The wind picked up carrying a large brown lock of hair to her face. SMACK. With disgust she roughly pulled the wet strand off of her face, as she tried to shield her eyes from the incoming droplets. Medford was known for it's infamous showers and this was just one of them. Bella being the forgettable klutz that she was had forgotten that the weatherman proclaim sun today. Which in logical terms meant rain.
She narrowed her eyes in search of any shelter from the wet cold wind, her body was already soak to the bone and littered with additional natures gifts. Her eyes widened when they came across a dingy looking cabin. It looked abandoned and dilapidated, perfect for a refugee from this weather disaster. She picked her pace when a thunder engulfed the woods, vibrating the very ground she stood on.
Definitely a perfect place.
Lady Luck must have pitied her since she made it to the cabin unscathed. She took in a deep breath taking in the old worn down moldy smell encompassing the old structure. Better than nothing she thought to herself. Gingerly she peeled off her supposedly waterproof jacket. It clung to her red soaked shirt tightly and with a grimace she managed to pull it off successfully. Sighing, she pushed the already cracked open front door slowly. Peeking her head inside she encountered darkness. Patting her jeans she pulled out a mini keychain flashlight and pointed it inside.
A gasp left her lips when her eyes saw what was in there. Dolls!
"The fuck?" The whole place was littered with broken dolls and masks. Some ranging from being the average size to even as big as her. She took a step back in retreat fearing the worst. "This is how all horror stories start out." She mumbled to herself, fear being the top most concern to her instead of the raging storm behind her.
Suddenly a burst of lightening struck behind her, making her squeal in shock. She quickly dashed inside tripping on an object on the floor, causing her to fall into a heap of doll heads. She closed her eyes and prayed that they were only doll heads and nothing more. Opening one eye and saw a mask directly in front of her. It was a white porcelain mask with two black eye slits and no mouth opening.
At least it doesn't have that eerie smile. Wait a minute! That wasn't there earlier, right?
She blinked a couple of times, rubbing her clenched fist against her eyes. Once she opened them again, she could have sworn the thing was even closer now.
Don't blink Isabella Marie Swan!
Her eyes watered from the undisturbed dust and involuntary her nose twitched causing her to sneeze in which her eyes shut for a brief moment. And within that brief, Bella knew she was fucked up now. She can sense each second that passed by as her heart thrummed in an erratic beat. Knowing she had no other choice, she cracked her eyes open slightly. Her fear and suspicion were confirmed, the mask did move since it was now staring back at her within eye level.
A shot of lightening brighten the whole area up and she swore her heart stopped beating for a second. The mask belonged to a man who was currently squatted down in front of her. And like a drawn puppet he tilted his head to the side in a curious manner that was enough to snap Bella out of her stupor. And with a piercing scream she scrambled up and ran to the nearest room, shutting it close with great force that the thin walls shook in defense. Quickly turning the lock, she then frantically searched the room for anything to use to blockade the door.
Her searching came to a halt when she heard the slight jiggle and turn of the doorknob. She couldn't help but stare at the dull golden knob as it shook from the action the man did from the other side of the door. In her great surprise it stopped and everything was perfectly calm minus the whole thunder and rain occurring outside. But that was the last of Bella's worries at the moment.
She took a step back away from the door, treating it as if it were a wild animal. The masked man would never give up that easily, they never did in the movies. This was reality but with the age and worn look of that door, she knew for a fact that one bash of the shoulder against it would be it's downfall. Taking just another step her back hit something hard.
Her body froze and from the corner of her eye, she knew was just in the middle of the room therefor it couldn't be a wall.
No…No no no no…
She stood still. Then she felt the wall like thing behind her take a deep breathe.
OH MY FUCKING GOD NO!
She took one step forward but an arm around her waist kept her from moving.
I'm going to die.
That was her final thought when complete darkness and a deafening silence took over as she fainted.
-O_O-
Bella felt softness under her cheek, she snuggled deeper into the comfort of the mattress. Subtle creeks made her crack an eye open, encountering a red ruby silk like fabric. She shifted and nuzzled her face against it, loving how it easily glided against her face. Then it quickly dawned to her that this was not her room. She never did own luxurious bed spreads before. Sitting up quickly, she surveyed her surroundings and her mouth dropped open in awe.
The room she was currently sleeping in had deep mahogany walls and hardwood flooring. The room was the size of her apartment's living room. Hell if she had to guess it was twice as big than her living room. Curiosity made her leave the warmth comfort of her bed and towards the door which seemed to be the only exit out of there. Her hand slowly turned the knob. It was unlock. Tugging it open just enough for her to peek outside. Instead of seeing the outside of the room she came face to face or rather face to mask with the man from the cabin. Bella slammed the door shut and ran head speed towards the wall sized windows. Just two feet away from them her body was quickly lifted up in the air by the masked man.
Arms flailed around as her body fought for survival. The masked man must have gotten irritated by her behavior since he tossed her right back into the bedding. Bella quickly brushed the hair off that covered her face, to glare at the man that towered before her.
"What do you want with me!" She shouted in anger.
The man merely tilted his head again like once before.
"Do you even understand what the hell I'm telling you?" He just stood there, unmoving with his head still tilted.
Bella shook her head and began scooting her body away from her capture. She stopped moving when the man began to move his hands, hooking his thumbs in the waistband of his black jeans. Her eyes were finally drawn away from the white mask to stare at his black-leathered covered hands and to his snug fitted jeans.
