Undisclosed Desires

Call it my luck, or call it a father’s intuition, but my family had decided that they needed to see me and try to force me to move to California; after nearly a month of open visitation times, they had to choose NOW to pack up and vacation down here.

It had been three mere weeks since I had gotten pregnant, and now, of course, I was starting to show. Oh man, my dad was gonna kill me.

Well, at least I had a legitimate reason to stay in Forks now…

“You sure they’re coming today?” I asked Alice, pacing back and forth in front of her wall-length mirror. Not just floor-length, wall-length. Why anyone needed this much mirror was beyond me.

“Yes, and quit pacing, you’ll make yourself sick again,” Alice said wearily to me; she had just informed me this morning that she had seen my dad boarding a flight to Forks, Washington, with my sister and step-zombiemother in tow.

“Are you sure you can’t tell I’m pre- er, showing?”

It was almost too hard to say ‘pregnant’. Not only had Paul been acting weird, Seth, Jacob, and every other damn wolf in the pack had treated me like I was the plague with legs.

“You’re fine. You really aren’t showing too much, just be sure not to go swimming-“

“Yeah, yeah-“

“Or decide to become a nudist-“

“Okay, Alice-“

“Or decide to have a passionate fling with Paul on your dad’s lap-“

“Alice! Shut it!” I snapped, stopping my pacing and throwing her a sick look. She just grinned at me.

“What about when they hug me?”

“They won’t, I’ve already told you. Nichole will hug you, but from the side, so you’ll be fine.”

Alice had already seen the whole conversation with my family, and she told me things worked out fine, but I was still anxious.

“But just say my dad changes his mind-“

“If worse comes to worse, just say you’ve put on a few pounds,” she suggested, shrugging.

I rolled my eyes.
“Right. I somehow managed to gain ten pounds that only shows on my stomach. That’ll convince ‘em.”

“You’re just a bundle of pessimistic nerves,” Alice complained, planting her hands on her hips.

“You should be used to it,” Bella retorted, coming into the room smiling. “You’ve lived with me long enough.”

I beamed at Bella. She seemed to be the only one excited about my pregnancy. Well, along with Rosalie and Renesmee.

Alice, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme, and one part of Jacob, was worried about my safety. The other part of Jacob, along with the wolf pack, was worried about what the baby would turn out like, and whether it would be the same thing with me as it had been with Bella when she was pregnant and had Renesmee.

Yeah, I got to live through those great moments. Edward conveyed the story, complete with pictures, through Renesmee.

That was a very disturbing five minutes.

They were mostly worried I would be a Bella-repeat because the baby was growing so fast. But I wasn’t getting weaker, or sick, or anything like that. I was perfectly fine, except for the gnawing worry that something was wrong with Paul and the pack.

“If my dad does figure it out… How far along do I look?”

Alice lifted my shirt- a billowy tanktop that accentuated my breasts and kept my stomach covered in a wave of fabric- and studied me.

“About three months, give or take a few weeks. Bella?”

“I agree,” Bella said, rubbing her hand over my stomach. I smiled and placed my hands over my baby, saying,

“I wish Paul was excited.”

Bella gave me a sympathetic smile and said,

“He’s just nervous. You saw what Edward was like when he found out. It’ll just take a while for Paul to adjust.”

Alice nodded in agreement, and I sighed. Alice dropped the shirt back down over my stomach, and said,

“You’re jeans look good at least.”

Alice had taken the liberty of converting a bunch of jeans in her closet into maternity jeans. They fit perfectly, and as I looked back at my reflection, I convinced myself I didn’t look too pregnant.

Alice’s eyes blurred momentarily, and Bella and I watched her, anxious for what she’d say.

“They landed twenty minutes ago, and they’ll be here in about five. Better get ready.”

I rushed downstairs, Bella close behind; I was just as clumsy as she was, and she didn’t want me falling and hurting me or the baby.

We had decided the only ones to be with me when my family came would be Edward, Bella, and Renesmee. I wanted Bella for moral support, Edward to back up the permission for me to stay at the Cullen house, and Renesmee to hold on my lap so maybe my stomach wouldn’t be so noticeable. I had thought about Paul joining us, but Jacob had suggested Paul not be with me; he and Edward agreed that it would help keep my father’s anger down if I didn’t bring my boyfriend in on this.

