Disclaimer :- I DO NOT own Twilight, or any of the Twilight characters, they all belong to the very talented Stephanie Meyer. The storyline of this fic however, is all my own work.
A/N :- Hi guys, thank you for your responses so far, it has definitely spurred me onto to keep writing and to put all I have into what I am writing. This is for you guys. A shorter chapter, because this one is to lead onto other things later in the story, but still...Enjoy!
Chapter 11
The tiles of the kitchen floor were cold under my bare feet, and every step felt like a huge effort. It didn't help that I was still half-asleep, but even still my heart was racing, trying to obviously keep up with my frantic pulse, which has also picked up speed. The adrenaline coursing through me right now was overwhelming.
Bang!
There it was again, and even though this was the noise that had dragged me from the warmth and security of my bed and I had already heard it once, it still made me jump.
The hairs on the back of my neck were prickling on edge, and the electricity in the room was stifling.
Stepping forward, my head screamed at me to go to Bree's room...to call Jackson and have him come over...but something unknown pushed me on. Alone.
Step by step...
Passing the hallway slowly, I spotted Jasper's baseball bat sticking out of the umbrella stand. Man, I was always telling him to put that thing in his room, because that stand was for umbrella's only, and a baseball bat sticking out of it just made us look like a bunch of thugs could live here. He would always laugh at me, and say he would move it. But in this very moment, I've never been so glad that he hadn't listened to me.
I wrapped my long fingers around the handle, making sure I had a tight grip and pulled it out slowly, so not to make any noise myself. The last thing I wanted to do was to let whoever was prowling around in my living room realize that I was onto them and that I knew they were there.
Bang!
I jumped again.
Clutching probably the only thing that could save my life, I carried on walking with more determination. I could still feel my knees wobbling with each step and I just willed them to be strong, to keep me upright. Goodness knows, I was going to need all the help I could get.
I glanced back down the hallway, hoping that Jasper or even Rosalie would be right behind me, having been woken by the sounds too...but no-one was there. I wasn't about to run and grab them out of bed to possibly get killed too. I was all alone, and had to do this myself.
I took a second to breathe, wondering why on Earth I hadn't just picked up my phone before leaving my room? I could see it in my head now, sitting on my bedside table, too far for me to turn and go get it.
Bracing my back against the wall, I felt the cold seeping through my thin t-shirt and I shuddered. The hairs on my arms involuntarily raised and I suspected that it wasn't just because of the cold.
The shuffling in the room sounded to me to be getting closer, and I noticed that my breathing became laboured. I tried to breathe silently, but the beating heart in my chest just made that an impossibility. I was sure that the intruder would be able to hear me, to know that I was outside the room waiting for him or her, like some sort of homing beacon giving away my hiding place.
Taking one last, deep breath, I braced myself, ready to attack.
I raised the bat above my head, and faced my intruder head on, realizing all too late that they had been waiting for me too. The blow he delivered directly to my face was hard enough to easily knock me back and make me drop the bat. I staggered clumsily, toppling backwards and landing on my ass on the floor. My head bounced off the floor a couple of times, before coming to a stop.
It felt as if it had all happened in slow motion, yet I could do nothing to stop it. I felt like a spectator.
Dizzy and clouded, my head throbbed with the force of the impact and opening my eyes made me realize that my vision was somewhat blurry too. Blinking rapidly a few times helped a little and at least brought the room back into focus, as I brought my hand up to the wet patch on my face, seeing that I was bleeding. Probably from the punch I took.
Pushing my arms underneath me, I tried to stand, the room spinning a bit but not too badly.
But the laugh that reverberated around the room stopped me immediately, and rooted me to the spot. It sent chills down my spine and I realised I knew that laugh, knew it well. Better than I ever wanted to.
Before I could even think the name, the intruder sat himself on top of my stomach, pushing me back to the floor and pinning my arms above my head, whilst my feet kicked out wildly beneath him, doing nothing more than simply using up my energy.
"Oh Bella" he sneered, shaking his head at me, his dirty blonde hair bobbing around his face. "Didn't I say it? Huh? I always said I would find you, I promised you that day they arrested me that I would find you again Bella...but you didn't believe me did you? Well, now don't you just look foolish? I have been waiting a long time to do this, and now I am here with you again, I want to enjoy it. Every single minute. I finally have my chance".
