Oh man, this is…a very intense chapter. This story is almost done as well…so please, please review while you still can! This chapter is dedicated to Feenrai for the numerous, epic, and wonderful reviews!

Enjoy :)

Chapter 23: The Angel

Esme can still see the woman?

Yes. Liv, stay calm.

The woman is staying away from Charlie?

Yes. Liv, this won't go wrong. Please stay calm.

I'm almost home. Is Edward okay?

He will be if you stop texting and showing how nervous you are. We're barely keeping him calm. Please stop making him more nervous. Text us when you're moving again.

Then, one from the same phone but obviously a redheaded user. No, keep texting every minute. I need to know you're okay. Don't you dare get hurt.

I sighed loudly, causing the nosey cab driver to look back at me through his rear view mirror. I couldn't help but narrow my eyes at his reflection, which caused his eyes to flicker back to the road nervously.

"Hey, what was the number?" he asked, looking out the passenger side window at the houses we were slugging past. I looked as well while I answered.

"It's eight fifty-seven, the one on the left there. The red one."

I sighed and pulled out my cell phone again, sending Alice, Edward and those huddled around the phone a quick text that read 'I'm home.' and stowing it away in my pocket. I threw the three bills onto the seat ahead of me – I'd refused to let Edward pay any more of this rescue mission – before I climbed out of the cab without so much as a thank you. I couldn't be bothered with it right now and he had been standoffish anyway.

Climbing the uneven cement stairs up to my off-white front door, I slipped my keys out of my purse and opened the lock. It clicked as if I hadn't been gone at all, opening carelessly into the dim hallway. No lights were left on in the house – mom was a Nazi about it – and it didn't smell of cooking like it usually did. The whole house seemed…stale somehow.

I ignored the kitchen, which was warmer than normal because the air conditioning wasn't running, and walked through the hallway and up the stairs, turning to my bedroom – it looked untouched, save for the few baseball cards that Shawn had left near my bed. He'd always wanted my room, thanks to the fact you could see the park out the window – he liked watching people, just like I did.

Beside my bed, on the bedside table that Arie and I had taken a hot glue gun and brightly coloured Barbie jewels to, was a white piece of paper. Apparently all vampires had neat writing because there in neat calligraphy was a ten digit number. The writing was too neat to be mine at it's best, so I knew this was the number to call.

Calling him. I couldn't help but text. There was a part of me, a very selfish and terrified part, that wanted Edward to storm in and scream at James over the phone while the others did what needed to be done to keep my brother and sister safe – but that part would not win over the dread and acceptance that it was me that he wanted so the person who had to deal with this was me as well.

I fumbled as I dialled, making me have to do it twice before I heard a ringing in the background. He answered almost immediately. "Hello, Vivienne. That was very quick. I'm impressed."

"Me too," I muttered bitterly. "Where are Katie and Shawn?"

"They are perfectly fine. Don't worry, Vivienne, I have no quarrel with such small children. Unless you didn't come alone, of course." I hated how amused he sounded, how this was all a game to him. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"I'm alone." It did not sound like a lie because it was not a lie. I was alone. I was very alone. He did not need to know that I wouldn't be alone for long.

"Very good. Now, I'm sure you remember the way to your old school, don't you?"

"Sadly."

He chuckled. "Your nerve really is inspiring, you know. From cursing to breaking rules – you would be a fine trophy. I understand him now."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. Let's get this over with."

"Well, then," his voice had darkened though it had not decreased his bright, amused tone. It was ominous. We both knew what was coming. "I'll see you very soon."

He hung up.

I breathed slowly, nodding my head. "You'll see something, that's for sure."

I took a minute to breathe. Even though I knew everything that was at risk, I couldn't help but think that I deserved at least that much. In that minute, I took my puffer out of my purse and inhaled the medicine sharply, after a moment it let me feel close to normal again. It let me take a few deep breaths, breathing in the idea that soon I would be carrying Shawn and Katie back through these doors and tucking them in. I would make sure that they were safe and then Edward and I would just run away for a few days – go somewhere open where he could be the starlight during the day and we could watch the stars at night until I fell asleep.

I took out my phone, texting and changing my message three times before I decided it was sane enough to send.

I'm leaving now. It will take me 10 min to get to studio B. It's on the west side of the school – separate from studio A and C. I need twelve minutes. Don't ruin this, Edward.

It sounded bitchy, but I wanted him to know I meant business. If only he realized that I was lying to him – that I was buying myself all of an extra two minutes before he realized I lied to him about where the studio was, that we were headed in two completely different sides of my school.

Edward would be furious – but I just needed those extra two minutes. Those two minutes before he stormed in so that James would be put into a false sense of security and let my siblings go so that they could leave before they saw the sangsue get burned – by me. I was determined to light that goddamn match.

I'm giving you ten. Don't go in without warning us.

