Rene Mai: I don't know if you're still reading this, but yes. Diana is very uncomfortable in her own skin and because of her mother, she has a very low sense of self-esteem. Her relationship with Aro is going to be interesting, to say the least.
ZeeWee: Thank you for reviewing. I really like Jax and his attitude, too.
Guest: Mm, maybe not, as this chapter says. Yes, Aro is a hot mess and it's about to get messier, just read.
MugglebornPrincesa: I am SO sorry. I'm not abandoning this story or anything scary like that and I DEFINITELY didn't mean to wait SEVEN DAMN MONTHS to update! I agree, though. I watched the movies for the first time, when I was sick for four days straight, with the flu and fell in love with him. He was my favorite out of everybody. I hope you're still reading.
A/N: On a note to all readers, whether you review or not, I am so sorry. I never expected to up and do something so stupid as waiting seven months to update, especially when I've had this chapter written since December. I completely forgot and got distracting and all sorts of annoying things, but I promise, it WON"T happen again. Please enjoy, and if you have any ideas for reactions, go a head and review. (Please review anyway, it makes me feel guilty for waiting so long to update.)
Hope everyone enjoys,
MaNY1001
Chapter 4: The Fire at Forks, Washington
"Minny! Diana!" My head turned as soon as I heard our names. So did Minny's.
"Uncle Charlie!" She darted across the airport faster than seemed humanly possible and tackled a dark-haired man in a tight hug. I threw Jax a look, but he shrugged. I sighed, following her sister, but at a slower rate.
"Wow! I haven't seen you since you were the size of a loaf of bread!" I smiled faintly at his analogy.
Minny giggled. "I don't actually remember you, but Mom says your super nice." I resisted the urge to chuckle, but Jax didn't mind doing it out loud, drawing attention to us.
"Diana? You've grown so much!" He released Minny, only to wrap his arms around me in a nice bear hug.
"Hey, Uncle Charlie, it's been a long time." I murmured, giving him a half hug, so he'd be satisfied and let me go.
"It sure has. Oh, I've missed seeing you dog Bella's ever step!"
I finally smiled, pulling up the memories from the times I'd visited Fork with Bella and Mom. "Yeah, she never did care for that. How is she, I heard she got married?"
Charlie nodded, grabbing mine and Minny's bags—much to her consternation. "Yep, one of the Cullens."
Minny's attention from the conversation she was having with Jax. "Really?" The sly look she got in her eyes made me realize why she'd suddenly wanted to get into contact with Uncle Charlie. Uncle Charlie stated to go into detail about Bella and her new in-laws, Minny and Jax hanging on to his every word, as we left the airport.
"Minerva Angel, you are in deep shit girl." I muttered to myself. She suddenly threw me a confused look, though I knew my voice had been to low for her to hear, if she'd been human. I shrugged. "I'll explain later, Minx." She shrugged in return and we started for our new home…For the next six months anyway.
"Well, there you go. You two get this one and Jax can have that one." I nodded my thanks as Minny bounded into the room and onto the bed at an inappropriate vampirical speed.
"I love it!" I would have frowned, except Uncle Charlie didn't seem to mind, or notice. He simply nodded.
"You guys get settled. I'll call you when it's dinner time, what you feel about pizza."
"Hell yeah!" Minny exclaimed. "I love pizza!"
Jax's face suddenly took on a very confused look, but I just shook my head. "Ask her later," I murmured, before nodding my agreement. "Pizza sounds good, Uncle Charlie."
He nodded, "Well, then, I'll go call," and was gone. I knew Jax would need to talk to Minny about hunting, and how he was now aware that she was obsessed with eating human food, so I turned from both, heading down the hall. "I call the bathroom for the next hour. Don't knock or bother me unless the house is burning down."
As soon as I was in the bathroom, I locked the door, set my purse on the counter, stripped, and got into the tub. The water was so hot I probably would have melted, except that was the way I liked it. I plugged the drain and let the steaming water shower down on me, while filling up the tub at the same time. I took off the gauze covering my palms and let my new scabs soak in the heat, knowing, sooner or later, I was going to break them and make them bleed, again.
"I need to find a new way to manage my stress." I muttered to myself. Instead of answer—myself, which is unhealthy—I slipped down, dipping my head under the now full tub. The water burned my face and eyes, but I held my breath, laying there anyway. I watched my wild hair float around me like a demonic mermaid for a long time, before my lungs finally started to burn.
I came up just as Uncle Charlie knocked on the door. "Diana, Minny and your friend Jax are going to explore the town, do you want to go?"
I chuckled softly. They're going to hunt, undoubtedly, and that wasn't anything I wanted to see. Besides, I was warm, comfortable, and didn't plan to get out until I was a wrinkled as a prune. "No thank you!" I answer, "I think I'll stay here until the pizza arrives."
I heard him laugh. "Alright, but—" He cut off as his phone rang. "Gotta take this, be down stairs." I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the back of the bathtub, not even cracking a lid when Uncle Charlies called up the stairs. "Something's up, Diana! I have to go, but I left the money for the pizza on the kitchen table!"
"Okay!"
I laid there for freaking ever. My skin was beginning to wrinkle and unfortunately, the water was starting to get cold. I took a deep breath, only to choke and start coughing. I sat up, only to slip and splash back into the water, which made me cough even more.
When I finally managed to get up again, I started to notice the room looked a little foggy, and I don't mean hot bathroom, shower-mist on the mirror foggy, smoky foggy. I stood up and wrapped a towel around me, but when I touched the doorknob, it was warm…really warm.
With a curse that probably would have gotten me cuffed by Mom, I dumped my old clothes in the water still in the bathtub, then pulling them on, I drenched the towel. Making sure to grab my phone, I crouched down and opened the door.
The heat inside the bathroom was nothing compared to the heat in the hall. It was an inferno! Already I began gasping and choking, but holding the towel to my face, I tried to crawl my way to the stairs. The great waves of black smoke made it difficult to see and my eyes were blurred with hot tears.
As I was moving I heard a cry of anger, then followed by the words Aro has abandoned us! He will pay for this, as will all the Olympic Coven!
Oh, Hell! NO! Not now! The voices were followed by angry shrieks and more words I didn't understand. I pushed aside the strange voices, but by the time I made it to our room, my vision was starting to waver as things that weren't there and weren't real, began to take the place of the burning hours I was in. Forcing myself to push it away, I looked down the hall at the stairs, I could see the enormous orange flames leaping up from the downstairs. Making a split-second decision, I crawled into our room, shut the door, then stuffed my wet towel against the crack at the bottom.
Coughing, eyes burning like hell, I quickly crawled to the window and threw it open. I gasped, desperate for clean air. When I threw open the window, the people standing around the house, desperate but that didn't know what to do, cheered. I recognized Minny and Jax, who was holding her back with all his strength, Uncle Charlie and Bella, the rest were unfamiliar to me.
"Diana! Diana!" The voices and images were as clear as day now, but underneath them, I heard the eerie groaning and felt the shifting of the house. Knowing it was going to go down in seconds, I leapt onto the window sill.
I was halfway out when the images and voices vanished, Minny's scream split the hot night air, and the house began to fall, taking me with it.