Sight Unseen 31

“Bella do you want a snack before you go to bed?”Irina asked when she, Tanya, Rosalie and Bella entered their hotel room after finishing their day at the fair. Irina had enjoyed spending time with her daughter and knew that Tanya did as well. Irina couldn’t remember seeing her mate smile as much as had in a long time. Irina smiled just as much. The day was had been perfect. Well it would have been if they hadn’t have had to deal with the ghost or Irina and Tanya were forced to go off on their own for a little while. Irina was upset she missed out on going on rides with Bella as by the time they all met back up Bella had announced she was tired and they all decided to call it a day. Irina was just happy that they still had two more days left on their trip for her to spend with Bella including a shopping trip that Irina planned to use the opportunity to spoil Bella by buying her whatever she wanted.

“No I’m full from all the food Kate had me eat.”Bella had eaten more than she should but Kate’s excitement about the random food was contagious and Bella had pushed past her limits to try all she could. It didn’t escape her notice that Kate hadn’t eaten a thing and neither had anyone else in the group. It was a fact that she added to her list of things that weren’t quite right.

“What do you want to do now?”Tanya like Irina had enjoyed the day spent with her daughter. The fact that Bella was seeming too warm up to her and her mate made Tanya very happy. She had been daydreaming of future days spent with just her, Irina and Bella going on adventures and spending time as a family.

“I think I’m just going to take a shower and go to bed. It’s been a long couple days.”Bella was exhausted.

“I think I’m going to do the same.”Rosalie wanted to spend some time alone with Bella before the human went to sleep.”Bella why don’t you go first.”

“I’ll be quick.”Bella didn’t have the energy for a long shower.

“Take your time. I’m not in a rush.”Rosalie told her.

Irina watched as Bella left the room and waited until she heard the shower turn on before glaring at Rosalie.”You are to behave yourself while your are bed with Bella.”

“I would never do anything inappropriate with Bella.”Rosalie understood where Irina was coming from but was somewhat insulted that she thought Rosalie would do anything to make Bella uncomfortable.

“What Irina is trying to say is that even though you are a newly mated vampire Bella is still an underaged teenager. From what all of us have seen Bella has little experience with relationships. That being the case please take things at her pace and don’t loose yourself in your beast when you have the opportunity to be alone.”Tanya knew that Rosalie wouldn’t do anything inappropriate but wanted to give Rosalie a reminder that her daughter was still a young girl.

“I know. I don’t plan on exploring anything physical with Bella until we are a lot further along in our relationship. After she finds out about vampires at least because I don’t want us to take such an important step while that lie hangs between us.”Rosalie didn’t want to have sex with Bella until she could explain to Bella why her body was the way it was. That actually brought with it a thought.”Did you notice that Bella doesn’t flinch away from us when we touch her or she touches us?”

Tanya tried to think back to the times she had touched Bella.”You’re right. It’s like our cold skin doesn’t even bother her.”

“She would have noticed as well. I mean I have held her hand many times.”Irina just took that as more proof that Bella was comfortable around them.

“It makes me wonder what she thinks about us. It’s obvious that she knows something isn’t right.”Rosalie knew that Bella had caught on to their differences.

“I want to ask her but I don’t think bringing it up while we are away from Forks is a good idea.”Tanya said.

“I agree. We need to wait until Bella is somewhere she feels safe. Plus we need to talk to Alice about when to tell her. I would love to finally be able to tell Bella about the bond. That way she would understand why we act the way we do.”Irina wanted Bella to know that Irina wasn’t a crazy person and that Bella was the most important person in her life other than her mate.

“That would be nice.”Tanya had been holding back from acting on the bond. She would like to have the chance to be able to cuddle her daughter and be able to spend more time with her without Bella thinking they were weirdos who were obsessed with her.

“Rosalie I’m done.”Bella said as she made her way into the room wearing an oversized shirt and sleep shorts.

“Thanks Bella.”Rosalie made her way to the bathroom eager to join Bella in bed.

“Did you have a good shower?”Irina wanted to coo over how cute Bella looked in her pajamas. The shirt made her look like a young girl wearing her parent’s clothing. Irina made a mental note to give Bella some of her shirts for her to wear. It would be nice to have her daughter carrying her scent. That would of course have to wait until they were much farther along in their relationship. Irina didn’t think Bella would agree so soon after meeting them.

“I did. It was nice to wash the fair grime off.”Bella took a seat next to Tanya on the couch where she was sitting by herself.

“Did you have fun today?”Tanya held herself back from wrapping her arm around Bella and pulling her closer to her. She took the fact that Bella chose the seat next to her when there were many that were empty as a sign that her daughter was getting more comfortable with them.

“Minus the ghost bothering us I did.”Bella hadn’t expected to have that much fun but as the day went on she enjoyed herself. She especially enjoyed kissing Rosalie. Something that she was hoping she would get the chance to do when they went to bed.

