Chapter 7

I smiled, waking up to see Peter staring at me, just inches from my face. I couldn't believe how amazing he looked with his crimson eyes and his pale skin.

"Hey, baby," he whispered, kissing my forehead. "How was your night?"

I smiled at him as I moved closer, snuggling into his arms. It would be so sad when I had to move back to Charlie's house and couldn't spend all day, every day with him. School would be starting up again and that would be hours that I couldn't spend with him, especially since Charlie was under the impression that Peter was in the army. It would make it even worse that I would be stuck there with guys who couldn't come anywhere close to comparing with Peter.

"You have to go home today," he reminded me, making me groan. "I promise, I'll pick you up every day after school."

I smiled, just wanting to stay in the bed for the rest of the day with him. It probably would have been possible too, except for the fact that Alice ran into the room, saying, "We have to have a girls day out!"

"Alice," I groaned as I sat up. "I don't want to go anywhere. This is my last day with Peter."

She glared at me as she stated, "Well, I just didn't want you to go shopping with us. Plus, I don't think that Peter wants you around when Edward gets back."

Peter snarled, causing me to put my hand on his chest. He calmed down before I stood up and grabbed my clothes, going into the bathroom to change. I was really worried about how Peter would react to Edward and I didn't want him to be alone, but there was no way that he would let me stay. What I loved about Peter though, was that he trusted the people who mattered most. He wasn't really trusting of anyone besides Jasper and Alice at first but he really came around.

After I was ready, we all went down to the kitchen where Esme was making French toast. I smiled as I sat down and started eating while Peter leaned against the other side of the counter.

"So, what did you and Alice talk about while I was getting ready?" I asked, swallowing a bite. He gave me an innocent look. "Oh come on, Peter. Don't give me that look."

He just shrugged before he jumped over the counter, a snarl coming form him which meant that Edward was coming home. I couldn't help but groan at the idea of Edward and Peter fighting once again. There was no one else who could calm him down and I didn't want to think of what could happen when he was angry.

"We have to go," Alice said, grabbing my plate and piling more slices of French toast onto my plate. "You can eat on the way."

I wrapped my arms around Peter and leaned up to kiss the corner of his mouth. I mouthed, "Love you," to him before being pulled away by Alice and Rosalie towards the garage. They shoved me into Rosalie's BMW and headed off towards Port Angeles.

I turned around to stare at the road, wanting nothing more than to go back and stand by Peter.

"It'll be okay," Alice said, smiling at me as she turned around in the passenger seat. "They won't let anything happen. Besides, Peter just wants you to have fun with us."

I nodded, turning back around as we reached the end of the drive and turned towards Port Angeles. I didn't want to go shopping, but I had to admit that they were all right. There was no way that Peter would let me hang around if Edward was there. I just had to remember, he had my best interests in mind and it wouldn't help anyone if I was bleeding or had another broken bone.

"Where should we go first?" Alice asked. I opened my mouth, wanting to tease her, when she squealed. "Eww. We are never going anywhere near that place, Bella."

I laughed as she explained in a huff to Rosalie about where I was going to suggest. She started laughing as well, sending Alice into an even worse mood.

The shopping wasn't as bad as it had been in the past, but she was still running around and making me try on everything. Rosalie, on the other hand, said that she had something to do and ran off. I, on the other hand, was stuck with Alice.

After a bit, I told her that I was going to head to North West Fudge and Confections and would meet her there. On the way, I happened to pass Serenity Thrift Store and decided that it couldn't help to look around. They always had some amazing clothes whenever I decided to come to Port Angeles with Jessica and Angela. Of course, Alice would flip if she ever saw me buying anything there so I tended to have Jessica buy me things and I would pay her back.

Walking through it, I saw that my favorite shirt was sitting on the rack. I had been missing it for a few weeks, but didn't think that Alice had actually gotten rid of it. It was stupid, but it was a shirt that my mom got when we had been in Texas when I was five. It was strange, but for some reason that shirt meant more to me than I could ever imagine.

I grabbed that shirt and some other really cute things -- I hid the shirt at the bottom -- before going out to find Alice standing right outside the door, tapping her foot. I ignored her, walking into the Fudge store. If I talked to her, I would start yelling at her for giving away my favorite shirt. She meant nothing harmful by it, but I was so mad at her and I just wanted Peter.

