Again, not changing anything out of respect for the author of the prologue and chapter 1.
Disclaimer: Do I have to put one of these every chapter? Look at my freaking prologue.
Recap: The other two nodded, somberly, staring at the picture of the brown eyed, brunette human girl.
Chapter 1
ASSAULT
bella p.o.v.
Edward had never actually said, "Don't go out alone." He may have said something like, well, I don't know, "Stay inside," or "keep safe," or something like that, but my memory was failing. Besides, he was just being overprotective. Classic Edward. But then, I loved that part of him, didn't I?
IT wasn't as if I was in any real, danger, though. Nothing bad was going to happen to me. It was Fork's for god's sake, as I'd tried to communicate to Edward more than a few times. People don get mugged in Forks. Edward had just shaken his head, time after time, saying, "When I let you put yourself in danger of any shape, Bella, you can ship me off to an asylum."
The rain was nearly deafening as it slapped angrily against the windows, removing what would be silence in this small diner on the edge of town. Lauren had told me about it. It somehow played into her and Mike's first date, but I hadn't actually listened to the story. It wasn't such a great place anyway, I thought sourly as I stirred my weak, too sweet coffee. I took a sip of it now and again, just to make it look like I wasn't just sitting there (not that anyone was looking), and besides, it was a small price to pay to be able to loiter.
Not that it was doing much for my mood, anyway. The atmosphere in this place was too stuffy. It was empty, except for me, and the people in the Employees Only Room who were causing all of the banging metal sounds of pots and pans that were giving me a headache.
Not that this place was doing much for my awful mood, anyway. The very atmosphere made me possibly gloomier than I already was. It was completely empty except for me, and a blonde behind the counter that was drumming her foot away to the beat that was blasting through her earphones, her eyes shut. It was near closing time.
Her, and a young man who sat far away in a booth right next to the entrance; I'd noticed him coming in. His face had been buried in his newspaper the whole time, eyes fixed attentively on it but not moving making it a quite obvious that he wasn't actually reading it. Of all the irony, his skin was nearly snow white, just like Edwards and his family's. I guess that wasn't too strange, though, considering that Forks had absolutely no sunshine, and then shook it off as I returned to stirring my coffee.
I was too busy to pay it too much thought. I was just desperate to get out of my house.
The fact of the matter was, my room was just too gloomy without him. I was so used to being able to feel eyes on my back as I studied or read or sat at my computer. I was too used to talking to him whenever I had something to say. So used to it, in fact, that I had turned and started talking to an empty room several times before, until noticing that he wasn't even there. Force of habit.
When Edward hunted, all of my forces crumbled. I was grumpy, I got upset easily, and was not at all enjoyable to be around. So I guess by leaving I was doing Charlie a favor, too.
Anyway, if I was lucky, he'd be back by the time I got back home.
I chuckled into my coffee. If I'm really lucky, I thought, He's already home, waiting for me to get back.
The thought startled me. …And thoroughly annoyed that I went against his wishes and went out. And pacing the room, getting angrier and more worried by the second. And…
I was beginning to panic myself. I didn't want him to be angry with me. That was the last thing I wanted. Oh, god, what had I been thinking? If Alice had told him I'd gone out, and then he came home without finishing his hunt…
Before I could torture myself even further with my own thoughts, I jumped off the stool, and put a five dollar bill next to the half-full mug of coffee, not bothering to wait for my change. I didn't want to worry him any further than he already was. Than he possibly already was, I corrected myself.
I grabbed my jacket off of the chair and pulled it on, knowing full well that there was no way it could protect me from the heavy storm. Even after living in Forks for this long, I'd forgotten to bring along an umbrella.
I tried to keep from imagining Edward's face. I almost laughed at the irony; it was normally just the opposite. But every time I thought of him, I imagined him angry with me, and I hated seeing him like that.
I headed to the exit of the empty diner scolding myself for being so pessimistic. Edward would understand, once I explained to him why I'd ignored his wishes. He was like that, always forgiving. I managed to steady my breathing. I hadn't realized that I was on the verge of hyperventilation.
I pulled my hood on as I opened the door to the heavy thunderstorm, running towards my truck, going over what I would tell Edward in my head, over and over. You have to understand, Edward…
A sharp blow to my stomach forced all of the air out of my lungs. It felt as if a steel bar had been put in my path. It took a moment before I realized that there was another steel bar, wrapping around my waist, linking with the one that had hit me first. I only knew one person with arms that strong, but they had never been used this way on me. Disorientated, I coughed out the first name that came to mind.
"Edward," I choked out.
My vision was almost lost in the mess, with the help of the rain that was thundering harder yet. It took me a moment to blink the disorientation out of my eyes, and register who was grinning down at me.
He had dark brown, nearly black hair, shiny with the rain, and a chiseled, perfected face. His beauty was nearly blinding, as Edward's was, and his skin was just as pale. It didn't take a genius to register him as the man who was pretending to read the paper in the diner. I wished I had looked closer at him when I first noticed him, but I was distracted then.
There was one, rather large fact that I hadn't picked up on before: his eyes. They were blood red, enough to knock the air out of me again, just by their appearance.
I swallowed hard. I knew what red eyes meant on a vampire, which this young man obviously was.
