"Her feelings she hides. Her dreams she can't find. She's losing her mind. She's fallen behind. She can't find her place. She's losing her faith. She's fallen from grace. She's all over the place."
-"Nobody's Home", Avril Lavigne
…
Chapter Eleven:
There was just something about going to a ball game that made everything seems so much better. Maybe it was because most of my favorite memories I have with my father involved me donning one of his northwestern green, navy blue, and silver Mariners' jerseys. I loved the feeling of the oversized shirts flooding around my younger self's twig like body. In fact, every jersey that I ever owned had been a hand-me-down from my dad who, at the end of each season, religiously took his overtime money down to Safeco Field and purchased himself a brand new button down, pro-style jersey.
Charlie Swan is a simple man; he likes baseball, guns, coffee and beer. Don't get me wrong, after spending my whole life with the man I've come to see his complexities, but it was those simple aspects of his life that defined him.
Everyday he would come home, hang up his belt, letting his state issued gun dangle from its place, out of reach from my little hands, before strolling into the living room where he would whisk me out of whatever babysitter's arms he could convince to watch me for the day. He would pull me close to him, kiss me on the cheek, and listen to me recount my day. It didn't matter that I was just babbling on about my favorite color crayon breaking or what Alice's new dress looked like as she twilled around in class that day, he was just happy to have me press my loving kisses against his face. We were all each other had.
I could still remember the scent of chewing tobacco, a habit I made him quit when I turned 16, the slightly sour smell of a day's worth of perspiration and his signature warm earthy cologne that still lingered from its application early that morning. I would lean against his neck and take deep breaths at night when I made him stay with me until I fell asleep. I swear I could almost smell him as I stood in line waiting to get into Safeco Field, already late for my 'bachelor' party with the Cullen boys. I had only left my office half an hour ago, but already being away from the confining space of desks and the sound of fingers lithely moving over keyboards was liberating. I took in a deep breath, feeling right at home as I entered the park.
I had traded out my classic work outfit for my favorite old jersey, two sizes too big for my frame, even with the hips and curves that had finally shaped my body into a womanly form after years of being a late bloomer. My worn out converse, favorite pair of ripped and my paint stained capris jeans only added to the comfort that I felt surrounding me like a blanket right out of the dryer.
I pulled my matching Mariners' ball cap over my head, pulling my ponytail through the space in the back and stood to watch the crowds of people that moved around me. Families, couples, friends, young, old, they all move about enjoying their afternoon off and the unusually sunny day in Seattle. I couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corners of my mouth.
"Bella!" A familiar voice pulled me from my thoughtful observation of the crowd and I looked around to find its owner.
I found Emmett's large form towering over most of those in the crowd, drawing attention to him as he waved his arms haphazardly through the air trying to catch my eye. My grin widened and I took a step towards him.
Before I could take more than a step however, a warm arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me towards a tall, lean body.
"Ma'am," The head attached to the body spoke and my initial confusion melted.
"Jasper," I spoke his name like a prayer, loving the way his presence pushed away the anxiety and stress that had been bottling up inside of me.
He was dressed almost identically to me, looking tempting to any woman who caught sight of his worn, yet fitted jeans and his strong forearms that were left uncovered by his own jersey. He tapped the brim of his hat against my matching one that we had received at the first game we ever went to together. He leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek before pulling me into his strong embrace. I wrapped my own arms underneath his, allowing them to twist together behind his back. I melted into his embrace. It was relieving to be with the one person who expected nothing from me. There was never any pressure from Jasper. We both had a touch of darkness lingering in our chests, hidden to most by our pretty faces and fake smiles, but when I looked into his eyes I found the same sadness that I knew he must see when he looks at me.
He gave me one more tight squeeze before letting me go.
"How are you darlin'?" His slight southern twang brought a genuine smile back to my lips.
"Perfect," I replied.
He smiled back down at me, but I could see the suspicion behind his bright blue eyes. If he noticed something was off with me, he didn't say anything. Instead he placed his arm back around my waist and pulled our bodies together so our sides touched. Those around us may have seen this as a romantic embrace, one between lovers who longed to be pressed against one another. To me however, it was like the embrace of a beloved brother, giving me the feeling of safety and protection.
He led us over to Emmett who was holding a beer in one hand and a navy blue foam finger in the other. He waved it back and forth in our direction as we approached him.
