Cruising everywhere
Just to get in your nightmares
MIRABELLE SWAN
I was rudely awakened by the sound of pounding feet and my door being thrown open. Through half-lidded eyes I found my twin sister standing in my doorway not looking too happy. I groaned into my warm sheets, turning my back to her lazily.
"Go away Bells. It's too damn early for me to be bothered with your period." My cozy protection was ripped from my body letting the bitter cold of the morning bite mercilessly at my bare feet. I shuddered, grumpily facing her.
"What the hell Bella?"
"How long did you know?" She demanded. Her body language tense.
"What?"
"How long have you known the Cullens were vampires? Why didn't you tell me? I'm your sister!"
A long, exasperated breath left my lips. Everything came together after those words. "So you finally know."
She moved aside to let me start getting out of bed. I reckoned school was going to start soon. After the blissful weekend making up with Jasper, my body was still in vacation mode. The man did not hold back in trying to buy his way back into my favor. Cuddles, a beautiful date at a lake, long talks - I mean, he was really pulling all the stunts. We eventually came to an understanding about me passing into shapeshifter territory.
Apparently the Cullens and the Natives of this land stroke a deal centuries back before Forks was densely inhabited. That river was the border. And per the treaty, the Cullens could not cross into their lands and vice versa.
Jasper and I struggled to come to an agreement. I was allowed to go into the territory if I promised to spend an hour there at maximum, and he would have to be notified when I did so he could come to get me. If I was any longer than that he swore that he would damn the treaty.
I didn't want some super beast war starting just because my stubborn ass wanted to draw a couple of nature shots. We've also agreed that Jasper would explain things properly rather than demanding me to change like I was some pet. If we were going to be together than we needed to understand that we are equals first and foremost.
"How'd you confirm it? Edward?" I sniffed a random shirt sitting on my desk chair. It didn't smell bad so I threw it on with a plaid coat.
Bella trailed behind. "I put the pieces together."
I stopped trying to suck my stomach so these godforsaken jeans would slip on properly to look at my sister a bit disbelieving. She gave me a flat look. "What? Don't believe me?"
"To be completely honest, no. You're a lot more thick minded than you think Bells." She continued to follow me until I slammed the bathroom door in her face.
One look in that mirror and I had to really wonder why Jasper was so enamored with me. I looked like a woman that just got done wrestling with a wild bear. If he ever heard me question his devotion to me he'd probably lock us up in his room till he convinced me to never question his deep affection again. Just thinking about him made me smile.
It was disgusting how in love I was. Not even this strong minty toothpaste could take get rid of this sweet poison. If the me from before saw who I had become I would've laughed so hard that my stomach would've hurt. When we were little girls, Bella was always the one that dreamt of some dreamy prince sweeping her off her feet while I was popping the heads off my Barbie dolls. But now that I've experienced what it's like to be so happy I couldn't remember why I hated relationships so much.
"So, how did Eddie take to you learning his dark secret? He tell you anything else?"
"No," was her muffled response. Even with a piece of wood between us, I could hear the disappointment. "I haven't...I haven't told him that I know yet."
I looked at the door, just imagining the depressed look on Bella's face. There was no denying that she and Edward shared a connection. Even Alice confirmed that she was his blood singer. Edward was just too afraid to embrace the truth - to embrace my sister.
Jasper told me about how he understood where his brother was coming from. Having a human as a mate wasn't the same as normal humans loving each other. There were deadly risks. One day Edward might actually drain Bella of every drop of blood in her body. She was fragile just like me.
Heck, I knew the dangers better than anyone. Out of all the Cullens, Jasper had the lowest blood tolerance. The only reason he was managing to control himself was because he strangely didn't feel the urge to drink blood as much when he was with me. Dr. Carlisle suggested that it might be because I was around so often so Jasper was quickly learning how to adjust to my blood scent alone.
But we still had a long way to go before he could comfortably hold me in his arms without worrying about crushing my bones. I've already decided to commit myself to my killer boyfriend. I knew...I knew death more than anyone. I just wasn't sure if Bella did.
I opened the door to find a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. "Please tell me that I'm not wrong, Mirabelle. I need to know."
A heavy breath escaped my slightly upturned lips. "...You're not wrong."
Tears were practically welling in her eyes from relief. She smiled to herself, brushing them away. "Thank you..."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything, Bella. But...I think after you talk to Eddie you'll understand why I had to keep it a secret."
She nodded.
***
The ride to school was silent. Jasper and the rest of the Cullen band was waiting for me in the parking lot. I gave Bella one last reassuring squeeze of our hands before leaving her side to meld myself to Jasper. He must've felt my unease because he looked at me worriedly. Edward didn't have to ask. He was already walking towards my sister.
"Darling, what's wrong?"
"Bella knows," I whispered to him, watching the two leave through the forest. "She's going to tell him."
Rosalie appeared by my side. "What did you tell her, Mira?"
"I didn't tell her anything. She figured it out on her own."
