When she awoke from her forced slumber, all Bella could see was darkness. Her brown eyes blinked thrice in rapid succession, but to no avail. She lifted a hand to touch her matted hair, feeling the grotesquely sticky patch and the twinge of pain which followed her gentle fingers.
The floor beneath her was cold and hard, providing little comfort for her aching back. No matter how much she tried, Bella couldn't remember why she was there. Drops of water suddenly splashed down onto her face, warm, humid and repulsive. Through the sleep-induced grogginess, she hadn't been able to hear his breathing.
"Up," the strange man hissed, his teeth a flash of white in the dark. A leather boot collided with Bella's hip, hard.
She flinched and rolled over onto her side, curling into a foetal position to try and escape. The girl couldn't remember anything. She didn't know why she was there, nor who her companion was, nor even how to open her mouth and speak. The only things which remained clear in her mind were her name and a throbbing need in her chest. Something was missing, she knew that, and, more importantly, she wanted it back. Desperation coursed through her veins like fire, hot an uninhibited.
"I said get up!" The man's hand reached down, fisting itself in matted brown curls. Ignoring the struggles and pained moans coming from the girl, he dragged her across the floor. A muttered curse could be heard, accompanying the soft thud of a foot kicking into something. "For fuck's sake, Jasper! How many fucking times do I have to tell you to change the fucking lightbulb?!"
There was no reply to the young man's angered exclamation, not that Bella would have understood it anyway. The only sound which followed was the creaking of an opening door and the scraping of Bella's belt against the ground. She opened her mouth to scream, the pain almost unbearable, but her sandpaper-thick tongue didn't know how to work.
"Sorry," a cool, southern voice drawled, "I forgot."
"Yeah, well, don't!" Bella's hair was released by the strange man. She found herself blinded by fluorescent light, but unable to move her heavy hands to cover her frightened brown eyes. Standing directly above her were two very different men. The one who had been pulling Bella had a disgusted look plastered upon his pale face, strands of bronze hair sticking to a sweaty forehead as he peered down at her with menacing green eyes. The other looked incredibly strange; his hair was like wheat, blending into lightly tanned skin, but it was the blue eyes which ultimately intrigued the confused girl. She had no idea what they were saying as their mouths moved, but she could read the pain, the anger on their faces.
"You sure this is the right one?" the bronzed boy was asking, his noble nose wrinkled in disgust. "It reeks! Why the fuck would Carlisle want this?"
"Dad," the other boy began, heavily emphasising that one word. "Asked for this one specifically. He doesn't want another of your whims, Edward, you know how badly the last one turned out." He lifted a hand to his head, running it through the shaggy blonde hair.
"When did she have hers?" Edward said the words as though they disgusted him, his tone frightening Bella back into a tiny ball. She hurt everywhere, but in one place more than most. A warm, dark stain led from her crotch right down to her knees, stinging her raw legs as it went. "For fuck's sake! She's pissed herself, Jasper. How the hell is that any use?"
"You know how bladder control can sometimes be effected by it," Jasper explained with an exasperated sigh. He lowered himself into a crouch, keeping his careful distance from the trickle of urine which was seeping across the floor. The stranger reached out a hand and clamped it down over Bella's shoulder lightly. "It won't be long now before he'll see you," he said, unaware of the girl's utter inability to understand. Bella's head was pounding and a guttural moan was all she could manage.
"Doesn't make it any less revolting." Edward gagged, turning his head for fear that he would vomit. "Why the fuck has he always gotta pick the faulty ones."
"You know he likes a challenge," Jasper replies smoothly, rising to his feet once more. "This one's been through more than most. He says she doesn't remember a single thing, not even the baby."
Edward snorted, turning his eyes on the girl. "I give her a week, maybe a fortnight, before he gets sick of her and we have to throw her in the river with the other lost causes."
"Ed, we don't talk about those in front of them, do we?" A third voice joined their conversation, this one smooth and cold and terrible. "I trust you've treated my patient well." Bella peered upwards, afraid of the newcomer. Her instinct felt that if she saw him, some of that fear would be quelled. Wrong again. Everything about him was pristine; a white lab-coat, slicked back blonde hair, clean-shaven face. Even his shoes shined.
"Treating her well would've been leaving her at the shelter, Carlisle." Edward scoffed, the hatred in his voice clear for even Bella to understand. "Dumb bitch doesn't even know she's here. Wouldn't be surprised if she started begging for change in a minute."
"Go and get the room ready," the man instructed, choosing to ignore his son's jibe. "Oh, and change the flowers. We want to make miss Swan here as comfortable as possible."
"Isn't that doctor talk for 'the bitch is gonna die?'" Edward called over his shoulder, leaving the room swiftly. His boots clicked against the cold, tiled ground, punctuating the tense silence leading up to the slam of a door.
Carlisle sighed, scooping his arms under Bella's thin body. Not once did he complain about the smell, nor the puddle on the floor. As he lifted the girl into his strong grip, he could feel the wetness seeping through his white jacket. "Did anyone notice you take her?" he asked.
Jasper shrugged. "I don't think that's something we have to worry about. It's not like anybody cares. She's already dead to the world."