Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Growing Up

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 28:

BPOV

There he was. On top of a mountain in the Ozarks of Arkansas, glittering away. Shirt off. Looking tortured. Needing a girlfriend I suppose.

She was pretty. Probably around 16 or 17. Seems to be an age he likes. She had thick wavy red hair and freckles. Cute as a button. She had that same look of wonder I am sure I had as Edward pulled a tree out of the ground and hopped up and down, running around her.

Now he was telling her how dangerous he was and how they shouldn’t be together.

I waited for my cue. He doesn’t deviate from the script much.

“So the lion fell in love with the lamb.”

I ran within his sight.

“Hi Lion. Remember me? The stupid lamb? Guess what?” I smiled.

“Bella?”

“I’m not that stupid anymore.”

“That’s debatable.” I heard Garrett whisper from the top of a tree. I apologized. I really don’t know what his problem is.

“Who are you?” The girl asked, frightened.

“I’m Edward’s ex-girlfriend. Isn’t that right Edward?”

“I won’t let you harm her Bella.” The asshole actually stood in front of her. He must be hoping that I wouldn’t attack him with her near. He was right.

The ground rose up under Edward’s feet and threw him to mine. A blur and the lucky girl was gone, carried to safety in Tia’s arms.

I wrapped my energy field in a square around Edward and I. I wasn’t that angry. It shouldn’t kill him if he hit it.

He got up to run and bounced back to me as soon as he hit my wall. I clotheslined him on his return flight.

“So how has it been going Mr. sick sadistic lion?”

“What have you done with her?” he seemed irritated.

“I saved her. From you. Really Edward? The same lines? You seriously can’t come up with anything original?”

“Bella your shield will drop when I rip your head off. You may be strong but I am faster. You can’t possibly win a fight with me. You became a vampire anyway. Why are you angry with me?”

“I’m not.”

That caught him by surprise.

“You’re not?”

“Nope. You may have used me. Manipulated me. But I have to take responsibility for my own actions as well. I let you. However, considering your actions led to Peter and I finding each other sooner than later, I can’t complain. I’m not angry at you Edward. You did what you do and I let you. I had never had a boyfriend before you. You were this strong romantic figure that I became enraptured with. I never stopped to look at the real you. To question what was going on. I should have. I should have been stronger. I shouldn’t have forgotten the person I was before I met you. But all’s well the ends well, I suppose.”

“If you aren’t angry why are you here?”

“You have to burn Edward.” I told him honestly.

“I thought you weren’t angry?” he grinned. Poor soul had no idea how fucked he was.

“I’m not. You have to die so you don’t manipulate anymore young girls. They won’t have a mate to help them. They will only have you until you leave them for your next conquest. Can’t have that Edward. It has to end here.”

“So if I defeat you, your mate will kill me before I burn you. Is that the idea?” He looked around. He knew my friends were there. He had no idea who or how many. He couldn’t hear their thoughts. They were upwind so he couldn’t catch their scents. But he knew.

“Edward no one can get in or out of this shield. Do you know how strong I can make this thing? I don’t have to be faster than you. I simply have to bring it back to me, dragging you along with it while it burns you to nothing.”

He backed away a couple of steps.

“You ready to do this?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Despite what you may believe I did care for you. Jasper wanted to take you and turn you the moment he found out I couldn’t read your mind.”

“Hey, I appreciate that. You ready to do this?” I asked again, stepping towards him.

His face turned feral and he attacked. I side stepped and he hit my shield, dropping to the ground.

“Welcome to my cage, Edward. I’m giving you thirty feet of room to fight. The only way out is to kill me. Then you have to run from my Mate. Good luck with that.”

“That’s not very fair, Bella.”

“We fight dirty. Deal with it.”

He charged again but this time, he actually hit me in the stomach. I fell but managed to wrap my legs around his waist, grab an arm and flip him over me. He hit the ground and I immediately threw my right leg between his shoulder and neck. My left leg went to his ribs. I jerked his arm trapped between my thighs with both my hands and felt the tear. I heard the break. I let go and stood back up.

He stood up screaming in pain, one shoulder hanging lower than the other.

