Hi all! Here's another instalment of Such A Pretty Little Girl! I'm so happy that everyone thinks that my story is good, I've put a lot of thought into it! I've been changing my speech marks, as you can see they used to be this: '' and now they're this: "". It makes things simpler for you readers okay? Been busy so I had no time to update this story; It took me ages to think of a chapter for Bruised and Bleeding and I was quite sad to see only a few people reviewed for that - not even Jasmine reviewed! *Huffs* Anyways… here it is once I've finished with the questions and the disclaimer.
Q: What is The Accident/The Totally On Purpose Attack? By crazyhypervampiregurl
A: I can't tell you! You'll find out soon enough anyway…
Disclaimer: *We are all in ICT and we're making animated banners on the computers*
Me: *I'm sitting next to Jake Hatfield* Is this good Jacob?
*Starts the animation*
Jake: *Glares* How many times do I have to tell you two? My name is Jake, not Jacob! And yes, that banner is really good.
Jazz: Jacob, stop being stupid! And you, Jess! His name's Edward, not Jacob!
Jake: *Sighs* My middle name is Edward, and my name is Jake! Shut up already!
Me and Jazz: No!
Jake: *Sighs and pounds his head into the keyboard* UGH!
So… The point there is that our friend Jake Edward Hatfield has got Twilight characters inside his name but is not actually from Twilight, just like I write Twilight fan fiction but I don't own Twilight!
This chapter is dedicated to manipulativerunner because she did a long and very informative review. Loved it a lot, Dude!
"When one creates phantoms for oneself, one puts vampires into the world, and one must nourish these children of a voluntary nightmare with one's blood, one's life, one's intelligence, and one's reason, without ever satisfying them" - Eliphas Levi
Edward
March 27th 2001
Pittsburgh, USA
Gladney Centre of Adoption
9:39
"We'd like to adopt one of your children please." Carlisle said politely, his pearly white teeth flashing as he smiled brilliantly.
Her heart stuttered and her breathing stopped, making us smirk at each other. She nodded wordlessly before leading us through a door to a small side office. She sat behind a large oak desk and gestured for us to sit at the plastic chairs opposite. We did so and waited for her to speak.
"What kind of child are you after? Any specific requirements?" She asked in a professional voice, looking over to Esme. She must know the drill, know that in the end it was the wife's decision.
Esme drummed her manicured fingers on the desk as she thought. I respectively stayed out of her mind, letting her have the privacy she is deprived on regular occasions. Her eyes met Carlisle's and they seemed to be having a silent conversation, like the ones that Alice and I share when I'm in her mind.
"We don't really have any specific wants, but another girl will be nice." Esme answered evenly.
Yolanda nodded and smiled brightly. "We have lots of little girls hopeful to gain a new family. All you have to do now is look around and pick one out; then you'll sign all the necessary paperwork and we'll check your records, making sure your capable to house the child."
Both our 'parents' nodded and rose fluently. Us 'children' followed suite, following them out the door. We re-entered the lobby (I've found out what that room is actually called! *Claps*) and saw that Bella and Harriet were still in there, sat side by side on the floor. When they saw us come in they both scrambled to their feet - well, Harriet scrambled and Bella stood with grace and ease.
When they saw us Harriet stared with her mouth agape, her usually modest behaviour forgotten as she stared unashamedly at us. She didn't even spare a glance at us the first time we met, she was too busy hell-bent on stopping Bella from her rampage. Bella's eyes flickered to every one of us before landing on me. Her eyes widened slightly but put her expressionless mask back on.
Is everything alright son? Could you look into her mind to check that she isn't expecting anything? Carlisle thought to me.
I nodded minutely in his direction and focused on the strange girl in front of me. I blinked in confusion and my eyebrows met determinedly. The small smile I had previously been wearing vanished and was replaced by a scowl. I looked deep into her dark purple orbs and swallowed down the venom that had gathered in my mouth.
I couldn't read her mind.
She blushed softly under my intense gaze and looked down at her feet, which were covered with some rainbow striped socks. She was one of a kind. Never had someone been able to evade my power. Was it growing weaker? I tested it carefully, satisfied when I found I could hear everything in a four mile radius. It wasn't going… So why couldn't I hear her?
