Chapter 6. First Impressions
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Bella's POV
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Bella sunk to her knees, clutching her heavily bleeding arm. Did that just happen?
She let out a shaky breath and made an honest attempt of standing up, but her tired legs could barely hold her up and she fell flat on her face.
"Fucking hell," the muttered into the carpet as she carefully picked herself up and half crawled into the bathroom. Then she set out to the gruesome task of showering and bandaging the cut on her arm. The whole ordeal took almost an hour, her movements slow as she battled with fatigue. It wasn't until she made it to the bed that she let her mind to wander.
A brief glance down her unbandaged arm made her grimace. Three long pale scars stood out on her otherwise unblemished skin. More scars decorated her other arm, and now a fresh one added to her collection. Her body was leaning towards being just a map of scars at this rate. Bella hated that she had to be covered in layers all day long, but knew people would immediately start asking questions if she were to show up in T-shirts. She just felt so hot all of the time. She'd rather take the heat than the questions though, so she endured.
A part of her was still trying to come to terms with the recent events. Had that just happened? How was this even possible? It must have been a different person. Before her mind could even begin to process the idea, her body promptly shut off and she fell into a deep sleep.
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Bella adjusted the straps on her book bag for what seemed like the tenth time in ten minutes. It was a nervous tick. She had woken up early, got dressed and basically rushed off to school. If her mind had been playing tricks, she would find her answer soon enough.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, a familiar car drove up and parked in its usual spot. Bella held her breath, ignoring Jessica as she tried and failed to get Bella's opinion on if Mike would ever ask her out or not.
Truthfully Bella usually tuned Jessica's rambling out, but the other girl was being especially annoying that morning. Angela, the sweetheart she was, had done her best to capture Jessica's attention, but she was persistent. Despite Bella had on numerous occasions, informed Jessica that she was in fact gay and had no interest in dating Mike, it seemed as if the girl just didn't accept that answer. It didn't help that Mike's crush on Bella had never really ceased.
"What do you think Bella?" Jessica tugged on her arm impatiently. The contact was enough to set Bella's instincts off and she flinched, hard. She practically reeled back, her entire body shaking. Bella was never fond of people touching her to begin with, but after her time-traveling experiences, even less so. Jessica and Angela stared at her gob smacked, the latter wearing a worried frown. "What the hell is going on with you?" Jessica demanded in a hurt tone.
"Listen Jess, I'll say this as clearly as I possibly can," Bella turned to her. "I have no interest in Mike, none so ever. In fact, if you'd fuck him in front of me, I wouldn't even twitch," the crudeness shocked Jessica, whose jaw dropped. "I would probably make myself scarce but only because I never want to witness that, not because of jealousy. I am very gay," Bella emphasised the word, to leave no room for misunderstanding. "Mike is oblivious as fuck and probably hasn't even realised you have a crush on him. So just ask him out! Guess what? It's the 21th century so women can ask men out! Just grow a lady pair and stop fucking bothering me about it!" Bella clenched her fists, trying hard to calm down.
She knew she was being unfair and quite rude to her friend, but her emotions had been going haywire ever since she woke up and Jessica always knew how to push her buttons. The girl in question, was staring at her with wide eyes in disbelief. Even Angela's mouth had dropped, although she seemed more worried than hurt, like Jessica was.
"Shit," Bella closed her eyes and took a big breath. "I'm sorry Jess, I didn't mean to go off like that. Just…ask Mike out yourself,"
"Yeah, okay," Jessica said faintly. Then her eyes narrowed, and the hurt was replaced with concern. "Are you okay Bella?"
"No," she whispered to herself before clearing her throat. "I'm fine Jess," she mustered up a smile, which probably looked painfully fake. "Just tired," Jessica opened her mouth, but Bella turned away from her and looked where she had wanted to for the entirety of the conversation.
The Cullen siblings stood across the parking lot, all staring at Bella with various expressions of worry, surprise and suspicion. To be fair, only Edward seemed suspicious. Bella ignored the way Emmett was trying to catch her eyes and instead looked at the one person she had been waiting for.
Rosalie was talking to Alice, but kept shooting concerned glances at Bella, who was frozen in place.
Ignoring Angela's incoming question, undoubtably something expressing her worry, Bella's legs automatically started walking towards the blonde goddess. Her heart was hammering in her chest and cold sweat ran down her spine. Everything pointed to the fact that she hadn't been making everything up.
