Disclaimer: A girl can dream, right?
Awwwww. You guys are spoiling me. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I adore you.
Monkey: DONT HACK ME!! PLZ!! With a cherry on top. Lol. Why thank you though. Im getting to that! Have fun thinking of the endings. Being frustrated and all. Tehehehe. Thanks
Xxxbrokenxxx: WOW (blushes) no really. W.O.W. The last one got me choked up. Almost as good as stephenie? Oh, no, Im not worthy. But (tears up) just, THANK YOU! And prepare yourself for bella smashage.
Sandalswithsox: No, he is not. If he's alive that is. (mwuahahaha) IT did provoke me, until the Booksamillion people provoked me to read The Host, and well, one thing led to another... lol. Thank you.
Ballaxedward4everz: The background music was a nice touch. Simple yet effective death threat. Yet, the "awesome" made it well, AWESOME! Uber thanks.
XD: Addiction? Awww... Well, shucks. Im turning red as an apple. But don't we all know how that feels, lol. Nudge, nudge. Anyway, thnx
Transfiguration: Lol, i know right. It's like she's trapped in a crazy fan girls mind. Well, you got the tequila part right. :) and thanks.
Vanessa: Just...Wow! I mean, this is probably the most touching review I've ever received. Errr...wow. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY 3. Yes, i had to use the shift key a lot. Lol. As for my inspiration...really good white mocha lattes. Thnx again
Melody Cullen: Drunk Bella is crazy bella as youll soon see. OMG ive done that too, with kitchen appliances. It scared me and my friend also. Man, we're obsessed homo sapiens. Haha. im glad you did too, and get ur mind out of the gutter woman! Haha. thanks tho. :D
Inlovewithyouforever: Confusion is what Im going for. I dont really know if thats what Im supposed to do as a story teller, but Ill go back and explain things in the story at the end. Bit thanks. And, Im sorry for the mental breakdowm. I have them at least five times a day. Know how u feel. THANK YOU!
Tehgirlfromamestris1912: well, how to feel? Good for making you laugh, or bad because it was via mistake? Haha. then again, who cares. I laughed too when u pointed that out. Thanks for the review. Cheerio!
Ten past midnight: lol. The "bwa" was a nice touch. And yum. I think I'll take your suggestion myself. (shifty eyes)
Shadow-wolves: thanks for the ideas. Ive had the plot, well the ending at least, planned for a while, although some of your suggestions are eerily similar. OOPS i didnt say anything! Lol. Thanks. Sorry i crushed your hopes. I feel terrible.
Flutterbike: Must say Ive never met a fluttering bike, but hey, u learn something new every day. Glad you love it. Always like newbies. Stupid? Bella? Never. (lie detector sounds in background). Pshhh...and THANK YOU so much.
Nobodyparticular: You are. In spirit. Haha. hope this chapter helps, or well, it probably wont with the anxiousness. Anyway, THANKS
Jalice: I do try to be funny. One of my friends read my writing and she said that it was like i was trying to be serious, but I was tethered to humor, and no matter how much I tried to run away from it, it always pulled me back. Unconfusiousizing myself now. Haha. here's the chapter. Ur fantasstic too. Lol. I think. Unless you like squash, then ur not so fantastic. :D Thanks again.
Marikaemmie: that's good. Living, I mean. So im glad i said maybe. Lol, and dont be disabled. Or if so, Ill provide a wheelchair or crutches? What's ur preference? Hey, u can borrow Bella's! Thnx for the review.
Danger0magnet: Thanks for that. I was worried about how people would react to the way i wrote bellas emotions. I googled that song, then put it on my ipod. :D yay! Glad you laughed though.
Mattybabe: alcohol plus bella equals fun, so maybe u and pandy should just sit back, relax, and enjoy (or worry over) the show? Haha. u can even take a bubble bath. I think u need/deserve one. Ya know, I was thinking. How old is Shamu? He's gotta be like thirty something now. And how long can whales live? Is shamu like an old geezer? Lol, moving on. Errr...lil minx? Ooookk. Tehehe. Thanks again my little...um...my little puma!