Alice nodded. "There's no stopping this, Rosalie. It's already done."
The blonde beauty wasn't happy in the least. She stormed into the school with Emmett hot on her heels. The rest of us followed. I dreaded having to tell all our teachers that Bella couldn't come in today because of a stomachache. Jasper had to do the same for his indecisive brother. If he had just told Bella from the beginning then we would've been past this phase of the storyline. No part of me was focused on any of the lectures.
Time went by faster than I even cared to notice. By lunchtime, Emmett had to shove a fry in my face to break the spell of deep thought. I bit the offering gratefully earning a toothy smile from him.
"What's got you so knotted?" He asked despite already knowing.
Rosalie calmed down substantially but she still couldn't say anything without breaking something near her. Emmett stayed close to her to soothe her boiling rage. It was no secret that she hated Bella more. Okay, maybe hated was too nice of a word; loath was a little more accurate. All I knew was that her perspective of me and Bella were two opposite ends of the spectrum.
I wasn't sure if it was because of Bella herself or because of this whole blossoming relationship happening between them. Thinking about it now, Rosalie never voiced her opinion on Jasper and I. Guess that was something else I was going to need to question her about.
"Well, let me think. My sister learned your guys secret and the first thing she decides to do is go to a secluded mountain top with your brother without a single clue how defenseless she is." I slumped in my chair, arms crossed like a tempered child.
Jasper smiled down amusingly at me. "Didn't you do the same thing?"
"Not the point, Jasper. This is Bella and Edward we're talking about."
Don't get me wrong, I was overjoyed to know those two were making progress. And I knew that Edward would never do anything to put my sister in danger. Maybe scare her a little, but she would be returned to me in perfect health. The fact that my sister didn't come running down from the woods screaming her head off was a good sign. If all went well they'd be sucking faces by tonight. But nothing would ever change the fact that I was worried about my twin.
Bella could handle strange situations just as well as me. We had divorced parents for goodness sake. It's just that Edward wasn't any normal guy.
"On top of that, it's nearly been half the day and I still haven't gotten a call or a text from her. I mean, does Edward know that normal humans can freeze in this weather? Bella hates the cold. And wet things. One time I slipped an ice cube in her bathing suit and she ran around our yard like a swarm of bees were on her tail."
Alice leaned over the table to grab my hand. "They'll be fine, Mirabelle. You're just being overprotective. Edward already told me that he'll bring her back home safe and sound. Just relax a little."
I blew a leveled breath, releasing the building tension in my shoulders. Alice was right. Bella knew what she wanted. She's been pining away to learn the truth about the glamorous Cullen family. She needed this more than anyone. Rosalie slid over her plate of oily fries doused in ketchup with a side of pickles.
I smiled happily at her, taking a couple to consume. "Aw, babe. You do love me."
Her first smile of today appeared. "I just want you to stop talking."
"Well, I'll happily accept your bribe."
Jasper tried pressing a kiss to my temple but one of my fingers stopped him in his tracks. "Ah, ah, ah. Until Edward returns my sister you're not getting any affection." He deflated like a child whose favorite balloon was popped right in front of him.
He grumbled something that I would've missed had I not been sitting next to him. "I'm going to kill him."
Once I trusted my sister was in safe and capable hands the air around the table lightened up exponentially. Classes were almost finished when I picked up a newspaper on my way. A lot of it was just boring updates about the upcoming ball. It wasn't until the second page that I stopped in my tracks. It was a report on what had happened to dad's friend that died a few days ago. I had almost forgotten about that. Dad wasn't very open about it and I never felt the need to ask.
According to the article, the police were passing it off as an animal attack. Possibly a bear or some other creature that wandered into the boat master's little home. He and some other officers were still looking around the area for the creature responsible.
I doubted it was an animal. And I'm pretty sure dad did too. If it was an animal it wouldn't be this near town. Animals hated any sort of loud noises; the shotgunning of one of those rusted boat motors would've been enough to deter something like a bear. Something didn't feel right about this.
"Hey, Mira." I jumped, spinning to find Eric. He looked at me a little weird. "You okay? You're pretty skittish there."
"Um, yeah. I'm fine. Just reading your paper."
"Oh yeah. Tragic case...The police were keeping it real tight. Angela thought we should look at stuff outside of school."
"Do you know anything else?" I asked a little curious. "Anything suspicious?"
He shook his head. "No. No. I don't think so. Oh, wait! Um, I did overhear them say they might've found like teeth marks."
My brows furrowed. "Teeth marks?"
"Yeah, but they said it was just a mistake. Why're you so interested?"
"Why did you guys decide to cover it?"
He nodded slowly, convinced by my witty answer. "Touchè."
The warning bell rang. "Thanks for the info. See you around." My mind was now racing with other questions. Could there possibly be more vampires hiding around Forks? If there were, Jasper never mentioned them. Obviously, whoever these guys were they weren't the same friendly vegetarians. They were killers. As much as I wanted to see them staked for killing an innocent, I didn't want dad to get dragged into it.