Chapter 1: Broken family
"Who was it? Someone we know?" Alice asked.
"Just a stranger. I didn't recognize his scent." Edward told her.
"A nomad passing through?" Esme asked her eyes dark from hunger.
All of their eyes were dark from hunger, it reminded her of- no, she couldn't think like that.
"A passer-by wouldn't have left Bella's father alive. "Rosalie said coldly.
Bella's eye twitched at the coldness of Rosalie's voice. She wanted to hit the woman over the head with a bat. Her father had only been in Canada for a week and his life was already being threatened.
The front door flew open, with Jasper and Emmett walking in.
"His scent disappeared about five miles south of Bella's house," Jasper informed them.
"Someone's orchestrating this." Carlisle determined.
"Victoria?" Bella questioned.
"I would've seen her deciding," Alice answered as she squeezed her eyes shut to concentrate.
Bella, however, wasn't convinced. What other vampire did they know that wanted to stalk her? Did they forget that Victoria was still out there running around?
"It has to be the Volturi," Edward told her.
"I don't think it's the Volturi either. I've been watching Aro's decisions, too."
"So, we keep looking," Emmet said in confidence as he clenched his fist.
"We also take shifts, guarding Bella at her house," Carlisle told everyone firmly.
"Another protection detail?" Rosalie complained.
"Rosalie." Both Esme and Carlisle chided.
However, Bella had had enough.
"No, it's ok. if Rosalie has something she needs to say she can say it to my face. Rosalie I am not asking you to fight for me or defend me. I could care less if you did or didn't but one thing you need to get into your thick head is that I will not take this bull crap from you. if you want to be mad at the world fine be mad. but don't you even think to take it out on me when I didn't do anything to you?"
With that said, Bella stood and stormed out of the living room and went upstairs to the balcony.
The fresh air helped soothe the burning anger and terror she had been feeling. The past 2 years had been absolute hell. First with Edward leaving and then lying to her. After that was Jacob. They had grown so close…but then he went off the deep end and left her too. Looking back on it she knew why, but she just didn't understand why he couldn't have been honest with her. lastly was the whole Volturi situation and now Bella had sold her soul to the undead.
The day Jacob got sick on her she waited for a week before she went to see him and when she did, Billy told her to leave and Jacob slammed the door in her face.
He refused to talk to her but Bella had noticed the changes in him. He had grown huge! His hair was cut and he had a tattoo.
Bella felt like the rug had been ripped from under her.
In tears, she went home and when she got home Alice Cullen was sitting at the kitchen table with her father. Unshed tears in her eyes.
" Bella." Alice began "It's the Volturi. you have to come with me."
To let her go alone Alice had told Charlie that her family wasn't human and that Bella had to come with them. It was all she was allowed to say.
Charlie tried to argue but nothing worked. He hugged Bella tightly and told her to call him when she could.
When Bella got to Italy, the whole coven was put on trial. They were found guilty. King Aro decided that instead of physically punishing the Cullen he would torture Bella. Not because he enjoyed it or even wanted to do it but because he needed the Cullens to see that they couldn't just expose themselves to humans. Bella was their final straw.
After her torture, Aro bit her with the intent to change her. He did it but it didn't have the effect any of them wanted. After five days of pure hell. Bella awoke but she wasn't a vampire. She was still human.
King Caius wanted to kill her but King Marcus had mercy.
" I think we have tortured the poor girl enough. It seems she's immune to our venom. I suggest we give her back to the Cullen coven and let them all go. They will have to live with the guilt that everything that has happened is their fault. They must relocate immediately and Bella Swan must stay with them for the rest of her life. They will watch as she grows older and eventually, she will die. This will be their final punishment. "
And now this? Despite what Alice said, Bella believed it was Victoria. Why would some other nomad target her?
"Bella?"
Turning around Bella smiled tightly as Esme stood in the doorway. In her arms was a sweater.
"Would you like to come back in? Edward's getting a little worried and I brought you a sweater. Your jacket looks a little thin."
"Im ok, Esme, thanks though. Let's finish this."
" Are you sure dear? We can talk about all this."
Bella shook her head and looked at Esme in sadness
She once looked at this woman as a mother figure but now all she saw was a ghost trying to play pretend
A ghost who had lied to her and left her.
