Here is the last chapter of Double Life:
Chapter 23I sat staring at the full moon pondering over the day, all that had happened. After Edward and I had left the beach, I was so incredibly confused. I felt a new closeness to him (who wouldn't after sex?), and yet a huge downfall of guilt. But guilt of what? I wasn't totally sure. My thoughts wandered back to when we were at the beach, as we lay there, exhausted and yet happy. Edward's breathing was slow but slightly ragged. I just lay there feeling content and the cool sand felt amazing against my skin. I was thinking that I might actually love him, but it was that moment when Angel's face appeared in my mind.
The sound of an Owl dragged me out of my mind. I glanced at the moon shadows that stretched across the lawn.
For a moment I thought I saw Angel standing there, looking back up at me. Then I blinked and saw that it was just another shadow.
Disgusted and terribly confused, I went to bed.
--
Tuesday.
For some inexplicable reason I avoided Edward as much as I could. I felt as if I had to.
Gym. Last class of the day. I was staring at the clock, counting down the minutes until I got to leave.
Ten minutes left…
"Bella?" I looked around and saw Mike headed towards me. Shit.
"Uh, hey Mike. How are you feeling?"
He shrugged. "I've been better. But I understand why you did it."
That stopped me. "You do." I confirmed.
"Yeah, if it'd happened to me, I'd probably have done the same thing." His voice was filled with sympathy. How could a person like mike, get caught up with someone like Angel?
You did too, I reminded myself.
"Look, I'm really, really sorry. I guess we both only knew one side of the story eh?"
He looked at me funny. "What are you Canadian now?"
I laughed and shook my head, glad that the mood was lifting.
"It's okay." He gave me a smile. "I'm sorry too."
Seven minutes left…and the teacher wasn't looking. I decided to blow this pop stand.
"Right…well I'm off. See you tomorrow." I turned with a wave, then quickly left as fast as I could. Talk about an awkward situation.
Speaking of awkward, just as I got to the parking lot, someone grabbed my arm and spun me around.
"We need to talk." He growled.
"About what?"
"You know damn well what."
"What? It happened. There's not much else left to say." Okay, I knew I was being a jerk, but right at that moment I was really confused and I needed some time to think. Turning, I started towards my truck.
"You have been avoiding me all day. Why?"
Wow. Didn't have an answer for that one. "Uh…I don't know. It's just…" I turned back to face him. "When I was with you I felt something…something that I haven't felt in a long time, and it scares me." I finished the last three words in a whisper.
"What was that?"
"It scares me!" I yelled.
He thought silently for a moment. "Should I be worried?"
"No. Well, I don't think- no."
Edward straightened a little. "Well then…"
"Yeah." I finished.
The bell rang, startling us both. Students started seeping out of the buildings quick enough. There was no way we could be alone together.
"Want to go someplace else?" he asked.
"Yeah. I'll drive."
--
We ended up at the woods. I parked my truck in a parking space near the edge of the trees. As I closed my door, I lifted my eyes to the sky. Dark clouds were rolling in. Making a sound of disgust, I headed into the thick trees, Edward followed close behind and was there to catch me when I stumbles over a root. I wasn't exactly sure where we were going so when I came to a circle of tall oak trees, I sat down against one of them. The only sound for a while was the sound of low rumbling thunder off in the distance.
I stared at him. He stared right back from his superior standpoint.
"This is awkward." I said finally, breaking the thick silence.
"You started it." He smirked.
"No I did not." I said, offended. A slow smile spread across his beautiful white face, and it made my heartbeat quicken a little. Then I started to laugh.
"What?" He demanded.
I shook my head, and tried to keep a straight face.
"Ok for real now. You want to know why I avoided you today?"
"Partially, yes."
Partially? I had to think about that one for a second. I leaned my head back against the tree and looked up at the green canopy above me.
"Honestly. I was scared."
That caught him off guard and he looked differently at me. "Scared?"
"Yes. Scared. Scared of what you might think of me afterwards. Wasn't it only yesterday that you accused me of using vampires?"
"Bella, I did not mean-"
"No, I know you didn't." I cut in. "it's just these shitty emotions screwing with my head is driving me insane."
He didn't reply for a moment. When he did his voice was slightly cold.
"Is that the only reason?"
"What do you-" Then I got it. "You think I took it out on you and now I'm ashamed of it. Right?"
"Well…" He mused. "You were pretty rough."
I didn't know weather or not to take that as a compliment or an insult, so I smirked. "Too much?" I asked, standing up. "You couldn't keep up huh?"
Just as he started to say something, we both heard a whizzing sound. Before we could so anything, a sharp pain in my shoulder hit me fast and hard. Edward's eyes widened as he stared at me.
"What the-?" I asked as my gaze followed his to the arrow protruding from my flesh.
I groaned in frustration. Great, just what I needed.
