Author's Note:

Well, I'm sure your'e all glad to be getting another update. My birthday was yesterday, so I was feeling a little generous. Here's the new chapter, it's pretty long so be excited, and it includes a lot of what I know you all want. His name rhymes with Bill. So without further ado, Happy Reading, and review, review, review. (Hey that last sentence rhymed)

I will update sooner if I get a lot of reviews...

I don't own any Twilight related stuff. I wonder how much it would cost to buy the rights? I'll have to break open my piggy bank...

And I feel your life pulling me back to the place

But the thought of staring back at you is more than I can face

-Chris Daughtry, Long Way

Ch. 7 Apology Accepted

I tried my best to appear stable, both physically and mentally, as I traveled down the brightly lit hallway. The air smelled sterile and uninviting. I had smelled this scent for a week now, and was sure excited to get rid of it.

I watched the gray-haired nurse walking next to me out of the corner of my eye. She was looking back and forth between me and her notepad, scribbling things down like a madwoman. We reached the big glass doors at the end of the hallway, and they opened to reveal sunshine and fresh air. I breathed it in through my nostrils, but quickly exhaled when all I got was a whiff of Burger King fries mixed with smog. Yuck.

"Okay, well, dear, I think you look all set to go. This is your taxi, here", she pointed to the yellow cab parked across the entrance drive. I nodded and started toward the vehicle. She stopped me though, grabbing my wrist firmly with her wrinkled fingers. She looked me dead in the eye. "Your'e better off without him."

I felt my jaw drop to the ground. How had she known? Had she seen Dylan and the secretary? But...

What did it matter if she had? I could care less. Dylan didn't bother me, at all, actually. I felt no resentment or hurt towards him. I should. I knew I should. But I didn't.

I gave her one last nod, adding a small smile as well. She flashed me a warm smile back and I headed for the fabricated backseat.

The ride home was a daze, and I vaguely remember handing the driver the money. I slumped up to my penthouse, in a full-out trance, as if I was being controlled by a remote. I walked into the door, not even bothering to grab a meal before heading for the bed. I was out in less than a minute of falling onto it.

I stood in a corner, dark and black. I heard people calling my name. Claire! Claire. Claire!

But the voices weren't familiar.

I couldn't see anything, and every time I tried to move, it seemed like my feet were chained to the floor. I screamed, but nothing answered. My eyes were burning, giving off the impression that tears were on their way. But they never came.

Suddenly, I felt a cold wet breath on the back of my neck. I felt a string of hard fingers crawl up the back of my arm, making me twitch with each touch. I couldn't breathe.

I slowly craned my neck around, trying to identify the guest. I was heaving like a maniac, the result of my not breathing for so long.

Then I saw it. The blood red eyes, outlined the pitch black pupils. The bared sharp teeth, surrounded by the plump pink lips. The shimmering pale skin. And the devilish grin that spread across the monsters face.

I tried to scream, but a cold, hard hand flew up, covering my mouth before a sound could escape. He lifted a finger to his lips with his other hand, signaling that I stay quiet. I managed a small nod of obedience, as I tried to control the wicked spasms of fear running through my spine.

He slowly lifted his hand off of my mouth, and I kept to my promise by staying quiet. I knew that if I screamed, he might hurt me right away, before I even had a chance to escape. I clenched my hands at the thought of my death.

His icy fingertips ran along my neck, grazing my pulse point over and over, as if he was memorizing the plane of my neck. I almost let out a scream, but quickly fastened my lips tight. I just had to give this man whatever he wants. But what exactly was that?

After a few unmeasurable moments of his sensitive cold touch, his scarlet eyes darkened. He looked deranged now, reminding me of a hungry mountain lion going after an innocent rabbit. And judging by the direction of his gaze, in this particular case, I was the rabbit.

He started to lean in, and I closed my eyes. I held my breath as I felt his frigid lips make contact with the skin on my neck. His lips opened...

I hit the hardwood floor with a deafening clunk.

"Shit!" A low unfamiliar voice cursed loudly.

I instinctively reached for my blackberry on my bedside table, my hands quivering uncontrollably. 911, I thought. That's the number you call. 911.

