Twin Equinox

Chapter Five - Bella Speaks

Bella just looked at me, completely pallid and eyes wide. "Wha—huh?!" she stuttered.

"Do you know?" I repeated.

Bella's eyes widened and they flickered around, looking anywhere just to avoid my eyes. She still hadn't responded, but the answer was as clear as air.

She knew.

I stood up abruptly, catching Bella off guard. "Are you insane?!" I screamed. "How could you be so—so—stupid?!"

When Bella's eyes started to water, I knew I'd gone too far. I shouldn't have called her 'stupid.'

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Look, Izzy—" I winced and my eyes started to water. "I didn't mean it. You're not stupid; you're one of the smartest people I know… But… You know. Why are you risking your life? There's—there's so many other options that are better for you… Safer…"

Then it was her who exploded. She stood up and faced me, angry tears replacing the hurt ones. "I LOVE HIM!" she shouted, her brows furrowing and her eyes narrowing in anger. "Why can't you understand that?" She dropped to her knees and sobbed. "I love him… It hurt so much when he left… I just couldn't bear it. He loves me…and I need him; I love him…"

I frowned and crouched down, then wrapped my arms around Bella's shaking form. Silent sobs wracked her body, and hurt tears ran down her face once again. "I'm…sorry…" I whispered. "But I can't understand."

"Please," she begged. "I already lost one friend because of him…and I might be able to survive without that friend, but I can't survive without either you or Edward. Please don't make me choose…not again…" She shook her head and tears flew, Bella's quiet sobs building volume.

"Shh," I cooed. "It's okay…Addie's here."

"No," Bella said firmly. "Sonny's here…" She was still shaking, but it was less violent.

I held her tighter and stroked her hair. "Izzy, I won't make you choose," I told her. "But I'll try to understand why you love him… I just can't comprehend why you would marry him. He'll never age, and you—" I stopped the sentence.

There was one way it would work. But it would snow in hell before I let Bella be turned into a vampire!!

"No, Bella!" I exclaimed, pulling back from her like she burned me. "You can't be turning into one of them!!" She looked up at me with sad eyes. I clenched my jaw, inhaling sharply. "No, Bella! Say it isn't so! You can't!"

She turned her head to the side, looking away. That was all the confirmation I needed. I was about to yell at her when she spoke, firmly. "Why not, huh?" she demanded, still avoiding my gaze. "What's so bad about them? You don't even know them!"

"I know enough!" I snapped, but immediately regretted it. I tried to calm down and force my voice to stay at a normal tone. "I know more than you know, Bella." She finally glanced up at me. "How do you think I knew he was a vampire when I first saw him?"

Her brows furrowed in thought. Then her expression suddenly darkened. "You never answered my question," she said darkly, her voice dead. "You never told me what you were doing in Europe. Italy, perhaps?"

I sighed. I knew I would have to tell her this sooner or later. "Yes, Bella, I was in Italy," I said. Bella's eyes filled with fresh tears and she threw herself at me, wrapping me in a hug. She cried into my shoulder slightly. I didn't object. "So I'm guessing you know of the Volturi, do you not?"

"NO!" she screamed. It hurt my ears. "Don't speak about them, please!"

I sighed. "May I ask why?"

She sniffled. "While Edward…left…he heard that I had died…so he went to the Volturi because he wouldn't want to live in a world where I didn't exist."

I felt a pang of emotion—I didn't know which emotion, though; just that it hurt. He must really care about her, especially if he's willing to go to the Volturi if she died. I sniffled with her. "So…he must lo—like you very much." I couldn't bring myself to say love. I wasn't the type of person who longed for or even supported romance. All it did was get you a broken heart.

"He says he does," she said quietly. "He doesn't want me to be a vampire. He says it's like he'll be stealing my soul…my humanity…and he doesn't want that. He doesn't want to curse me." Bella paused. "But he's wrong! I won't be cursed—I'll have a life with him! I love him, Sonny. I love him."

My brows furrowed and I frowned. "I can see that," I said. Then I remembered what I was supposed to be telling her. "Do you want to know my story?"

She nodded against my shoulder. "But not here," she said. We pulled away and stood up, and I threw my arm around her shoulders and led her to the car. She looked so fragile, she might've broken if I let her walk on her own. I helped her in the front seat before climbing in the driver's seat. "I'll tell you everything," she told me, "and then you'll tell me everything you need to."

I nodded, and focused on driving back home. Thankfully, when we returned, Dad was nowhere in sight. He was probably at Billy's house.

