This is a dark little one-shot I wrote for the FGB Autism fundraiser. I have no way of knowing, but I sincerely hope many of you donated to this worthy cause; I've written a couple of articles about autism in my real life job and I am unspeakably grateful for my daughter's health. The staggering statistics for this challenge are heart-breaking, especially if you are, or know a parent who deals with it every single day. Anyway, this story was fun to write as it is probably closer to my warped tastes. You've been warned;)

Rating: M for dark subject, language and some sexual content

Sure To Be Broken

by SuzsPetals

"But there is one thing worse than an absolutely loveless marriage. A marriage in which there is love, but on one side only; faith, but on one side only; devotion, but on one side only, and in which of the two hearts one is sure to be broken." – Oscar Wilde, "An Ideal Husband"

- # - # -

"Marry me," Edward growled into Bella's ear.

Not so much a romantic gesture, as it was an effort to be heard over the pounding bass and the raucous crowd surrounding them in the club. There was also more frustration, tinged with anger, in the entreaty than passion. Possibly because he had made the request at least a dozen times in the past week and still hadn't gotten the desired response.

Bella had said no in at least a dozen different ways. This time, she reached for his face, still pressed close to hers, and stroked the stubble before planting a light kiss on his lips.

"Can't we just have a good time tonight? We'll talk about it later," she said, although her tone made it clear she didn't have any more words to add to the subject.

Edward exhaled in resignation before nodding curtly and lifting his hand to beckon the bartender. "Do you want anything?" he asked, but saw her beer bottle was still full even as she declined. He ordered a third beer for himself, but if she had an opinion she kept it to herself.

Bella's refusal to marry him was a mystery to Edward. They had fallen for each other almost at first sight a year earlier and spent every free moment together outside of classes and jobs. They knew their relationship was rare and permanent, so when he popped the question at dinner the previous Saturday, her fumbling equivocation was a shock.

His first concern was that there was someone else, but Bella had genuinely laughed at the notion. The few guys she had dated before meeting Edward were relegated to the past. She assured him she had eyes for no one but him. Her reasons were as complicated as she was.

Bella's parents had divorced when she was quite young, but neither of them had successfully moved on. They still took potshots at each other, and often used Bella as the go-between. Since she and Edward still had one more year of college to complete, she was determined to get her degree, find a good job in her field and be her own person before she added wife to the definition. Admirable, yet it just seemed odd to him for a young woman with such a strong sense of self to worry about what others thought, or to doubt her ability to juggle her career and personal life.

Edward had a feeling her fear was more about his chosen career than her own. When he started pre-med following graduation, they both knew what kind of inhuman schedule he would assume. Her work in museum curation would be far more flexible. Although she wouldn't admit it, he suspected Bella was terrified that her life and interests would be smothered by his own. He even thought briefly about changing gears, possibly getting into research or something more 9-to-5, but he'd grown up in a family of doctors and his admiration for his father had sparked the same desire to help and treat others.

Bella hinted broadly about simply moving in together, but they both knew his own mother had a very strong sense of old-fashioned morality and order. Esme Cullen undoubtedly knew the couple slept together, but if truth be told, he would rather spend a winter's night naked in the Hoh forest than tell his mother he was going to shack up with his girlfriend.

So they were at an impasse.

He kept bringing it up throughout the week, hoping to wear her down with his charm and obvious adoration for her. Tonight however, his charm was worn away by the beers and the too-loud music, and possibly the asshole across the bar.

A very tall, bronze-skinned guy with teeth white enough to light the room, kept staring at Bella. He'd asked her to dance earlier, choosing to ignore how close she and Edward were standing to one another. She declined, but when he clutched his chest, appearing devastated by her dismissal, Bella laughed and blushed. He wandered back to his spot by the pool tables and continued to watch her.

Granted, she didn't give him another glance, but Edward was filled with the testosterone-driven instinct to claim her as his own. A wedding ring would do that nicely – and more civilly – than throwing her over his shoulder and leaving.

He realized the beer was gone already and looked around for the bartender. He was at the other end serving a petite blonde a glass of red wine. Edward waved at him and pointed to the empty before him.

"You're having another one?" Bella asked. "Do you want to dance again?"

"The floor's too crowded, baby. Do you want to play pool or darts?" He nodded his thanks to the bartender and took a deep swallow of fresh beer, ignoring her furrowed brow. She sighed heavily and looked around the room.

"No, just get me another beer and we'll listen to one more set before we go. I don't want to hurt Jasper's feelings by leaving too early."

