I am SO, SO, SO sorry about leaving it this long to update! I have a couple of good excuses, but you probably don't want to hear them.
--hits self--
There, I've punished myself.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.
I am going to write a little summary to remind you of the story, because being guilty of not updating for a while, you may need reminding. If you have this awesome memory that remembers anything, then you're freakin' lucky, and you don't have to read this. Just skip down to the bold writing a bit below:
--points down--
Summary:
After catching rabies and biting Bella, Edward has been having a hard time with his emotions. He has apologised profusely and grandly to Bella, and they are on the way to mending their relationship, though there's still a long way to go.
Bella has found out her power- she can 'hack' into people's minds, talk to them, and control them if she wants. She has been having fun with this power- making Edward almost kiss Jasper, making Jasper strip (good idea, Bella you genius! It's something we all want to see :P). Alice got annoyed at Bella for making her husband strip, and has sworn revenge.
Making the most of her power to taunt Edward, Bella has been 'talking dirty' to him from the other side of the house. He can't go and give in to her, because Alice knows what is happening, and wants a way to get back at them both. Interrupting in a private ExB moment (when it's getting steamy ;P) would be the perfect revenge, and Edward doesn't want that at all… he wants the first time to be special and not interrupted… so he wont give in to Bella.
When Bella finally gets Edward to come upstairs, he finds out that Emmett has disclosed a personal piece of info told in confidence (namely, the fact that Bella's blush arouses him! :P) and he vows to get back at Emmett in a fight.
Not wanting to be involved in this, Bella sets off to go shopping, leaving a quarrelling Edward and Emmett in the house.
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Bella's POV
I met Alice on the way out and she absentmindedly agreed to let me use her new Porsche. After smashing up the last one chasing after Edward, and leaving it in a ditch on the side of a road somewhere near Port Angeles, Alice had brought a new one- exactly the same as the old one. We didn't ever speak about what had happened before my violent change into a vampire. I had forgiven Edward for attacking me, even though he would probably never forgive himself, as long as we existed.
Alice's new car had a couple of scratches already, I noticed as I slid into the driver's seat. As I drove quickly away from the house- in becoming a vampire I had also acquired a love of speed- I commented to myself that this car would seem completely out of place in Alaska to other people. We didn't live in the National Park of Denali, which would have been invading the privacy of the family of vampires that lived there, but we were close to the border of it. I didn't know if they even let cars like this in, or if they had good enough roads. For living in Alaska for at least a week, I knew little about the area. Maybe today's drive would shed some light on its mystery.
Realizing I didn't know where you went to shop in Alaska, I decided that if I kept driving south then I would find a place eventually. I had told Edward I might be gone for a while- he would understand. It wasn't really socially healthy to stay in the house all the time anyway. I had to get out sooner or later.
The roads were pretty unblocked, though the further south I went the busier they became. I realized I was running low on petrol as I neared civilisation, and stopped the car to get some fuel. As soon as I opened the door, the smell of fresh blood hit me like a wrecking ball, leaving me reeling.
Shit! Was all I had time to think, Humans!
And then the sweet aroma was already taking over my senses… numbing my feelings of tension and worry, and igniting that fire in the back of my throat that longed for the warm, scarlet liquid to be running down my throat…
Before I knew it, I was running.
Edward's POV
As a fist struck my temple, an image burst its way into my mind- terrifying and unstoppable.
Emmett noticed the lack of blows he was receiving from me, and stopped pummelling me back.
"What is it?" he asked, pulling me up from the floor.
"A vision," I said shortly. "Alice!" I yelled upstairs.
She was down in a second, her eyebrows drawn together in worry.
"I know," she said, "What can we do?"
"We have to stop her!" I shouting, running for the door.
Emmett and Alice were a step behind me.
There were only two cars in the garage- Emmett's Jeep and my Volvo.
"I let Bella take my car," Alice said.
"How fast can your Volvo go?" Emmett asked.
"Fast
enough," I replied, and jumped over the hood to get into the
driver's side.
I looked back at the house, and Jasper was
standing in the doorway.
"Where are you going?" he yelled.
"It's an emergency!" Alice screamed at him, and he ran for the car.
He jumped in the back and slammed the door. Alice filled him in on what was going to happen if we didn't get there fast enough, while I stepped on the accelerator and swerved to avoid the trees lining the bend in our drive.
"Where are Esme, Rose and Carlisle?" Alice asked, "Don't you think we should let them know?"
Jasper was staring white-faced out of the window, and for once in his life, Emmett had no jokey comment to make.
"I don't know," I replied. "What would they be able to do?"
"It depends where they are! They might be closer to Bella than we are."
"Go on then. Do it quickly."
Alice opened her phone, and her fingers were a blur in the mirror as she typed in Carlisle's mobile number. It rang twice, and then our father answered, his voice naturally calm.
"Alice."
"Carlisle,
there's been a problem. Bella… she's come into contact with
humans, and we aren't with her!"
"Why did you leave her
alone?" Carlisle said, "She's just a newborn. The human will
have no chance. Stupid, Alice! Why didn't you think?"
"I'm sorry Carlisle. We were all distracted."
"Well it's too late now. Where is she?"
"She's near the border," Alice replied. "At a service station. We're just leaving the house. Are you any closer to her than us?"
"No,"
Carlisle answered, "We went miles north."
"Oh crap!" Alice
said.
I could hear Esme's disapproving murmur through the phone.
"What can we do Carlisle?" Alice said, her voice high with worry.
"Ring her," Carlisle replied.
"I already tried. She's not answering."
"You're just going to have to hurry," Carlisle replied, "Esme and I will go back to the house. If she has hurt a human, then bring it back to the house and I'll look at it. If you get there in time, suck the venom back out."
"What if she's drained it already?" Alice said, "She's just new to this. She's never tasted human blood before… she won't be able to control herself."
"There's nothing you can do," Carlisle said, "But hope."
"Ring us if anything changes," Esme said. "Or as soon as you've found her."
"Goodbye," Alice said, and snapped her phone closed. She stared at it for a few seconds, as if wishing this was just a bad dream, then slipped it into her pocket.
"Why didn't one of us go with her?" I said, angry at myself. I wished I could just erase time, and not let her go…. If she did hurt a human, then this would finish her. She had gone through too much, and taking the life of a human would be unforgivable in her eyes.
I was reminded of a day that seemed lifetimes ago, sitting in a sun-lit meadow, heart tranquil as a mountain pool…
Even the strongest of us fall of the wagon sometimes, I had said.
I had promised Bella that I'd never let her fall.
I'd promised to always catch her.
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Once again I apologise for the wait. I know this chapter is quite short, but I wanted to get it out today so people didn't give up on me. I will be updating again soon, I promise.
Love from your guilty writer,
CullenLove x