AN: If you're wondering if Bella has a new ringtone every five seconds, the answer is yes.
"Richard, Richard please! I didn't mean for that to happen! Bella just somehow guessed that I had a black eye and then…" Katie pleaded walking home beside Richard. His face was emotionless, completely blank, except his eyes which only had hatred. "Please it wasn't my fault!" Suddenly a hard blow hit her across the cheek. Her eyes started to glaze over with tears. "Please stop!" she begged as another blow hit her in the eye.
"Katie how could you do this to me?" he shouted as she felt to the ground. "After all I've done for you? You betray my trust like that!"
"I'm sorry! I wasn't cheating on you!" she cried as a kick aimed at her ribs struck.
"That's a lie! Being with the best looking guy in school and expecting me not to know what you were doing?"
"He's Bella's boyfriend!"
"Just because she has low standards for the people she dates doesn't mean I do!"
"Richard please!" she begged. "Please, stop," she sobbed. "It wasn't my fault."
"Yes it was, so stop lying! I thought you would've understood that the last time I had to teach you betrayed me."
"Please Richard," she cried out in pain on the ground where he kicked her stomach again. "I'm sorry! I was wrong to talk to him!" A slight smile passed Richard's lips.
"Good Katie, now you understand how I feel. It hurts me to do this much more than you."
"How does it hurt you?" she asked quietly without thinking.
"What did you just say?"
"I, I…"
"You're going to wish that you never said that!"
Bella rested her head against the tree trunk trying to think. Jake draped a long arm around her shoulder.
"It'll be okay Bells," he reassured her.
"No it won't, and if things couldn't get any better there is a pair of vampires coming through town!" He stiffened.
"Human bloodsuckers?" he asked grimly.
"Yes, and we have to sent someone to tell them politely to not hunt in our city. Of course if they're stubborn then we have to not so politely explain that we have a coven of eight and a wolf pack guarding this place." He laughed.
"Not many bloodsuckers try to challenge you then?"
"Except for the Volutri," she sighed. "They're the only ones who could take us."
"Of course my pack would help you guys them out, you know that."
"Are all boys completely obsessed with fighting?"
"Yes! Come on Bella, you can't deny you like a good fight!"
"I can, and I will."
"Still stubborn, some things never change," Jake laughed.
"Funny, after all these years, I still come to you when I'm restless."
"And you're still seventeen and I'm almost an old man."
"Oh shut up Jake!"
"I can't win! I make a remark about how I'm not aging and you are and you explode. Then I make a remark about how I'm aging and how you're not, and you explode again. What do you want me to say?"
"Oh I don't know, just don't talk." He raised his eyebrows, grinning like a manic. "Ughh…You're just as childish as you were years ago."
"Yep, but things were different back then weren't they?"
"I suppose if you want to think of it that way."
"I'm running around but there's no place to hide. I start to talk in my sleep, our souls are divided," her phone rang.
"Hello?" she answered already having the phone open and on.
"Bella."
"Alice?"
"Richard."
"Where?"
"West 1st street." Bella shivered, that was the exact street that she nearly was mugged on.
"I'll get there," Bella promised.
"I'm going to call Edward. He'll want to know."
"Okay, thanks Alice." She clamped the phone shut and stood up.
"Need to be somewhere?" Jake inquired.
"One of my friends is in trouble. I need to get there soon," she sighed.
"Give me a call if we can help." She half smiled at the pack plural but slipped away silently without another word.
"Richard," Katie cried pinned against the wall of an alleyway. "Please stop."
"Not until you learn your lesson," he hissed punching her in the stomach again.
"You'll kill me," she sobbed.
"No, but by the time I'm through you'll wish you were," he shouted slapping her across the face. The realization that he probably would kill her seemed to be becoming more and more obvious to her. Summoning the last of her courage and strength, she emptied her lungs in one single scream that broke the dusk air. Then she clamped her eyes closed and prepared to receive one last blow before losing consciousness.