"Bella! It's about time, I almost drank your beer." He gave me one of his big toothy grins as he shoved the drink into my unprepared grasp, causing some of the amber liquid to slosh over the side and splat onto the concrete.
"Thanks Emmett," I blushed, trying to keep the wet cup from dripping onto my jersey.
"It's endless beer and hotdogs for you today my dear Bella! This is your bachelor party and Rosalie has strictly forbidden any strippers, so this is the best we have to work with, unfortunately." He huffed and I had to hold back from laughting.
I could practically see Rosalie's flawless face drawn up into a stern look as she gave Emmett the rules and regulations for my "bachelor party". I don't know if her warnings were necessarily warranted…then again, who knows what kind of shenanigans the Cullen boys would have gotten me into had she not set some ground rules.
"Come on bride-to-be, let's go take our seats, wouldn't want to miss the opening pitch." Jasper tugged me towards the field.
The seats had started to fill up and the sun was beating down on us as Jasper guided me down the stairs, his warm hand on my back. I worried he would feel the sweat that dripped down my spine in fat droplets.
"Jasper, where exactly are these seats?" I asked perplexed as we got closer and closer to the home plate.
We attended almost a dozen games a season together, usually satisfied with the cheap seats located on the second tier of the park, needing nothing more than an ice cold beer, each other's company, and a few lucky pitches to have a good time. Never had we splurged for the pricier seats where you could practically taste the perfectly cutgrass and feel the breeze from the bats as they cracked a ball out of the park.
When he finally stopped me at the first row behind home plate I was taken back. I stood still for a moment, even as Jasper tried to push me into the row.
"Only the best for our Bella," He spoke softly into my ear before chuckling and giving me another shove.
The tears that began to well up in my eyes were unexpected and embarrassing. I did my best to blink them away and play it off as allergies before Jasper opened his mouth and voiced his concern I could already see brewing behind his tell-all eyes. I just smiled, stretching my body up onto my toes to place a kiss on his slightly scruffy face.
"Thank you," It was the most sincerity I could display without breaking out into weepy tears that would make everyone uncomfortable.
I pulled away from him, righting myself back onto feet. Jasper smiled down at me before glancing back over my head. His signature charming, heart-melting smile was quickly replaced with a severe looking frown. His eyebrows pulled together as he continued to hold his gaze somewhere over my head. I quickly tried to turn my body in that direction, but his hand grasped my shoulder almost immediately as I began to move.
"I'm sorry Bella," his words came out gritty and rough between his clenched teeth, "he wasn't supposed to be here."
I managed to turn myself despite Jasper's hold on my shoulders to see who he was talking about, at first completely confused by his sudden change in demeanor, but it was as if my heart had known all along that 'he' was just behind me. Before I could turn and catch his tall figure chatting with Emmett just feet from where I stood, my heart started beating a mile a minute. I feared it would burst out of my chest if it continued on in that manner.
Jasper left me standing at the entrance of our row, pushing passed me, barreling toward the two dark haired Adonis'. I could do nothing but tilt my head in curiosity and watch the interaction that transpired between the three of them.
It was like one of those moments in the movies when a major conflict is taking place and the director chooses to silence the dialogue in favor of a blearing soundtrack, somehow making that moment that much more intense. You didn't need words when some scenes could be depicted with body language alone.
Jasper approached aggressively, saying a few sharp words to Emmett by the look on both of their faces. I made out one line before a choir of voices broke out over the loud speakers, singing the National Anthem.
"What the fuck Emmett?"
Edward suddenly jumped in, making a quick comment that Emmett seemed to defend. However, with Jasper's next remark Emmett seemed to have changed his mind about protecting his brother and instead took a step away from him before spewing his own heat filled sentences. His face colored a bright shade of red and two deep-set lines appeared on his forehead. The spectators around them stared in confusing at the scene that was being made. After a few more shared comments between the men a few wondering eyes began to linger over towards me, still standing just beyond the reach of their argument with my blank expression and overflowing beer.
The anthem ended and I finally decided that enough was enough as their words began to float over the seats and reach my ears. My face was already burning in embarrassment from their commotion.
"I swear to God if you even touch her!" Jasper yelled his hands curled into threatening fists that were shaking lightly.
