If there was one thing the Cullens knew how to do, it was make a house feel like something out of a magazine spread while still somehow giving off the vibe of a museum where you weren't allowed to touch anything.
The moment Bella and I stepped inside, the door closing softly behind us, the air changed.
It wasn't just colder, though it was, but cleaner. Sharper. Pine and stone and something faintly floral, layered over the ever-present scent of vampires. Not unpleasant exactly, well, alright, slightly unpleasant for me, and very distinct. Like snow that had never been walked on, or metal after rain. I still noticed it, but had learned to ignore it.
Bella, on the other hand, stiffened almost imperceptibly beside me.
The Cullens were already there. All of them.
Esme hovered near the staircase, smiling warmly, hands clasped together like she'd been waiting for this moment all day. Carlisle stood close by, relaxed and welcoming, the picture of calm authority. Rosalie leaned against the wall near the piano, arms crossed, expression carefully neutral. Emmett looked like he was barely restraining himself from clapping someone on the back, or breaking something by accident. Jasper stood slightly apart, posture loose but eyes alert, while Alice practically vibrated with excitement near the coffee table.
Edward never left Bella's side.
Soft music played somewhere in the background; something instrumental, slow and elegant, the kind of song you didn't notice until it stopped. Candles flickered throughout the room, their flames steady despite the lack of any breeze, casting warm light that softened the modern lines of the house.
It was… a lot.
I glanced around, taking it all in, then felt a familiar absence settle in my chest.
Leah wasn't here.
I'd known she wouldn't be, of course. I'd asked anyway, it felt wrong not to, but her answer had been immediate and firm.
"Too many vamps," she'd said, arms crossed, expression unimpressed. "And that smell? No offense, but I'm not built for that."
I'd laughed, told her I got it, and meant it.
She hadn't said it harshly. Just honest. Leah wasn't the type to force herself into situations that made her uncomfortable, and I respected that. Hell, if the roles were reversed, I probably wouldn't love being trapped in a house full of predators either, no matter how well-behaved they were.
Still, she hadn't skipped the occasion entirely.
I shifted slightly, the weight of a small, carefully wrapped bag still tucked under my arm. The gift she'd sent for Bella.
A sleek bottle of perfume, elegant and subtle. Leah had handed it to me with a crooked grin.
"Tell her it's something light," she'd said. "Good for everyday wear."
Then, after a beat, she'd added with a smirk,
"And maybe it'll help cover the leech smell."
I'd rolled my eyes and snorted, but I'd also made a mental note to never repeat that last part out loud. Ever. Some thoughts were better kept firmly inside my head, safely behind the protection of saint Rick Astley, but why is he wearing gray robes today and holding a staff? And the song is slightly different as well…
Never gonna let you pass~
Bella squeezed my arm lightly, pulling me back to the present.
"Everyone's staring," she murmured, voice barely above a whisper.
I glanced around. They were. Not in a hostile way; more like curious, fond, expectant. Like this was a carefully planned moment and she was the centerpiece.
"You'll survive," I whispered back. "Probably."
She shot me a look.
Alice clapped her hands sharply, the sound cutting clean through the room. "Okay! Everyone's here, no one's bleeding-"
Bella flinched.
"-yet," Alice corrected quickly, then waved it off. "Kidding! Mostly."
Emmett laughed out loud.
I closed my eyes for half a second.
This was going to be a long night.
Edward's hand tightened reassuringly around Bella's, his thumb brushing gently over her knuckles. She relaxed a little at that, shoulders easing, though her eyes still darted around the room like she was expecting something to go wrong at any second.
Fair. Statistically speaking, that was a reasonable assumption.
I cleared my throat lightly and stepped forward, lifting the gift bag. "Uh, before things get… whatever Alice has planned," I said, "this is from Leah."
Bella turned to me, surprise flashing across her face. "Leah?"
I nodded. "She wanted to be here. Just… from a very safe distance."
