Baby You Can Stop Running

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight of Midnight Sun… Both of which I pulled heavily from for this chapter. All that credit, all those words pulled from the books, belong entirely to Stephanie Meyer. As do the characters of the story…

Chapter Fourteen

BPOV

"Edward?" I whispered, sitting up from the bed, my eyes focused on a large black figure that obstructed the door. The light from the hall was slight, and with the mixture of the darkness of the room, it was impossible to make out the intimidating frame. I heard the deep growl of the predator and knew immediately that this was not Edward, his voice was not the same, and I felt my body tremble in fear. The black figure moved closer to the bed, his face, however, was still obscured from the darkness created by the night.

"Who are you?" My voice quivered as I pulled my knees to my chest, my arms hugging them as close to my body as I could. He was silent, and as he moved closer I could begin to make out his features.

He was stunning, in a way that was different than Edward's, though beautiful all the same. His skin was olive toned, a gentle glow that would be impossible to attain with my pale, pink skin, and it was a color that I was envious of. His hair was dark, black almost, and cut short to his head, not short enough to be a buzz cut, but short nevertheless. His frame was large, though not as tall as Edward or as brawny as Emmett's, but his body was well formed, the muscles that could be seen through the shirt that he wore were enough to crush me in one swift movement had that been his intention.

"Who are you?" I continued to press as I felt my heart race in my chest.

"Are you with him?" His deep, bass voice filled the small room and his eyes met mine. I had never known fear like the one that seemed to spread through my body as I looked into his dark eyes that seemed to glow red.

"With who?"

"Edward. He loves you." There was an anger in his voice, and he walked around the side of the bed and I noticed that his hand was clenched into a tight fist.

I felt a hand as it touched my shoulder; my eyes fluttering open as I realized that it had all been just a dream. Still, my body seemed to quake with fear, there had been something all too real about it.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you but you were whimpering and it seemed you were distressed." The soft voice of the female in front of me spoke and I nodded my thanks before reaching down to see that my phone was buzzing. There were four new voice mails, one from Jacob, and three from Emmett.

"Bella where the hell are you?" I could hear the distress in his voice and I sighed, closing the book that was resting in my lap and tucking it into my purse.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep at the coffee shop."

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" I looked out the window, darkness had fallen over the small town and I realized that it had to have been well past seven. "I've been trying to call you for twenty minutes now! I had no idea where you were!"

"I'm sorry Emmett. I'll be there soon. I'm down by the boardwalk. If I'm not there in ten minutes you can send the police after me. I'm really, really sorry about that, I hadn't anticipated dozing off." We talked for a few moments longer before I hung up and tucked the phone into the front pocket of my jeans; I had already closed up my purse and had no desire to open it up again.

As I began my trek back towards downtown, I noticed that I had no recollection of these buildings. Unlike the small window shops that I remembered, these seemed to be buildings that the visiting public were not intended to see. They were somber colored warehouses with large bay windows, surrounded by wire fences, and padlocked for the night. I began to walk faster, my feet carrying me past a bar where a group of men were crowded around and I heard one call out to me.

"Hey there!" I glanced up automatically, my eyes taking in the four of them. They all appeared to be in their twenties, maybe a few years older than myself. Two, were slightly overweight, the fingers each holding a cigarette and I cringed slightly as I watched the one on the right bring it to his lips, the ember burning, lighting up and appearing almost like the color of the eyes of the man in my dream. I continued to walk, still watching them from the corner of my eye.

"Hey wait!" The voice had been the same as the first and I saw who it had been who was calling after me. He was tall, much taller than me, and, though he wasn't as built as the others, he seemed strong enough to take me. I wished that I had brought my pepper spray, but it was in San Francisco, tucked neatly away into my beside table drawer. I watched as he shrugged away from the building as he began to cross the street.

"Stay away from me." I warned, though my throat was dry and I knew the sound it elicited was nowhere near the strong and fearless voice that I had intended it to sound like. I wanted to scream but I saw that there was no one around, the street was barely even lit, save for a few street lamps which glowed a dull orange.