" I'm sorry Esme, but I won't be able to trust any of you ever again. You all left me without a goodbye without consulting me. And now here I am being hunted because of you guys and my own mistakes. Now I would like to finish the discussion downstairs so I can go home and visit my father. "
With that said Bella walked away and down the stairs.
She wanted to go home but she doubt the Cullen's would let her. They had built her a small cottage just half a mile away to give her a sense of privacy
As she walked down the stairs she could hear an argument beginning to brew.
Rosalie was still upset about having to protect her, she was saying it would be too much of a strain on them. They couldn't do it by themselves
But everyone else wasn't on board. Bella put her big girl panties on and stood next to Rosalie. Even if she didn't like the women she did make one and only one strong point.
"No, she's right. You can't protect me, watch my dad and search for the intruder and Victoria And keep yourselves fed."
"I'm not leaving you here defenseless," Edward said firmly.
"Yeah, and what use will you all be if your starving? And I wouldn't be unprotected, I have…"
"what? "Edward asked.
This time Bella stood and went to the nearby window looking out into the dark.
"I have a friend that can help."
"Who could help us? This is our business." Rosalie hissed.
"do you want the Volturi to find out? cause if they come I won't be the victim of their torture once again Rosalie! In the eyes of the Volturi, you are all out of control and can't keep yourselves contained! And you know what? they are right! Your coven is so big that it makes you all a target. Plus you all flaunt your gifts as if you're invincible. You all are not good at keeping a low profile. Everywhere you go, people know you are rich. And that something is strange about you! So either you accept help or face the volturi's wrath all over again but this time you all won't make it through!"
The Cullens were quiet.
"Who is this friend Bella? How can they help us?" Carlisle asked
"Let me go home and call them tonight. I want to see my dad before he gets his flight back home. I'll come back tomorrow with an answer. "
" I don't think it's safe for you to go home alone. " Edward admonished.
" then Emmett and Jasper can guard my house. At least they respect my right to privacy. " Bella told Edward
She then grabbed her keys and headed for the door.
Five minutes later, she was opening her front door and shouting for her father.
" Dad! I'm home!" she shouted
" in the kitchen bells!" he shouted back
Her father was in the kitchen an apron wrapped around his waist.
On the kitchen table was a full spread of Bella's favorite foods.
" aww, Dad you shouldn't have!" Bella gushed.
She loved it when her father cooked. She wondered why he never became a chef.
" of course I did. I want the last night we're together to be a good one." He told her.
Bella wiped away a few Stray tears as he gestured for her to sit down. It had been a long time since they had been together. When everything with the Volturi went down, she was not allowed to return to forks in any shape or form. Therefore when she landed in Canada with the Cullen's she called her father.
Charlie was more perceptive than she gave him credit for and somehow understood that this wasn't her choice.
He of course was worried out of his mind and caught the next plane to Canada.
She sobbed in her father's arms when she saw him and he glared at the Cullens over her head.
After a few days, her father had to go back home. They talked every day but she didn't see her father for a whole year.
Last month they made plans for him to visit for a week.
And here he was the last day before he had to head home.
" So Dad how are things with Sue?" she asked as he served her.
"it is going great I want to propose to her but I wanted to run it by you first. I know things with your mother were tense for a while but… I think I'm ready to move on."
Bella smiled bitterly at the thought of her mother.
Her mother had taken Bella away from her father when she was 8 years old and had him serve papers of divorce. And she had done it in the middle of the night too. Coward. But then things got worse from there. Her mother was constantly being fired from all of her jobs. They were evicted more times than Bella could count. By the time Bella was 11 her mother had run out of options. She had burnt all her bridges. With her pride shot she came crying back to Charlie. He took them in of course and what did her mother do?
Two days later in the middle of the night, her mother stole Charlie's wallet and disappeared in the night. Leaving Bella behind was something she was grateful for.
A week later her mother had been caught drunk driving with stolen goods. Of course that leads her to a ten-year prison sentence. And when she got out Bella wouldn't be there.
" Baby girl? Where you'd go?" her father asked her.
Bella came out of her reverie and shook her head
"Sorry, I was thinking about mom. I don't ever want to see her again. Now tell me how you're going to propose to sue?"