Bella's eyes fluttered open as a cold breeze caressed her cheek.
She blinked away the haze until her vision focused on the stars in the night sky. They were twinkling brightly beneath a curtain of royal blue.
The sound of waves slowly shifting in the sea nearby made her frown in confusion.
Where was she?
Her hands closed into fists, feeling cold sand slip between her fingers.
She sat up slowly, staring in wary wonder at the sea basked in night and the stars which reflected in the still waters. Bella knew this beach well, she'd seen it so many times before—in her dreams.
But for once, it was tranquil.
A faint breeze sent strands of her hair across her face as she stood up, her socked feet dusted by the sand as she stepped forward.
Bella walked along the shore, searching through the shadows to find her way back home. The clouds overhead slowly soared across the sky, hiding the full moon away.
Suddenly, soft footsteps trailing along the shifting sands made her turn around, heart leaping in her throat as she spun to find no one there. When a low chuckle echoed over the gentle waves, a shudder ran down her spine and she'd become so acquainted with that bone chilling sound that she knew who was here with her now.
No, no, no.
She shut her eyes tight as his footsteps approached before they were once again gone. Silent.
"Bella. It's okay," Someone said, someone who wasn't the monster in all her nightmares.
Bella felt her throat dry as she parted her lips to speak , "H-hello?"
"Bella, darling..." a gentle voice called to her from behind.
Bella spun on her heel once more, feeling more scared than she would have liked given how different her dream had started. Only now she was wondering if this was a dream at all.
But...she recognized that voice.
"Esme?"
"I'm here, Bella. Can you come back to me?"
Bella hurried in the direction she heard Esme's beautiful voice, "Where are you?"
"I'm here," this time Esme's voice was coming from the right. Bella's eyes frantically searched for her mother only to stop short as she stood a few feet away from the tree line that led into the forest. Leaves and branches curling into each other on all sides, leaving only a small path for her to follow. Bella's hands closed into fists as fear began to outweigh her courage, but she focused on Esme's voice. Clung to it as she often did when she'd been a child.
Bella wandered into the forest, her footsteps getting faster with Esme's call guiding her forward. Eventually, she broke out into a run. She ducked under low hanging branches and pushed past their dying leaves without stopping in her brisk walk that soon turned into a panicked run. The deeper she went into the forest, the harder it was to get past the twining trees that seemed to curl into themselves with their sharp edges, bending and cracking under an invisible pressure. The fangs of monsters readying themselves to clamp down upon the neck of their prey. Threatening to crush the girl completely.
Her breaths came out in pants as panic began to take root. "I'm coming, wait for me!" Bella called out desperately as she stumbled over the roots of the trees that seemed to grow out of the earth. She pushed at the clutter of leaves that seemed to grow into thick walls of ivy.
When she felt herself crash into it, her hands scratching at the thorny vines that wouldn't let her pass, Bella called out to her mother, "Esme, I'm scared! Please...don't leave me!"
"I'm here, love. We're all here."
With one final, desperate attempt, Bella pushed herself through the vines despite the dull ache of the thorns sinking into her flesh.
When she finally burst through, Bella fell onto a hard surface with a gasp, her hands and knees crashing onto what felt like hot stones as she shut her eyes tight against the blinding sunlight that shined over head in the sky.
Bella blinked in utter shock as she found herself in the middle of a cobblestoned street, not in a forest at all.
Her heart was in her throat as she looked around the bustling streets of a city she'd never been to before. Never seen outside of the many action films Emmett made her watch. Where the hero has to save the day from a crazed mastermind who also somehow always ends up in Europe to exact their plans.
She was in...where was she exactly?
Bella stood up, moving out of the way as people bustled about, speaking in a language—she quickly realized was Italian—to one another as they all walked past her to get to where they needed to be.
The girl stared up in wonder at her surroundings. She'd barely gone anywhere—Forks and Anchorage being the furthest she's ever gone—and seeing the unchanged architecture riddled with history and art, the rich smell of fresh baked bread, and the sound of a lively city, well it was amazing.
Bella was so caught up with the new sights and sounds around her, that she almost didn't see her brother brushing past the crowd. The sun overhead faded behind the clouds, keeping him hidden from the rays of light as he walked by unnoticed by the citizens milling about.
As impossible as it was to see him here, Bella knew without a doubt that she was seeing Jasper. There was no way she would ever forget the set of his broad shoulders and the honey-blonde locks of his curls. The serious look on his chiseled face.
Bella's lips lifted in a relieved smile, walking towards him just as he continued his steady stride in her direction.
He was here! Jasper's here!
"Jasper!" Bella reached her hand out and expected him to sweep her up in his arms.
