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THEY HAD HURRIED BACK TO the Cullen house and things persisted at an instantaneous pace. Esme and a reluctant Rosalie swapped clothes with Bella and Bailey and would take their truck to try and get James off the scent. Carlisle, Emmett, and Edward turned their sights on James—hunting the hunter. Bailey remained silent, sitting in a corner of the room eyeing everyone else who seemed to be readying themselves. She pressed her hands together with her mind racing, her emotions confusing with how much they fluctuated at increased intervals.
"Alice," Carlisle asked, "will they take the bait?"
Everyone watched Alice as she closed her eyes and became incredibly still.
Finally, her eyes opened. "He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that." Her voice was certain.
"Let's go." Carlisle began to walk toward the kitchen.
Bailey watched Edward approach Bella. She observed their closeness, the iron grip Edward had on Bella and her willingness to the touch. Then for the shortest second, his lips were pressed hard against hers. Bailey looked away then in time to see Jasper take a seat beside her.
"Jasper," Bailey whispered out watching as Cullens started disappearing before her eyes. "Tell me something, what am I feeling?"
"A few things all mixed together," he told her vaguely.
Bailey looked at him awaiting a proper answer.
"Scared, powerless, regretful, and very, very murderous."
Bailey nodded slowly looking away from him. "I don't believe it's classified as 'murder' if technically the victim is already dead."
Jasper was on his feet at that. He held out his hand, Bailey took it and as easily as Emmett had before, Jasper lifted her in his arms, shielding her protectively.
"Leave the sins to us damned souls."
"Damned?" Bailey questioned but received no response as they flew out of the room with them was Alice carrying Bella.
⍣ ೋ
The hotel room was bland, the bedside lamps were bolted to the tables, the long drapes were made from the same fabric as the bedspread, and the generic watercolour prints on the walls were tacky in Bailey's opinion. She remembered the voyage here. The sleek black car, the glass in the windows darker than that of a limousine. The engine was almost silent, though they'd raced across the black freeways at more than twice the legal speed. Alice was sitting with Bella on the dark leather backseat, Bailey in the passenger as Jasper had his eyes fixated on the road. Bailey recalled looking back during the long night, Bella's head had ended up against Alice's granite neck. The front of her thin cotton shirt was damp with the tears that streamed from Bella's eyes until they were red and sore.
Bailey hardly got any sleep; her aching eyes strained open even though the night finally ended and dawn broke over the low peak somewhere in California. The gray light, streaking across the cloudless sky, stung her eyes. Bailey didn't close them, she had passed the time reading books and fantasizing about James' gruesome death. It was odd, she'd never actively hated someone so much before. It was an interesting experience and a new sensation.
She was still awake when they came through a shallow mountain pass and the sun, behind them now, reflected off the tiled rooftops of the Valley of the Sun. They had made a three-day journey into one. Bailey raised her eyes from her book pages and stared blankly at the wide, flat expanse laid out in front of her.
Phoenix—the palm trees, the scrubby creosote, the haphazard lines of the intersecting freeways, the green swaths of golf courses and turquoise splotches of swimming pools, all submerged in a thin smog and embraced by the short, rocky ridges that weren't big enough to be called mountains.
"Which way to the airport?" Jasper had asked. Bailey noticed Bella flinch in the rear-view mirror, though Jasper's voice was quite soft and un-alarming.
"Stay on the I-ten," Bailey instructed. "We'll pass by it."
"Are we flying somewhere?" Bella had asked Alice.
"No, but it's better to be close, just in case."
They had done a loop around Sky Harbour International before settling on this hotel room. This awful hotel room where Bailey had gotten even less sleep. She hated the feel of the hotel sheets, and the mattress was uncomfortable as well. So instead, she had done more reading, patiently waiting for some good news—news like the death of James. So that she could go back home and return to the life she had grown so accustomed to.
It was dark outside. The digital clock on the nightstand wrote three o'clock (in the morning). She got up from her seat and made her way to the bathroom. Bailey turned on the lights to look at herself; she was visibly fatigued. There were still dried tear stains on her cheeks from when she had been crying excessively, bags were starting to form under her eyes from the lack of sleep, her hair was a mess, and to top it all off she was still wearing Rosalie's clothes. The clothes didn't fit right, as Rosalie was much taller than her, they weren't Bailey's style either. Bailey preferred muted tones, browns, dark greens and blacks. She wasn't too keen on the expensive fabric either. Bailey was more grunge with her look with some hints of goth.
