Bella has just finished University and got a job as a jounalist but what happens when she is acosted in a dark ally and ends up with the wrong crowd?
Disclaimer: Unfortuantly, I don't own Twilight. Stephanie Meyer does. I only own a copy of the book.
I was woken by the loud nasal buzzing of my alarm clock. Blinking, I fumbled around in the darkness trying to turn it off. This, once accomplished I glanced at the little red florescent numbers reading 4:00am and hopped out of bed to cross to the door. I tiptoed down the hallway to the tiny bathroom at the end of the hall trying not to wake my roommate Angela.
After I had showered, I wrapped the navy blue towel around me and tiptoed back down the hall to my bedroom. Then standing in front of my miniscule wardrobe I debated what to wear. I was starting my internship at the Vondrak Publishing Company newspaper and had bought two suits (one sea blue, the other graphite) and two pairs of shoes (one set high heels one set flat) in the hope of making a good first impression. I finally settled on the blue suit and the flat shoes and put my hair up into a bun which I hoped looked at least remotely elegant, and went down to the kitchen to find Angela awake sitting at the breakfast bar in her pink woollen dressing gown- bless her with toast and orange juice ready.
"Thanks Angela" I said setting my handbag on the nearest mismatching stool and grabbing a piece of toast. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Starve and become increasingly skinny probably" she replied smiling. "You'll have to remember lunch all by yourself though. Good luck with the newspaper internship"
I bit off my piece of toast and smiled while stuffing my essentials into my bag. Phone, wallet, purse, keys, subway ticket, bus ticket… "Don't worry I promise not to forget lunch completely, good luck to you too with your job at the library" I said smiling and taking a swig of orange juice "I'll be back quite late tonight, don't know how late I'll be." "See you" she said as I started to walk towards door.
Once I'd finally started up my rusty red truck and manoeuvred through heavy Chicago traffic I was still ten minuets early- which I was happy about because I wanted to make a good impression. However, by the time I'd pulled up into a car park several blocks down by some warehouses I was having trouble not hyperventilating. I can do this. I lied to myself feebly. No ones going to bite me. I walked the few blocks to my work and up to the main desk trying not to look to eager or too laid back and asked to see the personal manager. The personal manager Mrs Cope talked me through what I had to do and what not to do. She gave me a tour of the area of the building that I would work in and gave me advice. When we'd finished she wished me luck and went back to the main desk.
By lunch time I was thanking every deity I knew of that I hadn't the worn heels. I'd been on my feet running around since I been here getting people's coffee, food and becoming highly acquainted with the photocopy room. If I'd worn heels I'd have been sure to have done some damage to either me or some innocent bystander with my legendary clumsiness.
Remembering my promise to Angela not to forget lunch, I headed towards the vending machines I'd glimpsed earlier while trying not to drop the mountain load of paperwork I was carrying, but as I rounded the corner I ran headlong into a tall and very hard person sending the paper mountain sliding across the reflective tile floor. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." I said franticly scrambling to pick up all of the scattered paper "I didn't watch where I was going. Are you alright? Did I hurt you-"
I was cut short by a deep rhythmic and strangely familiar laugh, "You're about half my size, I don't think there's any way you could hurt me" he said smiling and extending a large warm hand to help me up. I flushed furiously as he helped me up "I-I'm still sorry I ran into you, I really should watch where I'm g-" I stopped short and blanched. Standing before me was non other than my old high school boyfriend Jacob Black. Looking just as smug as ever even if he had grown and broadened and his voice had become a lot deeper.
He grinned wider at the look of shock on my face. "Recognised me now have you Bells? Gee you wound my ego, I was the love of your life and it takes you a full five minuets to remember me?" I stood debating what to do; he was one of the last people I wanted to see, especially given our history. I didn't want to talk to him, but I didn't want to be rude either and the whole thing had ended about five years ago. He could be perfectly fine now and not want to continue treating me like he did before. Jacob snickered, clearly amused by my less than happy reaction to him.