I walked out of my room, not daring look back at the pictures or memories that still hung in the air. The hallway, lined with pictures, seemed to taunt me as I saw my brother and sister smiling at me. I was in very few of these pictures – I hated pictures. The pictures that were there of me were of Arie and I when we were covered in paint or in Halloween costumes looking like fools. There were a few of me as a child, covered in chocolate or paint and looking guilty.

The overheated hallway led itself out to the entranceway where I was used to seeing a skew of shoes – there wasn't the normal mountain of colour, but there were a few pairs pulled out. Katie's favourite 'audition heels' and her running shoes – Katie was a runner. She once said she didn't want to get 'big' like me. Shawn had his sandals out – tiny, adorable little things. He must have been wearing his Spiderman shoes that lit up when he walked.

Would he tell James the rhyme I'd taught him on how to tie up shoes?

With a new urgency, I slammed the door behind me and walked as quickly as I could toward the school. I left my purse inside the house – nothing from it would save me from a vampire's thirst – and it was nice to walk as quickly as I could and not be distracted by a thumping in my leg. I didn't need anything else to pound against my skin considering my heart was doing a good job on it's own.

The walk to school had never felt so long. I always used to relish in the fact I lived so close to school because it let me sleep in for that extra half an hour – now, I was jealous of Arie who lived just around the corner from it. I draped my hair across my face as I passed by her house – glancing through the curtain I'd created to her bedroom. The blue blinds were pulled, meaning she was probably in there doing a little bit of partying with Asher or Jenn. I envied her.

I went around the corner, dreading hearing if someone was going to shout my name, before I picked up my speed. I didn't look up as I crossed the two final streets, I didn't look up as I entered the massive building – my feet knew where I was instinctively going. I pulled out my phone. And sent out the most important mass text I could ever put into words:

Kibbles 'n' Bits.

I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart that I didn't want a vampire to hear, before I stepped inside of dance studio B.

The dance studio was precisely as I remembered it: white oak flooring, immaculate mirrored walls, the ballet bars – sub par compared to the studios for the better dancers – had been piled on top of their stands to take up as little room in the corner as possible, and the lights – which were usually coloured yellow yet still the brightest fluorescents – remained off.

The only thing that looked wrong about the room was the glow coming from behind the predator that was watching me. The TV behind him blared out the horror movie I knew so well and identified with earlier – in front of that television, not having noticed I'd entered, was Shawn.

Shawn was bigger than I remembered him being. He must have gone through three growth spurts in the time since I'd left – his shoes, the Spiderman ones, were not on his feet…I guess they were thrown out. He had on a bright yellow shirt and swimming trunks. His hair needed to be cut and when I let out some sort of sound – probably something close to a whimper – it made his light brown eyes turn to me and smile.

"Look, Livi, it Katie!"

"I see that," I croaked, trying not to let my fear drip into my voice. "That's 'homework's a killer', her favourite." She had made that movie two years ago. I remembered it well as she'd blackmailed me to do the camera work for it.

"Katie hates homework now, too." Shawn nodded, as if he was telling us a trivia answer. I smiled as best I could toward him.

"That's right, she does. She also hates it when people wake her up – so I'll go do it." I turned my gaze to James, who was smirking at me proudly, before my voice lowered as menacingly as I could make it. "I'm going to go get her now."

"I'm afraid that isn't possible, Vivienne, is it Shawn?"

"It's not?" Shawn asked with a frown. "Why?"

"Katie's not here, remember?"

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously, my heart rate jumping miles per minute. "Where is she?"

"I'd say she's still in New York." James said thoughtfully. "She got another call-back, you see. It was so last minute that Sarah needed to find a babysitter, and Mrs Magnon was sadly…gone." The intonation in his voice made it clear that Mrs Magnon, our elderly neighbour, was anything but departed. I assumed it meant deceased. "So they turned to me. It was really lucky, to be honest, or else we never would have been able to get you here – isn't that right Shawnee?"

"Yeah! You said we'd play baseball!" Shawn got to his feet, I couldn't believe the little tyke was five – he was growing quickly.

"We can play whatever you want, but first I need to have a talk with your sister. Go back to watching the movie, alright?" James said. It was shocking how agreeable his tone was – then again, I'm sure being over three hundred years old would gather you a lot of little talents such as being a good actor.

"I wanna watch Dora!" my little brother pouted even better than Katie could and I was surprised to watch James toss the television remote over his shoulder so it fell beside him. Shawn let out a little gasp of glee before turning the channel to his favourite explorer. My eyes narrowed on James as he walked closer to me.

"I say that we do this the easy way, don't you?"

I should have waited for Edward. I shouldn't have acted alone. Not when it was Shawn on the line, not when Shawn wasn't in any danger at all – I easily could have gotten Edward to run and grab him before James would have had time to notice while Emmett tore him to shreds.