She turned on the tap water and splashed her face with cold water. She repeated this a few times until her face was slightly numb before turning the water off. She looked at herself again, water dripping from her jawline and eyelashes. Flashes of the last few days played through her head and Bailey gripped the sink tightly.
"Are you okay?" his voice came from the doorway, the door which Bailey hadn't closed.
She looked over at him, Jasper, and saw that he had a towel in hand. Bailey reached out for it and used it to dry her face as she walked past him.
"Define 'okay'."
Jasper sighed. "Then let me rephrase. What are you thinking?"
"Many things cross my mind daily, I won't have the time or energy to recount everything," Bailey responded distantly.
"You haven't slept and you're not eating or drinking..."
"I haven't shut down. I'm still in control," Bailey said, intentionally referring to Bella who had been a mess since their whole escapade had started.
"I'm still concerned. Besides, it's not about control," Jasper paused, "it's about letting yourself feel."
"Emotions cloud judgment. Anything could happen at the moment, nothing is for certain. We have yet to receive a call from Carlisle or Edward or whomever. Shouldn't that be your concern?"
"None of us are in jeopardy. My family is strong. Our only fear is losing you and Bella." Jasper said in a suspiciously soothing voice. "And our efforts are futile if you let yourself die from dehydration or starvation."
Bailey pursed her lips together and looked away.
"Will you at least sleep?" Jasper asked, in a voice that was pleading.
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't like the feel of the bedsheets, it's distracting. The mattress also isn't right, surprisingly it's too soft and every time I lie down it feels like I'm going to sink into it." Bailey explained matter of factly. "I can't sleep in those conditions."
"Fine, follow me then."
Bailey looked at him curiously. Jasper led her through the door to the living room of the hotel suite. She could hear the low buss of voices coming from the TV. Jasper motioned for her to take a seat on the couch and Bailey sat down.
"Better?" he asked.
Bailey shrugged and laid her body down. She didn't need a blanket or anything because the living room was far warmer than the rooms were. Bailey stared at the television where commercials were starting to play, the bright colours illuminated the darkened room. Jasper sat on the floor, his back leaning against the sofa's armrest, his eyes fixated on the screen with great disinterest; he was waiting for her to fall asleep.
"Why are you frightened?" he asked, noticing the change in her emotions.
Bailey continued to look at the screen. "Edward said that in James' mind he saw me as the weakest target." Bailey recounted. "I've never... well, I've never been bad at anything before."
"What about gym class?" Jasper half-heartedly joked.
"Truthfully, I'm good at sports but I don't like sweating, everything gets sticky and it feels disgusting," Bailey whispered.
"You shouldn't be worrying about what the tracker thinks."
"...Do all vampires have that ability? Picking out the runt of the litter in a sense? You do have animalistic tendencies, Edward and James proved that on the field. If you're the predator and humans are your preferred prey, it would make sense if you could see who were more vulnerable than others." Bailey asked wistfully. "Do you think I'm weak? Have you ever thought I was?"
"Bailey—"
"I would appreciate the truth. You don't have to elaborate. I just want to know: yes or no?"
Jasper hesitated. His hesitation however made his answer evident.
"I see..." Bailey nodded. "I'm not offended. This might very well be something I needed to be made aware of. Like all living things I'm going to have to change and grow."
"You don't have to change anything about yourself, Bailey. I like the way that you are."
"Hm, unfortunately, this isn't about what you like," Bailey blurted out. "This is about my growth as a human being. I thought that I had reached a level of superiority... but I haven't. Intelligence just isn't enough in the grand scheme of things. I have to evolve."
"You have your entire life to change. It doesn't need to be immediate."
"If I wasn't so weak in your eyes... would you have approached me that day?"
Jasper was taken aback by her question. "I told you. I approached you because your blood doesn't appetize me, miraculously."
"Okay." She didn't sound convinced.
"You need your rest." Jasper was growing tired of the conversation and Bailey's thoughts about herself. He didn't think that she would be so hyperfocused on something he believed to be so trivial; it was jarring.
