Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Protecting Maddie

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 15:

I fucked up. Big time.

“I fucked up big time.”

“No you didn’t Peter. We just got sloppy.” Jasper responded.

“No. I should have listened to her. I was so excited about getting my mate and her being a vampire, I forgot to listen to her. I told her I loved her, I was winning her love and then I fucked it all away by not listening to her.”

“Peter you weren’t the only one. I should have listened to her as well. We shouldn’t have taken Maddie so far away. We could have had her in a separate room or something and seen how Bella reacted. There were enough of us around to restrain her if it went badly. I made the mistake.” Alice commented sadly.

“Why didn’t you go after her Alice?”

“I couldn’t Jasper. She was ready to destroy everyone there. And she could have. If you would have seen her you would have understood. Maddie was wrapped around her leg. Then she was on Bella’s back. If we tried to stop her it would have been a fight and Maddie could have gotten hurt by us. If Maddie got a scratch on her, Bella would have burned everyone there, including me. “

“You saw this.”

“No. I can’t see either of them now. But I used common sense. Bella was not leaving without Maddie. There was no point in following.”

“So what are we supposed to do now Alice?” I asked. I was feeling like shit here.

“I don’t know Peter. I guess wait for her to contact us.”

“Garrett and Charlotte are looking all around for her Peter. We will find her and then we can go talk.”

“Garrett and Charlotte won’t find her. She will see them coming.”

“Oh yeah.” I remembered. My mate could see the future now. Great.

“I’m going to keep looking for her Jasper. But I won’t approach her. I just want to be near her. Maybe try to win her trust back instead of treating her like some newborn mate I need to train.”

“She couldn’t have gotten far. I mean she has the ID she got from us but she won’t use it, because she doesn’t want to be tracked. Same with the credit card. And she has no money. Maddie is going to need food and shelter. Which means civilization. Which means Bella being around people. We just have to check murders in the nearby states. One pops up that looks suspicious, we will know here she is or at least where to start looking.”

“Jasper! Bella would never kill anyone!”

“She is a newborn Alice. I know Maddie’s scent didn’t bother her and she stopped hunting humans during her first hunt all on her own, but this is different. If she tries to go around a large number of humans it’s only a matter of time before she kills one. I just hope Maddie isn’t there to see it.”

Dammit. Jasper is right. But I have to find her. I won’t interfere and I won’t try to keep her away from Maddie. If I hadn’t allowed that in the first place, none of this would be happening. That shot she took about Jasper giving me orders. Maybe she was right. Maybe I need to stop following his lead and make my own decisions regarding the family I hope they would let me be a part of.

I turned when I smelt them. Garrett and Char running back. And no Bella. Not that I expected it.

“Did you find anything?” I asked.

“Yeah we followed her trail to a campsite. Police cars were there.”

Oh God. “How bad was it? How many bodies?”

Garrett had a strange look on his face.

“Apparently no bodies. While the family was swimming Bella stole their car. She did unpack their belongings and left their cell phones and wallets with nothing missing though. “

Wow. She not only didn’t kill a person but she stole a car. I bet the steering wheel on that car was bent to hell. Where the hell could they be going?

BPOV

/”All my friends, know the low rider… The low rider is a little higher… Low rider drives a little slower…..”/

“Maddie baby we aren’t in a low rider.” I laughed.

“I know Mom but I love this song! Sing it with me!”

So I started singing. Lowrider by War. Maddie’s favorite all time song. She has loved it ever since I let her watch Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicholas Cage, last year. It was a great song.

I can’t believe I stole a car. Maddie calls it Eleanor. But I couldn’t run Maddie everywhere. The smell of those humans in the campground was so good. But I wouldn’t let Maddie see that. No matter what, it wasn’t that good. I would not kill people. I will not kill people.

“Where are we going Mommy?”

“I remember the way back to Peter’s house. We need to go there first. We should be there in a couple hours.”

“Uh Mom, not that I would ever question your judgment but does that seem like a good idea?”

“Saying you would never question my judgment does not mean you aren’t doing it Maddie.” I rolled my eyes. “Peter is not there. No one is there.”

“Where are they?”

“Looking for us.” I winked at her. “In the mean time we need to pick up everything we can carry. We need to get the ID they had made for you. Jewelry. At least mine and your father’s rings. We need to get our clothes. And we need to see if we can find money. I am going to use the card there to try and pull money from a nearby town. Peter told me the pin number on the drive across country. Then I am tearing up the card. We also need to ditch that car and I am going to have to run you over the border. We will get a car while we are there. Airport longer term parking. Something that won’t be missed for a while. At least long enough to get us back in the US.”

