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Chapter 24

Edward

Bella

"EDWARD?!"

I could not believe it. Was I perhaps still dreaming?

"Bella, please listen to me ...," he pleaded.

"What do you want HERE?", I asked angrily.

I would not forgive him for what he had done.

"Bella."

He came to me and took my hand firmly in his iron grip. I could not break away.

"Dearest."

He stroked the hair out of my face with one hand and I felt ...

… nothing.

"Please, listen to me. I am sorry for what I have done. Please forgive me and take me back."

Even when he knelt down, I felt nothing. No love ... only the feeling of how he had hurt me.

"No, Edward, I can't forgive you for something like that. I am sorry," I said relatively controlled.

"Please, dearest!"

"Go back to Rose! Or to Tanya. They'll be happy when you call her 'dearest'!", I said angrily.

I didn't want him to come back. I never wanted to see him again. I didn't want to go through the same feelings as that day again.

"But I want you, Bella ... dearest. I will never do it again!", he vowed.

Yes, who believed it! What did this cheater think he was doing anyway?

"Let me GO!"

And I began to shake his grip. But he continued to hold my hands tightly.

"Bella, I'll do anything you want."

He came closer to me.

"Let go of me right now or I'll scream so loud until someone hears me, comes here and sees a glittering vampire!", I threatened him.

Suddenly I had the feeling of falling. But I was only moved at vampire speed and carried into the forest. I screamed, but no one would hear me out here. Edward was so fast, we could already be who-knows-where. When he finally stopped, he lowered me down. I was up against a rock, and he was leaning on it to my left and right.

"Bella, come back to me!"

Now I was really scared.

"I love you!", he lied.

He could only lie. Whoever cheated on a woman did not love her. Period.

"No, you don't! You love Rose and she loves you. Be happy with that. If you had EVER loved me, you would never have done anything like this!", I yelled at him.

"I love you more than Rose!", he lied further.

"Liar! Now take me back! Go!"

I tried to get away between his arms, but he wouldn't let me.

Only now did I notice that his eyes were black as night. He was thirsty. And I smelled irresistible.

"Bella, I'll do everything for you if you take me back!", he begged.

For the moment, he looked restrained enough that he didn't bite me.

"I have EVERYTHING! Without you. I ... love ... you ... no ... more!", I screamed. "I loved you more than anything, but you screwed me! Now let me go, it's all been said."

Again I tried to push his arms away somehow - of course without any success.

Suddenly the wind blew, and Edward took a deep breath.

"Oh dearest. I forgot how incredibly good your blood smells!", he said with a changed hard voice.

He bared his teeth and bent down to my neck.

"NO! DON'T DO IT! NO!", I screamed, and tears streamed down my face.

He faltered and looked me in the eye.

"Isn't that what you always wanted, dearest?"

"NO, let me!"

I tried to escape from him, but he grabbed my wrists and pinned me to the tree.

I could ram my knee into the soft parts of any other attacker. But in this case I would rather break my kneecap.

He tilted his head back down against my neck.

"NOOOO! PLEASE NO! OH EMMETT, EMMETT," I screamed hysterically out of sheer desperation.

So close to danger, there was only one face in front of my inner eye. The face of the man I loved. Emmett. He would not hear me.

I felt Edward's teeth on my neck and froze.

Emmett

I drove my Jeep to Bella's house. I was a little earlier than she said, but I hoped she had finished her homework. I doubted she stayed in late doing homework in this nice weather. She was probably lying in the sun dreaming about me.

I laughed quietly in my Jeep with the blacked-out windows.

As I parked in front of Bella's house, I saw the picnic blanket in the garden.

I ran there.

And smelled a scent that should definitely no longer belong here.

Edward was here and his trail and Bella's scent led to the forest! The trail was fresh and filled the air. It had to have been only a few minutes ago ... ten maybe. Had she followed him into the woods? Or had he taken her with him?

Within a tenth of a second, I had run, pulled out my cell phone, and dialed Jasper's number.

"JASPER! Edward was with Bella. No idea what's going on. Her tracks lead into the woods. Come here and follow my trail or hers. If there's trouble, I need help against him!"

Edward was faster than me. He could be miles away by the time he'd been running for ten or fifteen minutes.

Jasper was fast enough to catch up with me after seven minutes.

"What happened?", he asked.

But I could not answer. We both heard Bella scream and quickened our steps.

"NO! DON'T DO IT! NO!", we heard them.

She had to be close, a minute at most. Damn!

"NOOOO! PLEASE NO! OH EMMETT, EMMETT," she cried pleadingly.

I held my breath.

Finally I saw him, bent over her, his teeth on her neck. With all my strength I pushed myself off the ground and crashed full force into Edward, flying with him fifty meters away against a tree.

"You damn son of a bitch leave her alone!" I growled at him.

Edward managed to free himself, but Jasper was already standing next to him and grabbed his arm. He hurled him against a rock near me and before he could get up again, I grabbed him by the throat and pushed him to the ground.

"Leave ... her ... in ... peace! You and Rose are the very last!"

I lifted him up by his throat and flung him about seventy yards away against an old fir tree, which burst.

When I turned around, I saw Jasper already with Bella. He was trying to calm her down with his gift, but she was still sobbing and crying.

I rushed to her and took her in my arms.

"All is well, my little one. It's all good."

When I turned around and looked back, Edward was gone.

Even with mind reading, he didn't stand a chance against two fighters like me and Jasper together.

I felt myself calming down and Bella slowly did too. I looked up at Jasper.

"Thank you, brother."

"No problem. Come on, let's get her home ... before Charlie gets here."

I put her to bed and lay down with her.

She didn't want to let go of me the whole time. Of course, I could have easily broken away from her arms, but I stayed with her.