At night, she often tried to hear the whispered echoes of his phantom.

Alone in the quiet darkness of her bedchamber, there was a certain danger emanating from the obscured emptiness that evoked a thrill, making her heart beat loud and fast, slamming against her ribcage almost painfully. She could feel the prickling sensation of being watched at nearly all times in the dark room, the invisible eyes crawling up her neck like spiders. She couldn't remember being afraid of the dark as a child, but she imagined the feeling would be quite similar — only now she knew the prying monsters to be very real.

Still, it was never enough. It was insane to want to be insane again, and she knew that, but ever since Edward had left Volterra those moments of insanity were her best chance to catch another glimpse of him. She longed for the ethereal coldness of his ghost, for the hollowness of his imaginary murmurs.

God knows when we'll meet again.

She tossed and turned every night, and though her nightmares were ridiculous compared to what they once were, she somehow felt worse whenever she woke up screaming. There was no Charlie there to comfort her… but as she sat up by herself in the spacious bed, she felt selfish. There was no Charlie there to be yanked from slumber by her night terrors, she corrected herself; no one around to watch her spiralling down a brand new hole, no one to worry sick about her.

Then again, she knew he was worried. She could tell by the emails.

Oh, God, the emails. The memory of her most recent nightmare was pushed from the back of her mind and she groaned. How utterly stupid. Could that even be called a nightmare? As the hazy images made their way back to her, she felt the familiar flush creeping up her neck and spreading through her face.

They were certainly not scream-inducing.

To her surprise, she heard a gentle knock on her door this time.

Great. Someone is finally fed up with me.

She checked herself to make sure she was decent enough to be seen. Her plain t-shirt and flannel pants looked acceptable.

"Uhm, come in."

Gianna poked her head inside and Bella turned on the lamp on her nightstand. The Italian then rushed in, wrapped up in a flowy maroon robe, and softly closed the door behind her.

"Alright, what is all this?" She demanded, exasperated but barely raising her voice.

Bella shook her head, passing her fingers through her hair.

"Sorry. I don't know. I mean, I haven't slept decently in months."

"Right." Gianna huffed. "Does it have to be everyone else's problem then?"

"No, of course not. I just don't know how to stop."

She stood by the door for a second, tightening the rope around her waist. Then she fished something out of one of her pockets.

"This is not what you need," she admitted, "it will just shut you up so I can sleep."

She threw the object to Bella and huffed with disdain when it hit her shoulder and fell on the bed. Fighting embarrassment yet again, Bella picked it up.

A small bottle of pills.

"For dreamless sleep," Gianna clarified, surely anticipating she wouldn't be able to read the label.

"Oh." Bella stared at the bottle, surprised and uncertain. "Okay. Hm, thank you."

"They're for me," she stressed, reaching for the doorknob. "I don't know how much longer I can go without sneaking in and pressing a pillow to your face."

Bella's eyebrows shot up, but Gianna already had her back to her.

"Wait," she called out and the secretary looked over her shoulder. "I was thinking, hm, can I ask you something?"

"I can't know if I want to answer if I don't know the question."

With adrenaline pumping through her veins from the sudden awakening but still sleepy, Bella struggled to keep her cool. She moved a sweaty strand of hair away from her forehead and tucked it behind an ear.

"Well, obviously. It was more of a heads up that I was going to ask an invasive question."

Gianna raised a single eyebrow at her outburst. "And what invasive question would that be?"

Bella paused, picking her words carefully, and swallowed nervously.

"You don't want to teach me anything."

Gianna tilted her head but did not object.

"I thought you just didn't like me, which is fair. I don't feel like I did anything to make you hate me, though."

They stared at each other in heavy silence. Gianna pursed her lips and crossed her arms, making Bella regret the conversation. It was none of her business, was it? But it was too late now— she had laid the ground.

"Are you afraid of being replaced?"

She sustained Gianna's gaze for what felt like an eternity. Fidgeting with the end of the rope tied around her waist, the older woman was the first to relent. She heaved a loud sigh and marched over to the bed, plopping down unceremoniously on the thick mattress. Bella instinctively moved away to give her space, soon realising it was completely unnecessary. The bed was larger than she was used to and they both could fit in there comfortably. Gianna raised an aggressive finger to her face, making her jump.

