So, there will be one more chapter after this one, which will be way more light-hearted than this one, I promise.

TW: abuse, mention/attempted rape

Chapter Eighteen:

Death

James' red eyes gleamed as he walked toward me. I had nowhere to run to, no one who could save me this time.

Tears ran down my cheeks as I thought of Edward, how heartbroken he would be when he discovered that I was dead, how angry he would be. I was sorry that I had never told him how much he had helped me, or how much I loved him.

James crouched over me, my back pressing into the wall as my body instinctually tried to get away from him. I refused to meet his eyes, terrified of the pure evil that I would see in their crimson depths.

"I never thought that I would see you again, Bella," he breathed, and his sickly sweet breath fanned across my face. "You can imagine my surprise when I saw you with the Cullens – it was like fate brought us together again."

I felt his fingers on my face, icy cold. He wiped a tear from my cheek, and I watched as he brought it to his mouth, tasting the evidence of my terror. "I haven't had much time to think about what I will do to you – your boyfriend kept me on my toes for the last couple days – but I have a fairly good idea, now that I have you all to myself, without fear that anyone will interrupt us."

He eyed me appraisingly; my stomach roiled with disgust. "Fuck you, you evil fucking bastard," I spat, finally meeting his gaze.

His eyes were even more frightening now, utterly manic. His face was only inches from mine, but I didn't break the eye contact as I tried to stare him down with courage that I didn't have. There was nothing that I could do to stop him, but like hell was I going to just let him use me again. I knew fighting him was useless, but I didn't care.

"You're a lot more… spirited, than you used to be," he remarked, as if talking about a misbehaving pet. "I think I'll like that."

I yelped as he grabbed my arm, yanking me up violently. He slammed me into the wall, my head snapping back against the hard plaster. My vision swam with stars as I gasped, his hand wrapping around my throat and lifting me with ease. I reached for his wrist with my free hand, the other trapped at my side in his iron grip. My feet dangled helplessly, toes stretching for the floor that I knew was only inches away.

James' maniacal laughter filled my ears as I struggled to breath, my nails scraping against his stony skin. "Just as helpless as you were all those years ago, Bella," he sneered, and then I was flying through the air.

My breath was knocked out of me as I hit the opposite wall, falling onto a heap on my side. My head pounded, my vision returning as I was finally able to suck oxygen into my desperate lungs. My left hand laid out before me, palm up, and James took it in his own, sniffing my wrist like it was a glass of fine wine.

"Delicious," he breathed, his nose trailing along the pale skin there. My skin crawled at his ghostly touch, I tried to pull myself free, but he wasn't having any of that, tightening his grip. It was like trying to fight a statue.

"Now, now, Bella," he chided me, like I was still a child. "You need to be a good girl, or else bad things will happen – like this."

I heard the snap of bone before I felt the lancing pain spike through my arm, so intense my vision blacked momentarily. A blood-curdling scream left my lips as his fingers pressed deeper into my flesh. My back arched against the wood floor, my legs thrashing against the wall as he twisted my arm easily, igniting more sparks of pain. My other arm flailed through the air, catching momentarily on a tarp before I hooked onto James' forearm, using his body for leverage and hauling myself up.

I choked, struggling to breath as one of his hands pressed down against my chest to keep me still, my grasp slipping, as he continued to torment me. "Fuck!" I howled, blinking against the liquid welling up in my eyes as he held me down with ease, his cold digits prodding my arm painfully.

"Such nasty language, Bella," he murmured, leaning over me. He dropped my arm, and pressed a finger to my lips, stifling my cries, as my hand plopped painfully down onto the floor. I panted heavily, the worst of the spiking pain fading, and relief flooded my body.

"Who taught you that? Well, no matter," he sighed wistfully. It was terrifying. "Get up."

He hauled me to my feet by my shirt like I was nothing but a ragdoll. A small twitch of his hand sent me back to the floor again. I hit an empty bucket, the rim of it digging into my back before it toppled under my weight. My arm screeched in protest as I slammed into the ground.

I cradled my broken arm to my chest, biting my lip against the jolting pain before I thought better of it. Slim though it was, my only hope was to stay alive as long as possible, at least until Edward could find me. I wasn't bleeding yet, and I worried that James wouldn't be able to control his thirst once my skin broke. As painful as it might be, I had to prolong this for as long as possible to give Edward a chance.

