Bella's power - fanfiction author (100 books to read .txt) 📗

as if I was the elephant in the room. Esme reached across the table and put a comforting hand on my arm.
"How's your father, Bella?" she asked. Alice looked daggers at her, obviously frustrated that she was prolonging the meal.
"He's good, thanks. Although he won't be feasting like this." I indicated all the wonderful food. "I left him some of yesterday's lasagne."
"I'll make sure to pack up the leftovers for him, then," she promised.
"Aw, Mom," Emmett whined.
Esme frowned at him and carried on. "We're not going to eat it now, are we?" Emmett looked crestfallen, and Edward was chuckling right by my ear.
"What's funny?" I asked him.
"Emmett had plans for a food fight," he whispered, although everyone could hear.
"I'm sure I can sort something." I winked at Emmett, and he waved his hand at me.
"High five!" he called.
"Back at ya," I replied, waving my hand.
"Please don't encourage him."
"Trust me, Esme—I won't let them make a mess. With my rules, you won't even know it happened."
Esme smiled. "I'll leave it in your capable hands then."
"Way to go, Sparky!" Emmett shouted, punching the air. Rosalie had sat up in her chair as Emmett was bouncing up and down in his.
"Appreciated, Socket!" I returned.
Carlisle put his hand up in a bad attempt at hiding a snicker. "Sparky and Socket?" he questioned. "Explain please."
"Bella's Sparky because she zaps us with electricity and great ideas," Emmett began.
"And Emmett's Socket because when he high fives me, it's like electricity going in the socket, and he can 'sock it' to you," I finished.
"I never knew you were so deep, Emmett." Edward seemed impressed. "Got any more nicknames?"
I rolled my eyes. "Obviously, Alice is Wired." Everyone laughed, and Emmett piped up. "So that makes Jasper the Earth, keeping us all grounded." I was about to say something, when Alice interrupted.
"Bella, eat! I got this one. Edward is the Control Box, and Rosalie the Transformer."
When I was so full that I was in danger of not fitting into my own clothes, we all carried a few of the plates out to the kitchen.
"Esme, this is all so tasty," I said as I helped her pack up some salads. "But I'm afraid Charlie's not much of a fruit eater, and it will go off very quickly. If you don't mind I'll only take one tub of the fruit home. The rest we can divide up for the boys."
"I guess I got carried away—everything was so colourful." Esme disclosed. "Too much for one little girl, Bella?"
"Way too much," I laughed. "Try dividing by about ten, though I'm not complaining." Everything was packed away, apart from the three plates of fruit for the boys. Alice was dancing from one foot to the other impatiently, and Emmett was bouncing as he hovered nearer the ammunition.
"Can we start already," Jasper pleaded, with a silly grin on his face and jigging about. "I can't take much more of this."
"Okay, everyone grab a plate." I sent Edward out to hide and ambush the other two, telling him his mind reading made it even. Then Jasper and Emmett went to try and surprise him. They had to keep it outside, and the one who was messiest had to wash all the clothes for losing.
"Now, can we get back to the main event?"
"Of course, Alice. I'm all yours."
"And mine," said Rosalie, with an evil laugh and hands full of nail varnishes.
The thought of Rosalie anywhere near me was intimidating, but I was blushing at the idea of her holding my hands steady to apply varnish. "I…um. I don't…er," I stuttered. "One hand at a time?" I squeaked.
Carlisle appeared by my side. "Relax, Bella," he said, with a comforting squeeze of my shoulder. "Here, I brought these home."
I took the box he offered, and sighed in relief. "Thank you." I smiled at him gratefully. "These are for you two," I said, handing the latex gloves to Alice.
As Alice took them, she grabbed my hand. "Come on, then," she trilled and led me to her enormous bathroom. It looked more like a salon, laid out with bottles, tubs, and tubes in every size and colour.
I was given the fastest manicure and pedicure in history. "That will have to do until we can get you to a proper spa," Alice said. I was then man-handled into her bedroom, and dressed in one outfit after another while Alice made a mental note of which colours and styles suited me. Rosalie whipped accessories on and off me so fast I felt dizzy.
Having found a pair of skinny jeans and a purple camisole top that satisfied her, Alice dragged me back to the bathroom to do my makeup. Meanwhile, Rosalie painted my toe nails deep purple and my finger nails a shimmering mauve. After trawling through box after box of designer shoes, and arguing about heel heights, we settled on a pair of low ankle boots.
The climax of the evening was parading me downstairs to where the boys were playing on the X-box. Thankfully, only Edward seemed more than vaguely interested.
Jasper, who had been watching the game, gave an appreciative nod. "Nice," he said, diving for the controller that Edward had just dropped.
Emmett waved. "Hi, Bella," he boomed, not taking his eyes off the screen.
Having dropped the controller, Edward stared dumbstruck before letting out a low whistle. "Alice, Rosalie, I think you have monopolised Miss Swan for far too long." He swept me into his arms, kissed me, and ran up to his room.
Before long, it was time to go. The whole family gathered to see me off—I think Esme had unplugged the X-box.
