AN:
Thank you for everyone who has favorited, followed, or reviewed this story- It means a lot to me! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Sections in this chapter that are italicized are flashbacks and they happen outside the timeline of the overall chapter.
For the rest of the Author's Note see the bottom. I put too much at the top as it is lol.
Anyone want to Beta this? For real guys…
I own nothing.
. • Ellipsis • .
Bella was on edge, pacing back and forth around her house waiting for any news from the Cullen's; after Esme brought her home she explained that she needed to go find Carlisle, and then left despite Bella's desperate attempts for her to stay. The gravity of the situation struck Bella like a stack of bricks, all of the stress and anxiety from the past year hitting her double, and she crumbled to the floor in a shaking ball of panic and tears. For the longest time she couldn't breathe, only just gasping shallow breaths of air and bunching her hands into her shirt. This couldn't be happening. Not again. She cried to herself, rocking back and forth with her head between her legs.
…
Bella jumped in her skin when she heard Charlie close the front door behind him, then rushed to get up as he stalked over to her. He pulled her into a fierce hug and she stood there dumbly, unsure how to react. Half of her body was still in shock and the other half concerned for her father's wellbeing. She robotically raised her arms to return the embrace when he pulled her away abruptly holding her firmly by her shoulders at arm's length in distance.
"What the HELL were you thinking Bells?! Jake called me and said you just up and got on a plane!"
Bella never heard him raise his voice at her like that, so his reaction to her short adventure jolted her from her numb stupor and she wiggled out of his firm grip.
"Everything was fine dad, Al- Alice was with me the entire time." She tried to argue, the situation wasn't as severe as it sounded if you didn't know about the vampires. She winced.
"I don't care who was with you! And two teenagers flying off God knows where, especially one who is MY daughter, leaving the country without permission or least of all a phone call-", He continued on-
"DAD. I HAD to go! Edward…" she swallowed the unwanted bile traveling up her throat at his name, the blade in her heart twisting itself deeper into the cavity. "He needed help, he- he was going to hurt himself, and I couldn't stand by and let that happen. Not to Carlisle, not to Esme, not to his family, and most importantly- myself! If I didn't stop him I would have always blamed myself for- for-", she chocked back another sob, not knowing where her first love ran to, whether it be his demise or theirs.
Charlie threw his hands up and ran his fingers over his face. The over whelming emotions lingering from Harry's Funeral closely followed by the fear and worry after hearing his daughter ran away from him – again- bubbled so closely underneath the surface, that all of his training and service as a policeman could not save him from the onslaught. He turned his back to Bella, and begun pacing across the foyer in frustration of his daughter's behavior.
"No Bella, he threw away any understanding with you when he abandoned my child in that FUCKING FOREST!"
He breathed in quick sharp breaths, a true testament to his dwindling control.
"You owe him NOTHING Bells. You hear me? Nothing."
He rose his head to look at her face but she just shamefully ducked her head, new streams of tears dripping down from her cheeks to her chin. Feeling a small amount of guilt creep under his skin, he immediate regretted his harsh words towards his daughter. He tried to pull a few strands out of her face and she immediately scooted back at the brief contact. His gut twisted into knots.
"You mentioned Alice taking you to him, did they bring you back?" He sighed. "Are they back in forks?"
Bella stayed quiet. He waited patiently for an answer feeling more and more like the villain, but it was his duty to protect his daughter even if it was from silly boys and broken hearts. Hopefully she would forgive him for this.
"Bella, if he's here, I forbid you from seeing him."
W-WHAT? "WHY?!"
He just continued, "You will not talk to him, you will not go to their house, any contact with your other friends in that family have to be supervised-"
"DAD! What are you talking about? You can't do this-"
Charlie slammed his hand against the wall, the sound reverberated throughout the house even overshadowing the sound of heavy rainfall outside.
"I'm grounding you. You're grounded. And you'll stay grounded until you graduate- or to be frank, whenever I can trust you to keep yourself safe."