"Rose-" Bella started as soon as she was within reaching distance, but quickly fell silent again. She had no idea how to approach this. Rosalie just stared at her with patient, yet worried eyes.
"It's strange to see your eyes topaz and not violet," was the dumbest thing Bella could say, and that was exactly what came out. Rosalie's startled expression was enough to make Bella second guess herself.
"I'm not imagining things am I? Or did you perhaps have a grandmother who looked exactly like you and had the same name and lived New York in the beginning of 1920's?" Bella asked nervously, ignoring the fact that she sounded completely insane to anyone else. Rosalie's face was telling enough.
"I guess someone did help after all," Bella remarked a bit awkwardly. As a last resort to test her theory, she added. "May I still call you Rose?" Then, as if something clicked inside the blonde's mind, Rosalie's jaw dropped
"It was you," Rosalie breathed out after a moment. It was somewhat mesmerising to watch the ever-flickering emotions in topaz eyes. Disbelief, surprise, tenderness, incredulity, relief, concern and something incredibly soft, before circling back to disbelief.
Bella could only nod, unsure how to proceed.
Luckily, Rosalie solved that dilemma and before Bella could properly register it, she was enveloped in a tight hug. Curiously enough, the touch did not make Bella's skin crawl, as it usually did. Instead it made her feel warm and even safe. The last part was a strange notion. Bella couldn't remember the last time she felt safe. Her body unconsciously relaxed into the embrace and the tension in her shoulders all but disappeared. It was as if someone had flipped off a switch.
"How?" Rosalie's warm breath hit her ear, which made Bella shiver in response.
"Right back at you," the brunette murmured in return, her voice weaker than she anticipated.
"I think we need to talk," Rosalie whispered shakily. Bella's body shook slightly as she let out a hollow laugh.
"I think you're right," she reluctantly drew back. "Not now though," Bella added, casting a cautious glance at the other Cullen's, who were staring at the exchange in bafflement.
"Not now," Rosalie agreed, topaz eyes searching for something Bella didn't know. Rosalie's gaze had always been an intense sort, a hidden emotion in them. This time however, there was such tenderness in them that Bella had to look away. It was too much and she didn't know how to interpret it.
"Everyone's staring," Alice spoke up, which made Bella look back. As Alice stated, everyone present in the parking lot were staring at Rosalie and Bella with interest, Bella's friends being the most obvious ones. In fact, Jessica looked as if she was on the verge to run over to ask Bella about her behavior. Angela, bless her heart, seemed to read Bella's uncomfortable look and whispered something to Jessica, who rolled her eyes but finally looked away.
"What is going on? How did you-" Edward began but Rosalie shot him a look that quickly shut him up.
"We have math first," Emmett declared with his usual boyish grin. Only those who knew him well, could see the small tension behind it. Still Bella appreciated his effort at trying to display normalcy, despite the fact that her world had been turned upside down.
"Right," she offered him a faint smile of her own and reluctantly stepped out of Rosalie's personal space.
"My Lady," Emmett offered his arm with a theatrical bow.
"My Lord," Bella curtsied clumsily and placed her hand on the outstretched arm, although her smile was a bit more genuine this time.
"May I have the honour of escorting you to class?" the big man continued pleasantly.
"You may," Bella drawled airily, her tone the very definition of snobbish.
"Let us leave with haste. A lady such as yourself ought not to sully herself by associating with such uncouth company," Emmett stuck his nose in the air.
"Quite right you are My Lord. Do accept my gracious gratitude for rescuing me from these…peasants," Bella adopted a nearly perfect upper-class British accent, almost cracking a smile when Alice cried out 'Hey!'.
"Lead the way good sir," she continued and the two of them started walking away from the group, disinterested masks firm in place.
"Those two really shouldn't spend time together," Alice commented dryly. Bella and Emmett merely exchanged devilish grins and kept walking. Bella was wholly unaware of a pair of soft topaz eyes that followed her until she disappeared into the building.
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Bella was distracted the entire day and she could honestly say that she did not learn anything new in her classes. Thankfully, she shared two classes with Emmett, and he insisted that they spent the entire time playing hangman, each trying to outdo one another with the crudest words they could think of.
That was the only part of her day that Bella felt somewhat calm. Her friendship with Emmett had been a pleasant surprise and she cherished it dearly. Unfortunately they hadn't had the chance to hang out much, seeing as Bella had been whiskered away into the past only a week after they established their friendship.