Twilighter4ever: EVERYTHING! Everything is wrong with me! Lol. But no, really. I've hit a rough patch this weekend. But dont die of waiting. That would be bad. Very, very, very bad.
Allyq1990: awwww...i know! U guys are shooting my ego into deep space. I need to be knocked down a notch. Ahhh...there it is. Im not Bella Swan. That did it. Lol. I like the word "delved". And I just played around with her head a little. Thanks for reviewing. Adios.
Yoyoente: Ill think about. Evil smirk. And thanks. Have fun with those possibilities... (MWUhahaha)
Thefuturemrsedwardcullen: Ahhh im scared. Okay, well since im pratically held at gunpt here... lol. Darnt. No more review christmases is sad. I guess I better get used to it. JKJKJKJK!! I looked at some pictures and then pretty muh winged it. Yeah, already read the host. Little odd for my taste specially the two guys in love with one body part, but rather enjoyable all the same. What'd you think of it. And i must get the new grisham book. Feel free to ramble. Im still reeling from the "Memory Keeper's Daughter". That book. Just. WOW. Lol. Thnx for the chit chat and the spanish. LY
Angelfromhell: Yes, yes indeed i am. :D OMGOMGOMG...THANK YOU FOR ALERTING ME TO THAT TRAILERS EXISTANCE!! I had to watch it four times till I could just calm down. Rob is PERFECT! THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN
Hibiscusqt: Yep. In mexico it is. And bella's not really that sane right now. What with her soulmate dying...errr, i mean FIGHTING and all. :D jk. Yep, yep. We all feel the same, sister. It's so heartbreaking. It almost makes you wish it hadn't existed, but then again, you love it! Thanks for reviewing. O and, "here is restroom"! happy u loved it.
Angelgirl44: errr...try not to be dissapointed? Dont hate me. :D I dont hate you. In fact, i rather like you quite a lot.
Yan Niao: I have a facebook piece of flair that says something similar. Randomness just sneaks up and catches me by surprise sometimes. What a strange muse i have. O well. I blushed when i read the last sentence. Awwww... Your welcome. THANKS again. Made my day, you did.
Mandja: we needed some comedic relief. WAIT NO LONGER...Dun dun duh dun!! :D thnx
Poppyleaf: Yes he does. O my. Im scared some more. Ya know that movie the panic room. Well, I found that house. And that's where I am. DRATS! Ive given away my top secret locale. :D
Meyarose: lives on lollipops? Lounges over landfills? I DONT UNDERSTAND. Lol, but Thanks anyways. LOL.
Silly Ella: 4/7? Well that's precise. Did you know that 7/5 of all people can't do fractions? HAHA...it was a joke. But moving right along, herring? Where in the sam heck can I get a herring? Well, YOUUUU must find me a shrubberrryyyy! (NI). (Attacks you when ur off finding a small bush commonly known as a shrubbery with nachos. Lots and lots of nachos.) Yes i know. They belong together. Lol. AQUA UP! (turns pastel aqua), Thank you.
Albnal: yes, poor bella. She is rather prone to tragic situations. Tehehe...glad you liked.
Clumsy318: thank you very much! :D
Ellen Dean: Ahhh...so right. Just ook at us and our dirty minds. Tehe. DONT BLAME ME. BLAME THE CRAZY SCREWED UP MUSES COMMONLY KNOWN AS STARBUCKS COFFEE. O and thanks.
Emberwillow: I gave u a long long long chap to make up for my not updating. Patience, my willow, patience. Haha. jk. Kindly dont kill me though. Im too young to die! Ironic as this is, thank you.
Chapter 26El Sinos Cantina.
A rickety old sign displayed those letters above a doorway. No door, just a doorway, with strands of green beans hanging down as a shabby replacement.I did some quick translating in my head. Cantina meant "bar". I'd learned some Spanish in high school. My heart stuttered.
High School. Biology class. Notes. Edward.
With newfound bravado, I swept the green beads aside and stepped into the cantina. They fell back into place with a sound like rain.
No matter how necessary I felt this was, I was still a little frightened. Right now, I was breaking about every little girl "no, no" my mother had warned me about.
