"Bella, I don't want you to come with me." He spoke the words slowly and precisely, his cold eyes on my face, watching as I absorbed what he was really saying. There was a pause as I repeated the words in my head a few times, sifting through them for their real intent. "You…don't…want me?" I tried out the words, confused by the way they sounded, placed in that order. "No." I stared, uncomprehending, into his eyes. He stared back without apology. His eyes were like topaz- hard and clear and very deep. I felt like I could see into them for miles and miles, yet no-where in their bottomless depth could I see the contradiction to the words he'd spoken. "Well, that changes things." I was surprised by how calm and reasonable my voice sounded. It must be because I was so numb. I couldn't realise what he was telling me. It still didn't make any sense. He looked away into the trees as he spoke again. "Of course, I'll always love you… in a way. But what happened the other night made me realise that its time for a change. Because I'm… tired of pretending to be something I'm not, Bella I am not human." He looked back and the icy plains of his perfect face were not human. "I've let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry for that." "Don't." my voice was just a whisper now; awareness was beginning to seep through me, trickling like acid through my veins. "Don't do this." He just stared at me, and I could see from his eyes that my words were far too late. He already had. "You're not good for me, Bella." He turned his earlier words around, so I had no argument. How well I knew that I wasn't good enough for him…
(read pages 70-72 in New moon for the full extract)
…"wait!" I choked out the word, reaching for him, willing my deadened legs to carry me forward. I thought he was reaching for me, too. But his cold hands locked around my wrists and pinned them to my sides. He leaned down, and pressed his lips very lightly to my forehead for the briefest instant. My eyes closed. "Take care of yourself," He breathed, cool against my skin. There was a light, unnatural breeze. My eyes flashed open. The leaves on a small vine maple shudder with the gentle wind of his passage. He was gone.
I woke up with tears in my eyes. Oh just a dream I thought but then the emptiness of my heart hit me and the realisation seeped through my body. That's when I realised that I had to go back to the woods for the last time. I knew I would not be able to keep my self composed if I stayed here, I looked at the clock, only 1 hour till Charlie woke up, I couldn't bear it if he saw me this way. I trudged down stairs as quietly as I was capable of. I crossed the garden and walked into the woods to the spot where he left me. It was eerily quiet and lonely, far different from the first time I was here. My feet gave way and I sank dejectedly to the soft moss covered ground as a waterfall of tears streamed down my cheeks making my hair stick to my face.
"Well, well, well… what do we have here, if it isn't the little pet. I thought he never left your poor, weak, defenceless side." Came her sickly, high-pitched voice. To make it worse she started to laugh, not just a normal laugh but an evil sarcastic cackle. It sent shivers down my spine just listening to it.
"Now don't even try to outrun me, as you know that would never work." She stated, as a smile started to creep back on her face. "Hmmmm." She said.
I didn't even want to know the things she was probably planning to do to me. Finally she flashed her teeth and I knew she had chosen.
"Would you like to know what I have decided your fate is?" she asked in the way a child would ask a parent what a surprise was.
Noooooooo, I screamed in my head but I knew she was going to tell me anyway.
"I have decided I will kill you the same way you killed my partner, James. You remember him don't you?" she said with a sneer. I just sat there like a statue not daring to move but too frightened to speak.
"I will make you suffer the worst death possible. I will turn you to a vampire but just as you start to come round I will burn you where you lie!" she got louder and louder till she was eventually screaming at me. She burst into an evil laugh, the kind villains do in the movies, but a lot scarier.
I then knew it was over; my life with Charlie, Renée, all my friends from school but most of all with Edward. I welcomed it willingly, because my life now had no meaning, the one thing that mattered is now gone- my Edward. For the first time in my life I knew what it felt like to know you were going to die and not be able to do anything about it. Your whole life is supposed to flash before your eyes but I can tell you now, this isn't true. How I wish it was true. How I wish I could get one glance of the future I would never have with Edward. At least I knew I died by what my true love is. A vampire. I never thought I'd say this but I'm glad Edward isn't here.
So as I stared at the face of my killer and for the first time seeing the beauty in her eyes. She slipped into a crouch that reminded me of James last year in the ballet rooms but now Edward is not here to save me. I guess even he couldn't keep this fate from me.
