Blood of His Flesh (Complete)

After her first taste of vampire blood, a tortured girl goes after her bullies with the help of her vampire boyfriend.

Chapter 1 Forks

Chapter 1 Forks
Every summer, I went to Forks to stay with my dad. But, this time was different. This time, I was staying for the whole year. I wanted to give my mom some space. She wanted to spend more time with Phil who’s always traveling, so I said ‘you go with Phil. Charlie will take care of me.’ And that’s how I ended up in this small town with its rain and its cloudy skies.
Nothing had changed since I was here last summer. My room was the same, has been since I was a baby. I stood in the doorway with my luggage, staring at the old rocking chair in the middle of my room. First chance I get, I’m putting it down in the basement.
“Bella.”
Charlie called for me, making his way up the stairs.
“Yeah, Dad?”
“I talked with your mother. I already enrolled you into Forks High School. You start tomorrow.”
Great. I get to start over at a new high school. I was practically invisible at my old one in Arizona. I was a ghost. Since this town is so small, maybe the school will be different. Maybe, I’ll be different.
“Hey, Dad, what’s for dinner, tonight?”
Charlie hesitated. He wasn’t a great cook. Fish was always at the top of the menu at his place, and not because it’s his favorite dish. He loves to fish. Got to do something with all those fish that he catches.
“Fish fillet,” he responded, and leaned in. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“No. Fish is great, Dad.”
He nodded and smiled. Fish wasn’t great. I thought I’d humor him, and myself.
At dinner, a piece of baked cod lay dead across my plate. I stabbed at it with my fork. Charlie sat across from me with the same meal. He reached for the bottle of ketchup at the center of the table and squeezed it over his food.
“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked. I took a deep breath and sighed. I could see now, if I were going to survive mealtime, I was going to have to mix it up, myself.
“You should let me make dinner, tomorrow, Dad,” I offered. He looked up, stupefied.
“Huh? No,” he shook his head. “I’ll make dinner. That’s my job.”
“But, Dad, fish… every night is…”
“I know,” he said. “Boring.”
“You should let me cook for you.”
“I’ll order out, tomorrow. What do you want? Pizza? Chinese?”
“Pizza,” I said.
“Pizza it is,” he said, with a smile stretching underneath his mustache. Our conversation ran dry. Neither of us was much for talkers. Charlie and I had that in common. He was the strong, silent type. I had inherited much of his quiet personality. I don’t consider myself a shy person, just quiet and sometimes, awkward. But, most people see me as shy. That’s just how I come off.
We didn’t mind the silence, we invited it. We were used to it. After our quiet dinner, I headed up to my room for a shower.
I dumped my personal items out on the bathroom counter. One good thing about staying with Charlie is I won’t have Rene hovering over me all the time. I can go shopping alone and do other things without her trying to make choices for me.
The water takes a while to get hot. I had forgotten and stepped inside the shower. Ice cold water attacked me, making me quiver. It took nearly 2 minutes to get hot.
Later, I watched TV, downstairs in the living room, until I fell asleep. I felt Charlie picking me up and carrying me upstairs to my room, but I was too knocked out to care.
The alarm clock got me up the next day. It was still dark outside, so I was a bit confused about what time it was.
“Bella, time for school,” Charlie called out in the hall. I groaned, loudly, and got up despite my reluctance.
Charlie was in his police uniform, about to head out the door when I came down stairs with my backpack.
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride,” he said.
“I’m a senior. I don’t want to show up on the first day of school with my dad… in a cop car.”
Charlie laughed. “How about I park half a mile away from the school, and you jump out when no one is looking.”
“Not funny, Dad.”
“Come on. No one will care. I’ll see what we can do about getting you a car, later.”
“How much later?”
“Come on. We don’t want to be late.”
So, I got into the cruiser with Charlie. Inside, I was dying, mortified. He got the car started and we were on our way.
“So, what’s Phil like?” he asked, out of the blue.
“Phil? Oh yeah, he’s great,” I said.
“Just great?”
I paused. “We don’t talk much.”
Charlie cocked an eyebrow.
“We don’t have anything in common,” I went on. “I hardly see him, anyway. He’s always gone.”
“How does your mom feel about that?”
“Why do you care?” I asked, curiously.
“I care because… you’re mom and I might not be together anymore, but I still want the best for her.”
He sounded a little nervous.
“That’s nice, Dad.”
He fell silent and I reached for the radio right when he pulled up to a curb. I ducked before seeing kids walking towards the school building.
“I thought you were going to park somewhere else!”
Charlie chuckled. “I thought you knew I was joking.”
“Well, your sarcasm was totally lost on me, Dad,” I growled. I opened the door and got out.
“Bye, Bells. Have a good day.”
I slammed the door and stood back to watch him drive off. I hadn’t realized I was being watched until I turned around. A bunch of students were staring at me. I couldn’t decide quick enough if I should introduce myself or keep walking. I kept walking out of shattered nerves. A few of the kids laughed.
The school only had double doors, no security like in Arizona, and no cops hanging around metal detectors or patrolling the hallways. I felt like I was in Kansas.
After I equipped myself with a schedule, I started the daunting task of locating all my classes, memorizing them and the room numbers to which they belong.
A bump pushed me forward, knocking me into someone’s back. He turned around, scowling at me. The boy who bumped me started to apologize.
“Oh. Sorry,” he said. His hair was straight and jet black. “You’re Isabella, the chief’s daughter, right?”
“Um, yeah,” I said.
