Chapter 9 – No Escape

.

A/N Longish chapter as promised and yes, finally they meet!

.

(Bella)

I switched off the cell phone and took out the SIM card. Later, I would melt it on my gas stove before putting it in the garbage. I had a collection of new ones to activate and use. The call with Alice had left me confused and worried. I had gone to the dusty upper level of the library, where nobody ever came, and called the number I'd been given. When Alice answered me, I breathed in relief.

"Have you Seen anything?" I asked. "I don't know if in the office they are wondering about me. Is it dangerous? Should I resign?"

She was silent for a while. Then she murmured: "I haven't Seen you in the library. I have had a couple visions of you, but when I have to force them, they are short and not very clear. The best are the ones that come by themselves, and I haven't a chance to get them now. Anyway, you were in a room – with somebody. A man, but I couldn't see his face. There was an upright piano in a corner…"

"Was I in danger?"

"Mm, I don't know, really. I don't think so. All in all, I had a good feeling about it." Alice was obviously uncertain. "Ah, I also had a glimpse of a motorcycle, but I don't know what it means. Do you intend to buy one? Don't, please. I feel it would be dangerous."

"No way! Why would I buy a motorcycle?" While answering, I had a sudden image pop into my mind. A black motorcycle with a black clad rider. Where had I been when I had seen it? But Alice resumed speaking, excitement in her voice.

"I Saw Jasper, Bella, I was with him again! But I still don't know where he is now. In any case, the Volturi are still in Volterra with no immediate plans that I could see. I'll ask Paul and Embry to go looking for Jasper. I think he's coming South. They'll try in Canada first. Once we're reunited, we can work out a strategy better."

She repeated she was sorry to be so vague, and we decided to speak again soon. Maybe we could even meet; Seth could come and fetch me, before going home again.

"I'll stay under water for a day, if need be, and maybe I'll finally manage to have better visions."

After the call I went down to the hall and noticed somebody going out in a hurry. I could see the back of a tall man in jeans and black leather jacket exiting the building. Deb was looking quite pissed off.

"That guy was reading the World Atlas, but he jumped up so suddenly that he banged it on the table and kicked his chair down, making a lot of noise. And, of course, left the volume on the table." she complained, adding in an undertone that people were getting worse every day.

I went to straighten the offending chair and shelved the heavy atlas for her. There were other chores I had to see to, and I set myself to work. Fortunately they needed just a little attention, because I was still absorbed by the things Alice had told me, unsatisfactory as they were.

She had Seen myself in a room with a man. There had been an unspoken question in Alice's voice. Was I finally getting a boyfriend? In the past she had Seen me with a baby in my arms. Although in some of her visions she had seen me as a vampire, hunting with her, those visions had been rare and blurry. A long and happy human life was her clearer prediction for me, she always said. Married and a mother, evidently.

The problem was that I never had a boyfriend. True, I had lost my V card to a stupid, fumbling boy when I was barely 15 and still living with Renée. I refused to see him again afterwards, and quickly forgot about him and the non-stellar experience. Then my mother got ill and I had no time for sex, let alone love. Finally, when I met them, the Cullen males ruined me for any man, dammit. Not that I'd wanted Jasper, Carlisle or Emmett for myself. They were all happily paired; mated, to be exact, and the powerful ties that bound each one of them to his mate were wonderful to see. The way those guys could love, and the way their love was reciprocated was so heartwarming. Humans didn't have that: couples fought bitterly, split, divorced. I knew it all too well. And they were all so beautiful - no mortal man could achieve such grace, such virile perfection. None that I had met, in any case. A vampire then? Unlikely. All the other vampires my surrogate family knew of – with one exception, but he was mated too - had red eyes and they wouldn't be courting me, they would eat me.

So I was frozen, stuck between two worlds.

When Alice had first saved my life and then befriended me, she had done something absolutely reckless. It was forbidden by the laws which governed her species, and she had put herself and her family at risk.

