AN Thanks everyone for reading and enjoying :)

We're back to Bella's point of view for the next few chapters again, but don't worry, more EPOV are coming up to explain a few more things ;)

Enjoy!

As always let me know what you think!

Chapter 15 - Out of the frying pan and into the fire... shit.

I stepped into the city limits with some apprehension. I watched my every step carefully, making sure to not get too close to humans and taking random pathways and alleyways to make sure I wasn't being followed.

I tried to think rationally as I walked through the streets. I would need money first of all. Then I would need a place to stay, it would be too obvious to go to a hotel or motel... It would be too noticeable that I never slept, and couldn't go out into the sun. So I would need an appartment.

As I headed closer to downtown I started breathing more shallowly, I was afraid the animal blood diet might have made me more suscptible to the bloodlust, but as the crowds thickened around me, I realized I had no problem with their scent. Sure, the first few minutes were uncomfortable, my throat burned fiercely, and venom pooled in my mouth, but i held on to my control easily enough. I trudged through the streets realizing I was beginning to stick out like a sore thumb. It was eleven at night, people were heading into the clubs, and I was still wearing work out clothes, I didn't fit in. I walked aimlessly as I tried to come up with a plan, when I walked past a twenty four seven pawn shop.

My hand went to my neck automatically. I was still wearing a lot of jewelry. I hadn't taken it off since the day before. Training with Kate and Zafrina wasn't really physical so I didn't usually take anything off while training with them. I quickly stepped in and took off my necklace, my earrings and my ring. I also had a bangle on, but i wasn't sure if it was smarter to put everythign together or keep this in case of emergency.

'Can I help you?' a bored voice asked from behidn the register. The woman was leaning over the counter, with a magazine in front of her. she hadn't even bothered to look up at me as she asked the question.

'Yes, I would like to sell these.' I said, putting the jewels on the counter, deciding to start with those for now.

It seemed to jolt the woman out of her boredom though, she put her magazine aside and straightened up, looking up at me with her mouth gaping open.

'Are you sure?' she asked me. I nodded once. she let out a low whistle as she picked up the jewelry piece by piece, holding it up to look at each item closely. 'These are some quality rocks.' She gave me another cursory glance. 'Are they yours?'

I bristeled at the implication in her voice. 'Yes. they're mine.'

she held up her hands. 'Have to ask.' she mumbled.

'They're mine. a gift from my... husband.' I finished awkwardly. it wasn't technically a lie, anyway. 'He cheated on me, so I'm starting over and don't want anything left of his.'

she looked me over again then nodded sympathetically. 'So you need the cash to get away from him?'

I gave a curt nod. She turned her attention to the jewelry again. She picked up the necklace while taking a small round black object from the desk and holding it in front of her eye as she looked at the large diamond. She gasped again.

'Holy shit.' she muttered. She looked back at me. 'This is a five carat round cut diamond. An acutal diamond.'

I nodded. I had been sure that they had been real diamonds. vampires somehow always wanted everything to be top shelf. 'the necklace is probably 24 carat gold.' I muttered.

she blinked at me before turning to the necklace chain itself. she nearly staggered back as she found the markings on the clasp confirming that it was pure gold.

'holy shit.' She said again. 'Are you sure you want to sell this?'

I nodded once. she shook her head, then turned to the earrings. those too were high value diamonds set with gold.

'I'll be honest with you. The necklace is too valuable to sell here.' she said. 'I would only be able to give you like... a third, or a forth, of what it's worth. You should take it and get it to a jeweller tomorrow. These earrings, however. I can give you a good offer on. they're slightly less valuable than the necklace.'

'What can you give me for those?'

'about five thousand.' i bit my lip. I wasn't sure if that was a lot... I hadn't dealt with money in a long time. In my time you could have bought a nice large house for that sum. but I knew about inflation. I was guessing that five thousand wasn't as much now as it was back then.

'Is that enough to get a room somewhere around here?' I asked hesitantly. I knew this was a red flag. I was letting her know there was something strange about me. but I just had to know.

she appraised me for a moment then nodded. 'Yes. It will probably be enough for a down payment on a decent appartment. and the first two month's rent.'

I breathed a sigh of relief. 'Alright. Then I'll take it.'

She looked at me oddly again. 'you're not going to haggle me?'

'I'm sorry?'

she scoffed then and chuckled. 'Jeez, you've really not lived in the actual world for a while have you?'

'What?'

She shook her head. 'NEvermind. I gave you a low estimate. I can do six thousand. Let me start the paperwork.'

I nodded numbly, unsure what had just happened. I was sure I had made a mistake here. but I wasn't sure what exactly.

'Do you have any ID?' she asked pulling out some forms. 'and I'll need a bank account.'

