Chapter Ten

Ever since Bella saw that red-haired vampire swimming towards her in the ocean right off the cliffs, whenever she would notice that same shade of red, she'd flinch. She'd think it was the vampire coming back but when she turned it would only be someone's red shirt. Or it would be a woman's lipstick. Little things that let her know she would always keep herself on her toes. She would never be safe from that vampire until after she, herself, would become a vampire.

She promised herself she would tell the Volturi about this female vampire. She would tell them, and they would hunt down her and kill her. She didn't want to start her time in Italy having to worry about the blood thirsty vampire. She hoped she could get to the Volturi first, so they could make sure to find her and not have any other innocent victims.

Bella was at school one day, in the cafeteria with the rest of her friends, and was eating one of the generic sandwiches you could buy in the deli section of the cafeteria. It wasn't anything special, it was just the first thing she had found. She didn't see a reason why she should be picky about food, especially when she would end up becoming a vampire months from now.

She was dismissing Mike as he was telling the others he had tried to take a year off of college so he could go travel the world like Bella was only for a reaction opposite of what he wanted.

He ended up being told he wouldn't make it out there by himself, and they didn't have enough insurance in their lives for him to be able not to go missing. Tyler was laughing at how Mike's own parents didn't think their son would do good when traveling the world by himself. Angela gave him a small smile, one of reassurance but it was obvious Angela knew that would be what would most likely happen.

Bella looked away from her sandwich, her eyes widening when she saw a figure standing outside of the cafeteria doors. It was her, dressed in a torn-up sweater, dark washed jeans and barefoot. There was mud caked upon her face and her eyes were a stunning red. She had the side of her lips curled upwards, as though she was pleased, she was indeed seeing Bella in the cafeteria.

Bella almost expected the vampire to kick open the cafeteria doors and head towards her. People would be shocked at what was happening, but it would be too late for them to run before she would lunge at Bella. She would sink her teeth into the teenager's throat and make sure to drain her dry, breaking her bones at the same time. She would make sure Bella would feel as much pain as possible, combined with the venom that would go through her body.

"Bella?"

"Ahh!"

Silence.

Bella's hands that held the sandwich dropped the said sandwich. Her hands were shaking and there were tears that were falling down the sides of her face. Her heart was racing so harshly, and it felt as though she could feel it press as hard as it could inside her–begging to be let out. Her mouth was open, and she hadn't even realized she had been the one who had screamed.

"Bella! Oh my god, Bella! Calm down! Get the nurse!" Angela instructed, her voice letting everyone know it would be best if they all listened to her. Bella still kept her eyes on the vampire, only able to say one word, "v-vampire," before she passed out.

Bella's eyes fluttered open, though she regretted it. She hadn't known how much time had passed but she was in the nurse's office at school. She was at least glad they hadn't sent her to the medical clinic after all. She didn't like being there, she didn't feel as though she was innocent there. She had been the one who had their best doctor end up leaving town, because his foster son decided he wanted to break up with her. If she kept her memories they would have stayed, and if they stayed, then they wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.

As she was being examined, Bella went through the motions. She was only passed out for ten minutes, at most. There wasn't anything that was concerning about her, because when she went limp and fell to the side Mike had caught her. She would have needed to be sent to the clinic if she had fallen on her head but for once she was grateful Mike had been around. His crush and concern on her ended up helping her in the end.

She didn't tell anyone about the reasoning why she had passed out. The last thing anyone needed to hear was how she had seen a vampire standing outside of the cafeteria doors, her crimson eyes radiating with hunger and hatred. It was obvious the vampire was ready to strike when it was possible, which terrified Bella more than she wanted to admit.

It wasn't until late April, that Bella was greeted with Jacob standing outside of Charlie's house, pacing back and forth. Bella wearily got out of her truck and went up to him, knowing it was best to not let him see her aggravated at him being here. She fought the urge to smile as she remembered Charlie shooting Jacob in his wolf form.

"Jacob, what are you doing here? I thought I told you I didn't want to see you again," Bella carefully said, only for Jacob to run his fingers through his long locks.

"There's a vampire that has been going in and out of the reservation. I wanted to ask you if you've seen her," Jacob informed her, making Bella shake her head. Jacob narrowed his eyes before he added, "I know you enough to know when you're lying, Bella. You've seen her before, haven't you?"

Bella took a deep breath before she pulled up the sleeve on her left arm, to reveal the bite mark on her wrist. Jacob's eyes widened before he growled, "I'm going to kill that bitch."