"Bella?" I looked up to see Rosalie. "Alice is standing outside the door. She's saying that if she tries to talk to you, you'll start yelling at her." I just shrugged, knowing that it was true. "What's going on with you?"

"I went to Serenity Thrift Store and found my favorite shirt that Alice had given away there," I snapped, tears threatening to spill. "It's stupid and I've had the shirt for seven years, but I just can't explain it. I just love that shirt."

She sighed and said, "You bought it back then?" I nodded. "I'll make sure Alice doesn't throw away anything without asking you again. Now, let's get you some real food and then we can head back to see that boy of yours."

"Thanks, Rose," I muttered, smiling at her.

The rest of the trip wasn't as peaceful as it had been before. There was more of a hostile vibe between Alice and myself, especially after I found out what she had done. I was beyond mad at her, even though it would probably let up by the time I had to go back to Charlie's place. You just couldn't stay mad at Alice, for long anyways. Although, this was way worse than anything else she had ever done to me before. Maybe I wouldn't forgive her...

As we turned up the drive, even I could hear the snarling and growling that was taking place. I jumped out of the car to see Peter and Edward going at it again, Peter pinning Edward to the ground.

"No, stop!" I cried out, running towards them. "Don't hurt him."

Peter pulled away with a hurt look on his face, while Edward looked triumphant. I had no idea what that was going on, but I ran over to Peter and started to make sure that he was okay. I couldn't believe that Edward had started another fight, but I was just glad that we could get there before Peter was hurt.

"C'mon, Bells," Emmett complained as Peter's arms snaked around my waist. "You just ruined the best fight!"

I glared at him. "Then you fight Edward," I snapped before turning back to Peter. "Did he hurt you?"

That got laughs from everyone except for Edward and myself. "Edward couldn't lay a finger on Peter, Bella," Jasper said, trying to clam everyone down. "You don't have to worry about Peter getting hurt."

"But-"

"I'm okay," Peter quietly said, his chin coming to a rest on the top of my head. "Now, you and I are going to go upstairs and have a little talk about running in between two angry vampires." He turned his attention to Rosalie and Alice. "Did you get them?"

Rosalie nodded and handed him a bag. He took me upstairs and set me on the bed, staring intently at me.

"I know," I sighed, looking away. "Running to vampires is a bad idea. I just didn't want you hurt."

He smiled and kissed my forehead, giving me a content feeling. He wasn't angry with me, he was just worried for my safety. "I will always come home to you, baby girl. Now, I asked Rosalie and the little pixie to get something for you." He pulled out a Palm Pixi Plus and handed it to me. It looked so pretty. "Promise me you will always have this on you."

"But-" I saw his pleading look and sighed. "Fine. I'll keep it on me." I leaned back into him. "Do I have to go home today?"

He smiled at me. "You have school tomorrow and I have a feelin' your father misses you."

"You'll pick me up from school?" I asked, making sure.

He smiled and promised, "Every day." He looked confused for a moment before asking, "Why is Jasper trying to calm Alice down? And why does she think you hate her?"

"She took my shirt," I stated, getting angry at her again. "It was my favorite shirt. I don't know why, but that shirt's always made me feel safe."

"C'mon, let's get you home."

"Thank you for this week, Peter," I muttered, hugging him before slipping my hand in his and walking out to my truck.

Chapter 6

How was I so lucky to be mated to such an amazing girl? I will never know, but I thank whatever God is out there for her.

Unlike Charlotte, who never knew when to stop, my Isabella knew that there were some things that I couldn't talk to her about, yet. Hell, I really didn't want to explain about my time in the South to her even though I knew I would eventually have to. It would be a million times easier if I could have Jasper around so he could explain most of it, he's done it more than I have. In fact, I don't think I've ever explained about the wars down south.

When she asked about my ability, I told her the truth that I knew shit, but I couldn't explain it. Whatever it was wasn't a real ability, it was just something strange that I had been able to do since I could remember. Granted my memories of my human life were fuzzy but I could still predict strange things.

However, my driving her car was the worst point of the day. That thing was going to be scrap metal by the time I was done and she was going to get something that could go more than ten miles an hour. I could always mess with the engine, but I had a feeling that Esme and Carlisle would do me a favor and hide her car until she was vampire enough to help me rebuild the entire engine. I loved to build cars and engines, though Charlotte had always hated that. She always said that it wasn't something a vampire should be doing, but she can go fuck herself now.

