Hey guys! :D
Wow, lots of reviews. xD Thank you so much; Parkerstwilight, Mrs. M Cullen, Lisa, Han1212, Gabriels-girl5035, Littlemissmousie96, Thari, Temporaryinsanity91, Paramore luver, Madeliefje, XxBaby. BooxX, Lizzie, Sparkle. love, Rosaa, Miss F Cullen, Movies2560, x-Taiiwo-x, Vanessa James, BellaCullenSwan17, Sky Dragon155, Beckyisavampire, Cullenbaby94, Kselzer, 1mooncalled, Fairytale92, Otme0701, Quinstar, AutumnDannie, CrazyGirlFromAsylum, Kris, Et1141412, Rocker1901, TrueOutcast, Mouse555, Razmataz13drums, Spooky Pumpkin, Bella'Swan'22, Kammi93, Sunrise-Sophiiee, Mcutie, Twifanforever460, Cnelson, Vampiregirlsrule, TwihardJonas, Fly, Sara Lautner, Marijne, Madeofawesome22, Lizzy, CandyCornXOXO, Beaandmarco, Sunshine72, xostaybeautiful, Nicole1962, Sprinter1, xxLittle-Miss-Imoniexx, Rubi101, Cullen4life1996, EJ Masen SARW, Layla James and Y. cant. i. be. invisible! You people are awesomesauce! :D
I once again apologize for not replying to all of you, but I could either send out emails or I could, you know, write. xD
To Mrs. M Cullen: Lol, yes, hurt Regina all you want! ;)
To CrazyGirlFromAsylum: I wouldn't say crazy, your plan sounds like a good one to me! :p
To Mouse555: Yes, white sounds about right! :D And Edward in black, of course. :p
To Bella'Swan'22: Sure, you can have a Super!Edward. :p And I'm so not telling you where my secret cave is! :O That would totally undermine the secret-part. :p
To Fly: Lol, alright, in an attempt to save my own butt, I'm giving you a shower-Edward! :p
To Marijne: Sure! :D One digital Alice, coming up! And thanks for inviting me! :p
To Madeofawesome22: Hmm, yeah. Regina could definitely use some lessons in evil-laughs. :p
To Beaandmarco: Oh god, you're tempting me! :O If anything can get me out of the cave, it's a charming Edward with chocolates and flowers. :p
To EJ Masen SARW: Why did I pick the name Regina, that is a very good question, I have to think about that for a moment… :p I don't know anyone named Regina, so that's not it. I guess that I was indeed looking for a name that, in my opinion, had a nasty ring to it, like you mentioned. xD Mind you, Regina's name has changed several times before I uploaded the first chapters of this story. I had some other names but they didn't quite fit the character. I kept changing it, and then finally, I decided on Regina. It was just a feeling, most of all. xD
To Y. cant. i. be. invisible: Lol, your review was awesome! xD
Okay, new chapter, enjoy! And yes, I do swear that there won't be any more cliffhangers. :p
Burning The Witch
Regina and Lauren were both glaring daggers at me. If looks could kill, I would've been dead and buried by now.
"You people really need to learn to lock that back door." Lauren said mockingly, ending the brief silence.
A thousand different emotions were running through me as I glared back at my disgusting stepfamily, their faces smug. It started with fear and panic, but those two faded soon, while both anger and hate became more prominent. I wasn't one to hold grudges, or to truly hate someone with all my heart, but they were my one exception. There weren't even enough words in the English language to express how much I loathed them.
"You're coming with us!" Regina's harsh command dragged me away from my thoughts.
She moved further into the kitchen, taking several steps in my direction, Lauren hot on her heels.
"No, I'm not." I replied in a stern tone, successfully hiding the last, tiny fragment of fear that was left in my system. "In fact, I'm going to call Joe if you don't leave this instant."
I made a move to pick up the phone, which was lying on the breakfast bar, but Regina stopped me.
"No! I wouldn't do that if I were you! You're not going to call that bald monkey after all the trouble I went through to avoid him." She yelled warningly at me.
"Give me one good reason why not." I challenged her, my hand hovering over the phone.
