Bella's lungs stopped working and her heart leapt into her throat. She glanced around quickly but the dark street was deserted. No one was around to hear her scream. Her cell phone was in her bag, just out of reach.
"Don't even think about it," James said softly. He pulled one side of his leather jacket over and revealed a sheathed knife. She instinctively stepped back.
"Leave me alone," Bella blurted, her voice sounding a million times stronger than she felt. She looked around again, hopelessness washing over her, and realized she would have to rely on what Emmett taught her. If James grabbed her, she'd have to react and run.
"I want you to come with me," he requested, a small smile playing around his lips. "I don't want to hurt you."
She looked longingly at the door behind him. Even if she made it past him, she had to unlock the door to get inside. Practically impossibly.
"Tell me why you want me," Bella demanded. She needed to distract him; keep him talking, buy some time. "I don't even know you."
"No, you don't know me," he agreed in a silky voice. "But I know all about you. I know that you sleep with your blanket wrapped all around you, that you like boy short panties, and that you use your strawberry body wash more than your coconut."
She stifled a gasp and felt her skin crawl, like a million tiny spiders were swarming her body. The full implication of his words took only a split second to sink in. He was in her house, digging through her underwear drawer…watching her sleep.
"Bella. Come along now," he crooned. His hand moved to hip level, and she kept one eye on that knife.
"You can't just – " she began. Movement behind James caught her eye, and she paused, but Jasper moved so quickly that James didn't realize what was happening. He practically burst out of the door, yelling for her to get inside as he tackled James.
"He's got a knife!" Bella screeched.
"Inside!" Jasper yelled.
Bella hovered for a second, torn between wanting to help Jasper and getting to safety. She ducked past them and darted into the apartment building. She stood in the foyer, watching them wrestle, and her hands shook as she dialed 911.
She looked up just in time to see James straddle Jasper's chest. He pulled back and landed a solid punch to his face. She screamed and banged on the window.
The sound was enough to distract James. He looked at her and their eyes connected through the glass. It gave Jasper the opportunity to toss James off him. James rolled away and landed in a crouch, ready to pounce. Instead, he gave Bella one more hungry glance and sneered at Jasper. Then he turned and took off down the street at a dead run. Police sirens wailed in the distance.
Bella pushed the door open and rushed Jasper. He stood up but staggered a bit.
"Jasper!" She wrapped one arm around his side and tried to support his weight. She all but shoved him into the foyer and the door locked behind them. "Are you okay? Why did you come down? How did you know?"
Jasper looked a little dazed. He sat down on the staircase and let his breath out in a whoosh. "I'm okay. He just surprised me a little. That fucker is strong."
"How did you know he was here?" Bella asked. She grabbed Jasper's chin and frowned, studying him intensely. A bruise was blossoming on his cheek. "Are you sure you're okay?"
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm fine, Bella. Nothing's really hurt except my ego." He frowned. "Emmett is never going to let me forget this. I can't believe I let him get away. I don't even think I got a decent punch in!"
Bella stifled a sigh of relief. If Jasper was lamenting over his lack of fighting skills, he was probably fine.
"Oh, and Edward called," Jasper added. "He said he just dropped you off, and I should make sure you got in okay."
Bella blushed. She wondered if Edward had confided in Jasper. "I was a little distracted when I got out of the car. I should have gone right inside."
He shrugged. "It happens. Can't expect you to get everything right all the time. That's why I came up with the phone system. Worked out well, didn't it?"
"Yes," she smiled. "It was a good idea."
A police car screeched to a stop outside of the apartment building. The red and blue lights sliced into the night, illuminating the foyer with unearthly flashes of color.
"Alice made tacos," Jasper said wistfully. "I guess we're not going to eat for a while, huh?" He sighed. "Damn, I'm hungry, too. Why don't you run up and tell her what's going on? I'll start on the report."
Bella nodded. Her plans of a relaxing bath and comfy sweatpants evaporated. She'd be lucky if she didn't have to go to the police station to file a report.
She quickly filled Alice in on what happened, omitting the part about her conversation with Edward. Alice immediately whipped out her phone, dialing even as she fled the apartment to check on Jasper.
By the time Bella had changed and washed her face, her hands were shaking and her knees were knocking. It wasn't cold in the apartment, but she felt chilled, so she threw on a large sweatshirt. She realized a moment later that it was Emmett's. He let her borrow it the night of their first date, the night they had to leave his house and search for Seth. Bella sniffed the hoodie and was pleased to find it still held the faint scent of his cologne. It comforted her.
She could hear the low murmur of male voices in the dining room. She truly didn't feel like seeing anyone; Bella wanted to curl up under her blankets and just be…but that definitely wasn't an option.
