Sunday, June 28, 2009
Chapter 4. Childhood Memories
Charlie came over to visit today. He would come over to visit once every few weeks on his off day, whenever he’s not out fishing with Billy Black. He had grown used to Nessie’s extreme growth sprout over the past year, and his annoyance at Edward had noticeably reduced too.
We heard the cruiser pulled into the driveway. We were at the doorway welcoming him in a flash. I’m still loved the whole speed thing. I felt proud of myself whenever I beat Edward home every time after we hunted, even though I knew he had lost on purpose to make me happy.
Charlie came stumbling into the front room holding a parcel with a huge FedEx stamp at its side. Edward took the parcel from him before he could protest.
“Grandpa!” screamed Nessie, as she broke off Rosalie’s hold on her and began to race down the stairs towards him. Charlie welcomed her with open arms and they stayed in a tight embrace for a while. When they broke apart, their eyes were lighted up, excited to see each other.
I leaned my head on Edward’s shoulder and smiled as I watched their little reunion. A familiar warm feeling of pride and love was filling every inch of my cold stone body.
“Wow Nessie! You have grown an inch taller since I’ve last saw you.” remarked Charlie, as Nessie spanned around in a circle to show off her dress, her latest present from Alice. Nessie threw him a proud grin and pulled him to sit at the couch, where she happily settled onto his lap. I pulled Edward forward and joined them at the couch.
“What’s in the box, Grandpa?” asked Nessie, pointing to the parcel in Edward’s hands.
“Oh, Renee sent it over last week, asking me to pass it to you. But I forgot about it, until I saw it again this morning.” Charlie replied, while looking sheepishly at me.
I raised an eyebrow and shot a curious look to Edward, who reflected the same interest in his liquid golden eyes. The family started to gather around me to see the contents of the parcel. Carefully using normal human speed, I took the parcel from Edward and opened it.
Lifting up a little pink tutu from the top of the pile, I stared at it as I struggled to remember why it was looking so familiar to me. The video at the ballet studio! I shuddered slightly as I remembered the deathly survival game with the tracker James three years back; everyone except Charlie and Nessie caught it.
“Momma! What is this?” asked Nessie, as she bounced off Charlie’s lap and walked over to me.
“Nessie darling, this used to be Momma’s when I was learning ballet as a kid” I answered, as I passed the tutu for her to examine. She held it in front of her and whirled around to show the rest. Murmuring appraisals came in response.
While Nessie continued to show everyone her latest possession, I dug deeper into the box and pulled out an old worn out white bunny toy. Some of its whiskers had already dropped off, and one of its round black eyes was missing. It was my favourite toy, when I was young. I remembered that I used to throw tantrums, refusing to sleep without it.
Clutching the bunny close to me, I let vague little precious human memories that I still remembered flood my mind. Edward wrapped his left arm around me and gave me a gentle squeeze. Giving him a small smile to reassure him that I was alright, I released my shield and showed him my thoughts. He smiled as he watched the flashback in my mind.
“You were so cute even when you’re little, love.” He chuckled, as he watched the little Bella’s desperate attempts to dance gracefully across the ballet studio which always ended up with her sprawling face-down on the floor.
I jabbed him in the ribs and smiled as he winced a little. Guess I still don’t know my own strength. Returning my attention back to Nessie, I watched as she dug more old dresses out of the box. Renee had kept all of the things from my growing years.
Waves of guilt washed over me. I had not seen Renee since the wedding last year. I kept my distance, believing that would make her safe. I only emailed her once every few weeks, but not a single phone call to her. My voice was simply not the same anymore. She tried calling a few times, but each time I had Edward answered for me, giving one reason or another for my absence. After few rejections in a row, she gave up and settled with just emailing me to stay in touch.
Carefully concealing my emotions, I rose and excused myself to my room, with Edward following behind. Charlie and the rest of the family did not mind; Nessie was putting on a great fashion show while playing dress-up with my old dresses.
Once back into the safety of the room, I flung myself into Edward’s waiting embrace and began a hysterical round of tearless sobs. He knew I was just holding it back so that I wouldn’t upset Charlie and Nessie. I had no idea how much time had passed before I finally pulled myself back together.
“Bella, love, it’s okay. You don’t have to rush down. They are doing fine without us.” Edward pulled me back and gave me a kiss. I accepted his kiss hungrily; I was feeling empty, drained of happiness.
“Let’s go down. I’m ready.” I said finally, breaking away before my determination could waver. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself and stepped out of the room. Edward chuckled and wrapped his right arm round my waist. I could hear happy voices and laughter from the room below. Immediately I felt a strong, desirable urge to join them, to laugh with them. Together we walked down hand in hand, to meet the family that I loved so much.