I finally felt the cool case on my fingers and yanked it to me, slamming down the buttons as I did so. I lifted the phone up to my ear, trying to look for the intruder. My room was completely dark, aside from the city lights streaming in. I couldn't see anything. Or anybody.

"Hello, what's your situation?" I scanned the room one more time before redirecting my attention to the operator.

"I just woke up and I heard a man's voice in my bedroom", I rushed out, in between rough breaths.

"Okay. Take a deep breath. Is the man still in there?"

"I'm not sure. I can't see him, but my room is completely dark", I whispered, unsure if the intruder was still in hearing distance.

"Okay, miss, where are you?" She sounded so bored, as if I wasn't in a life-threatening situation right now. I fought back the urge to blow her eardrums out and demand her full attention.

"Suite 209, Oakview Apartments, Richland Street. Hurry, please", I squeaked into the phone.

"I'm sending an officer right now", she assured me, her tone bored and lazy. I wouldn't doubt that she was filing her nails right then.

"Can you wait with me. Until they get here, I mean?" I asked, my shaky voice cracking.

Then I dropped the phone, and watched as the screen cracked and went blank. A huge black silhouette now blocked the only light that had been illuminating the dark bedroom. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. I could hear my heart palpitating.

"Did you just call the cops?" The deep voice questioned softly. I almost fainted before I realized that the stranger expected me to answer him.

"Yes", I whispered, so quietly that I could barely hear myself. But he sighed, and I knew he had heard my reply. He ran his huge fingers through his hair.

"Well, we better get out of here", he stated, getting closer and closer to my spot on the floor with each giant step.

We?

I felt my body stiffen as the stranger's unusually warm arms curled around my body and lifted me off the ground. The blanket I had been wrapped in fell to the floor. I shivered.

I think he looked down at me for an abysmal second before opening the door, but I couldn't see his face to be sure. After a few moments of rambling around in the blank darkness, the lights flooded into the apartment, and he stepped out into the hallway with me still in his arms, cradle style. I looked up to see if I could identify my anonymous kidnapper.

It was him.

Quil.

I couldn't believe what was going on. Why was he here? Where was he taking me?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked with a playful smile, as if we had just had a jolly day in the park and ate ice cream cones like five year olds. Ass.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked, not even bothering to adjust my tone to sound more professional. I was being carried without my consent to an undisclosed location. I didn't have patience for polite and rational behavior.

"Whoa, relax. We are just getting away from the cops, that's all", he stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. As if I was supposed to expect some random character from my childhood to come and steal me away from my house, against my will every night.

"Relax? You want me to relax? Put me the fuck down Quil before I kick you where it really hurts", I threatened, while giving him the best death glare I could muster up. The only problem was, he wasn't looking at me anymore. No, he was staring at the rooftop of the building next to mine.

That's when I first realized that we were now on the roof deck of my building. The chilly night wind whipped against my skin, creating goosebumps. But I was more preoccupied with the asshole who brought me up here.

Just when I was about to open my mouth, planning to demonstrate the full extent to Claire Mason's wrath, I felt the wind fly out of me.

For a brief second, I was weightless, like a feather floating through the air.

But I was brought back to life when I heard the loud thump of Quil's shoe soles slap the concrete. We were on the roof of the other building now. We had jumped over twenty five feet through the air, over an active city street, forty two stories in the air.

I heard Quil's rumbling, proud, laugh first, gently jolting me with its movements. Why in the hell was he laughing? Did he even think that this was funny?

Before I knew it, I was going at him like a monkey on steroids. Or at least that's how I imagined it.

After a few of my punches and worthless slap attempts, he restrained both my arms with one of his hands. I struggled against his grip, but he didn't budge. His whole body was shaking with chuckles now, and I think I saw tears forming in his eyes. I scowled at him until his annoying amusement died off.

"I'm sorry, it's just... your fight tactics were... interesting", he mused, replaying the scene in his head for I'm sure, the millionth time.

"Well, I'm so glad that I could amuse you. Now will you set me down?" I asked more seriously, pulling at my sleeves that had ridden up. Another shiver ran through me. His arms flexed around me.

"Will you run away?"