I was still frozen like a deer caught in the path of headlights. "Well aren't you going to give me a hug now?" he tilted his head to the side mockingly with his arms open wide. As he took a step forward to hug me I finally found my feet and my voice and backed up fast leaning away from him. "Er Hi Jacob so what brings you to Chicago?" I said quickly hoping to distract him. Jacob straightened up and smirked arrogantly clearly amused by my less than subtle change of topic. "I'm in town checking up on some family business propositions, I just had a meeting with one of the senior journalists here who is writing a piece for us." He finished still smirking. I nodded my head "well I hope your business goes well and that you have a nice stay in Chicago. If you'll excuse me I have to get back to work"
I made to step around him but he caught my arm and swung me back to face him. "Not so fast I don't even have your number Miss Swan" I cursed internally why couldn't he just leave me alone?
"Yes, I know Jacob I prefer it that way, please let me get back to work" I said tugging at my arm to make him let me go. He didn't comply; instead he tightened his grip and pulled me towards him a little "Come now Bella, you can't still be mad at me? We both know that I'm the best you can do and that you love me and as I'm giving you another opportunity it would be foolish to turn me down wouldn't it?" All my previous concern of being rude suddenly vanished. He had not changed one bit. He was still the same stuck up arrogant egoistical condescending insulting jerk he had been back in high school.
I yanked my hand free possibly giving my self a bruise and looked him in the eye. "Firstly, I wasn't mad at you about before. Five years is far too long for me to still be angry at you. I just don't care for you at all either. Second, I most certainly can do better than somebody who treats me like property and is so arrogant that he believes that I'm just waiting to fall into his arms, Thirdly I don't love you, I never did and you know it, I only went out with you because you wouldn't leave me alone and because Charlie pushed me at you because he was fond of you as his best friends son. Fourthly, what's this about you giving me another chance? I was the one who left you." Jacob's expression had turned from his customary arrogant smirk to a poorly concealed look of rage. No one ever talked to him like this. He was the only boy of the family, the only one who could carry on the family 'name.' So only his father ever really put him in his place and he was one of the best looking and by far the richest boy at school so everyone wanted to be his friend. His attitude came from a lifetime of money, power and looks. He believed that everyone loved him as much as his family and use to getting what he wanted, and I certainly hadn't had the courage to be so frank with him before, so my answer took him off guard. He seemed at a loss for words.
His hand curled up into a fist and his arm twitched as if he longed to reach out and slap me as he had the day I broke up with him. I tensed suddenly afraid that he would, but he regained control of himself with some difficulty and forced a smirk to form on his face "Same old stubborn Bella, you'll see it my way soon enough, this isn't the end of it, I'll be seeing you again very soon." And with that he turned on his heel and strode away. I stood there for a second taken aback by his sudden departure before I remembered that I had been heading towards the vending machines. I walked towards them in a daze. He said he would see me again; did that mean that he was going to track down where I lived and harass me? Or was he going to renew his attempts by getting Charlie to vouch for him again? Or both? I sighed and leaned my head against the glass front of the machine as I waited for it to disperse my packet of pretzels.
Now that he'd left, I as usual, started to feel guilty about how I'd lost my temper with him- even though he'd completely deserved it. Oh what had I gotten myself into? And had there been any way to avoid him harassing me? Probably not. I thought bitterly. Even if I hadn't lost my temper with him he would still have harassed me to date him anyway. He never did give up an idea once he'd gotten it into his head. That I remembered all too clearly about him. I banged my head against the machine in frustration, attracting some rather odd looks from a couple of heavily made up ladies in their 40s talking just down the hall from me. I could see their lipstick cracking at they frowned. I quickly grabbed my pretzels and went back to work. Distributing files, filling things away, getting coffees and food and photocopying various important papers.
The day wore on; it was good to be able to see how a real newspaper worked. I met some of the other interns. Most seemed friendly. One called Jessica befriended me after I showed her how to work the photocopy machine. She had black fuzzy hair and talked more than I would have thought possible, but she seemed nice and it was good to have someone to talk to who wasn't asking for coffee.
