THE TWO HUMAN GIRLS managed to sneak into a taxi outside of the hotel, escaping before Alice and Jasper even noticed they were gone. Lydia felt horrible for sneaking away, but they had no choice—Bella's mom was in danger, and Lydia couldn't let someone die if there was something she could do to stop it.
Bella gave the taxi driver the address to the ballet studio, and they were off.
It was nighttime when they made it to the studio. The pair got out of the taxi and stood in front of the building, staring up at it as the taxi drove away. Bella reached into her pocket, pulling out a bottle of pepper spray. She shook it, seeing how much was left to use. Lydia wanted to judge, but honestly—it was better than what she had, which was nothing.
"Are we really doing this?" Lydia whispered to Bella.
Bella looked at Lydia. "We don't have a choice."
Lydia nodded. "Then let's go."
They walked toward the building.
In the weeks following Lydia's assault, she'd wanted to die. It was something she never told anyone—not her mothers, not her therapists, not even herself, really. It was a ghost that lingered in the back of her mind, taunting her in every quiet moment. She'd felt dirty, hopeless, empty. When she thought of the idea of death, it was more of a comfort than a fear.
Now, all she wanted was to live. To be with Jasper, to be with her mothers, to go through her life with Gwen by her side. To go to college and live her life to the fullest with the people she loved. As she followed Bella into the ballet studio, she wondered if tonight would be her last night on Earth.
She didn't believe in God, but as she and Bella walked slowly toward what could very well be their demise, she said a silent prayer, begging whoever was listening to let her see the people she loved one last time.
Bella led the way into the ballet studio. They stopped as they entered the main room, mirrors covering the walls—just like Alice's vision. Light from the streetlights outside cast shadows against the concrete floor. It was almost beautiful in a way.
Bella walked further into the room, Lydia close behind. "Bella? Bella, where are you?" a woman's voice called out, prompting Bella to walk faster.
"Mom?" Bella called out, her voice echoing in the empty room. She followed the sound of her mother's voice, still calling out her name. Lydia was quick to follow, not liking the idea of separating.
"There you are!" came Bella's mother's voice, calmer than before. "What are you doing in there?"
Bella and Lydia stopped in front of a closet as a little girl's voice replied. Lydia looked at Bella in confusion as the girl opened the door, only to reveal a TV playing what looked like a home movie from Bella's childhood.
"He tricked us," Lydia breathed out.
A sinister laugh echoed throughout the room. The two girls jumped, turning around to see James staring at them with that same predatory gaze. Lydia held back a shudder at the sight of him turning his head, the action mirrored in the dozens of mirrors lining the walls. It was like something out of a horror movie.
"Now, that's my favorite part," James said. "You were a stubborn child, weren't you?" He advanced toward them, his attention focused mostly on Bella as he grabbed her shoulder. "Hm?"
"She's not even here," Bella said in realization.
James shoved Bella against the wall, making Lydia back up in fright. "Sorry," James whispered. "But you really made it too easy."
He moved away, just enough to see both Bella and Lydia, who shrunk away from his gaze. "So, to make things more interesting," he said. "I'm going to make a little film of our time together." He held up a video camera, winking at Bella. "I borrowed this from your house—hope you don't mind." He backed away further, holding up the camera and pointing it at Bella's terrified face. "And... action!"
He moved the camera closer to Bella's face, where she was trembling with fear. "Oh, that'll break little Edward's heart." He moved the camera toward Lydia, who flinched back. "Don't you think so, Lydia?" He smirked at her, advancing toward her as she backed away desperately. "Yeah, I learned about you, too. You're a mystery, aren't you?"
"Go to hell," Lydia snarled, unsure where her sudden bout of bravery came from but riding its wave as long as she could.
James tsked at her. "Now, now, such language." He practically shoved the camera into Lydia's face, forcing her to stumble back against the wall. "What's your role in all this, anyway? You don't smell all that appetizing... but maybe you taste good." Lydia's heart dropped.
"Hey!" Bella called out. James turned to face her just as she pepper-sprayed him in the face. As soon as she'd done that, she grabbed Lydia's hand, running to the other side of the room.
James growled in annoyance. Not even a second later, he was in front of them. He grabbed Bella, shoving her away with enough force to make her slide into the wall. Lydia tried to stumble back, but James grabbed her around the throat, sprinting to the wall and slamming her against it. Glass broke against Lydia's back as she gasped for air. He moved his hand away from her neck, allowing her to gasp for breath as he gripped a handful of her hair. He pulled her head to the side and used a finger to pull at the collar of her shirt, his breath ghosting over her bared shoulder.
