BRING ME TO LIFE
Preface
Our worlds will never be the same.
Yours has life, love and light.
Mine has death, destruction and darkness.
Chapter one
If my life followed a sequence of normal circumstance, I knew exactly how I would handle this unwelcomed reality. The majority of seventeen year olds would complain how unfair life was, maybe criticize their parent's intensions or perhaps just outright refuse to move from their home and to a completely new environment; however I was not like most teenagers and I never would be.
I still wore my black dress, the only remaining sign of today's events; the caterers had left over an hour ago and the lingering guests mingled outside their cars, laughter raising up to my room where I sat quietly on my bed. Anger ran through me as the voices drifted away, how dare they laugh, how dare they bring their joy into my presence. I kept quiet and hastily grabbed for the necessities I would need in my new life: clothing, my IPod, some toiletries and a couple of my favourite novels. After putting on some jeans teamed with a t-shirt, comfy boots and black fur coat, I shoved the lot in my brown back-pack hastily wiping away my tears.
I stood in the centre of my room debating whether or not I was going to be sick again, after a few moments of deep breathing I realised I was in the clear, and took one last look around my room. It was a predictable sunny day in Florida, my curtains illuminated with the rays of the vibrant sun caressing the entire room. The brightness and light did nothing to lighten my mood however, it was though the daylight itself was laughing at the darkness that I had cocooned myself in. The organised clutter on my shelves and desk did nothing to suppress the feeling of emptiness, this room no longer held any meaning to me it was time to let go. So for the very last time I picked up my back-pack and walk out of the room and closed the door on my life.
"Why can't mummy and daddy come with us?" I heard my brother's voice cry as I descended the stairs and entered the kitchen. There he was my adorable and innocent brother Jonah with heavy thick tears crawling down his cheeks; his face red and puffy. Jonah sat at the kitchen table shoulders slumped and head bowed, next to him sat a confused looking Nathan attempting to comfort Jonah in anyway, just not aware of how.
As I entered, both their heads lifted to greet me and another broken cry escaped Jonah's mouth; Nathan's eyes pleaded with me for help as he placed soothing strokes on my brothers back.
I put my back-pack down as another broken cry escaped Jonah. Nathan's eyes pleaded with me for help as he placed soothing strokes on Jonah's back.
"Jonah, come here." I spoke softly. He immediately jumped out of the kitchen chair and rushed over to me circling my waist in a gripping hug. I smiled sadly and bent down on my knees so we were face to face.
"Don't you remember what we talked about last night Jonah?" I asked quietly controlling my voice as best as I could so as not to cry myself. Jonah shook his head and I sighed.
"Mum and dad can't come with us to the new house Jonah, they can't be with us anymore, remember? We're going to live with Uncle Nathan at his house; shh... it's going to be okay." I crushed him to me and held him tight whilst my own tears betrayed me and rolled down my face.
"I want mummy and daddy!" He screamed into my shoulder as he bawled.
"I know Jonah." I soothed. "I do to."
The drive from Florida to Washington was quiet; Nathan didn't really speak unless answering a direct questions. Every now and then however, I would catch him staring at me in the rear view mirror as I comforted my brother in the back seat of his jeep. His gaze would linger for only a moment, not long enough to question but enough for a reason. However it was never long enough for me to identify his expression, though sometimes I swore it appeared that he was crying.
On the second morning of our journey I woke up in the back seat uncomfortable and stiff, I gazed around to see my brother sat in the front seat beside Nathan looking happier than he had all week.
"Good morning Bella." Nathan greeted as he spotted me in the mirror. "How are you?" He asked.
"Yeah, just a bit sore." I muttered, whilst rubbing my neck.
"Sorry about that, it's just safer if we don't stop to sleep. We should be in Forks soon and you can sleep in your own bed." He replied.
"Forks?" I asked.
"I can't wait!" Jonah shouted from the front, his usually large grin finally back on his face. "I want to see my room, Nathan said that my bedroom is right next to a forest."
"Is it steering wheel?" Jonah added.
"Nope." Nathan replied, shaking his head. He must have spotted my confused expression. "We were in the middle of eye spy when you woke up."
"The letter is S." Jonah explained. "You want to play?"
"Sure." I answered with a smile.
Seven hours later after constant driving, a fast food stop, a toilet break and enough car games to last me a life time I stood completely speechless in front of my new home.
