31. Unstable Emotions

EPOV

Well, now I know why she freaked out on me. I am a little frustrated though, because I made it very clear to her that I didn’t have any goddamn purity knives. Does she not completely trust me yet? It is still fairly early in our relationship…


Oh well.


Trust will take time with my little one, and I can only hope that through my chosen methods of discipline for her, she will soon come to realize that she doesn’t have to be so damn scared all the time.


I spanked her yesterday, and now that I think about it, it was almost as if she was expecting something worse, then, as well. I was finished after five quick swats, yet she still lay across my lap…crying and waiting for more. I had to pick her up and hold her to me to get her to realize that it was over and that she was forgiven. After that, she seemed to relax and even fell asleep for a nap, allowing me to leave for a much needed hunting trip.


But…maybe there is something good that can come out of all of this.


Every time that I have to correct her behavior, it can turn into a positive experience in the end, when she realizes that she made it through her punishment unscathed. No cuts, no burns, no piercing of fucking anything, and no sexual abuse.


So, everytime that she gets her little butt into trouble in the future, and the inevitable tears begin to fall and that pitiful pleading starts, I‘ll just stay focused on that little fact…about how my consistency will have a positive effect in the end. It’ll just serve to power my resolve and give me some of that damn will power that I am lacking at the moment, because Lord knows I fucking need it. As of right now, I can’t even imagine having to spank her again.


But…I’m not stupid and I know that my hope of her never needing it again is very unrealistic. It hasn’t even been a week yet, and she is still learning and still testing me at every turn, which is completely normal. It is expected of her right now…testing limits is a common way for children to learn where their boundaries lie. I mean, even I know that. So during this period of time, I just have to ride it out…let her do her thing while I do my part in this relationship and stay firm and fucking consistent, providing her with a sense of security and unconditional love.


I don’t know…maybe there will be a time when I can retire my ‘stern-face’ with her, but I know that the time is definitely not anywhere in the near future. Isabella is a very stubborn girl, really only just beginning to display the odd behaviors of an abused child. And she finds absolutely nothing wrong with broadcasting her learned, but ignorant prejudices without a second thought to the possible consequences. It would also appear that she is a very mischievous little girl…and a very capable liar. These facts worry me and cause me to feel more like a new father every damn day.


As I sit and watch Isabella finish her lunch, I can’t help but notice the subtle sense of relief that she is still displaying, at making it out of the first time out I had given her unharmed. Seeing her relief, gives me relief, but at the same time, it also concerns me.


I mean, if she’s always expecting a greater punishment then the ones I give her, will she eventually think that I am going easy on her? When, in fact, all I am doing is refraining from abusing her.


But I am also relieved because I know that with time and trust, she will come to realize that she has nothing to fear with me…and that I would never hurt her.


“Edward?”


“Yes?”


She held out her last apple slice to me in offering.


“You eat it…”


I shook my head. “No, Isabella. You eat it.”


She cocked her head to the side a bit, still holding out the apple to me. “But what will you eat?” she asked curiously.


“I’ll be fine, baby girl. I’m not hungry,” I assured her.


She shook her head. “Me either, Edward. I’m full. My tummy‘s gonna burst if I eat it,” she informed me matter-of-factly.


I looked down at her plate, only to find that she had finished ¾ of that odd sandwich, and half of the teddy grahams I had put on the plate. She had also eaten two apple slices and her juice box was empty.


Why is it that my Bella can only eat what a small child would eat? Why is Bella’s body ‘full’ after so little food consumption?


This train of thought begins to concern me, but all too soon, Isabella’s whining interrupts my reverie.


“Edwaaaard…”


She was sitting up on her knees in her chair now, leaning across the table toward me…still holding out that damn apple slice. An apple slice that my instincts were telling me she needs to eat. My eyes zeroed in on that thin arm currently in front of me.


My Bella’s body needs more food…needs nourishment.


“Isabella, eat the apple slice.”


She shook her head. “No, don’t wanna…”


“Eat it, and then we’ll see about playing outside,” I suggested in a persuasive tone.


“But my Edward, I’m full…” she insisted with a small pout.


“Baby girl, please just eat it. It’s healthy for you…has lotts of vitamins that can make that ucky sick feeling go away,” I told her softly.


She shook her head.


See? Fucking stubborn.


“Isabella, don’t tell me no. Finish your fruit,” I insisted firmly.


When she just stared at me, I added in a softer tone, “Now, sweetheart.”


She started to basically dangle the apple slice in front of my face, then. Side to side, back and forth.


She gave me a small smile.


“You want it? It’s yummy…” she said in a light persuading tone.


I smiled back, but kept up my argument.


“If it’s so yummy, then why won’t you eat it?”


She stopped moving the apple slice, then shook her head. “Mm-mm,” she muttered with a determined look in her eye.


My eyes quickly scanned her leaned over form. “Isabella, you’re in the perfect position for a spankin, did you know that?” I told her lightly with the same small smile, but my eyes had hardened, betraying my relaxed posture and soft tone.


I was getting…angry.


She sucked on her bottom lip for four seconds before she found the subtle threat in my words, causing her to finally bring the apple slice to her mouth.


“I’m full,” she told me with a mouth full of apple.


I relaxed a bit at her chewing.


“Well then, I guess it’s a good thing that I’m only making you finish the one apple slice and not the whole damn plate, huh…” I trailed off suggestively.


She looked down at her plate and nodded. “Yah-huh…very good,” she agreed.


After a second, she swallowed and smiled. “All done.”


I nodded at her accomplishment with the small apple slice, and refrained from rolling my eyes. She really needed to eat more than that, but I wasn’t going to push it. If she really was full, then eating more would just make her get sick and cause her to vomit, and that was the opposite of what I was trying to achieve. So I decided to just play it safe and leave it alone. She would be eating more at dinner, though.


I knew that she wanted to play outside. It was a beautiful day, and she was wearing that pretty sundress. I bet she wanted to swing on her new swing, since she hadn’t gotten a chance to yet.


“How do you feel, baby girl?” I asked in concern.


“Edward, I wanna play,” she informed me.


I nodded. “I know, but how do you feel?”


She shrugged delicately and got up from her chair. “I’m feelin okay,” she said lightly.


Okay? What the fuck does ‘okay’ mean, anyway?


“Come here.”


I stood from my chair as she walked around the table over to me. When she was standing in front of me, I kissed her forehead, checking for that fever. It was still slightly there, but I could tell that the medicine was starting to work, beginning the process of keeping it under control.


“You still have a fever, baby, but maybe we can go play outside in a little bit,” I suggested.


