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A/N: Nightwatcher'sunknowngirl, bluebaby3296, MeEdwardNobella, patie, Edward-is-sexier-than-Mike, Izzabel, aussiegoddess, Carlisle's Angel, Emma-girl, LIZY, CraziiDot, dolphin231, ROSEBUD, crazywing18, ALEXA, emmettcullenrulez, and craziidot: Thanks so much for your reviews! :) They really keep me motivated and wanting to write more for this story. So if you all want another chapter after reading this one…make sure to review! ;D
9. BLOODSUCKER LOVER
When I opened my eyes the next morning, I could already hear the faint pitter-patter of rain plummeting against the roof above my head. It took me several blinks for my eyes to adjust, then I pushed myself into a sitting position. I leaned against the headboard of my bed, wrapping my arms around my knees. Inhaling deeply, I tried to calm myself down.
So I had survived the night. That was kind of surprising. I had been half-expecting that Emmett Cullen guy to show up to kill me, or Rosalie and Alice, those two girls who had destroyed the bathroom at school to look for me. My mind had been plagued with horrible dreams the entire night, thanks to Angela's ominous warning over the phone the night before. Had she really been telling the truth about me endangering Charlie by asking about the Cullens?
A soft knock sounded against my door, and I jerked my head up in surprise. Charlie was standing awkwardly outside in the hall, already dressed in his uniform. "Uh…sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," he muttered apologetically.
"That's okay," I mumbled back, wondering what exactly he wanted. He hadn't really bothered to spare me many words last night when I'd told him that I was going to sleep. He had seemed kind of mad about me asking him questions about the Cullens at supper.
"I just wanted to come make sure that you were awake. I didn't hear your alarm go off, and I'm about to leave for work."
"I didn't set it," I answered him vaguely, shrugging once. "And why are you leaving for work so early?" When it's still slightly dark out, I added mentally.
"It's almost eight," he said by way of explanation.
My eyes widened, and I felt the blood literally drain from my face. "In the morning?" I demanded breathlessly, throwing the covers back from my legs and leaping frantically to my feet. I stumbled on the slick floor, and nearly did a face-plant, which would have completely ruined my morning. A nasty purple bruise on the side of my face wouldn't be a very flattering accessory.
Catching my balance, I darted my eyes wildly around the room. Had I left my books all in the same place last night? Had I laid out any clothes to wear today? Should I take a shower this morning to make sure that I was clean, or did I even have time for that?
Charlie took an uneasy step backwards into the hallway, eying me as though afraid I might crazily attack him. "Well, I'll just let you get ready for school now, Bells." He turned, then stopped before continuing on down the hallway. "And Bella?" His voice took on a more serious tone.
I paused in digging through my dresser, a pair of jeans and three different shirts clutched tightly in my arms.
"Be careful at school today. And…" He hesitated, brow furrowing deeply as he thought of how to word his next statement. "Well…just remember what I told you last night at supper. Don't ask any…questions." He stared at me meaningfully, his gaze surprisingly intense.
I swallowed hard, thinking of the creepy Cullens and everyone's reactions to them. Maybe there actually was reason to be afraid of them. "I promise, Dad," I reassured him quickly, trying to keep a light tone in my voice. I wanted to pretend that I couldn't all too easily see the ominous meaning behind his words. "Now, have a good day at work. I have to get ready for school now, okay?" I resumed the dive into my dresser, this time more theatrically than before as I put on a show for his benefit.
He bobbed his head one time, seeming satisfied with the act that I had put on. "See you tonight, Bells." I listened to his boots clumping down the hall, waiting until the door slammed before I stopped throwing clothes everywhere.
Okay. I needed to be sensible about this. I couldn't just go charging off to school without even a thought for my own safety. All the creepy Cullen kids were out to get me, and probably wouldn't just ignore me after what had happened yesterday. Wow, what a disaster that had been.
So I needed some stuff to defend myself, just in case any of them decided to come after me or something. It would be great to borrow one of Charlie's guns, but not only would it be illegal to carry it with me, I also didn't have the slightest idea how to use it. Plus, if that wasn't enough reasons, Charlie had of course taken his gun with him to work. That left me with…nothing.
I remembered the time, and quickly started pulling off my nightshirt. I decided that it would be smartest to get there on time, so that I could try my best to blend in with the crowd. Even if I had to skip breakfast today, I wasn't going to be late to school. I jerked on the pair of jeans that I had pulled from my dresser, then a form-fitting gray t-shirt. After adding a pair of black boots and my raincoat, and quickly running a brush through my tangled hair, I was ready. Now I just needed to figure out the weapons that I would take with me to school.
