A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took so long but this chapter was a tough one, couldn't skip to the action unfortunately so it's a bit dull, sorry. Chapter three is already well under way and looking damn good if I do say so myself, so stay tuned! Thank you so much for reading! xoxo
Mom,
Calm down, OK? You're overreacting. No, it's not like you're never gonna see me again, we'll have the holidays, you can come visit me or I'll get a plane down to Florida to see you and Phil. And then there's birthdays. And we'll write to each other all the time, like now. I get that you don't like the idea of me being so far away but it's a great opportunity! I'm going to college - not dying!
Love,
Bella xx
Bella read through the message to check for mistakes, wandered for a moment when she'd gotten so good at lying, then hit the send button.
From downstairs floated the smoky aroma of burnt meat. She smiled to herself as she grabbed her shoes and headed for the door. Skipping down the stairs, she heard voices and laughter coming from the back yard. The barbeque was just getting started, the first of the burger victims having been claimed.
She walked out to the crowded garden and smiled at Charlie. He was stood at the grill, dressed in a chef's hat and 'Kiss the Cook' apron. He smiled back wholeheartedly then returned to his conversation with his friends. They were talking about sports or something. He seemed happy, grinning so widely it stretched out almost all of his wrinkles, the only ones left were laugh lines. She noted that on sunny days he looked years younger.
She looked around searching for someone to talk to. The party consisted of Charlie, Billy Black, Harry Clearwater and his wife Sue, their children Leah and Seth, a couple of Charlie's friends from work and their wives, Jacob, and herself.
Jacob it was. She strolled over to where he was sprawled out on the grass, soaking up the heat. He lay shirtless with cut-off jeans, showing as much golden skin as possible and a look of lazy contentment on his face. She laughed at how in love with himself he could be at times, and how much he enjoyed showing off. She came to a stop mere inches from him and looked over his muscled physique, wandering if she would ever have the kind of confidence he did.
"Checking out the goods, Swan?" he asked without opening his eyes.
"Get over yourself," she said and dropped down next to him. They lay in silence for a few moments as Bella stared up at the sky. It was a clear blue, a sure sign that summer existed even in Forks.
"How's things?" he asked lightly.
"Good," she answered. And they were. She focussed on the gaping hole in her chest and felt nothing. It was there, but was now filled with something new - a purpose.
"Finally got away from your mom, I see," Jacob turned his head to the side and looked at her.
She glanced at him then turned away again. What she saw in his eyes, what she had seen growing in them over the past few months, made her uncomfortable. "Yeah," she quipped.
"She's still not on board, huh?"
"Nope."
"Bella, Jacob, come get your burgers!" Charlie called to them.
"Hey, leave the lovebirds alone," she faintly heard one of his friends joke. She cringed. He was like a brother for crying out loud.
"I'll get these," Jake smiled and leapt up, making his way to the patio in long, easy strides.
She sat up and waited for him to return with their food. She stared at the ground, deciding that instead of choosing one of her million thoughts to obsess over, she would watch the grass grow.
"Here you go," he said smiling and handed her burger to her.
She took it and before she had taken even one bite, Jacob had finished his.
"You gonna eat that?" he asked muffled, mouth full of bread and meat, sauce trickling down his chin.
"Help yourself," she handed it back, suddenly not hungry.
The afternoon carried on much the same. Every so often Charlie would make them burgers or hot dogs or steaks and every time Jacob would eat them both. A burst of laughter would erupt from Charlie's friends at something that had been said. Sue and the other woman chatted away in the background, watching their men with both pride and displeasure. Leah was inseparable from her phone. Billy noticed at one point how Jacob was monopolising the food and threatened to roll over him.
Bella and Jacob remained at the safe distance in the middle of the grass. It was still damp despite the sunshine and no one else wanted to sit with them. It suited them fine, giving them a chance to talk about private matters.
"So how are things with the pack?" she spoke in a low voice so no one else would hear.
"Still quiet," Jacob mused. "Everything sorta settled down after that redhead took off. We still don't know what she came here for."
"Weird," Bella said simply.
"Quil phased last week," Jake continued. "We've mostly been focussed on introducing him to our ways. Can you believe he's actually excited he changed?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, says he's happy to finally be in the loop again," he shrugged, clearly at a loss. "None of us understand it. It's not much of an inside joke."
"Well maybe he's just siked about having superpowers," Bella offered, keeping her eyes away from him.
"Whatever."
As time went on the clouds started to reappear in the sky. The garden darkened and a light drizzle began to fall. Everyone packed up their things and headed inside. In the kitchen, Bella helped Charlie load dishes into the dishwasher and made small talk with one of the women whose name she didn't know. She and Jake were about to head up to her room when a balding, middle-aged man with a thick neck grabbed hold of her.
