Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Aubrey...Aubrey...wake up..."
Something cold pressed up against her head. Her eyes opened blearily, and she blinked a few times to clear her vision. The worried face of Marek swam into view. She blinked again.
"I'm cold..." she said, feeling the icy spread across the back of her head. Marek sighed in relief, and Aubrey was suddenly aware of his arms around her.
"You hit your head. I uh...put it in ice cream," he said sheepishly. Aubrey snorted, and he smiled at her.
"What flavor?"
"Vanilla, if you must know," said Marek. Aubrey smiled, looking at him lovingly. Despite the pain, she had never felt more at home. But something stirred in the back of her mind.
"Where's Roger? What happened?" She tried to sit up, but Marek pushed her back down into the large ice cream container.
"I got here in time to pull him off of you," he said soothingly.
"Is he dead?" asked Aubrey.
"Er...no...he got away...but he's not going to come after you anymore. I've made sure of that," said Marek, bending down and kissing her cheek. Aubrey stared at him.
"How do you know?" she asked.
"We talked," said Marek simply.
"Where are the others?" asked Aubrey, looking around at the still-empty ice cream parlor.
"They're on their way. I called them once he left," said Marek. Aubrey sighed, looking across the room. Then she looked back at Marek.
"Who's Nathaniel?" she asked. Marek's eyes hardened slightly.
"What?" he asked.
"Roger...before you came...he mentioned someone named Nathaniel," said Aubrey.
"Roger's a lunatic," said Marek shortly, shaking his head. "Don't fret over his words." He bent down to kiss her again, but she lifted a hand and stopped him halfway there, sitting up. He didn't stop her. A wave of pain enveloped the back of her skull, but she ignored it.
"Marek, I'm going to ask you this once, and I want you to answer me truthfully," she said.
"Of course," said Marek.
"Do you love me, or not?" Marek rolled his eyes.
"Aubrey, we're just frie--"
"Then stop acting like you love me!" shouted Aubrey. "You keep leading me to think that you do! And then I have to ask and you break my heart! I love you! To me it's not 'just friends'! So either you say you love me, or you leave me alone!"
Marek sat silently, staring at her, an unrecognizable expression in his eyes. Aubrey felt her eyes filling with tears, half from the pain of her head, half from the pain of her heart. She pulled herself over to the counter and helped herself into a standing position. Her legs wobbled slightly, but she kept a hold on the counter for support. Marek stood and walked over to the other side of the room, leaning motionlessly against the wall, his eyes on the street outside.
The minutes trickled by slowly, like sap out of a cut tree. Finally, the familiar black Mercedes pulled up outside, and Jasper, Rosalie, and Carlisle stepped out. They entered the shop, walking over to Aubrey.
"Are you alright?" asked Carlisle, worry in his voice. "When Marek called you were still out..."
"I'm fine," said Aubrey. "Where're Alice and Bella?"
"Bella ran out of the airport," said Jasper resentfully. "When I was supposed to be watching her. She went to her house, and then to the dance studio. James got her. Her legs were broken and she was bitten, but Edward sucked the venom out, and now she's in the hospital with him, Esme, Alice, and Emmett watching her."
"Where's Roger?" asked Carlisle, looking around.
"I took care of him," said Marek, not looking at Aubrey. She felt her heart throb once painfully.
"Are you hurt?" asked Carlisle, turning back to Aubrey.
"He hit her head on the wall," said Marek. "I put it in an ice cream container." Rosalie snorted.
"It seems to be alright now," said Carlisle, running a cold hand over the back of Aubrey's skull. "Just going to be a very big bruise."
"Can we go now?" asked Aubrey.
"Yes, we have to go see Bella at the hospital. Might want to get you some bandages too, until the bleeding stops at least," said Carlisle.
Aubrey noticed a slight red on his fingers from when he felt the wound. Jasper seemed oddly tense now. Carlisle shot him a wary glance before leading Aubrey outside. Rosalie followed close behind. Aubrey guessed the only reason she was there was because she obviously disliked Bella more than her. Marek followed after her, keeping an eye on Jasper, who was obviously restraining himself with every fiber of his being.
The car ride to the hospital was impeccably short, obviously due to the vampires' love of speeding, and soon enough they were walking along the spotless white halls to a room on the left. There lay Bella, nearly completely covered in bandages and gauze. Edward sat in a chair by her side, staring at her unblinkingly.
"How is she?" asked Aubrey. Edward looked up at her.
"She'll recover," he said, but he was saying this to himself as well. Carlisle entered the room with a roll of bandages, carefully winding them around Aubrey's head.
"This would be much easier if your hair wasn't so sticky," he said.
"Then tell Marek that next time he shouldn't stick my head in a bucket of ice cream," said Aubrey. "I had no say in the matter."
"Really, he should be ashamed of himself," spat Edward. "Endangering your life like that?"
"What?" asked Aubrey. Then she remembered Roger's words.
"He was blocking your mind and his mind and we couldn't locate you," said Edward angrily. "Finally he withdrew the block and I could see where you were. But honestly...why was he doing that?"
"I don't know," said Aubrey, hoping that her block was still up. She and Marek might not be speaking now, but she wouldn't betray him out of spite. Edward turned back to the hospital bed, sighing as he looked at the heart monitor.
"Aubrey, we've booked a flight for you back to Forks," said Carlisle, hanging up the silver cell phone. "Marek will accompany you back home."
"Thank you," said Aubrey.
"You have three hours to get there, so I'd hurry. Take the Mercedes. Alice will pick it up later."
They said their goodbyes and then she and Marek set off for the Phoenix Airport wordlessly. The entire journey back to Forks was made in silence. Aubrey let silent tears fall several times when Marek wasn't looking, but she was sure he noticed them somehow. If he did, he didn't acknowledge them. At the airport in Seattle, Emmett's large Jeep was sitting in the parking lot. Marek let Aubrey inside, then entered the driver's seat, starting up the monstrous vehicle and speeding off.
No talk. No speech all the way to Aubrey's home. She got out in her driveway, quietly saying a meek little "Goodbye", but Marek didn't look at her, speeding off down the road wordlessly. Aubrey sighed, turning and walking up to her house, ringing the doorbell. The door opened, revealing a shirtless Jack, who straightened upon seeing his daughter, his mouth tightening.
"Ah...you're back," he said. He hadn't shaved those past few days, that much was certain.
"Hi, dad," said Aubrey.
They stood awkwardly, their eyes on each other, then Jack stepped forward and took his daughter up in an embrace which she gladly returned, holding him tightly to her as any unshed tears quickly made their exit. He was kissing her, holding her body to him in love. Then he let her go, letting her inside.
"So...eloping didn't work out?" he asked.
"I'm sorry Dad. I really am. I didn't mean any of what I said," said Aubrey. "I lied about everything. Even eloping. I just really needed to go."
"Apology excepted on one condition," said Jack.
"What is it?" asked Aubrey.
"You tell me what's really going on," he said. "Starting with how your head got to be covered in bandages."
"...Dad...if I tell you...will you promise not to tell anyone? Anyone at all. Nobody can know," said Aubrey. "I hate keeping secrets from you, and I really really really want this secret to be kept. So please, promise me?"
"I promise," said Jack.
"Okay...do you believe in vampires?"
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
DUN DUN DUUUUNNNN! She told him. Nice little ending there, aye? No this is not the end of the story! Just making that positively clear! No, this is lucky number 19!
REVIEW!!!