Chapter 51
Our first full day in Campobasso is perfect. We stay in our room, moving between the bed and the pool when we get too hot or too cold, and we stop in between to eat the food Edward had sent up. It's not until mid afternoon that our peaceful bubble is disrupted. Edward's phone rings and as usual he picks it up to see whether or not he will forward it onto his assistant Charlotte or if he will send it to voicemail to listen to when we return. I cringe at the thought of how many calls he has to return when he gets back. When I mention it Edward he just shrugs and says it's nothing he can't handle. This time however Edward answers the phone. The only calls he takes are from Carlisle or his brothers, so I assume it's one of them and go back to eating. I'm incredibly surprised then when I hear him speaking italian to the person on the other end of the phone. I've got no idea what he's saying but he definitely sounds concerned.
"Bella." He calls out after a few minutes of speaking. "The detective that's handling our case would like to speak to you, he needs you to look at some more pictures."
"Okay."
He speaks into the phone again and prattles something off in Italian. He walks over to his laptop and pulls up his email. There's a new unread email from two minutes ago and Edward opens it. Staring back at me are a series of woman, all with dead looking eyes and wearing orange jumpsuits.
"Scroll through them, love." Edward says softly, pulling me down into his lap and holding me close for support. "Tell me if you recognise anyone."
There are about 15 different pictures but I don't recognise any of the ladies. The only woman I saw on the compound was Vic and she's not here, which is what I tell Edward. I scroll back and forth, double checking. But I know I'll never forget her face. I can suddenly hear the detectives voice and I realise it's because Edward has put him on speaker phone. A thick Italian accent fills the room and he's speaking English for my benefit.
"You're sure none of them are the woman you saw, Vic?" He asks.
"Yes sir, I'm sure. She's not photographed."
"Fanculo!" He exclaims.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out what he's saying this time.
"I apologise, Miss Swan. It just means she slipped through our fingers and I don't like loose ends. Mr. Cullen, you need to watch your back, we don't know what her intentions may be." He explains. "I also want to send a sketch artist to you for a better description. Would that be okay, Miss Swan?" He asks.
"Of course, you'll need to make the arrangements with Edward though. I'm not familiar with where we are."
So the two of them go back and forth in Italian for a short while before Edward bids the detective a good day.
"Someone will be by tonight. They want it do it as soon as possible. Is that alright?"
"Of course."
We continue our day and make the most of our bubble. We meet Esme and Carlisle for dinner and let them know whats going on. Carlisle asks if I want to leave Italy and go home tonight. But I insist that we finish the trip. I'm enjoying myself too much and I don't want to be ruled by fear. When the sketch artist arrives we get to work straight away. He's an elderly man, at least 70 and wears moon shaped, wire rimmed glasses on his nose. He's shorter than me, with an almost bald head and a grey beard. He introduces himself and Giorgio with a firm hand shack. Edward acts as our translator since he doesn't speak English and I don't speak Italian. But we make it work. After an hour the drawing has started to take form. Thankfully they both have endless patience and understand that it's not something I enjoy having to recall.
After Giorgio has finished asking the more descriptive questions about Vic's appearance he asks me to describe what her personality was like, how she held her body and head, what her facial expressions were like, what I feared most about her, what I noticed most about her, what feeling her eyes had. He explains that getting a sense of who the person is helps when he puts in the finer details. His method obviously works because after another hour there is an almost perfect portrait of Vic staring back at me, with the same hate and maliciousness that I saw a few weeks ago. It terrifies me to my core.
"That's her." I say, drawing my bottom lip behind my top teeth.
Giorgio packs up his belongings, shakes our hands and heads out to a waiting car. I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding and flop down on he bed.
"That went well." Edward states, coming to join me. "Hopefully they can catch her soon."
I'm exhausted after the events of our evening so I curl up in bed with Edward and we fall asleep wrapped up in each other.
I'm back at the compound. I don't know how I got back here, just moments ago I was with Edward. But I'm back in that small, depressing cell. I can smell the putrid smell of rot and death and despair. I call out for Edward until my voice is hoarse and I just sit an wait, crying until my tears run dry. When I look up I'm staring into Vic's eyes. The same eyes from the sketch.
"You told them." She hisses back handing my cheek. "I'll find you and make you regret it."
"Bella." I hear a voice shut. "Wake up. You're okay." The voice says. "Open you eyes."
But I don't want to. I don't want to open my eyes and find my self in that wretched cell again.
"It's me, Edward. You're safe. It as just a dream."
A dream. My eyes fly open. I'm drenched in sweat and tears and I'm shaking all over, trembling is more like it. I throw my arms around Edward's neck and let him rock me back and forth.
"I was back there." I sob into his neck. "I was back there and no one was there to save me. Vic was there, she said she was going to find me for telling them what she looked like." I jump out of Edward's arms and run to the bathroom, just making it to the toilet in time to expel the contents of my stomach. I heave until there is nothing left and then sob pitifully.
"Shh." Edward coos softly, running his fingers through my hair, holding it out of my face. "You're okay and you're safe."
