Chapter 24
I hadn't been to Sandy Point beach in years and I knew why. It would bring up memories of Sara. The last I had heard about Sara was that she had decided she was a lesbian and that she wanted to be a groupie for a goth rock band. This from the girl who had such a passion for the study of marine biology and wore nothing but tank tops and shell bead necklaces.
When I met her, she seemed so happy. It had been in Saint Croix for a school trip. We hung out the entire field trip and stayed friends long afterwards. She brought me here, to this very beach, so we could collect shark's teeth. Between my love of paleontology and archeology and her love of marine science, this was the perfect place for us to come play.
I can't remember if it was before or after our trip to this beach that she told me about her life. All I remember is that we were on our way to New Jersey when she told me about her Dad. The reason she couldn't believe in God anymore was because what kind of God would let her be raped by her own father in the back of the church, repeatedly, while she was supposed to be at Sunday School? I knew it wasn't God that allowed it but the Devil that would allow such a thing to happen. She was only four, she told me.
Over the year after she told me, I thought she was starting to heal. She got to a point where she believed in a God but she came crashing down hard and quick. I have no idea what caused it. I doubt I ever will. One day, she is working at a museum, helping to set up the marine exhibits, and the next she's in the asylum. She called me a week later, telling me she didn't even remember who she was until that morning. It would be another week when I realized how much her personality had changed in that short time. I'd never see her again.
Sara is what I thought of as I watched the dark waves lap up against the sand. It wasn't until Gabriel gently squeezed my shoulders, holding me almost behind him, that I saw the two cloaked figures coming towards us. The Volturi Guard, or what was left of them, were here.
Immediately, I switched my brain from feeling sad about long lost memories to being prepared to fight. I clutched the soldering torch in my hand. I wouldn't be quick enough to stop them from biting me but I would be able to flame them when they did. I really didn't want to be a vampire tonight though. I at least wanted to wait until I got to Washington State.
I watched as the two cloaked figures moved within maybe five yards of us. Gabriel started to growl at seven yards which made one of the two figures chuckle. "That's enough," I said softly. Even I wasn't sure if it was to the guard or to Gabriel.
Both figures stopped at the five yard mark and pulled back their hoods. Their shapes alone told me who was who. Felix was physically bigger but Demetri looked more cunning. It was those features that I first noticed. It took me another second in the fading light to notice that Demetri had only used one arm to pull back his hood.
"Aro sent you to meet with us," I said, trying to step out in front of Gabriel. I wasn't going to go towards the Guard, just move out from behind my kidnapping vampire. However, the drop dead gorgeous sparkling leech had other ideas and growled lightly as I tried to move out of his grasp. He held me back. I turned my head to glare up at him.
"Indeed, he did," I heard one of the guards say. I wasn't sure which one because Gabriel had chosen to look down at me with worried eyes at that second. His grip lessoned only slightly as he saw my glare.
I turned my attention back to the Guard and managed to move to maybe a foot and a half in front of Gabriel. Still holding my soldering torch, I looked at the two vampires before me. I could almost feel the one behind me wanting to grab my arm and run. He did not want to be here –his honor demanded that he do as the Cullens' had asked- and he was making that painfully clear.
I kept my eyes trained on the two guards, trying to ignore the impatient worry coming off Gabriel that you didn't need Jasper around to feel it. Both looked right back at me. Felix had an arrogant smile upon his face and Demetri was held only an emotionless mask.
I didn't know what to say or what to do. I wasn't sure if they were here to kill me or if they really were just sent to see me. The Guard wasn't exactly known for being anything other than bringing destruction upon those that broke the rules. What does one say to a couple of indiscriminate human killing monsters?
"We were told to ask you how you destroyed Jane and how you know of us," Felix said with a menacing tone to his voice. Gabriel took a small step towards me and grabbed my hand again to pull me back to him while he growled.
I held up my free hand, turned to him and shook my head. "They don't mean any harm, yet," I whispered to him. It seemed to quell his growls again for the moment but he did glare at Felix when I heard a smirk. I turned back around to face the other two vampires.
"I saw her standing over Gabriel, using her ability on him, and I took a can of old hairspray I had in my purse at the time along with a lighter to make a make-shift blowtorch," I shrugged. I wanted to keep this as light as possible.
