I'll keep this short because I don't want to keep you guys from this chapter any longer than necessary, but thank you so, so much to all of you who followed or favorites this story, and an even bigger thank you to all of you for your kind reviews! Your support honestly means so much, and I love hearing your feedback!
Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Twilight franchise, only the OC's!
Chapter Eighteen
It didn't take long at all to reach the ballet studio that James had summoned Bella to. They reached the dark, quiet building in less than five minutes, and James wasted no time walking straight inside.
He carried her into the middle of the room, then dumped her unceremoniously onto the hard, wooden floor. Danielle grunted as she landed with hard a thump, flares of pain springing up in her hip, arm, and her already injured ankle. She released a small sound of pain, then turned a glare on James in response to his rough manhandling. He wasn't paying attention to her, though. He had gone to the window to peer outside and make sure that nobody had seen them entering the building. Apparently satisfied with what he had seen, he turned back around and went to set her bag on a table in the corner. He unzipped it, then produced a handheld camera that most certainly did not belong to Danielle.
"Hopefully our guest of honor will not keep us waiting for long," he said, sounding more as if he was talking to himself than he was to her.
Danielle didn't bother responding, instead just watching in silence as he fiddled with the video camera he had brought with them. Finally, he stepped away from the table and turned back around to face her, his eyes trained on the little screen sticking out of the side as he pointed the camera at her.
"I thought it would be nice to leave a little message for our Cullen friends, let them see you and Bella in your last moments," he said in a light, almost cheerful, tone. James stepped closer, until he was only a few feet away, and then pressed a button to make a red light begin to blink on the camera. "Here she is, Jasper. The woman you love so very much. She's pretty, I suppose…for a human, anyway. Far too stubborn for my liking though, I'm afraid," he said to the camera. "We've had quite an adventure together today, haven't we, Danielle?" he asked, reaching out to touch her hair.
She smacked his hand away, scowling with disgust. "Don't touch me," she growled.
James chuckled at her darkly. "Quite a feisty one indeed," he mused, before turning the camera on himself. "Shall I tell you how our day has gone? Certainly you must be interested to know how Danielle really spent her last day in this world." He smirked evilly at the camera. "You see, Victoria brought her to me. My mate just knew there was something off about your woman, and when she discovered the truth – that Danielle was a human – we finally found the key to getting Bella. It was easy to take her, and with a bit of…persuasion…she told us exactly what we wanted to know."
James turned the camera on her again, crouching so that they were level with one another. "I brought her here, to Phoenix, right underneath your nose. Every time you spoke to her, all the time that you spent sitting comfortably in hiding operating under the belief that your lover was safe and sound in Forks, she was with me," he said almost gleefully. "Though I admit that she did come close to escaping. As you might have gathered, I figured out what she was doing and was able to get her back before she could get far. I did have to punish her for her behavior, though, didn't I?"
His hand was around her broken ankle before she could blink. He didn't squeeze too hard, but that didn't matter – her ankle was so sensitive that Danielle still cried out, her face contorting with pain. James merely grinned as he recorded her reaction. "I couldn't risk her running away again, so I broke her ankle," he revealed, now zooming the camera in on the appendage he was still squeezing. Danielle bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from screaming more, not wanting to give James the satisfaction of knowing just how badly he was hurting her, but it was a vain attempt. His hand around her ankle was too painful, so much so that her vision was beginning to swim.
He finally released her. Danielle couldn't help but collapse on the ground, breathing hard as she tried to recover from the immense pain throbbing through her ankle and leg. James quickly moved to stand over her so he could keep recording her face, obviously wanting Jasper to witness every horrible second of her pain.
"So weak. So fragile," he said with a dark laugh. He then turned the camera on himself again. "I'm afraid, Jasper, that this is only the beginning of our fun. Danielle will suffer much worse before it is all said and done. This all could have been avoided, of course, had you been a little bit smarter about all of this." James shook his head and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You'll learn your lesson in the end. That I can promise you."
He stopped recording after that, pressing a button again to make the red light on the video camera stop blinking. James looked down at her, uncaring of her pain as he smiled and shrugged. "Don't want to run down the battery before Bella gets here, do we?" he asked.
Danielle didn't answer, just closed her eyes as she panted for air, willing the pain in her ankle to subside so that she could think straight again. She only opened her eyes again when her phone started to ring. James quickly pulled it from his pocket, eager to see who was calling and undoubtedly hoping it was Bella. He frowned when he read the ID, however, before shaking his head and stuffing the phone back into his pocket.
"Your mother again," he said, sounding annoyed. "I've lost count of how many times she's called today."
Danielle sat up, her heart clenching at the mention of her mother. "Can I talk to her? Please?" she begged, not caring how pitiful she might sound doing so. When James merely quirked a brow at her, Danielle gave him a pleading look. "We both know how all of this is gonna end," she said. "Just…let me say goodbye to my mother. Please."
James stared at her for a moment longer, then smiled and shook his head. "No," he said simply. No reasons. No explanation. Just no.
He turned away from her after that and went back to the window to keep watch on anything that might be happening outside. Danielle knew she shouldn't have expected him to actually grant her wish and allow her to talk to her mother, knew how heartless he was and how little he cared about her or the things she wanted…but still. The fact that he refused to allow her to talk to her mother in the little time she had left crushed her. Combine that with the terrifying knowledge that her time on this earth was becoming more limited by the moment and, well…there was absolutely nothing she could do to suppress the tears that began to stream down her cheeks as everything she felt inside became too overwhelming to deal with.
She didn't know how long she cried for, but when she finally had no more tears to shed, her eyes were sore and puffy and she felt utterly exhausted. James had not moved from his spot by the window, nor had he said a word to her. He seemed content to completely ignore her while he awaited Bella's phone call.
They stayed that way for a long time, James standing by the window while Danielle sat quietly on the floor, her body numb from despair and her eyes trained unblinkingly on a dark scuff mark on the floor by her feet. Eventually, though, she snapped out of it and started to look around, until her eyes landed on a digital clock on the other side of the room – 10:53. She started to wonder where Bella was now, and whether or not she intended to come. She honestly hoped that Bella wouldn't come, hoped that Bella wouldn't just blindly follow James's orders and give herself to him on a silver platter. Jasper had said Edward, Emmett, and Carlisle were arriving at eleven, and it was almost that time. Danielle hoped Bella had told Jasper and Alice what was going on, and that they were all currently coming up with some sort of plan to rescue her and take down James once they had reinforcements.
No sooner had that thought crossed her mind when her cell phone began to ring again. James retrieved the phone from his pocket again, but this time he smiled. "Hello, Bella," he said as he pressed the phone to his ear. Danielle's heart sank immediately. "And you are alone, yes?" James asked after a brief pause. "You know the consequences if you attempt to bring any of the Cullen's with you." Another pause, then James grinned. "Wonderful. We will see you soon."
James clicked the phone shut and then walked back over to where she was sitting. "Bella's on her way. She should be here in less than twenty minutes," he said, sounding giddy with excitement. He then crouched down in front of her and held out her phone for her to take. "I think it's time to call Jasper now."
Danielle hesitated, then slowly took the phone from him. Under James's watchful gaze, she opened the phone and found Jasper's name, before dialing out. Her hand was trembling as she pressed her phone to her ear.