I had caught the meaningful glance between Jacob and Edward, and I had a sense this was just a plan to help Paul avoid me; I was too nervous about my family coming to worry about Paul and his commitment issues. I’d deal with that later. Right now, I had to calm down if I expected my parents to believe our story.

We had this all planned out to look as if we weren’t expecting them; Edward would be pretending to teach me how to play the piano, while Bella was busy feeding Renesmee. Hopefully our plan for a casual meeting would work.

I sat down on the bench in front of the grand piano; Edward sat beside me.

“Two minutes,” Edward announced; I knew he and Alice were communicating through their thoughts; Edward would begin to play when we had one minute left. Talk about dramatic.

I began to tap my foot nervously, something I did all the time. Edward gently rested a hand on my knee to stop the tapping, giving me an assuring smile.

Bella, balancing Renesmee on her hip, gave my shoulder a confident squeeze, and Renesmee rested her hand on my cheek briefly, showing me a happy image of all of us sitting around chatting. I held onto that image, and just managed to keep from jumping as Edward’s fingers began to drift over the keys.

Bella hurried off to the kitchen, toting Renesmee with her.

I counted to sixty slowly, and my breath hitched as I heard a car in the driveway.

Edward continued to play, giving me a calming smile.

The doorbell rang a few moments later, and Edward’s playing came to a stop. I knew exactly what to do now.

I put my own hands on the keys, and began to play an easy song Edward had taught me earlier just for this moment.

“I’ll get it,” he called loudly, just for my family to hear. He was at the door in a flash, and I watched as he counted to five, and then opened the door.

“Oh, good morning, Mr. Walker,” Edward said, his voice smooth and pleasant. “Hello, Mrs. Walker, and hello, Nichole,” he added. I felt a wave of nausea wash over me.

“Yes, hello, Edward,” my dad said; I saw Edward shake his hand. “Is Alexis here, by any chance?”

Alex, I thought to myself as Edward said,

“Yes sir, Alex is practicing right now. Feel free to come in.”

The door opened wider, and I kept my face down, staring at the keys as if they were my life line.

“Alex,” Edward called, taking a few steps inside and closing the door behind my family.

I glanced up, and forced a grin to spread across my face at the site of everyone; I felt more like screaming and running away.

Nichole couldn’t restrain any longer. She rushed from my dad’s side and flung her arms around my neck. I was at just the right angle to hug her awkwardly from the side so I didn’t have to worry about her brushing against my stomach.

I stood up, letting go of Nichole, and said,

“Hey Nikki, I’ve missed you.”

“Alex! I missed you so much! California sucks without you there!” I gave her a sympathetic smile, and turned back towards my dad.

“Hey dad,” I said as casually as I could. My dad gave me a tight smile, while Trisha glowered at me.

The California sun had given her a deep tan, making her skin resemble old leather. I pictured some drool coming out of the corner of her mouth, and her eyes going criss-cross.

A smile spread across Edward’s face as I thought,

My stepmom, the only tanned zombie in existence.

Trisha wasted no time on sentimental greetings; she crossed her arms impatiently and snapped,

“Alexis, we’ve given plenty of time for you say goodbye to your friends here-“

“Was that the door I heard?” Bella asked, poking her head out of the kitchen.

She beamed at the site of my dad, and said,

“Oh, hi, Tony!”

My dad flushed, and I caught the harsh glare Edward shot at my dad. I blinked.

Bella came dancing out, still holding Renesmee on her hip, though now she was holding a bottle to Renesmee’s mouth.

“M-my, Bella, is that you? Y-you look great,” my dad said, flushing a little darker.

Alice had seen our entire conversation, so everything Bella, Edward and I did or said had been rehearsed several times.

Alice had discovered that my dad had a little crush on Bella, and she had instructed Bella to play off it. We were hoping to make Trisha so uneasy that they’d leave without taking me with them; Trisha was one of the most jealous people I had ever met. If she felt like my dad was being a little too friendly, I knew she’d want out of there without any hasty goodbye’s or second thoughts. If we played our cards right, that was exactly what was gonna happen.

Edward’s face had turned into a smooth mask of control as he said graciously,

“Why don’t you all have a seat?”