"Hold up, let me get a good look at you," he said in a friendly tone.
"Bella, this is Frank, a friend of mine from work," Charlie explained. "You used to have play dates with his daughter, remember?"
"Yeah, absolutely." She didn't.
"Wow, look at you, all grown up," he beamed. "I hear your graduating soon?"
"Next week," Bella answered. She and Jacob shared a look that all teenagers did when it was the grown-ups making shows of themselves.
"Unbelievable," he laughed. "Hey, Charlie, you remember when we took little Bella and Katie swimming? That seems like yesterday! It's depressing," but he still smiled.
"Yep, we're getting old, my friend," Charlie spoke while popping the top off a beer.
"Something for you to look forward to," he said to them both, only half joking.
"Indeed," Bella mumbled to herself as she walked away.
A week after Charlie Swan threw a barbeque for his friends a man named Alan Parker dropped dead.
His pale, drained body slumped to the floor at the feet of a beautiful redhead he'd dared to believe was attracted to him. She laughed. Her mother, a distant memory in the depths of her human mind, had told her once never to play with her food. Fuck you, Mom. She liked to toy with them.
Victoria walked confidently back towards the bar, wiping the last drops of blood from her lips. She swayed her hips more than necessary and tossed her hair. Something about having hot, undiluted blood coursing through her made her feel sexy and wild. James had always loved it after she fed, unable to take his eyes off her movements, unable to keep his hands to himself. She smiled thinking about him and what she was going to do for him, sure she had only a little while longer to wait.
She froze, realising she had lost track of time.
She noticed a man leaning against the outside wall of the bar. He was alone, bottle in hand, and slightly drunk. He winked at her and she threw him a flirtatious smile. She approached him, still wearing the smile, and acted coy and enticing like human girls did.
"Excuse me," she asked softly. A wicked smile crossed his face, believing he was getting more than what he would. "You wouldn't happen to have the date, would you?"
He frowned and almost laughed at her, unsure of what to make of such an obscure question. "It's the 18th."
She grinned wildly to herself, snapped the man's neck with one hand, and began to run. It was time to return to Forks.
Bella fidgeted anxiously in the abandoned warehouse, waiting for her companion to arrive, the usual thoughts consuming her once again. It had been months since she'd last seen Victoria. Since that fateful night they'd made their deal. Now, the time had come.
Victoria had wanted to do it there and then, but Bella had insisted they wait till after graduation. After all, she wasn't trying to hurt everyone with this. Charlie didn't need to be putting up 'Missing Girl' fliers; her mom didn't need to think her daughter was dead.
She had strewn together a delicate web of lies to convince everyone she was going to college. She had even forged the acceptance letter. She'd gone to a lot of trouble to ensure minimal collateral damage and was impressed with her success.
Of course, that didn't mean she was without her concerns. Least of all, getting caught.
She had realised a few days after striking the deal that with the decision having been made well in advance, there was no way Alice couldn't see it. Everyday for five months she had jumped every time the phone rang or there was a knock at the door, fearing that on the other side would be a Cullen deciding what was best for her.
Nerve of some people. She'd carried on nonetheless, making a point every day to think about what she was letting herself in for, daring them to come give her a condescending piece of advice. They never did.
It helped though, thinking it through so many times. She couldn't count how often she'd thought about backing out. After all, what was she turning for? Revenge? That would - she knew deep down - be unsatisfying and over all too soon. What then? What else was she planning to do with the rest of eternity?
The truth was, she didn't know. And much less cared. She figured she didn't need to make all her decisions in a hurry considering there was hardly a rush. She'd have plenty of time.
No, her reason for doing this was simple. She wanted to. She'd wanted to be changed ever since she first met… him, and still wanted it. And if it hurt him half as much as he'd hurt her, well that was a bonus.
Sick of thinking, she made her way over to the window, peering out into the empty distance between her and civilization where screams couldn't reach, wandering what was taking so long.
"Bella," she heard a voice behind her, turned, and standing before her was Victoria.
The two women eyed each other cautiously for a moment, gauging in their minds how well they believed they could trust their companion. It was awkward, of course, but after a few minutes their nerves settled, knowing that they both shared far more in common than either of them admitted. Victoria spoke first.
"You ready to do this?" she asked, her voice heavy with the weight of that question.
After one last moment of silent contemplation, thoughts and fears running wildly through her head and then quietening, Bella took one strong step forward and looked her dead in the eye. "Hell yeah."