I thanked Alice and Rosalie for the make-over. "We'll have to do it again sometime," I said, thinking that next year would be soon enough.
"Sure, Bella." Alice smiled sweetly. "As soon as we fix you up with some decent underwear." I wasn't sure if I was more embarrassed that she implied my underwear was substandard, or that she'd mentioned it in front of the others.
"Next time, stay overnight and we can give you the works," Rosalie told me. I was too afraid to wonder what "the works" might be.
I felt unusually calm about the whole idea, and then caught Jasper's eye as he smiled shyly beside Alice. "See you at school tomorrow, Bella," he muttered.
Esme and Carlisle had loaded the tubs of food into Edward's Volvo. They each hugged me on their way back indoors. "Come again soon," Carlisle said, and I thanked Esme for dinner.
My feet left the ground when Emmett grabbed me for a hug. "Gimme a kiss goodbye, Sparky," he chortled. What the heck, I thought, and planted a kiss on his cheek. He giggled like a big kid being tickled, until Edward led me away and Rosalie smacked him upside the head.
As Edward drove me home, I reflected on what I had learned about the whole electricity thing. It didn't amount to much, but I'd had a pleasant if exhausting evening.
.


I slept on it and mulled things over. On Friday morning, I was leaving Trig when I decided I had to go and see Carlisle. I made a detour on the way to Spanish to pick up a text book from my locker, when Alice came up and gave me a hug.
"It'll be just fine, Bella." It took me a moment to realise that she meant my talk with Carlisle. "The others are leaving at lunch to hunt, so Edward will make it back by tomorrow evening," she continued. "He's sorry he won't get the chance to say 'goodbye', but he'll see you when we get back from Seattle. Carlisle will be at the hospital until around six if you want privacy."
"Thanks, Alice." I hugged her back. Seeing Carlisle at the hospital was a good idea. Anyone at their house would be able to hear our conversation.
"Come and sit with me at lunch or I'll be on my own," she urged.
I joined Alice in the cafeteria. She was supposed to have gone hunting nearby with Rosalie and Esme, but Alice told me that she had cried off when I decided to visit Carlisle, so Rosalie and Esme had gone with the boys.
By the end of Biology, I had decided to skip Gym and go straight to the hospital. I informed Coach Clapp that I needed to see Dr. Cullen about a personal matter. Not being a good liar, sticking to the truth as far as possible was best. I drove to Forks Hospital as soon as I was given leave to go.
I went straight to Carlisle's office and asked to see him. The receptionist called him, and said he would see me, but I might have a bit of a wait.
When Carlisle finally appeared, he took a few steps toward me. "Bella," he said, holding his arm out and shepherding me into his room. He followed very close behind, managing not to touch me at all. As the door closed, I gave him a questioning glance. "I've become very good at protecting my personal space," he explained. "We can't risk touching humans. I assume that you're here about such contact?"
"Yes. I was wondering what you made of it?"
"I've thought about it a lot. I do have to touch humans from time to time, of course, but I have never had any reaction at all. Until you." Carlisle motioned for me to sit down. "I have been concerned that your heart rate appears to increase, and may go up further with increased skin contact—that is, with the intensity of the electricity."
"Oh." I looked down, blushing slightly.
"You know something about that?" he asked.
"Maybe." I hesitated. "It's…embarrassing."
"Because I'm Edward's father?"
"Well, kind of—yes."
Carlisle settled into the chair on his side of the desk. "Bella, I'm also a doctor who lives amongst a lot of teenage hormones…and Emmett." I giggled at that.
I continued. "You know when I shook your hand?" Carlisle nodded. "Edward was angry because he thought it was something between us. When Edward touches me, kisses me, I get a…umm…reaction."
"Perfectly normal." Carlisle reached across the desk to pat my arm in support.
"Yeah." I screwed my face up, recalling that first meeting. Carlisle could pat my arm all he liked, it would not lessen the humiliation. When I looked back at it, I was if anything, more embarrassed now that I was sure what had happened. "I thought that was just Edward and me."
"And it's not?" He leaned nearer, eager for the facts.
"No." I began reluctantly. My hands had moved to my lap, where my fingers were twisting and fidgeting. I lowered my head and watched them, wishing the conversation was over. At last, in a small voice, I told him, "It happens with all of you…even the girls."
"I see." Carlisle leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and brought his fingertips together. "That's a bit of a relief."
"It is?" I asked in surprise, looking up. He gazed back expectantly, until it dawned on me. "You knew, didn't you?" I accused.
"Yes, we knew. We could only imagine that it was the effect Edward was having on you."
"I had my suspicions," I admitted. "But how?"
"Our senses are heightened," Carlisle explained. "Not just our hearing and sight, but smell, too."
"Oh, God," I groaned and buried my face in my arms. This was worse than I had ever imagined. How would I look any of them in the face again?
"Bella," Carlisle said softly. "If you can get past the embarrassment, I would like to test our theories, and explore them further. Is that something you'd like to do?"
I peered sheepishly at Carlisle, and