Property of an Obsessive Vampire

Chap 11

"Of course I can watch Bella for you." Claudia said with a ruthless grin. She looked like a belly dancer now, in poofy purple pants and a cut off shirt. The top showed the pale of her stomach stressed across impressive abs. Her hair was long and dark, done in multiple waves. Her eyes were a deep sea blue.

Edward grimaced at the look, obviously upset about something. Bella frowned knowing they were having some sort of silent conversation she wasn't a part of.
"No, Claudia. I don't want you taking Bella anywhere. It's not safe right now." He glanced down at the said girl with gentle eyes. "I have a few errands to attend to. You'll be safe with Claudia."

"You're leaving me?" The thought of abandonment hadn't hit her this hard since her mother's death. Her panic was resurfacing and she found herself clinging to Edward. "Why?"

His golden eyes widened, stunned at first, and something in his face hardened. His hand lifted to her cheek and he brushed a few locks of brown her away from her eyes.

"You shouldn't grow too attached to me," he answered in a soft voice.

Edward turned to Claudia, nodded, and disappeared at vampire speed. Bella hardly got the "Ed" in by the time she was standing alone.

Claudia laughed, the sound not quite fitting her exotic features. "Why, you're just a love struck puppy, aren't you?" Bella flushed, which only encouraged her to laugh more. "Don't worry, Hun. Eddie's much too pure to acknowledge your feelings."

"Too pure?" Bella probed.

"Let's just say a relationship between vampires and humans never end well."

Hearing Claudia say that made something deep within her core throb. She buried the pain and truth under her mother's death. With a convenient distraction, Bella gestured at her outfit. "Is there any reason you're dressed for occasion?"

"Oh, this? Meet Clarissa. She's a belly dancer from Europe. She speaks very little English." Claudia spun around once, giving a show of her flexibility and grace. "I'm at work right now. There are many disguises I must wear."

Claudia snapped her fingers and her body changed. The once fair skin turned tan and her eyes went round and shrunk into a wider face. She was at least three inches shorter than Bella now, with a round chin and straight black hair.

"I must be going, but I trust you will be well." It was strange hearing the same voice come out of this Asian woman as the belly dancer. "Everything you need is here. Don't get into trouble while I'm gone." Claudia left the apartment and for the first time Bella felt increasingly alone. At least before when she was trying to escape from Edward, she had something to do. Now, with nothing but time, the seriousness of the situation sunk in with grief.

She was leaving home with a stranger. A vampire stranger who wanted to protect her out of the kindness of his cold, unbeating heart. She betrayed her friends, left her poor father to himself. It nearly killed him when he found out about Renee's death. This would surely break him.

She had to find a way to tell him she was okay, but how on earth could she do that and convince him not to come save her? Maybe she could call Angela or Jessica to spread the word.

A wireless phone hung on the wall along the tiny kitchen. Bella reached over and placed it to her ear. There was no sound, not even the ring of a dial tone. It was disconnected.

With a groan, she put the device back in place. Vaguely, she recalled a conversation with Edward on this very thing. He didn't trust her, thinking she would call someone. As much as she didn't want to trouble him, she had to get the message out.

"Don't get into trouble while I'm gone."

Claudia's voice rang in her ears. I'm not going to sit here like some damsel in distress, Bella told herself, marching out the door.

"Excuse me, do you have a phone I can borrow?"

The man behind the convenience counter frowned slightly. Judging from his expression, it was obvious he knew Bella wasn't going to pay for anything. "In the back." He gestured to no point in particular and went back to thumbing through his singles.

Bella moved to the back of the store by the Slurpee machine and sticky counters. An outdated phone was on the side. Bella grabbed it and dialed.

It picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Jessica?"

There was silence at first. "Bella? Oh my God, is that you?"

She nodded and realized Jessica couldn't see her. "Yeah." Her tone was breathless. She didn't know how good it would feel to hear a familiar voice. "It's me."

"Where are you? Do you realize your dad has the entire town looking for you?" Bella flinched at the thought. "Some people have already declared you dead! What happened, Bella?"

Her voice didn't work at first. "Jessica, listen. I have to go somewhere, somewhere safe. I don't want to worry Charlie and I don't want him to look for me anymore."

"Bella, what are you saying?"

She swallowed. "Look, I know it probably doesn't make sense, but I need you to tell him that. Please. I'm safe and don't look for me."

Jessica sighed on the other line. "I hope you know what you're doing."

The light above her flickered as Bella set the phone down. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweater and went to thank the cashier, but the spot was empty. She glanced around as that irritating light continued to flicker, on and off.

That's weird. Maybe he went to the bathroom, Bell summed up, heading to the door. Something red caught her eye.

Behind the counter, splayed across the cash register was fresh blood. As her gaze lowered she caught sight of a body crumpled on the tile floor.

The hairs on her neck stood up. The broken light above her suddenly felt a lot more ominous.

Bella turned for the door, sprinting down the dark road. The pavement was uneven and she always seemed to trip over something. Even so, she could hear Edward's commanding voice as if he were right beside her, telling her to run.

When her legs finally gave out, Bella gasped and turned around.

Nothing. Nothing was chasing her. The full moon seemed to laugh at her own stupidity. She debated going back to the man - to see if he were really dead or simply unconscious.

"Bella." She turned and saw Edward's face and from the looks of it he didn't seem too happy.