Title: In All My Dreams I Burn
Pairing: Bella, Jared
Rating: T
Genre: suspense, hurt/comfort
Word Count: 2791
Disclaimer:
All publicly recognized characters, settings, etc are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owner, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Written for the Tricky Raven 2015 Nightmares and Dreams Halloween contest
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One month. She'd been alone for a whole month. Not even the Halloween decorations gave her much to smile about anymore; Vampires that didn't sparkle weren't vampires at all. He'd left her in the woods to suffer his absence without so much as a phone call. He'd been right; they'd never existed. At least he'd been honest with her. Only, why wouldn't he leave her dreams? With a disheartened sigh, she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.
Trees. Always, she found herself in the trees with nothing but a flashlight to protect her. She shook her head and started moving, gut instinct telling her she wasn't safe.
"Bella."
Bella gasped and whirled around to face the trees at her back. The flashlight in her hand cast shadows against the ancient trunks surrounding her. The heat of her breath met the chill of the air, creating a fog of growing panic with each puff she expelled from her lips. Her clothes- flimsy pajamas that had seen better days- did little to protect her skin, but she ignored the growing goose bumps on her arms in favor of searching the growing darkness that surrounded her. Someone had called her name- the same someone that had lured her into the trees.
"Bella."
Brown eyes widened and Bella turned with a gasp to search the shadows behind her. A rustling in the leaves alerted her to something moving in the bushes just past the flashlights reach. Something feral and dangerous. She swallowed and worked to calm her heart. Huge. If anyone asked her why she'd gone into the woods, she'd tell them she saw something huge. Hearing voices- even one she thought she'd never forget- wasn't something to boast about in public.
"Bella."
A scream left her lips. That voice. Too close. A rustling in the bushes to her left caused fear to pool deep in her belly. Her heartbeat spiked and sweat beaded on her forehead. Run. She needed to run.
"Bella."
She sighed in relief when she saw her back yard. Twenty feet and she'd be free of the shadows. Ten feet. Five. A scream tore from her lips as a hand clamped down over her wrist. She'd nearly made it to safety!
Pain, wicked and hot, raced down her spine as something sharp tore through the flesh of her back. One look over her shoulder had her stumbling away from the man- the monster- hovering too close. His nails dripped with her blood and she shivered when he brought them to his lips.
"Edward?"
With a sinister grin adorning his lips, Edward threw her body into the trunk of a nearby tree. He sauntered toward her, taking pleasure in the pain he'd caused. His once golden eyes now burned red as her blood coursed through his veins. A dark chuckle left his throat as she worked to regain her breath.
He pulled her to her feet and held her up with a hand at her throat. Her brown eyes closed, waiting for the fire to lick through her as his mouth descended to her neck. A deep growl from the shadows halted him. A look over his shoulder revealed a brown wolf to her eyes.
"If I'm to die, you'll join me, love."
A scream tore from her lips as fire seared through her neck where his teeth sank into the flesh. Hands on her shoulders gripped her tight as she fought to free herself. A voice calling her name alerted her that she'd had another nightmare- the same one she'd had since Edward had left her. She couldn't escape the phantom burn of venom racing through her body- the fire that coursed through her veins.
"Bella!"
Brown orbs widened in shock and fear, opened to focus on the familiar face of her dad. She inhaled and exhaled, working to calm her fast beating heart. With a sigh, she swallowed and sat up to lean against her headboard.
"Another one?"
She nodded and bit her lip. "Same one." She'd never told him anything more than that.
"Bella, maybe I shouldn't go tomorrow… One of the nurses could take Billy for his treatment…" Charlie sighed.
She swallowed and shook her head. "No, dad. I'll be fine… you should still go. It's only two days and you're only going to Seattle. Besides, you promised Billy you'd go for support."
Charlie sighed. She had a point. "I know.. I'm going to worry about you though. You're not sleeping enough kiddo."
Bella closed her eyes. "Don't worry dad. I'll manage." She hid a yawn and tried to smile.
Taking the dismissal for what it was, Charlie kissed her forehead and left the room. She counted to ten and opened her eyes once the door had clicked closed. She didn't want to remember Edward as a monster. She left a sigh escape her lips and pulled a book from under her pillow before flicking on her bedside lamp. She'd let the words on the pages carry her somewhere safe.
By the time she'd finished the last page, dawn had broken and the sky appeared to be in a reasonable state. It hadn't started raining yet at least. Her clothes were picked without much thought- lumberjack came to mind at first glance- and one careless glance in the mirror gave her enough time to run a brush through the knots in her auburn tresses.
