Groaning I slowly rolled out of my curled position and attempted to get up off the hard cement. I cried out in pain when I moved so I laid back down and calmed my breathing. The sky was dark indicating I had been out for a few hours.
The nearest streetlamp stood tall a few meters away from me, the dim shining barely touching the tips of my outstretched fingers.
I smiled softly as my memory flashed back to when Alice and I stayed out all night talking, and then sat ourselves underneath the streetlamp when I got tired. She then allowed me to rest my head on her shoulder while she protected me against the dangers night posed. I wondered what she would say now if she knew that my home consisted of the streets of Forks.
Salty tears hit the pavement as a new pang of hurt pulsed through my body, I scolded myself for thinking about those times but I couldn't truly care. I was broken, tired, hungry, and alone in the middle of an abandoned street, if I was going to be miserable, I might as well do the job right.
I lifted my hands to my neck and could feel the bruises of Mark's fingers around my throat. More tears spilled when I thought back to what he was saying. I had wanted to be like them, I still did. But all I could think about laying there in his clutches was: "Please… do it, I don't want to live anymore."
More tears fell from my eyes, but instead of sad tears they were tears of frustration. Why did they have to leave me? Why couldn't they have just killed me and saved me this torture? Did they hate me so much, that instead of granting my only wish, they leave me with my own personal living nightmare?
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard feet shuffling on the gravel nearby. I probably should have been scared, but I wasn't. Nothing could really hurt me anymore. Deciding to see who was walking, I slowly rolled onto my stomach and lifted myself off the cold pavement.
I momentarily forgot about the person walking when the light stand came into view again. It seemed to be calling me, so slowly I began walking towards it. Blinding pain ripped through my chest as I was walking, I tried to take short small breaths but I still had to stop several times from the dizziness. I wasn't sure why I was walking towards the light stand; I didn't even know where I was, but for some reason I felt I had to get there, and remember that night with Alice, and the other memories with the Cullens. With the small light within the darkness, I knew I had to free my pain and allow myself to grieve for the family I might've once had.
A couple of pebbles hit the back of my shoes as the person behind me made himself known once more.
"You're up!"
I stopped cold once I heard the familiar voice. It was the very voice I had heard that afternoon. "I was wondering if you were going to sleep your existence away, which would've been really sad considering you can't live forever." I grit my teeth as I slowly turned and faced Mark.
He had changed his clothes and was now carrying a backpack on his back. I didn't even want to know what the contents of his bag were; all I knew was that I had to get out of there. I started hobbling slightly faster towards the lamp stand when a hand roughly pushed me onto my stomach making me land on my cracked ribs.
I groaned in pain upon impact but refused to cry out and give him any satisfaction. I tried getting back up but he pushed me back down. He grabbed my hoodie roughly and began dragging me towards the lamp stand.
"Is this where you want to do it?" He laughed joyfully "Alright then, we might as well make you 'comfortable' hey?"
He pushed me towards the poll and sat down his backpack. Opening it up, he took out a roll of packing tape and some scissors. Slowly he came up to me and began taping me tightly to the poll. After I was secured he went back to his backpack and took out a small, neat envelope. Ignoring the malicious smile on his face, my eyes darted to the finely printed name on the front of the letter. It was mine.
I could recognize that writing anywhere, it was Alice's neat printing. Immediately my eyes began to tear up as I whispered "no" over and over. Why was he doing this?
"Where did you get that?" My voice had gotten more frantic as I began struggling slightly with the tape. It wouldn't budge.
"Well, while you were 'sleeping' I decided to make a trip to the Cullen's old house. You know, they left a bunch of stuff… almost like they were in a hurry to leave. Do you know anything about that?" He paused. "At first I thought not, everyone knows that you haven't been in their house since they left. You won't even go near the entrance of their driveway; and then you didn't say anything about them this afternoon. But then I found this letter, right on the counter; collecting dust." He paused for a second to bend down and show me the front of the letter. "Alice's writing, yes?"
I winced at the name. Even if I had been thinking of her name all night, it still hurt me to hear it spoken out loud. He noticed me flinch and began laughing.
"Unsure if you would ever get this little letter, I decided to bring it here to you. Isn't that kind of me?" I knew he was waiting for a reply but I couldn't move my tongue, all I could think about was they said goodbye?
"Wasn't it!?" He shouted while kicking me hard in the legs. I groaned in pain, but still didn't say anything.
"You won't tell me where they are alone. Maybe you'll tell me after a little more… persuasion. If you don't; well then, no one will miss you anyway, right?"
"Please… don't do this. I haven't done anything to you, and neither have they! Why can't you accept that they left?" My voice was weak from exhaustion, but I still managed to have enough emotion in my words to halt him for a moment.
"Sorry" He shrugged clearly not meaning it, "Not good enough." Mark swung his fist against my face, I groaned upon impact but attempted to keep the pain from my face. "You know the truth, and I want it! No more of your dumb little games. Either you tell me, or you will regret it."
I sighed; the blood pounded behind the wound, no doubt coloring my ashen cheek. I knew if I told him, he probably would still hurt me, but at least I would be alive. But on the other hand, I would never do that. Even if they left me, I loved them. And would do anything for the Cullens, even die; so I gathered my breath, and with strong conviction I whispered. "Do your worst. No matter what you do to me, I will not say anything."
Mark screamed a long stream of curses before he lifted his hand and began throwing punches all over my body. I screamed out in pain but soon a numb sensation leaked through my body and it didn't hurt anymore. Blood seeped from my split lip and the world spun a little, but suddenly, nothing mattered. It was finally going to happen, he was angry enough. I was going to die.
Mark suddenly stopped hitting me and gasped loudly. I groggily lifted my head about to question why, when I saw her. She was more beautiful than I remembered; my memory hadn't done justice to her perfection.
She had his fist in her hand, preventing Mark from hitting me again. Her skin, still milky white, shone in the light of the lamp, but her eyes flashed darker than the night's sky.
"What do you think you are doing?" Alice growled through clenched teeth.
Mark quickly ripped his hand away and in desperation began moving slowly towards me. Alice released a vicious snarl causing him to jump back. With eyes filled with regret and panic, Mark turned towards me and whispered harshly "You will see me again. You won't know what hit you. Every minute you think you are safe… I'll be there. Don't forget to lock your doors and windows Anna, sweet dreams." before glaring at Alice.
"You… you shouldn't have come back." Alice growled softly at the threat, but Mark was already picking up his backpack and disappearing down the dark street.