Growing Up
By BetterInTexas
Chapter 24:
BPOV
“How long tell we get home baby?” Kate called and told me that she had told Garrett. She said he was quiet. Hadn’t said much. He didn’t seem to be angry. But he went hunting and hadn’t returned. That was twelve hours ago.
“About two hours.”
“Good.”
“Garrett will be fine darlin.”
“I really should probably go away. You can drop me off here. It would be best if I stayed out of this probably.” Randall was getting more nervous the closer we got to Conroe.
“No Randall. We can all be friends. You and Garrett shouldn’t lose your friendship over this. We are adults. This can work.”
“I agree Bella. Just maybe not at this time.” Randall said quietly.
“It’s dangerous out there, Randall. You need to stick with us.” Peter said to my great surprise.
“Peter I’m bored. Can I play with Esme’s phone?” I needed entertainment.
“Yeah, go ahead.” He smiled.
I dialed my former best friend.
“Esme?”
“Guess again Alice.”
“Bella?”
“Yep.”
“What do you want? Where is Esme?”
“Judging by the breeze that was blowing and the moisture in the air, I’m no meteorologist but I am guessing her ashes have blown about ten miles from Cheyenne Wyoming by now. “
“You killed her?”
“Yep.”
Silence.
“So how you been Alice? Done any shopping lately?”
“Bella I realize you won’t join us. You and your mate, but you had better stay out of this. You do not want to fuck with Jasper.”
“Why not?”
“He can and will kill you, Bella.”
“He can’t touch me. Literally, he can’t touch me. Has he told you why he is so scared of Peter, Alice?”
“He isn’t scared of Peter, Bella.”
“Yeah? Then why the hell did he run so quick from the Cullen’s house? You took off in the other direction hoping we would chase Jasper and Carlisle. Do any of you have an ounce of courage? How in the hell do you plan to take care of the Volturi if your mate can’t even stand in front of mine and fight?”
“Bella I would suggest you stay the hell away and keep your man away as well.”
“Did Jasper tell you what Peter did to him? Did Jasper tell you that Peter ripped him apart?”
“That’s not true.”
“We both know it is. Unlike you and your family, I am a lot of things but a liar isn’t one of them. I will make you an offer Alice. You get Jasper and Edward in the same place at the same time and tell us where and when and we will let you live. You can be the only surviving Cullen. Continue to shop forever.”
“Jasper is my mate. I can’t live without him. You know this Bella.”
“Then you had best prepare to die. Because his time is running out. I promise you though, I will make your death quick. Your head pops off, a match falls and poof. No more pixie.”
I laughed. I went to Catholic School because of this bitch. I had to have blonde fucking hair for a year because of this bitch. I developed a smoking habit because of this bitch. Okay the last one was probably on me.
“I will slaughter you if you come near me Bella. I will see your every move.”
“No you won’t. Not only can’t you see me you can’t see anyone around me. Plus you can’t touch me. Face it Alice. You are fucked. I am going to make you regret the day you first saw me.”
“I regret it already.” She sneered.
“Bitch you haven’t seen anything yet.”
I ended the call. She wasn’t really much of a conversationalist.
An hour and a half later and I could leave this truck and make love to Peter for a week on an actual bed. I didn’t give a damn if we had to go to a hotel to be alone. I needed to get lost in him. He needed it to. This had been somewhat of an emotional little road trip for us. I felt closer to him than ever. I know he felt the same. But it was a rough road getting here.
Carlisle’s cell phone rang.
Peter smiled.
“Hello?”
Silence.
“It’s rude to not say hello Jasper. We haven’t really had a chance to talk in so long.”
“Peter. Did you kill Carlisle?”
“Yep.”
“He tried to recruit you didn’t he? Against me?”
“Yep. But I think I can handle you without his help.”
“You did me a favor by killing him. Carmen and Eleazar are dead now as well. I took care of that problem.”
“By yourself? I’m impressed. I was under the impression you didn’t fight any longer. Just kinda ran and let others do your fighting for you.”