Bella met his eyes and she filched inwardly, it hurt to see the mixture of anger and disappointment directed towards her. His shoulders slumped down, his knuckles sliding down the paneling until his arm hung limply at his side once more. He breathed out what almost sounded like a sigh of defeat or disappointment- she couldn't tell anymore, and turned around heading towards his room. When he reached the door way, he turned halfway in her direction in the hall told her without looking in her eyes, "Bells... You're almost an adult, and I don't want you making any more stupid decisions alright?"
She just looked at him with a mix of hurt and confusion unsure how to answer, and he sighed once more before closing his door.
She continued to stand in the hallway gripping her arms tightly, listening as he turned on the weather channel as he got ready for bed, her feet unable to move in any direction as her heart shriveled up inside her chest.
...
The storm forecast for that night was spot on for once.
Branches scrapped and banged against the walls of the Swan residence, heavy sheets of rain showering down its windows, and the wind roared in through the trees. Black thunderclouds enveloped the sky, and the dark shapes revealed in quick flashes of light looked almost dangerous in nature.
She was sitting outside on the porch.
The earth was damp with mud and the trees were covered in mist. A drizzle of rain spilled down her shoulders, her clothes recklessly drowned from the long exposure to the elements. She numbly sat on the wood steps, blinking away the rain from her eyelashes until they continued to trail down her face. She didn't feel and she didn't think- she just stood up and walked barefoot through the torrential weather with her keys in hand.
The door of the truck closed with a muted clap- the sound almost drowned out by the thuds on the windshield's exterior. Her limbs felt ghost like, she could barely tell when her fingers clasped the carved metal in her hand and turned the engine on with the ignition. Her hands were there- completely whole and lurid, but they were almost foreign in the environment which they existed. The ghost limbs' movements were unrushed and methodical, but she couldn't see a destination in mind as she pulled out of the drive way. She just drove along the dark road.
She turned off onto an old forest road with over grown brush and trees, the jutting rocks branches scrapping loudly against the sides of the vehicle. Goosebumps on the back of her neck rose as she shivered. Her heart raced with something she suspected was anticipation- or was it fear? Her mind was a blur and made it hard to focus. She gripped the wheel until her knuckles paled white.
Up ahead she was forced to pull the truck to a rocky stop when something collided with her front wheels. Bella pushed the driver's door against the tree pinning it on the other side, and then growled in frustration as she opted to climb over the passenger's seat. Her feet turned to ice as they sunk into mud and her breath caught in the cold air outside as the rain pelted off her shoulders. She moved forward numbly recognizing the large fallen branch jammed underneath the wheel well of her truck, before venturing farther in the barely visible beams of the headlights.
She pushed through the bushes and ducked under shadowed branches until she could no longer see any of the incoming obstacles in front of her, causing her to stumble a few times in the growing dark. Somewhere in the back of her mind, something itched- like a memory she couldn't recall or the eerily familiar feeling in her gut that she couldn't fully grasp.
It was a while until she parted a grouping of vines before she fell into a small clearing. Her knees hit the ground with a sharp thump running through her bones, soft wet grass only just barely cushioning the fall from any potential damage. The stars were clear above the canopies of the tall pines, allowing her a glimpse of the moon drenched area. Although the ground was undisturbed, nature had obviously re-claimed the land, her mind desperately clung to the thought that it was missing something. Looking into its empty void she pinched her brows in puzzlement, feeling whatever hope she had of finding what she was looking for sink deeply inside her chest. She suddenly couldn't breathe and then felt drops of water hitting her cheeks yet again- she reached out a hand in the air but did not feel the kiss of rain. Bella brought the hand to her face and lightly brushed the tears away in confusion, not able to explain why she felt what could only be described as despair.