"I Saw us together, in my house, in my room, trying on dresses, making excursions, going to the Sol Duc hot springs, going shopping, laughing, playing. I Saw that we were going to be great friends, and I couldn't let you die, Bella. I ran as I had never run before, to avoid that the cruiser crashed on the tree…"

In saving me by stopping a running car with her hands - a superhuman feat - she had exposed her secret, and the only outcome should have been my death, or my transformation. But Alice, who had completely forgotten her life prior of the change, craved human experiences, craved a human friend. And her visions told her I was the one.

It isn't easy to resist Alice. It took her a few minutes to have Carlisle's support. Jasper would go for anything that made her happy, Esme was ready to love and protect an orphan, alone and bereft. As for Emmett, he thought it was fun. The only resistance came from Rosalie, and even that didn't last too long.

Practically adopted, cherished, I finally discovered what a family could be. The Cullens remained together by choice, they loved each other, they looked out for each other, and they had even fun together. It was a family much, much better than many human ones. And, if one considered that they were denying their very nature for ethical reasons, one could only admire, respect and love them in return.

But now, of all that extraordinary family, only Alice remained, a shell of her former self, at least until she found Jasper again.

My throat was painfully constricted, I had tears in my eyes, the pain the tragedy had caused me was still vivid and raw. Sorrow, mixed with the anxiety of not knowing what was going to happen to us, was gnawing at my insides. Lest somebody noticed my distress, I took an extended lunch break and went for a stroll.

I was walking toward the meat district's docks when a motorcycle passed me. A motorcycle… It wasn't the safest area, so I started to go back. The biker was strangely familiar, and I suddenly remembered where I had seen him, or somebody identical. It was when I was walking home with Leah three days back.

The bike passed me again and speed away… in the direction of the library.

Alice's visions were not to be taken lightly. Was I being stalked? A woman living alone in New York is prey. I couldn't even go to the police - apart that I had nothing substantial to tell them, if I said I had a precognitive friend, they would likely decide I was raving mad and make me see a psychiatrist.

Now that I was on 9th Avenue, there were a lot of pedestrians around and a heavy traffic. Feeling marginally safer, but still in a panic, I hailed a taxi, and miraculously there was nobody to steal it from me. I was afraid to continue on foot, lest the biker was lurking behind some corner. Once at the library, I darted inside. Safe for now! The lunch time hour had brought in a lot of people for books' changing, and I rushed to help.

At three pm all was quiet again and I felt light headed. In fact, I had forgotten to eat. I went to my locker, where I kept an emergency stash of granola bars, and ate one hurriedly. Lucy, a nice coworker, was in the room too and stared at me, probably surprised that I was still hungry after the lunch break.

In the back office I started putting entries in the computer, but I couldn't concentrate. I made mistakes and had to reread every entry. I dreaded closing time and going home alone. Come to think of it, breaking into my house was damn easy. The apartment on the first floor was often empty, as the woman living in it was babysitting for her daughter and just came in to feed her two cats. And the couple on the third floor were out most of the time. My bedroom window's safety latch was broken, and it was easily accessible from the outside. I had meant to have it fixed, but I had forgotten …

As the afternoon advanced, the need to confide in somebody became impossible to resist.

"Lucy," I said to my colleague when we were left alone with closing duty. "I am worried, because somebody has been following me. At least, this is what I think."

"Do you want to call the police?" she asked, concerned.

"What would I tell them? It's just an impression… but I live alone, and…"

I didn't add that I couldn't ask for police protection even if I had firm proof of being stalked. I was using a fake identity, after all.

"What does he look like?"

"Tall. He wears a leather jacket and dark jeans and drives a motorcycle so, with the helmet on, I couldn't see his face."

"Wait," Lucy exclaimed, her brow furrowing, "I think he has been here today. Twice. There was a young man carrying a helmet who came here this morning, and this afternoon too. He always left in a hurry. He is a redhead."

"Oh God, I think I saw him here too, this morning. He was leaving when I came down from the upper levels."

In the afternoon I had been working at the computer and not in the hall.

