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I was amazed at how simple it was to get to the party that next day. I somehow managed to move with an uncharacteristic grace in my three inch heels. A part of me knew I should be worried about the damage I could manage to inflict upon myself and those unsuspecting bystanders if things had gone more 'Bella-like'. The hall was decorated with a beautiful wrapping of white twinkling lights. It was beautiful in its simplicity and a part of me knew it seemed slightly familiar. Like the ghost of a memory I couldn't quite put my finger on.
The room was filled with a large variety of people I didn't know. Players, their families, the coaches, owners, sponsors, anyone and everyone who had anything to do with Phil's minor league team was moving around the room, talking, laughing, dancing, and enjoying their night. My mom and Phil were off speaking to a gentleman on the far side of the room. Every once in a while Renee would turn to look at me. Each time, she would smile at me, but quickly turn back to the man they were talking to. I kept trying to get a look at him, but for some reason he was continuously just outside my line of vision. Not that it really mattered; it wasn't like I would have known who he was anyway.
Making my way over to a small, empty table near the edge of the dance floor, I sat down and crossed my legs, tenderly setting my drink down in front of me. Once again, my eyes began taking in my surroundings. Everyone around me was dressed in the most beautiful gowns and suits. It really was almost like prom, only for older people. Along the back wall of the room a large buffet was set up, lined with clear glass plates, Champaign glasses filled half-full by the lowest bidder, and a large array of finger foods and hot sandwiches. There were large round tables near the food area, covered in beautiful golden table cloths. A single purple flower sat in a simple stem vase in the center of the table.
As you came nearer to the dance floor, which was situated in the center of the room, the tables started to become smaller, more intimate. These were covered in shimmering blue table cloths, the bejeweled candles set at the center sparkling against the twinkling of the lights surrounding the room. Two couples were currently on the dance floor, spinning and twirling to waltz with a grace I could only dream of having myself. I was so entranced by their hypnotic movements I hadn't realized someone had come to stand in front of me until they were suddenly clearing their throat to grasp my attention.
Drawing my eyes from the mesmerizing dancers, my view landed on a relatively attractive man of about nineteen standing in front of me. Of course, I say relatively attractive. By most people's standards he would have been an extremely handsome man. Sadly, my standards had been vastly skewed by his perfection. I would forever have a different standard for attractiveness. Not that I ever expected someone to match his beauty, but his face would be forever present in my memory. Never tarnished and never diminished with the passing of time. There are some things you just can't forget.
As my gaze finally met with a pair of deep green eyes, I felt the need to immediately look away. There was something in those eyes I couldn't explain. "Hi," he finally said, obviously uneasy by the silence. Again, I turned to meet his gaze, surprised by the familiarity of his voice. "My name's Tyler. You're Bella, right? Phil and Renee's daughter?"
I nodded numbly, unsure why this seemed so unsettling, almost like a bad case of déjà vu. Something seemed very off, but I wasn't sure what it could have been.
"Well, Bella, would you like to dance?" he asked, his hand outstretched to help me to my feet. There was a confidence to his voice. It was almost as if he wasn't actually expecting me to answer, rather to just bend to his request.
"Dancing." I began, turning the thought over in my head. Why does it always have to come down to dancing? "I can't dance." I stated simply, hoping the topic would be dropped.
I wasn't quite that lucky. "That's alright, I can," he responded, pulling me to my feet with one swift movement. I hadn't remembered him actually reaching down or touching my arm. I felt suddenly out of control in the situation and I began searching the crowd for Renee. Surely, if she saw me being led to the dance floor she would come to my rescue. She knew her daughter was a danger to herself and others around her whenever coordinated movement was involved.
Once I finally managed to find Renee in the crowd, her gaze turned to me and she smiled deftly, the smile never really meeting her eyes. She seemed suddenly mechanical and detached. Before I could look closer and try to make sense of her expression, she turned and disappeared into the crowd. Scanning further and trying to find anyone who looked familiar, Phil, any of the other players I had already met, I caught the movement of someone out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to look, there was no-one standing in that area at all. I felt a sinking in my stomach. It wasn't just anyone I had seen, I was sure of it. It was a blur of golden hair and pale skin.
