Chapter 3 – Left?
The next morning I couldn't lie I was sore, stretching out I felt all my joints almost groan at me, I dragged myself to the bathroom and took a shower to try and relief some of the pain I was feeling.
I stared at myself in the mirror, looking at the bruises that littered my arms, I frowned knowing this was only going to cause more of the mini arguments between me and Emmett, I used my dressing gown to hide my body just in case I ran into dad on my way back to my room, I chose simple jeans and a jumper, I knew no one would question my outfit choice due to the cold and drizzly weather, I gave myself another once over in the mirror before heading downstairs,
"morning dad" I said cheerfully as I entered the kitchen and found dad in his usual place sipping coffee and reading the paper,
"morning kiddo, sleep well?" dad asked placing the paper down on the table, I grabbed myself a mug of coffee and sat opposite him,
"I did, best nights sleep I've had in ages actually" I said with a slight smile, trying not to grin as the memories of last night entered my head,
"that's good, we still on for tonight?" dad asked me, I grinned and nodded my head,
"of course we are dad, can't miss our birthday celebrations with the old man" I joked with him, he let out a chuckle,
"watch who your calling old man" he joked, I smiled and we fell into comfortable small talk while I finished my coffee and it was time to set off for school. The drive to school felt a little weird with there only being me in the truck, Bella would be riding with Edward no doubt, I was torn on whether to tell Bella about last night, we had no secrets between us but me and Bella were very different and in very different relationships, I knew from our conversations Edward was very, old fashioned and seemed to almost look down at mine and Emmett's physical relationship as we were a lot more affectionate with each other, I knew Edward would most likely know about last night but I imagined if anything he would only confront Em and not bring it up to anyone else, I pulled the truck to a stop in our usual parking space that me and Bella had unofficial claimed as our own, I quickly switched off the engine and grabbed my bag ignoring the pain that it caused my arm, to be honest due to last night I had nearly forgot about the incident at the Cullens, how quickly everything had gone from perfect to a disaster, I doubted Jasper would be in school today due to last night, I made a mental note to myself to make Em take me to him tonight, I had to make him see nothing was his fault and I was fine, a knock on the truck window made me jump pulling me back to reality, I turned and saw Bella stood with a slight frown on her face, I quickly opened the door and stood in front of her, slamming it behind me,
"morning Bells" I said giving her a slight smile,
"are you alright? You looked kind of…lost in thought then" Bella asked in a worried voice, I sent a small smile her way,
"I'm fine, I was just thinking about last night, how is everyone?" I asked Bella, she frowned as she linked her arm with my good one, I tried to the wince as her arm caught a bruise, but she didn't seem to notice as she almost dragged me to class,
"I'm not sure, I haven't seen anyone but Edward" Bella said, I nodded as we walked to class,
"did Emmett stay last night?" Bella asked as we walked into school with Edward following close behind, he seemed even more broody today, like he wasn't attached at the hip to Bella and didn't utter a word so far, I shook my head,
"no, he stayed for a bit, dad had to work but then he went to hunt after that I presumed he went home" I said and risked a glance to Edward to see a slight frown on his face, but no answer came from him, but that frown was all I needed, he hadn't gone home yet which meant Edward didn't know yet, I didn't worry just thinking he needed extra time to hunt due to the exposure to blood from the party and then the extra activities of the evening.
The morning passed too slowly for my liking, I was impatient to see Alice, though I wouldn't be able to really talk to her with Edward there and able to hear every word, Edward remained aloof throughout the morning too, even keeping his distance from Bella, occasionally he would ask about my arm, when he saw me wince in pain and I would lie that it was my arm and there was nothing to worry about.
Alice and Jasper usually beat us to lunch, but she wasn't at the table, waiting with a tray of food she and Jasper wouldn't eat, Edward didn't say anything about her absence and neither did Bella, I wondered to myself if her class was running late or something until I saw Conner and Ben, who were in her fourth hour French class.