His face was so close to mine that I could smell the liquor on his breath. Despite my attempts at getting him off me, as I thrashed around beneath him, I couldn't seem to find my voice. To scream. To call for help. To shout at the top of my lungs until I was blue in the face. To just get someone, anyone, to help me.
"Shall I just deal with you now? Get it over with? Make it quick and painless?" he asked me rhetorically, obviously enjoying his moment of power. "Or shall I drag it out a little and make you suffer? Like you have made me suffer!" and he placed both of my hands in one of his, so much stronger than I remembered. I felt even weaker as I laid there, defenseless.
His free hand moved to my face, gliding the back of his finger across my cheek, making my skin crawl, before roughly grabbing my face tightly and dipping closer to me.
"Or should I go and get Bree instead?" he laughed, as my eyes grew wide with realization. He knew she was here, that she would be wherever I was.
"NO!" I screamed, finally finding my voice.
He stopped smiling, his once-attractive face twisting in anger. "No? Don't you tell me no!" he shouted at me, spit flying from his mouth, as he slapped me hard across the face with his free hand. I felt the heat creep up immediately in place of his now absent hand. "You don't get to tell me no you little bitch, not now and not ever! In fact, I'm done with you...let's end this now"
As fast as lightening, his hand had let go of my hands and both were wrapped around my throat, literally choking the life out of me.
I brought my own small hands up to my neck, trying in a vain attempt to pull his away, but it was no use. I had no energy and yet he seemed to have the strength of ten men.
That's when I looked into his eyes, hoping and wishing so badly that I would be able to see a tiny glimpse of the human being he once was lurking in there somewhere, but James just stared down at me, his eyes showing nothing more that pure hatred and determination.
I pushed against his chest, not sure of what I was doing anymore, my body going into automatic survival mode and doing what it needed to do to try and survive. I knew that even if he did kill me tonight, even if he won...I would go down fighting until the very end.
"Bella...Bella...Bella" he chanted above me, repeating my name tauntingly sweet, as I tried to gasp for my last breath.
"BELLA!"
I jumped, startled. Opening my eyes wide and frantically looking around to gather myself, i saw Rosalie above me, with my hands on her chest, pushing her away. She looked down at me with fearful eyes, and reached for the bed sheet that had become entangled around my chest and neck.
"Bella, are you OK?" she asked quietly. She had that worried look on her face, the one that made my stomach ache whenever she wore it.
"Bree!" was all I could say in response, swinging my arms out to move Rose out of my way, and attempting to pull my legs from under my covers.
"It's OK, it's OK" she soothed, gently pushing me by my shoulders back down onto the bed. "Ssshh...Jazz is with her. We heard you having a bad dream, so I said I would come wake you up, and he said he would sleep in Bree's room for the rest of the night, so that you feel better knowing she has someone with her" she explained.
I nodded feeling relieved but still a little numb. Jasper and Rose had seen this happen before, and me being as predictable as I was, they knew that even though it was just a dream, that I would want to know Bree is safe and looked after.
Rosalie sat on the edge of the bed, watching me intently. Maybe she thinks I'm going to freak out again?
"Was it him again?" she asked.
We never say his name if we can help it, especially in front of Bree. If it somehow makes him feel more real, more of a threat.
But this dream did feel real to me, more than it had done before. It felt as if they were getting worse each time. James would always find me, always get to me and threaten me, but always in different ways.
I nodded once more, not taking my focus away from the loose thread I had found hanging from my bed sheet and was now messing with.
"Honey, you have to speak to someone again", her voice sounded so gentle. Almost a whisper.
It made me feel a little more relaxed, and knowing that Jazz and Rose were living in the apartment with us, but what would happen when they decide to leave? To find their own apartments and live their own lives? I cannot expect them to stay here with me and Bree forever.
I pondered on Rosalie's words for a moment- if Bree and I were going to be on our own one day, then maybe I should try again to get this under control? I owed it to Bree to have a normal life, and waking your screaming sister up in the middle of the night was not what I would consider normal.
Goodness knows that the last shrink I saw was useless.
Then again, that was in the very limited town of Forks. But, we were now living in New York city, one of the best cities in the whole world. Where the possibilities were endless...where the best and the brightest reside and make life just that bit easier...where there is more to offer, including top-dollar psychiatrists. Someone who could pull me out of this and help me get my own mind back. Maybe I could find the right Doctor for me here?
I nodded at Rosalie, giving her a small, weak smile, indicating that I had heard her. I wasn't sure how long I had been in my own little world for, but she sat and waited there the whole time, holding my hand.