“I’m standing over the burning remains of Demetri right now. He certainly would tell you that I can fight for myself if he wasn’t dead. The Irish are joining me. Soon I will have all the covens. The Volturi are in ruins. Their guard is dying off at an alarming rate. The Romanians have joined me. Soon I will be in control of the vampire world. Trust me, when I am, I am bringing every resource at my disposal to destroy you and your scrawny fucking mate.”
I was getting really tired of being called scrawny. Sure I’m not huge and I have a slim figure but scrawny? Really? I mean it happens a lot. Seems it is the first word that comes up when someone is describing me in a sarcastic or evil manner. I have breasts. I have a pretty nice ass according to my man. I was an athlete in high school, sorta. I mean I had muscle tone. Peter can’t get enough of me. So fuck them.
“Jasper, you know and I know that your life is going to end with your head looking up at me dropping a match on you. So let’s take a head count. You got Edward and two weird dudes from Transylvania. You got Maria, I’m sure. You got a bunch of scrub newborns. The only ones who were brave enough to fight we killed at the Cullen House. The rest scattered. Your army is so confident in you that Carlisle, Edward and Esme called you insane and asked for my help in destroying you. Oh and the Irish. I missin anything?”
“Yes. You forgot the Japanese and the Amazons. What do you have Peter? The Denali’s? Three women who are more known for spreading their legs than spreading fear? Tia? She made a hell of a showing at the Cullen house. Needed Bella to drop from the sky to make sure she wasn’t injured. Who else? Oh yes. Benjamin and Garrett. I admit they are good but faced with all I will throw at them? Not hardly. I know you can’t stand the Volturi. You won’t go to them for help. You are going to stay out of this and hope the Volturi and my forces can destroy each other. Hoping to slip in to get me when I am vulnerable. It won’t work. The Volturi will fall. Their castle is gone. Their Mates are dead. Their guard is spread out looking for help. Their tracker is dead now. Hell son, even you are helping me out by killing my turncoats. You won’t touch me Peter. I don’t have to beat you in a fight. You have to fight to get to me.”
“You make a fair argument Major. Course if you are as crazy as you seem to be what will happen when Bella kills that little mate of yours? You are really gonna be off your rocker then ain’t ya? Edward was a turncoat as well. Where is he right now Jasper? Cause I bet he ain’t comin back. Bella and I are going to do you another favor. When we find him she is going to kill him as well. As far as the Volturi and you tearing each other apart… I don’t really give a damn. Nothing on earth can keep you safe from me Jasper. You are an excellent fighter against those below your skill and you are a coward at heart.”
“Maybe you are right Peter. Still doesn’t change the fact that your sister’s skin tasted like cherries. She had beautiful legs. Smooth skin. The smoothest I ever shredded. You cried like a little bitch while I took her. If it’s any consolation I am pretty sure she blacked out after I snapped her little rib cage like a human crumbles up wrapping paper. She missed the best part. Her thighs were soft and her blood was sweet. I still remember the taste. I will never forget it. That was one bitch I wish I could keep on tap.”
I placed my hand behind Peter’s neck and started rubbing.
“He is trying to piss you off baby. Don’t let him. We will just make it hurt more when we kill him.” I whispered in his ear. His face seemed to remain calm. I could feel the rage coming off him.
“Jasper. I will see you soon. You are starting a war. You can’t hide forever. That cold feeling you got in your chest right now? That’s your subconscious telling you what your conscious thoughts don’t want to admit. You know I am death Jasper. I am coming for you. Nothing can stop me. Not you. Not a damn army. Nothing.”
“I look forward to round two Peter. By the way. Did you know that when Bella is not around others Alistair can find them? I heard Conroe is a beautiful area. Lake Conroe especially. Gorgeous lake houses there.”
Jasper ended the call. Peter sped up.
“How far?” I asked, pulling out my phone.
“15 miles. We will be there in ten minutes or less.” He said tensely.
“Fuck that. Pull over and we can run. We can be there in four minutes.”