I felt braver with each word, even though there were two of them and only one of me. After all, I could scream, kick and hit, so I decided that no matter what happened, I wouldn't go down without a fight. With some luck, one of the Cullens would hear that something was going on, and come to my rescue.
Regina didn't answer me right away, but started to search the small, pink handbag that she was carrying for something. I frowned as I watched her, and Lauren smirked at me, probably already knowing what her mother was up to. I didn't wait for her to do whatever the hell she had in mind, and I snatched the phone from the bar.
"Put that phone down!" Regina snapped, at the same time pulling something out of her hideous handbag in a swift motion, but not fast enough for me to miss what it was.
I gasped and stared at the gun that she was pointing directly at me. I immediately recognized the weapon, seeing as it had been Charlie's… My heartbeat turned up a notch, and breathing became difficult. A gun, that was something I couldn't compete with…
"Put it down, or I'll shoot your pretty head off." Regina repeated, her voice low but threatening as she glowered at me.
I obeyed, hesitantly placing the phone back on the breakfast bar, my hand trembling like crazy.
"You just wait until Edward finds out. He's upstairs, he could be back any minute." I responded pathetically, knowing that it was an empty threat; Edward also couldn't compete with a gun.
"Oh, I'm scared now! Your boyfriend can't save you now." Regina barked. "This fairytale life of yours has lasted long enough, I'm going to put an end to all this nonsense. You're coming back with us, and that's final."
"Why?" I blurted out, genuinely interested to hear why she was so desperate to get me back.
Lauren answered before Regina could do it herself. "Because we need someone to cook and clean, doh! Are you really that stupid?"
"So get a maid! You both hate my guts! Be thankful that I finally left, and simply hire someone to do your dirty work!" I retorted incredulously, still in the dark, not understanding what they needed me for.
"Hiring someone costs money." Regina snapped.
"So what? You've got plenty!" I argued.
My new tactic was to keep her talking in order to win some time, in hopes that Edward or Alice would be back soon.
"No, we don't." Lauren sourly corrected me.
"Shut up, Lauren! That's no one's business." Regina reprimanded her daughter.
I gave my stepsister a puzzled look, my curiosity giving me the courage to ignore Regina for a second. "What are you talking about?" I probed, addressing Lauren.
"We're nearly broke!" Lauren spat out despite her mother's warning. "We can't afford a maid! Hell, within now and two weeks we won't even have any money left to buy regular groceries! Let alone designer clothes! Can you even imagine the horrible situation we are in!"
"Enough, Lauren!" Regina barked, ending Lauren's displeased rant. "I wasn't the only one spending money like water these last years!"
She hissed some other things at her daughter, never taking the gun away from me, but I wasn't paying attention anymore. It started to occur to me what Lauren was complaining about… It seemed that they had already spent the enormous amount of money that they had inherited from Regina's first husband. If Lauren was telling the truth, it was all gone. Spent on clothes, cars and countless trips to the beauty salon.
I could see their problem now; one of them would have to find a job. And even then, they would have to live as average people. They were broke, and on top of that, they had lost their free slave. I could understand now that wanting me back was merely a last, desperate try to preserve a tiny part of their luxurious lives; If everything was lost, at least there would still be a free employee to clean up their mess.
"You! Stop staring like an idiot and come with us." Regina commanded unexpectedly, waving the gun at me as a sign that she wanted me to move.
Disobeying someone who was holding a gun didn't sound like a very smart plan to me, and I reluctantly stepped away from the sink, towards Regina and Lauren. They were standing in the middle of the kitchen, next to the breakfast bar, and they slowly did a step backwards as I moved closer, moving in the direction of the door. Regina was about to open it, but was stopped when Edward suddenly barged through the door. His expression turned infuriated as he observed that we had a serious problem…
"Edward!" I breathed in both relief and horror.
Relief because, for some reason, I automatically started to calm down as soon as I saw his flawless face. Horror because Edward was the most important thing to me ever, and I was terrified that the witches would try to hurt him.
"Bella?" He spoke my name with a mixture of confusion and panic.
"Don't move, boy! Stay where you are!" Regina warned him, briefly directing the gun at him instead of me.
