Chapter 10: Stories

Okay so this chapter might be a bit boring, but it's necessary for this story.

Plus, I think this chapter explains everything about what happened in the past. It's longer than I expected it to be, it's even the longest so far. It contains what I would put into two chapters if this was a normal chapter, but I can't really do that so yeah. It's long.

I grabbed my phone, and dialed the number.

"Izzy! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay. Wha-"

"An, I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, I figured that out. Alice just said something that made me worried. What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"I think it might be time to tell you something about my past. I need some advice from a friend, but you can't help me when you don't know what I'm talking about. And I really don't want to ask Alice about this, though she is sort of involved."

"Eh… okay, I guess."

"I don't remember exactly what I told you before, so please don't interrupt me by telling me you've already heard a certain part." I snapped.

"Wow, something bad must have happened. You have never used that tone with me!" She said, and then she waited.

"It all started when I moved to Forks…"

"What? You moved to Forks? I thought you said you were born there?" She interrupted me.

I waited.

"Sorry Iz, but you can't say such thing and expect me to say nothing."

"Actually, I do. If you have questions, just write them down and wait till the end or something, okay? I don't want to be interrupted!"

"Sorry. Go on." She said, sounding as if she was about to lose her patience.

"Okay. So, it all started when I moved to Forks to live with my dad. My mom just married this guy, who was a few years younger than she was. She loved him, but he was a baseball player, you know. So I decided to give them a chance to be together, and went to Forks."

I took a deep breath, trying to make sure I was really alone. So far I could only smell the trees, and the normal scents around here. Nobody that wasn't supposed to be close was here.

"I didn't like it here. It was wet and cold, while I was used to sunny and warm. So it was pretty much the opposite, and I didn't want to be here."

I felt myself smile at the good memories I had when I was trying to figure out what Edward was.

"And then I met them." I waited on purpose, to see if she was following me.

"By them, you mean the vampires we were looking for in Europe, right?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you. I met them when I was still human, on my first day. I was sitting in the cafeteria, with some people I just met, and then I spotted them. All five, they were beautiful, but very pale."

I gulped. I couldn't do this. I couldn't talk about this yet. But I had to, and I knew that.

"Iz, if you can't do this, I understand."

"Anna, you've always been so understanding, and I never explained anything that was important to you. I feel so guilty about that, and I have to talk about this anyway."

"Yes, but you don't need to do that now, you know. I understand."

"I started, so I am going to finish." I tried to ignore the pain that began to build up in my chest again.

"They were the Cullens and Hales, according to the people at school. Alice Cullen, Jasper Hale, Rosalie Hale, Emmett Cullen, and…." I trailed off, not knowing if I would be able to say it. "I found them… interesting. They were different, just like I was at the time. I didn't belong in class, like every other teenager. Because I had to take care of my parents, I was forced to grow up at young age." I said then.

"Iz, you really don't…"

"Shut up! Let me finish this, please."

Silence again, so I continued.

"They acted strange. They had plates with food in front of them during lunch, but they never ate anything. And I noticed that… my lab partner's eyes turned from black to gold and back again."

I stopped when I heard a gasp on the other side.

"Seriously? That is where you got it from? And who was your lab partner?"

I sighed.

"I should've known this. You are way too curious to keep your questions till the end. But, to answer them, yes, that is where I got it from. My lab partner's father sort of found it out. And the guy was…" I hesitated, but continued. "Edward."

"Okay. I'll try to behave! Sorry!" She said. I groaned, but sighed again.

"I don't know how, or why, or when, but I fell in love with him. Even though he was acting strange towards me, I was still curious about him; about what he was."

"I'm not going to go into detail because I don't want to talk about it, but I'll tell you I found it out because of an old friend, who appeared to be a werewolf later on. He told me some legends, and they fit in with everything I had seen by then."

"And then you con-"

"Anna! He was hunting that weekend, though I didn't know that of course, so I couldn't talk to him about what I found out. But at that moment I realized it didn't matter what he was. I just wanted to be with him."