"Where's Alice?" I asked Edward anxiously as we sat down at the table, he looked at the granola bar he was slowly pulverizing between his fingertips with another frown on his face,
"She's with Jasper" was Edwards answer, although his tone was flat as if he was disinterested in the conversation,
"Is he okay?" I asked quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to us,
"He's gone away for a while" Edward stated and looked away from me, I looked at Bella confused, my her facial expression mirrored mine,
"What? Where?" Bella asked the question we both wanted to know,
"Nowhere in particular" Edward shrugged still not looking at me and Bella,
"And Alice, too?" I said with quiet desperation, of course, if Jasper needed her, she would go, I just wanted the confirmation and any more information I could get,
"Yes. She'll be gone for a while. She was trying to convince him to go to Denali" Edward said giving me and Bella a small glance, Denali was where the one other band of unique vampires, the good ones like the Cullens lived, Tanya and her family. I'd heard of them now and again, Emmett had said that's where Edward had run to them last winter when me and Bella arrived and had made Forks difficult for him. Laurent, the most civilized member of James's little coven, had gone there rather than siding with James last summer, I nodded as I knew It made sense for Alice to encourage Jasper to go there, the rest of lunch passed with Bella making small talk with her other friends and me and Edward sat in silence, my good mood from last night had all but disappeared as I tried to ignoring the sinking feeling that was filling my stomach with every passing second of silence.
By the end of the school day it hadn't got any better, Bella was currently driving me and her home, Edward promising to come by the house in a while to see Bella, saying he had something to take care of,
"did it seem weird to you today?" Bella asked quietly as she kept her eyes on the road, I sighed,
"yes" was my only answer as I kept my gaze on the trees outside the window,
"hopefully it will be fine in a couple of days" Bella said quietly, I didn't know if she trying to reassurance herself or me, I didn't answer just pulled my feet up so they were on the edge of the old seat of the truck and wrapped my arms around them. Something was very wrong, maybe more wrong than I'd realized.
When Bella pulled onto the drive, dad's cruiser still wasn't in the driveway so he was still at work, but the usual shiny silver Volvo was sat in front of the house with Edward leaning against it, when Bella stopped the truck, the sinking feeling in my stomach was almost screaming at me, I got out of the truck and walked round just reaching the drivers side when Bella was opening her door to get out, Edward pushed himself off the car and walked over to meet us, I watched as he reached to take Bella's book bag from her, this was normal, but when he shoved it back onto the seat before closing the door for her I knew, that this was not normal.
"Come for a walk with me" he suggested to Bella in an unemotional voice, taking her hand, I watched as she didn't answer, this is bad, this is very bad, the voice in my head repeated again and again. I watched as he pulled Bella along toward the east side of the yard, where the forest encroached the side of the house,
"Liliana?" his voice said as he momentarily stopped at looked at me, I watched as his face frowned but I didn't answer,
"maybe you should speak to Emmett, call him" Edward said in his flat monotone voice again before he simply turned and continued to lead Bella into the forest, I watched as they disappeared from view before everything hit me, this was worse than I could have ever imagined, and I needed answers.
Before I even had time to realise what I was doing I was driving the familiar roads that led to the Cullens, my thoughts were all over as I drove down the rain covered roads, I tried to concentrate on the driving but my mind was only focused on one thing, what on earth was happening? Why did I need to speak to Emmett? Why did Edward drag Bella for a walk? Why had he been distant all day? Why the sudden change in behaviour? I knew this was all to do with last night but I couldn't understand Emmett hadn't said anything last night, but then I hadn't seen him today, hadn't heard a word from anyone, not even a message about my arm from anyone, even Carlisle to see how to stiches were doing.
I pulled up in front of the Cullens and quickly jumped out of the truck slamming the door behind me, I quickly jogged up the steps and knocked on the door, growing more impatient with every second, what was taking so long, they were vampires, I knocked again and a little louder not that I knew I needed to, I rocked on my heels and wrapped my arms around myself, not sure if it was to escape the bitter wind that nipped at my skin or to try and dispel the feeling that was rising in my stomach, making the threat of nausea a very real possibility.
