Toye

Table of Contents
Summary............................................................................................................1 EnO.....................................................................................................................2 OwT..................................................................................................................13 EeRhT...............................................................................................................22 RuOf ..................................................................................................................28 EvIf ....................................................................................................................37 XiS.....................................................................................................................54 NeVeS ................................................................................................................68

Summary
Vampires like to play with their food. A campy and kitschy horror short-story that lets the men of the Cullen household be the monsters that Edward always claimed they were. Extremely OOC.

EnO
Main Entry: toy Etymology: Middle English toye 1. obsolete a: flirtatious or seductive behavior b: a sportive or amusing act ~~*~~ --' The wolf hunched over Emmaline's limp form, grunting and snarling with wet, heavy breaths against her naked and torn back. As a shape-shifter, he understood the passionate urges of two entities- the voracious hunger of the beast that he currently displayed in form, as well as the inner lust of the man trapped inside. Both passions combined to drive him harder into the fragile body below, in an effort to claim her as his own. With bared fangs, foamy white drool dripped from his muzzle and ran thickly down her shoulder while he plunged into her helpless womanhood&' " Womanhood? Who in the fuck writes this shit?" Rosalie tore her eyes from the small electronic screen from which she had been reading aloud. "Why don't they just say 'pussy' if they mean 'pussy'?" "I don't know," I muttered, shaking my head. "Maybe they were trying not to be offensive?" "Emmaline is getting fucked by a giant dog," Rosalie snorted indelicately. "I don't think that the author would have to worry about the word 'pussy' being the main source of offense!" I laughed lightly at her logic. Rosalie was my college roommate, and had been my best friend since eighth grade. We were as different as night and day. She was beautiful; I was plain. She was loud; I was quiet. She was brave& I was 2

Toye reserved. But I loved her. And I was especially thankful that her current obsession with supernatural online fan fiction was keeping me entertained while driving down a twisting highway in the middle of the night through a torrential downpour. Truthfully, she could have been bitching at me. It was my fault that we were traveling at a snail's pace through the Olympic Peninsula instead of sitting on a beach in Cancun for our Spring Break. Well& kinda my fault. I won the coin toss. I thought it would be fun to drive back to our little home town in Washington, to surprise family and friends. And I just didn't have it in me, to spend another vacation avoiding topless beaches and Rosalie's attempts to get me drunk enough to finally lose my virginity to some random hook-up. She was convinced that my being a virgin at twenty-one was half a step away from me turning into some scary old cat-lady. I sunburned easily. I wanted to wait for true love. And I didn't like cats anyway. Much. My windshield wipers slapped ineffectually at the rain coming down like a sheet outside. Inside, my heater vents popped and spluttered, doing a piss-poor job of keeping the condensation from fogging up my windshield. I cursed under my breath and pulled the sleeve of my jacket over my hand. Reaching as far forward as I could, I swiped at the glass in front of my face and tried to clear a spot to see through. For at least ten minutes, we traded alternative crude slang words and euphemisms for female genitalia. Laughing helped keep the stress at bay while I leaned over the steering wheel. "Lucy," I supplied, having run out of other choices. "Lucy?" Rosalie scoffed. "My Grandma used to call it her 'Lucy.'" 3

Toye "Like& loose?" Rosalie choked. "Loose-y? Okay. That's just fucking disturbing!" A loud metallic crunching ended our game when the car ran over something in the road. We screamed in unison when the vehicle immediately lurched to the side, and Rosalie gripped my forearm hard enough to leave bruises. "Hold on," I ground between my teeth. Which was kind of stupid, considering she already was. I threw my weight against the steering wheel, trying my best to keep us from losing control in a spin or flipping over. Despite my best efforts, the car skidded sideways down the rain slickened road. My forehead bounced angrily off the top of the steering wheel when the rear of the car bent around a tree. And then we came to a stop. My car made angry hissing noises. But other than its death-rattle and the accompanying thwack of the wiper-blades, there were no sounds. I turned with alarm to see if Rosalie was alright. "Rose? Rose?" I whispered, with dread in my voice. "Fucking shit," she yelled out, startling me. "I broke my goddamned phone when I hit it on the window!" Relief flooded through me as I saw her twist her body upright and pound her fingers against the flickering blue lights of her phone buttons. "I have my phone in the trunk," I reminded her. "We'll be fine." "What the fuck did we hit?" Rosalie looked around anxiously. "A tree, I think." I winced when my car choked once more and the engine died. "I'm not sure what we ran over, in the road. I think it took out our tires." "Oh my God." Rosalie sat with wide eyes staring forward. The reality of the situation was sinking in for both of us. "We could have been killed."

