CHAPTER 1:

Aftermath

Too bright.

Everything was too bright, and I couldn't see. I felt my eyes open a mere fraction of an inch, but they immediately shut again as the pain from the blinding light set in and caused my head to ache. I tried to turn my neck slightly, to offer my eyes even more relief, but something cold was suddenly holding me and I couldn't seem to gather the strength to break its grip. I was confused as hurried voices suddenly began to shout back and fourth, some sounding relieved while others seemed anxious and unsure.

"She's awake!" One voice shouted, a little too close and I flinched involuntarily. My entire body was suddenly in flames, the movement from my flinch causing me to feel as if someone had ripped out my entire gut. I small cry escaped me as the burning took over, and I would have given anything for it to just stop and leave me in peace.

"Sarah, go get some more morphine…I'm sure she is in a lot of pain." The deep, masculine voice broke through my mind as I processed his words.

Who….who is in a lot of pain? Are they talking about me? How could they know my stomach is on fire, I haven't said a word?

"Her blood pressure is too low…"

"She's bleeding out…I need more blood in here, now!"

Someone was dying? I hoped that the voices could help. It sounded like whoever this girl was, she was in bad shape.

I groaned softly as another pain suddenly tore through me, and the realization that I was in fact the girl who was dying washed over me like a pail of glacial water.

Everything came rushing back to me, my mind in overdrive as I saw it all again.

I remembered walking into the alley with my parent's, it was the shortcut we always took to get back to our car whenever we went to our favorite movie theater downtown. I saw the dark shadow ebb away from the brick wall, my father grabbing my by the arm and pushing me roughly behind him, and I heard my mother's guttural scream before two loud shots abruptly rang out and everything went deathly silent. I remembered the pain, and falling to the rain soaked asphalt as the bullet that hit my father found its exit and pierced me as well. I saw myself lay there in that silent alley, the cold rain hitting my face until I was too tired to keep my eyes open.

"Isabella?" A soft voice called to me, and I felt a warm tear slide down my cheek as I squeezed my eyes a tight. "Isabella you're going to be alright, we're just going to give you a little morphine to help with the pain alright? It will help you get some rest." I didn't respond, the images in my mind causing my throat to close and my voice to slip away.

They're gone...

I felt the falsely calming effects of the drug almost immediately, and the last things I saw before I gave way to the blissful darkness were the cold, lifeless bodies of my parents and the twisted face of the man who murdered them.

"Bella, are you alright?" Phil Dwyer, the large, muscled, chief of police for the Phoenix P.D. sat in a cushioned chair beside my small hospital bed and took my hand.

I pulled away and continued to stare unseeingly out the window. It was still raining, just as it had that night. It was rare for Phoenix to get so much rain at once, or at all really, and it was as if the world was taunting me with its tears. As if it was trying to constantly remind me of that night, though it needn't have bothered since it was something I would never forget.

"Bella?" Phil asked softly. He didn't reach for my hand again.

"Yes." I said quietly, but I didn't look at him. "I'm fine." Phil had been a good friend of the family since my father Charlie had joined the police force years ago, and I often thought of him as more of and uncle than my dads boss. He was tall with sandy blond hair, and I loved him like family, but it was a strange feeling knowing he was all I had left. It was strange knowing it was going to be he, and not my mother and father, picking me up the day I was released from the hospital.

"Bella I am so sorry about your mom and dad. You know how much I loved them."

I know…. Memories of weekend barbeques by the pool flashed before my eyes. Dad and Phil would stand over the grill, watching the meat sizzle, ready at a moments notice to whip the burgers onto a plate so they wouldn't be overdone. My mom and I used to laugh at them, only our heads turned to look as we lounged in our plastic green recliners.

"Honey," My mom would call, amusement in her voice. "They burgers will be wonderful no matter what…come and lay with me. It's a gorgeous day."

"Renee, it's a mans prerogative to stand and grill while his women folk lounge around and swim...let me be the man Renee." My mom would pout her full lips at him, and it would only take about twenty seconds before my dad was beside her, leaving Phil to do all the cooking as they kissed or held hands.

"…know it's only been a week honey," Phil was saying as I was brought back to the present. I had to force myself not to cry. "But I really need to ask you some questions…about what happened...do you remember anything? Anything at all..."

I remember everything…

I sighed softly and turned my head to look at him. He had aged ten years in the past week, the stress and grief takings its toll on him both mentally and physically. His wavy hair was getting noticeable streaks of gray in it, and the bruise-like bags under his eyes made him appear like the living dead. I felt bad for being so distant, knowing my parent's death wasn't just affecting me.

"We…um…went to the movies." I whispered, my eyes already beginning to sting with unshed tears. "Afterwards, we took the alley on Larkin Avenue as shortcut…to… to get back to the car."

I took a deep breath.

"I saw something...m-m-move out of the corner of my eye…and then dad pushed me behind him." I squeezed my eyes shut as the whole thing began to replay in my head. I heard my mothers scream, felt the sting of the bullet, and smelled the earthy scent of ozone as the rain pelted the ground.

