Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Edited by Sjdavis84 and StillDreaming85.
WARNING: This story contains mature themes and is intended for mature readers.
ISABELLA SWAN.
Edward was very different from his brother and at times it was hard to believe they were even twins.
With Edward, no matter what he said, or what threats he delivered, I don't believe he would actually hurt me, not like Anthony at least.
I wanted to make sense of Edward, of why he was so calm, attentive and caring, but I always kept coming up blank. I knew that under this man he pretended to be, was a dark man, maybe more so than his brother and I don't think that was a side of him I wanted to see.
"Why are you being nice to me?" I asked, as he helped clean up the blood from my face. His hand stilled as he looked at me.
"What do you mean?"
"I ran away, well, I tried to. Shouldn't you be mad at me?"
"I am mad at you, very much so, but I also don't blame you for trying. As stupid as your attempt may have been, you were very brave to try such a stunt, especially with so many of us here," he said.
My attempt had not been stupid. Anyone else in my position would have done the same thing. I would have made it too, I would have escaped them had it not been for Anthony's convenient timing.
"How about you take that shower now and a nap. Your eyes are bloodshot."
"I don't want to sleep," I said, stubbornly. I was afraid of my own mind and what I would see when I closed my eyes. I knew avoiding sleep would be impossible, but I would fight it as long as I could.
"Suit yourself. There are more towels in the cupboard over there and when you're done, everything you need is in the bedroom," he said while standing up. He left me in the bathroom, and took the bloodied hand towel with him.
I took a hot shower, letting the scalding water cascade down my body. I scrubbed my skin raw. Somehow, I thought that if I scrubbed hard enough, maybe I could scrub all my problems away as well and the memory of last night.
In the bedroom, spread out across the bed were bags and bags of clothing. There was everything from pyjamas to underwear, denim, even socks and shoes, all in my size.
I picked out a pair of cotton underwear and a pair of pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt.
I removed all the bags from the bed and put them on the floor in the walk-in closet. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with them, if I should take them out and hang them up or not.
Sighing deeply, I pulled the covers back and climbed in the bed. I was tired and I couldn't fight it anymore, no matter how hard I tried. It was better being in here than out there. I didn't want to face Anthony, not again, not today.
I closed my eyes and let sleep take over.
When I woke up, I was surprised to see it was still light outside. I put my hands above my head and stretched, a decision I regretted instantly. My lower abdomen still hurt from Anthony's blows, although it wasn't as bad as previous times.
I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and splashed some cold water on my face. I don't know how long I've been asleep for, but I felt refreshed. I guess I didn't really know how tired I was and I was thankful I had a dreamless sleep.
I hurried out of the bathroom. I didn't spend too much time looking in the mirror. I already had seen the damage to my face, I didn't need to spend any more time looking at it.
When I came out of the bathroom, Edward was sitting on the bed waiting for me.
"Good morning, fiorellina," he said, offering me a small smile.
"Morning?" I asked confused. I couldn't have slept that long, could I?
"Yes. You slept for almost twenty-four hours. You had me worried, gattina, I came to check on you many times yesterday to make sure you were still alive," he chuckled.
"Unfortunately, I am," I said, standing awkwardly in the doorframe of the bathroom. His eyes narrowed and he stood up, walking over to me with a look I've never seen on Edward before. Right now, I didn't know if he was really Edward or Anthony. I stayed frozen in in place, it was as if my feet were cemented to this spot. I watched him with wide eyes as he reached for me and grabbed my jaw.
'Don't ever say something like that again," he warned.
"Why not?" I asked. What would it matter if I died? They were going to kill me anyway, weren't they? What were they waiting for?
"Because I am not going to let you die," he said, releasing my jaw.
"Edward, can you please tell me why I'm here? What have I done?" I asked.
It was the million dollar question that everyone avoided answering. Anthony pretended I never said anything and James would always change the subject. It's not fair, I've been with them for two months. They have taken me away from my life, my family, everything that I loved. I deserved to know why the hell I was here.
"Fiorellina, you still don't know? My brother still has not told you?" He asked.
"Your brother doesn't tell me anything. All your brother does is hit me," I said, pointing to my face.
