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Prey For Protection

"For every ray of beauty there is an equal element of horror."

-Christopher Pike

Chapter Two:

Looking back, I realized that James' unpredictable behavior took a turn from bad to worse the summer before sophomore year. On July 2nd he turned sixteen and decided that he was going to drop out of school. He said he'd found a job washing dishes at an all-night diner.

Cal had taken to disappearing for varying amounts of time when he was between jobs; which only added to the family's ever-increasing list of burdens. James felt like it was up to him to be the man of the house in his father's absence. I understood that he wanted to help his mother in any way he could, but I hated to see him quit school.

I didn't get to see him very much at all that summer. He worked into the wee hours, came home long enough to take a nap, and was off to work at his second job before the sun was up. I didn't know anything at all about his second job, except that it was where he'd met Victoria.

I will never forget the first time I met her. James didn't have to work that day, so I was hanging out at his house. We'd just finished watching Talladega Nights, and we were still sprawled across his bed talking when the loud rapping on the door startled us both. Before he had a chance to answer, the door swung open and there stood one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen.

She had bright red hair that fell below her shoulders in large wild curls; and her skin was so white it appeared as though she had never been exposed to the sun. She was wearing a pair of five-inch heels, but she looked to be close to 5'9 without them. She was dressed in a pair of skin-tight black skinny jeans and an oversized lime green tunic belted at her hips with a wide black leather belt. In spite of the fact that it was nearly 8 PM she was also wearing a pair of oversized black plastic sunglasses. She moved with cat-like grace as she stepped into the room, and the slow smile that spread across her face seemed anything but friendly.

"James." I heard her say. Her voice was high-pitched, almost babyish.

James stood up immediately and smiled warmly at the intruder. "Victoria!" he greeted, surprise evident in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

Victoria's mouth shifted into a petulant pout at his question. "Now James," her voice taking on a teasing quality, "if I didn't know any better I'd think you weren't happy to see me. I've been so anxious to meet your little friend." She turned to me before adding, "you must be James' Isabella. We've heard so very much about you. My name is Victoria, and these," she gestured toward the door, "are my friends." She nodded toward the doorway at a small group of people indicating, I assumed, that they were to carry on with their own introductions, which is exactly what they did.

"Good evening Isabella," said the dark-skinned man from his place in front of the others in the doorway. He had a thick French accent, and seemed to glide into the room instead of walking. "My name is Laurent. James has told us much about you. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." As he said this he reached out and took my hand in his. His hand was like ice! He bowed his head as he brought my hand up, causing his long dreadlocks to fall forward as he pressed his unnaturally cool lips against my skin. He wore dark jeans and a pale blue button down with the sleeves rolled up. He had a long black duster draped across his arm and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of small wire framed glasses with rose tinted lenses.

I smiled uneasily up at him and nodded in acknowledgement before quickly, but gently pulling my hand from his frozen grip. He smiled at me in return before gliding past me and sitting stiffly in the chair by James' desk.

I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and turned my attention back to the door to see a couple stepping across the threshold. The girl looked young, undoubtedly the youngest of the group, I couldn't imagine her being any more than fourteen years old. Her chin-length dark brown hair framed her narrow face, and she was every bit as pale as Victoria. She was about my height, with a slight, slender build. She wore light blue jeans, a purple cotton t-shirt, and a pair of purple canvas sneakers. She had an almost pained expression on her face, and when she lifted her gaze to meet mine, I nearly gasped out loud. Her eyes were bright red.

We're not talking been-on-a-binge-red, like Cal's eyes looked more often than not, either. Her irises were red. It was obviously contacts lenses, no one's eyes are naturally that color, but it was freaky looking nonetheless. She didn't speak, or even smile; she just stood there silently staring at me with that pained look on her face. She stood so still I could've sworn that she wasn't even breathing.

A moment later, the guy standing beside her broke the awkward silence. He was very big, tall and thick through the shoulders. Like his companions he was dressed casually in snug fitting, dark, blue jeans and a black cotton t-shirt. He had a black Oakland Raiders ball cap pulled down low over his face keeping his eyes hidden. His skin had a slightly olive complexion underneath his chalky pallor; and his black hair was cropped short. He had his arm slung casually around the young girl's shoulders; although he looked to be almost ten years older than her. "Hello Isabella," he said, "I'm Felix; and this," he indicated the girl with a nod of his head, "is Bree. You'll have to excuse her, she's uh… not feeling well today."