“Okay. But what if they decide the same thing and come looking for us there?”

“Don’t worry about it Baby. I will see it if it happens.” I told her smiling, tapping my head.

“Cool. Can you see what I am gonna be when I grow up?’

“No baby. I prefer to be surprised. Besides I can only see what I look for.”

“I’m going to be a vampire like you.”

If I had a heartbeat it would have stopped right then.

“Baby…”

“I know, Mom. It’s way too soon to talk about it now. We have all the time in the world. But just so you know, that’s what is gonna happen. So if you see it in the future don’t be surprised.”

I said nothing. The sad thing was I knew she was right. If she decided that she wanted that I would give it to her. I could never turn her down anything she really wanted. But she had a long ways to go before then. We would talk about it in ten years or so. But she was going to College first. I never had that experience. She would.

“We are going to need gas soon. And I don’t have any money.”

“I do Mom. I still have that $2000.”

“Maddie! I told you to put that back!”

“Aren’t you glad I didn’t now?”

“It doesn’t matter. We are almost to the border. Close enough to run.” I guess I can’t really say anything, since I just stole a car.

We pulled over before we crossed the border. I left the keys in the car and Maddie jumped on my back. We ran into the woods and I weaved my way through the trees. Maddie was screaming in joy. I had to stop running and tell her we needed to be quiet. She agreed but you couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. We arrived at Peter’s house 30 minutes later.

She ran into the house and began packing our clothes. I found the IDs in the desk in our, I mean his bedroom. He fucking organized my panties. Dork. I really missed him. I really did. I missed AJ too. I missed Alice. I was beginning to get kind of down. Until Maddie came running in with a smile. Then I realized that I could live the rest of existence with just the two of us. I took care of her before this vampire crap. And I would take care of her after the vampire crap.

“Mom? I… Can I hug you? I mean I haven’t really had the chance.”

“Of course, baby.” I kneeled down and she ran to me. She didn’t flinch when she felt my skin. She squeezed so tight, if I wasn’t a vampire it may have choked me.

“Mom? Why aren’t you hugging me back?”

Shit.

“Baby I don’t have a lot of practice yet with this strength. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You mean like when I was born?”

“What?”

“You told me when I was born I was so small you were afraid of hurting me. Is it like that now?”

“Yeah I guess so.” I never really thought of that.

“So just hold me like you did when I was a baby. Start slow and we will work on it.”

I took a deep unneeded breath and moved my hands slowly to her back.

“Go ahead Mommy. I will let you know when you got it.”

I touched my baby’s back and slightly drew her into me.

I felt and heard her heartbeat. It never went up. She wasn’t afraid of me in the least.

I felt the pressure I was putting on her and was afraid it would be too much.

“More Mom.”

A little more and she was pressed into me.

“Perfect.” I must have held her like this for five minutes. When I finally pulled back she was crying.

“Did I hurt you baby?”

“No Mommy. You just have to promise nobody will keep us apart again. I can’t go through that again.”

“I promise baby. Nothing will ever separate us again.”

“Now hold my hand.”

“What?’

“You need practice holding my hand. Hold my hand.”

But her hand was so delicate. She placed it in mine.

“Squeeze mom. You won’t hurt me.”

It took me ten minutes. I moved so slow. But I had it. I was able to hold her hand. I could hold my baby’s hand. She kissed me on the cheek.

“Let’s get out of here Mom. You grab the bags. I’ll ride on your back.”

I had to laugh. “Why don’t you carry the bags?”

“They are heavy and you’re a vampire. Now come one. I’m hungry. Let’s go to McDonalds. There has to be one around here somewhere. You probably need to find you a tasty… what do you like to eat Mom?”

“Wolves baby. I love to eat wolves.”

“Oh cool. Let’s go get McDonalds and track down some wolves.”

“Fine, but you are staying in a tree while I eat and I don’t want you to look.”

“Mom you and I both know I am going to watch. If you don’t want me running around trying to watch you, then make sure to put me in a tree where I can see you.”

“You are a brat you know that?’ God I loved my brat.

“Yes.”

“Baby, do you really want to see that?’

“I’m not afraid of what you have to do Mom. I never will be. It won’t freak me out. You know this.”

Funny thing is, I did know it. She would accept me anyway I was.

Maddie POV

Maybe McDonalds isn’t a good idea. Mom is currently sitting in front of me shaking. We had been busy. We got a truck from the long term parking at the airport. We threw our bags in the back and we used mine and Mom’s ID to cross the US/ Canadian border. Mom “saw” that it would work. She was really handling the future seeing thing well. She said it felt natural to her. But she wanted to turn it off sometimes and she didn’t know how. That may be a problem.