My breathing was now back to normal, and I yawned, glancing over at the clock.
"Oh my gosh, Rose it's 3am! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize what time it was, you need to get back to sleep" I said, panicked that she would be tired tomorrow, all because of me and my stupid dreams.
"Yep, so scootch your butt over Missy" she replied, and pushed back the covers on my bed. "I'm staying in here"
"Rose, you don't have to..."
"Yes, I do" she cut me off, mid sentence. "You would do the same for me. It's what sisters do for each other Bella, now scootch" she repeated, and I rolled my eyes at her, and shook my head smirking. I moved over all the same. "And besides, your bed is still warm...mine will be cold by now, and there is no way I'm going back to that"
I laughed out loud, the sound vibrating around the large, silent room.
She turned to me with one hand under her pillow, and reached the other one out to me. I mimicked her movements, and grasped her. She held my hand so tightly that I felt safe again for a brief moment.
"He's gone sweetheart, and he's never coming back. You and Bree can live your lives peacefully now, and you are doing it in the greatest city in the world. You still have so much to do, and you cannot let him, or even the thought of him take that away from you, OK?"
"Thank you Rose...I don't deserve you guys, you know that right?" I smiled sheepishly at her, overwhelmed by her kindness, generosity and love.
"Yes, you do...now shut up and dream of Edward Cullen instead" she smirked, winking at me and chuckling to herself.
We fell asleep, still holding hands, and I was glad that the nightmares never returned that night.
~~~x~~~x~~~x~~~
"Good morning guys" I said brightly as I entered the kitchen. A mumble of responses around various breakfast cereals and toast greeted me back.
The smell of toast, coffee and strawberries assaulted my senses, and made my stomach rumble with hunger.
"Are you meeting with us today Bella?" asked Rosalie, over her coffee cup. Obviously last nights event was a subject I was more than happy to avoid, and it seems that everyone else thought so too, much to my relief. It was embarrassing enough that a twenty-something woman still has nightmares and has to be woken in the night in order to quieten her screams...
"Yes, I'm picking Embry from the office, grabbing some paperwork and then making our way straight over to the hotel. I take it you will be there with Alice to help her?"
She nodded, chewing her mouthful of toast.
"You want to ride with us? I've got the car coming in about 5 minutes" I offered, filling my cup with coffee and placing the lid back on. I grabbed a slice of toast, before bending over to kiss Bree on her head.
"No I'm good thanks. I need to get some swatches of fabric over to the warehouse before we join you, so I will probably get Alice to pick me up on her way over. Thanks though"
"No problem. And are you looking forward to your day with Jackson?" I asked Bree, watching as she did some colouring in at the breakfast bar. I smoothed her hair down, enjoying the softness of it, as if reminding me that she was delicate and still very new to the world. She nodded without looking up. Her colouring must have been especially important this morning. "Are you doing anything in particular?" I asked Jackson, taking a sip of my coffee.
"Well, I was thinking of taking her over to the Museum of Natural History" he replied. "There are some great exhibits in there and they have a space section too, I think Bree will like that, if that's ok with you?" "
"Course, I'm sure you will both have a great day. You love dinosaurs don't you Bree? Oh, and don't forget to take the card. Bree will probably drag you into the gift shop at the end, and that way you guys can get some lunch and anything else you might want or need" I said, putting my keys and phone in my bag. "I'll hopefully be back for dinner, but this whole Molina thing is going to take some working out, so if I'm not, I'll text you. Is everyone ok with pizza for dinner? I probably won't be feeling bothered to cook if I get home late" I added honestly.
The offer of pizza went down well all round.
I knew that this was going to be a big event, and if I was being totally honest, I was actually a little worried about it going smoothly. Not only was Mr Molina expecting the event to top all events, but I was also very aware that the gorgeous copper-haired brother of a certain fashion designer who was helping me to organise it, would most probably hear all about it too...disasters and all!
My saving grace will be Alice Cullen. When she isn't being Alice Brandon that is. She has already proved she can plan an event like no other so I felt better knowing that we were in good hands. The gala she planned for her new line was awe-inspiring and if she can help me to plan a party of that scale, Mr Molina will definitely be a happy man.
The sound of 'Mr Brightside' by The Killers rang out through the kitchen, pulling me out of my mini mental breakdown over this event.