Yolanda told all the children to act like they usually do, and they didn't even reply. I gathered from there thoughts that this had happened many times before and knew exactly what to do. Most of them don't hold any hope for being adopted, because the children under thirteen tend to be adopted more than the older ones. Most of these kids dreaded their thirteenth birthdays, and the ones that where already older than that were counting down the years until they were eighteen and could move out.
Harriet was then pushed out of the room by Yolanda and then Bella was pulled to the other side of the room. But of course they didn't know that we could still hear the conversation. Emmett was hardly holding his laughter by the time they had finished, earning him a smack across the head from his wife.
Anger management?! I swear Emmett is the most stupid vampire ever made.
Yolanda escaped the room and left us to our own devices. Bella glided over to the worn piano at the other side of the room and sat back at the bench. We followed quickly, not quite sure of what to do. We all stopped a few feet behind her and waited expectantly. She stared at it for a long time, so long that Emmett began to wonder whether she had fallen to sleep in her place.
When she eventually moved she placed her dainty looking fingers at the keys hesitantly before playing. The whole composition was hypnotic, laced with a sadness I couldn't describe. It was hauntingly beautiful, so much that it will be burned into my mind for as long as I live, engraved into my soul - not that I have a soul, but you get the idea.
There was a sniff and a snuffle before we realised that she was trying to keep from crying. And this surprised me. She seemed so rough and heartless on the outside that I seemed to forget that she still had feelings. While witnessing this, I realised that she was such a vulnerable creature on the inside - so insecure about who and what she was. Inside she was broken, miserable. But she turned this sadness into anger, being violable towards everyone except Harriet.
Emmett cleared his throat to gain her attention, making her jump fitfully. She turned at an impossible speed for a human, making us all cock our heads curiously. Her eyes stayed on us for a second then slowly swivelled to her left. Her gaze then returned to us, her dark eyes widening. And what she said next bewildered us all.
She knew. She knew that we were vampires. Creatures of night; soulless monsters. But Emmett didn't seem to take it seriously. His bulky body was shaking from the effort involved to restrain his laughter. Bella sent him a glare that could make water freeze, a look of a predator. Emmett stopped instantly, making the intimidating little girl smirk.
Esme complimented her piano work, and for some reason her posture stiffened and her eyes tightened, as if preparing for something. She then told us her name, that I already knew, thanks to the obnoxious thoughts that belonged to Grace. Alice then introduced all of us, her thoughts screaming to me.
Can we have her? Let's pick her! She's perfect… We have the perfect sized clothes for her and everything! Yeah, she might be a little strange, but we can help her, Edward!
I sighed and rubbed my forehead while Alice repeated what she had just thought to the rest of the family, speaking at top speed so Bella couldn't hear. Esme agreed instantly, her heart set on helping the nine year old, as did Carlisle. Rose came to next, and Emmett didn't need any persuading, his mind running over the amount of strength the skinny girl had shown in her fight. Jasper then agreed with hesitation, not wanting to make his wife upset. I didn't comment, knowing from the beginning that I was outnumbered and it wouldn't matter what I said.
Bella interrupted the end of the conference by telling us to look at the other kids. She had either already given up hope that she'd chosen or that she just didn't want to be chosen. And that's when Alice told her that we wanted to take her home with us.
When Alice uttered those words, Bella fixated her eyes on her and stared with the most confused expression I had ever seen. Her face then cleared and she laughed humourlessly, her eyes turning even darker than before, very nearly black.
"Nice joke guys. How can you possibly want a freak like me? You just saw me beat the snot out of a girl a good four inches taller than me, why would you even want me? Adopt Harriet instead, if she doesn't get adopted by the Andersons first."
Alice's thin brows wrinkled in frustration. "We're no joking Bella. We want you to be in our family!"
Bella sighed angrily and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. Her clenched fists shook, reminding me of when the Quileute wolves can't control their emotions. Her eyes opened again and she kneaded her temples in an effort to calm down.
"Okay - let's say that you really do want to adopt me. How are you going to handle my temper? How are you going to cope when I'm violent, just like I was with Grace? Because I tell you now, I was holding back then. And people take one look into my eyes and all they see is the anger; and that's why I'm still here. Why should you be any different?" She said scornfully.