"Hi, darlin'," he said when he answered, though she could tell at once that he sounded distracted and worried. "Don't take this the wrong way, but now isn't really a good time. Edward, Carlisle, and Emmett just got here, and there's a situation we need to deal with. Can I call you back?"
James shook his head at her immediately. "No, Jasper," Danielle said, her voice thick with emotion. "I need to talk to you. It's important."
Jasper paused on his end. "Danielle? What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, knowing something was wrong straight off the bat.
She didn't know what to say for a few moments. Finally, she said the first thing that came to mind. "I love you, Jasper," she said, tears springing to her eyes again. She had thought she had cried all of her tears, but apparently she had been wrong. "I love you so much. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know that?"
Jasper sounded even more worried when he responded. "Why are you talking like that, darlin'?"
Danielle glanced at James. "Because something bad has happened, and I just…I need you to know how much I love you before…" But she couldn't get the rest of the words out, because her throat had suddenly become too tight to speak.
"Before what?" Jasper prompted. "What's happened, Danielle? You're beginning to really worry me."
Danielle closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, knowing that what she was about to say would change everything. When she opened her eyes again, James was staring her down intently. Tell him, he mouthed. "I'm not in Forks, Jasper," she revealed bluntly. "I'm in Phoenix."
Jasper went very quiet for a moment. "What?" he asked.
"They found out about me. Victoria and James. They…they took me," she said, her voice shaking. "James didn't come to Phoenix with Victoria. He came with me."
"No," Jasper said in denial. "That can't be true. Alice would've seen it. She didn't – "
He stopped short when a distressed voice cut over him. The voice was high pitched and female, obviously belonging to Alice, but she was talking so fast that Danielle couldn't understand her. James must have been able to, though, because he smirked in an evil, satisfied way. Alice must have finally seen that Danielle was with James, because when Jasper spoke again, his tone was completely different.
"Where are you?" he demanded, his tone vicious and desperate. He sounded terrified and furious all at the same time.
James shook his head, silently signaling that she shouldn't tell him. Danielle felt brave, though, or maybe it was just a moment of sheer recklessness. He was going to kill her anyway – why not try to tell Jasper where she was? "I'm at the – " she started to say very quickly.
James had a hand around her ankle faster than she could blink. He twisted it violently, making her howl from the pain. "Danielle!" Jasper shouted as he heard her scream, his voice rough and strained.
James plucked the phone from her hand and put the call on speakerphone. "Sorry, Jasper," James said with a smirk. "Couldn't have your lover giving everything away, now could I?"
"You dared to put your hands on her?" Jasper snarled. Danielle had never heard him so enraged before. "I'll kill you for this! You're dead, do you hear me?"
"Actually, it's Danielle who's going to be dead soon," James corrected with a chuckle.
"You son of a bitch!" Jasper shouted back. The fact that he was cursing when Danielle had hardly heard even the most mild of bad words from him before was proof of just how far gone he was in his rage.
James chuckled again, far too amused by how riled up Jasper was. "Time to say goodbye now."
James held the phone closer to Danielle, who was sobbing by this point. "I'm coming for you, Danielle. I'm coming right now!" Jasper said urgently. "I'll find you! I swear it!"
"No. Don't! Don't put yourself at risk. It's what he wants!" she said with a shake of her head.
"Danielle – "
"Stay away, Jasper!" she interrupted. She pressed her lips together, then sucked in a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Jasper. I wish we'd had more time. You've made me so happy," she said, determined to say everything she needed to while she still had the chance. "I would have spent the rest of my life with you. I would have married you." Danielle sniffled loudly, barely able to see through all of the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I love you, Jasper. Never forget that!"
"Danielle, no. Don't go. Don't get off the phone!" Jasper pleaded desperately. "Don't – "
But whatever he was going to say was cut off as James clicked the phone shut, ending the call. Then he crushed the phone in his hand and carelessly threw away the broken fragments.
"Now that was satisfying," James said with a grin. "I only wish I could have seen his face when you told him."
Danielle couldn't respond, couldn't even look at him. She sobbed into her hands, feeling haunted by the way Jasper had sounded as their last conversation played through her mind like a record that had been put on repeat. Finally, James seemed to reach the end of his patience. He rolled his eyes before wrapping a hand in her hair, roughly yanking her head up so that he could see her face. He was scowling at her, his eyes full of annoyance and disgust.
"I've had enough of listening to your blubbering," he said.
Then he reared back and hit her in the head, and everything went dark.
"Dani? Dani? Oh god, please wake up!"
The voice sounded distant and distorted at first, but slowly started to become louder and clearer. When something began to gently tap against her cheek, Danielle finally began to stir, her eyes blinking blearily as she tried to focus on the world around her. It took a few moments, but eventually the fuzzy figure hovering over her came into focus. It was Bella, and though she was crying and looked terrified, she breathed a massive sigh of relief when their eyes met.
"Oh, thank god!" Bella said, leaning down to hug her tightly. "I thought you were dead!"
Danielle didn't say anything at first, still feeling slow and sluggish in her first moments of consciousness. It wasn't until Bella was pulling away that she realized James was nowhere in sight. Her fear of the vampire had her body and mind alert again in a second, her eyes quickly scanning the room for any sign of him.
"Where's James?" Bella asked, as if she could read Danielle's mind. She, too, was looking around quickly, her teeth gnawing at her lower lip with uneasiness.
"I…I don't know," Danielle admitted. "But he can't be far."
Bella looked back down to her, then grabbed her by the arms. "C'mon, let's try to get out of here," she said urgently, already attempting to pull her up. "Can you stand?"
"I can try, but my ankle's broken. I won't be able to move fast," Danielle warned.
Concern flashed through Bella's eyes, but she still nodded in understanding. "I'll help you," she promised.
With a grunt, Bella finally pulled Danielle up from the floor. Once she was up and balancing on her good leg, Danielle rested an arm around Bella's shoulders and closed her eyes, groaning as her head throbbed and the world seemed to tilt on its axis. Bella gave her a moment to recover before locking an arm around her waist and leading her toward the door as fast as Danielle's injured ankle would allow.
"Does Jasper know you're here?" Bella asked.
Her conversation with him came flooding back, making her heart throb just as painfully as her head and ankle were. "He does now," she said. Danielle shook her head and gave Bella a hard look. "You shouldn't have come here, Bella," she said with despair. "You know what James will do to you once he gets his hands on you!"
"He was going to kill you, Dani!" Bella said in shock. "I couldn't just leave you."
"He was gonna kill me whether you came or not!" Danielle countered.
Bella opened her mouth to respond, but a new voice beat her to the punch. "She's right, you know."
They both instantly froze, then let out simultaneous gasps as James dropped from the ceiling and landed on the hard wood floor not five feet in front of them. With the exit officially blocked, Bella and Danielle backed up to put more space between themselves and James. Bella had begun to breathe a little quicker, her eyes wide and the hand she had wrapped around Danielle's forearm beginning to feel sweaty.
"Hello, Bella," James greeted. He had the video camera in his hand and the red light was blinking to signal that he was recording again. "So wonderful to see you again. I was starting to miss you. Lucky for me, though, Danielle has been very entertaining company."