Here I was, a not-too-terribly ugly girl walking into a back-alley bar to get drunk surrounded by men that would be all too happy to take advantage of me, in the dead of night. Yes, sanity had clearly left me. My marbles were scattered across hotel Carcel's lobby. They'd shot out of my head about the time the little boy named Edward had run by.
I cringed again at the thought of his name, but couldn't help wonder what he was doing right now.
Scratch that. I didn't want to know, which only amped my will power to reach this goal I'd set for myself as soon as possible.
This joint wasn't a rollicking club. In fact, there were only a few people here. That was good.
This bar wasn't anything like the ones I'd seen in country music videos. It was slow, drowsy even.
The sun-browned bar tender was wiping a cloth in circles over a dusty countertop in time to the ironically upbeat Latino music. He hadn't even looked up when I entered. Several wooden tables were scattered around the place.
A heavily tattooed couple sat in a far corner, taking lazy sips from a pair of foaming beers.
Chairs squeaked against the floor, and I turned to see four men, good buddies if their laughter was anything to judge by, rise and walk out the way I'd came. They passed through the beads, and it rained for a second or two.
Rain. Forks. Vampire Baseball.
I heard a groan to my right. Looking, I saw a man's bald head roll forward and hit the table top with a thud.This time, the bar tender glanced up, noticing me for the first time.
"Ayúdeme, usted?" he asked me, throwing his towel over his shoulder and coming out from behind the bar through a small swinging door set into it.
It took me a moment before I realized he was talking to me. "Me no Espanol,"I told him. Not enough to be fluent anyway.
The curly headed man nodded. "Will you help me with him?" he tried asking me again. His English was near perfect, only the slightest hint of an accent. "Carrying him, I mean?"
"Um," I walked forward hesitantly. "Sure? Where to?"
The bartender grunted as he put his burly arms under the man's arms and heaved. "Get his feet."
I moved around the man till I was in a position to do so. I wrapped my fingers around his ankles and lifted. I was genuinely surprised at how light he was.
"Back there," said the bartender, gesturing towards another doorway in the back wall, set off to the side and covered in red beads.
I walked backward, carefully minding my steps. I couldn't walk forward very well, let alone in the opposite direction. So, I stumbled a few times on my way. I thought I heard the curly headed man laughing at me quietly under his breath.
Pushing through the red beads, I glanced behind me and noticed an assortment of five cots. Black spots dotted the yellowing sheets.
I made my way over to the nearest one, and set his feet down on it. The bartender was less gentle. He all but flung the drunken man down onto it.
After his task was done, he looked to me. "Thanks. He was doing good for a while there, but Rojo never learns." His r's rolled off his tongue.
After that, he turned his back on me and walked out. I stood stunned and unsure for a second before following him. Entering the dimly lit room again, I saw that he had returned to wiping the countertop.
I walked to sit down on the stool a few feet down from him.
He slung his towel into a dirty bin to the side and turned to look at me with a grin. "So, Graceful, what can I get you?"
I looked down. Edward, my mind answered, but my lip spoke, "What's the strongest you got?"
Propping himself up on his elbow, he searched me intensely. "Ran into some bad luck?"
"You could call it that."
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not really." I wasn't trying to be rude, really. I was just trying to be intoxicated, and he was hindering me.
He sighed, clearly disappointed. "Sorry," he said, "I just don't get good company in here to talk to often. Errr...I've got a tequila that'll knock your socks off?"
I nodded. "That'll do fine."
He cocked an eyebrow. I cringed and averted my gaze. Edward used to do that. Will still do that.
"Ah," he said, "boy trouble."
"Husband trouble," I corrected.
The expression in his eyes appeared to be backpedaling. "Oh...well, uh...if you still want to talk..."
He trailed off, then turned around and grabbed a glass bottle full of pale yellow liquid. He gave it four or five good shakes before popping off the cap.
He glanced back and saw my anxious face. "It's strong," he said, "Rojo back there created this concoction himself. Sure you still want it?"
Steel faced and determined, I nodded. I wasn't backing out now.
