A/N: Okay people…after a long period of 'OH MY GOD HOW AM I GOING TO DO THIS?!?!?!' I have finally gotten a good grip on this chapter and a few of the ones following so…….without anything further………chapter 50!!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the plot line to this story and a few of the super scary songs you encounter here!! Nothing else…..sorry…..
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BPOV
After the tears stopped, and I had gotten a grip on myself I quickly went through the house, locking all the windows, drawing all the curtains, and locking both the front and back door. As I made sure to lock all the door, I also locked the one to my mind. I didn't need my children worrying about me when they had their own things going on.
Then I took deep calming breaths, made myself a cup of coffee, and sat in the living room, staring at the wall. In the dim lighting the shadows cast upon the wall looked more…ominous than normal. The shadow that knew was of the banister of the stairs looked more like a sharp knife in the light. Or was it just the stress of the situation that was getting to me?
I closed my eyes and brought the warm coffee mug to my lips, inhaling the soothing aroma of the black coffee shot with hazel nut creamer. I slowly sipped the warm liquid, relishing the feel of it traveling down my throat. Warming my numb body, bringing life to the places where the small shed of hope I had had not reached just yet. I kept my eyes shut, finding peace in the darkness I had created, rather than finding fear in the dim light the lamp beside me had produced.
I sat like that for a few moments, calming my body with the coffee, with my peaceful darkness, relaxing myself one little piece at a time. And I continued to take deep breaths, appreciating the feeling of my lungs filling with the clean air.
I heard a floorboard creak…..
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacob POV
They bought it! They all bought it!
One of the leeches here had a unique power-much cooler than mind reading or even seeing the future- she could bring up the past. She could bring up the scent of trail I had traveled fifteen years ago, and it would smell as fresh as if I'd made it two minutes ago.
First, she tracked down the Cullen's, brought up a scent that she knew would cross their path. Then, once I'd seen that they had very quickly reacted, and had left her alone with only Embry as a guard, I had her pull up another scent.
I watched with satisfaction as Embry's nose came up as the wind blew the old scent his way. I watched, smirking as he growled and started running the way the scent had come from.
Away from me, who was sitting just ten feet above his head.
I waited a few minutes before jumping from my perch at the top of the tree, and deftly made my way to her front door. I knew it was locked. But I also knew that this was the last place she would expect me to come in from.
I smiled, remembering how Quil had taught me to pick locks back when we were younger. I felt my smile falter a little, thinking about when we were younger. When nothing like this existed. When Bella Swan and the Cullen family didn't mean anything to me.
I growled, as I picked the lock. Those days didn't matter anymore. What mattered now was that I had a score to settle with the wife.
The lock popped….
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BPOV
I sighed and slowly reopened my eyes. I knew who it was. I had learned the exact sound of his footsteps on the floor. I had learned exactly what the sound of his weight shifting from foot to foot was like. I had learned.
He was standing in the doorway, his body completely blocking my view of the door. His shadow stretching across the room climbing the opposite wall. I shifting slightly to the left, removing my body from the silhouette. I tucked my feet under me and appraised him carefully.
His hair was longer than I remembered, reaching past his shoulders. His face was hollowed, as if he had been ill recently. His mouth was set in the familiar firm line that curled up into a sadistic smile. His body was calm, not shaking with fury, not tensed for attack, just calm.
But it was his eyes that counteracted that calm. The dark eyes weren't eyes anymore. But pools of black fire that seemed to only burn as long as the object of his hatred was still breathing. Me. As long as I breathed, as long as crimson life ran through my veins, that fire will never burn out. I took another breath, and saw that the fire seemed to spike then.
" How'd you do it?" I asked him quietly. How did he get past Embry? How was he able to trick my family into looking the other way? How was he able to stand in front of me so ferociously calm without immediately acting?