"You can play the oblivious girl part all you want, I know what you really are. I've dealt with your type times enough." She caught herself and lowered her hand, closing it in a tight fist on her lap. "Don't you use this naïve little act on me. You know perfectly well you're here to replace me! As if that wasn't what they offered you in the first place!"

She contorted her face with ugly fury before spitting one last word.

"Viper!"

Bella froze, watching the woman in front of her with wide eyes. Her chest rose and fell rapidly underneath the fluid fabric of her clothing.

"That's not what they offered me." Her voice cracked and she shook her head. "Carlisle pointed out that you were overwhelmed and I could help, that's all."

That didn't seem to sit well with her either.

"I'm not incompetent!" She was close to yelling now. "I've been doing this by myself for the past seven years, you can't possibly be this stupid. They know I don't need help!"

Bella blinked.

"I don't want to replace you."

Gianna rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Why are you here then?"

Bella opened her mouth but no sound came out. Her thoughts came to a halt, scattering about haphazardly.

"Is this what happened when you were hired?" She inquired instead. "Did the last secretary train you?"

"No," the Italian admitted unwillingly. "I was hired to fill a vacancy. Whoever preceded me had already been... Fired." They shared an understanding look. "No, Heidi trained me for the most part."

The name sounded familiar.

"Heidi?"

"You might not have met her. She brings in the food."

A shiver travelled through her body, leaving a trail of arm hair standing with static before dissipating at the tip of her fingers. Gianna bit the inside of her cheek, not as unfazed as she liked to appear.

"Well, it must mean something else then. Maybe you're being... Promoted."

She was uncomfortable with their choice of words, self-conscious and guilty about the intentional minimisation of the subject. Gianna's eyes lit up, but she was appropriately contained when she spoke.

"Perhaps."

She then got up, and they both jumped when the door slowly swung open before she could reach for it again. Alec stood on the threshold with an amused smile. The blue denim pants and grey hoodie he wore were the closest to modern teenage attire Bella had ever seen on him.

"Excuse the intromission, but your father is on the line," he said looking directly at Bella. Still, she thought she misheard him or that he was talking to someone else.

"On the line?" She parroted and cringed internally at the shakiness of her voice.

"The telephone line," he explained and she blushed, feeling slow.

"Right."

Charlie called her? He hadn't mentioned anything about it in his last email. She tried not to, but couldn't help wondering if any of the Cullens had something to do with it. Maybe she would get to hear his voice…

No, that was too much to hope for. Besides, what type of daughter was she, thinking of a boy who left her when her father was worried enough to call her from the other side of the world?

The type of daughter that runs to Italy and leaves only a note.

Alec stood there as she searched for a jacket to throw over the shirt she had been wearing to sleep and she noticed the strange looks he gave Gianna. Was he eavesdropping?

Was it eavesdropping if he could hear them from several feet away?

She grabbed the first jacket she saw in the wardrobe, a black denim one, noticing a little too late that it was too big on her. Not willing to make Alec wait any longer, she rolled up the sleeves instead of looking for another one. Why was he waiting, anyway? She knew the way to the lobby. When she exited the room, quickly slipping into her loafers, he stood aside to let her pass and closed the door.

He walked steadily but slowly; the confidence in his impeccable posture was the only sign of his true age and nature apart from his bright red eyes.

She was sure she had never seen them in such a vivid red.

"You haven't sorted through the clothes in the wardrobe", he commented once she started to walk by his side. His tone was slightly disapproving. "Or redecorated your room at all."

She looked down, partially from shame but also because she felt that, unlike other vampires, Alec wouldn't bother to catch her if she tripped. "Not yet. I'm sorting other things first."

"Such as?"

She shook her head. "Internally, I guess."

He laughed, putting her at ease for a second, only to immediately throw her off.

"You sleep talk."

She baulked, mortified. He turned around and glanced at her mockingly. "Don't worry, it's rarely anything remotely interesting."

"Rarely is not never."

He smiled, resuming his walk. With great effort, she caught up with him, looking at anything but his face.

"You should go into town," he carried on lightly. "Gianna should take you, but I reckon she is lacking in her task to assist you. Demetri will be glad to take over this once he has returned. You should eventually go without him, and regularly, of course. Acquaint yourself with the city."

"Gianna is doing fine," she blurted out, uneasy with the implications of his statement.

Surprisingly, that seemed to instantly irritate him. His playful smile vanished, replaced by a frown so deep it was nothing but misplaced on his youthful face.

