you only live twice 2

8/8/2019 You Only Live Twice 2

1/96

Title:You Only Live Twice

Category: Books Twilight

Author: Valerie Poort

Language: English

Rating: T

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Drama

Chapters: 9

Words: 25,761

Summary:An unforeseen event sees that Laurent hasthe chance to bite Bella before the wolves can get to

them. After her transformation, Bella must decide what

she wants in her new life.

NB: This story continues from when Laurent finds Bella

in the meadow, and is just about to kill her. Of course,

we all know that the wolves then show themselves. But

this time round, Bella isnt so lucky.


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Prologue

"Mouthwatering," he repeated, inhaling deeply.

I tensed for the spring, my eyes squinting as I cringedaway, and the sound of Edward's furious roar echoed

distantly in the back of my head. His name burst through all

the walls I'd built to contain it.Edward, Edward,

Edward. I was going to die. It shouldn't matter if I thought

of him now.Edward, I love you.


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Chapter 1: Death & Destruction

Bella's POV

Then, I felt teeth sink into my skin.

Nothing could have prepared me for the onslaught of

fire that cursed through my veins, it quickly spreading from

the concentrated bite in my neck to the rest of my body. Myeyes fluttered closed, my vision blackening rapidly. My sight

being cut off only increased the pain, and the feeling of

blood being sucked out of my body. The only thing that held

me up now was the cold hand wrapped around my waist. I

lost all thought, I couldn't think of anything but the fire that

was surrounding my body. How could I have ever wished

for this? How could I have been so ignorant of the pain it

would cause me?

I heard a girls screams far away, and I was horrified

that Laurent had finished with me and attacked someone

else. Couldn't he have stopped with me? Even more

worrying, why was I still here thinking when I should be

dead?


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Suddenly, snarling erupted around me and I felt a

weight lift off my body, and something flat and hard hit me

moments later. I writhed around, wishing I could shout at

somebody to put the fire out. My whole body was burning,

the fire increasing, even though I didn't feel sharp teeth

piercing my neck anymore.

The ground started trembling, feeling oddly like wild

horses were pounding rhythmically through the meadow.

Loud, angry barks sounded around me, accompanied bygrowls and more snarls. Was there some kind of dog in the

middle of nowhere?

The air around me vibrated, and I tried to concentrate

more on the confusing things happening around me rather

than the pain in me. It helped faintly with the burning. Very

faintly.

The hard surface that had crashed into me steadily

pounded, getting louder with every thump. I felt a weight

press back into me, and I felt relieved that Laurent had

come back to finish me off.Please kill me! I silently begged

in my head.

The hands that gripped my wrists tightly and held me

down were unfamiliarly hot, almost uncomfortable,although the temperature was nothing compared to the

rampant inferno in me. It took a second for me to realise

that Laurent had cold, immortal skin, and that whoever was

holding me down was certainly not a vampire.

My heart rate increased, and it had nothing to do with

the raging fire inside me

"Bella, calm down! Please! I'm so sorry, please," a


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husky voice sobbed.

Jacob?What was he doing here? He was supposed to be

catching a movie with his friends? No! He couldn't be here;

he had to get away from Laurent! Oh no, I couldn't be

responsible for his death too!

Sam!" he shouted.

I felt another vibration in the air, and tried once again

to concentrate on anything but the pain.

"What's happening?" Jacob asked, his tone low and

scared.

"I don't know, he bit her, doesn't that mean..."

someone trailed off, I figured it must have been this Sam

guy Jacob had just shouted at. Nothing was making sense!

Why was Sam here, and how did he know Laurent had bitme?

"She's turning into one of them," Jacob hissed, the hold

on my wrist tightening. So did that mean that Laurent had

gone? What? How...?

I was confused. How did they know what I was turning

in to a vampire? Had Jacob started believing his father's

ideas now? Nothing was making sense anymore. I find the

meadow I had spent countless hours with Edward, only to

find another vampire, who bites me, and then Jacob and

this Sam guy turn up and say that they know about

vampires.

I had to ask them, I decided. I tried to squint through

my eyes, and saw a harsh bright, white light, and I closed


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my eyes quickly against it, but thankfully Jacob had

apparently noticed my accomplishment.

"Bella!" He shouted, "Can you hear me? Are you all-

right? Ugh, stupid question"

He cut himself off, because during his rant I'd managed

to lift my arm and hold up three trembling fingers.

"Three, what are you saying, what's three have to do

with anything now? I mean, you're"

"Days," I managed to slip out between my gritted teeth,

all the while still holding in the screams that were queuing

up in my mouth.

"Three days? You're not making any sense, Bel"

"Jacob!" Sam cut him off this time, "it takes three days

for the transformation to be complete, if the legends are

true, that is."I nodded my head curtly to show my agreement, then

choked back a scream as it escaped. I didn't care about the

stupid keeping-the-secret law anymore, since Jacob and his

new friends apparently know about vampires, I might as

well play along for the time being.

"Did you take care of it?" Sam shouted.

"Yeah, the leech will have turned into a pile of reeking

ashes by now," a different voice said, sounding far away.

"What?" I managed to stutter out.

"The bloodsucker that bit you, we killed... no,

destroyed it." Sam told me, touching my head, "is there

anything we should be looking for? I've never read or heard

about these transformations, really. Only the things the


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legends tell us are that there's screaming and pain for three

days, depending on the amount of poison the leech injects

into its victim."

"How?" I breathed painfully out.

"What... legends?" Sam sounded confused.

"You... destroy."

"Oh." Sam's voice caught. I painfully opened my eyes

again to see what was happening around me. I could see a

boy crouching near me, staring to my right, where there

were three more boys looking at me. I felt the hands on my

wrists tighten even more, and my eyes darted up to see

Jacob leaning over me.

All I could think was what hadhe done to his hair?

His beautiful hair, which used to be long, had now

been cropped short, almost like a buzz cut. I noticed the restof the boys also had the same style, and none of them had

shirts on either.

Jacob noticed me looking strangely and probably

angrily at his hair. He shrugged, "It's easier," he told me

cryptically. He glanced pleadingly up at Sam who nodded

once, and looked back at me again.

"We're um... well," Jacob started anxiously.

"Werewolves." Sam stated emotionlessly.

Okay, I am officially going crazy.

Everyone looked up at Sam as he continued to speak,

"we're built to kill vampires, we only turn into wolves when

we need to protect the reservation by phasing, and right

now, we will help you get through the transformation. Ask


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us any question you like."

I was frozen to the spot with the new information; Ihad even stopped writhing on the ground. Jacob noticed

and lessoned his hold on me. It must have been a couple of

seconds of pure pain-free bliss before the pain started

again. Only this time, it had increased ten-fold.

I couldn't hold the screams back anymore.

~ ~ ~

"What's happening?" I heard Jacob anxiously asking.

Ah, so they could hear it too. My heart felt like it was about

to jump out of my chest. It was beating too fast for a

normal, healthy human heart. It felt like a million pieces of

glass had lodged inside my chest and were stinging me fromevery angle.

The good news from a couple of hours ago had been

that the pain had slowly receded from my legs and arms,

almost to the point where it was gone. The bad news,

however, was that the pain had transferred into my chest,

making it the worst torture I had felt yet.

I wondered if the boys crowded around me could see

the movement of my heart beating furiously in my chest, it

certainly felt like they should be able to.

My heart stuttered once, breaking its constant rhythm,

then stuttered again twice more.

Then silence.

It felt like I'd been freed from my chains that had been


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holding me down for the past three days. For the first time,

I felt no pain. In fact, I could only feel the slight breeze of

wind on my skin, and the pressure of grass on my back.

And I could smell the most horrible wet dog smell.

Then I opened my eyes.

Everything was so clear! It felt like my human life had

been lived by staring at everything through a frosted

window. I could see the little specks of dust floating freely in

the air, every colour in the countless leaves of the canopyabove me.

And I could see the heads of five worried boys standing

in a loose circle around me.

I thought of getting up, but within a twentieth of a

second I was already up. Startled by the sudden movement,

I looked around me again.I was still in the exact same place in the meadow that

Laurent had attacked me, except this time I was surrounded

by five massive, over-grown teenagers standing their guard.