Bella had surprised herself; as she usually wasn't the one to procrastinate but after she started spending times with the Cullen's, her suicide plans had been pushed back. Sometimes she got a bit suspicious, seeing as the Cullen's were always quick to occupy her time so she barely had time for herself. It was as if they knew something.
She and Emmett obviously got on well, after all he declared her as his best friend right away, but the other Cullen's were quickly earning a place in her heart as well.
Bella and Jasper connected on their shared interest in history, although Jasper tended to focus more on American History than Bella.
Alice had tried, without any success, to get her to go shopping but finally relented when Bella shot her down every time. Instead they talked about art and movies.
Esme constantly cooked and baked for Bella, which earned her so many bonuses points that Mrs. Cullen was quickly on her way to become one of Bella's favorite people.
She had met Dr. Cullen one night and he had been very nice, although insistent on checking over her injuries. He respected her boundaries though when she politely declined.
Edward spent more time observing her with the others, offering a comment occasionally. They had struck up a conversation about music, but it died quickly when Bella realised Edward's music taste didn't reach over the 1900th.
There was one person Bella hadn't spent enough time with, although she had wished to, and that was Rosalie Hale.
The beautiful blonde was an enigma to Bella. She was constantly in the background, but rarely participated in the conversation. Sometimes she shot off a witty retort but always seemed to retreat into herself when Bella looked at her. Rosalie was a strange combination of fierce fire and nervous energy and Bella longed to understand her. She didn't know if this was a normal behavior for the blonde but her siblings seemed to enjoy teasing her a lot. There were odd moments where Bella would swear Rosalie was a second from punching her siblings, but she couldn't be completely sure.
Bella wondered if something about her own presence that made Rosalie nervous, or if that was simply a wishful thinking. Bella was not unaffected by Rosalie's presence, and was constantly on guard to not ogle at the girl or ramble nervously. She thought she was doing rather well considering everything, although she would catch Emmett's teasing eyes sometimes.
Maybe that was one of the reasons she hadn't tried to engage Rosalie in a one-on-one conversation, she felt uncharacteristically awkward sometimes around the blonde. Mostly it was because she had no idea how to behave when the blonde displayed such nervousness, albeit being adorable. Bella usually never had problem talking to girls but something about Rosalie threw her off. She remembered the bravado she displayed during their first exchange, and she honestly chalked it up to the fact that she had planned to die that night. She was still waiting for Rosalie to bring up their kiss, but the blonde never did. Bella wasn't sure if she that made her feel relieved or frustrated. A combination of both, she supposed.
Whatever it was, she was constantly fighting the urge to figure out Rosalie Hale.
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Bella walked to lunch, deep in thought, and moving more on autopilot than anything else. Mike was rambling on beside her, something about his father's store but Bella wasn't really paying attention, just nodding occasionally when he paused a few times to look at her.
It was more of a habit than any real desire when she sat down at her usual table. If she hadn't been so out of it, she might have sat with the Cullen's, who were all watching her from their place.
"Look who decided to grace us with their presence," Lauren drawled with an eye roll. Bella simply cocked an eyebrow, not even mustering the strength to come up with a comeback. She couldn't be bothered today. Instead she focused on her lunch, which she had no appetite for but still made an effort to eat.
"Okay that's it!" Jessica declared loudly, making everyone at the table look at her, including Bella. "What the hell is going on with you?" Jessica pointed accusingly at Bella.
"You've been coming to school for a few months, always sporting new injuries with flimsy excuses for," Bella's heart sank. "Then suddenly your chummy with the Cullen's! You even hugged the Ice-Queen this morning!"
"Don't call her the Ice Queen," Bella defended the blonde on reflex. Jessica's eyebrow rose.
"That's all you have to say?" she challenged.
"What did we talk about regarding the tone Jess?" Angela scolded lightly.
"To not sound so confrontational," the girl mumbled with a small frown. "Still… Bella what's going on?"
"Is this an intervention or something?" Bella asked defensively, suddenly feeling cornered in.
"Of course not," Angela said in a soothing voice. "We're just worried. We're your friends, you can talk to us,"
"Speak for yourself," Lauren inspected her nails with a disinterested expression.
"Literally no one was speaking for you Lauren," Angela rebuked with no small amount of annoyance. Then she turned back to Bella with a softer expression. "Please Bella, what's up?"
"I'm fine," the response was automatic, rehearsed.
"Clearly you're not," Jessica rolled her eyes.
"You're wasting your time," Lauren informed the others. "Bitch has gone crazy,"
"Lauren!" Jessica hissed, obviously unimpressed with her behavior.