"Hi, yes that's fine. I'll be right down. If we can make a stop at the office too? Yes, the appointment is 10.30am so I would ideally like to be there for 10.15am? That would be wonderful. Thanks Marcus" I said to the driver on the other end. Marcus always called when he was downstairs, rather than coming up to the apartment.
He was a typical 50-something ex-biker, with a wife and two grown up kids...he's also trustworthy to the core. He had never been late a day in his life and he has never taken a wrong turning. I swear he's got a SatNav built into his brain. He also always available whenever we need him, and I've not yet had an objection to him taking Jazz or Rose anywhere either.
"Ok listen guys, I've got to take off, but is there anything else before I leave?"
They all shook their heads contentedly and mumbled various choruses of "Nah" and "No thanks". With Jasper not looking up from his newspaper, and Rose not bothering to look up from her phone, I smiled at their likenesses, even though they say that they are worlds-apart different, some similarities they share are comical. Both blonde, both blue eyed, both complete firecrackers when they feel passionately enough about something, but most of all...both have the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever known.
Bree shuffled her tiny butt off her stool, her shoes making a clicking sound as she landed on the tiled floor. Continuing to click her way over to me, she wrapped her arms around my waist, and pulled me in for a tight embrace. I stroked her head again that she has crushed against my stomach, and I could feel the warmth of her cheeks through my blouse.
My smile grew wide, it always did whenever she would do something so heart-meltingly sweet like that. She may not speak, but that doesn't mean she expresses herself any less than the rest of us. If anything, I would say she probably expresses her feelings more than the rest of us ever do.
"I'll miss you too baby girl, but I'll be home before you know it. You are going to have a great day with Jackson, and take lots of pictures of everything you like there so you can show me when you get home, ok?" and I swooped down low to take her in my arms and plant a big kiss on her soft little cheek. I tickled her sides too, just for good measure.
She giggled and wriggled in my arms, as I placed her back on her feet, and skipped back to her stool.
Turning back to grab my bag and my coffee, I reluctantly gave a small wave and headed out of the door.
~~~x~~~x~~~x~~~
"You know, I cannot say thank you enough Bella for letting me help make this right" said Embry, for what felt like the 50th time since he had gotten in the car. "And Mr Molina is ok with it too?"
I looked up from my paperwork, and met his gaze - a mixture of worry and excitement. His eyes were wide and bright. I drew in a long breath, blowing out, giving me a few more seconds to gather the correct words.
"Yes Embry, for the millionth time...He is fine about you helping me and Alice plan it. We are going to need all of the help we can get. Alice planned her new line gala with very little help, but she had had 3 months to plan that...we, however, have only 4 weeks. Admittedly, Mr Molina doesn't want you handling this alone, and he also doesn't want you or Leah to touch his account ever again, but we can hardly blame him for that can we?"
He shook his head, embarrassment colouring his face slightly pink behind his olive skin, which wasn't my intention. I wasn't chastising him. We had that talk in my office, and I told him the matter was dealt with there and then - which it was in my eyes. I had spoken to him, dealt with the matter and as far as I was concerned, it was a situation that had happened in the past, and never needed to be brought up again. No, I was simply pointing out what I thought was an obvious fact.
"No, I guess you are right. Trust me Bella, I won't be touching the accounts again"
That sweet little 'just-had-his-kitten-kicked' look was almost too much for me to bear. Especially as it was on the face of someone so adorable and good natured as Embry. He had always been a credit to the company and I was always so proud to call him my 'second in command'. I still am if I was being completely truthful.
I was also thankful that he had dropped the whole 'Miss Swan' thing, and went back to plain old Bella. When I heard him call me 'Miss Swan'...well, that shit hurt.
So I tried to make the little sod feel a bit better. A confident Embry was a happy Embry. Which would, in turn, make a happy Bella.
I shifted a little in my seat next to him, in order to see him better. "Look, Mr Molina isn't that angry anymore Em". I patted him on the shoulder lightly, as Marcus silently sped on through the streets.
"He's still a little sore about the whole thing, but he knows it wasn't you that made the mistake. He knows that you tried to make it right". I was just thankful that Leah didn't want to help too, because I'm not sure he would have the same reaction to her. "Now, what I suggest we do is, I will introduce you to Molina when we arrive. You can apologise personally, face to face. He is an intelligent man Embry, as are you and if there is one thing that Mr Molina values it is honesty. Well that, and a little bit of ass kissing" I added, earning me a half-smile. "Trust me"
I gave him a cheeky wink, and turned back to the paperwork that laid on my lap. It contained the figures and statistics for the Molina account, and I tried to get my head in the game before we arrived. I needed to know exactly what it would take, money-wise, to make this right and keep him in our good books. I was just thankful that I got the meeting in with Mr Molina when I did, because he had a press interview the following week and I was glad Swan Securities wasn't getting a bad name because of this.