The air shifted and every nocturnal creature in the glade fell silent. The sudden stillness of the picture caught her attention and she stilled her frame. She listened intently to her surroundings behind her for any sign of disturbance- There. Her blood chilled in her veins and her limbs froze at her side. A seemingly soundless snap of a twig sounded loudly in the air and she choked on her own breath, too scared to move a single inch as the sounds of predatory footfalls inched closer to her back. She instinctually knew whatever the noises belonged to was watching her just a few paces behind the tree line.
It was almost impossible to catch, but she felt the barest feeling of hot moist breath breeze the hair over her shoulder just a tad over to the right.
All noise stopped, and she could feel her heart beat pause in anticipation-
...
Bella sat up gasping for breath in her bed with sweat pooling down her every pore. Her body shook in postpartum terror from her nightmare, and sunk back against her headboard as she tried to reel back in her capability to inhale oxygen. She felt a hand on her leg and screamed girlishly, practically jumping off the bed with such amazing speed that would have impressed her any other day had she not nearly peed her shorts.
"Woah Bella! Everything is okay. I'm not here to hurt you." Alice explained as calmly as possible, not trying to spook Bella as much as she apparently had again.
Bella just stood in the corner of her room between her lamp and the window, her brain trying to register Alice's presence in her bedroom. She stole another couple of deep breaths, idly wondering if her heart would ever recover from its most recent trauma- because she felt that if someone else jumped out from her closet, it would surely kill her.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Alice, what are you doing here?" In my bedroom she added in her head, but kept that barb behind her teeth.
Alice just gestured to her incredulity with an exaggerated wave of her hands, "I was here to make sure you were alright Bella! I was downstairs keeping tabs on you just in case Edward made a decision, and then I heard your heart beat escalate. By the time I showed up you were thrashing and screaming and I tried to wake you up, but you attacked me." She said the last part a little jokingly to lighten the situation, but the worry in her eyes was too palpable. Then it morphed into disgust. "Bella, just what have you been doing? You're covered in dirt!"
Bella looked down at her clothes and jumped a little at the sight. The hem of her night shorts and camisole top were caked in dried mud, along with her feet and the majority of any skin exposed along her arms and legs. She ran a thumb along one of the splotches, smearing it across her arm as Alice inched carefully to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. She then guided Bella to the bathroom to help her wash up and sat her on the counter with the lone sink. She tossed a look into the mirror to examine herself further as Alice busied herself in the task of searching for suitable cleaning supplies. The smudges had traveled as far up as her face, ghosting across her right cheekbone and forehead, and her hair was crinkled as if it were left to air dry. She spotted a few dead leaves and needles in the tresses and began in-haste to remove them.
"Bella, you never answered my question. Just what were you doing? And how did you do it? I never saw you leaving the house!" she demanded as she washed away the grime on Bella's arms with warm water and a washcloth. Bella just looked at her arms, lost in a daze until she felt a hand on her cheek. She looked up at Alice's imploring gaze and felt nauseous. What did she tell her? That her dream was becoming less and less than what it was? What was even real? Grasping at straws, Bella sputtered out the best lie she could come up with on the spot, praying to any gods at present that her friend wouldn't catch on.
"After Charlie went to bed last night I stayed up to watch the storm outside. I- I guess I just stayed outside too long and was too tired to notice my clothes when I came inside." She knew it was a reach; she looked like one of those wild-children you see on the news that were raised by wolves. Bad example, her mind whispered back to her causing a sharp pang in her chest at the reminder of her friend. Ex-friend? The one she intentionally left behind. Alice just looked at her with almost disbelieving eyes, not buying her story in the least bit but was still at odds seeing Bella's current condition. Bella, desperate for the attention to be directed anywhere else but her, grasped onto the next best thing her mind could come up with.