My dad nodded; his excitement about Bella hadn’t gone unnoticed by Trisha, and she yanked him angrily to sit down on the love seat across from the couch; her black, beady eyes bore into Bella.

“Nichole,” Trisha demanded. My sister had been wandering over to sit next to me, but it was obvious that Trisha didn’t want her family mixed in with my unworthy friends. Nichole rolled her eyes and plopped down along with them, my dad in the middle with Trisha and Nichole on either side.
I sat down across from Nichole, while Bella sat down across from my dad and flashed him a smile. Trisha sat up a little straighter, poking out her chest and leaning towards my dad. I suppressed a gag.

“Can I get you anything?” Edward asked, his smile a little forced. I knew he wanted nothing more than to rip my dad’s head off. I had to admit, his infatuation with Bella was already a little sickening.

“Do you have any soda?” Nichole asked hopefully.

“Yes, we-“

“No soda, Nichole,” Trisha snapped, glaring at my sister. She turned her attention to Edward and gave him an attempted flirtatious smile. “Some water for the three of us, honey.”

Now it was Bella’s turn to tense up at the flirting; I took her hand in mine and gave it a little squeeze.

Bella relaxed a little, and as Edward disappeared, my dad said,

“How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been great,” I said, remembering my lines. “I’m getting ready to go to the University of Alaska with Bella and Edward next year.”

My dad’s eyebrows raised, just as Alice had said.

“You want to go to college now?”

“Yeah, I hadn’t been planning on it, but Bella and Edward talked me into it.”

My dad looked slightly impressed; I knew he was really disappointed that I had decided to skip going to college. Alice had predicted that my college decision would sway him in the right direction.

As the silence drew on, Renesmee, made a fussy sound on Bella’s lap.

All eyes flashed to her, and I saw the immediate attraction to her in both my dad’s and Nichole’s eyes. Trisha glanced at Renesmee, and went back to glaring at me.

She had just resisted Renesmee’s irresistible cuteness; maybe she really was a zombie.

“Awe! She’s adorable!” Nichole cooed, smiling at Renesmee.

“Who is that cute little girl?” my dad asked, smiling as well.

“This is mine and Edward’s daughter, Renesmee. Say hi, Nessie,” Bella encouraged.

Nessie smiled sweetly at my family, then turned and nestled into Bella’s hair. She was playing her part perfectly.

“She’s as gorgeous as her mother,” my dad said, earning him a painful elbow in the side from Trisha.

Bella handed her off to me, and I held Nessie on my lap, feeling loads better now that my stomach was shielded.

Just as Edward came back with water, Bella stood up and said,

“Excuse me, I need to refill her bottle.”

Bella turned and danced out of the room; both Edward and Trisha caught the way my dad watched her walk off.

“What brings you down to Forks?” Edward asked, settling himself on the other end of the couch, leaving room for Bella. His voice was tight and controlled; I thought quickly,

You know it’s just for show. Trisha will rip his dick off if he goes too far.

“We were hoping to take Alexis back with us,” my dad said, switching his gaze from Bella’s backside to my face.

“We don’t mind having her stay here until she leaves for college,” Edward said, his voice melodic. “After all, with her plans to go to college with us, I feel it’s a great choice. Carlisle and I are helping her brush up on studying.”

“Yes, yes, college is a great dream,” Trisha said suddenly, waving her bony little hand. “But Alexis has no money whatsoever, and she really isn’t smart enough for a big college.”

I had been ready for the insult, but it still stung.

“Carlisle and Esme are helping her into college, and Alex is actually quite brilliant; she scored higher than I did on the ACT.”

Well, it was a lie. I got a twenty-three and Edward had gotten a perfect score of thirty six. But they didn’t need to know that little detail.

“Alexis only got a twenty three,” my dad said. I frowned at the ‘only’. With the exceptions of the Cullen’s, Bella, Angela, Ben and myself, everyone else in our graduating class had gotten a nineteen or lower. Twenty three was better than average.

“Yes, and I got a twenty. She’s already been accepted,” Edward said, grabbing a letter off the coffee table and handing it to my dad.

