Disclaimer- Sure, I might have dreams about owning it, but I am afraid these dreams are not reality.
Chapter Seven
-Who was it?-
I felt fear grip me as I looked at the spot where the blur had been. I could tell Edward was currently having an inner battle with himself. I didn't need to ask him to know what it was about. He was trying to decide if he should chase after the vampire or risk leaving me alone. After a couple of seconds, it seemed he made up his mind.
"Stay here." He commanded. I nodded, too shocked to do much else. He probably figured I would be in danger anyway if he let whoever it was get away. In the blink of an eye he rose to his feet and took off in the direction the blur had gone.
In my head, I was reminded of what I was told when I had watched the Cullens play baseball. Edward was the fastest out of the family. I hoped this person, whoever it was, wasn't faster. It wouldn't be good if he was, that was for sure.
By now, I could feel my heart beating against my chest. It was beating so loud I was afraid it would burst out of my chest. I was sure everyone in a mile radius could hear it.
Once again I wondered why this scared me so much. I recalled other life-threatening incidents I had gone through at other times and couldn't help but wonder what made me so afraid of this one. Once again the possibility that it was because he looked so much like Edward appeared in my mind. It would certainly be horrible to be killed by the one I loved, that was for sure.
No! I scolded myself Edward would never hurt me! This imposter is making me think crazy! Yes, that was an understatement. It was especially horrible because I was still trying to get over when Edward had left me for my 'own good.'
Now, don't get me wrong. I still loved Edward so much it hurt, but the nagging voice in the back of my mind liked to appear at times like this. It always reminded me that he had left, and could leave again if he really wanted to. Of course, he had told me many times he would never do that again, but a girl couldn't help but wonder at times.
I sat there, absorbed in my thoughts, for what seemed like forever. Time seemed to be going especially slow as fear for Edward's safety came to my mind. Suddenly, I knew why he had been acting the way he did when he was so worried about me. After all, I was feeling the same fear at the moment. The many possibilities of what could happen appeared in my mind and increased my dread.
Even though it couldn't have been more than a couple minutes, it felt like it had been hours as Edward stepped out of the trees. I was instantly met with a wave of relief. He's okay! I thought happily. What happened next seemed to happen in the time span of a second.
Our eyes met and I knew at once it wasn't Edward. He jumped, obviously to attack me, but then another blur jumped on him and was quickly followed by a second blur. Obviously, everyone in this meadow besides me where vampires to be going so fast.
Then, another blur appeared. It seemed someone else had arrived. They where all going so fast that I couldn't tell what was going on. I wish I could tell what was going on, or at least identify who all the blurs where. I couldn't tell if we where outnumbered, or if we where doing the outnumbering, or if there was an even number of both groups.
I mentally cursed my human senses. If I was a vampire at least I would have been able to tell what was going on, or have been able to defend myself. Still, no matter how much I wanted to be a vampire, I wasn't and I didn't think that would change any time soon.
So, being the human that I am, I watched powerlessly as a battle occurred. I only knew of one of the blurs to be the imposter. I figured my Edward was probably fighting as well. Still, I couldn't tell who the others where. I felt fear well up inside me, more prominent than ever. The odd thing was that it wasn't me I was scared for, but Edward.
I didn't have to think about it to know Edward was probably as worried about me as I was about him. Even with what was happening, I could almost laugh at this. We where both more worried about each other than our own lives.
I desperately wished I could somehow help Edward, but I knew I would only get in the way if I tried. As I watched the fight take place with wide eyes I couldn't help but wonder where the rest of the Cullens were.
As if called by my thoughts, I saw the shape of Carlisle step out of the woods and into the clearing. He was quickly followed by four others that I just made out to be Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Esme.
It seemed the other vampires seemed to notice this as well. Two of them broke free from the fighting and ran, leaving just two vampires left. One that was left was, of course, Edward, but the other one surprised me.
Rosalie was standing there, looking very beat up from the fight that had taken place. I almost felt my jaw drop to the ground. Rosalie had been fighting to help protect me! Since when did she help to protect me? I knew she had been feeling guilty about the whole Italy thing where she had told Edward that I had 'died', but I didn't know she felt as guilty as to help protect me.
I watched, still in shock, as Edward looked as if he was about to chase after the two other vampires again. Carlisle stopped him, though. Alice, seeing me, ran over to me and was beside me in the blink of an eye.
"Bella!" She exclaimed, wrapping me in a tight hug "I was afraid we wouldn't get here in time!" After she spoke, she broke the hug. I gave her a small smile, silently reassuring her I was okay.
I looked over Alice's shoulder and saw that Edward and Carlisle seemed to be having an argument. I couldn't tell what was being said because they where both speaking too fast for human ears, making a low humming sound. I heard a small gasp emanate from the vampires around me as Edward said something that Rosalie seemed to agree with. I figured it had to do with the two vampires that we had just encountered.
"They are saying Victoria was one of the vampires fighting." Alice mumbled in my ear, obviously seeing my confusion. I nodded my thanks and continued to try and hear what the others where saying without much success.
"There are others, they just were not with them at the time. Edward saw it in their minds." Alice mumbled again. I was a little shock about this.
"How many more?" I asked, almost dreading the answer. My voice was a whisper as well, so I wouldn't disturb the other vampires that were continuing to discuss something.
Alice shrugged in response, showing that she didn't know. The thought worried me. What if there where a lot more? Surely the Cullens wouldn't be able to take on a lot of vampires at once.
You know, they are doing this for you. A voice in the back of my mind said. I thought immediately sent a pang of dread through me. That's right, they where doing this on my behalf. If it were not for me they probably wouldn't have to worry about any of this.