Instead, he walked right through her. As if she were a ghost. An invisible shell of herself.
It was frightening her.
This wasn't normal. It didn't feel like a dream at all now.
Bella gasped, so stunned by the feeling of utter cold that she clutched her hands close to her chest. Her eyes stung as she slowly turned just as two more people walked by her on either side.
She recognized them too.
Charlotte was chatting away, smiling brightly as she had the last time they'd met. It was amazing how she and Alice appeared to be so identical and would be if it hasn't been for Charlotte's blonde hair.
And beside her...was Peter.
Her heart sank, feeling unsure of herself as she stared up at the intimidating vampire.
She walked beside them, as quickly as she could to keep up with the vampires. Though she couldn't hear what Charlotte was saying, Bella paid more attention to Peter's amused expression. To the way the corner of his lips curled up as he looked to his companion with affection in his eyes.
It was an achingly familiar look Bella had seen many times before.
It was same way her brothers and Carlisle looked at her and the rest of the women in their family.
Bella stopped as she came to stand in front a few steps ahead, facing them and noticing that...neither had red eyes. They were pitch black, like when the Cullens didn't feed after a long time. Maybe Peter and Charlotte hadn't been feeding lately?
But still, they weren't red.
And that meant—at least to Bella—that they weren't dangerous. They weren't bad. At least right now.
"We'll find him, Peter. Stop worrying so much," Charlotte said as she gave him a playful shove, sending Peter to walk right through Bella as well. Again she gasped, not able to get used to such a sensation.
Peter took all but two steps before he suddenly stopped. Charlotte and Jasper kept walking, not seeming to notice their companion had stopped following them.
Frowning, he slowly turned and looked behind him. An odd look taking over as his eyes scanned the crowds, passing right over the human girl that watched him closely. Wondering if he could see her.
He was young much like Jasper, but his unwavering gaze spoke of all the years of immortality he'd survived. What horrors had he witnessed? What stories did he have to tell? How many innocent lives had he taken to satisfy his thirst?
Peter was a handsome young man, and perhaps that was why she didn't fear him as much as she had the other day when they'd met. Seeing him now, putting a face to the unreadable vampire and seeing that he wasn't at all like him...
There was an unguarded side to him now that hadn't been there before she left the kitchen in a hurry. And for a moment, she caught a glimpse into the young man before the vampire existed.
When his sharp eyes found hers amidst the crowd, Bella took a hesitant step forward—lighting up with the possibility that this wasn't actually a dream after all and she somehow ended up in the same place he was. Where Jasper was now.
"Peter!" Jasper's thick voice snapped him out of his thoughts, making him blink away from Bella as he looked over his shoulder. Jasper and Charlotte were standing a few feet away at the end of the street, a taxi seeming to wait for them.
When he turned and strode away from her, Bella knew her hopes of being seen were crushed. Peter didn't look back once as he climbed into the taxi followed by Charlotte. She didn't miss the scrutinizing gaze Jasper have his friend before he looked off in the same direction where Peter had stopped. Where Bella was still standing. Her brother didn't see her however, before he go into the taxi and left her behind.
This time, when she heard Esme's voice calling to her, Bella hurried away. In the opposite direction her brother and his friends had gone.
She didn't stop running until her eyes fluttered open and she was staring at Esme's worried face, the relief in her voice as she kissed her forehead, "Oh sweetheart."
"There she is, see? I told you," Emmett said as he rubbed her arm up and down in a comforting gesture. He was kneeling beside her too.
Bella was somewhat aware that she was laying on the floor. Head feeling heavy much like her eyes as she tried to keep them open. Laying on her side, Bella could spot Rosalie on her phone, pacing back and forth before she heard the blonde snap, "She's awake now. Yes! Okay, we'll be right there."
Edward and Alice were in the room too, the former holding her hand in his as he smiled grimly, "Hey you."
"Mom?" Her voice sounded so drained and hoarse just as a wave of exhaustion swept over her. "What happened?"
Esme rubbed her back as she said, "You had another seizure, Bella."
Another seizure...the first one in weeks.
Disappointment flooded what little senses she could distinguish, her mind still foggy. But most of all, questions. Questions as to why now of all times did she have to have another one.
And why did she dream about Jasper while he's gone, when he can't be here to comfort her when she needed him most. She was still hurt that neither of them told her the truth. Still upset by her family's lies that weren't told to harm her but to protect her.
Bella closed her eyes and willed the darkness to take her just as Emmett scooped her up into his arms and carried her down to his Jeep.
Knowing she would be spending another series of hours in the hospital, Bella really wanted nothing more than to sleep.
Only this time she didn't dream about anything.
Thanks for reading x