Chapter 2

Here's where it will start to get interesting. Hope you like, but I'm okay if you don't. I don't expect everyone to love it no matter how much I wish. I own nothing!

Ugh..another early day. And I was having such a good dream. It involved my latest crush, and the most sought after man on the east coast. I quickly went through my dream so that I had it committed to memory, but I couldn't think about it too long before my best friend, Alice Brandon, running into my room. "Wake up! Come on, Bella! Get up, get up, get uuuupp!" Alice yelled, most likely waking up half of the city. I will never understand how she managed to convinced me to give her a key to my apartment.

"Alice! Why the hell are you acting like the damn energizer bunny on speed at six in the morning! Did someone spike your coffee?" No one should have as much energy as this girl did. She's too happy in the mornings. One of these days I'm going to smack the fairy dust out of this damn pixie. I'm so not a morning person.

"Geeze Bells what the hell jumped up your ass this morning? Didn't you sleep well? It sure sounded like it." And then she giggled. She freaking giggled at me. "Aren't you excited to get to work? You know who comes back from his business trip today!" Yeah, I really wanted to smack her. She is always making fun of my crush on Edward Cullen. But can you blame me? He's absolutely amazing. His hair is the perfect shade of reds and browns, kind of a bronze color really. He is six feet 3 inches of pure man. He wears shirts that show his muscles but leave enough for the imagination. And his eyes! Don't even get me started on his gorgeous, green eyes with little flecks of gold hidden in them. He has the most amazing jaw line that is oh so lickable. It's sharp, angular, and perfect just like the rest of him. And if having the best body wasn't enough, he also has the brains and talent. He graduated college with a masters in business at 23 and is an expert at playing the piano. He could give Beethoven a run for his money, he is just that good. Hence the reason he is the boss of the music department at Cullen Inc.

I, however, work in the publishing department. I can only watch him from afar. Edward doesn't date though, so it makes it a little easier knowing I'm not the only one who can't get him, not that I really tried. Girls are always throwing themselves at him but he always turns them down with harsh words and glares that could burn you. Yet another reason why I would never tell him of my affections. But it is only a crush, and honestly his attitude evens out with his looks so that I mostly see him as just another person.

My boss is Jasper Whitlock, and he is Edward's adopted brother and best friend. He's also Alice's major crush. If you think I'm bad, you should see how she acts around him. Every time she brings up Edward I just get back at her with mentions of the much less sexy, but still hot, Jasper. His personality is much better though, so I can see what Alice sees in him, at least.

"Alice you are just too chipper for me right now. Give me time to wake up. And don't you even think about starting on about Edward when I know for a fact you dream about Jasper." Yeah, that's right, Pixie. I hear you at night. Looks like I'm not the only sleep talker around here. "Be careful what you say this morning because I know for a fact Jasper is coming back and I could always put in a few words for you. I'm sure he'd love to hear about your foot fetish." I had to smile at the look on her face. Alice is obsessed with feet, but she'd be embarrassed if anyone found out.

"BELLA SWAN DON'T YOU DARE!" Uh oh. Now she's getting pissed. Just what I need, an angry fairy. Well, I hope she doesn't curse me or some odd shit like that. She'd probably force me to go shopping. Ugh. I also don't need her angry with me when she could see Edward today. Did I mention Alice works with me? Well she does. Only she works in the fashion department under Tanya Denali. We both hate her. But Alice will do anything for the sake of her career in fashion. I would do the same for my career in publishing.

Eight hours later I found myself finishing my day at work getting ready to meet up with Alice. We are going shopping tonight for the Christmas party coming up at work. I told you she would make me go. And she has the perfect excuse now. I was so tired though, and I just wanted to go home to relax. Today had been weird and stressful. I had this feeling, like I was being monitored or something. Like my every move was being watched. Normally, I would just write it all off as me being paranoid, but something just felt different this time. It was like I knew something was about to happen, but as soon as I felt that way I would realize how crazy it sounded and put it behind me. But I just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was always watching me. It was probably just Tyler from tech. He had a crush on me for a while. I'll just have to talk to Alice about this, she could help me figure it out. Speaking of, where is she? She's usually here by now. Just then, Mike, one of the workers from the acting department came over.

"Hey Bella! Are you waiting for Alice? She isn't here. Didn't she tell you? She got a call earlier from a friend who's mother is in the hospital. She left early." Well that's weird. Alice always tells me when she leaves early. It must have been really important.

"Thanks Mike. No she didn't tell me but she was probably to worried about her friend. Do you know who it was?"

"No, she didn't say. But she did sound worried. And since she isn't here and your plans with her are obviously cancelled-" I stopped him.

"How did you know about our plans?" I asked him. It's weird how he always knows these things before anyone else. I wouldn't be surprised if he bugged my office, or even Alice's. He's just creepy like that. Maybe that's how he always knows just when to ask me out knowing that I will be free. I always tell him no. He just doesn't get it. I never knew someone could be so dense.

"Well you see-" He got cut off again, but this time by Edward. Which reminds me of why else today just felt off. Edward. Normally he wouldn't even look my direction, but today I could feel his stares. I looked up the first time I felt them and saw pure hatred. His gaze was so strong and unwavering. I felt truly afraid in that moment yet I don't know why. But then I thought I was going crazy. He had no reason to stare at me with such intensity. I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I don't even work with him so even if I did do something wrong he wouldn't be the one to deal with the problem. It would be either Carlisle or Jasper. So I looked up again. He was talking with his assistant, Maria, and would occasionally glance at me. I didn't see any of the animosity I thought I saw before. Hmmm…maybe it was just my imagination.