"Bella," Jacob's familiar voice whispered, and I

snapped my head in his direction. He looked frightened by

the movement and even more frightened when he looked

me in the eyes, but he still took a small step forward in my

direction, holding a hand out palm up.

"How are you?" He asked apprehensively, not

breathing or moving, waiting for my reaction.

"Fine," I said, my new voice startling me for a second

before I got myself under control.

Jacob cocked an eyebrow at me, and even though the


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situation at the moment was most awkward, I had to stifle a

laugh. Jacob grinned at me, but it wasn't his wide, warm

grin I had grown used to. I felt my smile fall.

Everyone uncomfortably stood around for a few

moments.

"Well, the wolf's out of the bag now," the boy I'd gotten

to know as Jared said. Everyone laughed shortly at his

attempt at breaking the ice.

"Bella..." Jacob started, in the tone of voice he'd usedfrequently in the past few days. He'd apologised for not

getting to me in time, not being able to save me from death.

Of course, I'd just lain helpless on the ground not being able

to respond as he apologised numerously.

"Jacob, its fine," I stepped forward, I'd had plenty of

time for thinking of what to say back to Jacob when I hadmy chance, but wasn't prepared for Jacob automatically

retreating backwards as I approached.

I stared open-mouthed and wide-eyed at Jacob,

thinking of whyhe would be scared ofme, and then I

remembered what I now was.

I started sobbing, and expected tears to come rolling

down my cheeks, but my mind flashed back to a fuzzy

memory of Esme weeping at my bedside when I was in the

hospital in Phoenix. So this is what it felt like to cry.

I fell back down to the ground and hugged my knees

tightly around me. When I'd dreamed of becoming a

vampire, I'd imagined I'd be spending it with the most

amazing family I'd ever met; two loving, supportive parents,the crazy sister, the moody brother, the most gorgeous


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boyfriend, the hilarious brother and the tenacious sister. I'd

never had any brothers or sisters, let alone a functioning

family, so it had felt great surrounded by so many caring,

warm and adoring people. Instead, I was stuck in the

middle of Forks, surrounded by five werewolves, with

nothing.

The thing I had once begged for had now been given to

me. When it once could have been a blessing to finally be

equal to the one I loved, it was now a curse to stay awayfrom those who loved and cared for me. I wondered what I

was going to do with myself now. My plans when I was

human had consisted of the constant routine of Jacob,

school, bikes, homework, food and sleep. I hadn't been able

to think past a day, because there was always the slight faith

that he might come back. But then there was the nagging in

the back of my head that was crushing the hope,

because he didn't love me anymore. I hadn't thought about

college or jobs yet, and I'd pretty much spent my college

savings on saving the bikes from their graves. Well, at least

one good thing would come out of this new event. I wasn't

exactly going to crack my head open when riding my bike

anymore. But maybe Jake wouldn't let me on the rezanymore now, because I was their mortal enemy.

I knew I wouldn't be able to see Charlie now, heck;

maybe I wouldn't be able to interact with any humans for

decades. It was probably only the putrid smell coming from

Jake and his friends that stopped me from sucking the life

out of them.

Now that I was thinking about thirst, I could feel the


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burn in my throat getting stronger, and I couldn't stop

thinking about it. I felt the natural instinct to find a living

creature to hunt. I could smell the faint rusted-metal and

salty blood smell coming from nearby, and before I could

think of what that meant, I was already racing at super

vampire speed towards the beating heart. The pulse felt like

shock waves around me.

I could now see what Edward meant about not hitting

the trees when he was running. Although everything shouldhave been a blur, I could see every outline, every colour,

every leaf of every tree I passed. Running at this speed felt

exhilarating.

I was close to the target now, and I lunged for the pulse

without thinking about the consequences of my actions. My

lips locked on the neck, and I felt the warm liquid flow into

my mouth. I savoured every last bit, and dropped the

carcass I was holding. My eyes closed in the ecstasy of the

taste.

A bird squawking and fluttering away from the trees

brought me back to reality, and I just thought back to what

I'd done. I looked at my hands covered in blood, and my

eyes widened. What had I just done? I hadn't even looked atwhat I was draining! Did I know this person? I snapped my

head downwards at the lifeless body.

Relief flooded through me.

I was looking down at the body of a mountain lion.

Does this mean I could continue living on a vegetarian

diet like the Cullen's? If I had found this much satisfactionin the blood of a carnivorous animal, would I need to feed


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on humans?

The most amazing smell drafted slowly through thetrees that moment, beckoning me towards it. I was helpless

as I ran towards it, the divine aroma only getting stronger

by the second. I couldn't stop myself. I was in a trance

which I could not break out of.

A hot hand gripping mine and pulling me back stopped

me in my tracks, and I snapped around to see the intruder.

My eyes widened at the sight of my frightened best friend.I didn't care about the delicious smell anymore; all I

cared about was trying to put a smile on Jake's face again. I

turned into him and enveloped him in a tight hug. His body

stiffened for a few seconds, but then he relaxed and put his

arms carefully around my body.

I sobbed into his neck, "I don't care if you smellhorrible Jake, please, just be my friend again, please," I

begged. I truly didn't have a sense of pride anymore.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. So sorry for letting you die," he

choked, tightening his arms around me.

"Wasn't your fault, Jake. I'm just a danger magnet. If

trouble is in the area, it'll come and find me," I scoffed, only

half serious.

"Why does it have to come to this, though? Why does

my best friend have to be my mortal enemy?" He whined.

I stepped out of his embrace, but kept his warm hand

in mine, ensuring he stayed with me. "It's the way the cards

were dealt," I whispered.

"I'm sor"


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"Stop apologising, Jake."

"Sor

"I shot him a look and he stopped mid-word. Then he

smiled again. It wasn't his new smile, or the old one I loved,

but it was a strange mixture of the two. And that made me

smile, too.


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Chapter 2: Revelations & Resolutions

Bella's POV

"Could you pass me the filling?"

"Just a sec... here."

Emily and I were baking enormous apple and lemon

pies for the boys, because when they got home after a long

run they could literally eat a horse and then some. Even

though the food they ate smelled horrible to me, I didn't

complain and helped Emily whenever I could.

Emily was Sam's beautiful fiance, who, when she

wasn't religiously studying for her teaching degree, amiably

cared for all the boys in the wolf pack. Those duties willinglyincluded food preparation and cleaning, and I have to

admit, if I was human I would have stayed over frequently

to devour Emily's fantastic food.

At first, when Jake, Sam, Jared, Paul, Embry and I got

back from the meadow and the impromptu hunting trip and

to La Push, I had been in constant, controlled, 24/7

supervision; it was necessary to make sure I didn't murder


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any unsuspecting humans. We very quickly discovered,

however, that I didn't have an appetite for any human

blood, or had some regained control over my thirst. That

meant that I could be around humans without having

almost any temptation to kill them, and made me very

relieved.

The range of humans I could be exposed to though,

was limited. Only those who knew the fiercly guarded secret

of the giant wolves would be allowed to see me, as theyknew poor Charlie and the rest of Forks had to think I had

been lost in the woods forever. After some arguing well...

shouting at each other and an undeserved hit into Jake's

face I complied with their ridiculous rule. I was however

granted one night to sneak into my house former house

and get some of my prized possessions.

Only the wolf pack, the elders on the council, and the

wolves' significant others were allowed to know of my

current status.

My "funeral" had been held nine days after my

disappearance, because the police had called the search off

after so long not finding any body. Charlie, being the Chief,

had done everything possible to extend the search pastthree days, but hadn't been able to draw it out any longer

after nine. Jake and Billy had attended for Charlie's sake.

They'd told me that if I wanted to come I'd have to hide in

the bushes nearby, and I wouldn't be able to talk to anyone

and make sure nobody saw me. I knew, however, that I

wouldn't be able to stop myself from consoling Charlie and

Renee. I wouldn't be able to handle seeing them again. So I


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stayed in Emily's house, sobbing in her arms, and getting

Sam to hold me back from running away to see Charlie and

Renee and tell them what really happened.

