Lost and Found
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!
Part Eighty Three-The Trap
Bella put a plate piled high with food down in front of Sam. He had just come in from a long patrol shift, and was absolutely exhausted. He smiled at her wearily as he began to eat. Bella hesitated for a moment before she pulled up a chair and joined him. It was the first opportunity she'd had to speak to him since the meeting. Sam looked at her in surprise when she voluntarily initiated a conversation. He had assumed she would just continue to ignore him.
"I just wanted to thank you." Bella began.
"For what?" Sam paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. He was confused as to why she would suddenly feel the need to thank him.
"For having Jake's back." Bella continued hurriedly. "You know with the whole thing with Edward and everything and speaking up for him during the meeting. It meant a lot and I'm glad that we can put…um…your…well…feelings for me to one side and all work together."
"So you think Jake and I are going to be best buds from now on." Sam said slowly as he continued to eat. "You can get that idea out of your head, Bella. Nothing has changed as far as I'm concerned. We're united at the moment as we fight for a common goal, but when this is all over all bets are off."
Bella slammed her hands down on the table in anger as she glared at him. She had been hoping that they were past all this now. Why couldn't he just let it go? "My love for Jake is never going to change. Why can't you get that into your head?" She snapped. "You are family to me and that is it."
Sam just shrugged as he chewed his food slowly. "You keep telling yourself that." He muttered as he swallowed the last of his meal. He pushed his plate away and stood up. "Thanks for the food. I'm going to get some shuteye before I have to go out again."
"Whatever." Bella grabbed his empty plate and was about to leave when he caught her wrist with his left hand. "What?" She demanded irritably.
Sam stared into her angry brown eyes for a long moment until red bloomed on her cheeks. A small smile crossed his lips as he dropped her wrist and stepped back. "Nothing."
Bella shot him one last glare before she flounced out of the room.
Rebecca knocked on Bella's door timidly before opening it. She slipped inside to find Bella curled up the king size bed, reading. "Hey, Becks." She greeted the older girl as she put the book to one side and patted the duvet beside her.
Rebecca came further into the room and joined Bella on the bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and looped her arms around them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you but my bed feels so empty without Jared there." She confessed.
"Mine too." Bella agreed as she put an arm around Rebecca's shoulder and pulled Jacob's sister close. "Jake and I have barely managed to exchange two words in the last couple of days."
"I'm so worried about them all. They can't go on like this." Rebecca said helplessly. "I feel so useless not being able to do anything to help. I hate waiting around."
"I do as well." Bella rested her head on top of Rebecca's and sighed. "All we can do is be there for them when they come home."
"But this isn't home." Rebecca said in a small voice. "I wish we could go back to La Push. I admit I was dazzled by the Cullen's wealth, but you were right when you said it was a cold beauty. I miss the warmth of home."
"We will soon, Becks. When this is over we can go back to La Push, settle down, and never have to leave again." Bella replied firmly.
"But what if it's never over." Rebecca sounded so young in that moment and very lost. Bella had never seen her like this before. "What if one of the pack gets hurt? What if it's Jacob or Jared?"
"They are strong fighters, Becks." Bella reminded her. "And we've got Ephraim to guide them and the Cullen's support; they'll kick that red heads ass."
Rebecca couldn't help but laugh at the picture Bella painted. "You're so weird. No wonder my brother adores you." She teased.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Bella returned Rebecca's smile. "It's gonna be alright, Becks."
"I hope so." Rebecca's laughter died down. "Can I stay here with you tonight?" She asked.
"I'd love the company." Bella assured her as she moved over to the give the older girl some room.
Bella was woken by the sound of her cell vibrating. She glanced over at Rebecca, worried that the noise had disturbed the other girl. But Rebecca remained fast asleep. Bella quickly grabbed her phone and sat up in the bed. She frowned down at the lit screen. The person was calling from an unknown number. Maybe the caller had dialled her cell by mistake. Bella slipped out of the bed and headed for the en-suite bathroom so she could answer the phone in private.
"Hello." She whispered.
There was a muffled reply until the line went dead. Bella frowned as she stared at her cell again. It must have definitely been a wrong number. She was about to go back to bed when her cell phone beeped, indicating an incoming message. She glanced at it again and was surprised to see it was a video message. Bella opened the tab and sat on the edge of the bath as she watched the video. She couldn't see anything at first, the image was fuzzy, and whoever had filmed it couldn't seem to keep their hands still. But eventually she saw a small light, as if from a candle. Then there was a slight hiss as if someone was speaking in a low voice. The glow from the small light moved and suddenly illuminated a face. Bella put a hand over her mouth as she gasped. It was Billy Black. His face was a mess. One eye was swollen and his face was badly bruised and bloody. His one good eye was bloodshot and he seemed scared out of his mind.
"Speak." A voice hissed.
Billy shuddered as he focused his gaze on the person filming. "Bella…Bella." He rasped. "I need your help. I've…I've been captured. I need you to do something for me. Please you must tell no one about this otherwise she'll kill me." He begged as a tear rolled down his damaged face.