He took a step forward, and when he did, Bella immediately planted herself in front Danielle, flinging her arms out wide and doing her best to shield her from James. "Leave her alone!" she said with a surprising amount of authority. "She has nothing to do with this! It's me you want!"
James laughed at Bella's attempt to protect Danielle. "You're right. It is you that I want," James agreed. "But you see, it was her lover who took you away from me. For that, he must be punished. And I can think of no better punishment than to take Danielle away from him in the most painful way possible."
James stepped even closer, his eyes darting down to the little screen attached to the camera. Danielle and Bella continued to move backwards away from him, Danielle hobbling while Bella reached back to keep a steadying hand on her. They were running out of space, though, and a quick glance behind her let Danielle know that they were quickly backing themselves into a dead end.
"At first, I didn't quite see the appeal in either of you, to be honest. But now, after some consideration, I think I understand why those Cullen's have been keeping you around. You humans can be quite interesting," James mused aloud. "Of course, your mortality poses quite a large problem. You are so…easily breakable. Isn't that right, Danielle?" he added tauntingly.
"Screw you, asshole!" Danielle tossed back furiously, despite the fact that she was shaking, despite the rampant fear raging through her veins.
James chuckled and continued his slow, predatory trek forward. Danielle tightened her grip on Bella, who seemed determined to remain her human shield. "It didn't have to be this way, you know," James said, speaking to the camera now. "If Edward and Jasper had simply turned our precious little friends, none of this would have happened. I would have had no need to hunt Bella, which means I would have never needed Danielle's assistance to lure her out of hiding. Both of them would be home safe and sound and well away from any danger I might present," he explained. "Yes, the answer was right in front of you all along, only you were too foolish to see it," he continued. "Lucky for me, I suppose. For I do so hate my plans being thwarted. It happened once before, if I am to be perfectly honest with you, and it was incredibly aggravating," he proceeded to admit. "A long time ago, I came across a human who was…most intoxicating. She was a troubled creature at the time, plagued with visions."
Danielle ears perked st the word visions. Bella's interest was caught to, because they shared a quick look with one another before looking back to James as he continued. "She would have been labeled a witch and burned at the stake for her gifts if it'd been a hundred years earlier, but in the nineteen-twenties, the answer for people with her condition was the asylum and shock treatments. I wanted her. Before I could claim her, however, an old vampire who so stupidly adored her turned her. When she opened her eyes again, free from her little black cell and strong with her new life, there was no reason for me to touch her. I did not see her again after that…not until we all met in the field, anyway," he revealed.
"Alice?" Bella breathed in astonishment.
"Yes," James confirmed. "I was surprised to see her again. I was even more surprised when Danielle revealed to me how her visions from her human life had strengthened and transformed with immortality," he added. "It was how I was able to trick your coven. Keep changing my mind, keep you guessing, never reveal my true intent. It made everything so much easier." James suddenly frowned. "Actually, it might have made things a little too easy. It was too simple, too quick, to get you here to me, Bella. I expected a much greater challenge." He sighed, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh well. The real sport now shall come from Edward and Jasper, and the rage that will consume the both of them after you two are dead."
James was right in front of them now, practically shoving the camera in Bella's face. Bella leaned back against Danielle, pressing so close that she sandwiched Danielle against the wall behind her. "I suppose we should get on with it," James said with a note of excitement. "Any last words? Danielle already got to say her goodbyes to Jasper. Is there anything you would like to say to Edward?"
"You leave him alone!" Bella said angrily, even though her voice shook with unmasked fear. "He has nothing to do with this!"
James chuckled, then finally began to step backwards. "He has everything to do with this," he said, moving away from them and edging closer to the table in the corner. "And I will enjoy killing him. Jasper, too."
"Bella, you have to go," Danielle whispered harshly once James was no longer standing between them and the door. The chances of escape were slim and she knew it, but if Bella still had a chance of surviving, then she had to at least try. "Run while you can!"
Bella gave her a sharp look over her shoulder. "I'm not leaving you!" she hissed, shaking her head.
"Nobody is going anywhere," James interrupted, drawing their attention back to them. He had set the camera down on the table, angling it in a way so that it could film the room. "Your time is up," he announced. "It's time to play."
He suddenly dropped into a crouch that they both knew meant trouble. The time for talking was over – the time for killing had come. Danielle clutched at Bella even tighter, her heart pounding so hard that she was amazed it hadn't exploded out of her ribs yet. Bella reached back for her, one of her hands scrambling to grab Danielle's and squeeze it tightly, her whole body trembling. In that moment, they both knew what was about to happen.
They were both about to die.
James moved fast. One moment he was on the other side of the room, then, in the next, he was right in front of them. He grabbed Bella, and though Danielle tried to hang on to her, he yanked her out of Danielle's grasp anyway and then threw her across the room as if she was a mere ragdoll. Danielle cried out with horror, watching helplessly as Bella was sent careening into a mirror. The mirror shattered, then rained all over Bella ad she collapsed onto the floor.
"Bella!" Danielle cried out desperately.
Before she could even think to try to get to her, James had a hand locked around Danielle's neck. Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened and closed like a fish, her fingers grappling at James's as she struggled for air. He used his grip on her neck to pull her close, his eyes black as he snarled in her face, before he turned and threw her as well. For a few moments, she felt weightless as she soared across the ballet studio. Then gravity took over and she plummeted back to the floor, pain erupting in several places as she landed hard on the studio floor.
Danielle groaned as she lay there on the floor, unable to move for a few long moments. When she finally felt able to focus on the world around her, she looked to see that James was standing over Bella now, looking rather pleased as he observed the shards of the glass that were littered all over Bella, as well as the floor around her. With a cringe, Danielle realized she could see some blood on the broken mirror above Bella.
"Beautiful," he observed. "Very visually dynamic."
Danielle watched as he crouched over her friend, as he grabbed her by the leg and smirked at her evilly. In a heartbeat, she knew what he intended to do – he was going to break either Bella's leg or her ankle, just as he had broken her own. Danielle started crawling toward them, moving as fast as her aching body would allow. She didn't know what she thought she might accomplish once she got there, but she knew she couldn't just sit back and do nothing. Before she could get to them, however, she heard a sickening and all too familiar CRACK, followed by an earsplitting scream from Bella. Danielle cringed, knowing Bella's leg had just been broken.
"Having a change of heart yet, Bella?" James growled out tauntingly.
Bella just continued to cry with pain, her hand grappling for her leg.
She didn't know where the strength came from, but suddenly Danielle was able to pull herself up onto her good foot, the pain in her own body momentarily forgotten. She hopped the few feet needed to reach James and launched herself onto his back without a second thought. Something had snapped inside her, a fire of hatred had begun to burn so hotly that she thought she might actually breathe fire. She screamed as she clawed at his face with her nails, trying in vain to scratch out his eyeballs. Anything to at least try to inflict injury on him.
"Get away from her you son of a bitch!" Danielle hollered.
James growled with impatience, stood to his full height, then reached back to grab her. The world turned upside down as he flipped her over his head and threw her down into the shards from the broken mirror. She barely felt the sting of the glass cutting her skin, finding herself far more concerned with James as he cocked his head to the side, his eyes full of murder. The next thing she knew, he was kicking her and sending her flying through the air again until it was her turn to connect with a mirror. There was a loud CRASH as she hit the glass mirror, followed by a thump as she hit the floor. She did not have the strength or the alertness to shield herself as glass rained on her, cutting her skin.
