Bella's Point of View
I had thought I understood pain, but that was the furthest thing from the truth. There was nothing that even came remotely close to the agony I was going through. I lost all sense of time, everything was blending together, all there was - was fire. Unrelenting burning. As if I was surrounded by a forest fire, it felt like my flesh would begin melting off my bones.
But there was one saving grace to this hell. And that was Edward. When my torment began manifesting to the surface and I could no longer contain my screams, Edward would appear. Almost out of thin air. Rescuing me again. Those topaz eyes became my comfort. Most of the time, we didn't even speak, he would just hold my hand. It was enough, just to know that he was still here.
Although, there were a couple times that a few others had stopped by to gawk at me. A beautiful blonde woman probably was the most frequent visitor, apart from Edward. She never spoke, but just peered in my direction, with a gaze of pity. As if she was watching a wounded animal, struggling to cling to life. She seemed sad. And like Edward, her eyes were a rich gold. In fact, everyone that stopped by, had the same eyes. But all their features were extremely different. I suspected that they were all related in some way.
Another thing that bothered me, was the fact that I wasn't in a hospital. I knew that I had been badly injured by that deranged beast. So why was I in this room? It looked nothing like a hospital ward, there was no sign of medical equipment, in fact the room was mostly empty. The walls were a muted brown, not a single decoration in sight. There was just this bed and a side table, within reach. On top of the table was the clothing that I had been wearing, the day I had been attacked. It was washed and neatly folded. Unfortunately, it was mostly ripped up.
At the moment, I was wearing a silk gown that reached down to my knees. The material was smooth and comfortable. I couldn't recall when they had taken me out of my clothes. And I noticed that the blood splatters that had painted my skin were gone. I wondered who had cleaned me up.
My thoughts turned to Edward, but I instantly shot that idea down. There was no way. He was too much of a gentleman. Even though we didn't speak much, I noticed that about him. He was always gentle when he came into my room. There were never bad intentions when he came to visit.
The only indication of time was the rising and setting of the sun, as it trickled through the single window of this room. But for most parts of the day, the weather was turbulent. Heavy rainfall, and darkened skies. It was always like this in Forks. I've never been the biggest fan of it. I craved the sunlight, the warmth. It was comforting. But I was beginning to adapt relatively fast to the darkness and the cold. In fact, my body remained at the same temperature for the entire time I've been here. Even while the inside of me was full of blisteringly hot flames of purgatory, the outside of my body felt completely normal. Not hot, not cold.
I'd also noticed my vision and spacial awareness was heightened. In hopes of distracting myself, I tended to let my eyes search through the nearly empty room. Gradually I could see even the smallest, intricate details of each object within view. Each strand of fiber that is woven throughout the curtains that draped over the window. Each piece of textured wood grain of the side table.
It was amazing, but unsettling. The world was so clear now, it was almost a little intimidating. But I couldn't focus on much of anything else. No matter how long I burned, I never got used to it. It never dulled. There was no relief. I was beginning to lose hope in escaping this torture.
But, suddenly my room filled with curious faces. Some of them I recognized, others were new to me. I spotted the blonde woman and the burly man that had held down my attacker. Next to them, was the older man that checked in on me once in a while. He always had a kind, but sad look on his face. He always had a lab coat on. I assumed that he was a doctor of some kind. A pretty woman clung to his side, a sweet smile on her face.
Edward moved to his usual spot, right next to the bed, while the others kept a distance. A short, pixie-like girl moved to stand next to him. She was new to me. Unlike the others, she appeared guilty, the way she shifted her eyes down to her feet and feebly twitching her hands together. Her posture screamed anxiety.
"You're almost done, just a few more seconds." Edward spoke gently, his warm eyes didn't leave my face.
Did he mean that? Was the burning… about to end?
"Really?" I forced the words past my lips. But for some reason, my voice sounded completely different. I wasn't even sure if that question had come from me. It sounded so light, almost bell-like in nature.
Edward nodded, cautiously holding his hand out towards me. "This next part will feel odd and quite intense. But once you're past it, the pain will end."
Without a second thought, I placed my hand in his, taking comfort in his presence as I waited. The room fell completely quiet, not even the faintest breath was heard. The only sound was the slow beating of my own heart.
