Chapter 9: Diversions
Eric and Ary's small confrontation was still burning in my mind by the time I reached school the next day. I was worried that something I'd done had provoked a fight in the McRae household. Thinking and replaying the previous afternoon again and again, I tried to find something that I could have done, but nothing came to mind. I sighed and pushed the subject out of my mind, as I turned into the half full high school parking lot.
I turned off the engine and stared out into the wet weather, looking for the McRaes. I narrowed my eyes and spotted them, standing next to their cars, conversing. Smiling, I climbed out of my truck and made my way over to them. Eric looked up and beamed at me as I approached. He appeared instantly at my side, moving a little too fast for a human, and took hold of my hand.
"Good morning, Bella," he said pleasantly and looked into my eyes with that familiar hunger.
My hand lay limp in his hand; I hadn't quite decided what I was going to do about Eric. He was very attractive and I did feel a certain spark, but I was still broken. In my heart, I felt that I still belonged to Edward. Despite certain trepidations, I gripped Eric's hand a little tighter and followed him back to the group, who stared at our intertwined hands with obvious disapproval.
I greeted everyone, taking notice that Ary was sitting on top of her own car, smiling. "Good morning, Ary," I said.
"Morning Bella," she replied with her normal even tone. She hopped down, brushed off the raindrops clinging to her clothing, and motioned to me. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Okay," I said and nodded, following her towards the school. All right, here we go. I knew that Ary was not comfortable with me spending timewith Eric; she was no doubt going to talk to me about him. After a fewminutes, we stopped outside the cafeteria, on the far side of the school.
"Bella," she said slowly, without looking at me. "We're friends right?" Her question sounded like an actual question, rather than a confirmation.
"Yes, of course, Ary," I said and narrowed my eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I'm concerned," she said hesitantly and leaned against a wall. "I'm concerned about you and my brother, Bella." I nodded as she confirmed my suspicion. "When were you planning on telling me?"
I shrugged. "I haven't decided anything, really. Eric confessed his feelings but I told him I'm not the best person to, well, you know…" I trailed off with an awkward half smile.
Ary half smiled and nodded, understanding what I meant; she knew all about my shattered heart and the vampire responsible for it. With a satisfied sigh, we turned and began to walk back to the parking lot.
"So, what did you two do yesterday?" Ary asked me idly.
"Nothing much." I shrugged and smiled weakly at a familiar face that passed me. "We just went hiking and talked; he told me about his past."
"Oh, he did?" She turned her head to me, eyebrows raised, looking like she didn't believe me. "And what did he tell you?" Her voice was growing agitated and I was seriously pondering whether I should tell her or not.
The last thing I needed to see was another fight between them. However as the parking lot came into view, we spied the rest of the McRaes, who were being entertained by Eric, and dropped the subject.
As we rejoined the family, the conversation quickly changed to Eric's upcoming party. I found this to be a little odd, the Cullens has never celebrated birthdays among themselves. A 100th birthday might be understandable, but 122nd? It didn't seem like a very special number. Deciding to think about it later, I moved next to Eric, who wrapped his arm around my waist, causing the hole inside my stomach to burn—but, not in a bad way.
"So, Eric," Dante asked and leaned against the green SUV, "have you decided what we're going to do for your birthday?" The question caught everyone's attention, causing them to move in. Eric appeared to be deep in thought, wearing a secretive smile.
"Well," he said a second later, "we should have it outdoors, that's most certain, I'm sick of remaining inside for things like this." The others agreed, mentioning their own birthday gatherings and how they were forced to celebrate out of the public eye. "One thing, though,"
Eric continued, "I want Avarice to play his pipes." The group agreed enthusiastically while I stared curiously.
"Pipes?" I asked Ary.
She nodded jubilantly. "Avarice is from Ireland, Bella; he has bagpipes." She beamed at me, with excitement, and smiled, her perfect teeth almost sparkling in the light.
I cringed a little. Bagpipes? My experience with the Celtic instrument was not a happy one. My mother had dated a man who was in love with that instrument and tried to learn how to play; too bad he was tone deaf. I grimaced at the memories of his countless rehearsal sessions in our home. The sound reminded me of dying cats. "Can he play them well?" I asked Ary.