“Well hopefully you will be left alone for the rest of the trip.”Irina said as she took a seat on the couch on the other side of Bella. She held her breath waiting to see what Bella would do with her being so close. She released it when instead of moving away Bella readjusted herself so she was leaning against her. Irina like Tanya was holding herself back from wrapping her arm around the girl. They were making progress and Irina didn’t want to make Bella uncomfortable.

“I can almost guarantee that we will be bothered again. If we are lucky it will just be Ralph bugging me to get the evidence to the cops.”Bella hadn’t seen Ralph all day and wondered what he was up to. He was probably hanging out in a women’s locker room watching women shower and change.

“How exactly are you getting evidence to the cops?”Tanya hadn’t been told the entire plan just that they needed to get the evidence.

Bella turned her body and leaned into Irina’s side. It wasn’t a conscience move but once she made it Bella found that she felt comfortable being that close to the blond. Smelling Irina’s perfume made her whole body relax and Bella was finding that she liked both Irina and Tanya. She even liked Kate. Although the woman was a little too excitable for Bella’s taste.”I need to make a bunch of copies of everything I found in the safe deposit box and send them to various people. That way if one person ignores it someone else will definitely look into it and it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.”

“Do you need help doing that?”Irina took her chance and wrapped her arm around Bella. She smiled brightly when instead of pulling away Bella snuggled closer to her.

“I don’t like asking but since I don’t have a car would you be willing to drive the evidence to a bunch of different post offices so they can’t trace it back to me or any of us?”Bella did hate asking it was just she didn’t have anyway of covering her tracks. When she lived with her mother she could have taken the bus anywhere in the city and no one would have been the wiser. Living in such a small town it would be easy to track who sent the evidence to the cops.

“We would love to help you Bella.”Tanya deciding that she too wanted to take a chance held out her hand for Bella who took it without hesitation.

“Thanks.”Bella was happy for the help. She did think that it would be good for her to buy a car now that she had the extra money. She had a job when she lived with her mother so she could tell Charlie that she paid for it with the money she saved. He didn’t have to know that she was really using money from helping ghosts.

“You can come to us anytime you need help.”Irina told her.

“Speaking of coming to us for help. I want to talk to you about Kate.”Tanya thought this was the perfect time to bring up her sister when the woman in question wasn’t there.

“What about Kate?”Bella asked as she played with Tanya’s fingers. She noticed that they were a lot harder than a normal human’s hand was. As matter of fact all the members of the group that traveled with her that she had physical contact with had extremely hard bodies. Rosalie as well. Not that it was uncomfortable it was just another thing to add to the list.

“As I’m sure you noticed Kate is easily excitable. That and extremely reckless.”Tanya said.

“Yeah I kind of got that impression when she tried to get us to do drugs and drink alcohol at the fair when you guys went off on your own.”Bella wasn’t surprised by both women’s outburst.

“She what?!!”Irina exclaimed in shock.

“I’ll kill her!!”Tanya was going to make it painful when she did.

“There was also mention of breaking the law but as I do that all the time I didn’t think that was a big deal.”Bella didn’t really feel bad ratting Kate out because she had a feeling if Kate wasn’t watched closely that she would eventually put Bella in dangerous situations. Well dangerous situations that she wouldn’t have the help of a ghost to help get out of.

Tanya rubbed her forehead with her free hand convinced she was getting a headache.”I will speak to her about all this.”

“I kind of expected Kate to be a little crazy. Sasha warned me about hanging out with her. She said I had to be careful because although Kate meant well she forgets herself when she gets excited about something.”Bella had heard many stories of Kate’s hijinks.

“What our mother said is very true. Kate means well she just forgets not only her limitations but others as well.”Tanya had many times had to deal with the fallout of Kate’s actions.

“What was Sasha like when you were growing up?”Irina had been wondering that ever since finding out about Sasha visiting Bella.

“In the beginning she would only visit me a few times a week. She would ask me about my life and tell me stories about hers. As time went on she became my best friend. She was always there for me when I had a bad day or my mother was being her usual difficult self. Every time I felt down she would come to me and when I didn’t feel like talking she would tell me all about both of you and Kate. About all the good times you had and how she loved you. How much she missed you.”Bella smiled thinking about Sasha’s support over the years. It was what stopped her from ending her own life on many occasions.

Irina tightened her hold on Bella hearing about her mother’s love and finding out that she had missed them.”I wish she had shown us that love when she decided to throw it all away.”

“From what I learned about Sasha is that she had many regrets about how she lived her life. I know that her biggest was leaving all of you. She once told me that she was never at peace. That even when she was happy it was like something was missing and that made her feel guilty because she loved all three of you so much. She claimed that she loved you just as much as the son that she lost. That if she had a proper chance to mourn him before she was changed then she would haven’t have taken her relationship with the three of you for granted but since she didn’t it made that longing even more pronounced.”Bella hadn’t asked what Sasha had meant when she said she had been changed because it didn’t really mean anything to her but now knowing that her daughters were not quite so human Bella wondered if her friend hadn’t been either.