Bailey shut her eyes.
In the afternoon Bailey found herself in Bella's room. Neither of them spoke a word to each other, they didn't have to. Ultimately they were together for that unspoken support, just being physically around each of them was enough. Bailey had her nose deep in her literature when Alice came into the room and started a brief conversation with Bella—she seemed quite fond of her and vise-versa. Bailey still wasn't sure about Alice. It wasn't anything negative just a lack of information on her... there wasn't enough to judge just yet.
Suddenly, without any warning, Alice leaped from the bed, landing lightly on her feet. Bella's head jerked up as she stared at her, startled.
"Something's changed." Her voice was urgent, and she wasn't talking to Bella anymore.
She reached the door at the same time Jasper did. He had been listening to the conversation and her sudden exclamation. He put his hands on her shoulders and guide her back to the bed, sitting her on the edge.
"What do you see?" he asked intently, staring into her eyes. Her eyes were focused on something far away. Bella sat close to her, leaning in to catch her low, quick voice.
"I see a room. It's long, and there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wooden. He's in the room and he's waiting. There gold... a gold stripe across the mirrors."
"Where is the room?"
"I don't know. Something is missing—another decision hasn't been made yet."
"How much time?"
"It's too soon. He'll be in their mirror room today, or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. He's waiting for something. And he's in the dark now."
Jasper's voice was calm, methodical, as he questioned her in a practiced way. "What is he doing?"
"He's watching TV... no, he's running a VCR, in the dark, in another place."
"Can you see where he is?"
"No, it's too dark."
"And the mirror room, what else is there?"
"Just mirrors, and the gold. It's a band, around the room. And there's another black table with a big stereo and a TV. He's touching the VCR there, but he doesn't watch the way he does in the darkroom. This is the room where he waits." Her eyes drifted, then focused on Jasper's face.
"There's nothing else?"
She shook her head. They looked at each other, motionless.
"What does it mean?" Bella asked.
Neither of them answered for a moment, then Jasper looked at her.
"It means the tracker's plans have changed. He's made a decision that will lead him to the mirror room, and the darkroom."
"But we don't know where those rooms are?"
"No."
"But we do know that he won't be in the mountains north of Washington, being hunted. He'll elude them."
Alice's voice was bleak.
Bailey turned a page in her room, actively fighting to remain calm at this new development.
"Should we call?" Bella asked. They traded a serious look, undecided.
And then the phone rang.
Alice was across the room before Bailey could lift her head to look at it. She pushed a button and held the phone to her ear, but she didn't speak first.
"Carlisle," she breathed. She didn't seem surprised or relieved.
"Yes," she said, glancing at Bella and Bailey. She listened for a long moment.
"I just saw him." She described again the vision she'd seen. "Whatever made him get on that plane... it was leading him to those rooms." She paused. "Yes," Alice said into the phone, and then she spoke to Bella. "Bella?"
She held the phone out toward her. Bella ran to it.
"Hello?" she breathed.
Bailey grounded her teeth furious that she didn't have superhearing and she couldn't hear what was being said on the phone. She wanted to know everything after all.
"Oh, Edward! I was so worried."
Bailey turned away from the conversation to find Alice and Jasper bent over the table. She walked over to them, setting her book aside. Alice was sketching on a piece of hotel stationery. Bailey looked at her drawing at a good distance over her shoulder.
She drew a room: long, rectangular, with a thinner, square section at the back. The wooden planks that made up the floor stretched lengthwise across the room. Down the walls were lines denoting the breaks in the mirrors. And then, wrapping the walls, waist-high, a long bang. The band Alice said was gold.
"It's a ballet studio," Bailey said recognizing the familiar shapes.
They looked at her, surprised.
"Do you know this room?" Jasper's voice sounded calm, but there was an undercurrent of something unidentifiable.
Alice bent her head to her work, her hand flying across the page now, the shape of the emergency exit taking shape against the back wall, the stereo the TV on a low table by the front right corner.
"It looks like the place Bella and I used to go for dance lessons when I was five or six. It was shaped the same." Bailey moved around them so that she was standing across the table. She touched the page where the square section jutted out, narrowing the back part of the room. "That's where the bathrooms were—the doors were through the other dance floor. But the stereo was here"—she pointed to the left corner—"it was older, and there wasn't a TV. There was a window in the waiting room—you would see the room from this perspective if you looked through it."