I let out a small sigh, suddenly feeling very guilty. Once again I was the weak, fragile human that everyone had to protect. Didn't they realize that by doing this they where putting themselves in danger as well? And they said I didn't have any sense of self-preservation.
"They are talking about what they should do." Alice said, breaking me from my thoughts. From the look on her face, she had guessed what I was thinking about. She didn't seem to pleased about it, either, but she kept her mouth shut.
Once again I tried to pick up on what they where saying, but couldn't. I felt myself become frustrated. Why couldn't vampires talk slower? A small frown crossed my face, but it went unnoticed by everyone except Alice who was right beside me.
"Don't worry, it will be okay." Alice said. I knew she meant to comfort me, but her words didn't bring any comfort. I was too worried for them to bring me much comfort. I could practically feel the worry rolling off of me. As I looked at the vampires once more, I could tell that Jasper was feeling me emotions. I could tell because he was acting a little fidgety. I felt a wave of calm overcome me and mentally thanked Jasper.
Then, the vampires voices stopped, showing they where done with their conversation. I looked up at Alice, confused at what they had talked about. She shook her head in a way that I got what she meant. Edward would tell me when we were alone.
It was then that Edward came over to my side, a pained expression on his angelic face. I wished desperately that I could do something to take away his worry, but there wasn't much I could do right now. I knew that. I noticed that as Edward came to my side Alice left me and walked back over to her family who where now murmuring to each other.
"Bella…" His voice expressed his worry. I once again felt the urge to do something to take away his worry. It was to bad I was the cause of it. He looked like he was going to say something else, but stopped himself. He seemed to struggle with something to say before speaking again.
"Lets take you home." He finally said. I noticed he seemed to be averting my eyes as he said this. I simply nodded. I was still kind of in shock from everything that was happening. I guess that was only to be expected, but still…
I let him situate me on his back so he could carry me while he was running, then we were off. I had just enough time to close my eyes before everything began whirling past me. I noticed right before I closed my eyes that everyone else looked like they where about to run, too. It looked as if we were going to have an escort.
Once again I felt a pang of dread run through me. The voice in the back of my mind once again reminded me that they where doing this for me and that they wouldn't have to if it weren't for me. It was a good thing Edward couldn't read my mind, because he certainly wouldn't like my thoughts, that was for sure.
When we stopped, I found myself beside his Volvo. He set me back on the ground and opened the door for me. I got in, making sure to be careful as I did so.
As he drove us back to my house the silence seemed deafening. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what, especially after what had just taken place. I kept looking at Edward out of the corner of my eye. He didn't look like he was in the best condition after the fight he had just taken place in. I knew he would be okay, he was a vampire after all, but I was still a little worried about him.
We got to my house and up to my room. We both sat down on my bed and I leaned over and buried my head in my chest. It was then that all the pent up emotions from day seemed to burst. I felt tears appear in my eyes and make his shirt wet as I cried into it. Immediately concerned, he gently lifted my head from his shirt and looked into my eyes.
"Bella, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Concern and worry was very apparent in his voice as he looked at my eyes, as if looking for any sign that would tell him what was wrong.
"I was so worried…" I managed to say through my tears. The statement was extremely truthful I had been so scared for Edward's safety. If he was gone I didn't know what I would do.
"Bella, you didn't have to worry. I wouldn't let them get to you." He replied, obviously thinking that when I said it I meant I had been worried for my own life. I was quick to correct him.
"No, I though I was going to loose you…" I said through my tears. No matter how over-protective he could be, I still loved him so much it hurt. This statement seemed to stun him.
"Bella…" He said, a little shock in his voice. I felt the tears run freely and felt him pull me closer to my chest. We sat like that for a while. After a while I stopped crying and looked back up at him.
"Edward?" I asked to get his attention. My voice was a little weak from the crying I had done.
"Yes?" He asked immediately. I paused for a moment, not sure if he really wanted to talk about the subject but wanting to know at the same time.
"What did you and your family talk about? Alice told me a little bit, but she didn't tell me everything." I finally said. His face hardened for a moment, but he replied.
"The person who has been trying to impersonate me recently was a vampire. He has the ability to shape-shift, but when he does it, it takes about a day for him to completely transform into whomever he is trying to impersonate. Victoria got him to work with her." He said. I could tell there was more he was more he wasn't telling me. Determined to know everything, I spoke.
"And?" I questioned. I wanted to know everything about this. After all, it seemed to involve me a lot more than I had originally thought. He paused for a moment, as if wondering if he should tell me, but he must of decided it would be better to.
"He thought it was a game." Edward's voice was filled with hatred for the vampire that had impersonated him "When he agreed to try and" Edward paused, not liking what he was about to say "and kill you he thought it would be fun to play. He wanted to see if you would guess it wasn't me. Then, he would kill you. If you wouldn't of fallen out of the car that day, you would of died. He had planned on taking you into the forest, but other people where in the parking lot when you fell, so he had to bring you to the hospital."
The words sent chills down my spine. It seemed as if, for once, my klutziness had saved me. I knew there was still more Edward wasn't telling me yet, but I decided to leave it at that for tonight. I was already to shaken up. Plus, I was starting to get tired. I felt my eyelids become heavy and soon fell asleep in Edward's chest.
----------------
Well, that's all for this chapter. I hope you liked it. I enjoyed writing it. Sorry if you are a little confused by everything that happened in the chapter, but I did my best. Well, at least things are starting to become a little clearer. It will get better in upcoming chapters, don't worry. I am just getting started. I plan on having a decent amount of chapters still to come. So, until next time!
Yushia-san