"Yes," I agreed lowly, watching the bright TV screen flash around my brother's silhouette. He was dancing to the backpack song.

"You don't sound angry that I tricked you. I expected that reaction."

"You'll get it when I'm not on high alert for my brother," I said with a glare. He smiled.

"Ah, there it is! How odd. You really mean it – you really don't fear me for your own reasons." His dark eyes assessed me with interest. The irises were nearly black, just a hint of ruby around the edges. Thirsty. "It's amazing through all this – you seem to have no sense of your own self-interest at all."

James did not look dangerous like he did in the meadow besides his dark, thirsty eyes. He was wearing clothes, familiar clothes, Earl's clothes, which made him look like the person crossing the street you only paid attention to when he was crossing. Otherwise, he wouldn't have existed in the world. He was a no one, an attractive no one, he had the perfect disguise.

"I suppose you're going to tell me that your boyfriend will avenge you?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. I clenched my jaw – it was time to act again. Or, perhaps, I should just try twisting my words.

"I don't think so," I answered honestly. "Something tells me he won't, at least." Because he won't have to avenge me. He'll defend me. That's different.

"And why would you think that?"

"I don't know," I bit my lip. "Since he doesn't know I'm here."

That, sadly, was not a lie either. Edward would probably be walking into studio A at any moment now, not realizing that he needed to be on the other side of the campus. What would be a five to seven minute walk for normal people will take him the thirty seconds it would take for James to snap my neck.

"It is so sad, so romantic, you trying to save him this pain. Do you think he will honour you? Don't you believe he'll avenge you?"

"I hope he'll take care of Shawn," I answered honestly. "I don't care, otherwise."

"Hmm, well, our hopes differ then. You see, this was all just a little too easy, too quick. To be honest, I'm disappointed. I expected a much greater challenge. And, after all, I only needed a little luck."

This was much more than a little bit of luck for him. He had gotten everything laid out on a silver platter – all he had to do was starve me enough before I'd come running to him.

"When Victoria couldn't get to your father, I had her find out more about you. There was no sense in running all over the planet chasing you down when I could comfortably wait for you in a place of my choosing. So after I talked to Victoria, I decided to come to Phoenix to pay your family a visit. I'd heard you say you were going home. At first, I never dreamed you meant it. But then I wondered. Humans can be very predictable; they like to be somewhere familiar, somewhere safe. And wouldn't it be the perfect ploy, to go the last place you should be when you're hiding – the very place that you said you'd be?"

"You're a genius," I muttered bitterly. I had been predictable, hadn't I? I guess my plans weren't as well thought out as someone who had centuries more experience. It was both a sting to my ego and a trip down further into a helpless state.

"But of course, I wasn't sure, it was just a hunch. I usually get a feeling about the prey I'm hunting, a sixth sense, if you will. When I got to your mother's house, I watched as they received the message for the call-back. I heard her planning to ask the neighbour – so I quickly disposed of that option. As she ran around in a panic, I just so happened to have a baseball card with me and Shawn took a liking to me instantly; your mother's problems were solved. It was not hard to take your sister's phone as she ran around preparing to leave. I listened to your message when I took her phone, but of course I couldn't be sure where you'd called from. It was very useful to have your number, but you could have been in Antarctica for all I knew, and the game wouldn't work unless you were close by."

"Clever."

"Then your boyfriend got on a plane to Phoenix. Victoria was monitoring them for me, naturally; in a game with this many players I couldn't be working alone. And so they told me what I'd hoped, that you were here after all. I was prepared as I already had your brother with me and it only took two days before the game was afoot and you came crawly to me."

"I wouldn't say I crawled…"

"It was very easy, you know, not really up to my standards. So, you see, I'm hoping you're wrong about your boyfriend – Edward, isn't it?"

"Edward won't hunt you." I said confidently, it did not sound as confident as I wanted it to. Maybe it was because I was becoming less and less confident as the seconds ticked on – shouldn't he be here? Shouldn't they all be here by now?

"Would you mind, very much, if I left a token of my own for your Edward?"

He took a step back and touched a palm-sized video camera balanced carefully on top of the television set. A small red light indicated that it had been running this entire time. He adjusted it a few times, widened the frame. I stared at it darkly, it was what he wanted to film my death.

"I'm a little camera shy, sorry." I hissed through gritted teeth.

"I'm afraid you don't have any power to resist me…just like I don't think your Edward be able to resist hunting me after he watches this. And I wouldn't want him to miss anything. It was all for him, of course. You're simply a human who was unfortunately in the wrong place, at the wrong time, saying the wrong things, and indisputably running with the wrong crowd, I might add."

"You're really doing this because I was there? What the hell do you do with people who serve you the wrong drink at a bar – don't you think this is a little over the top?" I rambled nervously, taking a step back as he took one forward.