Alice and Jasper were staring at her.
"Are you sure it's the same room?" Jasper asked, still calm.
"I can't be a hundred percent certain. It's not unlikely to assume most dance studios would look the same—the mirrors, the band." she traced her finger along the ballet bar set against the mirror. "However, the shape looked familiar."
"Would you or Bella have any reason to go there now?" Alice asked.
"We haven't been there in almost ten years," Bella had entered the conversation now that her phone call with Edward had ended. She looked like she rather is talking to Edward. "I was a terrible dancer—they always put me in the back for recitals."
"I got in trouble for biting another girl who wouldn't stop touching me," Bailey said blankly. "She deserved it. But Mom pulled us out because I drew blood and the girl's parents threatened to take legal action or something of the sort."
"So there's no way it could be connected with you?" Alice asked intently.
"No, I don't even think the same person owns it. I'm sure it's just another dance studio, somewhere," Bella admitted.
"Where was the studio you went to?" Jasper asked in a casual voice.
"It was just around the corner of our mother's house. Bella used to walk us there after school," Bailey's voice trailed off. She didn't miss the look they had exchanged.
"Here in Phoenix, then?" Jasper's voice was still casual.
"Yes," Bella whispered. "Fifty-eighth Street and Cactus."
They sat in silence, staring at the drawing.
"Alice, is that phone safe?"
"Yes," she reassured Bella. "The number would just trace back to Washington."
"Then I can use it to call my mom."
"I thought she was in Florida."
Bailey felt a lump in her throat as her blood ran cold. "She is—but she's coming home soon, but hse shouldn't come back to that house given the current dangers."
More waiting ensued. At night Bailey had only slept for a couple of hours before waking up again and burying herself in a book. The thought of James being so close to her mother's house when her mother was on her way back to Phoenix was terrifying. Hopefully, they had gotten rid of him by then, but time was such a fickle thing she couldn't be sure—she couldn't be sure of anything and it was pissing her off.
At two in the morning, Bailey heard voices coming from the living room, it would seem that he wasn't the only person awake.
"Bella," she heard Alice's voice. "Bella, Edward is coming to get you. He and Emmett and Carlisle are going to take you and Bailey somewhere, to hide you for a while."
"Edward is coming?" Bella echoed.
"Yes, he's catching the first flight out of Seattle. We'll meet him at the airport, and you'll leave with him."
"But, my mother... he came here for my mother, Alice!"
"Jasper and I will stay till she's safe."
"I can't win, Alice. You can't guard everyone I know forever. Don't you see what he's doing? He's not tracking me at all. He'll find someone, he'll hurt someone I love... Alice, I can't—"
"We'll catch him, Bella," she assured her.
"And what if you get hurt, Alice? Do you think that's okay with me? Do you think it's only my human family he can hurt me with?"
The conversation ended with some quick footsteps (belonging to Bella because Bailey knew neither vampire made any noise), followed by a door slamming shut. Bailey stared at her wall for the next few hours just thinking. She had a few ideas of what James' next move might be and thought of ways she would counter them.
It's just a game of chess, Bailey told herself as her mind went ablaze. Read your opponent's moves, anticipate his tactics... demolish him.
When it was day outside again Jasper had forced Bailey to eat something before he left. She settled on a granola bar and some fruit when the phone rang. The noise brought Bella out of her room.
Alice was talking as rapidly as ever.
"They're just boarding their plane," Alice informed the girls. "They'll land at nin-forty-five."
"Where's Jasper?" Bella asked.
"He went to check out."
"You aren't staying here?"
"No, we're relocating closer to your mother's house."
Bailey munched on her banana while reading when the phone rang again. Alice looked surprised, but Bella was already walking forward, reaching hopefully for the phone.
"Hello?" Alice asked. "No, they're right here." She handed the phone to Bella. Bailey saw her mouth your mother.
"Hello?"
"Bella? Bella?" It was her mother's voice, in a familiar tone she had heard a thousand times in her childhood, anytime she'd gotten too close to the edge of the sidewalk or when Bailey strayed out of her sight to escape a crowded place. It was the sound of panic.