His smiled curled up even more and he took a step forward. I noticed that once he took that step, his calm was shattered. His hands, which had been hanging loosely at his sides, began tightening into fists. His muscles began rippling with tension, and his smile seemed to tighten even more.
" Everyone seems to get even more stupid with age." he said vaguely. Did he not realize that in how vaguely he had said that statement he had actually said that even he was stupid? Probably not. But it was fine with me. What he didn't know was that stupidity didn't come with age, it came with cockiness. And he was just radiating cockiness.
I slowly got to my feet, stepping over the darkness that was his shadow, and turned to him. He was only two feet away from me, yet I could feel the heat radiating off of him. His eyes tightened once my feet touched the floor. I took another sip of my coffee, not caring how the now scalding hot ceramic cup was burning my hands.
" You seem very calm." he noted, confusion coloring his tone.
" I have no reason to be afraid, yet." I told him, taking another sip. He growled at that. I knew he would. I knew he would find what I had said a challenge. I meant for him to.
He took a menacing step forward, his fist tightening even more. I didn't move. I didn't flinch. I didn't show any emotion. Because I knew that if there was even one crack in my poker face, I wasn't going to be able to get past him. Just one second of distraction was all I needed. But one wrong move could very well be the last one I make.
Jacob suddenly relaxed his hand, and smiled, put it into his pocket. I wasn't surprised when he pulled out his ally whenever it came to hurting me. A knife. Not the same knife, but a knife all the same. He smiled again and took another step towards me, twirling the knife slowly.
He thought this scared me. He thought that the sight of the knife would paralyze me with fear. He thought that I was become emerged in the memory and become defenseless.
He was wrong.
He took another step forward, bringing his arm up in the air, grabbing my arm with his free hand so I couldn't move out the way. As the knife came down swiftly, I acted. I threw the scalding ceramic mug half way filled with hot coffee at his face.
Pain shot through my shoulder.
I had been too late with my timing. The shock and pain hadn't hit him until the knife was to close to my skin. But now, as the knife protruded my shoulder, his grip loosened and he cursed.
I gritted my teeth and ignored the pain, pulling myself out of his grip and ran. I ran towards the door, hoping that I would be able to just open it and maybe scream for help before he recovered.
But, I was wrong to hope for that.
I felt his hand grip the handle of the knife and he pulled back, cutting more into my shoulder. I cried out in pain as he continued to drag me away from the door by the knife.
He pushed me up against a wall, making my head crack back against it. I was disoriented and didn't even feel it at first when he yanked the knife out. I did feel it after a second though and gasped, my knees buckling under me in pain. I would've fallen if he hadn't decided to wrap his hands around my throat.
My air was cut off painfully. My vision was blurring in and out from the pain and the lose of blood, and now the lack of oxygen.
Suddenly, I was dropped. I gasped for air, my shoulder was fire, my lungs were burning, my throat was aching with each inhale. I knew he wouldn't finish it then. It was too easy. And I knew that I was NOT going to make this easy for him.
He was expecting me to lay there for a minute, regaining my strength. So he was shocked when I kicked my legs up and hit him in the groin. He doubled over in pain. I kicked again, hitting him the head.
Why hadn't I learned from when I punched him?
I could hear the bone break. I could feel the fissure as it was created. But, the pain I was in was too much for me to actually feel. I knew it was there, but my mind was blocking it.
Adrenaline rushed through my veins. Everything was suddenly much clearer, the colors were brighter, the smells were emphasized, the sounds were amplified. Everything was so clear. Jacob was still bent over, his knife on the floor. I would've lunged for it, but my leg wasn't going to allow that. So I settled for crawling away from him as fast as I was able to go.
Towards the kitchen.
Towards my arsenal.
Towards his arsenal.
The one room in the house that was neutral. That held weapons for both parties. The one room where I could get something to hurt him with.
