A preview of Chapter 19 of "Moonlit" as I still work on refining it.

Of course, this doesn't explain the posters, but that's ok. I like to be mysterious for stupid reasons.


The moon had already risen by the time Carlisle was on his way to the hospital. Carlisle had never really thought of Bella as a child. She was young and she was a girl, but to him she’d never been a young girl. All the same, it had been something of a jolt when he saw her standing in the doorway of the small yellow house wearing nothing but a red towel. Her hair was down and wet, leaving a trail of water drops on her shoulders. Carlisle had watched as one of those drops, reflecting prisms of early moonlight that few could see, moved its way down to her clavicle. His eyes had followed the path and moved beyond, tracing the delicately pale and smooth skin to the towel line.

The towel had obviously slipped since she’d first wrapped it around herself. It was loose around her torso and waist, moving with the rise and fall of her chest. Her hidden figure was obvious, and as easily declared by the shapely legs revealed from mid-thigh down. Even her bare feet were adorable. Journeying back up to make eye contact with Bella, Carlisle had seen when the realization of her attire hit her. He had smiled at the beginnings of shock and embarrassment on Bella’s face. “Did I arrive at a bad time?”

It was a little surprising that she hadn’t fallen in her haste to get up the stairs and change.

In the solitude of his car, Carlisle laughed again under his breath. Bella was still Bella, despite the fact that he was noticing her figure. Plenty of teenage girls had figures and Bella, at eighteen, was definitely no exception. Carlisle wondered when she would start dating, and he lost his smile. Bella, dating… she’d have to be with the family less, and that was a thought Carlisle didn’t like.

It was selfish of him. As it was, he felt bad at having stepped on Charlie’s parental toes by gifting Bella the phone without talking to him first. He hadn’t stopped to think about Bella’s primary family, even if it consisted of just her father. That made it all the more important, particularly since Bella would be going to college soon. Carlisle would have more time with her then than Charlie would.
The thought startled him, or more pointedly, the assumption behind the thought did. Alice and Jasper had taken on the roles of teenagers in order to enable the family to stay in one place longer. Ostensibly the same age as Bella, they, too, would supposedly be going to college when she did, while the family’s home base was to remain in Forks for about another three years. At what point had he envisioned that they would all actually follow Bella to her college of choice? Yet, that was exactly what Carlisle wanted to do.

Over an hour early for his shift, Carlisle parked his Mercedes and made his way into his office. It was fairly small compared to the one he had at home, yet it was serviceable for his professional needs. The hospital budget had supplied the desk and chairs, as well as the standard issue filing cabinets. Carlisle began to review patient files.

He’d have to talk it over with Esme and Maggie, as well as Alice and Jasper. It would mean uprooting the family earlier than planned. Yet staying with Bella would be worth it. There would never again be another Bella in his life, their lives. If the family agreed, hopefully Bella would, too. Somehow, Carlisle had no doubt that she would.

Yet, something had happened on her father’s couch tonight. She’d held herself back. Bella had been about to kiss his cheek, but she’d paused then pulled away. What had made her draw away from him like that? It was a silly thing to feel wounded over, but Carlisle had been hurt. He could reason it away now as simply an awkward moment. Though prior to this evening he and Bella hadn’t had any awkward moments.

The phone on his desk rang unexpectedly. Carlisle picked it up, wondering if Grace had noticed him come in and he was being asked into the ER. The voice on the other end did not, however, hold middle-aged accentuation.

“We’ve already sent in our applications,” chimed Alice. “Jasper and I are completely on board with actually attending college this time around. Jazz is looking forward to earning a degree in history.”

Carlisle smiled into the phone. “Saw this one coming, did you?”

“Yes, and I made sure we got our applications in on time before you had to bribe any schools to let us in. I know the money doesn’t matter,” Alice interrupted before Carlisle could speak. “However the morality of it is an issue. How do you think Bella would feel knowing that we’d bought our way into joining her?”
“Point taken. What schools? Are there any that will reject Bella because of her father’s limited income?”

“Don’t worry about it, Carlisle. Just be prepared to look for hospital openings in New England once Bella decides which of the many acceptance letters she’ll receive means the most to her.”

Sometimes it was still unsettling to have Alice’s precognition a part of their lives. He had just barely had this realization, and now it was nearly set that they’d be relocating in a few months. “How do Esme and Maggie feel about this?”

“Bella means something to all of us, Carlisle. We want to continue to be a part of her life.”

“Let’s just hope she wants us there.” Not many young women had their friends’ entire families move to a new state to stick with them through college. “I don’t want to smother her, Alice.”

“You couldn’t, Carlisle.”

Carlisle thought again of Bella pulling back from him. “I’m not so sure,” he said sadly.