She repositioned herself, dragging her daughter along so they were both standing between me and Edward, keeping us apart. Regina nervously glanced at me, then at him. She kept moving the gun back and forth, seemingly unable to decide whether to point it at me or at Edward.
"Are you kidding me? Get the hell out of my house! What is going on here?" Edward demanded as he glared at Regina, his usually alluring voice nothing more than a low growl.
"We're here to collect Isabella. Don't worry, we'll leave you alone after this. We don't want anything to do with you, we simply came to take what's ours." Regina answered Edward, her tone indifferent.
"Not a chance in hell!" He hissed at her. "Bella's staying here, with me. I'm calling security."
"Are you sure about that? You wouldn't want your little princess to get hurt." Lauren suddenly interjected tauntingly, demonstratively waving her hand at the gun that Regina was holding.
Regina nodded, smiling approvingly at Lauren; their previous argument seemed forgotten. "That's right! So step aside, you stuck-up movie star, or your little girlfriend here is toast. Let us through!"
She waved the gun at him to create an escape route, motioning for him to step away from the door. Her free hand suddenly grabbed my wrist, and she started to pull me along.
"It's fine, Edward. Do as she says." I told him reluctantly, my mouth dry and my voice thick.
The last thing I wanted was to move back in with the witches, but there were lives at stake here, including the most important life in the world as far as I was concerned; Edward's.
"I can't let them take you, Bella!" He protested, his emerald eyes filled with horror.
"And I can't let her shoot you!" I stubbornly countered. "Move, Edward."
"You'd better listen to her." Regina hinted; I could hear that she was getting impatient.
I nodded encouragingly at Edward, who seemed overcome with anger and rage. "Please." I whispered.
He sighed deeply, but did one small step away from the door.
"This won't end here. Don't be afraid, Bella. We'll fix this. I will fix this. I promised to keep you safe and I don't intent on breaking that promise. You'll be back here before you even know it." He said, completely ignoring the fact that my scary stepmother could hear every word.
Regina dismissively rolled her eyes at him. "I don't think so, Cullen. We won't make the same mistake twice. We'll be more careful this time, she won't be able to escape. And let me tell you something else…"
Regina didn't get a chance to finish her little speech, for without a warning, the door smacked open and Emmett waltzed into the room.
"Yo, little brother, I smelled the pancakes, do you…" He began when he noticed Edward, totally oblivious. But then he glanced around the room and spotted Regina.
Both Regina and Lauren gaped at him, obviously shocked by the huge, bulky person that was Emmett Cullen. Due to his goodhearted attitude towards me, I had always thought of him as a friendly big brother, but I could easily imagine that outsiders might find him intimidating, or scary even. Regina didn't speak nor did she point her gun at him. She even lowered it slightly in a moment of distraction, and she looked baffled. Her grip on my wrist loosened a little as she looked Emmett up and down. Lauren let out a whimpering sound and cowered into her mother's side.
"Holy crap!" Emmett exclaimed in his familiar, booming voice once he gathered that something wasn't right. "Edward, bro! There's an ugly-looking woman with a gun standing in your kitchen! I assume you didn't invite her over for tea?" He questioned in his typical, blunt manner, not caring that Regina was right there.
"Not exactly, no." Edward uttered nearly inaudibly, quirking an eyebrow at his brother as if they were silently communicating something.
Their quiet exchange was short, and when it ended Emmett looked at me for the first time, winking reassuringly. "Watch out, Bells. Stand back, please." He cautioned cheerfully.
Before my brain could even process what he was about to do, he launched himself at Regina. She was stunned, not expecting that, and her hand released my wrist. She didn't even have time to think about the gun in her hand, let alone use it. She looked horrorstruck, and she let out a high-pitched shriek, causing me to shudder. I hastily did a few steps back, like Emmett had instructed, not asking him why.
If it weren't for the tricky situation we were in, I would've laughed at Emmett's next move, for he not-so-gently tackled Regina, forcing her to the kitchen floor with his full weight. All the while, Lauren was screaming like an extra in some low-budget scary movie.
"Let go off my mother, you big buffoon!" She yelled at Emmett.