"I'm not going to touch her Jasper! It was seven fucking years ago…Jesus Christ will everyone hold that over my head until the day I die?" The sound of desperation rang out at the end of his question.
Jasper, Emmett, and Edward all quieted as I approached, and it felt like the rest of the ballpark had their eyes on me as well, or at least the first dozen rows behind us.
"This is my day right?" I said giving them all blank stares.
Silence.
"That's what I thought, so shut the hell up, sit down, and watch the game with me. Okay?" I sounded like a mother fed up with her children's bickering. I had heard many similar statements made by Esme when we all piled into her minivan, screaming at the top of our lungs, pulling hair, and crying over spilt Sippy cups and stolen toys.
"Yeah Bella, of course." Emmett finally broke the silence between us.
We all took our seats just as the opening pitch was thrown and the stadium broke out into their usual chants and shouting of encouragement. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes to take in the sun and keep my heart from sputtering out of control.
"Are you okay Bella?" Jasper placed his arm around my shoulder and tugged me closer to him. The armrest between us dug into my side but I didn't care. I quickly downed my entire plastic cup of beer.
"Never been better Jasper."
His eyes bore into my own, trying to pick out the emotions that I'm sure were swelling to the surface just beyond my brown orbs, but he just pursed his lips and flagged down a vendor to buy me another beer.
The taste of beer never held any sort of appeal to me, but I was never repulsed by it either and had spent many summer afternoons cracking one open at a ballgame…just because it was the all American thing to do. It was that very activity that allowed me to get to know Jasper so intimately. We would sit, drink beer, talk, and when things got too heavy, move our concentration to the baseball game that played out in front of us.
"Jasper, you really don't have to keep buying my drinks. Beer is an outrageously over priced commodity at a baseball game." I complained to the handsome man next to me who handed me a plastic cup full of cold amber liquid.
"Stop complaining Bella and let me get you drunk." He laughed accepting his own beer from the vender as soon as I accepted the cup he forced into my hands.
I had only been back in Washington for two months now and already I had been to two Mariners games with my former best friend's fiancé. How strange was that?
At first it was just something Alice suggested, a double date night, so we could get reconnected, but it turns out that both Alice and Mike knew absolutely nothing about baseball, leaving Jasper and I to hit it off over our personal rankings of the best Mariners' pitchers of all time. We both agreed on, Felix Hernandez, although the masses always gave the honor to Randy Johnson.
I was a little taken back however when he called me yesterday and told me he had an extra ticket to today's game, asking if I wanted to come. But here we sat, in the crappy peanut heaven seats, three beers under, five innings in, and two runs down, and I would be lying if I were to say that I was having a bad time.
Jasper was funny, charming, and just enough of a gentleman to make me feel flattered to accept the drinks he bought for me. We took turns asking questions about the other between baseball banter and the occasional outburst at a bad call or a great hit. This was how I found out that his father had also gotten him into baseball, although he was a die-hard Braves fan. I didn't have the heart to tell him what I really thought about the Georgia team.
During a lull in the innings, we had grown quiet, but it was a comfortable silence, the kind where you could just sit and enjoy each other's company. That is until he asked the question that I never thought would come out at a baseball game, let alone from a man that I barely knew.
"Alice told me you used to date her brother." It wasn't a question so much as a statement.
My mouth went dry almost immediately at the sound of his name and I brought the cup to my lips, drinking deeply.
"Yeah," I managed to croak out after gulping down almost half of my beer.
There was silence between us for a moment as we watched a player from the away team gain leverage on first base.
"You know I was just getting done with a year stint in Afghanistan when I met Alice?" We both still had our eyes on the game, not daring to look at one another.
"She…she may have mentioned something about it." I remember Alice bringing it up when we first met for lunch the same week I ran into her at the grocery store. She recounted the day they met like she was reading it out of a storybook. He had just landed in JFK airport in New York after nearly twenty-four hours of traveling back to civilization from the hot deserts of the war torn Middle East. She was headed back to Washington for Thanksgiving after finishing up with her fall semester at school. Both of their flights were delayed and they ended up sitting in the same café.
"He was just sitting there, barely able to keep his head up he was so exhausted. So I order a large black coffee with extra sugar and sat it down in front of him." I remember her recalling the event like it had just happened yesterday.
"I knew the moment I took the first sip of that coffee that she was the women I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. How could some random girl all the way from Washington end up in the same airport, on the same day, at the same time as me, and guess my coffee order perfectly?" The way he said it made it sound like he was still marveling over the event.