"What it's true!" Lauren defended. "It's like she's constantly getting into fights, I mean she always looks like shit. Plus, I know for a fact that she occupies a bar in Seattle my uncle owns," the last piece of information brought attention back to Bella, who shifted in her seat.
"So I drink sometimes, sue me," she retorted, feeling deeply uncomfortable with where this conversation was heading.
"Sometimes is a gross understatement," Lauren did not let up. "I've heard you drink almost until you black out. All alone too, like…a middle-aged alcoholic," she sneered. "Very attractive Bella,"
"Fuck you!" Bella hissed. "Why the hell do you think you have the license to judge me?"
"I'm just saying," Lauren rolled her eyes.
"Well don't," Bella bit out.
"You never want to go out partying with us though," Mike pouted, blushing when everyone gave him a look of disbelief.
"Priorities Mike," Jessica slapped his arm.
"That's because she has no interest in partying. Her interest lies in getting alcohol poisoning," Lauren snickered maliciously. "Sounds like a familiar pattern. Anyone up for a trip to the past?"
"What the hell is your problem Lauren?" Bella spat out, feeling attacked. Her drinking habits were her own business.
"No need to be so defensive," Lauren rolled her eyes. "Just because – "
"Okay zip it," Angela cut her off. "Listen Bella, no one is here to judge you. We just want to know if there's something we can do to help?" despite her initial anger at the confrontation, Bella felt touched by their concern. "I thought you had stopped all your…previous activities," the last part was said quietly, warily.
"I…thank you guys, really," she pointedly did not look at Lauren. "I know I haven't been…my usual self lately but I got this under control. It isn't like last time,"
"Lately? Try ever since your mom offed herself," Lauren snorted. Collective gasps echoed around Bella, who was staring murderously at the girl. She hadn't even realised that she was on her feet, her body trembling with rage.
"I don't even know why you guys bother. She's obviously a lost case," Lauren continued. "Even her own father didn't– " before she could finish that, Bella practically leapt over the table and punched her squarely in the face.
Chaos followed, as the entire cafeteria went quiet in shock while Mike and Eric tried, and failed, to drag Bella off of Lauren. Bella herself was so consumed by blind rage that she didn't even realize she had elbowed Mike in the eye and accidentally punched Eric in the process. Finally, before Lauren would end up as bloody mess on the floor, Bella was effortlessly picked up from the floor. She resisted for all but half a minute before she connected the dots on who the cold strong arms belonged to.
"Calm down Aristotle," Emmett murmured into her ear, and just like that all the fight went out of Bella. She fell limp in her best friend's embrace.
"Holy shit," Jessica's voice cut in the silence. Bella blinked a few times before focusing back on the present. Lauren lay in a heap on the ground, clutching her face with a cry. Mike was whimpering painfully as Jessica inspected his eye. Eric was holding his stomach, staring at Bella in surprise. Angela's jaw had dropped, and she stared at Lauren's pitiful state. Everyone else in the room was staring at Bella in silent shock.
"Oh no," Bella sucked in a sharp breath. She had completely lost control. This wasn't supposed to happen. She shouldn't have reacted like this. She wasn't fighting for her life this time; she had no excuse for this violence. "Let me go Em," she requested softly. The big man lowered her gently to the ground and as soon as he let go of her, Bella practically bolted out the door.
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Bella registered someone sitting beside her on the bench, but she did not look up from her hands. The brunette wasn't completely sure, but she was good idea on who had followed her. She had found a spot
a bit hidden from view on the school premises, somewhere she wouldn't be bothered.
"I would have figured Emmett would be the one to come after me," the words were slightly muffled but still audible.
"He wanted but I beat him to the punch," Rosalie said after some hesitance. Bella almost smirked at the accidental pun. The two of them sat in comfortable silence.
"I must applaud you for doing a thing I've always dreamt of doing," Rosalie finally said, her tone dripping with amusement. Bella quirked an eyebrow and finally raised her head to look at blonde curiously. "Punch Lauren," Rosalie elaborated, and Bella couldn't help but to snort.
"I aim to please," Bella exclaimed dryly with a faint smirk. Rosalie mirrored her expression, although there was concern in her eyes.
"It was inevitable that someone should take it upon themselves to put her into place. I couldn't hear what she was saying but..." Bella paused in thought at Rosalie's words. There was subtle anger in her tone that made the brunette curious. "Of course there is no pressure if you don't want to share," Rosalie added hurriedly.
