Starts as Bella is in the Meadow during Chapter 10 of "New Moon"
I took actual text from Chapter 10 and mixed it with my own for this first chapter. It helped tie together the book and my story. Please enjoy!
These characters belong to the great and powerful Stephenie Meyer. I don't own them, I just came up with this story in the middle of the night and couldn't help but write it all out.
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Alone. I repeated the word with grim satisfaction as I wrenched myself to my feet despite the pain. At precisely that moment, a figure stepped out from the tress to the north, some thirty paces away.
A dizzying array of emotions shot through me in a second. The first was surprise; I was far from any trail here, and I didn't expect company. Then, as my eyes focused on the motionless figure, seeing the utter stillness, the pallid skin, a rush of piercing hope rocked through me. I suppressed it viciously, fighting against the equally sharp lash of agony as my eyes continued to the face beneath the black hair, the face that wasn't the one I wanted to see. Next was fear; this was not the face I grieved for, but it was close enough for me to know the man facing me was no stray hiker.
And finally, in the end, recognition.
"Laurent!" I cried in surprised pleasure. It was an irrational response. I probably should have stopped at fear.
"Bella?" he asked, looking more astonished than I felt.
"You remember." I smiled. It was ridiculous that I should be so elated because a vampire knew my name.
He grinned. "I didn't expect to see you here." He strolled toward me, his expression bemused.
"Isn't it the other way around? I do live here. I thought you'd gone to Alaska."
He stopped about ten paces away, cocking his head to the side. Here was someone I didn't have to pretend for-someone who already knew everything I could never say.
"You're right," he agreed. "I did go to Alaska. Still, I didn't expect… When I found the Cullen place empty, I thought they'd moved on."
"Oh." I bit my lip as the name set raw edges of my wound throbbing. It took me a second to compose myself. Laurent waited with curious eyes.
"They did move on," I finally managed to tell him.
"I see," he answered. I finally noticed how ill-at-ease he seemed, he kept looking around as though he expected something to jump out of the trees.
"So how are things working out in Denali? Carlisle said you were staying with Tanya?"
The question made him pause. "I like Tanya very much," he mused. "And her sister Irina even more… I've never stayed in one place for so long before, and I enjoy the advantages, the novelty of it. I've even taken on their lifestyle. Though I find it difficult still, they were able to open my eyes to a new way of life."
"That's great. I'm glad you've found a place with them. It would make Carlisle very pleased to know they have you," I said, actually feeling very relieved that he had come upon me here. Knowing he was not a carnivore anymore made me more at ease. "Did Victoria ever find you?" I asked, though immediately regretted it. Victoria, who had hunted me with James, and then disappeared, was not someone I wanted to think about.
"Yes," he said, once again, looking around uneasily. "I actually came here as a favor to her." He made a face. "She won't be happy about this," he added sadly.
"About what?" I asked eagerly.
He sighed and looked down. "I was almost relieved when I went by the Cullen's place and saw it deserted. I thought you had gone too. You see, Victoria's sort of… put out with you Bella."
"Me?" I squeaked.
He shook his head. "I know, it seems a little backward to me, too. But James was her mate, and your Edward killed him."
His name tore against my unhealed wounds like a serrated edge.
"She thought it more appropriate to kill you than Edward," he continued, "fair turnabout, mate for mate. She asked me to get the lay of the land for her, so to speak. I really came to warn Carlisle to take you and run. I didn't imagine you'd be so easy to get to. I'm so glad I got here before she did. Why did Edward leave you unprotected, Bella?"
His name was more than I could take.
"He left me!" I cried, as I fell to the ground. I felt the pain coming again so I returned to my ball-shaped form. "He didn't want me, Laurent! I guess I didn't really mean anything to him after all."
"Bella," Laurent kneeled down, and put his hand on my shoulder, "Victoria is coming for you. She'll be here any day now. She's not going to mind if Edw- if he left you. She wants her revenge and in her mind, you must destroyed."
"Maybe I want to be destroyed," I murmured, barely audible, but I knew he could hear me. "I can't take this pain. It might be better if she were to just kill me."
"I'm sorry, Bella. I can't let her kill you," he got up and turned to face the opposite side of the meadow. "She won't be nice about it. If you knew what she had planned for you…" He shook his head with a slow movement, almost as if in disgust. "The pain she would put you through would be so much more than what you're going through now. There's only one thing that can be done to keep you safe, Bella."
I looked up at him through my tears as he turned to face me. His face was sad, almost like he was about to do something that would pain him.
"What is it?" I asked him, confused and a little scared.
He stepped up toward me and kneeled next to me.
"I'm so sorry, Bella," Laurent whispered, right before I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head and I blacked out.