"Where's Charlie? You said you were downstairs." She queried. From what she could recall he went straight to his room after their argument. Another pang of guilt hit her in the chest and she tried not to let the tears well up in her eyes. Alice just shook her head, "He stayed the night over at the reservation; I overheard him speaking with Billy Black over the phone. But I haven't seen anything else, those foul-smelling mutts keep blocking my visions." Wait, that didn't make sense. He never left. Bella tried to recall more events prior to waking up, but the harder she tried the more her head hurt. She rubbed one of her hands at her temple, careful not to get some of the dirt underneath her fingernails in her eyes. But the memory of his door slamming closed was clear as day in her mind- "No. I saw him go into his room- I would have heard him leave." She said almost desperately.
Alice placed both hands on her shoulders forcing Bella to look up, well down, at her.
"Bella, what are you talking about?" she asked.
Bella's brows furrowed even further.
"What do you mean?"
Alice almost looked scared, if that was even possible.
"Bella. There was no storm- It hasn't even rained for weeks."
The shock of her statement made Bella numb.
"What?"
. • Ellipsis • .
Music blasted in her ears as she ran up a small flight of stairs in the mid-day sun, her sweat cooling her skin slightly as she made a turn around the corner of the local deli by her apartment. Her feet bounced off the ground in rhythm with her swinging ponytail. Her lungs burned with near exhaustion, in a good way, as she forced herself to push on faster as she neared the last lap of her run.
Bella turned another corner and wove her way through a throng of people passing by in the busy street. No one said anything to her as she kept up her pace as politely as she could without bumping into anyone. On her left she saw an opening in the crowd and made a quick beeline in that direction. About two feet away from her destination a towering figure blocked her path, and she was forced to quickly improvise her orientation as she swiftly shifted her torso to be parallel to theirs. At the last second he turned straight towards her, causing her right shoulder to ram right into his. The familiar sensation of hitting a solid wall made her gasp softly, and the rush of pain blossoming in the sensitive tissue was hard to ignore while she tried to stop her propelling momentum to the ground. Once she was able to right herself, she paused in trepidation before turning back to the gentleman to give him a shaky smile and a proper apology due to her own klutziness.
"I'm so sorry about th-"
And he was no longer there.
"Great."
She let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head before going back to her exercise, but a little slower this time being a little more self-conscious with her surroundings and her burning muscles that hurt more now that she made a stop. She ignored the compulsion to rub the area that made contact with the mysterious jerk and the feeling of electricity that ran through her veins. Soon, she was just another blur in the colorful street and disappeared into the crowd entirely.
On the other side of the road the figure continued to walk in the opposite direction, mindfully aware of the girls fleeting presence.
…
Bella groaned as she shut the door to her apartment, her muscles finally giving up on her as she lazily slipped off her shoes and threw them god knows where. The elevator was still in the process being fixed by the operating company that should have been finished last weekend. She quickly un-tied her pony and rain her fingers through her hair as she made her way to the bedroom. Her phone and headphones were deposited with the remains of her clothes before she opened her bathroom door and put the hot water in the shower on blast.
She quickly looked in the mirror before going in and frowned at the forming bruise on her shoulder, rubbing the area as she pulled the curtain back and stepped under the water's streams. Bella moaned out loud as the water massaged her sore muscles and tendons, and once again ran her fingers along her scalp. As she raised her right arm the swollen area throbbed with the movement and she winced. She turned to let the water spray over the sensitive area bringing her wrist into view. Her eyes traced over the silvery marks once before shaking her head and moving to wash her hair. It was so long ago and she wouldn't let it bother her now. But as she thought this, the skin around the scar felt even more noticeably cold under the hot water, aching just a bit like and old fracture. Bella ground her teeth in annoyance and tried to ignore the sensation as best she could until the steam started to give her a headache.
She climbed out of her shower tub with little grace and toweled herself off as she ambled around her room for new clothes.
When she turned to her bed for her phone, she spotted a new notification on the screen and picked it up to get a closer look. It was from a protected number and they didn't leave a voice message. Typical. She harrumphed and strolled to the kitchen to fix herself a light lunch, passing by her laptop on the table just as it let out a small PING that made her jump out of her shorts.