Bella sighed. She'd been expecting this, though she'd tried to make her message as unalarming as possible without lessening the urgency of it.
"Calm down, Mom," Bella said in her most soothing voice, walking slowly away from Alice. She wasn't sure if she could live as convincingly with Alice watching her. "Everything is fine, okay? Just give me a minute and I'll explain everything, I promise."
Bella paused, surprised that she hadn't interrupted her yet.
"Mom?"
"Be very careful not to say anything until I tell you to." The voice of a man she heard now was as unfamiliar as it was unexpected. A very pleasant, generic voice—he spoke quickly. "Now, I don't need to hurt your mother, so please do exactly as I say, and she'll be fine."
He paused for a minute while Bella listened in muted horror.
"That's very good," he congratulated. "Now repeat after me, and do try to sound natural. Please say, 'No, Mom, stay where you are.'"
"No, Mom, stay where you are." Bella's voice was barely more than a whisper.
Bailey observed her very carefully. There was a difference in her posture and tone and something that was said on the phone had caused it. Bailey glanced over at Alice, she hadn't noticed or way paying too close attention. Bailey looked back at Bella and saw her sister beginning to walk into another room. Why would Bella have to do that if it was just a regular phone call with their mother? Also, why had she whispered her last response but answered the phone in a regular volume?
Bailey's eyes narrowed suspiciously. She got up from her seat carrying her book with her as she silently followed Bella. She walked back to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Bailey stood directly outside it, listening to every word that was spoken. Her following answers were a bunch of yes's or no's nothing that gave away too much information... and then concluded with seemingly unnatural dialogue. Stiff and formal—Bella would never talk to their mom that way, they had a closer bond than that.
Bailey barged into her room once she was sure the call had ended. Bella jumped, startled and looked at her sister who was staring at the phone in her hand.
"Oh, uh, I told her you were asleep," Bella lied.
"He said he has her, didn't he?" Bailey concluded in a low voice. "He wants you to go alone, which is why you moved locations. He told you what to say as to not alert Alice, he knows we're being protected."
Bella couldn't come up with a good enough excuse fast enough.
"Okay," Bailey nodded. "Let's go."
"Huh? Uh, no, no. We're not going anywhere. You're going to stay here where it's safe. I'm not putting you in any more danger. None of this would have happened if I didn't... if Edward and I hadn't—you're not coming Bailey."
Bailey stared at her blankly. "I'm not following your logic here. At the moment what you want doesn't matter because our mother is in trouble. She is a person that I love and I don't want harm to befall her. Besides, James' hunt isn't limited to you only, he's after me too. If anything you should be the one staying behind where it's safe. Edward is coming here for you, is he not?"
Bella frowned. "What—what do you mean by that?"
"What it sounds like," Bailey said. "It's apparent that more people would be sad if you died instead of me."
"Bailey—"
"What? Those are the facts of the situation, Bella. You have your friends, mom, dad, the Cullen's, and obviously Edward. I'm just extra baggage, that came along for the ride. You can't deny that, because you know it's true. You're the main character, I'm just your sister." Bailey clung onto her book, it looked as if she wasn't going to be able to continue it.
"Don't say stuff like that. Please, you're more than just my sister. You're your own person a-and tons of people would miss you and be devastated if you die."
Bailey trailed the spine of her book as she turned around. "Say whatever you'd like to ease your feelings but my mind is made up. When the time comes your life is going to be worth far more than mine."
⍣ ೋ
Bella was gone and Bailey knew exactly where she was going. She had managed to slip away from Alice and Jasper when they were checking out of the hotel. Bailey feinted having to go to the bathroom, the same excuse Bella had used just minutes before and left to "find her". Instead, she took a back exit that led outside. She saw a shuttle for Hyatt driving away and was fairly certain Bella was one it, luckily there was a cap coming up and Bailey took it.
"Follow that vehicle," Bailey ordered. The driver didn't ask any questions when Bailey pulled out her card and paid three hundred dollars in advance. Bailey kept her eyes firmly on the bus.
The cab pulled a block away from the dance studio and Bailey got out. She ran the rest of the way, assuming that it would draw less attention than a bright yellow cabbie. She hated every second of it, hated the expertise, hated the beating heart, and hated that sweat was starting to accumulate on her brow. When she got on Cactus street she could see the studio, exactly how she had remembered it.