"No", I lied, praying he would buy it. I wasn't exactly the best actress...

"Not a chance, then", he said, smirking like a true evil mastermind. I shouldv'e known he'd see right through me. I had been told my lying was as conspicuous as a bright red stop sign. That's why I never really bothered to lie.

He walked over to a vent, and sat down on top of it. I sat up straighter, feeling a little awkward being in his abnormally warm lap. And all that was between me and his bare chest was my thin satin nightgown. I was sensing some boundaries being crossed...

"Are you alright?" He asked very softly now, and his brown eyes were innocent and calm. I felt his calmness transfer over to me, almost cooling me off to the point of feeling normal again. But then I remembered why I was here in the first place.

"What the hell do you mean 'Are you alright'? Damn it, Quil, I'm on the rooftop of a building in the middle of February with only my pajamas on. Do you think I'm alright?" I raged, staring at the sky behind him, rather than his face. It was too... distracting.

"I guess your right", he confessed with an ashamed tone. His eyes were looking at me in a weird way. Almost like he lov...Wait. Stop Claire. Your getting ahead of yourself.

"You guess? Of course I'm right, Quil. Will you explain to me why your'e here anyway?" I demanded with a tone of disgust. I just wanted to curl up in my bed and sleep. Maybe I could hibernate the rest of my miserable life away.

I finally assessed Quil's face after I was sure he wasn't going to answer my question without further argument. His eyes were distant, currently staring into the round white moon.

"Quil?" I repeated, maintaining my irritated tone nicely.

"I will Claire. Just give me a moment to organize my thoughts." Organize?

Despite his suspicious request, I refocused my attention to the crocheted frills at the ends of my nightgown. I played with them each, running my fingers along the curves and dips of the shapes.

"Well, originally I came here to see you. But when I reached your apartment door, I heard you whining in your sleep. And you were tossing and turning like you wouldn't believe. You were probably having a nightmare. So, I figured I should go wake you," he paused to look down at my face, "and when I got there, you fell off your bed. Then, you called the cops on me, and well, you know what happened from there on", he finished, his voice soft and mellow.

"Why did you come to see me?" I asked, wondering why he'd come to visit. I'd just seen him in La Push, and we weren't exactly close pals anymore.

"I came to apologize. For the way I acted at the bonfire. I didn't mean for you to leave. I was just shocked", he said, reusing Emily's words. I could tell he had rehearsed that line. It sounded too put together and staged.

"Apology accepted, or whatever you say", I murmured, readjusting my position in his lap. I pulled my skirt down a little farther. Didn't wanna flash him.

"Could I meet him? You know, your fiance?" He blurted suddenly. I almost said sure, but then I remembered I no longer had a fiance. What a shame.

"Um, he's busy with meetings and stuff..." I improvised, trying to avoid the breakup conversation.

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Claire. Is there a fiance?" He asked with a cautious stare constantly searching my face for any give away clues.

I shook my head, not bothering to speak. I was too ashamed. I felt a wet tear roll down my cheek as I tried to hide my face from him.

"Don't cry. Please", he begged with a desperate voice. I leaned my head into him, letting the small sobs sneak out.

"We broke up a week ago", I whispered into his shoulder blade. I had been so enthralled with my crying that I hadn't even noticed he had brought my head up to his shoulder, lulling me like a baby.

I felt his head bob, silently listening to my mindless babbles. This is what I needed. I needed a person to listen to my problems. I needed a person to hear my thoughts. I needed a vent.

"I caught him cheating with his secretary", I paused as I heard a gentle rumble in his throat. A growl? "But, that wasn't what hurt. What hurt was that I didn't even care. I didn't care that he was making out with some slut right in front of my eyes."

He nodded again. Then he gently moved me away from his shoulder so that I was facing him head on. His brown eyes were gorgeous, even in the moonlight. Like melted chocolate.

He leaned closer to me, and I felt my breath catch.

Seconds later, his warm lips molded to mine, seeming to catch them on fire with his warmth. He smelled like pine needles and ocean air. He smelled like La Push. He smelled like home.

OK, hopefully you enjoyed that chapter a ton! And if you want another one soon, go review now! It only takes a few seconds! Just press that button right down there VVV