"Get up," he commanded again, stalking toward me slowly. It was all for show – he wanted to torture me first before killing me, and he was taking his sweet time with it. I could endure, I told myself – I would have to. "I said, get up."

I scurried away from him, pushing myself up with my good arm as I tried to run.

He was in front of me before I had staggered even two feet, grabbing me by my neck and tossing me down like I weighed nothing. The side of my body smashed into the floor, and I felt my already broken arm snap again at the impact. A muffled howl broke through my clenched teeth as I curled up on the floor, seized by pain.

I felt his hands pushing me onto my back, but my eyes were shut tightly against the pain radiating through my arm. "Look at me." His voice was low, dangerous. "Look at me!" His fingers dug into my mangled arm and I screeched as he dislocated my bad shoulder.

Another sob left me; my eyes popped open, his face filling my vision, shockingly close. My left arm lay uselessly on the floor. Bolts of pain shocked my body as his fingers prodded my elbow, further exasperating the injury.

I gasped, gritting my teeth and turning away. His other hand gripped my jaw with bruising force, turning it so that I had to meet his gaze. "I think I will begin by breaking every bone in your body," he spoke, his voice light as if we were talking about what type of tea to serve at a party. "Although, that, of course, is dependent on how I feel. We have all the time in the world, so I don't have to decide right now."

I hoped desperately that he was wrong, that Edward would come bursting in at any moment.

His hand drifted from my shoulder, the other still holding my jaw. It slid down my collarbone, his fingers burning my exposed skin, and then his hand roughly palmed my breast.

I closed my eyes, willing the sensation to stop as all those memories from my childhood came to the forefront of my mind. I fought to stay present, knowing that it would only anger him more if I fell away. He wanted me suffering in the now, why else bother to do this?

"I said, look at me!" His fingers tightened on my jaw and I thought for sure that at any moment the bone would be crushed by his strength. My eyes slid open, fixing on his wicked smirk, my breathing heavy. "That's better."

His hand moved down to my waist, lifting my shirt and splaying across my bare stomach. "I think you can guess what I might do next, but I'll tell you anyway."

My breath caught in my throat as I watched him eye me hungrily. "I wonder if you have been with anyone since me – I doubt it, somehow," he mused to himself. I felt sick. "Your vampire boyfriend seems too chivalrous to do anything." His hand cupped my sex over my pants and my body shook with silent sobs. "No? I didn't think so."

His body lowered to mine, his legs straddling me. I felt him pressed against my stomach and nausea rose in me at the thought of him touching me like that again.

"I can see you're not as excited about that part as I am, but that's okay. We'll work on that later."

He nuzzled my neck, sniffing. I froze, my eyes wide as my heart thumped wildly in my chest and not even daring to move. His nose trailed to my pulse point, a low chuckle resounding as he listened to my heart pound. His lips pressed to the flesh there and, for a moment, I thought he might bite me.

If he bit me, all of this would be over. Jasper had said how volatile and unpredictable young vampires were. James wouldn't be able to stop once he started drinking and I'd be dead within minutes.

James pulled away, smirking. "Not yet. I'll save the best part for last."

I was trembling, my broken and dislocated arm forgotten as the reality of what was about to happen set in. James was going to make up for lost time, five years worth of it – he was going to torture me until I begged for him to end me, then he was going to rape and kill me.

Who knew how long it would take for Edward to find me – Alice's gift wasn't perfect, she wouldn't be able to tell Edward exactly where I was without reference, of which there was none in this godforsaken room. Edward wouldn't be able to hear James' thoughts until he was close enough and, by then, it might be too late.

And, all of this would happen while I was unable to defend myself because I was still just a fragile human, while my childhood tormentor was a near-indestructible vampire. I felt a stab of misery at the thought that all of this might have been different if I'd just been a vampire, too.

James' voice brought me out of my reverie, cool and unconcerned. "I suppose you must wonder what happened to me all those years ago, why I disappeared." He stood, pulling me with him by my good arm. My broken arm hung, painful and useless, at my side, weighing me down as I stumbled.