So because all of that, the past two weeks in La Push

had been difficult to say the least. I had to deal with making

myself invisible whenever someone who thought I was dead

was about. The boys were constantly making sarcastic jokes

(though they still hurt) about my being a vampire. I had two

jeans, two flimsy tops, a pair of sturdy shoes, two blue hairties, Charlie's plaid jacket, and a picture of my parents to

my name. I had to hunt every second day because of my

close proximity to humans. The wolves were chasing after a

red-headed vampire that had recently started invading the

state I had kindly informed them it was Victoria, who was

headed for revenge on the vendetta she had over me. Oh,

and I was a blood-thirsty vampire, and I had nothing to live

for. Even if I had suicidal thoughts, it was now near

impossible to commit.

"Smells great girls!" Embry enthused, barging in

between us and eagerly grabbing the first item of food he

saw a giant blueberry muffin.

I was glad that the pack was at least treating me like Iwas one of their friends not their natural mortal enemy.

"Hey Bells," Jake sighed next to me, grabbing a muffin

too, "ready?"

I nodded. Every time when Jake would come back from

sniffing around as a giant dog, we would go to the shore and

sit in our spot, the tree about halfway down First Beach.

"Freaky, Bella," Jared commented as I cleaned up the


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space of the kitchen counter I had been using at my new

and improved vampire speed.

I rolled my eyes at him though he wouldn't be able to

see as I had my back turned to him and with precision

threw the cloth I had been using square in his arrogant face.

I heard the splat and smugly turned around, dodging the

return hit easily.

"It wasn't my fault I got turned into a freaky blood-

sucker!" I shouted at him sarcastically, once again speakingbefore I thought about what I was saying.

Everybody's smile dropped and Jake looked down at

his feet, shuffling some of the dust on the floor around. I

closed my eyes and shook my head to try and clear the

instant guilt, something I had to do a lot these days.

"I'm sorry, Bells," Jake started the sentence he hadobviously been mulling over in his head, but he stopped

when he saw my shut-the-hell-up expression.

"Come on, Jake," I said, taking his warm hand in my

stone cold one and leading him out of the sliding doors of

Emily's cosy wooden cabin. The depressed mood lifted a bit

when I heard somebody I bet the motley collection of

what I owned it was Paul wolf-whistled at us. I reallyhoped that Jake's extra feelings for me had disappeared

when I had become a vampire.

We took a short route through the gloomy forest to get

to the secluded spot on First Beach, and once my bare feet

touched the wet sand I reached back and lifted the hood of

my jacket onto my head to stop anyone from instantlyrecognizing me.


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We sat down quietly on the wet driftwood and stared

out over the misty-grey waters of the Pacific.

Jake cleared his throat, "so, umm... we chased the lee

Victoria," he caught himself, not wanting to offend me, "to

Calgary today. We don't know if she knows about the recent,

er... events."

"I don't think she does, otherwise wouldn't she give up

chasing me? Maybe if she knew I was a vampire she'd back

off, or get anxious about us. I should just come with youguys, and then we can just finish her off together. I mean, a

vampire and five werewolves working together should do

quite well, right?"

"No, Bella, there is no way I'm letting you near that

thing!" He shouted passionately, straitening his back and

gazing down at me.

"Jake," I whined, "I can handle myself."

"You're not getting anywhere near her. Not if I can help

it."

"We'll see about that."

Jake didn't respond, just frowned at the ground.

"Hunting?" Jake asked me when it started drizzling

lightly.

I swallowed unnecessarily and nodded getting up and

grabbing Jake's hand instinctively in the progress. I liked

the closeness and contact with somebody, and since

everyone thought I was dead, I wasn't talking to many

people these days. It must have seemed odd to somebody

else, but I was afraid of losing my grip with everything and


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everybody these days, I was constantly worried that the

pack would finally realizing they were making a big mistake

and wasting their time by helping and caring for me, and

that they would banish me from the tribe's land.

We walked slowly back up the beach, and once we

whacked our way through the dense wall of ferns hugging

the coast line, I looked away as Jake transformed and we

took off running together to the east into the conservation

parks.I followed Jake this time, watching his wolf form

moving agilely over the moss and rock covered ground. It

was a silent agreement that we ran together, but hunted

separately. I was sure that Jake wouldn't want to see me

sucking the life out of an animal, and I wouldn't be partial

to seeing him repulsively chewing the meat of another one.

The wind wafted a little and as if on cue, he shot left

and I heard him racing towards the smell of the deer. I ran a

little faster and tried to catch the drift of something

carnivorous.

Suddenly I could smell scent trails leading in every

direction which were definitely not an animal's and all

coming from one place to the right of me. I traded a dozendifferent comparisons in my mind, but none of them fit

exactly. Cinnamon, hyacinth, pear, seawater, rising bread,

pine, vanilla, leather, apple, moss, lavender, chocolate... so

sweet and pleasant.

Vampire! My mind shouted.

Curious, I slowly followed the trail leading to my right,the scents getting stronger and fresher by the minute. I


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knew I should stop, this could be dangerous. It could be

Victoria, attracting me like metal to a magnet. Jake would

be looking for me anyway, I reasoned.

I decided I should turn back, but I did a sharp double-

take when I saw what was standing in front of me.

A big, white mansion, the side facing me a huge wall of

glass.

The Cullen's house.

The air whooshed out of me and I leaned back against a

tree, staring wide eyed at the house. I refused to blink in the

case that it would disappear.

Without thinking, I was walking towards the house, up

the front steps.

I raised my trembling left hand, and making sure I

didn't crush the wood, my fingertip made contact with thewall. I gasped.

It was real!

I looked at the front door, and slowly approached. I

twisted the handle with enough force to snap the lock back,

and waited. If my heart could still beat, it would've been

pounding furiously away in my chest. After a few agonizing

seconds, I pulled the door open quickly, like ripping a

plaster off skin.

Alarms sounded, and I stood frozen in the doorway,

terrified that someone would notice. I snapped out of my

trance and pierced in the code I vaguely remembered

Edward telling me all that time ago.

285536!


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The alarm silenced, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Then I remembered where I was.

I marvelled upon the room I was in, taking in the

raised platform with Edwards's prized grand piano standing

proudly on one side, and a comfortable lounge setting on

the other, facing a huge home entertainment system. The

memories were eating away at my frozen heart, and I knew I

shouldn't be doing this to myself. I should get out of this

house I used to call home and go to find Jacob. I should banall thoughts ofthem from my spacious mind.

I closed my eyes and lusciously smelled all the scents

that were vaguely wafting through the room. Careful not to

touch anything, I moved across the wooden floor towards

Edward's piano, and bent over to smell the delicious sweet

smell radiating from the handprints on the lid.

I felt a pang of love, and then sadness, affection,

tenderness, passion, then disappointment, fear, loss and

loneliness. Memories of the past came crashing back to me,

Edward's velvet voice echoing around my mind.

I don't want you to come with us. He doesn't want me.

You're no good for me Bella. He doesn't love me.

It will be as if I'd never existed.I promise that this will

be the last time you'll see me. I won't come back. He was

never coming back.

Then, Jacob's words from some time ago came back to

me.

He left you Bella! He didn't want you anymore.

I collapsed to the floor and hugged my knees, both


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Jacob's and Edward's voices booming through my head. I

was crying, but it was tearless sobbing. Everything was so

different in this new life.

I had always thought that Edward loved me than

anything else in the universe. He always told me so, at every

opportunity he got. He told me a thousand times he

wouldn't leave me, that he loved me, that he would do

anything for me, he would stay with me forever.

He had once said he would never want to take my soul,but that's exactly what he'd done.

Not only had he taken my soul, but he'd stomped on it,

spit on it, then tore it into a million pieces and held it in

front of me, so I could take it, only to take both himself and

my battered soul away, forever.

I looked up at the clock placed above the phone in thecorner of the room, and then was shocked to see I had been

morose for over half an hour. I wiped my eyes in a human

habit, forgetting there were no tears. I sniffed through my

nose and stood up again, my eyes coming to rest on the

spiral staircase.

I made my way up the stairs, taking the usual familiar

route past all the rooms. Alice and Jasper's room. Rosalieand Emmett's room. Carlisle's study. Esme's designing

room.

Edwards room.