The other boy turned his scowl into a grin. He had shoulder length brown hair that was flat ironed straight. He held out his hand for me to shake.
“I’m Ben,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Eric,” the other boy broke between us, eagerly. “It’s nicer to meet you.”
Eric had glasses and was overly friendly. Ben wore a letterman jacket, obvious jock.
“He’s a geek,” Ben said, cortly. “Don’t mind him. I can show you around, if you would like me.”
“I like you,” I said. “to,” I added. “I mean, I’d like you to… show me around.”
“I’ll come with,” Eric said. “Just in case, Benjamin here gets lost. He's not very bright.”
“Haha, real funny,” Ben said, sarcastically.
“Um, guys, I don’t want to be late,” I broke in, meekly.
“Sure,” Ben said, putting his fist on his waist, inviting me to put my arm through the loop he made with his arm. Eric walked behind us with a stoic expression.
After my first class, biology, was over. I stepped outside to see Eric leaning against a locker, waiting for me. I sighed and walked away before he could see me.
The cafeteria was loud and crowded. I saw Ben walking with his tray, and I thought I’d sit with him since I knew who he was. But, I paused when I realized he was heading for the table lined with jocks and a couple of cheerleaders. I flew into a panic and spun around, spilling my tray of food all over some girl. Mortified, I leaned down to pick up what was salvageable of my lunch.
“I’m so sorry,” I squeaked.
“It’s okay,” she laughed, and leaned down to help. “The janitor will clean it up. Get off the floor, you’re making a scene.” She pulled me up by my jacket. I had two apples and a carton of choco milk in my hands.
“I’m Angela,” she said, holding a plain milk. She had dark hair and a smooth, pretty face underneath her glasses. We moved quickly over to a vacant table and sat down.
“I’m Bella,” I said, immediately. “I’m so sorry.”
“Stop it. You didn’t get me,” she said, wiping mashed potatoes off the rim of her shirt. “Well, you got me a little.”
I sighed and put my head down.
“You’re Chief Swan’s daughter.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Welcome to Forks. Or should I say… welcome back,” she said it like a question, and then laughed. “I see you around, sometimes, during the summers. You keep to yourself a lot.”
“Oh, I probably meant to say hello.”
“-It’s okay. I’m a little shy, myself. Not like it’s easy to fit in around here,” she said, eyeing the table Ben was seated.
“Do you know Ben?” I asked. Then, I winced at myself. “Of course you know Ben. I met him earlier. And, -“
“What did he say to you?” she cut me off, her words rushing.
I stopped, alarmed. “Nothing. He showed me around. He was really nice… and helpful.”
“I’m sure he was,” she said, cynically. I looked over at his table. They all looked so happy, laughing and talking. “See the blonde chick right under him, that’s Lauren. She’s his girlfriend. And the girl next to her with the brown hair and blue eyes is Jessica. Across from them are the other jock straps, Tyler, Jack, Mike, Masen, and Cody. They’re all jerks, just so you know.”
“Thank you,” I said, uncomfortably.
“You’re welcome,” she said, with a big smile.
“Hey, guys!” chimed a familiar voice. It was Eric. I cringed when he sat down next to me. “Bella!” He hugged me with one arm. “How was biology, honey?”
“Boring,” I said, peeling his arm off of me.
“Hey, babe!” Angela exclaimed. She reached over and kissed Eric. I was shocked. I don’t know how it happened, but it did. Angela and Eric had sealed my fate. I felt cursed. I get to be a dork all over again.
“Bella, this is my babe, Angie,” Eric said.
“We’ve met,” she said.
“So, ladies, what are we doing tonight?” Eric asked.
“Hey, Bella, you can hang out with us!”
“That’s really awesome, but I don’t want to feel like a third wheel. You two are together.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t all hang out,” Angela said, disappointed.
“Yeah. We’re all friends, here.”
“I already made plans for tonight,” I said, trying to dodge a bullet.
“Oh yeah? We can tag along,” Angela said.
“No really. I won’t be any fun. I’m not much of a hostess.”
“We can all hang out tonight. We can do something together. We promise we won’t get all happy- couple on you.”
“No, really,” I laugh, fake.
“-Isabella Swan.” I looked up when I heard my name in a brassy voice. It was Ben, and my heart literally fell into the pit of my stomach. I accidentally knocked Eric’s milk off the table. Ben caught it before it fell to the floor, and placed it back on the table. Eric narrowed his eyes and chewed his biscuit.
“Clumsy, as well as beautiful,” Ben said. Angela stuck her finger in her mouth and gagged.
“Benjamin, don’t you have a skirt tail to be chasing?” Eric asked. “I don’t think Lauren would approve of you trying to hit on my new friend, which you are failing at by the way, because she’s not interested. She’s with us.”
I wanted to stab Eric in the chest with my fork. My cheeks glow an embarrassing red.
“Oh. Is that right?” Ben leaned in, his hands clasped on the rim of the table.
“Yes, that’s right,” Angela nodded, proudly.
“She can speak for herself,” Ben snapped, causing Angela and me to jump. He turned to me. “Bella, come join us. You don’t want to be branded a nerd because of these two losers, do you? Come sit with us.”
Angela and Eric looked nervous. I felt nervous. I didn’t know how to answer. I felt obligated to stay where I was, and a part of me wanted to jump up and go with Ben.
“Come on, Bella. Come meet the guys… and the girls.”
“Maybe, some other time,” I said, in a defeated voice. Angela and Eric relaxed, satisfied.
“I tried to give you an opportunity to be one of us and you flake out.” Ben shook his head. “I tried to save you. Have fun being a loser.” He walked back over to his table. I have never been called that before, not even by kids at my old school. It really hurt, especially coming from Ben. Frankly, I was embarrassed.
“I told you they were jerks,” she said. “And don’t listen to him. He’ll say anything to bring you down. You’re not a loser. We’re not losers.”
But, he’s so hot. I could tell that Ben was going to be a big problem for me.

