Chapter 7 – Scared
EPOV
Damien had the unbelievable nerve to ask out my girl? What the hell was he thinking? Well, I could find that out. He'd better not lay one finger on her. My control was slipping as I watched Bella get into Damien's car. Charlie waved as they drove off. He was concerned for Bella, but he was happy she was getting out of the house. I was going to the prom to watch her. Dances were never something Bella liked. She endured them for me. It was months ago, but I remembered every ploy I was coming up with to get Bella to go to the prom with me. All I had to do was call her 'Bell' or 'my lucky charm' and she would have said yes.
At the prom, Bella barely danced; she spoke with her friends, including Alice. She got Jasper to go with her and he proved another way for me to see her through detailed eyes. Bella looked amazing in her dress. Blue was my favorite color on her. Damien stayed close to her and he didn't pressure her to dance. Well, at least he was being nice to her. She looks really hot tonight. I didn't like the tone of his thoughts, but he was a crass person.
Bella and Alice spent a lot of time talking over the blasting music. "Alice, I got into Dartmouth, with a scholarship." Alice bounced in her seat, "That is great, Bella. We could start shopping for what we need to live on campus." Alice was planning on going to Dartmouth with Jasper, while the rest of us went to Canada. I would go to visit, to check on Bella.
"You want to get out of here?" Damien asked Bella; she did. From the trees and shadows, I watched as they went to the parking lot and got into his car. Bella waved to Alice as she walked out. This is going to be so good, Damien thought. What was he talking about? Watch it, man. Don't make me kill you.
I followed as he drove her away from the school, but not toward her house. Bella noticed the direction too. Damien glanced over to her, "I just need to fill up my tank." Damien pulled into the gas station that was clearly closed. Everyone knew the gas station closed early on the weekends. "Damien, it's closed. Can you make it till the morning?" Bella asked. Her voice was so innocent as she looked out the dark window. Her eyes passed over where I stood, but she didn't see me. As pale as I was, if she did, she'd think I was a ghost.
Damien patted her arm, "No, I can't wait any longer," he said playing a pattern in her skin. She pulled her arm away, "Fine. What do you want to do?" Her tone quickly changed. She knew something was wrong. Through his eyes, he was looking at her in a very crude way, This is the night. She has been teasing me since she got here. Damien draped his arm over her shoulders, "Bella, what I want is you," he leaned closer to her.
She pulled back, "What? You can't be serious." Her hands pushed at his chest, getting herself away from him. He smiled at her, "I'm very serious. I never did anything because you were with Edward, but now that he's out of the picture…." She gasped and smacked him across the face, "How could you say that?" Her face came back into his line of sight and he was mad. My eyes saw that he was ready to hit her back. Bella's head hit the glass of the window and I saw it perfectly across the dark lot.
Without thinking, my body darted across the gas station and ripped off Damien's door. Before he could respond, I pulled him out of the car and threw him to the ground. The idea of crushing his skull was very tempting. It was too dark for either of them to see me do it. Bella gasped loudly and her heart beat frantically in her chest.
Forgetting about this traitor, I reached into the car and pulled Bella out. Her warm body was against my chest as I took her into my arms. Holding my breath, I ran towards my house. Bella's heart was beating wildly as I ran with her. She must be afraid, but at least she was safe. I dared to look down at her and her eyes were closed. She was breathing unsteadily, clutching at her purse. When we reached the house, I opened the door and placed her on the couch.
BPOV
I don't know what happened. First, I was readying to punch Damien, the next he was being pulled from the car and I was flying through the forest. Everything was so fast. Something cold and hard was holding me and the scariest thing of all, I didn't feel a heartbeat. The cold air whipped around me, freezing my whole body. There was no relief until everything became warmer.
My body was placed on something big; a couch? I looked around me to see that I was in a house. In the dark, I could make out the furniture that looked familiar. Next to me, stood a lamp, but I didn't dare to turn on the lights. My breaths were coming out short and quick. I felt like I was on the brink of hyperventilation.
My eyes adjusted enough to the dark, that I saw someone standing in the dark. I want to scream because whoever it was, he was standing too still. It wasn't normal. I willed my fingers to move and reached for the lamp. The light flicked on and my mouth fell open.
When I saw who it was, I screamed and jumped from the couch. This wasn't possible. This wasn't real. I'm dreaming, no, this was a nightmare. The stranger with the oh-so familiar face just stared at me. His face was almost apologetic as his eyes followed me. I moved slowly around the couch, but some distance between us. If this stranger was the one who brought me here, then he could cross the room in a blink of an eye.
He was staring into my eyes, which was making me shiver. This was not real. This guy looked exactly like Edward. He had the same build, the same bronze hair, but his eyes weren't green and his skin was snow white. They were blood red. I couldn't look away from his intense gaze, scared of what might happen if I did. I stepped back and my back was pressed against the wall by the fireplace.
The stranger stayed incredibly still, not saying or doing anything. My breaths were longer, but still staggered. We stood there, staring at each other. Who was this? My teeth were chattering, but I tried to control myself. "Wha… Who are you?" I finally asked. The stranger looked to the floor, "Are you okay?" I took in a long breath, he sounded like Edward too, but his voice had a bell's chime to it. He looked up to me and his eyes were on me again. I couldn't speak, so I just nodded.
The stranger took a step towards me and I cringed. My palms were hard against the wall, looking for something real to hold on to. The stranger raised his hands towards me, "Bella, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to see if Damien hurt you," he hissed the name. I gasped, "Who are you? Why do you look like that?" I almost began to cry. He sounded like Edward, looked like him and he almost sounded like him.
