Dusk

#32

Bella

Charlie was waiting up for me. All the house lights were on. I could still hear Rosalie grumbling in the front seat, but it was so faint I could've been imagining things.

Rosalie pulled up slowly, staying well back from my truck. All three of them were acutely alert, ramrod straight in their seats, listening to every sound of the wood, looking through every shadow, catching every scent, searching for something out of place. The engine cut off, but I sat motionless, as they continued to listen.

"Okay, she's not here," Rosalie said tensely. "Let's go."

Emmett reached over to help me get out of the harness.

"Don't worry about a thing," he said in a low but cheerful voice, "we'll take care of things here quickly."

I nodded softly at his words, feeling slight comfort by them. He ruffled my hair when I was finally out of the restrictions. He quickly dashed outside, instantly disappearing.

"You ready?" Rosalie asked softly, looking at me through the mirror. Once again, I nodded. I saw her spare a glance at Alice before coming to open my door.

"We have to make this quick, Alice," she grumbled, squeezing my hand for comfort.

"Just let me do all the talking." She gave us a light smile, leading the way to the front door. Alice opened it, reveling Charlie sitting on his chair watching a game. He gave me a smile but looked confused at the added company.

"Hey, dad," I greeted, a strain in my voice that he didn't notice. From the corner of my eye, I saw Rosalie give him a smile but her eyes were hard.

Alice stepped forward, looking the calmest of the three of us. "Hello Chief Swan, I'm Alice. I actually have a small request regarding Rosalie, Bella and I."

"Um, yeah sure."

Rosalie and I slowly made our way into the kitchen, her arms wrapping around my waist. She was hugging me tightly, taking in shaky breaths.

I tried my best to comfort her. "I'm going to be okay, Rosie. Nothing's going to happen to me, okay?"

"You can't promise that," she muttered, a tear touching my neck. "I love you so much, Bell. I can't loose you."

"You won't." Rosalie didn't respond. I felt her lightly kiss my cheek, still staying in my arms for a few minutes.

Soon we heard laughter coming from the living room, making us move away from each other. She held my hand tightly as we walked back, Alice giving us a small nod when we entered.

She turned back to Charlie, now smiling. "We'll be back before you know it, Charlie, I promise."

Charlie nodded, trusting Alice's words. "Have fun in Seattle, Bella. Stay safe."

Hopefully I will, I thought. "I will dad."

I quickly went up the stairs, Rosalie following close behind me. As soon as we were out of sight of Charlie's eyes, Rosalie dashed around the room, collecting a few pieces of clothing and stuffing them in my black duffle bag. She grabbed my tooth brush from the bathroom as well, and zipped the bag up for me before giving it to me.

When we came back down, Alice wasn't there; she was probably back in the Jeep. I gave Charlie a tight hug, shocking him by the sudden action. But still, he hugged my tight, bringing tears to my eyes.

"I love you, dad."

"Love you, too, Bella."

Charlie let me go, giving Rosalie a polite smile before seeing us out the door. Unlike what I thought, Alice wasn't in the car. Rosalie, once again, helped me in the car and buckled me up. She carefully pulled off since we were still in Charlie's sight, but once we were down the street, Rosalie quickly sped off.

Even though my throat was tight from me holding back tears, I asked Rosalie a question. "Where's Alice?"

Rosalie looked at me, pain in her eyes. "She's following us," a pair of headlights flashed behind us, following up on what she said,  "don't worry." She grabbed one of my hands, pressing a kiss to the back of it. "I'm so sorry."

"Rosie, it's not--"

"Yes it is," she argued. "If I hadn't brought you tonight, the nomads would've passed and you would've stayed safe. I'm sorry, Bella."

"I don't blame you, Rosalie," I told her. "Do not take the blame for this, it is not your fault."

I could tell she still didn't believe me, but Rosalie didn't say anything else on that topic. "Victoria heard what you were saying."

"Can we outrun her?"

"No." But she sped up as she spoke. The truck growled as she did so.

I sighed softly, leaning my head back on the seat. "Why did Victoria decide to kill me? Out of all the humans in the world, why me?"

"Trackers work in strange ways, Bella," she explained in a quiet voice. "You smell a lot better than most people, that's what attracted her. And when I defended you...that made it worse. I'm sure she's not used to being challenged, so I probably made this a really exciting game for her." Her tone was full of disgust.

She paused for a moment. "But if I had stood and done nothing, she would've killed you then and there," she growled softly. "I was not going to let that happen."

I could hear the tires cross the bridge, though I couldn't see the river in the dark. I knew we were getting close. I had to ask her now.

"How do you kill a vampire?"

She glanced at me, her eyes understanding. "You have to tear her apart and burn the pieces."

"Do you think the others will fight with her?"

"I highly doubt Laurent will," she said. "James...he might. They're most likely mates."

She turned off onto the invisible drive, with Alice still behind us.

We drove right up to the house. The lights inside were bright, but they did little to alleviate the blackness of the encroaching forest. Emmett had my door open before the truck was stopped; he pulled me out the seat and ran me through the door.

We burst into the large white room, Rosalie and Alice at our sides. All of them were there; they were already on their feet at the sound of our approach. Laurent stood in their midst. I could hear a low growl rumble deep in Emmett's throat as he set me next to Rosalie.

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Shout out to the tall girls, I see you up there!

Y'all are amazing ❤️

Bye!