"Don't be like that sugar." He called, and I watched as the three other men began to follow him. I could feel my heart race in my chest. Never in San Francisco had I ever been in a situation like this, and here I was, in a small port town, about to be raped, possibly killed. How was that possible? How could all these terrible things be happening in such small towns, and nothing, not a single thing had ever happened to me in a city as large as San Francisco, where one would have expected these things to happen.

I began to contemplate my options in my head. Running would be pointless, with my luck I would trip and fall, making their attack all the more easy. Back in high school, before my move to Forks, our physical education teacher had taught us the basics of self-defense, still, that had been years ago and I wasn't sure how much of it I could recall, never having had a need to use it. Heel of the hand, trust upward, hopefully breaking the assailants nose or shoving it into the brain; Finger through the eye socket, try to pop the eye out; and of course, the standard groin maneuver. It was all I could think of and I braced myself, my feet a few inches apart as I watched them move closer. Still, I could hear the original voice in my head, the one that told me that there was no way I could walk away from this unscathed, not with four attackers, maybe not even with just one.

I began to think of Emmett, the phone was buzzing in the pocket of my jeans and I knew that it was him, it had been over ten minutes, I should have been back in town, I should have been sitting in the small Italian restaurant by now, not standing in a dark street like I was. I briefly thought to call the police but I knew there would be no point, it would only cause these men to walk faster, to move closer to me. I looked around; the street was dead save for a few cars that seemed to move along the road two hundred feet away. I longed for someone to turn down this street, for someone to see my standing in the orange flow of the street light, to see the four men as they stalked closer to me, slowly. I longed to scream, to bring someone from inside the bar outside, but my throat was still dry and it wouldn't produce any sort of sound that anyone would be able to hear. Charlie… I hadn't had a proper goodbye to Charlie… Had it not been for the fear that was pulsing through me, I was certain that I would begin to cry, but I wouldn't… I couldn't. Surely, these men would only take pride in my obvious fear and though I was scared, I couldn't give them the pleasure of knowing that they had succeeded.

I closed my eyes, trying to picture Edward, trying to make the pain of the situation go away. I could hear his voice in my head, the voice telling me to run, but I couldn't. And it was in that moment that I saw a car turn down the quiet street, the bight headlights flashing into the darkness. The car narrowly almost hit one of the men and I jumped out into the street, my feet moving under me, as I ran towards the car and I watched as it fishtailed around to my surprise. The silver car was next to me in a matter of moments and the I watched as the passenger side door flew open.

"Get in." The voice commanded.

It was amazing how instantaneously the chocking fear vanished, amazing how suddenly the feeling if security washed over me – even before I was off the street as soon as I heard his voice. I jumped into the seat, slamming the door shut behind me.

He barreled down the road, swerving to hit the men as they dove from the street to the sidewalk. The car was dark, and I could barely make out his face. Still, I could hear the squeal of the tires against the asphalt as he sharply turned the corner at a speed that surprised even myself. I had to reach down and grip the seat to maintain my balance. My head was spinning, and it was interrupted as I heard his voice again.

"Put on your seatbelt." I quickly obeyed and watched as he continued to speed down the streets, running a few stop signs in his attempt to leave the scene quickly.

I felt utterly safe and, for the moment, totally unconcerned about where we were going. I stared at his face in profound relief, relief that went beyond my sudden deliverance. I studied his flawless features in the limited light, waiting for my breath to return to normal; until it occurred me to that his expression was murderously angry.

"Are you okay?" I asked, surprised that, although my fear had dissipated, my throat was still dry. The words that came out were hoarse and weak.

"No," he said curtly, his tone angry and it sent a chill down my spine.

I sat in silence, afraid to speak, watching his face while his blazing eyes stared straight ahead, until the car came to a sudden stop. The look on his face was unlike any that I had ever seen before and it both confused me and excited me. I began to wonder how he had found me… My thoughts drifted however and I looked around, the darkness making it impossible to see anything but a few trees along the roadside, and I knew that we weren't in town anymore.

"Bella?" His voice was tight, and I could hear the edge that it contained.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?" I turned my body to face him but he was still staring out the windshield into the darkness that lay ahead of us. I could see the fury in his face.