Toye "I know. I'm so sorry," I whispered. "You would have died a virgin!" Rosalie turned to me and laughed. My shoulders shook, and before I knew it, I was laughing with her. It was a shaky and near hysterical laugh& but leave it to Rosalie to try to make the best out of any situation. "Are you sure you're alright?" I asked, after we calmed ourselves. "My wrist is screwed up," Rosalie answered. "I don't think it's broken. But I hit it pretty hard against the window." "And you broke your phone." "Yeah." "Well& let's get mine and we can call 9-1-1 or something," I suggested. "Okay." My headlights cut crooked patterns into the darkened trees in front of us. If anything, they only served to remind me how dark the night around us really was. The rain had all but stopped, just as suddenly as it had started. But the cloud cover hid any sort of light that might have helped to see the extent of the wreckage. I reached across Rosalie's lap and took a tiny flashlight from the glove compartment. Luckily, it worked. Its small slice of milky light would be better than nothing. After coming to the realization that Rosalie's car door would not open, we both exited from the driver's side. Making our way toward the rear of the vehicle, I groaned while Rosalie cursed. The entire back end of my car was twisted and mangled from hitting the tree it now rested against. With shaking fingers, I tried to pop the trunk.

Toye "Please God& let it open. Please baby Jesus& let the trunk open. Shit!" If at first prayers don't succeed, try throwing a fit. I slapped my palms against the trunk and kicked the shredded back tire. "Shit, shit, shit!" I cried. Rosalie leaned against the trunk and lifted one red-heeled foot up to rest on the bumper. I wiped at my face and looked up to see her with her arms folded over her chest. Her eyebrow was raised while she waited for me to calm myself. "Let me guess," she suggested wryly. "The trunk won't open." "Nope," I groaned. "And your phone is in there." "Yep," I nodded. "And so are our clothes." She extended a leg in front of her, and looked down at her pointy high-heel. "It's going to suck-ass to have to hike in these," she murmured. "Hike? Where?" "To get help," Rosalie huffed. "Or to get& out of here. I don't know." "Maybe we shouldn't leave," I shook my head. "I'm pretty sure that we shouldn't leave the scene of an accident. We should just wait in the car." "That's not an option," Rosalie argued. "I smell gas, Bella. If you ruptured your gas line, it is not safe to stay anywhere near this thing." "Gas line?" I asked skeptically. "Since when do you know anything about cars?" But my skepticism was cut short. Rosalie was right. I could smell gas, too. "Okay," I sighed, feeling defeated. "You're right. We need to walk." "I'm sure we won't have to walk far," Rosalie shrugged nonchalantly and moved herself away from the bumper. I wasn't sure if her show of bravado was for my benefit or her own. 6

Toye "How can you be so sure?" I asked. "These are my Jimmy Choos." Rosalie stuck her toe out again to show me her shoe. "They are my lucky heels. I've never worn these and not met a hot guy!" I looked around at the eerily dark forest that surrounded us and shivered. "I'm not sure your Jimmy Choos are going to be so lucky tonight," I muttered. "We'll see." Rosalie tossed her hair over her shoulder and stepped up toward the front of the car. "Where are we?" she called back. I moved to join her. "I don't know," I admitted with a sigh. "It was raining too hard for me to see the last mile marker. But I'm pretty sure we passed the last sign of civilization over an hour ago." Rosalie nodded slowly. "So, we should be getting close to a town. Let's start walking the direction we were driving. Someone is bound to drive by, eventually." "Maybe a hot guy with a thing for blondes in red heels?" I teased. "Exactly." I ducked back inside the driver's side door and reached into the glove compartment. "What are you doing?" Rosalie asked. "Leaving a note," I explained while pulling the lid of a marker off with my teeth. I unfolded a map and began making thick black lines across the creased paper. ' PLEASE CONTACT: CHARLIE SWAN'& and I left my father's phone number under the large upper-case letters. 7

Toye "Your Dad doesn't even know that we were coming," Rosalie reminded me. "It was supposed to be a surprise. Remember?" "Right. But if someone calls and describes the car to him& or gives him the plate number, he'll be able to figure it out!" I shoved the map into the windshield so that the writing would be visible to a passer-by. And then I reached into the small storage space in the dash one more time. "What now?" Rosalie tried to look over my shoulder. "Pepper spray," I said, turning to show her the small cylinder before I palmed it. "Good idea," she nodded. "All right," I glanced around quickly before retreating and shutting the door. "I'm ready. Let's go." Together we began walking down the dark road, dodging puddles and chatting about aimless topics to keep our minds off our current plight and relative discomfort. I was willing to bet that my ballet flats were a far cry more comfortable to walk in than Rosalie's dangerously high heels. But her black turtle neck and skinny jeans must have been warmer than the denim mini-skirt and tank top I wore, even if I did have a light jacket to go over it. The light from our tiny flashlight bounced along the white line at the side of the road while we walked. It was easy for us to come up with things to talk about. But eventually our feet began to slow, giving away our exhaustion and indicating the distance we must have travelled. Still, we saw no traffic and didn't seem to be any closer to a town as far as I could tell. "Let's just rest a minute," I mumbled, leaning forward and pressing my palms to my bare knees. I took a deep breath and tried to control the panic that I felt setting in. The darkness pressed in on us from all sides, and almost made me 8

