Disclaimer: Whoops! Nope, you need Stephanie Meyer and J.K. Rowling, they wrote the books. No I just came up with the plot and used their characters...yeah no problem, anytime!
AN: This chapter was finished around 2 in the morning and I was listening to Ed Sheeran the whole time, so this chapter has a lot of emotion. Don't say I didn't warn you!
A Single Rose
Chapter 12
~*~*MPOV*~*~'
The past few days have been tiring. I hate lying, and quite so because I'm terribly bad at it. Bella found out that it was Edward who was knocking on the window last night and is now furious with me because I cannot tell her why. It's not that I don't want to tell her, it's that I can't. I've made a promise, to Edward, that I will keep this a secret until Victoria is gone.
I'm supposed to meet him for a very late lunch on the account that he kept me up for all hours of the night or morning if you want to be specific. I was just about to head out when Bella put her body between the door.
"Where are you going?" She demanded.
"Out," I tell her. Not snidely, but the look on her face makes it appear as if I had just cursed her mother.
"Where?" She demanded once more.
"Nowhere special," I say. "I just want to have a look around Forks."
"I'll come with you."
My heart skips a beat. "No. I shall go alone, thank you."
I gently (as gently as I could) push her out of the way of the door and walk out into the cool afternoon air.
I walk a block or two down the street before Edward pulls up in his Volvo.
xXx
"We're not actually going to lunch are we?" I ask as we drive further and further into the woods.
"We can eat if you're hungry," He says and I roll my eyes and look out the window.
We arrive at his house half an hour later and I am shocked at the size and beauty. Inside I met his family. Emmett, the big one, and Jasper, the one who looked like he was itching to eat me or go into anaphylactic shock, says they've been tracking, or attempting to track, Victoria. They say she's somewhere on the east coast, but they haven't figured where. The tiny one, Alice, says she can see the future, but is finding it very hard to tell anything about Victoria because she's always changing her mind. The tall blonde, Rosalie, didn't say much, but I remember Bella saying something about Rosalie never really liking her. Carlisle and Esme are his adoptive parents, but they possess no special powers like Jasper, who's an empath, Alice, who's a clairvoyant, or Edward, who's a mind reader. It's all such an eclectic family when you think about it.
"So what exactly is the plan?" They all stared at me as if I said something foreign. "What?"
"Well, Hermione, while we appreciate your help, we can't endanger your safety like we did with Bella's. As far as your concerned, we just need you to keep a watchful eye on Bella," Carlisle said this as calmly and respectfully as humanly possible (that's funny because he's not human), but it resembled an insult.
"Look, I appreciate you looking out for me, all of you, but no."
The all blinked at me. "No?" Alice spoke.
"No. I have been put into more dangerous situations than you can count on your fingers and I was and still am fully prepared to handle anything. I am among the smartest witches at my school and though situations have changed drastically, I am still among the smartest young witches."
"But—" Edward began.
"No. I knew the risks beyond reasonable doubt when I agreed to help you last night. Now either you accept all of my help or none of it at all. Understood?" I glanced around at the pale faces around the room. I took their silence as my answer. "Perfect. Now, back to my original question. What is the plan?"
xXx
I spent a good four hours at the Cullen's house going over the plan. It would have been faster if the boys didn't have the patience of fruit flies. We know that Victoria is coming after Bella and has been in and around Forks for the past couple of weeks. We don't know exactly when she is going to make the first move, but just as in chess, the first move is when the game really begins and we have to make sure she's plays our game, and not the other way around.
That means we'll need more players.
xXx
Walking into the house after the argument with Bella this morning was as frightening as it can get. The atmosphere in the room was thick with an air of mistrust and teenage hate.
"Brilliant," I cursed under my breath and sat on the couch next to Ron. Harry was holding hands with Bella at the other end of the couch and they were staring straight at the television. I knew Harry had no interest in Muggle sports and it was obvious Bella was staring blankly at the TV just to avoid looking at me. Well, this is fun. I thought miserably.
I turned to Ron, "I need to talk to you," I whispered in his ear. I get up from couch and walk upstairs; I can feel Harry's eyes on my back but I won't meet his face. A few moments' later footsteps follow mine.
"What is it, Hermione?"
"Excuse me, Ronald. What was that tone for?" I was taken aback; Ron had never spoken to me in that way. Yes, he might be exasperated by me, but never annoyed. It took me a moment to answer.
"You know bloody well what," Ron spoke in hushed tones, borderline irritated.
"You don't know what you're talking about Ron! I don't know what Bella told you, but whatever it is you have it all wrong!"
"Oh? So you didn't sneak out of the house at 3 in the morning to go spend time with Edward?" He was…fuming. Ron was actually angry with me.
"Well, technically, yes. But it's nothing of what you're thinking of," I spoke quieter. "He needs my help."
It was obvious Ron didn't believe me. "There are people out to hurt Bella? Ron! Are you listening to me? They want to kill her!"
"Who?" Ron finally looked at me.
"Some vampire named Victoria. You have to believe me because it's the truth! That's why I've been spending so much time with Edward; I'm helping him save her."
For the first time in his whole life, I think Ron was speechless. I dragged him to his room and he sat down on his bed and I sat on Harry's. We sat in silence for a moment.
"What are we gonna do?" he asked quietly.
I smiled. "I have a plan."
It's been three weeks since I talked to Edward that morning. Bella has been adamantly ignoring me ever since. I think it's a skill she has perfected because she's too good at it; she won't look at me or acknowledge my existence. If only she knew that I was betraying her.
She thinks I stole her ex-boyfriend from her, or some trivial teenage Muggle thing that I have yet to understand. Poor Ron had to explain it to me.
