Please read my rambling note at the end- it explains some things!
I stared at him. "What do you mean you haven't been completely honest with me?"
"I mean what I say," he said simply.
"I don't understand…"
Shane sighed. "This wasn't supposed to happen so soon. But the others are too eager and you're way too perceptive. I was warned about that but I had no idea just how perceptive you truly were. I was cocky, certain I'd be successful where others failed. But I was wrong."
I stood up from his mattress, shaking my head in confusion. "What are you talking about, Shane?"
His eyes seemed to glow red now, though I knew that was impossible. He looked down at the floor and shook silently with laughter.
Fear started to course through my veins. My breath rattled in my lungs and my vision started to get blurry. I was in trouble- I was certain of that. After having experienced it so many times, I'd built up a radar system for danger. The alarm bells were deafening me now.
"What do you want from me?" I asked. I had tried to sound confident and calm, but it really came out as a whimper.
He smiled then. And I knew he was evil. I knew it with my whole heart.
He walked over to me and, ignoring my flinch, ran his hand through my hair. "Bella. Beautiful, beautiful Bella. Your life has been so incredibly tragic. I know all about it."
"What are you talking about?" I hissed, slapping his hand away.
"Edward."
That one word, that one name, seemed to haunt me wherever I turned. I was certain that I was going to faint but Shane lowered me down onto his mattress. Why could I not escape?
It'll be as though I never existed he told me. I supposed it was just another promise he couldn't keep.
"Shane," I whispered hoarsely, the shameful tears starting to fall, "I don't understand." I was whining now but I didn't care.
"I work for the Volturi. Do you know who they are?"
The name triggered my memory of the coven of vampires Carlisle and Edward had told me about. I nodded numbly. The Volturi was the world's most powerful coven of vampires. I knew then I was going to die. Sobbing, I dropped my head into my hands.
"They frown upon vampires disclosing their identities to humans. Can you understand that?"
"I'm not a child," I shot out through the sobs that shook my body.
I didn't care about being polite anymore. I knew my death was inevitable. Like Edward had said, my number was up the moment we met. I wished desperately he had just killed me then. I would have rather died in his arms.
Shane smiled at me condescendingly. "To me, you're a child, Bella. But for a little girl, you are immensely brave. I'm quite fascinated by you."
"So all of this," I said, standing again, "your entire house, your invented father, was all made up just to get to me?"
He nodded, grinning proudly.
"Why?" I whispered, the tears finally stopping. I think I was too afraid to cry anymore.
"Bella," he said, clicking his tongue, "I explained it to you already."
I stared at him, confusion plain on my face. He shook his head at me and chuckled.
"I guess you're a little too upset right now to think clearly. Did you listen to the CDs I made you, by the way?"
He laughed again at my confused expression. "I only ask because I wanted you to have some joy in your life, though I was fairly certain you wouldn't listen to it. It was Edward's lullaby, over and over again. It was hard getting a copy of it but... I have my ways." He sighed. "I'm glad I was right about you otherwise it would have made things… difficult. I'm too confident for my own good sometimes but I was fairly certain I knew you inside and out." He paused for a moment, gazing at me intently with a somber expression. "I watched you the day you clawed out that stereo, you know."
I sucked in a breath. Before I could blink, he was standing on top of me.
"That was quite a sight," Shane whispered, his breath fanning my face. "I had never seen anything like it, and I've seen a great deal of things."
He reached his hand and caressed my cheek.
"They really hurt you, didn't they? How tragic. I keep trying to understand what possessed them to leave. They had exposed themselves to you already. They knew what was at stake. Did they want you dead?"
I swallowed back a moan of pain. It felt like razor blades had gone down my throat. My mouth was incredibly dry and there were no more tears left.
"Why did they leave?" he asked me, placing a hand on my shoulders. "Tell me."
His eyes swirled and glittered. I knew I was going to answer him, even before he performed his trick.
"Edward didn't love me anymore. He wanted to leave."
I couldn't believe I had said it. My voice sounded calm, flat. I had accepted it, I suppose. Just as I had accepted my death.
