Happy Christmas Eve!
So sorry I haven't updated for ages, I have valid excuses I promise, but I'm sure you don't really care all that much about them. All I know is, there's a coupld of people I promised that I would get the next chapter up by Christmas, so here it is.
Thank you so much for reviewing the last chapter, was so happy to see we got past the 100 reviews mark, allows me to see that people appreciate my writing.
Anyway, enough rambling, enjoy the chapter and have a good Christmas!

Chapter 10

I backed away from the door slowly, hoping to create as little noise as possible, despite the fact that both James and Victoria had the ability to hear the movement easily.

My heart was pounding in my chest - it was almost loud enough for me to hear - as I fretted over the arrival of Victoria. I had only seen her once, but by her feline-like movements and from the insight I was given by Edward, I did know one thing: she was deadly. Possibly more so than James, and definitely more so than Laurent - the other vampire in their coven.

Did she know I was here? If so, was that the reason she was here now? How much worse would she make my life here? Or maybe she was just planning on ending it. If she didn't know about me yet, then she was going to find out, and soon. If she hadn't heard or smelt me yet, James would certainly tell her of my presence, especially if she were to be staying around for a while.

I wished I could hear them. I wanted to know what was going on, just so my imagination didn't run away with itself.

I lowered my self slowly to the floor, crossing my legs so I sat in the middle of the room. With extra care, I placed my hands gently to rest on top of my knees and gripped them with the tips of my fingers; there was no other way of resisting the urge to drum my fingers against them. I couldn't risk making a sound, not yet.

I stared at the door, my eyes trained on it as I expected either of the two vampires somewhere on the other sided of it to burst in at any moment. There wasn't much at all I could do if - oh hell, I mean when - it happened, but at least I could be prepared for it and faced it head on. Then I could truly prove Edward's beliefs that I was brave even if I didn't completely believe it.

I fought desperately with the urge to fidget but I didn't allow myself to succumb to the desire. My limbs were stiff, my hands and fingers rigid, even my back stayed in position. The only movement my body made were those that were involuntary: blinking, breathing, a slight twitch of my lips. Even those were minor though, barely noticeable unless someone was really paying attention which I was pretty damn sure they weren't.

Damn I'd be fucked if James had installed cameras in here or something that I had been to ignorant to notice.

My mind was messed up. I swear I was never this paranoid before.

I sighed before turning my gaze downwards towards my knees and the hands placed upon them. The second I realised what I'd just done I regretted it instantly. My eyes snapped up to the door again as I caught my lower lip between my teeth, nibbling on it nervously. I couldn't believe what was going through my mind, because I'd basically exhaled louder than normal. I felt like I was on the run, watching my back all the time for a criminal offence from the police.

There were a few things wrong with that thought though: a) I wasn't running anywhere, b) I'd sighed, not exactly criminal in anyway and c) James and Victoria were much more serious than the police and there was no way I could outrun them.

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, trying to empty my head. It wasn't doing me any good worrying about it. What happened, happened now.

Much like I did when I first left with James, I thought about everyone I was leaving behind. The only difference this time was it all seemed so much more serious now that there was two of them. I knew if Victoria wanted me dead, James wouldn't hesitate to make that so.

It appeared to me that James and Victoria wouldn't be disturbing me just yet, so I allowed my head to hang - silently this time - giving me the opportunity to think.

I remembered the note I'd left for Edward, telling him how much I loved him. I wished there was some way I could have told him in person one last time. There was no way that could be expressed to the fullest on paper, no matter how hard I tried. I remembered the last time I talked to him on the phone… everything seemed so much closer to being resolved then. The last time I saw him in person. It shouldn't have been like that, no one's last meeting with the love of their life should ever be like that, though I expect I'm the only person - well, human - who's ever been in that situation before.

I sighed, remembering Alice and Jasper. They had been so good to me, helping me despite possibly putting their entire family at risk. Even Jasper, who still craved my blood was able to help protect me as best he could. I owed both of them so much, even just for the few days we were in Phoenix together.