I nodded and stood there, uncomfortably staring down at the toe of my shoe as they joined the others on the far side of the room. I heard a murmured conversation behind me; and was surprised when I turned around to see James blankly staring into Victoria's eyes like some lovesick puppy. I tried, unsuccessfully, to quell the feeling of jealousy that immediately burned in my chest, and caused my stomach to become a giant knot.

Victoria saw me looking at them, my mouth agape, and she smiled at me. I saw her lips move, but if she said anything it was too low for me to hear her. I turned, and took a tentative step toward the door, but stopped when she called out to me.

"Isabella…"

When I spun to face her again, she raised her sunglasses and I suddenly felt like the air had been knocked out of me. Her eyes were just like Bree's. I heard a dark chuckling and looked over at her companions; Felix had his ball cap pushed back and Laurent was holding his glasses, all of them were looking at me, and their eyes were the same. All of their eyes were red.

I muttered something incomprehensible about needing to go home and started for the door again. I heard Victoria say, "don't be a stranger," and her tinkling laughter followed me all the way out the front door.

By the time I got home, I was chastising myself for overreacting. I was sure that they were all having a good laugh at my expense. I felt like an idiot, thinking I'd given them the exact reaction they were looking for in wearing the ridiculous contacts.

The following Thursday, James went camping with Victoria, Laurent, Felix and Bree. He said it was an employee get-a-way of sorts. They were supposed to be gone for the weekend, but six days later I still hadn't heard from him so I called his house. His mother answered the phone and told me that he had decided to extend his trip. She seemed nervous; but the truth was she was always sounded nervous anymore.

When the school year started he still hadn't come back. I called his house several times, but each time his mother answered and the conversation was always pretty much the same.

"Hey Sophie, is James back yet?" I'd always ask.

"Sorry sweetheart, he isn't. I did speak with him though, just a couple days ago. He sounded fine dear, please don't worry yourself."

"Right," I'd always respond. "Well, you'll let him know I called?"

"Of course I will dear," she'd assure me. "I'm sure he'll be home soon."

He never called.

My sixteenth birthday came and went, and still there was no word from or about James.

The following weekend I decided to go to his house; but much to my dismay, it was empty. Not empty as in no one was home either, but empty as in totally void of any sign of being inhabited. I peeked through every window I could get to, but every room was just as vacant as the one before it. It looked like no one lived there at all any more.

I went home as quickly as possible and spent the remainder of the weekend in my room crying. The same questions bounced around in my head over and over… Where did he go? When did he go? Why didn't he say anything? I didn't even know he'd ever come back from that camping trip, but it was pretty obvious that he had. I had no idea why he would just disappear like that, but I do know that it broke my heart.

Time was redefined for me after that. I felt like someone had reached in and brutally ripped my heart from my chest. James wasn't just my best friend, he wasn't just my boyfriend; he was so much more than that… I couldn't even pretend to be interested in anything. Days blurred into weeks, and weeks quickly became months.

Renee tried everything she could think of to help me out of my funk, but eventually even she decided to just give me a little more time and some space to work things out on my own. By Thanksgiving however, she was threatening to send me to therapy if I didn't snap out of it. So when Tiffany called the following evening, to see if I wanted to go shopping with her I surprised both her and Renee by accepting the invitation.

I decided that for Renee and Phil I'd try the old 'fake it 'til you make it' philosophy. So, the following morning after breakfast, I went through the motions of getting ready to go to the mall. I still felt hollow inside, but I refused to let it show. I'd just finished pulling my hair into a ponytail when I heard Tiffany's black Ford Edge pull up out front. I took a deep breath and glanced at my reflection one last time before heading out.

Renee was so thrilled by the fact that I was at least attempting to 'rejoin the living' (her words not mine,) that she slipped me her credit card. She hugged me tight and whispered, "try and have a little fun Bella," as I walked out the door to Tiffany's waiting SUV.

The drive to Paradise Valley Mall was surprisingly pleasant. Tiffany didn't bring up James or my self-imposed solitude or anything vaguely related to the situation. Instead we chatted about family gatherings, holiday plans and Christmas lists. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed her company.