Ary laughed at me, like I said something absurd. "Of course he can, Bella."
Eric threw his arm around my waist, causing a knot to form in my stomach. I looked up at him apprehensively and attempted to smile. Eric cocked his head to the side, obviously confused by the look in my eyes. "Is everything all right, Bella?" he asked while his eyes poured over my face.
I was just about to answer when the bell rang, calling all the students toward the school. Eric and Skye maneuvered me through the mass—I caught curious glances from my other friends—and before I knew it, I was in front of my seat. Mr. Marks was running late, so the students were entertaining themselves with paper airplanes and pencil spears. I hoped against all odds that the teacher wouldn't show. At least I could get out of reading more about love. Unfortunately ten minutes later, Mr. Marks pushed through the door, his face red and frustrated, muttering something about a flat tire. I groaned and went to put my head on the desk, but a piece of paper stopped me. I opened it and immediately recognized Eric's
penmanship.
So, are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or do I have to guess?
I sighed before picking up my pencil. You don't want to know.
And why would you assume what I do and do not want to know?
He definitely had a point. Fair enough, I'm just not really comfortable talking about it. I was about to hand the note back to him, but quicklyjotted something else down. So, what was with you and Ary yesterday? Ihanded the note back and could see him cringe softly.
Of course, you would have noticed that. Well, Ary doesn't necessarily approve of my attraction to you.
Why is that exactly?
You don't want to know.
Now who's assuming?
He raised his eyebrows softly before handing the note back. Touché, mi Bella, but that's another story for another time.
Our note interview concluded, as did any further communication in class. Unfortunately, my mind was thrust back into the realm of love with Mr. Marks. I heaved a sigh as the instructor assigned the next bit of homework. My mouth hung open when Mr. Marks asked for yet another essay about love. This time, he wanted to compare the books' meaning to something in our own life. Mr. Marks is trying to kill me. The pit of my stomach sank lower and the dull ache surged forward in an intense scalding pain. I bit my lip, gripped my midsection, and held my breath, hoping that it would stop.
By the time the bell rang, the pain had dulled and I was able to straighten out. I sighed, collected my books, and headed out of class. As I moved through the crowd, an ice-cold hand found mine and pulled me through the rush of students. I closed my eyes, not wanting to think about who had my hand, it would probably make me blush. Taking deep breaths, I pushed down the rising memories of Edward's touch; it wasn't easy.
My next few classes ran together, due largely to my focus on the rising pain within me. By the time I looked up at the clock, I realized that it was almost time for lunch. I also realized that Jessica had been staring at me throughout the entire class. Her face looked like a mixture between fear and curiosity. I smiled at the thought of Melena sticking up for me and shaming Jessica in front of everyone at school.
As the bell rang, I noticed Jess trying to catch my eye; she no doubt wanted me to join her for lunch. I picked up my books and hurried out of the room, desperate to avoid a confrontation. As I moved out of the class,
I found Melena beaming at me from across the hall.
"Hello Bella," she said pleasantly and embraced me softly. I noticed her eyes narrow softly and could only assume Jessica was right behind me. "Let's go to lunch."
Without protesting, I moved with her and the crowd, feeling the hunger inside me. Ary and the others were already sitting at their normal table, a huge tray full of food between them.
"Who is that for?" I asked while we approached, pointing at the massive amount of food. As far as I knew, Ary ate raw meat and vampires, well, drank blood.
"That's for you," Melena said happily.
I took a seat next to Ary, who grinned, and stared at the vast quantity of food. There were three sandwiches, a soda, bottled water, juice, pizza, a wrapped hamburger, a fruit cup, a granola bar, and a packaged salad. Staring wide eyed at the pile, I heard a snicker, and looked up to see Ary staring at me.
"You don't have to eat all of it, Bella," she whispered to me. "Eric could tell that you were hungry, so he went hunting."
"Hunting?" I asked incredulously, while shaking my head. "This isn't hunting, this is a massacre." The McRaes chuckled and I reached for the soda and wrapped hamburger. I shifted uncomfortably, as I opened the wrapper, I always felt odd eating in front of those who didn't eat. However, my hunger got the better of me and I was soon stuffing my face.
