Hit and Run Chapter 7

Author : Lifeless Lyndsey

Summary : After a car crash in the middle of nowhere, Bella is faced with yet another force in her life. Left on the ground in the middle of nowhere in the rain, crying after a painful and crushing blow to her life. But this time, she gets up, and meets the man that will change her life.

Pairing: Bella and Alistair

Warning: M for language, lemons, violence, gore, questionable content, swearing, and other stuff, maybe. I don't know.

Word Count: 1,350.

Beta: VampishVixen - you have to love a kickass beta.

Disclaimer: I own nearly nothing, not the characters, not the Bella, not the England. I do however, own the plot. The plot is mine! Mine Dammit!

A/N: So the chapter isn't all that long, and I know, I know, it's been a month. I've kind of made Once Bitten, Twice Shy my priority as it's nearing its end. Anyways, in this chapter you get to see some very subtle progression in Alistair and Bella's non-relationship.

Previous

"Not unless you want to cart my ass across this continent on your back." I replied stiffly. "I can rent a car; uh… actually, I should probably report the accident," I added, almost as an afterthought. I hadn't considered the fact that the car would be missed, probably more than I would. Though it also wouldn't hurt to check in with my boss; not that she was expecting me any time soon.

The vampire smirked, dark and dirty. "Oh no, no, no. There will be no need to report anything other than a Missing Persons form. You left your life in that car, I'm afraid. From this day forth, Bella Swan is dead."

Now

xXxXxXxXx

Bella POV

I blinked back at him, heart pounding in my chest. "Dead? No. I can't be dead. People will notice I'm gone."

"It will matter little, for by the time you're noticed to be missing, we shall be long gone," he replied with a pointed look, one sharp eyebrow raised as if to challenge me. "This is not matter to discuss. Your choices are simple; proverbially dead, or actually dead. Perhaps you should take into consideration which of the two would be easier for me, girl. Now go to bed."

"You can't do this to me!" I'm ashamed to admit that I stomped my foot like a damned grounded twelve year old. "I'm a person! You can't just...sequester me away. It doesn't work like that."

"I can and it does," he replied with a smirk, the corners of his mouth curling just so, somewhere between creepy and frightening. "You are no more a person to me than King Henry was faithful, you wretched little girl. You are little more then sustenance; a meal, a sandwich, and if you don't shut your bloody mouth, you'll quickly become a midnight snack. As much as I like Carlisle, I like myself far more, and you are trying my patience. Now. Go to sleep."

"Someone will miss me," I argued, though feebly.

Falling into a crouch beside the drained, stiffening corpse, he replied in kind, "All the more reason to press on, I should think." He swung the cold corpse up and over his shoulders, turning to spare me one last glance. "Do be a good girl and remain where you are, I'll be most put out should I have to chase you. If you think I'm less than pleasant now, you've clearly not seen me when I feel inconvenienced. You know where the bedroom is, make use of it. We shall be leaving in a few hours."

With one last fleeting glare, I knew that this wasn't a battle I would win. I was at the mercy of a man, no, a vampire, who cared little of me and even less of my continued existence. I took the stairs one at time, my shaking hands wrapped around the rail, its splintered wood tugging at my skin. Dead.

I might as well have been dead for all that I was anticipating seeing them again.

I curled up on the bed, pulling the blanket high to shield my eyes from the slanting moonlight. This couldn't be real. I'd wake, I was sure of it, to find it was all a dream. It had to be a dream. I couldn't do this.

I couldn't.

I just...

This couldn't be real.

xXxXxXxXx

It was still dark when I woke to a rush of wind, to find that it was in fact real. My chest clenched, suffocating me where I sat upright in a dead man's bed. Panic. Fear. Terror. Raking hand through my disheveled and still slightly damp hair, I let my head hang in my hands. In a matter of moments, my life had turned upside down; where up wasn't up, but it wasn't down either. I had no anchor to keep me leveled in a situation where I had no control. It was like vertigo, like spinning, or falling up. Disoriented, I couldn't get a hold of anything, let alone myself. This was panic, anxiety crushing down on me in waves. Someone would miss me, I assured myself. If no one else, the car rental company would notice. That was something.

