Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

To Love Again

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 06:

Embry’s POV

At around five am, I stirred awake, my thoughts immediately turning to the last night. Bella and I spent the evening chatting over a bottle of wine, discussing our past relationships and our future together as a couple. In between, we shared a few kisses, leading to more kisses, and then a frenzied make-out session. We ended the evening by expressing our love to each other with our bodies, culminating in my marking her as mine. I didn’t have to explain marking to her-she understood. Apparently, vampires marked their mates, too.

Bella looked peaceful as she slept in my arms. She had a serene smile on her face, and I couldn’t help but make love to her once again. We were jolted into reality when her alarm clock went off at 6:20 am.

“Crap! We have work!” I gasped.

“Okay, we shower here, drive to your house, you get dressed, then we go to work. How does that sound?”

“Perfect!”

We both dove into the shower together and got cleaned up. It took everything I had in me not to claim her again in the shower. My wolf was urging me to mate with her again, but responsibility called. I had to put my shorts from last night back on, but it didn’t matter. I took the wheel of her truck and floored it back to the reservation. I bolted into my house, changed quickly, grabbed my bag, and rushed back into her truck. We had about ten minutes to spare so we stopped at Mrs. Ateara’s store, bought a few pastries and two coffees, and made our way to the tribal school. I dropped her off at her office, shut the door, planted a deep kiss on her lips, and made my way to my classroom. It was going to be a long day. She was only four doors down, but it felt like she was a million miles away. I just wanted her by my side. Was I asking for too much?

Paul stopped by in the classroom around ten am while the kids were taking a test. He was the school’s guidance counselor. “You marked her,” he noted.

“How did you know?”

“I ran into her. She smells different. How was it?”

“Incredible, but I hate being away from her. I feel like she needs to be right next to me or something will happen to her.”

“Yeah, that’s how it was for Rachel and me after I first claimed her. I couldn’t get my mind off of her, and I was worried all the time for her safety.” He patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry, buddy. It’s just in the beginning after you first claim her. Everything will simmer down soon.”

“That’s good to know. What happened last night after I left?”

“It wasn’t pretty. To make a long story short, Rachel and Emily flipped out on Kia, and the bitch fight of the century occurred. Charlie is upset with Bella for defending vampires, but she made a valid point, we wouldn’t have been able to save her life were it not for a vampire. Oh, and now Sue is pissed off at Charlie. He slept on Billy’s sofa last night.”

“Gee whiz! All of this drama because a vampire cared enough about Bella to warn us that she was in danger? That’s really messed up.” I shook my head. “And would Charlie prefer it if the vampire didn’t warn us that his daughter was about to be killed? He’s ridiculous!”

“Yep, he is ridiculous. By the way, I apologized to Bella for my part in this. I feel terrible about my past behavior.”

The good thing about Paul was, unlike Jacob, he always owned up to his mistakes without fail. It was part of the reason why he was such my best friend. I hadn’t been friends with Jake for many years. We didn’t have much in common anymore.

Bella walked into my classroom just then, and summoned Paul. I could hear her outside whispering to him about the Nampeyo kid in my classroom. “I need you to observe him in the classroom. He seems extremely withdrawn. He’s ten years old and in the third grade. He reads at a first grade level, if that. He can’t do simple addition and subtraction. His classmates have already moved onto division. On top of that, his parents have missed the last two IEP meetings, he’s frequently late and not just by a few minutes. And not a week has gone by in which he hasn’t missed a day or two of school. At this point, we can’t pass him onto the fourth grade, it wouldn’t be right. I suspect he’s going to need to go to a collaborative school where they can provide him with the help he needs.”

I looked over at Jonathan Nampeyo. The poor kid was dealt such a raw deal for parents. He was born a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome. He’d been through social services more times than any kid his age should. He was tiny, roughly the size of a first grader and was terrified as he walked through the hallway. He was frequently bullied, had no friends, and was as poor as dirt. I noticed his hand was trembling as he attempted to write.

“Paul, Jonathan’s hand is shaking as he writes. What do you make of that?” I whispered, knowing he could hear me with his heightened wolf senses.

I heard Paul explaining what I just said to Bella.

“ Most likely the effects of the fetal alcohol syndrome. He also has very poor fine and gross motor control,” Bella said. “One more thing, he’s already missed thirty-two days of school.”

“ Three more days and we have to call Child Protective Services.” Paul sighed. “Alright, I’ll go and observe him this afternoon, then we’ll meet after school with Embry to discuss the poor kid.”

“ Sounds good to me. Thanks, Paul.”

