a soft kiss on her temple.
Bella immediately stopped thrashing and wrapped her arms around Edward. He wasn't sure if she was awake or if she was still dreaming but he allowed her a few seconds before asking, "Are you awake now, Bella?"
He felt Bella sigh and snuggle against his chest before she lifted her head and directed her sleepy gaze at him.
"I think I'm still dreaming because you're not supposed to be in my bed or be this pretty so early in the morning," Bella replied, giving Edward a weary smile.
Edward chuckled at Bella's obviously drowsy response. Relief filled his heart, as he hugged her to him tightly, burying his nose in her hair. It smelled lovely, like strawberries and cream.
Hugging Bella so close, smelling her sweet scent felt right. With her Edward felt no doubts, had no obscure secrets hidden inside his head, he felt only certainty.
"What were you dreaming about?" Edward asked after a short silence.
Bella groaned. She really didn't want to relive the terrible nightmare she had just experienced but she knew it possibly affected Edward as well, since it dealt with Anthony and Marie. So, she reluctantly described it to Edward.
Edward remained silent during her relation, still hugging her to him and tightening his hold when she got to the really creepy part of the dream.
Only after she finished did he speak.
"I had the same dream, but I woke up during the kiss. I didn't have any dreams of Marie with someone else at the meadow."
Bella thought about it for a second, processing what Edward had told her, before she asked, "So, you woke up before I did? What did you do? Did you by any chance leave the bed?"
Edward blushed, freaking blushed. He was glad that the position they were sitting in didn't give Bella a good view of his face so he didn't need worry about her seeing his embarrassment plastered all over his face.
"Um… yes… I had… you know… I had to go to the bathroom."
Bella considered this and was abruptly hit with an idea. She broke apart from Edward's arms and looked at him straight in the eyes.
For a moment Edward felt a rush of panic run through him. He was sure Bella had figured out why exactly he had to go to the bathroom first thing in the morning, but before he could apologize for his crudeness Bella spoke again.
"Don't you see it Edward? When we were together we dreamed of Anthony and Marie's happier times, but the minute you woke up and left the bed my dream changed from romantic to horrific. I'd be willing to bet that if the roles were reversed, and I were the one who left the bed before you, you would have had a nightmare about Anthony's darkest days. I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here."
Edward blinked several times before his brain could catch up with Bella's revelation. He had to agree that it sort of made sense, but they would need to test the theory a couple of times before being completely sure.
"Okay, that makes sense," he agreed, "but we will have to experiment with that hypothesis a couple of times before I'm completely sold on it. What I'm more worried about right now is how these dreams seem to be growing in intensity since we can remember them. Also, I'm not sure I like the idea of having to go through what Marie and Anthony did. Based on what little we know about them they weren't exactly the happiest people on Earth."
"And what do you propose we do? Have a séance and ask them to pretty please leave us alone? Somehow, I'm not sure that's going to work." Bella huffed, crossing her arms in front of her like a grouchy three year old.
"I don't know, Bella," Edward responded, smirking, amused by her childish reaction, "that might actually work. Do you have an Ouija board hidden anywhere in this house?" He could barely contain the laugh that wanted to escape him when he saw Bella's face redden in a mixture of annoyance and merriment.
"Shut up!" she shouted, smacking him hard on his right arm.
"Ouch! That hurt you know? Besides," he said with a roguish expression, "you said I looked too pretty. Do you want to ruin my pretty biceps?" Edward proceeded to flex said biceps.
Bella stared for a few seconds, truly mesmerized by his clothed bicep, but was eventually able to regain the use of her brain, and threw herself at him, making him fall back with her on top.
Edward froze up under Bella's body, what had started as child's play quickly turned into something more. His breathing turned ragged, his mouth parched. With Bella above him, her open mouth hovering over his lips, gasping softly – he suddenly felt dizzy.
Before either could act on their desires, someone knocked on Bella's door.
"Bella honey?" they heard someone call from behind the door. Bella immediately recognized her mother's voice and moved so fast from her position over Edward that she fell off the bed.
"Ow!" Bella yelped as she landed on her behind.
"Are you okay?" Edward murmured, looking down at her trying to asses whether she was hurt or not.
"Yes, I'm used to falling a lot. Remember how we met? Now go hide in my closet. My mom can't see you!"
