Two Ghosts {Leah Clearwater}

34: Pregnant

"She's not returning my calls," Pandora sighed as she walked through the woods with Rosalie. It had been a couple days since Pandora moved in with the Cullens, and Pandora had decided to let Alice decorate her room. Alice decided she wanted it to be a surprise, so she kicked Pandora out of the house for the day while she decorated the room.

Rosalie had decided to keep the newborn company. When Pandora wasn't with Alice, she was with Rosalie. After Rosalie had welcomed Pandora into their home, Pandora sought comfort from the woman, asking her anything and everything about being a vampire. Rosalie, unlike Alice, would answer with a directness that Pandora craved.

"I wish I could tell you something like 'she's just busy', but you're the only one of us who had any civil contact with the dogs. All you can do is wait, it's not like they allow our kind on their land." Rosalie reached above her head, plucking a leaf from a branch before tearing it gently. Pandora noticed the small human habits each of the Cullens kept after all their years of immortality. Rosalie fiddled with anything in her hands; Alice waved her hands frantically when she talked; Emmett cracked his knuckles; Jasper shifted on his feet when he was nervous; Esme bit her lip; and Carlisle rubbed his temples. Pandora had taken to fiddling with the rings she wore on her hands, all of them belonging to her mother including the one her uncle gave to her the day of Bella's wedding.

"I tried talking to Jacob," Pandora said after a moment. "He just complains about being lonely and asks when Bella's coming back. I can't get him to focus on something other than himself for long enough to even talk about how I'm feeling."

"Boys are useless," Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Most of them can only feel one thing at a time. It's annoying, but one must learn to live with it."

"I don't want to live with it. If I have to listen to his bullshit every time he needs me to, then the least he can do is listen when I'm dealing with my own shit," Pandora pouted. Rosalie sighed, looping her arm with Pandora's.

"He's not the greatest friend, dear. I thought you knew that." Pandora shook her head, casting her eyes down.

The two walked in silence, letting the sound of the woods fill each step.

"Rose?" Pandora asked after a moment. Rosalie hummed in response, keeping her pace slow. "What was told to my sister and my uncle? Where do they think I am?"

Rosalie stopped, taking a breath before taking Pandora's hands in her own. "You don't have the control to be around humans right now, Dora."

Pandora clenched her jaw, "that's not what I asked."

Rosalie stared into Pandora's dark amber eyes, her lips turned down into a deep frown. "You have to understand, there wasn't much we could do without your body. As of right now, you're missing."

Pandora quickly let go of Rosalie's hands, putting distance between them as she felt her mood darken, feeling as though a dark cloud hovered over her head. She could feel her mind cloud with the sadness and guilt, her senses going into overdrive.

"How long are we going to let them suffer? Luna deserves closure, it's already bad enough that she's lost her entire family, she shouldn't be left to wonder what happened to me. And my Uncle Charlie- he's never going to stop looking for me if he has any reason to think I'm still alive. God, he just lost his sister, he's about to lose his daughter, and now me..." Pandora buried her face in her hands, dropping to her knees as she felt grief overcome her.

"Pandora, it's all we could do. We'll make sure that everyone gets the closure they need, but sometimes that's not an option." Pandora could hear Rosalie's steps crush the grass as she tried to get closer to her. Pandora kept her head down, unable make herself move in case she lashed out.

"Pandora look at me." Rosalie's voice was barely a whisper, but it cut through Pandora's thoughts like a knife. Slowly, Pandora removed her hands from her face, meeting Rosalie's golden eyes as the older vampire crouched in front of the newborn. "We'll figure this out. We won't leave any loose ends. Your sister and uncle will get the closure they deserve."

Pandora swallowed, and nodded her head slowly. Rosalie reached her hand out slowly, as if approaching a wild animal, taking Pandora's hand in hers. "We'll figure this out." Standing slowly, lifting Pandora with her, Rosalie led the girl further into the woods, finding a more serene place.

The two took a seat on the ground, Pandora laying her head in Rosalie's lap. She watched the clouds float by as her hands danced across the grass and as Rosalie braided her hair.

"I wish I could float away, like a cloud." Pandora sighed, glancing up at Rosalie.

"Is this your way of telling me that you're going to run away again?" Rosalie snorted, glancing down at Pandora.

"I'm not running away," Pandora rolled her eyes. "I don't know, maybe I'll go traveling for a bit and just clear my head once we settle everything here. I think I just need time to get used to being a vampire, maybe just get away for a while."

Rosalie hummed, "as long as you don't leave us for another family. I will not stand to be replaced."

Pandora snorted, "please, as if anyone could compare to the Cullens. There's no way I could come close to replacing any of you."

"Damn right," Rosalie laughed.

The two were broken out of their laughter when Rosalie's cell rang. Pandora sat up, plucking a blade of grass from the ground.

"Hello?" Rosalie held the phone to her ear, examining her nails.

"Rosalie? It's Bella," Pandora's gaze snapped up to Rosalie's, the two sharing a look of confusion. "I need your help."

"I don't understand," Rosalie shook her head.

"I'm pregnant and I don't want anyone to hurt the baby. I need your help to protect him. Can you do that?" Pandora had never heard Bella sound so sure of herself, but the news of her being pregnant left her speechless.

"Of course. I promise." Rosalie agreed without a hint of hesitation.

"Edward's coming back. I'll see you when we get home. Thank you Rosalie."

Rosalie hung up the phone, a ghost of a smile on her face. "Bella's pregnant!"

Pandora, however, felt a pit form in her stomach, dread filling her.

"Bella's pregnant."