Bella and I didn't speak until we were in the house, sitting across from each other in the living room. She sat curled up in an armchair and I sat spread out on the couch. We both stared at each other, not knowing how to begin—or even who would begin.

Eventually, Bella spoke. She told me everything. She spoke of every single detail—however insignificant—since Dad picked her up in the airport up until recently. We had gotten home around six, but it was nearly ten now. She told me about Edward Cullen, the mysterious and enchanting boy she'd met in her Biology class. She told me about the meadow, about the baseball game, and about the escape to Arizona. I didn't comment on the story yet; instead, I waited and listened patiently. I made a mental note of some things.

Bella continued to tell me about her birthday party—the one where Jasper lost control. I made a mental note to meet him. She told me about the months she spent as a zombie, and how Jacob was the only one who made her come alive again, even if just a little bit. She told me about when he started acting weird after seeing Crosshairs with her and Mike, and how she had a dream that told her he was a werewolf. She even told me about how Paul, another werewolf, had phased and almost attacked her.

By this time—it was around eight—I interrupted. "Werewolf?!" I yelled.

"You…didn't know?" she breathed.

I tried to control myself. "I knew werewolves before," I said gravely. "I hated them about as much as I hated vampires."

"Oh. Will you tell me why?"

But I needed her to continued. "After. Continue."

She went on to tell me about how a vampire was after her, and wanted her dead. She told me about going to Italy to rescue Edward. Here, I interrupted once more.

"No," I groaned. "You didn't! The Volturi?" I groaned again.

"You'll tell me how you know them after I finish," she said. Then Bella continued the story, about how she'd rescued Edward, the voting that took place later on to determine if she should be turned, and how she tried to contact Jacob for weeks and he ignored her. She spoke of how Edward didn't want her to see him at all, about Alice's babysitting, about the kidnapping that Jacob did—and Alice at one point—and about how they knew a newborn army would be coming; the engagement and proposal Edward made, how she had to stay in the tent during the battle, how Jacob tricked her into asking him to kiss her, how she found out that she was in love with both Edward and Jacob, and her decision.

She explained her decision very well. I couldn't argue with her. I sympathized with her, truly, but I couldn't help but feel bad for both her, Edward, and Jacob. Bella finished the story by telling me that Jacob had run off, and that she had been keeping tabs on him by Seth, another werewolf in his pack.

After explaining everything from the Cullen's powers and a little information about their members to the werewolf pack and how they function, she demanded answers from me. "Now you have to tell me your story," she said.

I sighed and looked around for anything that might help me. A clock in the kitchen said it was near ten' o'clock. "Let's go upstairs to our room," I suggested. "Dad should be back soon. We definitely don't want him to overhear this conversation."

After we headed upstairs, I grabbed some clothes and took a shower. I used that time to think about how I was going to tell her, and how I would start.

In the middle of my shower, though, I felt another convulsion, like my abdomen was being ripped apart. I shut my eyes tightly and fell to the floor, only faintly feeling the water running down my face and all around me.

Then, as suddenly as it came, it left. I opened my eyes. Everything was slightly clearer, my vision having enhanced. I stood erect again, this time very swiftly. This was just the starting point in my transformation; the pain from the morning marked today as the official starting point.

I quickly finished showering and dressed in black boy shorts and a black tank top. It was the only pajama type that I didn't feel absolutely uncomfortable in. I shook my head to dry it out a little, satisfied when I had successfully sprayed water on every surface. Then I patted it down with a towel to dry it a bit more before ruffling through it with my fingers and heading out into the bedroom.

After Izzy-Bella had taken her time to shower and returned, I hopped off her bed—that I'd been resting on—and made a move to my cot. "No," Bella said. "It's fine, Sonny. We can share my bed—as long as you don't take up all the space."

She said that with a teasing smile that I couldn't help but return. I rolled my eyes and crawled into bed. I took up the left half while Bella took the right. It was much, much better that sleeping on a cot on the floor.

"So," Bella spoke. "Can you tell me your story?"

I chuckled softly. It was near eleven. "It's really late, Izzy," I told her. "Tomorrow morning—I promise."

I heard her huff, and I could almost see her pouting. "Fine," she huffed. "Night, Sonny."

"Night, Izzy," I replied. Very soon, I fell into a peaceful slumber. For the first time in months, I didn't dream about vampires or werewolves.

HunnyABee: This was an awesome chapter to write. The next will be all mine, I think. It's going to be even better—believe me. Personally, I really loved this chapter, mostly because of the emotion and the conflict/resolution that's just starting to show. So now Addie knows Bella's story... How will Bella take to Addie's story? I want to read your reviews, along with your guesses. What do you think she is? ;)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!