The second I had enter the kitchen, the cool linoleum soothing my hot skin, I struggled to get into a somewhat standing position, bracing myself against the marble counter. My entire body trembled with exertion as I took deep breath, trying to ignore the pain my muscles were giving me. Sweat beaded my forehead as I held onto the counter with my good arm, and struggled to rummage through a drawer with my injured one.
I quickly gripped the handle of the knife as the whispery tune of 'Rock a'bye baby' traveled into the kitchen.
" You're gonna die Bella," I struggled to turn around, not wanting to keep my back to the doorway. " I'll make it slow," I knew he would. He slowly made his way into the kitchen, his face red from the burn, and he was limping slightly. But he was holding the knife up and ready. I gripped my own tighter, ignoring the scream of pain in my shoulder. But the pain was too much for me to not show it. I flinched. And as I flinched, he jumped at me.
" It's gonna be painful" he sang as the knife slipped down my good arm. The arm that was holding me up. The blood quickly began pooling onto the counter, and my muscles began trembling even harder from the extra strength that I needed to stay upright. "Soon you will know." So he wasn't done invoking pain on me.
He suddenly lodged his fist into my stomach. I crumpled to the ground. My muscles began to spasm from the sudden release they were given. My arms were bleeding out, my air had been knocked out of me, and now my muscles were shivering too much for me to even keep my grip on the knife.
" Your body will break," He kicked my torso. I could feel the pain of my ribs cracking, and I couldn't hold back the scream that escaped my lips. I barely saw him smile through the pain. I forcefully pressed my lips together, gritting my teeth to cut off the scream. I would NOT let him have any satisfaction here.
" Your world it will fall." He grabbed me by the throat and propelled me at the table. My back shrieked on impact as the wooden table hit the middle of my spine. My vision was coming and going, my breathing was becoming more shallow, I was becoming light headed from blood loss.
Somehow, through this, I had been able to keep the knife in my hand. I couldn't grip it hard, but I was handle to keep it from falling out of my hand. Jacob grabbed me again, and launched me through the doorway. My head hit the banister, and one of the poles flew off from the force of me hitting it.
He came over slowly, menacingly, threateningly, and kneeled before, pressing the knife gently into my side. He leaned forward and whispered " Your children are next," He pressed the knife deeper. I could feel it slice through my shirt and then through my skin. I could feel the blood rush out. I could feel him still cutting me. I could feel it all, but it didn't register.
He was going to hurt them.
" From you I'll take all." He finished, jerking the knife out fast, cutting me even more.
I gasped, and almost choked on my own air. I could feel tears overflow my eyes as the pain was heightened to the point where it could no longer be ignored. My shoulder was flaming, my arm was screaming, my back was crying, my leg was shrieking, my side was blazing, and my head was numb. The tears streamed hot down my face as the pain engulfed me.
As pain became red hot, I noticed the dim room become even darker. The shadows of our struggle growing with each move. The shadows seemed to come towards me, a funeral procession it seemed.
But I wasn't ready to be carried to my grave just yet.
I gripped the handle of my knife the best I could, and jerked it upward. I felt sick as I felt the knife slice into his own side. He gasped in pain, as I removed the knife. He leaned backward, covered the wound and glaring at me. I struggled to stand up, but somehow succeeded.
" No, you won't." I gasped out, tightening my hand around the knife. I was not going to let him take away the things I loved. He could take my life, but he could not and would not take others. He could hurt me, but he would not hurt others. He would not hurt my family. He would not hurt my loves. He would not hurt anyone else.
It's funny, with this new flame of determination the red paled. The shadows remained, but seemed to be halted by some invisible wall. It was still a struggle to move, but I didn't feel the hurt that came along with it.
He glared at me, still holding his side, and sauntered forward. I raised my knife, prepared to do whatever I needed to. He raised his own knife and we stood there, staring at the other, daring each other to make the first move. And, he was waiting for my strength to diminish and for me to be vulnerable and helpless once more.
