The Human Countess {J. Hale}

Worry and Family

Yasinya, Ukraine, 2020, a week later, Cullen Residence.

Edward is worried. Bella had been gone for a week now. She had left the day Alice tackled her to the ground, and has not come back since.

Edward is confused. He is worried, not because of the fact that Bella had been gone, no, but because of the fact that all he feels at the moment is fear. Not fear for Bella, but a fear of her.

Since her little outburst, he couldn't help but think back to all the times he spent with her. Has she always been this destructive? Has she always been this selfish? Has she always been like this?

While he has seen a lot of selfishness, mostly from his sisters, Rosalie and Alice, Bella's selfishness is different. Rosalie's selfishness stemmed from her love for the family and her protective feeling over them. Alice's selfishness came from the past she doesn't remember, and had always wanted a big family.

But Bella is different. Extremely different. Her selfishness was just for the heck of it. And she uses excuses to validate her behaviours.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a newborn."

"I'm your mother."

"I'm your wife."

"I'm your best friend."

He normally would just shrug it off, the fact that she left. She normally leaves for weeks on end, to observe Charlie, she would always say. But when she left, Edward got a unnerving feeling, that she was up to something. A feeling of worry. A worry for his daughter. A worry for her mate. A worry for his family.

Just what is she up to?

***************

Edward found himself, Rosalie, Emmett, Jacob, Renesmee and Esme in cars driven by Alice and Kyle to what is now dubbed as, according to Eliza, The Blood Cabin. The naming brought questions in their minds, though none had bothered asking, wanting her to explain in her own time. The last thing they want is to scare her away with their questions, before they could even reveal what they are.

Edward is in the car being driven by Kyle with Renesmee, Esme and Jacob. Looking at he backseat, he couldn't hold back a chuckle when he saw Jacob's predicament. The poor, bulky man is stuck with trying to warm the little cage where the shivering, small kittens were situated in his lap. The Male Pallas Cat is in a separate cage on Esme's lap, his eyes never straying far from the the kitten's forms. Renesmee's lap held a bag with collars, a few cat toys (read: A lot), a few food and water bowls, and some wet cat food cans.

Rosalie and Emmett are with Alice, the backseat of their car was nearly spilling with sacks of food. The trunk of both cars are full of boxes, one is of a giant cat house, and the other cat scratches and pet beds. On Emmett's lap are secret surprises for Eliza, one she will love according to Alice.

To say Edward was awed is a complete understatement. He is flabbergasted. The memories his siblings had nor the pictures they took did not give the cabin justice. It looked gorgeous then, but in person, it looked absolutely breathtaking.

With his family's thoughts mirroring his, sans Alice and Kyle of course, they all walked towards the front door that Kyle, to Edward's surprise, just comfortably walked through with a smile, carrying a box with him.

Kyle is quite similar to Rosalie, despite their difference in species, as Edward would put it. Both Kyle and Rosalie are extremely protective of the family, always the ones that see people as a possible threat.

Noticing Edward's surprise, Kyle spoke to him in his head, showing Edward his memories of meeting Eliza, and how comfortable he felt in her presence from the day they met. Kyle also showed Edward his thoughts on how in the beginning, Kyle had thought that the comfort he felt was influenced by Jasper, but as time went on, he had realized that the comfort he felt was his own.