***
10:23 PM
Friday, June 26, 2009
Chapter 3. The Flight
I snuggled deeply into Edward’s warm chest as I made myself comfortable for the long flight home. He was wearing a charcoal grey shirt that emphasised his perfect body structure. I began to draw loop de loops on his chest absentmindedly as I daydreamed. Edward chuckled as he rested his chin on my head. I was happily imagining the scene of Nessie welcoming us at the airport when I felt Edward’s body stiffened.
I was about to ask what’s wrong when the smell hit me - a sweet, floral smell. It reminded me of the sweet icky sap a Venus flytrap would emit to lure its victim to its deadly trap. Another vampire was on board this plane. I broke away from my warm cosy position as I lifted up my Gucci sunglasses that I wore to hide my now deep crimson eyes and surveyed my surroundings.
I spotted her, three rows down the next aisle. She was about five foot three, wearing a long black overcoat that hid most of her pale white skin, sporting jet black hair in a short bob cut. Her eyes were covered with sunglasses, probably with the same reason as mine.
A growl started to build in my chest. It was the defensive vampire nature that I had in me. Edward stopped me with a hush.
“Bella, it’s alright. Calm down, she’s not going to hurt anyone. I can see it in her thoughts.” Edward reassured me while he pulled me back into his warm embrace. I relaxed, knowing that Edward was probably right. I continued to daydream as I removed my shield to show Edward my thoughts. He chuckled and smiled adoringly at me.
We stayed like this, a pair of inseparable Siamese twins for hours. Suddenly, Edward stiffened again. Panic began to fill my body as thousands of questions raced my mind. Is the mysterious vampire going to start her killing spree? What can we do to help these poor humans? Would I end up being her accomplice once I start to smell the delicious scent of human blood?
No! I thought to myself. I cannot kill these poor innocent humans. I had a clean record as a newborn, and I was as proud of it as Edward was of me. I will not do anything to risk it; which only left me with one other option. To strike before the vampire start her killing spree. In my mind, plots started to hatch, ways to deal with her quickly and silently, before any human could notice what’s happening.
“Bella, love. Do you trust me?” Edward asked gently as he began to hug me closer.
“Huh?” was all I could manage. I was confused by his question. What was he going to do? Sit here and restrain me while we watched the other vampire hunted?
No! I will not let that happen! I thought as I struggled to break loose from his tight hold on me.
“Bella, love! Stop! Calm down. We’ll be alright!” he whispered into my ear. I stopped struggling as I replayed his words in my mind. What did he mean by that?
“Bella, the plane is going to crash. I’ve just heard the pilot’s thoughts. We just flew into some nasty storm clouds. This plane will not make it to its destination.” Edward loosened his grip as I processed his words. I slumped back into his chest.
“Don’t worry, love. We will be able to survive this as immortals. But I can’t say the same for the rest of the passengers.” Edward murmured sadly.
Just then, the plane began to rock wildly and the seatbelt light flickered on. A voice boomed over the plane’s PA system.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are experiencing some technical difficulties right now. Please do not panic and follow the instructions given by the flight attendants.”
I watched silently as the flight attendants tried to reassure the passengers. The head of the flight attendant was going through the safety procedures in case the plane had to make an emergency landing. Panic filled the faces of the passengers around me. An old lady sitting across the aisle from me had her head lowered and her hands clasped together, praying silently. A couple next to the old lady hugged each other tightly and whispered their last goodbye to each other. A baby from rows behind ours started crying.
I buried my face into Edward’s chest. I could not look a second longer. It was too much for me to bear. Edward began to stroke my hair and hummed my favourite lullaby, trying to reassure me.
Just as everyone was beginning to prepare for the worse, the plane stopped rocking. I looked up as Edward pulled up the blind of the window next to him. What I saw shocked me. The sky was clear, without a single cloud in sight.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. The technical difficulties had been resolved. We will be touching down at Seattle airport in an hour.” Cheers and applause began to erupt all around me.
I stared at Edward with a confused look. I watched as he strained to listen to the pilot’s thoughts.
“It’s over, love. We’re going to be safe.” Edward confirmed with a smile.
“But...but... how... what happened?” I was lost. One minute the plane was going to crash and the next, we were out of danger. Edward fell silent and focused again.
“It was the other vampire who did it. She can manipulate the weather. Amazing.” Edward said after a moment, amused. I shifted my attention to the mysterious vampire. Her eyes were closed; she had a small satisfied smile on her lips. I made a mental note to thank her after the plane had touched down.