Toye feel claustrophobic. "Maybe we got our directions turned around when the car was spinning," Rosalie whispered beside me. I cringed. I had been afraid to state that fear aloud when I had considered it earlier. The darkness was disconcerting. "I'm sorry," I shook my head. It was starting to rain again, and I felt like sitting down and crying. "Hey. What's that?" Rosalie had raised one arm, and was pointing toward a ghostly white shape several yards in front of us. I squinted and moved the beam of the flashlight up to illuminate what had caught her attention. A rusted old mailbox sat perilously tilted on top of a paint-chipped wooden post. The letters 'C' and 'N' were the only discernable markings. Rosalie and I walked toward it. I pressed my fingers to the latch, and had to pull hard to get the door to swing down. When it did, something large and hairy flew out of the shadowy space and landed on the top of my hand. "Ahhh FUC K!" I screamed and flung my hand to the side, dropping my flashlight into the bracken beside us while trying to dislodge the creature that had landed on me. I stood, shaking for a moment. Rosalie bent to pick up the flashlight and pointed the beam at a rather large spider that scurried away from her foot. "Just a spider," Rosalie said calmly. I shivered strongly and tried to get past the totally creeped out feeling I had from that thing surprising me as it had. "The box was hard to open," I muttered, trying to get my mind off the scary little beast that had been inside. "No one has used it in a very long time." "But where there is a mailbox& there is a house!" Rosalie's voice sounded hopeful, and she spun the light of the flashlight out to look at the tree line beside us. "Maybe a cabin& or&" Her voice stopped when the light did. Barely 9

Toye noticeable through the over-grown brush and ferns, there was a small dirt road cutting from the highway just ahead. "It doesn't look as though anyone has used this road for a very long time," I said quietly, while we walked up to it. The rain drops were getting heavier, and landing on the dark brown dirt with pitter-pats. "So the place is probably deserted," Rosalie said. "That doesn't mean that we can't find it and get out of this weather for a while. At the very least, we'll have some shelter so we can sleep. And then we can figure out what in the hell to do in the morning!" "I don't know," I said doubtfully. I was still shaken by that spider on my hand. I didn't want to imagine what sort of creepy-crawlies were out there in that thick over-growth. "Come on." Rosalie's voice finally wavered and I saw the flashlight lower when she dropped her arm. "I'm tired, Bells. And my feet are really fucking killing me." "Okay," I agreed quietly. I was exhausted and cold. And my head was pounding. I touched my fingers to my forehead and winced when I felt the tender spot that was likely bruised from the steering wheel. Side by side, we stepped off the main road and began pushing our way though the heavy foliage. We walked in silence. After a while, I wondered if Rosalie might have regretted suggesting that we deviate from the easier path. The dirt road beneath us was full of ruts and potholes. And the brush grabbed greedily at our hair and clothing. The rain was heavier, and certainly wasn't helping matters at all, as we slipped and slid through the forest. "What the fuck?" Rosalie groaned harshly when a low branch tangled in her long hair. I could hear her voice catch and knew that she had almost reached the end of her limit of tolerance. She had been trying to remain optimistic for both of us. But now it was my turn. I reached with careful fingers and unwound her long locks from the twisted snare. 10

Toye "It can't be far, now," I offered softly. I linked my arm through hers and offered her what was left of my strength. "It's probably a cozy little house, with a fireplace," I suggested. "Maybe they'll have some food&" "Spaghetti," Rosalie played along. "With meat sauce," I added. "And garlic bread!" Rosalie was fantasizing about carbs. Which meant I had done my job in getting her back to her happy place. We picked up our pace with renewed determination. After a short while, we both gasped. Just ahead, through the trees, we could see warm yellow light. "Is that&?" I squinted. "A house!" Rosalie exclaimed. "The lights are on! Someone is home!" She dropped my arm and started practically running toward the beacon of light. "Wait!" I called out breathlessly. Rosalie stopped and turned to look at me. "What?" "What& what if they aren't nice people?" I asked. We were awfully far from the main road. What kind of people would we find staying in this secluded place? "You've got your pepper spray," Rosalie reminded me. "I'm fucking cold and wet. I want the hell out of this rain and out of these woods. And I swear to Christ that I would eat dinner with Charlie Manson right now, if he offered me pasta." "Fine," I reluctantly agreed. We traversed the remaining brush together and clomped up the stairs to a cabin that looked much larger than I would have initially guessed from a distance. Up close, it was decidedly less ominous with 11

