The Other

"When a Cold One bites a human, their venom begins to spread. The need to feed becomes impossible to resist."

"Venom?" Jeremy snickered.

"Yes. It's supposed to be incredibly painful for the human. Like—"

"Like being burned alive," I interrupted quietly.

They grew silent then, no longer finding the idea of vampire venom funny.

"Yes..." Stefan stared at me, even as he continued to explain to the others. "But the point is that even if they did somehow manage to stop, their venom would continue to spread...turning their would-be victim into a vampire."

Elena's brows furrowed as she began to comprehend just what Stefan was saying.

"So then Bella..."

"Shouldn't be human," Bonnie finished, her gaze shifting from curiosity to assessing.

The concentration on her face unnerved me and I couldn't stop myself from fidgeting. I didn't know what she was doing at first, but as her expression became more frustrated, I shied away even more. She reminded me of Jonas—staring at me like that.

"Nothing?" Damon's question captured my attention, but he was looking at Bonnie.

"No..." Bonnie trailed off, clearly shocked. "Nothing's happening. I don't understand..."

"What are you guys talking about?" Elena asked, glancing between Bonnie and Damon. The others seemed just as confused. I was more worried about staying away from Bonnie.

Elena's eyes widened and I felt like I was missing something.

"But I thought Jonas took—"

Stefan shushed her quickly and I became even more suspicious. What were they trying to keep from me?

"So you see the problem," Damon began, changing the subject. "Bella shouldn't be human. No one has ever survived a Cold One's bite, not without turning into one themselves."

He sauntered closer and I tried not to flinch away from his stare.

"So how did you survive?"

I looked down at my scar, staring intently at the marred skin. I wondered how much I should tell them. They already knew I had been bitten and survived. Telling them how wouldn't really put them in danger. My reasons for keeping quiet dwindled down to one simple fact—I didn't want to talk about it.

I didn't know these people and they had no right to demand my life's story, even if they had saved me from Jonas's clutches. Still, the rational side of me thought I was just being stubborn. It didn't matter if they knew the truth and it would probably make everything easier if I just came clean. More than that, I was just too tired to argue.

"The venom was...sucked out."

I breathed a sigh of relief, despite the heavy silence that followed.

"Sucked out?" Stefan asked incredulously.

"Like a snake bite?"

"Yeah. I wasn't really aware during it, but I guess it was like that," I offered.

All I could really remember was a haze of fire and pain, although the pain was infinitely more vivid. I shuddered at the memory of it.

"Well, I'm gonna head home. Vampire snakes is kind of where I draw the line. Besides, it's gotten kind of late and with everything that's happened, my mom's probably worried," the blonde announced.

"I think I will too," Bonnie spoke up. "We've all been through a lot tonight, especially Bella. I'm sure she's exhausted," she added, smiling at me.

I still didn't trust her, but I was grateful that they seemed to be willing to take a break from their interrogation. There was still so much to be said and I wasn't sure how much more I could reveal about my experience with vampires.

Something told me that Damon wouldn't stop pressuring me until I had spilled all my secrets. I just hoped there would still be something left of me when he succeeded.

I watched silently as they filtered out the front door, leaving Damon, Stefan, Elena, and I alone. They had offered me a place to stay tonight, but now that everyone had left, I realized how little I had. I had no way of getting home and even if I did, what would be the point?

Although I still didn't know why I had been taken, I wasn't naive enough to think the threat went away with Jonas and Luka. There had to be someone out there who knew and I had no doubt that they would come for me. Going home would only put Charlie in danger. Whether I liked it or not, I had to trust these people.

I followed Elena and Stefan as they showed me to a guestroom that was larger and more lavishly decorated than my own at Charlie's. Elena left for a few minutes and Stefan used the time to show me the bathroom down the hall. When she returned, she had a pile of clothes in her hands.

"I usually keep some of my stuff here. I figured you could use some clean clothes," Elena smiled, presenting me with the small pile.

I almost insisted that I was fine, but a quick glance at my tattered and dirty clothes proved that I really wasn't. I didn't want to ruin the luxurious bedding, so I accepted her offer with a timid smile. After assuring me that they would be just down the hall if I needed anything, they closed the door behind them, leaving me alone for the first time since we had met.