After school, Angela and Eric were right beside me, talking to each other. I had zoned out and was thinking. If the opportunity came, would I ditch them to be popular? As if I could ever be that. Ben had to be joking.
“Bella,” Angela said, tapping my shoulder. “We’ve never seen the inside of the chief’s house.”
“I’ll bring the movies,” Eric added.
“Movies at my place, it is,” I confirmed.
“Great! We’ll be there, tonight at 10,” Angela said.
“Can’t wait,” I said.
Eric and Angela got into a red Honda I assumed belonged to Angela since she was the one in the driver’s seat.
I had to stick around and wait for Charlie to pick me up. Charlie brought the cruiser around, finally. The remaining students watched, curious as to why the chief of the town was at the school. I put my head down and walked towards the cruiser. I hurried and got inside. Charlie smiled.
“Why are you staring at me? Drive!” I said. “Are you trying to humiliate me some more?”
Charlie sighed. “I talked to Billy. He has a truck he’s willing to give us for free.”
“Free? Why? What's wrong with it?”
Charlie sighed again. “Just be thankful you won’t have to catch a ride with me anymore.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Dad. My day was pretty crappy.”
“Don’t sweat it, Bella.”
“Oh. Two people from school are coming over tonight, to watch movies.”
Charlie blinked. “I thought you said you had a crappy day. Couldn’t have been that bad. You made some friends, already?”
“Why are you surprised?”
“I expected you to have a harder time, that’s all. You did good, though.”
“Don’t get too comfortable, Dad. This is just day one.”

Tags: horror, romance

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris on December 30, 2012 at 5:06pm

That was fantastic! I really enjoyed it.

So Jasper is going to let her live and drink her blood - thats a good twist.

I'm very interested as to what the skin walkers are and if Jasper is one of them.

Best wishes

Chris

Permalink Reply by Kelley Brady on December 23, 2012 at 11:26pm

Oh No! Scarey, can't wait to read your next update!

