THE WHITE SUN AT MIDNIGHT | J.BLACK

[42]

The door to the Cullen's house creaked open as Jacob cut the ignition of his motorcycle, and both he and Paige jumped off. They saw Carlisle standing near the door as he let him in, knowing the wolves were irritated and not wanting to push them.

"Is it true?" Jake barked out as the two pushed past the vampire.

"Hello, Jacob, Paige, how are you?" he replied with sarcasm, hardly ever heard from the ancient vampire.

"Listen, just give it to us straight," Jake stressed, and Carlisle sighed.

"Jake, is that you?" Bella's voice rang across the house, causing everyone to snap alert.

Paige turned around to face Carlisle with a scowl. "She's here?"

"They came home two weeks ago," he answered, and Paige wasted no time in running up the stairs. "Paige," Carlisle called after her. Both men raced after the tempered Alpha as she stormed into the Cullen's living room. There they were met with the other vampires.

Paige could barely see past Rosalie, who was guarding Bella as she tried to see her sister. "I'm glad you came," Bella croaked from behind the blonde. Jake walked up to Paige, who kept taking steps towards the couch Bella rested on.

"Close enough," Rosalie snickered.

"What's your problem?" Jake said, tilting his head to the side.

The entire room went stiff. "Rose, it's okay," Bella granted, and Rosalie stepped aside. What the imprints saw almost made Paige gasp. Bella looked absolutely horrible. Her eyes were sunken with bags under them, her hair split and greasy. With grey dead-looking skin, she resembled a dying corpse.

"You look terrible," Paige laughed, and Bella sent her a half-smile.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you, too."

"So, are you gonna tell us what's wrong with you?" Jacob asked. Bella sighed and glanced towards Rosalie.

"Rose, you wanna help me up?" Bella was then lifted from the couch, and the werewolves rose with her. The first thing Paige saw was her huge and bruised stomach. Just like the rest of her body, it was dull and grey. Both Paige and Jake's mouths dropped.

Once their shock was over, Jake's fury kicked in. They looked over to Edward, who didn't look happy himself either. "You did this!" Jake spat, about to tackle Edward but Emmett held him back.

"We didn't know it was even possible," Carlile stated.

"What is it?" Paige questioned, being more controlled than her lover.

"I'm not sure. Ultrasounds and needles won't penetrate the embryonic sac."

"I can't see it, either. And I can't see Bella's future anymore," Alice frowned.

"We've been researching legends, but there isn't much to go on. What we do know is that it's strong. And fast-growing," Carlisle said.

"Why haven't you done anything? Take it out of her!" Jacob yelled.

"This is none of your business, dog," Rosalie interrupted.

"Rose!" Esme snapped. 

"All this fighting isn't good for Bella," Paige added, and everyone looked over to her. Jake's expression showed a sign of defeat while everyone else was in pure astonishment.

"The fetus isn't good for Bella," Alice announced sharply.

"Say the word, Alice. "Baby." It's just a little baby," Rosalie fought.

"Possibly," Jasper stepped forward, placing a hand on Alice's shoulder.

Jacob's face fell as he gazed at Carlisle in desperation. "Carlisle, you've gotta do something."

"No," Bella spoke. "It's not his decision. It's not any of yours."

"Jacob, I need to talk to you," Edward said hoarsely. He hadn't said anything about the matter since either of the wolves arrived. It took a lot of visible incentives from Paige for Jake to follow Edward outside.

With the fight now out of the house, for now, everyone looked to the one person they still hadn't heard an official opinion from. Paige sat on the coffee table where Jake had previously sat and huffed, leering into her sister's hopeful eyes.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" the shifter joked, and Bella's lips perked up a touch. "But my loved ones have never been known to be the brightest. So I guess I can attempt to help my sister."

"Thank you," the sisters engulfed in an embrace, and Paige kissed the side of Bella's hair.

"Don't make me regret this, Bells."

~:*:~

Paige and Bella talked for the past fifteen minutes about the child inside the elder sister. All the Cullens had left to give them privacy, even if Rosalie had wanted to begin a riot again. "Oh! How about Lennix if it's a boy and Rory if it's a girl," the Claymore suggested. She had been doing this for the past five minutes.

Bella grimaced. "No. I want the name to mean something."

"Rory means something. She's one of the main characters from Gilmore Girls, and I love that show," the wolf gleamed, and Bella shook her head.

"I want him named after someone I love."

"Okay. How about Rosalice. It's a mix between Alice and Rosalie," Bella gave her sister a look that knew she hated it. "CJ for Charlie-Jacob? Isabella-Renée? Rossica? This is a lot harder than I'm making it look," Paige raised her hands in defeat as her sister chuckled.

"They're all . . . . interesting names, but I think I'll stick to that task on my own," Bella said, and Paige nodded, saying she had a point. A groan from the stairs made Paige look up to see Jake walking up to them. As Bella noticed his presence, the air became thick, but Paige still stood from her spot next to her sister.

"Don't say anything stupid, Jacob," she advised and walked up to her imprint. She kissed his cheek and whispered, "I'll be back at Billy's."