A/N: OMG, I cannot believe how many people reviewed/alerted this story!! I seriously like almost died when I opened my email and there was like over 30 alert/review emails for this one story!! I've never gotten this many reviews/alerts for a first chapter in, like, ever!! OK, I'm calmer now, LOL.
In response to some confusion, this is an AU story, in that the girl in the insane asylum is NOT, I repeat NOT, Bella. She is an OC, completely from my own mind. I toyed around with the idea of having Bella be the girl Edward falls in love with, but in the end I decided my vision of the character would deviate too far from the Bella we all know and love. You'll find out more about the girl in this chapter.
Song for this chapter: Become by the Goo Goo Dolls
Alternate song: Crush by David Archuleta
Chapter 2
The next morning, the girl's inner voice was resonating in my head like the chorus of some incredibly catchy song. It was driving me insane. Why couldn't I get her voice out of my head? More importantly, why couldn't I get her out of my head? Why was she any different from the thousands of other asylum residents I had killed over the years?
At work, I tried to avoid her, not trusting myself to go anywhere near her room. Unfortunately, Jack, being my boss, was harder to avoid. He caught me by the shoulder as I was loaded down with cleaning supplies.
"Edward. You have a minute?" It was a command, cleverly phrased to sound like a question. Reluctantly, I stopped. I looked Jack straight in the eye, and immediately wished I hadn't. His eyes were blazing with fury, and his face was an alarming shade of purple. I maintained my calm facade and waited for him to spit out what I already knew from his thoughts and his face: he was angry that I hadn't killed her yesterday, when I had the chance.
"Edward." he repeated, and his voice was unusually calm. Too calm. "I requested that you take care of the resident in room 321 yesterday, did I not?"
My mouth was overflowing with venom. I was dying to bite him, change him, and see him go through the agony he deserved. I tried to keep up the stone facade as I answered through clenched teeth.
"Yes. I believe you did."
"Well then." Jack said triumphantly, as if he had proved something incredibly difficult. "Why did you not do your job, then?" I opened my mouth to speak, and then closed it again. It was futile, whatever I said. Jack was already convinced that I was plotting against him. His paranoia was really quite intriguing at times.
"Do your job, Edward. And do it today. Or I'll do it for you." He turned to leave.
"Wait." The word was out of my mouth before I'd even realized I'd said it.
Jack turned to face me, a leering, gleeful smile on his face. He thought he had me cornered. He thought I was going to listen to him, kill the girl like the good little worker I was supposed to be. Well, he was in for a shocker.
"What's...wrong with the girl in room 321?" Jack paused, his expression unreadable and his thoughts dissolving into a mass of confusion. Finally, he spoke.
"Her name is Nicole DeMoire. She suffers from severe cerebral palsy. She can't talk. She's an idiot. An imbecile. A retard." Jack spit out the last few sentences with such malice that I would have been afraid had I not had about a foot of height on him. My entire body ached with fury. I knew the girl I had met yesterday was nowhere near retarded-on the contrary, she was extremely bright. But I knew Jack would never understand. He automatically equated physical disability with loss of intelligence, and I pitied him for it.
"She's a waste of human life. One of God's greatest mistakes. She doesn't deserve to be alive. And that is why you need to kill her. Kill her now. Today." And with that, Jack left, leaving me standing there in shock, wondering what in the world I was supposed to do now.
I couldn't stay away. I went back to her room, with a broom and dustpan in hand, although by now it seemed a little ridiculous, as I knew that I wouldn't be doing any sweeping. Instead, upon entering the room, I gazed at her with such a passion that it made her uncomfortable. I couldn't figure out why she was so beautiful. She would have been fairly hideous to anyone else who looked at her. Her legs and arms were contorted into horrible positions, pulled there by years of neglect and spastic muscles. Her body fought against the restraints in the too-small ancient wheelchair. It looked incredibly painful. But her hair was the most amazing shade of chestnut brown, and her eyes were even more piercing than I had remembered, and suddenly I understood. I needed to step back and look at the whole person, not just the parts that seemed ugly. Finally, after what seemed a lifetime, I regained control enough to say something.
"Hello, Nicole." She didn't say anything, merely gazed back at me with such intensity that I was momentarily taken aback. Her thoughts became too scattered for me to make out much of them, but at last, she spoke.
"You've...come...to kill...me." It was a statement, not a question, and I could tell it took a great deal of effort for her to say it. Her speech was labored, and it took several minutes for me to make sense of what she'd said.
"I thought you couldn't speak." I mumbled by way of an answer.
"It's...hard. It's...easier...for me...to not...talk. It...takes me...a long...time." She struggled through three sentences so much that I could immediately see why she chose not to speak.
"You've...come...to kill...me." she repeated, and I squirmed with guilt. Never before had one of my victims been so aware of their impending death. But, then again, never before had I felt so conflicted.
"Yes. I've come to kill you." She smiled slightly, a spastic grimace that showed her yellowed teeth.
"They've...done it...before. I knew...I'd be...next soon." I stepped back, unsure of what to do.
"I don't want to kill you." I whispered, terrified that with one wrong move, one tiny loss of control, I would kill her.
"Then...don't. You...have...a choice." Her insight was astounding, and quite terrifying.
"No. I don't. Not really." If I killed her, things would settle back into place and my family and I would be safe. If I didn't, our secret, our family, our entire existence, was in jeopardy.
"You...do." Her voice grew higher and more insistent. In the distance, a door slammed shut, and she startled, her body jerking against those horrible straps that kept her pinned to her wheelchair like some sort of captured animal. I couldn't watch it anymore. It was too horrible.
"I have to go." And with that, I fled, feeling foolish and weak for not being able to kill this girl, who looked like one gust of wind would do the job for me.
When I got home, my whole family was already seated around the table waiting for me. Alice had seen what was happening, obviously, and Carlisle had decided it would be best to have a family meeting.
"Well?" I asked Alice grumpily as I came through the door. "What am I going to do?" She looked at me and smiled brightly. Damn Alice and her perpetual cheerfulness.
"I don't know. The possibilities are fluctuating by the second. There's a distinct chance you'll kill her, but, then again, there's a possibility you won't. I honestly can't tell." She could've been talking about the coming of the apocalypse and she would've sounded like she was talking about nothing more serious than the weather.
"Well, Edward." Carlisle said softly. "It is your choice. If you choose to leave her alive, we won't be able to remain in Forks, obviously. But we will move on for you."
"Speak for yourself." Rosalie muttered, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Rosalie..." Carlisle said warningly. "Do not forget, we have moved on for you before. You should extend the same courtesy to Edward." Rosalie opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a sudden gasp. Alice went rigid in her chair, her face as pale as moonlight. A low, guttural groan escaped as she rocked back and forth, clearly in agony. The rest of us watched with bated breath, fearful of what this latest vision might reveal. Finally, her face regained its color and she opened her eyes to find us all staring at her expectantly.
"Edward." she said, and her voice was infused with something I'd never heard before from her-pure, unadulterated terror. "The girl is in danger. You have to get her out of here."
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I've been crazy busy with school and things. But rest assured, I know where this story is going and I should have the next chapter up as soon as possible! Please review!