Permalink Reply by balletgirl on December 28, 2012 at 1:51am

Chapter four Jasper
He slapped his hand over my mouth to shut me up. Then, he narrowed his eyes, which I understood that he wanted me to be quiet. I nodded to let him know I understood. Then, he removed his hand from my mouth.
“Jasper,” I breathed out. He moved so fast, and his teeth. This boy was not human. My entire body was shaking from fear.
“Drive,” he ordered.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Your place.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m bored.”
I was about to ask what for. He narrowed his eyes at me again, and I decided not to ask anything else. Instead, I just stepped on the gas peddle, floring it. His finger gently ran across my jaw line as I drove.
“You’re very pretty,” he said, randomly.
I stole a glance at him from the corner of my eye. “Thanks,” I said, my voice dull. He must really be insane because I look like a ghost.
I pulled up in the driveway. Charlie’s cruiser wasn’t there and that made me nervous. Where is my cop dad when I need him.
I got out and so did Jasper.
“What you’re doing is against the law,” I said, as we walked to the house. He just laughed.
“Like I care,” he said.
“This is kidnapping and plus you tried to kill me.”
“I didn’t kidnap you. This is your house, dummy.”
“You don’t deny you tried to kill me.”
“Unlock the door and invite me in.”
I put the key in the lock , opened the door, and stepped inside. Then, something hit me. The sharp teeth, his cold skin. This dude is a freaking vampire!
I turned to him, fearing for my life. He just asked me to let him into the house.
“Oh my God,” I said. He stared at me, afraid that I had figured him out.
“Open the door, Bella,” he egged.
“You can’t come in unless you’re invited.”
He exhaled, slowly. “Well. Aren’t you just a know-it-all.”
“It’s basic vampire knowledge. Everybody knows that.”
“Who said anything about vampires,” he asked, rhetorically. He was uncomfortable now. “Let me in,” he said, sternly.
I formed my lips into an O. “No,” I said, making sure he understood. He controlled his anger, and forced a slight smile on his face.
“You’re right. I am a vampire,” he said. I folded my arms across my chest, proud of myself for being right.“But, I won’t hurt you. I can… but I won’t.”
“Oh, that’s really comforting,” I said, my voice oozing sarcasm.
He backed away and I breathed out, relieved. It felt like he was giving up.
“See you around…. Real soon,” he said.
“Yeah right.”
He winked at me, then he disappeared.
I shut the door and locked it. “What a psycho.”
I went to my room to get ready for bed. After I had my shower, I gasped. How could I forget to call Jacob back, I pounced on the phone in the kitchen while my cell phone was charging in my bed room. Luckily, he answered.
“You never answered. You never called me back,” I ripped into him.
“Chill out. I’m here, now,” he said.
“Good. Let’s talk this out. I’m not going to let this ruin our friendship, Jake.”
“Bella, you’re not getting it. We can’t be friends, anymore. Not when you know that I love you. I should have kept my mouth shut.”
“Stop saying that. It’s not true.”
“I’m only thinking of one thing when I ‘m around you. How can you stay friends with a guy like me?”
“I don’t care that you imprinted on me.”
There was silence, and I realized I had hurt his feelings, but I didn’t know why he had gotten upset.
“Yeah. Well, you should care. This isn’t something I can just ignore and you shouldn’t ignore it either,” he finally said.
“What am I suppose to do?” I asked.
“Just be there for me.”
“I can’t be there for you how you want me to be.”
“I told you before, I ‘m not asking you to . I’m not asking you to do anything you don’t want.”
“Jake, I’m so confused. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“We’ll both be strong, Bella. This isn’t the end of the world.”
“Jake, I’m really scared right now. I met a real creep tonight. Can I come over until Charlie gets back?”
“You can’t. Some real crazy stuff is going down in LaPush. The residents are really freaked out.”
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know yet. But, Sam and Paul have gone missing. And my dad told me not to leave the house. Don’t come over. I think you’re much safer where you are now.”
“This sounds really bad.”
“I know. My dad won’t talk to me, but he keeps giving me these strange looks. I think he knows something about what’s going on.”
“Keep bugging him until he tells you.”
“Ah, you know that won’t work. My dad’s as solid as a rock.”
“You better find some way to break him.”
I heard the front door squeak open. “Charlie’s back. Hold on. Don’t hang up, I’ll be right back.”
I put the phone on the kitchen counter and went out to the living room. I gasped and paused, frozen.
“Hey, Bells. Look who I just met. This is Jasper Whitlocke, our new neighbor,” Charlie said, gleefully, slapping Jasper on the back. Jasper grinned at me. I stood there like an idiot. What could I do, tell Charlie to kick him out because he’s a vampire who wants to kill me? He wouldn’t believe a single word of that, and then he would send me to my room for being rude to the new neighbor.
“Jasper, this my daughter Bella.”
“Hi,” Jasper leaned in. “Nice to meet you.”
I shook my head at him, disgusted.
“Is… something wrong?” Charlie asked.
“No. Everything’s fine,” I said.
“Guess what? Jasper loves football just like me. His cable went out and he wants to watch the game here.”
Charlie looked at me as if it was my job to give final approval.
“Sure. Whatever,” I said. I went back to the kitchen. I picked up the phone. “Jake, my night just got worse.”
The phone was dead. He had hung up. I sighed, then I crept up to the stairs. I glimpsed at Jasper and Charlie who were sitting on the couch, watching football. Jasper waved at me, as Charlie shouted cuss words at the tv.
Charlie is not one to make friends with people so quickly. Jasper must have done something to him. I went to my room.
I had five missed messages and an angry voicemail from Angela, telling me that I stood her up and made her and Eric feel like fools. I tried to call to explain why I didn’t show, but she wouldn’t pick up her phone. Great. I’m losing the few friends I have so quickly. I went to bed.
I couldn’t really sleep in peace. I kept myself up, thinking about Jacob. A sharp noise woke me. I sat up quickly and reached for the switch on the bedside lamp. When the room was bright with light, I looked around, hesitantly. My eyes traveled until they came upon a tall figure standing at my computer, flipping through one of my school books.
“Jasper,” I grumbled. “You must not really have a life, if you’re following me around so much.”
“Life. Who needs it. I’m better off dead, anyway. It’s very freeing.”
“I’m so happy for you. So, death is your thing. Can you please get out? I’m trying to sleep.”
“Who is Jacob?”
“Why do you want to know?” I said, being protective.
“You were saying his name in your sleep,” he smirked. "Bella's got a boyfriend," he sang. I winced. Well, that’s embarrassing.
“He’s none of your concern. Does your new best friend, my dad know you’re still here?”
“Of course not. And we’re not best friends. He’s not my type.”
“What do you want from me?”
He got excited and jumped on my bed, scaring the crap out of me. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Permalink Reply by Seugnet du Toit on December 28, 2012 at 2:40am