"She's been a bitch to you."

She nearly stopped again, baffled by his sudden change of demeanour.

"Well, she's not... my friend, but she is teaching me. It's not her job to be nice to me, is it?"

He hummed, and the pause in the conversation allowed her to realise they were not heading to the telephone at the front desk. Alec was leading her further down, to a part of the building still unknown to her.

"It is very important for us to keep people capable of prioritising the wellness of the coven. Someone overly concerned with themselves and their own gains is not an ideal member of a group, especially a large one."

She bit her lip, a little too distracted by their detour to defend Gianna any more. When they stepped into a dimly lit tunnel behind a tapestry she was thoroughly confused. Framed by brassed torch holders with flickering light bulbs, the path in front of them was underground. If not by the cobblestone underneath their feet she would have thought he led her into an abandoned mine.

"Your father has not called," he admitted, pausing for just long enough to unsettle her. As usual, as soon as he was satisfied with her level of discomfort, he defused it. "But he will. The number he has been given is not ours. He will call a small inn on the outskirts of the city, just in case someone ever decides to locate you with any precision."

Charlie was still going to call? How did they even know? But before she could voice the question, the answer occurred to her.

Alice.

"Do I have to go there every time someone calls?"

"Not for long. You will have a mobile telephone eventually."

The information made her heart leap. Alec must have noticed because he quickly said: "Not yet. In a while, still."

He was not very elusive. She could take advantage of the unusually long time they were spending together to question him and clear her doubts. Jane's absence encouraged her even further; then she noticed that was one of the things she wanted to ask him.

"Your sister doesn't like me much either. She didn't want to come with you?"

He smiled again and she was relieved he was back to a better humour. "My sister thinks you're with us for selfish reasons, and the Cullens never made a good impression on anyone here. She doesn't know you well enough to have anything against you, personally. None of us do. She is displeased that her gift does not work on you, but that is hardly personal either." He was pensive for a second." She would be here with us if she was not abroad on a mission."

"With Demetri", she guessed, remembering what he said about her visits to the city.

Alec smirked. "Among others."

The tunnel was long, or at least she thought so, and it went up and down so gradually that she wasn't sure if they were walking straight, still descending or already returning to the surface. She wished she had a better sense of how much time she had alone with him to better organise her questions.

They were walking rather slowly and Bella wondered if he wasn't growing impatient with her pace. If so, he didn't mention it.

"Where did your sister go?"

He finally hesitated and she cursed herself.

"She shan't be gone for long," he dodged, "she usually isn't. You'll have to deal with me somewhat frequently, I'm afraid. The Masters are not willing to trust you to the Lower Guard and I don't travel much anymore. We don't need my gift outside of the castle very often nowadays." He looked at her and she had the impression he expected her to keep questioning him.

She was more than happy to oblige.

"Why is that?"

"I'm quite useful against large groups of people and not many oppose us anymore." He grinned and Bella shivered. "Jane can handle the missions on her own now."

She recalled Jane's display of power in the throne room and believed him.

"Do you think your gift would work on me?"

She wanted to know what gift it was in the first place. He didn't seem to mind her string of questions but she couldn't fathom he was enjoying them either.

"It doesn't. I've tried."

"You did?"

"When you stepped inside of this tunnel a few minutes ago."

Her stomach dropped but she reminded herself that it didn't work. She felt betrayed and then she felt ridiculous. She had no reason to trust him.

He was just generally nice. She couldn't help it.

"What would I feel if it worked?"

It took her more courage to ask that than she had anticipated.

"Nothing," he answered promptly and she frowned. Wasn't that what she did feel?

He laughed. "Absolutely nothing," he clarified. "My gift is sensory deprivation. It would have robbed you of all five senses for as long as I wanted."

Her mouth fell open. "Glad it failed."

Alec smiled with satisfaction.

They seemed to be at the end of the tunnel and she was finally curious about it. It didn't look new, though it was well-kept enough that Bella couldn't be sure about its age. They emerged inside of a small mediaeval church and she wondered why such a passage was still in use. The thought of ancient vampires going there to pray seemed absurd. Then again, who knows? Carlisle was still religious, maybe other vampires brought their beliefs into their afterlives as well. Yet, she couldn't imagine why they would keep the lights; the state of their library made it obvious they didn't need them to see.

"Heidi uses this tunnel the most", Alec commented as they exited the church. "You've met her."