“Arm bars hurt like a bitch, don’t they? I had my shoulder dislocated once as a human. It wasn’t pleasant. Go ahead and pop it back in. I’ll wait.”

I circled him while he stood in the middle, doubled over in pain. He grabbed his shoulder and pushed, screaming while it popped back into place.

He rushed again but pulled up in front of me. He swung and I ducked hitting him in the gut. He doubled over and swung again and connected with my jaw.

I backed up. He stood up and I high kicked him in his jaw. His head snapped back. He may be faster. But I was stronger. I had Peter and Garrett to teach me to fight. His head dropped down and I saw his eyes.

He could not defeat me. I knew it. He knew it. At that point, no matter what he or I did, it was a foregone conclusion. Garrett told me once that when you see defeat in the eyes of your enemy it is over. He swung a few times more. I simply raised my forearms to block, using them to cover my head. Finally frustrated he made the fatal mistake of going for my throat while my guard was up. I dropped my right arm on the back of his head, grabbed his throat with my left and I was on his back. My leg swept both his feet and he was on the ground with me on his back. I let his head go and locked both his arms behind him keeping a knee in my back and bending his body back causing his head to raise off the ground.

“Kill me already.” He whispered.

“No. I won’t kill you.”

“What are you doing this for, Bella?”

“I won’t kill you. It’s not my right. It’s hers.”

Nia appeared in front of him.

“Nia?”

“Yeah. We picked her up in Oklahoma. Scared out of her mind, hiding in a patch of woods. You took her from her father to be a pawn for Jasper.”

“She should have fought me if she wanted revenge.” He gritted out.

“She did not have the skill Edward. I fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. One day she will also. You should have tried it. If you had maybe there would have been some sort of redemption to your life. It is too late for you now.”

Without a word, Nia walked up to him with a look of fierce anger covering her pretty face, tears pooling in her eyes. She grabbed his head and twisted while he screamed. A sound of breaking marble and his head lay beside his body.

I let his body go and stood up taking down my shield. She had stayed in the corner like I told her too.

I lit a cigarette and handed her my lighter. Without a word she lit his hair on fire and then his body.

My family minus Tia and Tanya who were talking to and taking home the poor redhead Edward had planned to make his next conquest and Irina and Ted who were taking care of an errand, walked up to the flaming body.

Nia didn’t say a word. No one did. Peter walked up and took a cigarette from me.

Finally his body was ashes and Nia spoke.

“So what now?”

Benjamin placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Now follow us.”

We ran to the bottom of the mountain through the forest and came to a camp ground where Peter had rented a large cabin.

We walked in and sat down. Nia seemed confused but said nothing. I fiannly asked. Peter said it would be okay but I had to be sure. I heard the car pull up.

“How is your thirst Nia?”

“Okay. I fed yesterday.” She said quietly. She had been feeding off of deer and bears. The kid didn’t have it in her to hurt a human.

She immediately began sniffing. She had never smelled this scent before. The door opened showing Irina and Ted. They stood aside and the human entered.

“Daddy” Nia whispered.

“Baby? Is it really you?”

The man was crying. She was sobbing. She rushed him faster than he could see. We all tensed but Peter said it would be okay. We all trusted him.

Once he got over the shock of her speed he wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s true. They weren’t lying. It’s true.”

“I’m so sorry daddy.” Nia sniffed.

“It’s okay baby. You are alive. That is all that matters.” His eyes were closed but that did not slow the tears falling from his face.

Peter nodded at us and we walked out, giving them privacy. If he said it would be okay it would be.

---

We ran through the woods looking for prey. It wasn’t hard to find. This area was beautiful. Bella and I fed from two deer. We then ran to a gorgeous waterfall pouring into a natural spring pool. I told her I would give her privacy. I lied. She stripped and I watched her go in, not trusting myself to follow. I stood in a tree hidden by leaves. Even from this distance watching her was mesmerizing. She was completely nude.

She stood under the waterfall letting the water cascade over her body. Her entire body was shimmering. A ray of sunlight occasionally caught her, making her glisten. I once again memorized her lines. Every single inch of her soft skin. The understated lean muscles she had developed from swimming that followed her with the change. Her long dark brown hair stuck to her back.