Peter pulled over while I dialed Kate. She didn’t answer. I tried Garrett. He didn’t answer. Benjamin. Tanya. Irina.
“Damn it! No one is answering.” My emotions were usually all over the place. Right now I was only feeling one thing. Fear. Randall and I followed Peter into the pines.
We broke out of the trees to what I guess was Peter’s lake house.
Oh hell no…
The newborns were still wet. It looked like they just emerged from the lake. Tanya was on the ground with one on top of her. Kate had her hands wrapped around one’s throat while he squeezed her. She was shocking him but he wouldn’t let go. Benjamin was raising the earth to keep the newborns from Tia. Irina was being hit by two newborns. Garrett broke out of the trees on the other side and knocked one off of Irina.
“Bella. Get shielded up and run through them. Let’s knock em on their asses.”
Unlike most times when Bella shielded up, this one was more noticeable. Her shield usually looked transparent with a trace of arc running over it. This looked like she was surrounded in a wild electrical storm.
She wrapped the shield close to her body and hit the one over Tanya. He… blew to pieces. Oh shit.
I charged in with Randall at my side. I counted ten. Nine now.
“Bella be careful not to touch our friends!” I yelled. A particularly large fellow swung at me. I took it in the jaw. When I didn’t fall he seemed surprised. Poor son of a bitch had no idea who he was fuckin with.
Bella ran to the middle of the yard and raised her shield in a dome. Her eyes had arcs coming out of them. She was pissed.
“Throw them at me Peter!”
Worth a shot. At least she wouldn’t take a chance of running into our friends. She was pissed but she was using her head.
I tossed the big guy into her shield and watched sort of surprised when he exploded into pieces.
Garrett hit the one squeezing Kate, in the lower back. He released her and Gar tossed him towards Bella. That one exploded as well.
Randall grabbed one that had gotten past Benjamin and grabbed Tia. Tia was doing her best but the son of a bitch had his hands around her head. Randall bit his arm off. Benjamin stopped playing around with the elements and attacked one female newborn. She bit him. He bit her. Garrett screamed. I turned and saw one newborn had gotten Kate and thrown her at Bella. Bella turned and saw Kate flying. A second before Kate hit Bella’s shield Bella pulled it in. Kate collided with Bella and the two slid to the surface of the water. I jumped on the one who threw Kate at the same time Garrett did. He ripped the legs and I took the arms.
I turned and saw that the fighting had stopped. Looking around it seemed we were all in one piece. They weren’t.
Garrett walked up and put his arm on my shoulder. He was shaking.
We both looked at Kate and Bella who sitting half in the water, holding each other tightly and taking deep breaths, foreheads pressed together. That was close. If Bella hadn’t dropped her shield Kate would have been blown to pieces. Bella and I were going to have to work on that thing. Figure out exactly what it could do, how strong it could be. See if she can calm the power down. That can come later. Right now we just needed to burn some bodies and I wanted to pass out some hugs.
Bella finally got up with Kate. Irina and Tanya ran to both of them. Bella’s eyes were a little wet. She was shaking. She knew how close it had been with Kate. She didn’t panic though. She was so damn powerful. I think she was close to being out of control. Seeing Kate flying towards her… she needed to calm down. Tia walked up with Ben who shook my hand.
“I’m so damn sorry Ben. We shouldn’t have…”
“It’s no problem. We all have our missions. We can handle ourselves. But I am damn glad you two showed up when you did.” He winked.
Garrett and I walked up to Bella and Kate. Kate looked at Garrett and he pulled her into his arms. Now she was sobbing. His eyes were wet as well. That hit me hard. I had never seen that emotion on Garrett’s face.
The others started pulling body parts into a pile. Looks like it was bonfire time.
Garrett turned around and saw Randall standing behind us. He walked up and offered his hand.
“It’s damn good to see you again brother.” Randall took his hand and Garrett pulled him into a hug. Kate seemed relieved. Garrett smiled.