Toye its cheery yellow windows and quiet music playing from within. I was able to make out the faint strains of a popular radio hit coming from inside. Rosalie fidgeted, trying to smooth her tangled hair while I took a deep breath and knocked loudly on the door. The music inside was muted immediately, and we could clearly hear footsteps approach the door. And then the door swung open and we both flinched against the sudden outpouring of light. When my eyes adjusted, I blinked up at the hulking figure that filled the doorway. The man looked to be in his early to mid-twenties. He was clean-cut and shockingly handsome with short, dark hair. And he was enormous; tall and extremely muscular. While I couldn't quite make out the color of his eyes while he stood there with his back to the light, I could see a definite twinkle in them when his cheeks creased with large dimples and a wide smile pull at his lips. " Thank you Jimmy Choo!" Rosalie breathed with an answering smile. --Reviews are better than arachnophobia. Leave one.

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OwT
~~*~~ "I don't know who 'Jimmy Choo' is," the man frowned lightly. "But I'm Emmett." "Gorgeous and straight," Rosalie simpered. I nudged her sharply with my elbow to get her to snap out of it. "I'm Bella," I interrupted. "This is Rosalie. We& were in an accident on the highway. I wondered if we might use your phone?" "Are you girls alright?" Emmett's friendly expression turned to immediate concern. Rosalie brushed her wet hair behind her shoulders and straightened her posture. She made looking half-drowned and dead-on-her-feet look amazing. "Do you think we could come inside?" she asked, batting her eyelashes. Men ate that shit up. And Emmett was no exception. He stammered and moved to the side of the door, holding it open wide to indicate that we could enter. Rosalie stepped past him, and I quickly followed. "I'm sorry," Emmett apologized, shutting the door behind us. "We don't have phone service turned on up here. We usually only come up for short hunting trips from time to time&" "Cell phone?" I asked, hopefully. He pulled a glossy black phone from his pocket and waved it with a small frown. "No signal," he sighed, apologetically. I looked around our surroundings curiously. It was warm and tidy, but definitely not cluttered. They obviously had not been occupying the place for long. I felt bad for making the large man feel he should apologize.

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Toye "It's nice to get out of the rain," I smiled. "You said 'we'?" "Oh yeah," Emmett nodded and moved over by the staircase. "Jasper!" he called up loudly. "We have company!" He stepped back toward us and shrugged with a grin. "Jasper's my roommate," Emmett explained with a smile while we listened to footsteps above. "We came up here to meet with my Dad and little brother for Spring Break." "You go to school?" Rosalie asked, sounding interested in more than just his major. Emmett grinned at her and rubbed the back of his neck with a large hand. "University of Washington," Emmett said. We all turned our attention to the stairs when another man sauntered down to join us. If anything, I was even more impressed by the physical attractiveness of Emmett's roommate. Also tall, but lean& the man Emmett called 'Jasper' had blonde hair worn wavy to his ears, and had deep blue eyes that seemed to scorch me as he looked curiously between Rosalie and myself. The corner of his generous mouth curled up while he looked between us, and then back to Emmett. I felt the side of Rosalie's high-heel connect with my foot and realized that I was staring. I dropped my eyes from the gorgeous man and blushed, looking over at her smug expression. "What have we here?" The man asked. "This is Bella& and Rosalie." Emmett moved to stand next to Rosalie as he spoke, obviously staking a claim. I smirked and looked away. "They were in a car accident." "Oh no," Jasper murmured. He didn't sound surprised, and my eyes flew back up to his face. He frowned lightly and cocked his head when he looked at me. "Are you both okay?" I must have mistaken the note of indifference. He seemed politely concerned, if not overly worried. "We're fine. Thank you," I replied.

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Toye "Just tired and cold," Rosalie pointed out. "And hungry?" I stated it as a question. I felt rude even bringing it up, but I was feeling a little sick to my stomach and was starting to pass the point of worrying about good manners. Jasper frowned over at Emmett, and then looked back at me. "I& am not sure that we have much to offer from the kitchen." "My brother and my Dad are supposed to bring food with them, when they come," Emmett chuckled. Jasper laughed at whatever inside joke they shared, and I wrinkled my nose in confusion. Jasper sobered instantly and shrugged. "I'll go see if I can find something for you girls to eat," he suggested. I smiled a weak 'thanks' and let Emmett lead us into the living room. I sighed when I saw the blazing fire in the hearth. I moved to it quickly, and stuck my hands out, trying to get warm. "What was I thinking?" Emmett slapped his forehead with his palm. "I'll get you girls a couple of towels. Be right back." He turned and left the room quickly, and Rose moved to stand beside me in front of the fire. "What did I tell you about my lucky shoes?" Rosalie grinned. " Two sexy men in the middle of nowhere? What are the odds?" she asked. "One for each shoe," I teased, smiling grudgingly at her excitement. "And here I thought I'd have to drag your ass all the way to Cancun during Spring Break just to get you to lose your virginity!" I frowned at her and we both turned with a start at the loud sound in the doorway. Jasper stood frowning down at a silver can that rolled near his foot. He bent to pick it up, and avoided our eyes. "Sorry," he muttered. "I found some canned peaches in the pantry. I came to see if that would be alright?" 15