"There's not much to it, she brought up my parents deaths in an unflattering manner. She was out of line and I lost control of my anger," Bella replied after a beat.
"No one is blaming you for snapping," Rosalie shrugged carelessly.
"No one except me," Bella muttered, drawing Rosalie's eyes to her once more. "It was wrong of me to result to violence, no matter what she said. I thought I had gained better control, so I am somewhat disappointed with myself," she explained. Rosalie cocked her head in thought, the action being completely endearing.
"We often don't have control of our emotions," this was said rather bitterly. "You have every right to be angry,"
"Perhaps, but we do control our actions," Bella said in return. "Maybe I have every right to be angry over her words, but I don't have the right to spread my anger. Anger is never constructive,"
Rosalie remained silent as she mulled over her words.
"That is true," Rosalie stated after a while, albeit reluctantly. Bella reckoned she had touched upon something Rosalie needed to think about and this was not a moment to push her. Bella stared at one laughing student, who was clearly entertaining a small crowd. They soon all burst into laughter themselves and Bella wondered how simple their lives must be, or at least somewhat carefree.
"They all seem so happy," she murmured after a moment, her eyes widening when she realised she spoke her thoughts out loud.
"It appears so," Rosalie replied diplomatically, a small sneer on her lips as she watched the same scene.
"I don't remember when I was happy," Bella confessed in a low tone. Rosalie stared at her with a thoughtful look, topaz eyes softer than Bella had ever seen them.
"Me neither," the honest words struck a chord with Bella, not being used to the straightforwardness Rosalie offered her. Maybe that was the reason why she kept on going.
"My life is pretty messy, " she said, pointedly ignoring how Rosalie's head snapped to hers.
"My mother died three years ago, and my father a year after that,"
"I'm sorry," Rosalie offered quietly, and Bella nodded distractingly.
"After that I feel like everything is sort of crumbling from my hands," The blonde said nothing to that.
"When Charlie – my father died I just started running away from everything, keeping myself as distracted at possible, trying to numb out the pain of the loss and the crippling loneliness. I went into great lengths too," she looked up at Rosalie, who was studying her with open curiosity and sympathy. "I only recently somewhat came to terms with that they are truly gone and there is nothing that could change that fact. I have to move on with my life, or at least try to. At first my lifestyle was not exactly desirable, to say the least. I lashed out and treated everything with carelessness, more often with violence and reckless behavior. I nearly lost myself in the process," she murmured in a regretful way.
"With some help I finally reinvented myself and I honestly try to do better... be better. Punching Lauren, no matter how hurtful her words were, was a step backwards. I cannot allow myself to go back in that pattern. Lauren might be a bitch, but more importantly she is an insecure girl with complexes that have nothing to do with me, I was merely a target for her pain in that moment. I should have known better than to lash out my own pain,"
"We all have our weak moments, no one is perfect," Rosalie replied quietly.
"That much is true," Bella agreed with a shallow laugh. "Lord knows I'm not, but that doesn't mean I have to consult to petty behavior,"
"Is this connected to our conversation about 'does what we do to survive, define us?" the blonde asked after a moment. A hollow laugh escaped Bella. The truth was a bit more complicated than that.
"It plays a part," she replied cryptically.
"Are you always this deliberately vague?" Rosalie teased. The words brought forth the memory of their first talk and Bella smirked.
"When it suits me,"
A comfortable silence stretched between them, both lost in their own thoughts.
"Are we going to talk about it?" Rosalie finally spoke. Her voice was so small, almost fragile. Bella's eyes met hers and got her breath stolen away.
There was that same tender wonderment, a quiet disbelief and raw vulnerability. The eyes might hold a different colour to them now, but everything else remained the same.
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-Flashback-
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TRIGGER WARNING!
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Bella stumbled forward, shivering violently in the cold air. For the fifteen time she cursed herself for only wearing sweatpants and a thin sweater. To be fair it was not as if she ever knew when it was going to happen, it always happened unexpectedly. She glanced down with a small scowl, she at least wished she had on something other than slippers.
A piercing shriek disturbed the otherwise quiet night, and she immediately stiffened, eyes scanning the area for any visible threat. She was alone. Another scream followed, the sound chilling her to the bone. Before Bella could even stop to think rationally, she was already running towards the danger.
The screams got louder with every step she took, the definition of pure agony, making Bella's skin crawl. Normally Bella was cautious in her time travels, shifting away from danger and doing her best to avoid attention, but her instincts were urging her on, acting on a force she couldn't stop.