Dante and Ira were late joining us and were a bit flustered when they arrived. Both of them appeared through the twin doors, glancing around nervously, and rushed—a little too quickly for 'humans'—to the table.
Dante leaned in quickly and whispered to Ary, who became wide eyed.
"Bella," Ary leaned towards me, concerned. "Do you know what we're doing in Anatomy today?" Her brow was heavily indented and her mouth was turned down.
"No, should I?" I narrowed my eyes curiously.
She sighed before speaking. "We're doing DNA comparison."
I groaned loudly and rubbed my stomach, feeling the nausea begin. I had heard about this, when I signed up for the class, and had planned to be absent. DNA comparison was when the students tested their own DNA against cow DNA. It really didn't have anything to do with Anatomy but the students loved it. "Oh great."
Ary narrowed her eyes and smiled mischievously at me. Just what was she thinking of?
After lunch, Ary and I walked to class in silence. I was beginning to get nervous about Anatomy; blood always made me faint. I hoped Mr. Banner would—given my incident with blood typing—just send me to the nurse.
As we took our seats, it became obvious that the whole class was excited. Mike and Eric were mooing loudly, hovering over people's desks, and all the females wore disgusted grimaces.
"Bella." I turned to Ary as she spoke. "Do you trust me?" Her face was serious and her blue eyes smoldered.
I cocked my head to the side. "What?" I shook my head, dazed by her stare.
"I said," she clarified, "do you trust me?"
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at her. "Um, y-yes? I mean, in theory, I guess."
"Good, I'll take it." She smiled and leaned closer to me. "Now, listen carefully, when Mr. Banner comes into the room, I want you to do exactly carefully, when Mr. Banner comes into the room, I want you to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?"
I nodded, my eyes widening, warily. "Ary, is there something you want to tell me?"
A strange smile overtook her face. "Not just yet." She turned but still spoke. "Remember, do exactly as I say!"
I didn't have much time to argue; Mr. Banner arrived, pushing a gigantic metal cart into the classroom. My eyes poured over the translucent cover on the handcart he pushed; it was stained with red. I groaned as my stomach began to turn. It was only a matter of time now.
"Bella," Ary hissed to me, through her teeth. She was still holding her breath. "Faint."
"What?" Did I hear her correctly?
"Faint!" Her voice was more insistent as she leaned toward me.
"Ary, I can't just faint on command," I whispered as I glared at her fiercely.
"Oh, for the love of God," she grumbled.
In a quick motion, Ary leaned forward and exhaled heavily, breathing directly in my face. The smell was so sweet, rivaling any scent of the Cullens, and made my head spin. I tried to place each aroma but consciousness was leaving me. My vision doubled and blurred before I fell to the floor. I didn't feel the impact and I could barely hear the sudden shouting. The one sound I could hear was Ary's soft chuckling.
"Oh my lord!" Mr. Banner's voice was muffled to my ears. "Is she all right?"
"I don't think so," Ary said. I could easily make out her voice, since she was right next to me. "I should take her to the nurse." I could vaguely make out some mumbling, coming from across the room. The source seemed to agitate Ary. "No, that's quite all right, I can manage." The muttering became incessant. Was someone berating Ary? "I'm sure that's the last thing Bella would want." The muffled murmuring continued until it was cut off by a low threat. "Back off."
My head started to clear and I could see much better now. I was aware ofbeing carried, but not by whom. I blinked once as Ary's face came into view. "Ary?"
"Welcome back, sleeping beauty." She smiled and laughed a little. "I was wondering if I needed to take you home."
I narrowed my eyes at her smug grin. "Ary, don't ever do that again." I looked around, expecting to see the school hallway, and was shocked to see the trees around us. "And just where are we? What's going on? Are you insane? Why did you make me faint?"
Ary stopped moving and raised her eyebrows. "Well, which question do you want me to answer first?" Lowering me to the ground, her eyes pulled together as she laughed. "I'm really sorry, Bella. I can't be around animal blood; it wouldn't end well."