I stopped, afraid to stare at the wood-stained door, but

not wanting to go any further.

The scent emanating from the space under the door


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was heavenly, and before I could stop myself I had turned

the handle and was staring into the room that held

thousands of memories ofus. On the couch I could see

Edward lying down holding me as we both read and enjoyed

his extensive music collection. I could see Edward

pretending to sleep with me in bed. I could see him walking

to his dresser to give me one of his shirts for the night. I

could see him everywhere.

More of Edward's words hit me as I stared around thefamiliar space, everything looked the same as the last time

I'd seen it at my ill-fated birthday party. One thing was

different though.

Hundreds of pictures of me some with Edward or

other members of the Cullen's in them too were strewn

across the floor. Many of the close-ups of my face were

crinkled and showed the most deterioration. I kneeled down

to inspect the photos more closely, and realized many of

these were of me sleeping. I didn't know whether to be

flattered or disgusted.

Of course... I'll always love you... in a way.

Those words that wafted through my head stopped me

in the tracks of picking one of the photos up.What could that mean?

He'll always love me, in a way? What way? Like

friendship, like I loved Jake? Or Alice?

My head was pounding from the happenings of today,

even though it was impossible for me to get a headache.

My mind was on repeat, the wordsI'll always love


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you running over and over again through my head.

I ran out of the room and down the stairs, intending tocrash through the door and forget this all ever happened,

but the phone in the corner of the room caught my eye.

The left side held the cordless handset, but the right

side had eight spaces with yellow lights flickering beside

them, as I made my way closer to them I realized they were

speed dials. The spaces held no names or details, but I guess

that with great memory, vampires would be able toremember which of the speed dials rung who.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, my shaking

index finger going towards the phone. I felt the light plastic

with the pulsating yellow light underneath my hard skin,

and pressed down.

I retracted my finger quickly and opened my eyes tosee the eight light flashing red and the familiar dial tone

beginning to ring.

It took all of two seconds for someone to answer.

"Alice speaking."


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Chapter 3: Protests & Proclamations

Bella's POV

Even though I knew deep down that the chance I would

be connected through to a vampire by hitting one of the

buttons on a vampire's speed dial, it still hit me like a ton of

bricks when my former best friend answered.It was evident in her bright, chirpy voice that she was

confused as to why someone was ringing her from her own

house when it was supposed to be deserted.

It grew apparent that I hadn't answered her, and I

wasn't sure whether I should. Alice finding out I was a

vampire and had just broken into her house wouldn't goquite so well. I was reaching for the end button when her

confused voice rang out again over the speaker.

"Edward, is that you?"

I inhaled a sharp gust of air and pressed the end

button, the hollowbeep of the dial tone sounding across the

room, before turning itself off.

If she was asking for Edward, that meant he wasn't


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wherever it was they had taken off to, and probably that he

hadn't been staying with them for at least couple of days.

Maybe Alice asking for Edward that way meant that she

didn't know where he was, which probably alluded to the

confusion in her tone.

So why wasn't he with his family?

He said that they would move somewhere else,

together. That he didn't want me to come with them. Those

words implied that he was moving with them.Probably his distractions, I decided. An image of a

beautiful woman with strawberry blond hair and the same

golden eyes as the Cullen's came floating into my head. I'd

never actually met this vampire who had supposedly made a

move for Edward before me, but I imagined her to be more

beautiful than I ever could be. Was it that now Edward had

discovered the world of love, he had gone onto someone he

could actually love? Someone who was equal to him in every

way? A beautiful, rich vampire. Someone who was good

enough for him, and he would be someone good enough for

her.

I knew he was never supposed to love me.

I focused back on the room I was in, a red hazecovering everything like a transparent sheet had been hung

in front of me. I felt Jealous of Tanya. Whoever she was, if

Edward was with her, she was off much better than me.

I approached the door, and clamped my hand in a fist,

feeling the need to leave a calling card, like taggers do on

the streets. I felt the need to destroy, just to show Edward afraction of the pain he'd left me in.


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I reached back, but an inch of air was between the

wood and my knuckle when the phone rang out again,

saving the door from a hole that would have been quickly

punched through it. It only took one look in the reflection of

one of the many windows of the house to see that the last

light was flashing red once again.

I yanked the door swiftly open, and pulled it closed

behind me while I ran down the porch, feeling the entire

frame of the house vibrate with the movement. I reallydidn't want to be discovered at their house. I had already

left too much scent around; I just had to pray that if

someone came to investigate, they wouldn't recognize it was

mine.

I ran vaguely in the direction I thought I had come

from, trying to get as far away from the house as possible

and then solve the problem of how I was going to find Jake.

Even so, apparently also thinking of the devil will make

the devil appear.

"Bella!" Jake's voice cried out with relief as he suddenly

appeared to the left of me, "geez, where were you?"

"Hunting," I replied cautiously, widening my eyes to

prove my innocence.

"Oh," his eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"You never go out this long," he observed.

My brow furrowed in confusion, my innocence scheme

forgotten, "How long have I been out?"

"Three and a half hours," he grumbled, his arms


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crossing.

"Well, I obviously didn't murder anyone, did I, Jacob? Iam perfectly capable of handling myself, you know. You

don't have to act like an over-concerned parent," I told him,

my arms defensibly crossing too, and straightening my back

to try and unsuccessfully make me taller.

"You're my responsibility," he protested.

My mouth dropped wide open. How dare he!

"I'm eighteen," I said, appalled.

"And you're a vampire. I need to make sure I'm with

you all the time, otherwise Sam might change his mind."

I flinched. "You're lying. You would never allow Sam to

kill me."

He didn't respond for a few moments, his resolve

faltering, and I started to feel smug that I had won thisdebate. I turned around to head back to Emily's, but Jake

spoke up again.

"So if you have been hunting for three hours, why are

your eyes still black?"

I stopped in my tracks. I hadn't thought about my eyes!

I tried to think of an excuse."Well... I was... in the bushes. At school." Welldone

Bella, I thought.He's so going to believe you now.

"You were in the bushes at school," Jake said, his tone

suggesting he knew I was lying. When I turned around he

had his muscular arms crossed, and one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," I shrugged it off indifferently, "just watching

my friends."


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"Watching your friends..." Jake said, snorting.

"I just wanted to make sure that Angela and Ben werestill okay," I defended myself, "and that Jess and Mike had

finally noticed each other. I just wanted to see how they

were doing..." The idea made me pensive. This idea was

actually starting to sound good. Maybe I shouldvisit my old

high school sometime.

Jake started tapping his foot against the mossy forest

floor, and then smirked, raising one eyebrow in challenge,"It's Sunday,"

Oops.

"What's it matter to you anyway? Why do you suddenly

care what I do all the time?"

"I already told you that Bella," I could see he was

getting more annoyed, "Sam"As soon as Sam's name came out of his mouth, I had to

stop him, "Sam has nothing to do with this. He would just

let me go off by myself. He's already seen I'm not a danger

to humans, he would let me leave if I wanted to!"

"You would never leave," he scoffed, completely sure of

himself, "let's go," he decided, stomping off to La Push.

"You know," I sneered, "I don't think I will."

He snickered, which just made me angrier.

"Look Jacob, I now have forever to do absolutely

nothing, so I might as well start doing something. Right

now I'm just sitting around at La Push, being a nuisance to

everybody. I'm not going to end up staying with Sam and

you for the rest of eternity. You've already proved I'm not a


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danger to humans, why can't I just leave? I might as well do

something with this life; I could go to school somewhere

else, I could travel, I could go to college!" I finished off the

longest rant I'd probably ever had.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at me, thinking I

wasn't serious about what I was saying.

Still in the frame of mind my outburst, I sped past him

and ran as fast as I could to La Push. I could feel the air

around me vibrate delicately, and I knew that Jake hadphased. I still had a pretty good head start, so I wasn't

worried about him stopping me before I could carry out my

decision.

I reached Emily's house in record time, sped into the

hallway to get the bag that contained my possessions, and

ran back out the sliding doors. I could hear someone

approaching at high speed from where I had just come

from, and I hurried into the trees behind the house.

I didn't get far before I felt a warm hand grab mine,

and turned around ready to address Jacob.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" asked Sam's deep voice.