The flames began to recede slowly, starting at my feet and working it's way up the length of my body. But, like Edward had mentioned, the intensity of the flames increased, hotter and hotter as it climbed.
My body trembled as I braced myself against the flames, biting down as hard as I could, to block my screams. On top of the blistering pain, there was a strange sensation following behind the trail of the flames. There was a push and pull deep inside, a twisting than a rush of coldness. It felt like the inner structures of my body were changing. Morphing into something completely different.
The final second was by far the most intense, as the burning surrounded my heart. I let out one last cry of agony. Edward winced quietly as well as I squeezed his hand. I felt the faintest pop in his hand and knew I had hurt him. Quickly I let his hand go, in the same second, the burning stopped. Along with the beat of my heart.
The room remained completely silent as I attempted to get my bearings. Edward was the first to break the silence.
"Are you alright?" He asked quietly.
"The burning stopped; I don't feel anything… so… I guess I'm alright." I spoke hesitantly, still unsure of the change in my voice.
"We have a lot to explain to you. About what happened in the woods, with Jasper." He continued.
"Jasper, I'm assuming that was the beast that attacked me…" Strangely, the memories of the attack were still crystal clear, but as I tried to think further back in my past, those thoughts were a little blurry.
I noticed a few of the others in the room exchanged a few looks. The pixie-like girl took a short step away from me, a melancholy look on her face.
"Do you remember the details of the attack?" Now, it was the older gentleman that spoke. He offered nothing but a kind smile. But I could see there was another emotion in his eyes. Dejection.
"Yes, I remember everything. He appeared out of nowhere, followed after me when I tried to run away. Pinning me to a tree and biting my neck… he started drinking my blood." My hand instinctively moved to the place on my neck that his teeth had penetrated.
He was some kind of monster, that I was sure of. A deranged animal. I've never come into contact with someone… so awful. The look on his face. Menacing. Aggressive. Terrifying.
"It may be hard to understand, but I can assure you, Jasper didn't mean to hurt you. He lost control over himself." The man said with a nod to his head.
"Lost control?"
"There is really no other way to say this." He paused, glancing around to the other in the room. "Jasper is a vampire. When he came across you in the woods, he wasn't himself. The bloodlust had taken over him. He was acting on pure instincts."
A vampire. My first thought was these people were delusional. Sure, this Jasper guy bit me. He was drinking my blood. His strength was… almost supernaturally strong. And then there were those eyes. Crimson red. He was… very different from any other person I've ever met. But that doesn't mean he was some kind of cheesy, horror movie fictional character.
"You are joking… right?" I muttered, searching the faces of everyone in the room. "You don't seriously want me to believe that do you?"
"Unfortunately, it's the truth. Jasper is a vampire, everyone in this room is one." The blonde woman spoke. This was the first time I actually heard her speak. There weren't enough words to describe how beautiful she was. Just being this close to her, brought on mild jealousy. Such a picture of perfection.
Everyone held a somber look on their face. No one was joking. They were all serious. I had thought I was no longer in danger, but I was beginning to think that might not be the case. These people were insane.
"How am I supposed to believe that?"
"With your permission, we can show you." Edward said, a crooked smile coming to his face. "Unfortunately, this would be much easier if I could just simply read your mind, but for some reason, that isn't possible."
Mind reading. This was getting more and more bizarre. Part of me wanted to just leave and get back to Charlie as soon as possible, but another part of me was curious. The idea sounded ridiculous, but Edward didn't strike me as a nut-job. He did save me. I owed him this much. I'd humor them.
"Fine, how are you going to show me?"
Everyone now backed out completely out of the room, leaving just Edward. He slunk down to the bottom of the bed and with one hand, lifted the bed straight up in the air.
I let out a gasp, utterly taking me by surprise. My body began to move on its own. Reacting to this. I jumped from the back and backed myself into the corner, crouching into a more defensive stance.
Quickly, Edward let the bed drop from his hand, before snapping a piece of the metal frame off and began to manipulate the metal into different shapes.