I figured that I could recheck her in about ten minutes. I was almost positive that the fever would be gone by then, and we’d be good to go outside so that she could play on her new swing, or bounce around a bit on the trampoline. She might even want to draw with her chalk again…or play with the balls.


“But how come we can’t play now, Edward?” she asked.


“Because-”


“I wanna play now,” she informed me.


I nodded at her statement, before repeating myself.


“I know that, but I said no because of your fever. Maybe in a little bit, when the fever goes away, we can go outside.”


“But Edwaaaard…” she whined.


My eyes flashed with anger at the annoying sound of it. I quickly reached behind her and swatted her ass.


She gasped. “Owwie…”


I slowly shook my head and slightly glared at her, silently telling her that she should know better by now, then to whine like that...just because she wasn’t getting her way.


“Go upstairs and stop whining,” I told her firmly, then gritted my teeth and sighed through my sudden flare of irritation. In a lighter tone, I added, “Why don’t you draw me a pretty picture on your Doodle toy and when you’re done, I’ll see if that fever is gone, okay? If it is, we can go outside,” I suggested.


She sniffled, then said in a sad voice, “Okay…”


She turned to go upstairs then, so I picked up her plate and took it to the kitchen. I thought about how I felt like my temper was slightly out of control right now.


Where the fuck is Jasper when I need him?


I had just spanked Isabella a minute ago without any hesitation, or a second thought. Granted, she did break one of her rules with that god awful whining that makes me want to climb the fucking walls when I hear it, but usually, I think through that kind of thing a bit more. I don’t just act on a whim like that. Maybe it’s just the stress of today…along with this past week.


I shrugged it off and threw away the left over food from her lunch, then washed the plate and put it back in the cabinet. After I wiped some crumbs off the dining table and kitchen counter, I went back upstairs.


Half way up the steps, I found that Isabella had figured out how to use my stereo system. Bella’s Eminem CD had begun to play.


“Cleanin’ Out My Closet’ was blaring through the speakers when I opened the bedroom door.


Isabella sat on the hardwood floor. Her back was leaning up against the side of our bed, and she had that MagnaDoodle laying in her lap. She sang, or…talked, along with the words of the song while her hand worked skillfully on the pink, juvenile toy. She kept moving the button across the screen to erase her pictures, then she’d start right back up again.


While I waited for her to finish her assigned picture, I lay on the bed, stared up at the ceiling, and tried to reign in my newfound feelings of anger and irritation. I placated myself in thinking that it really was most likely just from stress.


The songs “Evil Deeds’, ‘Criminal’, ‘Kill You’, ‘Marshall Mathers’, ‘The Way I Am’ and ‘Who Knew’ played through before Isabella finally showed me what she had drawn. It also didn’t escape my notice, and it blew my fucking mind, that Isabella knew all the lyrics to those violent songs. Profanity, prejudice slurs, and all.


So…it would appear that Isabella likes Korn and Eminem. Not exactly little-girl-friendly music. I wonder what she would do if I told her that she couldn’t listen to that crap anymore. I decided to leave that conversation for another day as I looked at the picture she had drawn on her MagnaDoodle.


It was a simple drawing of the tire swing outside. She obviously wanted to go play and swing on it.


As ‘Superman’ began blaring through the speakers, I turned the volume down and told her to stand up.


“C’mere, baby…let’s see about that fever,” I told her as I walked over to her.


I pressed my lips to her forehead and smiled against her skin when I found that I was right and her fever was, in fact, gone. She smiled and kissed my cheek as I informed her that she could go play outside now. I followed her as she skipped downstairs and yelled for her to be careful as she practically bolted out the door, heading straight for that tire swing.


I smiled, knowing that I was taking excellent care of her wants and needs. I was spoiling her…that was a given and blatantly obvious, but I didn’t give a damn. Bella won’t let me buy things for her, so I have begun doting on Marie and Isabella as much as possible.


It's so satisfying, and I love doing it. Everytime I think of an opportunity to buy something that they might want or need, I smile. No, that’s a lie…I get a big ass goofy grin on my face. Isabella could have anything she wanted, she just had to ask for it…hence, the teddy bear that will be arriving with Alice in a little while.


I believe Fuzzy bear will be his name.


Fucking adorable.


I walked outside at a human pace and sat down, keeping my eye on Isabella. We had plenty of lawn furniture out here now and I had chosen to sit on the porch swing. All this furniture just went along with the basketball setup, trampoline and tire swing that we had out here now. Apparently, it made the area look ‘inviting’, as Esme had put it. If my girl ever wanted to have lunch out here on a nice day, then she could, because there was a plastic table with chairs out here too.


Isabella climbed onto the tire swing and stood on it, keeping a tight grip on the rope as she started to subtly lean back and forth, making the swing begin to move with her slight body weight.


“Edward!”


“What?”


“Push me…” she pleaded.


I shook my head a little. “Only if you sit your little tushy down on that tire, Isabella. I’m not going to push you while you’re standing on it,” I told her.


“Kay,” she said quickly, then carefully squatted down before putting both her legs through the middle of the tire, allowing her to sit on the rubber surface of the swing.


I walked over to her and stepped behind the swing. I grabbed both her hands in mine, then wrapped her palms around the tightly bound rope, located at both her sides.


“Hang onto these, Isabella,” I cautioned her.


“Wanna go high, Edward,” she told me excitedly, while bouncing in place on the seat a bit.


I chuckled at her eagerness. She was so cute.


I placed my hands above where hers were located on the ropes, and kissed the top of her head, before pushing the swing forward a bit. After a minute, she got some good momentum going and started twisting around a bit, keeping her satisfied with how ‘high’ she was going. It wasn’t really that she was swinging high, or anything, more like she was just going around in big circles at a fairly fast rate. When she started twisting around, she would giggle, and, as always, my ears delighted in the sound of it.


I smiled, but wondered how she wasn’t getting dizzy at all the circular motions. I mean, she is kind of sick right now…


“Isabella?” Alice’s voice came from the back door.


We both looked in the direction of a smiling Alice, who was holding up a brown teddy bear. I watched when Isabella’s eyes got wide and sparkled with amusement as she squealed in a very Alice-like manner, making both me and Alice laugh.


“My Fuzzy bear!!” she squeaked excitedly.


I chuckled. “He’s here…” I informed her softly.


“Edward, I want down…want down, now,” she said in a rushed voice, keeping her eyes intently trained on Alice and her new bear.


I reached out for the ropes to still the swing. “Okay, baby.”


Once the tire was still, I dropped another kiss to the top of her head. She hurriedly slid down off the side of the swing, then grabbed my hand and started dragging me toward the back porch where Alice was still standing with the stuffed bear.


