Chapter Thirty Six

Bella

Although he tried to persuade me to stay in the end he drove me back to my apartment.

"The maid I had on Christmas Eve, who is she?"

He looked surprised at my question.

"Oh you mean the little Hispanic girl?"

"Yes"

"I don't really know. She turned up looking for a job and the housekeeper took her on. I think her family were wiped out in a fire or something, their village was destroyed."

That would explain it, her village must have been destroyed by a vampire coven, perhaps even the Major himself. I wish I'd had a chance to speak to her but I couldn't stay any longer in that house.

Steve dropped me off, he had to go back for the evening dinner and the party and as I said goodbye he smiled sadly.

"I wont see you again will I?"

I shrugged,

"I don't know. Perhaps but don't think about me. Find yourself a girl who can love you."

He nodded, sighed, and got back in his car.

I watched him out of sight then went up to my apartment slamming the door behind me in relief. Why couldn't I just have some peace? It was my own fault I suppose for accepting his invitation, I should have spent Christmas alone, would it really have been so bad? Instead I spent it with the family from hell, super bitch sister and the mystery maid. I wish I knew how to contact her without going back into that hell hole! I had no idea of her name let alone where she lived, probably in the Adams family home, poor cow.

I made myself a coffee and sat down in front of the TV I was so tired, not physically so much as mentally. My brain refused to work properly. I must have drifted off for a while because the phone woke me up and I grabbed it without thinking,

"Hello?"

"Jane, how rude of you to disappear without so much as a goodbye. Were you trying to run away from me?"

"No Alice I just felt out of place. I'm sure you all had a much better time without me and I 'd have thought you'd be happy I left Steve alone."

She laughed

"Oh I don't think you'll get rid of him as easily as that. He's taken a shine to you."

I couldn't be bothered to argue with her so I out the phone down and went to bed. It rang twice more but I just ignored it.

The next morning after a terrible night dreaming of Jasper I threw a couple of Pop Tarts in the toaster and went to shower. As I came out there was a knock on the door and I promised myself if it was Steve or Alice I would ignore them but when I looked through the spy hole I saw the maid from the house and unlocked the door quickly

"Hello Miss Jane. I'm sorry to call here but I didn't know how else to contact you. I really need to speak to you."

"Come in please. Would you like a coffee?"

"Thank you that would be lovely."

I pointed her to the couch and made her a drink.

"There you go. I hope its OK, I forgot to check if you took milk."

"That's fine. I'm not sure I should be here Miss Jane but I think I should warn you about the family."

"The family? I thought you'd come to talk to me about the Cold Ones."

She looked very serious and shook her head.

"I can't speak to you about them, I think you already know."

I nodded,

"Yes I do. I knew one of them, one you may have heard of"

"Who?"

"The Major"

She jumped up spilling coffee on her hand and burning it. I pulled her through to the bathroom and ran cold water over it.

"I'm sorry that was stupid, I didn't mean to scare you but you know of him don't you?"

She nodded, her face white with fear,

"Did he burn your village?"

"No. It was others, not him. If he had come I would be dead too. He never let anyone get away. How did you get away from him Miss Jane?"

"Just Jane please. He wasn't trying to kill me."

She looked at me and her eyes went wide,

"You are the one! We knew someone would come one day and tame him. Its you"

I shook my head

"No. I knew him but not any more."

"Oh Yes Jane. He will find you again, you can't hide from the Major. No one can. If I'd known I wouldn't have come."

"Tell me anyway please. Why did you come?"

"Mr Steven is a bad man Jane. He is a predator, you should get away from here. He wont stop pestering you until he gets what he wants."

I laughed, I should be scared of him after the Major?

"Thank you for the warning, I was going to leave anyway. What about his sister Alice?"

"Miss Alice is a nasty piece of work, a bitch. You watch out for her too. If you can go then you go Jane. Get away from the family but be very careful of getting involved with the Cold Ones, especially the Major, he is very dangerous."

"I know but I can't help how I feel"

She smiled and took my hands,

"Jane, I think once you've been touched by a Cold One here" she touched my chest, "you are marked for life."