This Jasper seems to be very unpredictable! One never knows what to expect from him next!

Permalink Reply by balletgirl on December 28, 2012 at 2:57am

Chapter four Jasper (continued)
“I want you to be my familiar.”
My eyes bucked. “Your what?” I was way confused.
He slapped my shoulder. “Come on… I thought you knew all about vampires.”
“ I never said I was an expert.”
“All it means is you’re chosen to do my dirty work.”
“But, why me!” I said.
“Well, because I like you. I deliberately threw myself in front of your truck so I could meet you,” he said.
I stared at him, my eyes half open. “Exactly how crazy are you? I want to know what I’m dealing with.”
“ I can get pretty crazy, especially if you’re on my bad side.” His voice had gotten light, which made me think he was making a joke.
“I live off blood. It’s how I’ve stayed so lively all these years. My last familiar died of old age. It’s sad, but I have to move on and get a new one. Tag. You’re it.” He smiled.
“What’s my job, if I choose to accept?”
He laughed. “That’s adorable. You think you have a choice.”I frowned at him. “All you have to do… is what I tell you.”
“I want immunity.”
“Immunity?” He raised an eyebrow.
“You can’t hurt me… ever, in any way. I don’t want to be dinner.”
“That’s easy. I never hurt my familiars, unless they betray me.”
“I will never betray you.”
“Good. Now that we’ve settled the rules, there’s something that must happen.”
“What is it?”
“I must bind myself to you, so that I always know where you are. And, that I always know where to find you, if you’re needed.”
“How does that work?”
“I drink your blood and you drink mine. It’s like a vampire marriage ceremony.”
“Will I … turn into a vampire?”
He laughed. “No.”
"I need a minute to think about this." I hopped off the bed and locked myself into the bathroom.
“Don’t take too long, Mrs. Whitlocke,” Jasper’s voice said. I wanted to go out there and punch him in the face, but that would probably hurt… me.
He would know my every move, my every mistake, my every turn in life. What does it matter, if I don’t even have a choice. I went back to the room and got on the bed.
“What if I turn down this cheeky offer?”
“Simple. I kill you, and I continue my search until I find my familiar.”
“Offer accepted,” I said, quickly.
“Now,” he said, looking about the room. “All we need is a rope.” He picked up my sneaker and pulled the shoe string out. “This will do.”
He wrapped the string around our hands, binding us together. My warm hands touched his coldness, and I shivered.
“I’m not usually so cold,” he said. “The blood makes me warm, adds blush to my cheeks.”
I don’t know why, but I laughed at that.
“Brings you back to life.”
“Exactly.”
Then, his lips touched mine. I had never been kissed before, so this was scary and exciting all at the same time. I could hear my own heart beating, clearly. His lips moved down my jaw, and down the front of my neck, and around to the side, kissing me slowly and gently. Our tied hands lifted. He wrapped his mouth around my forearm and sucked on it. I felt his teeth digging into my skin. I kept my cries on the inside, as to not disturb Charlie. Then, he did something terribly disgusting. He ripped open his own arm with his teeth. Blood splashed us.
“Drink up,” he said.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said.
“Do it.”
I put my head on his arm, and tasted his blood. I winced at first, then I took tiny gulps at a time, while he nearly sucked the life out of me through my forearm.
Everything turned pitch black, suddenly. I went light- headed and collapsed. An aweful smell woke me up. Jasper had been waving my sneaker under my nose. I opened my eyes, and he laughed.
“That’s not funny,” I said, shoving the shoe out of my face.
“You know you need new shoes, when the ones you have are strong enough to pull you out of a coma.”

Permalink Reply by Chris on January 2, 2013 at 3:54pm

That was both funny and scary.

She is doing very well holding it all together in such a scary incident.

Permalink Reply by Kelley Brady on December 28, 2012 at 6:07pm

very interesting...please write more again soon!