Another scream, louder now, was followed with laughter.
After what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, Bella finally arrived at the scene. Her eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists.
A group of men were laughing and drinking on the sidewalk, surrounding a woman that lay on the street, one of the men laying on top of her and obviously thrusting into her. Bella felt a great surge of hatred and disgust run through her and she acted without a thought.
She grabbed an empty beer bottle off the street and threw it at one of the men and by pure chance hit him in the face. The man gave a startled shout and clutched his now bloodied face. The rest of them snapped their heads towards Bella in surprise, even the man that was raping the poor woman.
"Hey look Royce, there's another one!" one of the men called out with a laugh. "She might not be as beautiful, but she certainly is pretty. Got a lot of spunk too judging by Henry's face," the others laughed, and the same man took one step towards her.
"Hey sweetie, looking for a good time?" Bella simply walked towards him and when he was close enough, she took a swing at him, surprised when the blow was heavy enough to send him sprawling to the ground.
The rest of the men shouted in alarm and two of them started walking towards her. Bella's fist hit man number two in the stomach this time and he staggered backwards.
The other man took a swing at her and she did not manage to duck fast enough and took a blow to the left side of her face. She stumbled back as her vision went white for a moment, only her instinct saving her when she narrowly escaped another blow.
The group was not laughing anymore and instead were sprouting angry things at her; even the man was no longer on top of the woman and instead running towards her.
What followed was a series of blurred actions that Bella could not describe properly if asked afterwards. With newfound strength and nothing but pure hatred for the men, fuelled her blows and kicks.
A few minutes later only she and two other remained standing, the rest groaning or unconscious on the ground. Bella of course had taken more than several blows herself and was in much pain but ignored it for the sake of the poor girl lying on the ground behind the men. The girl had not moved during the whole exchange and Bella was worried that she was not breathing.
"Who are you?" one drunkard blurted out. That had also been in Bella's favour, the fact that they were all obviously quite drunk. Plus, she had previous history of fighting skill set under her belt. Despite being competent enough, she was sure that she would not have done as much damage if they had all been sober.
"I'm the one that's going to bash your head on the sidewalk," Bella growled out, surprised at the venom in her voice.
"Leave girl, this is not your business," the other one ordered with a sneer on his handsome face.
"Yeah that's his fiancé so it's none of your business what happens between man and his wife," the other one slurred, missing the sharp look he received from his buddy. Bella's eyes widened in horror and disbelief.
"That's your fiancé?" she bit out. The man only quirked an eyebrow.
"What's it to you?" he asked in a superior manner, eyeing her like she was dirt under her shoe.
"You sick fuck!" Bella yelled in rage.
"Finish her Charles," the man gave a humourless chuckle and patted his friend on the shoulder. Charles retrieved a knife from his pocket and staggered towards Bella.
Bella swallowed nervously but refused to let this deter her. Luckily the man seemed to have trouble walking straight, his eyes unfocused as he stumbled towards her. Not giving him enough time to act, she bent down to retrieve a discarded beer bottle and chucked it at him. The bottle broke on his hand and the man cried out in pain. He had no time react as Bella lunged at him and hit him squarely in the face, making him drop the knife and loose his footing and fall to the ground. Bella wasted no time and jumped on him and punched him again, and this time he slumped down unconscious.
With a painful intake of breath, Bella grabbed the knife and stumbled to her feet, staring at the last man, the supposed fiancé.
The man eyed her knife nervously and let out a weak chuckle.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked pompously, obviously trying to sound confident although it fell flat on Bella's ears as she could detect the fear in his eyes.
"I don't give a flying fuck who you are," Bella spat out, advancing on the man.
"I'm Royce King the third!" he said firmly, as if that should hold some meaning to Bella.
"I don't give a fuck if you are the Queen of England," she retorted. "You disgust me,"
"You don't want to know what happens to you if you lay a hand on me. I'll have you prisoned," the man, Royce, said with narrowed eyes.
"Listen here buddy, I don't have anything to lose so I don't give a fuck," Bella insisted as she walked towards him, noticing how Royce's eyes darted nervously around, probably hoping his friends would come to his rescue. Unfortunately for him the rest of the group was scattered around the street in a bloody mess, all unconscious.
"She is to be my bride and-" he began but Bella did not let him finish.
His words spiked hot anger in her, and she lunged at him with the knife, plunging deep into his stomach. Royce cried out in pain and clutched his wound. Bella blinked in surprise as she watched the strain of blood spread out on his white shirt.