I hurried over to my desk, mind speeding in ten different directions. I didn't really own anything that dangerous, for obvious reasons. Just imagine me with a pocketknife, when I couldn't even walk in a straight line without tripping over my own feet. Maybe a pencil could work, I told myself sarcastically. That would really scare those Cullens away.
With that depressing thought, I gave up on the idea of weapons. I would probably have no hope of defending myself from one of the Cullens, especially if they were all as strong as the two named Alice and Rosalie. I swallowed hard at the thought of the dented and destroyed bathroom stalls at the school, and how close I'd come to being crushed into a bloody pulp. Not a very good thought, to tell you the truth.
I gathered my books, shoving them haphazardly into my backpack, then rushed downstairs to see if I could scrounge up some orange juice and a banana to scarf down before heading to school. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, after all.
I roared up to the curb of the school, the crusher rattling comfortingly around me. It was as though the ancient truck was reassuring me that nothing would happen while I was inside its warm cab. I almost believed it, until I saw the empty parking lot stretching out around me. Once again, not a single person was out, running late to their classes. Was it just me, or did everyone else at this school always show up early?
Slinging my backpack over one shoulder, I kicked the door of my truck open and staggered out into the faint drizzle of rain. Squinting through the annoying sheen of water, I could see that same silver car parked in the middle of a sea of empty parking slots. The same as yesterday, all the other cars were as far away as possible from it. A brilliant thought occurred to me. Maybe the vehicle belonged to one of the Cullens. That would definitely explain why all the other kids and teachers stayed away from it.
Heaving a sigh, and feeling the nervous lurching of my stomach, I marched up the steps towards the front door of the school. I was already picturing the route that Mike and Eric had taken me on yesterday, to my first class. Hopefully, if I just used that route, and didn't stop for anything, I could make it to class before the Cullens tried to kill me.
With this brave thought, I squared my shoulders and rushed into the building. No one really gave me a second glance, out of all the students that were milling around. There were maybe twenty all together, gathered in small huddles and whispering to each other. Had they somehow heard about the Cullens' plot to kill me? In a town this size, it wouldn't have surprised me.
"Bella! Hey, Bella!"
I flinched, jumping maybe a mile high when the voice very loudly called my name. I dropped my backpack, and papers scattered just about everywhere. Apparently, the zipper hadn't been fastened very tightly. With a sigh, I dropped to my knees and began shuffling through the clutter.
"Wow, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, Bella." Mike Newton knelt beside me, carefully gathering up scraps of torn paper and shoving them into my backpack again.
"That's okay, Mike," I muttered, sparing him a small glance from the corner of my eye. I didn't miss the fact that his face brightened when I said his name.
"You remember my name?"
"Yeah…" Why wouldn't I? He had saved me from the horrible cat killer in the basement yesterday. This kind of thing tended to imprint upon someone's memory.
"Well, that's…that's…awesome." He seemed to have run out of words that could describe me remembering his name. "And I really am sorry about scaring you," he added seriously, offering a hand to help me to my feet.
"You didn't scare me," I told him stubbornly, throwing the strap of my pack over on shoulder again. "You just startled me. I have a lot on my mind, that's all." I cleared my throat awkwardly, thinking that the sound seemed fake to even my own ears. Surely Mike could tell that I was hiding something.
His brow furrowed slightly, like a wounded puppy. He sort of resembled a golden retriever, actually. "Do you need help getting to class?" he asked in a gentlemanly way.
"Sure, why not?" I declared brightly, plastering a phony smile across my lower face. Maybe if someone were walking with me, the Cullens would leave me alone.
But that was, unfortunately, a very big maybe.
"Okay, right this way." Mike gestured widely with both arms, straight through the middle of the crowds of whispering students. He waited until I took a couple steps forward, then fell into pace beside me. "So, uh, how are you liking Forks?"
"It's…very green," I ventured, clearing my throat a second time. I wasn't really good at talking to people I didn't know very well, but was even worse when I already had my mind on something else.
He laughed. "Yeah, that's one way to describe this place," he agreed jokingly. "I bet you're enjoying the rain, too."
"Not really," I answered him truthfully, darting my eyes around the hallway as we walked. No sign of Edward, or any of the other Cullens. This was always a good sign.
We rounded a corner of the hallway, and I paused to allow three girls to rush past me. They were obviously in a rush to get to class, if I were to guess from the way that they were hurrying along. As I moved back to follow Mike, the blood drained from my face. I even felt my jaw sag open in shock as I gaped at the girls' bathroom just in front of me.
It was most certainly the one that I had been hiding in yesterday, as I recognized the broken water fountain out in front of it. The only difference was the string of yellow crime scene tape that was stretched out in front of the door, blocking it off from use.