My god he's fit as hell!
Her eyes traveled up to his black long sleeved shirt, and she had to bite the corner of her cheek when she noticed that he was built like an athletic swimmer.
Snap out of it Bella! This is a killer for crying out loud.
Suddenly, her chin was grasped by the masked man his leathered glove rubbing softly along her skin. Her eyes were wide and were trained directly into the mask's eye slits. A minute passes by and yet no movement has been made yet by either her or him. Bella was beginning to get tired from her position, and somehow the man before her knew this. He gently pushed her shoulders, making her fall flat on her back. Then to her utter amazement he joined her, lying beside her with his arm caressing the side of her body.
Bella angled her head towards him, her brow furrowing in confusion. If she didn't know better, he acted as if they were a couple in love. And then he spoke.
"This is not a dream." His voice was low and husky with a subtle hint of country in it. Her mouth opened to ask him what he meant by that, but a wave of heavy drowsiness showered upon her. She tried with all her might to keep her eyes open, but it was a hopeless task. A less a minute later she was back into the darkness but this time in the arms of a mysterious stranger.
-e.e-
Beep Beep BEEP!
Bella shoved her alarm clock off the bed stand with a growl, she was never a morning person and with that bloody alarm blaring in her ear there was no way she was going to sing a happy morning song. Satisfied that silence surrounded her again, she buried herself deeper into her covers trying to catch up on some more sleep.
However, memories of rain and a white mask decided to pop up in her head instead.
"Oh my god!" Sitting upright, her eyes scanned her apartment bedroom for any signs of the man. "It was a dream?"
This is not a dream.
"But-"
"BELLA!" Her chirpy cousin slammed her fist against her closed door. "Wakey wakey, James is picking me up soon and he asked if you wanted to join us."
"No thanks Vicky, you guys show to much PDA out in public. I fear for my own reputation!" She teasingly shouted.
"Bah! Shut up bitch!" Vicky opened the door to give Bella the finger, before slamming it shut. "See you later then. Love ya!"
Bella rolled her eyes, at her cousin's way of showing love and affection. She was a weird one but then again everyone in her family was weird from her flighty mother to her overly eccentric father. Yup, she had an estranged family. With a sigh, she plopped back right to bed and stared at the ceiling in wonder.
Ugh, snap out of it!
She slapped her forehead a couple of times trying to bruise some sense into her brain.
Maybe a morning jog would help.
-O.o-
The cold morning breeze shocked the sleep out of her, as she jogged through the park. Kids were out playing early and trying to convince their parents that ice cream was okay in the morning. She stopped to eye a mime doing random gestures with a group of people surrounding him. He moved around slowly making wild faces at the crowd even scaring one kid senseless from his creepy smile.
"What a job." She turned around and began to walk away when she felt a presence behind her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw the masked man from her dreams. "What the fuck?" She barely whispered out, staring at him in shock.
"Uhm," the man pulled his mask off and stared at her like she grew a second head within the few minutes. "I just wanted to ask directions to the nearest theatre. I seemed to have taken a wrong turn." He gave her a small genuine smile and yet Bella couldn't stop and stare at his blue eyes. Even his shaggy blond hair made her fingers itch just to touch it. "Are you alright, miss?"
"What? Oh yes! The theatre you say? It's just two blocks away from here." She answered, pointing him at the right direction.
"Ah, damn." He laughed and shook his head. "Thanks." He turned around but Bella stopped him by asking him a question.
"Are you playing a role in the upcoming play?" She wondered considering he was dressed head to toe in black, including a black cape.
Dear God, he looked exactly like that man in her dreams.
"Yup, I had to do a favor for my cousin. She's a tiny midget that won't take no for an answer." Her eyebrows rose in shock.
Midget?
"Oh you mean Alice!" Bella bursted out in laughter, as the man sputtered in surprise.
"You know her? Don't tell her I called her a midget! She'll skin me alive." He looked around, making sure that Alice wasn't lurking behind a tree or something. She waved him off with a smile.
"Your secret is safe with me. Besides I know how she can be. Heck I'm forced to play some apparently small role as Nicole Sinclair." She shrugged nonchalantly of her part.
"That isn't a small role." He chuckled with a hidden secret, glimmering in his eyes. "She tricked you good."
"What do you mean by that?" Bella grabbed her cell from her pocket, and quickly dialed Alice's number while the blue-eyed man watched her in amusement.
"'Ello?" A sleepy voice answered on the other line.
"YOU SAID THAT ROLE WAS MINOR!"
"Ahhh..did I? Oops, must have slipped my mind." Alice replied in a calm tone, not affected by the volume of Bella's voice.
"Slipped your mind? What is this play anyways Alice? EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" She didn't give a damn if she was causing a spectacle in the park. She had other things to worry about at the moment.
"It's about a girl getting lost in the woods then ends up in the arms of a mysterious masked psychopathic man. In a weird sense, it's a romantic story. Anyways you got nothing to worry about, my cousin, Jasper, is a pretty nice guy. He's playing the masked man so you're in good hands." Her voice sounded rather smug in the end.
".."
"Bella you still there?" Alice asked after a moment of silence.
Bella just stared at Jasper, who had a wide cheeky grin on his face.
"Fuck my life."
"I'm up for that." Jasper raised his hand up with a smirk.
Damn handsome asshole.