"You're right, of course, there is more to this than competition. And I would just like to rub it in, just a little bit. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that and ruin my fun. It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me."

"Escaped you?" My thoughts raced together all at once – was he insinuating I could escape? Was he insinuating Shawn wouldn't have the chance to? Was he saying that he knew I was going to try, that I had backup on the way?

"You see, the vampire who was so stupidly fond of his little victim made the choice that your Edward was too weak to make. When the old one knew I was after his little friend, he stole her from the asylum where he worked – I never will understand the obsession some vampires seem to form with you humans, she was not so feisty as you, she was far more sweet – and as soon as he freed her he made her safe. She didn't seem to notice the pain, poor creature. She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen-twenties, it was the asylum and shock treatments. When she opened her eyes, strong with her fresh youth, it was like she'd never seen the sun before. The old vampire made her a strong new vampire, and there was no reason for me to touch her then." He sighed. "I destroyed the old one in vengeance."

"You mean Alice," I breathed, astonished. "You wanted to kill Alice? You're the one who left her alone?" I was surprised by my own insult at a time like this. To be fair, there were multiple things I wanted to punch this jerk in the face for.

"Yes, you're little friend. I was surprised to see her in the clearing. So I guess her coven ought to be able to derive some comfort from this whole experience. I get you, but they get her. The one victim who escaped me, quite an honour, actually. And she did smell so delicious. I still regret that I never got to taste. She smelled even better than you do. Sorry – I don't mean to be offensive. You have a very nice smell. Natural and spicy, somehow..."

"You don't have to do this," I couldn't help but beg. "Just let Shawn and I go. We didn't do anything to you – this isn't our rivalry or our battle. All I did was go to a baseball game for Christ's sake-"

"Baseball!" Shawn yelled, running over to me excitedly and bouncing at my feet. I could barely keep my eyes on him as I watched the predator take more stalking steps towards us. I pulled Shawn away from him quickly, but Shawn was too preoccupied. "Are we gonna play now?"

"Yes," James smiled as he quirked his head to the side, sizing the two of us up. "Yes. We will play now – don't you suppose we should get on with it, Vivienne? I can call your friends and tell them where to find you, and my little message. They wont let you go without avenging you after they see my…creativity."

"Let Shawn go!" I bellowed back to him, taking three more steps back and pushing my little brother behind me – and suddenly I knew that James would not let Shawn go at all.

Of course he wouldn't. It was why I came, wasn't it?

I was definitely sick now. He had pain in store for me, I could see it in his eyes. It wouldn't be enough for him to win, to feed and go. No, that's why he really did have Shawn with him and that's why the video camera was rolling – he wanted to make a horror movie. He wanted to outshine all the gruesome scenes we had created in our summer boredom and then, he wanted to show it to those it would hurt most. There would be no quick end like I had been counting on. My knees began to shake, and I was afraid that I was going to fall. He stepped back, and began to circle, casually, as if he were trying to get a better view of a statue in a museum. His face was still open and friendly as he decided where to start.

Then he slumped forward, into a crouch I recognized, and his pleasant smile slowly widened. It slithered into a full smile, a smile that wasn't a smile at all but a contortion of teeth, exposed and glistening. I heard Shawn let out a whimper, it seemed that no matter how much he liked his new babysitter, all prey still had a natural response to a predator. I couldn't help myself – I tried to run, shoving Shawn in front of me and screaming at him to go. I knew it would be useless but all I could dare to hope for was that James would be so preoccupied by me that Shawn could get out in public where James would be too afraid to act.

In an unnatural flash, though one I was growing accustomed to, James was in front of me with a dark smile and an arm around Shawn's middle. Somehow, in the second it had taken for me to blink he had grabbed him and was holding him under his arm like a sleeping bag. Shawn screamed and kicked, his chubby legs dancing around to dislodge himself from his captor.

"Let him go!" I screamed, taking three steps forward. He bared his teeth again.

"Is this what will make you beg for your Edward? Is this what it takes for you to finally fear me, Vivienne?" he asked tauntingly. "Then fear me!"

He unrolled his arm so quickly that it flicked Shawn's little body towards one of the mirrors, which smashed upon touching the heel of his shoe. Though he wasn't hurt by the impact, I saw all of the slices the glass falling on him made. It looked like he had passed out from the pain, which gave my body a moment to thank him – stay unconscious. Don't wake up for this. Don't wake up and watch me die. Maybe James would leave if he wasn't able to play with his food.

But James was not done scaring me. No, he made that clear as he took more steps towards my brother, bending over him hungrily – throwing the shards of glass away so that he would have easier access. Behind his hunched form, my little brother screamed. It was a terrifying sound that made my blood race. I did the first thing I could think of.