Once we arrived at the mall the day just seemed to fly by. The place was jam-packed with holiday shoppers; but Tiffany dragged me into almost every store in the mall. I was glad I'd eaten a decent breakfast, because we didn't so much as pause all afternoon. We made several trips out to the car to stow our packages over the course of the day in order to keep our hands free enough to keep shopping.

Finally, just before 7 o'clock we were done. We decided to grab sandwiches and smoothies in the bustling food court before retracing our steps and heading for home. We made small talk as we ate and I realized that for the first time since James' disappearance, I had in fact enjoyed myself. Between the festive music playing in the background, the beautiful holiday decorations that hung from every visible surface and Tiff's constant, light-hearted chatter, it was hard not to have a good time.

On the way to Tiffany's car I got the distinct feeling that I was being watched. I looked around and could've sworn that I caught a brief glimpse of familiar dirty-blond hair; but when my eyes darted back to where I thought I'd seen it, there was nothing there.

I must've imagined it.

But over the course of the weeks leading up to winter vacation it kept happening. I thought I saw him out of the corner of my eye outside the house, at school and just about anywhere else I found myself. It seemed more common during the evening hours, but there were a couple of daytime 'sightings' as well.

I mentioned it to Renee, and she assumed that it was just my overactive imagination. She said that I wanted to see him so bad that my brain was trying to let me see him. I had never been able to confirm a single sighting, so I accepted her theory as likely enough.

The day before Christmas Eve, Renee and Phil went to a Christmas party. I'd managed to avoid going by claiming to need the time to finish wrapping gifts. I'd actually finished all of my gift wrapping the day before, while they were out doing their last minute shopping; but I had no desire to get all dressed up to hang around a bunch of strangers all evening.

I'd just finished washing my dinner dishes and was about to settle down and reread Wuthering Heights for the thirty-seventh time when I heard an unexpected knock at the front door. A quick glance at the clock showed it was 8:36 PM. A little late for company, I thought as I strolled toward the door.

I swung the door wide and almost fell back into it as I stood there gaping in shock at the figure that greeted me.

James.

I opened and closed my mouth several times, but at that moment words simply failed me. Was he really standing on my front porch? What? How? Why? I have no idea how long I stood there staring at him slack jawed.

"Hey Izzy, long time no see huh baby?" he asked casually as if he hadn't just up and disappeared for months without a word. "Aren't you gonna invite me in?" he asked, pulling the storm door open and taking a step forward, waiting for me to step aside and allow him entry.

I blinked twice in silent disbelief, and felt my roller coaster of emotions climbing slowly out of shock and begin its plummet into anger.

My brain went into overdrive. He seemed different. His voice, it just wasn't right. It was definitely his, but it sounded different, more melodious, than usual. His hair was exactly the same length, but looked softer somehow. He was wearing those ridiculous, red contacts that his new friends seemed so fond of; and his normally golden skin looked pale and chalky.

I wordlessly stepped back and he stepped into the house, gently closing the door behind him. His gaze locked with my own and before I'd had a chance to scream or yell or cry or demand a single answer I was stunned into silence. I shuddered involuntarily as my emotional roller coaster jumped track and began its sudden descent into fear.

He smirked and then closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Seeming to thoroughly enjoy whatever scent he was picking up.

I didn't know why, but all of a sudden I was terrified of James...

When he opened his eyes again his lips twisted into a grin that I could only describe as evil, and his eyes seemed darken, until they were almost black. He arched his brow and asked, his voice barely above a whisper, "Have you ever smelled fear Izzy?"

He stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer to his preposterous question. I shook my head, doubting my ability to form coherent words.

His grin widened, "it's intoxicating Izz, so fuckin' sweet." He inhaled deeply again, his eyes fluttering back into his head as he did so.

My eyes darted around the room, seeking a means of escape or self-defense. When he looked at me again there was an undeniable hunger in his eyes. I took a step back but he advanced a step each time I backed up.

"Now, now, Izzy," he cooed at me, "what's wrong? You don't have to be afraid of me. Remember when we said we'd be together forever? I can make it happen Izz. I can really make forever happen for us baby. Isn't that what we want? What you want?"

