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When I walked out about an hour later, I looked in the full length mirror and suppressed the human urge to gasp. Sarah stood off to the side, smiling. My hair was beautiful and it was as if I'd gotten it done professionally. I was also wearing a pale blue sundress that was soft to the touch. Under my dress, she'd bought me lingerie, kind of. It was a pair of matching lace white bra and panties. She'd said it was to reassure me that it was okay to feel younger sometimes and that I was still the same me. I had woven heels on, that I actually…liked. I wouldn't have liked them as a human though, and I knew that. But, these were plain and simple, and didn't attract too much attention. I turned and looked at Sarah, who was smiling.
"You look beautiful." She said softly, "Let's go show Jeremy and Marshall."
She walked forward and took my hand, before leading me downstairs. I paused at the bottom, not wanting to walk around the corner where they could see me. What if they didn't like it?! I bit my lip.
"Come on out, Anna." Jeremy said, "Let us see."
I slowly, took timid steps out, and Jeremy's eyes widened,
"Wow." Marshall said, taking my hand, he gave me a twirl, and I laughed softly, "You look beautiful, Anna."
I smiled, "Really?"
"Definitely." Jeremy said, pulling me into his arms.
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Edward
"I can't look into her future, Edward. I don't know her as she is, now, and I've never met her in vampire form." Alice said sadly.
I ran my hands over my face, "My God, all of this is my entire fault."
"That's not true." Rose said, from the side of the room, surprising all of us. She'd been silent since Jacob had dropped what had happened to Bella while she was being held, "We all had a part in this."
"There's a video." Esme said, softly from where she was sitting next to Carlisle on the love seat. Jasper sat forward, and Emmett clasped Rose's hand tightly.
"A video?" I rasped.
"Yes." Esme said, giving me a sad look, "It's an interview the press had with another girl about a year ago…Her name's Skylar."
I closed my eyes and nodded, and Esme pressed the 'play' button.
"Miss Sutton, is it true that you were a victim of the same violent crime that took Isabella Swan's life?"
"Yes." Skylar whispered, "I was."
"And you're willing to open up to us about some of the things you bore witness to?" A female voice asked.
"Yes. People deserve to know what happened in those woods."
"We're ready when you are."
"From the beginning?"
"All that you're comfortable with."
Skylar must have nodded, then she began, "Well…three years, four months ago, I was walking home from a night out with a few friends of mine, and I…kept feeling like someone was following me." She stuttered for a moment, "A couple horror movie scenes later, I woke up…somewhere damp and dark…It was cold, and I was chained to a cement wall. I'd thought I was alone at first, but there was another girl there. She had long brown hair and kind eyes, I could barely see her. I was afraid of her at first, but she was so sweet and gentle…but so sad it seemed, to see me. She told me…that she'd been there for four months, and she was…in bad shape. She was my friend." Skylar's voice cracked, "She protected me. One of the times they came for me, she screamed at them to leave me alone, and when they didn't, she took a stone from the floor and threw it at the leaders' head. They took her. I couldn't figure out for the life of me, why she didn't try to run as they dragged her out of the cell, I still have yet to forgive myself."
"Is that when she died?" A reported asked, quietly.
"No." Skylar croaked, "No. But, I wish she had, she would have been better off. But, she'd promised me she would stick around for me. They brought her back a few hours later, and I knew when the lights clicked on, that it was bad. They always turned the lights on when they were leaving us to treat each other. They threw her back in, and she simply cried, she couldn't even stand. I asked her later, why she hadn't tried to run, and she'd laughed, which scared me more than her tears did. She said that the first time she'd tried to run, they'd caught her and broken her ankle, whipped her, then proceeded to burn her over and over again with different implements. I could see in the light that she was downplaying it, there were so many more scars than she was explaining."
"Why did they take you in the first place?"
Skylar made a small humming noise, "I don't really know. They kept asking about…vampires of all things."
"Vampires." One of the reports scoffed.
