Bella gasped and slid down the wall, clutching her chest. She instantly felt sick to her stomach and put a hand over her mouth, worried she might throw up. So many questions were popping up in her head, too many to count. Who was it? Why were they following me? What vampire would be so careless as to not cover their eyes? How did they know when I'd be travelling? Am I in danger now? She shook her head trying to clear it but more thoughts kept filling her brain. Her phone was left lying on the bed, and she crawled over to grab it. With shaking fingers, she speed-dialed Jake and sat listening to it ring. After five rings, a familiar voice came through.

"Hey Bells!" he said in a cheery voice. Bella tried to speak but her throat was so dry and her breathing was so shallow that she couldn't form a sentence. "Bells?" he prompted. "Bella, you're freaking me out!"

Finally, she got herself together enough to squeak out, "Jake…" before tears started running down her face. She covered her mouth with her hand to keep her mom from hearing.

"Bella!" Jake said, panic coloring his tone. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"They're coming," Bella said through the tears.

"Who's coming?"

"The note…and Cooper…red eyes!" she choked.

"Woah woah woah, slow down Bells, you're ok. Start from the beginning."

Bella took a deep breath and tried to arrange her thoughts into a coherent explanation.

"Ok, so, on the plane I sat next to a boy named Cooper…"

"Did he hurt you?" Jake demanded, suddenly angry.

"No, no, listen," Bella said. "When we got off the plane he gave me a note. Here, let me grab it, hold on."

She shakily got up and crossed the room to pick up the note from where she had dropped it on the floor, then returned to the bed. "Ok, it says: Bella, I couldn't tell you this on the plane because he might have overheard me, but there was a weird guy staring at you almost the whole flight. Just thought you should know. And here's the creepy part, his eyes were red."

Jake's end of the line was silent for a second before Bella heard him punch something and growl 'fuck'. When he regained his composure, he thought of the first sensible thing and said, "Don't wash the shirt you wore on the plane, we'll be able to smell him on it and see if it's the same scent we've been picking up over here."

"Ok," Bella said, feeling more reassured by Jake's logical thinking.

"Next, did Cooper leave you any contact information? We should probably find out what the vamp looked like. Maybe you know him?" Jake questioned.

"The only vampires I ever heard of were the Denali Coven, who don't drink human blood and would have no reason to be following me, and the trio of nomads who came after me my junior year. James and his group." The more Bella thought about it, the more she put the pieces together. "Edward killed the one named James after he attacked me. I can think of more than a few reasons why his mate Victoria might have some bad blood against me for that."

"Well, the note said it was a man, right?" Jake hedged.

"Yeah, that's true," Bella thought out loud. "So it's not Victoria…"

"Did Cooper give you his last name?" Jake asked. "Maybe you can find him online and get a better idea of what the leech looked like."

"Yeah, it was something like Cooper Curry? Curtain? Curran! Let me look him up on Instagram. Hold on."

"Sure," Jake said, "Let me know what you find."

With hands still shaking, Bella opened Instagram and typed the name Cooper Curran into the search bar. At first some random accounts came up, but then Bella saw it. On one of the account's tiny profile pictures, she could see Cooper grinning and holding up a fish.

"Got it," she said, updating Jake. "Let me message him and I'll call you back."

"Ok, don't be too long," Jake replied, worried.

"I won't. I love you," Bella assured him, before hanging up. Quickly, she typed out a message to Cooper.

Hey Cooper, it's Bella from the flight. I'm totally fine but I got your note and I had a question for you. What did the guy look like? Please get back to me ASAP. Thanks, Bella.

She bit her lip as she waited for a response, staring at the screen. A knock sounded on her door, and Bella muttered, "Shit." She quickly wiped the tear tracks away as best she could, and tried to look normal before answering with a weak, "Come in." Renee opened the door and poked her head through.

"Hey honey!" she said, oblivious. "I thought you were going to the beach. It's been like fifteen minutes and I hadn't seen you downstairs. Everything ok?"

"Yeah mom, I decided not to go. Jake called and is having a problem so I'm just talking to him right now."
Renee's face turned into one of concern and she asked, "Is he okay?"

"I don't know yet. I just need some time to talk to him."

"Ok honey, I'll leave you be. Let me know if you need anything, ok?"

"Sure mom, thanks," Bella replied, getting tired of the act. When Renee shut her door, she let out a sigh and immediately checked her chat with Cooper. He had seen it, and was typing. Thank fuck. Bella thought as she awaited his response. Finally, it came through.

Hey Bella! Good to hear from you, and I'm glad you didn't get abducted or something. Bella laughed dryly; if only Cooper knew that this stranger would do a lot worse than just kidnap Bella. To answer your question, the guy in question was black, had long dreadlocks, and was wearing weird clothes.