I raised my eyebrows in the surprise of seeing Sam

here, and then put on my frequently used poker face.

Sam's face showed no surprise, however, and he placed

a light rectangle object in my palm. Looking down, I saw a

small cell phone.

"Just in case there's any trouble," he stared at me,

studying my face, waiting for an answer. I nodded at him,

and put the cell phone in my bag. I thought it a bit strange


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that Sam would be letting me go like this, even though I had

told Jacob he would. I had been counting on a fight.

"Just don't get killed," he warned me, but I could see a

small smile threatening to come out.

"I'll try. You know how I'm a danger magnet."

He smiled fully this time, "yeah, yeah. Just check in

with us once in a while."

I nodded, and we stood awkwardly for a few moments.

"Can "

"Where "

We both spoke at the same time, and laughed

uncomfortably.

"Can... can you tell Jake I'm sorry. And... that I'll miss

him?"

Sam smiled, and shifted around for a bit, and then

asked me his question.

"Where are you going to go?"

His question made me freeze, because I really didn't

know. I could go to college, but I wouldn't have any idea

how to fake a story or any documents, or where to live. I

didn't even have any money! I didn't know where I could gonow, I had no home. I could go check on Renee and Phil,

but where would that leave me, apart from in the middle of

a city filled with two million humans?

Sam could see my frightened expression, and took my

hand gently, startling me, since he never showed physical

affection towards anyone but Emily.

"You wouldn't be off any better here, Bella. I can see it


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in your eyes that you're only here for us. I'm honestly

surprised that you didn't leave earlier. Go find something to

do out there. You can take care of yourself. Why do you

think I would be letting you run off?"

I couldn't think of anything to say to that, so there were

a few quiet moments till Sam released my hand and nudged

my shoulder.

"I mean it, take care of yourself. And call us, kay?"

I nodded and twisted my mouth into half a smile. Samtook off running back in the direction he came from and

glanced back to my still form once before disappearing

behind the green canopy.

I hadn't realised how quiet and lonely the forest could

be out here.

Over the next couple of hours I wandered round thestate, weaving through countless trees and spending some

time finally quenching my thirst by hunting around Mt.

Rainier. I couldn't bring myself to run further than 200

miles away from the place I used to call home. From the

place everyone I knew and loved lived. The one place where

I knew the Cullen's once were. The place Edward and I had

loved each other, where we had experienced countlessextraordinary moments together. The place where my life

was.

The place where my life had been.

I had to now do something with this new life I had

received. I wouldn't stand around and waste away. The

question was what would I do?


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At least I knew I could interact with humans right

away. Maybe I could get a job somewhere... obviously

nowhere sunny. Maybe an indoor job somewhere in the

north. I could study somewhere.

I had never had an idea of what I wanted to do after

high school. After Edward came into my life, I'd always

thought I would become a vampire and follow him around

the world. Plan B was college, but I would've had no idea

what to major in. It wasn't like I was gifted in anything. Iwas average.

If I went anywhere and interacted with humans

though, I would have to fake the documents and papers

required, and I had no idea how to do that myself, or who

could do that for me. I had a sneaking suspicion there were

no forger listings in the yellow pages.

I had no idea what to do anymore. I wasn't doing

anything for myself by staying with Jake and the pack.

Going back to either Charlie or Renee and Phil would

backfire, because they had to think I was dead. Interacting

with humans required fundamentals that I wouldn't be able

to make. I couldn't even go as far as buying anything

because I had no money to my name.I had just been changed into a vampire a matter of

weeks ago. I was just 18 years old, and it was too lonely out

here, I was all by myself. Even I, the ever independent girl

who had raised her mother emotionally and then cared for

her father, needed someone right now. I couldn't make any

of these important choices by myself.

That's when the simple solution popped up in my head.


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I didn't know what to do with myself.

I needed to see someone that was just like me.Someone who could help me in this life, give me

direction.

I had to find a vampire.

Guess who the only vampires I knew were.


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Chapter 4: Notes & Narrative

Bella's POV

It was that last thought that sent me sprinting to the

big white mansion just off the 101.

I had to find them the Cullen's wherever they had

taken off to. My subconscious had catapulted me towardsthe one place I knew that they had ever lived. They surely

would leave a trail leading to their new location, wouldn't

they? Somewhere there had to be a stray sheet of evidence

detailing their new address, maybe a phone number...

something.

It only took several minutes at my fastest speed tobefore I could smell the wall of scent, and seconds to reach

the front door of the Cullen's house once again.

I again disarmed the alarm, and walked through the

front door. Passing the phone, piano, and lounge, I made

my way up the stairs and decided that I would start looking

for any clues in Carlisle's office. Since Carlisle was the head

of the family, I figured he would organize most of the


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paperwork.

I'd only been in Carlisle's study a handful of times, butevery time I entered I was still amazed by the array of

paintings hanging on the wall behind me when I entered. So

this time I looked around the familiar room, seeing

everything in place, but when I turned to the wall I saw all

the paintings had disappeared.

Of course, my conscience reasoned, they had

moved, so it would only be logical thatthey would bringtheir history with them.

I didn't dwell too much on the hurt that the missing

paintings brought me, and how the Cullen's had seemingly

moved on so easily, but instead focused my attention to the

towering metal cabinets on the left of Carlisle's desk.

I was reaching for the first handle when my handstopped in its tracks. I owed the Cullen's their privacy,

didn't I? Maybe it was wrong to go searching through all

this information, it was wrong to barge into their private

files. But how else was I going to find out where they were

now? Carlisle had told the hospital that the family was

relocating to Los Angeles, but I knew better. There was no

way that they could go outside during the day there, withthe sun shining every day. They could in reality have moved

anywhere in the world. Hell, they could have gone to Mars!

They were vampires for Pete's sake.

Well, I had to try and look in here then, didn't I? How

else was I going to narrow down where they could have

moved to? Call them and ask?Hey Alice, I'm vampire and I

need to find you. Yeah right.


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I rummaged through the metal filing cabinets one by

one, in each one finding white papers perfectly organized by

date, content and name. I found the normal human papers

birth certificates, passports, driver's licences, tax forms,

copies of ownership forms for the dozens of homes they

owned, an address book, school enrolments everything

that could be possibly needed to fake an authentic story for

anything possibly needed. Seeing all this meant I had an

enormous amount of information but then again, thisinformation could have been everything from their past,

and nothing from their future.

I categorized all the information I saw in my never-

forgetting memory, and made sure everything looked

untouched when I finally closed the last drawer. I looked

back around the room, and I saw Carlisle's desk and the

wall of books were the only things left that could possibly

contain clues as to where they could've possibly gone.

I yanked open the top draw and saw a collection of

stationary and writing utensils, then the middle one which

contained folders of filled in accounting forms with a lot of

big numbers. I crinkled my nose in horror when I saw the

bottom one contained reinforced metal handcuffs, bottles oflube and empty condom wrappers, and quickly closed the

draw, vowing to never go near the desk again, and trying to

suppress the mental image of Carlisle and Esme my mind

had conjured up.

I looked at the wall of books to my right and saw first

editions of variousJane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Virginia

Woolf, and Thomas Hardy novels among others, and I


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chose not to rummage through what was probably a

genuine book collection.

I was miffed over what to do now, since Carlisle's study

was probably the only place that contained any information.

I took a deep breath and smelled woodsy paper coming

from every room in the giant house and sighed, wondering

if I was ever meant to find the Cullen's.

I was sitting on the three-seater in the lounge, playing

with the cell phone Sam had given me when the ideapopped up in my head.

I knew that all the Cullen's carried out the most

expensive, complex and expensive phones on the planet

Blackberrys. And every Blackberry had a tracking chip.

I ran to the phone and pressed the editbutton for the

speed-dials, and selected the eighth one to find out it wasindeed assigned to Alice, and I took notice of her number. I

opened the cabinet the phone was on and pulled out the

phone book, looking for the phone number of the support

line of the BlackBerry Company, and dialling the 1800

number once I located it.

I went through the automated response system to get

through to the customer service and was greeted by a Texanaccent.

"Good afternoon you're speakin' with Alexis. How may

I help ya?"

