Okay, now for the real drama! I'm so excited, because everything in this story so far has just been working up to this!

Prepare yourselves for the biggest cliffhanger of this story (in the next chapter)!

One more thing: I've been looking over some of my past work, and I have to say I'm not entirely happy with the way I wrote this story. I let myself get so pressured into getting the chapters to you quickly, that I was actually failing to give my best work. I don't work as well as possible under pressure. I give good work, but it's never quite as good as it could be.

So, I've decided that after this story is done, I'm probably going to re-edit the entire story. The chapters need to be longer, the details more in depth, and the words need to flow more easily.

If I'm being completely honest with myself - which I'm not very often - when I compare the story to what it could have been to what it is, I'm extremely disappointed in myself, and almost ashamed.

Make this chapter last, read it really slow. It'll probably be one or two weeks before I get the next one up, mainly because it's going to be the most dramatic, heart pounding, suspense filled chapter ever. I'm probably just over exaggerating it, but start preparing yourselves now, cause it's gonna be good.

Previously:

"What do you mean, 'even if I don't love you anymore'? Bella, what is wrong with you? Of course I love you. I promised you I would love you for all eternity, and that's the easiest promise I've ever made."

"I'm sorry." I whispered again.

"I know. It's okay, Bella, it's going to be okay." was all he said.

"Jacob, I'm waiting."

He took a deep breath. "Bella, it's time."

"Time for what?"

"Pete, Bella, Pete! . . . It's time."

I froze, and the phone slipped out from my trembling fingers. The phone landed with a thud on the carpeted floor of the Volvo, and I could vaguely hear Jacob yelling at me through it. But I didn't care, it didn't matter.

Edward was talking to me, I knew. Murmuring things to me in a comforting tone. My mind floundered around somewhere inside my body, trapped. I felt Edward's cool hands wrapping around the tops of my arms, and shaking me gently. With eyes that would not move I saw him pick up the phone, say something to Jacob, and end the call. But I didn't care, it didn't matter.

What mattered was that everything was ready, it was time for me to go to La Push and play bait for a little while, and I wasn't ready. Sure, I had agreed to a plan against Pete in a second's notice, but I thought I'd have more time. I had counted on months, possibly even years, and they had given me weeks. It was dangerous, I knew. He was insane, and there was always the possibility I wouldn't come back. I just made things right with Edward, and I hadn't even seen the Cullens yet. What if this was it for me? What if I was taking my last breaths right now? What if I was wasting the last moments I might have to see Edward's face, to memorize it for when it might not be there anymore, by floundering around in my head? What if?

Edward, poor Edward. I knew it would just destroy him if anything happened to me. Who would be there to pick up the pieces? Who would he have? Who would comfort him? His family would try, but who would it be that he would really let in? Even though it was me with the high chance of dying, I worried for him.

More than anything, I was mad at myself. I had wasted what was possibly the last time I would have with him. I had planned to live every second with him as if it where my last, to make the most of our time, but somewhere during the time I was planning for it, our time had run out.

I snapped back to reality when Edward kissed my forehead. I knew that, no matter what it took, I was going to come back to him. There was no way I was going to let Pete finish me off, not after everything we've been through. But the feeling in my stomach told me otherwise.

I stared him straight in the eyes, and he looked relieved to see I was alert. "Bella, what happened?" he asked, emphasizing the last two words.

I gulped loudly. "Remember when we had that fight about me being bait while Jacob and some of his friends catch Pete?" He nodded slowly. "Well, they're ready. I . . . I have to go."

He searched my face for a moment, and I wasn't sure what he saw there. "You're not ready." he said simply, as if it where the most obvious thing in the world. His mouth set itself in a grim, worried line.

"Yes, I am." I said, hoping I sounded half as sure and determined as I tried to.

"No, you're not; and you can't go into something like this in that state of mind. You're not ready."

"I have a to be."

"No, Bella, you don't have to be. Don't you understand? This isn't a game, Bella. People get killed in situations like this. You're so set on getting back at him, to prove to the both of you that you're worth something, that you're not just a damsel in distress, that you can stand up for yourself, and I get that, Bella, I really do.