When the plane touched down, I began to sift through the faces of the crowd to look for her. However, I did not get my chance to express my gratitude to our mysterious saviour. She simply vanished into the crowd.
“Momma! Daddy!” Nessie screamed and ran towards us. I scooped her up and gave her a tight hug. Edward watched our little reunion and smiled.
“Nessie!” I cooed. “Have you been good? Momma bought lots of stuff for you!”
“Momma! Nessie has been really good! Aunt Rose took Nessie to a beach on Saturday...” and Nessie began to relate her adventures to me as we walked towards the car. Behind me, I could hear Edward relate our “near-death” experience on the plane to Carlisle and Esme.
Once in the car, I refocused my attention to my little angel, who began another tale of her recent shopping trip with Aunt Alice. I smiled as I looked at Nessie’s face that was beaming with excitement.
“We’re home! Welcome back Momma and Daddy!” Nessie said with a huge grin. Once we got out of the car, I saw a huge banner hanging over the door. “Welcome back Edward and Bella!” it read. Another welcoming party by Alice.
I slid my hand into Edward’s while carrying Nessie with another. We stood there, looking at our beautiful house and at the party decorations Alice had all over the place. For once, I did not grimace at the sight of a party. Because I know, I’m truly home.
***
3:55 PM
Chapter 2. Second Honeymoon
A week has passed since my first immortal birthday, when I thought I could not wait a day longer for my second honeymoon to come, it finally arrived. Edward and I had hunted the night before; we did not want to take any chances to test our resistance to the “forbidden” diet.
Edward walked down the stairs with two huge suitcases. Alice had taken the liberty of packing them for us, I didn't mind; I was too excited to let such a small thing dampen my mood.
After dumping them into the boot of Carlisle’s black Mercedes, we waved everyone goodbye and got into the car. Emmet and Rosalie were driving us to the airport. Nessie insisted on sending us off at the airport, and we obliged. I mean, who can refuse her request when she stared at you with her warm chocolate eyes with a pout on her lips?
Nessie climbed into the back seat and settled on our laps. She started bouncing up and down, excited that she could tag along to the airport. She did not have many chances of going anyway else other than La Push to visit her Jacob, due to her tremendous grow sprout. Even though she’s a little bummed to not be able to follow us to Paris, she was contented with just sending us off at the airport.
I leaned my head on Edward’s shoulder and began to fiddle with Nessie’s long, wavy curls. She was babbling excitedly to Rosalie, who promised to bring her to the beach this coming Saturday. I sighed as I watched her eyes sparkled with excitement. Edward caught it of course, he never miss anything.
“It’s alright, love. We will be back before you know it.” He whispered in my ears, while wrapping his right arm around me and gave me a gentle squeeze. I smiled and gave him a peck on his cheek.
We reached the airport within minutes, thanks to the amazing speed all Cullens drove with. I still can’t change the habit of driving slowly. I knew that I still could see every single leaf on every passing tree even if I’m driving at 100mph, but some habits were hard to break, especially when your dad’s a chief police officer.
“Goodbye Nessie. Momma and Daddy will be back soon. Be good and listen to everyone alright? ” I told Nessie as Edward and I gave her a hug. Nessie nodded, the excitement in her eyes was now draining away, leaving a hint of sadness.
“Goodbye. Please help us take good care of Nessie.” I looked at Rosalie. She nodded.
“Alright, alright! If you guys don’t go now, you’ll have to run to Paris!” laughed Emmett in his booming voice. With a laugh, we waved goodbye. I linked arms with Edward and we went to board the plane.
***
The one week in Paris was fantastic. Edward was my personal tour guide; he had been to Paris for countless of times. We could only go sightseeing at night, which was a pity, but the night view of this city of Romance was simply breathtaking.
We didn’t mind staying in our posh hotel room during the day – it meant quality alone time for us. Well, let’s just say we were preoccupied with doing stuff that we did not even notice the sun had gone down and nightfall was here. Alice’s birthday present came in useful overall.
By the end of the week, our luggage had multiplied and we were sorry to leave this beautiful city. But we were missing Nessie dearly; I had a luggage full of stuff that I bought for her whenever I missed her.
The bellboy at the lobby offered me help when I was carrying the suitcases to the waiting cab at the door. I politely accepted his help as Edward was checking-out our room at the front desk. I watched as he struggled desperately to carry our suitcases. I sighed and picked up the remaining two suitcases and walked gracefully towards the cab. Alice would have been so proud of me.