I could see, even with my head down, that Embry was wringing his hands and fiddling with the bottom of his maroon coloured tie.
"You really think he will give me a chance to apologise?" he asked, sounding a little scared still.
Without looking up from my paperwork, I repeated myself confidently.
"Trust me"
~~~x~~~x~~~x~~~
I sat at one of the dining tables in the large room that we would be holding the majority of the event in. My folder and papers scattered out in front me.
The room felt like any typical event room - buzzing and full of the sounds of laughter, chatter and music when in use...but when it wasn't it was quiet, haunting, dormant...it felt like I was being watched from all different parts of the room. The darkened corners, from behind the gaps in the blue stage curtain, in between the stacked up chairs against the far wall...my dream from last night had me on edge, that much was obvious.
Alice had already told me over the phone that it would be a dinner and entertainment night in aid of a few local charities, which is something she has been wanting to do for a while now. This has given her the perfect opportunity, so I was expecting big and extravagant.
I knew that Mr Molina would just eat it up, he was really keen to have charity events linked to his hotel chain, although I'm not sure that he meant it in an entirely unselfish way either. Alice and I were going to have our work cut out with this.
And just as my thoughts led me in her direction, I heard her voice sound out across the spacious room.
"Bella!" She cried, as I stood and watched her charging towards me. Dressed in a simple blue and while striped bodycon dress, she looked as cute as ever, and my jealousy panged slightly. What I wouldn't give to look like Alice Cullen...to have her natural beauty and outward confidence. I waved and waited for her to reach me and when she did we shared a hug. Rose followed quickly, giving me a wave. "It feels like I haven't seen you in forever, how have you been?" chimed Alice, with her hands still on my upper arms, and seeming to look me over with a huge smile.
"I'm good thanks Alice, how are you?"
"Oh you know me, I'm always me. In my element and happy when I'm keeping busy and obviously very happy to be planning this with you and Rose and..." She trailed off.
"Embry" I clarified.
"Embry?...Embry" she reeled off slowly, as if pondering the name. "Such a wonderfully unusual name, I love it! Ok, great. Is he here?"
"Yes, he's just with the owner, Mr Molina. They should be back in a moment, they just went into the office to discuss a couple of things before we get started. I really can't thank you Alice, and you too Rose, for helping me with all of this. It would be a complete disaster of it were left up to me. So, what are your thoughts with this place then?" I said, gratefully.
I looked around the huge and spacious room which was obviously used for holding events and such, wondering how on Earth we were going to decorate it all.
"You are welcome Bella, we are going to have fun with this, right?", with both myself and Rosalie nodding our heads obiediently. Something told me that Alice would definitely be the driving force behind this. We each took a seat, and waited for Mr Molina and Embry to return.
"Oh I forgot to ask, how did the home visit go?"
Ok, so I'll admit, she threw me off track with that question. I wasn't expecting that. How was I supposed to think about a major party planning strategy when she mentions her brother?
"Erm...it was fine thank you" I replied slowly. I wasn't sure what to say to her, or what I was actually allowed to say to her. After all, Edward said that it was all in confidence, and even though I trusted Alice completely, I wasn't sure exactly what she would be expecting me to tell her. She had only met Bree once, so I'm assuming that her questioning was either because she really liked me or she really wanted to make conversation.
"Good good. Edward was very nervous about it you know?" she said, not seeming to notice that she had just let something probably very personal slip about her own brother. "Said that he was worried about it, he hasn't done a home visit in gosh knows how many years now, but when he popped by the shop later on, he looked like he had had a great afternoon" and she raised her eyebrow at me.
Did she know about the kiss? And why had Edward said he would do the home visit for Bree, when he obviously didn't do them routinely anymore? Had Alice and Rosalie been speaking about us on the way over here? I immediately pushed that thought out of my head. Rose would never discuss something like that, she knew that our privacy was important to me.
But the thought of Edward being happy after we kissed again made me smile without even realising it.
"Mm-hmm" hummed Alice, spotted my dumb grin and knowingly smirking, swinging her crossed legs.