"Mike what are you doing? I told you twenty minutes ago to fix Jessica's computer and yet here you are chatting away. That's not what we pay you for!" Mike looked ready to pee his pants. I don't blame him. The look Cullen was giving him was enough to make the scariest of monsters hide away and check under their beds for him.

"Y-yes s-sir. So-sorry sir. It-it wont happen again, I promise." Mike stuttered. Poor boy. I kind of felt bad for him. I guess that's what he gets for being too friendly though. Edward then looked at me, and it seemed like he was trying hard to figure something out. So I looked away and started to leave.

Fifteen minutes later I had everything gathered and was ready to leave. I was the last one to leave my building except Jasper. I would've been gone sooner but he had one last thing for me to do before I left. I didn't mind though. Jasper was always kind and rarely made anyone stay after.

The only other car in the parking garage where I work was a black Mercedes with tinted windows. Wow, I thought, I must be getting out later than I thought. I walked right by the car, not even noticing when the door on the drivers side opened. I was too busy trying to grab my phone and keys. I needed to call Alice and make sure everything was okay. It's rare when she leaves so abruptly without even a short goodbye.

As soon as I reached my old, beat up Chevy and had my keys ready, I felt a hand on my mouth and a knife at my neck. I was suddenly terrified.

"Put your keys and your phone in my pocket." Growled a voice. I was frozen with fear, my heart beating its way out of my chest. "NOW!" the person, a man, yelled, and I jumped. I struggled to find his pockets, but after thirty seconds or so I managed to shakily put them in. "Good girl. Now, I want you to keep quiet and walk with me. If you make even the tiniest sounds I wont hesitate to slit your throat. Am I clear?"

"Y-yes. I un-understand." I slowly started to walk forward and noticed we were heading toward the Mercedes. I was tempted to try and look at who had me but was too afraid to do anything other than walk. It was taking all my concentration not to collapse right here. I just decided to try and get a good look at him when he gets in the car. What I didn't expect was to be blindfolded. But again I was to afraid to do anything about it.

After the blindfold was put on I was roughly thrown into the car. I let out a whimper of pain and immediately froze, hoping he wouldn't be angry. Lucky for me he didn't seem to notice, or he just didn't acknowledge me. The car smelled new, I could smell that the seats were leather.

Eventually the mystery man started to drive. It felt as though we were driving for hours when really it couldn't have been more than just one. "where are you taking me? Who are you?" I figured that since we were alone now I could talk without having to worry. But..no, I was wrong. He was pissed.

"What did I just tell you!" He yelled. "You are not to talk! Say one more word and I will hurt you!" I was too afraid to call him out, so all I did was sit in the car and silently cry. Tears were pouring down my face so quickly now. All of a sudden the car came to a screeching stop. Of course, not being buckled in I managed to roll and land between the seats. oww. Oh, that hurt. Stupid car.

All too soon MM (mystery man) was out of his door and opening mine. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like a rag doll. From what I could tell we entered an old house. I was still blindfolded so I wasn't completely sure but I just figured, where else would you take your hostage? It's not like he was going to give me the best accommodations. We walked, well he walked and I was carried, up two sets of stairs and down a hallway that seemed to be miles long. Eventually we stopped in a room somewhere where I was thrown on the ground. What the hell did I do to make him so grumpy? Is it too much to ask that he doesn't throw me around anymore? That shit hurts!

I felt him taking off my blindfold next. I was hopeful to see to who had taken me, but when I looked up he was wearing a mask. "Are you ever going to show me your face or are you just going to hide it whenever I'm around? Are you that disgusted by your looks?" I said just to get him angry. If I was gonna be upset then so was he. Unfortunately I still hadn't learned what it meant to be a hostage and not in control.

"Shut the hell up!" The next thing I heard was a smack, but it took me a second before I could feel the pain. It stung, and I let out a sob. "You listen and you listen well. I'm in charge around here and you wont talk to me like that. I'll show you my face when and only when I want to." As soon as I stood up he hit me again, as if to prove his point. Like I didn't already get it.

The next thing I know im being pulled up from the ground and backed into a wall. We were so close together, and I could feel his breath on my face. He leaned in closer so I tried to push him away. All that did was anger him and he grabbed my arms and pinned my legs. The only thing I could do now was turn my head, so that's exactly what I did. He leaned in close to me and whispered, "you're mine now. Nothing you do will get you away. I've waited so long for this moment and im not going to let it end now."

As soon as he finished speaking he forcefully grabbed my face and turned my head. I knew that I would have bruises from the pressure he was putting on my face. When I was facing him again he immediately crashed his lips to mine, before I could try to wriggle free from his grip. And the more I tried to get away, the harder he held on. So I just gave up. I stood completely still and hoped it would end. Thankfully, it did.

"I'm leaving, but I'll be back soon." He told me. Like I wanted to hear that. I wanted him gone forever. "When I come back I want you to be more willing. We both know you can do better than pretending to be a corpse. If not then daddy might just have to suffer for your stubbornness." Oh. My. God. Charlie. He's threatening to hurt Charlie if I don't cooperate. So I slowly nod my head as tears fall and I choke back a sob. I was so scared of what was going to happen now. It was as if time was frozen and I was stuck living in one, horrible moment. All I could think about was that if something happened to Charlie because of me I wouldn't be able to live with myself. So I continued nodding hoping he would leave. And he did. Right after a quick second kiss, which was thankfully to fast for me to even have time to think about responding.

As soon as he was out the door I ran to the bed I saw when I first looked around. I curled up into a ball and cried until the world faded away and I was unconscious. My last thought though..at least I don't have to go shopping. Yay me.