Alice and Jasper were seated at the dining room table. The man sitting next to Jasper was scratching notes across a small pad of yellow paper but paused when Bella entered the room.
"Bella?" he asked, standing up. When she nodded, he continued and held out his hand. "I'm Billy Black. I'm a detective with the Seattle PD. Your dad and I go way back."
"Nice to meet you," she said, automatically shaking his hand. "Did my dad call you?"
"I called Charlie as soon as you told me," Alice said, gesturing to her cell phone. Bella slipped into the seat next to her.
"And then he called me," Billy finished. "The officers are patrolling the area to see if they can spot James, but I'll be handling the main investigation."
Alice's phone vibrated on the table. She shrugged apologetically and answered. "Oh, hey Emmett… Yeah…. Yeah, Billy Black…. Okay. See you soon."
"Edward's on his way back, too," Jasper told her.
"It's good that you have such a strong support system," Billy remarked. He leaned back in his chair to study Bella. She felt acutely uncomfortable. "Why do you think James is after you, Bella?"
"I don't know," she answered honestly. She put her hands on her lap so he couldn't see the anxious way she twisted them. "He shops in Nature's Harvest. That's the store I work in. It's possible that he just saw me there and… I don't know. We never really interacted much. I mean, I never noticed him before everything started happening."
"And when did everything start happening?" Billy asked, his black eyes flashing with interest. He was a tall man, obviously of Native American descent. His long dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Bella couldn't imagine him chasing down a suspect or pulling a gun on someone.
"I went hiking with my…my friend Emmett. We went to Mt. Rainier. James was there."
Jasper frowned at her skimpy version of events. "They were in a secluded area, way off the trails. It's not like someone could just stumble into the same clearing as them. He would have had to follow them. And he waited to reveal himself until they were in a…well, he approached them at in inappropriate time."
Bella blushed hotly and shot Jasper a death glare.
Billy's eyes darted between them, gathering little bits of intel for later. "Meaning?"
She let out an angry sigh. "Emmett and I were – we were kissing and I think he was watching us."
Billy set down his pad. "How far did it get?"
Bella clenched her teeth. "Not far. He didn't see anything. We were only kissing."
"Okay," he said kindly. "I know this is hard, Bella. Can you two maybe give us the room?"
Jasper seemed reluctant to leave her, but Alice took his hand and tugged him out of the room. She gave Bella a reassuring look. "Bella if you need anything just yell, okay?"
"Thanks Alice," she said quietly. She stared at the dark oak surface of the table. She felt like she was just sent to the principal's office, and now she was waiting for her reprimand.
"Jasper filled me in on most of the story already, but I need to hear it from you," Billy stated matter-of-factly. "I know it can be difficult to relive things like this, but it's important for me to get the details right. Your dad is counting on me to nail this guy, Bella."
At the mention of her dad, Bella looked up and felt an overwhelming pressure on her chest. She wished she was home with Charlie. She greatly wanted to be back in Forks, safe in her tiny bedroom. She took a shallow breath and tears flooded her eyes. "I – sorry."
"Don't be sorry. You just had quite a fright. Sometimes it doesn't hit you for a little while, and then it can be emotional," he explained. "Happens to the best of us. Why don't you take a minute, and then we'll start at the beginning, okay?"
She agreed, but did not take his offered moment. She just wanted this ordeal to be done, so she launched into the story. When she told him Emmett had filed a police report after James had slashed her tires, he grunted in appreciation.
"But you should have called the police that night. When James was waiting for you outside of the store," Billy sighed. "Or after him and Emmett got into that scuffle. Still, at least we have a paper trail."
Noise in the living room caught their attention, and then Emmett burst into the room. His cheeks were red and he looked angry. Jasper shoved past him and stood between Emmett and Bella, obviously worried. "What's going on, Emmett?"
He gave Bella a quick appraising look, and when he seemed satisfied that she was fine, turned his attention to Billy. "What are you doing here?"
Billy calmly set down his pad and pen. "I'm interviewing Bella, Emmett."
He said Emmett's name with a familiarity that made Bella look more closely at him. "What's going on?"
Emmett scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Instead of interrogating a terrified girl, you should be explaining why this is happening to her."
"Wait, what?" Jasper asked.
"You already know about James?" Bella asked, her voice sounding shrill even to herself. "Why? Did you catch him?"
Billy sighed and gave Emmett a dark look. "Emmett came to the precinct tonight with a minor who had valuable eyewitness information. Some of that information was pertinent to a case I'm working on, and it appears that case and yours are linked."
"Seth?" Bella asked, looking to Emmett. He nodded.
"Seth witnessed a possible murder. It seems that one of the people involved knows a lot about you, Bella. I think James is working with Sam Uley and his boys," Billy said curtly.
