I know I have take longer than normal and I am very sorry! I got started on this chapter and it turned into like 20,000 words and during editing I decided to split it! Going to work harder to make sure it's a lot quicker! As always let me know any feedback or criticism especially if you like the story because otherwise how will I get better
I don't know where I am, only that I am running through pitch black darkness. I can feel sticks crunching beneath my feet and hear my sharp and shallow breaths echo through the emptiness.
I don't know where the hell I am, but I know that I can't stop moving.
"Isabella", whispers a voice in the dark. I turn to see a pair of red glowing eyes blurring past my right with a deafening woosh. I take a sharp turn left as if being propelled forward by the cutting air.
I start to get a feel for the path ahead, the shadows of the surrounding forest are being brought to life by a single beam of moon light.
It doesn't take long for another vampire to speed past me. I look up to find the glowing yellow eyes of the largest Cullen in front of me, his trunk like arms crossed over his gigantic chest. I will myself to stop but my legs refuse to stop for anyone, including me. Instead I manage to pull myself into another sharp left turn just before colliding with the mountainous vampire.
Before I can try to catch my breath another whoosh echoes from my side. I manage to catch the shaggy blonde Cullen staring at me from the right, one eye golden the other red. His expression is completely unreadable but the blood running from his lip isn't. I try to look away only to land myself into Alice's stare from the middle of the path in front of me.
"I'll see you soon", she promises. The certainty behind her words is enough to send a shiver down my already cold body. I look around but I am running out of places to turn. I keep running, trying to think but the sound of vampires speeding around me is beginning to build up into a deafening roar.
Just before the sound threatens to collapse over me, I feel a soft warmth being absorbed by left arm. I look towards the warmth, trying to figure out where it's coming from, only to be met by a familiar face.
"What are you doing! Hurry up!", calls Leah, its the only encouragement I need to choose my next path.
Pushing my way through a thinning tree line, I find that the world starts to spread out in front of me, thanks to a weak sun is trying its best to light the path. My legs are on fire but I keep going, I don't have a choice, I can hear another vampire start to catch up. I don't dare look back but the warmth spreading across my face lets me feel the chill of the cold hand reaching out behind me. I push and push, but I know that they are barely a hairs length from reaching me. One finally burst and then my legs just give out. I stumble and land on my knees, my head being caught by my arms before it hits the dirt floor. I wait for the vampire to take the chance, but nothing happens. I know I should get up and keep running but only now does curiosity anchor my legs to the ground. I chance a glance back and find Rosalie behind me, her eyes locked on the ground where the sun meets the shadow.
I try to find her eyes, but her golden hair has fallen over her face. I can't take the chance I have to see the colour. With effort I push myself up off the floor and start to step towards her, willing her eyes to meet mine. I don't know what golden eyes mean and I don't know what I am going to find, but I just need to know.
"Get away from her", Leah calls out behind me. I don't know which one of us she is talking to, and I don't get the chance to find out. I find myself face to face with the red eyes, his now visible body a flame with the all too familiar diamond skin. He stands just in front of Rosalie, standing where she wouldn't.
"Walk away Isabella", Edward growls. The sound is enough to send another wave of ice down my spine, but I don't stop moving towards the blonde. She has turned in on herself, her normally proud posture broken down. She looks defeated.
"Isabella what are you waiting for! Come on!", calls Leah. She is right, my body knows she is right, I should turn and run, but I can't.
Edward continues his crimson glare while a group of all too familiar black cloaks start to appear out of the darkness behind Rosalie. She doesn't even flinch as they gather around her. Can't she hear them?
I call out to them, trying to tell them that, well that's the problem. I don't know what I want to say. A thousand words feel lodged in my throat, but none of them can make their way out. I am struck helpless, just watching them reach out and turn her away back towards the darkness.
I look back to ask Leah for help but only find her desperately waving me over and now she isn't alone. Jake and Seth stand beside her and even Sam is starting to fade into existence, but unlike Leah they don't wave. Their heads are instead hanging low, as if they were weighed down by mourning.
I turn back around to find Edward flashing me that god-damn smirk and it seems to be the only thing needed to bring my legs back to life under me.
I charge at him, an anger I have never felt before burns through me. In my head I picture all the things I am going to do to him, but just before I reach him a howl echoes from all around us.
In that instant everyone freezes in place. All except Rosalie, she just slowly finishes the job of the now frozen hooded figures and fades into the darkness, never looking up. I try to call out to her, finally finding the right words but as I open my mouth to say the words another howl echos through the trees instead.
