Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Series nor the characters.
A/N: I'm sorry, I know I said I was going to do something in regards to the lost colony of Roanoke, but I ended up getting really bad writters block, so untill I can think again I'm gonna work on this story!
It has been six years since I left my father and the town of Seattle, WA for the big city lights of New York. I was offered an internship at the prestigious Berling-Turman law firm, within a year I was hired. When Edward left me all those years ago, I basically flushed any form of a personal life down the toilet, and threw myself into school and work. I slipped into a severe depression which I luckily escaped within the first few years of living in New York, thanks to the support of my shrink.
I attended the University of Seattle, studied law, and eventually earned a masters in law. My specialty is Fraud and medical malpractice. I never returned home until now. The reason being, that Charlie has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a rapidly progressive malignant disorder involving the production of immature white blood cells, also called blasts, which results in the replacement of normal bone marrow with blast cells. What is so strange about it all is that it is extremely rare in adults, especially in adults over the age of 50.
The list goes on and on as to why I never went back, but the main reason is
memories. I was selfish in forcing my father to travel to me every holiday, but I was scared I would fall back into a depression if I indeed returned. It was bad enough that Edward and his family plagued my dreams every night.
Now here I am, on a flight moving back to the last place on earth I wanted to be. But this wasn't about me; I had to do this for Charlie.
As soon as I exited the plane I did a quick scan of the crowd for my ride, Charlie told me he was going to have Billy Blacks' son, Jacob, pick me up since his condition had him on bed rest 24/7. Within moments I spotted a tall muscular man, who I presumed to be Jacob, holding a small piece of construction paper with my name scribbled on it. I walked over to him and spoke,
"You must be Jacob."
"Yes ma'am, but just Jake is fine!" he replied.
"Shall we?" he gestured towards the exit
"We shall, but give me a moment I need to run over to baggage claim quick"
"Oh, right." He said looking slightly embarrassed.
As soon as we grabbed my suitcase we headed to his truck. Once we were on the road the silence started to become awkward, so I decided to fill it with mindless chatter,
"Hey would you by any chance know if the movers I hired have been to my new apartment yet?"
"Unfortunately I can't be sure; I presume your father would know the answer to that question though." He replied, glancing over at me.
"Yeah I suppose that would make sense."
Within minutes we arrived at my childhood home, I thanked Jake for the ride and got out, I turned to look at my fathers' home and expected the memory of him to hit me like a ton of bricks, but strangely it didn't. The house looked so lifeless, the shrubbery wasn't cut back, and the once bright blue paint was slightly faded. All this was nothing compared to when I walked in, the place was a mess, dishes piled to the brim of the sink, clothes and pillows strewn about the furniture, and the strong scent of mildew was nearly imbearable. Apparently I had some cleaning to do.
I shook my head, you would think someone would have helped Charlie keep this place somewhat straightened up. I continued my descent down the hall and to the staircase. I started walking up and smiled as my foot hit the sixth step, squeaking as it always has. I took a quick glance at my old bedroom door, and decided against going in there for now, I hadn't felt the hole that was once in my chest rip open yet, but I wasn't willing to push my luck either. Once I reached my fathers' bedroom I knocked lightly and walked in.
"Bella!" My dad exclaimed which instantly put a smile back on my face. I walked over to him and bent over to hug him,
"It is so good to see you dad"
I leaned back and just looked him over, he looked pretty much the same since I had last seen him, except he looked much thinner and there was no color to his cheeks. This in turn, caused me to frown.
"How ya doing kid?" he asked
"Much better then you from the looks of it"
"Yeah well, what did ya expect?" he grumbled back
"I suppose I half expected you to look like a zombie." I said, the corner of my mouth lifting up slightly
I walked over to the chair in the corner of his room and sat down.
"So how have you been lately? Aside from finding out you were sick."
"Bells I got to tell ya, this bed rest thing couldn't get much worse, the only time I'm allowed to get out of this wretched thing is to use the damn bathroom." He said as he sat up
"Ya I can't imagine sitting in the same spot for hours on end. I would probably go mad!"
"You're tellin me. My lower half constantly feels numb, and these drugs the doc has me on don't help my case. Sometimes I can't feel my entire body."
"So when was the last time you saw the doctor?" I asked changing the subject, I felt bad enough that I couldn't help him.
"Oh yesterday, he asked me if I would like to try chemotherapy, I told him I would think about it, just something about the fact I would be throwing up constantly and feel even worse than I already do doesn't exactly sound appealing." He replied.