"Ah," Shane said, realization dawning on his face. "Nothing hurts worse than being jilted. Did you give yourself to him, too?"
My eyes widened as what he meant came to me and I fought back the urge to spit in his face. It wouldn't do any good to aggravate the… being that was going to kill me in a matter of minutes. I was angry and stubborn but I didn't want a drawn out death; I wanted it to be over with.
"I guess you're not going to answer that..." Shane said, laughing.
I heaved in a breath and forced myself to speak. "No, we never did anything like that."
Shane nodded, as though he knew already. I wouldn't be surprised if he had. "I am sorry to tell you that the torment you felt all these months has been totally unwarranted. That family endangered your life by revealing what they were to you and then they left you to face the consequences. The Volturi have requested your presence because you know about their… nature. Humans knowing information like this is strictly forbidden."
He sighed and dropped his hands from my arms.
"We better get a move on."
"How are you going to do it?" I asked quickly, my fear finally bubbling over.
"Do what, exactly?"
"Kill me."
He burst out laughing. "Isabella, I'm not going to kill you. I'm merely a transporter. I'm bringing you to the Volturi."
I relaxed somewhat, knowing I had a little longer to live. I wondered if I could sneak home and leave a note for Charlie.
Charlie.
He would never know what happened to me. And Jacob and Renee. They would all be devastated, just because I attracted danger to the left and right of me. They would think horrible thoughts about what happened to me and, though they wouldn't be far from the truth, I wouldn't want them living with that for the rest of their lives.
As if he could read my mind, Shane smiled at me and stepped closer.
"Don't worry, Isabella. I'll give you time to get ready. We leave in three days."
"Why?" I asked him suspiciously.
"Because," he replied, touching me again on my cheek, "I want you to be as cooperative as possible. I want to make this as painless as I can. So, if I let you stay for three more days to make peace and tie all your loose ends, do you promise to be a good little girl?"
I nodded slowly, not missing the double-meaning behind his use of "painless".
"Don't try anything. I'll be keeping a very, very close eye on you."
I had three days, which was more than I could have hoped for, anyway. I could say goodbye to Charlie and Jacob. I could call up Renee and have a nice long chat. I'd let them all think I was whole again. I might as well give them that. I would let myself think about my childhood and about my time in Forks. It wasn't all bad. As a matter of fact, in the beginning it was heaven. I never dreamed I could be so happy. I could say goodbye to my friends at school and I could make peace with everyone.
Then, at the very end, I'd let myself think about Edward. I was angry with him for leaving me but, as I told myself time and time again, I couldn't blame him. With every second I proved myself to be even more trouble than I was worth. I was glad he was nowhere near me; I didn't want him to die because of me, too. He'd hurt me, he'd deserted me, and he'd broken me. But I still loved him more than anything else in the entire world. Nothing changed that and I didn't want it to.
In my last moments, I wanted my thoughts to be only of him.
Shane started to walk out of the room but I had to know.
"Shane!"
He turned around, smiling. "Yes?"
"What exactly are you?"
He took a deep breath and gave me the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen. It was also the most frightening.
"Bella, my dear… it's better that you don't know. Trust me."
Thanks for the reviews, they keep me going.
I am not all that happy with this chapter, mainly because of the major revisions I had to do on it. Basically, I never meant to move the story along so quickly. It just happened! I desperately tried to change things around but nothing worked so, in the end, I gave up and went with the flow. I still intend on adding a few more things before the rest of the drama begins but I wish I could have played around with the innocence a bit more (( Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of chapters left and a LOT more things to take place. This story is nowhere near over. It's just that I wanted Shane to be good a little bit longer! I'm so angry with myself!
So I have to ask you all your opinion- I'm toying around with the idea of other POVs. They make me nervous because it's hard enough writing from Bella's POV, let alone Edward's, but I have some things written out and I'm tempted. What do you think?
Please, PLEASE, keep up the reviews. They help so much and really make me happy. I want to know what you all feel!
Till next time.