part ii: eclipse

After her magical date with Paul, it was no wonder Lucia felt like she was floating on air the next morning. It was safe to say the beautiful boy had managed to keep her mind busy all morning.

But her sunny mood was threatened when Bella arrived with Edric -- or was it Edwin? Lucia didn't care really -- Cullen in tow, bringing him to Charlie's doorstep. She heard from the kitchen how her uncle exploded in a fury, screaming threats at the pale boy who had broken his daughter's heart and caused her to leave so suddenly.

"You step one foot in this house and I'll shoot!" Charlie bellowed.

Lucia quietly snorted at the display. As if the police chief's paltry gun would do any damage to the strangely beautiful boy standing coolly before the storm of insults. Edwin seemed unfazed by Charlie's wrath, though Bella shrank behind him timidly. Lucia observed the Cullen boy closely as the argument outside continued to escalate.

Up close, she took in his lanky, somewhat awkward frame with surprise. Gone was the intimidating presence from afar -- he resembled more of a sleep-deprived teen than the immortal being Bella made him out to be. Pale to the point of looking almost dead, as ironic as that was.

Lucia had expected someone more along the lines of a Greek god from the way people spoke of the Cullens. But no, Edward was just a gangly boy, albeit an exceptionally good-looking one due to what he was.

When Bella caught Lucia's eye, silently pleading for an ally, Lucia reluctantly tore her gaze away from the scene entirely. She wasn't about to get mixed up in the messy triangle between those three. Bella would have to handle her father's wrath alone. After all, if she was so grown to leave without regard for her father's feelings, she'd have to deal with them too.

Shooting one last cursory glance at the stranger on the doorstep, Lucia retreated inside. While Lucia felt sympathetic to Bella's plight, she had no plans to get more deeply involved in her pool with vampires swimming about. She'd much rather spend time with Paul and the other Quileute boys than deal with bloodsucking creatures like the Cullens.

It seemed beyond idiotic to form buddy-buddy relationships with vampires. Lucia would leave Bella to manage her own questionable choices with friends or partners on her own and keep the company she had. Now that Lucia thought about it, were the Cullens keeping Bella as their next meal? She'd seen it happen countless times when she watched The Vampire Diaries.

The arguing had ceased after Edlwin had left but Charlie hadn't finished his lecturing. He'd grounded Bella until further notice which was understandable. She held no regard for him as her father, merely using him as a place to stay while her mother was following some random guy she met not too long ago. Charlie then left for work, not sparing a glance at his daughter.

The tension in the kitchen was thick as Lucia flipped pancakes and Bella watched awkwardly. She wanted to lecture Bella because, in all truth, Edgar wasn't the one at fault. She was. She didnt care for the people around her and it showed a lot. Bella was selfish and impulsive and while people had their flaws, her cousin's was glaringly obvious. She said nothing, however, that was until Bella broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about leaving like that."

Lucia gave a slight shrug without turning. "What you do is your business. But you made your bed, now you gotta lie in it."

"I'd do it all again for Edward," Bella insisted.

Lucia plated the pancakes for the both of them with a thoughtful hum before moving to sit with Bella at the table. Sitting down, Lucia continued calmly, "Look, if Edgar is what you want then fine. But next time maybe think about how your harebrained choices impact the people who care about you."

"His name is Edward," Bella corrected, though Lucia didn't care in the slightest. If he didnt care about Charlie or Lucia -- Bella's family -- why should she return the same sentiment? Bella sighed as she watched the Barone girl set a plate of pancakes in front of her without meeting her eyes. "I know I messed up."

Lucia took her own seat, pouring syrup in deliberate motions. "You think?"

"I just..." Bella pushed her food around. Edward meant a lot to Bella, something her family and friends didn't understand. "When I'm with Edward, nothing else seems to matter. It's like the rest of the world fades away."

"So you ditch your friends and family without a second thought?" Lucia's tone was sharp, though not unkind. "I mean, he left you for months on end and Jacob was there for you. Did you care about him or his feelings?"

Bella winced. "I know it was selfish. But I love him, Lucia. Being apart from him hurts worse than anything."

Lucia paused, studying her cousin. "Do you really know this Edward guy? Or do you just like the way he makes you feel?"

A blush rose on Bella's cheeks. "I know him. And he cares about me too."

"Hmm." Lucia took a bite. "Well, like I said. Just think next time about how it affects everyone else, too. We're here for you, whether you're with him or not."

Bella smiled faintly. "Thanks, Lucy."

Lucia glanced at Bella inquisitively. "Have you even told Jacob how you really feel? I mean, if you feel so strongly for Edgar, you should turn Jacob down, no?"

"I've tried but he just can't seem to take a hint." Bella drenched her pancake in syrup; a flush crept up her neck. "He's like a brother to me. Always has been."

"Maybe at one point, he was. But things change. I saw it, Bella." Lucia leaned forward intently. "Jacob worships the ground you walk on."

Bella shook her head, keeping her eyes down. There was a part of her that had come to love Jacob, a part she refused to acknowledge. She didn't want Jacob and she never would. He didn't make her heart pound or make her feel physically ill when he was away. Only Edward did. "It's not like that with Jacob. We're just friends."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself of that?"

Bella frowns at her, looking down at her plate. Lucia let out an exasperated sigh, murmuring something under her breath in Italian -- no doubt lamenting the mess her cousin found herself in. Lucia still didn't understand how boys swarmed around Bella so easily. What was it about her that they found so enticing?