One month later, Jonathan was taken from his family’s home and placed with a loving foster family in La Push that desperately wanted a child. The family that took him in was the Cheneys. Leah Clearwater Cheney and her imprint, Ben, were desperate for a child because Leah was unable to conceive. I actually suggested them to the social worker. Jonathan, together with his little sister, Jillian, were now being cared for lovingly by both Leah and Ben. He was well fed and improving on a daily basis. He would most likely have to attend a collaborative school because he was too far behind, but I had no doubt that this time he would make it. I doubted the Nampeyos would ever regain custody of their children again. They were currently both in jail on several charges of child endangerment. Paul had gone for a home visit together with Bella and me, and we found the parents strung out on drugs. We called the tribal police immediately and they removed the children from the house.

It was Sunday, and Bella and I were relaxing at home. I finally moved in with her yesterday. I slept over at her house every night, and it was becoming ridiculous not to share our lives together. Of course, I could no longer just roll out of bed and run to work, but it was worth it to wake up snuggled up next to my imprint.

The past month had been extremely emotional for Bella. The majority of the pack had come to apologize to Bella as couples. She had a very difficult time accepting some of their apologies, but she did make an effort to rebuild her relationship with them. Jacob and Kia never came to apologize. As a result, my friendship with Jacob, which had already been held together by a thin thread, completely snapped.

As far as the parents were concerned, Bella had no problem with Billy, my mother, or Sue, after learning they had always urged Charlie to maintain a relationship with her. It was his prejudice and his unwillingness to yield which led to his strained relationship with Bella. She was extremely hurt that he had so little faith in her, and his actions proved to her that his love was conditional and not the other way around.

“Embry, we have to hit the grocery store.” Bella’s sweet voice roused me out of my thoughts.

“Sure. When would you like to leave?”

“Whenever you want.” I noticed Bella was twisting her wedding ring around her finger. I knew it was selfish of me, but now that we were living together, I wanted it off. I sighed and grimaced.

“Embry, what’s wrong?”

“Bella, when are you going to take your wedding ring off?”

“I…” She glanced down at the ring, then nervously turned to me. “Oh my God. I’m so selfish. I kept it on because I was so used to it, but I didn’t take your feelings into consideration. I’m so sorry, Embry.”

“It’s okay. I just… I don’t want to be Eddie’s replacement, Bella. I just want to be…”

“You’re not his replacement, you’re Embry. You’re my Embry. Eddie and you have some similarities, but really, you’re two completely different people. I would never want you to take Eddie’s place, but you need to understand that he’ll always have a place in my heart.” Bella slipped the ring off of her finger and looked at it longingly. “I’ll just go and put this in my jewelry box. Give me a minute, please, and then we can go to the grocery store.”

I waited for a few minutes, but she didn’t come downstairs. I quietly made my way upstairs. I observed her standing in front of the dresser, with her jewelry box open, staring at the wedding ring. She had tears in her eyes. After noticing my presence, she gasped and quickly closed the jewelry box. She wiped her tears and put on a brave face, “I’m ready to go.”

“No you’re not, Bella. I can feel it when you’re upset.” I brought her to sit on our bed, and placed her hand on my chest. “If taking off his ring is making you this upset, then I want you to put it back on.”

“Oh, Embry, you’re too good to me. I don’t want to put it back on. I was just sad because the wedding ring was my last physical connection to him. Putting it in the jewelry box is like permanently sealing the coffin, but he’d want me to do this. Just before Eddie died, he made me promise him that I’d go out and try to meet someone. He knew he was dying, and he didn’t want me to be alone. He wanted me to open my heart to love again. He told me to find someone and give my whole heart to him, and you have it, Embry. You have my whole heart.”

“You have my heart, my soul, my everything because you’re my everything.” I pulled her in close, holding her for a minute before tilting her chin up so her eyes met mine. “But I don’t want your whole heart, Bella. I don’t want it because a part of it will always be with Eddie. He will always have a place in your heart, and I don’t mind sharing because the fact that he was thinking about you in his final moments, proves how much he loved you, and how deep your bond with him was.” I reached into her jewelry box, grabbed her wedding ring, and held it in front of her. “Keep him with you, Bella.”

“Embry, I can’t. It would be selfish of me to keep the ring on my finger.”

“It was selfish me to even bring it up, Bella. I’m sorry.”

“No, Embry. You really brought up a good point. It’s been over a year, and he’s no longer here. He’s part of my past. You are my present and my future.”

“Yes, he’s part of your past, but he would have been your present and future if fate hadn’t thrown a cruel curveball your way.” I kissed her on the lips. “How about if we bought you a nice chain to put it on? That way, you can wear it whenever you want to because I’m sure there are times, he’s in your thoughts more than usual.”