I breathed a sigh, suddenly consumed with a surprising feeling of relief. I supposed their constant stares had begun to weigh on me and now that I was free from that, I could finally relax. Of course, Damon and Stefan could probably hear every slight breath I took, but I pushed those thoughts aside.

I stood there, staring at the bed longingly, wondering if I should postpone my shower until the morning. Now that most of the tension was gone, I had become further exhausted, dying to slip underneath those sheets and sleep. It had been days since I slept on something besides that basement floor, which despite my granted freedom of roaming Jonas's house, had remained my bed.

Every night had been restless, as I feared that once I fell asleep, I would awake to find my wrists bound in chains again, preventing any further escape attempts. My eyes stung at the forced wakefulness, and I sighed as I relented.

Quickly stepping out of my clothes—there wasn't a lock on the door—I slipped on a pair of pajamas Elena had loaned me. The bottoms were longer, but the tank top seemed to fit alright. They were simple and something I would actually wear.

Peeling back the covers, I slowly slid in, relishing the cool sheets against my skin. It almost felt like I was lying on a bed of feathers after having slept on cement. With a quiet sigh, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

...

The forest's claws reached toward me, its grasp unkind. His back remained turned even as my blood slipped out of the points of contact.

"And Alice?"

The question came out garbled, drowning in a mouth full. I swept the back of my hand across my chin and stared down at the liquid.

More blood.

No. They're all gone. I stayed behind to watch you die.

I could feel it. My bones shattering one by one—violence distributed by delicate fingers. Precision.

A clean break would be better for you.

He didn't turn. The blood in my mouth drowned out the screaming.

...

"You're loud enough to wake the dead."

I stared blearily around the room, barely able to make out his form in the darkness. My breathing came in rushed pants as I tried to recover from my nightmare. It took a moment for me to calm down enough to speak. I meant to ask him what he was doing in my room, when I was interrupted as the door swung open.

The light flicked on, revealing a rumpled Stefan and Elena.

"See?" Damon continued, rolling his eyes.

"Bella! Are you okay?" Elena asked, rushing to the bed.

It felt odd to have her grasp my hand, trying to comfort me.

"Damon! What did you do? I told you to leave her alone!" Stefan demanded, moving closer to him.

He almost looked ready to deck him—adding another weird thing to the list of strange reactions. What was with these people?

"He didn't do anything," I mumbled, trying to regulate my breathing. "I had a nightmare," I explained. "I'm sorry I woke you."

Elena sighed with relief, but Stefan remained dubious.

"Then what is Damon doing in here?"

I glanced at Damon, who appeared unperturbed by his brother's suspicion. They seemed to have a unique relationship, nothing like those among the Cullens. I wondered if they were even really brothers, or if they just called themselves that. I was leaning toward the former. They certainly argued like siblings.

"Comforting her, of course," Damon smirked.

Although I didn't know him very well, even I could tell he was lying. He had put almost no effort into pretending his presence here was something so noble.

"Really?" Elena asked incredulously, obviously seeing through his lie too.

I glanced at Damon again, noting the challenge in his gaze. He thought I would rat him out. I didn't know why he was in here when I woke up, but I found I was almost unwilling to be bested by him. Did he think I was afraid to be alone with him?

I shrugged at Elena in response, silently accepting his challenge. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Damon's eyebrow lift. I guess he wasn't expecting me to play along.

Stefan stared at me for a beat longer, before coming to some sort of decision.

"Well, Elena and I will be down the hall if you need us," he offered for the second time tonight. He shot a look over at Damon, who rolled his eyes in response.

"Uh...thanks," I smiled awkwardly, willing them to leave.

Elena left the door cracked open as she left, a silent suggestion that Damon should follow. They locked eyes for a moment, before Elena huffed and walked off. I didn't know what was going on between those two and I didn't ask.

"So. Who's Edward?"

I visibly flinched at his name and my breath hitched. Of all the things I expected to hear Damon say, his name was not among them.

"N-No one."

...