Disclaimer: I don't own the RHPS or Twilight. And I'm very calm about it. Excuse me for a second... *Sobs* IT'S JUST NOT FAIR, DAMN IT!
Bella drove recklessly through the forest-lined streets, no Idea where she was going. Her body flew around in her seat, her seatbelt unbuckled. She was totally lost, driving on a dangerous road that was unfamiliar to her. She could have been killed, but Bella didn't care. In fact, she thought, Death would have been welcome... No! Bella shook her head furiously, her mahogany hair flopping around her face. A few hours ago, before she lost all track of time, Bella's hair had been perfectly coiffed, her makeup- though extremely abundant- was applied precisely, looking dazzling. But now her hair had unwound and was half-hanging over her face, and her make-up was smudged with the tears that she despised shedding, but was unable to control. Adrenaline pulsing through her, Bella swerved her car as it almost collided with an enormous spruce tree. A small part of her heartbroken mind realised that she was driving in the forest, and her puffy eyes sought a way to get onto the road. Bella swerved sharply again, turning onto the road. Gravel from the rustic road sprayed around the wheels of the car as she sped away.
The car.
His car.
Technically the car wasn't his, but it was full of so many memories of him that it hurt Bella as deeply as seeing his face. She still remembered his face splitting into a creepy but pleasing smile as Bella gasped at the gift, running her newly manicured hands over the shiny black bumper. She had never had anything extravagant before she met him, and this sleek black sports car was a dream come true...
The memory caused agony to rip through Bella, and she slowed a little. But the memory had opened the floodgate; more came streaming in, especially the memory of their first meeting. It had been raining heavily and Bella, even more lost than she had been now, had trailed blindly through the trees, calling out for help. She was cold and terrified, and the light she saw though the trees was a welcome gift. She had groped her way to the door, calling for help. Then when the door opened, she fell blindly to the carpet. There was cold laughter from the servants as Bella stumbled in, but it died as soon as someone else entered the room, demanding what was going on.
Then he saw Bella, and something about her captivated him. For the next year and a half, Bella lived a twisted but luxurious lifestyle with him. Until...
Bella half-screamed as the hideous memory of just a few hours ago hit her against her will, like a bucket of icy water being upturned on her head.
I'm sorry he'd said. I should have told you earlier.
And Bella had gaped. She's known he was weird, but not that weird...
The crunch of gravel under her wheels died down, and Bella realised that she was driving on a proper road. The trees thinned around her, giving way to buildings.
Bella was almost home.
This should have caused relief in her, but instead she felt a strange emptiness. She had gotten so used to a fantasy-esque routine with him...
"I can't go back." Bella chanted to herself. "I can't go back. I don't want to go back." But as much as she lied to herself, she did.
However, common sense toppled what she wanted in her mind. She couldn't go back- not after his revelation, and not after she stormed out and swore she would never see him again.
Bella almost leapt out of her seat in shock when she realised where she was. A familiar house greeted her, and she slowed her car, staring at the house in shock.
This was her home- looking exactly the way it was before she had ever left.
A conversation from another lifetime lingered in her head, the memory of his voice sending a sharp pain into her heart.
What about my house? She had asked him, when he announced that she was to be living with him.
I'll take care of it, Darling. He promised, smiling at her.
Wow. Bella stared at the house in shock- he had taken better care of it than she thought. The rent seemed to be paid, and it looked as though he had hired someone to treat the garden.
This just made it worse for her. He really cared... Bella choked back a sob. That part of her life was over, she reminded herself. She had to get back on with her life.
Bella parked her car in the drive, next to the old run-down chevy she used to drive. The stunning car contrasted extremely with the old, homely vehicle Bella had once driven. Bella considered getting rid of the newer car and reverting back to her truck- if she kept the memory-filled objects, it would only make it harder for her.
Bella winced when she looked down at her clothes. She had never doubted his odd fashion sense since the first day she met him- it fit his lifestyle and personality so well, and she had easily accepted the clothes he gave her. But now, Bella felt shame wash over her as she looked down at her attire. She was glad that no-one could see her; a corset, hot pants and fishnets were not the most appropriate clothes to wear. Her ridiculously high, clunky heels clicked along the path as she walked towards her old house. She used to love her house; it was a symbol of independence and living the life she wanted. But now her mind had been corrupted- all she wanted was him.
