⸺ ARO STANDS MENACINGLY IN the middle of the room before walking towards us, "I love a happy ending." He grabs Edward's hand from Bella, and I remember his ability: To see all you've thought throughout your life with just a touch.
He glances down at Bella. "Her blood appeals to you so much..." My heart races at the words. "It makes me thirsty." He smiles.
Rosalie's hand tightens on mine, and I can see her eyes shifting, from Edward, to Bella, to me, to Aro, over and over again.
"How can you stand so close to her?" Aro asks Edward, truly curious.
Edward stands emotionless. "It's not without difficulty."
Aro chuckles, and continues to rub his hand, "Yes I can see that."
Edward turns his head slightly to Bella. "Aro can read every thought you've had with one touch."
Rosalie's voice almost shook with anger as she spoke. "And now you know everything. So get on with it."
He turned to Rosalie, almost shocked. Jane looks towards Rosalie, but Aro holds up his hand, and turns back to Edward. "You're quite the soul reader yourself Edward... but you can't see Bella's thoughts." He smiles, finally releasing Edwards hand. "Fascinating. I would love to see if you are an exception to my gifts as well."
My heart quickened as he held out his hand to an anxious Bella, and asked, "Will you do me the honor?"
She hesitates, but looking up to Edward, he nods his head, and Bella steps forward to take his hand. Aro pulls in her hand, and stands holding it for a second. Everyone in the room had their eyes trained on the two, trying to see what was happening.
Suddenly, Aro looks up and smiles, a little shocked. "Interesting. I see nothing." He turns, walking back to near the thrones Caius and Marcus were sitting on. "I wonder... Is she immune to all of our powers. And Andie," He smiles. "Maybe she is immune to some of our powers. Jane," She lifts her head, ready for a command. "Shall we?"
"No!" Rosalie and Edward shout at almost the same time, but while Edward charges towards Aro and Rosalie towards Jane, neither of them move a muscule. I learn why, when Jane speaks one word. "Pain."
Rosalie and Edward both stopped, and I watched as Rose's hands clenched and unclenched, and as she let out a scream that tore my soul. She fell to the ground, and Alice tried to grab my hand as I ran and dropped to my knees next to her. "Rosalie. Rose." I kept shaking her, and trying to find some way to help. Rosalie yelled in agony, and I looked up to Jane. She was smiling down on us.
I got up quickly, screaming, "Stop it! Stop, please!" Someone grabs me from behind, and I watch as Bella screams too, and Alice runs down to Rosalie and Edward. Aro raises his hand, and Jane stops, looking towards him. Rosalie breathes heavily, and stays sitting on the ground, running her hands through her hair.
"The girls?" Aro reminds Jane. "Go ahead, my dear."
I look to my side and see the person holding me back is one of the men from the hallway. Demtri, I think it was. To my other side is Bella, and I grab her hand as I cringe and wait for the impact.
We both look up to see Jane. "This may hurt just a little." She smiles. "Pain."
And like that, every part of me fills with an intense burning. My ears ring and my vision blurs, and the pain is so intense that I crumple to the ground. I hear yelling around me, and feel someones arm on mine. I think I scream, and I keep screaming, but the pain makes it hard to focus on anything but... the burning. Like it will never end. But like coming up from water, the pain is suddenly lifted.
I take a deep breath, and my vision slowly becomes more clear as I see Rosalie and Bella crouched over me. I reach for my oxygen tube, and Rosalie puts it back onto my face as she silently runs a hand through my hair.
As I stand, Aro is laughing. "Remarkable! Bella confounds us all... and Andie is so unlike her sister in her abilities. So... What do we do with you now?"
Marcus speaks up finally, "You know what you'll do." He says, seemingly bored.
Caius looks to us with fury. "They know too much. A liability."
Aro stands pondering. "That's true. Unless Edward and Rosalie plan to give them immortality... but that's not your intention." He pauses for a moment, before nodding to Felix and Demetri behind us.
And my heart races, almost making me more obvious, as Bella and I turn to face them. They only take a step before Edward and Rosalie sprint to tackle them, and Bella and I both yell out for them to stop.
All of the fight happens so fast I barely register it. My eyes stay trained on Rosalie, only Rosalie. She fights back against Felix, who stands a full foot taller than her. It is a fight she is sure to lose, but she won't go down easy. I watch as Edward and Rosalie are thrown against marble, and it breaks against them. Bella grabs my hand now, and I turn to see her, really see her, for the first time since we've walked into the room. She's disheveled, and tears stain her face.