Heart racing, she set her phone on the counter by the coffee pot and journeyed over to her small loveseat to sit down. Running the pad of her thumb across the mouse pad she typed her passcode and opened the background before running the cursor over the inbox icon. Bella scrolled through several messages before she spotted the one that grabbed her attention. She immediately recognized the sender and stiffened. Why would they be contacting her now, after all this time? She warily moved over the email and opened the new message. Her heart skipped a beat when the saw the words, and squinted her eyes to make sure she read the message right.
Th*y a4e cmi9*%\ 40r 8&!?
The text was barely legible and the data seemed to be corrupted when suddenly the screen started to faintly glitch; Bella, like any reasonable adult, hit the sides until the defect was squished into oblivion, but it only exacerbated the problem until the entire screen was encompassed in black and white snow, the whir of the cooling fan growing louder in tandem with the high pitched white noise emitting from its speakers. The bottom of the laptop grew unexpectedly hot and Bella hastily stood up, dropping the hunk of plastic on the floor as she rubbed her bare legs. The whine of the computer got louder and Bella steadily backed away from the devise, concerned if the poor technology was going to blow up on her.
Then, as fast as it started the screen shut off and the loud buzzing abruptly stopped. The metaphorical scratching of her head commenced as she stared at her linoleum floor in paranoia.
What the hell was that?
Bella sat down on the edge of her sofa trying to piece together what just happened in her mind. Did someone try to hack her computer? No, that didn't quite fit. She could hardly believe someone could blow up her laptop without coming inside of her apartment. Did that mean someone had been in here? She launched herself into the kitchen and came back with a pair of oven mitts and carefully examined the broken laptop. The screen was blank only showing the reflection of her face and she tried holding down its buttons to turn it back on. Nothing happened. She turned the device over and removed the back cover; she discovered the battery blackened by some sort of short fuse, melting the surrounding frame into one cohesive hunk of metal and plastic.
Bella set it down in the sink, which to her at the moment seemed the safest place at the moment, and moved over to her phone debating whether or not she needed to call the police. She idly scrolled through messages before it dawned on her to re-check her email. She immediately opened the app and double checked her inbox and trash folder, but ultimately came up with zilch. Her most recent email was on Monday and she couldn't locate the two eerie messages she just received only moments prior. After taking a moment to properly think, Bella dismissed the idea of calling the local police. One; they would either see her as some needy American girl vying for attention or Two; try to dig deeper into her private emails and learn certain things she did not want them to.
The second option was dangerous, and she, in fact, was the only person to her knowledge that knew that email even existed.
She wondered what they could possibly want with her.
Given her current standing with her past, Bella couldn't eliminate the possibility that the ominous message and destruction of her melted laptop were in fact connected, which worried her tremendously. Then the thought occurred to her:
Someone was in my house.
Completely spooked, Bella grabbed her work bag and got the hell out of dodge.
…
She walked through the third level as she made her way to chart for the day. At the counter she greeted the emitting nurse and looked through her case chart- other than a few standard blood tests and toxicology reports needed to be made she was going to be left to catch up on her research tonight it seemed. She thanked the nurse, Katarina, and turned down the hallway to her lab to get started on her work.
A few hours later into her work, she took her scheduled fifteen minutes to travel to one only working vending machines on the first level in the ER. It was rather empty that night with only a few stragglers laying in their cots and a skeleton crew staff. She passed and nodded at a few familiar faces and hurried to retrieve her reasonably priced midnight coffee and Famous Amos cookies without being caught by certain individuals on her 'black list'.
Arriving at the machine, she dug around her pockets for spare change and pressed the desired selection on the well-beaten pad, and the gears made a loud groan as they pushed out the plastic through its coils. She tapped on the glass impatiently with a drum of her fingers, internally counting her Latin proverbs backwards, when down the hall someone half-yelled her name trying to be courteous to the other occupants. She cursed loudly inside her head as she spotted Adam and another fellow she hadn't had the pleasure to meet yet following closely behind him as they honed in on her location like bees to honey.
