Kisses of the Sun
A/n: So, this is going to be my new project. Or one of my main priorities anyway. Though it will eventually morph in a Pack/Bella -though not in a romantic way. As of yet anyway but you never know.- And will focus on a few select love interests of which she will later choose from. Though who she will ultimately end up with is a surprise. -Winks- Though I can tell you it's none of the Cullen's.- No disrespect to Jasper or Emmet fans intended.- I just love working with the pack.
Summery: Bella had assimilated into her new, normal life with surprising ease. Leaving all thoughts of Vampire's, heartache and Fork's behind her in the past where it belonged. But her past is also a part of her future, and now it's come back to claim and drag her home; willing or not.
Disclaimer: Twilight the franchise and everything therein related, is the property of Stephenie Meyers, whom I am not. I merely play in her garden.
Prologue: Going Home.
"I need someone to show me the things in life I can't find.
I can't see the things that make true happiness, i must be blind.
Make a joke and I will sigh and you will and I will cry.
Happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal."
-Begins-
For Bella, the day started like any other. At eight-thirty, her alarm clock buzzed her awake, she got up, showered, dressed appropriately but comfortably, tied her hair back and by nine sharp she was at work ready to start her shift.
It was just a part-time job serving coffees, that was neither glamorous nor well paid, but it covered the rent with enough left over to live on. And besides Bella wasn't all that into glamor or money anyway. She'd gotten her fill of that during her time spent with the Cullen's. She'd had both money shoved at her as well as everything else, from fancy foods, to diamond necklaces and imported cars.
In the afternoons, after work, Bella would spend her time at the nearby library either buried in a book or busy online replying to emails from friends and family. Only one person knew the truth about her decision to leave Fork's. Everyone else was under the pretense she'd left with the Cullen's. It was a small deception in the grand scheme of things.
By nightfall, Bella would pick her way through city-central park to her apartment block; as the last rays of sun fled the sky, Bella would be home, ready to feed her cat Boo and cook herself dinner.
Boo was a rescue cat, that the vet assured her was a 'elf cat' breed, but looked more like a hairless, half mauled koala to Bella. Bella initially had called the cat 'Gremlin,' but after the fifth or sixth time it had leapt from a darkened corner only to scare the absolute bejeebers out of her, she reevaluated his named and started calling him Boo instead.
After dinner and the dishes were done, Bella would often wrangle out her textbooks and sit down for a study session, with a bit of soft music playing in the background. It was a quiet life that fit her just fine. At twenty, there wasn't a whole lot she actually wanted from life other than to continue living it as unnoticed as possible.
Today, as previously mentioned, was different. It seemed as though Autumn had come early and by three in the afternoon, the blue sky had lost it's color and turned an angry grey that rumbled and crackled with lightning. It was barely four-thirty when Bella hurried up to the gate of her apartment complex, swiping her key and quickly shuffled in.
She squish-squashed her way up the stairs -completely drenched, her hair a wind ruffled, rain-frizzy, mess plastered to her face- to the top floor, the fifth. It wasn't a tall apartment building but it was large, split into subsections that extended out into a joined courtyard that came together with a water feature that looked more like a evil demon spawn then the child it was meant to be.
By the time Bella waddled along the long alcove, counting her way past the doors till her own, green painted three-zero-two came into sight, she could hear her phone buzzing from inside, and Boo yowling like he was dying. Frowning, Bella fumbled her keys into the lock, jiggled, then twisted and pressed with all her weight till the lock clicked and her door budged open. She stumbled in, tripping over the cat immediately. Nudging the door shut with a jamming grunt, Bella tossed her sodden bag onto the counter, shucking out of her jacket before adding it to the wet pile. When done, she toed out of her soggy shoes, peeled off her jeans, then padded barefoot across the cheap carpet in the lounge room towards the phone.
In the two years she'd lived here, Bella had only ever gotten four calls. Three were work related. The fourth had been because the pizza man had gotten lost. She stepped up to the device with apprehension, squinting at the 'one' that flashed red at her. Curious, she poked at the 'play' button then wandered off to feed Boo before he clawed her legs to death. He meowed and trotted along with her, curling his body around her ankles almost tripping her twice.
She came to a halt, head snapping round when the grizzled voice of Billy Black echoed throughout her tiny one room apartment.
"Bella, you need to come back to Forks. Consider us even."
The message ended with a click and Bella yelped out a curse as she kicked the corner of the kitchen counter accidentally, still staring slack jawed at the answering machine. For a terrible, horrible second, every wound Bella had been dealt these last three years tore open and left her raw and curling in on herself, breath wheezing in and out as her whole body shook. Thoughts and memories sprang to mind and plagued her even after she'd shut her eyes, clenched her fists to her temples and shook her head.
