Thank you to Robstenfanpire for being my beta on this story.
I know, I know, it's been two weeks again. But I did post a chapter of The Man in the Elevator in between, for those who are reading both. The next chapter of this will be out this time next week Guaranteed.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters in Twilight. I'm just borrowing them to have some fun.
Chapter 37 – The Altercation
I'm starting to get really fed up with being in the hospital. And being pregnant. At close to 37 weeks, I've got to that awkward stage in the pregnancy where I'm struggling to get comfortable, and after our road trip, I was really looking forward to my own bed. No matter how many pillows I prop around me and the bump I still wake up several times in the night. I also miss having Edward in the room. On the journey home, when I'd wake in the night, which was frequently, I would lie there and listen to him breathing, and it brought me comfort.
Talking of Edward, he has been great. More than great. He is over every day after the kids are in school, and brings them back to visit after. They inform me the house is running smoothly. I'm not sure I totally believe them, but they are presenting a united front.
I'm kept entertained by a string of visitors each day. On top of the kids' daily visits there is Jess, Ang, Edward's parents, Charlie and Sue and my sister with her family. Edward's parents have been in Forks for the past week, and it has been lovely getting to know them. Esme has proved to be as supportive and warm as she came across on the Skype call and they have both made me feel like part of their family.
But they are going home this afternoon. I've managed to convince Edward I can cope on my own for a few hours while he, Charlie and Sue take them out to lunch for a goodbye meal. I know he feels guilty about leaving me, but to be honest I plan on using the time to catch up on some reading, and to sleep. I'm tired all the time at the moment, despite doing absolutely nothing.
I know Felix is outside, patrolling the ward. He did offer to come in and keep me company, but I knew he really wanted to go and talk with the lovely nurse Juliette. I've seen the way she blushes every time she passes him, and when I mentioned it to him I've never seen him so flustered. I've been plotting ways to get him to take the next step and actually ask her on a date.
This is how bored I've been. I've actually become a meddler!
As I read I can feel my eye lids getting heavy, so I lay the book down and let nature take its course. I'm just in that lovely blissed out stage, the one where you hover precariously between asleep and awake, ready to fall over the edge, when, even through my closed eyelids, I detect a bright flash of light. I'd drawn the curtains earlier against a surprisingly sunny Forks day so my initial thought is that they may have opened slightly letting in the day light, but as my eyes open I blink rapidly as a flash of lights explode in front of me, blinding me. This is not sunlight.
"Hey!" I exclaim as I try to make sense of what's happening with my barely awake brain.
"Smile for the camera Mrs. Black. These shots should make me a fortune," snarls a voice I recognize. James Hunter.
"What the hell are you doing here," I yell, grabbing the covers and pulling them up to my neck in a bid to cover myself as best I can. I'm only wearing comfy cotton pajamas, but I still feel exposed.
"You owe me and my family, Mrs. Black, and I intend to make you pay," he spits at me. I have no idea what he means. How on earth can I owe him anything? If anything he owes me for the pain he caused to Kim. As for his family; I didn't even know he had one.
"What on earth are you talking about," I yell loudly as l look around for the call alarm. This man should not be here. How did he get past security? Past Felix? "You have to leave," I continue, "There is a restraining order against you. If you don't leave now you will be arrested. Felix is only outside."
"You mean the big thug?" he chuckles, "It seems even gorillas need to use the bathroom, especially when you slip a little laxative into their coffee. He was so trusting when that pretty nurse brought it to him. What a pity they don't have a lock on their rec room door.
I spot the call switch hanging from the side of the bed furthest from me, and I make a lunge toward it. If I can't alert Felix I can alert the nurses. But James spots the movement and jumps forward to stop me, pushing me forcefully back onto the bed. I'm now officially terrified. James is positioned between me and the door, but I need to get help. I don't know what this man is capable of.
I open my mouth wide to yell but before I get a chance I feel a slimy sweaty paw clasp firmly across my lower face, stopping any sound escaping. James leans over me and I can feel his hot breath against my cheeks. It makes me want to reel back, but I'm pushed against the bed, held firmly in place, and there is nowhere to go. At these close quarters it's impossible to miss his changed appearance. His once long hair has been cut short and dyed a dark brown and he is sporting a short, patchy beard. I also notice he is wearing the same uniform as the nurses. Is that how he got in here?
"I don't think we need company at the moment. We've got some unfinished business to discuss first, Isabella." The way he says my name, like its poison on his tongue, sends shivers down my spine. "You and I are just going to have a little chat," he continues, "I need to get some reassurances from you. I know how much you hate your precious children to be hurt, and I know where they live, where they go to school, who their friends are. In fact I know everything about you and your family."
I realize it's true, under the guise of a reporter this creep would have been able to follow me and my family everywhere. He will have been able to find out everything he wants about us. He's already proved his skills at stalking us with the LAX incident.
"What do you want?" I try and say from behind his hand, but it comes out as more of a muffle.
"So you're willing to talk now are you, Mrs. Black?" he sneers at me, his mouth turned up in a sardonic grin. "I'm going to take my hand away, but if you even attempt to scream I will not hesitate in making another one of your children suffer for your mistakes." As he talks he glances down at my swollen belly and his free hand moves across my stomach, making my skin crawl. His touch is rough, almost clawing, like he wants to rip the baby out of me. I don't want this man touching me, touching my baby. I just want him to stop.
