Chapter 28: The End
December floated by slowly, each day ticking by at a snail's pace, and there was no sign of Ary or the rest of the McRaes. I had to remind myself daily that she had said it might take months for them to return, so I held onto hope that I would see them again. The holidays were a gloomy time for me, given the one gift I wanted had left along with Ary, but Charlie did his best to try and cheer me up.
On Christmas day, I awoke early to make him pancakes topped with plenty of maple syrup, while he happily chipped in by making some bacon and scrambled eggs. I had slowly gone back to work for the Newtons, who were reluctant to give me shifts since I'd handed the majority of my previous ones to Mike in order to spend time with the McRaes. After working almost nonstop, I'd saved up enough to buy Charlie a new fishing rod for his spring trip.
Charlie, on the other hand, had never been very skilled at picking gifts for anyone, so I'd received a Visa gift card with over two hundred dollars on it. My dad gave it to me sheepishly, which made me think he was embarrassed that he didn't know his own daughter well enough to get a proper gift. I hugged him tightly and told him it was the perfect gift, and he blushed, just like I always did. Like father, like daughter.
"So, any word from that boyfriend of yours? Or his sister?" Charlie asked after we had picked up the excess wrapping paper, and I shook my head. My dad sneered and went back to the television, muttering something about "another winner."
He still had mixed feelings about Eric, and I could understand why; Eric had delivered me, seeming half-dead, to the hospital and had disappeared soon after. When I saw Ary again, the first thing I wanted to teach her was how to make a graceful exit. The entire town—or at least the kids I went to school with—was talking about the sudden departure of the mysterious, reclusive family.
There was also a small investigation happening off the highway, trying to find out what had happened to the warehouse. The last thing I needed in my life was someone finding out that I had been somewhat involved with the incineration of that decrepit old building. So far, it was inconclusive—and I really hoped it stayed that way.
School had also become very tense for me. Since the McRaes were no longer there to sit with me at lunch, I was forced to tuck my tail between my legs and attempt to sit with my old group again. The first day was awkward, to say the least, but Angela, Ben, and Mike made it like old times, automatically joking around and including me in the conversation. Eric was very standoffish, which was a little strange, but it was Lauren and Jessica who really made it uncomfortable.
During one lunch hour, Mike was discussing the trip to La Push for their annual winter celebration. The tribe welcomed everyone to join and had tons of crafts and food as well as Quileute stories. When he had asked if I'd like to join them, Lauren threw her napkin down and scoffed loud enough to catch everyone's attention.
"Am I the only one who feels like Bella's little shelf toy?" She growled, and I couldn't help but shrink back under the weight of her stare.
"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, exasperated. His expression and tone of voice hinted that Lauren had complained about… whatever she was complaining about before.
"She dumped all of you for those weird kids," Lauren accused, pointing directly at me. "Now that they're gone, she's come slithering back. Bella, you're such a user!"
"What have I ever done to you, Lauren?" I asked, thoroughly confused by her outburst—and a little ashamed. I hated to admit it, but she was right; I had happily given up my human friends for the chance to live in the supernatural world again. What kind of person was I? Still, that didn't give Lauren—who had always hated me—the right to humiliate me. "Did I wrong you in another life? Why do you hate me?"
"And now you're going to play the victim card," Lauren spat, standing up with her tray while Jessica trailed behind her. "Bella, I can look in the mirror and say 'I'm mean, I'm a bitch'—but you try to act so innocent, like you've never done anything wrong!"
I was flabbergasted and embarrassed, especially when I looked around and realized that a good majority of the lunch room was staring at me. Even my own friends were making me nervous with the mixed expressions they all had: Angela looked shocked, Ben seemed apologetic, Mike was trying to hide his disgusted grimace from Jessica, and Eric was attempting to look uninterested.
"So, excuse me, guys," Lauren continued, "if I'm not willing to sit here and listen to Miss Bella 'I'm-so-fake' Swan talk about how great of a person she is and worm her way back into our group." With that Lauren turned on her heel and stormed out of the cafeteria with Jessica in tow.
Not wanting to see how many people were truly staring at me, I let my head fall to my hands and groaned in response to the humiliation. My mind immediately began wondering if I was everything Lauren had said I was. Did I really try to act innocent?
