chapter 5 the agreement

How Bella was able to get home after that remained a mystery to her. By the time she did get home, the snow had fallen to the point of sprinkling in her hair and upon her shoulders like powdered sugar. There were small portions of it along the ground, and her breath made tiny clouds as it left her lips. She opened the door to see that Charlie was just in the middle of dialing a number. No doubt it was her own. He smiled. "There you are," he said lightly, hanging it up. "I was afraid you got lost." Bella just traveled past him in a trance, her heart still refusing to calm. He blinked and put a hand on her shoulder. Still in a jittery state, she jumped at the contact, turning wide eyes to him. He gave her a worried look. "Are... are you ok?"

"What?" she said, her voice higher then normal. "O-oh... y-yes. Yes, fine, good, fine..." She nodded, rubbing her cold hands together. "Y-yeah... good..."

"Um..." Charlie scratched his head. "Well dinner's ready if you're hungry..."

"Hungry?" Bella squeaked, what little color she had in her face draining. She put her hands on either side of her forehead, her legs like jelly.

"Bells, what is wrong?" He took a hold of her shoulders. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Bella laughed weakly, fear still lacing through her tone. "Yeah... um... yeah..." She shut her eyes, trying to recall her voice to its regular tenor. "Um... I'm... tired. I'm going to bed..." Turning, she walked up the stairs and laid down along her bed, pulling her pillow close to her. Her eyes went to the window. In a quick motion, she got up and shut it, locking it tightly. She let herself breathe, fogging up her cold window. Her mind filled with questions. Did she just see what she thought she saw? It felt real... Her skin had pimpled from the cold and the fear. She ran a hand along her neck and pulled it back, looking at the sweat which glossed along the tips of her fingers. This was definitely real. But how could it be? She gripped her head, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. How in the world could it be real? There was no such thing... as vampires... right? Just thinking the word made Bella shiver. She didn't want to consider the possibility, but what else could she have been? Not a normal, human girl, that was for sure. She sat on the edge of her mattress, gripping herself weakly. This couldn't be happening. She tried to shut her eyes, but all she saw was Edythe's demonic face, her lips iced with red.

Demons...

A thought came to her. She went to her laptop and sat down, flipping it open. It took a while for her to get a wifi connection, but she soon was on the internet. She typed in "white demon quileute" and hit search. After a moment or two, it loaded, a few sites came up, only a few looking legitimate. She clicked on one and waited for it to load. Once it did, she saw a photo of a painting that looked similar to the painting that she saw at James Island. Demented and terrifying, fangs pointed and ready to bite. Beneath it was a small caption that told of where it was found. Beneath that, an article sat. She began to read.

"The White Demons" of the Quileute Tribe

The natives of North America have always been known for their

spiritual beliefs and unique take on nature and life. However,

a certain myth of the Quileute Tribe of Washington seems to be not so original.

The "white demon", a monster which plagues the

healthy and innocent, has often been compared to vampire lore of

Europe and even Asia. Though there are some who simply compare

the white demon to the European settlers, the behavior of the legendary beasts

are much more similar to Dracula and Lilith, rather then Columbus and

Amerigo Vespucci. Only coming out at night, the white demon feeds

gradually, causing once healthy men and women to become weak and

lethargic, even ill. Many times, the white demon is depicted as a nude,

ogre like creature, with large teeth, usually surrounded by red, thought

to symbolize blood. The first appearance of these white demons is

unknown, however many accounts of their nature are estimated to be

around the seventeen hundreds and onward. Today, the white demon

is thought to be nothing but pure myth, except for those who still

believe whole heartedly in the old, Quileute myths.

Bella put her fingertips to her mouth. So she was right... After all, what else could she explain what she saw? She fell back in her chair, staring at the screen as it hummed at her pure astonishment. After sitting there for God only knew how long... she finally decided to stand. Her legs creaked in agony, and she noticed that her foot had fallen asleep. With a huff, she sat on her bed and took her shoes off, rubbing her tingling foot. She looked out the window to watch as the snowflakes drifted past her window. Things were going to be much different now. But she would keep her word and not tell anyone else about that night in the forest. If anything, it was to save her own life.

Upon waking up that morning, she found her actions to be quite sluggish. Her mind, on the other hand, was whizzing at a hundred miles an hour, trying to think of different excuses to get herself out of going to school that day. Perhaps she could feign illness? Charlie had already left... She could call him at the station and put on a raspy voice. However... knowing her father, he would probably rush home to take care of her. And once he realized that she wasn't actually sick, he would be a little more then cross with her. Maybe she could just skip first period? Blame her tardiness on the snow? But Charlie mentioned that he'd be putting snow chains on her tires for the winter. So that excuse was also invalid. After coming up with idea after idea, she finally came to the dreaded conclusion that she would have no choice but to return to her high school, well aware that her lab partner could eat her at any given moment.

After getting rid of several mental pictures she simply didn't want, Bella dressed warmly and went out to the driveway, the snow crunching below her boots. She paused at the truck to merely observe it. It was soft, the light of the sun peeping through the overcast clouds. Her breath warmed the inside of her lips, her entire face going cold instantly. She knelt beside the frost and pushed down. The ice attached itself to her glove, squishing loudly with the push of her hand. Snow was strange to her. She scooped a bit up and held it in her palm. It wasn't quite as fluffy as it appeared on television. It was more crystalized, little splotches of miniscule color being reflected by the light. After looking at it a bit more, she tossed it to the ground, brushing off her gloves. She let the truck warm up a bit before pulling out and heading to school. As she drove away from her home, she kept her eyes on the sheet of pure white. She imagined just how deep a blotch of bright red could stain such an innocent color. Shaking her head, she continued onward, a subtle panic rising within her chest. She kept it subdued, though barely, as she threw on her backpack and tried hard not to slip as she walked.

