Leo takes a few steps back, hands in the air in surrender. "Isa," he starts. "Let's talk-"
"I don't want to talk to you!"
Leo raises his hands as if surrendering. "Isabella, can we please talk? I can explain-"
"What? You want to excuse killing my parents?"
"No, but it was a long time ago-" I run towards him and slap him across the face. He hisses in pain, putting a hand on his cheek. "Oh, come on, you don't think you will win this fight?" He snaps at me. "Please?" Leo returns my glare with one of his own, but behind his glare, there is a hidden plea begging me to listen. But I refuse to pay attention to him. I lift my leg high enough to connect it with Leo's chest as he tries to stand in front of me. The force is too strong and makes me stumble backward as a dull pain begins on the foot that hits Leo's chest.
"I don't want to listen to you, Leopold."
Leo is in front of me like a blur that only leaves a trail of color in its path. He didn't stop momentarily as he grabbed me by the shoulders. I maneuver my hand to free myself from his grasp as Leo tries to hold onto me. I push him off me hard. The impact makes me back so hard that my feet leave the ground, and I am thrown around a few feet. I don't go far as a tree stops my small flight. My back connects with the tree hard, hurting me, and a small grunt leaves my lips as I fall on all fours to the floor but stand up, glaring at Leopold.
"Isa, are you-"
I run towards him, making a slight jump. Leo's hands instinctively go up to hold onto my body protectively. I take the opportunity to strike him since he's not blocking my foot and make sure his chest gets hurt again.
The impact throws Leo to the ground on his back, me on top of him. I keep a knee on his chest to keep his body on the ground and put both hands on his chest for support.
This is a rocky mistake on my part because as soon as I lift my hand to grab my stake, Leo will have the chance to free himself.
"Please. Stop." Leo groans.
The vulnerability in his tone pisses me off to the point of stupidity. I lift one of my hands and put it on my back to grab the wooden stake, allowing Leo to throw me off him. A surprised yelp escapes my lips as I fly off him backward until another helpful tree connects with my back so hard that I fall to the ground on my knees.
This time, there's a crack sound, and pain erupts on my back. I breathe through the pain. Leo's facial expression mimics the one that's definitely on my face, but he's not getting hurt physically... at least not yet. He walks towards me slowly, and once again, he's in front of me, hands extended to help me get on my feet. One of my hands holds onto the wooden stake like a lifesaver, so I take Leo's hands and stand up slowly.
"Now listen-" Leo starts.
I bring the stake into his cheek and slide it against the face with such force that my weapon makes a horrible gash. Leo hisses in pain, stumbling backward and touching his cheek; blood pours through his fingers. I run towards him and slam the stake into his throat when he blocks it with his arm, making the stake plunge into it, breaking the skin, and more blood spills. He backs away from me fast.
"Son of a bitch!" he hisses in pain as he removes the stake and throws it away from my reach. "This is ridiculous!" Leo says in a soothing voice towards me, but there's an edge to it, as well as if he is losing patience with me. "You are forcing my actions here, Isabella," he growls. There's a threat there, but I don't care.
"As if anyone can force anything out of you!" I say with an indignant roar.
I don't need the stake to weaken him. I can use my own two hands. This would give me enough time to find where the stake went; I ran towards him, my fist ready to connect with his face.
Leo rolls his hand into my wrist. He drives my arm over and pulls me backward, then gets on top of me, pinning me to the floor.
I don't lose my concentration, so I take the knife hanging from his belt loop and slam it hard against his chest, merely missing his dead heart; blood pours into mine, drenching my shirt with it. Leo sighed and shook his head as he stood up slowly. Thus, I back away from him until there's a safe distance between us. I stand up slowly, and Leo disappears from my sight, but this time, I have a feeling I know where he is running off to. I don't have time to stand up when he's in front of me. My hand balls up into a fist, and I throw it at his face. His palm is in front of his face, intercepting my punch. His hand is around my fist and turns me around. He then puts his arm in front of my chest and pulls me back until my spine is against his chest.
I don't let this position distract me, so I lift my fist halfway. I efficiently use my hands to quickly lift Leo briefly and flip him in front of me, making him fall to the floor as soon as my hands are free and I get on top of him.
With one hand, I grab the hem of his shirt, and with the other one, I throw punches into his face. Repeatedly.
"I HATE YOU!" I say between punches.
"Isa," he groans in pain.
I keep using his face as my punching bag. Leo growls, puts both hands around my chest, and pushes me back again, making me fly off him. He stands up fast and rips his trashed shirt off his chest. Leo walks towards me, and my hands go over until it holds a fist full of hair. And I bring his head down into my knee hard, which makes me remember how painful that force is. But I ignored the pain as I drove Leo's head into it again; crimson leaked from both his nostrils as they twisted, but when Leo looked at me, he had healed the blood on his face, which was the only reminder that I had been hurting him.
He lifts a hand, making me let go of him. "Can you please let me explain?" He groans.
"NO!" I scream in anger. I have barely wounded the bloodsucker, and yet I am almost done. I can feel it. I am weak and hurt severely. My back cannot take another hit; my vision has become blurry, and sweat slides down my body like a torrent in a river.