'Can we do cash?'

She sighed but nodded. 'Alright. that's a bit of a hassle, because i'll have to open the safe. but sure.'

'Thanks.' I patted my hidden pockets and produced an ID card. I was suddenly glad that Jacob had insisted I carry the papers on my body in preparation for our escape. I wouldn't have known what to do if I hadn't had this now. I wouldn't have been able to sell these jewels. I was certain of it.

'when you go to sell the necklace, be sure to have a bank account. Else you'll be marked as suspicious and you'll have the cops on your ass faster than you can blink.'

I nodded my thanks at her advice. I hadn't even thought about how suspicious this would look. She quickly filled out the paperwork and had me sign. Then she handed me back my necklace, which I secured around my neck again. She headed behind a curtain to get the money from the safe and when she returned she looked at me for a moment.

'do you have a bag?'

'No...' I admitted hesitantly. She nodded once, went around the counter and picked up a purse.

'Take this.' she said, handing the bag to me and putting the money into my hands afterwards. 'There's a good shelter about three blocks away from here. They'll be able to help you, you won't have to worry about him there.'

my eyebrows shot up. well, that was a better cover story than anything I had thought of... on the run from an abusive husband... not that far off mark. I thanked her quietly than slung the purse over my shoulder and headed out the doors again. I would have to wait until morning to get a bank account and then sell the necklace. After that I could get an appartment somewhere. I decided to look around already to see if I could find a place that was seeking tenants around the edge of town, or near a park... or wooded area. I headed through the streets, a sense of calm and peace steeling over me as for the first time in my existence I was finally making my own desicions and chosing the path I wanted to go down.

A week passed by so quickly I hardly noticed the days. I was in absolute euphoria. I had quickly opened a bank account and sold the necklace, getting quite a sum of money. I was certain it would last quite some time even if I hadn't found a job as well.

I hadn't wanted to just do nothing, I wanted to mainstream, to finally find what I liked and disliked and what I wanted to do with my life. So I set out in serach of a job to fill my time but also experience life for the first time ever. I found one easily enough. Apparently night jobs weren't really popular with regular humans. And with a few bats of my eyelashes I had managed to charm the hiring officer to look past my lack of references or work experience.

It was a job as a bartender and I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of a vampire working a bar. I couldn't drink, and couldn't get drunk, yet it was perfect. The hours were from 10 till 5 in the morning, perfect for me. The humans were no problem as I could easily ignore their scent. I just made sure to keep myself well fed. I didn't have trouble with unwanted human male attention, as I could easily crush them if I wanted. I had nothing to fear from them.

The manager was happy with me. I'd worked the first shift, learning quickly from the other bartender and using my precision and vampire skills I managed to quickly make perfect drinks and soon started throwing the bottles around like I had seen on the TV. My side of the bar was quickly crowded with people, all cheering and clapping as I made drinks with flair. The tip jar was overflowing by the end of the night and the manager had begged me to work as much as possible.

I had offered her six nights a week.

I figured giving her seven would look odd. She had agreed readily, not questioning anything. It was well paying enough for me. The money from the necklace and earrings got me a nice little apartment at the edge of town. It was privately owned by an elder gentleman who seemed absolutely thrilled to rent it to me. His property sat on the edge of the treeline, which gave me a clear route into the forests to hunt, and made it easy for me to keep up the pretense of humanity.

During the day I started searching for something to learn. I wasn't sure what I wanted to study yet. When I'd been human my father and I had butted heads over and over on this subject. I had wanted to keep learning, he'd insisted a man would never want a woman who was smarter than him. So I hadn't even been allowed to look for schools.

Since I'd been human the options for studying had become endless it seemed. There were of course teh traidional routes; medicine, law, literature, but also new things; molecular biology, engineering, gender studies... it was ovewhelming. I was a bit at a loss where to start.

I wanted to learn so much, but I couldn't study everything at once. I started browsing through campus brochures and visiting schools on overcast days, which thankfully were quite plentiful. I also started going to libraries picking up interesting looking biographies or instruction manuals… literally anything that seemed interesting enough to study. I spent hour after hour in various libraries and book stores, but nowadays that seemed okay. They were even little café's in the book stores and libraries encouraging you to spent more time there. So to keep up appearances I bought coffee's and sat down in the plush chairs as I browsed my selections.

I was in a bookstore on friday night as well. It was before my shift at the bar and my eye had fallen on a book about the only female emperor of China, Wu Zetian. I was enraptured by her story and couldn't put the book down. As the manager started her closing process I took that as my sign to head out. I grabbed the book and walked over to the register to pay for it.
'Do you have any other books about this person?' I asked.

The lady took a look at the title and then shrugged. 'It should be in the history section if we do.' she said in a bored tone. 'Do you want me to check it?'