Edward quickly rose and entered Bella's walk in closet, noiselessly shutting the door behind him.
Bella got up from her floor, checked herself on her vanity mirror, and opened the door for her mother, trying to look as innocent as she could manage.
"Hi, Mom," she said in her sweetest voice.
"Hi honey," Renee answered with a broad smile, kissing her daughter gently on the cheek before entering her room.
Bella followed her mother closely, trying to obstruct her view of the closet door at the same time as trying to look as if nothing out of the ordinary was taking place.
"How was your night?" Renee asked kindly, sitting on Bella's unmade bed.
"It was great mom, super. I dreamed I was on a date with Orlando Bloom. He took me to that restaurant in Cali that I liked so much when we went there on vacation last year," Bella lied. She knew her lying skills were appalling but she had to try for Edward's sake. Unfortunately, someone growled from inside her closet as soon as she finished her speech, completely ruining any hope of success.
"Edward, you can come out now," Renee called, shocking the teen in front of her and the one grumbling about stupid pirate movies hiding in the closet.
"How did you?" Bella began wide-eyed but was stopped by Renee's raised hand.
"Really, Bella? I'm your mom. I know what you're thinking before you even finish the thought. Of course, I knew you had someone in here. Just thank your lucky stars I was able to convince your dad to let the boy live when Carlisle called twenty minutes ago telling us he was coming to pick up his son."
Bella opened and closed her mouth like a fish on dry land. She thought she had been so sneaky when all the time her mom knew and now thanks to Carlisle Cullen her dad knew too.
Edward slowly walked out of the closet, grabbed Bella's hand in reassurance, and met Renee's eyes. No matter what her parents or his had to say today they were in this together.
"Wow Bella," Renee gushed getting up, nearing the standing couple. "This boy is pretty. I say keep him."
"Mom!" Bella shouted, completely mortified.
Edward smirked and tightened his grip on Bella's hand, drawing her attention to him. "I bet your mom thinks I'm more handsome than Orlando Bloom, eh?"
"I was trying to protect your hiding place!" Bella protested.
"Kids, as cute as you two are fighting like this in the morning, breakfast is ready and Edward's dad will arrive any minute. So, go change into something presentable and I'll wait for you downstairs." Renee announced and exited the room, snickering to herself.
-x-x-x-x-
It was a tense breakfast in the Swan household.
Renee kept smiling a knowing smile as she sipped her coffee, looking between Edward, Bella and Charlie.
Charlie scowled as he cut his bacon into tiny pieces and chewed his food as if he had a grudge against it.
Bella's expression switched between blushing and frowning as she stole glances at Edward, keeping an eye on her father too.
Edward stubbornly stared at his plate, never raising his eyes from it for fear of Charlie's death glare.
They had explained Edward's situation to Bella's parents and although both had understood Edward's dilemma and didn't agree with Esme's methods, they also didn't think it was wise for him to walk to their home so late at night in the rain. Charlie had placed special emphasis in his belief that it was particularly dangerous for Edward to spend the night in his daughter's bed.
Edward had never been so frightened in his life.
Suddenly, a knock came from the front door and everyone stopped what they were doing.
It had to be Carlisle Cullen at the door.
Edward shot a panicked look at Bella and she gulped, nervous about what Edward's dad would have to say about his grand escape.
Carlisle was Edward's final hope to make his mother see reason and he wished with all his heart he didn't have to move in with Jacob and Tanya to be allowed Bella's company. He truly loved his parents and didn't want to have a fall-out with them.
"I'll get it," Charlie said before anyone could react and went to open the door.
"Good morning," Carlisle greeted, entering the Swan kitchen closely followed by Bella's dad.
"Good morning, Carlisle," Renee said with a stern face. She had told Bella and Edward that if need be she would talk with Carlisle and Esme herself to make them see how unreasonable their attitude was. The past was buried, it had been for a long time and it didn't make sense to keep playing the blame-game as the Cullens had been doing for the last fifteen years.
"Edward," Carlisle addressed his son.
"Dad."
Renee cleared her throat and leaned her head to one side signaling her husband to leave the room as she grabbed her daughter's hand to encourage her to follow.
"I think it's best if we leave them alone for a minute," she declared.
The Swans left the room, one by one.
Bella was the last one out the door and she directed a sympathetic look at Edward before closing the door behind her.