After she left I couldn't help laughing, I spend time with the most dangerous predator on the planet and run away from him only to get mixed up with another type of predator. I must have a big sign on my back, prey here. So I needed to get away from here, that didn't bother me too much, I was beginning to hate this place anyway. Once she left I cranked up my computer. I checked the next flights anywhere and booked myself a seat on one leaving early the next morning, I was getting good at the routine now. My bags were never fully unpacked and everything was always paid up well in advance so I could leave at a moments notice.

I left for the airport way ahead of time just in case Steve decided to visit and check on me. The airport was busy as it was the Christmas holidays so I could count on a crowd to lose myself in. When my flight to Chicago was called I followed the other passengers on board and took my seat beside an elderly lady. Not so good, I could imagine her rambling on about family and grandchildren for the next few hours but I was pleasantly surprised when she put her headphones on and appeared to fall asleep. I relaxed into my seat and closed my eyes but that was never a good idea as images of Jasper always arose when I did that so I snapped them open again and grabbed the magazine I'd purchased for just that reason. I read it from cover to cover and we still had a way to go so I put the film on and groaned, Interview with a Vampire was all I needed! I could visit with my very own vampire by closing my eyes again. I put the radio on and listened mindlessly to groups I'd never heard of and certainly didn't want to hear again.

Bella

When the flight arrived I waited until the crowds dispersed to collect my case and grab a taxi into the city. I found my way to a reasonably priced hotel for a few days so I could make arrangements for a job and apartment. I was so tired of the routine that all I wanted to do was find somewhere to call home and stay there as long as it took for the pain to ease and the memories to dim. I knew however that they never would and I knew the pain would never lessen. The only thing that would make it tolerable was to see Jasper again and that was out of the question.

I wandered the city by day and watched the TV pictures flicker by night. Eventually I got a job at a fast food restaurant which was good because I didn't have time to speak to anyone or make friends. The apartment I chose was a little better than the ones I usually picked but I just needed a little luxury for a while. I had a spare bedroom, cable TV for the nights and a cleaning service for the communal areas. Not much but the little extras helped, no more climbing over bikes or prams to get to my door or hoping against hope that the lift was working.

Sitting on the couch with the TV muted I opened a bottle of wine and poured myself a glass. I sat looking at it knowing I had a few days off and decided to indulge myself. I picked up the glass and took a sip closing my eyes and letting the images of Jasper wash over me. As expected the tears started but I didn't try to stop them, I grabbed a handful of tissues and just kept mopping them up as I slowly emptied the bottle. Eventually I cried myself to sleep and he came to me in my dreams, I could almost conjure up his voice and his scent, almost but it was never enough. The next morning I woke up with a thumping headache, a sore throat and a bad stomach and I groaned as I hauled myself to the bathroom. I tried not to indulge in these practises too often because they took too much out of me but they were my one vice, my only one.

Day followed monotonous day each one a struggle, each night a fight to avoid sleep and I was getting so very tired. I knew I needed to stop or end up in a hospital room somewhere so I took a week off and tried some herbal sleeping tablets which worked after a fashion, I slept but I was a zombie all day. Still it was preferable to the alternative and after my week I went back to work. That's when the phone calls started, at first they were silent calls and I wondered just for a few seconds if it was Jasper trying to contact me but then I knew if he knew I was alive and where I was he would be here not ringing me. Then the calls got more frequent and finally I heard the voice,

"I know where you are Bella and I'm coming for you"

It was Steve, the maid had been right and I needed to get away from here before he arrived. I pulled out my atlas and closing my eyes dropped a pin to find a new home. When I opened them I couldn't believe it, the pin had come to rest over Washington State, Seattle in fact, and I knew I couldn't go there, I might conceivably run into someone I knew. I dropped it again but it landed more or less in the same place, was it a sign? Could I go back? No I knew that was out of the question so I went for the closest state Montana, but the south of the state Virginia City, Madison County. It was somewhere new and it would do for now as good as anywhere.