Looking for Love

The Twilight world belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just like to play in it.

Chapter 7 – Showdown

"I am," said Alice. "You don't know how long he's been looking for you."

The next day, Tuesday, was Valentine's Day. Alice was the only Cullen in school. When Bella saw her, Alice danced her way across the hallway to her side. "So, my father decided to take the family camping," she said. "Me, not so much. I'm not much of a jeans and hiking boots kind of girl."

Looking at her friend's expensive, if subdued, attire, Bella nodded in understanding.

The school day was filled with giggling girls carrying roses and chattering about the Valentine's Day dance that night. The senior class's decision to hold the dance on a week night had been controversial, but in the end, they prevailed. That meant seniors decorating the gym during their free periods and sharing photos of their dresses with one another.

Angela had gone to Gottschalks over the weekend and found the dress Bella had taken the photo of. As she showed Bella a photo of herself in it, Bella bit her lip. The entire incident, starting with setting aside the dress and culminating in the loss of her job, had not been necessary. Still, she had found the dress for Angela, though at a high cost to herself.

After school, Charlie took Bella into Port Angeles. They met Charlie's attorney friend and went to Gottschalks to meet with her former manager.

"I hope we can work this out in a friendly way," the attorney said. "Miss Swan did set a dress aside, but she wanted to put it out on the day her friend would be shopping. There was no theft."

The manager, Mr. Itrahous, sat still behind his desk and didn't nod.

"She plans to continue her education after she graduates high school," the attorney continued. "She took this job to earn money for college."

The manager finally said, "We can't allow this behavior. I will not press charges, but she cannot be employed here or enter the store."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief. But as she did, a movement on the street outside the window caught her eye. She saw the stranger leaning against a wall: same open jacket, same blond hair in a ponytail. He was looking straight at her. She gasped and grabbed Charlie's arm. "It's him," she whispered.

"What?" Charlie went to the window. "I don't see anyone," he finally said.

Mr. Itrahous joined them at the window. "What is it?"

"Thought I saw someone out there who was involved in a car accident the other night," Bella replied.

"Car accident?" Mr. Itrahous asked.

"On her way home after her last night at work," the attorney said, "Miss Swan encountered a stranger she had seen in your parking lot. There was an accident on the 101, with two deaths."

The manager was shocked. "I'm sorry to hear that." He rustled some papers on his desk for a few minutes.

Bella, Charlie and the attorney waited. The attorney had advised Charlie and Bella not to rush into fill the silence, but to let the attorney speak for them.

"Thank you for coming in," Mr. Itrahous finally said. "We will draw up the paperwork and forward it to your office."

As they left, the attorney said, "That's the best outcome we could get. I'll review the paperwork when it arrives and be in touch. Charlie," he said, extending his hand. "Miss Swan," he said shaking her hand after he shook Charlie's.

On their way home, Charlie and Bella passed the scene of the accident.

"Do you want to stop?" Charlie asked.

Bella shook her head. "Who's investigating?" she asked.

"The local authorities, with the help of Port Angeles," Charlie replied. "Not me, because you were a witness."

Once they were back in Forks, Bella went to the grocery store to grab a few things for dinner. She had been so shaken up over the weekend, she hadn't shopped. At the checkout lane, she saw a flash of blond head outside.

Jasper, she thought. Had the camping trip been cancelled? Well, it would be nice to get to see him on Valentine's Day.

Getting through the check-out line seemed to take forever. Finally she was done and she lugged her groceries out to her truck, trying to stay cool. After all, Jasper had been at her house over the weekend. She could easily just say hello, ask what happened with the camping trip and-a man appeared by her truck. It was the stranger from Port Angeles.

She started to scream but he had his hand over her mouth and had moved them out of the parking lot in a blur. They were now behind the building. No one else was around but there were security cameras, right?

"So nice to see you again, Miss Swan," he said. "Happy Valentine's Day." He pulled her closer against his body.

No, no, no! This couldn't be happening! Not in Forks! What did you do if someone had you from behind? Stomp his foot. She felt backward and stomped, but not hard enough as the stranger laughed.

"A little pluck, a little fight in you, huh?" he whispered, running his nose down the side of her neck. A really cold nose, she thought. "That's fine. More sport for me," he said, then Bella screamed as she felt something sharp on her neck.