"You stabbed me!" Royce exclaimed in disbelief.
"No shit Sherlock," Bella spat out and took his moment of surprise and punched him squarely in the jaw. Royce hit the ground with a painful thud and Bella loomed over him, as he was sprawled on the ground and groaning in pain. Deciding he was dealt with at the moment she let out a breath.
A whimper of pain brought her back to reality and her eyes snapped to the woman on the ground. Bella sprang into action and fell to her knees in front of her, her eyes widening at the woman's condition.
Her legs and lower body were covered in blood, making Bella wince in compassion. Poor woman. She crouched nearer and looked at the woman's face for the first time. Anya drew in a sharp breath as she took in the woman's beautiful face.
In fact she looked younger than Bella had originally assumed and was more of a girl than a woman, perhaps around 18 or 19 years old? The girl's face was scrunched up in pain and eyes closed but it did not hide her beauty; high cheekbones, full lips, straight nose, well puckered eyebrows and long flowing blonde hair.
That however was not what captured Bella's attention, but the fact that she knew that face.
"Hey," Bella began lamely, not sure what to say in this situation.
The girl's eyes snapped open and Bella's breath was yet again stolen from her. Violet eyes, not topaz, that were filled with such fear, sorrow and pain met Bella's dark brown ones. The girl's eyes flashed a surprise as she took in Bella's face. There was just no way this was the same girl, was it?
"I'm not going to hurt you," Bella said in a soothing voice. The girl opened her mouth to speak but winced in pain and Bella assumed her vocal cords were badly damaged from all the screaming.
Bella's heart went out to her and she wanted to cry but she knew she had to hold it together. She would get her answers later, this was not the time.
"Don't speak," she said gently and paused in thought before pulling off her sweater and placing it on top of the girl's exposed lower body. She wanted to spare her for at least a small amount and give the girl back some dignity.
She knew with every fibre of her being that the girl was in fact dying. Bella had heard enough stories from her late father about similar cases.
"I'm Bella," she offered the girl needlessly, her heart tugging painfully at the broken look in the girl's eyes.
"I'm so sorry that this happened to you," Bella muttered. "I tried to come sooner but I was too far away," she added mournfully. The girl's eyebrows knotted in confusion.
"No one will harm you now, I made sure of it," Bella promised. The girl gave her a questioning look. "I took care of them,"
"Rosalie," the girl croaked out in a weak voice and Bella's mind froze. What were the chances of that? A doppelgänger with the exact same name? She had no rational explanation for this. Rosalie, while surprised by her presence, bore no recognition in her eyes.
"That's a beautiful name," she murmured instead and took Rosalie's hand in hers. "May I call you Rose?" she didn't know why she asked, maybe to fill the tense silence, but Rosalie nodded anyway.
"We need to get help," Bella raised her head and looked around the surrounding buildings. Did no one hear them? Or did they just ignore it?
Bella wanted to scream in frustration. Were people honestly so heartless that they just let this happen without any interruptions?
"I'll go find- "Bella's words trailed off when she felt Rosalie squeeze her hand and she look down. The girl was giving her such a fearful look and shaking her head weakly. Bella deflated at the action.
"Okay I'll stay," she agreed and was rewarded with a small smile, albeit weak, but it made her heart race nonetheless, just as it always did when the other Rosalie smiled at her.
"I'm not going anywhere," she promised the girl solemnly and squeezed her hand gently.
A shuffle of noise grabbed her attention and Bella glanced away from Rosalie only to see Royce stumbling away, holding his bleeding abdomen. A growl escaped Bella then and she was about to go after him when she felt a weak squeeze on her hand.
Bella sighed and looked down to meet Rosalie's worried eyes.
"It's just your fiancé," Bella bit out, eyes widening at her mistake when Rosalie's eyes flashed in panic and fear.
"Hey no worries it's okay, he's gone now," she added soothingly. Rosalie looked doubtful.
"I stabbed him so he's limping away like a fucking coward he is, he's not coming back," Bella promised in a strained voice, missing the way Rosalie's eyes flickered in surprise.
"This is a clusterfuck," The brunette mumbled to herself and desperately looked for a distraction, opting for stroking the back of Rosalie's hand with her thumb, not knowing if it was comforting for her own benefit or Rosalie's. What to do now?