When we arrived over by Alice, Isabella was suddenly very shy and hid half her body behind my arm. She pressed her cheek into my bicep and gave Alice a small smile.


“Hi, Ali…” she said shyly in almost a whisper. Her intent stare drifted from Alice, over to the soft toy in Alice arms, then.


“Hello, Isabella,” Alice responded with a smile that barely contained her vibrating excitement at the fact that Isabella was actually speaking to her.


Isabella pointed a hesitant finger at the bear. “Is he here to live with us?” she asked curiously.


“Yes, silly girl,” I told her with a kiss to her mmm smell so good locks. “He is yours.”


Alice nodded, agreeing with my statement.


“Can I…hold him now?” Isabella asked, barely keeping the longing concealed in her voice.


Her question was obviously meant for Alice but her intent eyes never left the stuffed animal.


“Of course, you can,” Alice assured her with a smile and gently held the bear out for Isabella to take.


Isabella’s hand shot out, snatching the bear out of Alice’s hands with a quickness, causing both me and Alice to chuckle at her eagerness. Isabella ignored us though, as she hugged and squeezed the bear to her chest with a big smile on her face. She didn’t talk, just turned and made her way over to the trampoline, her new toy tucked tightly to her chest.


She placed the stuffed animal on the side of the trampoline before climbing onto it herself. Alice went back inside to unload the shopping bags from her car and I sat back down on the porch swing to watch Isabella.


She talked to the bear for a minute, informing him of his name and her name and that she was his new friend and how they’d be bestest friends forever…how he could meet Haley and Ariel when they went back inside. Then she told him to sit and watch while she played on her ’jump-a-lene’, informing him that if he sits in just the right spot, then he can bounce high too.


I smiled. She is just too fucking cute.


I watched as she jumped in the middle of the trampoline, being very mindful of her safety rules while she plays on that death trap, thankfully. She is not to jump near, or on the edge, unless she just really wants a spanking, along with not being able to play on it for an entire day.


I swear to God, if I ever catch her doing anything dangerous, like…jumping on the edge of that thing, or sliding down the fucking stair banister, like she had mentioned wanting to do the other day, I wouldn’t hesitate to take those wretched spankings up a notch to a completely different level. Those pretty little panties would be coming down, and she would not like me at all when I’m that angry.


I felt a sudden rush of anger at the mere thought of her doing something like that. My chest began to rumble and I clenched my jaw, breathing in deeply…pulling in my angel’s scent from her spot on the trampoline. I was able to relax a few seconds later, relieved when my anger at the hypothetical situation had dissipated.


“Watch me…” I heard her tell her bear, right before she did a front flip and landed on her back, giggling the entire time.


She crawled over to him and grabbed his arm. Once she put him over to the middle with her, she stood and started jumping around, circling the bear, causing it to bounce in the air every time she landed on the black, stretchy material.


Soon, she started jumping backwards a bit, getting closer and closer to the edge. My eyes zeroed in on the distance between her feet and the blue padded material, marking the ’no-jump zone’.


“Isabella,” I called out firmly.


Her head whipped around in my direction. When she saw the look on my face, she quickly looked behind her to find that she was getting too close to that damn edge. Realizing that she might be in trouble, she immediately sat down and looked back to me apologetically.


“Sorry,” she told me.


I relaxed and nodded. “Pay attention to where you’re goin, baby girl.”


She nodded and crawled back to the middle then started jumping again, with a relieved smile on her face.


She picked the bear up then, murmuring softly into it’s ear, “You can jump high with me, now.”


About five minutes later, she was breathless from all her jumping and it was causing her to start coughing again. I was thinking that it was time for her to go back inside, but before I could suggest it, she threw the new bear down onto the trampoline by her feet, then looked over to me.


The look on her face was not happy anymore…


“What the fuck, Edward?” she said.


“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I asked Marie, not entirely sure what she was upset about.


She frowned then, the anger instantly melting from her features. Her shoulders slumped a bit.


She‘s pouting?


“Don’t I get a new toy?” she asked in a small voice.


“Oh, Jesus,” I said exasperatedly. I sighed. “Yes…of course you can get a new toy, too. What would you like?”


Fuck, yes!


I get to buy something for her, too.


Tell me what you want…what you need, Marie. You can have anything and everything.


“Edward?” she said sadly.


I got up from the porch swing then, and walked over to her. “What’s wrong, love?” I asked in concern when I reached the side of the trampoline.


She sighed. “I don’t fucking feel good, and Isabella got a new toy, but I want a new toy too, and I miss you, and can’t we just fucking cuddle up or something? God, and Bella is getting on my damn nerves and you have a motherfuckin wicked tongue, by the way…” she trailed off, eventually giving me a devilish smirk.


Oh, shit…


If Marie knows about my fantasy coming true last night, then Isabella does as well. What must she think?


Holy shit.


This is not good.


I looked back up to Marie. She wasn’t smirking anymore, but frowning.


“Umm…sure, baby. C’mere,” I said while reaching my arms up for her.


She bent down a bit, so I hooked my hands under her shoulders and brought her frail body to mine. I kissed her head, always checking for that fever, then I reached for Isabella’s new bear. With my arm placed under Marie on my hip, and the bear in my other hand, I started back towards the house.


I marveled at the fact that I had been carrying my girl around like a child a lot lately, but immediately found that I didn’t mind at all, so I stopped dwelling on it.


Marie looked so miserable and sad. I started trying to figure out how to cheer her up. I placed a cool kiss to her cheek before she laid her head on my shoulder. Once we were back in the bedroom, I put Isabella’s new stuffed bear on the desk, next to her MagnaDoodle.


I put my hand on the small of Marie’s back and scooted her from her place on my hip, over to my front, so that I could feel her heart beat against my chest. She wrapped her arms around my neck as I sat down on the edge of the bed. I rubbed her back softly, frowning when I encountered some tense muscles. I kissed my mark on her neck and went to work on trying to sooth and massage her back with my cool touch.


After a minute, she sighed, then moaned uncomfortably.


“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I asked, concerned.


“Don’t feel good…” she mumbled into my neck.


I nodded. “I know.”


I did know, but I was really confused at the same time. I mean, Isabella was all smiles and giggling a split second before Marie came around, appearing to be feeling just downright miserable. Maybe Marie really doesn’t know how to handle being sick, at all…


“I fucking love you, Edward. I missed you so much. Really. The level of missing you that I have achieved is fucking unbelievable. I took it to such pathetic heights…” she trailed off, her voice soft and weak.


I squeezed her tighter to me. “I missed you too, babe. I was wondering when you were going to come back around to see me,” I said, then kissed her cheek. “Now, about that new toy…”


I felt her smile against my neck. “I want something that I can listen to my groovy tunes with, Edward…” she trailed off. “Not a stereo,” she said quickly before I could assume that that was what she was talking about.