'No, that's fine. this one's enough for now. I'll just come back another day to check it out myself.'

She nodded once and then rang me up. She wished me a good night and I stepped out of the shop and into the slight drizzle outside. I pulled up the hood of my coat and headed back to my appartment.

A quick shower was in order before I had to go back to the centre to start my shift at the bar. Friday nights were always busy, so I knew the manager wouldn't mind if I was a bit early today. After my shower I slipped into a pair of jeans, a fitted top and some practical sturdy boots. I brushed my hair and put on some slight make-up. Then slipped back into my coat and headed for the bar.

It was about half an hour walk at a brisk human pace. I kept my head down and sped through the deserted steeets of the outskirts of town. The closer I got to the centre of town the busier it became. Humans were getting ready to head out themselves. Restaurants were finishing up, bars were starting to open. Nightlife had begun.

I slipped into the back of the bar; the Crown and Hammer. Elsie, the manager was at the back office, a sigarette in hand as she looked at me slightly surprised.

'Girl, don't you ever sleep?' she asked. 'weren't you here till six this morning?'

I shrugged. 'I don't need much sleep.' I gave as an excuse.

Elsie shook her head and nodded her head inside. b'Grab your apron we're swamped. We can use your help.'

I smiled at her and nodded, stuffing my coat and bag in a locker and grabbing a short apron from the backroom. I quickly wrapped it around my waist and stuffed a cloth down the side. The bass of the music was already thundering in the main room. I threw in a quick hello to the cooks and they waved happily at me, before heading through the door into the main bar.

The music was pulsing and the lights were low. Bodies were packed on the dancefloor swaying to the beats of the music. I stared at the crowd with a small smile on my face. I took a small breath and took a moment to acclimatise myself again. Then I headed to the bar. The other two bartenders were struggling to keep up with the flow of guests. It was a busy night it seemed. They both cast relieved glances over at me as I started setting up a third station. Within a few minutes I was ready and started taking orders from customers.

I quickly helped deal with the waiting customers, before starting throwing around the bottles again. A lady asked for a daquiri and I started up the show. I twirled the bottles around over my head, flipping them easily in the air and shaking the shaker while spinning around. The crowd cheered and clapped and soon I had a whole line of people wanting a cocktail from me. The other bartenders heaved a relieved sigh as their workload finally lessened. I lost myself in the easy steps of making cocktails and entertaining the crowds that I didn't notice them.

I didn't notice them heading towards me and I didn't notice them until they were standing right in front of my station with menacing scowls on their faces. The bottle I had been twirling around crashed to the floor.

The crowd gasped and then started clapping condescendingly as the other bartenders looked at me in surprise. I had never dropped anything. Let alone a full bottle.

Jane scoffed. 'You really can't do anything. Can you?' she smiled evily at me. My knees shook and I struggled to remain upright.

'What are you doing here?' I asked my throat was dry. I had thought I would never see them again. I couldn't imagine what they were doing here. How had they even found me?

'What do you think?' Alec asked cocking his eyebrow at me.

'I'm not going with you.' I said, the firmness of my voice suprising me.

'Well you should have thought of that before you let Marcus down.'

My heart sank. I had completely forgotten about his threat. I had never answered his message. I had thought myself safe from their reach. But escaping the Cullens had given them the excuse of hunting me down it seemed.

Felix leaned over the bar. 'Get your stuff and come.' He growled.

I shook my head. 'No.' I swallowed down my fear. I wans't going to come along meekly. I was done with that.

His hand shot out and he grabbed hold of my arm tightly. 'Don't forget who you're talking to, girl.' He snarled.

Felix was easily the strongest vampire I had ever known. He was an exceptionally well trained killing machine. I tried to stop myself from shaking.

'Come with us, or we'll kill everyone here.' Jane said in a bored tone, leaning against the bar and staring at her nails.

I looked around the club, the other bartenders were looking at me with concern. I tried to give them a reassuring smile. I hadn't known these people long, but I had felt welcome here. They had accepted me here. The guests and patrons didn't deserve to be slaughtered because of me. These people had families, loved ones... I couln't let them all die...

'Your choice.' Felix snarled, squeezing my arm again. I hung my head.

'Alright.' I mumbled. 'I'll go with you.'

'Get your things.' Jane snapped.

'I'll need to quit as well, I'll meet you by the backdoor.'

'Don't think you're getting out of our sight.' Felix snarled.

'Then one of you can come with me.' I suggested impatiently.

'Fine.' Alec said.

I rolled my eyes, then sighed and gave an apologetic smile to the other bartenders before putting my apron and cloth on the bar and turning around. I quickly made my way to the back office, Alec close on my heels.