It was almost impossible to breathe. Excruciating pain erupted in her middle, and her lungs didn't seem to want to work after she collided with the wall. Danielle struggled to fill her lungs, hunching over as she tried to force air into her body. Finally, she began to cough violently, sucking in air in large gulps as her lungs began to work properly again. Her entire body ached by now, and felt sharp pains in her stomach and her ribs every time she breathed. She felt fairly confident that a few of her bones had been broken.
James seemed unconcerned with her for the time being. He turned back to Bella, who had a horrified look in her face as she stared at Danielle. Her eyes turned back to James, however, when he stood over her.
"Come now, Bella," he almost cooed. "Wouldn't you like to tell Edward how much it hurts?" He moved his foot to press on her leg, making her scream loudly. "Would you like to tell him to avenge you?" James prompted quickly.
Bella let out another piercing scream as he put more pressure on her broken leg. "No! No, Edward! Don't!"
James growled with anger. Obviously that was not the response he had wanted. He leaned down to grab Bella by the arm, then threw her across the room. Danielle watched as Bella come flying toward her, landing heavily in all of the glass shards on the floor less than a foot away. One of the shards had embedded deep into her leg, and as Bella groaned and pulled it out, blood began to pool around her. As her friend fell back onto the floor, her face paler than normal, Danielle found the strength to move closer to her. When James began to advance on them again, Danielle threw herself over Bella protectively and grabbed the biggest shard of glass she could find, wielding it like a dagger and waving it at James threateningly. The shard wouldn't do anything to him, of course, but it made her feel better to have a weapon nonetheless.
"Stop!" she shouted.
James stopped, sighed, then rolled his eyes in annoyance. He looked up at the ceiling before giving her a look of boredom. "I've had about all I can take of you, Danielle," he said warningly. "You're beginning to be a nuisance."
"I won't just sit back and watch you kill her," she said around heavy pants for air. "If you want Bella…you have to go through me first."
James smirked wickedly. "Gladly," he growled.
He moved to attack again, and Danielle braced for impact. Just before he could reach them, though, the doors to the ballet studio suddenly slammed open and a figure came flying in from out of nowhere, intercepting James mere feet in front of her and hitting him hard enough to send him flying across the room. Danielle blinked in surprise, then felt a surge of hope when she realized she recognized the person who had just arrived.
Edward.
He stared down at Bella in horror for a moment, then at her, his gaze flickering between the two of them as he took in the state of them. His eyes then flashed with anger and he let loose a loud, threatening snarl, his gaze shifting over to James. Just as he moved to attack, however, James launched at him, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into the nearest wall.
"You're alone," James said, almost sounding surprised. "Is it because you're faster than the others?"
Edward glared at him dangerously. "Not alone," he growled out.
Two seconds after the words left his lips, the doors banged open again. This time, the hope Danielle felt was so immense that she nearly cried.
Jasper was there, looking wild eyed and manic, his gaze immediately locking on her. For one moment in time his expression was full of pain as he saw the damage that James had already done. But then the pain vanished, his face contorting with rage unlike anything she had ever seen before. His powers went haywire, sending a strong wave of hatred and fury crashing through the room. Danielle shivered with fear in response to it, unable to help the way the negative emotions had her hair standing on end.
James, however, looked unconcerned. In fact, he looked thrilled. "Oh yes. I knew you'd be vicious." James heaved and threw Edward across the room, sending him careening into one of the other mirrors. He then turned to face Jasper fully, motioning for him to come forward. "Come, then. Show me what you can do," he urged.
Jasper growled, dropped into a crouch, then lunged for James. They connected hard with one another, sounding like two boulders colliding.
Danielle couldn't keep up with their fight. They moved so quickly that the two vampires were nothing more than a blur of flailing limbs and loud snarling. They had been fighting for only a few seconds, however, when James must have landed a hit on Jasper that had him flying toward them. Danielle thought he was in for a hard landing, but at the last minute he caught himself and effortlessly landed in a crouch a few feet away from her. James hissed and started toward him, but then Edward was there, grabbing him by the arm and throwing him across the room.
While Edward and James began to fight, Jasper turned to her and Bella, moving in close so that he could place a hand on her cheek, his eyes flashing over her features. There was still rage on his beautiful face, but concern was shining in his midnight black eyes.
"How badly are you hurt?" he asked.
Danielle cringed. "I'm not great," she said truthfully.
"Take Bella and get out of here while we have him distracted," Jasper ordered. "The others will be here soon. They can get you two to safety."
Danielle shook her head. "I can't go anywhere," she said breathlessly, feeling weak and drained and far too in pain to move even an inch, let alone to try to get out of the studio completely. "My ankle's broken, and Bella's in no condition to go anywhere."
Jasper's expression darkened as his eyes dropped momentarily to her abused ankle, before he raised his gaze back to hers. He seemed to come to a decision, because after glancing briefly toward Edward, he moved like he was going to pick her up and Bella up and get them out of the studio. Before he could, however, James landed a hit on Edward to get him off, then came barreling toward them. Jasper whipped his head around instead, baring his teeth aggressively, then ran at James to meet him halfway.
They collided with another loud BOOM. Edward quickly joined, and as the three vampires became locked in battle, Danielle cursed under her breath, unable to tell what was really going on because they were moving so fast. "Go, Danielle!" Jasper yelled above all the commotion. "Leave!"
She still didn't think she would be able to do much, but she decided she had to try. She abandoned her glass shard, ignoring the deep, bleeding cut that it had inflicted on her palm, then grabbed Bella by her jacket and did her best to drag her toward the door. It was an excruciatingly slow process. Bella had lost a lot of blood and was hardly alert, which meant she wasn't doing much of anything to help Danielle. As for Danielle, it was nearly impossible to pull Bella and scoot herself along the floor with only one good leg. It was too difficult, and they were getting nowhere fast.
They had only managed to cover about a foot or so of ground when a figure went sailing overhead. Edward had gotten hit by James again and had gone flying up toward the upper windows about fifteen feet above them. While Jasper growled and fought even harder against James, Edward jumped down to where she and Bella were.
"Go, Edward!" Jasper shouted. "Get them out of here!"
Danielle immediately began to protest – if Edward left, Jasper would be up against James alone. Clearly James was skilled fighter if he was able to hold his own against Jasper and Edward, and the thought of Jasper going up against him without backup was terrifying. Edward nodded, though, and reached down to scoop Bella up. Just as he turned to get Danielle next, completely ignoring any and all arguments on her part, a loud CRASH made them all look to see that James had gotten the upper hand on Jasper and had thrown him so hard that he had actually gone right into the back wall, creating a large hole.
James turned and rushed them immediately. Edward hastily set Bella down so that he could hold off the wild vampire, but he wasn't fast enough – he had barely set Bella back down when James punched him, grabbed him by his shirt, then threw him at Jasper just as he was pulling himself out of the rubble. The Cullen's collided and went sailing back into the wall again.
What happened next happened very quickly. In the second that it took Edward and Jasper to recover, James set his sights on her and Bella. Before Danielle could react, before she could think to try to pull her friend away, James grabbed a hold of Bella and pulled her out of Danielle's reach, his eyes wild and hungry. Then, without hesitation, he lifted Bella's arm up to his mouth and sank his teeth into her flesh.