"Is that...Rojo I mean...is that a regular occurrence?" I asked. What I really wanted to know was if I was going to end up back there, lying on the moldy cots.
"Rojo's an old friend. Comes in most nights." His voice was distracted, distant. "Says 'hi', drinks his tequila, and then he's out cold."
"Oh," I said.
"But let's put it this way," he continued, "before him, that room was used for storage."
I laughed a little. It felt good, laughing.
He turned around, a glass in hand full of a liquid that was somewhere between orange and yellow in color. "Listen Graceful," he started.
"Bella," I told him.
"Listen Graceful," he repeated, "I really don't want this night to end badly for you. Maybe you should just go home."
I reached for the drink, but he pulled it just out of my grasp. The green beads behind me sounded, and I knew someone was entering.
"The crowd's starting to come. Pretty soon this place will be packed out." He scanned my face. "It can get pretty ugly."
"Give. Me. The. Drink." My voice was acid.
The bartender sighed. "Suit yourself, but... can't you give me a number to call or something...someone to come pick you up."
My eyes rolled. "Give me a pen and paper."
He rummaged around under the counter for a minute before he produced the requested items. I wrote down the hotel room number and Jacob's cell.
"Don't call him till I can't remember my name...you" I commanded.
He chuckled and then set the drink down in front of me. "It's Antonio, Andy for short, and whatever you say, Graceful.
I took a sip. That sip turned into a few more sips, which turned into a few more glasses which turned into half an hour past midnight, or at least that's what I thought the clock said. It was hard to find it amid the uproar of the many voices. The evening crowds had come, and the small roam was packed, and sweltering with the body heat.
"Another," I told Andy.
He shook his head. "I think you've had enough. I should probably call now."
"My name's Bella," I said. "And I want...waannntt...another!" Somehow, I didn't care what I said. Articulation didn't matter anymore; I just wanted my point across.
"No," Andy said firmly.
What? Absurd. He couldn't say that to me. "Now!" I screamed.
"That's quite enough, Bella," he said.
Now, that, that was hillarious, although I wasn't quite sure why. My thoughts were muddled and murky – and somehow, I loved it because it kept my mind off something. Anyway, I giggled furiously, then looked up at Andy.
"You're pretty," I said, "just like a coconut."
The lines coming out from either side of his lips turned down further. Why was he such a buzz kill?
I giggled at this, too though. "I don't like clowns," I told him. "Do you like clowns? I don't really know why you would. They're scary."
Andy's sister, Vanessa, came to stand beside him. She'd come to help about the time the crowd came. "Do you want me to keep an eye on her?" she asked.
I continued with my rant. "Sometimes I get scared of things easily. Like when I was four," I giggled some more, "I liked Mellow Yellow a lot, so," I giggled again. Why was everything so funny tonight? "So I wanted some, and I thought that the shampoo was the Mellow Yellow, so I tried to drink it."
"They were the same color," I explained, "And now I'm a little scared of shampoo."
Vanessa looked at me sympathetically. I didn't know why. I was having a blast. She was the one to be pitied.
"Shampoo, shampoo, shampoo," I sang. "It's scarier than...than vampires!" I knew what I was saying. I just didn't care, like every inhibition I'd ever had had been knocked to the ground. "And I should know about that. I know them. I dated one." I shouted, breaking down into hysterics. "I married one!" The bar grew silent as the grave.
Through the haze, I felt three clammy hands on my body.
"We'll take it from here." The voice sounded like keen, high-pitched wind.
"Ouch," I said. The tone cut my ears.
The unsettling hands dragged me away from my tequila. My lovely, lovely tequila, so I struggled against them.
I didn't stop fighting until I was set down on the dingy cot I vaguely remembered from earlier. Rojo snored loudly beside me. Looking up, I saw three cloaked figures.
"Those words, if they're true," said the one in the middle. She was clearly female, the one from earlier, the one whose voice sounded like wind.
"Are very dangerous for you," another finished. Her tone was...slimy. There was no other way to describe it. When she spoke, I felt like a squid or snail had wrapped its slimy arms around me.