Bella lifted up the loose brick in the path and sighed. The key to the house was still there, as though she had never left- as though the last year and a half had not existed.
Maybe it was a dream, Bella thought, but she doubted it. The car and her inappropriate attire were proof enough, along with all the memories. But she still had the feeling as though she was waking from a dream. An insane, corrupting... wonderful dream.
Bella unlocked her door, and shivered as it creaked open. She switched on the light and sighed.
Everything was the same as it always had been. The floor was still vacuumed, the way it had been the night she disappeared- that was odd; surely it would have been covered in dust. The same magazines were on the table by the sofa, the same book tucked among the cushions. Bella pulled it out- it was Dracula, the book she had been reading the day she met him. A bookmark, made by a piece of torn and scribbled-on paper, was still tucked into the worn pages. Bella flipped the chunky book open, and noted that it was on the same page.
How silly of her- of course everything would be the same. Except... dropping the book, Bella rushed towards the fridge. If she had been gone for a year and a half, surely the food... Bella opened the fridge door and gasped.
It was the same food- all the same groceries that had been in there 18 months ago- yet it was different. Though each item was in the same place as it had been, and even at the same angle, it was all fresh- the used-by-dates different on the packaged products, the vegetables crisp and new. The packaging was even different on a pot of Pasta sauce- sometime, while Bella was living with him, the brand had changed its packaging.
So someone had been in her house while she was gone. Someone had vacuumed the floors, dusted the shelves and replaced the food. Recently, as well.
Bella was confused- it was as if somebody had known she was returning. That frightened her- how had that person known? The person could even be in her house...
Bella clutched the counter, trying to steady herself. What was going on? It was as though she was a bucket, tipped upside-down when she met him. Now, months later, she had been turned back the way she should be- but something was wrong. Her contents had been spilled while she was upside down, but trapped inside the walls of her body- and now she was righted, they had escaped.
Putting it simply, Bella felt empty.
Slowly, she mounted the stairs to her bedroom. The familiar surroundings of her house made her feel lonely, a feeling that never used to come by her. Bella used to enjoy time alone, but now she had grown accustomed to the life with him- in the few moments when she was away from him, there were servants and his friends around to keep her company. But now she was alone- and it scared Bella half to death. She wondered what he was doing now, then spite took over her thoughts, and she imagined him with someone else, herself already forgotten. After all, he had revealed his bizarre past to her, and told her of all his previous girlfriends - and, to Bella's horror, his boyfriends. Though he had sworn he was past that, Bella found it hard to trust him. How could she stay with someone who, at any time, could drop her for a man?
"Stop thinking about him!" Bella growled to herself as she walked down the upstairs hall. "That cad is out of your life."
But, though he had hurt her deeply with his revelation, she still missed him so much it hurt.
Bella rested her hand on the knob of her bedroom door, sighing again. While she had lived with him, her room was luxurious and spacious, filled with grand, yet at the same time gothic, furniture. Returning to the plain, cramped bedroom with the small double bed and tiny wardrobe filled with cheap clothes was disappointing.
Pull yourself together! Bella thought angrily. This is your room, and you love it. And STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM!
Slowly, Bella turned the knob and entered her room. Although it was dark, she could sense that everything was the same. But as she fumbled for a light switch, a voice startled her.
"Bella."
Bella shrieked and leapt up, but in half a second she calmed down. For the voice, so refined and rich, was familiar to her.
Bella turned around slowly. Though everything was clothes in shadows, she could make out a faint silhouette on her bed. Although the voice could only belong to one person, the silhouette confirmed Bella's suspicions; it was him.
"How did you get here?" Bella hissed furiously.
He laughed. "I drove. Unlike you, I know my way around, sweetie."
"Don't call me that!" Bella snarled furiously. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, don't be like that, darling! I came here to get you back- I couldn't just let you walk out. I followed your car, but then you got lost, so I decided to wait for you. I knew you'd turn up eventually."
