Chapter 13 – Decisions, Decisions
A/N – Guys, I'm so sorry for the late update. I had a copy of this chapter a few days ago but my computer went nuts, shut itself down and deleted my file! I was about to go mad because I lost the entire chapter and for the life of me I couldn't re-write it. Now I'm super paranoid, saving my document every 5 minutes. It ain't pretty just how paranoid I've gotten. Anyway, here's the super late new chapter. Sorry for the delay!
Bella felt as though she were drowning; all of her senses were either heightened or threatening to shut down. Her head was filled with a strange buzzing; it was as though a hive of bees had taken up residence in her skull. Blood pounded in her ears at such a high velocity that she was forced to hear nothing else but the sound of it drumming an angry beat against her eardrums. Her vision was tunneling, darkness creeping in from either side even though her lids fluttered rapidly to keep her sight intact. Her lungs had also chosen the most inadequate moment to stop working; they seem to have lost their ability to inflate and deflate, unable to pull in air that Bella suddenly desperately needed. Her throat worked, despite the fact that it seemed to have closed in on itself, but could not suck in a breath. Lack of oxygen caused her vision to blur further, with gray dots beginning to tango in front of her eyes. Her legs wobbled dangerously with the effort of sustaining her weight. Bella made twin fists, digging nails painfully into the palm of her hands as she forced her lungs and tightened throat to co-operate.
A sweet gust of air finally slid down Bella's throat, followed by another and another until the girl was almost gulping them down greedily. Then she began puffing them back out, slowly at first until she was panting harsh shallow breaths in rapid succession. It was blatantly obvious that Bella was close to hyperventilating, though fainting was a close second option. She instinctively leaned back as a panic attack reared its ugly head...and fell against Emmett's concrete bulk. Bella swallowed a scream as she grappled with her sudden reality. She forced herself to remember that the vampires standing by her side were actually there to protect her. She shivered and flinched when Emmett dropped a meaty paw on her shoulder, subtly squeezing so that she would acknowledge his comfort. Even though her more primal instincts were screeching at her to bolt, to move away from Emmett, her feet stayed miraculously rooted to the ground. Besides, Emmett and the Cullens were not the ones she had to worry about. Bella shrank back as the object of her nightmares spoke.
"Bella!" Renée's sickly sweet voice rang through the air. She blew her daughter a mocking kiss. "Hello, baby girl. Miss me?" She snickered at her own sarcasm and briefly wrung Alice's neck when she tried to move. "I didn't say you could move, bitch." Bella flinched at the tone; it was almost disconcerting how fast Renée's voice switched from sweet to malevolent.
"What do you want?" Esme had stepped forward, speaking for her family. Her eyes were a steely gold, unwavering and blank with a quiet vehemence that seemed so out of character for the normally gentle vampire. The matriarch's shoulders were rigid with tension, her spine ramrod straight.
Renée let loose a girlish laugh that was akin to nails on a chalkboard. She tightened her hold on Alice's neck, uncaring of how the seer flinched under the sudden pressure. "You know what I want." There was no trace of playfulness in her tone now.
"You're not taking Bella," Esme replied, her voice low with conviction. She edged slightly toward the girl, her intention to protect the girl clear. "What you did to her when you were human was unforgivable. What you did to her as vampires is simply inhumane." The note of disgust was strikingly evident in her voice, and Esme made no effort to conceal it.
Renée's peel of laughter clotted the hallway. "I've got news for you, mama bear: we're NOT humans."
"That doesn't mean we have to act like savages." Esme's eyes were as cold as any of the Cullens had ever seen. "But you were obviously worthless as humans so it was probably too much to ask for you to be civil as vampires."
Renée's eyes narrowed. In one swift move she flicked her wrist, sending Alice careening into the doorframe; bits of plaster and wood splintered and rained onto the ground. Alice's groan of discomfort echoed, adding to the symphony of chaos. Renée bent and picked the petite vampire up by her hair. She yanked Alice's head back, revealing cracks that ran down her temple to the corner of her lip. "Piss me off again and I'll TWIST something off." To emphasis her point, she snapped Alice's head to one side, not enough to break her neck but enough to cause a map of cracks to appear on the side.