The parking lot was empty, the vertical blinds in all the windows drawn. Bailey had to make her next moves inconspicuous, so she walked normally no longer running. She approached the door where she saw a sign. It was handwritten on hot pink paper; it said the dance studio was closed for spring break.
Good, Bailey nodded. So we should be the only ones here.
She walked along the side of the building searching for something. She smiled when she found it. It was another entrance, one of the side of the building which Bailey had discovered when she had wandered away from dance class, hiding so she wouldn't be forced to do any more pirouettes. Bailey reached into her pocket and pulled out a hair clip; she was still wearing Rosalie's clothes so the hairclip belonged to her.
She picked the lock on the door and pulled it open, entering the building. She was as quiet as a mouse, her hand was covering her mouth so she wouldn't bring attention to her breathing. Apparently, Bella's blood was more appetizing though, so hopefully, that was enough distraction for James so he wouldn't notice her.
Bailey crept through the hallway, and slipped into the staircase, she moved to the lower levels and reached the basement where she checked all the doors for the room she was looking for. Bailey stopped at the large door that had the words Boiler Room written on it, and fortunately, it was unlocked and enacted her plan.
When she finished she exited the room, keeping the door open with one of her shoes and making her way back up the stairs, ever so slowly.
She reached the ground floor, walked through the lobby and could hear their voices coming from the high-ceilinged room.
James was standing a few feet away from Bella, arms folded, looking at her curiously. There was no menace in his face or stance. He was so very average-looking, nothing remarkable about his face or body at all. Just the white skin and circled eyes. He wore a pale blue, long-sleeved shirt and faded blue jeans.
"I suppose you're going to tell me that your boyfriend will avenge you?" he asked, hopefully, it seemed.
"No," Bella replied. "I don't think so. At least, I asked him not to."
"And what was his reply to that?"
"I don't know. I left him a letter."
"How romantic, the last letter. And do you think he will honour it?" His voice was just a little harder now, a hint of sarcasm staining his polite tone.
"I hope so."
"Hmmm. Well, our hopes differ then. You see, this was all just a little too easy, too quick. To be quite honest, I'm disappointed. I expected a much greater challenge. And, after all, I only needed a little luck."
Bella waited in silence.
Bailey didn't know if James hadn't noticed her yet, or if he was just pretending as though it didn't. Again, she was hoping the scent of Bella's blood was all he was currently focused on.
"When Victoria couldn't get to your father, I had her find out more about you. There was no sense in running all over the planet chasing you down when I could comfortably wait for you in a place of my choosing. So, after I asked Victoria, I decided to come to Phoenix to pay your mother a visit. I'd heard you say you were going home. At first, I never dreamed you meant it. But then I wondered. Humans can be very predictable; they like to be somewhere familiar, somewhere safe. And wouldn't it be the perfect play, to go to the place you should be when you're hiding—the place that you said you'd be."
Bailey moved a half-inch closer, very careful not to make any noise. James continued.
"But of course, I wasn't sure, it was just a hunch. I usually get a feeling about the prey that I'm hunting, a sixth sense, if you will. I listened to your message when I got to your mother's house, but of course, I couldn't be sure where you'd called from. It was very useful to have your number, but you could have been in Antarctica for all I knew, and the game wouldn't work unless you were close by. Then your boyfriend got a plane to Phoenix. Victoria was monitoring them for me, naturally; in a game with this many players, I couldn't be working alone. And they told me what I'd hoped, that you were here after all. I was prepared; I'd already been through your charming home movies. And then it was simply a matter of the bluff. Very easy, you know, not really up to my standards. So, you see, I'm hoping you're going about your boyfriend. Edward, isn't it?"
Bella didn't answer.
"Would you mind, very much, if I left a little letter of my own for your Edward?"
He took a step back and touched a palm-sized digital video camera balanced carefully on top of the stereo. A small red light indicated that it was already running. He adjusted it a few times, widened the frame. Bella stared at him in horror.
"I'm sorry, but I just don't think he'll be able to resist hunting me after he watches this. And I wouldn't want him to miss anything. It was all for him, of course. You're simply a human, who unfortunately was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and indisputably running with the wrong crowd, I might add."
