Crazy stuff is starting to happen! I hope you're ready for it. Two things before you read, yes, the place this chapter takes place in is real, and no, I've never been there. That's what the imagination's for.
Also, I keep forgetting this, but I don't own Twilight. Obviously.
Y'all have been so awesome with this story. I hope you like this chapter!
Letting Your Guard Down
I expect to find a few things when we reach the safe house in Oklahoma, especially since it hasn't been used in about ten years. Dust, outdated furniture and rust in the pipes. But what I don't expect is to find the entire house ransacked.
Every room has been rummaged through and destroyed to the point that it looks like a robbery. But I know that's not the case. Eleazar's words come back from earlier, and I know this is what he meant. They knew all the places we'd go.
They've already been here.
At first, I think this is a good thing.
If they've already been here, then maybe they've moved on. The next safe house is in Texas, and it's almost five hours away.
But that would be too easy. And Aro's men won't let us slip through their fingers again. They'll be waiting in town for us to show up since this safe house is on the southeast side of town. But we took an old road here that allowed us to drive around town.
My training tells me that when those men don't see us pull through town within the next few hours, they'll start searching the town and then circle back to come here.
This means it's not over. Not even close.
Jasper and Emmett do a thorough sweep of the house before Bella and I move away from the front door, checking for trip wires, surveillance devices, bombs and poisonous substances that might have been left behind in the event that the grab team missed us. They have to tear up everything else that's intact, which leaves only a few places to even actually sit.
"We've got everything we need," Jasper says as we walk upstairs to the bathroom after he and Emmett are done. "Let's do it and get out of here."
I don't argue and neither does Bella.
Even though the bathroom is twice as big as it should be, I still leave her in Emmett's capable hands as he gets the hair color and contacts we bought for her at a department store an hour away. I'm sitting across the bathroom from her as Jasper does the same thing to me, thinking and pondering and knowing there's only one option left.
We thought about getting a wig for her, but Bella insisted this was better. I could care less what color her hair is even though it looks better brown, but those men know that. They won't expect her to be blond or have green eyes. I've only had to change my appearance a few times for my assignments, but it was usually only because I had to get so close that other people would see me before hand.
When Emmett starts to cut Bella's hair, there's a little part of me that actually feels bad because her long hair was so beautiful. She doesn't complain, seeing me as I stare and grinning a little so I'll know it's okay. She looks like she just went to a professional salon when he's done with her, and she's blushing when she looks at his work in the mirror.
"Not bad, Emmett," she teases before picking up her clothes and stepping behind the partition to change.
He proudly sweeps up all the wet, blond hair from the floor with a wide smile on his face, and I can't let him go without teasing him too.
"Rose would be proud," I tell him, and he looks at me. "I think you missed your calling, Em."
He chortles and comes toward me as Jasper is finishing with me. "You're just jealous that I actually have something I fall back on when all this is over," he jabs.
I laugh as he leaves, but after he's gone, the laughing stops.
He clearly has more hope and faith than I do.
"Don't pay attention to him," Jasper says softly. "He's just a little jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Well, yeah. He and Rose haven't been in that blissful, afterglow thing since they first met. Now she teases him and denies him until he's home for more than a couple weeks. And he's not used to being on the receiving end of it."
I try not to nod or smile, but then a word resounds in my head. "I'm glowing?" I ask. "How in the hell is that possible? With all this shit going on."
"You just are," he says. "It doesn't matter what's going on in your head, Edward. Your heart is finally full. You have someone to be with you on the other side of this, and that's something I know for sure. This is going to end soon. Bella's going to be with you when it ends."
His words should give a little more hope, but they don't because I know there's a lot of shit that has to happen before I get anywhere close to what he's talking about.
"You should change too," he says. "We have to get the truck ready."
He steps away after a minute, and I gather up my clothes before moving toward the partition where Bella's still hiding.
"You're the one who should be glowing," I say to her softly, peeking around the side of the partition to see her standing this in her jeans and her shirt in her hands.
Gently, I gather her up in my arms to hold her close, memorizing her face again and looking over her wet, blond, cropped hair before I look in her eyes.
"I want this to be over now," I whisper.