Esme's hands formed fists, her arm muscles bunching out in sinewy lines. She semi-consciously took a step forward, halting mid-step when Renée forced Alice's head to a severely uncomfortable angle. The motherly vampire backed up, a rampant of emotions flitting over her face like multiple freight trains.
"Good vampire," Renée mocked. She took a moment to assess the Cullens, her eyes regarding Emmett who was practically holding Bella in a death grip. Her eyes skittered over to a beautiful blonde whose eyes were curiously stoic though the scowl twisting her lips would indicate otherwise. There was an air of disdain about her and Renée delighted in the knowledge that it was directed at Bella. She finally allowed her gaze to drift over to the prone figure that was Edward. The messy haired vampire was lying still on the remains of the door, his limbs a twisted, tangled mess. She let loose a small chuckle. It was going to hurt realigning those bones. She hoped to hear him scream when they did.
"Alright-y!" Renée announced, disturbingly chipper. "Let's negotiate." She jerked her chin toward the lump that was Edward. "I gave you back one and I'll give this one-" She shook Alice as if she were nothing but a rag doll. "-IF you give Bella to me." She paused and looked over her shoulder, where Charlie stood vigil. When he nodded in approval, her face split into a wide grin. She turned back around to stare down the Cullens.
Nobody spoke. The atmosphere had turned impossibly tense at Renée's ultimatum; it hung over each Cullen's heads like a death sentence that mocked their indecision and silence. Time seemed to stand still as Esme, Emmett and Rosalie became perfect imitations of stone statues. One could almost hear the tick tick of the non-existent clock.
"Decide!" Charlie barked finally. He wedged himself into the doorframe next to his wife and wrenched Alice into his arms. He grabbed Alice's hand and snapped it over his knee. Alice's scream ricocheted off the walls before it cut into her family members, slicing open wounds that bled out rage and fear. A low keening sound could be heard from the far corner; Bella had dropped to her knees at Emmett's feet, her entire frame heaving and shaking violently. It was as though Alice's pain infused yelp had been the last straw. Bella hugged her knees to her chest and began a slow rocking, her eyes glazed over and unreachable.
Alice gritted her teeth. Hard. She chanced a glance over to where Bella sat hunched over, rocking in a disturbing rhythm that spoke of despair and absence. There was something about the way Bella sat that sent chills down Alice's spine. It was as though the seer were seeing a shell, not a person. Pain exploded all the way up her forearm as her accelerated healing knitted back the broken bone, though not without consequence. She felt each line of marrow and tissue reattached itself and it seemed all she could feel; the pain was like razor blades gnawing at her nerves. Alice forced herself to will the feeling down, needing what was left of her sanity to put her plan into action.
"No deal." The pixie vampire's voice, though melodious and achingly beautiful to hear, was dull with agony. However, it was still clear enough to cut through the tenseness that swirled inside the house. She winced when Renée backhanded her, feeling her lip crack open before healing. "Don't do it," she croaked out. Her voice begged her family to understand her sacrifice. She locked eyes with her adopted mother; Esme's gaze was tortured, the anguish stamped right across her face. "Please," Alice whispered. Bella was the one that mattered. Moreover, if dying meant that Bella would be okay, Alice was willing to take the plunge.
"Don't do it," Renée mimicked. She aimed a well placed kicked at Alice's shins, smiling in serene satisfaction as something cracked and the seer screamed again. "Don't test our patience," she warned. "Give us Bella."
"No." It was Rosalie who spoke. She could feel the stares of surprise from her mate and mother. Surprise that she would be the first to voice her decision since she had never concealed her contempt for Bella. Nevertheless, she had seen the look in Alice's eye. More than anything, more than her life and how her potential death would affect the Cullens, Alice wanted Bella safe. And Rosalie could understand that kind of sacrifice. She would do it in a heartbeat for Emmett. "We don't negotiate with scum."
