A/N: You know the drill. Read and review. I'll meet you down there.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

CHAPTER 5: NIGHTMARES

BPOV

The Cullens were very hospitable. After introducing themselves to me, Esme voluntarily showed me to my new room on the third floor, a room directly down the hall from Edward's room. I would avoid him as much as possible. I wasn't heartless; if he was in pain due to my selfish need for death, I would try to alleviate as much of the torture as possible. I'm sure that the feel of venom slithering down his throat felt like pouring coals rather than a highly flammable venom. A brief yet awkward parting with Esme left me standing in the middle of the room, standing directly in the light that presented itself through the west wall window. The entire wall was of a very clear, crystal like glass that has deep blue curtains surrounding it. It was so bright that my eyes were squinting constantly. In the center of the large room was a large, canopied bed with a familiar wrought-iron frame. But the differences were vast. The iron seemed to have been melded in shapes that were far less dark and gothic looking than the bed in Volterra. No, this one's edges seemed to have been rounded off softly, leaving it smoother to the touch whereas in Volterra, pointed and ominous looking edges would have looked right for a horror film. The iron roses that were mended together looked beautiful. The mesh canopy matched the curtains, but the sheets were a mix of lilac, sky blue, white, black and navy blue. The colors were formed into intricate abstract art. The lush goose down pillows looked inviting from the long trip, but I couldn't let my guard down yet. Instead, I walked along the walls, inspecting the different pieces of art that covered the walls. Priceless pieces inhabited the white walls, adding splashes of color here and there. On either sides of the bed were two mahogany nightstands, each with a simple black lamp. At the foot of the bed was a matching mahogany chest with an antique lock and key hanging from the lock-hole. The closet was hidden by a white door. It opened to reveal a too-large walk in closet that already held vast amounts of clothing that surely could not have been mine. Perhaps this was once a room for storage?

So different from the room in the castle, the room held a bright and homey quality that I wasn't used to. I somehow managed to sit on the floor in the corner of the room, allowing the light to hit me in the face. It felt nice to have the faint warmth of the clouded sky on my face. It wasn't sunny, but it was definitely brighter than what I was used to. It wasn't raining –it was September; shouldn't it be raining? –but there was a light dew hanging on the leaves of the large pines outside the window, occasionally dripping beads of water down to the ground. I wondered idly if the vampires could hear every drop and if it sounded like I thought it would. A deep thump that vibrated before slowly making a small suction noise as it seeped into the ground. Immediately, I shook those thoughts away. My life had been guarded by vampires, controlled by vampires, ruled by vampires. The remainder of my existence would be the same. My eyes slowly began to close as I let exhaustion from today's hectic events take over me and I drifted into the dark abyss, the nightmares awaiting my return.

EPOV

Managing to distract myself was proving to be more difficult than I had thought. Bella's scent was beginning to seep out from beneath her door and was invading my room whenever the air conditioner turned on. Every time, I had to clench my jaw tightly, pin my hands by my side, and breathe deeply. I needed to be desensitized if I was going to be living in this house. She wouldn't push me away from my home, my family.

I focused in on her heart, how it would beat her tempting blood through her body, pumping it deeply. I couldn't help but think about how beautiful that sound was. Then, I listened in on her breathing. It was deep and calm, unmeasured. She must be sleeping. I was tempted to go in, to assure myself that she was alright. It would make sense that she would be exhausted. It had been a long day of surprises, injuries, blood spilt. Immediately, I swallowed the venom that had gathered in my mouth. The family, excluding Rosalie and Emmett, had all gone out hunting that night. My hunting trip in Italy and on the way home had been enough to sustain me until I couldn't handle being around the human.

And then I heard it. Small gasps were coming from Bella's room, filling the air with the smell of adrenaline rushing through her blood and her heart beat going faster and faster with fear. I didn't stop to think. I ran into her room to see lying on the floor, her hands clutching and clawing at her arms.

I pinned her arms to her sides and tried to gently shake her awake. If blood was spilled in this house, her blood specifically, this would not end well. I doubted that I had enough self control to handle her scent yet.

"Bella, wake up!" Her mouth opened in a silent scream and her eyes shot open, filled with tears and pupils dilated in fear. And then her screams were there, ringing through my ears too loudly and making me jump away from her. The scent of adrenaline and fear in her blood was so much stronger now that she was fully conscious of it. So much more tempting to the monster within…

Emmett was in the room immediately.

Edward, he thought, what'd you do? I shook my head exasperatedly. Too quietly and too fast for Bella to hear, I spoke. "I didn't do anything Emmett. She was having a nightmare and when I came to check on her, well, this happened." He nodded thoughtfully and crept towards the shuddering mass. Bella's screams had stopped but small, pathetic sounding whimpers escaped her as she edged away from us, her legs curled tightly to her chest. She had managed to get herself off the bed and into a corner of the room. She faced away from us like a child in time out and the scent of salt wafted through the air, tears flowing freely down her face.