It never came. Everything became a blur, and happening so fast that she couldn't make sense of it. One second she was pinned above the ground on a wall, the next there was a loud cry, "KATIE!" Then she was sprawled on the ground watching one of the most unbelievable scenes she had ever seen. It was as if she had felt into a horror movie or book. Rain began to beat down on her mangled body, making her sight even more obscured. Richard was staring in disbelief at the pale figure standing in front of her. At first she was sure that person who had knocked Richard off of her was Edward since not many people's skin were that light, but after a second she saw long dark brown hair swaying in the wind. 'No that couldn't be Bella, it can't!' she thought. Richard wasn't only a strong boy, but a linebacker on the football team. There was no way that Bella could've tackled him.
"What are you doing girl?" Richard hissed.
"I warned you, now you will die." Katie gasped, the voice did belong to Bella, but then she banged her head fairly hard. It was possible she was mistaken. "You'll pay for what you did," she screamed and with that she threw herself on Richard. He expected this, although what he didn't expect was the sheer strength behind the attack. The lunge threw him into the wall, causing it to crack and his arm give a sickening crunch. He yelled out in pain and she threw a punch in his stomach that felt being
run over by a semi-truck. Bella continued to throw kicks and punches until he fell to the ground completely unconscious. Katie tried to sit up and instantly noticed he wasn't breathing.
"You…you…killed him…" she gasped staring at Richard's broken body. The bones in his arms and legs jutted out in places that were unnatural. "Bella?" Suddenly she noticed that blood was everywhere and Bella was on her hands and knees, holding her throat as if she was in unconditional pain.
"Katie," she whispered, her voice husky and hoarse. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I…" she groaned. "I think my right leg is broken."
"Right, I'll get you to my father, just give me a minute."
"Are you hurt?" Katie urgently asked. Bella looked up at her and get her a weak smiled and shook head.
"You wouldn't understand."
"What wouldn't I understand? But…I mean…how did you do that?" Bella just shook her head and looked away from the blood. "Bella! At least talk to me!"
"I saved your life, I owe you nothing," Bella responded ignoring the sheer irony of that statement.
"What are you?" Katie breathed. "Please Bella, tell me!"
"That's not for me to tell," Bella sighed.
"What do you mean!" Katie yelled over Bella's cell phone ringing again.
"Hello?...I got here in time…Of course you knew, sorry…What!...No, not now!...No…"
"Bella what's going on?" Katie begged.
"Katie, we have to get out of here, now."
"Why what's going on?"
"Just trust me!" Bella begged.
"Bella!" Edward yelled from his silver Volvo.
"Thank God," Bella sighed.
"What happened? There's blood everywhere," Edward observed running over to his 'girlfriend'.
"Richard attacked Katie; Edward we all need to get out of here, theva-", she stole a glance at Katie before continuing. "The others are coming."
"Come on, I'll drive you two," he suggested.
"No, I can't, I need to run. I can't…I can't take it anymore."
"It's okay Bella, I understand, it's always hard," he reassured. "I'll take her to Carlisle."
"Okay, thanks," she grinned.
"Anytime, love," he smiled crookedly. "Come on Katie, let's get Carlisle to take a look at you. You said you think your leg was broken?" She nodded numbly as he reached under her, supporting her in his arms. "Everything is going to be okay."
"Okay," she sighed in defeat.
"Relax," he ordered. Bella followed behind him as he strapped her in the back seat and sat in the front.
"Be careful," Bella instructed him. "I'll distract them while you get away."
"I would rather you drive her there while I took care of the guests," Edward sighed. Bella chuckled.
"You would," she sighed kissing him lightly as rain dripped down her hair. "I'll be fine. I'm not that helpless anymore."
"Of course you're not. I just worry. You know only too well what would happen if I lost you." Bella shivered.
"Meet me at the house; I'll be there not long after you get there." He nodded slowly. "I love you."
"I love you too." With that Bella backed away and the car took off at speeds that made Katie's stomach lurch.
"ARE YOU CRAZY!" she screamed despite the pain it caused in her ribs when she yelled. For the most part he ignored her. It was obvious that his mind was elsewhere. Probably praying that Bella would be okay, with all that blood on her clothes it would be hard for the vampires to ignore. "Edward?"
"Yes?"
"What happened?"
"I wasn't there; I should be asking you that."
