First Blood | Ed. Cullen & B. Swan

Chapter 25

The world passed in a blur as Simon ran through the forest. He had left Leah and Paul long ago, telling them to go home. It took some convincing, but after promising to fill them in later, they agreed to do as he said.

He stopped abruptly outside of the house, gazing up at his family as they stood in front of the entrance, stopping him from moving inside. They all stood wearily, apprehensive to let him pass.

He knew what sparked those emotions. After all, he was filthy—he had tripped a few times in the woods, trapped in his racing thoughts as he ran—and his eyes were still bright red from feeding with Vladimir and Stefan. Out of the whole family, only Edward and Bella knew of his morale to drink from willing people. To the rest of the family, it would have appeared that he had slipped up. And to his luck, neither Bella nor Edward were present in the blockade.

His frustration grew as they stood in his way. His eyes met a certain pair, and he held Jasper's gaze with his own. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to compel any of them to let him through. Instead, he focused on Jasper, letting the southern blond analyze his emotions.

After a minute of silence, the blond stepped back out of the blockade, nodding his head to the rest of his family.

"Let him through," He spoke quietly, "He won't cause any harm."

Simon didn't wait for the rest of them to move. He rushed through the gap and into the house. He inhaled deeply as he climbed the stairs, letting Bella's scent fill his senses and lead him to where he needed to be. He stepped into the room, only to get jerked back as his gaze briefly landed on Bella.

"Let go of me before I break your arm," He snarled out, the venom in his voice making Edward flinch back and loosen his grip. He ripped himself out of the loose hold, Edward stumbling backward into the wall in the process from the force he used. He ignored the bronze man as his gaze fell back on his little wife. He crossed the room, his steps faltering as he approached her.

He sank down onto his knees in front of the couch, gazing up into her pretty brown eyes. As much as he wanted to cast a glance toward her stomach, he didn't want to look away from her eyes. His hand blindly searched until it found hers. He carefully gripped onto it, trying his best to reign in his emotions.

"Is it true?" He found himself softly murmuring, though he knew from everyone else that it was. As much as he trusted them, he wanted to hear it from her himself.

Bella nodded her head, gripping onto his hand as her lip started to quiver. Simon saw the shimmer in her eyes almost instantly. He sat down immediately, pulling her carefully into his lap as she clung to him. He soothingly rubbed her back as she hid her face in his neck, sniffling.

"Sweetheart, why didn't you tell me?" He asked quietly, unaware of the family as they stood watching in the doorway. He held Bella tighter as he listened to her cry, slowly combing his fingers through her brown hair.

He stood up as he held her, beginning to pace back and forth in front of the big windows. The more he paced, the quieter her sniffles became. Her grip on his t-shirt relaxed, instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her tighter, burying his face against her shoulder as she kept hers against his neck.

"I was scared," Bella whispered after a few minutes, her voice muffled against his cold skin. "I needed Rosalie's help. Simon...Edward called them a 'Thing.'"

Simon's growl rippled through the room, bringing chills to all of the vampires present. Jasper stepped forward as he felt the shift in Simon's emotions, only to freeze as scarlet eyes clashed with his.

Simon's attention broke as small fingers wrapped themselves in his short hair. He melted into her touch, his anger momentarily forgotten as Bella calmed him down. He sat back down on the couch, holding her in his lap. One of her hands found his, and she held it gently against her stomach. He rested his head against hers, matching his breathing to hers as he breathed in her scent.

His eyes fluttered closed, and he was sucked into a world full of just the two of them.

***

Hours had passed, and Bella had fallen asleep due to exhaustion. She laid curled up into Simon's side, where the brunet male had remained since he had arrived.

Esme stepped into the doorway, slowly breaking Simon out of his trance as he held onto Bella. Esme stayed quiet, not wanting to wake Bella, but she briefly nodded her head to the door. Despite wanting to stay with Bella, Simon carefully untangled himself from the sleeping woman. He pulled a blanket over her body before he moved to follow his sister. Even though it was never acknowledged, everyone knew that Simon still had a soft spot in his heart for his older sister.

They walked into one of the many large rooms, meeting the rest of their family there. Edward instantly stepped forward, though he flinched and became apprehensive as Simon glared at him. Simon's glare was instantly broken, though, when Esme lightly slapped his chest in warning.

Simon forced himself not to stare at his husband in disgust, moving to stand by Rosalie and her mate instead. He crossed his arms over his chest, remaining silent with his jaw clenched shut.

Rosalie reached over, lacing her arm through Simon's as they stood away from the rest of their family.

"Simon," Esme spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "That feeling you told Carlisle about when you called; has it gone away?"

"Would I be so pissed off if it had?" He asked rhetorically, trying to keep his tone even. As furious as he was, he didn't want to snap at anyone who didn't deserve it. His nails dug into his palm, cracks starting to form under the pressure.

"Bella's already showing," Carlisle cut in, changing the direction of the conversation. "Whatever it is, it's growing faster than it should be. Much faster than Bella's body will be able to handle."

Simon grimaced as he stared down at the ground, missing the first part of Carlisle's words. "Just give it to me straight, Carlisle. Is the child going to kill Bella?"

"I don't know. I think that we need to be ready for anything to happen. None of my equipment has allowed us to gain any knowledge of what it is or what it will be. We need to research. I'll keep everything on hand for a delivery, if it comes to that."

"They are a child, my child," Simon said harshly as he registered the word 'it', his glare meeting Carlisle's golden eyes. Before he lashed out more, Simon stormed out of the room, ignoring the calls from his sister to come back.