She doesn't say anything, rising up on her bare toes and draping her arms over my shoulders to kiss me for the first time in hours. It feels like an eternity has passed since then, and I need her as close to me right now as I can get her. I want to be inside her right now so badly, but we don't have time.
Bella seems to know this, grasping onto my neck and the hair at the back of my head. She still doesn't say anything when I let go of her lips, pressing her forehead to mine and taking in as deep a breath of me as she can. I do the same, clinging to her like she's the only thing holding me together. Maybe she is now.
"We have to go," I say after a few minutes.
There's no arguing to be done as we disconnect and then resume changing.
Once we're done, we leave the bathroom, finding Jasper as he waits outside in the hall. He doesn't say anything, leading us back downstairs were Emmett is waiting at the door.
It's almost dark, and a still-hopeful part of me wants this to mean it will be easier for us to get away. But it won't be easy from here on out.
"We can't go through town," Jasper says as we walk. "But if we don't, we'll have to take a different route out of the state, and that'll lead us away from the next safe house."
I don't mean to sound defeated, because I know we'll be running until Aro's men are forced to let us go into someone else's territory. But if we keep running, the chances of Bella getting caught increases.
"Either east or west of here will take us deeper in Aro's territory," I say unenthusiastically.
When Jasper glances at me, I know he sees it. "Which would you prefer? Him or Benito? The Mexicans will slaughter us, and we can't afford to go to the next safe house. Especially if this one is any indication."
"I would prefer not to keep running," I say.
He stops and faces me. "If we don't run, they'll catch all of us," he tells me, his eyes meeting mine with superiority in them. "Is that what you want?"
"I want Aro to pay for Kate's death," I retort with an elevated voice. "I want my family to be safe, and I want Bella to be safe. The longer we run, the worse this gets. We'll always be running. I want to hit Aro where it hurts most, so he'll know he's lost."
Jasper shakes his head. "We can't go to Italy," he says, arguing. "We don't have the resources, the time or the element of surprise. He'll be expecting it."
"I know what he won't expect."
Though Jasper and I haven't known each other as long as I've known Emmett, I know he can see the look in my eyes when he looks at me. He doesn't say anything at first, moving again to the truck where Emmett is waiting.
"It better be worth it," he says just before climbing up into the driver's seat.
I don't reply as I help Bella into the back, and before it can get completely dark, we drive away from the safe house and head toward town.
The town is almost completely lit up when we make it to the main street in town where most of the businesses reside, and I know I've made the right decision when I spot a group of SUVs parked in front of a gas station up the street from the expressway that leads out of town. I also spot several posters on light poles through town advertising a local festival.
Come One! Come all! Live Music! Great Food! Local Pride and Fun for Everyone at the Broken Arrow Spring Festival!
This is when I know where I want to go. And it's apparently spread over the high school campus. It's perfect.
"What are we doing?" Bella asks as we pull into a Pizza Hut parking lot.
"Well," I say with a smile, "right now, we're going to eat. And then, it's going to be our turn."
It's all I have to say for her to know what's going on, and after we've made our way into the restaurant, I notice how tense she becomes.
I'm on edge the whole time we're in the restaurant, my eyes skimming my surroundings and keeping a tally of everyone who leaves and comes in. There's laughing and talking and shuffling around, but most of it is normal for a place like this. I also realize that it's a Friday night, so there's more than usual.
A few times, out of the corner of my eye, I think I see Demetri and Felix, but then it's just a football player and one of his friends. Our luck seems to be holding for the time being, and I hope it stays with us until I can get Bella to safety. After that, it's just a matter of holding on long enough to make Aro see the error of his ways — starting with asking my father to train me when I was eighteen.
From the restaurant, we drive around a darker side of town to the high school, and that feeling of being followed creeps up my neck again. Because it's already dark, I can't see anything, but it does nothing to stop my imagination running away from me. The parking lot that's serving as a gathering place for the people milling around the festival, and Jasper parks on the very edge of the lot so he'll have a straight line to the exit. From there, I take Bella, and Jasper and Emmett move off in the opposite direction.
"Why are they going that way?" Bella asks as we walk.
I wait until we're through the gate to answer her, glancing back and again seeing the football player and his friend. "Because we're being followed."