"Bells, I'm only saying this because I love you. If you really care about both these boys, is that fair to lead either of them on?"

Bella flushed, chewing her lip anxiously. "I...I don't know, Lucia. Edward is..." she trailed off, eyes distant.

"Different. I get it." Lucia frowned thoughtfully. She understood that feeling now more than ever. Her mind wandered to Paul for a moment before she shook it off. Now wasn't the time. "But is different always better? Or do you just want that because you that's what you envisioned in your mind?"

Bella stared into her half-eaten pancakes, at a loss. Lucia reached out, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. With that, Lucia rose to do the dishes, leaving her cousin trapped in her own restless thoughts.

"I know I want Edward and it's not just because of some dream I had. That's why I asked him to turn me."

"You're what?!" Lucia nearly dropped the plate she'd picked up, gaping at her cousin like a fish out of water. Bella had lost her mind. There was no way in hell she thought eternal beauty or a life with Edgar was worth it.

Bella squared her shoulders determinedly. She wasn't going to take it anymore; that much was clear. She spoke again, her tone far more confident this time around. "I want Edward to change me. So we can be together forever."

Lucia gaped at her cousin, nonplussed. She couldn't be serious. This was horrifying to think about. "Bella, have you lost your mind? You want to become one of those bloodsucking monsters?"

"They're not monsters," Bella snapped back, her eyes burning hate with anger at Lucia's harsh words. "You don't understand."

"Yeah, you're right, I don't understand! Why are you willingly giving up your humanity!" Lucia threw up her hands. "This Edward has really warped your head, Isabella. How can you even consider it?"

"Because I love him." Bella's voice trembled with emotion. Everyone was so against her relationship with him. Why couldn't they just be supportive? "And I won't lose him to time. I won't lose him ever again. Not when we could have eternity."

Lucia sighed heavily, grasping Bella's shoulders with damp hands. Her grip was firm as if hoping it would ground her cousin so that she could see reason. "Bella, please. Just think about what you'd sacrifice -- your family, your friends, even the sunlight! Is one relationship worth that?"

Bella met Lucia's eyes with uncharacteristic resolve. "I know you don't understand, but my choice is made. Edward is what I want -- all I've ever wanted."

Lucia frowned, searching her cousin's face and dropped her hands, clenching them tightly before opting to fold her arms. Bella wasn't even considering how Charlie felt about all this. Her jaw flexed with agitation at Bella's narrow-mindedness. "This is forever we're talking about. What about Charlie?"

"I don't care. I just want Edward." Bella's voice held only certainty now. "He completes me in a way no one else can. With him, I'm finally whole."

"What about your other relationships? Your family? You'd never see us again."

Bella took Lucia's hands, her eyes pleading with her to understand. "You'll always have a place in my memory. But my path lies with Edward. I need you to accept that, even if you don't agree with my choice."

Lucia shook her head ruefully as she removed her hands from Bella's grasp. For all her cousin's convictions, she couldn't help feeling a sense of foreboding. Bella was truly lost, it seemed, and no matter what anyone said, her mind wouldn't change.

"I can't say I agree with your choice, Isabella. Becoming one of those...things goes against everything natural." Her tone held an edge now. "Can you even comprehend what you'll be giving up? The sun on your skin, a family who loves you, a chance at your own life? Do you know what forever truly means? To watch everyone you know age and die while you stay the same?"

Lucia stepped forward slightly, but Bella took a step back, causing the former to pause. Her eyes searched Bella's, searching for anything she could grasp onto that might change her mind. She found nothing. "And how can you be sure this Edward isn't just using you -- that he truly wants to make you immortal for love and not because it suits him?"

"He told me he loved me," Bella informs her, keeping the distance between herself and Lucia. It didn't seem like she'd close the gap until the Barone agreed. "He wants to marry. He wants me. He loves me."

Taking a breath to steady herself, Lucia continued firmly. She wasn't even going to acknowledge the additional piece of information. "If you go through with this...you'll never be able to have children. You'll lose out on that entire experience. Can you truly live with that?"

Her tone had softened considerably now as she realised how angry she'd gotten. "I just don't want you to wake up decades from now, alone and empty-armed, realising what a sacrifice you made in your teenage years. Your humanity, your family, your children -- these are irreplaceable treasures. I can't stand by as you casually toss them away."

"I won't I promise I--"

Bella was cut off by Lucia who held up a hand, preventing her from continuing. Her expression was stormy as she said firmly, "I can't see how tossing us aside is what you want. We're nothing but props in the life that is Bella Swan. You don't care about me, or Charlie, or Jacob. You care about no one else but that demon. I'm not going to stand by this much less be your enabler."

She stepped back, putting emotional and physical distance between them the same way Bella did. The Swan girl knew now where they both stood and they had chosen their side. "Being a family means looking out for each other, even if it's not what someone wants to hear. So I won't change my stance or sugarcoat things to make this easier for you."

Taking a steadying breath, Lucia placed the plate on the drying rack. "All I want is for you to be safe and truly happy. But I can't see how trading your humanity for pretty promises accomplishes that."

Lucia placed the now dried plate on the rack and briskly swept out of the kitchen, ignoring Bella calling her back as she did. Bella was selfish, and Lucia accepted that now. And no one would mean more to her than Edward fucking Cullen.