A/N: Thank you all for your support for this story! I am thrilled that my old AND new readers are enjoying it. I'm enjoying the journey too :)
I apologise for a lack of updating though; my mother is gravely unwell, and writing is no longer serving as an outlet for me. But I will never give up on my writing, or this story, I promise.
My wish was granted.
When Charlie arrived home, the argument that I expected didn't happen. In fact, we barely talked about my decision to stay in Forks, as he was too preoccupied with the Port Angeles murderer. They'd killed again, this time in Somerset Village, which again, was situated just outside of Forks,
I'd thought that the incident would make Charlie even more determined to send me away to Phoenix, but he agreed with me that I had the right to decide where I should live.
He'd never admit it, but I could see it in his eyes. He needed me.
After our talk, Charlie looked like he could collapse at any moment, so I prepared some warm soup for him, knowing that it would send him off to sleep.
As soon as he'd eaten, he went straight to bed. It didn't take him long to fall into a deep slumber; the loud snores coming from his room confirmed that.
I washed the dishes, and then took some Tylenol, before heading up to bed too. I was just as exhausted as Charlie; today had worn me out. A hot shower was the perfect remedy to ensure that I fell into a deep sleep, so after taking one, I slipped into bed.
Just as I'd gotten comfortable, my cell phone vibrated on the dresser, which was on the other side of the room.
Groaning, I left my warm bed to retrieve it, silently cursing myself for leaving it on.
When I picked it up, I saw that I had a message from Alice.
Hey Bella, I thought I'd let you know that my family and I won't be in school tomorrow. Carlisle's taking us camping for the next three days! Have a good day at school tomorrow, Alice xox
Sighing, I switched off my phone before climbing back into bed. The Cullens were lucky. I'd do anything to get out of going to school tomorrow. I had Biology by myself, and I was fairly certain that I'd have to face the blood from the experiment that Mr Banner had prepared yesterday. Plus, I'd have to deal with a bitchy Lauren and an awkward Spanish lesson with Jessica.
Great.
~I~
I woke up in a bad mood the next morning, still dreading school. Fortunately, my head didn't hurt as I'd expected it to. Taking the Tylenol before bed had numbed the pain, and I reminded myself to thank Alice the next time I saw her. Although, I wouldn't see for her the next three days, which means that I'd next see her on my birthday.
The thought of my birthday deepened the gloom I felt already. I certainly wasn't looking forward to that event. Birthdays meant unwanted attention and too many presents. I wasn't comfortable with either. And I still hadn't forgotten Alice's promise to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a blouse for my birthday present. She'd made me feel worse when she'd told me that I'd be getting more than one present from her and her family. The thought of the Cullens spending so much money on me made me groan.
It wasn't that I was ungrateful. I just didn't understand why it was necessary to spend so much money on presents. I preferred sentimental gifts that were homemade. But I wouldn't admit that to Alice, because she'd probably spent a fortune on presents for me already.
After I'd finished getting ready for school, I stepped out of the house, only to be greeted by the sun.
Well it's about time you showed yourself.
The sun rarely made appearances in Forks. A cover of clouds smothered the town constantly, which prevented sunlight from breaking through.
My drive to school didn't help my mood. Road works had been put up overnight, which made my journey to school slow, and someone cut me up on the highway. By the time I pulled into the school parking lot, I was a flustered, angry, shaking mess.
Seeing the empty parking space beside my truck didn't help my mood either, knowing that the Cullens were absent. I scowled at the place where Edward's Volvo was supposed to be, before trudging towards my first lesson of the day: Biology.
Just as I was about to enter the laboratory, Daniel appeared at my side. "Bella!" He exclaimed, looking relieved. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." I replied, slightly confused by the concern in his voice.
"Thank God." He sighed as we walked into the lab. "I thought that you wouldn't be in today, seeing as you were in pretty bad shape yesterday."
"Daniel, I only fainted. It happens all the time." I told him, dropping my school bag on my lab table.
"But the bump on your head looked bad. And you had to go to the hospital!"
"It's just a bump Daniel. And Doctor Cullen gave me some medicine, so I'm okay." I said, trying to keep my annoyance out of my voice. I wished that he'd take his concern elsewhere.
Daniel began to shift from one foot to the other nervously. "I was really worried about you." He admitted quietly. "I would have stayed with you, but Edward sent me away."
I didn't fail to notice his wince when he mentioned Edward's name. "Not a big fan of Edward?" I asked him curiously.
Daniel shuddered, which answered my question. "He seemed like a nice guy, but yesterday afternoon, he showed his true colours. If looks could kill…and then his brother…" He trailed off to shudder again. "Have you seen the muscles that guy has? They're both scary. All of them are. Even the girls!"
I found his exaggeration of the Cullens amusing, and I had to press my lips together to hide my smirk. They weren't that scary. In fact, they didn't frighten me at all.
Before I had the chance to say anything, Mr Banner entered the classroom, and Daniel left me to go to his table, leaving me in the back row by myself.
Fantastic.
~I~
Halfway through the lesson, Mr Banner approached my table. "Bella, how are you feeling?" He asked me kindly.
"I'm good Sir." I replied, knowing that he was referring to my reaction to his experiment yesterday.
"That's good to hear. Seeing as you missed the experiment yesterday, I'm afraid I've got to ask you to do it after school today."
My face paled. "Do I have to do it?"
"I'm afraid so." He replied, looking sympathetic. "It's part of your final grade, and I have to send the blood back to the Biology Foundation in Washington tomorrow. You're going to have to complete it tonight."
"What about the Cullens? They're going to miss the experiment." I reminded him, gesturing to their empty seats. If they didn't have to do the experiment, then maybe I could get out of it too.
