Disclaimer: All the characters of the Twilight universe are the property of Stephenie Meyer. This is a work of fan-fiction and intended for purely the purpose of entertainment.

A cool autumn breeze flitted through the trees around me, stirring the scent of rotting leaves and moss into the air. The small clearing in front of me was warm with the afternoon sun so rarely seen on the Olympic peninsula. I stopped to cough and catch my breath, waiting.

A life for a life. I had made this decision before, almost three years earlier; in another state, with another vampire, in exchange for another life. Arizona, James, Renee. That one had ended in a broken leg and a concussion.

This time there would be no last minute rescue, by vampires or wolves. I had taken careful steps to ensure that the Quileutes did not have a chance to interfere as they had when Laurent came for me. That one had ended in seven broken bones and both of my lungs collapsing.

A slash of red-hair stepped out from the browns and greens of the forest. Washington, Victoria, Charlie. This one would be the end of me.

I coughed a deep wheeze and pressed my back against a tree on the edge of the clearing, sliding into a sitting position on the ground with another cough, 'Hello Victoria'

'Bella'

'The wolves aren't here'

She smirked to herself, 'Thank you, that's very much appreciated'

'And neither are the Cullens' I frowned; their name left a bad taste in my mouth.

'Their mistake' Her smile had twisted into a sadistic grin.

'They left. They didn't want me anymore'

She tilted her head to the side with a mocking pout, 'You and Edward were so very close though?'

I sighed and devolved into another cough, she waited patiently.

'Apparently not enough for him to want to keep me'

'Evidently. And they just left you here? All alone without any protection?' She was tiptoeing back and forth in a wide arc around me, apparently suspicious.

'We weren't mates Victoria, I was just a toy to them – I doubt they'll care if I die'

She smirked again, 'Trying to convince me to let you live?'

Her eyes narrowed as I shook my head meekly.

I was shocked by the calmness in my voice, 'No, just make it quick please'

She was suddenly standing right in front of me, her hand an inch from my throat, 'So that's it, no fight, no pleading, just "make it quick"?'

I opened my mouth to reply but collapsed in another coughing fit.

She observed me with a scrutinizing stare for a moment and then frowned, 'you're sick. I can hear the fluid in your lungs'

I nodded weakly as I gasped for air between coughs.

'No thanks to Laurent' I couldn't help but let out a raspy laugh, 'Turns out being punted through a tree by a vampire isn't very healthy' I laughed resignedly, 'these infections'll kill me before I even finish college – you'll only be speeding up the inevitable'.

I undoubtedly would have died on the forest floor if Jacob hadn't ran me to the highway at a pace I was sure had broken several world records. Despite that, there was only so much modern medicine could do.

She stood in silence for a moment. The sound of my quiet wheezing and the occasional crackle from my chest filled the air.

'Why haven't they just changed you?' Her brow knitted together as she stared at something beyond me, evidently trying to re-piece together a puzzle she thought she had built correctly the first time.

'I told you, they don't care; they never did. I was just a toy that they got bored with'

She glared at me and spoke in a menacing whisper, 'They killed James for you'

I could only shrug, 'Honestly, Victoria – I don't really understand why they did that'

'You're lying'

'If they cared anything for me, wouldn't they be here by now?' I sighed, 'Alice is gifted, she –'

'I know about the girl's visions'

The confusion must have been clear on my face.

'Laurent learned about them in Denali, he also said you were gifted – immune to Edwards ability'

'Oh,' that traitorous bastard – after the Cullens had let him leave in confidence, 'Well, the Cullens aren't here are they? They weren't there when Laurent came for me, they weren't there at the beach in La Push, in fact I haven't so much as heard from them in over two years. Have you considered why that is?'

She narrowed her eyes.

'They don't care, Victoria,' I had long since resigned to that fact. I let out a deep cough, 'either they've known and haven't done anything or haven't even bothered to watch in the first place'. I scowled as the last of the words spilled out, having never really put it into words before.