Ron.
Ron has been acting strange lately. He isn't angry with me, but I feel as if our friendship has changed, and I can't tell yet if it's for better or worse.
He's told Harry about my meeting with Edward and everything he's told me about Victoria and the past few years. He insists that he should be the one meeting with the Cullen's. I had to say no. It is apparent that he loves Bella, and it doesn't pain me to say so any longer. I need him here, with her, to protect her. Ron comes with me to the Cullen's' home from time to time, but I realized all too soon that it makes him uncomfortable to be in a room full of partially ravenous vampires. The "partially" addressed to Jasper.
The Cullen's and I have devised a plan. Victoria is smart. Too smart, this is an advantage for us. One thing I've learned from fighting constant battles with Harry and Ron is this: the more cunning the bad guy, the easy the trap you have to use to catch him.
There's a clearing far in the woods boarding the county line to La Push. In random places we've been leaving Bella's belongings scattered all around Washington, throwing Victoria off until Friday night. Friday, Charlie will be heading out of town with Billy to go fishing, Jacob and his friends will be taking a camping trip somewhere not close, while Bella will be out in Port Angeles with one of her friends from school. There is not a more perfect time. We have taken a few more of Bella's things that will lead Victoria to the clearing where all of the Cullen's (except for Edward) will be surrounding the clearing. Ron, Harry and I will put a barrier spell so she will not be able to flee. Then Edward and possibly Emmett will dispose of her, in ways I don't wish to express.
"The simplicity of the plan is what makes it genius!" I raved in excitement.
"And you're sure this will work?" Harry asked skeptically. We were sitting in their room while Bella was in the shower.
"Of course! What could possibly go wrong?" Ron and Harry exchanged a glance that I ignored.
Two days before Friday, Billy asked all of us to come down for a bonfire. Apparently that's a religion down here. When we arrived at the Black's I was almost surprised to see Jacob. It seems like ages ago that we had our first date and I immediately felt ashamed that I had forgotten about him.
He jogged up to me and gave me a hug. We exchanged "hello'' and "how are you" before he grabbed my hand and walked me over to the fire. We sat on a log underneath a blanket and he handed me a cup of something warm and sweet. I glanced at the fire. My eyes were locked on its yellow-orange flames and I couldn't help think of how Victoria's body was going to burn in less than 48 hours…
"Red?" Jacob's voice rang like the chime of a clock in my ears.
I looked up and blinked. "What?"
"I was just asking if you wanted to come camping with us. I know nature may not be you're thing, but I figured if I could get Bella in the woods you wouldn't be so alone." He smiled like a charmer and I couldn't help but return the favor. I glanced over at Bella who kept her eyes glued to the ground.
"Oh that's very kind of you, Jacob, but I already have plans for this weekend. Some other time?" I could feel Bella's eyes burning a hole in my shoulder.
"Yeah of course," He said, though he looked bummed. I gave him a sheepish smile and excused myself to go use the bathroom.
I barely made it downstairs from the bathroom before I heard the front door slam.
"If you don't want to spend time with me, that's fine, but at least have the decency to tell me the truth."
I blinked. "What? Jacob what are you talking about?"
"This weekend. You 'have plans' with Edward Cullen don't you? And don't lie to me."
"Well, yes, but…"
The word angry shuffled around in my brain, but it seemed to minute to sum up all of his emotions at that precise moment. Hurt seemed to fit more.
"What is it with Edward Cullen? He's not good for you, Hermione. Just like he wasn't for Bella. He doesn't deserve you. But you must already know that,"
"Jacob…"
"I know Bella must've told you what he did to her! And yet you still went after him. Maybe you're asking for it. Maybe he is the right guy for you, I mean you're type seems to fall under the category of 'Complete Douche'. Or maybe you just have a thing for sloppy seconds."
His face was blurry because of all the tears in my eyes. My chest began to heave and my heart beat three times faster than it's supposed to. The room seemed to get hotter by the second and stationary objects started to get smaller. I had to get out of there. I pushed past Jacob and ran to the exit. Throwing the front door open, the cool air hit my face like a fresh slap. I cleared the hot tears and saw only one thing.
Bella.
That face was something you could pick out of a crowd because for the first time in almost a month, those eyes were staring directly at me. I could feel the tears coming out and I realized just standing outside wasn't going to help me. I choked out a sob and made a run for it.
I could hear Ron or maybe Harry calling out my name, but that only made me run faster. For almost a mile, I could still feel Bella's eyes on my back.
I don't know how long I've been running. I don't know why I haven't stopped. Every few minutes I still check over my shoulder to make sure no one is following me. But how could they? I don't even know where I am, right now.
Check.
No one. I'm surprised I'm not tired. It's probably because my mind isn't focusing on being tired. I'm trying to get away. I'm trying to get away from Jacob, from Bella, even Harry and Ron. I'm trying to run back to where I still had my parents and Dumbledore was alive. I'm trying to run back to Hogwarts. I've missed it so much over my time here. I even miss Draco. And that's something I'll never admit out loud.
Check.
Still good. What happened back there? It had to have been Bella, but why? Why did she tell Jacob about what she thought was going on between Edward and I. I wish I can tell her about Victoria, I wish I could tell her I'm only hurting her because I'm trying to protect her. Oh Merlin, that gets the Cousin-of-the-year award.
Check.
Smack.
I was knocked forcefully on backside. With my facing the sky I could tell it was twilight out. It was dark, but with just enough light that I could catch the outline of a dark figure in front of me. Through the pain in my head and the darkness around me a vibrant orange pushed through the twilight.
"A mate for a mate," the figure said and everything went black.