"Um... hey. I lost my phone on holiday and I need you

to track it?" It came out as a question rather than a request.

"Sure ma'am. I'll just be needin' your phone number


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there."

I gave her Alice's phone number."Kay, just needa have your name there."

Alice better not have registered this phone under a fake

name.

"Err... Alice," I replied, and then half a second later

added a rushed, "Cullen. Alice Cullen."

"That'll just be a minute," she said, and classical music

started playing. It took me moment to recognize it was the

climax of Claire De Lune playing, and I fought the tears at

the ache of the memory just as the phone operator picked

back up.

"You lost your phone at 2 Country Road in Ithaca,

ma'am. This tracking service is correct within 200 metres."

Ithaca?"Oh, yeah, that's my cousin's place, so that will be

right. Uh, thanks... Alexis." I lied.

"You're welcome, ma'am, bye." And the cheery voice

disconnected.

I put the handset back on the hook and looked around

for a map, still mentally shocked at how easy it was to trackdown someone's phone, and saw two computers sitting in

the corner of the room.

Bingo!

I pressed the on button and waited for the high tech

system to warm up, thankfully not meeting any password

barriers and then going onto Google Maps to search for the

address.


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41

I typedIthaca in the box and selected the search

maps button, the high speed and most likely highly

expensive broadband connecting me in less than a

second.

Then there was a dilemma. There were sixIthaca's in

the United States alone, and then there was one in Australia

and an island in Greece too.

I cursed and considered hitting the screen for a

moment before remembering the whole address, not justthe town.

I typed in2 Country Rd, Ithaca, and thankfully got one

result 3 miles south of Ithaca, New York.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and hoped I'd really found

the current home of the Cullen's.

But it seemed that two seconds of liberation wasn'tgood enough, because then I remembered I somehow had to

get there.

I thanked God for the invention of the internet as I

looked up the latest flight on United Airlines and booked

the 7:47pm departure time, checking the option to pay

when I was at the airport. That gave me just over four hours

till the plane took off.

I knew from earlier escapades with the Cullen's that

there was a safe with valuables, including many bundles of

$100, hiding ironically behind a painting in the main

hallway. I felt like a Bond girl as I twisted the lock with

the Cullen code, hearing the snaps and locks of the metal as

each number was reached.


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The safe was emptier than the last time I had seen it,

but there was still a considerable amount of money wasting

away, more than enough to support a family for a lifetime. I

only felt slightly guilty when taking two of the many bundles

of cash and locking the safe back up, positioning the

painting perfectly upon the wall.

I snuck out of the bushes at the Capitol Mall in

Olympia, having run as far as I could to the airport in

Seattle without breaking city limits. I checked around me tomake sure no one noticed my sudden appearance, and

blended in with the shoppers at Safeway, signalling for a

taxi on Harrison Ave.

The Native American driver greeted me when I sat

down inside.

"Where to, miss?" His voice reminded me of Billy.

"Seattle Airport as quick as possible, please."

He whistled, "That'll be close to $200, probably more

considering it'll be rush hour traffic getting in there."

I discretely pulled out five of the notes out of the

bundle of cash, being careful to keep the rest of it in my

backpack.

I waved the notes around just as he looked back to

merge into the next lane, and he raised his eyebrows,

surprised. He studied my face and appearance for a

moment before clearing his expression and looking forward

at the road.

There were a few minutes of silence before he started

the complementary cab-driver talk.


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"Where you from?"

I decided to tell him the truth, deciding it couldn't betoo much harm.

"Forks. You probably wouldn't know where"

"Oh, I've heard of it all right. Grew up on the rez just

outside of La Push," he offered.

"Oh." I looked at him and decided he was around sixty,

and he probably lived here now, so he wouldn't have any

reason to contact anybody there about me.

"Yeah," he continued, seeming to read my mind, "live

here in Olympia now. At least there's more than a Thriftway

and takeaway shop here," he laughed.

I hummed in agreement.

"You running away from home?" He asked, half-

amused.I laughed shortly shook my head, but I knew inside

that was just what I was doing.

"I'm visiting friends in New York," I offered, but that

was the extent of detail I was giving this guy.

"It'll be cold up there this time of year."

"I guess..." I droned, looking out the window andseeing we were just passing out of the city.

"Is that small pack all you're bringing?"

I looked down at my scruffy orange back pack that

contained all that I owned. I nodded at him in the mirror,

"my friend up there told me not to bring anything, and that

we'll go shopping together once we get there," I made up a

reliable excuse quick. This whole lying business was getting


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easier and that had me slightly worried.

The driver

I looked quickly at his licence plasteredabove the mirror and saw his name was Perrylooked

slightly worried, but didn't reply as he drove on silently

down the highway.

Thankfully the airport was far enough south out of the

city centre of Seattle that there wasn't much rush hour

traffic at all. I paid Perry for the driving, gave him a large tip

and thanked him as I walked into the domestic terminal andheaded towards the United desk to check in just under 2

hours before departure.

The airport was the largest crowd of humans I had

encountered since my transformation, and I found myself

spending most of the time on the outside viewing deck on

top of the airport terminal where there were hardly any

humans because of the temperature till the boarding call

was made for my flight.

I could see why the Cullen's hated planes. The noise of

the engines, combined with the cramped space and the

three-hundred sweaty humans squashed in against me

made the plane ride the most awful one ever.

A crowded Chicago airport and a plane change later,the flight was landing at dawn at the Regional Airport just

north of Ithaca. The small airport was a relief to the two

larger one's I had just visited, and I calmed down as I

hopped of the plane with only my hand luggage and waived

down a cab.

Once again I sat in the back."Where to?" A man with an Indian accent asked, and I


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nervously replied the address to him. If the address was

right, it meant I was now within less than ten miles of the

Cullen's.

I was spared to do any talking, and sat in silence. The

twenty minute ride passed through Ithaca, passing the city

centre and the beautiful old university buildings. All too

soon though, the cab was going into the country side, and I

recognized the road we were on from the Street View

application I had used earlier.We slowed down and turned right, then right again

into a short driveway, and after the break in the trees I saw

a period mansion, with grey and white stone, and a side

building a few hundred metres away. There was a sculpted

garden forming a circle around the house, and I could see

trees disappearing to form a forest in the distance.

The taxi driver clearing his throat stopped me from

staring at the building, and I tossed a $100 bill into his lap

and uttered a thanks.

The second I opened the door a fresh wall of vampire

scent hit me, and I knew I'd come to the right place. I

couldn't help the smile that spread onto my face as I

slammed the taxi door shut and shrugged the backpack on.The same scents I'd smelled in Forks cinnamon, hyacinth,

pear, seawater, rising bread, pine, vanilla, leather, apple,

moss, lavender, chocolate... all so sweet and pleasant were

waving around me.

The cab pulled away behind me and I started walking

forward towards the front door, intending this time to

knock and wait, instead of busting in.


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They were going to have to answer me, whether they

liked it or not.


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Chapter 5: Expose & Expel

Alices POV

"Jasper!"

My husband rushed down the stairs and saw me sitting

in the lounge with my laptop, immediately relaxing some

and making his way slowly to me and taking a seat.

I didn't know what to think when I stared back at the

computer screen. Disappointment? Hurt? Excitement?

Fulfilment? Happiness? Grief?

Jasper sensed my conflicted emotions and moved

closer to hug me rubbing my back up and down in

supportive strokes.Every time I saw another detail of my human life this

same procedure would happen. I would be happy and exited

I had uncovered another part of my past. I would be

miserable knowing what the humans back then had done to

me. I would feel disappointment for my parents for letting

me go, for not believing their own daughter. I would feel

satisfaction knowing that I had found another piece of the


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puzzle.

Jasper read the article that was currently displayed onthe 17" monitor quickly, and turned to me with guarded

eyes. He didn't know what to think either.

Under the Deaths category of the Friday, July 2, 1920

Biloxi newspaper, in a short article stood:

Mary-Alice Brandon Dies.Miss Brandon, daughter of Frederickand Katherine Brandon, died thisWednesday morning at the Roanokehospital following a prolonged illness

aged 19 years. The profession andcause of death for Miss Brandon isunknown. She is survived by her

parents, two brothers and sister.The article mentioned nothing about my visions or my

admission to the mental institution my parents threw me in.