I wasn't sure where he was going with this, but I was positive that I wouldn't like it.

"Like you, I ran into a vampire." He paused, grinning frenziedly. He was toying with me. "Allow me to give you a demonstration." He shoved me away from him and I staggered before falling to the floor again.

He watched me hungrily as I lurched back to my feet, holding my arm to my chest. I stared at him warily, tears clouding my eyes, trying to hide my apprehension. My throat seemed to have closed up, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. My arm and shoulder throbbed excruciatingly with every breath.

He took two steps toward me, each of his movements deliberate. I edged away from him, wanting to keep him as far away from me as possible. "There I was," he began, eyes never leaving me, "walking alone at night in some dark alley, I don't remember exactly where."

He subtly changed direction and I realized belatedly that he was herding me around the room, through the maze of plastic tarps and piles of construction materials. "And I was walking along, not thinking that anyone could hurt me – I was a strong man, after all," he chuckled, a cold sound. "And then someone just appeared right in front of me."

I shrieked when James suddenly materialized at my side, tripping over my feet in my haste to get away from him. I landed hard on my ass, hissing as my arm jostled from the impact. He raised an eyebrow, gazing at me speculatively as he waited for me to get back up.

I entertained the idea of resisting him for about half a second, but that would just make him angry and that would end very badly for me. The longer I could play along and keep him talking, the better my chances were for surviving this, or at the very least dying in a swift manner. Already, his eyes were growing dark with thirst and I knew it wouldn't be long until the bloodlust clouded his mind, my thick scent driving him into prematurely ending his plan for my demise.

My boots scraped against the floor as I stood, the sound loud in the otherwise silent room. "Good girl," he praised, smiling. It sent dread flooding through my veins. "You always were an obedient child." He stepped toward me again. "Now, where was I?" As if he needed reminding.

"Oh, yes, well, imagine my surprise." Once again, he was suddenly inches away from me, although this time I was prepared for it. He walked me back until I ran into the wall, towering over me. His bright eyes shone with undisguised malice, although his voice remained amicable. "She shoved me into the wall –" his hand pushed at my chest, knocking me back against the wall again, "– and she told me to run."

I stood stock still, pressing myself against the wall in an attempt to escape him. I wanted to just melt right through it. "Well, go on then," he snapped, seizing my upper arm. "Run!"

He tossed me away from him and I slid along the floor, clattering into various boxes and buckets, until I hit a column. My back smarted with pain, but I stood quickly, my arm held to my body, and turned away from him to run.

Although I knew that I couldn't reach the door in time, I ran for it anyway, my instincts taking over. Adrenaline rushed through me, propelling me toward the exit, my throbbing arm and aching spine pushed to the back of my mind as I sprinted.

My heart thrummed in my ears, my feet pounding to its rhythm as the exit out of this hellhole came closer, but not close enough.

I was almost there when it felt like I was broadsided by a truck; I struck the floor. My head cracked painfully against the wood, my ears ringing with the force. My vision swam again; I squinted as I tried to reconcile the two images of James looming over me.

I groaned, my head lolling to the side to look at the door, which was so close, mere yards away.

"Ah, ah," James scolded. "You should know that you're not fast enough to make it out."

I almost cracked, anger pulsing through me. This was all a game to him – he had told me to run. I choked on my words, my breaths coming too fast to get out a single snipe.

He knelt down beside my gasping form. "Maybe you need a reminder."

His foot came down on my right leg and I cried out as I felt the bone shatter. He easily restrained me as I writhed on the floor, shouting profanities at him. "You-you motherfucking, demented sonofabitch!"

He laughed as I continued to curse him between clenched teeth. "I hope you burn in the seventh circle of hell you sadistic fucking pervert! Motherfucker!" He ground his heel into my leg, causing a fresh string of expletives to rush out of my mouth. I lashed out at him, not thinking as I struck his hard face, hissing in pain as my hand burst into fiery agony upon contact.

James grabbed my wrist, pinning it to the floor, his fingers bruising my delicate flesh. "That wasn't very nice, Bella," he admonished.

I spat at his face. "Fuck you, you piece of shit."