Bailey removed her hand from her mouth, she stood up straight shutting her eyes for a brief moment to collect whatever bravery she had inside of her and said quite loudly, "Before you begin... could I chime in with a few corrections?"
They both looked shocked to see her there which was rather unusual. Bailey had been right before. James, too busy focusing on Bella, hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings—he had let his guard down.
"Bailey!" The colour drained from Bella's face, she thought she had left her behind. she thought Bailey was safe. "What are you going here! Go! Get out!"
Bailey ignored her and looked at James. She fixed her glasses and cleared her throat. "Edward won't avenge her because you have fundamentally misunderstood his character," she said.
"Is that so?" James had gotten over his initial surprise, and looked rather annoyed that Bailey had interrupted him. Annoyed, but also intrigued.
"If she dies he'll be furious, that's a given, but it won't be directed at you. It'll be directed internally, he'll blame himself, he'll hate himself, he'll want to kill himself. That's Edward's thought process. He'll be too emotionally broken to want anything to do with you." Bailey paused her quickening heartbeat signalling her rising fear. "However, if you were to kill me that would be a different story entirely."
"Bailey!" Bella shouted, but was ignored again.
"I'm the weakest," Bailey continued, "the youngest, the smallest... the one who was dragged along for the ride, the one who is innocent in all of this. I'm her younger sister"—she pointed at Bella—"just look at her, the desperation in her eyes. Did she have that look before? No. It only appeared because of me, her fear of losing me. Killing me destroys her completely. And if you destroy her... then Edward will kill you because Bella will ask him to do it."
Bella wasn't sure if Bailey had lost her mind or what but she had to shut this down before James got any ideas. "No, no!" she yelled. "Kill me! Kill me instead, but leave her alone! Please!"
Bailey sighed and saw James looking between the sisters. Bella's pleas were only adding to Bailey's case—just like she had intended.
"You know that I'm right," Bailey said to James. "To make things even better you can throw her out. She'll hurt herself trying to get back in, trying to stop you. But if you film everything on that camera of yours, leave my corpse as a souvenir with a video of you killing me. I'm sure you understand how that might ignite some feelings of resentment and anger."
James narrowed her eyes looking Bailey over carefully. But nothing she was saying was wrong. It was the truth. His subsequent actions had Bella kicking and screaming. He grabbed her before she had time to blink and basically threw her outside before locking the door behind him.
Bella did exactly as Bailey had predicted. She yelled doing everything she could to try and get back inside the building, trying to get back to Bailey. This couldn't be how it ended not for someone like Bailey, not for someone who had so much potential.
"YOUR LIFE IS WORTH MORE! IT'S WORTH MORE BAILEY, MORE THAN MINE EVER WILL! BAILEY, PLEASE!" Bella's screams sent chills up Bailey's spine but she remained composed as she watched James.
He had his camera pointed to her. "How should I begin?"
Bailey was about to speak when the smell of rotten eggs filled the air; it had been enough time.
"I have a question for you first."
"Oh?"
"Do you know anything about chemistry?" Bailey asked. James didn't have time to reply as she dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a remote.
"What does a remote have to do with chemistry?"
Bailey let out a shagged breath. "It's not a remote, it's a detonator... And also, checkmate."
His eyes widened slowly, but Bailey had clicked the button before his mind had time to completely process what was going on. In the boiler room where Bailey had set up her contraption, a spark ignited. The building, that had been slowly filling with the flammable gas exploded.
Bailey held her hand out in front of her face as she and James were caught in the explosion. Bella who was outside was blown away by a few feet, her head smacking against the pavement, while she landed on her leg wrong. A sharp pain shot through her body and she screamed— "BAILEY!"
Somehow she was alive, but it didn't feel like it would be for long. Bailey's vision was blurred, her glasses had been blown off her face, and she felt so much pain that she couldn't move her body. Her eyes looked to her side, and she saw James. He'd been impaled through his neck by debris from the explosion and his body was currently engulfed in flames.
"Did I kill him?" Bailey coughed, smoke was quickly entering her lungs with every breath she took. She lay on the floor looking at the black smoke-filled ceiling. She felt a liquid pooling around her, probably her own blood.
"What did you do!" a voice yelled out.
Bailey blinked, it was all just spots now and she could barely make out his golden hair before she closed her eyes and drifted.