My parents would have probably been too ashamed to be

publicly associated with a crazy daughter. I was surprised

they even publicly admitted my death, since not many knew

of my existence in the first place.I glanced at the clock in the bottom left of the screen

and saw Jasper had twenty minutes to get to his philosophy

class, and noticed he was already dressed accordingly to go

out. I kissed him briefly and told him so, and he glimpsed at

me lovingly in one of his meaningful glances. I sent out

positive and loving vibes, reassuring him I was fine, and saw

him head up the stairs, collect his books and precede into


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the garage, getting into Rosalie's M3 and driving away.

Since Rosalie and Emmett had taken off onto another one of

their second honeymoons to explore in the north of Africa,

they had left behind both of their cars for our use here,

although our close proximity to Cornell meant that we could

walk there and not stand out.

Edward up and leaving us just over a week after leaving

Forks meant that he wasn't here either, and suddenly the

large house purchased here for the seven of us now onlycontained four of us, and only Esme and I during the day.

With Carlisle teaching days at Cornell and then leaving for

ten hour shifts at the hospital afterwards, it meant that he

was home only a few hours of the night before leaving for

teaching again. Leaving Forks had truly ruined our happy

family and broken us beyond repair.

I still didn't understand why Edward demanded we

leave Forks all of a sudden, right after Bella's eighteenth

birthday party. In his lonesome mind, Edward had decided

that he wasn't good enough for Bella, and that we were

putting her in danger by our kind being in such close

proximity to her. After Jasper's lapse in control, I followed

him to take refuge in Alaska, but then some days later whenwe got the call we were to come straight to Ithica, we were

more than confused. Upon arrival, we saw the whole family

minus Bella in a loose circle, with Edward shunning

himself and sitting faceless in the corner. It was explained

that we were now living here, we weren't going back to

Forks ever and that all our things had been put in our

respective rooms. Even I didn't see this coming.


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Edward had demanded that none of us ever take up

contact with Bella again, and cornered me that evening to

make sure I never look for Bella's future. I swore I wouldn't,

and I honestly didn't look, but I still saw. I was so attuned

to looking out for Bella that I saw glimpses of her life after

Edward left. She was either curled up crying, or sitting

blankly. She only talked when it was asked of her. She was

broken. We did that to her.

Daily images would come into my mind, all until acouple of weeks ago when abruptly all the glimpses into her

future stopped. It had me worried, and I was nervous until

Carlisle came home and told me it was probably because I

hadn't seen her in months and the fact she was human and

not like me were the reasons I couldn't see her.

I was broken from my pregnant stare at the TV by my

cell phone ringing, and I dug around in my pocket and

pressed the talk button while not looking at the ID, figuring

it would be Carlisle using my power to see into his patient's

futures again. So when I chirped, "Alice speaking," into the

phone and waited for someone to answer, only to get a

sharp gasp, I knew something was wrong.

I took the phone away from my ear and looked on thescreen; I was surprised to see the word home. I'd never

gotten around to changing the phone number from our

house in Forks to the one from here, because I'd never

considered this place home. The place where the seven of us

were together and Bella was with us was where home would

always be.

I wondered who could possibly be at home, and started


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eliminating people. Esme was upstairs drafting blue prints

for the outbuilding on our property, Carlisle was at the

hospital, Jasper in class, Rosalie and Emmett... surely they

would use their own phones and not call from Forks? Then

that left...

"Edward, is that you?"

The dial tone sounded in my ear, and I was left

confused as to who could possibly be there. The last time

Edward had called us he had been in Colorado and he hadtold us he was heading south. That had been more than a

month ago. He hadn't had the courage to give us his phone

number yet since he'd bought a new phone but I knew

what it was, since I had seen it. I hadn't told anyone though,

because I respected his need for privacy.

I rang the number for home, and let the dial tone beep

nine times before it crossed to the answering machine.

"Um... hey Edward. If your there, could you call back?

Even just for a little while. We're worried about you. We just

want to know if you're okay." I stayed silent for a few

moments, hesitating before adding, "Love you," and

hanging up.

I looked into his immediate future and a few minutesof concentrating only bought me fleeting images of

rainforest, nothing like the scenery in Washington. I

stopped and was irked at the holes my vision was bringing

me.

Esme glided down the stairs and I could see she was

planning on going grocery shopping. She collected the keysfrom the pot we kept them in and glanced over at me.


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"You coming, sweetie?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded and got up, getting my jacket from the hooksand making my way to the garage. Glancing to the left I saw

Esme scrutinizing me, probably thinking where my

excitement was. I smiled tenderly at her, and she unlocked

the Volvo. Edward had taken his Aston Martin with him,

claiming it was faster. But I knew the reason he didn't take

his Volvo was because it smelled deliciously of Bella, and he

couldn't bear it. Even after nearly five months, the floralsmell still hung in the air.

Shopping was a chore that needed to be done to retain

the human image, but many of us found it therapeutic. The

classical grocery store music, the rhythm of pushing the

carts up and down the aisles, and selecting human food was

somewhat remedial, and whenever we had any troubles on

our mind we would accompany our main shopper Esme

along to the local Wegmans.

I saw Esme deciding how to start a talk with me and

waited for her to make up her mind.

"What's wrong?" Esme said, deciding to get straight to

the point.

"Apart from us moving to the other side of the countryand subsequently half of us disappearing?"

Esme looked sad, and I felt instantly guilty about what

I had just said.

"Yes, apart from the mess our family is at the

moment."

"I got this strange phone call this morning," I mused,


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and the look on Esme's face made me continue, "from our

house back in Forks."

Esme gasped, and I turned around quickly to see if she

knew who it was.

"Is it Edward?" Esme whispered, almost afraid to say

his name.

"That's what I thought. I asked, but then... they just

hung up." I scrunched up my face.

Esme was confused too, clearly not having an idea of

who could have possibly be at our house bar Edward.

"Could it be someone from Denali?"

I considered it and thought it could be plausible, since

they knew the code to get into our house.

"It wouldn't be a human," I wondered out loud, careful

to keep my voice down since we were still shopping."Yes, no human could break into the house, or knows

the code..." Esme pondered.

"And only the Denali's know the code, so it had to be

one of them, right?" I could feel that my familiar cheery self

was coming back. Maybe it wasn't the Denali's, but I felt

better knowing it could be one of them."I'll have to ring Tanya when we get back to the house."

Esme decided, and with that we finished out shopping and

headed back to the car, enduring a silent ride home.

Esme proceeded to help me bring the groceries in, and

I organized them into the various unused cupboards while

overhearing Esme speaking to Tanya.

"No, Alice clearly was..."


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"Are you sure?"

"Definitely not.""I wouldn't know."

"He hasn't turned up there then?"

"Well, I'm not."

Not Irina?"

"Oh, well pass my condolences onto her."

"You too. We'll get up there when the break arrives.""Until then, goodbye, Tanya."

I couldn't hear the other part of the conversation, but I

asked Esme what was going on when she came back

downstairs.

"They don't know about anything," she said, sighing.

"Edward hasn't gotten close to them at all since he left, and

he hasn't contacted any of them, either. They haven't been

to visit our house since we moved there all those years ago."

"What was that about Irina?" I asked, curious as to why

Esme was giving her condolences.

"Laurent and Irina were heavily involved, more than

we thought. He disappeared when they were hunting about

a month ago, and they traced his scent to just outsideVancouver. They're pretty sure the wolves outside Forks got

him."

"The wolves are there again?" I asked her, shocked.

"Yes, the first one went through his changes when we

still living there."

I was shocked that I had never noticed the scent


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before.

"The other ones have only started changing within thelast half year."

"How many are there?" I breathed.

"Five, currently. That's what Tanya thinks."

"Wow. So they've finally re-appeared."

Esme nodded and collected the empty shopping bags,

depositing them in the recycling bin and making her way

upstairs to work on her blueprints again.

I had just finished giving Jasper a very thorough

welcoming home when Carlisle called for us to come back

downstairs.

"So, Esme told me what you told her." Carlisle started

once Jasper and I were seated in the loveseat.