His mouth was in a hard grin, his eyes hardened mischievously. His two hands moved up to my shoulders, pushing me hard enough against the diner wall that I was sure the skin under his hands was slowly turning deep purple with the bruises he was delivering: one with each of his fingers, and a larger one with his palms. His expression was full of deranged humor. I was his plaything, a toy; he was enjoying causing me pain. I held my breath.
"Isabella Swan?" he asked, his voice airy and melodious, as if each word were a note in a song.
I followed my instincts, and shook my head.
The young vampire tightened his grip on me, the fun expression vanishing from my face. "Don't lie to me," he hissed dangerously low.
"O-okay," I stuttered, surprising myself with the fact that I still had control over myself. "Y-yes."
The grin returned to his face as he slightly loosened his grip on me. "Perfect."
I closed my eyes, the rain slapping on my face mixing with salty tears that began freely flowing down my cheeks. Edward, I begged in my thoughts. Where are you? Why hadn't Alice seen this?
He noticed. His face turned into concern, but obviously fake. He was mocking me. I had an undeniable urge to kick him in the!! "Don't cry, little girl," he cooed. "And in case you were wondering," he continued, raising a fluff of bloody fur. "Your psychic can't see us."
"What is that?" I murmured.
He glanced at the mess, and then back to me. "This is a werewolf ear. We're completely invisible to your little pixie friend."
I swallowed hard. He knew about Alice. And whose ear was that? Jacob's? Quil's? Embry's? I prayed he had slaughtered one before he came to Forks.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he promised me, and then quickly amended, "At the moment. I just need you to listen to me."
An ounce of courage flowed into me, allowing my eyes to narrow at my attacker. "Who are you?"
"Lucas Le Dur, at your service," he said, nodding his head in a greeting gesture. "Pleasure to meet you." He grinned again.
"What do you want?"
He lifted one arm off of me, examining his nails. I knew they were sharp as blades, hard enough to slash through cement. "I have a bit of a… mission to fulfill. And, unfortunately, your precious vampire friends are standing right in my way."
I gritted my teeth, glaring at him hard. I had to force myself not to wince away from his ruby red eyes. "What do you want from me?"
"I need you to break a heart."
My jaw dropped in horror. He didn't need to explain; it was obvious who he wanted me to attack: the only vampire whose non-beating heart I had full possession of. Edward.
"What kind of sick—"
My accusation was cut short by this vampire, Lucas, cupping my face hard in his hand. More bruises. The other hand clenched around my throat, gagging me, but allowing me to breathe.
"That's enough out of you," he hissed. I bit my tongue. He didn't have to tell me twice.
"If you don't listen to me, you can say goodbye to everyone you know. In fact, my men are outside your house right now. One wrong move and your father is dead."
I swallowed, hard, tears beginning to flow again.
"Another, and your mother and stepfather. Not to mention all of your pet mutts. And also," he added a snap of your fingers. "All of your vampires." He leaned in close to me and I could feel his cold breath on my face. "I promise we'll kill your Edward last. Slowly."
"Please, no!" I cried, sobbing hard now. "I'll do anything, I promise. I'll make him wish he was never born—just don't hurt him!"
A sinister smile spread across Lucas's face. "That's exactly what I needed to hear." He removed his hands from my neck and narrowed his eyes. "Don't try anything just because I let go. And remember, one word of this to anyone, and everyone you know… well, there will be blood."
I sobbed again, clutching my hands to my neck, rubbing where he'd just bruised.
"I'll be in your bathroom when you get home; meet me there as soon as you can after telling your vampire where you were—not the truth, that is—" he amended, quickly.
"I'm not stupid," I snapped. He chuckled.
"And if you screw up or anything, I won't hesitate to rip your father's throat out."
I winced. "I promise."
"Your word means nothing to me. The only thing I trust you over is your father." He narrowed his eyes at me once again. "Make it convincing."
I nodded.
Lucas nodded, gesturing to my truck, and I pulled my hood on, although I was already soaked, to cover my red face. I tried to steady out my breathing, but the sobs kept coming.
I noticed Lucas running off out of the corner of my eye as I climbed into my truck, pulling my coat of, glad to be out of the rain. My eyes burned from so much crying, but I collapsed over the steering wheel and cried until I choked.
Edward, I'm sorry, I told him silently. For the first time, I wished he could hear my thoughts. I can't not hurt you, because I love you. It was true; I'd rather see him alive and in pain than ripped apart.
With another sob I wondered if Lucas had been bluffing or not. Did he have enough help to even take down the Cullens? Maybe I would warn Edward, write him a note when Lucas wasn't looking, and then go through the motions of ripping his heart apart. And then he and the rest of the Cullens could rip Lucas apart. I couldn't afford to take that risk, though.
Even if I did, he had me cornered from all sides. Even if I did do that, he could attack the more weak. He would kill Charlie, probably without hesitating, and make a meal out of him, too, judging by the ruby red of his eyes. I shuddered at the memory. He was definitely not a vegetarian like the Cullens.
And then he or how ever many were in his coven, or his henchmen, or whoever he had, would kill Renee and Phil, and the werewolves in La Push. In all honesty, I didn't hold as much confidence in their pack as I held in the Cullens. Maybe Lucas's coven could overcome them, especially if the werewolves were unprepared.
I tried to compose myself as I started up my truck that groaned but whirred to life. I had no choice. It was obvious what I had to do.
I'm so sorry, Edward.