" Then some things happened, and he found out that I knew about what he was. He opened up with me, and he told me pretty much everything I wanted to know. I met his family, and we started going out. It was dangerous for me, though. I was his singer, if you remember what that means."

"Yes, I remember Aro mentioning that. This is a really sweet story!" Anna said, and then made a sound that meant hurry up and finish!

"Yeah, wait till we get on, please. I am going to leave out a lot of stuff now, because it's not important. Let's get to the turning point."

"It was my eighteenth birthday, and no matter what I said, the Cullens bought me presents."

Anna giggled. "You and presents. That must have gone wrong."

"Well, yes, and in the worst way possible. Don't ask me how I did it, but I managed to cut my finger on the paper, and Jasper, who was not used to the animal-blood-diet, attacked me. My blood was too appealing to him."

Anna gasped, but I tried to ignore it.

"Edward protected me, so I wasn't hurt. But it made him realize that it was time to break up with me. Three days after my birthday, he left. His family, including Alice who was my best friend, was already gone. He said he didn't… love me."

I gasped when I felt the pain come back, worse than before.

"He left?" She said, obviously shocked.

"Yes, and that killed me. I couldn't live without him." I whispered.

I could almost hear the realization hit her. "And then you changed from Bella into Izzy?"

"Well, not at first. It took me some time to become somewhat alive again, and the old friend, the same one who helped me find out about them being vampires, fell in love with me. I didn't really fall in love with him, though I did love him. Just in a different way."

"I was married to him for a few months. Though I really didn't want to get married, I wanted my dad, and Jacob to be happy. They were both so happy that I moved on."

"But, of course, it was all just a lie. I didn't move on. So to give Jacob a chance, I divorced him. He wasn't happy, but he did understand. He said he knew it all along, but he just hoped it would pass. We stayed friends, though, and I was still happy. But we were never really married. We were still at the same… level, let's say that. We were friends but now we had rings on our fingers."

I paused for a moment.

"Hm. Sounds strange to me. Being married to a man you don't love."

"It wasn't that I didn't love him. I just loved him like… a friend. Just like I love you guys." I corrected her.

"Okay. No questions so far, so please continue. This is much better than a novel or something."

"Thanks. Just the fact that this is my life makes it so much better." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Sorry. Go on, please."

"Hm, I just realized I missed a part. Well, let's just say another vampire, a normal one, found out about me hanging out with the Cullens, and he hunted me down. He was a tracker, and once the Cullens protected me, I became the person he wanted the most. "

"He was killed, of course, but there were two more people in his coven. First, Laurent came after me. The wolves, thanks to Jake, were there in time to save me and killed him. But not so long after that, the mate of the first one came after me as well. And that time, the wolves were just a little too late. They did kill her, but I was already bitten."

"So you changed into a vampire."

"Yes, I did."

"And then? Did you come to Holland to find them?"

"No, first I went to Denali, to the vegetarian coven in Alaska. They told me where I might find them, but they didn't know if they would be together. They seemed to travel around seperately. And then I went to Holland, because they thought they might have been heading there."

"But… can I ask a question?"

"Yes. I have nothing more to tell you, besides whatever the answers to your questions are."

"Okay. Why did you follow the Cullens? And when did you turn into Izzy."

"One question at a time, please. I followed the Cullens, and please don't think bad about me after this, to… well, basically to beg Edward to take me back into his life so that I could be whole again. Of course, it was something I really shouldn't have done. It was truly a waste of my time. You remember when I introduced myself as Bella?"

"Yes. And then suddenly you said you used to be called Izzy, and that you preferred that name. You never wanted to hear the name Bella anymore."

"Well, that was a lie. And I'm sorry that I lied. But I was so… sick of everything. The pain I felt every day, every single minute. I just couldn't let him go…"

Silence for a moment. I didn't break it. I waited for her to say something.