One of their friends from the university fronted a band which is what had brought them here. They weren't bad, but their sound was too big to be contained in the small neighborhood bar. Bella grabbed her purse and strode across the room toward the restrooms in back. Edward admired the curve of her ass in the black jeans as she went. She passed the tall would-be suitor and his white teeth flashed at her as she disappeared down the hall. Bella didn't appear to give him a second glance.

The fourth bottle was history and Bella's beer was starting to look good when Edward realized she still hadn't returned from the bathroom. Craning his neck, he scoured the room looking for the telltale dark auburn hair and silky turquoise top she was wearing.

Twice, he caught the short blonde girl from down the bar watching him, but no Bella. There were a lot of bodies on the dance floor, but she didn't appear to be among the writhing mass. As his eyes returned to the hallway leading to the bathrooms and back exit, he realized the tall dark kid with an appreciative eye for Edward's girlfriend was no longer leaning against the wall. Since he had stood at least 6'5", a quick scan of the small bar made it apparent that the guy was gone.

Edward downed most of Bella's beer as he thought about it.

Surely she wasn't so annoyed with his insistent proposing that she'd just leave. No, she asked for a beer and headed to the bathroom. That's all. He looked around again, but she was still nowhere to be seen.

Buzzed enough to feel pissy, but concerned nonetheless, Edward put his jacket on the stool and headed to the back of the bar. When a tall redhead walked out of the ladies room, he described Bella and asked her if she could check to see if his date was in there. The girl shook her head before he could finish and assured him she'd been the only one in the room.

He tried Bella's phone but it went to voicemail so he left a message, as well as two texts. No response.

He swore under his breath and headed back to the bar. His stool was still open but the seat Bella had occupied was now taken by the blonde who had been eyeing him. He nodded at her politely and took his seat. A shot glass of amber liquid sat in front of him. Edward stared at it a little stupidly.

"It's Patron. You looked like you could use it."

The girl's voice was high pitched as though belonging to a much younger person. Now that she was closer he realized she appeared to be barely legal drinking age. Although not curvaceous, her vintage, gray velvet dress clung to her body as it draped past her knees. Her make-up accentuated her pale complexion perfectly and her mannerisms were so confident – mature – that it was difficult to determine her actual age.

"Uh, thanks. Listen, my girlfriend was sitting there – you didn't see her, did you?" Edward eyed the shot of tequila, but held off drinking it for fear of giving the girl the wrong impression. Unsure where the hell Bella went, he wasn't about to create unnecessary drama by talking to another woman.

"Oh, no. That was your girlfriend?" The blonde winced and looked nervously away. Her eyes were dark and it was difficult to determine their color in the hazy club. She pushed her straight, golden tresses behind her ear and bit her lip. Edward still couldn't peg her age. She was cute and elegant all at once.

"Yeah, why? Did you see her?"

She exhaled through her nose and shook her head slightly with suppressed disapproval.

"It probably wasn't your friend, but I thought I saw her leave out the backdoor with some tall young man. I just assumed you two weren't together." The lovely girl looked up at him through her lashes, her ruby lips pursed with regret. "I'm Jane, by the way."

Edward looked at Jane, then at the shot on the bar.

Would Bella really leave with a total stranger just to avoid talking about their future? Was there more to her rejection than he assumed? Maybe she really wanted to check out the pastures, see if they were greener than some old-fashioned pre-med student from Forks, Washington. The idea of that possibility gripped his balls with an icy hand and made breathing suddenly difficult.

He threw back the shot and thanked the ageless, enigmatic Jane.

After another shot of tequila and most of a beer, Edward tried Bella's phone again with the same results. He tried to suppress his frustration, worry and confusion. When Jasper took a break between sets, Edward checked to see if Bella had said anything to him before leaving. She had, after all, been concerned about his feelings earlier. Jasper shook his head and grabbed a drink before being swallowed by a sea of college girl groupies.

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding," said Jane, her voice silky like her pale complexion. She placed a cool hand over Edward's. "You'll find her and everything will be fine in the morning." The reassuring smile didn't quite meet her eyes, but Edward's senses were significantly dulled.

He also assumed her hand was so cold because it was wrapped around a beer bottle, like his, but failed to realize she had a glass of room-temperature red wine. Untouched.

What he did realize was how drunk he was getting and how much louder the music had become. His head seemed to swell and pulse with the beat while his stomach flipped over. He pushed the remaining beer away from him.

"I gotta go," he said, the slur evident even to his own ears. Putting his jacket on threw Edward off balance, just enough to make it clear he wasn't at the top of his game. Like most college students, he drank his fair share, but his strong sense of discipline and responsibility usually kept him in better control of his limits.