Bella quickly typed back:

Define weird.

After a few seconds, Cooper responded with:

I don't know, old fashioned. Hope this helped.

Bella typed:

Very much, thanks Cooper.

She closed Instagram and quickly called Jake back. He picked up on the first ring this time.

"Definitely Laurent," Bella reported in a shaky voice.

"Shit. What does that mean? Does he have any special powers like the Cullens?"

"Not that I remember," Bella replied. "Edward said he was only a part of the trio because he was without powers and needed strength in numbers."

"Ok…that's good news at least. But we know that he's after you for some reason, and I don't mean to scare you but there's a good chance he's nearby you right now," Jake said gravely.

Bella shuddered and suddenly wished Jake was there with her to protect her.

"So…I want you to stay inside, want you to stay around your mom and Phil, and if you have to go out, do NOT go out alone."

"Yeah, I can do that," Bella said, getting up and closing her blinds, like that would do anything.

"The safest thing we can do is get you back here where the pack can protect you, 'cause out there, you're basically a sitting duck."

Bella thought about this for a minute. "What do I tell my mom though? And Charlie? I just got here."

"I hate this but…tell her I'm really sick and you need to come home just in case it gets worse. Renee will understand, and Charlie won't ask questions as to why you need to come stay on the rez."

"Yeah, ok. I'll have to book another flight last minute though," Bella said, weighing her options. "I'll go talk to my mom and then do it right after. Call you then, love you J."

"Love you my Bella, please stay safe." With that, the phone clicked off and Bella sat back on the bed processing everything that had happened in the past thirty minutes. She dreaded having to go tell her mom and Phil she would be leaving so soon, and she honestly was excited to spend time with her mom, but she knew that if she was in danger here, her family was too. She didn't think Laurent would have a problem with wiping out her mom and Phil if it meant getting to her. After a few more minutes of thinking what she would say, she got up and headed downstairs. Her mom was in the kitchen making tuna salad for lunch and Phil was in the den watching tv.

"Hey guys, can I talk to you both?" she asked nervously.

"Sure, honey," Renee said, calling Phil into the kitchen.

"So…I just talked to Jake, and overnight he's gotten really sick. I mean really sick," she explained. All the stress of what was happening finally caught up with Bella and she started to cry, which made her story all the more believable.

"Oh Bella," her mom said sympathetically, crossing the kitchen and wrapping Bella in a hug.

"The doctors don't know what it is and he's really suffering. He could barely talk to me on the phone. And…I know I just got here but I think I need to go home and be with him."

Bella bit the inside of her cheek as she waited for what they would say, not daring to look up.

"Well," Renee started, "Obviously we would have liked to have you stay a few more days, but if you're just going to be miserable here, I don't know…" she trailed off.

Phil unexpectedly cut in. "I mean, you're an adult and if you think this is the right choice for you, I think you should follow your gut on this one."

Bella was eternally grateful for Phil's support in that moment, and she uttered a small, "Thank you guys," through the tears. "I have to book a flight as soon as I can though, so…"

"Right," her mom mused, letting go of Bella and dropping her arms to her sides. Bella hated to disappoint her mom, but this was, unfortunately, a matter of life and death. After giving Phil a small hug, she headed back upstairs to look at flights. After digging through her luggage, she finally found her laptop and cracked it open. Tomorrow would be a Wednesday, which was typically the cheapest day to travel, and she hoped she could get a morning flight. She pulled up Sky Scanner and looked up flights from Jacksonville to Port Angeles. At such short notice, the flight wouldn't be cheap but she would have to make it work somehow. After a while of searching, she finally found a flight that had a few seats left. It departed at ten in the morning which was good enough for Bella. She booked the flight and then dialed Jacob.

"Hey Bells, how did it go?"

Bella sniffled and explained how her mom and Phil had been pretty understanding.

"Good, good. You said your flight is at ten?" he asked.

"Yeah, so I'll get in at around five."

"Great. I obviously can't pick you up from the airport since I'm 'sick', but I'll see you as soon as you get home. I updated Billy on what's going on so he can vouch for me if Charlie asks."

"Ok, thanks Jake," Bella whispered.

"And one more thing Bells, make sure you are not followed, as best you can."

Bella definitely had a better eye for vampires than the average person, but she was pretty sure that if Laurent didn't want to be seen, he'd conceal himself pretty well.

"I will, I'll talk to you tomorrow J. I love you. So much."

"Keep yourself safe Bella, I love you too. Talk to you then."

Bella hung up the phone and checked the time. It was three in the afternoon and all she wanted to do was go to bed. She was emotionally exhausted and stressed out of her mind, but she had to act normal for Renee and Phil. After some thought, she decided to go back downstairs to spend some time with her mom and Phil before she had to leave.