“I like your idea, Embry. I love it.”

“Yeah? Well, I love you. All of you-and I’m honored to share a part in your heart with Eddie.” I dropped my lips down to kiss her soft lips. “Now, let’s go to the store. Do you have the grocery list?”

“I do. It’s already in my purse.”

“Good. Why don’t we drive to Port Angeles for our groceries today? We can have dinner out.”

“Sure. It would be a nice change.”

Change. Change was a good thing. It was changing my attitude which ultimately led me to be with Bella now. Had I been as prejudiced against her as I was when I first met her, I would still be led around on a leash by Jacob.

And Bella deciding to make a change and move to Forks was also a good thing. I wonder why she decided to move to Forks, considering the way the pack treated her at Charlie’s wedding? There’s no time like now to ask her.

“Speaking of change, what made you choose Forks as a place to start over?”

Bella started chuckling, then took my hand. “Come with me.” We walked downstairs to the kitchen where our silverware chest was. I always thought it was funny how we used real, sterling silver flatware everyday. We used fancy china dishes, too.

“Keep an open mind, Embry. You know how I’m friends with Alice Cullen, right?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, so Alice is psychic, she has visions of the future, and most of the time they’re pretty accurate. Anyway, I was pondering where I should move to when, all of a sudden, the FedEx delivery guy shows up with a package from her. I open it up, and all it contained was a whole bunch of sterling silver forks. I mean, who sends a package with just forks in it?”

“Forks-it was a hint.” I nodded my head. “I like it.”

“Alright, so the next day, Alice sent me this beautiful chest with the rest of the silverware in it and a note stating that she thought that I might want the rest of the set. And now that I know that you turn into a wolf, I understand the etching on the lid of the box.”

“I’m impressed,” I admitted. “I have another question for you, though. What’s with the fancy china?”

“They were part of my wedding gift registry, and some also belonged to my grandmother on my mother’s side. They’re Lenox fine china. After Eddie died, I realized that saving the good china for only special occasions was ridiculous because everyday on this earth is a gift.”

I kissed Bella on the lips thinking about how every moment with her was a gift to me. “You’re a gift, Bella. I love you. Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Ditto.”

Mid-May…

The next few months flew by quickly, and the end of the school year was fast approaching. Bella and I would have the summer off. Both of our contracts were renewed so we had no worries about having to look for work. We had been considering vacation plans for the summer. We definitely wanted to go away, but we hadn’t come up with a place yet.

One thing was for sure, I was determined to begin my quest of seeing the world. Through speaking with Bella, I knew that she, too, wanted to see the world. Her mother had instilled in her a love of travel. One of the reasons why Renee had left Charlie was because he was, very much, a man of Forks. He was happy where he was and didn’t see the need to explore beyond familiar surroundings. It was stifling for Renee so she left, taking their daughter with her.

I glanced over at the bookcase and caught sight of my battered copy of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare. I remember when I first had to read it in eleventh grade. It was right after I first phased into a wolf, and I was furious that I inherited a freaky supernatural gene. The play got me through the tough times by making me laugh when I felt hopeless. I actually stole the copy, claiming I had lost it, rather than returning it to the classroom at the end of the school year. And then it dawned on me.

“I want to go to England,” I announced, suddenly.

“England? Why England, out of curiosity?”

“Okay, don’t laugh. I like reading Shakespeare, and I’ve kind of always wanted to visit Stratford-Upon-Avon. Besides, you’ve always wanted to visit the Jane Austen Centre in Bath and see her house in Chawton.”

“Since when are you such an expert on England, Embry?”

“Call it a hobby of mine. Besides, I enjoy reading and I picked up things here and there.”

“I love the fact that you love to read. Eddie read, but only books on business, which I could never get into.” She rolled her eyes, playfully, and smiled. “Great Britain it is, then. There are tons of places that I want to see there.”

“Alright, where are we going to stay? And for how long?” The doorbell rang all of a sudden, stopping us both in our tracks. “I’ll get it.”

I answered the door and the FedEx delivery guy was standing on the porch with a package for Embry Call and Bella Swan. I shrugged my shoulders and signed for it.

“Were you expecting anything, babe?”

“Nope, but I’m pretty sure I know who it’s from. Open it.”

I ripped the sealing tape off of the box and opened it. Inside were some tour books for Great Britain, what looked like an antique copy of Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ which happened to be my favorite, an original copy of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen, a set of keys, and a wrapped gift for me with a card attached. I opened the card and read it out loud, ‘I couldn’t resist, haha. Happy Belated Birthday. Alice.’ I unwrapped the gift and there was a black T-shirt in my size inside with ‘Vampires Bite’ and a set of bloody, dripping fangs screen-printed on it. Alright, I admit it was funny. I started laughing and so did Bella.