Bella shook her head.

"It wasn't her. Her mate, James, was the one who had bit me. Apparently, Edward had sucked the venom out of me to make sure I wouldn't turn into a vampire. That vampire who tried to attack me back at Edward's house was a part of that coven."

"And where the fuck is this, James?"

Jacob demanded her this with trembling in his voice, enough for Bella to take a step backwards. She didn't trust herself being anywhere near him to attack her. She also didn't like how he was being quite loud; the yelling was doing more damage right now than either of them realized.

"They killed him."

"At least they did one thing right," Jacob grumbled, though it seemed as though he was put out on even that. He seemed as though he wanted to find James too and murder him. He looked at her again before he reached forward and took her hands in his.

"Jacob let me go, you know I don't want you touching me," Bella pleaded, which made Jacob tighten his hands in hers when she had said this. She hoped he wouldn't break her hands, that would have been a nightmare, especially when she hadn't even finished high school yet.

"I'm going to make this right, Bella. I'm going to find that bitch and I'm going to kill her. Maybe then you will end up loving me."

Jacob had a proud look upon his rustic red, handsome to some face. He had so much happiness at the thought of Bella realizing he was her hero and her loving him.

"That's not going to happen, Jacob. I told you before, I don't love you. Besides, I'm leaving after graduation," Bella told him, carefully, in order to try not to make him even angrier. He frowned and folded his arms against his chest, as though he would have expected better from her.

"Don't look at me like that, Jacob. I'm being honest and serious. I'm leaving after graduation, and I'm not planning on coming back," Bella added, only for Jacob to chuckle some in amusement, as though he thought this was becoming funnier the more, she said that.

"Of course you're leaving for college, but you'll come back. You won't abandon me, and you will not abandon Charlie," Jacob remarked, letting her know there was no way around it.

"You cannot and will not tell me what to do, Jacob Black!" Bella hissed out, knowing she didn't like how he was dismissing her. He was trying to make her feel terrible by going after her heart's desire but she wouldn't let him make her feel bad.

"I will tell you what to do since you've obviously lost your mind!"

Jacob roared, his bones started to pop and before Bella could react he burst forward into his wolf form. Bella stumbled backwards, as she remembered being attacked by him not so long ago. Charlie had been her saving grace, since he had always made sure to have a handheld gun or shotgun close to him due to his line of work.

Jacob started to stalk forward, as she went behind her truck and tried to keep a shield away from her and him. Behind her she could hear one of Charlie's neighbors coming off of his screened-in porch, before rushing back into his house. Bella could only hope he wasn't going to be stupid and get himself injured trying to save her.

Then the screen door burst open and before Bella could turn around the gun shot off and went through one side of Jacob's head to the other. Bella screamed as blood splattered–some of it landing on her along with the truck and onto the gravel driveway. She peered down at the wolf, as it fell to the ground in a heap, obviously dead.

Bella had never imagined something like this would happen. Her childhood best, who wasn't really her best friend anymore, was shot through the skull. Of course, since he was a wolf shifter and had gone to attack her as a wolf it would make sense, he would have this injury. She just never thought Jacob would do whatever he wanted to prove himself to her and then go to attack her when she wouldn't listen to him–she'd end up fearing him instead of loving him even more.

Charlie's neighbor came up to Bella and began to ask her questions. She couldn't dare to hear what he was asking her, her eyes were caught on the naked figure of Jacob Black in front of her. Half of his head was missing and it was more than disturbing.

Without thinking she turned and vomited, some on the man's shoes but also on the gravel. She had never seen something like this before. It was almost as though she had decided to sneak into Charlie's office and look through all the homicide crime victim photographs. Only it was a lot worse, here, because not only did half of Jacob's brain seem to splatter on the gravel, on her truck, and on her, but it also happened to be because he was someone she knew.

Bella didn't know how long she stood there, but her neighbor had gone ahead and called the cops. Charlie had come himself, since it was his front yard, but he wasn't allowed to go anywhere near the naked body of Jacob Black. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Bella, and they sat at the back of the ambulance that had been called for her.

Despite him not wanting to, Charlie knew he had to take his daughter to the police station so she could give him a witness report. She obviously hadn't shot Jacob since she didn't know how to use a gun, and if she did know how to use a gun, she would have probably dislocated her shoulder. He also knew she would never want to hurt Jacob, he was her god brother after all.