He sighed and brought his hand back up to my face. I flinched away, but that didn't stop him. He ran the back of his fingers over my bruised cheek with the lightest of touch.
"I am sorry for the way Anthony has treated you, and I can promise you, he will not lay another finger on you," he said.
"You can't promise me that."
"He won't," he insisted. What power did Edward have to stop his brother from hurting me? And if he cared so much, why didn't he stop him yesterday instead of standing by and watching him abuse me?
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Edward," I said, gently swatting his hand away from my face. "Can you please answer my question? You all owe me that much."
"Gattina, you are here through no fault of your own. You haven't done anything wrong. You are simply...Revenge," he said, not taking his eyes off of me. He was guarding my reaction carefully.
Revenge? Revenge for what? For who?
"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused even more now than ever.
"You really don't know do you? Do you know what your father does for a living?"
"My father is the district attorney. What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.
"My father and yours were very good friends, until your father decided to stab mine in the back," he spat the words out like acid.
"I don't understand, what did my father do?" My dad was an amazing man, he was loving and friendly. He would never betray his own friend like Edward had claimed.
"My father is Carlisle Cullen. He is a very powerful man, gattina. The FBI and NYPD have been trying for a very long time to infiltrate our organization, but they have always failed because we do not allow outsiders into our higher ranks. My father paid Charles well. Given your father's position, my father used him as, well, let's call him an insider informant," Edward said, backing away from me, he sat back down on the bed.
"But Charles, he betrayed my father and my family. He used the information to build up a case against my father and now he is serving a fifteen year sentence in a federal prison."
I let the information Edward had given me sink in. I was here as revenge against my father. They were using me to get to him. But my father, he wouldn't do this stuff. He was a lawyer.
"So, your family, they're what? In the mob? You're the mafia? A gang? Terrorist? What?" My head was drowning with the new information. I never expected Edward to give me any answers, not as much as he had anyways.
"We are the mafia, fiorellina. My father is at the very top, the boss if you will, and with him locked away, I am taking his place," he said.
"You're the boss now?" I asked and he nodded. "And Anthony is?"
"My second in command."
"Right." Mafia? My father had been involved with the mafia? I knew a few things about the mafia. I had seen all the typical movies, Goodfellas, Scarface, The Godfather, even Once Upon A Time In America. But to be standing now face to face with a...A...A mobster, to find out that my father had been involved with these people, it made my stomach turn, it made me uneasy.
"You alright there, gattina?" Edward asked.
"Why do you keep calling me that? What does it mean?" I asked. Did he not know it was rude to call people names?
"Do you want some coffee?" He asked, ignoring my question.
"Yes, please."
"Come on," he said, offering me his hand. "I'm not going to bite you," he joked. I stood there staring at his outstretched hand, debating with myself if I should take it or not. The man just admitted to being in the mafia, I should be scared of him, I should be screaming for my life now. But I can't...I don't understand why Edward makes me feel almost...safe. That is the stupidest thing, I thought. They kidnapped me and yet I feel safe with him?
I took his hand. He wrapped his fingers around my palm, his touch was warm and welcoming, and I hated myself for feeling this way. I hated the fact that my stomach was fluttering and my heart was running a marathon from his little touch.
I sat at the kitchen bench as Edward went around and made me a cup of coffee from the machine. I noticed Garrett was sitting at the dining table with a laptop in front of him showing something to James, both of them didn't acknowledge the fact I was here.
"Here," Edward said, sliding the cup over to me with a canister of sugar and a teaspoon.
"Thank you," I said.
"I'll make you something to eat."
It was around mid-afternoon when the door rang. As Edward went to open the door, Garrett came and sat beside me on the couch, putting his hand around my shoulder. I got the message loud and clear, don't try anything funny again.
"Here is the dresses Anthony asked for and the tutu thing, I had to order. The lady said it will take about a week to arrive," Alice said. I remember her from yesterday. Why was she here now?
"Fiorellina, come here," Edward called out. Again with the Italian.
"Hi Isabella," Alice said, smiling at me.
"Hi."
"Fiorellina, Alice is going to do your…" He trailed off scratching the back of his head. I looked between the two of them with worry. What was Alice going to do to me that had Edward this lost for words.