I fell into a fit of laughter anyway.
The third talked this time, the one on the right. "She's too drunk to talk to me." She sounded like a violin played horribly wrong.
"A problem solved quite easily," the one in the middle rhymed.
That was twice now that they had done that. I felt like I was trapped in a horribly morbid version of a Dr. Suess book.
The one on the left, Slimy Voice, placed her clammy palm on my shoulder. And unfortunately, the euphoric mist I was engulfed by dissipated. I tried to chase it, but it receded too fast, and before I knew it, I was fully aware and functional. Just like...magic or something. It was odd. All I knew was that I didn't want any of their paws touching me again.
I thought about what they just said. Those words were dangerous? What words? More memories came back. As they did, the color drained from my face. I'd just told the bar about vampires. That was almost like committing a capital crime in the vampire world. I examined the cloaked figures again.
"Volturi."
Then, the three women did something very unexpected. They laughed, well, cackled was more like it.
I blushed. "Who are you then, and how do you know I was telling the truth?" I wasn't quite in the mood to be mocked.
"The Hoverers, the Eternals, the Finale," they chanted in unison.
"Thanks for the specification," I bit. I wanted to be drunk again. Badly. Or maybe I was drunk, and this was some stupor-induced hallucination. "What do you do?" I asked.
Their answer was chorused once again. "We know."
"Know what?" God, this was frustrating.
"Everything."
I sighed.
Slimy said, "We know you did not tell a lie."
"And that his plans will go awry," Violin ground out.
"His?" I demanded. "Edward's?"
The middle one, the wind-sounding one, chuckled mirthlessly. "You'll be back in time to see his pyre."
"His violent end, you will too desire," Slimy rhymed.
"Stop speaking in riddles!" My mind tried to sort this one out. Pyre...pyre...I froze, and my heart stopped beating. Funeral pyre. A pyre, a place where a body burned. Haunting images of Edward burning in purple smoke filled my head.
"No!" I screamed.
They laughed sadistically.
"It's not real! You're wrong!"
They repeated the same two words as before. "We know."
Tears were flowing down my face. I believed them somehow. Right off the bat, I believed them, and I didn't know why. Maybe it was the way they had ended my intoxicated state with a touch. I didn't know, but something told me that they spoke the truth.
I clutched at the robes of the tallest, the middle one. "What can I do?"
This time, they answered together. "This will be your greatest test. Names will save all the rest. But as for pain your love does endure, only his curse will be his cure."
With that, they left through the red beads that sounded like rain.
Names will save the rest? The rest of...everyone who wasn't Edward. My test? Edward's curse would be his cure?
My mind focused more intently upon the last thing they'd told me. His curse would be his cure. I repeated the phrase in my head until it sounded funny.
Curse. Curse...what cursed Edward? Being a vampire? Carlisle? No, that wasn't it. Well, it was, but he'd told me that he was glad for it.
What then? Blood? Yes, that would be a curse, but he preyed on animals.
Curse? What would curse him?
My mind dredged up a statement he'd once made – 'It was like your were my own demon sent up to be my own personal hell.'
The wheels clicked. Edward's bane was my blood, and it would cure him. But of course it would. I thought of how Jasper wanted to use me as a secret weapon. I should've insisted.
A plan of action formed immediately, more out of instinct then thought. I had to leave Mexico. Tonight if at all possible.
The airport was fairly close to Carcel's and even closer from here. I could run. I had money, a credit card, and a passport in my pockets.
My mind was whirling so fast, I couldn't even here Rojo's grunting snores. I ran out of the back room and looked around for the three women, but I couldn't see them. The crowd was too thick even if they were still here.
"Graceful!" Andy called. "I'd thought you disappeared. You must hold your liquor well."
I turned to him. "Call Jacob. Tell him that I've gone for a walk on the beach."
"I don't think..."
"Just do it," I called behind me, shoving people out of the way in a frenzy to reach the door.
The first things I spotted outside were three male figures standing together at the mouth of the alley. Luckily, they were whispering with their backs turned and didn't notice my presence. Stupid bodyguards. My protection was going to end Edward's life. That situation seemed commonplace now though.