"Yes." I whispered, suddenly intimidated by him. I never thought that I would see his perfect features marred by his furious scowl. My Adonis had been replaced with someone else entirely and though I knew he meant no harm to me, I wondered where this newfound person had come from. I owed him my life, had he not shown up when he had, I knew that my fate would have ended up with me in the icy Pacific Ocean. Still, though I felt calm in his presence, his fury, the raw anger on his face, caused my heart to pound wildly against my chest.

I couldn't deny that even in his fury that he was attractive, he was still the picture of David that Michelangelo had sculpted from marble, but there was something there, something that told me that he wasn't really the person that I thought he was. Something that told me, that hidden, deep down, was a part of him that he had buried long ago and this incident had brought that once again to the surface. What it was though, I had no idea.

EPOV

Anger seeped through my veins and my heart raced as I turned the corner and saw what I had. I was thankful that I had kept my windows rolled down regardless of the chilly night air. I could hear the catcalls, the men and their taunts; their laughs and I knew that they were trying to scare her. Though I didn't know them, I knew men like them. These kinds of men were hoping she would run, it made the hunt all the more fun. I wondered if they would like what I had in store for them.

As I turned at the end of the road I watched her run towards me, all she wanted was someone to save her. I was lucky I got there in time, a few minutes more and she wouldn't have been in one piece. The other part of my mind that wasn't thankful that I got there in time was thinking up ways I could hurt the others. The three who stood watching, they would die, the predator who had advanced on her, the one who seemed to be the leader, I wanted him to suffer for even thinking of hurting her. I wanted to hear him beg me for his life, a life that I could take without second thought.

"Get in." I commanded, watching as she slid into the seat quickly, the door slamming shut and I pressed my foot down on the gas. I saw her look up at me from the corner of my eye though I kept my eyes on the road, wondering if I might be able to hit one of them with my car. No… I could not do that with her in the car. I could not let her feel any more pain than I was sure she already was. Her eyes were soft, trusting and I found that for a moment, I stopped thinking about the men I so desperately wanted to hunt down. All that mattered was her, she was only girl in the world, the only thing that even matter to me anymore, the one thing that would keep me from doing what I so desperately wanted to do.

The rage returned as I began to think about what they might have done to her. I wanted to stop the car, to get out and attack them. I would drag them away, of her sight, and leave her alone. It was a long shot that another dangerous human being would be prowling the streets of Port Angeles, but it was a long shot that there would have even been these four men there to begin with. Like a magnet, she seemed to attract any kind of danger to herself and I knew that I could not leave her, I could not let her out of my sight, and I didn't want to.

I wanted his death so savagely that the need for it rang in my ears and clouded my sight. It was a death, a feeling that I had not wanted since I had fought for James' execution. It was a craving, a necessity that I had long buried and it was raging to the surface. After all my years of repenting, all that time spent trying to be a good person, to make up for the life that I had urged to have taken away, I wanted nothing more than to rip her attackers limbs apart, limb by limb, skin from muscle, muscle from bone. I wanted it to hurt, and I wanted vengeance.

Still, my jaw was clenched, and I gripped the wheel hard, my knuckles white with the rage, but I couldn't go after them. Not with her in the car clinging to her seat and staring at me with her wide, hypnotizing eyes with such trust. Trust that I didn't deserve.

"Put on your seatbelt." It was an order and she obeyed, startled I think by the harshness of my voice. My anger was obvious. I could still feel her eyes on me but I was afraid to look at her, afraid that she would see the red in my eyes, the anger, the bloodlust, and in seeing it, curl away with fear. She seemed oddly relaxed as she leaned deeper into the seat and it confused me, she should have been scared, terrified, and looking at her, feeling her next to me, it would have been impossible to even think that she had almost been attacked.

"Are you okay?" Her voice broke the silence. She wanted to know if I was okay?

"No." My voice fumed as I continued to drive until I was out of town.

The darkness surrounded us as I pulled off the road. I was so furious still that my body continued to remain frozen in place. My ice-locked hands on the wheel ached to crush her attacker, to grind him into pieces so mangled that his body could never be identified. One of the perks of being a doctor, I could get rid of anything that might identify him. He wouldn't be missed. Who could miss a monster like him? Still, going back to find him again, it would mean leaving her alone, and that was something I wouldn't do. I couldn't do.