"Why do they care about me?" Bella wondered.
"They're using us as leverage against Seth. They want him in their little gang, and they threatened to hurt us if he went to the cops," Emmett said quietly. He rubbed his face tiredly. "I'm sorry you got tangled up in this, Bella."
"But James isn't following you," she pointed out. "Why me?"
"James has a violent past, especially when it comes to the females he has fixated on," Billy said tactfully. "It's possible that he was hired to just gather information about you both, and then took a special interest in Bella."
She shivered, and within seconds Emmett was at her side. "That's enough for tonight. I'll bring her to the station tomorrow, if you want."
Billy seemed less than thrilled with Emmett's offer, but he nodded. "There will be a patrol car parked outside all night. If we get James I'll call you. Someone called in a tip, so we'll have the dogs looking for Brady's body tomorrow. If we find it, we'll be moving in on Sam immediately. I'll call you and give you a heads up." He glanced at Bella. "Because you're with her."
"Thanks," Emmett replied, his voice hard.
"Good night, Bella," Billy nodded. He saw himself out of the house, and as soon as he was gone Emmett let out a slew of curses.
'Well, he seemed nice before you got here, Emmett," Alice said mildly.
"He's pissed off at me because I didn't let him finish his little game. He shouldn't have done that to you!" Emmett growled. "He shouldn't have intentionally scared you when you didn't even know the entire story!"
Bella shrugged. "I'm not really scared anymore. He just had me tell him everything that happened with James so far."
"I already told him everything," he exclaimed, exasperated.
"Calm down, man," Jasper said, putting a hand on Emmett's shoulder. "Why don't you sit down? I'll order some pizza and you can tell us what happened. Edward's on his way back."
"Seth didn't want to talk in front of you today because he was afraid it might scare you," Emmett told Bella. He sat down next to her.
She nodded. That made sense.
"He saw Sam and his guys beating up this kid, Brady. Sam saw Seth watching and told him if he said anything to the cops that they would come after you or me. Brady's been missing a week, and Seth thinks they killed him. And they want Seth to join their group," Emmett explained. "And Billy Black is that fucker who kept trying to get Seth to talk to him. He kept on badgering him in plain view of Sam, and so they gave Seth a beating as a reminder today."
"Jesus Christ," Jasper swore. "Is Seth okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine." Emmett looked at Bella. "I took him to the station after you left and he told Billy everything. I had figured out the connection between James and Sam by then. I mean, how else could Sam know so much about you? It can't be a coincidence."
"So where is Seth now?" Alice asked worriedly.
"Seth was too nervous to go home. He's convinced that somehow Sam will know he talked, so Billy took him into protective custody. They're going to put him with a foster family. It's not safe for him to go home, and they'll check my place, so I can't take him. But it's only until they get Sam."
Someone knocked on the door, and both Bella and Alice jumped.
"It's just Edward," Jasper assured them. "I'll get it."
"Jasper, did you order the pizza? I'll wrap up those tacos. Why don't we put on a movie?" Alice suggested. "Bella's pick."
Jasper groaned loudly from the other room. "She always picks the worst movies!"
"Don't worry," she could hear Edward reply. "I brought plenty of beer."
Bella laughed, once again feeling the love of her friends warm her from the inside out. Emmett smiled and rolled his eyes at their friend's antics.
"Come on," he murmured, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "We're going to get drunk, eat pizza, watch terrible movies, and relax. Sound good?"
"Sounds really good," she admitted.
"We'll deal with everything else tomorrow. And Bella – I'm really sorry I got you into this," he said somberly. "I never thought Sam would kill someone. I thought they were just some punk kids, more bark than bite, ya know? I never would have let Seth stay in that neighborhood if I had known."
"We know what's going on now," Bella replied softly. "So we can handle it. And it seems like it's almost over. It's terrible, what Seth had to go through. I wish he was with us instead of strangers."
"Me too," Emmett said faintly, a ghost of a smile on his face. He looked drawn, much older than his years. She felt bad for him. He was worrying about both her and Seth. "You're pretty awesome, worrying about Seth when you've got so much to deal with yourself."
"Well, you're pretty awesome, too," she whispered, her voice breathless. She wanted to lean into him for a hug, a kiss – any bit of contact from him. Now wasn't the time, though. She would wait until this mess was over and done with, and then maybe they'd be able to start fresh. She stood up. "Come on. We need drinks."
She steered him into the kitchen and he raised his eyebrows, nodding at the tacos. The ingredients were laid out in bowls with spoons, but one taco was already made.
"No!" she whispered. "Alice is wrapping them up for tomorrow."
He grinned and leaned back to see where Alice was. The coast was clear, so he snatched the one taco and began wolfing it down.
"She's getting pizza!" Bella laughed. "Oh man, she is going to kill you."
