A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who added this story in their alerts and/or added it to their favorite list. It truly means a lot to me.
Chapter 29- The start to the end
Bella's POV-
"Edward," I let out a confused sigh, looking at my unfamiliar surroundings with a wide frown on my face. "Where…where are we going?" I stumbled over my words, pulling my coat tighter to me as I nervously glanced at my supposed rescuer.
It was close to one in the morning.
Where exactly were we going at this late hour?
And more importantly, why was I being asked to board this medium sized boat that screamed ostentatious and looked to be something that could easily be owned by the Cullen clan?
What was going on here?
Where…was he taking me?
"Love," he creepily smiled, attempting to dazzle me with those freakily mesmerizing eyes of his, my only saving grace being to not look directly into them. I continued to stare at his nose, pretending to pay attention.
I so did not wish to fall down that rabbit hole once again!
Been there, done that.
Don't want to do it again.
"We are going to Isle Esme."
Was that supposed to mean anything to me?
"It is going to be our home for a while now! You will like it so much there. It is so beautiful, love. So very beautiful!" He grinned in amazement; his eyes glazed over, almost as if he were daydreaming about it….and what all we would be doing there once we reached.
Sorry to burst that bubble…but yeah!
"Excuse me." I protested, my eyes wide in discomfort as I squirmed at my place. "You do realize that I want to go back to my home, right? As soon as possible at that."
Why on earth were we traveling to some dumb island?
I just wanted to go home!
Back to my home.
Not Edward's, or even Joy's.
I missed my room- the original one, with that horrible purple bedsheet that I always secretly dreamt of throwing away, but did not wish to hurt Charlie's feelings by actually implementing on it. I missed those mismatched chairs in the kitchen, or even making sense of what few groceries I could find in there. I missed that single small bathroom that I almost always cursed about, finding the toilet seat up on every occasion.
And I missed Charlie, too.
Screw Seattle. He needed to come home!
I was no longer going to stay at Joy's.
And that was final.
Charlie would have to come back home, buying our house once again…as we pretended like none of this had ever occurred in either of our lives.
The perfect plan!
"Love…Bella," Edward chided. "I have not forgotten about that." Good. "It is just…they will never let us leave if we reveal our actual whereabouts. We need to keep up with the act."
"I don't know." I let out a loud sigh, rubbing a hand over my forehead. "I am tired, Edward. These past few days have been really testing…I just want to go home."
"And we will go home." He assured me, his voice a calm whisper. "A few days in Isle Esme- to throw them off our backs, and then I drop you home. It is just a question of a few more days."
I hated to admit, but his words did somewhat make sense….
"So, what's the plan? And what exactly is Isle Esme?"
Never even heard of it.
And I wasn't that bad at Geography!
He smiled, his eyes turning slightly to meet mine. "Everyone here is convinced that you and I are back together, for good. Victoria is being a slight pain in the ass, but she is in the minority right now and even she knows that. Carlisle has gathered a huge number to make sure that we face no harm. Anyhow, they all believe that we need to be away from all this mess, and hence our impromptu trip. And to answer your second question, Isle Esme was an anniversary gift from Carlisle to Esme, hence the name. It does not show on the world map, and unless you know where you are going, you will never be able to find it. Which is a good thing, considering we don't hide while there. We roam around under the light of the direct sun, and the fact that there are no humans around paves way for a successful change for any newborn."
"Um…what?" I mumbled the words out, seriously wondering if I had heard them correctly. Had he just said that it was a great place to convert a human into one of their kind? Why exactly was he taking me there then?
Wait.
Was there something fishy out here?
Did I need to be more cautious?
"I did not mean it in that sense." he instantly protested, waving his hands in air. "I was just making a statement. That's it! I swear on you, Love."
Apart from the fact that I would die, were he to be lying, I could not find anything to blame him for. He could very well be just making a general statement, not quite realizing how it would seem to me.
"Okay," I let out a sigh, shutting my eyes briefly. "Fine. But do we really need to go all the way there? Can we, like, I don't know, just pretend to go there and re-route ourselves in the direction of home?"
The plan made sense in my head!
Why did we actually need to go all the way till there?
"That wouldn't work." Edward sighed, shaking his head at me in obvious exasperation. "One of Carlisle's friends, Alistair…he is a tracker. If we don't actually go there, it would seem suspicious…."
"Big deal." I rolled my eyes at him. "Once I am out of here, like I could care enough to bother who thinks what!"
"Bella."
"What? Did you actually expect me to care?" I frowned at him. "Edward, I have been treated like the shit below a person's shoe these past few days. Obviously, I don't give a fuck about Carlisle, Esme or anyone in there."
Wasn't that obvious?
Why should I even give a damn about the vampires who kept me a prisoner for all this while?
For all I care, they could rot in the fieriest pits of hell.
"I…I understand." Edward stated, his eyes indicating that he did not understand even a small bit. "I am sure your opinion about them will change with time…"
"I doubt it." I firmly shook my head, overly willing to put this shit behind me, moving on with my life. "But it no longer matters. I am out of that dirty, creepy dungeon, and soon I will be home?" I raised an eyebrow in question, waiting to be assured of my claim.
"Of course." Edward agreed, nodding his head once, his eyes boring into mine, an unusual intensity visible in them. "That is why I am here. To take you home!"