"But, please, just remember, this isn't just a matter of pride here that's at stake. I know what he's not afraid to do to you Bella, and I know that, as bad as it was, it's not the worst he could do. I want you to understand, Bella, that any hold he had on you ended a long time ago. That part of your life is done. You're not in his control anymore, and no one will ever control you again. And if you don't want to be apart of this - if you're scared and just doing this out of a sense of duty - then you don't have to be a part of this. If you're going to do this, you need to do it for you, and not for anyone other than you. If nothing else, remember that if you want to, you can walk away right now and never look back. And not a single person will judge you for it."

"Edward," I floundered around in my head for a moment, desperately trying to find the words to make him understand. "I can't walk away. If I just give up, just lit it go, it's like I'm letting him win. And I've come to damn far to let him win now. So, I'm not going to give up. I'm going to fight him with everything I have, and, for once, I'm going to be the one who ends up on top. You're right, I do feel like there's something I have to prove, but not to him. To me. Every time he pushed me down, or told me what to do, or hit me, he was forcing me to admit he was dominate. Don't you get it? That's what it's all about. This whole business of abuse, it's all about control. It's all about him being in charge, and feeling the sick rush or whatever he gets out of it. As long as I will be his obedient little doll, everything's fine in his perfect little world. He gets off on that or something. And for me to turn the tables, to be able to make him feel tiny, to make him feel defenseless, that's the ultimate revenge.

"And you're wrong about one other thing, Edward. Even if I do walk away, it won't go away. Do you know that I still look over my shoulder, because I think someone's constantly watching me? Do you know I still lie awake at night, shaking because I'm so scared that he'll come after me? Do you know about the unbearable paranoia that I still feel every single day of my life, because I know that he's still out there? I think that - if I can help in some way, if I can be apart of this . . . this conspiracy against him, if I can know that he feels what I felt - I can finally finish healing after all that he did to me. I think that if I do this, I won't have to hurt anymore. So you see, Edward, I am doing this for me."

He didn't answer me for a few minutes, just let out a long, exasperated sigh, and stared up at the ceiling of the car, as if calling on the heavens for guidance. Finally, he looked at me. "Okay, Bella, I trust you. Just do me a favor, please? For the sake of my sanity?"

"Anything."

"Promise me you'll do anything you have to to come back to me. Anything. Promise me you'll be safe."

"I promise."

He smiled then, and I knew we where coming to an important understanding in our relationship; and I knew that if we where ever going to make it in the long run, it was an understanding that would have to be made now or never. He nodded slowly, deliberately, weighing his thoughts. "Okay," he said, "I trust you."

I knew for sure that he trusted me now, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

"You'll call me as soon as it's over, right?"

"Yeah, promise." He took a hand off the wheel to run it roughly through his hair. "If you go bald before you're twenty, I'm breaking up with you." He responded with silence. I had been trying to lighten the mood since we left La Push, but so far nothing could stop his fretting. If he didn't stop soon, he was going to work himself into a frenzy. Not that I wasn't concerned myself. I had no idea what awaited us at the abandoned warehouse Jacob had asked us to meet him at, only that I had a part I needed to play in what was going to happen. It was more than a little daunting.

I did find it funny, though, that Jacob had chosen an abandoned warehouse as the setting for whatever was going to take place. It was just so B-Grade horror flick. I was just hoping that it didn't turn out to be as gory as one.

By the time we reached the warehouse on the other side of town the sun was just getting ready to set, but we could still clearly see the warehouse. It was rickety, with some boards missing here and there, and the concrete walls cracking pretty badly. It looked pretty unstable, and it did nothing to inspire Edward's confidence.

"Are you sure here was the best place for this? That thing looks like it'll crumble the second you step inside." His face was drawn, and worried.

Despite Edward's angry tone, Jacob nodded respectfully, and the rest of the boys - it looked like all of the boys from Pete's old group where here - stood silently, their expressions mirroring Edward's. "This is the best place. This is the only place. The only one big enough, and with enough rooms."

"And why, exactly, do we need a lot of rooms?" I asked. I looked over at Edward, and he had on the same expression of unsure curiosity as me.

Jacob looked over at me, shook his head almost disbelievingly, and smiled slightly, "Okay, Bella, here's the plan."

Took FOREVER, I know! I hope it was worth it, though, because I tried really hard on this one. I wanted to get it done a lot sooner than I did, but I wasn't really sure where I was going with this chapter . . . I knew where I wanted it to start and where I wanted it to end, but that's about it. I think it turned out pretty good, right?

Reviews make perfect back-to-school presents!

Seriously, though, even if it's just to tell me how I'm a horrible person with a black soul for not updating enough, REVIEW!