"Liliana" I voice said from behind me, I quickly spun round and saw Rose stood at the bottom of the steps looking at me, I almost smiled in relief until I saw her stone cold expression, it was like a time portal taking me back to when I first laid eyes on the stunning blond haired vampire,
"Rose? What's going on? Where is everyone? What's happening? Edward is acting weird? Where is Em? I need to see Emmett" I asked almost in a whisper as I took a step towards her, by the end of my sentence I sounded desperate,
"Liliana, he's not here" was Rose's statement, I looked at her confused,
"where is he? When will he be back" I asked not really knowing if I wanted the answer, Rose gave me a sad look and frowned
"he's not coming back Liliana, he's gone, were all leaving, I just couldn't leave you without an explanation" Rose said softly as she walked towards me, I felt my world come crashing down, next thing I knew I was on the floor in Rose's arms, the cold from her skin brought me back to reality, I quickly recoiled from her touch, a look of hurt passed through her features but was instantly replaced with the stone cold expression,
"why?" I asked in a whisper,
"It's time. How much longer could we stay in Forks, after all? Carlisle can barely pass for thirty, and he's claiming thirty-three now. We'd have to start over soon regardless" Rose said, I knew this wasn't the reason, this was like a rehearsed script, I shook my head in denial,
"What happened with Jasper, that was nothing, a stupid mistake" I fumbled over the words, trying to make sense of the situation,
"You're right, It was exactly what was to be expected" Rose said with a frown,
"He promised! In Phoenix, Em promised that he would stay" I started to say, before Rose frowned,
"As long as that was best for you" Rose interrupted to correct me, I shook my head,
"why are you telling me and not Em?" I whispered,
"what happened the last night made him realize that it's time for a change, he's… tired of pretending to be something he's not, Liliana, He's not human" Rose said not looking at me, I watched her face the cold dead expression sat there,
"we have let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry for that, we truly never wanted to hurt you" Rose said quietly, I wrapped my arms around myself for any sort of comfort,
"Don't do this" My voice was just a whisper now, the awareness was beginning to seep through me, trickling like acid through my veins. Rose just stared at me, and I could see from her eyes that my words were far too late. The decision had already been made, I sat that not sure what happened from this, where do I go now?
"I would like to ask one favour, though, if that's not too much," Rose said in a whisper, I looked at her but didn't answer,
"Don't do anything reckless or stupid, I'm thinking of Charlie, and Bella of course, they need you. Take care of yourself for them" Rose said in a gently voice,
"I will" I whispered, knowing I didn't trust myself to say anything else right now, Rose seemed to relax just a little.
"And I'll make you a promise in return, I promise that this will be the last time you'll see any of us, we won't come back. we won't put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from us, It will be as if we never existed" Rose said softly, I shook my head, like that was possible, how could I ever function again knowing what I knew but couldn't ever speak or see them again,
"Don't worry. You're human, your memory is no more than a sieve. Time heals all wounds for your kind" Rose whispered as if she was a mind reader,
"And your memories?" I asked in a whisper, It sounded like there was something stuck in my throat, like I was choking.
"Well, vampires don't forget, But my kind… we're very easily distracted" she smiled; the smile was tranquil and it did not touch her eyes like I was used to,
"why did you stay?" I asked confused on why she was here,
"I stayed behind to tell you goodbye, I couldn't just leave you like the rest" Rose admitted,
"so Emmett has left? Alice is gone?" My voice was blank with disbelief, how dare he after last night, I thought it would bring us closer than ever but now this? And Alice I thought we were friends,
"She wanted to say goodbye, but Emmett and Edward convinced her that a clean break would be better for you and Bella" Rose said softly, I was dizzy; it was hard to concentrate, her words swirled around in my head, and I heard the doctor at the hospital in Phoenix, as he showed me the X-rays. 'You can see it's a clean break, his finger traced along the picture of my severed bone. That's good. It will heal more easily, more quickly' I tried to breathe normally. I needed to concentrate, to find a way out of this nightmare.
