CHAPTER FOUR: UNATTENDED

Fear rooted me in place. Forcing me to acknowledge that this moment was a long time coming. I knew Victoria would want her revenge for James, i just hoped I would be more durable when she came for me.

But I wasn't. I was alone. Left unattended.

I felt hopeless. I looked at Charlie, to Riley and lastly, to Victoria.

She was the same, naturally. Hadn't aged a day, still had that feline grace to her. Her eyes burned into mine, wild with hate and excitement, for whatever she had planned for me.

Her expression, mixed with the beauty that all vampires have, caught Charlies attention. I looked towards him, trying to decipher the look in his eyes. Fear definitely, but it looked like he was attracted to Victoria. He must've felt me looking at him, causing him to turn and meet my eyes.

Fear of her, yes. But also fear that he was attracted to her and felt he shouldn't be.

I shook my head at him, hoping that he'd understand to keep quiet.

I sat up as straight as my broken body would allow, took a torturous deep breath. Burying my fear and fixing a mask of defiance, I lifted my chin and looked back into her eyes.

"Victoria." I said. It hurt to sit like this but if I was going to die then I would damn well make sure the last few words to pass my lips would be ones of bravery. "I would've tidied the place up had I known you were coming, but as you can see, I've been a little distracted." I smiled sweetly at her. I wanted to piss of her off.

She laughed. "Bella, the sarcasm and bravado isn't very becoming of you. Considering you don't have a coven to back you up, it makes you look pretty pathetic." She replied, looking particularly smug with herself.

I balked at her. I was counting on her not knowing that the Cullens had left. She read my expression.

"Oh yes, I know that they've been gone a long time." She stalked up to me, crouching, her eyes scanning the bruises that formed from Riley slapping my face, red eyes twinkling with masochistic delight. "I watched you for months, realising that you spent nearly every waking moment with Edward or someone else. He only left to change clothes. Even alone you were protected. I knew the choices I made would be seen the moment I consciously made them." She turned her hand over, inspecting her nails, seemingly bored of explaining herself.

"So I retreated, biding my time. Consciously deciding to leave you alone. I had Laurent scope the area a few times for me. That's when I realised they were gone. He paid their home a visit. Informed me the house smelt empty. Like it had been vacant for a few years."

Victoria paused, I assume, for affect. I was starting to panic. I was screwed,as Charlie would say, six ways to Sunday. There was no hope, no protection, no one swinging in last minute to save my bacon. And I didn't even know what she had planned for me. I don't think I wanted to know. Riley had done a number on me but I knew what Victoria was going to do was a lot worse."Still, I knew I had to be careful. They may have left but for all I knew, the little pixie could've still been watching out for me." she looked lovingly at Riley. I studied her face. I'd seen the way she had looked at James. She had no affection for him.

"That's when I met my dearest Riley." she rose, moving towards him, swaying her hips in a seductive manner. As she met him, they indulged in an over the top kiss. Despite the dire situation I was in, turns out I could still find it in me to roll my eyes. Victoria turned back to me.

"I explained how your coven had wronged me, hurt me, how you were the catalyst for it all. Together we formulated a plan, explained the blind spots we had to use. I suggested ideas, but with Riley making the choices, he wouldn't be seen, simply because he wasn't being watched." She turned on a flourish, quite clearly proud of how she had circumnavigated Alice's visions.

"Huh." I tried to sound unimpressed. I looked around, until i settled on Riley. I took a deep breath, knowing that Victoria will try to stop me from talking. "She's lied to you. You're not her mate and she doesn't love you. The Cullens killed her true mate Jame-" As I suspected, Victoria flew at me, striking me across the face, knocking me out cold.

~

I woke up in my bed. My dreamscape had left the meadow. I sat up, looking around fully expecting it to me turned over, but everything was in its place.

Edward was in the chair in the corner of my room. I didn't move, we just stared into each others eyes for a long time.

I decided that if I was going to die, I might as well get everything out now.

"Edward, I love you. I have loved you everyday. I haven't left Forks because I hoped, pointlessly hoped, that you would come back for me. I know now that you won't." I closed my eyes, willing the tears back. There was nothing I could do now.

Edwards expression turned cold.

"Prepare yourself, love. The worst is yet to come."

~

Riley had moved Charlie and I whilst I was unconscious. He was propped against the wall opposite the window, with me now under the window, laid down. Victoria stood over me. I couldn't read her face. She looked like she was preparing herself for something.

"Riley. You've done your part now. But what I'm about to do, you cannot be around. I can't risk your newborn senses ruining everything we've achieved. Go. " She ordererd, turning her gaze back to me.

I didn't hear him leave. I'd stopped caring.

"Now, I will tell you exactly what's going to happen. Because I want you to know, as it happens, I want you to be overcome with despair." She guffawed, a loud sing song bark of a laugh.

"I'm going to bite you, Bella. I'm going to slice your big toe, so it is the slowest transformation. And trust me, it will be, I've done experiments." she whispered in my ear.

"And the reason why I had Riley break so many in your bones, is so that as the fire of my venom ravages your body, coming into contact with every break, it adds more pain, as each bone is forced back into place."

My heart went into overdrive. I didn't want it to be like this. It was supposed to be Edward.

Victoria delicately grabbed my face, turning it from her to Charlie.

"But don't think that Riley broke your father's legs just for fun. Oh no. He has a role to play too. Whilst you were unconscious, your father very kindly called up the station and left a voicemail for the school, to explain that you both have a nasty case of food poisoning. So bad infact, you'll both be out for a week. You're both bed bound. Strictly no visitors."

Charlie was staring. I don't think he really understood what is happening.

"We broke his legs, busted his ribs so he couldn't get away." Victoria punctuated the silence with a laugh.

"Daddy is going to be your first meal."

Silence. I couldn't believe what she was saying to me. This really couldn't be happening. I couldn't kill my Dad. I wouldn't.

I started to cry. Ugly tears. I looked at Charlie.

"I'm so so sorry Dad. I'm sorry all of this happened. I love you." I sobbed. Charlie tried to clear his throat.

"Bells what's happening? Who are these people?" he asked through gritted teeth.

I didn't have a chance to reply, because in that moment, Victoria bit my toe.

I screamed.

Then time ceased to exist.