A letter fell out of the tour book. Bella started reading it out loud.

Dear Bella and Embry,

I think your idea to visit Great Britain is wonderful. I can see you going there over and over again. I’m enclosing a set of the keys to my penthouse there. I can’t return there for another sixty years, at least, so the place will remain empty. Please, please accept my offer. It’s a free place to stay and accommodations in London are ridiculously expensive. I’ve already had a cleaning crew come in and disinfect the place so there should be no lingering vampire scent to bother Embry. Talk it over together and decide.

Love,

Alice

P.S. Bella, I really like Embry. He’s a very vigorous lover.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. This is a really generous offer.”

“Alice has a big heart,” Bella returned, simply.

“It’s just that vampires are supposed to be my sworn enemy, but since meeting you, I’ve learned that there are good and bad vampires just like there are good and bad people.”

“You know how I look at things, Embry?”

“How?”

“I don’t see any of the Cullens as vampires, just like I don’t see any of the wolves in La Push as wolves. I just see everyone as people. Some are friends; some are not. It’s that simple.”

I loved her simple logic. She was absolutely correct.

“You’re right, Bella. Let’s take Alice up on her offer, then. I’m going to wear my new t-shirt the next time we have a pack dinner.” I chuckled, thinking of their reaction. “I like Alice, she said I was a vigorous lover. Hey, does that mean she watches us having sex?”

Before Bella could answer my question, the doorbell rang again, this time it was the mailman with an express delivery for me. I opened up the envelope and removed a note in flawless handwriting.

I can’t help myself, Bella pops into my visions all the time. You are very vigorous and have lots of stamina in bed. I’ve actually used you as an example to give Jasper sex tips. I’m sooo happy that you’re taking me up on my offer! This is a gift card for Harrod’s for both of you to use in London. You need new clothes, you look frumpy, and get your hair cut and styled. How the two of you can go out in public looking the way you do, I have no idea. Honestly! Take some pride in your appearance! Alice

“Um, Bella? Is she…”

“Just say, thank you, graciously, Embry.”

“Thank you, Alice,” I said out loud.

A text message came through to my phone, “You’re welcome.~A”

It had been a month since our package from Alice Cullen arrived. The two of us had just landed in London, England. We told everyone that we were going on vacation, but we didn’t tell anyone how long we were going for. Most of the pack thought we were crazy for flying all the way to England-they didn’t see the point.

As far as the pack was concerned, everyone got along well with Bella with the exception of Jake and Kia. They resented Bella for her past relationship with Edward Cullen, and I had a feeling that Kia didn’t like seeing me happy and in love with someone who wasn’t her.

My mother and Billy were extremely supportive of our relationship. We had dinner with them every Wednesday night. On the other hand, relations between Bella and Charlie were extremely strained. She was tremendously hurt by his betrayal. As a result, we didn’t have dinner with Sue and him on Saturdays anymore. Sue would stop by from time to time with a homemade dessert or a casserole, and sit and chat with us. We got along well with her.

The taxi pulled to a stop in front of a majestic looking building. We rode the elevator up to the penthouse and opened the door. And motherfucking hell, I’m positive that we’re in some millionaire’s mansion or something.

“Wow!” I said, not accustomed to such grandeur.

“Alice doesn’t do anything in half measures,” Bella commented. We toured the penthouse and everything was fully furnished and stocked. The kitchen pantry and the refrigerator were also packed with food.

“Oh my God! Is there anything we can do to repay her?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, I have no way of mailing her anything except via email. The thing I’ve learned though is that Alice really enjoys doing things for people, it gives her a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment so I’ve learned to accept her gifts graciously.”

“Should we go sightseeing then?”

“Absolutely, I slept like a baby on the plane.”

“So did I. I’m wide awake now, and hungry. Let’s grab a bite to eat first.”

And so our vacation started. Bella and I cooked at home for most meals in order to save money, and we’d eat out a couple of times a week. We took side trips on the weekend and were able to visit Stratford-Upon-Avon, Bath, Chawton, and even Scotland. Our holiday ended way too soon to suit our preferences, and we were now on our way back to Forks, and unfortunately, reality.

During the course of our trip, I realized the world was so much bigger than just Washington State. I wanted to tour the world with Bella by my side. Our lives shouldn’t be limited to just Forks and the Quileute Reservation, and I told Bella so. She replied that she felt the same way and, at some point during the eight weeks we spent in London, we made a pact to see as much of the world as possible in our lifetime.