This reminded me of when she would walk into the kitchen in the mornings wearing a thin t shirt and a tiny pair of cotton panties.

I wanted to ravage her then. It took everything in me not to ravage her now. She finally submerged into the water and emerged on dry ground. She looked like Venus rising from the surface.

She lay on the grass I suppose to air dry. I kept a lookout to make sure neither Garrett or Benjamin discovered her.

The sun broke through the trees and she closed her eyes and arched her back. She loved the sun on her body. So did I. She had her eyes closed and a beautiful smile on her face. She looked… happy. I would make sure she stayed that way. Soon it would be time. The location had changed. Without his newborns and Maria, Jasper had no reason to come to the canyons and deserts of Mexico. He would set his trap elsewhere.

But for now we had other things to do. I dragged myself away from the sight of her. I didn’t want to go too far. But I didn’t want her to know I had been watching her either.

“Hello?”

“Hello Father.”

“Peter. I trust Isabella is alright?”

“Yes. She is…” nude, wet and glistening in the sun… “great. I am calling you about those classes? I asked her to marry me.”

“Good for you Peter. Come tomorrow, 5 PM. We can start then.”

“See you tomorrow Father.”

“Was that Father Francis?”

I jumped. Damn she could be sneaky.

“Yeah. We start classes tomorrow.”

“Great.” She kissed my cheek. “Did you enjoy the show perv?” she smiled.

“What are you talkin about?”

“Nothing. I thought I caught a scent. Must have been wrong. Should we go check on Nia?”

“Yeah.” I watched her run away in those tight ass jeans. Damn she could get me going. I moved a little slower due to problems in my… anyway we reached the cabin quickly. The others were outside. Tanya and Tia were back.

Apparently the girl Edward had only met him a few weeks ago. He dropped enough hints to pull her in. She was pretty freaked out by what Tanya had told her about him. She promised to keep this quiet. Like anyone would believe the poor kid.

“What now?” Nia’s father asked me.

“Now you take her home. Keep her out of direct sunlight. Make sure she eats every three days at least. Make sure you don’t cut yourself around her. You will both be fine. I know it. You have our numbers. If any problems or concerns occur you call me or Bella. Call us anyway at least once a week. Let us know how it is going. It won’t be easy but it is doable.”

“Peter, what if Jasper comes for me?”

“He won’t. He has his hands full already. He doesn’t need you so he won’t bother with you. This won’t be easy Nia but you can do it. We will be here to talk to you and we will be there if you need us there.”

“Thank you.” She whispered.

“Oh here.” I handed $1000 to Nia’s dad.

“I don’t need money.” He said quickly.

“Yeah, but you were probably planning on flying back. Trust me. Flying with a newborn vampire can be a pain in the ass. Take that rental car. Use this money to drive home. Take your time. Let her hunt whenever you find a big patch of woods. Drop the car off at Hertz when you get to where you are goin.”

“Thanks. I don’t know if I will ever be able to repay you all. I’m not talking about money either.”

“You don’t have to. Just love each other. We will be here if and when you need us.”

Nia hugged Bella, Tia, Irina, Kate and Tanya. Her father shook my hand. Then they walked out holding each other. We watched then drive off.

“You sure she is going to be okay, Peter?” Garrett asked.

“Yes. They will be fine.” Nia may join us one day. When her father has gone. But for now she couldn’t be separated from him. They were all the other had. That would be enough. Bella kissed me on the lips gently and pulled me towards our cars. It was time to go home.

BPOV

So the process began. I really wasn’t sure what to expect here. Father Francis walked in with the same smile he always had. We were in his office in the back of the Church.

“Isabella before we start do we… need to go to Confession?”

“No Father.” I smiled. It had only been three days. Ye of little faith.

“Excellent. So what have you two been up to besides getting engaged?”

Peter said nothing while I blurted out that Edward Cullen was dead.

“Really? That certainly doesn’t sound like nothing, Peter.” Father grinned.

“Did you kill him Isabella?”

“No Father. A young girl he had turned after I was with Peter, killed him. I just held him down for her.”