I bent down, my hand reaching for the only weapon I could find – the shard of glass I threw at him did hit him, it even ripped Earl's green shirt, but it was barely enough to keep his attention. It made me realize the one thing that was true about this situation. There was only one weapon that could help me right now and it was not the shard of glass in my hand.

I slipped the shard down my forearm, like all those movies where someone was trying to kill themselves. Up and down or diagonally but never left to right. I pulled the shard from my wrist to my elbow, gasping at the pain – and the attention it brought as James' eyes flickered to me hungrily.

I was the only weapon that would work, the only shock and awe factor. I was the shock – and if Edward ever came, he would be the awe. If Edward ever came. Maybe he hadn't planned on coming at all, maybe he'd finally realized how ridiculous I was after I had crossed this line to lie to him after he'd been protecting me the entire time…

My chest started to burn as he lurked toward me – almost as if he knew that he was walking into a distraction, but he couldn't stop himself. I tried to ignore the hammering of my heart against my ribs, which felt like they were crashing into each other. But before I could watch myself die in whichever way was fastest I heard the most terrifying, heavenly sound ears could hear.

My Edward had come.

It was almost too quickly for my eyes to register what was happening in front of me. Edward, flanked by his family, was surging toward James with a speed and finality that meant they did not have the patience to torture him like he had me. My chest, starting to collapse on itself, tried to floor me and stop me from watching the execution in front of me – but I was not done.

I turned my head to the corner and with the last strength I had, while my body began to scream in agony I crawled toward my brother. He was screaming and crying, something that my ears were beginning to block out as my lungs screamed just as viciously for air. While I crawled toward him, feeling my skin ripple against the glass that split it, I saw Alice come close to him and say something to Carlisle – my hearing was barely working.

I crawled to my brother, trying to calm him down but finding my body too weak to reach out to hold him and my lungs too empty to speak to him. He was crying and Alice was placing her hand over his forehead and whispering to him. I wanted to cry – he was so scared.

I tried to scream when I felt someone pull me away from my brother, but I was quieted when I realized whose arms I was enveloped in. He said something to me, something right into my ear that didn't make sense to me – I couldn't tell what he had said.

"Oh, Vivienne," his angelic voice rang. "Vivienne, where is your puffer?"

That time it made more sense, I think it was in French. I looked around, trying to find it as if it would glow for me, but I could not see it. I tossed my head side to side, my eyes filling with the realization that it was not here.

"Shh, it's okay. Calm, Vivienne. You need to stay calm. Carlisle!" Edward screamed out, clutching me closer to him. Water filled my eyes and I tried to blink it away as my chest began to spasm, my body was quickly starting to give out on me – I had been without air for too long.

I looked over my shoulder, watching as Carlisle checked over my little brother and spoke to Alice in tones I could not hear. I blinked again, looking up above me and seeing Edward looking blurred but somehow completely broken. I closed my eyes to clear my vision again, I wanted to see him. I wanted to see him before I wouldn't have the chance to.

As soon as I closed my eyes, I realized that they did not want to open again. My body angrily began to convulse against me – it was furious with my lungs, but I couldn't stop myself. And I couldn't open my eyes.

"Vivienne, please!" Edward let out a strangled sob as he plead. "Vivienne, listen to me, please, please, Vivienne, please – open your eyes, Vivienne!"

I tried opening my eyes, he would never understand how badly I wanted to see him. I wanted to tell him to watch the tape, tell him to listen to what I said about watching over Shawn and Katie, tell him that I wanted him to make sure Shawn was okay and tell me that he was – I wanted to plead with him not to let me go.

"Carlisle!" the angel called in agony. "Vivienne, Liv, no, oh please, no, no! She's suffocating!"

I heard the words 'hurry' and 'resuscitation', but they barely made sense to me.

"Hold your breath, Alice, it will help." Another, older voice encouraged. Alice? I wanted to ask. I wanted to apologize for making this plan with her and making her go against her brother only to lie to her about the plan itself. I hadn't meant this to happen.

"She needs CPR, Edward, she's dying!" Alice's voice yelled. I felt her cool hands touch my face like she had touched Shawn's.

"There are too many cuts on her face, I can't-"

He was cut off with my head lolling from his shoulder, I could barely hear him now even if he did speak. My chest was finally starting to stop heaving, I was almost glad for it just to end.

I heard a howl, a painful howl, before someone started the heaving again. It was a different heaving in my chest, one that made my chest ache and crack in ways that felt wrong. It burned and ached, something cold scraped against my lips – I felt like whatever was happening was attempting to make my chest explode.

It hurt. Whatever was happening, I wanted it to stop. I just wanted to say let me stop breathing, I'd always heard that drowning was painless – why should suffocating be any different? I wanted painless. I wanted it to stop, please just let it be painless.