Regina dropped the gun in the process, and it crashed to the ground with a loud 'thud', landing at Edward's feet. He picked it up, gazing impassively at it for a moment, and then pointing it at Lauren.
"No stupid moves to help your mother. It might hurt a little if I have to use this to stop you." He said coldly.
Lauren stared at him, wide eyed. It was plain to see that her crush on him was close to gone by now. "You're really, really mean, Edward Cullen." She muttered croakily.
Her whole body was trembling, and she slowly sank to the ground, sitting down next to her beloved mother.
Edward swiftly walked up to the breakfast bar and picked up the phone. He dialed a number without thinking, and seconds later I heard how he was urgently talking to Joe. I could only hear parts of the conversation, since Regina was loudly throwing curse-words and pointless threats at Emmett.
Emmett however, smiled serenely and made himself comfortable, sitting on Regina's knees, probably cutting off her circulation. He kept her arms pinned to the floor, and looked up at me, grinning boyishly.
"I think the danger's gone." He announced jokingly in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.
"No kidding. That was the most brilliant action I've ever witnessed." I complimented him, producing a shaky laugh as my breathing slowly started to calm down.
He shrugged casually. "She wasn't invited, that's what happens to trespassers when I'm around."
I snorted, disapprovingly shaking my head in Regina's direction. "Still, that took some courage. She had a gun, for crying out loud! You rock, Emmett."
"Oh, shut up, you stupid cow!" Regina snapped at me from underneath Emmett.
Emmett roughly squeezed her wrists in response, and she yelped.
Again I had to stop myself from laughing. Regina lying on the floor with Emmett sitting on top of her was a rather funny sight. I heard how Edward said a goodbye to Joe, and a split second later he was at my side, tightly wrapping his arms around me.
"I'm so, so sorry, love. I shouldn't have left you alone." He started to apologize right away, but I quickly shut him up, placing my hand over his mouth.
"It's not your fault, don't blame yourself, Edward." I pleaded, earnestly gazing into his eyes. "Everything's fine now."
He sighed, slowly letting go of me, seeing as he still had to keep an eye on Lauren. "I guess so, but still, I should've been there to protect you. God knows what would've happened if Emmett and I hadn't…"
"But it didn't." I interrupted him again. "Let's not dwell on what could've happened."
Edward grimaced. "You're taking it so lightly, it's unnatural. But you're right, it could've been worse."
"Exactly. So is Joe on his way?" I changed the subject to distract him.
"Yes, he could be here any second now. He has already contacted the police, this is out of our hands. And let me tell you, things aren't looking good for those two." He said, gesturing at Regina and Lauren, his tone lighter now.
"What are you talking about, boy?" Regina hissed, glancing up at Edward.
"You're seriously asking me that? How about abusing your stepdaughter for over eight years, locking her up in an attic, breaking and entering… And then I haven't even mentioned that you threatened to kill us, just now!" Edward stated flatly.
"You kidnapped my stepdaughter!" Regina spat at him.
"She is here out of free will! You're in big trouble, and I'm not just talking about that little stunt you pulled today, I'm talking about the past eight years. I'm going to contact my lawyer and make sure that you're going to pay for everything you did to make Bella suffer."
"Cool, you're going to end up in jail! Say hi to our cousin Steve, he's in there, too. He robbed a bank, but other than that he's a pretty awesome dude." Emmett mused.
Regina directed a dirty scowl at Edward. "You wouldn't! You'll regret it! And so will Isabella!"
"The only one regretting things will be you. Can't get your hair and nails done every two days when you are in jail." I pointed out, smiling sweetly at Regina.
She let out a defeated groan, and as if on cue, Emmett, Edward and I simultaneously started to laugh.
A few heartbeats later Joe stormed into the kitchen, accompanied by two police officers. Needless to say, Regina and Lauren got arrested, both of them protesting loudly as they were dragged out of the kitchen. Joe followed to open the gate, and Emmett, Edward and I enjoyed every second of the show.
"You're going to be very, very sorry!" Were the last words I heard from Regina before her nasal voice faded as she was removed from the house.
"Keep telling yourself that." I murmured to no one in particular.
Edward chuckled. "She deserves an award when it comes to being delusional."