I buried my head in my hands. The guilt I felt at the way I had left Charlie overwhelmed me. I hadn't really thought about it since I left, pushing it to the back of my mind, hoping I could resolve it before I had to think about it too much. So much for that idea. I couldn't help but wander what he thought of me now. There was no doubt that he would still love and care about me, but surely leaving him the same way my mother had left would have put a strain on any relationship we had.

I removed my head from where it rest in my hands when I heard a door slam shut. If I was right, it had come from upstairs but I wasn't completely sure. Either way, I wasn't yet faced with the two of them right then, so I was happy enough… all things considered.

I scraped my hands through my hair, pulling it all back into a ponytail before releasing it to flow around my shoulders. I repeated the action several times before I finally became bored and crossed my arms over my chest. It was surprising how tolerant I'd become of myself repetitively doing little things just to keep myself somewhat entertained while I'd been here.

I jumped in surprise when I heard something being smashed just outside the door.

Hesitantly I walked towards it, tip-toeing so as not to make a huge amount of noise. When I was merely inches away from it, I leaned my body forward, turned my head sideways and pressed my ear up against the hard surface. I squinted my lips to the side and kept my gaze sideways, towards the door trying to focus on what was on the other side.

I couldn't hear anything. In a vain attempt to hear better, I pressed my head harder against the wood, but it was useless. To my ears, there was silence.

Irritated, I turned my head so that my forehead was pressed against the door and held it there. When I got fed up of the position I was in, pulled away from the door, but only a little, but before I could get anywhere else, the door swung open with force and crashed into my face. From the impact, my body was thrown backwards, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the floor.

I was pretty sure there was no blood. I couldn't feel any running down my face, and I hadn't been hit anywhere particularly sensitive, so I was almost certain I was alright on that front. Just to be sure though, I reached up and ran my hand over my face. When my hand came back clean, I could have cried with relief despite the pain that was still there.

Pretty much at once, I heard both a shrill, high pitched laugh that made me uneasy the second it reached my ears and an angry growl of frustration.

Slowly, I lifted myself to sit up, leaning on my arms, not able to hold myself up as I was beginning to feel dizzy. I squinted as I looked in the direction of the sounds; my vision had become slightly blurred, but it was quite obvious to me - as it would have been to anyone - that James and Victoria were the source of the noises.

I looked towards the fuzzy figures stood before me, from what I could tell they were still stood in the doorframe. I closed my eyes and pressed the palm of my hand against my forehead, trying to relieve both the headache and the out of focus vision.

I heard the familiar click of the door closing softly, and hoped even in earnest that they had left me alone now that Victoria definitely knew of my presence. All hope of that was shattered when I opened my eyes again to see the two of them stood in front of the closed door.

My head still hurt - that was an understatement - but I tried to hide that I was that badly injured from the knock and fall.

As I was able to see a little clearer, I looked up at their faces. They both had a hint of calm to them, which both relieved and frightened me. James was looking down at me concerned, though his eyes often darted over to Victoria before returning to me again. He had his hands in his pockets on his jeans and was bent down ever so slightly. When I eventually made eye contact with him, he raised his eyebrows at me, I assumed in question to make sure I was okay; it was odd that I was able to understand what he was saying now, even without words. I curved one corner of my mouth upwards, only a little bit on response, hoping he would understand that I was okay, but I didn't want Victoria to notice anything that she may have found out of the ordinary.

Hesitantly, I turned my attention to Victoria, but made sure I kept it distant. I wouldn't allow any eye contact to occur between the two of us, or I would have exposed how truly scared and intimidated by her I was. She was leaning forwards slightly with her hands curled round into claw shapes, though it didn't seem that she was going to do anything to me just yet, it appeared that was just her natural stance. Her red mess of hair was wild and curly, making her look like something crazed and psychotic, come straight out of a nightmare. Her face was relatively relaxed, all things considered. She wasn't scowling or growling at me, just staring in curiosity, her head tilted to the side.

After examining the both of them, I averted my gaze to the floor and hung my head, allowing them to do whatever it was they wanted to do. I realised then that it didn't matter what I did, how hard I tried, there was no way I could do anything to either of them. I couldn't stop them if they wanted to hurt me, I simply wasn't strong or fast enough.

"Bella?" James said and I raised my eyes to meet his wordlessly. "Do you remember Victoria?" he asked.