Besides, we already had two stereos. One for the bedroom, and one for the bathroom.


She sighed. “I don’t know what the fuck it’s called…” she said as she lifted her head from my shoulder.


She was straddling me…her legs were wrapped around my waist, her feet locked together behind my back while she sat on my lap. Her dress was riding up a bit in her current position, but I chose to ignore it. As much as possible…which means that I failed. Fucking miserably. But I don’t care. I suddenly felt the need to taste her again…to hover my face just above the most delicious smell on the planet, and taste her sweet, wet skin. I had the urge to take that pretty little bud back in between my lips, and just suckle on it gently, and -


“You know…those things that you can take with you? Listen to your fuckawesome music wherever you are, with those ridiculously tiny earphones? You know what the fuck I’m talkin about, sexy?” she asked with a confused, but hopeful look on her face.


I swallowed back some lust-induced venom, prayed for Jasper’s return, and nodded at Marie. “You want an Ipod, baby?”


She smiled brightly, obviously recognizing that word. “Goddamn it, yes! That’s the tricky fucking name of those little buggers.”


She nodded. “Yes, I want one of those.”


“Okay,” I said lightly.


“Actually, love, I need to go get Bella a cell phone, too…“ I trailed off suggestively. “How do you feel?” I asked, thinking that maybe we could make a trip to Best Buy this afternoon for both items.


She furrowed her brow, then bluntly informed me, “Like shit.”


“Well…hmmm,” I hummed in response.


I kept my hands moving along her back and tried to decide when I could go out to get Bella’s cell phone and Marie’s Ipod.


After a few minutes of silence, Marie asked, “Edward, can we go now?”


I kissed her forehead, checking for a fever. When I was positive that she didn’t have one, I nodded and murmured against her skin, “Go put your shoes on, baby.“


Isabella had been playing outside barefoot, like she preferred. She had told me that she likes the feel of the cool, soft grass on her feet. I reluctantly agreed to this a few days ago after carefully and meticulously scanning our yard with my vampire eyes for anything that could hurt, or puncture her skin. When I found nothing, I gave her my nod of consent, so she took off her shoes and went to play for the next few hours. She’s been playing barefoot ever since.


When we made our way downstairs, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of cough drops out of the cabinet, sticking them in my pocket, with some tissues, for later. It was still too soon for her to take another dose of cold medicine, but I wasn’t worried because I knew that we would definitely be back before she needed to take it again in three hours.


We passed by Alice on our way out, and Marie stopped to talk to her.


“Wanna come, Ali?” she asked, her voice giving away her stuffy nose and scratchy throat.


I handed Marie a cough drop when Alice reluctantly shook her head. She wanted to come, but had promised to be here when Jasper returned home from hunting. She had seen that we would be gone long after Jasper’s return.


“Maybe next time,” Alice placated her.


Marie shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, okay.”


Alice nodded. “Okay.”


Marie turned to face both vampires then, and raised her eyebrows a bit before rocking back on her heels. She smacked her lips together and gave a small wave. “Later, bitches.”


Rosalie slightly glared at the ’bitch’ comment, to which Marie laughed.


“Oh, damn…you are way too fucking easy, blondie,” she proclaimed with a smirk, then turned to start walking towards the garage.


I followed her out to the Volvo, unlocking it with the remote on my key. Once we were in the car and backing out of the driveway, Marie turned on the radio, but didn’t sing along with the song. I guess her throat was too sore to use her voice much.


When we were about halfway to the Best Buy store just outside of town, Marie started singing along with a song called ‘Only One’ by Yellowcard. I cracked a small smile at the sound of her singing with a stuffy nose.


When the song was over, she began talking.


“Hey Edward, when do we gotta go see doctor dad again?” she asked, then cleared her throat.


“Umm, Monday, I believe? So, that would be in two days, sweetheart…”


“You know, I really don’t like this bullshit therapy, Edward,” she told me then.


I nodded, already knowing this, but I also knew that it was important for her to talk about this stuff and vent to someone. I smiled internally, knowing that she would always choose me to talk to.


“I really don’t like hearing the fucked up shit that my Bell says to the doc, or watching Isabella go crazy, while my Bell tells her creepy little stories,” she continued. “Isabella will tear some shit up, y’all better watch out for that tiny terror. If she gets mad, there’s no stopping that fuckin brat,” Marie warned me, while slowly shaking her head.


“What makes you say that, sweetheart? What does she ‘tear up’?” I asked.


She turned to face me then, a bit exasperated. “I can see what my Bell talks about, Edward. I told you…we can watch each other’s memories,” she reminded me. “I swear, it‘s like a trip to the goddamn movies, or something equally fucking mundane,” she added.


She looked back to the front then, watching through the window as the outside world flew by us. “When Isabella sees that shit, she gets fucking pissed…she starts thinking about killing that sick fuck with the blonde hair. She should fucking kill him. Knock that motherfucker down into his goddamn grave,” she growled out, then she gave a little shrug. “Shit, if I could help, I would…but I wasn’t there. I can’t enter her world, if ya know what I mean,” she said.


“Marie, what -”


“She’s got some fuckawesome ideas, too,” she said, interrupting me. “We could be like, partners in crime…me and that little one,” Marie said with a nod.


Her lips slightly turned up in a small smile, then. “She smiles…it makes her so goddamn happy to fantasize and think up different ways to make him fucking scream," she informed me. "She wants to burn him alive, and watch as the skin melts off his fugly face. She wants to stab his dick n’ balls with long and thick, rusty fucking needles. She also wants to take one of those motherfucking purity knife thingys, and slowly saw off his wrinkly ass pecker. Watch him bleed while she fucking laughs in his face…” she finished with a giggle.


She turned to face me then. “It’s motherfucking brilliant!” she said brightly with a smile, amusement lighting her expressive eyes. “She just wants to delight in the fuckawesome sounds of his high-pitched, girly screams.” She didn’t hold back anymore, and laughed, then. “I bet he does scream like a little bitch,” she said through her giggles and laughter.


When she sobered up a bit, she turned to look back out the windshield and continued in a more subdued voice. “She wants to make him cry like a goddamn baby. Sometimes, I can feel her excitement…it’s fucking contagious. She enjoys that shit, just like me,” she informed me. “Being the one to send wicked people off to hell is a heady, marvelous fucking feeling, ya know…” she trailed off.


I was so…disturbed.


And suddenly, so goddamn stressed out.


I clenched my jaw five times, before attempting to speak.


“Umm…” I mumbled.


“Have you ever done that, Edward? Ever kill anyone?” she asked lightly.