He wiped the spit from his jaw, glowering. I wheezed as he pressed down on my ribcage and fire blazed through my chest, a few of my ribs cracking under the intense pressure. Tears were streaming down my face as he pulled me to my feet by my short hair, yanking my head back as I wobbled on one leg. I clung to his wrist to balance myself, my scalp smarting.

"Your hair is much shorter than I remember it – I don't like it."

He threw me across the room again, and I fell through a pane of glass, the piercing tinkling of the shards mingling with my yelp. I landed face first in the mess beneath me, the splinters digging painfully into my skin.

Something warm trickled down the side of my face and I tried to lift my hand to touch it, but the pain stopped me. My groans were the only sound in the room other than the padding of James' bare feet on the hardwood floor and my strangled breathing. My collarbone throbbed in time with my heartbeat and I realized that he must broke it when he hurled me away from him.

I heard the crunching of glass behind me and saw James' faint shadow on the floor as he leaned down to look at me. "Not so tough anymore, are you?"

I couldn't respond as my eyes focused on the glass around my face. I shouldn't have been surprised, I had just crashed through a window, but the blood coating the sharp edges of the glass captured my attention.

Horror swelled in me as I realized the end was near. James was young – he wouldn't be able to resist the pull of the blood pooling around my battered body. As if he could read my mind, he stilled, sniffing the air.

He moaned with longing. "I don't know how that boyfriend of yours managed to resist you for so long – you smell absolutely divine."

His fingers entered my field of vision, brushing against my cheek again. I tried to roll my body away from him, but the agony stilled me. He shifted to hover over me and I watched as his fingers withdrew, my blood painting the tips.

Bringing his fingers to his lips, he sucked them into his mouth, groaning with pleasure, as he tasted the red liquid. He released them after a moment, his hands fluttering down to my body as he closed his eyes and inhaled sharply.

"I'm afraid that I am going to have to cut this short, Bella," he said, his voice strained. "It was nice while it lasted. Maybe I'll be able to stop in time to continue our game."

With lightning speed, he flipped me over so that I was on my back, the glass ripping my shirt open in the process. I panted and choked from the pain, my eyes watering. "Any last words? You know, just in case I can't stop."

I blinked, biting my lip against the pain jolting through my body. "Edward." My voice sounded strangled, cracking as I struggled to get the words out. "Edward."

I had so much to say, but neither the time nor the energy to force it out of my burning lungs. Edward, I love you. Edward, I'm so, so sorry. Edward, please forgive me for giving up so easily.

"How sweet," James drawled, caging my body with his, his black eyes hungry and face drawn. "I'll be sure to tell Edward you cried for him when I kill him."

My mouth opened, a silent scream on my lips as he bit down on my neck, his sharp teeth slicing into my flesh like a hot knife through butter. At first, the sensation of him drawing my blood out of my body was like an uncomfortable tugging, but the sensation of fire quickly replaced it.

I screamed, my back arching as James' teeth bore down on my neck again, slicing my flesh anew. James' hands gripped my body tightly, one pushing at my shoulder while the other held my head turned away from him so that he could better access my neck. His nails scratched my face as he groaned into my neck. I writhed under him, the burning fire in my neck worse than any pain I had ever felt before.

I was dizzy, the room spinning around me as the ground dropped out from under me. I blinked rapidly, the feeling intensifying. My limbs were weak; their pain overshadowed by the scorching flames that were slowly traveling from my neck to my chest. I cried out, choking, unable to move as the fire consumed me, James' hair brushing against my jaw as he drank my blood.

Just as I thought that I was going to slip away, my vision narrowing and my fingers numb, he yanked free. He sat straddling me, head tilted back in ecstasy, appearing for all the world like a demonic angel. His eyes closed as his licked the smeared blood from his lips. My blood.

His eyes were bright red as he looked down at me, his skin slightly flushed. My eyes drowsily followed his movements, the darkness threatening to overtake me. "Ah, I'm glad to see you're still with me, Bella." His hand gripped my chin, tilting my head from side to side. It lolled limply with the movement. "If only barely."

My breath rattled past my lips. His face slipped out of focus…

"No, no, stay with me, dear," James tapped my cheek, focusing my attention back on him. "I still have a few things in mind for you, since you are still alive."