Bella was sitting on one of the plastic chairs in the worn-out hallway of the police station outside of Charlie's office when she could hear yelling. She had a blanket draped over her and a mug of cheap coffee they must have brewed with the coffee machine one of the cops had donated for the station when they had upgraded. It was disgusting and bitter, there was no true taste that was pleasing, then again Bella wasn't a coffee person. The blanket helped though, it was as though Charlie was hugging her still and telling her she would be alright in the end.

Billy Black came rolling down the carpeted hallway, fire blazing across his features. He dismissed Bella, having decided he would confront Charlie first. Bella didn't want to imagine what it would be like when Billy would enter the chief-of-police's office so he could tell him he wanted to have Charlie's neighbor persecuted for his son's murder.

Then again, Jacob had been in his wolf form when he had gone to throw himself at Bella. He had disobeyed the tribe and pack, by revealing himself to Bella.

Eventually, Billy left, and Charlie came out of his office with tired lines underneath his eyes. He came up to his daughter and bent down so he was in front of her. He reached his hands out and took hers in his. Bella gave him a small smile, it didn't reach her eyes. Probably because she knew the last thing she needed to do was smile at all.

"Billy says that he won't press charges against my neighbor because it falls into self-defense. There's also the fact that my neighbor is currently being checked to make sure his mental health is alright. He's claiming that a wolf had gone to attack you only for him to shoot him and it turned back into Jacob," Charlie informed her, his voice soft and quiet.

Bella could tell Charlie had this oddness to his eyes and his voice. He knew of the legends and myths of the wolf shifters, and she could tell he didn't want to believe Jacob was a wolf shifter who in the end tried to attack Bella in his wolf form. It would mean all of it was real, and he wouldn't be able to deal with the knowledge Jacob had used his wolf form to attack Bella instead of trying to protect her.

It was the beginning of the next week when Bella dressed in her nicest funeral dress, a simple black dress, and wore black flats. She had her hair down and straight. There was natural makeup that graced her features and she had her fingers playing in and out of each other, signs that she didn't know if she should even be attending the funeral because she inevitably caused Jacob's death.

Charlie was dressed in his nicest suit and he had his hair gelled down. His eyes were red and puffy, signs he was still mourning the death of his god son. He also must have been mourning the fact Billy had lost his only son. The only saving grace for Charlie was the knowledge Billy hadn't lost an only child, he had twin daughters (Rebecca and Rachel) who were a year older than Bella.

Arriving at the funeral site, Bella got out of the cruiser and followed after the mass of tribespeople that were heading to where Jacob would be buried. Bella noticed how they were looking at her, letting her know they knew the truth. They knew she had angered Jacob enough that he had ended up turning into his wolf and got murdered.

Bella reached the site, noting how both Rebecca and Rachel were standing next to each other and holding each other.

Rachel had come home from Washington State University for the funeral, while Rebecca had come home from Hawaii where she had married a Samoan surfer. He wasn't here, so he must not have been able to come to the funeral (then again Rebecca was such a strong willed woman she must have not wanted her husband to be here and see her brother being buried).

Bella observed Charlie heading to the sisters so he could hug them and give his condolences. The sisters gave him hugs and reassurances they would be okay in the end. They adored their god father, but they didn't want to see him again due to their baby brother being dead.

Eventually Jacob's body was carried to the funeral site, he was wrapped in shawls and blankets–a traditional Native American funeral. He had been washed and prepared by his own family members, as was another tradition. He would be buried with some of his favorite possessions (Bella could tell one of the items ended up being a photograph of his late mother, Sarah Black).

As Jacob was being buried, Bella felt a prickling behind her head. She turned, noticing how Jacob's pack was gathered together and they were giving her angered looks. Sam Uley, who happened to be the alpha, was glaring at her with the most heat–allowing her to know he was not going to forgive her for Jacob's death. Bella counted how he was surrounded by nine pack members, all of them ranging from fourteen to their twenties.

Once the funeral was over, Bella peered down at the packed down dirt. She only tore her attention away from the packed down dirt when the first drops of rain began to fall. She sighed as she realized of course this was happening, it would rain after a funeral of someone she knew. She knew she needed to move away from the packed dirt but she didn't feel any need to do so.

The rain stopped hitting her and glancing up she noticed how there was an umbrella above her, shielding her from the rain. She turned, her eyes landing on Charlie. She gave him a gentle smile and allowed him to place his hand along the middle of her back before he led her towards his cruiser. The ground was soaking wet now and she was glad she hadn't worn high heels, or else she would have tripped and fallen onto the muddy, wet grass and ruined her dress.