"Goodbye, Liliana, I will miss you, take care of yourself" Rose said in a quiet, peaceful voice, I turned to her to find her already gone, the Cullens had gone. I sat on the step, staring into the forest I couldn't bring myself to move or anything the only thoughts swirling through my head was it was over. Love, life, meaning… over.
I just sat there, It felt like hours passing, but also only seconds as I just sat staring at the trees in front of me, maybe it felt like time had frozen because the forest looked the same, I just sat and watched as it grew darker and darker, I couldn't remember how long it had been since nightfall. Was it always so dark here at night? How had I never noticed before, surely, as a rule, some little bit of moonlight would filter down through the clouds, but not tonight. Tonight the sky was utterly black. Perhaps there was no moon tonight a lunar eclipse, a new moon.
A new moon. I shivered, though I wasn't cold, just empty inside, the promise I made to Rose circled in my mind, I had to pull myself together before I went home to dad and Bella, suddenly a thought struck me, the Cullens had left, Emmett had gone, Jasper had gone, Rose and Alice had gone which meant…Edward.
I jumped up and fumbled with the key as I unlocked the truck and started the engine, Bella was my only concern at the moment, when I had last seen her she was heading to the forest with Edward, I had to find her, I know she had just had her whole world ripped apart, I had to protect her, shield her, be there for her. The drive home was a blur in my mind, I pulled onto my drive and found people stood around including my dad, Jacob and Billy Black as well as people I didn't recognise, as soon as I parked my door was yanked open, and I was pulled into a hug
"Liliana! Are you okay? Are you hurt? I've been worried sick!" dad's frantic voice said as he gripped my top in the tightest embrace I ever felt, I could feel the desperation in his voice,
"sorry dad" I mumbled as I looked up and my eyes locked eyes with Billy, the deep frown on his face and his dark brown eyes staring as if into my soul, dad let me go and gave me a quick once over with his eyes, then I realised Bella,
"where's Bells?" I asked quickly glancing around the yard,
"wait you don't know? I thought she was with you" dad said panicked, I shook my head quickly,
"no, she went for a walk with Edward in the forest, dad their gone, they left town, we have to find Bella" I said quickly, panic rising within every inch of my body, dad looked at me confused,
"Charlie I'll send the boys to search the forest we will find her" Billy said, dad turned to look at him, I silently watched as he thanked Billy,
"I should go search" I mumbled and started to walk towards the forest,
"Liliana! Wait" Billy called, I turned to look at him, Billy wheeled himself over to me,
"you should wait here, your dad is worried sick, he needs you, the boys will find her and we don't need you getting lost as well" Billy said looking at me with a pitiful look, I frowned but knew he was right, I nodded after a moment of thinking and went to walk towards my dad,
"Liliana? You may not see it but them leaving was a good thing" Billy said, I turned back to look at him and again saw the pitiful look in his eyes,
"tell me that after we find my sister" I said with no emotion and just walked off towards my dad, he was frowning and pacing in front of the house,
"we will find her dad, she will be okay, she's strong" I said as I tried to comfort him, he gave me a sad smile but didn't respond, it felt like hours we stood outside our house waiting for any news on Bella,
"I've got her!" he called in a booming voice, I spun round towards the forest as the babble from everyone ceased around me, I saw a man carrying someone out of the forest, I wanted to run to them, take her and protect her but I couldn't move, I was glued to the spot I was stood, I was helpless.