Toye "It sounds wonderful," Rosalie said. I stood there, blushing like an idiot. Obviously he had heard Rosalie's comment and was uncomfortable enough to have dropped the can he was holding. I hoped that he didn't have the wrong idea about me. "Look what you did," I whispered loudly and slapped Rosalie's arm when he turned to go back toward the kitchen. "He probably thinks that you assume he's interested!" " All men are interested," Rosalie said, shrugging. "And he's a perfect target, since I've got my eye on Tall, Dark, and Handsome!" "No. No target," I insisted, shaking my head. "Rosalie& I meant it. This Spring Break is not for you to try to be a matchmaker. We were in an accident. I'm cold& I'm hungry& I want to sleep. That's it. I'm not looking for a fling in the woods!" "Your loss," Rosalie sniffed. Emmett returned to the room then, and I smiled in appreciation as he handed me a soft towel. Rosalie practically purred while she ran her towel over her hair and across her chest. I might have laughed at how obvious she was being, if I wasn't so completely drained. Instead, I settled for rolling my eyes and concentrating on the way the fire was warming the front of my legs. "Dinner is served," Jasper announced behind us. He grinned and looked as proud as if he had personally cooked a five-course meal while he placed two bowls full of golden peaches and heavy syrup on the table in front of the sofa. Rosalie moved just as fast as I did to take advantage of his offering. "Aren't you eating?" I asked. His eyes shifted toward Emmett quickly, and then looked away and shrugged. "Not now," Jasper answered. "We stuffed ourselves on the trip up here. I'm still full."

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Toye "Well& thank you," I smiled. It had been hours since Rosalie and I had eaten, and the peaches looked delicious. I sat and began eating. Rosalie, of course, was already working her magic. She moaned and licked the syrup from the back of her spoon like those damn peaches were ambrosia. Emmett sat staring, clearly under her spell. I snickered around a mouthful of food when he moved closer to her on the other side of the sofa, still staring. Jasper sat in an armchair near the fire, somberly gazing into the flames. I decided he was definitely the more reserved of the two men. I hoped Rosalie hadn't offended him with her earlier joking assumptions. She had meant to tease me, not to make him uncomfortable. "So& Jasper," I asked, drawing his attention to me. I thought a look of annoyance crossed his features, but it was so fleeting that I was sure I must have been mistaken. He merely looked at me, waiting for me to finish. I was determined to return things to a comfortable status between us. "What do you study?" I asked. "History." He smiled softly as though he were amused by his own answer. "Want a drink?" I jumped when Emmett leaned over my shoulder. I hadn't even heard him stand. And yet, he had managed to go to the kitchen and return just as silently with four beers in his arms. I took the drink he offered and smiled nervously up at him. He handed Jasper and Rosalie brown bottles as well, and I watched as the men clinked their glass bottles together with a dull thud before tipping their heads back to take drinks. I sipped mine too, sighing when the cool carbonated liquid soothed my throat. "Thank you," I nodded to Emmett. He shrugged and showed his dimples. "Sorry. It's all we have in the refrigerator." "Quit apologizing," I scolded playfully. "You've been more than generous." Rosalie rubbed her hand up and down his immense arm when he sat beside her again. 17

Toye "We were talking about school," Jasper pointed out. Emmett cringed a little and looked sheepish while he replied to his friend. "Yeah. I sorta told them about us being roommates at Washington U," Emmett said. "What is your major?" Rosalie asked, placing her beer on the table next to his. "I haven't decided yet," Emmett grinned. "I don't know. Science? Medicine? I've always been interested in hematology." Jasper laughed loudly and I caught a glimpse of his perfect white teeth before he caught me looking and his expression sobered once more. For some reason, the look on his face made a shiver run up my spine. "What's so funny about that?" Rosalie asked. She was practically sitting on Emmett's lap now, and pouted over at Jasper reproachfully. "I'm a pretty lousy student," Emmett explained. "But thank God, I'm a fast learner." Emmett demonstrated his claim by moving his large hand to lay across Rosalie's knee. She didn't seem to oppose to his suggestive comment or his wandering hands. I sighed and moved to place my beer on the table beside theirs. Of course, I'm terribly clumsy. The bottom of my bottle hit Rosalie's drink. I grabbed it quickly before it could splash the table with beer. But I inadvertently hit Emmett's bottle in the process. I watched with shock as it tipped and spun across the table with a hollow clank. It was empty. "Guess I was thirstier than I thought," Emmett chuckled and righted the bottle. Jasper glared over at him, and I shrunk back into the cushion of the sofa. "I'll need to get another." "There were only four," Jasper said quickly, smoothing the irritation from his features. "I counted earlier." I bit my lip. Four bottles for four men. He probably looked pissed because Emmett offered drinks that were meant for the 18

