Thank you to Project Team Beta & my amazing beta's for this chapter: Jennrosee, jennej/Jenny

"Alice." Jasper took a cautious step toward his wife. I could see her in his mind. She was standing behind me at the foot of the bed, her hand covering her mouth as tearless sobs racked her chest. Her eyes remained fixed on Bella but her thoughts were chaotic, ranging from panic to desolation to fear. She was falling apart.

"Jasper, take her out of here," I said calmly. I wished there was something I could do to comfort my sister, but I was fighting to keep myself together.

Jasper glanced at the intruder, worried about leaving us unprotected. Once again, her eyes were closed and her head was bowed. She was nothing more than an empty shell.

Just like the broken girl that lay in my arms.

~ Chapter 11: Interfere ~

Shortly after Jasper escorted his distraught wife from the room, Esme excused herself as well. I was surprised she'd held out as long as she did. Though we were physically made of steel, the stress of the afternoon had taken its emotional toll on my family.

Esme wandered from the house toward the stream that marked the edge of our property, taking a seat on a large bolder. Even at this distance, I could still hear my mother softly weeping. She had lost a child in her human life, and watching Bella slip away was bringing forth those difficult memories from her past.

I was surprised by the clarity in which she could recall the infant's face – his eyes, the whips of his auburn hair, the way his small fist curled around her finger. My human memories were blurry and vague, but her recollections of this child were crystal clear.

Slowly, her thoughts turned to Bella. Just as she had done with her own child, the memories of Bella flowed through her mind in a montage of images: the first time I brought Bella home; a glimpse of us curled up on the couch – Bella reading aloud softly while I smiled and stroked her hair; a department store – Bella twirling happily before a mirror in a navy blue dress while Alice looked on and smiled in approval.

Esme's happy memories floated through my mind, and I was reminded how integral Bella had become in all our lives – not just mine. We all loved her. We were all desperate for her to recover. We would all suffer when she didn't.

Esme began to speak softly, her voice muffled as she continued to cry. I could only make out some of her words, but it didn't take long to discern that she was praying: first for Bella, then Charlie, and lastly for me. She didn't know of my decision to follow after Bella when she left this world, but she worried what my future would hold if I was left behind. She couldn't bring herself to ask Alice, and for that I was grateful.

I felt a surge of guilt. Esme wouldn't be losing just one of her children when this nightmare came to pass – she would be forced to mourn for us both. Could I do that to my mother? Was I so selfish that I couldn't bear the burden of my grief and remain here with my family? Or would my anguish be a burden on them in itself? There was no doubt I would be irrevocably altered. The son they knew and loved would die the same instant Bella drew her last breath. Wouldn't it be better for my family – for my mother – to keep the untarnished memories of their son and brother instead of replacing them with memories of the hollow shell I was destined to become?

Although Carlisle could not hear her mind, Esme's persistent crying and her desperate prayers to save her daughter alerted him to the fundamental reason behind his wife's despair. He ached to comfort her, but he was torn between his want to care for and protect Bella.

"Go," I whispered. "She needs you."

He didn't look up from his task when I spoke. He was focused on drawing another blood sample from Bella's arm. Even without examining the sample, it was obvious the drug still lingered in her system. The rate of reduction had continued around five percent each day, and he had little hope that today's events had changed anything. On the contrary, he wondered if the intruder's presence had the opposite effect. He didn't understand these creature's superior powers, and nothing was outside of the limits of possibilities where they were concerned.

He covered the small puncture with a bandage before discarding the needle. Wavering for a moment, he evaluated the intruder's behavior and if it would be wise to leave Bella and me alone with her. He conceded that her actions so far had not been aggressive toward us, and she seemed content to just lurk in the dark corner of the room and observe – just as she claimed she was here to do.

I won't be long. Just call out to us and we will hear you. Jasper and Alice are right down the hall.

I nodded, and he left the room.

It was just the three of us now. I hadn't moved from my seat on the bed since Bella's so called panic attack, except to remove my hand from her face. Her body temperature was dropping rapidly again, and I worried contact with my ice-cold skin would only expedite the problem. I lifted an extra quilt from the foot of the bed and draped it over her body, hoping the additional insulation would help. As soon as my family returned, I planned to ask Alice or Esme about purchasing an electric blanket.