"No!" Danielle cried.
But James didn't have his teeth in Bella for long. Edward and Jasper were back, fighting twice as hard now. They separated James from Bella, landing hit after hit and forcing him back. Danielle scrambled ungracefully back to Bella's side, her eyes wide with fear as she watched her friend shake and cry out with agony. Bella's eyes were wide and unfocused and darting all around now. Danielle looked down at the bite mark, then moved to hold Bella's head, her hands shaking as she tried to meet her friend's eyes.
"Bella, you're okay! I'm here!" she whispered urgently.
There was a howl of pain, then a loud crash that made her jump and look toward the dueling vampires. She looked just in time to see that James had been slammed into the floor, creating a large crater in the middle of the studio. Jasper yanked him up and soon had the nomad's arms pinned behind his back, holding him prisoner. James tried to break free, but Jasper's grip was too tight.
"Finish him now!" Jasper shouted to Edward.
Edward stepped forward and grabbed James by the head. With a vicious shout and a hard twist, he ripped James head clear off his body, then tossed it away. Jasper released the now headless form of the vampire, letting it crumple to the ground.
And just like that, it was over.
The moment James was dead, Edward and Jasper rushed over to her and Bella. Bella was still letting out rough sounds of pain, her whole body shaking, while Danielle continued to cradle her head. Both vampires saw the bite mark on Bella's arm and went wide eyed, before sharing a look that Danielle couldn't quite read.
"What's happening to her?" she asked with confusion, wincing as Bella screamed with pain and twitched violently.
Before Jasper or Edward could answer, the doors burst open again, making Danielle jump with fright. As Carlisle, Emmett, and Alice rushed into the studio, however, she instantly relaxed. The three Cullen's looked at her as she cradled Bella's head, looked at James's body, then stared down at Bella. Emmett and Alice stood rooted to the spot with similar looks of horror on their face, but Carlisle frowned deeply and hurried forward to kneel down next to Danielle.
"What happened?" he asked.
"She's hurt bad," Danielle said, her voice shaky and her cheeks wet with tears. "James broke her leg, and she has a bad cut on her thigh. He…he bit her, Carlisle," she finished, pointing to the bite mark. "I think it's done something to her!"
Carlisle frowned deeply. "It's James's venom," he said. "He injected it into her bloodstream when he bit her. It's starting the process of turning her into a vampire," he revealed, which made Danielle's eyes go wide. Carlisle turned away from her and looked to the stream of blood that was still running freely out of the wound on Bella's leg. "We need to stop the flow of blood," he said aloud, already pulling his belt free from his pants so he could use it as a tourniquet. "Edward! I need you!"
As Carlisle and Edward started attending to Bella, Danielle felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Jasper standing behind her, his eyes swirling with so many emotions that she couldn't pinpoint one in particular. Suddenly, she needed to be close to him. She lifted her arms to him and he quickly complied, gently pulling her up from the ground and into his protective embrace. He trembled against her, his face burying into her hair as he held her to his chest securely. Every part of her body hurt and it was painful to move, let alone be touched, but Danielle didn't care. She held him tighter, pressing as close as she could, desperate to feel as much contact with him as possible.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Jasper repeated over and over again.
"I'm sorry, too," Danielle whispered back thickly. "This…this is all my fault. I told him where Bella was. I told him about Alice's visions. But he made me do it, Jasper! He said he would kill everyone I loved if I didn't!"
"This isn't your fault," Jasper countered at once, pulling back far enough to shake his head. "You didn't have any other choice. I'm the one to blame for this. I should have never left you in Forks. I should have been with you. I should have protected you." Jasper shook his head again. She could feel his anguish and his guilt clear as day.
"You did protect me," she said with a nod. "You and Edward found us. You stopped him, Jasper."
Jasper still shook his head. "I thought…I thought I was going to lose you," he whispered with anguish. "I thought you were going to die."
Danielle touched his cheek. "Well, I didn't. I'm still here."
Jasper nodded, but still looked pained. He said nothing more though, instead just pulled her close so that he could kiss her, holding her tightly to his chest as his lips moved desperately against hers. As wonderful as it was to be kissing him again, as good as it felt to be close to him, Danielle couldn't help but wince and gasp with pain when his grip proved to be too much for her beaten up body. Jasper pulled away at once, his eyes flashing with concern as looked her over.
"How hurt are you?" he asked.
"On a scale of one to ten? Probably at about a twenty," she admitted honestly.
Jasper frowned deeply. "We need to get you to a hospital," he said, before turning to Carlisle. "Carlisle – "
But Carlisle wasn't paying them any attention, because he appeared to be having some sort of argument with Edward. "Edward, you have to do it," Carlisle said sternly, still hunched over Bella's leg as he tried to staunch the flow of blood seeping out of the deep wound.
"No!" Edward bellowed.
"If you do not try to suck the venom back out, she will turn. Is that what you want?" Carlisle asked.
Edward looked completely torn. "I…I don't know if I can do it," he admitted. "If I start, I might not be able to stop."
"You can stop. You are strong. You can do this," Carlisle said encouragingly. "I've almost got this wound to stop bleeding. Do it now, Edward, or it will be too late," he finished warningly.
Edward looked at Bella for moment, then finally nodded and gently reached for her arm. "I'm sorry, Bella," he whispered, sounding anguished. "I'm going to make it better, alright?"
As he sank his teeth back into Bella's arm to suck out the venom that James had left behind, Danielle had to turn away, unable to watch. She instead watched as Emmett and Alice yanked up the floorboards of the dance studio and tossed them into a large pile, the two of then working quickly. When they had finished building a large pile, they went to James's body and tore it to pieces, throwing his appendages on top of the pile. Once that was done, they grabbed a gas can that they had brought with them and started dousing everything in sight.
She turned her eyes away from the sight when Carlisle appeared next to her. Edward must have finished getting rid of the venom in Bella, because he was gently lifting her up from the ground and cradling her in his arms – Bella appeared to have fallen unconscious.
"Is she okay?" Danielle asked.
"I think she will be, yes," Carlisle assured her. "What about you?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern. "Where are you hurt?"
Danielle offered a weak smile. "The better question is where am I not hurt?" she countered.
Carlisle heaved, but still nodded. His eyes then widened with alarm when he took in the state of her clothing, which had her looking down. There was a significant amount of blood on her, both hers and Bella's. Danielle felt a jolt, too, and at the same time they both looked at Jasper with worry. His eyes were still darker than usual, though whether that was his hatred for James lingering behind or because all of the human blood in the room was having an effect on his hunger, Danielle couldn't say for sure. Carlisle, however, seemed to think it better to get her away from Jasper while he still appeared to be in control.
"Perhaps I should – " Carlisle started to say, gently reaching for Danielle to pull her out of Jasper's embrace.
"No," Jasper said sharply, his eyes glinting fiercely as he held her tighter. "I'm fine. My hunger is the least of my concerns right now. All I care about is getting Danielle help," he insisted.
Carlisle seemed surprised at first, but then nodded once, looking proud of Jasper for his self-control. "Alright," he said, before shifting his attention to Emmett and Alice. "Finish up quickly," he instructed the two. "We need to get Bella and Dani to the hospital."