"You look a little shaky, why don't you let me give you a ride home?" asked Jane as she reached out to steady him.

"Nah, thanks. We walked here. 's not far." Edward looked down to the floor because he realized the crowded, noisy room was spinning when he looked around. He ran his fingers through his hair, gripping it in an attempt to sharpen his senses. Jane's hand still held his arm and he was slightly relieved for the assistance.

"It started raining a while ago. My brother Alec is taking me home. Let us drive you, Edward."

Just then a pair of black Doc Martens appeared on the floor next to the stool upon which Jane sat. Edward raised his head and registered a kid all dressed in black. Jane's brother vaguely resembled Justin Bieber, his hair obscuring his eyes.

"No problem, man," said the boy, who definitely looked too young to be in the club.

There was a weird vibe about the siblings, but Edward recognized he was in no shape to judge character at the moment. His head felt worse and his stomach continued to roil. He needed to get home, get to bed, and get his shit together in the morning so he could find out what the hell was wrong with Bella. She shared a house with four other girls, so showing up drunk tonight didn't seem like such a good idea.

Admitting defeat to the half dozen beers and two – or was it three? – shots of Patron, Edward nodded at Alec, his head throbbing with the movement.

"That would be great, thanks. I'm only about eight blocks south of here." University students watched out for each other and Edward knew he'd have ample opportunity to pay it forward. He tried to walk straight as he followed Alec out of the bar. Jane followed close behind.

It had started raining, but it wasn't bad for Seattle. He briefly considered walking home after all, taking advantage of the bracing drizzle. A moment of vertigo and the thought of eight long blocks in the weather convinced him otherwise. He hoped Bella got home safe and dry. And alone. He still refused to believe she had left with the tall, dark doofus with the blinding white teeth. Jane must have been mistaken.

Jane.

Edward realized Jane had introduced herself upon buying him a shot, but he hadn't returned the courtesy. He turned to her as Alec opened the back door of a large dark sedan.

"Hey, Jane, how did you know my name?"

Her fine hair was dampening quickly, but Jane seemed unfazed by the weather. She gave him a cold smirk and her dark eyes glittered so that in spite of her youth, she appeared ancient.

"Oh, Edward. I know your name because you're mine."

A sharp pain superseded the dull throbbing in Edward's head and everything went black.

- # - # -

Edward woke to a sweet, cloying scent and tried to fan the air in order to dissipate the odor. His hand stubbornly refused to cooperate.

"Shhhhh, you're fine." A vaguely familiar feminine voice wafted more of the odd, floral scent in his face.

With a sickening rush, Edward recalled the night at the bar, Bella walking out on him, the blonde buying him drinks, her brother leading him to a car. And then what?

What had happened and where was he?

The ache in his head was like an insistent voice urging him to retreat to the security of sleep. With an effort, he tried to clear the cobwebs and slowly opened his eyes. Before he could make out the blurred details of the room, he saw the face of the girl from the bar.

Jane.

There was an expression of satisfaction on her face as she scrutinized him.

"Good morning, Edward." She smiled at him, but there was no warmth in the gesture and he flinched without being conscious of the movement. Her eyes were a deep maroon and he couldn't help but feel as though he were looking into the eyes of a predator.

"Where am I?" he croaked.

"My bedroom."

Edward groaned out loud. Whatever had upset Bella last night – it was just last night, he hoped – was nothing compared to how she'd feel about him waking up in a strange woman's bed. He struggled to sit up. And couldn't.

With confusion, Edward realized he was stretched out on the large bed, his wrists and ankles restrained at the corners. The fog thinned and was replaced by a clammy fear. He thrashed but nothing loosened whatsoever.

"Settle down now," ordered Jane, laying a firm hand on his chest. Even through his T-shirt, her hand felt like cold iron – she was unnaturally strong and he stopped moving at once. The fear threatened to take on a life of its own and he forced himself to calm down and focus on getting out of this bizarre mess.

She's just a girl. Twenty-one if she's a day, Edward reminded himself.

"Let me go," he growled.

Instead of answering, Jane ran her fingers delicately along his lips and jaw, down his neck to the V of his shirt. As though it were made of tissue paper she ripped the knit cotton down the front, exposing his chest.

"No," she said simply.

Edward's instincts nudged the fear into full-blown panic and he struggled futilely at the restraints. She ran her hands over his chest with an intimacy that was more chilling than her inexplicable strength.

He began to negotiate as though his life depended on it.

"Listen, Jane, I know I got pretty drunk and stupid, and maybe I gave you the wrong impression, but I have to go. You have to let me go. Now," he added with an authority that sounded false, even to his own ears.