Warm blood was seeping out of the wound and quickly covered my shirt.
I took a sharp intake of air and fell to my knees.
"Bella!" Edward started forward, and stood over me.
"Pull it out." I gasped.
"You sure?"
I nodded. "Just do it."
He was calm as he braced a hand against my uninjured shoulder and grasped the arrow with the other. "On three." He instructed.
My eyes closed, and I nervously waited.
"One."
I swallowed.
"Two."
Hurry up will ya? I thought.
"Three!" He gave a fearsome tug, but the arrow was so far in that it only came out part way.
I yelled out in pain and would have fallen over if it weren't for Edward's hands holding me steady.
"Bella?" He said with concern.
"I'm fine." Then my eyes met his black ones. I nodded. "Again."
He looked slightly uncertain, but he grabbed a firm grasp on the arrow again.
"One."
This time my eyes stayed open, locked on his.
"Two." He yanked the rest out in a sharp pull, I gasped and fell over.
He smirked and held up the arrow. "Got it."
"What happened to three?" I yelled. I noticed Edward was staring at the arrow in his hand. "Please don't tell me that you faint at the sight of blood."
He gave me a droll stare.
"Oh, right." I gave a short laugh. "Vampire."
Edward was glancing around with sharp eyes, looking for my attacker. I heaved a sigh, then slumped back against the tree, breathing deep and ragged.
"Any idea who did it?" He asked.
"One." I replied, nodding, then I closed my eyes. "But that's not what I need to worry about right now."
"Right." He agreed. "We need to get you to the ER."
"No!" I protested quickly, "No doctors, no hospitals. Just help me home. I have stuff there."
However, Edward was uncertain. "No, Bella, I really think-"
"I don't care!" I softened my voice a little. "Look, I know you care, but right now I need to be at home. No doctor can help me now."
To show I was sorry, I pulled him to me by his shirt collar and gave him a swift searing kiss. When he pulled away his eyes were dark with desire.
Using the tree as a brace I pushed myself up, amazed at how much this was taking out of me. Too much. Obviously I was hit with no 'ordinary' arrow. I could feel hot blood sliding over my skin as I walked…or in my case, stumbled. Edward, I noticed, was not breathing. Not a problem for him, but I could tell how hard this was for him. Placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, I gave him a smile. He took my hand to his cold lips and kissed my knuckles, then looked away quickly. I needed something to cover this.
"Give me your shirt." I told him.
With a smooth movement, he shrugged off his shirt and handed it to me. I tried my best to keep my eyes off of his masculinity, but hey I am a female and I'd have to be blind not to notice.
I grabbed his shirt, ripped a strip off and tied it around my shoulder, wincing.
"Need me to tie it?" He asked.
I nodded. He stepped up behind me and tied the strip in place. Then he tore another from his shirt and tied it around my shoulder.
"Can you walk?"
"Do my legs look broken to you?" I replied sarcastically. He smirked, but said nothing.
Slowly we made out way back to my truck, the clouds above us had seemed to darken even more. God, it was like Washington was afraid of the sun.
"How are you doing?" He asked again.
"Okay." I replied faintly. I was loosing a lot of blood. "I've been better."
"Without a doubt." He snorted in reply.
I looked ahead and saw the edge of the trees, oh thank you thank you thank you! I prayed silently. Thought when we reached the truck, Edward stopped abruptly. I looked at him nervously.
"What?" I demanded. He held a hand up for silence. "Please don't tell me you're stopping to listen to the birds. 'Cause if you hadn't noticed. They're aren't any." A small smile played on the edge of his lips, but his face remained grave as he shook his head.
It was then I knew why he stopped.
I could feel the presence of someone else nearby. Behind us.
Snapping my head around, my eyes scanned the trees and any signs of movement. But I saw nothing. Of course, if someone were following us, naturally they would be hiding. We both knew who it was, and we needed to get out of there fast.
"Edward." I said grabbing his hand. "Let's go." He didn't move. "C'mon, you dope. If he gets us I won't stand a chance, and you know that. Please, not let's go!"
Angel attacked then. He went after Edward, knocking him to the ground.
I threw my hands up in the air, not noticing the pain in my shoulder. "What'd I tell you!"
"Not helping." He said, struggling to fight off Angel.
Giving an exasperated sigh, I grabbed Angel by the coat and hauled him to his feet, spinning him around to face me. Unfortunately he backhanded me with such force that it sent me flying into the nearest tree.
The loss of blood and the blow I'd just received, were too much for my body to handle. I started to slip into blackness. I only heard a faint shout from Edward, before I fell into complete unconsciousness.
--
Something nudging my foot caused me to come awake abruptly. Sitting bolt upright, I couldn't move my arms or legs, seeing as how they were bound tightly. I struggled against them, but couldn't loosen them enough. Sighing, I leaned back against the tree and looked up at him where he stood silhouetted against the moonlight.