Bella smiled softly, genuinely touched, as she accepted the bag. "Tell her thank you for me."
"I will," I said. And not the rest.
As Bella peeked inside, the room hummed quietly around us; soft music, murmured voices, the faint crackle of candles. Outside, the forest loomed dark and endless beyond the glass walls, rain whispering against the windows like it was listening in.
A birthday party.
In a house full of vampires.
What could possibly go wrong?
…
The thing about situations like this is that you know; absolutely, bone-deep know, that something is going to go wrong.
You just don't know how yet.
The Cullens' living room looked like something out of a magazine Alice probably kept hidden somewhere; wide open, flooded with soft afternoon light filtering through the tall windows, everything arranged just a little too perfectly.
Bella sat on the couch, hands folded awkwardly in her lap, already embarrassed and the party hadn't even officially started. Her brown eyes kept darting around the room, landing briefly on each vampire before flicking away again. I stayed close, probably too close, but I didn't care. If hovering could prevent a disaster, I was prepared to hover like my life depended on it.
Esme reappeared from the kitchen then, moving with that effortless grace that still made my spine itch. She carried a cake so pretty it almost seemed criminal to eat it; white frosting, delicate chocolate piping, a cluster of candles glowing softly on top.
"Happy birthday," she said warmly, and then everyone joined in.
Every. Single. One of them.
The Cullens' voices blended together in a way that shouldn't have worked; too smooth, too controlled, but somehow it did. Bella's face went crimson almost immediately. She ducked her head, shoulders hunching as if she could physically shrink away from the attention.
I couldn't help smiling. She looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
When the song ended, Esme set the cake down carefully on the table in front of Bella. The candle flames flickered, reflecting in golden and crimson eyes around the room.
"Make a wish," Alice chimed, already vibrating with excitement.
Bella leaned forward.
Too far.
"Careful," I blurted, reaching out instinctively, but she'd already blown.
The flames went out in a rush of warm air, and for half a second everything seemed fine. Then she recoiled with a sharp inhale, scrunching her nose.
"Oh," she muttered.
Her nose had gone bright red, like she'd stuck it too close to a campfire.
I winced. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she said quickly, waving it off, though she was rubbing at it with the back of her hand.
Edward was already there, concern etched too clearly across his face, but there was no blood, no scream, no sudden chaos, so the moment passed.
Too easily, in hindsight.
Presents came next.
This was the part I'd been bracing myself for.
I stayed glued to Bella's side as she started opening them, earning myself an eye roll that was very Bella.
"I'm not a toddler, Mike," she muttered under her breath.
"I know," I said, not budging. "Toddlers are tougher. Less prone to accidents and paper cuts."
Emmett snorted from across the room.
The stereo from Emmett and Rosalie came first; only the box though. Bella raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Emmett grinned. "Already installed it in your truck. Figured you deserved something that didn't sound like it was dying every time you hit a bump."
I glanced at Rosalie. She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. If I had to guess, Emmett had done most of the convincing… and the buying.
Bella was already wearing Alice and Jasper's gift, a beautiful emerald dress.
Edward's gift was quieter. A simple CD case.
"I recorded it," he said softly. "Just… things I thought you'd like."
Bella looked at it like it was something fragile and priceless. That expression alone made my chest tighten.
Then came Carlisle and Esme's gift, wrapped in simple paper.
Paper.
"Nope," I said instantly, grabbing it the moment Bella picked it up.
"Mike!" she protested.
"Careful with papercuts," I said firmly, already tearing into it myself.
"Good call," Emmett laughed.
Edward shook his head, smiling to himself, while Bella crossed her arms, clearly offended, but she didn't try to take it back from me.
What was inside nearly made her cry, two plane tickets to Jacksonville so she could visit her mother. I watched Bella blink rapidly, swallowing hard.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Then came the last gift, mine.
It was a simple leather bracelet I made myself, on the inside were the words "friendz forever" in slightly crooked letters.