I knowcked on the office door. 'elsie?'

'Come in.' her muffled voice sounded.

'I'm sorry Elsie, I've got to go.' I said.

She looked up from her desk with a frown. 'What are you talking about?'

Then her mouth dropped open as she took in Alec behind me, He was beautiful of course, but also very unsettling, and he was glowering menacingly at her.

'It's a family emergency. I'm sorry. I won't be able to work tonight…'

Elsie seemed to shake herself from her stupor and focussed back on me. 'I won't be able to guarantee your job will be here when you return.' She said sternly.

I slumped. I had a feeling I wouldn't be returning either way. 'That's okay.' I mumbled. 'Thank you for the opportunity.'

Elsie pulled up her brow and gave me a once over. Then she nodded once and told me my cheque would come in the mail. I winced and nodded. Knowing it would never reach me.

Alec grabbed my arm then and steered me out of the office and out the backdoor. Jane and Felix were waiting there. Withtout saying anything and keeping me in the middle of their group we trudged out of the alleyway and into the street where a sleek black car was waiting for us on the curb.

'Get in.' Jane snarled at me. I sighed and opened the door, climbing inside. If I ran now, this entire town would be slaughtered until they found me. And with Jane's annoying little power, literally torturing people with her mind… I didn't want to put anyone through that.

'Where are we going?' I asked.

'Back home.' Felix said gruffly, shutting the door behind himself. I hung my head in my hands and groaned.

Jane rolled her eyes at me. 'I'm surprised they let you live this long.' She said haughtily. 'I bet Marcus won't be this lenient.' She grinned at me.

I had the desire to smack her tiny little face through the door of the car. But I restrained myself. They still assumed I was the meek little girl they had known. But I had two advantages; one I could kick ass now and I wasn't going to let them torture me without a fight; two, I had yellow eyes now too. And if they'd been told the same stories I was going to scare the fuck out of them when my contacts dissolved. I took grim satisfaction in that as I settled in to wait.

We headed to a remote airstrip that was privately owned and I was unsurprised to see a private yet waiting for us. Felix pulled me roughly from the car and I followed along behind them.

The door to the plane opened and a woman waved at Felix, who waved back.

'Ready to go home?' Jane asked keeping pace with me.

'Fuck no.' I mumbled. 'I was home.'

'That pitiful bar was your home?' she scoffed. 'God how far you've fallen.'

I just rolled my eyes at her. 'Like you'd ever understand.' I spat. 'You're just a mindless minion, unable to think for yourself for even the smallest of moments.'

That did it.

With a shriek Jane hurled herself at me, but I was ready for her. With a quick roll and a well placed boot in her stomach. She hurtled over me and I rolled deflty back unto my feet. She sprang up in a rage and flew towards me, but again I was ready. I sidestepped her easily and as she reached to grab hold of me, I grabbed hold of her wrist, took her collar in my other hand and with a twirl threw her into Alec and Felix.

The force of my throw was enough to knock all three to the ground in a tumble of legs and arms. I didn't hesitate as I bolted in the opposite direction. The car was already gone, sadly, otherwise I could have taken that had thrown them off my trail quicker. But I would have to make do. I ran as fast as I could, the trees and city blurring past me as I ran. I knew they were following behind me. I knew they were in pursuit. I just had to shake them off somehow.

I wracked my brain trying to figure out where we were. A body of water was the best bet. It would obscure my scent, and make it harder for them to track me. But I was shit out of luck. I ran and ran but there was no water. I did run through a little creek, and got myself nice and soaking wet, but no lake or anything. I wanted to scream in frustration.

The sounds of their pursuit were closing in on me. I pushed myself harder. I had to go faster, damnit! I couldn't go back with them. I couldn't go through it again. I couldn't!

Just as I saw the moonlight hit water a few miles ahead, a hand closed over my arm. I was yanked off my feet and thrown sideways into a tree, completely shattering it on impact. I fell to the forest floor and struggled to get on my feet again, Felix was on top of me before I could get there.

His snarling face was inches from mine, but I didn't back down. I snapped back at him. That seemed to shock him and he reared back a bit before laughing loudly.

'Goddamn, Isabella. You've sure gotten feisty.' He said loudly. Jane and Alec came to a stop behind him.

'Is that something Edward Cullen taught you?' Jane sneered.

I took grim satisfaction in the fact her hair and clothes were messed up. I had done that. 'No he didn't.' I muttered.

Felix got off me and hauled me to my feet.

'Enough of these little games. You're coming with us. We outnumber you. We'll catch you everytime.' Alec said in a bored tone.

'Grab her Felix and let's go back.' Jane said, not giving me the option of running again. Felix grabbed me around the waist and locked me in a tight grip.

I sighed, I wasn't getting away again.