As Tyler pulled me to the center of the dance floor and began spinning us, I was surprised I didn't instantly trip over his feet, or my own, and tumble to the floor. While my feet were certainly far more awkward than his, I somehow managed to keep up in my movements. We were actually dancing across the floor. I was dancing and not hurting anyone. Realizing my feet had apparently somehow gained a consciousness of their own, I again began searching the crowd. For some reason people had begun lining up along the edge of the dance floor, watching us and the other dancers on the floor. Glancing around us, I realize Tyler and I are the only ones on the floor. Self consciousness began setting in, but it didn't have time to last long.
Almost immediately, I began seeing the occasional movement of familiarity along the outskirts of the crowd around the dance floor. Bronze hair appearing between two people's shoulders, pale skin standing out in contrast to most of the tanned Floridians in the room. As I started to question my sanity, I came to a screeching halt on the dance floor, throwing Tyler slightly off balance when he realized I wasn't going to move any further. Turning in a circle, I scanned the room frantically. I could see my mom and Phil standing among those along the edge of the dance floor; neither of them willing to meet my gaze. The crowd had nearly tripled in size and I was momentarily curious as to where all the people had come from. Surely there hadn't been this many people here earlier.
When the strangest sensation began tugging at the back of my brain, I turned 180 degrees far more quickly than I feel I should have been capable of, especially in the impractical shoes I was wearing for the evening. Slowly, the crowd in one area of the dance floor began separating and I nearly fell to the floor as the air was unexpectedly taken from my lungs. I wasn't crazy. He was here and the proof was slowly making his way through the crowd toward me. As he finally broke from the edge of the crowd he stopped and stayed standing near the edge of the dance floor.
Instinctively, I began making my way toward him. Once I reached within five feet of him, I stopped, unsure of what to say or do. When his eyes met with mine I reflexively took another step toward him. Something about his eyes seemed off. I couldn't seem to understand what was going on and here we were, in a room full of humans. This was a very dangerous situation. As my steps neared him, he began taking one step back for each I took forward.
In a flurry, there was a full head of fiery red hair standing beside him. My eyes went to focus on the new member of the crowd and I immediately took two full steps backwards. Victoria.
The events that took place next were almost incomprehensible. With a smile on his face, he put a protective arm around Victoria's shoulder and pulled her closer. His eyes seemed to turn even darker and in that moment, I realized what was different. Instead of the normal golden amber encircling his pupils, his eyes were a brilliantly bright red. Human blood; he had fed on human blood, and recently.
"What?" His voice seemed to toy. "You still haven't figured it out, have you?" He smiled my favorite crooked smile but there was an unknown edge of menace to it. "You really were a beautiful pawn. Such a lovely toy to play with." He turned his head to smile at Victoria and she continued with the story.
"I knew James' obsession would lead him to track you. Edward really played his role so perfectly, drawing on James' weakness for the hunt, for the game. "She smiled beautifully and turned to place her pale lips to his.
"And now that he's out of the way," he continued, "there's only one loose string to clean up." He turned his attention back to Victoria with a smile and I could see the glint of joy in her eyes. "She's all yours my love." And with that, Victoria leapt from the crowd with cat-like swiftness and prepared herself for the kill. She was going to kill me in front of all these witnesses, these future victims, and there was nothing I could do about it. He wanted me dead and out of the way. This had all been some sick game to free Victoria from James and it had worked. As the blood curdling scream ripped its way from my throat I only briefly heard my mother's voice calling my name before I felt the weight of Victoria slamming me to the ground.
"Bella, Bella" her voice sounded again and I sat suddenly upright, taking in my surroundings. The gaze of fellow travelers staring on in disbelief as my mother frantically shook my shoulders. The echo of the scream from my dream was still resounding in the small space of the coach passenger area and I suddenly realized why all eyes were on me. I had been having a nightmare. It wasn't the first I'd experienced since he had left and most of the time my own screams were what woke me from them. Luckily, most times the nightmares came when I was in the privacy of my own room rather than on a largely crowded 747.
Sinking back into my chair, I wanted nothing more than to disappear. My mother's hand was still on my shoulder as she was trying to speak soothing words to calm me. Slowly, the other passengers began going back about their own business, some mumbling about the crazy girl in seat 27B. Realizing I wasn't going to offer any information about the nightmare I had just lived through, Renee settled on saying "We'll be in Jacksonville in an hour" and went back to her reading, occasionally turning her eyes on me to make sure I was okay. All in all, this hadn't been the worst of my nightmares. Death wasn't something that scared me much anymore.
Then I realized, unfortunately, that the party was still going to happen tomorrow. Now that was something of which to be truly afraid.