AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks so much already for the reviews! I love reading each and every single one of them. Anyway, here's the next chapter. And warning you now, things are going to get much darker and a lot more mature as the story progresses. I'm going all out here! If strong violence, situations, and language offend you, please don't read any further. The story won't always be so dark, I promise. Please keep reviewing and letting me know what you think!

Stephenie Meyer's holding all the cards, I'm just peeking over her shoulder.

Chapter Two:

When I broke the cell phone, I hadn't been able to handle the unfounded grief that swooped down on me. I'd had no real reasons to break the stupid thing, I could have just turned it off if I wanted silence. But there was a tiny voice in the back of my head telling me I'd wanted something more concrete than that. Spending your entire life experiencing violence and turmoil left a darker imprint on your soul than words could accurately describe.

How appropriate that the beaten and battered little girl from Georgia had grown up to fulfill a destiny that embraced everything she'd tried so hard to run from?

It felt strange to have my back to a busy street as I stepped up to the only public phone I could find. I didn't want to use the phone back at the hotel, that just seemed way too personal to fit in my comfort zone. But I had the change and I'd found what I was looking for.

Once the right amount of quarters were dropped into the slot, my fingers nimbly danced over the right keys. Then the phone was ringing. I had no idea who would answer, but I feverishly began to hope for anyone but Edward. If thinking his name hurt, I could only imagine how lethal his voice would be to my self-inflicted wounds.

My luck held out just long enough for someone to answer the phone. As soon as I heard that smooth, silky voice; I knew I'd used all my luck up. Of course, Edward was home and closest to the phone.

"Cullen residence."

He always sounded so formal and polite when he answered the phone. No matter what room of the house I was in when the screeching began, the tone of his voice never wavered. Not until he knew who was on the other line and what they wanted. But this time, he didn't sound quite right. Some warning bell went off in the back of my head and I forgot all about answering him in favor of following this new thought.

What could possibly be going on that changed something as simple as how Edward answered the phone?

"Hello?" His voice grew more irritated when he spoke again, which excited me on a level I hadn't even known existed. "Look, you've got five seconds to say something before I hang up."

Oh yeah, things had definitely changed in the month since I left.

"It's Piper." I muttered and pinched my side in anger. I hated sounding so weak and defeated to him. Where was a rush of confidence when I needed one? I didn't want anyone to know everything going on in my head. But even without the weird ability I had to keep the only mindreader I knew out, I was still grateful that he wasn't standing directly in front of me. He had too much power over me for that to happen and me still walk away with some secrets intact.

"Piper." He answered and he sounded so different that I actually pulled the reciever away from my ear. Staring at it for a second, I just pushed it back against my ear and cleared my throat lightly. Hopefully that was enough of a hint for him to pull it together. I didn't need even more to think about right then, not where he was concerned. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

I winced and stared up at the dreary, night-kissed sky stretched out above me. There was no way I could walk around in the daytime here and go unnoticed. Not with the strange reactions my skin had to the sun. I sparkled brighter than a jewelry store right after everything in sight had been cleaned. Somehow I didn't think calling attention to myself in that way was exactly helpful in staying invisible.

I sighed, remembering the questions being fired at me and cleared my throat to indicate I was about to answer. He just had to stop asking questions first! "I'm okay, I'm safe. That's all I can tell you right now." Even without the ability to detect a spoken lie, I could tell my answers sounded fake. But there was just a small part of me that didn't really want any of the Cullens to know where I'd ended up. I could just see them all charging into Valdosta in hopes of talking some sense into me. That was the last thing I wanted right then. I was strangely enjoying the raw energy and power flowing through me too much to endanger it in any way.

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line and I could only imagine what Edward was thinking or doing to regroup. I wasn't volunteering any information, that was blatantly obvious. "You're not going to tell me where you are, are you? Or why you're calling me from a blocked number instead of your cell phone."

"No." I admitted and frowned at how clipped that had come out. "I'm not. Edward...." Suddenly, I was at a loss for words. How could I possibly explain everything running through my head? And over the telephone, no less. If this had been a face-to-face conversation, which I was fiercely glad it wasn't, then I would've been doomed from the word go. I needed every little piece of leverage I could get when it came to dealing with Edward Cullen.

"Yes?"

I frowned into the mouthpiece when he prompted me to keep going. Why did he have to sound so cool and...detached? More importantly, how could he? Especially after how things had ended between us. I swallowed thickly, even though it was an action no longer required by my body. "I'm sorry too." I finally muttered, knowing he would get what I was trying to say without me having to give a long and drawn out explanation. With that said, I carefully replaced the reciever and sighed heavily.

Why couldn't I do just one thing that would offer me at least a small piece of the relief I used to feel? Why did it feel like defeat, being with the Cullens and letting them accept me in every single way?

Just as these questions, as well as a few more for added measure, slid through my mind; a voice I hadn't heard in a very long time answered for me. It's not what you deserve. Just hearing that voice, a tone I knew from my human years hadn't been lost in my transformation. She was still with me, reciting word for word everything I'd ever been told by my father and...him. I refused to acknowledge Jason North as my husband. That term no longer applied. He'd ceased to exist in Virginia.

