Chapter 3: Actors on stages
Walking back upstairs I took a duffel bag and filled it with everything that wasn't mine and no one would notice if it wasn't there. A stack of leather bound diaries, a wooden chest filled with money, Alison's cell phone, my cell phone, a ton of prepaid cards for the phone, Ali's laptop, a couple fake ID's, a blond wig, some clothes and driver's licenses. I put a pair of sneakers on, called Newton's, got the answering machine, muttered 'help' leaving the phone open just outside Alison's reach and ran out the front door.
The street was empty so I pushed the knife once more in the wound in my elbow and let it make a trail to Charlie's cruiser where I hid it in the trunk. I ran without looking back at the small house to the Cullen house making sure to not trip, fall or scrape my knees on the hard forest ground. I was breathless as I reached it but didn't stop. Esme had shown me over the summer where they put the key when they leave so I unlocked the door and headed straight for the Rosalie's bathroom, the only room in the whole house that held zero memories, good or bad.
I showered, washing my body thoroughly until all trails of blood, sweat and mud were gone. After wrapping my body in a large towel i headed to Carlisle's office and grabbed the first aid kit he kept there for when I came over. Quickly I disinfected my wound and patched it up setting everything I used to do so in the same small glass ashtray he had and set it all on fire along with the plastic gloves I still wore.
I got dressed in Ali's clothes and took the ashtray with me. A cursory glance in their garage showed me that Edward's special occasion car was still there. Next to it though was another car that held no memories. A metallic, dark brown cabriolet, Mercedes SLS Roadster.
I sat behind the wheel, put on a pair of large sunglasses and the wig, closed the hood and left. As I passed the welcoming sign I saw a black van with the words 'medical examiner' on the side coming from the opposite direction followed closely by two more cruisers with the words 'state police' on the side.
I smiled. Ding dong, Isabella Marie Swan is dead.
I drove nonstop for almost a day before I stopped in North Dakota, finally admitting to myself where I was going. my first job was to find a motel, where I signed as A. O'brian and fall asleep immediately. I woke up as night fell and turned on the laptop. The online version of Forks Daily had the breaking news of my death and that my father was the prime suspect.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold. Ice cold"
I filled the car with gas, bought food and hit the road again. A day, limitless amount of coffee and junk food later I arrived in a motel a few miles outside of Rosewood. The motel was far away from the highway and reminded me strongly of the motel in Psycho. The clerk couldn't look more like Norman Bates if he tried.
On a whim I checked under a different name, Olivia Caine, mixing two of my favorite cop shows together. i opted not to take a shower in the creepy hotel during the rainy night as I never wished i were Mia Farrow and fell asleep in minutes. Next day was thankfully much less rainy but the creepy owner of the motel looked extra grim and alarmed.
"good morning"
"Your friends just left. You can still catch them Miss Darkbloom"
I blinked. Darkbloom? Isn't that the alias Alison used before she faked her death?
"Thank you"
I handed him a fifty dollar tip and got in my car. He was right. Only a few feet in front of me was a large black SUV that remained in front of me until we reached Rosewood. Good thing I didn't know the road!
Rosewood smelled like lilacs and mown grass in the summer and clean snow and wood stoves in the winter. It was full of lush, tall pines, acres of rustic family-run farms, and I even saw foxes and bunnies on small farms before entering the city. It had fabulous shopping and Colonial-era estates and parks for various parties.
The classic black car with the faded red lines drove through the picturesque small town and headed to a long road. It stopped and a girl with long black hair and a pair large sunglasses got out of the car after kissing the man in the cop uniform and walked with a cane away.
I waited till the cop drove away before I drove down the same road and stopped outside a half demolished house. I got out of the car hoping my hair would cover my face and run to the door. The extra key was placed typically under the doormat.
"Seriously?"
I unlocked the door and got in. the house was big, fully furnished and half ruined.
"What happened in here?"
On the ground was a broken picture frame, it looked as if someone had stepped on it. It featured a blond little girl, a blondish teenage boy and a set of parents. The mother was hugging the boy close and the father held Alison tightly in a hug. I felt tears sliding down my cheeks at the blissfully happy and carefree expression on kids' faces and the carefully placed smiles on the parents'. This photo had obviously been taken before hell broke loose.
"Don't move"
A cold voice commanded from behind me. Shit! I took a deep breath and turned slowly on my heels. a guy in his early twenties was staring me down holding a shovel in his raised arms. he gasped
"Ali?"
"Not exactly"
I took a step backwards and in true Bella fashion the floor gave away and I found myself sat on my butt over some broken pieces of wood. the guy lowered the shovel and knelt in front of me
"Alison?"
He repeated. I shook my head again as he tentavely extended a hand to touch my shoulder, as if to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"I'm sorry, I'm not Alison"
I said softly and this time he seemed to hear me
"Who... who are you?"
"I'm Bella. I'm Alison's sister"
"Bullshit"
he took a breath to calm himself
"Alison doesn't have a sister"
He insisted. I felt a chuckle building on my lips.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree"
"Listen ail, you played you laughed. Enough is enough now"
he shouted. I rolled my eyes mentally and opened my purse to retrieve a photo of me and Alison taken in a park in Phoenix when we first met. I handed it to him wordlessly and watched his face as a myriad of emotions played on it. His green eyes traveled from the photo to me and back to the photo.
"When was this taken?"
He said lowly
"When I first met Ali back in spring"
"she was dead in spring"
"No she wasn't"
"She's alive?"
he asked hopefully. A few tears streaked down my eyes as i replied
"No, I'm sorry. She died three days ago"
"How?"
His tone was rough.
"My father killed her"
his whole demeanor changed. His eyes hardened and his shoulders were pushed back. I slid backwards suddenly afraid I'd join Ali in the afterlife.
"Did he pay for it?"
a slow Ali worthy smirk found its way on my lips and I nodded
"He does as we speak"
"Good"
He said coldly before his shoulders sagged and he visibly calmed.
"How... who... why.."
"I found out about Ali from herself, she found me back in the spring when I was in phoenix. I asked my mother about it and told me she had an affair with Ali's dad, he took Ali and she kept me."
"so... Ali's not my sister?"
he said disbelievingly. I shrugged and shook my head.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Jason, Alison's not brother"
Open mouth. Insert foot.
"You look just like her"
He asked me a few minutes later as we sat in kitchen that was in a much better state than the rest of the ground floor
"i had just woken up from a light coma when I first saw her. i thought i had died"
i chuckled and surprisingly enough he joined me, even though he still looked freaked out.
"They found her body though"
"They found a body. Alison told me she had faked her death"
"Why?"
"She was tormented and believed it was the best way for her to run away"
"Ali was being tormented? are you sure she didn't do the tormenting?"
he scoffed. I rested my elbows on the table and held my head in my palms
"What do you know about –A-?"