“That makes sense.”Tanya hated that it did but she couldn’t deny that emotions heightened when you became a vampire. If Sasha had unresolved feelings of depression and loss she would have never been able to get over them when she was changed.

“Yes it does.”Irina hated that her mother had to go through that. She was happy that Sasha seemed to finally find some peace in the afterlife. Irina was grateful that Sasha had done so much to help Bella throughout the years.”Do you know if she ever got a chance to reunite with her son?”

“All that she told me about that was that she finally got closure and was able to let go of the feeling of loss. That was she was in a good place now and that the only thing that would make it better was if she got a chance to apologize to the three of you.”Bella told them.

“Does that mean she knew that we were going to meet you?”Tanya was glad that Sasha finally got a chance to move on from her heartache.

“I don’t know if she knew exactly how we were going to meet but I had been planning on seeking you out when I was old enough to go off on my own.”Bella had spoken to Sasha many times about her plans and the woman was very excited by the idea.

“Regardless of how we found you I’m just happy we did.”Irina would be forever grateful for finding her daughter.

“Usojeno nama je bilo biti skupaj”Tanya said.

“I’m starting to realize that.”Bella was starting to realize that Tanya was right they were meant to be together.

“You speak Slovak?”Irina was very surprised that Bella knew their mother tongue.

Bella nodded.”Sasha taught me when she first starting visiting me.”

“Do you speak anything else?”Tanya asked.

“French, Spanish, German and Dutch.”Bella told her.

“Why did you learn all those languages?”Irina didn’t think it was common for a teenager to speak so many dialects.

“Not every ghost that comes to me knows English. Some of them visit with others ghosts to act as translators but not all the time. French and Spanish are the two most common but I learned German and Dutch because I liked the ghosts that came to me and we traded lessons. They learned English and I learned their languages.”Bella explained.

“Amazing.”Tanya never considered that Bella might not be able to understand the ghosts that came to her for help. The fact that she taught some of them English was equally surprising.

“Bella I’m done, if you want to come to bed.”Rosalie said as she entered the room. She didn’t expect to see Bella cuddled up on the couch with Irina and Tanya and wondered what had happened to get them to that point. She would ask Bella about it the next day when they had a moment alone. It wouldn’t be right to ask Bella personal questions when they would be overheard with out Bella knowing that the others were listening.

“I do want to go to bed.”Bella had just been waiting for Rosalie to finish.

Irina gave Bella one more squeeze before releasing her.”We will see you in the morning.”

“Don’t be afraid to come to us anytime during the night if you need anything.”Tanya told her. She was pleased when Bella gave her a hug before she stood from the couch.

“I will.”Bella didn’t think she would have to but with the way the ghosts came and went from her life she was sure that she would be bothered eventually.”Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”Irina sighed when Bella followed Rosalie into the bedroom and shut the door behind her.”That went well.”

“It did.”Tanya couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.

“She seems to be more comfortable around us now.”Irina said.

“I think we made great progress with her tonight. She was the one who sat next to me and then she made physical contact with you on her own.”Tanya thought that was a good sign that Bella was feeling the bond.

“I wish we could get the chance to hold her while she slept.”Irina knew they weren’t to that point yet but was hopeful they would get there soon.

“Maybe she will let one of us sit next to her on the plane and we will get our chance then.”Tanya wouldn’t mind Bella using her as a pillow during the plane ride.

“I think if things keep progressing as they have then she will be more than willing.”Irina was going to ask Bella to sit next to her before they left.

“We just have to remember to let her set the pace. You saw how she reacted when we tried to force it. I don’t want her to go back to being uncomfortable around us again.”Tanya would hate it if Bella decided that she didn’t want them around her.

“It’s hard but I know you’re right.”Irina did know Tanya was right but her vampire side was demanding she act on the bond. The fact that since she took a step back and Bella responded positively to them gave her the added incentive to go at Bella’s pace. Irina wouldn’t want to miss out on Bella seeking her out for cuddles. She found it was a lot more satisfying when Bella was the one who initiated contact then when she did. When Bella did it it was proof that her daughter was comfortable with her. Whereas when she did Bella was stiff and wanted the contact to end immediately. Irina was going to bide her time and hopefully it would get to the point that Bella wouldn’t mind Irina hugging her every now and then. Until they got there she would happily go along with whatever Bella wanted and if she was lucky Bella would want Irina to sit next to her on the plane. Stretching out on the couch and putting her head on Tanya’s lap Irina sighed when she felt her mate’s fingers run through her hair. Having a daughter was such a blessing and Irina couldn’t wait for the future when the bond was revealed. Then she would be able to show Bella how much she loved her without Bella thinking that she and Tanya were two crazy stalkers trying to force themselves into Bella’s life.