Fucking hell.


I sighed, then murmured, “Yes…”


She smiled and gave me a little nod. “So then, you understand,” she stated simply.


I huffed in frustration then, and found my fucking voice. “Yes, but…goddamn it, why do you enjoy it so much?” I asked, remembering when she revealed to Carlisle in therapy that violence was a sexual turn-on for her.


She had stated, ‘it makes me wet’.


Oh my fuck…


I gripped the steering wheel and forced myself not to think about exactly how wet it makes her.


I cringed. “Or, better yet, why the hell does my five year old enjoy the fucking idea of it? Has she actually done it? Killed someone, like you have?” I asked, my voice rising with every question.


“Yes,” she said simply, then popped another cough drop in her mouth.


Of course. Fucking, of course, she has!


Why else would my Bella be committed to a state hospital at such a young age, against her mother’s consent?


Yes, like I said before, I did my fucking research. I had found that Jim was dead and that my Bella was committed to that damn hospital by the state of Arizona, but not by a parent. She was under their custody, not Renee’s, for two years after they had discharged her.


So, why didn’t I realize this before? Damn it, of course, she would be considered a danger to herself, or others, in order for that to happen.


Marie continued talking through my internal monologue.


“I mean, why come up with all those fuckawesome, intriguing ideas, but not put any of them to use?” she asked rhetorically. “The kid’s not stupid, Edward. You shouldn’t waste a brilliant talent like that,” she stated with a shake of her head. “She’s got some admirable skills, I could fucking learn a thing or two from her. In fact,” she smiled, “I am.”


Christ.


My little Isabella really is a fucked up, disturbed little girl…not my innocent angel anymore. That thought suddenly upset me. So fucking immensely. It was ridiculous how fast that realization had lowered my spirits.


I started thinking back on our days together, and it thankfully, relieved some of the grief and brought a smile back to my face.


Damn…my moods are out of whack today.


Maybe Isabella was like Marie, in the sense that she only murders in self-defense? Then, I can’t help but be happy at that thought, because that would mean that I am very, very proud of her. She would be part of the reason why my Bella is still alive today.


I sighed, relieved that those horrible feelings of anxiety had left me just as fast as they had come.


“Did she only do it to people who were going to hurt Bella?” I asked hesitantly, pulling into the Best Buy parking lot.


Marie just shrugged and unbuckled her seat belt. She had a smile on her face now as she eyed the store, obviously becoming excited at the prospect of getting a new ‘toy’.


Right.


We were here for a cell phone and an Ipod. I pushed thoughts of a murdering little Isabella out of my mind and focused back on Marie.


I had missed her.


I looked at her and took in her beautiful body, covered in that pretty, cotton sundress. The subtle sunlight accented the slight red highlights of her long hair that was flowing down her back.


She was just so…fucking sexy.


“C’mere,” I ordered softly.


She smiled at my request and complied. When she leaned over to me, I gave her soft, pink lips a kiss to remember.


I slipped my hand behind her head and gathered some of her long locks, fisting them into a firm hold, silently and effectively telling her who was in control.


I kissed her until she needed air, then I slowly moved along her jaw line, down to her throat and inhaled her enticing aroma, before finally pulling back with a satisfied smile on my face.


Yeah…I couldn’t help it. Her skin is so fucking delicious.


Marie seemed to agree with me as she smiled up at me, with dilated pupils and all, thoroughly dazzled.


“So fuckin yummy…” she said, referring to the sweet smell of my venom.


I chuckled and kissed her again.


“Love you,” I murmured softly against her warm lips.


“Mmmm…” she moaned.


Fuck…


“Fuckin love you, too,” she murmured back.


I simply couldn’t resist sucking her bottom lip into my mouth before reluctantly pulling away and getting out of the car.


When I was able to clear my head with a scent that wasn’t my Bella’s heavenly one, I realized how unstable my moods were becoming today. It was fucking unnerving.


I was so upset on the drive over here. Concerned, angry, stressed…


Then, just a minute ago, I was so ready to just roughly lay Marie down in the back seat of my car, and eagerly bury my face in between her legs while she screamed in pure ecstasy for all the Best Buy parking lot to hear.


I really…really needed a Jasper intervention.


More than I’d like to admit.


Marie got out of the car then, and after clicking on the alarm with the key remote, we were walking hand in hand into the busy Best Buy store.


I knew that my Bella’s favorite color was blue, so that was what I was looking for while we stood at the various displays of cell phones. I just needed to add another line to our already existent family plan, so I focused on the available new phones from our service carrier, AT&T.


Marie quickly became restless by my side.


She kept trying to pull me in all different directions, rudely interrupting me while I was busy talking to the sales rep.


“Edwaaaaard,” she whined for the fourth time, while tugging on my hand.


I didn’t look at her, but continued my conversation with the sales rep, keeping a polite, but apologetic smile on my face.


“Fuck…“ she muttered under her breath, before trying to rip my arm out of it’s socket again. “Edwaaaaard,” she said louder, getting frustrated with my lack of attention on her.


I gritted my teeth, pulled her to me, and tucked her into my side, all while never taking my eyes off the potential cell phones for my Bella. I had my choices narrowed down to two, while the sales rep rambled on about each phone’s features.


She stomped her foot a bit while I firmly held her to me.


“Edward, when can we go look at the fuckawesome Ipods?” she asked impatiently.


I felt my irritation spike.


“Excuse me for a minute,” I politely told the sales rep, interrupting him from his practiced and boring speech.


I turned to Marie then, and gave her a hard look.


I brought my mouth to her ear, “If you don’t fucking quit interrupting me, we are going to take a little walk back out to the car to deal with your rude and childish behavior,” I threatened lowly in her ear.


She bit her lip, as I continued to talk in harsh whispers. “Stop it and be fucking patient, Marie. I am almost done. When I am done, we will go look at the Ipods,” I informed her, then inconspicuously slid my hand down her back and gave her ass a light pinch through her short dress.


She was quiet then, but I could tell by her body language that her impatience was persisting as she became restless against my side again. I was just glad that she had shut up long enough for me to make a damn decision. Once I chose the black and blue phone, I paid for it and had it activated. I smiled then, knowing that Bella would be happy with my choice.


Marie smiled and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that we were finally walking away from all the boring phones. We arrived at the display of Ipods, realizing then, that there were too many to choose from. I wanted her to have the best one, because it should go without saying that I only get the best for my girls. They shouldn’t expect any less.


“What color do you want, babe?” I asked her while both our eyes scanned the Ipod selections.


“Shit…umm, green or black,” she informed me after a minute.