I sighed angrily, as Ary set me on my feet. The memory of Edward, skipping the blood typing lab, came to mind and I understood what she meant. "It's all right, I guess. I understand. Well, now what do we do?"
Glancing around, Ary smiled. "Well, I could take you home or we could just spend time in the woods."
I groaned as I considered her options. At home I would simply meander around, trying to pass the time, but in the woods, I would remember too much. "Is there anywhere else we can go?"
Ary sighed, narrowing her eyes at me, before speaking. "Well, if you can hold on, we can spend some time at my house."
Ary's house, which sounded intriguing, was a much better suggestion. "If it's all right with you, I'd prefer that." Ary nodded and smiled. "Wait, what did you mean, if I can hold on?"
My last sentence was hardly spoken before Ary threw me over her shoulder. This feels too familiar. In half a second the forest was rushing by me, the wind tossing my hair. A familiar sensation—nausea—washed over me as I was jostled. I attempted to make my breath shallow, but it was difficult; I was terrified. I shut my eyes and hid my face in Ary's thick hair, waiting for the trip to be over.
Five minutes later the wind stopped howling and the moving sensation stopped. However, my stomach continued to turn. I let a groan escape my mouth as my head spun continuously.
"Bella?" I could barely register Ary's words. "You're not going to vomit on me, are you?"
I took a deep breath—I didn't want to throw up. "No, I just need to sit down." I was instantly on the ground, attempting to breathe deeply. Finally the spinning died down and I was able to stand on two feet. I looked up to see Ary smiling at me. "What's so funny?"
"Do you need to ask?" She opened her smile and started laughing. "I've never met a human like you before, Bella."
"Is that a good thing?" I rolled my eyes and walked away from her. She easily caught up to me.
"Of course," she smiled and escorted me to the house. We were half way to the door, when a loud cracking noise caught my attention, forcing me to look around for its source.
"What's that noise?" I said loudly while whipping my head around wildly.
The noise cut through the air again, forcing the hair on my neck to stand up. There was something strange about the sound: a splintering noise mixed with, what sounded like, grunts and groans.
Turning back to Ary, I gawked when I realized she was laughing. "Why are you laughing, Ary?"
She shook her head. "Bella, calm down," she said as the sound continued to draw my attention away. "If I show you what's making the noise, will you settle down?" She sighed heavily and moved beside me, as I nodded eagerly. "Very well, you may want to close your eyes."
I didn't care to ask this time; I simply shut my eyes willingly. The air around me picked up and I felt weightless, like I was flying. There was also a strange propelling sensation, as if I was jumping high in the air.
When Ary murmured for me to open my eyes, I gazed around in shock, we were now perched atop one of the higher decks on the house.
"Ary," I stammered while looking at the scenery around me. "Wow, you can jump high."
"Are you coming or not?" Ary asked over her shoulder and moved towards the other side of the balcony. She leaned forward and placed her hands on the edge, looking at something below. I sighed and followed her. What I saw made my eyes widen in shock.
Avarice and Argos were about thirty feet below, and it looked like they were fighting. They were moving quickly, darting from one side of the yard to the other, growling and snarling. Every now and then, Avarice would rush toward Argos, attempting to punch or kick him, and Argos would simply block and throw Avarice back.
"What's going on?" I asked when I regained my speech.
"Avarice thinks that Argos shouldn't rely on his strength so much," Ary muttered without looking at me. "It's not very efficient."
"Why would he need that?" I asked as Argos tossed Avarice into a nearby tree. He heaved his brother as if he weighed nothing at all.
"Because if we…" she trailed off and looked at me softly. "Never mind, it's not important." She sighed and moved away from edge, brow heavily furrowed.
I shook my head and turned to face her. "Ary, I have a question."
She didn't turn but I heard her chuckle. "Why does that not surprise me?"
I inhaled sharply and narrowed my eyes. "Forget it."
"No, no," Ary said as she turned to face me. She smiled apologetically and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Bella; I didn't mean to offend you. Please, ask me anything."
"All right," I shrugged and moved forward. "Why does it always seem like you're keeping things from me?" It was true. There were certain things that Ary said and did that told me she was hiding secrets. Just what were they?