Permalink Reply by balletgirl on December 29, 2012 at 12:24am

Chapter 5 Creepy House
Jasper slept next to me as I slept. I didn’t mind that he was so cold. He was getting colder by the hour. My phone rang in the middle of the night. It was Jacob. Half of me didn’t want to answer it; the new me, the me that had vampire blood running through my veins. The old me reached for the phone.
“Hello?” I asked, my voice half asleep.
“Hi. You up?”
“ I am now. Did you find out anything from Billy?”
“No. He’s acting like there’s some big secret he doesn’t want me to know about. I’ll find out on my own. Now, Leah’s acting all weird. She ran away, tonight. I think it has something to do with her cousin who just showed up.”
“I hope she’s alright.”
Jacob had said something else, but I was too tired and zoned out. “Bella, you still there?”
“Huh?”
“I’ll call back another time.”
*click*
I jerked when I felt Jasper’s cold arm fall over my waist. I could feel him breathing as he slept, we were that close. I found myself backing into him, trying to get as close as possible. I eventually fell asleep, too.
When I woke, I was frantic because he was gone. A lot of questions went through my mind. Did Charlie walk in at any time? Does Jasper really live next door?
It didn’t matter, now. I had to get ready for school.
At lunch, Angela and Eric seemed hesitant to sit with me, at our table where we always sat. When I found myself alone in the cafeteria, I began to worry.
Later, I found Eric in the halls. At first, he acted like he didn’t know who I was. I walked up to him and his locker.
“Hey, Eric,” I said, with a forced smile.
“Oh. Hey,” he said, lifelessly.
“Is something wrong. I didn’t see you guys at lunch. Well, I saw you but, you guys were sitting somewhere else.” I laughed, nervously.
“Nothing’s wrong,” he said.
“But…”
“Just let it go.”
He walked away with his book for science. I felt shut out. Anxiously, I searched for Angela between breaks. My energy was very low, today, as if I hadn’t eaten at all. After school, I finally found her by her car. She was with Eric. It looked like they tried to drive off before I could see them.
“Angela,” I said, coming up to the car. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. About last night, I’m really sorry. I should have called and canceled.”
“It’s alright. You’re the loner type. I get it. Hanging out is not your thing,” she said.
“I never said that.”
“You act like it.”
“Angela…”
“Or maybe you’re too busy for us, too cool.We don’t need this. We’ve been burned way too many times by the jerks at this hell hole. Last thing we need is to get burned by another one.”
“I’m not a jerk,” I said, meekly.
She got into her car.
“Eric?” I begged.
He shrugged. “She’s just protecting herself. Sorry, Bella.” He got into her passenger seat and she drove off. I felt something wet on my face that annoyed me. I hated crying, yet I always did it.
Upset and pissed off, I went to my car and deleted Angela’s number from my phone. I had left my history book inside my locker. When I realized this, I darted into the school.
The cheerleaders were practicing in the middle of the hallway and jocks were just hanging around talking. It was an uncomfortable atmosphere. I grabbed my book from my locker. When I closed it, Ben, Mike, Jessica, and Lauren were standing behind it.
“Hey, chief,” said Ben. He got a little too close to my face. “You look like you been crying.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Because your face is all red and puffy,” Jessica said. They laughed.
“What’s the matter?” Ben asked.
“Nothing. I just forgot my history book. I have homework.”
“That’s a weird reason to cry,” Mike said.
“No. That’s not- nevermind,” I said, turning to leave. They followed me.
“Hey, since you’re the chief’s daughter, can’t you get- like- special privileges and junk?” Jessica asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s say you get in trouble… you’ll get off easy, right? Because your dad’s the chief,” Lauren said.
“I don’t think so,” I said.
“Let’s say Ben and I wanted to go do something… something bad… if we bring you along, then if we get caught, our punishment won’t be as bad as it would, if we didn’t have connections,” she said. The others laughed with her.
“Connections?” I asked.
“You, silly!” Mike said. “Come on. Try to keep up.”
I knew what they were getting at, but I couldn’t figure out how to get them to drop it. They kept pushing.
“Why would I help you, anyway. You treated me like dirt on my first day,” I said.
“Let’s go, guys. I knew she was a dork,” Mike said.
“After all, she hangs out with Angela and Ben. How cool can she be?” Jessica said.
“I don’t hang out with them,” I said.
“Don’t lie,” Ben said.
“Why would I hang out with them? Angela is a bulimic, over -sensitive gaylord. And Eric is a spazz. He’s always following her around. He’s like her puppy. It’s pathetic.”
They all looked at me, totally shocked. I was shocked by the words that just flew out of my mouth. Then, they burst out laughing. I shook my head at myself and turned around before anything else could happen. I got in the truck and drove home.
I spent the rest of the day barred up in my room, doing homework and then feeling pointless. I heard Charlie come home and it didn’t phase me at all.
“Bella, you okay?” he asked, poking his head through the door.
“There’s nothing to do around here, Dad.”
“That’s a lie. There’s plenty to do. Why don’t you call up your friends?”
I fell silent and stared at my computer.
“Okay…. Why don’t you go down to the beach.”
“It’s too cold for that, Dad.”
“You don’t have to go swimming.”
“What’s going on in LaPush? Jacob said something about some kids going missing.”
“Oh, it’s no big deal. A few teenagers ran off. They’ll be back.”
“It sounded like a big deal to Jacob.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“He said it’s not safe.”
“That boy just has a wild imagination. That’s why I like him so much.” Charlie’s smile crinkled under the mustache. I laughed fakely, at his horrible attempt at humor. “So, you’re just going to sit here and be bored?”
I didn’t respond. “Did you finish all your homework?”
“Yes,” I said.
He sighed. I knew I was making him uncomfortable, but I didn’t know how to stop. About an hour later, I got a text from Eric, inviting me to a party. Then, I felt bad about deleting Angela’s number because she was using his phone to reach me.
They gave me directions and I drove out to this creepy looking house, decorated for Holloween, when it was August.
I met up with Angela and Ben.
“Hey,” Angela said. “I over- reacted. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I said in a cool voice, reaching my hands around her. Eric chuckled, standing behind her. We pulled away and she went to talk to a girl with pink hair.
“Thank me, later,” Eric said. “Or you can thank me, now, if you prefer.”
“Thank you,” I said. “What did you say to her?”
“We just talked,” he shrugged.
“Well, thank you.”
We went inside the house. It was just an old house with a creepy vibe to it. I didn’t know why anyone would hold a party here.
“What’s with the Holloween theme?” I asked Eric.
“Carlisle is sort of obsessed,” he shrugged.
“Who’s Carlisle?”
Eric looked up. “That’s… Carlisle.”
I looked to the top of the creeking, wooden staircase. Standing there, was a tall man with long, blonde hair tucked behind his pierced ears. His eyes were lighter than the sky on a clear day. He wore a silky, black button-down shirt that was open, and black pants. He was barefoot.
He looked creepy and cool at the same time.
“He throws a lot of parties,” Eric said. “And anyone can come.”
“That’s generous of him.”
There was something about Carlisle that made me think of Jasper. Carlisle looked down at me. His lips pulled up into a smile.
Then, someone grabbed my arm. It was Angela.
“Come on. You’ve got to see this place,” she said. She led me down a flight of dusty stairs. “There’s actual coffins in this dude’s basement. You gotta see this.”
There was no light switch, so we were feeling around in the dark. Eric, who was behind us, was using the light up screen of his phone. Rows of pale, dirty coffins lay on the floor, and one was upright, against a closet door.
“Cool, right. Carlisle totally goes all out. You should see this place on actual Holloween night,” Angela gushed. “Plus, all the girls in town have a crush on him.”
“It’s really creepy,” Eric spat. “Someone should do an investigation on this guy. I bet he’s hiding some illegal, creeptastic secret.”
“You just hold the phone up, so we can see,” Angela said. She maneuvered around the coffins. It made me nervous how excited she was. “Eric, see if you can get a picture.” She posed between two coffins. Eric sighed, and did what he was told. We went back upstairs, and the house had filled up with people in our absence. “Eric, let me see the pic,” Angela urged.
Okay, okay,” he said, fidgeting with the phone. They both looked at the screen, bewildered.
“Did it turn out good?” I asked. They didn’t answer. I went around to see. The phone caught the room and the coffins, and the creepiness, but Angela was missing.
“Eric, this isn’t funny. You didn’t take a picture of me at all.”
“I did! I don’t know what happened. You must have moved.”
“I’m not there at all. Let’s go try it again.”
“No way. I’m not going back down there!” he protested.