She wore it immediately and said she loved it.
And that should've been the end of it.
It should have.
Bella stood up, probably to thank everyone properly, and somehow managed to trip over absolutely nothing.
I reacted without thinking, arms shooting out as I caught her against my chest.
"I've got you," I said automatically.
Then I felt it.
Something wet on my fingers.
A sharp inhale from Bella.
I looked down.
A thin red line bloomed on her arm, right where my nails had scraped her skin.
Time stopped.
The smell hit next.
Warm.
Metallic.
Human.
My mind exploded into pure, unfiltered panic.
Fuckfuckfuckfuck, no, why, damn it! Motherfucker!
Every vampire in the room froze.
Like statues carved from ice.
I looked at Jasper first, heart hammering, expecting him to be the problem. His jaw was tight, eyes focused, Alice gripping his hand like an anchor. He was holding. Barely, but he was holding.
Edward wasn't.
The sound he made wasn't human. It was a low, broken snarl that seemed to tear out of his chest.
"Edward!" Carlisle started, moving to intercept.
But he was too slow.
Edward hit him like a missile.
There was a crash of glass and wood as Carlisle went flying through the window, disappearing into the trees outside.
Everything erupted at once.
Emmett and Rosalie lunged, Esme right behind them, all three of them grappling Edward, forcing him away from Bella. Edward fought like something feral, eyes black, teeth bared, every muscle screaming hunt.
I placed Bella behind me without thinking, my body shaking, heart pounding so hard it tasted like copper in my mouth. I prepared to shift at any time.
Alice didn't move from Jasper's side, her fingers white-knuckled in his sleeve as she whispered urgently to him. Jasper wasn't breathing, but he could probably feel everyone's bloodthirst, the fact that he'd fed earlier was probably the only thing keeping him grounded.
After what felt like an eternity, but couldn't have been more than a minute, Edward stilled.
The tension snapped.
The blackness drained from his eyes, and horror flooded his face.
He looked at Bella, really looked, and the fear he saw in her face broke him.
"I…" His voice cracked.
He wrenched himself free and was gone in a blur, the front door slamming so hard the house shuddered.
Silence fell.
The cake sat forgotten.
Bella stared at the floor, pale and shaken.
And just like that…
The birthday party was over.
…
I couldn't stop thinking that this was my fault.
Not bad luck. Not fate. Me.
If I hadn't interfered, if I hadn't kept stepping in, nudging things just slightly off course, Edward would have already been tested. He would've known his limits. He would've faced the scent of Bella's blood before tonight, in a controlled moment, instead of having it slammed into him without warning.
But because of me, he hadn't.
I'd rewritten that part of the story without even realizing it. Smoothed the path, removed the danger, wrapped Bella in so much metaphorical bubble wrap that when the real test finally came, it hit like a sledgehammer.
And Edward broke.
The image wouldn't leave my head; Carlisle flying through glass, Edward's face twisted into something inhuman, the way the room had filled with that sharp, coppery scent that still seemed to cling to the back of my throat. Every detail replayed on a loop, merciless.
I'd meant to protect her.
That was always the excuse, wasn't it?
Hovering. Intervening. Catching her before she fell. Grabbing gifts before they could cut her. Acting like I could outthink a world that ran on instincts far older and stronger than mine.
And in the end, the one time I did touch her, I'd been the cause.
A stupid, careless scratch.
Barely anything.
But it had been enough.
I glanced at Bella, still standing too still, like if she moved the whole moment might come crashing back down on her. Edward was gone, fled in shame and horror, and that absence felt louder than the chaos had.
I swallowed hard.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
And for the first time since I'd started meddling, really meddling, it hit me just how fragile the balance was, and how easily my good intentions could turn into a match dropped into dry grass.
I hadn't just changed the story.
I'd delayed the inevitable… and made it worse when it finally arrived.
…
(Well, shit. That just happened. Don't forget to support with power stones or comments 🐢 🎶)