I almost nodded, but not wanting to piss him off with her here I replied, "Yes, James."

He nodded once in approval before he continued, "Well…" he paused expectantly, though this time I had no idea what he expected of me. When I said nothing he added, "say 'hello'"

"Hello, Victoria." I said monotonously, not moving my eyes away from James'.

"Bella." James said in warning.

I inwardly rolled my eyes, at least avoiding the image of an immature child on the outside. I turned my gaze to her and noticed she had a smug smirk on her lips. When I didn't instantly say anything, she raised a single eyebrow at me. I really was starting to feel like a child, talking to people I didn't want to, simply because I was expected to.

I licked my lips before I complied to their wishes, "Hello, Victoria."

For some reason, she took this as an invitation to come closer to me, crouching lower and lower the closer she came. She stopped when she was mere inches away from me, her eyes level with mine. Her crimson red eyes - that I had just noticed matched her deep red hair - were looking piercingly into my brown ones.

She smiled at me, though there was no way it was at all sincere, and reached her hand out in front of her. I looked down at it and figured that she was expecting me to grasp it with mine and shake it in greeting.

I slowly moved my hand out to meet hers and had to withhold my gasp when her icy cold skin made contact with mine. I knew it was probably impossible, but she felt so much colder than any other vampire I had encountered before. It both literally and metaphorically sent chills through me.

She must have noticed the small jump I made when we made contact and she released a single laugh.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella." She told me as she moved closer and inhaled deeply, most likely trying to get a better hint of my smell.

She licked her lips and turned her attention to James, not releasing my hand from hers. In fact, it was only her head that had moved at all, the rest of her body was still in exactly the same place as it had been when she was facing me. She had simply turned her head around as far as she could towards James, who stood behind her still where he stood when my vision became clear enough to see.

"She smells delicious up close, doesn't she?" She asked, sounding enthusiastic. However, with her tone of voice, her appearance combined with her new found enthusiasm just made her sound like a complete psycho, though I definitely wouldn't dare say that out loud.

I looked up at James, who was looking down at Victoria. "She does." he agreed, but didn't add anything further.

"Have you tasted her yet?" She asked curiously.

He looked over at me and caught my eye. He kept the contact as he answered, "I can't say that I have, actually."

Victoria turned her head back to me and I in turn, looked at her. Her irises had darkened considerably from their vibrant, crimson red to a near black, and my eyes widened. Her eyes in general had glazed over and she looked down at my wrist on the arm which hand she held.

I began taking sharp, shallow breaths, just trying not to hyperventilate. My entire body was tense and every nerve in my body was on edge, trying to protect itself, even though my mind knew there was no way of defending myself against her, my body prepared itself anyway.

I tried to pull my hand from her grasp, but it was no use. Her grip only tightened on me, so I stopped resisting, unable to take the pain her strength bought. I was pretty sure I was going to have a bruise, just from her fingers.

"It would be such a waste not to at least try it." she paused briefly, "What do you think James?"

I held my breath. Whatever he said would make a difference as to how the outcome affected me. If he said no, she would either go with his wishes and leave me alone, or try to attack me anyway while he protected me from her. There was however, a chance that he would tell her yes. Which meant that I'd either have one vampire trying to make a meal out of me while the other watched, or I'd be devoured by the both of them.

He looked down at me again and I had to choke back a sob; his eyes were apologetic, but they had also turned dark and hungry. This wasn't the same James I had gotten so used to recently, this was the James who kidnapped me in the first place.

I closed my eyes and allowed a single tear to fall from my cheek.

"I would say you were quite right, Victoria." He told her and I squeezed my eyes tightly, somehow hoping that would make it easier for me to deal with the consequences of his words.

I felt Victoria loosen her grip on my hand and trail her finger to my wrist, dragging her nail across the skin softly.

When it landed across my pulse point, she dug her blade-like nails into my skin and I gasped at the sting caused by the breaking of my skin. She dragged her nail across the width of my wrist, making my blood more accessible to her.

I couldn't allow myself to completely accept what was going on until I felt it. Not until it happened.

Not until Victoria bought my wrist to her mouth and began to suck hungrily at my blood.