A/N: Hi guys! Thanks so much for all your support! Here is the long awaited episode of Kidnapped - Bella goes home. I can't wait to see Charlie again.
Also, unrelated but very important:
I want you to know that every life is very important to me, every life matters. It's really important that I specifically call out that Black Lives Matter - and in light of recent events, I would like to call out that Asian Lives Matter as well.
I'm a white American woman, so I don't pretend to understand the nuances and struggles of being a person of color in today's world. I've been very ignorant in the past, and I'm trying to do better.
We're in this together and I want to let you know we're in this together.
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Kidnapped
Existing
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As Alice drove me home, I pondered my small and fragile existence: life.
I've never held a grudge against life - never wished I hadn't been born or anything like that - but it occurred to me that I'd never particularly wanted to be alive before, either. Life, being alive, was always something I'd taken rather for granted, I realized. Never something I'd ever taken care to note before.
I knew I should be in shock from so many attempts on my life in such a short span of time - and I know that will probably come. In the meantime, if I'm being honest with myself, I wasn't worried about my life at all.
No, as I sat in the cab of my truck with a vampire who could see the future and who threatened to bite me and who's boyfriend tried to kill me and then brother tried to kill me (several times) after that, I thought about how remarkable it is:
These immortal beings fought so determinately to preserve a single mortal life, while I'd never once even thought to appreciate its existence. My own existence.
But I was taking thought now.
I thought about Charlie Swan, who lived alone in the house of the two girls he loved most. I hadn't realized how I cared about Charlie until I thought I'd never see him again.
I thought about Edward Cullen, about how many times he told me he valued my life.
In all honesty, throughout all this experience, I didn't ponder much on the value of my life - I was more concerned with pain (and whether or not I would experience any).
Now, however, thinking about Charlie and Renee, I wanted it. Ironically, it was my immortal would-be murderer who taught me to treasure my mortality, I think. .
I'd never realized how much I wanted to live until it'd almost been taken away. I'd never realized how much I cared for Charlie until my time with him was almost cut short.
Also,I never realized how unhealthy my favorite classic novels were until I met my own brooding, mysterious, life-threatening potential love interest.
Because, if I was being honest with myself, that's still how I felt right now. Despite the manta in my head - Edward Cullen is not my friend. Edward Cullen wants to eat me. Rinse and repeat - I still found him compelling. Just like Catherine and Jane, I couldn't deny the morbid curiosity and dangerous softness I felt toward my would-be antagonist.
I wasn't infatuated with him, but I was intrigued. I felt a depth of tenderness that I knew would come back to bit me.
My manta kept me busy as I sat in the passenger seat of my truck, watching the foliage fly by as Alice drove.
Edward Cullen is not my friend. I rammed the thought in my head over and over, trying to flush out the strange (and creepy) camaraderie out of my head.
Edward Cullen wants to eat me. I intensified the language in an effort to get my point across.
Even after a slew of terrifying experiences with Edward Cullen, I still found him strangely compelling.
I was losing out of my mind.
I thought this just as Alice pulled into my driveway and my car roared to a stop. She started to say something and grab my hand, but then just as suddenly she disappeared. The cab door swung comically slow, in contrast with the speed of her flight.
"Alice?" I called out, a tremor in my voice.
Alice didn't reappear. After sitting in shock for a moment, I pulled my keys from the ignition and slunk out of my truck.
Something hit my hand as it fell, and I clumsily caught it right before it hit the - oh.
I looked in surprise at the shiny wireless phone in my hands. A couple words of beautiful calligraphy were printed on the sticky note attached to the device.
"In case you need it."
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A/N: I want to thank all of you for taking time to read Kidnapped, especially if you've written a review or checked out my other pieces. I can't express how much those little alerts mean to me. Plus all of your thoughtful, funny, and warm comments (sometimes all three!). This story is my baby, and I really agonized over some plot decisions but I think I came to a really good spot.
Things are about to get ~complicated~. What did you think of today's episode? Anything you were surprised about? Any fan theories? Where is this story going to go now if she's not stuck at the Cullen's (or is she?)?
Anyways, I also wanted to let you know I also like to create Twilight fanart (I'm hoping to draw a webcomic for the book, actually!) and you're welcome to check that out, too.
I love and appreciate you guys.
I'm also curious - do you have any songs (or playlists, even) that give you strong Twilight / angst vibes? Workin' on my Kidnapped playlist. (Couple of special mentions: Girl by Beck; Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer; You Should Have Killed Me When You Had the Chance by A Day to Remember; Arcade by Duncan Lawrence)