"For what it's worth, she made this Sunday considerably less boring." Emmett said, seeing the sunny side, as usual.
"That she did, although I do hope that this was the last time." I admitted.
Emmett shrugged. "If she ever comes back, I'll just sit on her again. Anyway, are there any pancakes left, folks?"
Edward shook his head, but smiled at his brother. "No, but you know what? I'll bake you new ones."
"And I'll help." I volunteered. "Making you some fresh pancakes is the least I can do for you, as a reward for defeating the wicked witch, I mean. You totally saved the day, Em!"
He smiled brightly at me. "Anytime, sis. The pleasure was all mine…"
xxx
"Oh snap, I still can't believe I missed all the action! Talking about bad timing." Alice said disappointedly, pouting a little.
"Yeah, you should've seen Regina's face when Emmett tackled her." Edward said, smiling at the memory.
"Or when Edward told her that he was going to sue her." Emmett added, grinning.
The four of us were hanging in front of the TV in the living room, where we had just shared this morning's events with Alice who had missed the whole thing. I shared a couch with Edward, sitting unnecessarily close to him, and Emmett and Alice were sitting on the couch across from us.
"Ah well, it was also sort of frightening, maybe you should be thankful that you weren't there." I told Alice.
"Perhaps, but it's such a bummer that I didn't get to see their faces when the cops dragged them out of the house. I can imagine that you were scared to death, though. Someone pointing a gun at your face must be a terrifying experience." She replied, giving me a sympathetic smile.
"Yes, nightmares are guaranteed tonight." I said, feigning a cheery tone.
"Of course not, love. I'll sing them away." Edward softly murmured next to my ear.
I shivered, cuddling even closer to him and smiling contentedly. Every time I thought he couldn't get any more cute, he proved me wrong.
"Gross, dude, you are so cheesy." Emmett made a disgusted face at Edward as he got up from the couch.
"He's not cheesy, it's sweet!" I objected.
Emmett snickered, shaking his head at me. "I'm afraid that you're a bit biased, Bella. I'm out of here."
"Yeah, I'm with you. Let's give our lovebirds some privacy." Alice said, also getting up.
Edward glared at his siblings as they noisily stumbled out of the room, already discussing some plans to clean out the garage this afternoon. Once they were out of sight I eagerly crawled into Edward's lap, snuggling against his chest, making myself comfortable.
"Oh god, they're right, aren't they? I am cheesy." Edward sighed dramatically, draping his arms around me.
A small giggle escaped me. "I wouldn't say cheesy… Okay, maybe a little cheesy. But that's alright, because you are one of those rare people who make cheesiness work, Edward."
"Was that an insult or a compliment?" He murmured, his face was so close that his lips were skimming against my cheek as he spoke.
I grinned innocently at him. "Compliment. I love it, so that makes it a good thing."
He kissed the corner of my mouth, and I briefly closed my eyes. "You're more than I deserve." He whispered, gently putting a stray lock of hair behind my ear with a light touch.
"I still think it's the other way around." I said, bringing one of my hands up to his face to lightly trace his perfect features with my fingertips.
"Yes, because you don't see me clearly, you silly girl."
"No, I'm serious… Thanks for everything, Edward. And thanks for, you know, paying for an abnormally expensive lawyer to put them behind bars for an even longer time." I blushed as I said the last part, not truly happy with the fact that once again, he had to pay a ridiculous amount of money to fix my problems.
"You're more than welcome. It's for a very good cause." He said, smiling crookedly.
He took my hand in his, intertwining our fingers and lovingly placing a kiss on my knuckles.
"Good cause, indeed. May they rot in jail… I just wish I could pay you back."
"You can." Was his immediate reply.
"Really? How?" I asked.
He smirked, his green eyes sparkling mischievously as he leaned closer to me, his lips no more than an inch away from mine. "I'll make you a special price, one that's going to be highly enjoyable for me as well… You can repay your debt in kisses instead of dollars, my beautiful Bella…"
My heart did some joyful flips at his words, and I didn't waste a moment, enthusiastically crushing my lips to his. No point in denying that I was beyond excited to repay him, preferably with interest…
Thank you for reading! :D I'll upload the next chapter as soon as I can!