The world seems to lighten around me, and not in a good way. The forest starts to feel wrong, like things aren't where they are meant to be. I look back towards Leah, Jake, and Seth, but they're gone. Well not gone, but just cut off. Everything is, even the darkness now just seems grey.
A final howl is all it takes for me to jolt up in bed drenched in sweat. A red glow takes over my blurred vision and I get ready to attack. Grabbing the lighter under my bed, I flick the switch just to be blinded by the flame. Once my eyesight comes to, I realise that the red light is only from the twenty-year-old kettle on the other side of the room.
"Seriously", I sigh slamming myself headfirst back into the overly stiff bed. The outline of the flame still is still burned into the back of my eye lids. Focusing on the inverted etching of flame I try to let the dream fly from my brain as all the rest tend to do, but I can't shake it. I still feel the surge of anger from the dream and I don't think that's a bad thing. Yes it was dream but this fear and anger is what I know I should be feeling towards all the Cullen's. Just because they know how to play high school student doesn't mean they are one. They are as much a threat in the cafeteria as they were in the dream.
So rather than sleep I let the anger spread and each time it threatens to subside I picture that stupid smirk.
Of course the moment you stop trying to sleep it comes and it doesn't take long for the dream to threaten to pull me back under. I find myself standing in the forest again, feeling the trees coming alive and for a moment I swear I can feel the cold night air blowing through my hair. That is, of course, until the sound of howling fills the room again. I jerk up and manage to catch myself before falling off the bed.
The LED alarm next to the bed seems to take great pleasure in telling me that it is way too early in the morning to be dealing with this crap. I pull one of the pillows over my head to drown out the outside world, this however only makes me feel like I am going to suffocate.
I toss and turn until the clock celebrates that another hour has passed. Deciding that the clock is having too much fun I pull the power out from the wall and manage to settle in the bed. My eyes slowly fall heavy, covering the burning tiredness underneath.
Right on que another howl jolts my heart awake.
After many, many more unsuccessful sleep attempts, I manage to drive myself to school only to be met with what seems to be my own personal quarantine bubble. From the moment I get out of the truck people seem to flock away from me or any area I might be heading towards.
Of course this doesn't stop the staring, in fact people seem to think that if they get a certain distance that I can't see them stare. Look whatever, I get it, punching a kid in the face is enough for everyone at school to keep their distance. Not to mention it does have its perks. I am actually able to walk through the halls without having to push through hordes of students AND anyone lining up in a bathroom when I walk in runs out pretty quickly.
I stroll into first period and realise in my sleepless state that I haven't brought a single thing to write with. Not that it matters, based on the way the teacher purposely avoids looking my way it seems that I could get away with doing no work at all. As tempting as it is right now, I can't let anyone at home down like that. Not only did I fight way too hard to be here but Zio actually sounded quite fascinated to hear about what I would be studying. I don't know whether it is because he wanted to see if he had been teaching me well enough, or if he was worried he was out of touch. Uncle actually rolled his eyes at his brother when he said that, saying I was learning about the only things actually mattered. That didn't seem to stop him from lingering while I was taking Father and Zio through some syllabuses we found online.
Stuck in the memory, I absent mindedly reach to tap the girl sitting in front of me to I ask if I can use a pencil. She jumps slightly in her chair and instead of responding just pulls her desk forward with a screech that the teacher seems more than willing to ignore. Just great.
The only thing that is keeping my spirts dry is that by the time lunch rolls around it seems that the Cullen's are a complete no show.
"Yeah they do this sometimes", says Jess when I ask, "Some bullshit about family time or whatever. Usually, they just wait till it's sunny but it seems that they can get away with literally anything".
"I think its nice that they spend time together, it must be hard being a joint family", says Angela. We make our way through the cafeteria to a free table. The student population has their stare session cut short as Jess just returns the gaze with more ferocity than they can give.
When the group cornered me this me this morning about why the hell I punched a kid in the face I went with the half-truth of the overly trained self-defense excuse. Deciding to keep out the fact I thought it was a vampire from the coven I was attempting to stalk in the middle of a high school. Mike and Eric seemed to think that made me a bad ass, Jess simply said it had served him right for sneaking up on a girl. Angela was just happy we were all ok.
"Yeah it seems like they totally hate each other, oh wait that's right, they are all sleeping together! I think they are fine without the extra "quality time", scoffs Jess.
"You're just jealous that you weren't invited to family game night", says Mike.
"And you both just jealous that Isabella has been here for only two days and is getting more attention from the Cullen's than both of you are", says Eric.
"Oh and you're not?", says Mike. We all just stare at him, waiting for the realization to hit.