My mind was slow, working at a snail's pace as I tried to follow his cryptic words; my neck was on fire. The unmistakable sound of a belt unfastening reached me through the haze. "No," I whispered, trying to move, to resist, to do something. My uninjured hand pushed feebly against him, to no avail. "Please, no."

I felt tears slipping down my face. The flames burned me.

"Oh, Bella, don't cry, dear girl," he said as he shifted my pants down and pushed himself against me. I tried to look away, but his hand held my face towards him. "It'll all be over before too long. I have to say though, that I will enjoy this."

I let out a muffled cry, trying to kick him away without success, trapped. His eyes left mine, following the trail of smeared blood down my face and to my neck. He panted, leaning down slowly; I felt his teeth sink into my neck again and the burning fire that accompanied it, stoking the duller smoldering back into white-hot flames.

I choked, struggling, but it was useless. I was as good as dead.

A harsh growl split the air, reverberating around the cavernous room. James' head whipped around, his mouth bloody.

Then he was gone.

I heard crashing and banging, but it all seemed muted, as if I was underwater.

I felt like I was underwater, the pressure weighing me down. My mind was fuzzy, my skin numb and my fingers cold, but the fire in my neck was hard to ignore, pulling me away from the peace that the darkness promised.

Wasn't water supposed to put out fire? Why was I still burning?

"Bella?" Alice's voice called to me as if she was standing across the room, but as my eyes focused, I saw her angelic face hovering above mine. "Oh, god, Bella." She turned from me, shouting, "She's still alive!"

As if on cue, the fire sparked again, burning hotter. I whimpered. "Alice," I gasped. Her black eyes flickered back to mine.

"Shh, Bella, it's going to be all right."

"Alice… the fire… burning…" Was she touching my face? I couldn't tell. All I could feel was the scorching flames spreading from my neck, down. A few tendrils flickered against my jaw, like a lover's caress.

"Carlisle!" Her voice was shrill. "Carlisle, I can't – the blood –" she choked, and then she was gone, a halo of blond hair replacing her.

I whimpered, my mind clearing as the sharp pain in my neck intensified. "Make it stop – oh, god, make it stop," I sobbed, still unable to move. I wanted to grab my neck and tear at it, rip away whatever was causing this awful burning.

My head rolled to the side and I saw a flash of bronze, then a screeching that sounded like rocks grinding; a guttural snarl broke through the room. The sound set me on edge and I became aware of the throbbing pain in my leg, constricted by my jeans around my knees. But the burning in my neck was so unbearable that I didn't even care. My heels scraped against the floor, one more violently than the other; my teeth ground together against the agony.

My gaze drunkenly slipped to my hand, covered in blood and limp on the floor. Edward couldn't be near my blood – he had told me of its pull for him. "Edward," I groaned, turning my head back to Carlisle with an effort that felt tremendous. "Where's Edward?"

"He'll be here soon, I promise, Bella." Carlisle's hand was on my cheek, wiping it. He didn't understand. "Bella, I'm going to have to set some of your bones so we can move you."

I moaned involuntarily, my back arching off the floor. "No," I rasped, struggling to form the words. He didn't understand. The fire was raging even stronger now, burning me.

"Bella, if I don't set them, you'll be in a lot more pain during the change," Carlisle tried to explain.

What change? What was he talking about? My mind fought to make sense of his words, the memory of an explanation just out of reach. All I could think about was the excruciating pain, the throbbing and burning in my body, how I couldn't even move to get rid of it – and Edward.

"No, Edward," I managed to say, and somehow my right hand was gripping Carlisle's unyeilding arm tightly. "He – he can't be near… m-my blood," I stuttered, my throat tight with panic.

Carlisle's face was stricken as he removed my hand and pressed it against my chest. I was quickly coming back to myself, the pain drawing me away from the black abyss that had threatened to overtake me before. He dug through a bag at his side.

"Edward," Carlisle called, voice edged with panic. "I need you to help me."

There was another screech and a thump. I wondered absently what the hell was going on around me, but my eyes were trained on Carlisle as I struggled not to scream; the heat in my veins scalded me.

Cool hands held my face, coaxing me to turn my head. Worried dark eyes peered down into mine and I relaxed a little as the cooling sensation of his touch finally registered. "Edward," I breathed raggedly. "Edward, it hurts," I whispered.