"Hey, honey," her mom said as soon as Bella walked into the kitchen. "Did you find a flight?"

"Yep, tomorrow at ten, would you be able to take me to the airport?"

"Of course," her mom replied. "Tuna for lunch if you're hungry."

"Thanks mom," Bella said, getting up and opening the fridge. There was a yellow tupperware of tuna salad and she pulled it out, setting it on the tile counter. "Where's the bread and a knife?" Bella asked, confused by the big kitchen.

"I'll grab them," Renee said, digging through the hidden pantry for bread and then getting a butter knife for her. Bella spread some tuna on white bread and then folded it into something that loosely resembled a sandwich. She sat down at one of the uncomfortable, but stylish, barstools and began eating. Without thinking, she kept looking out the windows. Not like it would do anything, but it gave her some peace of mind when she didn't see a bloodthirsty vampire staring at her from the front yard. She chewed absently, her thoughts elsewhere; Jake specifically. If Laurent didn't know about the wolves, which he shouldn't, she would be relatively safe on the reservation. To Laurent it would look like she was completely unprotected, which would give the pack the element of surprise. After Bella had finished her sandwich, she cleared her plate and walked into the den where Renee and Phil were watching some crime show.

"How was lunch?" her mom asked.

"Good, good," Bella replied.

"It's hot, do you want to go to the pool or something?" Renee asked. "I'll go with you!"

"Uh…" Bella stuttered. Was this a good idea? She would be with her mom but still… She didn't want to go against what Jake had advised, but at the same time she was already disappointing her mom by leaving so soon, so she should probably spend some time with her. "How far away is it?"

"We could walk, it's just a private neighborhood pool."

"Um, ok, I'll go get my swimsuit on."

"Ok! Sounds good honey."

Bella sighed and headed to her room to get changed. She slowly stripped out of her clothes and chose a white marble two-piece suit to wear. Over it, she put on a white cover up and grabbed a tote bag to put a towel and sunblock in.

"Ready to go?" her mom asked as Bella appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yep. Bye Phil!" she called.

"Bye girls! Have fun," he called back, and then they were out the door. The walk to the pool was about five blocks, and Bella kept looking over her shoulder on the way there. When they approached the gate, Bella was relieved to see that there were a good amount of people at the pool, maybe three or four families. Laurent wouldn't dare attack with this many witnesses, or would he? Bella couldn't help but second guess herself. Once they got settled in lounge chairs, Bella had a chance to get a proper look at the pool. It was a nice size, with a big outline of grass around the perimeter. On the other side of the concrete there was a sizable hot tub with a few people in it. Bella laid her purple towel onto the lounger and stretched out on it, trying to relax. The sun was instantly scorching, and she pulled out some SPF 50 from her bag, spraying it on. Renee just laughed at her.

"I stopped using that stuff years ago!"

"Skin cancer is the most preventable cancer mother!" Bella sassed back.

After about thirty minutes of sun bathing, Bella had had enough, and decided to cool off. Most of the families were now on the grass or on sun loungers, so Bella pretty much had the pool to herself other than a few young kids. She dipped her toes in and the temperature was actually pretty nice, so she waded down the steps further. The water came halfway up her torso in the shallow end, and she rested her elbows on the side of the pool, laying her head on her arms. She spent about thirty minutes relaxing in the pool before she got uncomfortably pruny, and decided to get out and dry off. The two of them ended up spending about two hours at the pool, and by the time they started to head back, the sun was dipping low in the sky. They were almost home when Bella spotted a tall, black man walking opposite them. Her breath caught in her throat and she panicked for a second, until she realized this man definitely was not Laurent, and she felt bad for having such a strong reaction to him, hoping he hadn't noticed. When they got home, Phil had prepared an early dinner of burgers, which weren't really Bella's thing, so she opted for a salad and some fries. After dinner, Renee suggested they watch a movie as a family. Bella agreed, not caring what the movie was, but as they got farther into it, she felt her eyelids get heavy, and dozed off. Sometime later, Phil laughed at something in the movie which jolted Bella out of her sleep.

"Hey guys, I'm really tired, I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"But it's only six thirty!" Renee protested.

"I'm really sorry guys, early morning you know?"

"Ok honey, sleep well. We'll see you in the morning. Get up early so we can have breakfast together before you leave for the airport."

"Sure mom, goodnight. Night Phil."

"Night honey!" he replied, and with that, Bella trudged upstairs. She dug through her suitcase for some pajama shorts and a tee shirt. After changing, she climbed into bed and called Jake.

"Hey beautiful," he said in a groggy voice, picking up the phone.

"Hey, I just wanted to hear your voice," she admitted. "Are you in bed too?"

"Yeah, long day," Jake explained. They talked for a little bit, until the talking turned into murmuring, and both of them fell asleep on the phone.