Toye other two that were joining them. "You can finish mine," Rosalie offered with a throaty voice. She reached for her bottle and held it up to Emmett's lips, but he turned his chin away. "You need it more than I do," Emmett responded sweetly. "You hiked over five miles tonight." I blinked rapidly, staring down at my beer bottle. How could he have possibly known how far we had walked? Jasper cleared his throat loudly. "He means it was probably close to five miles," Jasper corrected. "The hike from the main road to this cabin is longer than hell. You two must be beat." As if confirming his words, a large yawn pulled itself from my throat. I covered my mouth, apologizing for my unintended rudeness. "Don't be sorry," Jasper shook his head. "You both should get some sleep. We can take care of your car in the morning." "If you're sure&" I hedged. But sleep actually sounded heavenly at the moment. My eyes darted over to Emmett and Rosalie. She smiled when he lowered his head toward the side of her face and whispered in her ear. She nodded briefly at whatever he said, and slid off his lap. Emmett stood beside her and took her hand in his. Rosalie shot me an apologetic grin before letting him lead her from the room. "Rose&" I whispered quietly. "See you kids in the morning," Emmett grinned over his shoulder while the two of them walked up the stairs. I felt my jaw fall open. That was a fast turn of events, even by Rosalie's standards. I slumped in my seat, and Jasper quietly moved to stand behind his chair.

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Toye I glanced over at where Jasper stood. The firelight turned his wavy hair to burnished gold. I licked my lips. He was gorgeous& no doubt about that. But something about his demeanor set me on edge. And I really hoped that he didn't think that I was interested in him in that way. Rosalie and I were very different people& "You don't have to feel obligated to babysit," I said nervously to break the silence in the room. "I mean& you can go on up to bed if you'd like. I'll be very comfortable right here on the couch. And I'm sure I'll be asleep in no time&" I realized I was rambling, though I couldn't seem to help myself. "I'm not tired," Jasper replied stonily. The atmosphere between us continued to disintegrate to awkwardness after Rosalie and Emmett abandoned us. Jasper seemed even more tense and withdrawn. And while I was really too tired to give much thought to the cause, I didn't feel entirely comfortable curling up to sleep with him moodily standing nearby. "I'm sorry if our showing up has been an inconvenience&" I began. Jasper left the chair and moved closer to me then, rubbing his right eye with his knuckles and sighing in what sounded like exasperation. "It's not an inconvenience," he muttered, his tone indicating otherwise. When he dropped his hand from his face and looked at me, I gasped in surprise. "Jasper&" I exhaled loudly. "Are you alright?" "Yeah," he raised his eyebrow and looked confused. "I'm fine. Why?" "Your eye," I whispered, raising a hand toward his face but then dropping it quickly. I was staring with fascination at the eye that he had been rubbing. "Your eye& is red!" The entire iris of his right eye was no longer dark blue& but a vibrant, bloody, crimson.

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Toye I watched the expression on his face flash from confusion to awareness, and finally to anger. I didn't even have time to flinch away when I saw him raise his arm and swing the back of his hand toward my face. I saw a shock of bright white. Then crimson. Then black. --Reviews are better than clinophobia. Leave one.

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EeRhT
~~*~~ I was pulled away from the comfortable grey haze in which I floated, weightlessly. With the rush and sound of an oncoming freight train, I was hurled out of the safe, dark, nothing toward painful consciousness. The ache that blossomed across my cheekbone and temple grew and grew until I blinked my eyes open and winced against the scratchy material of the sofa under my face. I was twisted and lying chest-down, apparently in the same position that I had fallen after Jasper struck me with the back of his hand. Jasper. I didn't know what I had done to illicit such a drastic and violent turn in his behavior. But I instinctively held my breath and tried to remain still. My heart pounded loudly in my ears, making my head hurt more. But I knew that I needed time to figure out what was going on. I was in trouble. Big trouble. And pretending to be asleep might buy me a few moments to try to formulate a plan. I needed to find Rosalie. And I needed to get out of this cabin. I quickly squeezed my eyes closed when I heard approaching footsteps. I breathed deeply, trying to force my body to relax and mimic sleep. But I tensed when I felt a breath rush icily across the skin of my ear and neck. "I know you're awake," Jasper said with a low, deep voice. "Your pulse is racing&" It didn't matter to me how he could possibly know that. He knew I was awake. I licked my lips nervously and strong fingers on my shoulder rolled me to lay on my back before I opened my eyes. Jasper had leaned over the back of the sofa when he spoke to me. His face was only inches away from my own. The tips of our noses practically touched. And 22