"Don't listen to her, Bella," Angela whispered, and I turned to face her. "Even before you moved here, Lauren's always been like that. She gets upset whenever the attention isn't one hundred percent on her."
"She's right, though," I grumbled and glanced at everyone at the table. "I owe you all an apology. I completely kicked you guys to the wind. I'm really sorry."
"Hey, it's no biggie, Bella," Eric said, cracking a hint of his usual smile leaning back in his chair.
"I know why you did it," Angela said softly as the guys began complaining about Lauren and Jessica, and I shifted back to face her. "That guy, Erickson, made you forget about Edward for awhile, that's why."
"Was it that obvious?" I asked, not wanting to reveal that I was actually in love with Eric. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't think Angela would understand. How could I have claimed to be in love with Edward, only to fall in love with someone else so soon after? Yeah, she wouldn't have believed that at all.
"A little," Angela admitted and giggled. "Honestly, I kind of liked him better than Edward."
"What do you mean?"
"Well," Angela started, after pondering for a few moments, and leaned in like she was telling me a secret. "Eric always made his feelings for you known—physically, I mean. Edward always seemed pretty shy whenever I saw you two together. And Eric also knew how to put Lauren and Jessica in their place."
I could've sworn I heard a record scratch when Angela mentioned Lauren and Jessica. "I don't understand." I narrowed my eyes skeptically. "How did he put them in their place?"
"You don't know?" Angela's eyes widened. "They've been practically throwing themselves at him every chance they get. A month before he left, Lauren followed him into the men's locker room and took off her shirt. He laughed and told her that he would never be interested in her, because he didn't date whores."
"Wow," I muttered, not surprised by what Eric had said. I knew that he loathed Jessica and Lauren—he'd told me so on many occasions—but I was a little astounded that he'd used such harsh words. Still, I was satisfied nonetheless that he had shot down the hateful girl.
"I know." Angela laughed and continued. "Then Jessica tried something similar, only it was much later, and Eric told her that if he was going to cheat on you"—my head shot up—"then, he'd want it to be with someone who wasn't an imbecile."
"How did Jess and Lauren take it?"
"Oh, they've been upset for weeks now, Bella," Angela responded and shook her head. "That's probably why Lauren said what she did just now. She's jealous of you, plain and simple."
"It would be a lot easier if she just ignored me." I sighed, resting my head on the palm of my hand.
Thank goodness, after that little incident, all communication with Lauren stopped completely. Part of me wondered if she had nothing else to say to me, while another part wondered if one of my other friends had talked to her. It really didn't matter one way or the other, so I let it slip from my mind without a thought.
The rest of December passed with holiday parties hosted by several of my friends, and before I knew it, I was thrust into January. My New Year's Eve was spent at Forks High School with all my friends. The school had decided that there was enough money in the budget to hold another dance. In my opinion, Prom and the Spring Dance were more than enough, but I couldn't argue with the excitement that it created amongst the students.
Once again, I was asked to attend the dance, but thankfully this time, my group decided to go together instead of having dates. I still had the dress that Ary had lent me for Eric's party, so I wore it and enjoyed myself as best as I could. It was a slightly stressful night, especially with everyone musing about whom they would kiss at midnight. When that time finally came around, I hid in the bathroom.
Not long into January, however, I had begun to notice some very strange things. The investigation of the destroyed warehouse had been stopped rather abruptly. On Monday, they were claiming that they had a breakthrough and were close to finding out what really happened, and on Tuesday, the case was closed.
Warehouse fire declared inconclusive. Case closed until further notice.
My friends had also started acting very bizarre. It started when Lauren and Jessica were both out sick for about a week, and when they returned, there was something off about them. If you addressed them directly, then they would answer you, but other than that, they said nothing. One day at lunch, I happened to catch Jessica's eye for a few moments and was shocked to see how stressed she looked. Jessica and Lauren both looked like they hadn't slept in a week, and the strange behavior didn't stop with them.
The next week, not only did my entire group of friends follow suit, there were quite a few people in town who were acting the same way—listless, zombie-like. Even Charlie got…whatever it was. Lauren and Jessica started acting a little bit more like normal after a week, however, whatever ailed them before seemed to be spreading through the town like a wildfire, and I couldn't help but wonder if I was next.