I felt something dig in my leg, something that unmistakably felt like a needle. It took me a moment of panic before I let out a scream – a needle was in my leg. There was a needle in my leg! I hated needles, I wanted it out – get it out, get it out, get it out!

"Vivienne! She's back!"

I gasped at the voice, against all the pain radiating through my body. "Shawn!" I tossed my head around, how had my eyes been watering last they were open and why were they now so dry? "Edward?"

"Yes, I'm here." he whispered, holding me closer to him. I recognized the cool embrace.

"It hurts," I whimpered. "Where's Shawn?"

My breathing started picking up again, he let me go so that I could try looking up at him. He was blurry, but I could see him now.

"Vivienne, you need to breathe. Deep breaths: in, out, in, out…come on, Vivienne; in, out-"

"Where's Shawn?" I asked more loudly. Edward's eyes seemed to flicker away from me for a moment before coming to rest on me again.

"Breathe first. Come on, match my breathing. In, out, in-"

It was not an easy process. Breathing in and out was difficult when your lungs felt like they were seizing and your heart was pounding a rhythm that was tripling your oxygen intake. I watched Edward, ignoring the flickering that I could now see over his face – there was a fire in the building. They were burning James' body.

Good.

My breathing, through strained, began to even as Edward touched my face and whispered more encouraging things. The metronome effect only scared me more and it was easier to pretend that everything was okay when he was talking to me about how he would take me home so I could be with Mr Burford Bearkins and he would take me to the meadow so we could be in the sunlight again.

When my breathing calmed thanks to surges of epinephrine and waves of Edward's voice, he coaxed me to stay laying down. "You have broken ribs, I broke your ribs – Liv, I'm sorry-"

"Don't," I choked, sounding as assuring as I could. "Even humans break ribs during CPR."

"I'm sorry," he whispered again, bringing his lips down to my temple.

"Where's Shawn?" I asked, turning my head left and right, only to have Edward hold my face between his hands. He looked at me levelly, emotionlessly, searching my eyes for something I couldn't see. It made me nervous. "Edward…where's my brother?"

"Vivienne, he's been hurt-"

"Where's my brother?"

"He's in a lot of pain, Vivienne. You need to-no, stay down." Edward had pushed my shoulder back down while I struggled to sit up, but he had been too late. My head, though pounding, had cleared enough for me to remember where I had seen Alice comforting my brother and I had gotten a quick glance to that corner.

Shawn was laying, squirming, on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Jasper, eyes closed in determination, was touching him to try and calm him and Alice was looking over him worriedly. I turned my eyes to Edward.

"What's wrong with him?"

Edward turned his own gaze quickly to my brother, before looking at me carefully. "Vivienne, James bit Shawn."

"He what?" I asked, my eyes widening as my memory tried replaying everything that Alice had told me. The pain, the long transition into a vampire – one bite.

"Shawn's been bitten…he'll die."

"No." I said quickly. "No." I said again. "He's young, he'll live! Alice told me that only young, strong people live. He's healthy, he's strong – the venom can make it to his heart and-"

"Vivienne, he can't live." Edward whispered. "Even if he could survive the blood loss, there are rules…he can't live. He'd be an immortal child; they're uncontrollable. They never grow, they never wizen, they kill. All they can do is kill…"

Edward's gaze looked back over toward my brother and he did not hold me back as I moved to sit up again. It burned my entire midsection, it hurt me to sit but I couldn't stop myself the need to go see my brother.

"I can't move," I whispered. "Take me to him."

"You've lost so much blood, Liv," Alice called from across the room. "You shouldn't see this."

"Take me to him." I ordered, looking at Edward with all the strength I could muster. He nodded, looking much more defeated than I must have, as he carried me – painfully – toward the bloodied corner.

"Shawn," I whispered when I was set down. I leaned against the broken glass, trying to ignore the awkward digging into my back as I looked down on my little brother. He was so small, even as he writhed he looked too young.

The venom was hurting him and paling him quickly. Maybe it was that he was losing blood. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to know the answer. I looked to Jasper, who nodded to me stiffly before concentrating on something that made Shawn's eyes open.

"Shawn," I said again. "Can you hear me?"

"Livi…Livi, help…" his voice was hoarse and smaller than he was. "It hurts."

"I know sweetie," I let out a sob. "I know. It won't hurt much more…it's going to be okay."

"I wanna go home!"

"I know, I know – we can go home soon. We'll play baseball and xbox and go to the movies-"

"Livi, it hurts!" he cried out, thrashing away from Jasper's hands for the quickest moment. Help; I promise I will run faster 'n' won't watch Dora and I won' eat choc'ate anymore - I'm sorry!"

"It's not your fault, Shawnee." I cried, biting back tears that were far too stubborn. I crawled a little bit towards him – Alice and Jasper slowly moved to give us space. "This isn't your fault."

I caught eyes with Edward, who looked at me with a haunted, guilty gaze.