As he read over the words, Bella came back and settled herself between Edward and I. She handed me the bottle and let me feed Nessie as I waited for my dad to finish. I smelt the tang of blood; I knew Nessie preferred blood to baby formula, and I did my best to keep from getting nauseous.

“Well… that’s impressive, but I can’t let your family pay for her college expenses. It would be fifteen thousand per year-“

“Yes, but she also has a few scholarships, and she’s studying to be a nurse. She’s planning on working for Carlisle this summer to help with a few of the costs, and then she’ll be his assistant when she graduates. Carlisle feels it’s a good trade-off.”

My dad frowned at the words, and Trisha had been noticing the way my dad caught glances of Bella’s long legs, or her chest, or her face… or really anything attached to Bella.

“Tony, if Edward and his family want to put up with Alexis, then I say we leave her with them. It’s been easier without her around.”

Perfect.

I could see Trisha was growing more jealous and uneasy by the second. Any situation with a prettier girl drove Trisha insane, and from the small smile Edward gave me, I knew we had won.

“Yes but,” my dad said, catching a glance as Bella crossed her legs and shook her hair over her shoulder. Trisha glared at him and snapped,

“We have a plane to catch in an hour or so, Anthony.” Both my dad and I blinked in surprise. She almost never called my dad by his full name. My dad was in serious trouble.

“Well… if everyone is fine with Alexis staying-“

“We are,” Bella said, beaming at my dad. I saw him blush and swallow nervously. “She’s such a great help around the house.”

“That’s that, then,” Trisha announced, standing up and pulling my dad with her. “Excuse us, but we really need to get going. Behave yourself, Alexis.”

And with that, she marched out of the house, yanking my dad with her. My dad called out,

“Love you, honey! Be safe!” And he was gone.

Nichole stood up slowly, and as she waited for my dad to disappear from sight, I saw Edward tense and draw in a breath.

Once the coast was clear, Nichole turned to me, her eyes narrowed in slits.

I blinked in surprise. Alice hadn’t said anything about this. Nichole must have just decided something.

“You aren’t going to college, are you?” she asked.

“Nikki, I’m-“

“Lying? Yeah I know you are, you have a tell, Alex. You’re lucky dad didn’t catch on.”

“A tell? What’s my tell then?”

“You bite your lip and tap your foot.”

“I-I was just bouncing Renesmee, that’s all,” I said, involuntarily drawing my bottom lip in and nibbling a bit.

Nichole rolled her eyes, and said,

“What are you really up to?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

“What are you hiding from me?” Nichole asked after a moment. The hurt was obvious in her face.

“Nikki…”

“What? Are you some serial killer? Are they holding you hostage?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Are you dying of cancer?”

“No, Nik.”

“So that’s it? You aren’t going to tell me?”

If I told Nichole I was pregnant, that was one more person I had to worry about that knew my secret. She lived with my dad and Trisha, the two people I didn’t want finding out. The risks were just too high.

“I can’t, Nikki…”

Nichole let out a frustrated sigh, and asked,

“Will you tell me eventually?”

I was quiet for a moment, thinking.

“Yes. I promise to tell you everything someday. Just… not right now, okay?”

Nichole nodded, and walked forward to me. I held out my arms, and pulled her into a careful hug, keeping my stomach as far away from her as possible. It was awkward, and had to look pretty stupid, but Nichole didn’t ask me about my stomach as she pulled back.

“Can I come visit you for Christmas? Dad says it never snows in California.”

I looked to Edward and Bella, who nodded in agreement, so I said,

“Of course. I’ll see you then. Make sure to piss off Trisha as much as you can for me, okay?”

Nichole laughed, and said,

“Promise. Oh, and I have a present for you,” she said, digging her hand into her pocket. “Dad wasn’t going to give these to you unless you agreed to come with us, but I figured you’d want them.”

Nichole dropped the keys to my jeep into my hand. I gasped, and stared at them in awe.

“You got my keys!” I squealed, throwing my arms around her. Nichole laughed just a horn honked out in the driveway. She gave me a huge smile as she headed for the door.

“Love you, Alex. See you soon.”

“Love you too Nikki.”

My sister turned and skipped out of the house as I smiled after her.

Bella slid a cold arm around me, saying,

“That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

“No,” I sighed in agreement, pocketing my keys.