I maintained my slow retreat further and further into the house. He sounded crazy, or high on something. He continued his advance matching me step for step.

"Wh- Where were you?" I asked, hoping to distract him, or at least stall him temporarily.

"I went camping," he shrugged nonchalantly; and then he smiled and my breath caught at just how beautiful he was.

My mind felt foggy, and without deciding to I found myself smiling at him. He's here, I thought to myself. He's safe and he's here and that's more than I'd dared to wish for. All my questions, all my accusations ceased to exist.

I stopped my retreat.

He pressed on in his advance; stopping only once he was standing mere inches away from me. He crooked his index finger under my chin and tilted my face up toward his. His finger was ice cold, but I was more caught up in his cool sweet breath that seemed to invade my senses.

I loved him, and he loved me

I had always loved him, and he had always been there.

I would always love him. Forever.

He was my everything, and I was his.

I felt his arm slip around my shoulders and he pulled me to his chest. My arms went around his waist of their own accord. I felt his nose in my hair as he deeply inhaled my scent.

There was a tiny voice inside my head screaming for me to run away. Insisting that something was very wrong here, and that I was right to fear James. Because although I didn't understand it, deep down I knew that this was in fact, not 'my James'.

I heard the voice, and a large part of me acknowledged its validity. However, instead of running or screaming I felt myself lean into his cool, rock hard chest.

He knelt down slightly and swept his free arm under my knees so that he was holding me bridal style. In less than a second we were in my bedroom. He laid me down atop my quilt and sat down beside me.

"James…" I muttered, suddenly exhausted.

He leaned down and I shivered as his cool breath kissed my ear when he whispered, "forever." I felt his cool lips press against my neck before the fog in my mind completely took over and then gave way to an all-encompassing darkness.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

The landing gear hitting the tarmac jolted me from my thoughts. A glance out the window confirmed that we were touching down in Minneapolis; I'd been lost in my own little world the entire flight. The plane taxied to a stop and eventually the passengers began disembarking. I sat in my seat until almost everyone else was gone before grabbing my carry on bag from the overhead compartment and getting off the plane.

Once inside the terminal I quickly located the gate that my connecting flight would be departing from before setting off to find a way to pass the next hour and a half. I wandered the terminal for several minutes before coming across a newsstand. I strolled in and quickly perused the selection of books and magazines; I selected a sudoku book to help pass the time and then made my way across the hallway to coffee shop. I ordered a white chocolate latte' and an apple Danish and spent the next forty-five minutes filling in the sudoku book.

I sent text messages to Renee, Charlie and Tiffany letting them all know that I'd safely made it thus far. Charlie was adamant that I not give away any details in any of my messages. He'd gone so far as to make up a whole 'secret code' system. I was supposed to text them and say, 'Made it so far' from MN, and then I could text Renee and Tiffany from Seattle, and say 'On a roll', once I'd met up with Charlie to let them know I was still safe. Once we got to Forks, I was supposed to text them and say, 'It's all good', to let them know that I'd arrived safely. At that point Charlie was going to replace my cell phone and I wouldn't be able to contact either of them except by email; and even then I couldn't say anything to give away my location. Charlie didn't want James to have any chance of coming across any clues to my whereabouts.

Part of me was annoyed at him for being so completely controlling and for forbidding me to speak to two of the most important people in the world to me. The other part, the larger part, knew that Charlie loved me and had vowed to protect me, to keep me safe at all costs; and he would do everything in his power to do that. He'd already promised Renee that he would maintain regular contact with her and keep her up-to-date on everything about me, as well as any news he comes across about James.

At 4:10 I hurriedly made my way back to my departure gate. I arrived just in time to hear the boarding call so I fell in line with the other passengers and boarded the plane. Once onboard I dug my iPod, my sudoku book and an ink pen out of my bag before stowing it in the overhead compartment.

I settled into my seat and sighed deeply mentally preparing myself for the next leg of my journey. I clipped the pen onto the puzzle book and tucked the book under my leg. I wasn't interested in puzzles any more, and even if I had been I wouldn't be able to work in the book until we'd reached our cruising altitude. I leaned my head back and tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. I was exhausted, but I still had a long way to go before I could even pretend to feel safe enough to really rest.

A/N: As always thanks for reading!