Shifting Moon

 Bella just looked at me and then softly spoke, "That also means your birthday is very soon. You know it was bigger than Christmas for Aunt Nancy. I feel like I would be letting her down if we didn't celebrate it… Even if it is the day before… That happened." 

 Thomas tried to keep his face blank and his emotions under control, "Yeah, she was always over the top Mom on that day. She never really cared for the regular holidays, seeing them as days to get in good overtime pay. But she always took a full week off work for my birthday. Do what you want, but please let's keep it out of the public eye. I really don't want the whole school bugging me about it." 

 Bella looked down at the kitchen floor, "About that… Lauren kinda went through your records in the school office for your birthday and has spread it among the girls." She started to speak faster as she saw Thomas's face turn cloudy, "I told her you really didn't like a big deal being made about it and if she pushed it then you would be very unhappy. But I think she already got you a gift. She is also talking about asking you to the Sadi Hawkins dance this next Saturday." 

 "Yeah, I have been asked multiple times and turned them all down so far, her luck won't be any different. What about you? Have you asked anyone to the dance?" 

 "You know my issues with dancing. Why would I ask someone I liked to go with me to a place where I would for sure make a fool out of myself? Besides, he wouldn't say yes to me anyway." She said the last bit so low that just a day ago Thomas doubted he would have heard her. 

 "Don't be stupid, Edward would love to go with you, and I am sure he would be able to keep you from tripping over yourself." 

 "Who said anything about Edward??? Just. Just never mind the dance! And if anyone asks, I am going to Seattle that Saturday." 

 "OH, that's a good excuse, I will use it too. Unless you really plan to go to Seattle then I will actually accompany you." 

 Bella shook her head, "I really don't have to go. Besides, if Edythe asked you to the dance, then saying you have to go with me will backfire on you." 

 "And if Edward asked you?" 

 "It's a girl's choice, we are supposed to ask." 

 "Do you really think that will stop guys from asking you to ask them? I bet at least 3 guys ask you between now and Monday after school. Mike and Tyler are a guarantee, and I bet there are many more. Speaking of, do you know if Angela is going to ask Ben?" 

 Bella leaned back into the kitchen counter, "I don't know. She is very hung up on her height. She was made fun of a lot about it during middle school and more in her freshman year of high school. She likes Ben but worries that her being so much taller than him will put him off." 

 "Well, if she likes him, then she should give him the chance. Maybe we should give her some encouragement tomorrow at the beach. Bummer that Ben couldn't make it, but he works weekends." 

 Their conversation was interrupted by Charlie as he sleepily stumbled into the kitchen. He mumbled a tired greeting as he walked directly to the coffee pot. 

 After giving him time to take a few sips of coffee to wake up, Bella asked, "Do you want me to make you a breakfast and then you can lake some lasagna to warm up at the office or do you just want lasagna for both meals?" 

 "You spoil me too much kid, no reason to make anything special for me. I will have the same as you guys." 

 Bella just nodded her head, "Well it's about 30 minutes before it comes out of the oven and 20 after that before it will be ready. I am going to go write mom since the computer is on." 

 As Bella left the kitchen, Thomas addressed Charlie, "Don't forget to bring out your laundry, I will get it done tonight. 

 Charlie lifted his coffee mug in a mock salute, and I decided to make my way back to my room and look over that diary some more. After reading the first few pages I came to the conclusion that the vampire's name was Henry Burgess, at least if I am right and the author was writing in the 3rd person perspective then the name mentioned the most would be Henry Burgess. He appeared to be a vampire turned sometime in the late 1700s England. 

 He also talked about a rash of killings he was responsible for in London during the 1800s, and that he set up a man named Aaron Kosminski to take the fall for. Apparently this Kominski was related to someone that Henry hated in his youth. Henry had to lay low when his activities drew the attention of someone called Aro Volturi, so he was never able to finish his plans to humiliate this grandson of his long-lost rival. 

 To appease this Volturi person, Henry started to send him information on all the vampires he knew in the area and anyone who passed through. As I continued to read, Henry wrote about his greatest contribution to Aro Volturi. Henry had discovered a rich merchant family that had a habit of always taking a trip out of town during the full moon. Henry had followed them once at a great distance and saw the family enter a well-hidden cave. Later that night as Henry was trying to figure out how to open the cave, he heard a great deal of howling and barking sounds coming from the blocked entrance. 

 Apparently, his passing along this information gave him a certain status of protection among Vampires. No one dared to mess with him after that. 

 My reading was interrupted by Bella calling me down for dinner. By the time I got to the kitchen, Bella was wrapping a lunch-size portion for Charlie's work meal and then we all sat down and ate dinner together. Charlie managed to embarrass Bella by asking if she was going to ask anyone to the dance and then he turned his attention to me and asked if I planned to go. It was a good normal family night after a very weird day of shape-shifting and learning about a whole supernatural world being out there. 

 I was seriously struggling with the idea of keeping my family in the dark about the whole thing. I really want to tell Bella as she had been so important to me while I recovered from my mother's death. Also, Charlie had been great, and keeping this danger from him felt like a bit of a betrayal. I just feel that I needed to learn more about this world before bringing them into it. Shortly after dinner, Charlie left for work, and I started to separate the clothes into their wash piles. 

 Noticing a distinct lack of girly clothes, I went and knocked on Bella's door. She called out, so I opened it and took a breath to tell her to bring out the clothes she wanted washed. I quickly paused when I smelled a strong sweet smell. It wasn't overpowering or anything, but it was still very noticeable. I looked around as I stepped into the room and found the smell centering around an old rocking chair in the corner and the window. 

 "You have anyone in here lately Bell's?" 

 Bella looked up from her book, "I haven't ever had anyone in here but you and Charlie. Why do you ask?" 

 "I caught a major whiff of the Cullen body lotion or perfume, whatever it is. Did you get some sprayed on you?" 

 I picked up the jacket that was lying on the chair. "It's really strong here." 

 Bella just shrugged, "I don't smell it. Maybe it got on my jacket, and I just got used to it. Anyway, what's up?" 

 "You still haven't brought out your clothes for me to wash, if you plan on wearing anything warm to the beach tomorrow, I need it now or you wear it dirty." 

 "Oh crap, thanks for reminding me." Bella jumped up and started rooting around her room for dirty clothes. 

 Once I got a load going, I returned to the Vampire's Diary. Now that I was used to the style of writing, it was going much faster. First off, I realized that this wasn't a day to day diary, just something he wrote in during significant events. I was now about three quarters through the pages that had been written on when I came across the meticulously drawn pictures of Rosalie.