"Edward," Carlisle started with a severe tone, "what you did last night has to be the most completely idiotic thing you have done in your entire life."
Edward took on a defensive attitude, replying, "What was I supposed to do? Mom practically kidnapped me. She yelled at me for almost an hour because I didn't agree with her opinion of the Swans and then she locked me in my room. I needed to talk to Bella and she just expected me to do her bidding, like she always does."
Carlisle sighed heavily and raked his fingers angrily through his hair, pinching the bridge of his nose. Edward had inherited many of Carlisle's mannerisms and it showed more clearly in moments such as this one.
"I'm so sorry, son," Carlisle apologized. "We shouldn't have lied to you the way we did. I've always felt like a failure as a father, both to you as well as to Anthony. When he died your mother just… broke. She was so depressed I never thought I would get her back. Then she began to get better. Taking care of you seemed to take her mind off the tragedy and she showed signs of improvement. But every single time she would find a picture or something that would remind her of Anthony she would break down completely.
"One day, I just couldn't take it anymore so with Jacob's help I got rid of everything. Everything but Anthony's piano, Esme wouldn't let us take that."
"You're talking about my piano?" Edward asked, astonished by this new discovery.
"Yes, apparently musical talent runs in our family. Anthony was a very skilled pianist and he even took some summer courses at Juilliard. He adored that piano." Carlisle reminisced.
"Wow, I feel like a stranger in my own family. You kept so much from me."
"I know, son, and for that I'm sorry."
Father and son remained in silence for a few minutes, both unsure of what to say.
"How did mom react when she saw I was gone?" Edward asked, worried that Esme might be waiting in the car outside ready to burst in and let the Swans know exactly how she felt about them.
"She was asleep when I got home. She drunk a whole bottle of scotch it seems, and she is probably still sleeping off the hangover as we speak. She was lucid only long enough to tell me a little bit about your argument and to ask me to check on you. That's when I realized you weren't home and I guessed where you would be. Luckily, this is a small town and finding the Swans' phone number wasn't too difficult," Carlisle answered with obvious distress.
"I'm so sorry, Dad. I really didn't want to make her so mad but I couldn't just agree with her. Bella is special to me and I can't stop seeing her because mom tells me to."
"Is she?" Carlisle inquired. "Is she special enough to put your relationship with your mother at risk? My relationship with her if I choose to support you?"
"She's my life now," Edward answered matter-of-factly, leaving no room for doubt. He didn't want to choose between his love and his family, nor should he have to. Bella was not Marie.
"I see," Carlisle stated, turning pensive.
"Okay," he said after a short while. "I think we have abused the Swans' hospitality enough. It's time for us to go home."
Edward grabbed his cell and his keys, following his father to the foyer where the Swans were waiting.
"Everything okay?" Bella asked anxiously.
"Perfect," Carlisle responded before Edward could utter a word. "You seem like a lovely girl, Bella, and I have to commend your parents for raising you to be the young woman you are today. I think you will be a great influence on my son."
He was confident in his son's intuition. Edward was great at reading people, and wouldn't have Bella in such high esteem if she didn't deserve it.
Edward and Bella's smiles could have thawed all of Forks' snow on the bitterest of winter nights.
"So you're going to help me convince mom?" Edward asked enthusiastically.
Carlisle stood really close to Edward and whispered in his ear, "I cannot live without my life. I cannot live without my soul."
Edward blinked in surprise, he recognized the quote as part of Bella's favorite book Wuthering Heights but didn't see how it was related.
Carlisle continued, speaking louder for everyone to hear, "I've lost one son already because we were too stubborn to accept his decision. I lost him almost a year before he died. I will not lose another."
-x-x-x-x-
Bella was sitting in a booth of Forks' biggest diner. It wasn't exactly the Space Needle restaurant but the Garden Burger she'd ordered looked promising.
She was waiting for Edward. They had agreed, before he left with his dad, that they would meet there and discuss their next course of action regarding their research into Marie and Anthony's past.
Moreover, she was dying to know how the talk between Carlisle and Esme had gone.
Bella was playing with a fry, dipping it in Ketchup and drawing happy faces on her plate with it. She was trying to distract herself from the nervousness all the waiting around was causing in her when she heard Alice's boisterous voice yell, "Bella!"