“Ready for lunch?”

“Definitely,” I agreed, allowing Bella to tow me into the kitchen.

***My POV***

**Three Weeks Later**

“I’ll be back, mom!” Seth called as he slid his shoes on.

“Where’re you going?” Leah asked, poking her head out of the room.

“Gonna go meet up with Quil and Embry. Just for some guy time,” Seth lied smoothly, earning a shrug from his sister.

Seth pushed the door open, and stepped outside. For a second, he considered phasing; it would be faster, but his mind would be vulnerable, and if anyone saw his plans, they’d keep him here.

Seth walked a ways from the house, and when he was sure no one could see him, he sprinted off in the direction of the Cullen house.

Ten minutes after Seth left, a knock came on the Clearwater house.

Leah stood and stretch, ambling to answer the door. As she yanked it open, she was surprised to see Quil, Embry and Jared standing on the porch, with Paul, Jacob and Sam talking a few feet away.

“You and Seth wanna come over to Jake’s and hang out before patrols?”

Leah frowned, asking,

“Yeah, but Seth’s supposed to be with you guys already. He left a little bit ago to meet up with Quil and Embry.”

“We never saw him,” Quil said, glancing in confusion to Embry, who shrugged. “Everyone just stopped by my house… I mean, we left two minutes ago. He would have been there ages ago.”

Leah felt fear and anger begin to rise in her.

“Where’s my brother then?” She asked, her voice rising. Jacob had heard the confusion, and came over to the others.

“What’s going on?”

Leah explained the story as Quil phased and headed back to his house to check. A few minutes later, Quil came back in human form, a worried frown on his face.

“What?” Leah asked anxiously.

“Well, uh, he never even headed to my house. I caught his scent, and it heads up to the border.”

Everyone exchanged worried glances.

Paul had come over, and he felt his anger begin to rise.

“We’re following him,” Paul decided, taking his shorts off. Seconds later, he was in wolf form, pacing back and forth.

The rest of the pack phased, and they all raced in the direction of Seth’s scent.

It leads off towards the Cullen house, Jacob said gravely.

What could he be doing? Quil asked.

Jacob and Paul exchanged glances.

Oh FUCK no! Paul snarled, launching himself across the border.

Shit! Paul! Wait! Jared thought as he raced off after his friend, the rest of the pack close behind.

A hurried knock came on the Cullen door. The rain had begun to pour, and it was already dark outside. Though he wasn’t actually cold, Seth shivered as he waited.

“Seth?” Edward asked in curiosity, opening the door. He listened to Seth’s thoughts for a moment, and then said,

“You’re telling her?”

“I can’t take it anymore!” He said, pulling at his hair. “She needs to know! She’s having his baby,
Edward, and she doesn’t know!”

“Seth-“

“No! It’s wrong for Paul to lie to her! I can’t let it go on anymore. I can’t . Please, let me talk to her. I know Paul’s probably on his way now. Please, Edward, please…”

Edward was quiet a moment, and then stepped aside.

“This is between you, Paul, and Alex. It’s your choice. I won’t stop you.”

Seth nodded and hurried into the house. He was soaking wet, so he stayed downstairs as Edward went to retrieve Alex.

His eyes watered as he saw Alex come down the stairs. Her stomach was nice and rounded now; Carlisle had done an ultrasound and found out she was six weeks pregnant. She looked as beautiful as ever.

Her long brown hair was curled, the natural golden highlights shining. Her gorgeous blue eyes filled with happiness as she saw Seth, and she waddled over to him. She held her arms open for a hug, saying,

“I don’t care if you’re soaked, I want a hug!”

As Seth wrapped his arms around her small body, Alex said,

“I haven’t seen you in so long!”

“I’m sorry,” Seth said, feeling tears begin to run down his cheeks.

Alex heard the pain in his voice, and pulled back, staring anxiously up at him.

“Seth? What’s wrong?”

“I need to tell you something. Paul… Paul doesn’t want me to say anything, but you need to know Alex. I can’ t keep his secret any longer.”

Alex gave a few blinks and asked,

“What’s wrong Seth?”

As Seth opened his mouth, an earsplitting howl erupted from the front yard.

Paul glared through the front window, his eyes locked on Seth, murder in his expression.