"But how do you know of us?" Demetri asked. His voice held something in it that almost sounded like pain.
"I simply know things. I can't explain it any better than that," I told them as truthfully as I could. I looked down for a moment, trying to think up even the most insignificant of details that might prove that no one told me of vampires.
If I mentioned Felix's cloak, they'd know of my association, or at least guess at, with the Cullens. I couldn't bring the vampire family into this anymore than I already had. Then I thought on what happened in New Moon. Felix, Jane, and Caius seemed to be disappointed about the decision not to kill the Cullens right then and there. Was the case the same here?
"You disagreed with Aro's orders, didn't you, Felix?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I took a step closer to him. "You don't like that he was forced to make a truce with me, do you?" I continued with my question.
Felix's face fell a bit and he looked to Demetri. Demetri's mask faltered, a small pained smile tugging at his lips before he only shrugged and looked to me. "We are curious how you managed to negotiate any deal with him considering you destroyed Jane and Alec," Demetri said softly.
"You were hurt, weren't you?" I asked somewhat gently. Demetri's voice was far kinder than Felix's…of course, anyone's voice would be.
Demetri nodded and took his cloak off the rest of the way. I gasped when I saw him. Even in the pale light that was left now, I could see he no longer had a right arm and his skin was charred along the very edge of his face on the right side. His leg looked odd as well.
"I'm so sorry, Demetri," I said sadly. "I didn't know of any other way," I tried to explain as tears threatened in my eyes.
"A causality of war, nothing more," Demetri told me. I watched as a slight smile graced his lips. "I am still not sure whether to be humiliated or flattered that I am the first victim to live through an attack by a truesabbatianoí," Demetri continued.
"There must be something that can be done," I told him, trying to think. I knew that Carlisle might be able to help but I didn't want to mention any connections to the Cullens. "Isn't there someone you could go to?" I asked. To say I felt bad didn't even cover the half of it. I really was sickened that I could cause anyone that much harm but I didn't see any other way.
I took a step closer to Demetri and heard Gabriel growl again and say something too softly for me to hear. Even though I had no idea what he said, I could watch the reactions of the other two vampires.
I watched as Demetri's eyes shifted from me to Gabriel. Felix just smirked again and I shot him a look. Gabriel stepped closer, tugging me back against him. "Great, not another one," I heard Felix mutter. That caught my attention.
"What do you mean?" I asked, curiously. I was easily ignored.
"I'm not sure I believe it," Demetri said softly.
"It must be something in the animal blood," Felix replied. I narrowed my eyes at the two vampires before me. The vampire behind me pulled me back to his side, his arm around my shoulders, ready to push me behind him at any second.
"Who else?" Gabriel asked, curiously. I tried to look up at him but failed miserably. He had me in too tight a grip for me to move much.
"Edward," both vampires said at the same time. My eyes widened with understanding. They couldn't possibly mean… No. Gabriel was only being chivalrous; he couldn't possibly see me as his mate. I couldn't possibly be his Bella, could it?
I felt Gabriel squeeze me tighter for a second before letting me have some room to breathe at least. I turned to look up at him and Gabriel looked down, a thousand questions in his amber eyes.
"It must be the brown hair as well. No running into brown haired American females while we are here," Felix stated. I bit my lip. My mind must be playing tricks on me, right? But how to ask? How to make sure…
"I believe I have a few questions for you gentlemen," I said to both Felix and Demetri with what little strength I had in me. Their heads both snapped up to look at me. Slowly, I pried Gabriel's arm from being wrapped around my shoulders. I knew I couldn't do it unless he would let me but he reluctantly agreed at least. I took a couple of steps forward to the Guard again.
"Can you tell me what Aro said to Gabriel?" I asked them. I gestured with my head back to the vampire behind me. "He won't tell me," I muttered, annoyed.
"It is unfortunate that we are not privileged to that information," Demetri said with a hint of a smile.
"Do you know something else?" I asked as I bit my lip. It was Felix who looked up at Gabriel this time and started actually laughing.
"You haven't even told her?" he asked my kidnapping vampire. I turned my head in time to watch as Gabriel shook his head once, his lips forming a tight line.
"It wasn't right," Gabriel stated. I heard Felix mutter something in Italian which caused Gabriel to growl and immediately pull me back behind him. In his quick action, I got sand in my shoes. Lovely.