Her father, though, was the same as all the fathers of the girls I had been around when I was human. He was just as protective of her as they had been, though I could make sure I worked my southern charm--not to mention vampire charm--on him. He seemed surprised when he found out that I was in the military, though that wasn't exactly true anymore and I would never return. Then again, what he knew couldn't hurt him or reveal that we were vampires.

When Bella left for her room, he turned to me and asked the question I knew too well. "What is your intention with my daughter?"

Somehow, I didn't think that, "I want to fuck her and turn her into a vampire so I can fuck her more," would be a good response so I answered, "Isabella is an amazing girl and I just want to help her to be able to protect herself. I would never dream of harming her in any way."

"How are you related to the Cullen's?"

"Esme isn't my aunt, other than by my father being remarried when I was one and having Jasper and Rosalie a few years later. He was a good man, but my mother was into drugs and things like that. He took me in after my mother was sent to jail. I'm just lucky that Esme let me live with her even if I'm in no way related to her."

"What would you do if Bella were ever harmed in any way?"

My expression turned dead serious. "I assure you, sir, I will never allow her to be harmed. I would die if it meant keeping Isabella safe."

"What about Edward?"

"He's up in Alaska visiting some friends of the family."

"Favorite baseball team?"

I smirked, having the answer from Bella. "Seattle Mariners."

"Good man."

When Bella came downstairs, I told her that I would be out in the car. I could hear her conversation with Charlie and her lie about how Edward was thinking about moving back up to Alaska. I knew that was too much to ask for, but one could still dream. She even made a joke about everything we did being safe, sane, and consensual. My little minx was back to making her dirty jokes.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet until we went up to her new room. She was laying on me again, when she asked, "What did you and my dad talk about?"

"Just guy stuff," I answered, knowing it was true.

"Tell me?" she asked.

I smiled and played with her hair while I explained. "He asked what my intentions were with you. We talked about how I'm related to the Cullen's. He also asked what I would do if you were harmed in any way and what was up with Edward." I breathed her scent in deeply. "Now, what are we going to do about you? Alice told me your birthday's coming up and I wanna know what you want."

"Nothing," she muttered, burying her face into my shirt. "I have everything I want right here."

"How about a trip to Britain? Or a new car? We could also go visit Texas?"

She giggled. "Peter, I don't like people spending money on me." She sighed as I kissed her head. "But I guess for you I could make an exception. Just don't let-"

"BELLA!"

God, that little pixie was fucking irritating at times. She burst in, scaring the shit out of Bella and making her fall off of both myself and the bed, hitting the floor. I growled in warning, telling Alice that she would pay if my mate was in any way hurt.

"Peter, calm down," Bella sighed as she stood up. "I'm fine, just a little surprised." She turned to the fucking pixie. "What's wrong?"

"You won't let any of us spend money on you, but you'll let him?!" She glared at me. "If you can get her a good gift then so can I. I'm not being out done by some guy."

"Alice," Bella groaned as she took her place back on top of me. "He doesn't know any better. Plus, you guys are always buying me clothes and things that I don't need."

I kissed her head, smirking at Alice. "You heard the li'l lady. Now, I suggest you leave before I call your husband." She pouted and sulked off to somewhere else in the house. "Now, tell me what your heart desires, my little Izzy." She turned to stare at me. "What?"

"You just called me Izzy," she stated.

I laughed it off, not wanting her to get suspicious. I wasn't ready to tell her that a few days ago wasn't the first time we met and Alice was doing a good job of hiding that secret as well. I wanted to wait a bit and see if she remembered it on her own. Granted she would be pissed when she found out and I didn't mention it, but that didn't matter. What mattered right now was her happiness.

"That's your name, isn't it?" I asked her. "Izzy Bella?" She giggled. "What?"

"I like you calling me Izzy," she murmured. "I haven't been called that since I was five."

I smiled, playing with her hair as I felt her breathing shallow. "Sleep well, my Izzy Bella."

After she was asleep, I went downstairs to find everyone sitting around. They all smiled when I came into the room; they had all become like the family I had never known after I became a vampire. They had accepted me with open arms, even if I was different from them and didn't follow the same diet.

"Edward's coming home the day after tomorrow," Alice reminded me. "He'll be angry that your scent is all over her."