"Bella?" I clenched my jaw and though I tried to remain calm as I said her name, tried to keep my voice controlled, I wasn't sure I was able to.

"Yes?" Her voice croaked. I must have scared her.

"Are you all right?" That was the most important thing. The only thing that mattered. I knew that, but it was still hard to not think about turning around and killing the men who I had left behind.

"Yes." I could still hear what I had assumed to be her fear. She must be so frightened… Still, with my rage, I was in no condition to comfort her. She would surely see the brutality radiating from my body, she would see the monster that I was trying to conceal from her and it would only frighten her more. I would have to calm myself first and that required thinking of something else… Anything else.

"Distract me please." I begged, my eyes still locked on the windshield. I didn't want her to see my eyes, to see the darkness that I was sure had overtaken them.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Just prattle about something unimportant until I calm down."

"Um…" She paused as she thought about what to say next, most likely trying to understand what it was that I was so angry about, I imagined. "I'm going to kill Jessica Stanley the next time I see her?" Her tone was more questioning than it was a statement.

Yes… This was exactly what I needed. Only she would come up with something so completely absurd that I would have no choice but to calm down. Had I not been so angry, I would have been laughing.

"Why?"

"For multiple reasons… First, she told Angela I was in town, there by forcing me to go out last night which obviously informed Jacob that I was back in town…" I winced slightly at his name… No, I didn't want to hear his name, that wasn't going to calm me; it was only going to anger me even more. Just listen to her voice Edward. "Then she went and gave him my number and he's been calling non stop all day!" Her tone was filled with her outrage, though it seemed more like a kitten trying to be a tiger. "If she's dead then she can't meddle with my life anymore than she already is…"

What she probably didn't know was that Jessica's behavior had nothing to do with her gossiping hobbies. Jessica was jealous of Bella… I could see it in her eyes when she looked at her, could hear it in her tone. She wanted to make Bella's life hell. My thoughts drifted to Jessica, and I was thankful for Bella's mindless chatter, it was working, I was calming down, no longer thinking about the men that wanted to hurt her. Now I was trying to make sense of Jessica, to understand what it was that she disliked so much about her. I remembered hearing her earlier in the day at the hospital giving the tall man Bella's number, though at the time I had no idea who he was exactly, or what he was to Bella.

"I heard about that…" I responded. She had grown pensive and had stopped talking and I needed her to talk. I needed to hear her voice.

"You did?" She seemed to think about it for a moment. "Then again if I kill her I'm pretty sure I'll have to deal with that leech Mike Newton…" I noticed her shutter as though the very thought disgusted her… I couldn't help but feel happy with that response, knowing that she would never want him. Though that still left the subject of her ex boyfriend. No, I couldn't let myself think about that, it would only bring forth a different kind of rage, and the point of this was to make the rage go away. "I'm not sure what's worse… Maybe I'll just rip her tongue out… If she doesn't have that then she can't talk."

The car was silent and I felt myself sighing.

"Are you better?" She questioned shyly.

"Not really…"

I was calmer, sure but still not better. The only thing that I wanted more than to turn around and kill her attacker was her. And, though I couldn't have her, just the dream of having her made it impossible for me to go and seek him out, to kill him in the most gruesome way possible. Bella deserved more than a killer. I'd spent the past decade or so trying to be something other than that, to repent for my sins in the past. And still, those years of effort could never make me worthy of her. Deep down I had convinced myself however, that if I returned to that life, the life of a killer (as it was still the way that I saw myself), for even one night, I would surely put her out of my reach forever. I was trying to be good enough for her, and though it was an impossible goal, I could only keep trying.

"What's wrong?" She said softly, concern washed over her face as I leaned my head back against the seat, staring at the ceiling of my car.

"Sometimes I have a problem with my temper Bella. But it wouldn't be helpful for me to turn around and hunt down those men… At least… I'm trying to convince myself that it wouldn't be." I replied, glancing at her in the silence that now filled the small car.