"Please," Lydia whispered, too terrified to cringe at the desperation in her voice. All of that bravery from before disappeared from her mind, high-tailing it out of there like Lydia wished she could.
"Aw," James cooed. "How cute. But no amount of begging is going to save you."
Before Lydia could even attempt to flinch away, James's teeth sunk into her shoulder. Lydia screamed at the piercing sensation, followed by a burning that flowed through her body from the bite.
After only a second, James pulled away, growling in what sounded like disgust and spitting on the floor. "What the hell?" he rasped, spitting again. He glared at Lydia, his gaze enough to melt steel. He gripped her hair tighter, Lydia's scalp aching. He shoved her head backward, the mirror cracking even more as Lydia's head made the impact. She gasped in pain, involuntary tears falling from her eyes. She felt blood slowly begin to drip through her hair and onto her shirt. As James stepped away, letting go of her, she collapsed onto the ground, her vision blurring and her head aching fiercely.
James was a blur as he moved away from her, although Lydia wasn't sure if that was due to his speed or the concussion Lydia was almost positive he'd just given her. She laid on her side, breathing heavily as James returned his attention to Bella, who'd manage to stand up from the floor.
Recovering from whatever had happened when he bit Lydia, James retrieved the video camera, advancing on Bella. He shoved her back onto the floor with little effort. He said something, but the ringing in Lydia's ears prevented her from understanding what he was saying.
She watched helplessly as James broke Bella's leg, the resulting crack muffled for Lydia. He snarled something at her, Bella's resulting cries and screams echoing throughout the large, empty room.
Lydia's eyes grew heavy, and she blinked, willing herself to stay awake. In the back of her mind, despite the pain consuming most of her thoughts, she knew that if she fell asleep with a concussion, there was a chance she might not wake up.
She had to keep her eyes open.
Lydia watched a blurry figure launch itself at James, forcing the vampire away from Bella. James and the figure fought, their motions a blur. Lydia had to use most of her focus to stay awake, her shoulder and the back of her head radiating pain throughout her body.
Lydia wasn't sure how long the two fought, or what exactly happened between them, but at some point, she heard Bella let out a series of pain-filled cries.
James and the other figure continued to fight, and after a moment, Lydia saw through blurry vision another figure join him. More figures appeared in the room, going to join in the fight.
A figure appeared in front of Lydia, a cold hand cupping her cheek. "Lydia?" she heard faintly. "Lydia, look at me, please."
She swallowed hard, looking up. Even with her blurred vision, she knew it was Jasper. She felt him touch her head, staring at his hand as it inevitably came away bloody. "Carlisle!" he yelled.
"James bit Bella, Carlisle's with her," another voice said, the owner kneeling down next to Lydia. Lydia looked up at the blurry face of Rosalie. "What happened to her?"
"Her head's bleeding," Jasper told her. "What if she has a concussion?"
"Lydia," Rosalie said, her voice loud enough for Lydia to hear and understand over the ringing in her ears. "Blink twice if you can understand me."
Struggling, Lydia blinked twice up at Rosalie. The blonde then asked, "Did you hit your head?" Again, Lydia blinked twice. She felt Rosalie's cold hand on the back of her head.
I'm so tired.
"She needs help," Rosalie said. "Now."
"Jasper!" a loud voice called from across the room. "Help us!"
Jasper looked at Rosalie, who nodded. "Go. Burn the bastard."
Lydia watched him go with her blurred vision.
I'm so tired.
"Lydia, stay awake for me, okay?" Rosalie said. She looked up. "Carlisle! She's got a concussion—it's bad!"
After a few seconds, the blond patriarch appeared next to Rosalie. "Lydia, look at me," he instructed. Lydia struggled to meet his gaze, her vision blurring even more. "Was she bitten?" he asked Rosalie. "He bit Bella, did he bite Lydia too?"
"I don't think so," Rosalie answered. "She's not convulsing. I think he just tried to knock her out."
I'm so tired.
The effort to keep her head facing the ceiling became too much. She let her head tilt to the side, her cheek coming to rest against the floor. She stared ahead, the blurry image of a fire blazing ahead of her.
The ringing in her ears grew louder, drowning out anything Carlisle or Rosalie tried to say. Blinking became too hard, and slowly, she let her eyes close, unable to open them again. The ringing took over, until she couldn't hear anything at all.
Then, silence.
I'm so tired.
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[author's note: so, i've written nearly twenty chapters of the next part of this book (aka new moon) and it is... a doozy. obviously it's not concrete and i'll probably tweak it a lot in the coming weeks, but i'm super excited for it. that being said, there's only two more chapters left for this part, so we're almost through with the twilight portion of this book! hope you guys enjoyed this chapter <3]