"He can deal with it," I lazily said as I plopped down on the couch next to her. "Now, what are you planning for my mate's birthday?" She opened her mouth, bouncing up and down when I stated, "Nothing big." She pouted. "You will not go against her wishes, Alice."

Jasper smirked as his wife settled into his chest. He kissed her, trying to cheer her up as he said, "I will personally make sure that Alice doesn't go against her wishes." I nodded a thank you to my brother. "Have you told her about the wars yet? Alice said that she would ask you."

"I was hoping you could help with that," I told him. "I have never had to tell anyone about that." He nodded, assuring me silently that he would help me to explain to my mate about my past. "I know that y'all think of Bella as family, but if that asshole sets one foot too close, I am taking her away."

"We'll keep him away," Alice assured me, smiling. "Remember? I can see the future." I rolled my eyes at that. "Oh come on, Petey. You used to think it was funny."

I smirked at her and replied, "Nah, that laughter was at how some little shrimp could be so annoying and how the major could put up with you for more than thirty seconds." She pouted as Emmett laughed. "Come on, shrimp. You know I love you."

She brightened and said, "Of course you do. Who doesn't?"

That sent everyone laughing. After we recovered, Jasper suggested, "Why don't you go hunt? We'll keep Bella safe for you."

I nodded towards him. "I will in a moment."

I went upstairs and sat on the edge of the bed, moving my mate's hair from her face. She smiled as my fingers grazed her cheek, muttering, "Petey...wanna be...soldier...big."

I was in awe. She was dreaming about the time we first met. I leaned down and kissed her cheek, whispering, "Be good and no running away."

"Kay...Petey."

I smiled, kissing her one last time before disappearing. She was staring to remember. I couldn't wait until we truly were together for the rest of eternity.

Chapter 5

"We're going shopping," Alice told me as I lay on Peter. I was cuddled under a giant fleece blanket, watching Paramore Takeover on Fuse. "Have fun you two and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

I rolled my eyes as Peter snorted at that. I turned back to the television to watch the music video, when Peter grabbed the remote and turned it off. A small growl escaped me... I blame spending too much time with vampires... which got a strange look from him. Seriously, if he was going to deal with me, he was going to have to figure out how crazy I was. There was so much I wanted to ask him, but I didn't want to be the one to bring up everything. I wanted him to tell me more about him, so much I wanted to know. There was just the small fact that I didn't want him to talk about things that he wasn't ready for.

"So now you growl?" he asked. I nodded, smirking at him. "You are full of surprises, Miss Bella." I shrugged, not wanting to move from where I was. For being hard as diamond, he was a very comfortable bed. "What do you wanna know?"

"Where are you from?"

He smiled, kissing my forehead. "I grew up in Dallas, Texas with my parents and two sisters. My father was in the army so we had moved around quite a bit, but that was where I was born and where I left my family to go off on my own before I was turned." I nodded, wanting to know even more about his family. "My sisters were twins, both younger than myself. Their names were Delilah and Serenity."

"How did you meet Jasper?" I asked. "Why does he call you his brother?"

"Jasper was the vampire to change me." His voice was cold now. "Has he told you how he was turned?" I shook my head. Edward hadn't let me be close to Jasper, even though he was my brother just as much as Emmett. "I'll explain later. I've never told anyone before, but I know that he has."

"What's your ability?" He stared down at me. "I mean, everyone brought something from their human life according to Carlisle. What did you bring?"

He grinned at me and answered, "I know shit." That was pure confusing in and of itself. "I can't explain it, I just know shit."

I nodded, knowing that it wasn't something that could be explained. Like trying to figure out what I had ever seen in Edward to think he was good enough for me.

I snuggled into Peter even more as I wondered about my future with the Cullens. Peter was a nomad and he wouldn't want to stay around with my family, but I didn't want to leave them after everything they had done for me. I owed my family so much for everything they had done for me, I had no idea how I would ever repay them.

I groaned as I realized that I had to go home and grab some things from my room that I wanted. There was no way that Peter would let me go without him, but I didn't know how to explain things to Charlie if we found him there. What was I supposed to introduce Peter as when he thought that I was still dating Edward. I also had to let him know that Renee and Phil were coming in for a weekend.

"What's wrong, baby?" he asked as he sat up with me still in his arms.

"I have to run to my dad's house," I explained.