"Also I am so not jealous", he adds shoving his sandwich in his mouth before it can betray him further.
"Ignoring whatever that was", Jess says waving a finger up and down at Mike, he lets out a sound that I think was meant to be a reply but just came out as a muffled huffing.
"Eric makes a good point. Why are you so special?".
"Jess!", hisses Angela.
"What! They ignore literally everyone for like 2 months and then the second she comes they are suddenly buddy buddy. I don't get it", she says.
"Ok I am just going to set the record straight; I am in no way friends with the Cullen's. I have an assignment with the brooding one".
"Edward", Jessica reminds me.
"Yeah that one, other than that I have no reason to talk to any of them", I say.
"Bullshit", says Jess.
"Jess I am offended! You doubt my awesomeness?", I ask holding my hand across my chest for dramatic effect.
"You know what I mean! Come on spill it, why are the Cullens so obsessed", she says.
"Jess come on, who cares if she is friends with them. It's probably a good thing, they do seem kind of lonely", chides Angela.
"No honestly, we aren't friends. Once the assignment is done, I am sure they won't even look at me", I say. What is that thing about manifesting what you want in life. If you believe in it enough maybe it will happen?
"Either it's the assignment or it's because you punched a Res kid in the face to make them seem you were cool", says Mike.
"That was an accident!", I say.
"Plus isn't being cool for punching people something out of a stupid high school movie", says Jess.
"No, well I mean yes, it is, but that's not what I meant", says Mike dipping his left-over bread into his apple puree, "I mean the Cullens don't really get along with the Res guys right? So they are probably just happy someone did what they couldn't".
"What do-" I start before being cut off.
"Don't start shit Mike", says Eric, "The Cullen's have been here for what, like 5 minutes? When would they even have time to meet anyone from the Res let alone start shit. Are you just jealous cause Lauren went off with one of the guys at our last beach trip".
"Wh-No-I don-", Mike spatters.
"He isn't wrong", Angela says saving Mike from wherever he was digging himself into, "I went to visit my Mom at the hospital the other day and I saw Dr Cullen talking with a group of the guys from the Res. I didn't recognize most of them but they seemed to be really upset with him.".
"Excuse me?! You kept this till now? What happened? Who were they?", urged Jess.
"I don't know how it started, but my Mom finished up helping out on an operation and saw Chief Swan trying to get the guys away from the hospital. I think it was that Sam guy that is at all the Quilulite events, I didn't really recognize the others", she says.
Sam arguing with a vampire, why doesn't that feel like a coincidence? Before I can ask anything else the bell rings snapping everyone's attention from the conversation.
"Is it just me or does lunch seem to go quicker every day", sighs Mike peeling himself from the plastic chair.
"What and the school just changes all our phones and watches?", says Eric.
"You don't know what they are capable of!", says Mike.
Thankfully their conspiracy theory is cut off as Mike, Jess and I head to PE. I try to turn the conversation back to what we were talking about at lunch but Mike and Jess are far too focused on what sport we will be playing. Under normal circumstances it would actually be funny watching how heated they are getting but I can't pull my head from the wormhole that has been opened.
Arriving at the gym, I am greeted by a middle-aged man in shorts that are too short for, well, anyone. After a sarcastic comment from him about my recent lack of attendance, I am excused from participating until I can wash the secondhand uniform he throws at me. I try to put forth my case for leaving since I can't participate but he just shrugs and tells me it's not his problem. Slinking off to the bleachers that surround the gym like some shiny wooden amphitheater, I watch the class play volley ball and try to figure out what the hell to do about Sam, with Sam? I don't even know what verb to do!
I pull Charlie's number from my jacket pocket and twirl it my hands. I need to figure out what the hell is happening between Sam and the Cullens. I know Leah knows something, but she seemed as willing to open up as a sprung bear trap. Asking the Cullens is definitely out of the question, though I would really enjoy watching Edward squirm as I press him for information. Charlie actually seemed like he wanted to help me yesterday, maybe at the very least he can tell me if it's human problem or a vampire problem. At the very least I might be able to find out if anything bad has happened since the Cullens moved to Forks. Like the murder rate going up, or the hair salons loosing all their hair gel.
A rubber ball comes flying towards me snapping me from my thoughts. I bring my hands up in front of my face and the ball bounces off back toward the court.
"Sorry!", calls a girl from the court I don't recognize. Jess shoots me a thumbs up to see if I'm ok and continues playing once I nod back. I feel like the valley ball, being thrown back and forth, never being able to land on anything solid. Of course that is only the case untill someone fumbles.