"I know, Bella. It's going to be okay," he promised, his voice strained, thumbs rubbing along my cheeks.

"I thought – I thought he had Nessie," I tried to explain. His eyes were pained. "I couldn't let him –" I groaned again, my chest aching from talking so much. The burning, already at an impossible pitch, was strengthening, spreading. I trembled as I burned alive.

"Edward, I need you to hold her down while I set her leg," Carlisle's voice was faint in my ears, my only focus on Edward.

"Bella, take a deep breath and hold it," Edward instructed, and I complied as best as I could with my stinging ribs, unable to form the words to ask why, unable to anything by blindly follow. "When I tell you, I need you to exhale." I felt cool hands pulling my jeans delicately up my legs, before they settled on my thigh and knee. "Now."

The air I had been holding whooshed out of my lungs and I screamed as my broken leg was moved, struggling against Edward's strong hands as they held my chest flat to the floor. My left leg kicked against the wood and I bit my lip sharply, the tang of blood flowing onto my tongue. I gasped, tears falling from my eyes.

"It's okay, Bella, it's okay," he murmured, his burnished depths anguished. His body shifted above mine, moving to my other side in one swift movement. "Carlisle is going to work on your arm now. It'll be over soon, I promise."

I shook my head, sobs racking my body. "Edward," I cried, one of his hands cupping my face while the other took hold of my hand.

"Shh, it's okay," he soothed. "You're okay. You will be okay, Bella."

I heard Carlisle say something that I couldn't make out, his voice almost like a soft buzz. Edward's gaze turned away from mine and I stared at his beautiful face. "What do you mean you can't fix the dislocation?"

The fire in my veins sparked again, and my left leg thrashed against the floor again, my broken one weighed down by something. My head banged back against the glass on the floor, which pricked my skin. Edward's eyes were back on me, hushing me.

"Bella, Bella," he murmured softly, his lips placing a kiss on my forehead. When he pulled back, I could see a light smearing of blood on them, but he paid it no mind.

"The blood," I gasped, my concern for him revived.

"Don't worry about it, Bella," he said, and I felt fingers delicately prodding my left arm. I hissed and let my head roll to the side. Carlisle's white, long-fingered hands came into view. The ring on his left hand flashed gold in the light.

He said something to Edward that I couldn't understand and then Edward was lifting my head back to his. "Bella, I need you to take a deep breath again," he cautioned, his hand still on my face. I inhaled and felt his forearm lay across my chest diagonally, holding me down. "Now, exhale."

I cried out as I felt Carlisle twist my forearm. Between the fire burning hot under my skin and the biting pain in my arm as he splinted it, my ability to hold back my tortured screams and tears disappeared.

A yellow glow painted the plastic tarp above me, flickering. The smell of something acrid invaded my nostrils, like burning sap and gasoline.

"I don't want to die," I wept, shaking.

"I'm here, Bella," Edward croaked. "You're not dying. You're becoming like me." His voice broke, his expression twisted.

I let out a blood-curdling scream and my right hand came up to grip Edward's arm tightly. White hot needles were stabbing me, my collarbone itching with shooting pains as I felt it knit itself back together. My ribs ached as I howled.

"Don't tell Charlie," I wailed, panting. The room grew sharper in the agony, Carlisle's golden curls at the edge. His fingers felt like knives. I screamed.

Edward was mumbling apologies to me, his face stricken, but I didn't have the strength to tell him that it wasn't his fault. None of it was his fault.

All I could do was scream as the flames licked my flesh, burning me from the inside out. I was being tortured, stabbed with white hot needles, scorched by heat. My shoulder popped back into its socket with a pain like a javelin lancing up my arm.

There was nothing except the fire; I lost all sense of myself, all sense of time. I was nothing but fire and pain. I couldn't see, I couldn't hear. All I felt was the fire spreading through me, coating me like acid, burrowing into my bones.

It was unending, unyielding; constant wave after wave, building, a crescendo that invaded every cell, that dissolved any thought. It dragged on and on; an eternity passed with nothing except the inferno coursing through my veins.

My heart thudded weakly; the fire reached new and impossible heights.

Then, suddenly, everything stopped.

I opened my eyes.