"Well dad that could help you and potentially cure you completely of this disease. Plus, it's not like the symptoms last for that long of a period in time. I'm here now, so you wouldn't be facing it all alone. I want you to strongly consider this, please, for me?"
"I don't know bells, like I said, I will think about it."
Sensing the conversation was over, for now anyways, I decided to ask him if he was hungry. He nodded yes, so I told him I was going to shower quick and run to the grocery mart. With a smile and hug I was out the door and into the bathroom.
As I was massaging my strawberry shampoo into my hair, I let my mind wander. I started out thinking about what sort of vehicle I wanted to purchase while I was out here, but soon it somehow drifted to that time when Edward had rescued me from James. Edward. Just the thought of him made me suddenly angry. How could another being act so cruel to another, how could someone toy with one's head the way he did with mine. Before I could let the train of thought continue I stopped myself. I made a promise to myself I would no longer let what he had done get to me.
Once again I started thinking about James and his coven. With James gone, what had happened to Victoria, was she still alive? If so, then where was she? And Laurent, where was he? Were he and Victoria still traveling together? I wonder; if ever were I to cross paths with one of them, what would happen. I would figure Victoria would kill me, but then again if she had wanted me dead, I probably would be.
I then finished my shower and proceeded with getting dressed, I quickly pulled a brush through my hair and made my way back to my father's room and poked my head in,
"Hey pops, can I get the keys to the cruiser?"
"Ya sure, they're hanging on the key hook by the coffee pot if I remember correctly." He replied
"Okay thanks, oh and by the way I'm going to check out my new place on the way home. Do you know if the movers delivered my belongings yet?"
"Nope, couldn't tell ya."
"Alright I'll see you soon, love you."
"Love you too Bells."
I grabbed my purse out of my carryon bag and went in the kitchen in search of the cruiser's keys. Once I had them I made my way outside. I didn't take much notice of the cruisers changes upon my arrival but boy had it changed. All of the stickers were stripped completely off and it was now solid black, with bits of rust eating away at the edges of the metal.
I slowly slid into the driver's seat and started the engine. I jumped at the sound of the broken muffler, and just shook my head once again. I should have expected it, what with the house being so poorly taken care of.
On my way to the local grocery mart I passed the high school, it looked the same as it did when I graduated. This wasn't much of a surprise. I continued on until I was at the store. Once inside I grabbed a cart and began pacing through the aisles, throwing in different meats and side dishes, even throwing in a few snacks for Charlie. I expect to be spending a majority of my time at Charlie's home, so why not keep his pantry stocked up.
Once I had checked out and loaded the car with the bags, I headed over to my new place, which happened to be at the only apartment building in Forks. Once I got there I shut off the car and got out. I slowly walked up the steps and started to feel nervous. I mean the only way I knew what it looked like was because of the picture of it online. I hope it was as nice as it appeared.
I dug in my purse in search of the key. Five minutes later I finally found it and pushed it in the lock and turned. As soon as I heard it click I opened the door and came to find the movers had not yet arrived. I walked in and examined the living room, I continued through to the kitchen area and down the hall, I stopped in the bathroom and nodded in approval at the size of the tub. I kept on and soon found the door to my bedroom. I took a deep breath and turned the door handle.
Once the door was open my eyes zeroed in on the figure standing in front of the window, her back was turned facing me, but I would recognize that scorching red hair anywhere. Victoria. After a few minutes of me gaping at her she finally turned around and spoke,
"Hello Isabella, I've been waiting for you."
For fear of my voice cracking I kept my mouth shut,
"Where are Edward and the rest of his family if you don't mind me asking," she said in a false sugary sweet tone.
We stood there for a few more minutes before she spoke again.
"Fine if you don't wish to speak, then I will do all of the talking." She paused briefly, seeing if I would talk before continuing, "So I am almost positive you're wondering what it is I'm doing here. The answer is fairly simple really, Edward took something away from me, and now I'm here to take something away from him."
It took me a second to understand what she was implying, and when I did horror flashed through me and I'm sure it was written all over my face. I started walking backwards, and she proceeded slowly towards me.
"Dont worry, it wont hurt.. much."
Although she was much faster than I could ever hope to be, I had to at very least attempt to get away, I had to fight, there was no way I would sit here and let her do god only knows what to me. With that decision made I turned and ran.
A/N: The more reviews I recieve, the faster I update!