Trying not to be rude, she turned her body towards the pair to give them her full attention as she waited for the slow machine to spit out her food. She gave them her trademark Bella smile, only lifting up the corners of her mouth just slightly and kept her expression as neutral as possible in an attempt to hide her irritation. Adam smiled towards her like his ass had just seen the sun for the first time and the friend- or acquaintance? Stood awkwardly behind him looking just about as uncomfortable as she was when forced to be Adam for prolonged periods of time. Adam opened his mouth and words spilled out.
"Hey Bella, it's not often we get to see you down here. Getting tired of sitting in a freezer all night?" he asked coquettishly, straightening out his glasses and leaning in a little too close for her personal comfort.
"No, I was just grabbing a coffee and a few snacks to take with me before I head back up to the Lab." She tried to answer casually as she tucked her hands inside of her coat pockets. Bella wondered how long this encounter would take. Adam gestured back to acknowledge the other man's presence and turned to her as he said,
"Well we were just heading to the cafeteria ourselves to grab something, you can join us if you'd like?"
She retreated, "I don't want to impose-"
The other gentleman waved her off in mid-sentence.
"Its fine, we were just taking a small break before we're needed back in the ER." He didn't seem to be as insistent as Adam and he kindly introduced himself offering his hand out for her to take.
"Michael Corvin- A new resident," he said and she returned his handshake with a small nod.
"Isabella Swan- Student." She waited for a remark but he seemed to just accept the information without making a big deal about it, a small part of her sighed in relief. Then she weighed her options; A) Politely decline and sulk upstairs without her caffeine boost, or B) Accept their offer and sulk quietly with the added warm comfort. She gave up and chose the latter- she was already lagging as it was and she knew she couldn't avoid Adam's friendly attempts at conversation forever. Besides, she was safely out of bounds as the third wheel right?
Sensing her acquiescence, Adam grinned yet again and led the trio to the elevators to the cafeteria level. He and Michael talked on and off through the ride about different topics and she tuned herself out until they reached the double doors.
...
Upon reaching the Cafeteria Bella quickly sat down and waited for the other two silently chewing on her snack as the other two paid for their meals. The café didn't have the luxury of normal lunch tables, but instead incorporated small intimate tables comfortably seating two around the spacious room, so she was forced to huddle her goods closer to her corner as the duo set down two twin grey lunch trays. Michael threw her yet another apologetic smile as he sat down to her right as Adam broke apart his utensils across the pair. The aroma of their food was a little overwhelming, as both men ordered what looked like another variation of a classic meatball sandwich and would be a very messy choice to eat for two doctors. After taking a few cursory bites, Adam was the first to speak up.
"So as I was telling Michael over here, this Hospital is very popular in inviting students from the University to study their practice, and it's not often we get a lot of American doctors…" Bella quickly picked up the conversation.
"No they don't. When I moved over here, I immediately had to learn some of the languages used here so follow my classes and buy the right dish soap." Stupid thing to say; it really was a given for anyone suddenly deciding to live in a foreign country.
Michael nodded as he chewed and swallowed. "If I may ask, where're you from originally?" He reached for a napkin in the middle and wiped off his mouth.
Bella paused before answering, "…I lived in Phoenix for a while before moving in with my father, and later graduated from Washington State. You?"
"Jersey and Philly mostly, but I came to visit my grandfather here a bit as a kid. It's nice to be back."
Bella nodded politely and snagged another cookie and sipped from her coffee. Adam butted back into the conversation and the two males seemed to forget her presence entirely, briefly giving Bella hope that she could sneak away…
"So Bella, I heard down the grapevine that you're invited to the Hospital's fundraiser tomorrow night, gotta date?" He smiled flirtatiously with a small amount of carefully hidden curiosity shining in his eyes.