There was a whoosh and suddenly Alice was holding her and the stranger was gone. Bella heard a weird noise, a high pitched keening that sent and then it was silent. "Alice?" she said, shaken up.

"Shh, shh. My brothers have him," Alice said, pulling her close. "We'll wait here for them."

"We have to call my Dad," Bella said then grabbed her neck. "Ow, something is burning. Do you have a mirror?" A burning sensation began in the side of her throat. When she took her hand away, she saw blood.

She also saw Jasper and Emmett emerging form the edge of the treeline. Emmett was wiping his hands on his slacks.

Alice let Bella go. Bella teetered and would have fallen but Jasper caught her.

"He bit her," Alice said.

Bella now had both hands on the side of her neck. "It's burning. He did something to my neck! Take me to the hospital!"

"You're OK," Jasper said. "I got you." He pulled her close and she felt something cold against her neck followed by a sucking sensation. She began to feel weak. Jasper pulled back and turned her around so she was facing him, and he examined her face.

He had blood on his lips.

As Bella stared at his lips, Alice reached over and wiped them off.

"There isn't much time," Bella heard Alice say.

The siblings exchanged a few quiet words. Bella put her hand on the side of her neck. Suddenly she felt both calm and stronger. She looked around. "Shouldn't we call your Dad? He's a doctor," she said. "And my Dad, tell him that guy is here." She fumbled for her phone and dropped it. She was feeling woozier by the moment.

"OK, but don't you need to get something?" she heard Alice say.

Emmett said, "On it," as Jasper put his arm around her, holding her up and pulling her close.

"What happened?" she whispered as Jasper stroked her face. His hands felt cold and his grip felt hard yet comforting. She leaned into him, inhaling the amazing cologne he was wearing. She could not imagine this moment would last, but she knew this was how she wanted love to feel: complete and whole. "What happened?" she repeated, struggling to get out the words.

"Long story and one I would like to tell you," he said quietly. Emmett reappeared and handed him green plastic bags from the supermarket.

"Nice," Alice said.

Jasper reached into the bag and pulled out a small spray of roses and a heart-shaped box of candy. He pulled Bella onto his lap. She felt relaxed, like this is where she belonged. She decided to live in this moment, even if it didn't last. She wanted to enjoy for what it was, live in the wonder of his smile. He put the roses in front of her and she leaned into them, feeling a tickle from the petals and a faint touch of scent. She heard Alice saying, "I'll hold them," and felt the roses being pulled away.

"No," she tried to say but she now struggled to speak. She worked hard to open her eyes and saw Jasper had opened the box of candy and was holding it in front of her. "Which one do you like?" he asked, poking among the papers. His voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

This was all so strange. The attack, the bite, the pain and then the pain stopping. She was weak and getting weaker, and the only reason she hadn't fallen was because Jasper was holding her. That he was touching her at all was amazing. She was going to faint, she knew it, and lose precious moments with him.

They needed to call Charlie. They needed to call their father, who was a doctor after all. Why weren't they calling someone?

But she was going to live in the moment and focus on any time she had with Jasper. She tried hard to focus her sight and realized Jasper was still holding out the box of candy in front of her. She didn't recognize the candies, so she pointed to one that had nuts in it. It was hard to make anything out as her vision was so blurry.

He pulled the piece of candy out of the box and fed it to her.

"Once upon a time, in Texas, I wanted to sign up for the War," Jasper began. "So I fibbed about my age…"

"What war?" Bella whispered, trying to figure out what he could have signed up for. Afghanistan, Iraq?

"What is now called the Civil War," he replied.

Civil War? Just so hard to stay awake.

He pulled out another piece of candy and held it in front of her, waiting, watching her intently. Bella leaned in to take the piece in her mouth and he leaned in over her neck, inhaling her scent deeply. "I love you," he said, "and want you to stay with me always…"

As she bit into her chocolate, she felt a sharp nip in her neck. She managed to swallow the candy before the burning reached her throat. She felt Jasper lifting her as she finally lost consciousness, rocking her as he ran into the darkness, his hand muffling the screams that came as the burning began.

THE END

xxx

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Hope to see you in October, as I hope to have some stories for Halloween by then!