"Later…" Skylar continued, "We found out Bella was pregnant. We lived in that cell…a 10x10 foot cell. At least once every two days we were either raped or beaten. She even gave birth there, bearing one of their children…Bella lost it when they tried to take Sierra and she managed to knock our guard out. She made us run…Sierra and I, telling us that she was going to distract them. I know they probably killed her not long after, she was sick and didn't serve a 'use' anymore. Every day since I've contemplated killing myself because of the guilt and self-hate, but taking care of Sierra will always be my first priority. I owe Bella everything, and bringing up her beautiful daughter and giving her the life her mother deserved is the best I can do when it comes to paying her back for what she did. I made it to town as quickly as I could, but I was hurt, I had a baby, and…although I didn't know it at the time, I was two months pregnant. It took me a month. I found police when I was able, her dad was one of them…I don't think I'll ever forget the horror on his face when he saw me and I told him that I knew his daughter. He practically adopted me after that, told me that it was what Bella would have wanted. He's helped me to raise both Sierra and my son. I think he sees Bella in Sierra. God…" Skylar began to cry more earnestly, "There were so many pictures of her in that house, from when she was kid up until she was taken…It was so…uncomfortable seeing the way she had been before they hurt her. God…" Then, she was crying too hard to continue.
The sound of a door opened, then Charlie was there, "That's enough." Then, the video ended.
Esme shut the computer, and there was dead silence in the room. Rose ran from the living room, and Emmett ran after her just as quickly. Alice was crying in Jasper's lap and Carlisle was frozen in his spot. I didn't think there was a time in my life where I wanted to die more than I did in that moment. I got up and left, I had to do something, anything, to ease at least some of the pain.
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Bella P.O.V
"You're awfully beautiful to be hanging out here, alone." I heard behind me. I went still, and listened more closely to the three men walking up behind me on the pier. I'd come to stand at the end, wanting to escape some of the crowd. I sighed, and didn't reply.
"Why don't you come hang out with us?" One of them asked, and I closed my eyes for a moment, "We're only here for the weekend. No strings attached."
I turned to see that they were effectively blocking the path back to land. Although it could have been perceived as casual, I knew that it was anything but. Fear nagged at my insides, a deep, not so forgotten terror.
"Leave me alone." I whispered.
"Oh, don't say that. You're such a pretty little thing, we could really spice up your night."
"I'm a great admirer of pretty little things." The other said, and I flinched. Why was I so afraid? I was a vampire! A vampire! And, I was afraid…It wasn't fair. Tears that wouldn't fall, filled my eyes, but I forced them back. I tried to walk past the men, but one caught at my hair, and yanked me back. I may not be human, but that was one thing that still hurt. One grasped at me and fondled my breast. I clawed at him, cutting his face with my nails, and a second later, he lunged at me. Before he made it though, he was suddenly thrown to the ground, hard enough for the wood to splinter, and for him to fall unconscious as his head struck the floor. Suddenly, I caught sight of a very enraged Jeremy and Marshall.
"Let. Her. Go." Jeremy said in a voice that was calm…but deadly enough to cut through air.
"And who the fuck are you?" The one still holding my hair asked.
"Dude…" The other said, staring at his friend that Marshall had thrown to the ground.
"She just so happens to be my little girl." Marshall snarled, "And I advise you do as he said, and get your hands off of her, before I decide to take you for a little swim and drown you. I get the feeling no one would miss you."
"And what makes you so sure that you could take me?" The man asked. He was probably around the age of forty. Marshall was a strong man, and if he had been human, they would have been pretty evenly matched. I heard a click as a gun was cocked behind me. I squeezed my hands into fists. Although a gun would be far from taking Jeremy or Marshall down, it was enough to raise the familiar protective streak in me. I swung around and elbowed the man holding me, much to his surprise and he stumbled back.
"You worthless little whore." He muttered, and I froze. Why did it have to be those words? Fury darkened Jeremy's gaze, and I knew he remembered my telling him what my former captors had called me. He grabbed the man by his throat and although the gun went off, Jeremy didn't falter. True fear filled the other man's eyes as Jeremy chucked him over the edge of the pier and jumped in after him to finish the job.
Marshall picked up the gun that the other two men in the heads before the one could wake and the one staring in open mouthed shock, could make a commotion.
I was still frozen in place, and a sob shook me as Marshall took a couple steps towards me.
"Anna…" He said softly, "Sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you."
I began to shake my head, then Sarah was there, "Anna…" She murmured. I heard a gurgling noise in the distance as Jeremy drowned the other man, and that was the last straw. I spun and jumped over the other banister and into the water to the sound of Marshall yelling my name. I stayed beneath the water, forcing myself to the bottom, then began to swim as fast and as hard as I could.
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….oh no. Cliff hanger! I'm so sorry. Anyways, I know it's been a while since an update, so I thought I would give you TWO chapters, to read.(; Let me know what you thought?
-Dreamer