I forced myself to stand straight as I approached him, fascinated. It's obvious that his strength was… not human. It wouldn't be possible for a human to bend this metal, as if it was a flimsy twig.
He crushed the metal down, until it formed a heart, then lightly passed it over to me. I noted the shift in emotion from him, there was a bit of a shy side to him.
I smiled as I examined the tiny heart. It was perfectly smoothed down. "That was amazing,"
"Will this be enough to convince you?"
"This proves that you are very strong. Impossibly strong… I don't think I can rationalize that at the moment. But I'm not convinced."
"Fair enough," He allowed, shrugging his shoulders. "There is more I can show you, if you allow."
Curiosity tumbled around inside of me for a moment. "Sure, I'm open to seeing more."
Edward now closed the distance between us, holding his hand out to me. Without hesitation, I took it and he walked us to the window. The touch of his hand in mine, sent a spark of electricity down my arm. I almost ripped my arm away, in sheer surprise. But I didn't pull away. I wasn't afraid, even as he opened the window and pulled me up into his arms.
Cradled to his chest, brought back the memories of him, running with me to safety. I clung to the comfort it brought me.
"Do you trust me?" His butterscotch eyes trapped me for a moment.
"Completely." I answered immediately.
Another crooked smile appeared on his gorgeous face, before suddenly launching us out the open window. I felt the wind on my face as we landed into a tree. Perfectly.
I turned to glance behind us, towards the house we had just exited. It looked to be incredibly far away. This wasn't possible. None of this.
Now, Edward was running with me in his arms, flying through the treetops. It was exhilarating. I couldn't help but let out a laugh. It was such a free feeling. I couldn't deny what I was seeing. There was no way Edward was just a regular human man.
Once we reached the tallest tree of the grove, I was dazzled into silence at the view of the surrounding area. I could see for miles, through the trees, mountains and even as far as the town. Everything was so vibrant. Green. Beautiful.
"This is incredible," I muttered as Edward set me down. I steadied my feet, taking a look around at this new world, before letting my sights land back on Edward. "So, you're a vampire."
He chuckled, leaning against the trunk of the tree. "Did I convince you?"
"I don't have a choice now, this is… impossible…" I shook my head slowly. "Vampires exist and I was attacked by one." The amazement was short lived as I realized the truth.
I was attacked by a vampire. He drank my blood. I almost died. But I didn't. I suffered through pain and torture for days. And now, I've changed. My voice. My body. My instincts.
Slowly, I reached my hand up to my mouth, feeling my teeth. They were incredibly sharp. I looked to Edward in desperation.
"Please don't tell me…"
His smile left his face, getting replaced with pity. His eyes shifted downwards for a second, before nodding.
"No," I muttered, quickly moving my hand to my chest now. How had I not noticed this before? My heart was no longer beating.
This couldn't be happening.
"He… J-Jasper turned me into a vampire?"
"Not exactly, Jasper injured you badly. You were close to death. I took you to Carlisle, in hopes that he could treat your wounds and save your life. But the injuries were too extensive. The only option, to save you, was to turn you."
I looked down at myself, overwhelmed by what Edward was saying. What did this mean? Would I have to start killing people? What about Charlie? Could I return to life as it was before all this happened? Why did this have to happen?
"Isabella," Edward said gently, his hand moving to my shoulder.
I froze at the sound of my name. "Just Bella, please."
"Alright, Bella, I know this is difficult. It's going to be a long road, but you still have a chance at a… semi-normal life. I promise you." His voice was so warm. But I wasn't sure I could really believe what he was saying.
"I don't know… it kinda feels like… my life was a mess before all this happened… and now…" I was at a loss for words. Slowly I lowered myself to sit down on the branch under our feet.
Edward sat down next to me, watching me closely. I couldn't read his expression. I wasn't sure what was left to say. This was incredibly upsetting. And I didn't know what to do at this point.
Wordlessly, Edward reached out, offering his hand.
I took it and took a deep breath. It seemed to help a little. Just touching him. Knowing that he was here by my side. It made a difference. It offered me a little hope. As long as Edward was here, willing to hold my hand, maybe I would be okay.
Due to the positive reception of the first chapter, I decided to continue on to this next chapter. I hope it was a good read!