"Stop it," I shouted. Demetri said something like "Arreste" at the same time. Both vampires relaxed only slightly. I stepped in front of Gabriel, holding on to his arm as I did so he would know that I wasn't moving away from him. I tried to plead with him with my eyes, I didn't want a fight right here. We could walk away right now…
I turned around again, Gabriel clutching my hand to the point it almost hurt. Facing the Volturi Guard, I decided this was enough. "You have seen me. Please, tell Aro I will follow through with the truce. But also warn him that I will not forget," I told them.
"He will see it," Demetri nodded before pulling up his hood and motioning for Felix to leave with him. It wasn't until they were gone from my sight that I let out a huge breath I didn't realize I had been holding.
"You did well, cucciola mia," I heard Gabriel say. Immediately, I turned around and glared at him.
"You almost started a fight with Felix! You could have gotten yourself killed," I shouted at him.
"I am already dead, tesorina," Gabriel said with a smirk. I glared at him and crossed my arms. His smile wavered when he saw the look on my face.
"Do you mind explainin', now, what Aro said to you? Or what you said to Aro? Or what all that was about?" I asked with a semi-pathetic at a dramatic sweep of my arm towards the ocean. Gabriel looked down. It was hard to see anything more than his perfectly sculpted outline now that it was dark.
"You did not tell me that Edward had taken a mate. Did you not know?" Gabriel asked when he looked back up again. I raised an eyebrow at him. Why was he avoiding the subject?
"I know about Bella," I said simply as I waited for him to answer. He smiled slightly as he looked up at the sky, pulling on his non-existent beard.
"Edward and Bella," Gabriel mused. I huffed slightly since he still wouldn't say it outloud. I needed to hear it. I needed confirmation of what my jumbled thoughts were telling me…
"And now, I have you," he said gently, taking his hand to cup my face. I felt myself fighting against any hope that he could possibly mean what I wanted him too. My knees felt like they were barely supporting me and the sand certainly wasn't helping. I closed my eyes, trying to will away the thoughts that I could possibly be his Bella.
"I did not wish to tell you before, cara mia," Gabriel whispered. I could feel his cool breath against my skin. "For I did not think that a human could understand how quickly such things come to be for my kind," he continued. I felt his lips against my jaw. I needed to hear it to know this was real. Too much of me had seen and felt things before only to find out that there was nothing behind the actions. I misinterpret too much to believe this could possibly be real.
"But you have changed me, Elizabetta," he said softly, his arms around me. "If you will allow it, I shall never leave your side," he said with a kiss to my cheek. "For you are all there is to my world, amore," he said. I opened my eyes, fearfully. Was this some elaborate joke? Was he doing this just so Felix could come back and snap a picture? Did he get a hold of my Twilight books and think this was a great game.
"What is it, cucciola mia?" Gabriel softly smiled, brushing the hair from my face.
"I…don't believe you," I whispered back. My chest hurt from all the pent up emotions I had. He couldn't love me. This was a joke. Yet another practical joke at Elizabeth's expense.
"Then, perhaps, I should show you, consorte mia," he said right before his lips found mine.
Unlike the last kiss, there was no feeling of doom around us. I could feel all my fears and insecurities fall away the second he said "consorte". Consort. Mate. I was his and he knew it.
My hands found the base of his neck as he pulled me up gently to kiss him. I could feel the gentleness but the urgency in his kiss as he held me to him. My lips fought slightly against his, both of us wanting the other one. I felt him lift me slightly and make our way back to the truck which was only a few yards behind us. He actually fumbled for the keys when I pulled his hair a bit to bring him further into the kiss.
I found myself pushed up against the truck and managed to somehow creep up so I could sit on the hood. We didn't break the kiss and I held on to Gabriel with all my might. I found myself cursing pencil skirts since my knees stayed rather firmly together.
It was at about that moment, one hand of mine on that back of Gabriel's head, the other barely dipping below his neck as I held him to me and Gabriel's hands –one on my lower thigh and the other on my mid-back-, when a group of college kids walked by, laughing at us. "Get a room!" one shouted before all of them laughed and started to continue on.
