Soothing Cold

Chapter 20

BPOV

The call comes three days after I get back, delivered over the phone by a teary voiced Rene. Her speech is so warbled that I can hardly make out what she is saying, but I do.

And I don't know how to feel about the news. That Phil has left her.

Apparently, he packed up in the middle of the night and left without a word. The police have tracked his credit card going Northeast before he stopped using it and the trail is cold.

I feel almost numb when I get off the phone with her and hand it back to a concerned looking Charlie. I tell him that I don't want to report Phil after all and then go back up to my room slowly.

It's almost like I'm dissociating from my body again, except my thoughts are racing right now rather than scattered. I really doubt Phil had just up and left like that. My mind immediately goes to my two vampires that have been mysteriously absent these past three days even though they supposedly flew in a few hours after I did.

I hadn't thought much about it because I was too busy hanging out with Jake and avoiding giving my father a full statement of everything that Phil did to me.

Now he is missing. And I hate that my mind immediately goes to my angel's as being responsible. But, if they are, I can't have Charlie or the entire police force hunting him down. Who knows what they'll find.

A few hours later, when there is a knock on my door, I look up at Rose blankly as she stands in the open entrance. She is alone.

"Did you kill him?" I ask, and watch the surprise spread across her face.

She hesitates only a moment before saying shortly, "Yes," and slowly closes the door. She watches me wearily now as I nod.

I had entertained the idea before. I know she killed in Port Angeles, but that was self-defense. I never really expected, or wanted, her to kill for me again.

I feel my eyes suddenly water, and Rosalie is instantly at my side, hovering, unsure if she's welcome- but she is. She always is. Does it make me a horrible person to be grateful for her murdering someone?

"Thank you," I gasp out between tears, and reach for her. That's all the invitation she needs to climb onto the bed with me and wrap me in her arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she murmurs over and over in my ear, but I'm not entirely sure why.

Eventually I'm just left sniffling with my face pressing into her neck. I'm very tired of crying all the time. Especially over a man that I hate with every fiber of my being.

"So how did you get all the way to Wyoming?" I mumble, unwilling to move for the moment.

Her laugh startles me, but then has me grinning a little bit.

"That was Emmett actually. He ran."

"So, vampires are really fast huh?" I ask, feeling anxious as we officially acknowledge what has been left unsaid for a long time.

"Yes, we are," she agrees without hesitation, confirming that my knowledge wasn't a surprise to her. "Does it not bother you at all, what we are?" she asks softly, raking her fingers gently through my hair.

"No."

"You're not scared of me?"

"No," I answer.

"Not even a little?"

"Maybe a little," I admit, a smile breaking out on my face, and I try to hide it by hiding it in her shoulder. "But not because you are a vampire."

"Oh," she says softly, surprised, as I trace my index finger lightly over her collarbone.

…..

I smile widely, sweat dripping down the back of my neck as I'm handed a certificate and shake hands with my martial arts instructor.

Rosalie is at my side, no perspiration in sight, while she next receives her certificate naming her a green belt. It's not very fair that she didn't even really try (in fact she probably tried harder to not do well), but I know that the only reason she is here at all, is for me.

She smiles at me as we bow to our instructor and are dismissed from the mat.

"How do you feel, you ass kicking green belt?" She asks.

"Really good," I grin, sliding my flip flops on before leading the way toward the bench for observers. Emmett immediately scoops me up and twirls me.

"You did great Bella Bear!" He exclaims loudly before setting me down. "Rosie, you've got some work to do."

I laugh as she scowls at him. Then I'm in Alice's arms and getting twirled again. "We have to celebrate," she tells me earnestly. "You will let us, wont you?" she implores with puppy dog eyes.

"Only a little," I give in relatively easy. I can't say no to Alice. No one can. It's, like, a law or something.

…

"I can't believe this is were you take me for a little celebration," I sigh, looking around the flashing lights in the club. It's not as crowded as I thought it might be from the outside. We can easily move to the bar without brushing against anyone at all. "And since when do you have a fake ID?" I grumble.

"Bella, I'm over a hundred years old. All of my IDs are fake," she sings casually.

My jaw drops. Right. I forgot about that. But really? Over a hundred?

"Well, when did I get a fake ID, then?" I squeak. Emmett guffaws at me, hovering so close to my shoulder that I can feel the distinct lack of heat.

"She bought it last week when she had a vision of you getting your certificate," Rosalie sighs, looking around the club with disdain. She looks about as happy to be here as I am.

"You are drinking tonight," Alice tells me bossily, whispering something to the bartender before grinning over her shoulder at me. "I can't taste anything anymore so I want you to try as many as you can and describe them to me."

The bartender slaps down a shot right in front of her before going to serve someone else. She pushes it over to me, practically bouncing.

"Alice," Rosalie sighs. "If she doesn't want to-"

I shrug, picking it up and tossing it back before Rose can finish scolding her youngest sister. I immediately start coughing as soon as I swallow. It burns my throat.