Looking up slowly, I breathed deeply, letting my hands fist in the scratchy patchwork blanket. Something glinted in the darkness, and I allowed my eyes to focus, settling on the plate and glass now beside me on the nightstand. Setting the plate in my cross-legged lap, I sipped at the cool water, grimacing at the rusty aftertaste. I wondered if he was being funny, making me a fucking sandwich after calling me one. My stomach grumbled, informing me that it cared very little if this was a joke or not. Picking at the slightly stale crust, I bit into the sandwich, plain cheese on white, appeasing my gurgling stomach acid. I squashed the sensation to be thankful to my Keeper, as he really didn't deserve it.

xXxXxXxXx

Alistair POV

The girl slept well into the evening, a cause for concern, I was sure. I had very little way of gauging such things, as I couldn't remember my last dreams, so many years had come and past. Still, I knew enough to understand, to some level anyway, head wounds. I crept into the room at eleven in the evening, watching with sharp eyes as the girl slept.

She looked better, as far as such things go. Her cheeks had regained some color, though it might have been that because she slept, she looked less likely as if she was going to faint again. At any other time, I might have been pleased at my ability to strike such easy fear in a human, but at the current, it seemed only to hinder my already quite tiring plight.

Foreign, and wholly un-welcomed I might add, pleasure peaked weakly inside me as I took in the empty plate and glass. I cared very little for her comfort, of course. However, it was paramount that she be returned to my long-lost friend in considerable condition. Carlisle, I remembered, found such things important. It was, I conceded, the doctor in him.

Whatever the matter, she had eaten the food, giving unto me some level of trust. It would make our continued journey minutely more tolerable. I'd no wish to deal with the impertinent tantrums of girls. Only worse than that could be tears, and to my deep, deep gratitude, the girl had yet to really cry. Thanks be unto to the gods for such small favors.

I heard the impressively subtle shift in breath and knew that she was awake now; keeping perfectly still, save for the rise and fall of her chest. Standing at the edge of the bedside, I pulled the lamp-chain, filling the room with soft yellow light. Gripping her chin between my thumb and forefinger as gently as I could, I shook her.

"Open your eyes," I commanded, waiting impatiently as her lashes flickered against her cheeks. "Now, if you would. Though I have much time on my hand, I've very little reason to waste it on you."

"No one asked you to," she grumbled, the hard pounding of her heart against her chest, the only thing belying the nonchalance in her tone.

She opened her eyes at last, black pupils dilating against the wide brown eyelids. "Good. No concussion. I'd advise that you rise now, as we are leaving in an hour's time."

"How?" she asked, as I released her chin. She sat up slowly, blankets pooling at her waist, looking so disheveled I was half tempted to consider it obscene. Old ways die hard, I reminded myself, times had changed.

"If you believe I am incapable of renting a car without your aid, you believe wrong. I went into town while you slept and procured us a means of transportation." I sighed as she blinked up at me, looking for all the world very much like a sleepy owl. "I can drive, you know."

She blushed, inexplicably, pink staining her cheeks and neck. "I...I just mean...you seem really old, is all. And you said you were kind of out of touch."

"I am old," I conceded. "However, driving has been around far longer than you have, girl. As I see it, it is an important skill that changes very little over the years. I've found it useful, and as such, kept myself fresh, so to speak."

"Mmm," she hummed. "I'll be down in a minute, then."

Vaguely surprised at her easy acceptance, I nodded shortly, accepting my small victory with little comment. I'd have to consider some sort of gold-star system for her good behavior. Positive reinforcement and such. Perhaps I could feed her again.

A/N Don't worry, Alistair won't starve Bella. She can't eat that much anyways, right?