The bigger problem is Mom shaking in front of me like a sugar addict without candy. Her eyes were very black and they kept darting side to side. Her hands were clenching and on her side not moving. She wasn’t moving. I am pretty sure she wasn’t breathing.

“Mom, why don’t you go wait in the truck? Or I can bring my food outside and we can eat on the road?”

We had no idea where were going. Before we left, Mom pulled out $10,000 from a local bank using the card. So we had that going for us. Which was nice.

“No Maddie. You have been in the truck or on my back all day. And I have to get used to this. You enjoy your food.”

“Just remember Mom, people are friends, not food.” I told her quoting my favorite line from Finding Nemo.

Apparently it worked because she smiled and then laughed. She wasn’t shaking so bad.

“You are such a dork, Maddie.” She was laughing. I would remind her that others lately may have worse things to call me than dork but I wanted to keep her smiling. I loved the sound of her laughter. And now that she is a vampire her laugh is more like the sound of a bell. More like Aunt Alice’s.

If anything I felt bad about Aunt Alice. I really loved her. But she of all people should have known better. She did her best. I hope I can see her soon. I hope I can see her again period. Mom seems to think if we can go a few months on our own they may lay off and we can go back. She wanted to call Peter and Alice. I think really Peter. She missed him. I think she was mad at him but she missed him.

“Do you love Peter, Mom?”

“Holy sh… Where did that come from?”

“I just was curious.” I told her taking a bite out of my Quarter Pounder.

“Uh, I mean I guess, yeah. I, I just don’t know. I mean I think I love him. I told him I did, and I do but things have been so crazy and he kept me from getting to you. I mean I don’t know…”

“I like him.” I told her. The look on her face was priceless. Maybe if I can keep her talking she won’t be focused on the yummy humans surrounding us.

“He helped keep me away from you Maddie!”

“Yeah I know, but so did Aunt Alice and you know we both love her. I think Peter was doing what he thought was right.”

“But Maddie he didn’t even give me a chance. They took you away before I even woke up!”

“Yeah I know. But he was really nice to me while you were changing. He sat with me while I was with you and he sat with you when I was outside the room. He talked to me and explained what was going on. He acted really serious and I could tell he really liked you. I guess my opinion of him changed some.” I shrugged my shoulder. I didn’t know how else to explain it.

“So you think we should go back to him?”

“I don’t know Mom. You’re the adult.”

“Yeah but I am kinda at a loss here and you are my only friend at the moment.”

“That’s sad, Mom.”

“In the past two weeks, our apartment was destroyed, we were attacked twice, we had to leave every semblance of our old lives behind, lie to our family about where we are and what else? Oh yeah I nearly got killed, nearly got you killed, went through three days of unbelievable pain, turned into a vampire and we got split up. And you wound up at the Cullens! What isn’t sad about this Maddie?”

She really was feeling bad. We needed to get some down time. Relax. Unwind.

“You still got me Mom.” I whispered to her.

That got a smile out of her.

“And that’s all that matters. As long as we have each other we will be okay right baby.”

Now she’s feeling better.

“Yes Mommy. I love you.”

“I love you too sweetie.”

“I’m full. What do you say we go get one of those prepaid cell phones? You can call Aunt Alice and let her know we are okay and I bet Peter will be with her. You will probably feel better if you hear their voices.”

“I don’t know Maddie. I bet they are pretty mad at us right now.”

“Uh, they split us apart. That was their fault not ours.”

“I know sweetie. But like you said they thought they were doing what they thought was right. It’s not their fault they were wrong.”

“Well, I bet Aunt Alice would love to hear from you. Hey, why don’t you look and see if she will be mad?”

“I don’t want to. The more I use that power the harder it is to turn off it seems lately.”

“Can you turn it off?”

“I think so. I figured out how to stop that other power. Jasper stopped glowing. I didn’t tell anyone.”

“How did you do it?” Mom is good.

“I tried to think of it like it was a box in my mind. When I wanted it, I opened the box. When I closed the box the glow went away. I pretty much have this under control I think. But I can’t take anymore. Not now. I need to learn to open and close these better. And the only one I can practice without being around other vampires is Alice’s gift. But I don’t feel like it right now. I need to find us a place to stay. Then we can call Alice and maybe Peter.”

Decisions, decisions. We needed to relax. “Okay. First you need to go get you some yummy wolves. Then can we get a hotel with a pool?’