"oh my god is she hurt?" I heard my dad say as I saw him running towards them,
"No, I don't think she's hurt, she just keeps saying he's gone" Sam said as my dad reached them, a hand jolted me back to reality, I spun and saw Jake placed a hand on my shoulder, with a worried look on his face,
"Bella, honey, are you all right?" dad asked in a worried voice,
"Charlie?" Bella's voice sounded strange and small, it broke my already broken heart,
"I'm right here, baby" dad said as I watched as he took Bella out of Sam's arms and into his own, staggering under her weight,
"Maybe I should hold on to her" Sam Uley suggested to my dad, I couldn't help but agree,
"I've got her" Charlie said, a little breathless as he walked slowly, struggling towards the house, I wished I could find my voice to tell him to let Sam help, but it was like the words were stuck in my throat, I could only stand and watch,
"We're almost home now, honey" Charlie mumbled to Bella as he reached the porch of the house, Sam helped by unlocking and holding the door for dad, he stood there with one arm extended toward them, as if he was preparing to catch Bella if dad's failed, I watched as they disappeared into the house,
"you should go in Liliana" Billy's voice said softly, I nodded and walked in a daze into the house, I followed the sounds into the living room where dad had placed Bella on the couch,
"Dad, I'm all wet" Bella objected feebly.
"That doesn't matter" dad responded, his voice was gruff, from all the stress from tonight,
"do you have any blankets? Or towels?" Sam asked, I stood in the doorway watching silently,
"Blankets are in the cupboard at the top of the stairs" dad instructed and I watched as Sam moved past me giving me a glance as he past,
"the doctors here Charlie" Jake voice said, my heart jumped Carlisle? I turned to only have my hopes dashed once again as I saw Dr Gerandy, another local doctor following Jake past me and into the living room,
"Bella?" the doctor asked as he crouched down next to Bella, I watched as she looked at the grey-haired man next to her, and recognition came after a few slow seconds,
"Dr Gerandy?" she mumbled, I tried to hold back the tears in my eyes, why didn't I get home sooner? Why didn't I remember about her? This was all my fault.
"That's right, dear are you hurt, Bella?" Dr Gerandy asked Bella, it seemed like a deathly silence took over the room as we waited for Bella to answer, Dr Gerandy glanced at dad and then back to Bella, still waiting for an answer,
"Bells?" my dad said worried,
"I'm not hurt," Bella said quietly, I knew instantly she was lying, Dr Gerandy placed his hand on her forehead, and his fingers pressed against the inside of her wrist. I watched in silence as his lips as he counted to himself, his eyes on his watch,
"What happened to you?" he asked casually to Bella, I panicked that in this state she might say something she would regret but she gave no answer, causing him to frown,
"Did you get lost in the woods?" he prodded her gently, I could tell she was now aware of several other people listening, the room was filled up now, Sam had returned and bought the blankets down and placed them at the foot on the couch, my dad was stood right behind the couch watching over Bella, there was another two tall men with dark faces, I guessed from La Push, the Quileute Indian reservation down on the coastline, where Billy and Jake lived,
"Yes, I got lost" Bella finally whispered, The doctor nodded, thoughtful, his fingers probing gently against the glands under her jaw. I watched as dad's face hardened at Bella's answer,
"Do you feel tired?" Dr Gerandy asked Bella, she nodded and closed her eyes obediently,
"I don't think there's anything wrong with her" Dr Gerandy muttered to dad after a moment, he nodded,
"Just exhaustion I would say, let her sleep it off, and I'll come check on her tomorrow, well, later today actually" Dr Gerandy said as he stood and nodded and walked round the couch, I watched as dad walked him to the front door,
"Is it true? Did they leave?" dad asked him, I tried not to show any emotion in front of the strangers in my house as I heard them speaking by the front door,
"Dr Cullen asked us not to say anything, the offer was very sudden, they had to choose immediately, Carlisle didn't want to make a big production out of leaving" Dr Gerandy answered by dads question,
"A little warning might have been nice" Charlie grumbled mainly to himself, I turned my attention back to Bella to see she had buried herself in the blanket, I frowned,
"are you okay?" a voice said, I jumped and looked up surprised to see Sam stood in front of me, his height towering over me
"sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I'm Sam Uley, I live on the reservation with Billy, I know you were also…close with them, did they hurt you?" Sam asked quietly to me, I stood there and blinked once, confused at his wording, hurt me? Could he possibly know?