I heard Shawn's breath hitch just as Edward's eyes closed as if he were fighting tears himself. Turning around to my little brother I saw that he was back to writhing, but when I looked to Jasper and Alice I saw Alice slowly shake her head.

I knew what she was telling me, but I couldn't accept it. Shawn was too young to die. Shawn was too young to have been killed in the crossfire of a battle that didn't involve him. This was all my fault, everything here was all my fault.

"Shawn," I said quietly, trying to keep my voice strong as he let out another whimper. I dragged myself closer to him, ignoring the sting that flowed through my nerve endings. Going toward him I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him to me, his back to my chest as I cradled him close to me.

I wish I would have had the strength to face him, to let him see my face and to be calm enough to pretend that everything really would be okay – but I couldn't face him. I couldn't face my tiny, terrified brother who was about to die in my arms. How could I? How could I let him look in to my eyes and have the last thing he would ever see be fear?

I heard him crying, his body shaking in my arms – I hushed him. I tried to comfort him and hum, though it was broken from my own crying. His heart was racing under my grip and I tried to calm it as I calmed him, but it just seemed to make it worse.

Then, slowly, his heart rate began to stutter. Not stop, but stutter. His whimpering started to slow. I hushed him again, kissing the top of his mop head.

"It's okay, Shawn. I'm here. I'm here."

And then it happened.

Well, maybe it should be considered a bunch of things that happened all at once.

There was a sharp pain that burned through my arm at the same time that I felt Shawn's heart hiccup one last time. I heard a gasp and a bellow from Alice and Edward at the same time that I felt Shawn's body droop in my arms. It took me a moment, two moments, three moments of shock and despair before the pain set in.

It was a burning that coursed from my arm and made my skin crawl. My body screamed at me to writhe, but I fought against it so I could keep my baby brother against me.

"Vivienne!"

"He bit her!" Edward growled, coming in front of me and taking my arms in his hands. They were cool against my skin and helped with the burn, but did not stop the pain.

"Edward, it hurts!" Alice ducked in front of me, her eyes filled with horror.

"Let him go, Liv. He's gone."

"No, Alice-"

"Liv," her hands wrapped around my wrists. "He's gone."

Her hands gently pulled my arms from around my brother, I looked down to him as he fell into Alice's arms but was distracted by another wave of pain through my arm. My eyes flickered down to the small crescent on my forearm. When I went to look at Shawn again, he and Alice were gone.

"Edward-"

"I know, Vivienne. I know." he looked around nervously. "Does it hurt?"

"It burns," I whispered. "It burns so badly…Edward, why does it burn?"

"Venom," Edward whispered. "He's small, it must have spread through him quickly – I can barely smell it but…"

"Edward," my eyes watered. "I'm sorry, I-"

"This is all my fault. Oh Vivienne, I'm so sorry. I should never have left you."

"No," I cried. It was embarrassing, gritting this through my teeth. "No, not that. Edward, I don't…I don't want to be a vampire. I-I want babies and a family…please, get it out." I couldn't live an eternity knowing I had gotten Shawn, my baby brother, killed. Gotten him turned into something that couldn't live a life of a child, that would never have gotten the chance. A terrible wave of fire burnt through my veins. "Get it out!"

"I can't…" he whispered, looking torn. His eyes, black as onyx, gleamed sorrowfully.

"Edward, please-" I let out a loud gasp as I felt it begin to crawl farther up my leg, burning hot as blue flame.

"Edward, you must do it now, or it will be too late." Carlisle's voice encouraged.

Edward's face was drawn. I watched his eyes as the doubt was suddenly replaced with a blazing determination. His jaw tightened. I felt his cool, strong fingers take hold of my wrist, far enough away that it cooled the burning that was beginning to spread through my veins.

"Edward, please!" I whimpered again.

His eyes, darker than midnight and more intense than I had ever seen them held my gaze. He was trying to tell me he could do this, he was trying to tell me he would give me what I wanted – a future that didn't stop. A future that involved life. He bent his head over my arm, his eyes holding mine with more confidence than he must have felt before his cool lips pressed against my skin.

The burn spiked for the seven seconds it took before he began to drink from what little blood I had left. The pain left me screaming and my head throbbing against the stolen life. I felt my head swim at the intrusion in my blood and I sagged against his shoulder, breaking eye contact. I could no longer see the angel who was trying to save me, but I could feel his struggling.

"Edward," I whispered, feeling my eyes grow heavy.

He kept pulling at my arm for another long moment, I would never be able to measure how long each moment really lasted that night, but by the time I finally saw him blur before my eyes again, I was close to falling asleep.

"Edw'r'…" I wouldn't have blamed him if he didn't understand me, I barely did.

"He's right here, Liv."