After she looked around for a bit, she decided on the black Apple Ipod Classic. I grabbed the one with the most memory, giving her 160GB to play around with. When she was sure that that was the one she wanted, I clasped her hand back in mine and we started making our way towards the long checkout lines.


But Marie stopped me before we could get that far.


“Hey, Edward?”


“Yes, love?”


“My Bell’s been wanting that fuckawesome Mariokart game for her DS…” she trailed off suggestively with a sly smile.


I smiled and nodded at her, feeling down right giddy all of a sudden.


“Show me,” I practically demanded.


I would not miss out on an opportunity to buy my Bella something that she wanted.


Marie smiled at my eagerness and lead me over to the selection of Nintendo DS games.


She let go of my hand when we arrived and muttered under her breath, “It’s around here somewhere…“


She eyed the different rows of games with disdain.


“…In this shitmaze of fuckery they call a goddamn video game section,” she ranted, then coughed.


I chuckled at her exasperated statement. It really was a confusing mess, with various games tossed haphazardly in their random, undesignated spots. The workers really needed to straighten this area up, then maybe it would be consumer-friendly again.


Her eyes scanned the hundreds of titles, and my eyes followed, as well. I was pretty sure that they at least had this section alphabetized, or something. Marie squatted down into a little ball, intent on looking through the bottom rows.


She coughed again, covering her mouth with her hand. I quickly grabbed a Halls cough drop out of my pocket and handed it to her.


I would have given them all to her for her to hold and take as needed, but that small dress didn’t have any pockets.


She unwrapped it and placed it on her tongue, grimacing at the no doubt, weird taste of the thing. They sure as hell smelt weird.


Her hand shot out in front of her as she grabbed a game.


She cleared her throat, “Here…” she said and held it up to me from her spot on the ground.


I smiled and took it from her, holding it in my hand and relishing in the idea of buying my Bella something that she wanted. Not needed…but, wanted.


Oh, fuck yes.


The prospect filled me with immense satisfaction…probably a little more than necessary.


Marie stood then, and told me that she had to use the bathroom. I nodded and pointed her in the direction of the restrooms. I told her to meet me up front, and that I was going to save us a spot in one of the long, busy lines. She nodded and walked in the direction that I had pointed out, while I turned on my heel and made my way over to the checkout lines.


She joined me about four minutes later and we stood together in line, hand in hand. I could hear the cough drop clicking against her teeth as she played with it on her tongue.


I noticed many of the male species in this store, blatantly staring at my Marie with lustful expressions in their eyes as they gazed upon her body in that sexy, yet seemingly innocent sundress.


Mine.


My territorial instincts were kicking in with a vengeance, causing me to release her hand and take this up a notch. I wrapped her small body around mine, enveloping her in my arms possessively as we stood in line. I glared at the on looking males, both teens and adults, alike.


She happily returned my embrace and pressed her body into mine, snuggling to my chest a bit, enjoying the comfort that only my touch can provide her. I knew she didn’t feel good, and would enjoy my arms wrapped around her right now.


I kissed her forehead, checking to make sure that fucking fever stayed at bay. I looked over her shoulder, down her body at my wrist, which was currently located at the small of her back. Noticing the time, I realized that she was due for that dose of cold medicine in about an hour. When I was sure she didn’t have a fever, I loosened my grip on her body, but kept an arm around her.


That’s when I felt it. A small, thin square object against her lower abdomen. I furrowed my brow and looked down at her. She wasn’t looking at me, but eyeing the Ipod in my hand intently with a small smile on her face.


I put my mouth to her ear. “Marie…what is under your dress against your tummy?” I asked curiously in a whisper.


She gave a nonchalant shrug without looking at me, then whispered back, “Don’t worry ‘bout it.”


I stepped in front of her, easily hiding her body from anyone behind me, and quickly slipped my hand under her dress, grabbed onto the something that was tucked into the front of her panties, then slipped my hand back out from underneath her dress. I kept my hand down while I gripped the object.


I knew from my mind’s eye that nobody had just seen me stick my hand up the front of my girl’s dress.


Thank God.


Marie slightly gasped at my hand’s intrusion. “Edwaaard…” she whined in a whisper.


I looked down at my lowered hand.


It was gripping an Evanescence CD.


My head shot up then, and I glared at her as I felt the inevitable rush of anger that seemed to grace me with it‘s unwanted presence a lot today.


Shoplifting again? Fucking really?!


I clenched my eyes shut, knowing that they had suddenly turned black. I couldn’t get a grip on this anger, and I was starting to worry.


Goddamn it, shit…fuck!


I opened my eyes and resumed my intent glare on a very guilty-looking Marie. I realized then, that guilt didn’t suit her. It made her look smaller, somehow, and that disturbed me a little.


She was fucking small enough, as is.


“Marie…” I warned in a harsh, whispered voice. “What the hell do you think you‘re doing?”


She shrugged and gave me a pleading look. “I want it…” she stated in a small voice, then coughed.


I let go of her then, and continued my hard glare, suddenly hearing my Bella’s words run repeatedly through my head: “Promise me you won’t let Marie land me another criminal record…”


I was just so fucking angry at Marie right now. My Bella knew that this would happen…she was warning me.


“Why didn’t you just ask then?” I practically hissed out, before roughly grabbing her upper arm and moving us ahead in the line.


I kept a firm grip on her as we stood in silence, waiting for our turn to pay.


Now…as we stood there in the ridiculously long fucking line, I seethed quietly to myself and went over a shit ton of options that I had available to me, before finally coming to a decision.


Most people/parents would just put the items back and walk out of the store with the kid, refusing to buy them what they wanted.


But, see…I am just not capable of doing that. Sure, there’s the option that I could just compromise and buy the Ipod, then put the CD back, but I can’t do that either. I have to get her this damn CD now. Just knowing that she wants it, compels me to provide it for her.


Fucking hell.


And those were the easy solutions, too.


Goddamn it.


I am just so…so fucking angry and irritated and fed up at the realization that my Marie is a little fucking hoodlum, who hangs out with filthy werewolves and sells hardcore street drugs and steals whenever she feels like it.


Well, not anymore…not if I can fucking help it.


I quickly decided to just hurry up and pay for this stuff, then I could take care of her thieving, criminal ass when we got back to the car.


I turned my black glare back to Marie then, only to see that she had a worried expression on her face.


Good. She needs to be worried.


“I’ll deal with you when we get to the car,” I warned her in a cold voice, informing her of my decision.


She bit her bottom lip, as I turned my angry stare away from her. I moved my hand from her thin bicep, down to her hand and kept a firm hold on it. I spent the rest of our time in the line trying my damndest to begin calming down.


I was furious, but still realized that I couldn’t be this angry when we got out to the car in a few minutes time…


At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.


