Disclaimer: I do not own ANYTHING rightfully created and owned by Stephanie Meyer. I only own the new characters I will create within this new story.
Before I wrote the Hypnotist and many did NOT like the ending. So I am totally rewriting the story for you. I hope you will enjoy the new version.
Jessica's POV (Point-Of-View)
I sighed. The winter was so dreadfully cold. More so than usual. I shivered as I stepped outside of my house and pulled my long coat over me. I hated this. I needed to find a job, and the one I wanted most was just within my reach.
I should've known though. It was only a matter of time before Mike gave up on me completley. I don't believe it was my fault. He was moving to California, transferring to Stanford University there.
I remembered the conversation completley.
"Hey, Mike!" I had ran from my room to pick up the phone, anxiously awaiting his call. I sort of hovered over him, and never really stopped to think that maybe he didn't like me to hover so much. This didn't occur to me until later.
"Hey," he replied. His tone of voice was clipped and very subdued. I was a person for details, and I noticed this right away in his tone. I tried to keep the conversation light.
"Did you get that job in Seattle, Mike? Running the store and all?" He'd applied for a manager job at a small organic-foods store in Seattle. I thought that since he'd been helping his parents around in Forks with their sporting goods store he'd get the job easily.
"Not—not exactly."
I paused. "What do you mean?"
I heard him take a deep breath over the phone. "Jess, I might as well tell you straight. I'm transferring to Stanford University. In California. And, well, I got a job down there, not in Seattle."
I was stunned. Then I whispered, "You lied to me?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I did." He seemed ashamed, and that did practically nothing to make me feel better.
"Mike, why?" I felt my voice roughened. By tears or anger, I didn't know. Or both.
"I can't…I don't want to be with you anymore, Jessica. I mean, I need to lead my own life. And frankly, you're not very organized yourself right now. You have no plans for college, not even a job."
I swallowed hard. "Mike."
"Sorry Jess. I mean…best of luck to you." Then he hung up.
I remembered the conversation as I heard my mom yell out a good luck to me through the window. I turned and smiled to acknowledge her and I blew a kiss. I turned around and my face sagged into a mask of disappointment again.
I climbed into my car and turned up the heat, waiting for my limbs to thaw out. A memory tainted my mind. Of Mike, drooling over Bella Swan…I mean, Cullen…in our junior year. How he would rather go to prom with her than me. He always went for the pretty girls. Never me. Even though I liked him just as much.
I wondered how Bella and Edward had fallen in love. Does it just…happen? You see each other and boom, you can't live without the other? I thought of how he left her and disappeared entirely. How devastated and zombie like she became. Maybe I would see Mike again someday. That was my goal. If I got this job, I would move out to California, towards Mike, and scream his name out. "Mike, I'm here, I'm here!"
He wouldn't be able to get away from me, and then the realization would come that we were really meant to be together.
I drove into Port Angeles. The job I was interviewing for was only to be a model. I thought I was decently good looking. The guy who came out to see me was Kirk Summers, the wonder of modeling today. I can't lie and say I haven't read every single magazine with him or his girls in it. He was in the Seattle area and over the phone he was very gracious about setting up a meeting between us. We decided to meet at the Italian restaurant in Port Angeles.
I parallel parked perfectly, sighing at the possibility of Mike again. I let myself enjoy the memories of us together, and finally turned off the engine and stepped out of the car.
The minute I opened the door to the place I was engulfed in a warm, buttery and garlic smell. It filled me up with a smile. Today there was a sign that read for me to seat myself, so I anxiously looked around for Kirk.
There he was, in a two-seater table next to a booth. He had dark skin and black wavy hair. His blue eyes were bright and beautiful like a lightning strike. Kirk was even more handsome in person.
He was leaning over in his seat though, talking to someone in the booth. It was Edward! What are the chances? I was only just thinking about him. His pale skin seemed to radiate in the restaurant. I grinned and was slowly walking over past the crowded tables when my eye caught the woman he was seated next to.
She was impossibly beautiful with long dark hair. Her skin was very pale, like Edward's, and her eyes a warm golden color. I quickly seated myself at a table not far away and held a menu to my face, a stupid attempt to hide myself. I was so intimidated by her, and I didn't even know why.
I spied on them, something useful I'd developed over the years. I was a sucker for gossip. It filled me with relish, and I could almost know what was going on instantly. Assessing a situation and pressuring people into action with words or glances. That's what I was good at.
Who was she? She was simply beautiful, no other way to describe it. Perfect. As perfect as the rest of the Cullen family. And she was holding his hand! I was in shock. I never expected this of him. A cheater!
I saw Edward tense suddenly at the table, and was I the only person aware of it? Because he was over it quickly enough. Then I watched as a small hand reached over and touched his own. It was a child, sitting across from them. I hadn't noticed her there before because her head barely came over the seat.
I shifted over some to see an equally as beautiful little girl. She had long, curly bronze hair. Her dimpled cheeks were set in a frown as she and Edward shared a glance with each other. The woman was chatting animatedly with Kirk.
I caught a glimpse of the girl's eyes. They were a familiar brown.
The bronze hair matched Edward's. A niece? But he's adopted!
I gasped inwardly. His daughter?
No. No way. This girl was about ten. He would've had to have had her when he was…what, thirteen? This girl had traits of Bella though, and they'd never even met until seventeen! I was so desperately confused.
Then it fit together. The woman he sat next to was Bella. I suddenly saw her in the features. But her eyes were so different now. They were a dark amber color. She was more, well, beautiful. I shook my head rapidly. Plastic surgery? Maybe. Perhaps Bella was in some sort of accident and had to be totally rearranged. How tragic.
But what about the kid?