Toye I saw that now, both of his eyes burned a brilliant, fiery red. My chest rose and fell with my escalated breathing. "Jasper?" I said softly. I tried to use a calm and coaxing voice. I hated the tremor I heard in the tone that belied my nervousness. "I don't know what's going on& but I think that there has been some misunderstanding&" I thought that perhaps, remaining non-confrontational would be my best course of action. Jasper had hit me with no earlier indication that he should be feared. I had no idea what he was capable of. "What, exactly, did you misunderstand, Bella?" Jasper murmured. His breath fanned icy and sweet against my lips. I felt light headed, and had to remind myself to breath. Fear had frozen me in place. "Please&" I whispered. "Let me get Rosalie, and go." Jasper raised himself away slightly and closed his eyes while a cold laugh tumbled past his pink lips. A shiver ran down my spine but I tried to ignore my body's automatic response to the chilling sound, using the moment instead to reach quickly into the pocket of the jacket I still wore. When Jasper turned to look at me again, I was ready for him. I simultaneously pulled the collar of my jacket over my nose, and pressed the red button on the top of my pepper spray. He blinked at the unexpected attack, and I rolled off the couch. My knees hit the floor hard, and I coughed and gagged into my jacket. The burning chemical I had discharged from the can into the confined space was acting against me. Tears streamed down my face as I crawled frantically toward the front door. "Okay. Now you've just managed to piss me off," I heard Jasper scold from somewhere behind me. I crawled faster. But then a harsh grip on my right ankle pulled my leg up and back, and I was sent off balance, crashing to the floor beneath me. "Ooomph!" The breath was knocked from my lungs, and I threw my arms out, palms flat to the floor, trying to find something to hold on to. I was being drug across the hard wood floor as though I were a doll being pulled by a reckless 23

Toye toddler. And the skin on the inside of my knee pulled painfully away with a burning friction caused by my struggle. Jasper hissed. Low and steady, like a snake, and his body paused. When he released my leg, I tried to pull my knees beneath me to rise and crawl away again. But his body immediately formed a cage over me as he crouched and flipped me beneath his hands. I was breathing heavily, and my eyes still stung from the residual burn in the air. I flinched when Jasper's hand circled my calf, and he roughly pulled my legs apart. Horrendous thoughts of rape and further molestation seized me in panic. But his hands didn't tarry on my skin. His concentration was on the red, raw place on the inside of my knee. He moved close& so close that I could feel his breath on my bare thigh. I bit my lip as he looked closely at my abrasion. "No blood," he murmured quietly. He sounded& disappointed. "So close." He clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth before resting his hand across his own bent leg. He stared at me for a moment before sighing and straightening. I hurried while he moved, and placed my hands behind me. With my heels dug into the flooring, I tried to scurry backward like a crab. But Jasper merely grabbed the material of my jacket front and hauled me easily to my feet before him. I couldn't fathom how such a wiry man could demonstrate such strength. In the next moment, he spun me and threw one arm around my midsection. My feet were lifted from the floor as my back aligned with his rigid side. I wanted to kick and squirm, but the cutting pressure of his arm under my ribs made my first priority merely to breathe. I wheezed and my fingers ineffectually tried to pry his arm away from my stomach. My feet dangled in the air beneath me, and I saw spots before my eyes. My own gasping breath filled my ears as Jasper carried me down a long, dark, hallway. Though I was pretty sure I might just faint from the lack of oxygen, an increased sense of panic sent me kicking against his legs as he opened a brown, wooden door. The light from behind us illuminated the first of what I assumed were bare steps leading down to a basement. I struggled with renewed fervor, 24