Embarrassed as I'll get out, I buried my face quickly in Gabriel's shirt. He smirked and gently wrapped his arms around me. That would have been fine if one of the kids didn't linger behind and decide to take a picture. I saw the flash and I could feel the color draining from my face.
"I'm so keeping this one up on my wall!" the strange little pervert mutter, laughing. His friends' laughter was much further away now.
I felt a cool breeze and found myself sitting on the hood of my truck, my shirt ruffled and my jacket slightly askew, with no Gabriel in front of me. I turned my head to look for him and hopped down, straightening my skirt. It did have ruffles and flare a bit around the knees but the top part was just too much of a fitted skirt to really have helped much a few seconds ago. I blushed at the thought and heard Gabriel only a few feet away.
"You will apologize," he demanded. My head shot up just in time to see Gabriel grab the boy's camera and crush it with his bare hand.
The boy looked on in shock that probably mirrored my own. What was he thinking? Destroying a digital camera like that went under the "Do not do" list of vampire 101 rules. "What are you? Some sort of freak?!" the boy shouted at him.
"Apologize!" Gabriel said angrily. I didn't like the tone of his voice and immediately started to walk over in the hopes I could somehow dispel the situation. Given the boy's friends and the beer bottle in his own hand that he just dropped, I could probably convince him he just had a bit too much to drink. Alcohol has been known to make people see really funny things before; sometimes a lot stranger than a crushed digital camera.
Before I could take two steps, the boy began to fight back. He screamed out a word that I would never say and moved to hit Gabriel. Gabriel blocked the boy's fist which must have broken the bones because he screamed out in pain. The problem was what I saw a split second later. One of the bones must have broken through the skin because the boy had a trickle of blood down his hand.
Gabriel went rigid and I knew his eyes were black without even looking at them. "Gabriel!" I screamed at him as he whisked around at vampire speed, blocking my view, and pulled the boy into an embrace before lowering his mouth to the boy's neck.
I stood there, frozen in shock. I was witnessing a murder but what could I do? My Gabriel had slipped up right before my eyes. A part of me was terrified that he'd turn on me next – even thought I had severe doubts as to vampires being able to turn on their mates- and I scrambled to get into the truck and lock the doors. Not that that would help if he was still consumed by the bloodlust.
Tears fell down my face. How could this have gone so terribly wrong? But I knew. It was me. I had my moment of perfect happiness; I discovered that Gabriel loved me too, but that was ruined because of me. If I didn't exist in this universe, then Gabriel wouldn't have just killed that boy. I didn't exist here. I shouldn't exist here. But because I did, someone died who wasn't supposed to and it was all my fault.
Couldn't I have anything that didn't get twisted or destroyed? All my life I have been dealing with just barely grasping at what would make me happy to find some horrible consequence to that happiness that destroyed it and hurt people around me. I was so tired of it. How could my bad luck possibly follow me into this universe?
I watched as Gabriel slowly dropped the lifeless body in the sand before him. He didn't even bother to turn around but I was pretty sure the bloodlust was over. His shoulder slumped and his knees both looked to buckle. Bloodlust or not, my brain immediately wanted for me to go to him, to hold him. He had messed up, but he was a vampire after all.
Slowly, I left the confines of my truck, closing the door behind me. Gabriel's head came up at the sound of door closing but he made no other move to acknowledge I was there. I measured my steps to him. I wasn't even sure if he was upset that he had lost control and killed someone or if he was upset that he did so with me around. I did know, he was upset and that was all I cared about at that moment.
I got within a couple of yards of him before I heard his voice. "Keep back, gioia mia," Gabriel said, his tone wavering. I took another couple of steps. I could tell by the way his head was cocked that he could hear me approaching. When I got within a couple of feet from him, I fell to my knees behind him and reached to place a hand on his shoulder.
Gabriel quickly covered my hand with his own. "I am not good for you," he whispered without looking at me.
"You told me you'd slip up," I whispered back truthfully. When I told him that he'd have to take on a vegetarian diet around me, he had promised he'd slip up from time to time. I just didn't think I'd be there to see it.
"I am a vampire, cucciola mia," he said with self-loathing in his voice that I hadn't ever heard before from him.