Boo bit her ankle demanding food, a sharp, quick nip that opened the skin without causing blood to flow and Bella snapped back to the present.
No!
That wasn't who she was anymore! Swallowing down the strangled whimper that bubbled in her throat, Bella wobbled on jelly legs over to the phone and hit 'play' another four times. Each time she leaned a little closer, hearing a new voice in the background that yelled or grumbled something. By the time she hit it for the fifth and final time, she was nose to nose with the device.
'Dad, who are you talking to?'
Bella's heart stopped. There, in the background almost to soft to hear, was Jacob. She'd know that voice anyway. Just to hear him again, she hit play a bunch more times, till her answering squawked at her that she had no new messages. Bella ended up on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest, peering out into her darkened living room from behind her damp bangs.
Only one person knew the truth about Bella. Only one person knew her number. Billy Black. And Billy Black and vowed he'd never call her for anything other than an emergency.
And he'd called.
Which meant something was wrong. Very wrong. Bella snatched the handset from the cradle and held it in her hands, chewing her lip. Her fingers froze over the buttons. Worry halting her frenzied actions. What if she called and it wasn't Billy who picked up? Was it a risk she could take?
She punched in the Black's number.
And the screamed! Loudly.
As her door exploded inwards in a rain of wood chips and paint flakes. Diving for cover behind the back of her couch, Bella covered her head with her arms and peered out from behind her hair squinting through the fog of wood dust. Her screams died in her throat when a giant stepped through the debris, eye's glowing gold and looked right at her without having to search.
The mammoth of a man hunched his frame and crossed the threshold in one giant step. Bella's voice returned. So did her ability to scream. But she didn't. Instead, bit her lip and turned to crawl quickly under the safety of the couch. Her couch was old, and weighed a ton. It was also large and had the perfect little nook to hide in Bella had discovered after Boo vanished for three days.
She wiggled her way under, continuing until she hit the wall of it and then waited. Heavy footfalls came right towards where she lay, hand over her mouth, tears warm and wet on her cheeks. There was a shuffling sound, and then a voice from a hairsbreadth away growled out in a sound was so far from human the hairs on the back of Bella's neck stood on end.
"Little pig, little pig."
Bella turned to look, stupidly, and saw those eery gold eyes glowing at her as a hand reached for her. She screamed and tried to wiggle back frantically, but was trapped. Fingers, long and thick and strong scraped the tip of her nose but was unable to reach her. She whimpered and tried to rear back. The eyes and hand vanished in a blur of movement that left Bella blinking, confused and terrified. Then, light from the lampposts outside her window suddenly shone on her face.
She released a second too late the couch, her old, heavy as a house couch, had just been lifted free of her. Bella never had a chance to react. A fist curled around her arm and hauled her up easily. Yelping as her elbow and shoulder popped, she was wrangled up and forcefully spun to face the man. Gripped by both shoulders and tilted until she looked up at him through her hair, crying and shaking. Her throat had tightened up on her screams, that's how scared she was, and now her mouth hung open uselessly.
"Are you Bella Swan?" The giant growled, white teeth flashing in the poorly lit room. Bella flinched, trying to curl in on herself. The man shook her, and repeated louder.
"Are you Bella Swan?"
With her brain rattling in her head, eyes lolling, Bella reacted without thinking and nodded, half dazed, half slipping into unconsciousness.
The man, who ever he was, assessed her carefully. Taking in her waterlogged hair to the skin-clinging tank-top and plain high-waist panties she was wearing. Seemingly unimpressed he gave a curl of his lips that looked like disgust. Bella might have blushed if she was able to string a single educated thought together. Instead she hung in his arms, trembling and trying to vocalize her plea for him not to hurt her.
How was it that she had faced off with Vampire's but this man before her had her more afraid than she'd ever been in her life?
It might have been the size. The guy had both the height and muscle that made Emmet look weedy. Maybe it was the way those eyes gleamed like something out of a horror movie, or the death that radiated out of the persons very pores. Perhaps it was the unearthly rumbles coming from the guys chest that sent spangles of fear skittering up her spine.
Either way, Bella was suitable cowed.
Swallowing past her heart that felt lodged in her throat, Bella licked her lips and tried to asked if he was going to kill her.
"Where's your room?" Crazed mammoth man looked around her tiny apartment, his features dark and judgmental. Bella knew what he saw. Exactly what she had when she first moved in. A dump. With stained walls, worn carpet that stunk and peeling paint, the room was something out of a anti-drug campaign commercial. But it was all Bella could afford.
When she didn't answer immediately a hand lifted to her face. Oh good god, he was going to hit her. She cringed and hid her face.