"Is Emmett in there eating my taco?" Alice yelled from the living room.
"Eating my taco," Emmett snickered.
"I'm getting out of here before she catches you," Bella shook her head. Emmett tried to speak but his mouth was full. She laughed and headed towards the living room.
She didn't make it to the living room, though. Edward stepped into the hallway and they both stopped, watching each other warily. He shoved his hands into his jeans and looked miserable. For the first time since they parted, she replayed their conversation in her mind. She felt guilty and sad all over again.
"Bella..." he began. Edward shook his head and raked a hand through his hair. "I messed up. I can't believe I just drove away and left you there. I know better than that."
She hesitated, feeling slightly relieved. She assumed he was upset about her cutting their date short, but he was actually beating himself up over the James incident.
"We were both distracted. I knew better, too. I should have looked around. It's not your fault," Bella said earnestly. "Please don't feel bad about it."
"I can't wait until they catch that son of a bitch," he muttered darkly.
"Let's just go relax," she offered. "I'm really excited to just forget about this entire day." She cringed, realizing how that sounded. "I mean – you know – I want to forget about the James thing and poor Seth and – "
Edward laughed. "Don't worry. I know what you meant. Hey, I brought a bottle of your wine."
"Good," she replied gratefully. "I'll probably finish the entire thing."
"So…we still good? Still friends?" he asked, eyeing her seriously.
And just like that, all of the anxiety she felt over facing him again dissipated. "Of course."
"Good," he murmured. He seemed to hesitate, then half shrugged. He grabbed her and pulled her in for a quick hug. She felt his lips against her hair, and gingerly wrapped her arms around his waist. "I'm here for you, Bella. For whatever you need. Anytime, anywhere, okay?"
"Thanks, Edward," she whispered.
"Why don't you go on in and grab a good spot on the couch? I'm going to try and wrestle some tacos away from Emmett."
She hoped her face didn't give way her surprise, because the last she knew Emmett and Edward were barely speaking. "Okay…good luck with that."
He smirked and disappeared into the kitchen. Slightly concerned, she padded down the rest of the hallway. Alice and Jasper were already snuggling on the loveseat. Bella put her hand on her hips and frowned at the television.
"Sorry, Bella," Alice said guiltily. "I tried, but he was too quick."
Bella let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. The opening credits of The Fast and the Furious were already on the screen. The night the movie first came out, both Jasper and Emmett received speeding tickets on their way home from the drive in theatre. Edward got home first, with no ticket, and gloated over his triumph for months. "Fine. I guess we can watch this."
Jasper snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, you're going to suffer the entire time. Watching Paul Walker and Vin Diesel is such a hardship."
Alice let out a burst of laughter and looked at Jasper, surprised. His cheeks reddened and he shrugged. "What? You guys always talk about them."
Alice and Bella laughed. They were still teasing Jasper when Emmett and Edward walked into the room together, both laughing at something else. Bella watched them with interest. They had put together a tray of taco ingredients and set it down carefully on the coffee table.
"Appetizers!" Edward announced.
"You guys!" Alice yelled. "I swear to God, I'm going to start charging you money for food. You guys are going to eat us out of house and home one day!"
Despite Alice's lecture, her eyes were dancing with happiness. Bella knew the feeling. It was nice to have her family back together under one roof, with everyone smiling and joking. Emmett stretched out on the floor in front of the coffee table, and Edward sat opposite Bella on the couch.
She wrapped herself in one of Alice's plush velour blankets and instead of watching the movie, watched her friends. Alice was cuddled into Jasper's side, and his arm was draped over her shoulder. One hand played idly with her hair.
Edward looked tired but relaxed, and he munched on a taco as he watched the movie. Emmett appeared to be doing the same at first glance, but his eyes were too focused.
She knew him well enough to know what was really going on. His mind was whirring through the details, thinking about James and Sam, worrying about her and Seth. Emmett blamed himself and he was trying to find a way to resolve the situation.
She found she was also unable to stop thinking about their current dilemma, despite all efforts to focus on the movie. Her mind played out a million different scenarios, each one worse than the last.
Her dark thoughts lasted well beyond the movie, past the pizza, and haunted her even after the boys left and everyone was in bed. She lay awake and stared at her ceiling, despising the growing pit of dread in her stomach. Her dad told her to always trust her gut, and her gut was telling her that the situation was about to get worse.
hey guys! i tried to update super quick to make up for the cliffy :)
so...the response to the last chapter was very mixed. whether or not torn ends with the character pairing you wish for, i hope you enjoy the story. thank you for reading it and keeping an open mind. if you need to flounce, i understand. to everyone who gave me the support i needed - THANK YOU!
and thank you to tracie and lauren!
LUNA