I couldn't help the scoff that came out of my mouth. My face bloomed a vibrant red and I tugged my head down against my chest.
"No, it's okay. I know it sounds absolutely bat shit crazy, but I can't find any other way to explain it. We were supposed to find each other that day…"He trailed off, staring into his half empty beer like there might be a secret lying just beneath the foam. "But you know it wasn't perfect. It's still not perfect"
I worked up the courage to look over at him, our eyes meeting in an intense stare, the baseball game completely forgotten.
"Even after we figured out the distance issue, I was…I was pretty messed up from the war. When I first moved in with her up here I would wake up in the middle of the night with my hands around her tiny neck, so close-" He paused as some vehement emotion began to overtake him. "So close to snapping her in half." He whispered and my throat felt tight just listening to the words coming out of his mouth. He flexed his hands into tight fists before letting them go limp on his lap.
"PTSD?" It was a word that burned coming out of my mouth and rolling over my tongue. I don't know why I said it, but when his eyes met mine again I saw that he almost looked grateful that I had been the one to say it.
We were the same. Both plagued by something that we knew made us different than everyone else, but so unwilling to say it out loud.
"Did Alice tell you about," I could barely get the words out," about Edward?"
He nodded his head in a gentle up and down motion, looking a little guilty at his admission.
We just sat there and stared at each other for a while, letting the world around us fade away. It was a strange feeling being in the company of someone who knew what it was like to have those scars deep inside of you, the ones that would never heal. There was no sympathy in the way he looked at me, but rather a striking resemblance of emotions that I saw swimming in my eyes everyday when I looked in the mirror.
I found myself pulling back my long hair and pushing aside the Mariners' jersey I was wearing to expose my bare shoulder. I ran my hand over the gruesome looking scar that existed where my shoulder and neck connected, where his teeth had sunk into my skin, forever leaving his mark. It never did heal properly, leaving the skin marred with a raised pink blotch, a reminder.
He shifted in his seat, pulling the hem of his own jersey up over his abdomen revealing his own long raised scar that looked to have come from a quick patch job. A fabricated image of him bleeding in the hot desert sun, gritting his teeth as someone pulled a needle and thread through his skin came all too quickly to my imagination and it made me sick.
"Shit," was all I could say as we both turned our heads back towards the game, rejoining the onlookers who cheered and chanted around us.
"Shit," he repeated back and we both downed the rest of our beers before flagging down the man for another round, on Jasper.
We were well into the bottom of the fifth and I'd lost count of how many beers Emmett had put in my hand. The Mariners' were up by two run, a pleasant surprise considering their recent losing streak, and the packed field was alive with an energy that could be felt in every corner of the ballpark. The sun was still beating down on us, and I was feeling grateful that I had decided to bring my lucky hat or I would be trying to cover up a splotchy sunburned face come Saturday.
I was feeling the alcohol coursing through me and I couldn't help giggling at Emmett's stupid side comments that ranged from his usual sexual innuendos to more controversial political jargon. My stomach however was starting to feel full with the liquid and it left a bad taste on my tongue as the temperature slowly rose.
"Jasper?" I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder. "Could you go get me a bottle of water and maybe a hotdog or something? I think I've had too much beer." I hiccupped as soon I finished my sentence and he laughed at me.
"Sure thing darlin', I'll be right back." He got up and left our row just as we struck out, ending the fifth inning.
I jeered at the other team loudly, my tongue feeling loose in my mouth.
"Bella? Bella?" Emmett kept calling my name and I turned to look at him, his cellphone held against his shoulder, his foam figure still on his other hand.
"It's a business call, will you be okay here?" His kind eyes made me want to laugh and cry all at the same time, so I just nodded my head, afraid of what might come out of my mouth if I opened it.
Then he was gone my eye were left staring at the person in the seat next to him.
Edward was looking severely overdressed and uncomfortable in a light blue dress shirt that had been push up to his elbows, a pair of black dress pants that must have been retaining all the heat that was beating down on them, while his tie and jacket lay folded neatly on the floor by his feet, his collar was unbuttoned leaving his neck exposed. I could see the chain of his gold cross as the sun gleamed off of it.
"Who wears a suit and tie to a ballgame in August?" I quipped; my head rested in the palm of my hand as I blatantly stared at him.