Poor kid, he thought sadly. I nodded slightly. Bella, noticing his attempt to close some of the space between them, shrunk into herself, pulling her legs infinitesimally closer to herself and hiding her face in her knees. Emmett realized this quickly and backed away from her. He was just as confused about what to do as I was. I had never dealt with someone like this and I knew that the only person who could handle this would be Carlisle. I pulled out my phone only to have it ring before I could dial.

"Edward, we're going right now. We'll be back in thirty seconds, tops." Alice hung up before I could say a word but I didn't complain. The next thirty seconds seemed to go on for hours. While half my mind was focusing solely on Bella and her vital functions, the other half was contemplating what she could have possibly dreamt about. Surely she never had nightmares like these before. But when I thought about it, I wondered if this was one of the reasons why they even passed Bella on to us. The Volturi used fear and rewards to control the guard and other vampires. With Bella, neither seemed to hold any lasting effect. From what I had seen, Bella would never want anything that the Volturi would give her and fear had obviously not been enough to force her to bow down to the will of the Volturi leaders.

Edward, called Carlisle through his thoughts. I need you and Emmett to leave the room. She still remembers what happened in Italy. It's best not to bring up memories like that, especially when she just had a nightmare. I may not know what she dreamt, but I do know that people that have been through traumatic experiences often have flashbacks. She doesn't need to be surrounded by strangers right now. When I go in, I can assess the situation. We're right outside. Leave her.

I backed out of the room, pulling a slightly confused but otherwise willing Emmett with me. Less than a second later, Carlisle was opening the door to Bella's room.

Carlisle POV

Seeing Isabella curled up on the floor was a pathetic sight, something I couldn't see from such a strong-willed girl. Seeing the tears running from her fear-glazed eyes truly was a sad sight on her now blood-ridden face. She refused to move from her huddled position in the corner of the room. I edged towards her, careful to make small, cautious steps towards her and holding out my arms as a sign of that I wouldn't harm her. Her eyes were only on me, glazed in horror of what her memories were making her believe would come. Trying to be as quiet as possible with her human hearing, I spoke.

"Bella, it's me, Carlisle." Her wide eyes didn't waver for a moment, merely widening even more as I inched closer. Her mouth opened in a silent cry as she tried to push herself even further into the wall.

Edward, I thought clearly, bring my medical bag. Make sure the syringes and Balatagra are in the bag. I returned my attention to the cowering child and made my decision. Before she could even move an inch, I ran to her side and pried her fingers away from her skin. When her skin rose with goosebumps, I could hear her swallow and release air as a scream cut through the air, loud and high in my ear. I controlled my cringe and held out my hand for the syringe. Edward had arrived in the room milliseconds after Bella screamed and already had the prepared dose for her. As soon as it touched my hand, I found the slender vein in her arm and injected her. Her screams slowly turned to whimpers as the drug began running through her blood, calming her. And when she finally collapsed into a deep, drug-induced sleep, a wave of relief flowed through me.

This is going to be more difficult than I thought.

-A/N: Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I decided that a short chapter is better than no chapter. I promise I will update within the next few days. I just need to get my mind together.

For all of you who don't know, I'm writing a story called HUMAN TRAFFICKING. It's a really meaningful story and probably one of my favorites to write. It's emotionally draining and I kind of don't want all my hard efforts on it to go to waste. Please read it. Here's a summary:

Taken by men who are going to rent me out to strangers that will take advantage of me…Brilliant. This wasn't bad luck. It was my sentence to hell. Rated M for adult themes including rape and slavery.

--SAMPLE—

The water wasn't hot enough. I could see it swirling around me in a pool of pink and I could feel it burning into my skin, cleansing it, but it wasn't enough. The water would never be hot enough. Hot water cleaned better than cold water, everyone knew that.

So why wasn't this water hot enough?

They didn't give me any wire scrubbers or a loofah, but they did give me a washcloth. It wasn't enough to scrub myself clean. I needed something rough to deteriorate the top layer of skin, to make me clean again. It wasn't working.

The soap stung and I knew that the stinging soaps would clean me better than the other, more gentle soaps. So I scrubbed until I was raw and bleeding. And I scrubbed everywhere, everywhere he touched me and slapped me, everywhere he entered me, everywhere he kissed me, everywhere. But his essence, his very presence was etched into my skin, the deeper layers of my skin and refused to wash out. It was like an annoying stain that would never really come out, that would sit there, looking back at you and all you can do is take it. I didn't want to take it.

--SAMPLE OVER

Did I intrigue you into reading it??? Probably not. But I would really love you all to read it.

Oh yeah, I also posted another one shot called NOTHING SAYS 'I LOVE YOU' LIKE AN AMBER ALERT. That title should have gotten you. I hope so!

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!