"Fortunately, they did the experiment in their previous school, as they were placed in advanced classes." Mr Banner told me, and my shoulders slumped, realising that there was no getting out of it.
"Okay Mr Banner, I'll do it tonight." I whispered, defeated.
"Thank you Bella. I have a free period last so I'll set up the equipment for you. I won't be here to supervise you so I'll leave a set of instructions. I trust that I'll be able to leave you by yourself."
"You can trust me Sir." I managed, trying not to think about what I had to do in a few hours.
"I expect the report from your experiment on my desk when you've finished it. And I know that you don't like handling blood, but dissection is one of the most enjoyable parts of Biology." Mr Banner said, smiling as he walked away.
Groaning, I slumped over in my seat, resting my head on the table. I'd never understood why dissection was an important part of Biology.
What made me feel worse is that I had no idea what I had to dissect as I'd been escorted out of the lesson, and I made a mental note to ask Angela about it at lunch.
~I~
The rest of Biology flew by quickly, though my next lesson wasn't much better, as I had to endure an uncomfortable lesson with Jessica.
However, the lesson wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be. Jessica rarely said anything, which was unusual for her, but not weird, as I assumed that Lauren had given her strict orders not to talk to me.
The rest of the morning passed quickly too, and soon, it was lunchtime. As I walked into the cafeteria, I felt a pang of sadness, knowing that only half of the group was here.
Eric, Angela and Ben were sitting at the table that we'd sat at yesterday, but the sight seemed strange. The absence of the Cullens was clear, though judging by my friend's smiling faces, they didn't miss the Cullens as much as I did.
I had no idea why I missed them as much as I did. I had other friends.
I had to repeat that to myself as I joined Angela and the others. I tried to enjoy myself and engage in conversation, but it wasn't the same. I missed Alice's giggle and her crazy, yet witty, comments. I missed Emmett's booming laugh and his jokes. I missed Jasper's quiet remarks and his calming presence. I missed Rosalie's sarcasm and her scolding of Emmett. And I missed Edward's thoughtful words, and his crooked smile.
"Are you okay Bella?" Angela asked me, breaking me out of my Cullen reverie.
I tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine."
She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off, eager to turn the attention off of me. "Hey Ang, have you done that dissection experiment in Biology yet?"
Angela's face twisted into a grimace. "Unfortunately. Haven't you done it yet?"
"No, I have to do it after school." I told her, frowning down at the table. "What do you have to do?"
"You have to dissect a pig's heart." She told me, and I began to feel ill. "You have to identify the parts of the heart like the arteries and veins, and then describe their function. And you have to extract some of the pig's blood and place it in a vial. It's awful!"
I began to regret asking her what I had to do. "Okay, thanks Angela." I managed weakly, closing my eyes.
There was no way that I could do that without being sick or fainting, and I mentally told myself to grow up. It was only some blood and a heart. The experiment would only take me a few minutes, and then after I'd written my report, I could faint to my heart's content. No pun intended.
~I~
My last lesson finished quickly, much to my displeasure, so as soon as the bell rang, I trudged to the biology laboratory.
When I entered the lab, I saw that the equipment had been set up, just as Mr Banner had told me. All of the tools and knives that I'd need were laying on the surface of his desk, next to a tray, which was empty except for a piece of paper, containing instructions for me.
Bella, you'll find the heart in the bottom drawer of my desk. It's placed in a glass container; please ensure you clean it after taking the heart out.
Come on Bella, you can do this.
After putting on some plastic gloves, I opened the bottom drawer, and saw the heart in the container. Trying not to gag, I took it out and quickly placed it on top of the table.
I took a few steps back, and tentatively turned my gaze to the container, trying to rid myself of the revulsion and nausea I felt as I stared at it.
When I was fairly certain that I could keep my feeling at bay, I stepped forward and opened the container.
The bloody scent of the heart hit me immediately, and I doubled over, clamping my hand over my mouth to stop myself from being sick.
After breathing deeply for a few minutes, my nausea ceased, and I clutched the table as I straightened up. But as I did so, I accidentally knocked the glass contained onto the floor, and it shattered.
I was in big trouble.
"Well, what do we have here?" A voice suddenly spoke up, and I whirled around to face the doorway of the lab, where I saw an unfamiliar man, watching me with interest. He had long blonde hair, pulling back into a low ponytail, and he wore ripped clothing. I didn't fail to notice that the material was covered in small, red splatters. Blood.
Shaking, I raised my head to meet his eyes, and when I did, I gasped. His eyes were a deep, blood red.
"Who are you?" I demanded shakily, gripping the table for support. "You can't be here!"
To my horror, the man ran his tongue over his lower lip, as he looked me up and down. "I'm not hungry, but when the pig's blood saturated the air, I had to investigate where it came from. And it led me to you." He broke off to inhale deeply, and then he stepped forward into the lab. I wanted to move away, but I was completely paralysed by his stare. "Hmm, you do smell rather fragrant. Freesia, lavender…and is that strawberry I smell? Maybe I will feed after all…"
I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
The man prepared to take another step towards me, but was stopped in his tracks by a tall predatory figure that suddenly appeared in the doorway.
The figure lunged at the strange man, moving so fast that my eyes stung just by watching the swift movement.
As the man crashed into the wall, pinned by the neck by the figure, I recognised who it was.
Edward.
Snarling sounds were erupting from both men, and I backed away, horrified by the scene in front of me.
That was the worst mistake that I'd ever made.
A loud squelching sound was made when my foot hit the floor, and I looked down in horror to see the pig's heart underneath my converse, blood leaking out onto the floor.
The smell of blood hit me again, and it swathed all of my senses.
Too…much…
I felt my eyes roll towards the back of my head, and then everything went black.
