Chapter 3
Bella's world slowed down to a radical slow motion movie. Outside of herself, she could hear her breath panting. She felt the purring vibration of the car engine rumbling against her sensitive skin. She could see her own horrified face reflected in Luke's eyes—reflective pools of red. Seconds, minutes, hours, she felt like it was an endless moment locked in that stare.
Then she moved.
Every movement was jerky and panicked. He didn't want Jessica, he wanted her and she had to get away. It was the only thought racing through her mind on a reel. Get away. Get away. She yanked at the door handle and fell out of the car as her feet touched the ground. Her legs had turned to jelly. Throwing each leg forward, she half crawled, half threw herself into a lunging run. She had no idea if he was still in the car—where he was. She could only concentrate on moving away from the car.
Get away.
The wind had picked up and the tree branches around her were swaying, helpless against the violent wind. The sky was nearly black. It was going to storm. She realized this all in a disconnected part of her mind.
Running and weaving past the trees, she grew so frustrated with her body. It just wouldn't move. She knew he would be on her any second. He was a vampire. He could have stopped her from getting out of the car. What was he waiting on?
Her breathing was ragged and a stitch made her realize she couldn't keep going. Her body just wouldn't run anymore. It stabbed and she wanted to cry. A part of her that knew there was no hope just wanted to stand there and wait for him to come and get here. But self-preservation burned too brightly within her. She wanted to see Edward again. She wanted to talk to Charlie again. Watch Alice get frustrated when she couldn't get her way. See Emmett antagonize Edward and watch him unable to control his irritation.
No, she wouldn't give up. But Bella knew she couldn't keep running. Lightning flashed and the whipping wind brought hard beads of water, stinging her face and skin. With a deafening crack, thunder filled the silence in the woods. No, she couldn't run, but maybe with the help of the rain washing away her scent . . . she could hide.
She looked around frantically, hoping that she hadn't wasted too much time before thinking of this idea. She couldn't see him anywhere.
She searched until she found a tree with a hollow groove in the base of the trunk. Crouching down, she crawled and curled herself up in that spot and pressed into the small hole as tightly as possible. The rain was drenching now. Thunder boomed again.
Reaching into her jeans pocket, she fought the tight wet denim until she yanked out her cell phone. With cold, shaking hands, she pressed Edwards's number and held it up to her ear.
"Bella, have you already—" Edward's honeyed tone flooded her senses. Bella closed her eyes, unable to stop the hysterical sobs from bursting out.
"Bella? Bella! What's going on?" His voice was drenched in worry.
She couldn't stop crying. The rain was pounding hard now.
"Bella, tell me where you are, I'm coming to you." His voice was firm now, demanding she answer. She tried.
"Ed-ward, I can't …" she felt like she couldn't breath as sob after sob wrenched from her chest. It was stealing her ability to talk. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to die without him.
"Bella, damn it! I'm in the car, what's going on? Are you hurt? Are you still in Port Angeles?" She could hear his car engine roaring to life.
"There's a man—vampire," she whispered into the phone. "He's coming, he's coming. I can't outrun him . . ."
"Bella, what are you doing right now?" His voice was calm, but she didn't think he was. She pushed tighter into the tree. Where was Luke?
"Please, Edward," the hysteria was back and Bella didn't want it. She wanted to just be able to tell him calmly, but it just kept rising and rising. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to talk over the thundering crashes. "A man came up to us, Jessica, she gave him a ride …. Sunglasses." She could hear Edward cursing and the sound of acceleration. "Couldn't see he was …. I thought though . . . Off of 1-63 . . . Jessica might be dead—I'm scared."
The lightning kept illuminating the trees. Her eyes raced during those moments, scanning for the red eyes she knew would be there. Her body was a live wire writhing with tension.
"It's going to be okay," Edward's voice washed over her. Her wet tangled hair was plastered to her head. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to touch him, feel him. She knew she would be fine if he was here.
But she was alone. She felt so vulnerable knowing that he could attack any second. Helpless. She'd wanted to be turned so she would never be helpless again.
"Bella, I'm on my way, but listen, I need to know, are you moving? Are you in one place? What did the man look like? Focus baby."
Bella's mind skipped over the details, tripping and stumbling. "I found a place, I'm hiding. I haven't seen him. I don't know, his name was Luke."
She heard a sharp inhale.
This was not good.
"You know who it is?" Lightning flashed again. It felt like she was in some kind of end of the world storm. The ground was pooling with water, flooded with it.
"Bella, listen, I'm going to stay on the phone, but whatever you do, don't talk anymore. I don't want him to hear your voice. Stay quiet, baby. I'm right here with you."
She wanted desperately to hear his voice again, but she knew he was right. She waited, trying to silence her shallow breaths. He was coming.
She heard a snap and jerked her head to the left. Lightning blinded. Nothing there. She pressed against the tree harder and turned to look to the right. More lightning revealed a body right next to her. Molten red eyes.
Him.
She screamed and pushed away from the tree. Her muscles protested the sudden movements after remaining cramped for so long. He barely touched her ankle, but she fell hard, water splashed up, drenching her already wet body.
"Please don't—" she begged, knowing he was going to kill her. Then, she cut herself off. She remembered the phone—didn't want Edward to hear this. Luke advanced on her, his dark shape intermittently outlined and illuminated. The rain was blinding her eyes as she scooted backwards.
He picked her up by her shoulders and stared into her face. She could see his eyes they weren't starving, but were the type to always look hungry for something. Stubbornly keeping her mouth shut, she muffled her shriek as he tossed her down to the ground.
Lying there, she looked to her phone, fallen a few feet away. Vibrations buzzed through but she couldn't hear the words. Luke, it appeared, could and bent to pick down the phone. He casually encircled his fingers around her ankle and pressed. She winced and could feel her ankle bone being compressed. He could snap it so easily. Her heart was racing.
Laughing, Luke eased the pressure. He released her only to grab her hair at the roots and pull her head closer to him. He examined her, face curiously, like a predator before sinking its teeth into its prey's jugular. Her breathing was erratic as she watched the raindrops rolled over his face, into his wildly glowing eyes. She hated that she was helpless, but she knew even trying to resist his hold would only serve to make him more amused. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Anger burned in her stomach riding right next to fear.
"Hello, Edward, it's been a long time. It's the oddest coincidence." He smiled at her comfortingly, calculatingly. "You see, I think I've just run into your human friend …"
A/N: So let me know what you thought. Comments are always welcome, encouraged, and appreciated! It makes my day to read them! As always, thank you for reading!