“Why?”

“Why what Father?”

“Why did you not kill him yourself? He was the object of your vengeance correct?”

“I didn’t do it for vengeance Father. He had another girl with him. He was planning on changing her. Again. He even used the same lines.”

“So you saved the girl. You still could have killed him.”

“He wronged her.”

“He wronged you.” Father Francis pointed out.

“I am in love. I am happy. I could care less about vengeance. He had to go because he had to go. She lost the most. She had a right to closure.”

“I am glad to hear that Isabella. The reasons we do things are important.” He glanced at Peter who was looking down. “Shall we start?”

“Of course Father” I reached for Peter’s hand. He squeezed. He was nervous. Big bad cowboy warrior vampire was scared of a Priest. Go figure.

“We will be talking over the next few sessions about different aspects of the marriage. Some of these aspects are spirituality, conflict resolution skills, careers, finances, co habitation which I understand the two of you have been doing for a while now, children and commitment to each other.”

“Father like you said, we already live together, I’m literally a billionaire, we can’t have kids, our conflict resolution skills pretty much come down to me bein wrong, her cryin and me apologizing, and our jobs are bein vampires. Can we just get the crash course so we can get married?”

Father Francis smiled while I held in a growl and squeezed his hand harder than he was squeezing mine.

“We will also talk about the sacrament of marriage and communication with each other. Now some of these can certainly be done with quickly. Let’s start with children.”

“We can’t have kids.” Peter said again. I kicked his leg.

“True. Biologically you can’t have children. But many children are in need of parents. Is that something the two of you would welcome into your home?”

“I’m pretty sure Bella would…”

I glared at him. He shut up.

“Isabella will be fine, Peter. I am not asking if you want one now. I just want to know if this is something the two of you may consider down the road. Have you talked about it?”

I figured I may as well tackle this myself before Peter opens his mouth.

“Father, having children in our lives would bring danger to them. Not from us. But others of our kind. We would have to explain what we are. We would have to…”

“Okay. I didn’t say there would not be challenges. I asked if this was something the two of you would consider. If not then the issue can be closed and we can move on.”

“Wait.” Peter said, stopping us from moving on.

“Peter?” I whispered, confused.

“I’m just saying that maybe we shouldn’t close the door on it completely. I mean like the Father says, a lot of kids need takin care of out there. I ain’t sayin now but once this whole vampire war thing is over, then who is to say we won’t…”

I said nothing. We had never really had to talk about things like this. We had always been focused on the here and now. Going from one location to the next. Kids? A child? Maybe not a baby but…

“I would have to agree with Peter, Father. Not now but I couldn’t put it out of the realm of possibility.”

“So the easy question isn’t as easy as it appeared to be at first?” Father Francis grinned.

“No… I guess not.” Peter agreed quietly.

“Okay. Let’s move on to some of the easier ones Peter brought up. Peter, you say you are a billionaire?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I need new stoves in the family center for weddings and family reunions. Also the battered women’s shelter the Church manages in Marfa needs more blankets and clothes. Many women who come there have nothing but the clothes on their backs in their hurry to escape. They bring their children as well. I will give you the contact number of the lady who runs the shelter. She can give you a more detailed account of what is needed. As far as the stoves please make sure they are electric and industrial sized.”

“Uh…”

“What? You are a billionaire correct? Do you have any idea how much penance I could have given Isabella? She could be praying Rosaries for the next five hundred years.”

Oh, that would definitely suck.

“So I am buying my woman’s forgiveness?” Peter grumped.

“Of course not. I actually could care less how you spend your money. I don’t need new stoves and the women’s shelter has what it needs thanks to God. But I do want you to think about what you plan to do with your finances. From what Isabella tells me the two of you are simple people. You don’t have yachts or mansions. You don’t have private jets. You drive a truck. You have residences all over but it seems you mostly use those for the shelter of your friends in this time of trouble. You lived in the same house in Austin for decades. You have a chance to help countless with your finances. How do the two of you plan to spend this vast fortune you have?”

I looked at Peter. He looked at me. Neither of us had any idea.

“We don’t know.” I admitted.