"Isabella, don't worry," Alice said. "I'm here to give you a makeover," she announced cheerfully.
"A makeover?" I questioned.
"That's the word," Edward said.
"Why do I need a makeover?"
"Because I can't have you out in public if someone can recognize you," Anthony said, coming into the room. Where had he come from? Has he been here all along? I wondered.
At the sound of his voice, my body tensed because he didn't sound happy, he didn't even sound normal. Anthony sounded angry and one glance in his direction confirmed that.
"Calm down," Edward said, putting his hand on my back. "I promised you, didn't I?" But his promise didn't mean anything.
"Come on, let's go get you all dolled up," Alice said taking my hand. The two of us went back to the bedroom I had been put in. Passing Anthony, I thought I saw his face soften when he looked at me, but that couldn't be.
Alice pulled behind her a wheeled case. She set it up in the middle of the room. She put down a large black plastic cover over the carpet and put a chair in the middle.
"Come on, sit down," she instructed.
"What are you going to do to me?" I asked.
"I'm going to cut and color your hair."
Color my hair? I didn't want to color my hair. I didn't want to do any of this, but I knew I didn't have a choice. I could either do this willingly, or Alice would probably go and tell Edward or worse, Anthony.
"How short are you going to cut my hair?" I asked, reluctantly sitting down.
"Not too short. Anthony's instructions." She winked.
"What?"
"He said, he prefers your hair stay longer. I'm going to cut you a side fringe and then layer your hair out. I'm going to color your hair dark."
"How dark?" I worried. Did it really matter?
"You have a beautiful skin tone, you're going to look great with a dark shade of brown, trust me," she assured me.
I couldn't fight this and without another option, I sat back in the chair and closed my eyes and let Alice do her thing. We didn't speak to each other, there was nothing I could say to her anyway, she was working for Anthony after all.
After two hours of Alice cutting and coloring and blow drying my hair, she was finally done.
I stood in front of the mirror almost afraid to open my eyes.
"Come on, Isabella, don't be like that. You look beautiful, incredible. I promise," Alice said.
I blew out a big breath and slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times. I almost didn't recognize the person staring back at me. Damn it, I didn't want to like it but I did. The side fringe thing Alice had done, was nice. She had left my hair long like she said, like Anthony ordered, and the color, I had never had dark hair, but I liked it.
"Wow," was all I could say.
"See, what did I tell you. You look stunning. Now let's get your make-up done so I can go home," she said.
"Make-up? Why do I need my make-up done?" I asked.
"I'm only doing what I was told to do. You'll have to ask Anthony anything else."
Anthony, right. There was one thing I didn't understand, if Edward claimed to be the boss, or at least stepping in for his father, why did it seem like Anthony was the one calling the shots? Or were they in on whatever this was together?
"Why are you doing this Alice? Why are you helping them?" I asked. Alice looked like such a beautiful person. She looked to be nice and kind hearted, not the sort of person I would imagine associating with men of the mafia.
"This may sound bad to you, but I am getting paid to do this," she said. "I'm sorry for what has happened to you, but I'm not in a position where I can question neither one of Mr. Cullen's decisions."
"How do you know Jasper?" I asked.
"What?" She looked a little taken aback by my question.
"Jasper, the blonde haired man whose hair is pulled back into a ponytail, that's Jasper right? He…" I trailed off.
"What did he do?" Alice asked, bending down in front of me, grabbing onto my hand.
"He took me from my home. He kidnapped me and put me in the back of a car and brought me to some filthy basement," I spat out.
"Jasper did that?" She stood up, shock clearly written all over her face. "I'm sorry he did that to you. Did he do, did he touch you?"
I shook my head. "No, nothing like that at all."
Alice went silent after that, she became almost like a robot. I stayed quiet too, I think I may have said too much and I hoped she wouldn't tell Anthony.
"I'm all done. I've set out your dress and shoes in the closet, you're going to look beautiful. I'm sorry I won't be here to see you, but I need to go pick my girls up," she said.
"Thank you, Alice," I said.
She packed up all her things in a matter of minutes. I've never seen anyone move that fast in my life. She left after that, she didn't say goodbye, she didn't look back.