Quickly, I ducked back into the bar.
I saw a group of six approaching, drunks, laughing loudly with glowstick necklaces on.
They were going to leave! If I could just act like I was one of them. I walked beside them. They were too drunk to care.
Outside, I took care to keep my hair in my face and keep people between me and the roving eyes of my guard. Did that mean Jacob was here somewhere? Or did they choose this place on a whim? I didn't care. I'd have to risk Jacob's wrath. As soon as we were out of the dark alleyway, I turned the corner and sprinted, heading west toward the airport.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I didn't tire. I pushed any bystanders out of my way as I ran.
The airport was misplaced here. The resorts along the strand simply stopped to make way for an airstrip along the flat coastal land. This wasn't the major airport, but it would do. It was bigger than Forks' anyway.
This was the farthest I'd ever ran in my life, and I was sure that if I wasn't so hyped, I would've fallen over from exhaustion by now. The red lights blinked in my watering eyes.
I forced my legs to move harder. Past a shack, a restaurant, a McDonalds, past a nightclub vibrating from the music.
I only skidded to a halt when I had crossed the door.
Seven cubicles stood side by side. I ran to the closest one, a gullible looking girl. Perfect. I needed someone to buy the lie I was about to tell.
"What's the closest flight to Washington?" I asked.
Her eyes squinted, like she was trying to discern what I was saying.
Nevertheless, she answered in broken English. "San...Francisco."
A chipper looking woman, dark locks cut into a short bob, walked over to join her. "That's true, but it leaves in ten minutes."
"Please," I begged, preparing to lie through my teeth, "Someone's chasing me. I need to be on that plane."
Tears for Edward and my family were easily disguised as tears for myself. The woman with the bob looked sympathetic.
"Who honey? We'll call the police."
Tears rolled down my face harder. "Jacob Black," I whispered. Maybe jail would prohibit him from chasing me for at least a little while. "Don't let him come after me!" My voice was panicked. "Please, please, I have to be on that plane." The deception flowed out of my mouth smoothly.
The lady looked sad. "All right, sweetheart. I'll make a call."
I immediately dug in my pockets for my credit card and passport.
The lady winked at me. "Don't worry about all that honey." I smiled back.
"Thank you," I whispered, overcome with real emotion this time. I almost felt bad for lying to her.
She mumbled some things in Spanish into a black walkie talkie. After that, she walked out to take my hand.
"I'll show you where to go," she told me. Her English was impeccable.
She led me past the luggage pickup, past the screen with the yellow lights displaying the flight times, and up a spiral staircase.
"Right through there." She pointed at another door. "Security won't bother you," she said. "Good luck."
I thanked her again before continuing on my way at a jog.
The nameless lady, I suddenly regretted never learning her name, was right. Security, three elderly men in white shirts and black trousers, didn't even stir as I walked through the metal detector. I continued to jog.
Down the tunnel, up the stairs. A flight attendant met me at the stairs up to the plane. I bolted up them and took the first seat I could, urging the plane to take off at once.
I checked around me for familiar faces after the stairs rose and shut me in the cabin. Thankfully, there were none. So, now that the temporary burst that my excitement had given me was gone, I gave myself into worry.
I worried as the plane took off, and I knew I'd be worrying when it landed.
His curse would be his cure. Finally, I would be the one to save him. At last I could be his Superman.
A/N: Frazzled? Confused? You should be. That's how I like my readers until I tie every thing up. Evil? Diabolical? Why yes. Anywho, the reason this took forever was bcause I was reading the host. Good book, I must say. Addicting. Although I kept waiting for Edward Cullen to show up...I was severely dissapointed, but only bc of that. So, what did you thik about the three women. Anyone have a gander as to who they might be? Or if they really existed at all? Or were they just in Bella's "drunken stupor"? hmmmm...lol and THIS is why I love to be an author. So, well, they're based off SOME people. Clue's in the bar's name. Tehehehe...also, the hotel name has meaning too. So, don't be too wierded out just yet. After all, you ARE reading a book about vampires and werewolves. This is a very long author's note. :) Review plz.