“Something to talk about.” He wrote in a little pad a note.

“Do you need anything besides stoves? More tables maybe?” I tried.

He laughed. “Isabella, God provides for his Church. Perhaps you should pray for knowledge of where God wants you to provide.”

---

“You see not one of these answers are easy. You may not discover some answers until well into your married lives. But these are issues you will face together. Being married means you must look toward not only the present, not only being intimate with each other. It means a partnership in which the two of you must be in sync. It’s not quite as easy as saying I do and living happily ever after. Marriage requires time and commitment. Even vampires are not above this.”

“Point taken Father.” Peter grumbled.

“Careers. What career have either of you decided on?”

“I told you. I’m a billionaire. Remember? You want me to buy stoves for people.” Peter said sarcastically. I kicked him again.

“That’s nice. You remind me of Inigo Montoya, Peter.”

“Who is he?” I asked. Father Francis looked shocked.

“The two of you have never seen the Princess Bride? Never read the book?”

“Father, do I look like the kind of man who has ever read something called the Princess Bride?” Peter asked. It was a good point.

“Fine. That will be homework. I want the both of you to watch this movie. The two lead characters remind me of you. They also had true love. But to answer your question Isabella, Inigo Montoya is a swordsman in the movie. He has dedicated his entire life to finding and killing the man who killed his father. He has trained for years becoming the greatest swordsman in the world. At the end of the movie he has achieved his revenge. As they are escaping he looks at Wesley and says, “You know it is very strange. I have been in the revenge business so long, now that’s it’s over, I don’t know what to do with the rest of my life.” What will you and Isabella do with the rest of your lives once Jasper is dead?”

That brought silence to both of us. What indeed. I looked at Peter hoping for an answer. He didn’t have one.

Finally Peter broke the silence.

“I figured in a hundred years or so maybe there might be… aliens or something to fight?” Peter tried.

“Aliens?” Father Francis asked, holding in a laugh. “You are basing your future on possibly preparing for an alien invasion? Why not a zombie epidemic Peter?”

“You think one of those is comin?” Peter asked, suddenly excited.

Father Francis did laugh this time.

“Suppose nothing happens that requires you being a hero for the next fifty years. What will you and Isabella be doing?”

“We do a lot of things Father.” I explained. “We read and hold each other. We watch television together. We do other things together. We are kind of quiet. We like to stay in.”

“Read? Hold each other? Do you know when I was in seminary, I once spent two weeks in quiet mediation alone with no books or television or even something to write with. I tell you this because knowing that about me, what you just told me sounds like an incredibly boring life.”

“No need to be sarcastic.” I mumbled.

“You both need purpose in life. Something you are passionate about outside of each other. Or passionate about together. Either way, one day the books will all be read, television shows will all be seen, movies will all be watched. Consider for a moment that the two of you, by some possibility, weren’t just put on this Earth to fight other vampires, or possibly zombies and aliens in the future. What do you want to do with your lives?”

Neither of us said a word.

Finally Father Francis put us out of our misery and spoke.

“Enough for today. You have your homework assignment.” He reached into his desk and pulled out a DVD, handing it to me. The Princess Bride of course.

“Since you two don’t sleep and you had better not be having sex, you should have plenty of time to watch the movie and talk about the issues we discussed tonight before you come back tomorrow. Peter tomorrow we will begin talking about spirituality as well. You need to decide if you want to share Isabella’s faith. If you do, then after out meeting we will begin starting classes to learn the Catholic Faith and prepare you for baptism. If not I will have to discuss with Isabella how to handle living with you. Have a nice night, you two.”

We stood to leave. At the door Father Francis stopped us once more.

“There is another quote in the movie that you two should be able to appreciate. “Death cannot stop true love. It can only delay it.” There is nothing the two of you cannot face together. Armies cannot stop you. Enjoy the night and Isabella. Behave.” He winked.

“Yes Father.” I whispered.

“Are you getting any feelings about what we need to do next?” I asked Peter, hoping like hell we would have to go kill some vampire and avoid the issues that were brought up tonight.

“Yeah. We need to go home and watch the Princess Bride.”

Great.