"Wh…what are you staring at?" Mike stuttered, voice a couple of pitches higher with obvious anxiety. He gently clutched at my sleeve, trying half-heartedly to tug me off in the direction of my first class.
I impatiently tugged my sleeve out of his grasp, fixing my gaze back on the blocked doorway of the bathroom. So someone had discovered the bent and broken stalls. Why wasn't everyone talking about it? If something like that had happened at my school back in Phoenix, it would have been the hottest gossip, and the day's school would have been canceled while repairs were being made.
Deciding to try to figure out what exactly Mike knew, I pointed straight at the yellow crime scene tape. "What happened there? Did someone drown in a toilet?" I tried to make my tone seem light and joking, swallowing hard as I finished speaking.
"It doesn't matter. Come on, Bella." He tugged urgently at my sleeve again, making me stagger and almost lose my balance.
I jerked my body away from him again, scowling at him darkly. Just what was his problem? Why the heck were he and all the others around this stupid town so afraid of the Cullens? "What's wrong with you?" I demanded in a hiss. "Why do you keep avoiding all my questions?"
He quickly looked away, focusing his blank stare on a dented locker. "Just leave it alone, Bella," he ground out through clenched teeth, shoulders stiff. "You don't know what you're messing with, okay? Things around here can get…dangerous." He turned and stalked hurriedly away, without even a backwards glance.
Okay…so Mike was officially now one of the few who didn't appreciate my digging into things. Sheesh, couldn't anyone around here help me out a little in my quest for answers? All I wanted to know was some information about the mysterious Cullens. And I obviously wasn't going to get any, at this rate.
Heaving a sigh, I hurried off towards English. I was only about a minute away from being late to class, and that wouldn't look good, seeing how I had skipped my last classes yesterday. I didn't want to get kicked out of Forks high school, especially with all the weird things going on around here. I was going to figure it all out, no matter what.
As I walked away from the bathroom at a rapid pace, I could have sworn that I felt a pair of eyes boring into my back.
When I staggered into the correct classroom, my eyes immediately flew to the desk placed in front of my own. The one where Caitlin, the artist girl, had been sitting the day before. I felt my eyes narrow in disbelief when I saw that Caitlin was nowhere near her desk. In fact, all of the other chairs were already filled, besides hers and mine. Where was she? Surely the things that Jessica and the others had been saying at lunch yesterday weren't actually true…
I was torn from my reverie when Eric Yorkie waved enthusiastically at me from his seat near the back of the room. He was the only one that actually seemed glad of my presence. Everyone else looked up to stare accusingly at me, then quickly looked away again. Why were they all mad at me? I'd never done anything to them; I didn't even know most of them!
Squaring my shoulders with grim determination, I walked calmly to my desk. Pretending to ignore the millions of eyes that I could feel darting at my face, I settled myself into my seat and took my English notebook from my back. Digging up a pencil, I placed it neatly beside the notebook, just as the late bell shrilled loudly.
Mr. Mason hauled his body out of his chair, displaying the same look of utter boredom that he had been wearing yesterday. Shuffling around some papers on his desk, he pulled out a crumpled teacher's book and began to read from it in an emotionless monotone. I had barely managed to figure out that this lecture was once again on Romeo and Juliet before I tuned out again.
My thoughts were tangled twines, and I desperately tried to make sense of them all, eyes landing absently on the empty desk before me. I had so few clues as to what was going on here in Forks, and hardly any chances to figure it out. And why was Caitlin missing? Surely Edward and his family wouldn't have taken her away just because she had drawn a perfect portrait of him. True, the pair of fangs that had been added in had sort of ruined the Greek god aspect of it, but it was the thought that counted.
Something soft crashed into my back, and I flinched. It took a moment to calm my racing heart, then I slowly and deliberately dropped my pencil onto the floor. Bending over to get it, I also scooped up the crumpled piece of notebook paper that had hit me in the back.
After watching Mr. Mason drone on cluelessly for a couple more minutes, I quickly smoothed the paper out across my desktop. I squinted down at the messy scrawl, trying to make sense of it. When my brain finally registered the words, my heart began racing again, beating frantically against my ribs.
Bloodsucker lover. It's your fault that Caitlin's dead.
This was all that the note said, but it made my head start spinning and my pulse speed up drastically. What did it mean? 'Bloodsucker lover'? As in…a tick or something? Why would I love a tick? And…was it true that Caitlin was dead? It couldn't really be true…
I had no clue as to what the unfriendly note could mean, but I quickly tore it up into small shreds and methodically dropped each piece into my backpack. Somehow, I knew that it was important to make sure that no one found this note in my possession. Something told me that it was dangerous.
The question that I had already asked myself so many times came to mind once again: just what exactly was going on in this town?
Please review…please? –puppy dog eyes-