A sudden sharp pain in her a face made her wince, the action clearly not gone unnoticed by Rosalie, who looked at her in worry. Bella couldn't help but to smile gently to the girl. How can someone gone through such a horrible ordeal, lying bleeding and dying on the ground and in obvious excruciating pain, worry about a stranger? Or maybe she wasn't a stranger? Either way, this girl was a treasure, Bella was sure of it.
"Don't worry about me, I'm okay," Bella assured her. Ironically enough, a familiar sensation washed over her. She grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut to fight off the nauseating feeling, accompanied with sharp pain.
This couldn't be more of an inconvenient time for her to travel back to her own time. When the worst had passed, she opened her eyes and looked down at Rosalie.
"Listen to me carefully," she told the girl seriously. "None of this was your fault so don't ever think that for a second. I cannot emphasise this enough. You did nothing wrong and this is not your fault. This was all on them," she closed her eyes for a moment.
"I can't explain it properly, it won't make much sense to you but I'm leaving in a moment," Bella drew in a shaky breath. "I swear this is something I can't control and if I could, I would stay here with you,"
She was about to say more when voices in the distant gathered her attention. Bella's head snapped up and she noticed two figures walking towards them.
"Hey!" She called out, immensely glad that someone was finally arriving. Maybe Rosalie's fate was not sealed just yet?
"Over here!" the two voices stopped talking and Bella could hear hurried steps instead. Another wave of pain hit her. "They will help you,"
"Don't go," Rosalie rasped out, her eyes wide and desperate and Bella choked down a sob, hating that she could not provide her with more comfort, a familiar feeling of powerlessness stabbing her heart.
"I'm so sorry my sweet Rose," Bella whispered brokenly and bent down to kiss Rosalie on the forehead gently. "Don't forget my words," another invisible blow and she fell backwards.
The last thing she remembered was Rosalie's tear-stricken face and the sound of hurried footsteps.
After that everything went black.
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-End of flashback-
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"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Bella breathed out shakily, before pausing on her choice of words.
"Okay that sounded dirtier than I intended," Rosalie's laugh was like calming balm. "You know what I mean," the brunette added with an eye roll.
"I…" Rosalie hesitated, her eyes wide and fearful, as if she was afraid of Bella leaving if she told her the truth. The expression tugged at Bella's heartstrings. She had seen that same face on Rosalie but under graver circumstances. It was enough to make her start talking.
"I'm a time traveler," she blurted out, wincing when she realised she had declared that too loudly. Luckily everyone were too far away to listen in on their conversation.
"That…" Rosalie's eyebrow knotted. "…that actually makes a lot of sense," Bella huffed out a laugh and pushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes.
"I guess," she offered lamely, not sure what to say. "Quid pro quo Clarice," Bella cleared her throat.
"Silence of the lambs, really?" a small smile curved Rosalie's lips.
"You're stalling," Bella observed knowingly. The blonde sighed heavily.
"I am,"
"Surely it can't be that bad?" Bella cocked her head. Rosalie let out a sardonic laugh.
"Rosalie?"
"I'm a vampire," the self-hatred in the tone was practically dripping.
"I…wait what?" Bella blinked in surprise.
"Yeah," Rosalie swallowed thickly. "I wouldn't have told you under any other circumstances, but this is definitely a special case. I understand if you stop associating with us, after all any sane person would. I just ask you to not breathe a word about it to anyone else. There are laws-"
"Whoa, Rosalie, calm down," Bella gently touched the blonde's arms, her head reeling at the new information. "Just… give me a minute here," Rosalie's mouth snapped close.
"I'm not afraid if that's what you're getting at," Rosalie just stared at her incredulously. "This is just quite the plot twist," Bella laughed with a small shake of her head.
"That's… your reaction?" Rosalie's expression was the epitome of disbelief.
"I just told you that I'm a time travel, it's not as if you too belonging to the supernatural world is a stretch. I'm just a bit confused here," Bella admitted.
"Confusion is understandable," the vampire agreed solemnly. "It's a lot to take in,"
"Yeah," Bella nodded, before pausing. "No. Well yes but not what I mean,"
"What are you talking about?" This time Rosalie looked confused.
"I just thought all of you guys had red eyes. Are there different types of vampires or something?" Bella wondered. Rosalie looked at her, absolutely gob smacked. "What? It's a legitimate question," Bella frowned.
"Red eyes?" Rosalie echoed faintly. "You've met a vampire before?" her tone was slightly panicked now.
"No one as nice as you," a small grin tugged at Bella's lips.
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To be continued...
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