He rushed me, barely giving me time to turn out of the way. His knife caught my hand, slicing into the palm shallowly, but I didn't stop. I basically crawled up the steps, holding my knife in one hand, pulling myself up with the other, and dragging my lame leg behind me.
I could hear him slowly recover from the shock of his pain and missing me when I was so close, and he began following me. I gritted my teeth and didn't think about him following me, but of what would happen if I didn't get to the top of the stairs. If I didn't get into my room. If I didn't finish this. I wouldn't let him hurt my kids.
I pulled myself up on the landing, quickly pulled myself to a standing position. I began limping down the hall, when Jacobs hot hands grabbed my already searing shoulder. He yanked, and I thrown back down the stairs. I grabbed the railing and stopped myself about half way down. I gripped it tightly, breathing heavily.
The shadows were surrounding me now. They were blocking out the light, and were threatening to take me before I was ready. I swallowed tightly, and gasped as I felt Jacobs hands grab mine, uncurl my fingers from around the pole.
Before he could do anything else, I swung the knife at his arm and, again, that sick feeling came as it sliced deep into his skin as if it were water. He cried out, but was able to tighten his hand around my arm. Suddenly, he pulled.
He began dragging me up the stairs. I wanted to stab him again, to get him to let go of me, but I knew that, they way he was dragging me, I would miss and most likely hit myself. He continued dragging me, my back screaming with every bump that the stairs created.
The shadows followed us slowly. They were starting to scare me. The shadows. They were transforming from silhouettes of our fight now, to imprint of our struggle as a whole. They became prints of the struggle that was sure to come in the future if I failed. They were scaring me. They were following me. They were warning me and threatening me all at once.
I was too engrossed in the funeral procession of shadows to realize that Jacob had brought me into…my room.
He threw me onto the bed, and soon I was pinned. His hands held my arms down as I couldn't swing the knife at him. He knees were against my legs-making my broken one scream in protest-so I couldn't kick him. I shrunk away from his rancid breath. His kissed me once. When Edward kissed me I felt nothing but love. This kiss though…this was nothing but hate. This was the kiss of hate.
This kiss of death.
My death.
He was ready. Now he was ready.
" This could've been avoided, Bella." he whispered against my skin. " All you had to do was to be completely devoted to me." What was he talking about? I was devoted to him. I had chosen him. I had married him. I had had children with him. How could he think that I wasn't devoted to him?
" But no, you just couldn't let him go, could you?" his voice turned acidic and his grip on my wrists became tighter. " You dreamed about him…you spoke about him to Al and Owen…you name our daughter after his family…you even wrote fucking letters to him!!!" I froze. He knew of the letters. He knew which means…. " You even said in a letter that you fucking loved him!!!!! That you regretted marrying me!!"
That's why he did this.
He was betrayed.
He was hurt
I had hurt him.
" You don't know how much that hurt." he smiled at me. " But I've been giving you just tastes of it." he let go of my wrists, and raised his knife, poised over my chest. " It killed me, Bella. Now you will know just how much it did."
The knife fell.
In the split second it was coming towards me, Al and Owens faces came into my mind, followed by the Cullen's, the packs, Charlie and Sues, Grace's, everyone's. Everyone whom I loved, appeared in my mind.
I acted and threw my own knife at him.
Mine sliced through his chest. He gasped, and just looked at me, as his blood poured from the wound, covering my hand. In that moment that he stared at me, I could see a shadow of the boy I had loved once upon a time. I could the shadow of the boy would could make me smile in the darkest of times. I could see the shadow of my sun.
And then the light was gone. I jerked the knife out of his chest, tears streaming down my face faster than ever before. He toppled over, overtaken by the shadows that had followed us here.
Then they turned to me.
It was only then that I noticed that as my knife had intruded his heart, so had his.
My vision suddenly blurred, everything from this night suddenly overtaking my mind. The last thing I remember was the shadows standing over me, and the faint sound of someone in my head crying.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: EPOV is next.
