Disclaimer- All recognizable characters belong to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer, whereas all new characters belong to me.

Chapter 12- Darkness

" Noleen? Noleen, come on wake up." Ash said to me. Her voice was quiet, but there. Soon Annebelle faded away and I opened my eyes. Things were fuzzy at first, but almost instantly cleared. Ash and Mike were both kneeling over me, not bothering to mask their concern. I sat up, my head spun and I caught myself on the back of the seat before I fell. I was still in the car. We were at the airport. I looked around, everything was fine. Just fine. I touched the side of my face, I could still feel Annebelle's presence. It was nerve-wracking. " Are you okay?" Annebelle asked, her voice worried. I shook my head, slowly regaining my strength.

" Yeah, I'm fine. Just. . . A bad dream is all." I replied. Ash growled, her voice low and venomous.

" Was it Annebelle?"

" Yeah, it was." Mike shook his head and held out his hand, wanting to help me out of the car. I pushed it away and hopped out, shaking my whole body around. I felt like I'd been weighed down, like I was suddenly wearing cement shoes or something. I held out my hands and thought hard, smiling when sparks of fire shot out. A burst of energy ran through me and then I was okay.

" What happened in the dream?" Mike questioned, his hair blowing softly in the breeze. We headed towards the airport, our luggage in hand. Rather our carry-ons in hand. We didn't have enough to call it luggage. I was glad. Although, I had weapons on me. I knelt on the ground and rummaged through my bag, looking for what I usually used to get me through security. It wasn't in there. " Noleen," Mike said, like he thought I was stalling. I was, but I hated that he knew I was. I zipped the bag back up and stood; I would just have to improvise. Yay.

" She told me that she was going to kill or torture everyone close to me. Then she said I would always be hers. I screamed, I woke up, the end." I responded, my voice nonchalant. I wanted to appear like it didn't bother me, when in fact, it scared the shit out of me. Although, they probably already knew that from the screaming.

" Noleen, you can be scared. It's okay to be scared of her." Ash told me, her voice calm. I shook my head in disagreement and looked at her.

" No Ash, I can't be scared. Being frightened gets you killed. And frankly, I am not going to let someone I already offed, kill me. I can't let her be in this world,"

" Even if it kills you?" Mike cut in, his voice harsh. " Ash and I have seen what she can do-"

" So have I Mike! Which is exactly why I have to kill her again. I killed her once, I can kill her again."

" And what if you can't? What if she kills you instead?" Ash spoke up, sounding almost as upset as Mike. Almost.

" Listen, I know you two care about me, I do. Which is why I can't let her hurt you guys or the rest of my family. She's a monster. I'll kill her again. I just don't know if this time I'll survive it."

" But Nol-" I held up my hand and stopped her.

" No more talking. Let's just get on the plane and get to my husband and daughter. I need to see them." I whispered, but my voice was still strong. " I need too." Ash and Mike sighed, then started to walk again. The truth was, I didn't think I would make it out alive again. But I couldn't tell them that. I had to protect everyone else. There was no room to protect myself. And I didn't want anyone risking their lives to protect me.

I'd only been in England twice. And both times, it'd been raining. So naturally, it was raining when we arrived. The plane ride had been torture. For some reason, there were at least ten families traveling to England that night. Ten families that each had at least two noisy children. I was surprised I managed not to snap any necks. We got out of the taxi that had brought us to the Cullen mansion, paid the driver and got our bags out of the back. He'd reminded me of the old man in Italy. I could still see the fire that had risen high to the sky; the fire that had burned all those decapitated bodies to ash. I held back my shiver and walked up the front steps, rain fell steadily onto my head. It was cold, but I didn't care. Came with the territory of being a vampire; we could stay in all sorts of weather and be fine. I knocked on the front door, then smiled once Carlisle opened it. Everything inside was warm and inviting. A typical Cullen home. As soon as I walked inside I was bombarded by family members and hugs. Ash and Mike simply stood aside, their faces blank.

" How was the trip?" Esme asked me. Her smile was comforting and made me remember my mother's smiles.

" It was fine, thank you for asking." I replied.

" Please, come sit down." I followed her into the white living room. The carpet was soft, the walls a clean white, the furniture was a dark gray. Everything matched almost perfectly. Esme had quite the decorating eye. Or too much time on her hands. Maybe a mix of both. I sat on the couch, looking around for Edward and Hope. I still had yet to see either of them. They were the ones I wanted to see the most. Not that I didn't love seeing my in-laws, but I wanted to kiss my husband. While looking for them, I noticed two other people were missing.

" Where's Emmett and Rosalie?" I questioned to nobody in particular.

" Hunting," Carlisle answered me simply. " We all need to go every week, what with Hope living here. It's just easier." I noticed Jasper wince and knew it was for him. He still had a bit of a hard time around human blood. But I trusted him.

" Well, how have you all been?"

" Good, very good." I arched an eyebrow. Something was wrong. They were acting weird.

" What's going on? You know something, what do you know?" They all stiffened just a little. That's when I heard Edward and Hope come down the steps. She was crying. He looked like he was worse for the wear too. " What the hell is going on!" I exclaimed, hating that I was in the blue. Everybody was quiet except for Hope. She ran up to me and threw her arms around my waist.

" Tell the mean lady to stay away from me!" She cried, tears streaming down her face. I bent down and picked her up. Her legs wrapped around my waist and she sniffled, putting her head on my shoulder.

" What's wrong sweetheart?" I murmured, glaring at my family. They should've known better than to leave me out of the loop.

" She told me she would hurt you," she cried.