I hated the new surge of anger that accompanied that voice. I'd battled with it for seventeen years and some deep pocket of my mind wanted to squash the voice. To finally be rid of it once and for all. The new voice, the one that wanted desperately to wrestle with the other voice surprised me. Not only did this all make me feel suddenly crazy as I turned back for my hotel, but it was so much angrier than anything else I'd ever thought or felt. Of course, as I reflected on it during my walk back, I realized just where this voice had come from.

The monster within me was becoming more vocal as the days went by. I wasn't entirely sure I would have the power to keep her as tightly reigned in as I once could.

I was maybe a foot away from the small complex of hotels when something seized me suddenly. It wasn't a thought or an emotion, something I'd been expecting as I passed sparse patches of humans. I'd assumed, when I walked outside for the first time after nightfall, that I wouldn't be risking temptation as much as if I'd been out during the day. But that was exactly what it was. Someone had come into the general area of where I was and smelled very appealing.

All too soon, my throat erupted in the firey burn of my thirst. A fury of conflict broke out in my mind and body. I'd never smelled anything like this while I was still with the Cullens. Then again, they'd tried their best to keep me in the house and away from the human population. But still. The desire and all-out need to follow this scent compelled me away from the safety net that my hotel room provided. I could easily resist temptation there, surrounded by artifacts from my former life.

My muscles felt like rubber bands stretched out to the fullest extent as I followed the heavenly intoxication of the human pulse. Rounding one turn, the corner of my lip twitched when I finally saw the source of my agony. A small group of young men stood huddled around an entrance. One glance up told me where I was and what they were standing in front of. Of course, I realized the place almost immediately. It was an over-21 club that never checked IDs. Jason had been able to sneak us both in here countless times during the last part of our relationship.

And we always met up with the young men now crowding around the door. I don't know how, but suddenly my memories of that time became crystal clear and so sharp I felt like I was reliving them all over again. I still felt like the girl that trudged down the alley to endure a night of raunchous fun with the man she thought loved her and his buddies.

I let myself take a couple more steps, the lucious pulse drawing me almost as much as the memories possessing every corner of my mind. One of the foursome looked outragiously familiar, but I couldn't place him. I knew I'd seen him somewhere before and as I grew closer, everything snapped into place.

Dylan Moreno, Jason North's best friend, stood in the middle of the small huddle. Dylan Moreno, who had stood up with Jason when we got married. He'd done so much to make my life with Jason as miserable as possible. This was the first friend Jason had ever passed me off on to gain something in return.

Those memories came flooding back so quickly that I stopped cold. I was too heavily gripped by it all to focus clearly on where I was standing. I was out in the open, my eyes widened with memories of Dylan Moreno slipping into my bed while I slept. A chill flashed down my spine as the memories continued in a hazy sequence. His hand slid up my thigh, waking me from the light sleep I'd fallen into. That day I'd found out I was pregnant by Jason, but hadn't been able to build up the courage yet to tell him. I'd been foolish enough that night to wear a simple tee shirt to bed, figuring that no one would disturb me. I'd been home alone when I laid down, I never heard the door open and close to signal their arrivals. But of course, I'd been wrong. Dylan's lips covered mine and made me flinch into complete awareness. I pushed him away so roughly that he almost tumbled off the bed. But that just pissed him off even more and he came at me quickly. My head jerked to the side as I recalled the murky pain that began to radiate through my jaw when his fist connected with the left side of my face. My eyes teared up instantly in the memories and before I could recover from that, large hands had my wrists and yanked them above my head.

My eyes clenched shut involuntarily as the memory went on from there. My arm twitched at my side as I recalled my shirt being ripped from my upper body, leaving me naked and completely vulnerable to my attacker. I tried to cut the stream of images off from there, needing no hints at what followed. Everything was vividly clear in my mind's eyes now as Dylan finished with me and left me broken and bleeding in bed. His laughter, though grainy and shaky because of the difference in hearing, rang throughout the entire apartment as he reported back to Jason. At the time, I hadn't even known he was in the other room. He'd heard every single scream and cry that passed my lips.

"You were right, J. Girl's horrible in bed."

The anger I'd felt just seconds ago was a flash-burn compared to what surged through me now. Everything in my line of vision seemed to take on a red hue as I slowly advanced on the cluster of men. I felt nothing but a deep-seeded hatred for the man standing about two feet away from me. From that night on, he'd done everything he could to degrade me in front of Jason. Not that he'd needed much help, but the two of them together? I'd wished for death a million times over by the time they were done with me.

A low smirk fixed itself on my lips as I began to walk forward a little more purposefully. I shoved my hands into the pockets of the leather jacket I'd left open over a gray, zip-up hoodie, both of those hanging open over my solid black tank top and torn jeans. They had tried, many times over to deliver me to the point where I begged mercilessly for death. And now, as I sauntered over and caught Dylan Moreno's eye, I was finally able to return the favor

.

The feeling behind this power of conviction was oddly addicting.