We look back to the scene of fighting, and Rosalie nor Edward ever give up. Demetri picks Rosalie up by her neck, and fury radiates off of me, so much so I want to scream, but I won't. Edward comes in to help her, slamming Demetri in the side and throwing him across the room. But of course, he gets up again. Rosalie and Edward are slammed into the stone again and again, with Demetri and Felix fighting the both of them... and all I could do was watch. But eventually, they were overpowered, and slammed into the steps below Aro. Rose and Edward are kept in headlocks, and I know whats coming and I can't take it--
"Stop! Stop! Please!" Bella screams. Aro waits, to give the signal, and looks up to meet us. "Kill me." She cries. "Kill me instead, but please, don't hurt them."
I grab her hand, a simple signal that I'm standing with my sister no matter what. "If it takes both of us," My voice shakes. "Then take me too."
Aro looks oddly fascinated, and he walks slowly towards us. Demetri and Felix lift Rosalie and Edward up to face us, and Rosalie looks me in the eye, shaking her head. Please, She mouths.
"How extraordinary..." Aro continues towards us. "That you both would give up your lives... for one of us. A vampire. A soulless monster."
"Get away from them." Edward spits out, and Demetri holds him back tighter.
I look up to meet his eyes. "You know nothing about her soul."
He smiles, but then his face falls, looking between Rosalie and Edward, and Bella and I. "This is a sadness. If only it were your intention to give them immortality..." He looks back to us, and walks forward. I close my eyes, and grip Bella's hand tighter. And as I await the impact, Alice yells out, "Wait!" We all turn to see her held in a guards grip. "They will be one of us. Here," She removes her glove, and holds out her hand, "Let me show you."
Aro quickly walks towards her, and the tension in the air is thick as we wait for a response. His eyes open. "Mesmerizing. To see what hasn't happened yet." And he turns back to Bella and I. "You're gifts will be intriguing." He smiles to Bella. He turns to me. "And I wonder what will happen with you."
He backs away from us finally, and I feel like I breathe fully for the first time in a while when he says, "Go now. Make your preperations."
Rosalie is by my side in a second, and our foreheads touch as she lightly holds my jaw. "I'm so sorry." She whispers, and I can't be sure if she's talking about me turning becoming a reality, or about what happened today or about... the last six months.
"Please." I whisper, "Don't talk about it now. I want to enjoy the time we have.If you come home... We can talk there."
I see a flash of fear and realization flash across Rosalie's face, and she nods, almost turning away. But I kiss her one last time, and I hold her in, and remember it all, her smell, the feeling of her hair through my fingers, the way she doesn't let go... until Marcus snaps us out of it.
"Heidi will here any minute." He smiles creepily, "Thank you for your visit."
"We will return the favor." Caius quickly adds. "I would advise that you follow through on your promise soon. We do not offer second chances."
Rosalie grabs my hand, and us and the rest of the group exit towards the door.
"Goodbye, my young friends." I hear Aro tell us, but I don't look back. Rosalie leads the way behind Demetri, but her arm travels around my shoulders, and she kisses the top of my head for a moment.
"Nice fishing, Heidi." I hear Demetri comments as we pass a woman in a bright red dress leading a group of people towards the marble lobby. Among them walk tourists, children, mothers, elderly, and teenagers alike. But then... I remember. They aren't supposed to be here. Edward, I get his attention in my mind. Are they... going to be...
The lady smiles as she passes us. "Yes, they do look rather juicy."
My heart drops. Rosalie redirects my shoulders as I look back at them. "Rosalie, Rose there are babies."
"I know." Her voice shakes.
I consider how deeply it upsets her to see this, and the kind of strength it must take to move forward... with me. She holds such importance with human life. And especially with children.
The doors to the outside open, but we don't make it out before the screaming starts.
.
a/n
this pacing is so weird. sorry!
anyway soooooooo okay maybe i had a good idea and maybe it's stupid but I'm gonna do what you guys suggest. I've been thinking about replacing June with Seth in previous chapters. This would first, get rid of any suspicion of romance, also the character was just created to give Andie a new bff and give her ties to La Push. Also I just love Seth. Tell me what you think and if you guys hate the idea, it won't happen but I'd like to remind you this story is a WORK IN PROGRESS and some things might be subject to change.
anyway, sorry for that soap box. thank you for reading!!
- Lola