" Who said that?"

" Annebelle," Edward whispered. The purple bags under his eyes seemed even darker. " She came to Hope last night. In a dream." My mind flashed to my dream. I couldn't help it when my eyes opened. Edward's narrowed and he let out a small hiss. Ash stepped forward and put a hand on his elbow. I knew she was telling him to back off. I lowered Hope and kissed her cheek softly.

" Mommy is going to make it all better okay?" She nodded her head and rubbed her eye. She was fighting her tiredness; she was scared to sleep. I clenched my hands together and then told her to sit on grandpa's lap. She did, and he did his best to comfort her. Then I turned to Edward and pointed to the kitchen. " You, kitchen, now." Was all I said. He followed me, his hands clenched also. I slammed my fist on the table and whirled around to him. " Why didn't you call me as soon as she woke?" I demanded to know.

" Hey, don't yell at me! You're the one who stayed in Italy! You picked Eliza over your own daughter!" He yelled, low enough so Hope wouldn't hear. But I knew his family would. Not that I cared. I had a few choice words to say to them too.

" I had to Edward! But if it makes you feel better, she's gone! Evangelo took her somewhere, but that was after he allowed Annebelle to rip apart the people who worked for him." I snapped. I was tired, scared, and pissed off. Not a good combination. Edward's eyes softened and he let out a small gasp. " That's right Edward, I got to see torn, decapitated bodies tonight. That was after I was face to face with one of the only people I've ever been afraid of. Guess what! She's back! Somehow, she's sharing a body with Rosemary. But the main point is, she's back. Now, I come here, hoping for some. . . I don't know, safety. But I find out she was cutting into, not only my dreams, but my daughter's dreams also. So don't you yell at me!" I sat down, my hair covering my face. I smacked Edward's hand away when he tried to move it.

" Bella," he said quietly. I ignored him. I wasn't in the mood to talk. I could feel him move beside me, then sit down. He put his hand on my back and rubbed it slowly. " Love, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

" Yes, you did." I said, lifting my head up. " Don't sit there and tell me you didn't mean to yell at me. You did, and I'm mad at you." The urge to stick out my tongue was there, but I resisted it.

" You're being childish," he told me. My mouth gaped open and I laughed bitterly. I stood up and slammed my chair back into place and just stood there. I was so shocked I couldn't even come up with a good comeback.

" Fuck off Edward." I said through gritted teeth and walked out. He followed me, calling out my name, but I didn't do anything. Alice was immediately up, her face worried.

" Bella, slow down. He didn't-" I held up my hand and looked at her. I swallowed my anger long enough to talk to her.

" Alice, don't you dare stick up for him. He," I stopped. Hope was looking at me, her eyes wide. She'd never seen Edward and I fight. I sighed and rubbed my temple. All of a sudden my hunger flared. I was starving. Hope's blood suddenly called out to me, begging me to come. I let out a low groan and walked towards Ash. " I need to go. . . I'll be back soon." I said, then I left. Ash and Mike stepped out with me, their eyes trained on me.

" Well, there has to be an alley somewhere." Ash joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere. . . It didn't work.

We did find an alley. One that was chock full of all sorts of bad people. I ripped the skin of a rapist with my teeth and sucked the blood through the neck wound. He was delicious, but not enough. I tossed his lifeless body aside and searched for more. I reached out with my mind, trying to find the worst sin in the crowd. Mugger, mugger, murderer. Bingo. I walked over to a man, who looked to be about thirty. I chatted him up a few minutes, but my hunger was too wild to do much more. So I simply dragged him to the darkest part of the alley and drank him, every last spark. I felt something in the core of me; brewing, waiting to be released. Annebelle. . . Everything dark she'd taught me, the person I'd been. . . I'd pushed it away after her death. But now she was back, and it was all returning. Edward could never understand. . . His words echoed through my head, ' You're being childish.' I let out a yell of anguish and fell to my knees. I didn't want this to happen. I didn't want to become the monster. Ash and Mike walked out of the shadows, blood dripping from their mouths.

" Noleen, what's wrong?" Mike asked, his eyebrows furrowed. I clawed at myself, trying to get the darkness out. Ash rushed towards me and took my arms in her hands.

" Let me go!" I snarled. Then she enveloped me in a tight hug.

" Don't you give in to her Noleen. Fight her, fight her like you've never fought before." She told me strongly, her lips by my ear. I shook my head and sobbed.

" I'm a monster," I replied. " A monster."

" No you're not. You're one of the best people I know. Don't you dare let her take you again Noleen." It was Mike's turn to speak. His hand was on my back, his words coming from above my head. He had his head on mine, his arms around me too.

" I can't, I can't."

" Yes you can," Ash said, her anger at me evident. " You are the strongest out of all of us Noleen. If you give in we don't stand a chance!" I could hear the pleading in her voice. We stayed there for maybe a half hour, just sprawled on the cool concrete. I accepted their words, but I could feel the desire. The desire to kill and torture. To go to her. To give in to the darkness.

A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! Let me quickly clear something up. I know you all may be confused about the way Bella is acting.

Well, what's happening is Annebelle is "calling" to her. Since she's Bella's sire, she can "call" to her, tell her to go to her. It's kinda like a voice in the back of Bella's head, that isn't Bella's. I hope that clears it up, if you had questioning thoughts about that. Review if you liked it, loved it, hated it, whatever lol. Just give me your thoughts on the chapter and let me know if you have any questions.

Oh, and please let me know if you think I should make another, or stop with this one. Most have said they want another so. . .

Until next time,

Faith