A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to update my last chapter. In the meantime, I was working at chapter 11. Somehow this was easier to write. So I guess I don't have to be too sorry ;-).

I still don't own Twilight *argh*. It owns me totally, though. And I'm counting down the days 'til New Moon.

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Recently in After Dark: BPOV
Suddenly, something big was hugging me, lifting me off my feet and squeezing the life out of me. I couldn't breathe. "Bella! You don't know how much I missed you!" he sighed happily, spinning me around like a child. Oh crap. Now I really had to admit myself to a mental hospital. I had severe visual, auditory AND tactile hallucinations.

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Chapter 10 – (untitled) – Emmett's POV

This girl was unbelievable. After limping down five flights of stairs, refusing to let me help her, she still insisted on driving by herself.

After arguing for almost two minutes, I just grabbed her and shoved her into my jeep, strapping her in. She mumbled something about treating her like a baby, but I didn't react. Common, she could barely walk without pain. No need to play the strong, independent woman.

She gave me directions to a really crappy bar outside of town.

"Do you come often out here?" I asked her, trying to hide my anger. This place was right next to the woods and miles away from the next town. I knew exactly what I would find in there: prostitutes, truckers, alcoholics and some creepy, random, horny old men. Or horny, creepy, alcoholic truckers. Not a place for my little sister if she wanted to go out. I chided myself not to have chosen a place to go. I should have brought her to a classy, expensive bar next to downtown with a nice view on the lake, clean toilettes, harmless guests and friendly waiters. After I had taken her to a nice restaurant to get some food in her. I didn't even know if she had eaten today. Typical. stupid me. I should have checked the fridge before we left. What a careful big brother I was.

"Not really", she answered, eager to go inside. Really informative.

She limped straightforward to the barkeeper and ordered five fucking plain vodka shots while climbing on a barstool. I mean, five! She would never make it out here while being conscious. Considering her luck, she would manage to pass out and fall from the stool she was sitting in only after her third shot. So, I would have to break my promise to not interfere again tonight.

I glanced angrily over the few customers in here, telling them silently to back off as they stared interested at Bella. Some of them seemed to recognize her. I had known it before entering. This place meant trouble.

I couldn't stop staring at her as she tossed the first shot with a grace only skilled drinkers possess. She didn't even grimace as the liquid hit her stomach. This wasn't a good sign.

The lights in here didn't do her any good. But it wasn't a fucking lighting problem. She was obviously malnourished. Her hair was thinner, duller and darker then I remembered. When I had seen her first at Rebecca's, I thought she had colored it, matching her clothes. But now I could see for sure it was still her own, natural hair. Only it seemed… kind of dead. Her lips were chapped as if she were biting them a lot. She was still pale, even paler than I remembered her last night. And she still looked exhausted although I knew she had had a healthy amount of sleep. I had been there the entire time. Maybe she was really coming down with something.

"What?" she bellowed. "Do you want me to stop?" she chuckled, tossing her third shot. She was still sitting upright.

Of course I wanted her to stop. She was my little sister and drinking herself into a coma. But there was no reasoning with her right now. And due to the fact we didn't take care of her the last fucking three years, I had no right to tell her to stop. I had no right to ask her to stop. I had no right to even fucking beg her to stop.

Of course, he would have. "I'm not Edward", I mumbled to myself, immediately understanding what this meant. I couldn't help her. I was her big brother and it was my job to fix her, but I couldn't. Only he could. All my brotherly affection and love towards her meant nothing. She needed Edward. But he refused to be with her. Everyone of us wanted to have her back in our family, but none of us would be able to really help her heal.

That seemed to amuse her, although she winced as I said his name. "Of course not", she grinned. "If you were him, you would take my drink away while telling me off and then you would make me go home, tucking me in with a chaste goodnight kiss on my forehead. Because you always know what's best for me", she said sarcastically and tossed another one.

We sat in silence after that. I didn't know what to say. She was angry. She was hurt. She was sad. And she was drinking a lot. I didn't want to upset her further, but I scowled at her as she shoved the empty glasses away and ordered a cocktail by snipping at the barkeeper.

I looked at her hunched form over the countertop. How a little, tiny human with her weight was still conscious after so many liquor, was beyond my imagination. She wasn't really drunk, but the liquor hadn't fully hit her bloodstream yet. She must have been quite used to drinking, and this fact scared me like hell.

Suddenly, she turned towards me. "I was wondering… How did you find me?" she asked. "Where are the others? And why did you even look for me? It's not that I'm that important", she scoffed.

I sighed. "I didn't look for you. I just wanted to have a drink and came to your bar", I said.

"A drink", she scoffed. Then, she tensed. "You're the big, good looking guy with the Bloody Mary!"

"I guess I am", I grinned.