Voices in the kitchen gave her pause at the bottom of the steps. Her dad. Billy. Harry. Two- no three voices she didn't recognize. She frowned and tried to stay quiet enough to hear the hushed conversation as she stopped just outside the doorway.
"- come to the reservation while you're gone. It's no problem for Sue, Charlie."
"You haven't heard the screams, Harry. I can't ask Sue and the kids to listen to it."
"You're exaggerating! It can't be as bad as that. I'm sure it's just your mind making things worse than they are."
Bella smiled. Billy always tried to see the good in everything. Charlie sighed. "It's sounds like someone's killing her." Bella frowned, hearing how tired her dad sounded.
"What if we stayed here?"
Bella knew that voice.
"Jared, right? I couldn't ask that. You have school. I couldn't ask you to miss it."
"Hold on Charlie. Sam's already graduated and the boys here are home schooled by Sue. They wouldn't miss too much."
"They're responsible, Charlie. They help Sam police the tribe when they're not studying." Billy grinned. "There won't be much for them to do until Halloween night anyways."
Charlie sighed. "I don't know… her screams… what if she doesn't agree?"
"Then we'll come back to work on the house when you come home with Billy." Sam said for all of them.
Bella cleared her throat and walked into the kitchen having heard enough. "Morning." She muttered.
"Morning Bella." Billy chirped, breaking the awkward silence. If she hadn't known any better, she could swear the three boys had been aware of her presence there the entire length of the conversation.
"Bells, you remember Sam, Paul and Jared? They're the ones who found you last month." Charlie said. "They're gonna stay here this weekend and get started on the new guest room I'm having added to the house."
She nodded at them. "Hi."
They nodded, each of them taking note of the deep circles under her eyes as well as the way she pushed her food around the bowl instead of eating. It took everything Sam and Paul had to keep Jared in his seat. His wolf growled at them, not understand the reasons behind keeping him and Bella separated. Jared hadn't even told her about their 'special connection.'
They watched as Bella rushed to place her still full bowl in the sink and leave the house. "You sure you're up for this?" Charlie asked again.
Sam smiled. "We'll be fine."
Charlie nodded and sighed. He offered Billy and Harry a beer, gave Sam, Paul and Jared a soda and ushered them into the living room. Guilt surged in his belly at the thought of being away from Bella. The boys would handle it. He'd heard from Billy and Harry about their responsibilities. They'd keep watch over Bella.
He hoped.
~X_X_X_X~
Sam waved goodbye to Charlie and Billy from the front door of the Swan home. Bella had just gotten home from school and upon seeing the three wolves still in her living room, had sequestered herself safe in her own bedroom with the door shut and locked tight. They'd shared a look before shrugging and deciding that they'd leave her alone until time to eat. Jared had already made his mind up that he'd force feed her if he had to, even though he'd not find much joy in that task.
"Think she's alright?"
Paul rolled his eyes. "She's fine. She's more than likely sleeping."
Sam chuckled. He nodded in agreement with Paul. "She'll come down and talk to us if she wants to Jared. You can't force her to open up to us."
"My wolf's going nuts. I mean, how can she still be wrapped up in the leeches?! They've been gone for a month now and it's like they just left yesterday to her! I can't even enjoy Halloween this year because I'm so damn worried about her!" Jared's eyes hardened at the thought of the Cullen's coming anywhere near Bella again.
"You need to calm down if you want a chance to talk with her. She's hurting and Jake- yes, I know your wolf goes nuts when the pup goes near her, stop growling at me- Jake said she's not handling it in the healthiest way."
"I can't help the growling. My wolf hates that Jake has any kind of feelings at all for her." Jared huffed and rolled his eyes.
Paul shook his head and snickered. "Then you should make a move Romeo. The imprint happened for a reason. She needs someone stable. Jake will learn after he goes through the change. He'll understand that you won't do anything to harm her."
"Someone should wake her up for dinner. Charlie says she doesn't eat too much these days." Jared huffed.
Sam's eyes rolled towards the ceiling. He'd been listening to the steady growing whimpers indicating she'd started to have one of her now infamous nightmares. He cursed under his breath and swore to himself if he ever saw another Cullen he'd tear their heads off for causing harm to a member of the pack. With a sigh, he stood and moved into the kitchen to reheat the plates of food that Emily had sent with him.
"Sounds like she's waking herself up already." Paul quipped.
Jared rolled his eyes. He couldn't be too mad at him and he counted it a miracle Paul had gotten over the anger he'd once carried for her. He had a sneaking suspicion him imprinting on her had gone a long way in changing Paul's mind- without the common link he wouldn't bother at all.