“Is everything alright?” a slow, deep voice asked. The three of us jumped.
“Carlisle,” Angela beamed.
“We’re fine,” Eric said.
“You know this part of the house is off limits?”
“We do now,” Eric said. “Come on, guys. Let’s go.” He pulled us both to the main room.
“You are such a wuss, Eric,” Angela said.”He was kidding about it being off limits. He wants us to see it.”
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into coming, here… again!” he said.
I turned around and saw Ben and Lauren. My face turned white.
“Hey, Bella,” Ben said.
“I thought you didn’t hang out with these cheap losers,” Lauren said.
“That was…hours ago,” I said, nervously.
“You said that Angela was a bulimic gaylord and that Eric was a spazzy, pathetic weirdo,” Lauren said. My cheeks were burning from embarrassment. “Didn’t she, Ben?”
“Yep. Jessica and Mike heard you, too.”
I turned away from them, only to face Angela and Eric’s angry and hurt expressions.
“Why would you lie to us?” Ben asked. “We don’t care who you hang out with.”
I turned back around. “You are such a troll.”
“Hey, don’t get mad at me. I’m not the one who called them all those nasty things. Some friend you must be,” Ben said.
“Yeah, you guys can have her. Come on, Ben. Let’s go say hi to Carlisle,” Lauren said.
“Hey, Eric, the next time you try to tell me how great Bella is and that I should forgive her, I’m just going to ignore you,” Angela said.
“Don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson,” he said.
I tried to apologize to Eric and Angela, but they kept walking away.
“Will you guys stop and let me explain,” I said. “I was angry. And this was after you chewed me out for not showing up at the movies. They’re just words.”
“Really, Bella? We thought you were better than that,” Angela said. I didn’t speak to anyone for the rest of the night, not even when I heard my name. It was my fault. I wouldn’t be friends with me, either. I ended up curled up on the floor of an upstairs bedroom, crying. I felt like a loser. When the music and the shouting had settled, I was still there, wallowing in the quiet. The room was almost bare with a wooden floorboard and a couple of couches, and a piano.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps near the entrance.
“My, my. What do we have here?”
I knew that voice. I lifted up my head to see Jasper standing over me. “What are you still doing in my maker’s house?”
“Your what?” I asked, wiping slob from the side of my mouth.
“I believe you’ve met him, or at least seen him. Carlisle Cullen,” Jasper said.
“Oh, that guy.”
“That guy is very important to me, crucial to my existence.”
“Huh?”
He sighed, and started pacing around me in circles. “If he dies, we all die.”
“Who’s we?”
“His children.”
“You mean there’s more of you running around, and that Carlisle guy is…”
“He’s the oldest of us all and he’s quite fragile. We have to look out for our dear old dad.”
A petite girl with short black, pixie-like hair walked through the room. “Oh.” She said. “You brought company.”
“No,” Jasper said.
“I thought the party was over and we could come back to the house,” she said.
“Bella, this is Alice, my lover.”
I bucked my eyes at him. His lover? I thought I was going to be… I shoved that thought to the back of my mind. But, the hurt still was apparent on my face and he could see it.
“Is this the new pet?” Alice asked.
“Yes. Pretty, right?” Jasper said.
“I can’t wait to play with her,” she said. I scooted back, afraid of her. What did she mean by that?