As she circled me she was muttering to herself I caught bits of it and it seemed she was talking about how sweet revenge is and how it's best served cold. Just then she lunged, I didn't flinch because I knew it was no good, I just sat there, waiting for her to come. She firmly held my shoulders and moved her mouth to my neck. "Where's your hero now? Hey?" She whispered
Then she bit me. At first I felt nothing, then a searing pain hit me; it was worse than before. It was like nothing I could ever feel or imagine, until now. It was impossible to describe, the heat was immense, as if you were burning yet it was so much more than that, your body was literately screaming. But all the while I didn't move; I wouldn't show her how much pain I was in.
From somewhere near, I heard a scream I was drifting in and out of consciousness but I new someone was there. I used all my strength to open my eyes to find a lovely face looking kindly back.
"My name is Tanya. It's ok, we'll look after you." The woman said.
That's when I lost consciousness completely.
I heard a voice. It was the woman's voice, the one that spoke to me before, Tanya I think she was called. I was now conscious but I still couldn't move, it felt like I had a house on top of me. At least the burning was gone. I was in this state for what seemed to me like years but as it went on, I realised I could hear things I never could before. I could distinguish the different sets of footsteps. I had assessed that there were two males and three females in the house. Every so often one would come in and check on me. After a while I found I could move my hands then my feet. My legs came next, then my arms and slowly but steadily I found I could move completely. As I sat up I saw I was in a room it was obviously a girl's room, as it was baby pink on one wall and lilac on the other. The bed was, to my astonishment, a waterbed that was colour co-ordinated to fit in with the scheme of the walls. Everything matched; there was a small round bedside table that appeared to be made of mahogany with a pink phone and some lovely purple flowers in a glass vase. I turned round to look at what was behind me but I startled myself at the speed in which I did this. On the wall behind me, which was baby pink, there was a huge mirror that took up three quarters of the wall, on the remaining quarter there was a bookshelf also made of mahogany. The book self had millions of books on it and as far as I could tell they were all girl's books, like Jacqueline Wilson or magazines like Shout, Closer and Heat. I was wondering who this room could belong to, when I heard footsteps. I spun round automatically to face whatever was coming, thinking that if Victoria had found me and was coming to kill me I could at least try to fight her. So, there I stood like a lemon waiting for her to rush in snarling at me like a dog with rabies. When in bounced a kind looking woman. She smiled at me, "Hi, my name is Tanya. I hope you were comfortable." She said it as if we were old school friends that had lost touch, rather than two people that have never met before!
The name Tanya rang a bell. Then it came to me she was Edwards friend from the Denali vampire clan. At this three other vampires came in the room. Tanya had a strawberry tint to her blond curls; the woman who came to stand next to her had long pale blond hair, straight as corn. Behind them stood a man and a woman who were both black-haired, with a hint of an olive tone in there chalky complexions. They were staring at me with both awe and wary expressions. "Bella? Is that you?" asked Tanya. I opened my mouth to reply; instead a kind of shriek came out. At this I began to cry but no tears came out. For about five minuets I just sat there dry sobbing, staring at the floor. After a while I felt a hand on my shoulder, "It's alright we killed her." Tanya said trying to comfort me. She obviously thought I was still upset about Victoria attacking me. Little did she know it was Edward that was the cause of all of this. I was thinking about looking up and as soon as the thought appeared in my head I moved. I realised that speed, great hearing, excellent eye sight and, well, I haven't seen a mirror yet- and to be quite honest I don't want to- all come under being a vampire. Imagine being the only clumsy and ugly vampire; Emmett would get a kick out of that. I realised that they were still waiting for me to speak. I decided I would go with what they thought I was upset about, Victoria. I would only tell them about Edward if they asked why I was here or where he is. "She's dead?" I asked unsure. I saw the male and female (who are obviously a pair) look at each other and grin. "Yes, we then brought you back here so you would be safe and warm. We have tried to ring Edward but …"
"There's no one there." I said nervously cutting her off this was the one thing I didn't want to talk about. "WHAT!" they all gasped in unison. While they were recovering from the shock I took the opportunity and I told them why I was in the woods and why they couldn't get through. When I had explained that Edward had left me because he didn't like me any more and he didn't care about what happened to me; the woman with long blond hair introduced her self. "Hiya, my name is Kate, no offence but I think I'm going to have to choose an outfit for you because you because you can't go round in what your wearing." "Kate! Honestly do you have any manners. Bella has just had a traumatic time and all you can think of is her clothes." Scolded Tanya. "Tanya, it's alright. I don't mind." I said; it would give my mind something to think about instead of all the things that had happened lately.