Chapter 2

Revelations

A/N: Thanks to the one person who reviewed this so far! This chapter goes out to you, razzledazzle96! Also, please people, REVIEW! I love feedback; good or bad, if need be, so send it in!

Bella's POV

I snapped awake, sweat pouring out of every pore of my body, causing my thin bed sheets to cling to my slender frame. I was breathing like I'd just run a marathon, my eyes probably round like saucers.

I glanced over at the clock on the nightstand beside me. 3:15 AM. Ugh, I'd only slept for 4 hours. A smile crept onto my face. It had been 7 hours since that stupid pig died. If there was a silver lining on my cloud, it must have changed to gold by now.

Grinning from ear to ear now, I slung myself out of bed, into a pair of slippers and a bathrobe before heading downstairs to get something to eat. I was awake and there was no way I could back to sleep, even if I tried.

As I entered the kitchen, I noticed a dark shadow in the corner of the room. A high-pitched voice reached my ears, each word filled with sadness and fear. "How could you do that to me, Bella? He didn't deserve that!"

In a flash, I was on top of the shadow, pinning its throat to the wall with one hand while another curled into a fist. "I did what I had to," I snarled, eyes flashing in the darkness. "He got what he deserved, that's for sure, no matter what you say!" I let go of her throat as I moved away from Alice Jenkins, my ex-best friend.

"He wronged you, and I can understand never forgiving him, but I think you took this a little too far!" she protested, her hazel eyes filling with tears as she spoke. "You're not God, Bella! You can't go around letting people live and die at your hand!"

I whirled around again, just before I had reached the counter. Good thing for her I did, because I left my weapons there after I cleaned all the swine blood from them. "I had every right to do what I did! If that had been Jasper out there, don't you dare tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing!"

A single tear leaked from her eye and down her cheek. "I wouldn't have done that, not to Jasper, not to Edward, not to…" She never finished her sentence, as my voice overtook hers and she shriveled into a corner as I screamed.

"DON'T YOU EVER MENTION HIS NAME IN MY PRESCENCE! IS THAT CLEAR?" I roared, my voice ending the word 'clear' with a low growl. Exhaling through my nose, I turned to the stove and started to make some scrambled eggs. "You should leave Alice. I don't want to hurt you."

She had recovered and was heading for the back door. "No, you're wrong Bella. You already hurt me. You killed a part of me when you killed him. I thought I could have talked some sense into you. I guess I was wrong. You're too much like Niana than you ever realized."

A shuriken took her in the shoulder and she screamed a long, high-pitched note that would have shattered glass if she'd been an opera singer.

I was on her before she'd hit the ground. "I… am nothing like HER!" I spat, holding my foot on her chest. "She's a malicious whore who steals whatever she wants! If she had wanted Jasper, it would have been him. If she'd wanted Rosalie, she'd have gotten her one way or another." I got right down in her face. I could smell the fear radiating off her like I could smell the burning eggs in the griddle a few feet away. "I would never have hurt anyone like that."

"But you did, Bella. You didn't just hurt someone, you killed. You can't fix that. It won't heal, like a broken bone. It's final."

I nodded. "I'm damn glad I did it too. That bastard got what he deserved and now they're both rotting in hell."

Alice reached up and slapped me across the face. One of her long nails split my cheek open, and I started to bleed. "Do you realize what you just said?" she cried shrilly. "You just called the one person you ever loved a bastard! Does that not get through your head at all?"

I reached down and grabbed her throat as I had Edward's, and lifted her off the ground, letting her toes dangle a few inches. "If he really loved me, we wouldn't be here, having this discussion." I opened the door and threw her out. "Go cry on your boyfriend's grave, why don't you? Just goes to prove that you weren't worthy of having any of them, even Edward."

Alice turned to go, muttering something under her breath.

"You got something to say to me?" I said after her. "You say it to my face!"

She turned back towards me, eyes flashing. "I never wanted Edward and he never wanted me, let's get that clear right now! Second, I blame you for Jasper's death! If he hadn't been trying to save you from that bear when we were kids, he'd still be alive and so would Edward for that matter!"

She was openly sobbing now as she continued. "You're taking away everything that I ever cared about. First Jasper, then Edward… and now you've pushed yourself away from me. I'm alone, the only thing I fear in this world! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? WELL?"

I answered her by closing the door in her face. That life is behind me. I am now what I've always wanted to be – independent, self-reliant, and strong. No one would ever protect me again. I would do that myself.