"Please! It... it's through that door."
Iridescent eyes seemed to twitch at her response, the man's features turning into an expression Bella couldn't even begin to describe. And then she was being thrown into her room. She landed on the bed with a yelp. Clawing quickly across the single bed till she could drop ungracefully off the opposite side, scuttling back till her rear hit the wall. She wedged herself between the wall and the bedside table.
The giant lent over the bed. Bella flinched. Light suddenly spilled throughout the room.
He'd turned on her lamp. Squinting, momentarily, blind, Bella opened her mouth once again.
Wanting to know what he wanted.
She looked at her bed, and then at him and finally herself. Her heart sputtered in her chest. Surely...surely he didn't...he couldn't...
Seemingly oblivious to Bella's rising horror, the stranger, who in light looked even more terrifying, stomped around her room, tearing out various drawers and hauling out armfuls of this and that. All of which he threw onto the bed.
Wha- what was he doing? Was he looking for something? Money? Valuables?
More clothing got dumped on the bed. It was a sad pile. All second-hand flannels that had once belonged to Charlie, a few shirts she'd pinched from Jacob, tank tops for the summer and jeans. Bella didn't waste money on things like clothes. And her only pair of shoes lay at the door, wet and now probably covered in paint and wood debris.
Once the measly contents of her room had been seized and dumped onto her bed, she noticed the guy looking at the pile in confusion.
"Where's the rest?" He asked, head snapping to pin her with a stare that had her curling up.
"T-that's everything. I.. I'm sorry. Did you want money…or.. or-" Her voice hitched, a sob choking her as he yanked out her old suitcase. That got dumped by the foot of the bed. Her clothes began to disappear into it with dizzying speed. Her linen was yanked from the bed, pillows gathered and deposited by the packed suitcase. Mr. Mammoth marched into the enjoined bathroom, clattered around in there for a second then reemerged with her brush, toothbrush, hair care, soap, towel and baby powder.
It was then dawned on Bella the possible and probable scenario unfolding. She was going to be abducted.
Oh god.
She waited for him to walk out of the room again then carefully crawled from her position. When he didn't magically reappear, Bella made a mad dash for the door. She stumbled out of her bedroom, sprinting across the lounge room and was almost at the door when she was seized, her screams muffled by the hand that clapped over her mouth.
Thrashing, Bella managed to jar her ankle kicking at legs that were as hard as steel and pop every bone in her hands slapping and hitting blindingly at the guy.
Jeeze, it was like hitting a vampire!
She couldn't understand what was happening. Or why. Her mind reeled and her voice felt raw from screaming. Not to mention her lips felt busted from the force in which that gargantuan hand had slammed over her mouth. Energy sapped, she cried, sagging in the guys hold as he hoisted up her suitcase with his freehand.
"Don't move." The guy commanded, tone not to be trifled with. Then he walked to the window, threw her suitcase out, then threw himself out of it, with Bella still caught in his hold. There was no time to scream. One second they were falling, then landed in a jarring action that caused her to slam against him, his hold on her tightened. Striding quickly and quietly, the guy rounded a corner and approached her car.
Tossing her suitcase into the back, he quickly finished her keys out of her handbag, opened the passenger side and tossed Bella in. She managed to bounce so high and so hard she headbutted the dash and left herself falling back, dizzy and sore. Stars bursting behind her lids. The door slammed shut and for a moment all Bella could do was lay there. Her body ached, her throat raw and now she was being abducting in her own car.
So far this day really sucked. Bella tried to come up with a reason to sit up. Struggled to think of a single reason why she should run, or even fight the inevitable. So far her efforts had been for naught. However Billy's cryptic message sprang to mind and Bella slowly and painfully heaved herself up using the door handle as leverage.
Only to squeak and shuffle away when the drivers side door swung open. Bella's blankets were suddenly being thrust at her. Lumpy blanket flopping over her lap, flat lifeless pillows hitting her in the face. She sputtered and freed herself from the mass of cheap linen only to have her cat carrier passed to her. Boo yowled and tried to swipe at both Bella and her abductor through the bars with little result.
Then, the guy slid in, shut the door and shifted Bella's beat-up old truck into first, quickly shifting two second then third once out on the open road. Bella starred.
Was this really happening?
Bella pinched the skin of her left arm painfully and hissed.
That hurt!
Did that mean she was awake? Did she want to be awake?
Finding her nerve, she croaked out with difficulty.
"W-where are you taking me?"
The guy turned to look at her like she was retarded or something.
"Home." he said like it was obvious.
-Ends-
Well, that's it folks. For now anyway. Would love it if you got back to me with your thoughts and questions. -Rott
Paul: -Humps at the review button-