Bella choked a bit on a small piece of chocolate chip and tried to reign in her shock at thee blunt question. She shouldn't be shocked really, she thought as she patted her chest and finished off her coffee, it was bound to come up eventually.
"Yeah, the chairman invited me as his guest for the evening. Though I'm not sure I'm allowed to bring anyone along…" she stated elusively trying to avoid the topic all together. Then she realised what that sounded like and quickly followed, "I'm just shadowing him for the evening to make connections."
Michael seemed to sense her growing unease and jumped in to rescue her much to her relief.
"Wow. Getting invited to one of those things is pretty prestigious, especially for a student!" His praise made her blush in embarrassment a little and she shrugged her shoulders.
"All he said was that the Hospital was interested in my independent study and wanted to attract better doctors and investors. I'm sure it's just the one time anyway." Brushing off the importance of the event. She was just plain old Bella who hasn't even graduated medical school yet… Surprisingly Adam spoke up
"No it isn't Bella. They're interested in you, or otherwise they wouldn't have even bothered in the first place," he leaned in a bit, "This is like, the golden egg for students. Introducing a student at one of these things means they expect a lot from you! It's your ticket up! I bet they will even save an opening for you the moment you graduate." He waved his arms around excitedly with enthusiasm shaking the table a little before he calmed himself down. "This kind of ting hardly ever happens."
Bella silently considered his words and briefly wondered if they were really that transparent. Should she take the offer that was being given to her and stay here in Budapest? She flicked her eyes around the room taking notice of other doctors and visiting families. Did everyone know? In the small part of her cranium where she stuffed down all of her social anxiety, the beast moved a little and then raised its ugly head; she shivered. To her knowledge no one had found out about her involvement in the radiation poisoning case, but would they now suspect? She didn't want that kind of exposure. She hated the spotlight and she knew with more eyes on her that someone would come sniffing around in places they shouldn't. That would be disastrous. The implications alone… But, then again, if she refused their proposal she would get virtually nowhere in her research. She needed the funding. Some of those resources would not be available to her within her budget if she was forced to go elsewhere. She would have to stop and she would be nowhere. Her entire career hinged on this project, she did not know what she would do if her plan failed.
"What happens, happens." Her response was aloof and almost unreadable as she cleaned up her trash and stood up. Adam and Michael hastily grabbed their things as well and made for the trash cans not far behind her. Once they were done she turned to Michael and held out her hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you Dr. Corvin," She shook his hand in his firm grip as he returned to pleasantries. Bella smiled faintly at the pair, actively ignoring Adam's outstretched hand, and waved goodbye before she left for the elevators.
"I never had a chance with her," Adam grumbled out lowly.
Michael just set his mouth in a straight line, trying to hide his humor, as he shook his head and patted his co-worker on the back.
"Not in this lifetime."
. • Ellipsis • .
AN:
You know you're tired when you layer trap mixes on top of your old classical music in the back ground to keep on writing.
I'm trash.
Charlie stole a bit of Jacob's thunder there. I feel it's well deserving though coming from a parent. Oh well.
Adam is so sad. I do admit to bashing his character just a tinsy bit, but he practically handed Michael over to the Lycans in the movie so I have very little remorse. I imagine Michael wouldn't mind to see him suffer just for a little bit…
In my head this chapter was longer, but feels a little short compared to the last chapter. 2,000 words is kinda a big difference in my opinion, but if I carried on writing this wouldn't have been updated sooner.
Now addressing the elephant in the room.
You guys should kill me. I haven't updated this since, what- January? Five months. I'm incorrigible. Honestly. I had a rough draft written/typed out for like three months that I totally ignored due to other life crises, until I came back and re-written the whole thing twice. Then ignored it again, and went back and redact MORE pages. Seriously, I was soooo freaking confused where I wanted to take this story but now I can say I have the next few chapters panned out. Hate me all you want for not updating sooner. I'm soooo sorry!
See you guys next time! Hopefully. Ugh. Definitely.
TBC…