"Look Mary," Lucy said firmly, "this is what we'll be doing this evening: Bob is meeting me at the entrance. I can wear your raincoat with the hood on, and the stalker will be fooled. My boyfriend has a karate brown belt, by the way. So I'll be in no danger, I promise you. I'll see if somebody follows me. You close the doors from the inside, and stay put here."

She was so kind and brave. I felt humbled.

"Are you sure?" I asked, thinking that I could even sleep in the library this night. In the attic, among discarded things, outdated computers, old keyboards, boxes of ruined books destined to recycling but forgotten, there was a saggy old sofa. Later, I would be making a call – maybe Seth or Leah could come and take me to Alice tomorrow morning.

"Yes, I am sure," Lucy confirmed. "but you shouldn't go back home alone. Can you take a taxi and go to a friend's house? Or come to me later?"

I reassured her: I wouldn't go home alone and I would call a friend. Since he wouldn't be in Manhattan, I could stay here till morning, if need be.

We did the charade: eventually Lucy left wearing my raincoat, giving me her parka in substitution. We were of the same height and we both wore dark pants. It would work.

That is, it would fool him if he was human, but what if he was a vampire? Hell, why didn't I think of it? Did I put Lucy in danger too? No boyfriend could stand up to a vampire. But why should a vampire be so cautious? He could have broken in my home, killed me already… or captured me. I'd heard, however, that the Volturi employed human minions for some tasks… Oh God let him be a normal pervert.

Alone, I ate my two remaining granola bars and made myself coffee in the staff lounge, strangely reluctant to go to the bleak attic room. When I finally made my way upstairs, it seemed to me that the atmosphere was stifling. Too dusty, too dry. I opened the window, inhaling with pleasure the humid hair – a slight drizzle had started. Sitting on the large window sill, I took out my cell phone and a new SIM card. The first step would be to call La Push and…

The attic door opened.

Long legs, dark jeans, black leather jacket, no helmet. And a pale, pale face. Exquisite, carved in alabaster. Underneath the harsh neon lights the hair shimmered reddish over his ethereal brow. His eyes, however, weren't red; they were blue.

Contact lenses, probably, because such beauty isn't human.

I had been found.

"How… how did you get in?" I croaked. Stupid question. But he answered politely.

"I left a window open in the lavatory, and I came back through it."

Oh, of course. The windows in the lavatory are very high, so nobody bothers to make sure they are properly shut. Not too high for a vampire, though.

I had no more doubts left that he was one. Whomever else could have such a musical voice? A voice that one would listen to forever. A voice that, however, had just admitted that he could easily do what a human couldn't. He knew that I knew about vampires.

He advanced towards me. The grace and fluidity of his gait, slow as it was, held my gaze. He stopped, though, like he was respecting my personal space. Why has he stopped? He can catch me in an instant; what is his game?

He was near enough, however, for me to feel a faint whiff of his scent. Sweet and delicious, obviously. Something exotic …

Distracted for a while, I realized he was working his magic on me.

Vampires can dazzle us; I must not succumb to it.

With an effort I came back to the main point: if he was not grasping me, if he hadn't killed me already, then he must have a different plan.

They want to use me. They'll use me to capture Alice.

NO.

I will thwart him, I swore to myself. I was dead meat anyway, but I could still save Alice. I wasn't even scared, a strange calm had taken hold. I made an infinitesimal move backward, trying to look as I were squirming. I had to distract him, if just for a few seconds.

"Are you with the Volturi? Did they send you?" I asked.

The vampire froze. There was a pained expression in his face. Then, after a long hesitation he murmured:

"I was with them, but… I won't hurt you."

Is he telling the truth? He sounds so sad… No, he must be lying. He is a beautiful, horrible liar. He won't hurt me now, he says. Oh, but his masters will, they will… I won't be used like this. I'll keep Alice safe… I have to distract him with another question, I am almost there.

"Do you expect me to lead you to my friends, so that you can kill us all together?"

He started answering something like "No, you are wrong, I need…." But I had retreated enough. Now I was sitting on my thighs, my bottom hanging outside the window.

I let myself fall.

.

Note

Comments? Thoughts?