Ary's smile grew wider. "Oh Bella." She sighed and placed her hands on my shoulders. "Of course, I'm keeping things from you," she said simply and turned away from me, moving back to the edge of the balcony.
"What?" I half shouted exasperatedly. "Ary, I thought you trusted me."
"Oh, don't be over dramatic, Bella," Ary replied, over her shoulder, between clenched teeth. "Trust has nothing to do with this. Now please, drop it."
I opened my mouth to protest but quickly shut it; some part of me knew I wouldn't get anywhere. Sighing loudly, I moved beside Ary and glanced at Avarice and Argos, down below. The two were no longer locked in combat. They were standing, talking idly and laughing. Argos' shirt had been torn in the skirmish and was revealing his well chiseled abs beneath the fabric. Argos tossed his hair back and ran his hand through beneath the fabric. Argos tossed his hair back and ran his hand through the dark golden mane, before disappearing into the woods.
Ary chuckled beside me. "Careful Bella, I think you're about to start drooling."
My eyes widened and I pulled my arm across my mouth, relieved that I wasn't drooling, and turned away from Ary, and the sight of half naked Argos. I took a deep breath—trying in vain to keep my face from flushing—before facing her again. Ary was smiling smugly and stifling a laugh.
"Don't be embarrassed, Bella," she said as laughter spilled from her mouth. "You're only human." I sighed and rolled my eyes at the expression before returning by her side. "Besides," she continued, "I'm glad you acted normal about it, not like that Lauren Mallory."
I tensed at the mention of the person who loathed my existence. "I forgot to thank you for that, by the way," I said with brimming sarcasm. "Why did you do it anyway?"
Ary shrugged and smiled innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure you don't," I muttered snidely. I peered over the side and Argos had put his shirt back on; thank goodness. However, seeing Argos made me curious. Just how did he join the McRaes? In fact, I didn't know how Ary had joined up with the McRaes. "Ary, how did you meet Avarice and Lazarus?"
My question caught her by surprise, causing her eyebrows to arch and her head to pull back. She laughed and narrowed her eyes skeptically.
"What brought that on?" she asked softly.
"Well, I was just thinking," I said slowly gauging her reactions; I didn't want to go too far and upset her. "I don't know how you met Argos and I realized that I didn't know how you met them either." She inhaled slowly and rubbed her temples. "Is something wrong?"
"Bella," she said without moving her hands from her face. "I don't reallylike telling that story, it's kind of…depressing."
I chuckled a little. Does she think I don't know about depressing? This was the wrong thing to do.
Ary's nostrils flared and she was instantly on her feet, moving towards me slowly. Her back was arched and it appeared that she grew a few inches.
"Does my pain humor you?" She growled at me and her eyes flashed bright yellow.
Alarm ran through me as my stomach began to quiver with fright. Instinctively, I threw my hands up and shook my head. "Ary, I would never laugh at your pain, you know that. I was merely finding the fact that you think I can't handle depressing subjects humorous." Ary's eyes continued to glisten in the light.
A deep growl caught both our attention, forcing us to find its source. Standing atop the roof was Avarice; his eyes were a familiar onyx and his lips were pulled over his teeth. He growled again and a snarl answered; it was Ary, whose shape was beginning to quiver. I moved away, backing towards the end of the balcony, as Avarice and Ary continued to stare at
one another.
"Bella," Avarice spoke sharply. "Please, go inside." He motioned towards the terrace door with a jerk of his head. I nodded while he redirected his attention to the blurring figure of Ary.
Sensing the urgency, I rushed across the wooden deck, not noticing the potted plants strewn around the flat surface, and headed towards the door. I was just about there when I turned back to see what was going on.
Avarice was restraining a snarling Ary, holding her body with one arm and her neck with his free hand. Shock ran through me, forcing me to spin and gawk at what was happening. My clumsy feet smacked into a porcelain pot and slipped on the spilt soil. I cried out, but it was too late. Falling forward had knocked my center of gravity off, and I could only scream as I
toppled over the edge of the third story balcony.