"What if I'd driven off a cliff?" Bella snapped venomously.
He was silent for a few moments.
"You wouldn't do that- I know you." he reasoned.
"Wow. Wish I could say the same." Bella said, sarcasm creeping into her voice.
There was a sigh from the bed. "Bella, darling, I told you I was over that. Besides, the others only lasted about a week before I got tired of them. But you- sweetie, you're such an exceptional beauty, and you're so entertaining..."
"That's it?" Bella half-screamed. "Looks and entertainment? Well, I'm sorry but you can go find yourself another plaything and entertainer. I'm NOT coming back!"
Even in the darkness, Bella knew that he was pouting. "Darling, what I was about to say was that you have a wonderful personality as well."
"That's a load of..." Bella let loose an uncouth four-letter word.
"Darling!" she was reprimanded with a gasp. "Please! I'm serious..."
"And I bet you were serious about the others for a WEEK." Bella interjected spitefully. She was ignored.
"Bella, you're so different to other earthl-" he corrected himself as Bella winced- his background was the other part of the revelation that drove Bella to leave. "People. Darling, I think I love you."
Bella was frozen with shock. Never had he- or anyone else, for that matter- said that to her. From what she had heard from his servants and friends- all of which who turned out to be ex-girlfriends or boyfriends- he had never said that to anyone else, either. She tried to stop it, but her heart thudded with pleasure. She chose, however, NOT to embrace it.
"That's a lie." she accused, folding her arms across her corset-clad chest.
"Sweetie, I never lie." he told her, but Bella refused to believe him- though she wanted to so much it ached.
"You could be lying now." She pointed out, feeling a wash of unwelcome guilt at her mistrust.
He sighed again. "I'm not, Isabella, I'm not, I assure you."
Bella's face twisted into a confused expression as she thought the situation over.
Then finally she whispered, "How can I believe you?"
She saw his faint, shadowy figure leap up gracefully from the bed.
"If you meant little to me, then why would I come to get you back?" he rationalised. "Bella, darling, you helped me see that you can live happily with one partner. Before you, I was trying to fill the void with meaningless others. But now, I'm happy with just you- providing you let me wear corsets." he added.
Bella stared silently at him. She tried to fight the pull, but he'd always had an irresistible hold on her, despite his oddness. Bella couldn't help herself.
"I love you." she whispered, then tried to choke back the words as she realised what she'd just done- bound herself to him.
Joyfully, he swung her off her feet around himself. It was the kind of thing that would have happened in a cliche ridden love story turned gothic- instead of the man in a tuxedo and the woman in a white dress, there was a woman with smudged make-up and a man in a leather corset with stockings and suspenders, in a dark bedroom rather than on the beach. But for Bella, it was perfect.
"So, are you coming back?" he asked her, pulling her closer to him.
"Of course." Bella smiled happily, the anger she'd felt for him disappearing. "Of course, Frank." After all, she could say his name again- it no longer caused rage to wash through her the way it had earlier that night. "And I won't leave again."
Amongst the trees, a young woman watched as Frank returned Bella to the gothic, castle-like mansion where she would remain, unlike so many others. Her heavily made-up eyes narrowed, and she flicked a strand of bright-red hair away from her face furiously.
"That should have been me." Her squeaky voice demanded. "I'm more deserving."
And as Bella, blushing happily like she'd won the lottery, stepped back inside the doors, Columbia watched enviously.
"She won't last long." Columbia smiled, fingering a small bottle tucked into her cleavage. She pulled it out, and a flash of lightning illuminated the macabre skull symbol on the front. Underneath that lingered a single word- six letters that, when arranged, created something deadly.
"She won't last long."
Author's note: I know, Frank was quite OOC in this but I was bored and sick and I felt like writing this. In case you wondered why I didn't use Frank's name until the end, it's because Bella was meant to be hurt emotionally by him, and she was trying to steer her thoughts from using his name because it would hurt her emotionally even more.
You can draw your own conclusions as to what happens- but I might post a sequel. In case I don't, here's a hint to what happens: The word on the bottle Columbia had was Poison.
Bye!