"Of course", she mumbled, turning back. "First he's leaving me, then he's stalking me, then he's trying to lecture me, then he wants to hear how clever and sexy he is", she muttered. "Stalker tendencies and trying to make me a better human isn't sexy. He should have warned you."

I'm sorry I left you, I apologized mentally to her. And I'm trying my best not to lecture you. "I didn't look for you, I swear. I just happened to… stumble over you." She looked hurt. I hesitated, knowing I had made a mistake saying it like that. "Actually, you found me. To be honest, your scent found me", I confessed.

Her eyebrows shot up.

"I was just sitting there, and then there was this amazing scent. I was almost scared I had found my singer and wanted to get the hell out of there. Then, you were right in front of me, and…" I trailed off.

"Traitor scent", she muttered. "Wait", she turned back towards me. "You think my scent is amazing?"

"Everyone thinks your scent is amazing, Bella." I mean, even Rosalie thought Bella smelled delicious – at least when she wasn't drunk – although she would never admit it.

"But you just said you have thought for a moment I'm your singer." Oh crap. I shouldn't have told her that. She smiled, then grinned. "You're disgusting", she giggled, swaying slightly on her barstool while dangling her feet like a child.

"That's not funny", I growled. Yes, it was disgusting. I was her big brother, after all. I should have recognized her smell and the drum of her heartbeat in less then a second, even before I went inside the bar. I should have recognized the moment I came near the college district. "I didn't recognize you at first. Your scent has changed", I defended myself.

"What?" she hissed. She suddenly looked scared. "Do I smell bad, I mean-"

"Of course you don't", I chuckled at her strange logic. "Your smell is still great, even if your hair is lingering with tobacco and sweaty humans after work." She shifted in her seat, and her pulse quickened a bit. I could tell she felt uneasy. Good. Maybe she would consider another career besides being a drunk waitress in a crappy bar? If she didn't, I would drag her to the nice lady in the guidance counselling office.

"Your smell is still great. It's just a bit… different. Like when you're changing one or two ingredients in a perfume?" I tried to explain. "It's the same perfume, just not exactly the same."

"Hm", she mumbled. "I changed my shampoo…"

"That's not it. Even with no shampoo at all, you would still smell like strawberries and flowers. I guess it's part of your blood."

She looked surprised. What, did she really think I didn't know she had used to wash her hair with a strawberry-scented shampoo? Common, I had perfect senses. Okay, almost perfect senses.

"But maybe…" She looked interested.

"I guess it's the alcohol. And the smoking", I grinned sarcastically.

"Don't even start", she hissed. "I'm old enough to decide what to drink. Or to smoke."

"Actually, you're not old enough", I hit the counter, trying not to show my anger too much. I could feel the stares of everyone else on me. Maybe they were hoping for a fight? I wouldn't mind if they weren't insignificant, breakable humans.

I was a bit stunned that she dared to glare angrily at me. "Don't look at me like that, I know exactly what date my little sister's birthday is", I hissed. "You're not 21 yet, and I'm quite sure you didn't start drinking just a few days ago. By the way, I'm wondering why this guy didn't even ask about your license", I fumed.

"Who cares", she mumbled. "And I'm not going to celebrate my birthday anyway, so I guess I will stay 20 forever. I told Charlie I have exams and a lot of work to do."

Staying the same age because you don't celebrate your birthday? That was fucking unlogical, human logic. And so Bella.

"How long have you been working in Rebecca's bar?"

"A few months", she said, sucking on the straw of her drink. "Why?"

"Actually, I'm quite surprised that there is someone who's not afraid to let you walk around with a tray of dangerous, breakable, precious glasses", I chuckled.

She tensed, and I knew I had fucked up again. Damn. I just remembered her of the Disastrous Broken Glassware Incident.

"Sorry", I mumbled, fiddling with my straw. "But… don't you have classes in the morning?"

"No."

"But… what do you do besides working?"

"I'm… hanging around?" She tensed when she noticed my angry stare. "You know, working up to ten hours straight in a bar where hundreds of drunk weirdos try to grab your ass is kind of tiring", she tried to argue. "I need some sleep during the day." It wasn't really convincing since she had slurred it a little.

"So, you're not going to college at all?" I asked in a disapprovingly tone. I already assumed she didn't go to college, but I wanted her to deny it, to tell me she had taken a semester off.

"No. College sucks", she stated, tossing the straw away and emptying her drink in one long sip. "It's a waste of time and money."

Yeah. College sucked. It sucked the same way highschool did. Especially when you had to repeat it over and over again. But still. She didn't need to know that.

I noticed then that the alcohol was hitting her bloodstream. It made her smell totally weird.

I patted her back in a brotherly manner. "I think we should get you home, Bella. Tomorrow is another day."

"I'm staying", she hissed, rubbing her eyes. "Don't you E… patronize me. And don't you touch me. And don't you call me Bella."

"Why?" I said, taken aback.

"Bella is for friends only. For people I like."