Emmett nodded, and without further ado, he produced a small packet of matches from his pocket and lit the pile he and Alice had built on fire. As the orange flames grew larger and heat began to fill the room, Jasper gently lifted her up into his arms bridal style. For a moment he stared at her broken ankle, frowning deeply at the odd angle her foot was sticking out. Then he looked at her, before pressing a tender kiss to her forehead.
"We have to run, but I'll be gentle. I promise," he said.
Danielle nodded, then tightened her arms around his neck. Emmett and Alice joined them, and for one brief second her eyes met Emmett's. There was no smile on his face, but she could see guilt shining through his eyes clear as day. Danielle frowned, but before she had the chance to say anything to Emmett, they were hurrying through the entrance and taking off down the street, leaving the ballet studio behind as it slowly became engulfed in flames.
Danielle woke to a steady beeping sound in her ears. Blinking blearily, she opened her eyes, wincing momentarily against the bright, white lights overhead. She then glanced to the left, where she saw a machine that was monitoring her heart rate and blood pressure, as well as a few other pieces of equipment that she wasn't sure what the purpose for them was. It was around that time that she realized her hand was being held by something cold and firm. Turning her head to the right, she couldn't help but smile wearily as her gaze landed Jasper, who was sitting in the chair next to her hospital bed.
"Hey," she said hoarsely.
Jasper managed a small smile. "Hey, yourself," he said, leaning down to kiss her knuckles, his eyes locked with hers the entire time.
The pain in her body had lessened significantly, which was probably only because she was undoubtedly pumped full of pain meds at the moment. She looked down at herself, glad to see that all the blood had been cleaned off of her but still frowning when she saw the many bruises and bandages decorating her body. With a sigh, she lay her head back on the pillow. Try as she might, she could not possibly begin to guess what time of day it was, nor how much time had passed since she'd been admitted to the hospital. Everything had been one, giant blur since the Cullen's had rescued her and Bella from the now deceased James. She could remember bits and pieces – like arriving in the emergency room, being looked over by a middle-aged, female doctor, and a lot of bright lights – but between the pain from her injuries and her exhaustion after everything that had happened, the rest was too hazy to make sense of.
"What time is it?" she asked Jasper.
"Almost six in the evening," he answered, not releasing her hand. "You've been asleep all day."
Danielle nodded in understanding, before frowning when she remembered that she had no idea what was going on with Bella. "How's Bella? Is she okay?" she asked worriedly.
Jasper nodded. "She's doing alright, considering everything James put her through," he said reassuringly. "She's unconscious still. She lost a lot of blood and she's not in the best shape. But she's stable," he said. "The doctors say she'll be alright."
Danielle breathed a massive sigh of relief, relaxing into her mattress at the good news. "Thank God," she murmured, her eyes falling closed.
"How do you feel?" Jasper asked, which had her opening her eyes again.
"Like I was hit by a bus, then the bus reversed over me and hit me again," she admitted. Jasper nodded slowly, his brows creased together and a frown tugging the corners of his mouth downward. "What's the damage then?" Danielle asked, since she still didn't know the full extent of her injuries – all she knew was that her body hurt pretty much everywhere.
Jasper steeled himself, then began to go down the list. "There was some internal damage. The doctor had to perform an emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding. Outside of that, you have a severely fractured ankle, three broken ribs, more cuts and bruises than even I can count, and a mild concussion," he said, his frown deepening with each new injury he listed off. "You'll need another surgery to set your ankle right, and the doctor said there's a chance you might have a permanent limp once everything is said and done."
Danielle heaved. "Wonderful," she said dully. "What do the doctors think happened to us?"
"Carlisle told them that you and Bella were in a car accident," he said which made her nod. A car accident made sense – it would be far more believable than telling anyone what had really happened. "That's the story we gave your mother, too," Jasper added, which made her eyes go wide.
Her mother!
"You talked to my mom?" Jasper nodded in confirmation. "Where is she? Is she in Phoenix?"
"Not yet," Jasper said. "Seems she was having trouble getting a flight out. She was able to get on a flight this afternoon, though," he said with a nod. "She'll be here soon."
Danielle nodded slowly in understanding. Considering that she had spent the majority of the past twenty four hours believing she would never see or talk to her mother again, she was indescribably happy to know that they would soon be reunited. The moment Lynne appeared, Danielle was going up hug her for ten minutes straight and make sure she knew exactly how much she loved her.
But then she remembered how furious her mother had been with her for leaving, which had her cringing. "How was she when you talked to her? Was she mad?"
Jasper raised his brows at her. "She certainly wasn't pleased to hear from me. I was on the receiving end of a pretty lengthy, threat-filled berating. Carlisle got an earful, too," he revealed, which made her cringe and blush with embarrassment. Her mother berating Carlisle? God, that was mortifying. "Your mother seemed to be under the impression that you left Forks with us."
Danielle frowned guiltily. "Victoria made me write a note to my mom telling her I had left Forks," she said, not missing the way Jasper's expression darkened at the mention of the nomad. "Leaving with you and Carlisle to check on Bella was the most believable thing I could come up at the time."
Jasper made a sound of understanding. "I see."
Danielle heaved and shook her head, then decided she probably shouldn't move around much when even doing just that made her neck and head ache. "She's gonna kill me when she gets here," she murmured woefully.
"I don't think so," Jasper disagreed. "When I told her you were in the hospital, she forgot pretty quickly that she was supposed to be angry with you. She's really worried, darlin'. She must have called me fifty times for updates on your condition before she got on the plane to come here," he said. "I think she'll just be happy to see you awake and recovering."
"I hope so," Danielle sighed.
There was a beat of silence, where Danielle stared at the wall opposite her bed, preoccupied with thoughts of her mother and what might happen when she arrived, and where Jasper kept his eyes on her, his cool, strong fingers delicately tracing the bones of the hand that he held.
"Alice found a tape," Jasper said slowly, which made her look back to him. "When she and Emmett were disposing of James, she found the tape he made."
Danielle gulped, knowing exactly what James had filmed and knowing exactly what sort of impact it would have had on Jasper if he ever watched it. "Did you…watch it?" she asked.
Jasper nodded once. There was surge of emotions from him – fury, hostility, and hatred – as he seemed to take a moment to reflect on what he had seen. He reigned in his power quickly, though, and the air soon cleared of the negative aura. "It was the worst thing I have ever had to witness," he admitted. "You and Bella were both very brave. For the sake of my own sanity, however, could you refrain from attacking vampires and threatening them with glass shards in the future?" he asked, referring to her attempts to fight back against James.
Danielle lifted her chin stubbornly. "Maybe it was a little stupid to try to fight back, yeah. But I couldn't do nothing, Jasper. I couldn't just let him win."
Jasper sighed and shook his head. His expression was one of exasperation, but she could have sworn she also spied a hint of pride in his amber colored eyes at the same time. "You were trying to help Bella and protect yourself. I can't blame you for that," he conceded. "Just...try not to make a habit of it, alright?" he asked, his tone verging on pleading.
Danielle sighed and nodded. "Alright," she agreed.