Shit. This was not my idea of fun. My shoulder throbbed painfully, it was a wonder that I was still alive. The strips that bound my shoulder were completely soaked and useless. And where was Edward?
Angel sat down next to me. "You alright?"
I looked around to see if there was someone else he could be talking to. There wasn't.
"You talkin' to me?"
"No, Elvis. Who do you think?" He replied gruffly.
"Oh." I said quietly. I paused a moment, thinking. "Why do you care?"
"I don't know." Was all he said.
I glanced at him curiously. I was still waiting for him to lunge at me, sink his fangs into me and suck me dry.
"Hurt?" he asked, nodding to my shoulder.
"Yeah." Wow, we were having a conversation, less than three words a sentence, but still. Then a thought hit me. "Where's Edward?"
"He'll live."
"Great, and what's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly how it sounds. He'll live." He snapped back at me.
I didn't inquire any more, but something was nagging at me, so I had to ask.
"Are you alright?"
He looked sharply at me. "I don't know that either."
"Did you get your soul back?"
"No." he was curt. I was taken aback.
"Then why the hell are we talking?"
He looked up at the clouds above him. "This is hard."
I rounded on him. "You? This is hard on you? Tell me dammit!"
His eyes were black as he stared at me. "Because I love you."
A full ten minutes must have passed as I gaped at him.
"Excuse me? What the hell are you trying to do? Make me love you so you can kill me right?" I was in an outrage. How the hell could he pop this one on me?
"No." he shoved away from the tree roughly, then started to pace. My eyes followed him. Right now he seemed like the old Angel. The one with the soul. This made no sense at all.
"You're not bullshitting me? You…you really do love me?"
"Yeah…and I don't know why."
"So you kinda have your soul back?"
He turned with an evil face. "No. He was weak, he fought for the humans. He'll never return." Oh yeah, he wasn't back.
"So I'm guessing that this confrontation isn't going to lead to hugs and puppies." He turned to stare at me. You know, it seemed like a lot of people did that lately. "Alright, fine. What are you going to do then?"
He walked over to me and untied the ropes around my wrists and ankles.
"Finally." I said, getting up and rubbing my sore wrists.
Angel stood back, his eyes were dark with hunger. "To answer your question. I guess I'll kill you.
Oh shit.
I dogged him as he lunged at me. I was very unprepared for this. First he tells me 'I love you' and now this?
"So you lied?" I yelled as I backhanded him. "This was your plan huh? To get me all worked up then kill me." He grabbed me and flipped me over onto my back. I momentarily lost my breath, then jumped to my feet. Only to be kicked in the chest knocking me into a tree.
"No. I meant what I said. This is just the easiest way to deal with it."
I was on my knees gasping for breath, my shoulder was torn open again, and fresh blood flooded down my already soaked shirt. I was hurt in more ways than one. A single tear rolled down my face. I'm sorry I thought to Edward. I tried.
Angel came up behind me and jerked me to my feet.
I felt his breath on my neck an instant before his teeth pierced the flesh above my collarbone. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
I could not think, couldn't move. All I though was how mad I was that I couldn't fight back.
I grew dizzy as he drunk more and more. He caught me as I fell and held me tightly against him. My eyes stared blankly up at the sky as rain began to fall. My lips were parted, and some drops fell into my dry mouth. But one had a tangy metallic taste. It was followed by another, then a small steady stream, it caused me to swallow. That's when I knew my life was over.
Just before I fell unconscious, Angel leaned down to whisper into my ear.
"Now we can be together."
--
EPILOGUE
The funeral followed within the week for my "death." Practically everyone from the town was present. Goes to show how much I was loved.
Edward however was not. I don't know where or what had happened to him. I only knew that I still loved him.
Mom and Phil stood together, next to Charlie. Mom war crying a river. They'd get over it eventually. I hated to be torn away from them. But there was no going back now.
Now, as I break through my coffin, I think of what I've become. The very thing that'd I 'd been fighting for the past numerous years.
But all of that fades away as I see him standing there. Another shadow in the night. Like me. What an adventure and nightmare my life is yet to be.
Angel reaches down to take my hand and pull me from my grave. I climb out and brush off the dirt, taking a deep unnecessary breath I'd be to frightened not to. This is me now, with him. I have to stay because otherwise I will be lost. I take a step, this first of many yet to come as the undead. A creature of the night. A Vampire. Slayer once more.
Hello from Diosa Di Notte. Wow, so sorry for not updating in a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time. My bad.
Anyway I want to thank every single one of you who reviewed my story. I'm not going to list you but you know why you are. You guys mean the world to me.
I've been debating weather or not I should put up a sequel. I've decided to let you guys choose, and if you want me to, please give me some ideas that I could do. I'd love to read them.
Well so long. Until next time.
Goddess of the Night