I must have been quite a sight – the doorman was watching with his mouth wide open. Then I remembered - the bellboy in front was struggling while here I was, looking like a supermodel doing a catwalk. Sighing silently to myself, I deliberately stumbled the rest of my way to the cab, pretending that the suitcases weigh a ton, instead of the feather-light weight that it felt to me.
“Nice walk there, love” Edward chuckled as he slid in the cab after me, in a voice too low for humans to hear. I gently nudged him in the ribs in response, before snuggling into his warm chest. Soon, I’ll be able to hold my little angel in my arms, and be surrounded by my loved ones again. With that though, I smiled to myself, feeling like the happiest woman on earth.
***
1:17 PM
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Chapter 1. First Immortal Birthday
“Surprise!” Alice yelled, as I walked down the stairs. Alice skipped excitedly to me and something popped in my face. Colourful streamers came flying everywhere.
“Happy first immortal birthday!” she squeaked. I rolled my eyes. Today is September the tenth. Oh great.
“Alice, do I have to go through this every year for the rest of eternity?” I sighed.
“No silly, of course not. It’s just every other year.” She winked. Giving a quick glance around the room, I saw that it had been decorated with white ribbons and a huge banner that says “Happy Birthday, Bella!” Groaning, I walked over to Edward and slipped my hand into his.
“Happy birthday, love.” Edward smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Gladly, I returned the kiss.
“Ahem.” Someone cleared his throat. Probably Emmett. Somebody giggled in response.
“Okay, enough you two. Presents time!” Reluctantly, I let Alice dragged me to the grand piano, where my presents were waiting.
“Open mine first!” chirped Alice, and she passed me a box wrapped nicely in gold paper tied with a large silver bow. Sighing, I unwrapped her present. What greeted me was skimpy, lacy lingerie. If I still could blush, my skin probably would burst into flames now. Emmett whistled, and Rosalie jabbed him in the ribs.
“Mmm, Alice? Why do I need these?” I asked, thinking of the lingerie that was shoved into the back of my wardrobe back at the cottage. They still had their French price tags on.
“Oh, you will put them to good use. I can see it. You’ll know once you open your next present.” She smiled at my confused face.
“This is from Esme and Carlisle.” Alice said while she passed me their present. I looked up and gave them a smile as I unwrapped a rectangular box. Feeling a bit of Dee ja vu, I vaguely remembering opening a similar present when I was still human.
“Tickets to Paris?” I exclaimed.
“Well, we thought it was time for a second honeymoon.” Esme smiled.
“Oh, thank you so much!” I exclaimed breathlessly and gave Esme and Carlisle each a hug. I grinned widely at Edward, who was smiling my favourite crooked smile.
“Momma, Momma! Open mine next!” exclaimed an angelic voice. I walked over to Rosalie, who passed me my little angel. Renesmee was wearing a white lacy dress with little flowers at the hem of the dress. Her long wavy curls were now waist long, and her warm chocolate eyes were brimming with excitement. She had grown a lot since last year, though the process had slow down, she now looked like a healthy, chubby four year-old. I hugged her gently before giving her a peck on her rosy cheek.
“Aunt Rose went with Nessie to choose Momma’s present.” Nessie said, as Rosalie passed me a small velvet black box before carrying Renesmee so that I could open my present easily.
“Oh!” I gasped when I opened her present. It was a little golden locket, round with a slender vine border carved around the outside edge of the circle. Inside was a tiny picture of our family, with a French inscription on the opposite side. It was the same locket as the one I gave to Renesmee last Christmas.
“Look Momma! Now Momma and Nessie have the same locket!” Nessie fiddled with the collar and pulled out to show me the locket that she was wearing. She threw me a huge grin.
“Oh!” I exclaimed again and gave her a huge hug, feeling the warmth of her little body in my cold stone embrace.
“We went back to the same shop where you bought the locket. The shopkeeper told us that that the locket comes in a pair, but it was sold to someone else before you bought the other one for Nessie. So we went searching and managed to find it in time for your birthday.” Rosalie explained with a smile.
Holding Nessie carefully with one arm, I hugged Rosalie and whispered a grateful “thank you” to her.
Releasing Rosalie, I carried Nessie with both my arms and took a slow glance around the room. Carlisle and Esme were standing at the foot of the staircase, smiling fondly at both of us; Alice was sitting at the piano bench with Jasper at her side; Emmett perched on the edge of the sofa with Rosalie beside him; and finally the best for the last, MY gorgeous Edward leaning next to the wall, looking at me with smiling liquid topaz eyes which completely melted my heart every time I looked into them.
If vampires could cry, there would be a waterfall running down my face right now. I am lucky to have such a perfect caring family like this one. I will never trade anything them for anything else in the world. Ever.
***
11:24 PM