“But, I thought you wouldn’t get it for me, since I’m already gettin the fuckin Ipod,” she muttered to me in a small, quiet voice.


I simply ignored her and continued to deeply inhale her scent, like a drug, effectively beginning the calming process.


A minute later, it was our turn to pay, so I placed the Ipod, the game and that fucking CD on the podium for the cashier to check us out. The process was fairly quick, and I gladly snatched the plastic bag out of the poor girl’s hands, knowing, but not caring, that I was scaring the crap out of her with my quick movements and black eyes.


I kept Marie’s hand in mine, but didn’t talk to her as we walked over to the Volvo. We were parked near the back of the large parking lot. I did this because I liked to keep my clean and sleek car away from other people’s junk cars as much as possible. It took roughly two minutes to arrive at my car, walking at a slow, human pace.


I set the pace slow for both our benefits. I still needed to calm down a great deal, and I’m sure that Marie had to steel herself for what was to come. ‘Cause I can guarantee, it wouldn’t be an enjoyable experience, for either of us. She was in trouble and I was determined. And fucking pissed off.


A bad combination, if you ask me.


Instead of opening the passenger door for Marie, like usual, I opened the small door next to it, silently signaling to her with a hard look and an abrupt nod of my head, that she should get in the back seat, instead.


I turned away from her then, and tossed the plastic shopping bag I had been carrying, through the opened car door. It landed on the drivers seat. I just needed to get it out of my hands, to deal with Marie properly.


When I turned back around, I saw that Marie was trying to make a very impromptu escape. So, it’s needless to say…she figured out that she was in trouble. A lot of fucking trouble.


Nice try.


I chuckled at her useless and pathetic attempt to get away from me, and was surprised when it came out sounding dark and menacing.


Try. Fucking. Harder.


I had to calm down. I just had to. I found myself desperately wishing that Jasper would show up right about now. Just…any second now. That would be awesome and greatly appreciated.


She had only made it a few hurried steps away, so I quickly strode forward and grabbed her, wrapping my arm tightly around her waist.


“Don’t you ever fucking run from me,” I growled in her ear.


She whimpered, “I’m sorry, Edward! Fucking sorry…I-”


I quickly covered her mouth with my hand, cutting off her useless apologies, as I sat us down in the back seat of my car and slammed the door shut, locking it when I did.


“Shut up,” I told her in a cold voice before removing my hand from her face.


I kept my mind cautious and alert of any passerbys, only to find that there were none.


She scrambled to get off my lap, and sat in the seat beside me. My senses picked up her adrenaline, even so much as delighting in it, as I began to yell at her.


“What the hell happened last time you shoplifted, Marie?” I asked rhetorically.


“You and Bella got put in jail, that’s what fucking happened!” I yelled, answering my own question for her.


“Why? Why would even try to do that again?!” I asked, demanding an answer from her now with a hard look.


She shrugged. “Um…” she mumbled.


“What?” I asked in a clipped voice.


“S’just a bad fuckin habit, I guess…” she said quietly.


My eyes widened and my irritation spiked at her reasoning."Well, I’ll be sure to break you of that goddamn habit,” I spat out in a slightly rough and determined voice.


I grabbed her right arm then, and brought her over to me.


“No!” she screamed, and started to fight against my hold on her.


She began crying as I eventually forced her body to lay down, across my lap.


I ignored her cries and struggles with great ease.


Yes, she was putting up one hell of a fight, absolutely determined not to be spanked like a child, while in the parking lot of a store, but I dealt with her struggling form easily.


After all, her weak and frail human body was no match for mine.


Yes, the salt in her tears bothered me immensely.


But…surprisingly, that was all that bothered me.


The guilt that was present and heavy the last time I decided to punish her, was nowhere to be found now. It had been replaced with anger and determination. I had promised my Bella, and I intended to fulfill that promise. I would keep Marie in line…no matter what it takes.


I gave her ass a sharp smack when she was finally laid out across my lap, telling to stop fucking wiggling around.


She gasped. “Ow! Fuck…Edward, I-”


I interrupted her with another smack. I did not want to hear her mouth right now. I would be doing the fucking talking, and she would be answering the goddamn questions.


“Marie, this will not happen again,” I told her with finality.


“I’m mean it, and goddamn it - I am not fuckin around!“ I insisted in a hard, clipped voice as she began to yell out apologies into the small space of the car.


I ignored her pleas and landed three more quick swats to punctuate my next three words. “No. More. Stealing.”


“Ow!! Okay!” she screamed out her agreement. “Shit,” she muttered in a rushed voice as the first sob fell from her lips.


But we weren’t anywhere near being through, yet. That fucking CD cost me fifteen bucks, and I planned to make sure she understood that little detail.


“You wanted that damn CD so bad, Marie…was it worth it?” I asked her with another smack to her upturned ass.


She began squirming again, so I used my arm and held her more securely to me.


When would she realize that there was no escaping me?


“Fuck no…” she said petulantly while she began to cry, now that she had finally stilled on my lap.


“You could have just asked for it,” I pointed out through gritted teeth and spanked her again.


Her fists clenched tightly at her sides as I smacked her again. She let out another scream and continued with her sobbing cries.


I honestly couldn’t find it in me to feel sorry for her, though. My sympathy was just simply non-existent.


That both bothered, and relieved me.


Relieved me because I could get through this quickly and sufficiently.


Bothered me because I was hurting her. I was…okay with that now?


Fuck, what is wrong with me?


I pushed that question aside and brought my firm hand down to her seven more times as she began squirming and kicking usuelessly again, trying but failing to escape my tight hold on her.


When I was done, and the quota of fifteen had been fulfilled, she continued to lay across my lap, crying and fisting my now tear-soaked jeans in her small hands.


I didn’t lift her up from her position though, and I’m not sure why. It just…it didn’t feel like we were through yet. I imagined that she felt the same way because she made no move to get up off of me. I had loosened my hold on her…yet, here she lay.


Awaiting more.


Does she deserve more?


After twelve seconds of listening to her sobs, I glared at the back of her head and asked in a clipped, hard voice, “Why did you try to run from me?”


“I was s-sc-scared,” she sobbed out and hiccupped.


My anger caused my breath to hiss out, before I could respond. “You don’t ever run from me! Marie, you fucking belong to me, you are mine,” I yelled at her.


“I swear to Christ, I will always find you and bring you back,” I growled out my promise.


She didn’t respond. She just continued to cry, not moving from her vulnerable position across my lap.


I felt a irrational rush of anger at her unresponsiveness.


Annoyed, I grabbed a fistful of her long hair and gently pulled, just enough to tilt her head back to a desired angle.