"Alice!" Bella turned around in her booth to be immediately assaulted by Alice in an enthusiastic hug. For someone so tiny she sure hugged tight.
"What are you doing here?" Alice asked, taking a seat next to her.
"I'm waiting for Edward we were supposed to meet here," Bella checked her watch. "Ten minutes ago actually."
"Weird…" Alice commented, taking a fry from Bella's plate and eating it. "That boy is always on time. I used to tease him about it when we were kids. I told him he was adopted and that he was really Swiss. It annoyed him to no end. "
"Well, yeah. Ten minutes is not that long. I'm sure he's on his way. And you Alice? What are you doing here alone?"
Alice whole face lit up. "In fact, I'm not alone or at least I won't be when my future husband arrives."
"Huh?" Bella asked confused.
"Oh, Bella, if you only knew! Yesterday, when I was helping my mom with her errands I met this boy Bella… Gah! He's just so dreamy!" Alice giggled, looking and acting very much her age.
Bella smiled in understanding because she often felt the same way about Edward, even though she wasn't as nearly as squeaky about it as Alice was.
"And speaking of the devil," Alice said aiming her eyes towards the door of the diner. Bella turned her neck just in time to see a tall, very attractive blonde boy walk through it.
Alice jumped from her seat and greeted the boy excitedly as if she had known him a lifetime, not the twenty four hours she had.
She grabbed his hand and dragged him to where Bella was sitting.
"Bella, this is my friend James Hunter. James, this is my friend Isabella Swan."
"Hi," Bella said, paying close attention to the boy's features.
He was beautiful, there was no denying it. He was a couple of inches shorter than Edward, which was still pretty tall. He had light blonde hair, flawless skin, a chiseled jaw and seemed pretty muscular for his age.
However, what made the hairs on the back of her neck rise and goose-bumps appear all over her flesh were his eyes. She knew those eyes. She had seen them before. He had the same ice-cold eyes as the man from her nightmare.
Bella's heart pumped erratically and a chill ran through her, freezing her to the spot. All sorts of alarm signals were triggered inside her, screaming 'Danger!'
And then he spoke.
"Good afternoon, sweet Isabella."
_________________________________________
A/N First of all, I want to let you know this Chapter is dedicated to my friend, and Beta Monamour. She's going through a very rough time at the moment. Her health is very poor and I ask you to please keep her on your prayers and thoughts. For more info and reports on her condition, please visit the thread Raizie kindly set up on Twilighted:
http://www.twilighted.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11144&start=160&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
You can also leave messages of love and hope on the Blog her friend's set up for her: http://faithexiststrayce.blogspot.com/
As you can infer from this, I can't promise a fixed schedule anymore. I'm doing all that I can to be able to update regularly, but once a week might not be possible anymore. Luckily, I have people who continue to help me, like Rhian0000, who beta'd this chapter, and Lemonmartinis, who pre-read it. Thank you guys, I don't know what I'd do without you *smooches*
All errors remaining in the final version are mine and no one else's.
About something my pre-reader mentioned to me: in the dream, Bella screamed whereas in RL she only moaned and grunted. I don't know about you guys but often, in my dreams, I can be doing karate or running, whereas at the same time, my body's only reaction is a jerk, or a soft kick. Dreamed reactions don't always equal RL reactions. In my experience at least.
Also I've been asked about Anthony and Edward's age difference. Anthony was almost 19 when he died. Edward as you know is 15. Why did Esme wait so long? Simply put: Esme had problems carrying pregnancies to term. When she had Anthony she thought that was it. She never expected to get pregnant almost two decades later, and she wasn't even trying. She already had a biological son, and an adopted one. Edward was an unexpected miracle.
Some of the character's ages to guide you better:
Bella/Edward/Alice/James= 15 years old.
Tanya= 34 years old
Jacob= 35 years old
Renee= 36 years old
Charlie= 40 years old
Esme= 52 years old
Carlisle= 53 years old
Rhian0000 wrote a lovely review for AS on a new Fanfiction Webpage that's under construction. If you want to check it out you can go here:
http://twilightfanfictionworld.com/Joomla/index.php?view=article&id=71
I'm helping with some aspects of that page and I'm super-excited about it. AS is posted there as well.
Thank you for the reviews, alerts, favorites, and kind words,
(love)
Ange
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