I had begun to resent the Cullens, since long before Laurent found me and even more so now that I was doomed to a half-life – to waste away in a hospital bed somewhere in the near future due to their inaction. They could have saved me from Laurent; they could have helped pay for the hospital bills, which Charlie was now working himself to death trying to cover, they could still save me. And yet there I was having spent two years of dealing with the looming prospect of death. And now, as it stood right in front of me, I faced it alone – because of them; because of him. The thought of Victoria catching up with him had once terrified me; but now I felt a sick twist of pleasure at the prospect.

The words tumbled out before I even realized I was speaking, 'Laurent said they were in Ithaca'

She nodded, 'He told me. But why are you telling me?'

I could feel a sick grin spread across my face.

She laughed, 'It seems they have a habit of making enemies'

I laughed until I began coughing again.

She eyed me curiously, 'they aren't living as a single coven at the moment. Why would they split up?'

'They split up every few years. Best I could gather Carlisle and Esme pretty much always stay in the country but Rosalie and Emmett usually go travelling. Jasper and Alice could go either way but I know Jasper is close with a nomad pair; Peter and Charlotte. Maybe they're staying with them. And in… his case, I really don't know'

She began pacing, twirling her finger in a tousle of her hair thoughtfully, 'Tell me about them; what are they like, which are the fighters, other vampires they're close with'

And so I did. I explained every vampire friend they ever mentioned, how each of the Cullens came to be and how they ended up in Forks, their treaty with the wolves – although I skipped over much of the information about the wolves. I owed them that much.

She brought me some water from a nearby stream as my cough started to make speaking difficult and eventually came to sit cross-legged in front of me, listening intently and prompting for more information on subjects that peaked her interest. I was amazed at how little guilt I felt for divulging all this, and I was even more amazed by how good it felt. How good it felt to know the Cullens would get what was coming to them. There were some, such as Esme who I did feel guilt over, but for all the 'motherly-concern' she had shown me, where was she when it mattered? Or what about Carlisle and his 'all life is precious' bullshit that apparently only mattered when it was convenient. The same went for the rest of them too.

Eventually we circled around to what had happened in Phoenix. She listened with a vacant stare after asking what I could remember of the night in the ballet studio. When I was finished, she slowly reached out her hand, delicately grasping my wrist, carefully pushing back my sleeve with her thumb to view the scar that James had left me with. The skin of her hand was like ice everywhere it touched me except for the scar. As her thumb graced across my skin, slowly tracing the contours of James's bite, her skin felt soothingly warm.

Slower than even human speed, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the scar in a gentle kiss. Her face was a mask of sorrow as she rose; 'I can still smell his venom'

To be honest, I couldn't bring myself to blame Victoria for hunting the Cullens and for coming after me. They'd ruined my life because they wanted a plaything. They killed the love of her life because their toy was threatened.

We sat in silence for what felt like an age.

'I'm sorry for all that's happened, Victoria. I truly am. I never meant for anyone to get hurt, I just… I didn't understand what I was getting involved with' and I meant it. This woman had been through hell because I was a naive child, fooled by promises of fairy-tale endings by someone who never intended to follow through. She gave a small nod in acknowledgement.

I broke out into another coughing fit as I finished the last of the water.

'Now that you have me, can you give me your word you won't hurt Charlie and Sue?' Promises had been broken before but at this point what choice did I have? I had nothing left to bargain over, she already had my life. I just hoped the sentiment had carried enough weight that she would follow through on our deal.

She nodded, still staring at my scar. Thank god.

Something sickly washed over me. I could have quashed it down but the sheer weight of what impending death made me numb to all but one thing. Anger, 'Just one more thing Victoria'

She looked up at me with a deadpan expression.

I stared at her with all the steel I cold muster, 'Make them suffer'

She gained a resolve in her eyes and grinned. I felt a quick breeze blow past my face and then she vanished from the clearing, blurring off into the forest.

I watched after her for a minute wondering if she had decided not to kill me after all.

There was a small tugging sensation, like a pinprick growing in intensity on the side of my neck. I quickly raised my hand to the area, finding it damp with blood – a searing heat lurched into my chest and up into my head as I collapsed onto my side in agony.