I eyed her throat as she swallowed back a sob before I brought my mouth to her ear.


I asked in a harsh tone through gritted teeth, “Who do you belong to?” then punctuated my question of possession with another particularly sharp smack to her already sore bottom.


She squeezed her eyes shut and I saw the tears spill down her flushed cheeks as she screamed out, “You!”


Goddamn right.


I relaxed my fist then, releasing her head from my firm hold, and agreed with her, “That’s fucking right.”


She buried her face back into my leg then, allowing my jeans to muffle her cries as her body slightly shook with the force of her sobs.


A part of me was screaming at me to stop. Telling me that this was fucking enough. It was yelling and admonishing me for letting the monster in me have any type of control while dealing with my precious Bella, or her alternates. It insisted that I was going into overkill with the punishment.


It was that part that made me quickly lift the back her sundress, gathering the thin fabric around her waist and slip down her little panties. I did a quick once-over of the ’damage’, only to see that her round flesh was only slightly pink, not red. Not anywhere near the color red.


The sight both relieved, and impressed me. I was incredibly angry right now, and just knowing that I could handle the girls’ punishments without truly hurting them, no matter what my mood was, filled me with an immense feeling of relief. I knew I could never really hurt my Bella.


She was my love. My life, my everything. I could never truly harm her.


Even the monster in me recognized that fact, apparently. My instincts didn’t let that side of me dwell on the overwhelming anger and run with it...causing irreparable harm. The raw and primal vampire inside of me, just beneath the surface of my façade, loved my Bella, as well.


Marie struggled again and put a quick hand behind her back to protect her now bare and exposed bottom. That action angered me…yet again.


Nobody would stop me from touching her skin.


Not even her.


Fuck…I really need to reign in my control.


I remembered Isabella doing the same thing yesterday. I gently grabbed her wrist, and moved her hand out of the way.


“If I want to spank you with your panties down, there’s not a fuckin thing you can do about it,” I told her in that same rough voice, then smacked her bare flesh twice, just to make my point.


“You keep your hands out of my way,” I told her firmly, then let go of her wrist.


Another sob tore up through her throat as she obediently tucked both of her hands between my legs and her chest.


My eyes drifted back over to her pink bottom, as my head began to clear and I tried to deal with the chaos of emotions coursing through me. She continued those wretched cries that were starting to rip a hole right through my fucking soul. I was beginning to agree with my inner voice. I had taken it too far…


Shit.


I couldn’t take it back, I didn’t want to.


I couldn’t say that I was sorry, I wasn’t.


I just stayed completely silent and placed a cool hand on her bare skin. I held it still and firmly in place, like I had done yesterday with my little Isabella. I felt the heat radiating off her sore flesh, and absorbed it into my hand. I knew this would help her sensitive skin…even more so, now that it was skin to skin contact. I didn’t have a clothes barrier with Marie, like I had with Isabella yesterday.


I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that my efforts would cool her flesh and act as an anti-inflammatory at the same time, sort of numbing the pain. Like a portable fucking ice-pack.


Three minutes later, her cries had quieted down and her skin wasn’t nearly as warm anymore. I removed my hand and saw the usual creamy white perfection of her lovely skin. No more pinkness.


Now that her skin was no longer sensitive, I gently pulled her panties back up, and smoothed the back of her pretty dress back down her thighs.


“Come here,” I said quietly in a soft voice, but even I could hear the slight command in my statement.


I was still pretty angry at Marie, but her punishment was over now and I had to act as such.


She lifted herself off my lap and sat back on her heels in the seat to my side. I looked at her in a confusion of anger and concern. I saw that she looked hurt and remorseful as she rushed to wipe away the tears that were still flowing from her eyes.


“Ed-ward…” her voice pitifully cracked at my name.


“What?” I asked in a quiet, calm voice.


“I’m fuck…” she paused and gasped for a breath of air. “Fucking sorry,” she breathed out and started to cry again.


I nodded silently, and reached over to her. I hooked my hands under her shoulders and brought her over to straddle my waist. As she buried her face in my neck, I reached in my pocket for the few tissues I had stuck in there from earlier today when Isabella had wanted to play outside.


I lifted her head from my shoulder and made quick work of wiping her face clean of all the salty tears. I knew how much they bothered her. I gave her one of the tissues, which she took gratefully, and blew her nose.


She coughed, as she continued to cry weakly. When her flushed face was sufficiently cleaned up, I spoke in a calm voice.


“If you ever…try that again? There will be a repeat of this, and you will find that I won’t be so nice next time,” I warned her, both of us knowing damn well that I was anything but ‘nice’ during her punishment.


She silently nodded as she tried with great effort to quiet her cries. I decided that it was time to help her out with that and lightly blew my cool and calming venom breath onto her face. She was slightly gasping for her breaths in an effort to calm herself, causing the effects of my venom tainted breath to work faster than usual. Once her nose was clear, she breathed it in deeply.


I softly ran my fingers through her long, silky hair and kept up my secret, silent apology until she was completely calm. Once she was resting her worn out body against my chest, I kissed the top of her head and noticed the slight warmth of a fever.


I gritted my teeth, realizing that she was going to be late taking her cold medicine since we had just wasted thirty fucking minutes in the backseat of my car because Marie had a ‘bad habit’. A habit that she had better be cured of now.


I hugged her warm body to me one last time. “It’s time to go, love.”


She nodded against my chest.


“Go get in your seat,” I told her softly.


She silently turned and crawled out of my lap. She carefully climbed over the center console, then made her way over to the passenger seat and sat down. At the sound of her buckle clicking into place, I opened the back door and exited the vehicle. I inhaled fresh air deeply into my lungs and quickly made my way to the driver’s side then slipped back into the car. I wasted no time in starting the ignition and peeling out of my parking spot. I was in a hurry to get home before that fever fully developed.


Once we were on the road, the memory of what I had just done replayed in my mind. I cringed, but it wasn’t from guilt. It was from anger at the fact that I had to take it to that level to get through to Marie, while simultaneously keeping my Bella safe from more criminal charges.


I didn’t feel guilty at all. That particular feeling was nowhere to be found.


What does that mean?


I reached out and clasped Marie’s hand in my own, rubbing small circles into her warm palm. I lifted it to my lips and placed a cool, comforting kiss to her soft knuckles.


I found that I was still angry, but not nearly as much as I had been. She brought her legs up onto her seat and curled up, leaning over and snuggling into my arm. I dropped a kiss to the top of her head, and inhaled the delicious scent of her hair as I sped down the highway.


We both remained quiet and calm the entire drive home, as we listened to the rock music that flowed from the speakers, filling the relaxed atmosphere of the car.