Her face, like always was unreadable and I was wondering what she was thinking. Had she heard in my words how much evil I was capable of? Had I scared her? It was true that she wasn't screaming, yet, at least. She surely, through the course of however long it had been that we had been in the car, had seen just how bad my temper could be. Still I longed to reach out to her, to wrap my arms around her and pull her close, to breathe her in, to kiss her head, to rock her softly and tell her that it was all going to be okay, that nothing would ever harm her, but I couldn't. It would be impossible for her to not be afraid of me after the way I had acted. Even I was afraid of me.

"Emmett and Rosalie will be worried." She said quietly and I heard how calm her voice was and I wondered how that was possible, how she could be so calm after everything that had happened to her, after I had been so outraged. Was she in shock? It was the only plausible explanation. "I was suppose to meet them…"

Did she want to be away from me? Or was she just worried about Emmett? Had I succeeded in showing her the person that I really was and that had terrified her, as I was certain it would have? After all, it should have terrified her.

I didn't answer her; I merely pulled back onto the road and began to drive back into town. Yet it seemed that every inch that I drove that brought me closer to the town, my resolve seemed to go out the window. I was so close to them. I could drop her off at the restaurant and she would never know the difference. No… She would know, but she wouldn't be around to watch and she would be safe with Emmett… It if was impossible that I could never have her the way I wanted to have her, what difference would it make anyways? Shouldn't the man be punished for what he had tired to do? How could I let him get away so easily when it would have been so easy to go back and find him, to hurt him the way he wanted to hurt her?

No. I wasn't giving up. Not yet. I wanted her too much to surrender. I would have to push my thoughts aside. Somewhere down the road he would do the same thing again, and someone would punish him the way I longed to. But he would not die at my hands, at my will. If I did, it would only push her further from my reach, and that, would be unbearable.

A/N:

So, I know that I pulled a lot from Stephanie's work for this chapter… It will be the last time I believe that I use so much of her work, I just felt that I couldn't do anything with this chapter then she already had done herself. Plus, she did it so beautifully! She is amazing! Still, I did add a few things, change things around so I hoped you liked my changes! As for the dream, it's a little prophetic to what will come… Anyone known who the guy was? I'm sure you will have no problem figuring it out.

As always, I'd like to thank anyone who had added this story to their alerts/favorites. And I'd also like to send a special thanks to my reviewers:

Charmedxxangel18
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SWChica
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I hope that people are still liking what they are reading, it's one of the benefits to getting reviews so please, send them my way and let me know what you are thinking. I'm a fan of constructive criticism, and of course, anything that feeds the muse is a good thing. So please, though I'm not one to demand a certain number of reviews for more chapters, I do appreciate them and take your comments to heart. Don't be shy! If you have something to say I'd love to know!

On another note: the next chapter will be at the restaurant and though it will use things from Stephanie Meyer's genius… I will be changing questions and what not as Bella isn't trying to figure out that he is a vampire… So I'm really excited about it because I'll be able to use more of my imagination for it.

ALSO… which is MORE important: if you are a US citizen and over the age of 18 and are a registered voter… GO OUT TOMORROW AND VOTE if you haven't done so already. I sent in my ballot on Friday. And though I'd never, ever push my political beliefs on anyone, I ask you all to consider this when voting: Pick the candidate that YOU feel with create the change that we need in this country… YOUR voice matters (as a student of politics and government, I can assure you that it does). Don't let anyone but yourself decide for you. It's important, this is such a fantastic election, and SO much is at stake. GO OUT AND VOTE if you can! Even if your candidate is unsuccessful, at least you know you have done everything that you could do! It's really important. So no, I will not say who I voted for, though if you ask I wouldn't be adverse to telling, I'm passionate about my choice as I've made an informed choice… I will not say anything to sway anyone. It's up to YOU to decide, don't let anyone take that away from you.

Right. So I'm already working on chapter fifteen. I'll probably finish it tomorrow as I watch the results of the election roll in. I'm thankful that my classes were cancelled for tomorrow. It makes things even better!

Remember: Please let me know what you thought of my chapter!!!!! Have a great night everyone!