Disclaimer – Not mine. Don't sue. Wouldn't get anything anyway.

A/N – Thanks goes to my lovely reviewers from chapter 1 and to the people that added my story or me to their favorites or put this story on their alert list!

Ok I've read some stories that include mood music and I like it so I'm going to do that. Sometimes the song will follow the chapter and sometimes it won't, it'll just be whatever I was listening to at the time. This chapter's mood music is My Immortal by Evanescence. You decide if it fits or not.

Also…make my day…review!


I stood and backed away from Jasper, shaking my head. "We are not talking about this. Just go away, Jasper, leave me alone."

"Bella…"

I threw myself into the trees then, running like I hadn't in years in the hope of leaving him behind. I weaved in and out of the large trees, leaping over rocks and tree trunks, and still I could sense Jasper behind me. I muttered an oath under my breath – he would not give up and I would not give in.

I reversed suddenly and we collided with an ear splitting crash – it hardly upset either one of us. I grabbed his arm and spun him into a tree, causing splinters of wood to sail through the air. He grabbed for me but I spun out of his way; a well-aimed kick soon dropped me to the ground but I swiftly rolled away. We continued in our macabre dance – lashing out but not making contact – until Jasper raised his hands and swiftly backed away. I mirrored him and we eyed each other warily.

"You're good," he said, nodding at me.

"Thanks."

He studied me for a moment, paying careful attention to my eyes. "I'm glad you chose our lifestyle."

"How could I not?" I whispered.

"Who turned you?"

"Jasper…I don't want to discuss this with you."

"What about with me?" I heard a musical voice ask from somewhere behind me. I spun around and there she was, popping out from behind a tree – the one person that I had missed nearly as much as him. She bounced gracefully toward me and if I could have I think I would have cried.

"Alice!" I gasped.

She grabbed me in a hug, but her eyes seemed worried. "How did I miss this?" she murmured to herself. "I know I've been preoccupied, but still…I would have thought…" The girl studied me closely. "You've had a hard time of it, haven't you, Bella?"

I turned away and whispered, "Why are you here? Why now? You've left me alone this long…"

"I came because I saw Jasper with you. I hadn't seen anything about you in so long…I just had to come. How long have you been one of us?"

"Nearly six years now."

I heard her sharp intake of breath and she murmured, "Not long after we left…"

"No…it was that next spring," I whispered, surprised that I suddenly wanted to spill my secrets to her. "I was hiking, yes hiking," I clarified as her eyebrows rose. "I was trying to find a meadow that…that I had been to before. I finally found it but Laurent was there. His plan was to kill me; he jerked me forward and bit my throat," I whispered, fingering the scar that would always mar my skin. "I tried to fight him but I was too weak, and then suddenly someone pulled him off me and there was snarling and screaming and it burned so badly. I felt someone pick me up and I wasn't terribly coherent for a while... I woke some time later alone in a small cabin in a remote part of Canada."

"What have you done for the past six years?"

"Roamed about, mostly. I found a cabin not far from here a few months ago that had been abandoned. I've lived there since. I'm still not good around humans."

I could see the question in there eyes – had I slipped and murdered someone? I sighed but didn't want to get into that, so I kept my silence.

"You really didn't know about me, Alice?"

"No, I've been so preoccupied with watching Edward…."

I flinched back at the sound of his name as if I'd been slapped, causing her to arch one perfect brow.

"He's such an idiot," she hissed. To me she said, "Come back with us, Bella. I'm sure Carlisle and Esme would love to see you. They are the only ones at the house right now."

Jasper, who had remained silent since Alice's approach, now said, "Yes, they would be very happy if we brought you home with us."

"No," I whispered. "I can't come with you. I prefer to be alone now."

"Bella," Alice whined.

"Alice, let her be," Jasper said in a calming voice, placing a hand gently on her arm. I turned away at the site of it. "Could we come visit you, Bella?"

"I don't know…" I whispered.

"I come hunting this way about twice a month. I'll be here two weeks from today if you want to see me again. If not I understand," Jasper said softly.

I nodded, still not looking at them, and when I walked away they made no move to stop me.


I made it back to my house sometime after midnight – time didn't matter much anymore so I didn't keep a terribly close eye on it. I let myself in and bolted the door behind me, not that it would do much good, but I still took comfort in trite human things. My cabin had started life as a place for hunters to sleep and it still smelled of gun oil and wet furs. I couldn't be around humans yet, so I had no money, and the few furnishings I possessed I had either stolen by creeping into stores after the patrons and customers had returned home for the night or took from abandoned homesteads.

The cabin was one large open room with a ladder leading up to a loft; the walls and floor were all made of rough-hewn boards that had been sanded smooth. There had been a tiny bathroom but it was beyond repair, so I blocked it off. Instead I had positioned an antique claw foot tub I found in an old farmhouse beside the kitchen area. Since I didn't need to eat I used the sink and wood burning stove to heat water whenever I fancied a bath. Along the adjoining wall was a cardboard box that held towels and toiletries; just beside that was an old cedar where I kept what little clothes I possessed.

A battered, yet oh so comfortable, blue sofa sat in the middle of the floor on a vibrant rug and faced a small stack stone fireplace that I rarely lit. Books of various sizes were heaped pell-mell all around the room. A rough wooden ladder leaned against the wall fourth wall beside a small table and led up to the loft. In the loft was a thin mattress and large pile of quilts – even though I couldn't sleep now I still liked to curl up on my makeshift bed when I was feeling overwhelmed. It was here that I went now.

I burrowed under the pile of quilts and my body began to shake with tearless sobs – I ended up here all too often. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to think of things that didn't remind me of him. I thought back to the days of my transformation, completely losing myself in the memory…

The pain was unbearable, worse than I could have imagined in my worst nightmares. It sank into very pore – even my fingernails hurt, even my hair hurt. I writhed and screamed and lost sense of where I was, of who I was, of what was happening. All I knew was the endless pain. I was dimly aware of movement for a while, of arms around me, of someone whispering in my ear though the words were muffled and I couldn't understand. The pain lasted for days, weeks, years, lifetimes and finally, finally it began to fade. My eyes were closed tight and I could not open them, no matter how hard I tried. My breathing was heavy and labored and I could hear my heart echoing in my chest, slower, and slower and slower it beat. The pain gave way to a cold numbness and finally my heart gave one last shuddering beat and stopped. The silence was deafening.