Not long after, Charlie finally snapped out of it as did the remainder of the town, but I hadn't stopped fearing that the strange sickness, if that's what it was, would hit me. It only lasted a week, but it was still abnormal and not something that I wanted to deal with. Unfortunately, I found out all too suddenly that you can never truly hide from anything.
One night, I awoke with a start, almost as if I was having a nightmare even though I wasn't, and glanced around my room. The space was shrouded by darkness, and as I squinted, I made out two distinct silhouettes—tall and masculine. I was prepared to scream, but before I could, the dark outlines moved forward and switched on my desk light, and I gasped at what I saw.
"Lazarus, Avarice!" I exclaimed in a whisper, jumping out of bed and hugging each of them. They'd finally come back! After a month and a half, I was going to see Ary and Eric again. But why hadn't they come to visit me; why did they send Avarice and Lazarus? At the moment, I really didn't care. "I'm so happy to see you."
"Hello, Bella," Avarice responded with a strained smile and stroked my hair. "Are you well?"
"I'm okay," I said, nodding eagerly and unable to keep a goofy grin from erupting across my face. The room was very cold, so I hopped back into bed and began tossing questions at them. "Are you guys okay? How's the family? Where have you been?"
"Everyone's quite well, Bella," Lazarus said, his and Avarice's accents sounded so much richer since I hadn't heard them in awhile. I had to keep from closing my eyes, to bask in the sounds of them speaking. "Our family has been hiding out with the southern vampires in Mexico."
"Mexico?" Usually vampires avoided the sunlight since they sparkled underneath the sun; so why would they seek out such a sunny location? I had never been to Mexico, but I had lived in Arizona, and it was hardly ever cloudy. "That's a little bright for you guys, isn't it?"
"We're very good at masking ourselves," Lazarus remarked with a warm smile, and I nodded.
"So, how are your friends, Bella?" Avarice asked, and I turned to him, his expression faltering a bit. "Is your father well?"
I found his string of questions a little strange, not something that he would ask. Avarice was always pleasant to talk with, but in the time I knew him, he'd never asked about my friends or my father. In fact, Avarice never really seemed the type to go out of his way to ask me anything, so this was indeed strange. My eyes danced from Avarice, looking expectant, to Lazarus, who was avoiding my eyes, and a memory started playing in my mind.
"You've heard of hypnotists that can help a person diet or make someone forget their own family, right? Lazarus can do something similar, only it's much more permanent."
My mouth fell open.
"…he locks certain memories in a person's subconscious..."
I was instantly on my feet, placing my back against the wall, shaking my head incessantly. Surely I was mistaken. They couldn't have come to take my memories; Ary would never have let them do it. However, their wary eyes and tight lips all but confirmed my suspicions.
"No, please don't do this," I begged, tears pooling in my eyes. "Please?"
"I'm sorry, Bella." Avarice sighed and hung his head, obviously seeing that I had figured out their purpose for being in my bedroom. He glanced at Lazarus, momentarily wearing a look of disgust, before reverting his eyes to me. "Please, try to understand."
"But, why?" I exclaimed, my voice breaking as it wavered.
"If it were up to me," Avarice said lightly, moving forward and taking my hand, leading me to the bed, "you would keep every memory of us—but it's not safe, Bella."
"They have a telepath, just like me," Lazarus commented seriously, not moving from his position.
"No one is like you, brother," Avarice said over his shoulder and smiled at me. "Lazarus is telling the truth, though; one of the pure bloods is able to look into your mind and find out anything he wishes to know. They will surely come here, and they will most assuredly peek into everyone's mind in the town."
"Will it hurt?" I squeaked.
"Of course not," Avarice responded, humored by my question. "I wouldn't let my brother anywhere near you if it would."
I wanted to say anything and everything I could to get them to stay—but I just stood there, speechless. Not once, since I found out about Lazarus's ability, did I imagine they'd do this to me. Now, it made perfect sense, but it still didn't seem fair. Why did I have to be left behind? Why couldn't I go with them?
"Take me with you," I whispered without looking them in the eye. "Please?"
"You don't know what you're saying, Bella," Lazarus answered, and my head shot up.
"Yes, I do," I insisted and moved closer to him, which caused him to take a step backwards. "Ever since I met the Cullens, I knew this was what I wanted."
