Bella's POV
"Aro called to speak with you once more," Carlisle spoke from the front of his clan.
My lips pursed back, a growl erupting in my chest. "That's great," I spat furiously.
I heard Emmett's deep chuckle fill the space. Choosing to ignore Emmett, I cleared my throat instead, preparing myself to finally tell the Cullen's how I came to be a vampire. With my chin jutted out defiantly, I said, "My story isn't pretty and I'm not censoring myself. All of you have been indiscreetly asking me to open up and I'm doing it now. So when you tell me to stop, I'm just going to continue."
"Oh, Isabella, we would never judge you," Esme's motherly voice gently floated in the air.
At that point I wasn't too impressed with her maternal attitude. I couldn't find it in my heart to tell her that she should not speak for the whole clan. I couldn't help the eye roll, though.
The air shifted suddenly; tension and expectation the most palpable. Alice caught my eye, erratically jumping up and down with a displeased expression on her profile. I ignored her and started to recount my story. "My name was Isabella Marie Swan. I can't remember if I had a family, but according to Alice, I did."
"Yes!" Alice interjected excitedly. "You had a boyfriend named Riley and a sister named Angela."
My heart clenched at the mention of these now faceless people. Was it even possible to miss somebody you couldn't fucking remember? "Alice, why don't you tell them my fucking life?" I said in a fake chipper tone.
She didn't know I was being sarcastic and quickly started describing how I came to be a vampire. "You were originally going to meet up with Riley, but he bailed and so you walked to your home in Aberdeen. You were walking in an alley, all the while feeling like something was staring at you. Sure enough, a vampire was the one stalking you. Weird if you ask me. Vampires shouldn't go around raping humans-oops!"
Chaos erupted as I launched myself towards Alice. Venom dripped down my chin, anger pulsed inside me and caused me to see nothing but my victim. I wanted this bitch dead. I grabbed the back of her head with my left hand, fisting the hair in my hand, before hitting her repeatedly in the face. I felt her right cheek smash in due to the force of my blows, but I didn't stop.
"Bella! Stop! You're hurting her-"
At those words, I snarled and punched her with more force. A putrid smell filled my nostrils, making me wince. While still hitting her face, I looked at her. Venomous liquid dripped down her face. One blow to her lip and it was busted. Maybe she'd stop shouting.
"Fucking shit! Grab her-"
Arms tried to move me away from the whore, but I wasn't going to let that happen. This fucking slut just ruined everything and I was going to make her pay.
I moved back just enough to kick Alice's left knee. There was a sick crack and her leg bent back at the knee cap. The sight of it brought me joy, but Alice started to scream in pain. Music to my ears.
Alice fell to the ground, clutching her mangled leg and pleading with me to stop. As if. She told her whole family that I was raped and I wasn't going to brush that off quickly. It wasn't the fucking psycho's place to tell them anything. It was my story to tell, not hers. I hated her more than ever. Why did I always come across manipulative mother fuckers?
Jumping on top of Alice, I punched everything I could reach. A particular blow to her side caused a loud crack to break through the yelling and screaming. It was most likely the bitch's ribs. I didn't care.
The sudden urge to just bite was so strong and I couldn't stop the feeling. Just as my teeth clamped down around her neck, a solid arm encircled my waist and ripped me off of the pixie. I snarled and snapped my teeth, digging my nails into the arm. I kicked and tried to pull away and get back to killing Alice.
I froze when multiple images started to assault my mind. Flashes of other people's lives. Memories rushing through my brain. Scenes of a girl with short dark hair filled my vision. It was her playing in poppy fields, her giggling with a toy doll in her tiny hand. And it was her, much older, getting raped and left in a dark cellar to suffer a change.
There were blurs and some scenes weren't as clear and focused as others. There was the girl as a vampire. Her elfin face freezing and her eyes glazing over. She danced in some scenes and cried in others. There were visions of others I didn't know. Hundreds of foreign faces passing by my head at a sickening rate.
These weren't my memories and I screamed as scene after scene filled my head.
A burly man with deep gashes in his chest, dimples manifesting through his grimaces of pain. The stunning blonde female waiting in the snow for death to encompass her. A brunette woman lying at the bottom of a cliff, blood pooling around her broken body. One bronze-haired boy writhing on a hospital bed, trying to fight the disease trying to claim him. That petite girl from before in a dark chamber, crying out in confusion and dismay. A fair-haired man laying in the dirt, praying for forgiveness, and suffering from the burn throughout his body. And a Texan male screaming at the pain the pretty ma'am inflicted on him.
Every single memory running through my head wasn't mine. I was terrified and confused of what was happening to me. I wanted it all to fucking go away, so I closed my eyes. The images wouldn't go away and I screamed one last time before the last image faded into nothingness.
I slumped into the arms holding me upright. There were cries and shouting surrounding me and I found myself being overwhelmed at all the noise.
Faster than I cared to pay attention to, I was hoisted up into strong arms and wind whipped past us. I closed my eyes and felt my emotions pass over me. Confusion, anger, frustration, hurt, resentment; too many emotions to analyze.