"We don't care about that, Bella! We'll help you! We'll make you happy, and… And…" Alice ran out of steam for a second and then her voice dropped several octaves. "… You know what we are."
Bella just raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "Is that the reason? You're afraid I'd tell your secret? I have more important things to do than tell other people's secrets. Now, if you excuse me…" With that said, she was gone, too quick for even our eyes to follow. The only sign that she had even been there at all were the composition paper that was now flying around in the room in Bella's wake.
There was a distant slam of a door less than a second later, followed by an angry sigh. We all turned to each other, our expressions identical. Rose opened her mouth to say something when Yolanda walked back in. She was holding a large cup of tea in her hand, the steam rising from the putrid drink. She blinked her beetle-black eyes at us in surprise and the smiled, her teeth gleaming.
"Have you decided yet?" She asked as she settled herself on an armchair. She gestured for us to take the sofas and took a sip of the scolding drink.
"Yes. We would like to adopt Isabella Swan." Carlisle said calmly.
Yolanda sputtered, spitting the tea out of her mouth. We all cringed away from the droplets as she recovered from her shock. "B-Bella? You want Bella?"
We all nodded quickly. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and sighed sorrowfully, "Bella… Such a pretty little girl, it's such a shame," She sighed, and then looked at us curiously. "Would you like to hear her story? I don't think she'd be happy with me telling you but I need to let you know what you're putting yourself in for."
Again we nodded and she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, and started the story. "She was left on our doorstep on the fourth of October. It was the year 1992… She was only three weeks old. She got adopted pretty much straight away, but then got brought back in a month. The couple said that she looked at them creepily. As did the next, and the next, and the next. This went on until the Dwyers.
"She was five when they came. As soon as they saw her they wanted her. Phil especially. As soon as all the paperwork was done and they were approved as her legal guardians, they whisked her away. And then," She paused, making us all lean forward expectantly. "Nothing. We didn't see or hear of her for all of the four years she was there. It was as if she had disappeared from the face of the Earth.
"She was found exactly a month ago. The neighbours had called the police, saying that they heard screams and bangs coming from the Dwyers' house. The police broke in, and what was there was sickening. They found a bloody knife… Near enough everything was broken, blood splattered everywhere.
"They found Phil's body straight away. Deep cuts all over his hands and arms. H-he had this-this thing on his neck… It looked like a bite mark," We all shared a meaningful glance. "And his… penis was missing. Chopped off."
There was a dark laugh from a room up the stairs and a whispered reply. "He got what was coming."
Yolanda didn't hear it though, she just quickly carried on with her story. "They found Bella upstairs in a tiny room that only had the space for a bed and a small wardrobe. She was filthy, her hair black with grime. She was wearing too short top and shorts, again both nearly falling apart with age. Her side was sliced open, a deep cut that bled by the gallon.
"She was stitched up and washed, then sent straight to the police station. She stayed there for such a long time, asked question after question… But nothing. She didn't answer any of them. Eventually they had no choice but to abandon the case and bring her hear, because there had been no witnesses except from Bella, and she simply refused to utter a word. And that's it, she's been here ever since."
We all sat in silence as we contemplated over the young girl's horrifying past. Yolanda sipped at her now lukewarm tea and sighed softly, leaning back into her chair.
"I love that child. I love her as my own daughter. But she can be so damn cryptic at times it drives me insane - and the fact that she goes around having fights all the time. Sometimes it's not her fault, but…" She sighed again, her nostrils flaring with the sound.
There was a thump and a hiss from upstairs before the sound of a window opening. Then there was a whooshing noise, another soft bang closer to us, and then it was silent.
What was that Edward? Esme thought worriedly, thinking that one of the children could have hurt themselves.
I shrugged at her. I couldn't know everything, even with the ability - curse - to read minds. A few children ran in and out, but otherwise no one bothered us. Yolanda had long ago finished her tea, and now she was wiping the face of a sticky toddler, something that we hadn't realised while stuck in our thoughts. She kissed the child's forehead and smiled lovingly before turning back to us, jogging the child on her knee.
"Would you still like to have Bella, bearing in mind everything that has happened to her and everything that she has done?"
I checked everyone's thoughts, and if anything they wanted her even more than they did before the story. I had to agree; with a life like that, didn't she deserve some peace and happiness?
"Yes." Carlisle confirmed.