"Tastes like gasoline," I wheeze dutifully to my friend.

Rosalie's lips twitch, slowly shaking her head at me. "I can't believe you just did that."

"I kind of want to dance," I admit sheepishly, "but I don't think I can do it without some sort of courage."

Alice immediately goes to order me another, practically beaming at me. This one is in a larger glass and actually tastes pretty good. It's kind of fruity, like pineapple, and I make sure to tell Alice as I sip at it slowly.

"Your dad is going to kill me," Rose tells me, getting comfortable on the stool to my right.

"Good thing I let him know that Bella is staying over for girl's night tonight," Alice laughs from the stool on my other side.

It takes three more shots and another fruity drink before I allow Alice to pull me onto the dancefloor. It's a little more crowded than our corner at the bar, but my muscles feel strangely loose at the moment and I'm not able to pay them much attention.

They can't even get close to me anyway because my friends just twirl me away. I end up getting passed between all my vampires as they take turns leading me in song after song, and I'm actually having a lot of fun even though half the time the room in spinning dizzily.

Even Rosalie claims a few dances, always staying close and making sure no one bumps into me.

If I didn't trust them so much, I never would have allowed myself to become so off guard, but I do trust them. With everything. They've even killed for me.

I have three bottles of water and two more different fruity flavored drinks before they finally call it an evening, and they have to guide me to the car.

I'm almost passed out by the time the car finally stops at the Cullen mansion.

I'm giggling like crazy as Rosalie patiently helps me out of the car and into the house.

"Alice Cullen, what have you done to poor Bella?" Esme immediately turns to the little pixie after catching a glimpse of me.

"I haven't done anything!"

"She gave her alcohol," Emmett tattles gleefully.

After tripping on the first step, Rose just scoops me completely into her arms and carries me to her room.

"I actually really had fun tonight," I ramble slightly as my friend sets me down and goes about rifling through drawers. The world continues to spin lazily around me. "You guys can really dance too. Like really well. Why haven't we done this before? I'd really like to do this again sometime though probably not for a while. I heard that hangovers hurt a lot and I drank a lot tonight. Do you think I'll have a hangover tomorrow?"

I ask Rose as she pulls my ruffle-y shirt over my head and quickly replaces it with a t-shirt before I can question what she's doing.

"We probably can do this again sometime," she tells me, next moving to unbutton my jeans. "It was really fun, even though," she looks up with a wide grin as she tugs down the zipper. Her golden eyes dance with humor. "you probably will have a headache in the morning and be completely crabby."

My stomach gives a giant swoop as she meets my eyes and it's such an odd feeling. I know my concentration is shot because I suddenly find myself staring at my friend's lips.

"Lift," she tells me, and I obediently stand for a few seconds as she pulls my jeans down. Before I can even think about my new state of undress, she is quickly pulling a pair of sweat pants up in their place.

I plop back down on the bed once the waistband settles over my hips, feeling a bit disoriented from standing that short amount of time.

"There you go; all dressed," She smiles up at me from her kneeling position in front of my knees.

I catch her hand as she makes to stand with my borrowed clothes that I wore to the club. Like always, she is willing to go where I direct her, without any resistance.

"I really love you, you know," I can't help but babble again. "Like, really, really love you."

Her expression softens even more, completely open to me, and she's never seemed so beautiful before. It might just be the alcohol talking, but it looks like there is a halo of light completely encasing her.

She gently caresses a bit of loose hair. I had tied it up hours ago but quite a bit has flown free.

"I love you too, my Bella."

My speeding heart races even faster, and I don't appear to have a filter anymore. Not that I care anyway.

"No, like, really, really, really, really, love you."

She laughs a little, her smile becoming immensely amused, but I don't like that. I'm trying to tell her something important here and she doesn't seem to get it.

To show her just what I mean, I grab her chin with one hand, the other going to her shoulder for balance, and quickly press my lips to hers.

Like always, she is pliable to my touch. Her mouth relaxes against mine, cool petal lips molding perfectly as she answers my kiss with her own. Her head tilts slightly, deepening it, and soon her lips have warmed against mine.

I still want more. My heart feels like it's about to explode. My lips part just slightly, my tongue poking out to let her know what I want, but then her hand is pressing against my chest and pushing me gently away.

"You're drunk," she grins at me, amusement still sparkling in her slightly darkened eyes. "We can talk about this in the morning, if you even remember it."

"Alight," I yawn tiredly, allowing her to guide me down and tuck me in like a child.

Then she brushes one last fleeting kiss on my lips before she turns out the light and closes the door.

I'm very certain that I will remember this in the morning, but when I wake up, I don't even remember getting to the Cullen house. I do, however, have a splitting headache that makes me very grouchy.

A/N: I just realized that Alice kind of disappeared so I kind of had to slip her back in at some point and this was the perfect time.

Thanks for reading; please review! And go check out my new story Wolfblood!

~Silver~