Bad Apple [Twilight Fan Fiction]

42. Understanding

Knowing that Bella would probably want to feed her daughter, I headed into the kitchen. Bella was handing over Anthony to Rosalie who smiled down at him. I watched as Bella reached down pressing chaste kiss against his the skin of his forehead. Her fingers danced down his head which was beginning to grow with tiny hairs. My love for her grew watching her with him knowing that she was committed to making sure nothing happened to him. My thoughts suddenly derailed when I realized something.  

My family and I had not yet told Bella the complete truth about our world. She had no idea what raising two human children with vampires was going to cause. I had not told her the rules of our life and what we might be forced to do with the children. We could never kill them but there would be trouble just having them around. Carlisle's voice sounded from his office upstairs and I knew what he was doing. We all knew besides Bella what the next course of action would take. It had been hard for me to be at the Newton House distraught hoping that Bella would come out alive. It was all a show for Charlie who was devastated when he learned that Bella was dead and she wasn't coming back. I wanted to tell Charlie the truth and have him know everything but that just wasn't possible. Bella would surely hate me for dooming Charlie to death just for know about us.

Carlisle began speaking into the phone which I could crackle from my place at the kitchen. I needed to get Bella out of the house before she heard too much from Carlisle. I stepped into the kitchen smiling when Bella's head whipped toward me. She could obviously smell my scent from so close but she had been preoccupied by her son.  

"How's the little guy?" I asked staring down at Anthony in Rose's arms. That was the only place he slept fully without waking every few hours. Obviously we were going to have our time with him unlike his sister. Then again Lizzy's peacefulness might only be from Seth. I was sure even on some baby level she must have known Seth was out there for her even if he didn't know it at the time.

"He's perfect. Slept like an old man after church," Esme said with a grin. I rolled my eyes at her wrapping my arm around Bella. After not knowing for over three days if I would be able to hold her again, I hardly left her side since she woke. Even when she was in the room and wanted her privacy, I had kept my thoughts and senses centered on her in that room. She was always going to be the center of my world now and forever. As Carlisle's words ventured out on his phone call, I realized now was the best time to get Bella out of the house. Anthony was about to be fed from Rose before he would fall asleep again. It was incredibly selfish of me to take her from his experience but I was considered a selfish creature. Our hunting trip had been our only solace and that was not even alone.

"Bella?" I asked and she turned her head giving me her attention. "Would you like to take a walk with me? We'll stay close to the house, I promise," I held out my hand giving her a sincere smile. As a human she couldn't resist my smirk but I wanted to give her a choice now. She was no longer breakable this time around but I still worried. If she heard Carlisle's words through the phone first, she would probably be upset with me which was the last thing I ever wanted for her.

I could see the indisivness in her gaze as she flickered between my face and Anthony. Rose and Esme already knew about the phone call and my reasons for the walk. We had all discussed everything once Bella began her change. It was only too surprising when everyone involved agreed it was the best choice we had at the moment. Rose gave Bella a smile, "Anthony's in good hands. Plus, I can hear Lizzy upstairs sleeping. By the time you return from your walk she'll be ready for a feeding too. You and Seth will get to feed her. Keep close to the house so you aren't too far. Maternal instinct to your children will always be there, Bella. You just have to work around it."

Bella sighed turning to me and placing her pale hand in mine. Giving her my smirk which made her look down I realized I still affected her. "You're doing it again," she murmured incredibly low. My smirk only widened, "Doing what?" I already knew what I was doing to her. "Dazzling me," she sighed as her intense red-eyes met mine once again. I reach over pushing a few strands aside pressing my lips to her forehead. It was still shocking to my system that our skin were the same temperature now. No longer was she devastatingly warm and mouth watering, she was my temperature. I once thought I would miss her warmth, but in a way I still had it and she was just less breakable now.