"Hurry up." The disembodied voice ordered again.
"I need you to get out of the Cullen's house without anybody noticing and head to your home in Forks. I'll be there as well as…as…as her." Billy continued shakily. "She's willing to talk woman to woman. She doesn't want a battle or a war. She just wants to put her side of the story to…to…you. Please Bella, this could solve everything. Nobody needs to get hurt. She doesn't want that. I know you don't want Jake hurt or any…anybody else you care…care about." The camera panned away from Billy as the harsh voice told him to be quiet. Suddenly Bella heard another, more familiar, more beloved voice.
"Bella, Bella…."
"Dad!" Bella cried brokenly. She couldn't see Charlie, but could only hear his frantic voice calling her name.
The camera returned to Billy. His one good eye was full of panic. "Come now, Bella. Come alone; don't bring any of the pack with you because she'll know straight away. If you do she'll kill me, and she'll kill Charlie. You must come now or we're all doomed."
The video went black as it ended.
Bella's hands shook as she breathed in rapidly. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She couldn't believe it. Charlie was supposed to be pulling an all-nighter at work. Bella tried to think clearly. She had to ring the station and check whether he was actually there or not. She called the station, only be told he was out on a call. Bella's heart clinched in her chest as she tried his cell instead. It went straight through to voice mail.
"Oh, dad. No…." Bella put her head in her hands and began to cry bitter tears. She rocked back and forth for a moment as she tried to regain control over her emotions. She couldn't believe it had come to this. It took her a moment to calm down; she had to focus so she could think. Her father and Billy's life depended on it. Bella replayed the video message again, trying to search for some kind of clue but it was so dark and the video so shaky she gained nothing from it. All she could hear in her head was her father's frantic voice calling her name.
The only thing in Bella's mind was that she had to save him. She hurriedly crept from the bathroom and over to the wardrobe so she could get dressed. It was dark inside the bedroom and she had trouble seeing anything. Her foot hit the hard wood and she yelped in pain, effectively waking Rebecca. "Shit." Bella cursed.
"What are you doing?" Rebecca questioned as she rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn.
"Nothing, Becks. Go back to sleep." Bella whispered.
Rebecca peered at her more closely. She turned on the bedside lamp and light flooded the room. "Why are you getting changed? Has something happened?" Rebecca was fully alert now as she saw the guilty look on Bella's face.
"Please, Becks. Just go back to sleep." Bella begged.
"NO." Rebecca climbed out of the bed and padded over to Bella. "You look like you're gonna be sick. What has happened?"
"I can't tell you." Bella said brokenly as she resumed dressing.
"You better tell me otherwise I'll wake the whole house up. You're up to something." Rebecca grabbed Bella's arm and forced her to look into her eyes. "What's wrong?"
Tears pooled in Bella's eyes as she gave up. There was no escaping Jacob's sister. She knew that Rebecca was stubborn enough to follow through with her threat. Silently she passed her cell to the older girl and pressed play. She watched as Rebecca stared at the video, her eyes widening and her face registering fear as she saw her own father begging for help to save his life. "Oh my god."
"You see, Becks." Bella pleaded anxiously. "You can't tell anyone otherwise they'll hurt my dad and yours. I have to go now."
"But she could hurt you, Bella." Rebecca clutched Bella's hands and held on tight.
"I can't let my dad get killed. I have to take the risk." Bella couldn't stop the tears from falling now.
"I'm coming with you." Rebecca vowed.
"No, you can't." Bella replied with a fierce shake of her head. "You heard what Billy said. If the red head finds out I'm not alone then she'll kill them."
"That means the pack." Rebecca refuted. "I'm coming, Bella. I will not let you do this alone."
Bella's lips trembled as she suddenly pulled Rebecca into a tight hug. The two girls clasped each other tightly as they both began to sob in earnest. They were scared and frightened, but gained strength from each other. Bella was the first to pull away. "Come on we need to leave now. You can borrow some of my clothes."
Rebecca nodded her consent and hastily got dressed in a spare pair of Bella's jeans and a hoodie. The legs of the jeans came up a bit short on her longer legs, so she just rolled them up to her knees instead like a pair of long shorts. "I'm ready."
"Okay, come on." Bella whispered as grabbed Rebecca's hand and led her out of the room and down the spiral staircase.
Victoria switched off the DVD and smirked as she watched Charlie Swan's face disappear from the screen. Her trick had worked. Who knew it would be that easy to fool Bella Swan into thinking she had captured her father. It had been pure luck that she had come across a stack of old DVD's containing old clips of Charlie and his fool of a daughter. Billy had done his job well, she had to concede that. She had promised to spare his life if he agreed to make the video and lure Bella into her trap. But then again she wasn't very good at keeping promises. Victoria settled back in Charlie's recliner and motioned for one of her cohorts to come closer.
"You wanted fresh blood, Riley. He's all yours." Victoria crooned as she gestured for him to leave. Riley grinned at her wickedly before slinking silently out of the house.
Now all she had to do was wait….
A/N-thank you for reading!