She shook her head in disbelief. "I'll get the paperwork for you to sign, then we can go see how she takes the news."
The next half an hour was filled with whispered conversations and legal documents. All the children were now eating their lunch, as it was a Saturday, which means no school. Us 'children' stayed in the lobby while Carlisle and Esme read, signed and approved all of the documents and conditions.
When they were done Yolanda grinned happily at us. "I'll go get Isabella now."
She led us all into the now evacuated dining room, which still had empty plates and glasses on the table. We wrinkled our noses at the stench of food, everyone of us wondering how the humans could eat that stuff.
Where is she? Where'd she go? She couldn't have picked a worst time to sneak out! What is this… The fifth time this month? Yolanda's mental voice entered my own mind, disturbing my thoughts. Bella had sneaked out through the window, and apparently it isn't the first time either.
I relayed this information to the rest of the family, making them all tense. Yolanda flew down the stairs, stumbling and nearly falling in her haste to search the entire building. Her frantic yells echoed around, alerting all the residents of the situation. Pretty much everyone was searching for the girl, except for the four sneering girls in Grace's room. One of those four was Grace herself.
An hour and forty-six minutes later - yes, I counted - Yolanda returned to us, looking deeply pained and worried, her thoughts completely focused on Isabella. Her dark eyes were watery, contrasting deeply with the usual joy that sparkled there.
"I guess you will have to go home until we can find her. We will keep you posted until that time." She promised.
We nodded and Carlisle told her we could find our own way out. She nodded and sniffed noisily, waving half-heartedly. We ran as fast as we dared out of there, flitting silently back to our house. A strange scent lingered around the area, smelling of freesia and spice. It was an exotic, welcoming scent; unusual to come across.
We ignored it and carried on running, hoping to get to the house as fast as we could. We made no sound except from the odd branch snapping under our feet. We passed many animals as we ran under the cover of the forest, but they didn't even turn our way as we were much faster than even their heightened senses could follow.
When we made it to the house, we came to an erupt stop. Alice wrinkled her nose and looked at us.
"Do you smell that?" She asked softly.
We all inhaled through our noses as one, checking the air. I gasped as the same intoxicating scent filled my senses, making all stray thoughts disappear. It filled me, lightening me, making me want more. It burned my throat and brought venom to my mouth, coating my teeth. I manfully swallowed it, taking more breaths of the smell as if it was a drug. My eyes couldn't focus on anything, the only thing that I could acknowledge was that beautiful scent.
I could see through the others eyes that my own was black, striking against my snow coloured skin. I shook my head forcefully, trying to throw off the spell that the wondrous smell had over me. I returned to my senses and smiled weakly at my family, meeting their curious glances with one of my own. The only one who didn't seen confuses was Emmett, who stared at me with a mixture of fear and horror.
Oh no… No, no, no - this can't be happening! His thought's were in frenzy mode, most of which I failed to comprehend. Flashes of a young maiden carrying a clothes casket flowed through his mind before he started singing Barbie Girl unbearably loudly.
"Hold your breath, Edward." He said through gritted teeth.I complied - even through my confusion I could hear the urgency in his voice.
He approached the door, opening it carefully. He stuck his head in and looked around before opening it fully and gesturing us all to follow him. But before any of us could move a beautiful harmony started from within the house, echoing off the pale white walls, reverberating around the house. It was a haunting sound, making us follow it without a second thought.
We followed it to the middle room, the room where my piano was kept on a platform. There sat Bella, on my black Baby Grand, playing that hauntingly gorgeous composition. We all smiled and sighed with relief, glad that she was safe. But when I opened my mouth and took in a gust of air, I froze.
The hypnotizing scent was Bella, and this time I couldn't ignore it by holding my breath. It was ten times stronger, making my throat come alight with thirst. Jasper's head snapped to my direction, preparing to spring. But I was faster. I lunged, growling like a crazed newborn towards Bella.
But she didn't even turn, I saw her cheek lift up, as if she was smiling as she carried on with the music. I crashed into her, our combined weight breaking the piano, a sound of thunder echoing through the air. But I didn't acknowledge it. My only focus was my hunt.
And Bella was my prey.
CLIFFIE! Ha ha ha! Wonder what's going to happen. I feel quite evil now…
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