"Bella."
Her pulse raced inside of her chest. Her mind hissed at her to stay away from the trees. Her feet disobeyed and moved closer still. Fear rushed through her as things unseen stirred in her imagination. The air pulsed around her with unseen dangers; predators waited in the shadows just beyond the reach of the flashlight she held.
"Bella."
A gasp left her lips. She needed to get back to her bed. The dark held too many evil things- tainted memories of a love she once believed in and wicked creatures ruled by the chaos of death. she'd never been graceful, but she threw caution aside and ran in the direction she'd come. The direction of home. The direction of safety.
"Wrong way."
She tripped, her hands scraping over the dead leaf litter and debris on the forest floor. She hissed as her skin opened under the jarring of upturned tree roots. Home. She wanted to get home. A whimper of pain escaped her lips as she fell yet again. But wait. There! Twenty feet in front of her. Ten. Five! Just five feet from her back yard.
"Nice try love."
Pain raced through her body as her back collided with the trunk of a tree several feet behind her. She heard the bones of her shoulder pop as they dislocated from the socket. With tears in her eyes, she looked up to see the man she thought she'd loved stalking closer. His eyes- once golden and gentle- glazed over in a red, feral hunger.
"Edward, please… let me go."
A cry of pain and fear left her lips as the crazed vampire lifted her from the ground with nails digging into the skin of her neck.
"Hush, you'll ruin my dinner." He purred before his teeth sank into her flesh.
Fire. Red hot and agonizing licked through her body as screams tore from her lips. Her eyes widened when she saw the same brown wolf stalking closer to the pair. Not for the first time since the nightmare started, she felt terror overtake her. The wolf's jaws tore the head of the vampire away before the great beast turned to her. The great beasts jaws opened before the darkness took her vision away.
"Bella!"
Her screams had driven Paul, Sam and Jared up the stairs, racing to get to her. They watched as her back arched off the mattress and her muscles seized in pain. Phantom fire from an attack delivered over a year earlier had them frozen in shock. The next scream escaping her lips sent Sam surging to her, trying to keep her from bending her body in half to escape the torment her mind had unleashed.
"Bella! Wake up! Bella, you're safe!"
Jared shivered and watched his mate- he had yet to tell her that tidbit- call out for the vampire who had abandoned her only a month earlier. Paul's hand on his shoulder brought him back to himself- he'd been growling at the mere memory of his enemy anywhere near the poor girl. He felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for her after what she'd been put through by the Cullens.
His touch soothed her enough that she stopped fighting the hold Sam had on her. Her breathing calmed and she opened her eyes when her senses finally returned. Shame filled her; she'd not wanted them to see her that way. They hushed her before she could apologize and even Paul told her to forget about it. He couldn't hate her when he'd seen a glimpse of the hell she lived in each night. He knew that hell all too well.
Jared pulled her desk chair next to the bed and took her hand in his own. Just for comfort. He promised her that. She nodded and offered him a shy smile. His wolf loved it.
Bella couldn't understand how she felt so at ease with the boy- she'd only seen him on the reservation once or twice before but she'd never said more than hi.
"Try and sleep." He whispered. His gentle hand wiped the tears from her face.
Her head shook in her refusal. "Let me stay awake for a while."
"You're tired."
"I'm fine."
He huffed a quiet laugh and moved a strand of sweaty hair away from her face. "You'll be too tired to function before you know it." He warned.
"I don't burn this way."
"What?"
"I die in my dreams…. Fire… pain… I still feel it when I wake up sometimes." She sighed. "Crazy, huh."
He smiled and soothed away the rest of her tears. "Not at all. Try and sleep."
"Think you can stop the dreams?" She wondered.
His eyes met hers and he smirked. "Nah, I know I can." He kissed her cheek- much to her shock. "Let me tell you a story about the spirit warriors of my tribe?"
"Billy used to tell me that story." She said through a yawn.
"Did he tell you they turned into wolves?" He asked as her eyes started to close.
She eyed him and shook her head with an amused smile dancing over her lips. "That's just a fairy tale. Jake told it to me last year…"
Jared refrained from rolling his eyes. The pup would be in so much trouble when he finally joined the pack. "Maybe, but you have to admit, it's a good one. Let me tell you again? Just until you fall asleep."
She eyed him and finally nodded her head. "Just until I'm asleep." She said.
For once, she didn't dream about fire or pain. A brown wolf kept her safe and kept the monsters of her mind at bay in the shadows of the trees.