"It's alright Bella…it's alright…" Phil hugged me to his big chest, his Diamondback jersey getting soaked as I sobbed. He stroked my hair gently as I cried, and after I had managed to get myself somewhat under control, he put his large hands on my shoulders and held me at arms length.

"Bella I am going to ask you something, and it's very important alright?"

"Alright." I whispered, wiping my cheeks and keeping my eyes averted from his.

"Did you see who did it?" My eyes shot to his and held his steady gaze for a long moment.

I nodded.

"Could you identify the person in a line up?"

I nodded my head again, and the cruel face of the man who murdered my parents flashed across my mind. Relief shown in Phil's gaze as he let go of my shoulders and heaved a huge sigh, rubbing his hands down his face.

"Alright then, that's great Bella…really great. I'll need a description of…"

"Could you come back tomorrow Phil? I just…I don't want to think about this anymore."
"I understand," He told me, his eyes going soft. "But the quicker we do this, the quicker this son of a bitch will be behinds bars on death row."

"I know that…I just…can you come back tomorrow…please?" I tried to keep my voice as steady as I could, but even I heard the tremble behind my words. Phil gave me a weak smile and took my hand again.

"Sure, I'll come back tomorrow…and if you're not ready tomorrow then I'll come back the next day, or the day after that. Take as much time as you need Bella, I didn't mean to push you."

"Thank you." Was all I said before lapsing back into silence. Phil stayed with me for a few more hours, and would have stayed the night at the hospital, had I not declined his offer to sleep on the roll-a-way cot.

"I just want some time alone." I told him softly, my gaze on the setting sun outside my window.

"Are you sure? I don't really like the idea of you being all by yourself."

"I'm sure. Go home…I'll see you tomorrow." I heard his soft sigh before he opened the door and stepped out into the hospital corridor. I closed my eyes then, my body too exhausted to gather the energy it would take to keep them open. I woke some time later, panting and in pain. My stomach was on fire where I had been shot, and a nurse rushed into my room at the sound of my heart monitor. She tried calming me down, but had to resort to a sedative when I insisted on seeing my parents. Like always, the tranquilizer was fast acting, and the last image I saw before I fell asleep was my parents holding hands as they walked into that dark alley.

"Take your time." The young officer, deputy Wilson, told me. "They'll stand here all day if we want them to, so there is no need to rush." I stood frozen in a dark room next to Phil as I stared straight into the eyes of a coldblooded murderer. He couldn't see me, since I was standing on the other side of a two-way mirror, but he stared straight ahead as if he were looking me directly in the eyes. It had been two and half weeks since the shooting, and I had dreamed about those soulless eyes every night. I had given Phil the description of the man the day after I told him I could identify my parents' killer, and he had been scouring the city non-stop since then trying to round up as many guys as he could that matched the drawing done by the composite artist.

Looks like they found him.

I shuddered.

"Bella are you alright?"

"It's him." I whispered, "Number three…it was him."

"You're sure?" Phil asked, putting a hand on my shoulder and turning me to face him. "Really look at them."

I nodded.

"I'm sure." I told him, turning back to the mirror. "I won't ever forget that face." His dirty blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail, and his chin was scruffy and unshaven as his ice-blue eyes bore into the window as if he were trying to somehow finish the job he started two weeks prior.

"Alright then." Phil said, turning to Deputy Wilson, "Arrest him on suspicion of two counts of first degree murder, and one count of attempted murder." Deputy Wilson nodded, and there was a loud buzzing sound as the doors to the room where the suspects were being held opened. Two cops led the other four suspects out the left door and into the hall, but when another officer began to lead my would-be killer out the other side into the main part of the police station, he immediately began to struggle violently.

"Fucking Bitch!" He yelled, his cold eyes never leaving the two-way mirror. "You're dead! You hear me you little shit…so fucking dead! Just like your motherfucking parents!" The officer escorting him suddenly twisted his left arm behind his back, causing him to groan as he was shoved forcefully out the door.

He knew I was here… The thought gripped me so fast and hard I nearly fell to my knees in terror. He knew, of course he knew...he would have seen on the news that there was one survivor. A seventeen year old girl who barley made it to the hospital...

"Bella…Bella calm down." Phil shook me gently, trying as hard as he could to bring me back to reality as I sank to the cold floor.

"He knew." I cried. "He knew I was here, and he wants to kill me." Out of the corner of my eyes I noticed Deputy Wilson standing anxiously by the call button on the wall, watching the entire spectacle with wide eyes.

"Bella don't worry." Phil tried to calm me, "You're safe. No one is going to hurt you." I shook my head at his words, not able to believe what he was saying. The only thing I could hear were the words that murderer roared as he was hauled from the room.

...So fucking dead! Just like your motherfucking parents!

Authors Note: Alright there is chapter 1...good? bad? Please leave a review! ALSO, please check out my other story FOREVER TOGETHER...there is a prologue and chapter 1...THANKS SOOOO MUCH!