“I would introduce you to my Mate but I understand you two know each other. So much as look at her ass and I will burn you. Other than that it is damn good to see you Randall. We have many more vampires to kill. These are the times when we are truly alive. Be happy friend. The redcoats are coming and we are going to kill them all again.”
Garrett walked Randall to the bonfire.
Bella and the Denalis joined them. Bella pulled out a cigarette. She saw her pack had gotten wet and threw it in the fire. She was irritated.
Tanya handed her one.
“I figured I would keep them around for you in case you ran out and went on a rampage.” She smiled. Then she took one herself and she and Bella were smoking together.
I knew one thing for sure. We would not be attacked by surprise again.
While we were gathered, I addressed everyone. Bella had calmed down and was wrapped around me.
“Listen. The reason they knew where you were is because Jasper has Alistair. When Bella isn’t around he can see us. Jasper sent them. He didn’t send a lot because he probably didn’t want to lose a lot. He knew we would win but he wanted to hurt us. If you are all agreeable I believe from this point on we need to stick together. All of us. We need to move. I have a ranch in Southwest Texas near Big Bend. No trees but no people for a thousand acres. It’s deserted but we can make it habitable pretty quick. No one will be able to sneak up on us. It’s large enough we should have plenty of room. We need to ride this out. On the way from Alaska we picked up a female nomad who led us to Carlisle, Edward and Esme Cullen. They wanted to split from Jasper and asked us to help. We turned them down. Edward escaped. The nomad girl, Esme and Carlisle are dead.”
I took a moment. I wasn’t sure how Kate, Tanya and Irina would take this next part.
“Jasper called Carlisle’s phone on the way home. It’s how we knew the newborns were coming. He said he killed Demetri. The Irish and the Japanese have joined him. The Volturi’s castle is destroyed and their mates are dead. He also said that… he killed Carmen and Eleazar.”
The girls took deep breaths. Tanya had tears in her eyes. Kate hugged Garrett a little closer, Irina had no expression. She was still upset about being set up by the Cullens. She suspected Eleazar knew about it. Tanya didn’t want to believe that. I suppose we will never know now.
“Also when we picked up that nomad girl she was being attacked by the Volturi. They are also in the States looking for fighters. Bella and I beat them. We killed one big guy and tore Jane’s head off. We let her and Alec go. Only because Jasper would run over the Volturi without those two. Randall here was being attacked by two of Jasper’s goons when Bella found him. The two of them killed the goons.
The reason I am telling you all this is because we all have a decision to make. We each came together for different reasons. But now we got to decide. We stick together or go our separate ways. Bella and I plan to stop sitting idle. We plan to start some shit. Anybody that don’t want to be involved, I completely understand. Things are liable to get a might bit ugly. If you decide to take off I would suggest staying on the move till this thing is over. Stay or go know that we consider you family. No matter what. If you want to stay with us, understand we are going to war. We will kill anyone we come across, Volturi or Whitlock. Take some time and think about it. Either way we need to pack everyone’s stuff so we can split up or head to Southwest Texas.”
I turned towards the house. Bella grabbed my hand and followed.
“Peter?” Garrett said.
“Yeah Gar?”
“I don’t need time. Kate and I are with you. To the end.”
“Thanks Garrett.”
“I’m with you Peter. I pretty much owe Bella for saving my ass.” Randall said.
“Kate isn’t going anywhere without Irina and I. We are ready to go to war Peter.” Tanya said firmly. Not a doubt in her eyes.
“We are not letting you go to battle without us. Who else would cause premature earthquakes for you? You lead we will follow.” Benjamin said.
“I guess we all need to pack for Big Bend then.”
“Oh, when we get there we will need to train.” Bella added.
“Of course. But we know how to fight Bella.” Tanya grinned.
“I know. But Jasper told Peter that the Denalis were more known for spreading their legs than spreading fear. I thought you should know that he said that. He thinks we are weak. He is scared of Peter but he doesn’t think much of the rest of us. We need to be ready to prove him wrong.” Bella said quietly.
“He said that, did he? I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to sharpen our skills. I would love the opportunity to show him differently.” Tanya didn’t seem happy. Bella has a great way of motivating people.
