Black & Blue |C. Cullen|

SEVEN

"I think I'm going to start my own veterinary clinic. I mean, I have the money and the degree and people have to drive so far to reach a vet if they live in this town," I pushed my glasses up my face and leafed through papers that I had drawn up.

"You're a vet?" Carlisle asked me as he sat next to me and placed a cup of coffee on the table.

"Yeah, I've been out of practice for half a year, Aaron made me quit. I really want to do it, though," I stated and grabbed the coffee and took a sip.

"You should do whatever makes you happy," he smiled at me.

"It'll take me about a week or two, but after that, I think it'll work out perfectly," I continued to flip through paperwork. I set the papers down on the coffee table and took a deep breath, "I'm going to just relax for the next few minutes."

"That sounds like a great idea," Carlisle chuckled.

I laid back for a total of thirty seconds before I stood up, grabbed the coffee, and paced around the living room, "I can't do it. I have a to-do list running through my head and it's screaming at me."

Carlisle chuckled, "Come here."

I took a deep breath and sat next to him, I crossed my legs and faced him and took a sip of my coffee. I waited for him to say something, he simply looked at me and watched me drink the coffee. "Did you drug it?" I asked, pointing to the glass.

"What? No," he replied, "Why?"

"I assumed you were going to say something but you're just watching me drink it," I laughed.

"Just relax," he smiled.

My alarm went off on my phone and I quickly shut it down. I walked over to the table by the door to the garage and opened my wallet. I slipped my birth control out, took one pill, and put it back in. I returned to the couch greeted by a quizzical expression on Carlisle's face.

"Fuck if I was gonna have a kid with that man," I stressed. Carlisle nodded in understanding and something made a loud clattering noise from the kitchen. We both turned to see what it was, Emmett held a knife in the air and waved it around, "Sorry," he chuckled.

Esme and Derek were cooking in the kitchen to prepare for Edward's mate, Isabella. I was still staying with Carlisle, so I had the pleasure to meet her as well. I set my coffee down on the table and looked back at Carlisle. "Are you going to tell me who this person is?" I asked, referring to the other night.

"Esme, Derek, do you need any help?" Carlisle stood up and made his way over to the kitchen.

"Oh my god, avoid me why don't you," I laughed and stood up.

I walked up to the bedroom I was staying in and put my papers away. While I was up there, I changed from shorts to jeans and a t-shirt to a long sleeve, I didn't need the first thing that Bella noticed about me to be the bruises. I fixed my hair in the mirror so that it fell over the bruises on the sides of my neck. Once I was pleased with my appearance, I made my way out of my room.

I saw Edward and a girl, who I presumed to be Bella, walked towards the end of the hall. "This is Carlisle's mate, Jessamine," Edward introduced.

"His what?" I raised my brows in confusion and Edward's face dropped; he wasn't supposed to be the first one to tell me that and he wasn't aware that I was unaware.

"Jessamine, this is Bella," he quickly said and ushered Bella to the end of the hall, his eyes were wide.

I walked down the stairs and walked up to Carlisle who was standing in the kitchen with Esme and Derek. I waved him a few feet over, still possessing a look of disbelief. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Were you ever going to tell me, or were you just going to keep it a secret amongst you and Edward?" I asked with my head cocked to the side.

"Keep what a secret?" He questioned.

"Oh, you know. Well, your boy up there just keyed me in on who your person is," I shook my head.

His eyes grew wide, "He must have read my mind."

"Well," I smirked.

He walked outside onto the back porch with me, shut the door, and gently took my hands, "I didn't want to scare you off, Jessamine."

"Of course you're not going to scare me off, have you not noticed the several hints I've been dropping over the past week?" I laughed. He simply continued to look at me. "I don't go around kissing everyone on the cheek," I placed my hand on his face and ran my thumb over his cheekbone.

Rather than providing a verbal response, he leant down and pressed his lips against mine. That sent a new feeling radiating through me, it lingered in my core; he was the first person to give me butterflies. Forget butterflies, he made it feel like so much more. The second he pulled away, I wanted more.

I rested my head against his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist; our height difference was more than comical. He was 6'2 and I was running around at 5'0 even. I pulled my sleeves up and winced at the pain.

"Are you all right?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm fine, it just still hurts," I shrugged and ran my fingers over the bruises lightly.

"They should have started to fade by now," he frowned.

"I don't know, he's pretty strong," I stated and looked at the still-purple marks that decorated my arms.

"Even then," he gently took my arm in his hand and inspected the bruises.