Okay then.
I shifted at my place, coughing once, as I waited for one of us to actually move. The moment was getting to be as awkward as could be.
The staring into one another's eyes is only fun till you actually want to be with the other person.
If not, it goes from 0 to 100 on the awkward scale rather fucking fast!
"Uh-oh."
"What?" I raised an eyebrow in question, the angered and annoyed expression on Edward's face rather confusing to my human mind. "What's wrong?" I looked around me, waiting for the unexpected bear to jump out and pounce on me.
"Victoria." He sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "She wants to talk to you and is walking in our direction at the moment."
"Oh." I let out a whisper, shutting my eyes tight.
Could this be avoided?
Please tell me this can be avoided!
I had been lucky so far to manage to stay away from her, aware that my luck could run out on me anytime now.
"Can we…"
"She is determined to talk to you. Alone. She will continue to follow us, unless we give her a chance to speak her mind."
At least I tried!
"I don't know…."
I really did not trust her, as was obvious.
And especially not when I was alone and helpless.
"Love, we cannot have her ruining our…your life." He shook his head in firmness. "She just wants one conversation. She will leave us alone after that."
"You trust her?"
Why?
How?
"I will be around." He shrugged. "I will be keeping an eye out. And so will all the others. They may not be making their presence known, but they are all around."
That so did not make me feel any better!
I was surrounded by vampires who were keeping a constant eye on me; wonderful!
"And…" he paused, taking out something from his pant pocket and putting it forward for me to take. "Keep this."
"What is this?" I frowned at the unexpected lighter placed on my palm, my eyes wide in disbelief and horror.
Had he just offered me a lighter?
What was wrong with him?
Why did he even have a lighter on him?
It produced fire and he was easily inflammable; wasn't he aware of that?
"If… you think that there is any risk of her attacking you, throw this on her. She will go up in flames instantly. She won't even get the chance to escape."
Yea…but would I even get the time to plan all this much?
She was a vampire. She would snap my neck before the thought even crossed my mind!
"I will be around."
With that, a strange blur met my eyes, Edward disappearing before my vision cleared.
I let out a sigh, crossing my fingers together, as the person in question came walking in my direction, a wide smirk on her evil face.
"Hello Bella."
"Victoria." I nodded my head at her, shifting at my place in visible discomfort.
"So, you are finally getting free today, I heard?"
"Surprisingly so." I admitted, keeping my guard up.
Was she here to congratulate me?
Why was she even here?
"Now, I hate to be a party-pooper, but I could not resist celebrating my victory."
"Your victory?" I frowned at her, muttering a humorless chuckle. "I would assume that I won."
Don't push her, Bella!
You don't want to die here today.
"Oh honey." She let out a menacing laugh, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, masquerading as an innocent being. "You are so naïve. You really think that Edward's intentions are pure? He is surely not taking you back to your house."
"You're lying." I glared at her. "He has promised me…"
"And that is why you are still a kid." She smiled in response; her tone heavily patronizing. "All of us here know that your days as a human are limited. Edward Cullen is simply playing around, waiting for you to accept your destiny. You are never going back to your previous life. Once you enter this street, it is immediate death or to be a vampire. There is no third option provided."
"Why are you doing this to me?"
What was she to gain from instigating me against Edward?
He was helping me out…wasn't he?
"I am just sharing my happiness." She let out a laugh. "I am finally getting my revenge today. I wanted you to suffer, and you will suffer for eternity. What more could I have asked for?" she waved a hand in air, grinning wide. "My work here is done. It is time for me to leave. But Bella, don't you ever forget me! And if destiny demands it, you and I will meet again!"
.
.
.
"Bella…Love…"
I looked up, my eyes wide as I got back to the world of the present, having zoned out for a few long minutes, realizing that Victoria had left, with Edward having returned to my side.
"She was lying…"
"Was she?" I demanded to know, a few tears trailing down my eyes. "Were you actually ever going to take me home? Why were we going to Isle Esme? Was it to make me one of your kind?"
Had I been played at his hands?
Had he made a massive fool of me?
"I am sorry. It is just…I love you and you are my mate…."
I shook my head, blocking out the seemingly background noise, knowingly exactly what I needed to do in this moment.
It was easy.
Easier than imagined.
He had already given me the resources and informed me about the method, the actual process over within seconds, with me standing back and observing him shout out in pain as the unexpected fire threatened to engulf him whole.
I shut my eyes, not wanting to see or even think about what was happening to him.
He deserved it.
And that is all that mattered.
Had he been able to read my mind, he would have seen this coming. But as it stood, he had not expected it- a thing that worked completely in my favor.
I kept my eyes shut, hearing angered and scared voices as they came closer to where I stood, but not paying any attention to them.
It did not matter.
He had betrayed me.
He had lied to me.
He had broken his promise.
The silence is what finally caught my attention, my eyes opening to assess this uncomfortable and strange pin drop silence, a gasp leaving my mouth at the sight of close to twenty vampires staring back at me, hunger and the need for revenge visible in their death warmed over eyes.
What had I done?
How was I to get out of here now?
They would never leave me alive.
Shit.
I should have thought before I acted….
I looked behind me, needing to escape from here, not thinking twice as I jumped into the frigid water, knowing that the chances were less but I needed to try my escape….