BPOV
“This is a dumb game Bella. We need to focus here. Talk about strategy. Figure things out. Who we hit first.” Peter grumped. He really needs to lighten up some.
“Your feelings will tell us who we need to hit first. For right now this is a very long drive and I am very bored.”
We currently had a caravan of three cars. Garrett and Kate were with Tanya and Irina in one. Randall, Benjamin and Tia were at the end. Garrett started this. He wants to play? We can play.
“There. A Walgreens. Pull in.”
“Bella…”
“Peter.”
“Fine.”
I marched in quickly wearing my new cowboy hat and Peter’s coat to avoid glittering all over the place.
I was confident. No big deal He thinks I’m shy.
“Welcome to Walgreens.”
I looked to the side and saw her. Why?
The sweetest old lady was at the check-out counter. I looked around. It was early. No other registers were open.
“Can I help you find something dear?”
“Uh… no ma’am. I can find it.” Fucking Garrett. He just walked in behind me. Now he was standing by the magazine rack pretending to read.
I walked to the back quickly enough and found what I was looking for.
I walked back and grabbed a hand cart. Now the whole damn gang was standing around the magazine rack.
I stacked the entire display of condom boxes in the cart. All of them. There must have been forty of the damn things. I slowly walked up to the sweet old lady at the check-out counter. It was Sunday morning. Why the hell wasn’t she in Church? I wish I were at the moment. She sort of looked like Sister Emma.
“Will… that be all ma’am?” she asked staring at my cart.
“Yes.”
Please don’t ask any questions. Please lady. If you ask any questions then I have too…
“Are you stocking up for a while dear?” She asked… trying to be friendly… trying to make this less awkward. I looked to the side to see Garrett grinning. He heard her.
“No ma’am. I am having an… orgy at my… house, today… and uh… I like to place them around all the beds. I’m all about safety.” I finished quickly.
“Oh… I see.” She started scanning the condom boxes very quickly.
“That will be $602. 12 cents.” She mumbled.
I ran my card. Walked out and threw the damn boxes in the back seat of the truck.
I was going to be sick. The first vampire in history to be sick.
Garrett walked out with everyone following him grinning.
“Bravo Bella. Bravo. I am shocked that you put that sweet lady though that, though.” He said.
“I had to you fucker! She was the only check out open.”
“You could have paid at the pharmacy.” He informed me with a smile.
“Your turn.” I glared.
“Bring it. You know I have no shame.”
“Yeah. Believe me. I know. Let’s go. You will have your mission text in the next five minutes.”
30 miles later I told Peter to pull over.
“Bella this is juvenile. You think this will bother me?” Garrett asked.
“I guess we will see.” I winked.
He didn’t look happy. I followed him into to the local pharmacy. Much smaller than Walgreens. Looked like it was family owned.
“Can I help you sir?” I heard the nice man at the counter ask as I walked in behind Garrett.
“Uh… yes sir. I was wondering if you could tell me where the tampons and hemorrhoid cream are. My… my boyfriend got a little rough with me last night and… also if you have any KY or Vaseline? Maybe so it… won’t happen again?”
The guy at the counter did not look happy.
“Dad, does he customer need help finding something?”
Ahh. The prettiest little red head teenager walked up. I guess this really is a family business.
“No Darla. This… man… was just leaving.”
“Okay.”
“Sir get the hell out of my store now.”
“Okay. Sorry to bother you.”
I bought a few packs of cigarettes, walked out and went straight to the truck. I sent a text to Garrett.
“What mission shall I undertake next?”
I received a text five minutes later.
“No missions. I surrender.”
You’re damn right you do fucker.
My phone buzzed again. I had a call from… Mom?
“Hey Mom. Did you guys make it back from Jamaica? Home safe now?”
“Not exactly Bella. We did make it out of Jamaica.”
Mom didn’t sound happy. “So where are you?”
“Bella, does Peter, by chance, have any friends in Rio De Janeiro?”
Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction 
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