The girl kept running her hands over his torso, her fingers eventually tracing the trail of hair that disappeared into his jeans.

"You may have been a little drunk, but you're not stupid," she said conversationally. "You're in the top of your class, musically gifted, well read and in addition to everything, beautiful to look at."

She smiled at him again and his blood ran cold. "And you're mine now," she added.

In spite of his shock at the revelation she had been stalking him, Edward found his anger and locked eyes with Jane.

"You crazy bitch. What do you want?" The dark twinkle in her eye made him regret the question immediately.

Jane ran her hand over the bulge in his jeans, causing him to flinch involuntarily. So quickly that he couldn't react, she leaned over and ran her tongue up his throat and sucked lightly on his ear lobe.

"I want you, Edward. For eternity." Her icy whisper caressed his ear and his heart stuttered. She continued, her monologue like something out of a horror novel.

"First, I want to taste the ambrosia that runs through your veins. Just a taste – not enough to lose you. Then I want to watch you battle the cruel flames of the venom, writhing in agony for hours upon hours, until you return to me. You'll be even more handsome than you are now. Strong, beautiful and immortal. Just like me."

Edward squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to awake from the nightmare. It all had to be a nightmare. She gripped his cock through the denim and he was horrified at the reactive twitch. She kept talking while stroking him seductively.

"You'll never have to sleep again, so we'll have centuries of days and nights to fuck. And when we're not consumed with our mutual passion, we'll travel, enjoy the pleasures the world has to offer. And we'll feed, of course."

All of Edward's concerns about his family, grades, career choices – even Bella's reluctance to marry him – evaporated. He had fallen down the rabbit hole and everything he believed to be universal truths trembled on the precipice, ready to tumble in after him.

He choked out the only syllable he could muster. "No."

"Yesss," she whispered, amused at his resistance.

His anger returned, ready to fight for whatever control he had left. He opened his eyes and glared defiantly at Jane. "I love Bella. Only Bella."

It felt like a talisman – her name; his declaration.

A shadow passed through her eyes so briefly Edward couldn't be sure it wasn't just hope. Jane had taken all of his – he became determined to steal hers.

She continued on, pretending he hadn't dashed cold water on her malevolent plans.

"You'll emerge from the fire in a few days with a need so imperative that your life before now will seem insignificant. Satiating that hunger will be the only thing that matters."

"No."

"The only thing."

"No."

"I'll take care of your thirst, I'll take care of you," she said with perverse tenderness. "And you'll be mine, Edward. Forever."

Blessedly, her hand abandoned his confused manhood and she gripped his jaw, forcing him to look at her. "I've waited a long time for you. Longer than you can comprehend," she said, with a short, bitter laugh.

Locking eyes with Edward, never looking away, Jane called to her brother as though he were standing in the room. "Alec."

She loosened her hold on Edward's face and ran a cold thumb over his mouth. Gazing at him with affection – mad, psychotic affection – she softly said, "And when your need is voracious, I'll provide you a feast. A fitting feast."

Edward had paid little attention to the room since regaining consciousness and facing Jane's insanity, but his eyes were suddenly drawn to a door that opened almost soundlessly. His breath caught, his heart lurched as the boy he remembered from the parking lot entered the room.

"Bella," Edward gasped.

His girlfriend's limp form was draped across Alec's arms, her dark hair almost touching the floor. Edward focused on her chest and thanked several deities at once when he saw that she was breathing. His eyes darted frantically between Bella's body and Jane's rapacious smile.

"No. Please." Edward was afraid to say anymore for fear his voice would crack, betraying his paralyzing desperation. "Let her go," he pleaded, his fear laid bare before the soulless girl who held his life in her hands.

Jane's smile was smug at his renewed vulnerability.

"Why, Edward. Only hours ago you assumed she was off doing God-knows-what with that tall, eager boy. I don't believe your commitment is as solid as you'd like to think."

"You're wrong."

"I'm not."

Edward dragged his eyes from Bella and looked into Jane's deep red irises. They flared like the flames of pain she promised him.

"It will never be you," he said with a conviction fortified by emotions that this creature would never understand. Love.

Time stood still for a moment in that ornate, yet cold bedroom. The room in which Edward knew he would die. Alec stood motionless near the bed holding the woman with whom Edward had once confidently planned to grow old.

The fair-haired, deadly vampire stared fiercely at her conquest, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a breath of doubt on her part.

"We'll see about that," she hissed.

Jane's eyes rolled back in her head as Edward's blood rushed down her throat. Unconsciously – almost desperately – she willed the vital fluid to reach her lifeless heart.

As always, thank you so much for reading. ~ SuzsPetals