Clearly it was their daughter. But how? I thought of how rich the Cullen family was and my mind jumped to growth hormones. That was sick, but there was no other explanation.
I saw Edward touch Bella's hand lightly and look at Kirk pointedly. He said something soft that I could not hear, but they all laughed at the table. In that moment I was desperately jealous and I was hardly aware why. They were all so beautiful and happy together. But I remembered how sick it was to put chemicals in that little girl and shuddered.
The little Cullen family stood and left a generous tip on the surface, even though they had not eaten anything. There was a soda on table where the girl had sat, and it was only half full. Had Bella bowed down to the whims of the strange family and taken to a hardly-eating diet? I shook my head and sighed, hiding my face as they said their goodbyes to Kirk and left the restaurant.
Technically, I was late.
I was aware of my heart beating frantically. I realized I was nervous when my hands slipped on the laminated paper, clammy and sweaty.
Nothing to be afraid of.
I set the menu down, revealing my face as the door to the restaurant closed with a friendly tinkle of the bell. At least they were gone now.
When I saw Kirk, he was shoving something in his pocket. I thought instantly of a blackberry phone when I saw that the cash Edward had put on the table was heavily depleted. I was shocked, but I didn't let it show. I needed this job.
I cleared my throat and Kirk's face flashed up to mine, irritated and slightly guilty.
"Hi," I said, holding out my hand. "I'm Jessica Stanley."
"Oh." Kirk looked me over once, and then let his eyes rest on my hands for a moment before lightly taking them in for a quick shake. The atmosphere read disappointment.
I was at a loss for what to say for a while, but thankfully our waitress showed up to ask us what we wanted to drink.
"Hi, could I get you something to drink—Jess!" I looked up, startled, to see Angela's bright face staring at me.
"Hey, Angela. Mr. Summers, this is my good friend from high school, Angela Webster. Angela, this is Kirk Summers. He's interviewing me for a job, Angela."
"Oh, great! Hey, I don't know what kind of job she's at, but I assure you Jess is good at everything!" She laughed and added, "Except cooking. May I get you something to drink, Mr. Summers?"
"I would like an iced tea." His voice was bored.
"A coke, please," I added.
Angela nodded and said, "I'll be right out with that. Good luck."
She left us and Kirk said, "If you want to be a model, you have to leave all your friends behind. New ones await. This is isn't a business for the past, it's for looking forward."
I frowned, and then nodded. "I understand."
He scowled at me. "Are you just saying this because you need the cash?"
I gave a weak smile. "Kind of. But I'm willing to embrace anything. A model is the right kind of deal for me. I was Prom Queen at school and was posed for some advertising pictures when I was a little younger."
"What kind of advertising?"
"Oh, canned goods. I was usually the girl on the paper wrapped around it or in the newspaper with the ad. I suppose I should have brought those."
Usually I talked. Non-stop. But now I was nervous and my lips seemed dry.
He sighed. "Jessica, I'm afraid you really don't have what it takes though."
"You've hardly questioned me and you're already turning me down?" I said, aghast.
He shrugged. "I see the problems. I'm looking for beauty and an out there kind of attitude. Unfortunately, Miss Stanley, you have neither."
I was beyond hurt. My mouth had dropped into a comical O.
"Hey, it's life. You might be better off as a waitress, honey." He stood up and tweaked my cheek, grinning. "But if you get some plastic surgery done, the possibilities are endless. Call me if it ever happens. Sorry about my…your…wasted time."
I stood there for an endless amount of time it seemed, past the door swinging open and shut. I felt tears stinging my eyes, and got to my feet. I took a pen out of my purse and scribbled, "Hey Angela, it didn't work out. He was a jerk. Take the twenty as a large tip. Love ya, Jess."
I was out the door and running.
But my car was gone.
I found a note in the parking meter.
"No coins were put in. Your vehicle has been towed away. To reclaim your vehicle and pay the $100 fee, call this number."
I stared at the note for the longest time, then crumpled it and smashed it to the ground. I looked to the sky for help, and then I started running away for who knows where. I ran for a long time, maybe towards home. I slowed only when there was a sharp stitch in my side and I was gasping for air. My job, my car, and twenty bucks down the toilet. Nothing could make this day worse. I realized my tears were frozen on my cheek. I guessed the temperature was well below freezing, and I started to shiver.
The back of my neck prickled.
I had barely a second to register a strange emotion, I had that same second to process I was deep within an alley in the heart of downtown, where no one would hear me. I had no time to see what came flying out of the dark.
The first thing I saw was a blur of white.
I didn't have any time to process what was going on and before I knew it I was slammed into the ground, my arm broken behind me at an awkward angle. I felt an agonizing pain, but worse was the sharp pain in my neck and a cold, cold body, colder than the air around me, leaning in towards me.
I felt a burning sensation, and I started to thrash. I felt drained by the second, weakened, and yet I still screamed even though my movements became less and less, as I was dying. I wasn't even sure what was happening. But I still screamed.
Finally I felt something hot trickle down my neck in a gush as the pressure on me lifted and whatever was attacking me faced me.
I still screamed, even though it was weak, until I saw the eyes.
They were red. They were almost human, but angular in a way I never dreamed possible. The redness of them scared me until I was surrounded in red. I saw nothing but red. And I lost my thoughts.
Don't scream…don't move….
Those were my new thoughts. I thought of nothing but that…and the pain. It was hardly in my elbow anymore. It was in my veins. I was burning. The lunatic had set me on fire! Flames licked everywhere and my heart was beating furiously. I wanted to shriek and yell so badly, but the eyes were still engulfed into my mind, and I don't think I was.
I was dying, and the car and the job didn't matter at all anymore.