Charlie growled, deep rumbling that emerged from the depths of his throat. He turned suddenly and tossed Alice into a nearby tree. A thunderous crrrrrack! sounded out followed by a loud thump as gravity shot Alice to the ground, her granite hard body colliding mercilessly with the solid floor. Charlie was there to collect her, moving so fast that he was a virtual blur. He picked Alice back up and pitched her to the side of the house where she smashed through the wall, threatening the stability of the foundation of the house. Again, Charlie was there to pick her up, this time flinging her toward his wife. He watched as Renée purposely sidestepped, allowing Alice to crash into the now battered doorframe. Both ruby-eyed vampires were disappointed when Alice made not so much as a peep.
"This is getting boring," Renée mock whined. She slammed a boot down onto Alice's back and applied pressure, leaning her body weight down until she felt something give way under her boot. This time Alice could no longer hold back her cry of pain; it crawled out of her mouth in a series of tortured shrieks.
"Stop hurting her!" Bella seemed to have snapped out of her catatonic slump. Suddenly animated, she jumped to her feet as if electrocuted. She wrung her hands, staring helplessly at Alice who stared back, eyes imploring Bella to stand down. Not this time. "I'll come with you," Bella offered. She ignored the gasps of horror from the Cullens. "Just please, please stop hurting her," the brunette begged. Bella was sure she would go insane should she be submitted to hear another anguished yell from Alice. She could feel her losing battle with sanity; each scream had raked such hurt down each nerve ending that it felt as though fire were racing under her skin. Her entire body flinched with each cry; each and every sound was like a whip to her skin. She could take the physical pain, it was the emotional ones from Alice's agony that she could not bear. With each agonized cry, she could feel her sanity slip through her fingers like it were a satin sheet. She began to take a step forward when Emmett reached out to seize her hand.
"Bella." Emmett's eyes were shot through with black, less from hunger and more from having to watch his baby sister get tortured. His hulking frame was quivering with the effort of containing his suppressed anger. "Stay here."
Bella locked eyes with the husky vampire. "Let me go," she whispered. She shook off Emmett's vice-like grip, knowing he would let go or else risk hurting her. She jerked her arm away as he attempted to grab her again. "Don't." She squared her shoulders as she turned to face her fears. "Let her go," Bella commanded. Her voice never shook; it rang out strong and proud. In her heart, she knew she was doing the right thing. She refused to meet Alice's gaze but could feel the shock and disbelief emanating from the onyx haired vampire. Bella knew that risking one last glance at Alice would break her resolve. Instead, she looked straight into her mother's burning red eyes; for Bella it was staring death straight in the face.
"Bella!" Alice was shouting her name, each letter filled to the brim with the seer's distress at the girl's decision. This was not how this was supposed to unfold. Alice felt as though she were about to burst out of her skin at the craziness that had become her life. "Bella, you don't know what you're doing! Bella!" She implored the girl to look at her, to turn those mesmerizing chocolate depths that were Bella's eyes onto her own caramel ones. But Alice's cries had fallen on deaf ears. Bella would not even turn in her direction, her entire body facing south. "BELLA!" Alice screamed, desperation now coloring her voice. The name tore out from her throat, from the bottom of her soul. Alice had never known such helplessness. Never felt as useless as she did now. "BELLA!"
"Simmer down, goddamn it!" Charlie bit out. He motioned a nod at his wife and Renée blurred forward, snatching Bella up quicker than the Cullens could blink. At the same time, Charlie hauled Alice to her feet, kicking her up by nudging his boot underneath her and shooting her up into the air with his kick. Whilst Alice seemed to float in mid-air for a nanosecond, Charlie finished up with a roundhouse kick to the seer's ribs, cracking a good few even as he sent the petite vampire spinning through the air and into her family members. The Cullens crashed into each other, falling over like bowling pins and this was the advantage the Swans needed to make a break for it.
Charlie swiped Bella, who was quiet throughout the commotion, having retreated into herself, into a firefighter's carry. Trusting his handy talent of masking his tracks and presence, he made off with his wife into the cover of the woods. Only to come to a screeching stop as two blonde haired vampires stepped onto their path, murderous intent flashing from their eyes.
Jasper and Carlisle were home.
xxxxxxxxxx