“Maddie you don’t have a swimsuit.”

“Yeah that was gonna be my next question. Can we go to Walmart and get a swimsuit? And you too? We haven’t been swimming together in forever. But first we should probably find you something to eat.”

“Fine baby. Let’s go let me eat and then see if Mommy can survive Walmart, and the other customers can survive as well.”

“People are friends, not food Mommy.”

She laughed. I loved to hear her laugh. It let me know everything was going to be okay.

---

“Peter, Bella is way too dangerous to be left alone, much less with a child! We have to find her!” Carlisle fucking Cullen seems to be under the mistaken impression I take orders from him.

“Carlisle you don’t even know what she can do.” Jasper responded.

“Yes, so why don’t you tell me Jasper?”

“Too much of a chance you will run across Aro.”

“And you think he won’t see this and get suspicious?”

I had enough of this shit. He was just fucking nosy. And I didn’t like his insistence that he find out about Bella. “How bout this Cullen? It’s none of your fucking business. Thanks for giving Alice and Char a place to stay. We are leaving. Don’t concern yourself about my Mate or I might not give you a warning if she ever decides to concern herself with you or your family.”

“Peter…” I didn’t hear what he said. I took off. I heard Jasper and Alice following me. Garrett and Char headed back to Canada in the event that Bella decided to come back. I found myself on a cliff top overlooking a beautiful forest. I sat and pouted. God I should have just listened. I listened to Jasper. I did what I thought was best. And I fucked up. Alice placed a hand on my shoulder. I guess Jasper was just standing there. I wasn’t sure and I really didn’t care at the moment. I had fallen in love with her fast and hard. And now she was gone.

Alice’s phone rang breaking the silence.

“I don’t recognize the number and I can’t see who is calling.”

“Try answering it and saying hello.” I suggested. Works for the rest of us.

“Hello?”

“Alice?”

“Bella! Oh my God where are you? Is Maddie okay? Are you okay? What is that noise in the background?”

“Oh, I’m at Walmart. Maddie is picking us out swimsuits.”

“Walmart!”

Walmart?

“Yeah. I’m getting pretty good at getting used to human blood. Maddies doesn’t affect me at all. The people at McDonalds was kind of tough but I got through it…”

“You went to McDonalds!”

She went to fucking McDonalds. I turned to look at Jasper who had a look of amazement on his face. I knew the feeling.

“I’m not going to tell you where we are Alice. I just wanted to let you know we are okay.”

“Bella, please. I’m so sorry but I don’t want to lose either of you…”

“You won’t Alice. We love you. We know you only did what you thought was best. But we need time to adjust. We won’t be away forever. But Alice? If you or anyone else tries to take my daughter away again I will destroy them, no matter who they are or how much I love them. You understand?”

“Yes Bella. I swear it will never happen again. I can’t believe you are doing so well with human blood.”

“Well, you know how it is. People are friends, not food.”

“What?”

What?

“Alice can I… is Peter there?”

“Yes Bella, here he is. I will give you some privacy. Please call me back.”

Alice handed me the phone and her and Jasper took off into the woods below.

“Bella?”

“Are you seriously pissed at me?”

“No baby. I just… I want to see you. I promise not to try to take Maddie away. Nobody will ever do that again. I will kill them first.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m glad to hear that Peter. I… I miss you.”

“Bella, I love you. Please tell me where you are and I will come alone. It will just be the three of us. It will be whoever you want. Just please don’t shut me out.”

“I’m not going to shut you out Peter. But I don’t want you to come looking for me. Not yet. I will let you know when I am ready to see you. I miss you too. I miss your smile and I miss your arms. But Maddie and I need some time to adjust. I will call you and Alice every day. I want to talk to you without being distracted by your body.”

I took a deep breath.

“How is Maddie doing?”

“She is amazing Peter.”

We talked for the next ten minutes, Apparently Maddie had found two swimsuits to her liking and Bella had to check out. She said the smell made her throat hurt but she was used to dealing with pain. I guess she had dealt with a lot of it in her short life.

“You will call me tomorrow?”

“Yes Peter. 6 PM.”

“I love you Bella.”

She took a deep breath and I lost mine.

“I love you too Peter. I do. I… I will call you tomorrow. And Peter?”

“Yeah Bella?”

“I can’t believe you organized my panties to your liking. You are such a dork.”

The call ended and I realized I had a smile on my face. At least she loved me. We could make this work. I would give her all the time she needed. I was going to do this right. Hopefully she wouldn’t keep me away from too long.

I never knew I could miss somebody this much.