He stood up and, with me still wrapped in the blanket, carried me out to my truck. I didn't know why the keys were in the ignition so I assumed that either I had forgotten them yesterday -- it was totally plausible with what happened yesterday -- or Alice had something to do with it. I gave him directions to the small house as I curled further into the blankets. I knew that I would have to leave them though. Charlie would be confused if he saw me walking in wrapped in blankets.

As Peter pulled up to the house, we both saw the cruiser sitting in the driveway. I groaned, running my fingers through my hair as I tried once again to think of what I was going to say to Charlie. Peter came around to the passenger side and opened the door, helping me out. He wrapped his arms around my waist, placing his chin on my head as we walked. It was uncomfortable, partially because he was, like, a foot taller than me.

"That you, Bells?" Charlie asked as we walked in, me pulling away.

"Yeah, Dad," I called back, leading Peter into the living room to find Charlie in front of the television. "Dad, this is Peter."

Charlie looked up, surveying Peter, which made me blush. "Hello, sir," Peter said, smiling at him. "Heard a lot about you from this pretty li'l lady."

"And you are?" Charlie asked.

Peter laughed. "Esme Cullen is my aunt. She offered me a place to stay while I was on leave from the military."

That got Charlie's attention, as well as mine. So he had been a soldier at one time; his voice was too level for him to even have a chance of lying.

"He's Jasper and Rosalie's older half-brother," I spoke up, feeling the lie coming out naturally. "He's been teaching me how to defend myself." Okay, so that second part was a full-blown lie, but he has shown me how far he's willing to go to protect me. "Oh, I'll be back. I need to go grab some things from upstairs."

As I went upstairs, I could hear Charlie interrogating Peter, but he seemed to be liking Peter better than Edward. I shoved a few things into a bag and went back downstairs to heard Charlie and Peter discussing sports. I groaned, having the feeling that I would be watching quite a bit of sports with Peter in the long run.

"So, Edward's visiting family?" Charlie asked.

I nodded. "He's actually considering moving there," I explained. "We've broken up anyways. The only reason I'm still hanging out with the Cullens is because of Alice."

"I'll be in the car," Peter told me, walking out.

I groaned, getting the feeling that he knew something. "You're going to be safe, right?" Charlie asked, making me look at him in shock. "Bella, I know that boy likes you. Are you okay with him in the military?"

"He makes me happy, Dad," I said, smiling softly. "He's so sweet and protective. I really don't mind moving around with him if he wants to be in the army."

"He seems like a good guy and much better than Edwin." I giggled at that. "Just be careful, alright? Don't do anything that's not safe."

I smiled and admitted, "Peter's not that kind of guy. I promise, if anything happens, it will be safe, sane, and consensual." Charlie groaned, shaking his head. "I'm joking, Dad. I'll see you later."

I ran outside to the truck to find Peter leaning against it. I giggled and kissed him on the cheek before getting in. He closed the door and walked around to the other side, climbing in and heading back to the Cullen's house.

"Safe, sane and consensual, huh?" he asked, making me blush. "Hey, I'm willing to try anythin' with you, m'dear." My blush deepened. "Now, what did we have to grab from your house?"

"Just some...uh...things." I really didn't want him to know what I needed to get. He pulled over and grabbed my bag, pulling out things from it. There was a photo album, my iPod, and -- god, why did he have to go through my bag -- a box of tampons. He grinned at me, a shit-eating grin that made me blush beyond control. Seriously, he couldn't have just let me have my privacy?

We pulled back up to the house just as the others were getting back from a hunting trip. Alice ran over and pulled me up to her room, my bag in her hands. We sat down on the bed as she said, "Charlie likes him a lot." I nodded, biting my lip. "He thinks you would be better with a military man than with Edward. Plus, in my opinion, military men know how to do some pretty-"

"Alice," I squealed, diving under the pillows so I wouldn't have to hear this. "I really don't want to hear this."

"I have a question though," she said. "What did you go by when you were five? Bella? Isabella?"

"Um, Izzy," I answered, looking down. "I went by Izzy until my grandmother passed away when I was seven." I eyed her. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," she answered, looking suspiciously like she knew something. "Peter, stay out of Bella's stuff!"

He grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it, Pixie." He held his hand out towards me. "Now, Esme's cooking some nice food for you. Why don't we head down there and you can have lunch."

I nodded, smiling. There was something that both Peter and Alice were keeping from me and I was determined to find out what it was.