"You are different from others of your kind."

The intruder's voice surprised me, but I did not turn to look at her. She was not worthy of my attention. She was holding Bella hostage and therefore did not warrant one ounce of my respect. The fact that she had the nerve to speak at all, seemingly with idle chit-chat, infuriated me.

"Yes," I answered acidly.

"We did not account for you."

I had no idea what she was referring to, so I remained silent, simmering in my hostility.

"We mean no har-"

"Stop saying that!"

I took a breath and tried to rein in my fury. "You have caused more harm than you could possibly comprehend."

She did not speak again, and I hoped my outburst had silenced her for good.

I ached to touch Bella, to hold her in my arms, but after the events of this afternoon, she looked more fragile than I ever thought possible. I worried again that my cold skin would chill her, or that I would make her uncomfortable. She needed to rest, peacefully and undistributed.

For several hours, I battled with my selfish need to give in to the pull I felt to touch her. Finally, I couldn't resist any longer. I gently cradled her cheek in my hand, stroking my thumb across her cheekbone. She'd lost some weight over the last few days. Her face was drawn and her features sharper. No one else noticed these subtle changes, but I did. I'd studied her face countless times when she slept beside me. I knew every freckle, every faded scar, and every line that encompassed her beautiful face. I was even beginning to distinguish the different ways her eyes moved under her lids when she was dreaming or having a nightmare.

Her eyes hadn't moved at all since this nightmare began.

"You should not have interfered."

I was growing tired of her cryptic statements, so I turned to glare at her. She was closer than I expected, having stepped out of the shadows to stand a few feet from the bed.

I made no attempt to hide my annoyance. "Interfered with what?"

Suddenly, visions – memories – began to flash through my mind: the day I shoved Bella away from Tyler's van as it skidded across the parking lot, the dark alley and the gang of thugs who hunted Bella like their prey. There were even visions of events that never occurred: a car accident, a violent fall down a flight of stairs, Bella lost and wandering the woods alone. Those unrealized scenes morphed into the reality I remembered, each plan having been averted simply by my presence.

Just as quickly as they appeared, the images vanished. I gasped and shook my head to clear it. I was used to having other people's thoughts invade my mind, but this felt different – almost painful. The sensation was something close to how a human describes a headache.

"You should not have interfered," she repeated. She continued to speak evenly, her tone never faltering from the same calm, monotonous timbre.

I was still breathing heavily – an unnecessary but instinctual reaction to what had just been revealed to me. All those instances where Bella's life had been threatened, these… creatures had been the driving force behind it all. I was livid again.

"You… that… that was all your doing?"

The stranger didn't answer my accusation, but she didn't need to. She'd already shown me enough to confirm my claim. I swallowed hard and tried to calm down enough so that I could speak.

"You've tried to – to kill her, time and time again. Now you've finally succeeded, but to what end? How will her death benefit you?"

She tilted her head slightly and studied me for a moment. The mask of boredom and disinterest she wore was firmly in place but, for the first time, her eyes held the faintest glimmer of curiosity.

"We have not succeeded."

I looked down at Bella and cradled her cheek in my hand again. Her skin was pale and cold to my touch, but she was still the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

"It won't be much longer," I admitted quietly. "You'll have your victory soon enough."

"You have interfered."

My eyes snapped to hers again. "Of course we interfered!" I exploded. "We were trying to save her life! We did everything we could, but we clearly cannot fight against you or what you've done to her!"

"You have interfered," she repeated. "We did not account for you."

I finally grasped her emphasis. This was about me after all, just as I had suspected. Someone was using Bella – hurting Bella – because of me.

"No," she stated. "She refuses to leave you."

It took a moment for her words to sink in. When she'd accused us of interfering, she was not referring to the lengths we had taken medically to save Bella's life. She was speaking of our relationship, as if Bella's love for me were the only thing keeping her here – keeping her alive.

"It is," she said, answering my unspoken thought. "We did not account for you."

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