It was 11 by the time I left the building; the sky was pitch black and the city was lit up brightly. I walked briskly back to my truck burying my hands deep into the pockets of my suit, wishing I had brought a jacket. The city was quieter now as I passed the warehouses to get to my truck which was just around the corner. I ducked my head against the frigid gust of wind blowing down the ally off Lake Michigan.
Suddenly I felt rough hands grip my upper arm and back of my shirt. Before I could fully register what was happening I was pulled off the main ally down a gap between the warehouses by a man much bigger than I was. I opened my mouth to scream and felt a large hand muffle it. "Co-operate and I might go easy on you" he chuckled with a slight Italian accent. His grip tightened as he pulled me further down the small ally between the warehouses. I struggled in panic, trying to remember what little self defence I knew. The standard knee to the groin of course and finger thrust to the eyes, but this guy was literally almost three times as wide as me and at least a head and a half taller. I kicked behind me praying that I had made contact and then swung around trying to hit him. I succeeded in back handing him across the face with a resounding slap, but in response he only slapped me back five times harder sending me flying backward into the hard brick wall now behind the warehouse.
My head crashed against the building, making me dizzy and making the pins I'd used to put up my hair in a bun dig painfully into my head. I could see little stars floating in and out of my vision. He loomed up over me and pressed his entire body up against mine and pinned my arms above my head. I could smell the cigarettes and alcohol coming off his breath choking me. I turned my head away from him as he chuckled and shifted so that he could pin both my arms against the wall with one of his. He began to grope at me, at the soft skin of my stomach and breasts. His breathing turned to panting and he pressed himself against me harder. I could feel his hardened length pressed against me and let out a whimper of fear.
"Please don't" I begged. "Please don't-" he smothered my begging with his mouth, forcing his tongue into my mouth. It was hell. I began to despair. How could I get away from him? He was far too strong. I felt my eyes tear up and overflow. What had I done to deserve this? I'd hardly lived my life and now it was going to end? I'd never been with a man before and this was to be my first experience? His hand began to crawl up my shirt and roughly fondle my breast shoving my bra out of the way. I felt dirty, defiled. I suddenly heard something called out from the darkness behind him. He froze quite suddenly and stepped away from me as something else was called out. He hit me again forcefully and knocked me to the ground. I collided with the pavement painfully, my head spinning. Above me I could hear them talking. A woman's voice sounded out high, clear and amused – a babyish, soprano tinkling. "God Eric, no wonder you got caught laundering money, you're on the run from us yet you still get tipsy and you even found time to grab yourself a quickie. Haven't you any sense of self preservation?"
The man who attacked me- Eric replied something slurring his words. Another deep male voice called out something. Eric roared in response and through the haze of tears I saw his hand move towards his belt before two shots were fired hitting him squarely in the chest. My breath caught in my throat. Blood spurted out of him, splattering his chest and face- making me feel sick. He dropped straight down like a lead weight and didn't move. I lay there on the sidewalk dazed and aching, my eyes frozen wide with shock. Before I'd had time to even comprehend what my senses were telling me I was being pulled up again roughly by my top. "She's certainly no unfortunate prostitute by her clothing" commented the man. "It doesn't matter what she is we can't let her walk with her knowing what she knows. We either get rid of her or bring her in." said the baby voiced woman complacently.
The man sat me back against the wall and stepped back to consider me. "We'll bring her in" he decided finally. "And let the bosses decide what to do." "Prepare the binding then" replied the woman simply. I felt some cotton like material being pushed into my mouth filling it up and then more material being wrapped around the lower part of my face and being tied behind my head effectively gagging me. My hands were tied tightly behind me and then I was hoisted onto my feet.
The man half carried me for what seemed like ages until we came to a stop. I could just make out a grey coloured van in the darkness. The woman who I could see now had flaming red hair unlocked and slid open the back door. The man lifted me into the back of the van and lay me on the hard floor before tying my feet tightly too. When he finished I heard the door slam shut again. Then I heard them get in the front of the car and start up the engine. The blackness that had been threatening to overwhelm me since the now dead man threw me into the wall, finally took over and I escaped into unconsciousness.