The implications of his words hit me. I can't let him do anything to harm my baby. Realizing just how vulnerable I am at present, I nod my head to signal my agreement and he lifts his hand from my mouth, but his other still rests on my bump, exerting a little more pressure then I'm comfortable with.
I take a big gulp of fresh air and ask my question again.
"Well," he replies, "I have a couple demands. The first is that you lift this ridiculous restraining order on me and drop your trumped up charges. I'm a legitimate member of the press. I have a job to do. If you don't like it, I suggest you get out of the game." As he speaks I watch as his eyes keep darting around the room, like he's paranoid someone may be lurking there, but they never leave me for long. It's like he can't look in one direction for too long.
"Which brings me to my second demand," he continues, "You will get out of this game. This little game you are playing with Edward Cullen is over. If you insist on continuing this charade I will be forced to show you just how bad the press can be. Just how bad I can make it for you. It would be awful for any harm to befall any of your little bastards, wouldn't it? So what's more important to you Mrs. Black? Fame and fortune, or your kids' health?"
I wasn't expecting this. What has this man got against me? Why does he not want me seeing Edward?
"Why do you hate me so much? What have I done to you?" I ask.
His head rolls back and he lets out a hideous dark laugh. "Oh Isabella," he sneers, "we all know how this game works. We all know the advantages of being with someone like Edward Cullen. We all know why you've pursued him and trapped him with this baby. It's only a matter of time before you start to look for the acting roles, the TV appearances and interviews, or is it a reality TV show you're after?"
This man is delusional. I have no desire to be an actress or in a reality TV show. I'm not looking for fame. But it would appear he has not finished his tirade.
"Acting roles, TV appearances that should by rights belong to my sister. She has more beauty and talent in her pinky finger then you possess in your entire body."
His sister? Who the hell is his sister? And what the hell does she have to do with me and Edward.
James continues, "She nearly had him back you know, after he split up with that tramp Tanya. She saw her opening. Then she would have had all her dreams come true. Things would have gone back to how they should have been for her. Things fell apart for her after he dumped her that first time. She stopped getting what she wanted, and my sister always gets what she wants, I see to that."
The man sounds delusional and psychotic. Edward hadn't been getting back with anyone after Tanya. Who on earth is he talking about?
"What are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean? Who's your sister?" I need to keep him talking. Felix can't be far away, if he hears talking he may come in. The nurses also must need to check on me soon.
"Victoria Hunter, of course," he spits at me, and the name Victoria brings back images of a red head at the bar on my night out with the boys. The actress Edward had dated, the one who traded him in for a more famous model. The one who wants to get back with him, probably to forward her career.
"It's all she talks about you know? Getting back with Edward Cullen. She's my little sister. It's my job to make her dreams come true, and her dreams are to be rich and famous, and we all know Edward Cullen is a sure fire way to make that happen. I mean look at you. You're nothing special, not like my Victoria, and the public adore you, despite my best efforts to make them hate you. They'll love Victoria again too when she wins him back, just like they did before. She'll start to see the acting roles come in when she has access to his contacts, and people start to interview her and put her face on the cover of magazines. She'll become a household name, everyone will love her as much as I do. The only thing standing in her way is you and this child."
Now I'm really scared. This man is delusional. Edward would never get back with Victoria, even if I never existed. Is his sister so spoilt that she clicks her fingers and her brother acts to make her wishes come true? Or is this all down to James and his sick twisted mind? Either way I know I'm in a lot of trouble. I have to keep him talking, it's the only way I can think to stop him from hurting me.
"But you refuse to go away don't you, Isabella. I've tried to make you see the dark side of dating a celebrity, but you just won't quit, so now you've forced me to take drastic measures. So tell me Bella, what will it take to make you disappear?"
"Is that what you want? Me to just leave Edward?" I ask tentatively. Perhaps if I give into his demands he'll go away.
"It's not much to ask really, is it Isabella? I know you like the fame, but is it really worth risking your kids over? You've already caused one to be hurt through your irresponsible pursuit of Edward, I'd hate to see the others, especially this little one, come to any harm." Once again his hand moves across my belly, pushing down hard enough to cause me to worry and I try to squirm away, but he grabs hold of my upper arm, pulling me closer to him. His grip is rough and tight, and I know it will cause a bruise.
"So, if I leave Edward, you'll leave me and my kids alone?" I clarify.
"That's the deal, but you have to do it soon. Today in fact. I'm not a patient man, and neither is Victoria, every day she's on at me about how she's not yet with Edward Cullen. I can't take her heart break any longer, her torment." A pained look crosses his face, like the thought of his sister not getting her wishes physically hurts him.
"Okay," I agree, "I'll break up with Edward, but you have to promise not to hurt me or my kids."
"Their fate is in your hands Bella." As he talks he reaches one of his hands behind his back, only to draw it back to the front holding a small, black pistol, which I assume must have been tucked in the back of his pants. He runs the nuzzle down my temple, smiling his sick grin as he does, down my neck, past the side of my breast, as he lets out a small humorless chuckle, until it's pointing directly at my enlarged belly. The threat is clear.
I will find you, wherever you go, so you just do the sensible thing and follow my instructions and they will not be harmed." There is a look of glee in his eyes, as if he's finally winning, finally getting his own way, and, as a small tear runs down my cheek, I have to concede he is. I cannot risk my kids. Not for me, not for Edward, not for anyone.
A/N My Beta was a little worried for our HEA after this one. Don't be. I will always have a HEA. It is coming. If fact it is just around the corner. It's always darkest before the dawn, and all that. Only a few chapters left now.