Jasper seemed satisfied with her response. He looked at her for a moment, then tilted his head questioningly. "Everything James said in the tape…is that what really happened?" he asked next.
Danielle nodded, sucked in a deep breath, then retold him everything that had happened from her point of view. She explained how Victoria had been suspicious of her and gone searching for the answer as to what exactly she was. She told him about Victoria kidnapping her and taking her to James, who forced her to tell him about Bella being in Phoenix and Alice's visions of the future. Then she relayed her escape attempt and how James had caught her, before he took her to the Swan house to await the right moment to lure Bella away, forcing her to lie to Jasper every time he called so that they would not get suspicious. Danielle finally concluded the tale by recounting the conversation James had had with Bella while she had still be at the hotel, and how he had gotten Bella to leave the safety of their guard by threatening to kill her.
By the time she was done, Jasper was shaking his head gravely. He released her hand and stood from his chair, looking troubled as he raked a hand through his blonde her and began to pace the room. Danielle watched him go back and forth, frowning when she felt another wave of jumbled, negative emotions radiate off of him.
"Jazz?" she asked gently. "Talk to me," she urged.
Jasper looked at her, then heaved heavily. "I have never felt like a bigger fool in all my existence," he admitted. "I should have known something was wrong. From the moment you didn't answer your phone when I tried to call you and tell you about James's plan changing, to all the times we spoke and I could hear how upset you were. If I had just realized what was going on, I could have stopped all of this from happening. I could have come for you sooner."
"Jasper, it's not your fault," she said reassuringly. "There's no way you could have known, not with James using Alice's powers against us. He was tricky, just like Laurent warned us."
Jasper shook his head. "It is my fault," he countered. "I should have never left you in Forks. I should have made you come with us."
"It was my idea to stay, remember?" Danielle reminded him.
"But I went along with it, even though everything inside of me was screaming that it was a bad idea," Jasper swiftly rebutted. "You could have died, Danielle," he said, his voice going a bit rough. "We didn't know where you were, because James kept changing his mind. If we hadn't gone to Bella's house, if we hadn't caught your scent and followed it to the studio in time…" He trailed off and shook his head, his expression one of pain.
"But I didn't die," Danielle countered just as quickly. "You and Edward found us. I'm still here – Bella's still here – because of you."
"Exactly," Jasper said bitterly, clearly seeing things a little different than her. "You're here because of me," he said, looking irritated and disgusted with himself.
Danielle's stomach clenched at his words, and her heart suddenly felt like it was being pressed down upon with a heavy stone. She didn't like the way Jasper was talking, nor the look on his face. She was suddenly worried as to what exactly might be going through his head, or where this conversation might end up going.
"Jasper," she said cautiously. "You're not about to pull that whole annoyingly noble, 'you'd be safer without me, so we should break up for you own good' act, are you?" she asked, though she was suddenly terrified to know the answer.
Jasper froze as her words sunk in, before the tension in his shoulders eased and his expression softened. "No, darlin'. That's not what I'm doing. I'm just…still upset about all of this." While Danielle let out a breath of relief, Jasper walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge right next to her, taking her hand gently between his own and leaning down to kiss the top of it. "I'm sorry if I worried you. But like I told you back in Forks, now that this is over, I'm never letting you out of my sight again. And that's a promise I intend to keep," he said with a firm nod. "As long as you still want me around, I'm not going anywhere."
"Of course I want you around," Danielle said without hesitation. "Don't you remember what I told you on the phone?" she asked next, referring to what she had been sure had been their last goodbye, when she had told him that she had wanted to marry him and spend the rest of her life with him.
Something she couldn't quite place flashed through Jasper's eyes. "Yes. I remember," he said seriously.
"Good. Because I meant it," Danielle said firmly. "So don't even think about running away, buddy. Or else you are going to be in very big trouble."
Jasper's lips twitched with a ghost of a smile, though it was a sad one. "I don't think I could run away from you even if I wanted to," he said, which made her smile. He reached a hand to her face to trace the line of her jaw, a frown of guilt soon working its way back onto his face. "I'm so sorry for what happened," he said quietly, still evidently feeling some residual guilt. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you from him. Can you ever forgive me for all of this, darlin'?"
Danielle squeezed his hand, a lump momentarily taking up residence in her throat. "There's nothing to forgive, Jazz," she said. "I think…I think we all made mistakes where James and Victoria were concerned. But they're gone now. It's over. All we can do now is move on and learn from those mistakes," she concluded with a shrug.
Jasper lifted his brows uncertainly. "You aren't angry with me, then?"
Danielle scoffed. "Angry? Absolutely not," she said. "The only thing I am right now is relieved. I spent most of the past twenty four hours thinking I would never see you again, and guess what? That sucked." Danielle squeezed his hand tightly. "I'm just happy that I'm with you," she told him earnestly.
Jasper finally offered a small, genuine smile. The guilt that had been in his eyes slowly melted away, replaced by an unmistakable gleam of adoration as he lifted a hand to gently caress her cheek. Danielle instantly leaned into his touch. "I love you, Danielle," he said, his voice deeper with emotion. "I love you so much."
Danielle smiled and squeezed the hand that still held hers. "I love you, too, Jasper."
He smiled again, then leaned over to give her a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. Jasper kissing her always sent electricity through her veins, but right now, after everything that had happened, to have him kissing and touching her made her feel it twice as strong. Heat spread through her like wildfire and her heart began to pound against her ribs, which, in turn, had the heart monitor she was hooked up to beginning to beep far more rapidly than it had been before. She and Jasper broke away from each other to look at the machine, Jasper with a hint of amusement while Danielle's eyes had gone wide with mortification.
"Well…that's embarrassing," Danielle said, her cheeks turning pink.
Jasper chuckled and took a moment to nuzzle his nose into her hair. "It's nothing I haven't heard before," he admitted. "I don't need a machine to hear the way your heart beats whenever I kiss you," he said, hinting that he had been able to pick up on similar reactions from her in the past with his super-human hearing.
Danielle flushed even brighter. "Even more embarrassing," she muttered.
Jasper just chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "I take it as a compliment."
A knock on the door interrupted their moment of privacy. A nurse walked in after that to do a routine checkup, looking pleased with the fact that Danielle was awake and coherent. Jasper slid off the bed and moved to the side to give the nurse some space to work, watching with a slightly protective gleam in his eye as she checked Danielle's stats, changed a few bandages, and asked her a series of questions. When she had finished with her check-up, she announced that lunch would be served soon, which had Danielle's stomach promptly growling. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the previous day, before Victoria and James had kidnapped her. She was absolutely starving.
The nurse left after that, leaving the door open as she went. Jasper started like he was going to come and sit on the bed again, but he paused whenever something out in the hallway seemed to catch his attention. Danielle glanced that way, but couldn't see anything through the open door.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You have some visitors that have been waiting to talk to you," Jasper said.
She looked to the door again, watching as Emmett and Alice appeared. The two vampires lingered in the doorway, Alice fidgeting and looking uncertain, while Emmett stood behind her with his massive arms crossed over his chest, his expression guarded and difficult to read. Danielle smiled at the sight of her two friends, thought they didn't look quite as happy to see her as she might have thought. "Hey, guys," she greeted.
"Can we…come in?" Alice asked timidly.