"Does Billy blame me for Jacob's death?"

Bella couldn't help but ask Charlie, once they had gotten into his cruiser. He turned to her, frowning before shaking his head.

"Of course not, Bells. It was a freak accident, you're not the one who had shot him. My neighbor was, and I must admit I'm surprised Billy forgave him for shooting Jacob. I know I wouldn't forgive anyone if the same thing had happened to you."

No.

Bella wasn't going to be shot.

She was instead going to abandon him; she would leave for her year long trip around the world. She'd promise him she'd be home right before she would start college at Dartmouth. He'd think he would drive her to the university and help her put her things into her dorm room before seeing her again for the holidays.

Bella wouldn't graduate college and eventually meet a nice human man to settle down with and have children with him. She wouldn't have Charlie watch her children grow. She wasn't going to watch him grow old and gray and sit by his deathbed. She wasn't going to do any of those things.

Instead, Bella would leave him and go to Volterra. She would meet her mate, Alec Volturi, and she would become a vampire. She would never age, she'd be in the company of the vampire royals of the vampiric world. She'd drink blood and love her mate unconditionally and even when the world would end, she would still be with him.

Arriving back at the house, Bella got out of the cruiser and entered the house. She was glad the rain had washed away the blood from the gravel driveway. She didn't want to look out her window and see the blood and brain matter that was spread across the gravel driveway. No, she actually did see it if she looked at that driveway long enough, her mind going back to the actual scene.

She'd long since kept her curtains closed to her bedroom window, knowing she would be closing the curtains every time Charlie would open them. He'd been thinking she'd be depressed but mainly she kept them closed because she would be haunted by the image of Jacob having his head basically blown off by their neighbor.

The house was cold when she went into the house, enough for Bella to shiver as she went through the living room and to the stairs that went up to the second floor of the house. Charlie trailed behind her, he was going to change out of his funeral suit and into his lounge clothes. Bella on the other hand knew she would be sitting on her bed and wishing she was already in Volterra because that would be a whole lot easier than going through what she was going through right now.

Bella frowned when she entered her bedroom, she went to the window and went to close the curtains when she noticed how Charlie had opened them again. She froze when she saw that red-haired vampire standing in the driveway with a sinister smirk on her lips. It was as though she was liking how she was haunting Bella, lingering around her, and making sure Bella would slowly lose her mind before she would strike her.

Bella didn't understand why the vampire hadn't gone ahead and killed her. She should have gone ahead and put her out of her misery…but then again it might be because of the fact the wolves came into town now, since there was no treaty between the wolves and the Cullens right now. The Cullens weren't here so there was no reason why they should stay on their land.

In fact, Bella swore she could hear howling in the distance, enough for the vampire to snap her head in the direction of where the wolves were. She had such an irritation to her, since it was obvious every time, she would get close to Bella the wolves would end up catching her scent.

"Bella?"

Bella turned away from the window and shut the curtains, before her eyes landed on Charlie. He had already changed into his lounge clothes. She saw that he was dancing on the edge of coming into the bedroom and when she didn't tell him to stop, he did so. He sat down onto her bed, and she went and sat down next to him.

"Do you think you'd be interested in going and seeing a therapist?"

What?

"No."

Charlie frowned this time, not liking how she had dismissed him almost immediately. She quickly added, "It wouldn't be worth it. I'm leaving to travel, remember? I don't have time after a month of therapy to do so."

Charlie opened his mouth, and she knew he was going to say he didn't want her to travel around the world after all that happened. She understood him: she had lost her memories, ended up losing her mom due to a cancerous brain tumor, and lost her god brother.

"I'm fine, Dad. I promise. If I decide to change my mind, I'll let you."

Charlie nodded his head, though she could tell he didn't seem pleased with her not giving therapy a chance. If only he knew therapy wouldn't prevent her from becoming a vampire.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: man, this chapter was a pain in the butt to write. I didn't have much inspiration, but I am DETERMINED to finish this fanfiction! I have slimmed the fanfiction down so there will be 25 chapters. In 2 chapters Bella will meet Alec! The Edward/Jane ship is in the background and not much happens because it's obviously Jane and Edward we're talking about. They aren't just immediately getting together.

anyway, Twilight doesn't belong to me

-Emmy

edited: 4/13/2022