Nathan's house was far from what I was expecting, actually, house was the wrong word to use; from the outside it looked more like a small castle placed on the wrong bit of land. Its large grey stones and circular arches gave it a fairy-tale like essence. With three stories and two large, heavy dark wood doors, one at the front entrance and another on the second floor connecting the house to an oversized balcony.
A large forest circled the background of the house, and cut off the rest of the world. Giant, thick trees with crackling bark made up the edge of the wood. Nothing could be seen beyond that but shadows and darkness, it sent shivers up my spine and cold chills through my fingertips.
"I didn't know you were rich." I said as Nathan opened the boot of his jeep. He shrugged casually before carrying on.
I looked over at Jonah fast asleep and spread out in the front seat; he had finally given up fighting exhaustion two hours before our arrival.
"Why don't you go inside, I'll carry your brother in?" Nathan replied.
"Okay." I muttered, and then made my way towards the stone steps leading to the house's entrance. The detailed wooden door was unlocked, it was heavy and slightly difficult to push but once it was opened I was assaulted with the true luxurious interior of Nathan's house.
One word: Grand.
I was speechless, never in my short seventeen years had I seen something so grand up close. This was going to be my new home; I was going to be living here. It was only now that I truly felt the drastic change my life had took in the past week, slowly small tears began to seep out of my eyes and I used the sleeve of my coat to wipe them away.
"Are you okay?" I heard Nathan's worried voice ask me from behind, he looked genuinely concerned.
"Yeah." I answered, swiping the last of my tears away.
"It's been a long couple of days for you, I'll show you to your room and you can rest." He gestured.
Whilst carrying two bags in one hand and Jonah in the other Nathan walked ahead of me and ascended the stairs.
"You have a lovely house." I said as I followed.
"Thank you, I enjoy living here though it can get a bit lonely." He replied sadly.
"You live alone?" I questioned
"I used to." He turned and smiled at me. I hoped that my returning smile was good enough reassurance that I was looking forward to living here with him, but somehow I knew he saw through it. Nathan sighed when we reached the top stairs, turning around to look at me; Jonah still dead to the world.
"I know you don't want this Bella, I would do anything to bring them back. It must have been horrific, what do you remember about that night?" He asked warily.
I couldn't get my mouth to open, my feet wouldn't move and my eyes no longer stayed dry.
Before I could stop it, the foul chunky liquid was sliding up my throat and falling onto the white tiles of Nathan's floor.
"Shit, sorry! I shouldn't have even brought it up, are you okay?" Nathan said as he quickly lowered Jonah down on a nearby decadent chair in the hallway. I kneeled on the floor panting on my hands, sweaty and completely mortified. Nathan came up behind me to rub my back and push my sticky hair away from my face.
"I'm so sorry, if you tell me where the mop and bucket is I can clean it up." I breathed wiping my mouth.
"Don't worry about it; I'm sorry for asking you that it was really stupid of me." Nathan answered and helped me up. "Come on let's get you cleaned up and put in bed." He picked Jonah back up and placed him on his hip holding him with one hand, while his other wrapped around my waist and led me towards the furthest door at the end of the hallway.
"This is your room I've had it decorated, I hope it will be okay for you." He seemed almost nervous as he pushed open the door to my room.
It was perfect. Old-fashioned to match the rest of the house, neat with white accessories.
"Its lovely thank you, you really didn't have to do this. Decorate the room I mean, I would of been happy with anything." I assured him. He set Jonah down on the bed and motioned for me to come in. Towards the left hand side of the room was a discreet hall way, walking through I saw it connected to a smaller room with comfortable looking chairs, sofa and a large television.
"Just past there is your bathroom." He gestured behind me where a white door partly opened gave me a glimpsing to bright large bathroom.
"I get my own bathroom?" I cried happily barging in. A giant mirror covered one wall with a large white basin underneath; there was also a large bathtub, a clear glass shower and a dresser with a white metal stool. The whole bathroom was clean, modern and bright; I couldn't believe that it was just mine.
"Of course you do, Jonah has his own as well. Now, come and sit down." He said.
I sat down on the stool while he received a cloth from one of the cupboards under the sink, after wetting it he knelt down beside me and soothingly stroked my face with the cloth. I sat there silently with this stranger touching my face, I should have felt uncomfortable or nervous but somehow I didn't; I just felt numb.
I barely remember falling asleep in my bed next to Jonah, all I could recall is the burning heat that passed through me as images of my parents surrounded me in my dreams and the screams of pain as I watched the body bags being loaded into the ambulance over and over again.