I take a deep breath and let his words sink in. I'm safe. I'm not in my cell, I'm in Edwards arms. We're okay. I get up and wash out my mouth and then brush my teeth before falling back into bed where we eventually fall back to sleep. Thankfully no more nightmares come. The sound of my alarm clock blaring does come so time later though and I grumble incoherently when I roll over and silence it. We're meant to be moving onto Naples today, after what was meant to be a relaxing and refreshing break. Edward and I go through the motions of our morning routines and get ready for the day of travel ahead. We meet Carlisle and Esme in the lobby as usual, eat a quick breakfast and then head out.
"You look like you got no sleep, Bella." Esme comments when we're loaded up in the car.
"Feels that way." I tell her.
"Sleep a little while."
So I do, hoping that but the time we arrive I'm feeling more like myself. We stop twice because waves of nausea rush over me suddenly and the need to throw up becomes unbearable. Edward asks me constantly if I'm feeling alright and I tell him that it's just residual discomfort from last night. He insists I see a doctor though as soon as we get to Naples. I shrug and tell him that if it will help ease his mind then I'll go. We check in at the hotel and before I can do anything else Edward whisks me out the door and to a doctor not far from where we are staying. We wait an hour before being seen and the doctor tells me that all looks fine. It's likely just stress from the night before, but to come back if it worsens any more.
We plan on seeing a show tonight at Teatro di San Carlo, some sort of opera I assume. We eat before we leave but I only feel a little better so my plate remains uncharacteristically full. I just can't seem to shake my dream. The food I did manage to choke down rolls uncomfortably in my stomach and I excuse myself mid way through the show in the hope that some fresh air will help. The thought of going back in the dark, smokey, warm theatre makes my stomach cramp so I decide to just sit and wait.
A few of the theatre staff ask if I'm okay and I respond with some of the Italian Edward has taught me. Eventually they leave me alone and I listen to the sound of deep voices singing in Italian. I'm enjoying it more out here and it's not long before I completely lose myself to the music. I close my eyes and rest my head against the wall behind me, which is why I don't see Edward approach. I knew it wouldn't be long before he came looking for me though.
"Are you alright?" He asks, placing a reassuring hand on my stomach.
"Fine, just a bit overheated from all the people I think."
We sit together until the show ends and wait for Carlisle and Esme to find us. Eventually they do and we head back to the hotel. I fall asleep as soon as I get strip ff my clothes and get into bed. The next day we visit the Naples National Archaeological Museum and look at the large collection of Roman artifices from Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum from the Greek, Roman and Renaissance times. There's so much history, it's incredible. We admire the marble statues and mosaics, I blush at the Secret Room history and look in awe at the vast Egyptian collection. I never knew history was something that fascinated me so much. Maybe it's because I'm not reading about it in an old text book, instead I'm getting to see it with my own two eyes.
By mid afternoon we're done and we head out to Mount Vesuvius. It's not along drive but I still fall asleep with my head on Edward's shoulder. When we enter Vesuvius National Park there are a vast amount of trees and tourists and when we pull up in the main car park I see an obvious walk way.
"Make sure you take it easy." Edward insists as we make our way out of the car. "We won't be upset if we have to turn back."
But I find that a walk feels good. It's nice to stretch my legs and be somewhere a little less crowded than the city centres. We track our way up the Volcano and take plenty of pictures along the way and of the summit when we finally reach it. The view is spectacular and we take at least twenty minutes to admire it from all possible angles. Edward kisses me passionately, just as he promised to do and there are a few cat calls at our PDA. I blush of course and Edward tucks me under his arm.
We carefully make our way down and head back to the hotel for the night. It's getting late and we're all hungry. We decide to head to Pompeii tomorrow, which is exactly what we do, bright and early the next day. We pack our bags and load up and make the short journey back the way we came yesterday. It's one of our last days here so I will myself to stay awake and take in the scenery and views. Pompeii doesn't disappoint. It's an incredible piece of history and you can really see how unaware these people were of the danger the exploding volcano posed on them. There are woman cooking, children playing with toys, pets running around, all covered from head to toe and mummified in ash, forever still. The streets are still made of cobble stones and large buildings still have some structures standing even after 2000 years. It's amazing.
We spend the day there and only break for lunch when I get "hangry." A term I hadn't heard of until I became pregnant. Edward let it slip one day and shocked him by laughing until I cried. It described the feeling so well. On our last night here we celebrate. Me with sparkling cider and everyone else with white wine. Edward toasts to my safely and return and Esme toasts the wonderful news of their first grand baby and for a wonder holiday.
"I've gotten to know you so well." She says, tearing up. "I wish it had been due to better circumstances, but I've had such a wonderful time with you. And it's been so nice getting to send more than just one evening with my son."
We're both crying by the time she finishes and Edward wipes the tears of my cheeks before giving me a kiss.
"It really has been perfect." I tell him. "I love you."
"I love you too." He replies, running his fingers along my belly and then resting his hand there, giving me and the baby a soft squeeze.
Fanculo - Fuck