Danielle frowned and shared a brief look with Jasper, who just raised his brows at her in return. "You don't need to ask," Danielle said, looking back to Alice and Emmett. "Of course you can come in."
The two vampires shuffled into the room, coming to a halt at the foot of her bed. Danielle couldn't help but noticed that they looked even more uncomfortable and reserved as they eyed the machines she was hooked up to, which was not common behavior for either one of them. It made Danielle frown with worry, not sure she knew what had gotten into them or why they were acting so oddly.
"How do you feel, Dani?" Alice asked to break the silence.
"I'm alright," Danielle said with a nod. "Better now that everything is over. And a lot better thanks to these pain meds," she added with a joking smile and a pointed look toward the IV drip she was hooked up to.
It had been her attempt at easing the tension in the room, but it didn't appear to work. Alice was still wringing her hands together anxiously, and Emmett was still a stony, impenetrable statue behind her. Finally, when she seemed unable to contain herself a moment longer, Alice's expression turned to one of sadness, her eyes filled with tangible guilt as she rushed to Danielle's side and grabbed her hand, squeezing her fingers earnestly.
"I'm so sorry, Dani," the vampire blurted out. "I feel like this is all my fault. I couldn't see what James was doing. He was so good at hiding the truth. And Victoria! I saw her on the hunt and thought she was going after Bella. I didn't know she was going after you." Alice shook her head vigorously. "I made so many mistakes, Dani. And I'm so, so sorry!"
Danielle shook her head, half in disbelief and half in exasperation at the fact that yet another Cullen was trying to take the blame for her current condition. She glanced at Jasper, who didn't seem at all surprised by Alice's outburst, before turning a look on Alice.
"You don't have to apologize, Alice," Danielle said firmly. "I don't blame you for what happened. If anything, I feel like I should be apologizing to you. I was the one who told James about your visions. I was the one who gave him the leverage he needed to make all of this happen," she said, her previous feelings of guilt and betrayal quickly resurfacing.
"He was threatening you," Jasper reminded her, obviously picking up on the change in her mood. "You didn't have any other choice, darlin'. You did what you had to in order to stay alive. Nobody blames you for that," he insisted, which had Alice nodding vigorously in agreement.
Danielle smiled gratefully at his words, then looked back to Alice. "I'm not mad at you, Alice. I'm not mad at anyone but James. He's the one to blame for all of this. Not anyone else."
Alice sighed with relief, then leaned over to hug her. The vampire was sure to be gentle, not squeezing her too tight so as not to put any pressure on any injures. Danielle happily hugged her back, smiling at the affectionate gesture. When Alice finally let her go and took a step back, Danielle turned her eyes over to Emmett, who had yet to contribute anything to the conversation. Given how guilty both Alice and Jasper had felt, she could only assume by the way that Emmett was acting that he was feeling guilty about something to. She sighed and gave him a pointed look, raising her brows at her friend.
"Am I right in assuming that you think you have something to apologize for, too?" she asked knowingly.
Emmett frowned and finally uncrossed his arms, shifting on his feet as he shoved his hand into the pockets of his jeans. "I let you down, Dani," he stated with a shrug of his shoulders. "You and Jasper," he added with a pointed look toward his brother. "I gave my word that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and I couldn't keep it. You still wound up here."
"You did the best you could, Em," Danielle said reassuringly. "We had no idea any of this would happen."
"It wasn't good enough," Emmett argued back with a shake of his head. "You're my best friend. I should've been there to protect you, but I wasn't. And I'm sorry for that," he said, looking between her and Jasper in a way that said that his apology was directed toward both of them. "I hope you guys can forgive me, even though I don't deserve it," he added with self-loathing. "I'll find a way to make it right, I swear."
Danielle smiled at him. "You don't have to do that. You don't have to ask for forgiveness, either, because you didn't do anything wrong," she insisted.
Jasper nodded in agreement, but Emmett didn't seem to believe them. Danielle shared a look with Jasper again, then finally sighed and raised her brows at Emmett. "Alright, if you really feel like you have something to make up for, then I know how you can make it right," she said.
Emmett stepped forward. "Name it," he said without hesitation. "I'll do anything."
Danielle smiled. "Stop pouting and come over here to give me a hug," she said with a meaningful look. She then held out her arms, only wincing a little when the movements aggravated a few minor injuries. "C'mon, Big Foot. Bring it in," she encouraged.
Emmett finally cracked a smile. Without hesitation, he moved closer and leaned over the bed to hug her, treating her with even more caution than Alice had. Danielle patted his rock hard back, squeezing him as tightly as her sore body would allow her to. When they finally parted, Emmett patted her gently on the top of her head before stepping backward to give her some space again.
"There. All better," she said, which just made Emmett huff and shake his head good naturedly.
Danielle relaxed against the mattress, smiling as her eyes bounced from Emmett, to Alice, then to Jasper. Talking to Jasper and her friends about everything made her feel as if a huge weight had lifted from her chest – the Cullen's did not blame her for telling James the things that she had, everyone who had felt the need to apologize had done so, and all four of them seemed equally willing to forgive any mistakes that had been made and move on, which was a massive relief.
Suddenly, Danielle began to feel tired again, despite how much sleep she had already gotten. Her body was simply still too weak and too exhausted from all of the events of the past day. Her weariness must have shown, because Jasper stepped closer and gave his siblings a look.
"Why don't you two come back to visit again later?" he suggested. "I think Danielle need to get some more rest."
Alice and Emmett nodded in agreement, then said their goodbyes and headed for the door, looking to be in much better spirits than they had been in when they had arrived. Danielle called out a tired goodbye, then turned her eyes back to Jasper as Emmett shut the door, granting them privacy.
"You're not leaving, too, right?" she asked with a small frown of worry.
Jasper shook his head. "Not a chance."
Danielle smiled, then did her best to scoot over and make some room for him before patting the spot on the bed that she had just made available. Jasper eased down onto the mattress next to her, resting comfortably against the pillows and being careful not to get too close to her heavily wrapped ankle as he stretched out his long legs. Once he was settled in, Danielle snuggled into his side, smiling as Jasper first pulled the blankets over her so that she would stay warm, then wrapped his arms protectively around her, making her feel safe and secure.
"Get some sleep, darlin'," he encouraged.
"You'll still be here when I wake up?" she asked, turning a pleading look up at him.
Jasper leaned down to brush his lips against hers. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
Danielle smiled, nodded, then rested her head comfortably on his chest. In the back of her mind, she knew that there was still a lot that she and Jasper needed to talk about and that there were a lot of questions that needed answering, but she decided that that conversation could wait for another time. At the moment, she was too happy to have it in her to worry about anything else. She was alive. Bella was alive. James was dead. She was with Jasper again, and in a few short hours she would be reunited with her mother, too. It was all that she had hoped for and more, but had been convinced would not happen while she had still been James's prisoner.
For once, she was glad that she had been wrong.
She and Bella probably still a long road to full recovery ahead of them, but everything had turned out far better than had thought it would. And as Danielle drifted off to sleep in Jasper's arms, she felt comforted and content. Because now the dust from the storm of chaos that James and Victoria had brought into their lives was beginning to settle, and for the first time in several days, Danielle finally felt like everything was going to be okay.
The next chapter will be the last chapter of part one! Hope you guys enjoyed the update!