"And so will I be in a year or less," I told him. Gabriel turned his head to look at me, incredulously. His eyes were bright red, almost like rubies, but were so full of sadness, it pained me to look at them. I looked down at my knees, not taking my hand away from his shoulder. "I need to help you now, so you can help me, teach me, when I'm a newborn," I whispered pathetically to him. Yes, I'd most likely have the Cullens around for help but I now realized that the reason I felt such pain when I thought of just the Cullens helping me, of not having Gabriel around, was because I was his mate. I would need him with me and I didn't want to be an immortal without him by my side. Odd how your world can totally change in a little over a couple of weeks.
"I have killed before your very eyes," he told me, astonished. I looked up and over to where the college kids had disappeared. I think I heard voices coming back this way to look for their lost friend.
"So have I. I've taken two of your kind," I told him as I got up. I used his shoulder as leverage but it was really needed. The millisecond I made the motions that I wanted to stand, Gabriel pulled me up with him. "Thank you," I whispered before getting back to the topic at hand. "Well, two and a half really," I told him as I remembered Demetri too. I really hope that he goes to Carlisle or some other doctor that might be able to help him. I hated that I did that to him but he was right, we had been at war.
Gabriel stared at me for a second, not letting go of my hand. He only turned away when he must have heard the college kids again and he frowned as he looked back over at the body. The boy who took the picture of us laid in a heap on the sand. His very skin was lifeless and his eyes were still open in horror.
"Get rid of the body," I whispered. "I'll wait here. I won't leave you," I told him. Even I was impressed at how cool I was taking this whole murder thing. Gabriel nodded once and picked the boy back up before heading off at vampire speed to the ocean. Maybe he'd wash up somewhere and it would look like he tumbled into the water, drunk, and drowned. At least his family would have something to bury then.
"Hey!" someone shouted. I looked over to see a couple of the college kids coming back up to me. I smiled weakly at them. I was going to have to lie and I knew it. I was a damn fine liar when I had to be but lying about a crime like this? I was an Intel Analyst for the FBI for pete's sake! And yet, here I was an accomplice to murder and it really wasn't phasing me in the slightest. Hopefully, I was just in shock. It would catch up with me later.
The kids jogged over to me quickly and I turned to greet them. "Did you see our friend Justin? He was right behind us a minute ago," one of the kids said.
"Um," I started, trying to recall some details about the kid that my Gabriel had just killed. "About yea tall," I started, reaching my hand to an inch or two shorter than me. "And wearing a blue t-shirt?" I continued to ask. That was really all I could remember about him other than the camera.
"Yeah! That's him," one of the two kids stated happily. I pointed to the ocean. "I think he ran off that way when my boyfriend threatened him a bit," I said with a weak smile. It was so weird to say boyfriend in conjunction with Gabriel but I liked it. "He looked a bit drunk and I think my boyfriend just wanted to make sure he didn't fall in or something," I said with a shrug. Right about then, Gabriel came waltzing back up. His pants legs were soaked and had sand on them but other than that, he looked perfect as always.
"Hi, honey," I said, causing a smile on my face and butterflies to go wild in my stomach. Did Gabriel even like being called honey? I wonder what cucciola means… I need to find something to call him.
I walked over to him, still acting a bit, and kissed him on the cheek before grabbing his hand and smiling. I was a good little actress when I had to be. Of course, this role of Gabriel's girlfriend was rather easy if it weren't for the whole dead body thing. It honestly felt natural.
"Did you find him?" I asked, still smiling. When I was sure the college kids couldn't see my lips, I whispered as low as I could, "I told them that he ran off and you were looking for him since he looked to be drunk."
Gabriel's face went from confusion when I greeted him happily to one of understand. He managed to smile back rather brightly and then turn to the college kids. "No, sorry. I did not find him," he said.
"No problems, man," one of the two kids stated. "We'll just check out the beach and see if we can figure out which way that idiot went," they both chuckled. I kept the smile plastered on my face until the kids were out of sight. The second they were, I turned around and hugged Gabriel tightly.
"Let's find some place to rest and talk, okay?" I asked him.
"Anything, cucciola mia. Anything for you," he said, brushing my hair back with his hand. "I'm sorry, gioia mia. I do not understand why you do not run, but I cannot find it in me to leave you," he told me.
"Neither can I," I whispered back. And I couldn't. I was Gabriel's and he was mine. I realized that now, no matter what he had done…he was now my Gabriel.