"No, you knew what happened. That is how you knew to come. How did Bella take a football player?"
"Adrenaline, she was angry you were hurt."
"No, it was barely a fight at all; it was just Bella practically killing Richard." Edward didn't answer; mostly out of having major déjà vu and trying to come up with a practical answer. "Tell me!"
"You hit your head didn't you?"
"Yes, but I know what I saw!"
"Bella had a knife with her; you didn't see it did you?" he lied casually.
"No she didn't!"
"Yes she did, you didn't see it first because you weren't facing her."
"But she…"
"Did have a knife," he finished in a tone of voice that proved he wouldn't argue the point any further. "Now what is your telephone number?"
"Home you mean?"
"I need to call your parents to tell them where you are."
"Bella…Bella…won't go to court will she?"
"Possibly, not to jail though, provided you explain how he was about to kill you and she was defending you."
"But she didn't have a knife!"
"Katie, trust me. She did."
"No she didn't," Katie whispered. "She didn't." Edward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You're making this exceptionally difficult."
"Good, then you'll tell me what's going on. Why did Bella have to leave? Who are the others?"
"So many questions," he mumbled to himself. "She's worse than Bella was."
"Huh?" she inquired. "I'm worse than Bella was with what?"
"No more questions, I need to think, and you're making it extremely difficult. Think happy things," he ordered Katie who didn't understand the double meaning behind it. Her thoughts and words were becoming so similar, Edward was afraid he would answer one of her thoughts instead of her questions.
"Umm, where are we?" she remarked as he headed out into what appeared the forest.
"Where my family lives."
"Wait you and Bella live together?"
"Yes, with our adopted parents."
"YOU'RE BROTHER AND SISTER!"
"No, of course not; she's Jasper and Rosalie's sister. I'm Alice and Emmett's brother."
"Oh, I guess that's okay then. It's still really strange. Sorry, I mean, I didn't for that to come out like-"
"Its okay, our family is a little different."
"Yea, it must be fun to live with so many people."
"It has its benefits for sure."
"I only have my brother who is about ten years older than me, and out of college. So basically it's like being an only child."
"I'm lucky to have my brothers and sisters," he replied turning quickly driving up to a large white house. "Speaking of my siblings," he trailed off staring at Rosalie and Emmett on the front lawn despite the rain. He silently collected Katie from the backseat trying to ignore the two. Emmett raised his eyebrows, but said nothing which was unusual for him. Probably why would be is that most humans (except for Bella) would be freaked out if he made some comment about bringing a human there hence hinting the family wasn't human. Rose just glared daggers at Edward who merely ignored her. "Carlisle," he said at conversion voice, but of course he could still hear it.
"Yes Edward?" he replied walking down the stairs. Taking in the broken girl in his arms, "What happened to her?"
"Her boyfriend was about to kill her, Bella stabbed him to protect her," he indicated to Katie.
"Ah I see," Carlisle answered knowing good and well what Edward meant by 'stabbed'. "I'll take care of her." Suddenly the door flew open and a very wet looking Bella stumbled in.
"I think I lost them, it wasn't easy though and they may have known all along I was leading them on," Bella gasped. "I am in a serious need to dry off," she chuckled running a hand through her wet matted hair. Edward smiled handing Katie to Carlisle, heading over to Bella. Katie was amazed at how easily she was passed from the two. It was if she was as light as a rag doll. She always knew she was skinny, but this was taking things a little far.
"Bella!" she yelled as Carlisle sat her down on the couch and began to patch her up. Bella glanced up to look her in the eyes.
"Yes Katie?"
"You didn't have a knife did you?" Bella stole a fleeting look at Edward which didn't escape her notice.
"Of course I did, what did you think? I beat him to death?"
"You didn't have a knife!"
"Katie you hit your head, you could have been imagining things," Bella calmly replied.
"No! Please just tell me what's going on!"
"She knows too much to not tell her," Carlisle said quietly.
"She'll think we're nuts!" Bella shouted.
"No I won't!" Katie shouted. "Just tell me."
"I don't think-", Bella started.
"Say it!"
"We're vampires."
AN: Told ya that I write faster when I'm happy! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