He sighed, "I knew it. I should have stayed away, but I had to get you away from him. He would have hurt you." The stranger turned away from me, "I knew you wouldn't love me like this," he said to himself. Love him? I only loved Edward and no matter who this person was, he wasn't my Edward.
"Love you?" my voice was a choked whisper, "I don't even know you." The stranger turned back to face me, "I know. You don't know me anymore. I'm a monster, who could never deserve you." He took another step toward me and I inched back, "Bella, it's me. It's Edward." I shook my head wildly, "No, Edward died. I had to let him go. How dare you?" I shrieked. He pinched his eyes closed, "Bella, honestly, it's me," he gestured to himself, "I am Edward. I am the same man who told you he loved you." Would this nightmare never end? I barely had Edward in life and this person mocks him in death.
I exhaled deeply, "What is it tonight? People mock me because Edward is gone. I don't know what sick game this is, whoever, whatever you are, this has to end," tears began to spill from my eyes. I closed my eyes, trying to push away the growing pain. There was a sudden gust of wind and I opened my eyes to see the imposter standing in front of me. I gasped and fell against the wall, hitting my head. He stepped back, "I'm sorry, but you know I hate seeing you cry."
He reached out to me. My body launched itself to the other side of the living room, "Stay away from me." My breathing was harsh, "This is some sick joke. Why did you bring me here?" Looking around the room, I realized we were in Edward's house. Who was this guy? He looked back at me, "Bella, please. I can prove I'm Edward. I wrote you a letter telling that I have loved you for months." I didn't let any emotion show on my face from that fact. He quickly pointed to my hand, "I told you I wanted you to have that ring, because I wanted you in my life forever." I raised an eyebrow and shook my head, "This is a trick."
He tilted his head to the side and looked around the room. "Here, I'll prove it." He walked to the closet by the front door and pulled out my jacket, "You left this here on the night I won the playoffs. This is your favorite jacket, because I gave it to you for Christmas. And, in the package with the jacket was a framed picture of you and me, which you keep on your bedside table."
My shoulders slumped, how did he know all this? I shook my head, "This isn't real. I'm dreaming. You're not here. I'm not here. I'm in bed." He dropped my jacket, "Bella, the day of the accident, my mother and I left our estates to you. When you began to drive my car, my Debussy CD was in the player and I left my gray jacket in the car. You said you loved that jacket on me." I looked away; that was all true. When Edward wore his grey jacket, he looked mysterious and I found it so appealing.
I bit my lip and took a careful step toward him, "Edward?" I whispered. He nodded. "Edward Anthony Masen II?" He smiled, showing his sharp white teeth. I took a step back and my eyes widened. No, how is this possible? "Bell, it is me." My knees began to tremble hearing my nickname on his lips.
He took out a phone, which was exactly like Edward's. The keys toned as he pressed some buttons. He laid the phone on the coffee table, "Just look at that," he pointed to the phone and stepped back. He raised his hands in a surrendering fashion.
I picked up the phone and saw the picture. It was me, Edward and his mother. We took the picture on Mother's Day last year, when he and I surprised her with a trip to Seattle for the day. I looked up at him, "How did you get this?" The stranger claiming to be Edward sighed, "We asked someone to take the picture for us. I used that picture for when my mom called," he covered his mouth and turned away. "Your mother? Elizabeth?" He looked back at me, "Yeah, B."
Could this be Edward? "If you're really Edward, what happened to you? Why did you come back now? You were declared dead weeks ago, where have you been?" I needed to know. If he was alive all this time, why didn't he come sooner? Did he know what all those weeks did to me, believing he was dead?
He grimaced, "I can't tell you. I couldn't come back. And you can't tell anyone you saw me." I scoffed loudly, "Not like anyone would believe me." I eyed the door and he followed my gaze. He exhaled, "Bella, you have my number. You can call me anytime you need me. But if you don't want to see me again, I'll completely understand." The phone slid out of my trembling fingers onto the table, "Right. Can I go now?" He nodded and crossed the room, moving away from the front door. I walked towards the door; my luck was still holding. My eyes remained on him and I felt the doorknob. The door opened slowly, while I still stared. "I love you, Bella. No matter, what or where I am, I'll always love you." I nodded and ran into the night.
The Volvo stood in the driveway. I asked Charlie to drop it off a few days ago. Ignoring the speed limit, I drove home. I was too scared to look through my windows. The night was pitch black, so I couldn't seeing anything. That was both a comforting and terrifying thing. The porch light was on as I slammed the brakes in front of my house.
Mustering up my last bit of courage, I ran into the house. Charlie was snoring on the couch as I locked the door. "Hey Dad," I yelled as I ran up the stairs, not caring if he heard me or not. I went to my window to close and lock it. My body staggered back to my bed. This night didn't happen. Edward was not there.
My breaths were short and quick again, almost hyperventilating. I trembled in the middle of my bed. On the nightstand, I turned away his picture, not being able to look at his face. It took me almost two hours to calm myself.
I finally undressed and showered. The warm water was soothing, but nothing could push away the memories of tonight. I went to bed with all my lights on. Whoever that stranger was, he looked just like Edward. Was it really him? He knew too many things about us. No, my Edward was gone, but that imposter said he loved me. No, it was a trick. The man I loved was gone and that imposter wasn't him.