He didn't elaborate but this time she remembered the name. Gianna had just mentioned her.

She brings in the food.

It clicked. The food was people, of course. Heidi used the tunnel to bring their victims into the castle.

She tried to remember when she had met Heidi but wasn't sure.

The buildings were sparse in that part of town and the pathway was not as walkable. The sun was still timidly rising on the horizon, lighting up their surroundings just enough for Bella to see the ground without a flashlight. After passing unscathed through an underground passage, she had hoped she would meet the end of the tripping hazards.

No such luck.

"We have time to walk but it would be faster if I carried you and ran."

She was a little too quick to say no and might have said it a bit too emphatically. Alec chuckled.

"Very well." He then decided he hadn't tormented her enough. "When you talk in your sleep you mention a person named Jacob. You usually apologise profusely to Edward after that. What does Edward have to forgive you for?"

Oh God.

The ground was uneven enough that she was fighting for balance with every step. Jacob's name didn't help in the slightest. If Demetri was walking with her he would have grabbed her arm by that point but Alec simply stared at her, amused by both her clumsiness and her embarrassment.

"Jacob's a friend. He... helped me a lot when Edward wasn't around anymore. Kept my mind off things." She wasn't sure of how to go on and took a bit too long to realise what Alec had implied. By the time she caught the undertone of his question and noticed how her response could be interpreted, he was smirking again.

"I sure hope Edward has forgiven you," he taunted.

"It was not like that." She wasn't sure why she cared so much that he got the wrong idea. "He helped me fix some motorcycles and taught me how to ride them, and we did homework together. Things like that. I just felt guilty because I had promised Edward I would avoid putting myself in danger before he... went away."

He didn't seem particularly interested in her relationship with Jacob and she wondered why he even asked about it. She had the impression that her human problems bored him a little too easily.

"You're used to motorcycles, then. Good, I'd rather not go by car. It's too annoying to be stopped and try to pass for eighteen and I don't want you driving me anywhere."

She was about to correct him because she never did say she was used to motorcycles, but the words died in her throat when he seemed to conjure a garage out of thin air. In a move so quick Bella didn't see it, he took a few keys from his pocket and opened a large stone door camouflaged in the woods. Peeking in, she saw that it was considerably spacious but sheltered only a couple of inconspicuous black cars and a single red motorcycle.

"I thought you said we were going to the outskirts of the city."

He shrugged. "Outskirts, nearby city, same thing."

She glanced over herself, suddenly self-conscious. "If I knew we were going into a more crowded place I would have taken a little more time to change my clothes."

Alec looked at her from head to toe.

"You look as put together as you always do." He then turned around and walked inside, unbothered.

Ouch.

She had a moment of panic when, true to his word, he made his way to the bike, but then she wondered if that would be enough to evoke her visions of Edward again.

How fast did Alec like to go?

She tried to convince herself that it was not that crazy. He was the one that suggested it and, unlike her, he wouldn't crash. She was safer riding with him than by herself.

"Come on," his voice woke her and she saw him offering her a helmet. Blinking, she entered the garage and took it from him.

As she watched Alec put on his helmet, she hesitated. He shot her an inquisitive look through the open shield.

"You'll make me drive, won't you?"

She bit her lip. "Sorry."

He sighed but promptly took it off and stored both the helmets away. She felt slightly guilty watching him open one of the cars' door to her with a resigned look on his face, but she realised that on the bike they couldn't talk. In the car, she could keep questioning him.

"If we pass by any police officers," he warned, "you'll switch seats with me or we might miss your father's call."

"I don't have an Italian driver's licence."

"Sure you do."

To her amazement, he immediately took it from one of his pockets. Her own face stared back at her from under the words "patente di guida".

"You want me to use a fake driver's licence if we get pulled over?"

He looked at her like she was stupid.

"As opposed to my very real one? That I acquired legally, with my very real birth certificate?"

She felt the warmth spreading over her face and quickly got inside the car, avoiding looking at him. He occupied the driver's seat with an amused expression.

"Can't see what the fuss is all about", he muttered, clearly and loud enough for her to hear.

She wished she could melt into the passenger's seat.

He wore a pair of sunglasses before driving off and the simple gesture surprised her. She had already forgotten his eyes had an unusual colour.

"So," she attempted to restart the conversation when her embarrassment subsided, "you get pulled over a lot?"