"So… you put your feelings away and became a new person." She said, trying to figure things out.

"Well, not really. It was more like I had changed myself when I put all those feelings away. And to be changed completely, I had to change my name so I wouldn't be remembered by the way he said my name. I named the girl with all those feelings Bella, and the new me, who didn't have those feelings, became Izzy."

"Why Izzy?"

"Because my full name is Isabella, so Izzy is just short. Just like Bella was before."

"And that's the story?"

"Yes, that's the story. Do you have more questions?"

"No, not so far. If I have more, I'll ask them later on. Now, you said you wanted some advice. What's going on?"

"Edward's here." I whispered, not able to say more.

"What?!" She screeched in my ear.

"Seriously? He is there? In Forks?"

"Yes."

"Shit. Now what?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you."

"What happened so far?"

"I came home and everything was cleaned up. It wasn't dusty at all, as it should have been. No, instead it smelled like a werewolf."

"What? Did Jacob clean it all up?"

"Eh, I guess I forgot to tell you that. Jake died in a motor accident. Just a few years after I was changed."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Iz. But who was it then?"

"Well, it was another werewolf. It was someone I became friends with when I hang out, and later was married to Jacob. His name's Seth and he really is the guy you would want as just a friend. He would never try something." I said.

Unlike some other people, I thought bitterly.

"Are you implying that someone else did? Just in between, then you can continue your story."

"Yes, Jacob did when I was still.. broken. Dead. Whatever you want to call it. Anyways, I went into town and it has changed completely. Except for the school. That one's still exactly the same."

"I went home, and then I felt the strange urge to go up the path. It is a path near my house, that is going into the forest. It's also the same path where Edward said goodbye to me. It was like I was walking the paths of Bella's life again, and it felt so strange."

"And there you met Edward?"

"Yes. I saw him in town, I recognized him because of his bronze hair, so I already knew he was here in Forks. And there we talked, and I told him to stay away."

"What? Why would you do that? You still love him, right?"

"Yes, I do. But he doesn't love me, so I don't want him to act like he does love me, just to make me feel better. I want him to be happy, not stick around me just to make me happy."

"But… you searched for him, to beg him to take you back… and now… what happened?"

"I guess I grew up." I sighed.

"Okay. Now you want advice on what to do next."

"Well, I guess so. I'm a little desperate here. I am glad I told you now, though. I really need a friend who knows about this, but it can't be a Cullen. You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Of course not."

"Okay. Now, what should I do now? I mean, if I stay here, it's obvious that I'll see him again. It's not really possible to avoid him, since he seems to be everywhere."

"Right. Ehm… you seem to be thinking about him all the time. Why don't you go out and try to see if you can find something that will keep your mind occupied?"

"Like what? Suggestions are welcome!"

"Well, why don't you go running, and just see where you end up?"

"That, my dear friend, it a very nice idea. Maybe I'll do that."

"Good. And Iz?"

"Yes?"

"Call me again if you want to talk. I'll have my phone with me."

"Thanks, Ann. I really appreciate this."

"Sure. I am really happy that you finally let me into your life. And please correct me if I call you Bella. Spending time with Alice and Jasper, who keep talking about 'Bella being here, and now in Forks and stuff…that really doesn't help me. Alice saw you in a vision together with Edward. You looked pretty broken, so that made me worried. But, knowing that you're okay… it's a relief."

"Okay." I couldn't help but laugh a bit, despite the situation I was in right now. Anna was a lovely girl, and I was happy that she knew my past.

"I'll talk to you later."

"Sure. Bye!"

"Bye."

That was one hell of a conversation. I hope you all understand everything now. And if you have questions, I'll try to fit them into the story so I can answer them. If that's not possible, I'll just PM you or something like that.

Sorry for the people who don't like conversations. But, this chapter is necessary for the story. Of course, you all know a great part of the story, but things had to be cleared up.

I hope you liked it. Tell me what you think!