"I'm fine, no they didn't, thank you for finding her" I said quietly risking another glance at Bella, scared she would disappear from the couch, Sam nodded,
"your welcome, we should let her rest, come on boys, we should get back to the bonfires" Sam said to the other people stood In the room, I glanced at them confused,
"Bonfires?" I asked confused as they walked past me,
"were celebrating the news" a voice said, I looked at him to see another large male, he must have been at least six foot tall, as muscular as the others with brown eyes and black hair, the news? There was only one piece of news I could think of, try as I might not to, then the pieces snapped together,
"Because the Cullens left" I whispered,
"Paul not the time or place" Sam said in an authority tone of voice, the muscular man now known as Paul bowed his head and walked out, I turned to Sam,
"I'm sorry about Paul, he can be a little volatile at times and doesn't think before he speaks" Sam apologised,
"it's fine, I know your feelings on them" I said with a small smile as I remembered the Quileutes had their superstitions about the 'cold ones' as they called them, the blood-drinkers that were enemies to their tribe, just like they had their legends of the great flood and wolf-men ancestors, Just stories, folklore, to most of them. I knew there were the few that believed all the myths with Billy being the main one I knew though even Jacob, his own son, thought he was full of stupid superstitions, but I guessed Sam and Paul believed them too, Sam gave me a small smile before they left bidding their goodbyes to dad as they left, I watched as he came back into the room and sat on the chair across from Bella,
"Bella?" dad asked, I watched as she uncovered her face and looked at him uneasily,
"He left you alone in the woods?" dad asked Bella, this made me frown in anger, how dare he leave her, how dare he put her in danger like that,
she deflected his question.
"How did you know where to find me?" Bella asked as deflected his question,
"Your sister, she said you and Edward had gone for a walk" dad answered her question,
"Liliana? Where is she?" Bella asked quietly,
"she's right here, why didn't you come back, when he left? I called the Cullens, and no one answered" dad said in a low voice, this surprised me I didn't even hear the phone ringing while I was there,
"Then I called the hospital, and Dr Gerandy told me that Carlisle was gone, and then Liliana turned back up at the house alone and I was petrified Bells" dad said in his worried voice once again, I felt so bad for putting dad though all this,
"Where did they go?" Bella mumbled.
"Didn't Edward tell you?" dad asked confused, I watched as she shook her head, recoiling at the sound of his name, Charlie eyed her doubtfully,
"Carlisle took a job with a big hospital in Los Angeles. I guess they threw a lot of money at him" dad answered the question although me and Bella both knew it was a lie, sunny LA , that was the last place they would really go, due to the sun,
"I want to know if Edward left you alone out there in the middle of the woods" dad insisted, I watched as Edwards name sent another wave of torture through Bella, she shook my head, frantic,
"It was my fault. He left me right here on the trail, in sight of the house… but I tried to follow him" Bella explained, I listened as dad started to say something but Bella covered her ears,
"I can't talk about this anymore, Dad. I want to go to my room" Before dad could answer, Bella was scrambled up from the couch and made her way up the stairs without a second glance at me, looking like a shell of her normal self,
"what do we do to help her?" I asked quietly looking back at dad,
"I haven't a clue, but Liliana? Are you okay?" dad asked me, I gave him a small smile,
"dad I'm fine, don't worry about me, Bella is going to need us both, I'll go check on her" I said putting up a sort of brick wall of emotions, I quickly left the room and walked slowly up the stairs, I glanced into Bella's room to see her laid in bed not moving with the covers pulled over her head, avoiding everyone and everything in the world, I sighed as I leant against the doorframe, terrified by the thoughts running through my head, I didn't know if Bella would survive this, but I knew for sure, my feelings had to take a back seat, I had to forget about Emmett and the pain I was feeling, I would keep my promise to Rose, Bella needed me and on my life and wouldn't let her down.