"I don't use the vehicles all that much." He shrugged. "It's been a few years since I had to drive a car. But when I do, yes, I'm usually stopped by the poliziotti. For obvious reasons."

He glanced at her as if suggesting that it might not be obvious to her.

"Yeah, I can see why they would."

They flew by the vibrant green hills she spotted on her way to rescue Edward, though not as quickly as Alice had gone then. It was as ironic as it was bittersweet to think that he made it out of there and she stayed behind, but it was pointless to dwell on her regret. She made her bed and now she had to do her best to lie in it.

For seven years.

Alec didn't drive as fast as Edward, she noticed with relief. She wondered if by choice or for her sake. As they meandered through the curvy, narrow roads of the countryside and left the city, he leaned back on the leather seat and relaxed his posture. She noticed a malicious smirk returning to his face and braced herself.

She was wrong. He was not nice. He was quite mean but just polite enough to confuse her.

"You don't believe Gianna is being promoted, do you?"

Bella fidgeted with her seatbelt. "I don't know. I mean, she has been here for seven years, so she must be doing a good job."

Alec laughed. "Seven years is no time at all."

Right. How could she forget that?

"Is she not being promoted, then?"

He snorted. "It's not up to me. She is being assessed soon, as she might have mentioned to you, so she is about to find out."

Gianna is being assessed? Bella couldn't remember her saying anything about it. She frowned and noticed Alec watching her reaction to his words.

He knew she had no idea of what he was talking about.

Of course he knows.

"We have our guesses, of course… and some of us wish for a certain outcome, but it is up to the Masters."

She tried to sound unbothered. "A certain outcome as in her being fired so one of you gets to… eat her?"

His childish chuckle annoyed her. Even without any unwillingness to withhold information from her he still made her fight for it.

Besides, he teased her way too much.

"I don't care. Some of us, however, think she smells particularly nice, and some of us have been aggravated by her lately."

"Okay, if you're not going to drop any names just stop talking."

Gripping the sides of her seat until her knuckles turned white, she looked straight ahead, but the silence in the car didn't last. Alec's resounding laughter filled it within seconds.

"Well, since you asked so nicely" the sarcasm dripped off of his voice. "Felix and Demetri constantly compete. Demetri outranks Felix, so he usually gets the fired ones," he seemed entertained by her chosen word. "Felix was determined to get this one, though, but she crossed Demetri. I suppose it is personal now."

They were slowing down and Bella could see old stone buildings taking over the grass-covered hills outside. Alec stopped the car before they entered the city. As she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door, Bella remembered the calendar on Gianna's desk. Could that be the date of her assessment?

"What did she do to him?"

Alec slammed his door shut and shrugged.

"That's his problem," he was serious now, but not in the uninterested way she witnessed at times. "Ask him."

Guess I lost him.

He walked into the city, careful enough to step into the shadows. The buildings were not very tall, but neither was he. He avoided the sun with ease.

The rest of their trip was silent, but Bella was still hopeful. They still had to go back to Volterra; maybe Alec would feel more talkative if she gave him some time.

"Go in there and just say your name at their front desk," he pointed to a three-story brick house with a small plaque. "I'll be back in a while. If you're done before I come back feel free to walk around, I'll find you."

He was gone before she could say anything and she couldn't help but think that he was avoiding her questions now. After giving her name to the receptionist, she waited for about fifteen minutes before being handed the phone. Charlie's voice was shaky and she felt a knot in her throat.

"Bells?"

She took a deep breath.

"Hi, dad."

a/n: Hello, fellow humans (and not humans just in case lol

I've been pretty busy and it seems that I'll stay busy until the end of this year, so updates will remain on the slow side
Also I'm struggling a bit with the timeline because up until rotisserie's supposed date of birth I want to follow the timeline of the books but as we all know that thing is INSANE so I'm not able to skip too much time just yet. We'll skip a few days in the next chapter and probably a few weeks here and there until that point. I know this chapter was not very eventful but I wanted to have Bella interact with the twins separately and this seemed like a good moment since Jane is supposed to be in Seattle.
I know we don't want the Cullens meddling too much but they're going to be more present in the next chapters until we get rid of them lmao But fear not! For there is hope! And the next chapter is actually going to be from Demetri's POV (yay!
As always thank you everyone for keeping up and interacting (or not that's fine too haha
See you soon! (hopefully
xx