I nodded once. I had been able to tell Jasper just beforewe disappeared into our room.

"Do you think we should go back to the house to check

the scent?"

"I'm honestly not too worried, Carlisle. We haven't got

anything in the house that could lead them here. Nothing

valuable is there anymore, except for the papers that we left.And even if they get those papers, what will they do with

them? If they expose them to the police, they would expose

themselves too. So I think there isn't much to worry about,

but we could be safe if one or two of us went over there in

the weekend just to check."

Carlisle's response wasn't uttered because gravel

crunching under the weight of tires could be heard


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approaching our house. A car was turning onto the

driveway. All of us looked at each other with wide eyes, not

knowing who it was but hoping it was Edward.

The door opened and a vampire scent hit us like a sonic

boom, the sweet smell reviving the animal in all of us. This

scent wasn't one I had come across before, it was sweet, too

sweet, but also there was a slight waft of a horrible wet dog

smell. What was this?

Jasper growled and wrapped an arm around meprotectively, and Carlisle's uncommonly panicked face

turned to me, and I answered the silent question he was

asking only me by shaking my head. I couldn't see who it

was. Carlisle's face turned to Jasper for a split second before

putting his welcoming face on and taking Esme's hand to

lead them to the door.

Jasper and I followed slowly behind, wary of this

vampire that had turned up alone and unannounced, and

somehow knew where we were.

Was this the vampire that had broken into our house?

A tentative knock sounded, and Carlisle gripped the

door handle, sending us all glances before yanking open the

door.


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Chapter 6: Shocks & Surprises

Bellas POV

I moved up the front steps to the porch and couldn't

hear a bit of activity going on inside, which had me worried.

Were they even in there?

I knocked slowly on the door, frightened of theirreaction. They didn't want me, did they? Maybe they would

ban me from ever seeing them again. Would Edward be

there now? Or would he still be gone?

The door was suddenly yanked open, and my eyes

focused on four vampires.

Their faces though, were not like I expected.Carlisle was shocked, Esme's eyes were wider than I

thought they could be, Jasper confused with his mouth

hanging open, and Alice squeaked and covered her mouth

with her hands.

"Wha... Bella?" Esme was the first to speak, whispering

my name and still clearly in shock.

I smiled a small, shy smile, and nodded.


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They were like statues frozen in time, only Carlisle's

hand losing grip on the door and flying to his side, and Alice

starting to jump up and down slightly.

"Hi," I said in a small voice.

Alice squealed and ran to me, hugging me full force

and yelling loudly in my ear. That seemed to bring Esme out

of her trance, and she looked me up and down while I was

frozen by the force of Alice's hug.

"How did this happen?" Carlisle deliberated, almost tohimself.

Esme walked up to me. "Come inside, Bella. It's so

great to see you, and I think you have a few things to tell

us," she smiled and took my hand, leading a stunned me

and an attached shrieking Alice inside, past a frozen Jasper

and Carlisle.Alice finally let go of me when we got to the couch in

their new home, taking my backpack off my shoulder and

frowning at it, depositing it roughly by throwing it at the

staircase. She sat on the couch and pulled me next to her,

her smile lighting up her whole face and her body vibrating

with excitement.

Esme laughed quietly, and I looked up to see what it

was about.

"I was about to ask you if you wanted a drink. But

obviously..." she smiled again.

"Obviously I don't want one." I finished for her.

"Yes..." she trailed off, narrowing her eyes at me.

In the awkward silence I looked around and their new


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home. It was sparsely decorated, all of Esme's favourite

paintings on the walls. Wooden panels decorated one of the

walls, distinctively different then the wall of glass in Forks. I

saw a large kitchen disappearing round the corner, and the

oak staircase leading up to the second level. This house was

obviously very big, and I couldn't help but utilize

myextra senses and realise the four vampires in front of me

were the only ones that had been in the house for some

time."Where's E Emmett?" I cut my self of from

saying his name.

"Emmett and Rosalie are currently enjoying their

second honeymoon in the north of Africa," Carlisle

informed me, sitting down next to Esme. We all stared at

each other uncomfortably, and nobody broke the silence till

Alice couldn't help but burst.

"Oh my gosh Bella! How are you a vampire? Did you

ask somebody to do it? Did somebody bite you? Did you just

turn? When did it happen? Why can't I see you? Why did

you come here? How did you get here? Was it you on the

phone? Oh, it was, wasn't it! How didn't I see this before!

Are you coping? You seem to be fine around humans,otherwise you would have bit the cab driver... how do you

do it? Did you see"

"Alice, please," Esme reprimanded her, seeing my

flustered expression, "let Bella explain."

I decided that since these four people in front of me

deserved to know the truth. If they were going to let me

stay, I might as well tell them now. It's not like it was a big


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secret.

"Laurent came back," I whispered, hearing shockedgasps around the room. "He... he was getting revenge for

Victoria. He said that she wanted me because Edward killed

her mate, and so she wanted to kill his. Mate for mate. I

guess she didn't know..."

"Anyway, he said he would be kind, kill me quickly. He

bit me, but then the wol" I stopped myself, I forgot that

they wouldn't know about the werewolves in La Push.I tried to think of how to keep the secret of the wolves

out of this, but I realised that having spent the last three

weeks with them, there was no way I could keep them out of

this.

But hadn't I told Jacob some things about the Cullen's?

Hadn't I stood in front of everyone and guiltilyadmitted his mind-reading ability? About Alice's visions?

Jasper's empath powers? Wouldn't that mean, logically, I

could tell Alice, Carlisle and Esme about the wolves?

But more so, would I wantto tell them? Was I putting

the packs lives in danger if I would tell their secret?

"So, he bit you." Alice's voice was clipped and short,

tinted with a hint of annoyance.

"Yes," I replied curtly.

"How come he didn't drain you?" Carlisle asked, still

genuinely interested, even though Alice was furrowing her

eyebrows and muttering incoherently away at herself.

"Uh..." I decided to get it over and done with. "The

wolves dragged him off me. Then they killed him."


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I looked at Esme, who was staring at me with wide

eyes. As soon as my eyes rested on her she catapulted off the

couch and squeezed in next to me, hugging me around my

shoulders.

"My poor girl," she said softly, kissing the side of my

forehead. I folded into her, relishing in the contact and

motherly protectiveness only Esme would have.

"I'm so sorry I didn't come back, Bella. If I had

known..." Alice trailed off, burning into my eyes to try to getme to understand. "I would've come back. But I couldn't

see!" She cried out, frustrated as she pulled roughly at her

short hair, and then sobbed into my lap.

The combined emotions of Esme and Alice must have

woken Jasper up from his daze, because he knelt down

beside Alice and patted her head, smoothing down her spiky

hair.

Esme squeezed me tighter, as if it was at all possible.

"It's our entire fault. We should have never let him leave.

Why didn't we stay? Why did it have to come to this?" She

rambled, almost to herself.

I hoped that was a rhetorical question, as I didn't know

what to say to that, so I just kept my mouth shut andabsorbed Esme's motherly comforting. I indulged in her

love while I could get it.

"I don't mean to sound rude, Bella," Carlisle's kind

voice startled me, "but, why did you come here?"

I bit my lip and thought over what I was going to say

before I blurted out incomprehensible and embarrassingthings.


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"Well... I I thought that since you guys were... like me,

uh..." I stumbled through the sentence, and took a deep

breath, "like me, that you could..." how did I say this?

"Um... kind of help me?" It came out as a question. "Like,

you know... err... settle" I used my fingers to make speech

marks in the air.

"Of course we would, Bella," Esme crooned, and I

looked into her deep golden eyes. She reached up and

brushed my matted hair, and I realised with a pang that shedidn't feel cold to me anymore. She felt... normal.

I truly smiled for the first time in days.

"Ooh! Bella, come with me! You can have the guest

room! It's even got purple bedding! How awesome! You

could be like my little sister!" Alice got even more exited,

and squealed as she thought of something else, "I can buy

you HEAPS of clothes! You didn't bring any of your old

stuff! Yay! Ohmygosh I am so exited! We can go to New

York! Ooh! NY Fashion Week's coming soon! Yay! I can

have a little sister who could come! Are you going to go"

She stopped a

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