Ouch. That hurt.

"But… it doesn't matter anyway. There's no need for anyone to call me Bella."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Jesus, isn't it obvious?" she sneered. "I left my old life. I more or less left old, plain, boring Bella behind." She waved to the bartender to serve her some more vodka shots.

So, drunk, waitressing Bella living in a shithole was an improvement to her? "Great", I mumbled, too low for her ears, as the barkeeper arrived with a cheap bottle of vodka.

As he started to pour the first one, I held my hand over the still empty glasses. "I think we should stop here", I stated, looking intently into his eyes and flashing my teeth. Do you get the fucking hint?

"Oh, don't you worry, she can handle it", he laughed, shoving my hand away and filling the others. I boiled. How fucking dare he? This is my little, underage sister you're filling up! I wanted to rip his head off, but I didn't think it was a good idea to do it in front of her. I didn't want her to run away again. And I didn't want to cause a scene when Bella was involved. Who knew in what trouble she was already in.

"Cheers?" she grinned at me, holding her glass up as if she wanted to toast.

"Erm… no, thanks", I shuddered, remembering Bloody Mary.

"Loser", she chuckled, tossing it and slamming the glass back on the counter. I swear I could hear the glass crack.

"Ah", she smacked her lips, grabbing another one. "Come to mommy."

If this hadn't been my sister in front of me, I would have laughed uncontrollably. But this wasn't fucking funny at all. I knew if I had been human, she still would have drunken me under the table. This was horrible.

The barkeeper seemed to notice my disapproval. "Don't worry", he laughed. "She won't vomit all over your car. You can still take her home and… you know." And then… he winked at me. He fucking winked at me! Was it just me or were all bartenders in this city fucking crazy or suicidal?

I was boiling. Suddenly, everything was happening in slow motion while I tried not to burst.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Bella tossing the last shot, and then throwing the empty glass over her right shoulder instead of putting it back on the counter.

I could hear it shattering to pieces.

I could hear the yelling of the bartender who was obviously not happy about it.

I could feel the stairs of everyone else in the room who had turned to watch the show, although they didn't seem surprised.

I could hear Bella giggling about how broken glassware meant luck – but mostly not for her.

I could see him leaning over the counter, hearing him whispering in her ear that he would put the glass on the list.

I could hear her breath hitching.

I could hear him asking if she already knew how she wanted to pay back the 300 dollar she still owned him.

I could hear him mumbling she should come back in two days when the real good stuff was arriving and that he had some ideas how she could pay this time. How she could pay all her bills at once.

That was it. I exploded.

With inhuman speed, I grabbed him by his neck and crushed his face on the counter, enjoying his attempts of holding back from wincing.

"Bella, we're leaving", I said. "Please wait outside for me."

I could tell she was pissed, but she obliged. She slid off the stool, hissing as her feet hit the ground. She was wavering a bit, struggling to get a hold on the bar. She grabbed her jacket and pulled it on with some difficulties. Then she started limping heavily towards the door, steading herself on the walls while everyone was staring after her.

As the door closed, I turned back to this asshole, pressing a little further. Tears of pain were flowing over his cheeks, and I was satisfied. Just a little more pressure, and he would sit in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

"By the way, drinks are on me", I said as I tossed 500 dollar on the counter." I leaned back into him, staring in his eyes, fletching my teeth and growling. "This means Bella's debts are zero now", I hissed. "And if you ever, ever threaten her again, or if you ever, ever give her anything to drink again, or if you ever, ever offer her any drugs again, I will know, and I'll come back. Do you understand me?"

He was too fucking scared to say anything.

"Do. You. Understand. Me?"

"Y… Yes", he stuttered, and I could smell he had just wet his pants.

"That's great", I grinned as I turned to leave.

*****

I was scared for just a seconds as I couldn't see Bella near the car. Then I heard her, very clearly. She was retching in the bushes next to the forest.

I sighed as I headed to her. I knew I should have stopped her sooner. I held her hair up as she started heaving again, patting awkwardly her back. I didn't remember anything of being sick. But it looked awful and pretty nasty. So I guessed she felt exactly the same it seemed to be. "Bella? Are you okay?"

"Go away! And don't call me Bella", she choked.

I sighed, watching in agony as she cleaned her lips with the right sleeve of her jacket while holding her stomach with her left arm.

"Common, I'll take you home", I mumbled.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled. Then she started sobbing and I was totally lost. Again.

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Reviews are better than creepy bartenders offering disgusting ways of paying back your bills.

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A/N: I am aware that Bella shouldn't know what a singer is. Edward explains it to her in Volterra after "visiting" Aro. But let's pretend he told her before while telling stories ;-).

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Coming up next:
Her face had smoothed, all of her nightmarish terror erased. She sighed, snuggled deeper into the pillow and started mumbling in her sleep. It was only one word she repeated every now and then for the next few hours. "Edward."