Bella met up with Angela, one of the girls she met on her first day. It had taken her a while to learn her name, but she was able to after a while. Angela was a bit on the quiet side. It was a trait Bella was grateful for on such a tense day. Had she met with her math neighbor, no doubt the questions would never end. Thankfully, Jessica was too busy that morning with her tongue down Mike's throat to notice Bella's arrival. Things seemed to be normal, and her anxiety settled. At least, until the first bell rang, sending her nervousness whizzing into the full blown terror she felt the night before. She calmed herself with a breath and she and Mike walked to class together. Bella felt a bit safer if she was with someone, rather then walk alone. She allowed Mike to ramble on about something, but she couldn't exactly pay attention. Finally, she stepped into Biology. Her eyes immediately went to her table. Sitting there, draped in black as usual, was Edythe Cullen. Waiting for her.

For a moment, she couldn't walk. Her entire body trembled under the icy glare of the creature mere feet away. She moved only when she was forced by Mr. Tesler's voice, telling everyone to sit down. She made her way to her seat and focused on shuffling papers around in her backpack. Edythe was silent. It was something that Bella had come to be used to, but this silence was different. She was waiting. Waiting for her to do something. To say something or make some kind of move. However, she couldn't think to do anything but sit there and pray that she didn't attack her after class. She hunched her shoulders up, guarding her neck as she stared at the table, blankly. She had to ball her hands into fists just to keep them from shaking. She just had to get through one period. Just one period... just one...

"Hey."

Without warning, Bella jumped two feet in the air, actually falling to the floor. In the process, she brought along with her all of her work that she had laid on the table, knocking over the chair as well. Her head hit the ground with a large "thud!" and for a brief moment, she saw stars. When her hearing was turned back on, she could detect the clamoring of a few students to make sure she was ok. She nodded and got to her wobbly legs. Her eyes – with a will of their own – fell to Edythe. She had a look on her face that almost pointed her out to be the non-human, rather then herself. She apologized for interrupting class and sat down, putting her forehead to the table in embarrassment. Damn her nerves...

She felt something poke her shoulder. Instead of jumping, she just looked up, her hair blocking some of her vision. In her frenzy that morning, she had forgot to put it in a pony tail. Besides, letting it down kept her neck warm. Edythe folded her arms and let them rest on the table, frowning at her. "Good God you're jumpy..." She still clutched her hands together tightly, her eyes drawn downward.

"Can you blame me...?" she said in a small voice. There was a tense silence in between them. For a small, fleeting moment, Bella felt as though she was in a position of power. As though she had something on her. When she turned to look her in the eye, however, she realized it was a false feeling; she gave her a blazing look that would freeze over Hell. She quickly averted her gaze, going back to her submission.

"No," she said finally, her voice much lower. Again, another silence followed. "Did you tell your father?" Bella quickly shook her head. "Any of your friends?" Once more, she replied no. "Good." Bella spared a few glances to her before plucking up the courage to speak once more.

"S-so... you're a..." Her voice fell considerably. "...a vampire... aren't you?"

"You could say that," she answered vaguely.

Bella turned to look at her, heart pounding. "Are you or aren't you?" She locked their eyes for a moment. Bella noticed that they were a strange, murky golden color. She had never detected this before, as her eyes always seemed to be hidden beneath her hood.

"Yes," she said finally, turning away. Bella did the same, and once more, a silence followed. "If my father finds out that you know..."

Bella perked. "Father...?" She turned back to her, but she remained still. "Y-you mean... Dr. Cullen... right?" Still, she didn't move. Bella's mind began to run wild. If Edythe could take out a full grown, healthy deer with out even causing it alarm, what exactly could her father do? She shuttered at the thought. "He doesn't have to know," she said quickly. She didn't want a full grown vampire angry with her. A teenaged one was bad enough.

"It was bad enough keeping last night from him," answered Edythe with a sniff. "Are you suggesting that I lie?"

"No..." Bella fidgeted. "Just... omit the truth. That's different, right?"

"It's the same thing as lying," Edythe clarified.

"Then I'm lying too..." She fiddled with her jacket. "If... If I can lie to my father, you can lie to yours. Deal?" Edythe cocked an eyebrow, her jaw tightening.

"What? Are you making demands now?" she spat lowly. Though Bella was absolutely terrified by her angry expression, she took a breath and nodded.

"Yes... You don't want me to tell anyone, right? So... so don't tell Dr. Cullen that I know..." Her tone became pleading. "Please... Let's... just keep this our little secret. Ok?" Again, a pause followed. This time, they kept eye contact. Finally, Edythe huffed and leaned against the chair.

"Fine. Deal." She closed her eyes and mouth, arms still crossed along her chest. Bella shifted. She was still deathly afraid of her, but some how, it had loosened a bit since that morning.

"I do have one question..." She opened one eye to her. She hesitated, but continued onward. "Why were you... naked?" She turned to her, looking as though she had asked a very obvious question.

"My clothes get stained otherwise," she said flatly. Bella blinked.

"Oh." It made sense.

"Now is that all?" she inquired. Bella nodded, and the two went back to their silence. How strange... It was their first real conversation, and it hadn't gone in any way Bella had predicted. The brunette sighed and propped her chin on the table.

This was going to be a very long school year.