He turned to face me, a look of surprise on his face, as if he had forgotten that I was there. His face was flush from the sun but his eyes looked full of life, like that of a child's at their first game. His hair was an utter mess, falling in so many different directions it was almost comical to look at him.
"I-I…it was really a last minute thing." I couldn't help the smirk that pulled on one corner of my mouth, loving his awkward loss for words. "I didn't mean to intrude on your day…I can leave if you're uncomfortable." He began to reach down to collect his tie and suit jacket.
I found my hand reaching over the space between us on it's own accorded. Placing my hand on his bare forearm, he stop his actions immediately, letting his jacket fall back to the ground, forgotten as his eyes met my hazy stare.
"Shut up Edward and stop trying to leave."
"But I-"
"God!" I pulled my hand away from his arm quickly, "You waltz into my life after seven years, sending my life into turmoil, and the one time I actually tell you to stay you start packing of your things to leave!" I exasperated, throwing my hand in the air and slumping back into my seat. "Why are you such a goddamn enigma?"
I crossed my arms and looked back over at the man that had thrown my life into chaos once again. His eyes looked like pools of molten green lava. For as long as I had known him Edward Cullen was always a closed book. His facial expressions tended to be minimal and vague, never divulging his true feelings, but it was those two brilliant orbs that seemed to send a painful ache straight to my chest every time they met with my own gaze, that always gave him away. They were so expressive and alive, changing depth and shade depending on his mood. Today they were smooth and warm, like a pool of water surrounded by thick forest trees that reflected off the surface in the most vibrant hunter green.
"Bells."
"Don't call me that."
He looked back towards the field; he had scooted forward in his seat and had his elbows resting on his knees while his hands were clasped together in front of him. I could see the muscles of his forearms tensing as he gripped his hands together more forcefully, like he was trying to channel all his energy into his interlocked hands.
I stared at them wearily, not liking that way his knuckles began to turn white.
I quickly stood from my seat.
"I have to go to the bathroom," I blurted out before turning towards the row's entrance and made my way out of the section.
I quickly moved through the crowd, not really sure of where I was going. I liked the feeling of being lost in the crowd of people. Not worried about running into someone who may know my secrets, my pain.
I wasn't alone for very long though when fingers wrapped around my wrist, digging my bracelet that I wore into my skin and causing me to yell out in a surprised shriek.
I was whipped around and brought face to face with an angry looking Edward, his eyes now looking wild with fire blazing in his irises.
"Why do you keep walking away from me?" He pulled me closer so our faces were just half a foot apart. His tall frame towered over my own, asserting his dominance in the situation. A brief flash of a younger Edward with empty eyes and an angry face, hovering over me had me trying to pull back from his grip on my wrist.
"Please let me go," I begin to panic when he wouldn't release me from his hold.
"Why?" Instead of letting me go he pulled me closer to him, wrapping his free hand around my waist and lightly resting it on my lower back where beads of sweat have gathered.
He's too close and yet not close enough. His hands are powerful and that scares me, but they are also warm and gentle like sweet caresses that made me want to pull him closer and…and…
"Why Bella?" He breathes the words out and over my face which stares up at him with the most confused look.
"I'm afraid," I whisper back up to him. His face so beautiful with his tragic eyes that I can't help but tell him what I'm really thinking. Although I know my words don't mean the same thing to me as they do to him.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I-I'm not that boy anymore Bella."
I didn't know what to say to him as we stood there in the middle of the ballpark, surrounded by waves of people who all move around us like we didn't exist, like what was happening between the two of us meant nothing to them, because it didn't. But it meant everything to me and my shambles of a life, and when I finally open my mouth I said the only things I knew to be true, the things that weren't hard to say, the facts. What I had had been trying to say last night before he touched me.
"Edward…"A chill ran down my spine at the sound of his name coming from my mouth. "I don't sleep, I can barely eat, and I'm taking every kind of medication you can think of, but it still doesn't help." My eyes were glued to his. "I go to work and I can't find my words, I come home and the day haunts me into the night, and I look at my fiancé and don't know how I'm supposed to feel anymore." It sounds like riddles and insanity, but to me it's the most I'd been able to admit to myself. Not just in the last five days, but in the last five years.