"Stay, Edward, stay wi' me..." I whispered, trying to grip my hand. He seemed to feel the slight pulse at the tips of my fingertips and gripped them back.

"I will." His voice was strained, but somehow triumphant.

"I'm s'rry I can't be like you…" I whispered, my eyes drooping. "I'm s'rry."

"Never be sorry for that, Vivienne. Never be sorry for anything. I love you." His voice, soft like honey, was fading into the background of my thoughts as if he were walking away. My heart skipped a beat, even as my eyes slipped closed.

"Edw'rd don't leave me."

"Never." He whispered, kissing the top of my head. Pushing his hand on my forehead to soothe the fever that had built over my skin. I felt some tears escape me as I realized Alice had not returned, she had not returned from taking my brother from me.

"Even when I sleep?" Even when I make it all go away? Because it was all I could think of wanting.

"Even then. Sleep now, Vivienne. It's over," were the last words I heard.

Well, I don't know about you, but I cried. I told you I would shake things up, but to be honest I didn't know how intense it would be until it was already flowing from my fingers. Whew. Well, hopefully you don't all hate me for that new twist. To my fantastic reviewers:

BrokenYetDreaming: Welcome back! I'm glad that you like Liv, I was trying to make her different. Vivienne's mother just happens to be named Sarah, though I think I said at one point that she and Jacob's mother were very close. They are not the same person, though. As for if she turns into a werewolf - you'll have to wait to see if I do a sequel for that answer! Thanks for reviewing :D

Angel of the Night Watchers: I appreciate your husband just because he made fun of Bella. And I think most guys would go for the wolfpack, just because they tend to be more masculine. I think they feel more justified in spending so much time on it so long as it doesn't make them seem girly. And oh my goodness - I have been a comic book geek since far before any of the marvel (or DC, though I am a bigger fan of marvel) came out. The Avengers was AMAZING. It beat out all of my favourite movies and I'm slightly ashamed to say how many times I saw it in theatres. I love that you said it was my kind of humour, I tend to agree. My boyfriend, who is not a TV or movie watcher, was completely confused by my obsession with it. He now worries he has to grab my attention between Harry Potter, Twilight, Vampire Diaries and the Avengers as well. Poor guy :P

Feenrai: First, let me start by saying this review (in fact, every review you left) literally lit up my days. These reviews are the best I've ever received and I'm touched by all the thought you put into them. Now, to respond to them…give me a moment to breathe before I dive in.

I'm glad you like Liv's personality in contrast to Bella's, it was hard deciding what kind of character I wanted to put into this story so hearing that the contrast works is flattering.

Yes, if I continue this (which I really hope I can do if there is enough interest), Rosalie and Liv will become closer than Rose and Bella did, but that is a bit more obvious after this chapter. Rosalie doesn't have to be upset with her for the sacrifices now. I'm glad that you like the little things like the arts background and the asthma - I like making my characters believable and it never made sense to me that Bella comes to town and is a social sensation but she had no one she cares about back where she grew up away from Charlie. I do not have asthma anymore, I did as a child (though I can't quite remember them) but I've always had violent panic attacks - which I've been told can feel similar, so I just threw in what knowledge I thought I'd had. I often have a lung closing sensation, only it's panic based, but sometimes I can use a steroid puffer to open the lungs up so I have no extra reason to panic. Charlie taking off the cables was in the books, but I do like to highlight him a bit more. I agree, Edward technically would be more perfect for me - but I often forget how much I like Edward thanks to the movies (especially because I hold spiteful after he leaves in the next book) whereas I always remember how much I loved Jacob.

Vivienne is pronounced the same was as Vivian or Viviane in North American culture, but I come from a French background and can appreciate it when someone puts French accents into a French-spelt name such as her spelling Vivienne. It'd sound less like Viv-ee-anne and closer to Viv-yenne. There would not be a hard 'e' after the second V and it'd be lighter on the 'n's. There's some interesting French culture for you ;)

Alice is in one of my favourite characters from this book. I find I really like Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Embry, Quil and Leah best, besides the heartthrobs, of course. I just find they're the most realistic.

I am glad that you find Liv so relatable and that her story is emotional for you. It's nice to know she seems genuine. Also, I thought it would be more genuine if she asked pretty much all-powerful vampires for help. I mean, a mortal vs. a vampire? It doesn't even matter what universe you're in, that just spells BAD.

And I didn't WANT to kill off such an innocent person as I did, I really didn't plan it. To be honest, there was a part of me that planned to make Katie into a vampire - she's right at Jane's age so I figured she wouldn't be an immortal child but rather a young vampire…but the story played out a little bit differently than I would have initially thought. I'm very sad over it.

Anyway, thank you so, so, SO much for your fantastic reviews. Honestly, it melted my heart! I hope you like this chapter, especially as I dedicated it to you!

Only a few chapters left, so please REVIEW!

-Egypt