She doesn't say anything else after that.
The music inside the gates is loud and pulsing even in the ground. The food smells lift above the crowd as it ebbs and flows as if with a tide beating against the shore of a beach, and there are vendors at every corner selling their toys and jewelry and clothes. If this were a carnival, there would kid rides and a Ferris Wheel. Bella looks around as we walk, obviously reminded of something from her home.
Though we've already eaten, I buy her a funnel cake, and we sit in a sectioned off set of chairs in front of a tiny stage where a few dozen people are enjoying a local band's music. For the few minutes, we sit quietly while she eats, and it's almost like we're two people just enjoying the festivities. I've never done anything like this before, even when I was kid in Chicago. A part of me I wish was still innocent wants to be able to do something like this with her again, but I don't know if that will ever be possible again.
I do have a little hope that after tonight she'll be safe again, but everything else is a long shot.
Even me seeing her again.
The funnel cake disappears a little too quickly, but once it's gone, we leave our seats and wander around to another part of the grounds.
This is when I spot a pair of men I know is here for me only.
I don't know if they've spotted us, but to be on the safe side, I start weaving through the crowd as it grows, getting to the edge of the festival grounds and hiding with Bella until I'm sure they haven't seen us.
"What's happening?" Bella whispers, grasping onto me tighter as the seconds tick by.
What do I tell her?
She knows we're being followed. I don't know if they've seen her, but I'm about to do something that will ensure they stop looking for her.
Without saying anything, I discreetly pull my nine-millimeter from its holster and give it to her.
"We're being followed," I tell her again. "And I can't let them get to you. So I need you to take this."
She shakes her head fervently. "No."
Gently, I nudge the gun into her hand. "I need you to take this and find Jasper."
"No," she cries, still shaking her head.
"Find Jasper and get out of here. Get to my father in Chicago, and he'll know what to do."
"No, I'm not leaving you!"
To keep anyone from noticing us, I kiss her before she can completely fall apart, holding her against me as she still grasps onto my gun. She claws at my shirt, wrapping her leg around mine and whimpering as I let go.
"It's okay," I whisper. "I'll be okay. They have to get me back to him alive. It's the only way, and he won't be expecting it, Bella."
"But they'll hurt you," she says through a sob.
"Probably," I say nodding. "But I've been in enemy hands before. It's nothing I won't survive." Gently, I cup her face in my hands to make her look at me. "I need you to be safe, Bella. This is the only way. Jasper and Emmett will keep you safe. You just have to trust them."
She cries again, laying her forehead against my chin, and I kiss her in her hair before nudging her back and wiping her tears away.
"You can do this," I tell her. "You're so strong, and I know you can do this. Find Jasper and get out of here."
I watch as she gathers herself and releases a few more tears before backing away from me and moving off in the opposite direction.
Minutes pass as I stand there, and when I'm sure Bella's far enough away to not be spotted, I move away from my hiding spot to make my pursuers aware of my presence. Spotting the men following me is easy, and I keep moving away from the people walking around. The sounds around me all blend together until it's nothing but white noise. A little girl laughing, a cell phone ringing, a vendor shouting to attract customers, a dog barking. It all means nothing to me as I stop near the opposite end of the festival grounds, allowing my pursuers to catch up to me.
"Thinking of doing something stupid?" Demetri asks with a little too much superiority in his voice.
I don't say anything as a big hand grabs my arms and turns me around to face him and Felix.
"Love the hair," Felix says with a grin.
"Yes," Demetri says. "Too bad it didn't work to your advantage."
My hands are bound and then shoved over the rope barrier separating the festival from the street surrounding it.
"We were going to take you and the girl in together," Demetri continues as we walk. "But Aro will be very interested in talking to you first. I hope all of your running hasn't made you a coward, Cullen."
No words of protest or even taunting leave my lips.
I know Jasper will get Bella to safety.
Whatever happens to me now isn't important.
Yikes! This cannot be good.
Now, I know what you're all thinking, okay, maybe not. But no, Bella will not be captured. I'll spoil you with that right now. And the next couple of chapters might be a little difficult to stomach, but trust me when I say they're a necessary evil.
I hope you're all having a great day, and I'll see you next time!