Tears gathered in my eyes and become stuck in my throat, making my sentences come out sounding thick and full of emotion. His gaze felt heavy on my face as his eyes darted back and forth between my right and left eye, no doubt seeing the wetness that was forming in the corners. His hand pressed firmly against my back while his grip on my wrist caused my bracelet to dig deeper into my skin. I welcomed the pain that pricked the flesh there.
"Why did you come back?" I finally asked, looking away from his gaze, suddenly feeling too vulnerable, as if he could see right through me with is penetrating gaze. "Why now?"
He didn't answer and the silence between us grew and grew until I couldn't stand it anymore and lifted my face back up to meet his eyes. I wanted to pull him closer to me, to feel his skin against mine once again, to see what it would be like to have his large hands between my own.
He pushed me away from him, taking a step back, releasing my wrist; all while a million different things seemed flashed across his eyes. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling the need to hold myself together, as if I could fall apart at any moment. My heart beat uncontrollably once again and the air felt too thick around me as I breathed in the humid air.
"You're sick." He stated. Not a question towards me, but an observation of my physical state that he had seen over the last few days.
I snapped my head towards him; the space between us was still no more than a foot, yet I felt like I was miles apart away. I wanted to yell and scream and cry all at the same time. Each day that I saw Edward I slipping farther and farther from my reality that I had built up so well in my head these last seven years.
"Yes." I hissed back at him, leaning towards his chest, which was level with my eye line. "I'm fucking sick." The hostility in my words would have made even a sane version of myself cringe back, but Edward just continued to look at me with those conflicted eyes and his perfect face. His gaze darted down to my lips for just a second as I pulled it in between my teeth and bit down harshly.
"Sick of seeing your face in my nightmares." The hatred in my voice started to flow and I let it overtake me. "Sick of everyone telling me that I need to see a goddamn shrink." I took a step closer to him before poking my finger into his chest, which was taunt with well-defined muscles that I would have taken more notice to if I hadn't been seeing red. "And I'm so fucking sick of you ruining my life Edward."
He didn't move or say a word, but I watched as his jaw clenched and his flushed skin turned a sickly looking white shade. His face remained stoic but those tell-all eyes looked like those of an injured little boy. I wanted to sneer in his face and laugh at the pain that I saw there between those two green pools. But an even more overwhelming urge to cry came over me.
I took a step backwards, my breath catching in my throat as a single tear fell from its place on the edge of my waterline.
"Bella," He took a step towards me, his hand reaching out for me like I had reached out for him while we sat watching the game.
It seemed like such a long time ago, although we had probably only been gone from our seats for ten minutes. It might as well have been a lifetime, a lifetime far away from Safeco Field and my little baseball bachelor party. Once again I was back in that sunroom, I was that little girl staring at the boy she loved, feeling broken and helpless.
Would I ever be able to leave her behind? Would this story ever end?
"Don't run from me." He voice pleaded with me, but my mind was already gone.
The moment his fingers touched my hand again, I yanked my arm out of his reach. I took another step back from him, my vision blurring from the tears that now fell freely down my face.
"Bella, let me just take you home." He took another step forward and it all came flooding back to me.
Those same green eyes looking down on me as he held me to the ground. Those same hands pulling at my clothes revealing unmarked and innocent skin, that same voice telling me that he loved me, telling me to scream his name.
"No!" I looked around as I continued to take several more steps backwards, wishing someone would help me.
But I was alone; no one was there but him and me. Gone were the bright light of the warm summer sun and the noises of the crowds moving around the baseball field. We were all alone now in my bedroom, the darkness threatening to swallow me up with him at my side. His hands reached out for me, attempting to grab me again, but I knew that if I let him touch me he would never let me go, that he would rip at my clothes, take me by force, and leave me to die in his arms.
"Don't touch me!" I screamed.
I attempted to flea from him, but I forgot how to move, how to run, and ended up on the hard ground, my wrist burning underneath me as I attempted to protect myself from the fall.
"Bella." His voice called out to me and I curled myself into a tight ball, my hands clutching at my ears, not wanting to hear him anymore. The scar between my shoulder and neck pulsed hotly. I just hoped that it would be over soon.
"Isabella!"
I closed my eyes. I hoped that it would all be over soon.
A/N:
I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. I think we're really starting to get to the bottom of some deep issues here.
Don't forget to comment, I love to hear your thoughts. It's very stimulating.
F.