Tears welled up in my eyes and at that moment, I felt like a little girl. Scared and confused. Those were possibly the emotions I was feeling the most. I gripped onto the person's shirt, pressing my face against the fabric and letting tears fall.
We stopped moving and I was situated on a lap. Arms wrapped around me and I sobbed into a hard shoulder. Hands brushed up and down my back and I let everything go. I didn't face him, but I knew it was Jasper. He was basically oozing calm.
I started to tell him everything that happened to me. From what happened with James to what was going to happen with Aro. I left nothing out and didn't think twice about what I was saying. He didn't speak, but I noticed his arms held me tighter when I recounted my encounter with James. I could feel the anger rolling off of him and was pleased to know that he hated him too.
There was a silence settling around us and I debated whether or not to break it. I wasn't willing to ruin the little bubble we were in. For once in my vampire life I actually felt like I belonged somewhere. I belonged in Jasper's arms. There was nothing to question, nothing that made me uneasy. All of this comforting should have been scary to me; it wasn't.
It was just me and him lying on the forest floor. Nothing mattered at the moment. Jasper's scent enveloped me, making me sigh and press my face harder into his shoulder.
"Darlin' you were cryin'," He whispered after a moment of calm silence.
I nodded before speaking, "When I bit Alice, I sort of saw things. Like scenes of other peoples lives. What does that mean?"
His eyes were on me, I knew they were, but I didn't look up at him. We were silent once more. Jasper was most likely trying to come up with a way to tell me I was a freak. Maybe I was a freak. I actually saw all of that bitch's memories like a video reel. I wasn't normal, even as a vampire.
"I think it's safe to say that her powers brushed off on you for a moment there. You're not seein' things now, right?" Jasper drawled.
The words triggered a dream-like scene and I lost focus momentarily. A blonde man and a brunette woman were in a tight embrace, their lips pressed together. The sun shone on them and even though their skin seemed to be emitting smoke, they were so beautiful. The man's golden hair was glowing thanks to the light. The brunette's body was tiny compared to the man's, but neither seemed to pay attention to the height difference.
The couple pulled away and I gasped at their faces, more specifically mine. It was me, only more perfected. I couldn't believe it. That was meā¦and Jasper.
I snapped back to reality when Jasper shook my shoulders. I glanced up at him shyly. He had an awestruck expression, making me bite my lip.
"What was it?" Pride swept over me and I smiled at him.
He was proud of me because I saw something that might not happen? I hoped it would happen though. We looked so happy, without a care in the world.
I shrugged and mumbled "nothing" in response.
Jasper pulled away and I started to panic. He was leaving me now. Just like I knew he would. A pain spewed out in my chest, making me cry out and clutch at his shirt. The sound of the fabric tearing made him chuckle. For fear that he would leave, I didn't loosen my grip on his shirt. He couldn't leave me.
"Don't go," My voice broke at the end, making me sound desperate to my own ears.
There was a sudden wind that blew across our little area. I breathed in the crisp air, awaiting his reply. What if he told me to get out of his life? That he was disgusted with me? That he wanted nothing to do with me? I'd die.
My cheeks were suddenly cupped in Jasper's hands, a warm feeling sinking into my skin from his touch. I couldn't quite pinpoint this emotion, but I relished in the warmth. I looked up into his crimson eyes, gasping at the emotion shining in them. Love? I doubted it.
He brought his lips closer to my neck, pushing my hair away before pressing a gentle kiss at the base of my neck. My skin jolted with electricity. His lips ghosted over the side of my neck, his nose lightly grazing the skin. He pulled back and glanced into my eyes.
I wanted him, more than I've ever wanted another. We seemed to have a silent conversation and he looked at my lips then back at my eyes. I bit my lip timidly. Was he asking to kiss me?
I stayed still, waiting for him to come closer. Sure enough, he started to lean in closer. His face was slowly inching towards me, torturing me endlessly. Jasper was so close, closer then he's ever been. I should have been screaming at him to stop, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I glanced down at his perfectly-shaped lips.
Our noses were pressed together, our eyes staring at each other. With one last glance into my eyes, Jasper pressed his lips against mine gently. Eyelids fluttering shut, I allowed myself to feel his lips on mine. They were soft, just like I imagined. Hesitatingly I moved my lips against his, testing the waters.
He snaked his hand through my hair, lightly gripping my hair. One of my hands rested on his shoulder, the other wrapped in his golden hair. The kiss gradually build up in intensity and soon we were roughly kissing each other. Jasper's tongue lightly traced my bottom lip. Without hesitating, I allowed him access and soon enough we were fighting for dominance.
I fisted his hair and pressed my mouth harder against his. His left hand fell down to lightly grasp my hip. I pulled away, breathing in unnecessary oxygen. I looked into his dark eyes, a smile plastered onto my face. He flashed me a grin before saucily winking at me.
The strand of hair that fell into my eyes was pushed back by his hand. I smiled at him as he squeezed my hip. His eyes scanned over my face.
"Where you go, I go," Jasper said, answering my previous plea.
"Promise?" I silently asked.
His lips reconnecting with mine was an answer in itself. Hopefully that vision I had would come true. Hopefully...