Jasper reached down. I took his hand and he pulled me off the floor.
“Now, we can turn Edward’s room back to normal, as well as the rest of the house,” she said.
“What do you mean we?” Jasper said, looking at her with a serious face. “You can play cleaning crew by yourself. Bella and I have things to do.”
My heart sped up as I realized, this wasn’t just a creepy house used to entertain people. Vampires lived here. I couldn’t fathom Angela and Ben being in the same place where blood thirsty demons lived. Maybe, throwing these lavish parties was how they caught their ‘food’.
Maybe, binding myself to Jasper was a mistake. I let my hand slip away from his, and rushed to the door. But, I got pushed back as someone was coming in at the same time I was leaving.
He looked at me and I stared at his face in awe. He was gorgeous. His eyes, a lucid emerald green. His hair was a dark shade of auburn and a bit frazzled. Jasper reached for my hand and pulled me away, but I still stared.
“Edward, this is Bella. She’s Jasper’s new pet,” Alice said. He just looked at me like I was some weird, ugly thing.
“Could you please not call me that? I’m a familiar,” I shot at her.
“-As if that’s any less demeaning,” said a blonde girl who came in with a prissy walk.
“Rosalie,” Edward sighed. “Why couldn’t you have stayed away?”
“Oh. I don’t know, Edward. Why couldn’t you have died of influenza, those many years ago,” she said back. Jasper chuckled.
“Rose, that’s cruel,” Alice said.
“We love to pick on Edward. Don’t feel bad for him. He secretly enjoys it,” Rosalie said.
“I’ll be back when my room is in order,” Edward said, backing out of the room. Then, he was gone.
“I guess we better get busy,” Alice said.
“What do you mean we?” Rosalie asked. Then, she left.
“Get use to it, Bella. Everyone in this house is so selfish,” Alice said, trying to contain her anger.
“So many vampires,” I thought out loud. No way in hell was this a good situation for anyone to be in, but after meeting Edward, I couldn’t get myself to leave. I saw Jasper’s face when I was staring at Edward before, and he seemed a little jealous.
Jasper’s hands were ice cold. I couldn’t hold it for much longer without freezing, so I let go. He looked at me like I did something wrong.
“Jasper, why is she so young? Is she even out of school?” Alice asked.
“Why does it matter?” he said, with a flick of his wrist.
“The familiars are suppose to be old enough to go off on their own. She is a child. People will be asking questions.”
“No one will care.”
I looked at him, a little offended by that.

Permalink Reply by Seugnet du Toit on December 29, 2012 at 9:07am

Interesting version of the Cullen family!

Permalink Reply by Chris on January 2, 2013 at 4:12pm

Now she has met themost of the family but not Esme or Emmett.

And she is attracted to Edward but is bound to Jasper. This is all very interesting. Edward didn't seem to care for her at all and Jasper seem a little jelouse but he has Alice so where would Bella fit in? Doesn't Alice mind if Jasper has a bit on the side or is there more to her thoughts of playing with Bella that first came to mind?

Best wishes

Chris

Permalink Reply by Chris on December 30, 2012 at 4:37pm

A very good begining to a story with a nice twist as to it being Ben that is the other party.