"The Cullens lead a different life than we do," Lazarus said and shook his head. "Not all vampires get to live in luxury and a twenty-four seven fantasy world. We live as vampires, Bella—not as humans."
I swallowed heavily and took a deep breath. "Please, let me go with you."
Lazarus lowered his head, and when he raised it again, I was met with an ice-cold stare. "No."
"But, Ary promised," I cried, grabbing at my stomach as the wound destroyed what little composure I had left. My best friend had promised that we would see each other again; had she lied to me?
"That was not a promise she should have made," Lazarus replied in a flat, monotone voice.
"Please, Bella," Avarice interceded with an apologetic grimace. "Understand that this is for your protection."
"Stealing my memories isn't protecting me," I grumbled, wrapping my arms around my knees. What would happen when my memories were gone? My thoughts went back to my friends, walking around like robots, and my mouth fell open. "It was you, wasn't it? You made my friends act like zombies."
"You're very insightful for a human," Lazarus said, smiling softly, and nodded. "Yes, I've been in the area for the past few weeks, cleansing the town. But we saved you for last."
"Why?" I demanded angrily. "Are you doing me a favor?"
"Actually, it's a rather peculiar thing, Bella," Lazarus said thoughtfully. "I cannot enter your mind unless Avarice is present. There's something about you that naturally blocks me—it's very frustrating."
"I've noticed it too," Avarice said, and his brow creased. "When Rochester attacked you, I had to physically hold you in order for my ability to be effective. Normally, I can create a mental barrier that reacts to physical harm; however, it didn't seem to work on you."
"So, what does it mean?" Edward's ability was useless on me, so I wasn't surprised that the McRaes' abilities were stunted as well. But that didn't mean that I wasn't curious about why I was so different from everyone else.
"We don't know exactly." Avarice shrugged and smiled. "It means you're special, Bella."
"Right." I snorted and turned away from them.
"Brother," Lazarus muttered, and I turned to see him giving Avarice a disapproving look. "We've idled for far too long."
My stomach lurched while my eyes widened, and I started racing through ideas in my mind—trying to find something that would make them stay. Every thought, and every idea, brought me back to the same two key components: Ary and Eric. I would never see them again. My eyes pooled with tears, and I started sniffling as my nose stuffed up.
"Please don't cry, Bella," Avarice pleaded again as I shifted back to face them, and he stroked my face. The chill of his skin forced goose bumps on my arms, and I relished the feeling. This was the last time I would feel it. "If it helps, you won't remember anything—or anyone."
"What? Like amnesia?" Did Avarice mean that I would lose all my memories or just the ones associated with the McRaes? "What am I going to forget?"
"Any memories that you had with our family," Lazarus answered me sternly, obviously ready to get this over with.
"I don't understand," I muttered and shook my head. "How can you do that?"
"It's quite a long process," he responded with a slight smile, "but my vampire speed helps a great deal. We should be completely finished by morning. I'll be taking your memories and storing them in the unused area of your brain."
"I'm scared," I whispered and shivered in my bed.
"Don't be," Lazarus said and patted my head with his icy palm. "You'll be asleep when this happens."
"Not about that," I moaned and wiped a stray tear from my cheek. "I'm scared of what I'll be like when I wake up. Your family helped me in ways you'll never know, and with that gone, things are going to get bad."
"Time passes," Lazarus said softly in my ear, "even when it seems impossible—even when each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. It passes unevenly, in strange lurches and dragging lulls, but pass it does. Even for you, Bella."
"I probably won't even remember that." I hung my head, understanding what he was saying, and shifted my attention back to his brother.
"Avarice, will you do me a favor?"
"Of course," he said and nodded.
"Tell Eric that I love him," I squeaked, my voice breaking as I sobbed lightly. "I know if we see each other again, I won't know him, but let him know that there will always be a side of me that belongs to him."
"I…will, Bella," Avarice agreed hesitantly, and Lazarus gave him a concerned look.
"And tell Ary…" the tears were streaming down my face, "…that I'll miss her."
Avarice nodded and stood up as Lazarus kneeled beside my bed, and I realized this was it. Instantaneously, I brought as many memories as I could to mind: the first time I met Ary, the first time Eric and I kissed, when I went to the Cullens' house—as many as I could. I continued to do this, bask in my memories, until I felt an icy touch on my leg, then everything went black.