"So, let's get this night planned huh?" I offered, in an attempt to divert the conversation. I was getting good at this. "There are lots of points to cover so we may as we'll get started"
"Fabulous, so here is what I was thinking..." and automatically, Rosalie followed Alice into the centre of the room with her clipboard in hand and began jotting ideas down.
I tried to keep up with what she was saying, but all I kept catching was the odd sentence here and there.
"Drapes that come all the way down..."
"...Band over that side..."
"...Stage..."
"...Centrepieces..."
"...Theme..."
My head spun with so many details that I was glad when the two men showed up a few minutes later. They were both smiling as they reached us, so I assumed that all had gone as I had expected it to. Also, on the plus side, Embry hadn't wet his pants either - so that was a cheeky bonus.
"Oh Alice, Rosalie...I'd like to introduce you to Mr Molina" and they both stood, allowing them all to shake hands. "And this here is my assistant, Embry" and again with the handshaking. "He will also be helping with the planning from my side. He's my Rosalie" I chuckled.
"Great, the more the merrier" said Rose enthusiastically.
"Such a wonderful hotel you have, Sir" complimented Alice. "You have a fantastic colour scheme going on". I wasn't sure if this was an early ploy to get into his good graces, but I did notice that Alice genuinely seemed impressed by it all.
By the expression on his face, I would say that Mr Molina was flattered by her words. "Why thank you Miss Brandon, I picked out a lot of the decor myself, you know" he boasted. "And I must say, when Miss Swan here told me that you would have a hand in organising this with her, I was very excited. My niece loves your line of clothing...shops at your stores whenever she can. I swear I should just get her earnings transferred directly into your bank account" he laughed.
"Oh, well it's always lovely to hear that we do a good job. I do hope your niece is coming to the charity night?" she asked.
"She may well be, as long as she's not needed at any of the other hotels that weekend, she will be in attendance. If not, I'm sure she will make an appearance in your store again when the next payday rolls around" and he smirked at his own sense of humour.
"Well, you tell her to ask for me personally next time she's in, and I'll be sure to give her a hefty discount. I like to make sure my customers are well looked after, especially someone related to such a handsome chap like yourself" and I watched as he chuckled at her, and blushed.
Yes, he actually blushed!
I had so much to lean from this tiny whirlwind of a woman.
"So, shall we give you the ideas we have come up with so far, Sir?" She asked, as he nodded mutely.
She linked her arm into his, and immediately continued her verbal attack, her free arm waving all over the place and indicating where various decorations and parts of the evening would be held. She looked like she was trying to take off, and it made me giggle, as we followed behind. I imagined we looked like a really crappy conga line. Alice and Mr Molina up front, me trailing at the back knowing I should leave Alice to do what she does best, with Rose and Embry in between us taking notes.
She would occasionally turn to me to check if I agreed with certain ideas, knowing I would be paying for this, earning a nod or a "Yes" from me every time. Hey, who was I to stop a crazy woman on a mission?
I caught up to the two in front of me, taking a glance at Embry's shorthand and catching certain words that made me wonder if we were really going to pull this off.
Embry and Rosalie scribbled frantically either side of me, taking down various measurements, making small sketches, noting down catering companies, decorating companies...
After a while, I turned to Rose and whispered seriously, "I can see why you are so tired when you get home now" and we both laughed quietly when we saw the look on Mr Molina's face as he hung on Alice's every word.
If I didn't know any better, I could swear he was in love! I think I may have just been knocked down to being his second favourite.
A/N :- So there you have it guys, a little different than I'm used to doing, smaller sections but lots of different parts to this chapter. Hope you didn't mind, but I wanted to get some bits in without them dragging on too long. I don't like writing just for the sake of it, or to pad a chapter up a bit. I write because I want to write a certain bit in...be it for the storyline, or just as an added bit of fun, lol.
I really cannot wait to get the next chapter started and I really hope you will all stick with me on this one.
I also want to thank you guys who have left me a review for previous chapters...I haven't had many for this fic which is a shame, but the ones I have had have been very encouraging, so I just want to say a massive THANK YOU! I luuuuurve you guys!
So, I will leave you now, I need to crack on with chapter 12...where am I going to go with that one I wonder? Shall we bring a little more of Edward back? I'm sure I can squeeze him in somewhere (that's what she said!)
See you in the next chapter!
WhitlocksBoo xxx