Leo is more powerful than any vampire I have ever faced, and I have a slight suspicion that he's not fighting back.
"I will not hurt you," Leo soothes.
There's a sarcastic smirk on my face. "Well, that makes one of us."
My hands ball up in a fist as I throw it his way, wanting it to connect with his face. Leo blocks it with his palm skillfully and again closes his hand around my fist. Then he tackles me, like a linebacker drilling a quarterback from the blindside, a clean shoulder-to-shoulder hit that hurts my spine. The pain throbs; it's deep and warm but not excellently. I can't shake Leo off me. Our breathing is in sync, hard, and labored. And I know I am done.
"Isa," he winces, making me wonder if he is in pain, too. "You're hurt."
I stare into Leo's face; he clearly doesn't want to continue. It is my chance, so I nod, looking contrite.
"Yes..." It's not hard to make my voice break, as I am in much pain. "Can you get off me? I can't breathe." He nods and stands up, extending his hands towards me. I put my hand on his and, for a split second. My thoughts betrayed me for a second, and I felt warm holding Leo's hand, almost welcoming. But I push him away, then slap him hard with my hand. "You fucking asshole!" I hit him again. "You killed my parents, and you think the crush I have for you will be enough?" I slap him again.
"You... are... right," he murmurs between slaps and stands there like one of the dummies in the gym. Leo just let me punch him repeatedly.
"I hate you," I sob, and my punches become sloppy. I start to punch him everywhere. Leo's arms are open to hold me in place. "You ruin my life!." Punch.
Leo puts his arms around me, one hand behind my back and the other on my head, pulling me into his firm chest, my headrest in the hollow of his neck. I try to step back and fight him off, but Leo holds onto me harder.
"I truly am sorry," Leo murmurs.
I let my body slug against his hold, and he lowers both of us until he's sitting on the floor with me on his lap.
"From the very beginning, everything was a trap. You knew who I was and who I was looking for," tears are spilling down my face fast, making my vision blurry. My chin trembles as if I was a small child. I breathed heavier than I ever had before. I gasp for air that it isn't there. My throat burns, forming a silent scream.
"What can I do to get you to forgive me?" Leo murmurs as he moves a strand of hair out of my face.
"Finish your job," I murmur between sobs.
Leo lets go of me and stands up, looking down at me. I don't move; I lift my head to make eye contact.
"What?" He gasps out as if he doesn't understand what I am asking.
"Kill me," pain crosses his features at my words. "Please. You owe me that! Wasn't that your mission anyway? You already killed my family-"
"I... can't... Please listen."
I stand up slowly, shaking my head. "No."
"Just let me talk to you!" His tone is desperate, pleading. "As you can see, every time you attack me the only one-"
I run towards him, intending to fight him to the end entirely. I move too slowly. He seized my arms, trapping them to my side. He pushes me roughly back, making me fall again to the floor with him on top of me.
He sighs tiredly. "Oh, Isa," he leans down, takes a deep breath on my neck, and then steps back. I shiver; part of me is in disgust, part of me feeling butterflies. "You are not going to stop and listen to me, are you?" There's a hint of sinister in Leo's tone as if this wasn't wholly him.
He nuzzles and smells my scent, scratching my neck with his fangs softly to tease me. I close my eyes as my body reacts to his actions. "There's only one thing to do then," Leo murmurs.
I turn my neck to the side to give him more access. I am so tired. I was tired of everything. I had no more fight left in me. Leopold gently brushed a strand of hair off my face, making me frown. Why was he being gentle with me? I just pissed him off.
"You were right when you told me I couldn't kill you," he whispers. "I know you have every right to hate me. You are right, yet again, that I was trying to get you to fall in love with me. I honestly thought that if you fell in love with me... You would forgive me. I wasn't counting on you being this stubborn. It is why I have been dreading this day."
"Leo..." I whisper. "It is okay," I murmur. I can see hope in Leo's eyes as he misunderstood my words. "I do not forgive you." I spit out. Leo looks away for a second. "You know this will be your only chance to finish your job. Because if you let me live. I will use the whole school as my hunting ground. I will kill every vampire there until you come out. I won't stop until one of us is dead-"
Leo stares purposely into my necklace. I gasp in horror and try to hide it from his view, but Leo grabs my hands, putting them above me.
"Don't worry. I won't destroy it." Leo snatches the necklace off my neck with a sizzling sound and puts it on the back of his jeans while holding me in one of his hands.
"Oh, Isa," he caresses the side of my cheek with the back of his hands ever so softly. "I am so sorry it has come to this."
He leans down and bites down on my neck. I close my eyes with a smile as the endorphins kick in.
This is an ok way to die-
Leopold drinks until I find myself drifting and going into the other world. I smile, knowing that my parents will be there with open arms; they'll be mad I didn't avenge them, but in the end, we will all be together again. But Leopold stops, and I am still alive. Leo bites his wrist and presses it against my mouth. Blood trickles inside my mouth. I open my eyes weakly as I realize what he's doing. I try to fight him, making Leo press his wrist harder into my mouth. His blood gets inside my system. Leo picks me up in his arms, bridal style, as darkness engulfs me.
"Please," is the last thing I say before there is nothing but pain and endless darkness.