Toye and wasted the air in my lungs with a plea that came on instinct. "No. No. NoNoNoNo&." I shook my head, whimpering and begging. I didn't want to go down those stairs. But my fingers stopped trying to pry Jasper's arm away. Instead, I clutched at the stone restraint of his hold and hoped that he wouldn't throw me down the stairs in a fit of rage. "Please," I whispered brokenly. "Please& I'll do anything." "You're right," he said menacingly near my ear. "You will." He had already begun our descent. I stared around me, wild eyed, and tried to concentrate on my surroundings. The room was dark, and damp. I continued to hang, clutched to Jasper's side as he reached up to slide a long leather cord from around his neck. On the bottom of the cord, barely illuminated from the light that followed us down the stairs, was a brass key. "Can't have you running off," Jasper explained while he carried me further into the dark room. "What's the fun in that? You'd just be caught too easily." I didn't understand his words. But I heard the scratching sound of his key touching what I imagined was a lock. And then a harsh, metallic groaning filled the air. "In you go," Jasper turned his body and released me. My feet tried to find purchase beneath me, but my body crumpled to the ground where I was dropped. I slapped my hands to the cold, hard floor and my shoulders heaved while I sucked in deep, healing breaths. "What? Where&" I turned my head toward the sound of the grating metallic noise I heard before. But this time I heard the distinct click and turn of his key. Though my watery eyes had not yet adjusted to the dark area around me, I understood then. Jasper had put me in a cage. His unusually silent movement made it impossible for me to hear his departure. But when the door closed at the top of the stairs, and the small slice of light that had provided any relief in this black space was taken away, I knew that I 25

Toye was alone. A ragged sob tore from my lips, and I turned to my hands and knees. With one arm extended in front of my face, I pressed my palm against the damp air and began to crawl forward. It didn't take long before I found what I knew I would. My fingers brushed against, and then grabbed at a cool, cylindrical bar. I let my fingers slide upward around its craggy surface, and pulled myself to a standing position. With both hands acting as my eyes then, I was able to rely on touch to take in my surroundings. Hand over hand, I gripped the bars as I travelled the perimeter of my prison. It was a large cell, with bars over head that I could barely feel if I stood on tiptoe. And by reaching through the widely spaced bars, I could tell that it must have been located centrally in the basement. I could feel no walls beyond. Slowly, and specifically I made mental note of my environment. It gave me something to concentrate on, so that I could not let my thoughts linger on the reason why I was brought to such a place. Resigned, I crawled my way back to what I guessed was the far corner of my cage. With my back pressed to the hard steel behind me, I wrapped my arms around my upraised knees and rested my forehead against my cool skin. Weariness tugged at me, tempting me to drift back to a less frightening oblivion. But I fought it off, instead, conjuring imaginary scenarios that might explain my current situation. College hazing pranks& amateur film makers trying to capture "real" footage& My imagination struggled to find less-terrifying alternatives to explain my captivity. But a tiny voice in the back of my mind reminded me to consider the very real possibility that this was something much, much worse. Surrendering to a moment of earned pessimism, I let my legs slide straight out in front of me. I blinked my eyes then, and stared at the thin limbs that sprawled on the floor in defeat. A dim blue glow cast long, dark shadows in front of me, and illuminated the chipped red toenail polish on my right foot. Somehow, I had lost a shoe. I raised my head and focused on my source of light. A small, rectangular window set high in the dark wall shoplifted a pocket of moonlight and shared it here, in my dark confinement. I sighed with a shaky breath. The clouds had lifted.

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Toye And with the evidence of the change in weather outside, I borrowed a change in attitude. There was light in the darkness. My car was on a main road. I left a note in the windshield. Surely someone would call my father. Charlie Swan, the Chief of Police had run his share of search parties in this state. He would find me. I just had to keep my head. I needed to stay alert. I needed to stay complacent and not invite violence from Jasper. If I could buy myself some more time& my father would find me. And by morning, Rosalie would realize that I was missing. Hell. She might have already noticed and escaped the house. Help would come. I could survive. I would survive. I just needed to buy myself as much time as possible. I stared with eager eyes toward that small window. Clouds came and went, but the light always returned, reminding me to stay strong and to persevere. I waited for the sun to bring a new day. The day I would be free again. But the song of the morning larks acted as a dark lullaby, and I slumped in my cold corner, losing my battle to remain awake. Somewhere, in the foggy recesses of semi-consciousness, the song of the birds changed to something deeper, something sweet and lilting and infinitely more comforting. I listened to the beautiful sound and let it wrap around me, finally succumbing to the sleep my body so desperately needed. --Reviews are better than cleithrophobia. Leave one.

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RuOf
~~*~~ I woke with a start and cringed as my shoulders reflexively pulled up against the slouched and cramped position they had fallen into during sleep. My eyes immediately flew to the window& the one I had vigilantly watched for the approaching signs of day. I missed it. The grey light that filtered through could have come from the near constant cloud-cover over this part of the state. Or the day was already waning. I had no way of knowing. At least the window provided enough light for me to better see my surroundings now. I stood, wincing and stretching. The hard, dark bars around me were illuminated well enough for me to finally visually realize the definition of my entrapment. A million and one prison scenes from movies drove me to forgo pointlessly rattling the bars of the door while begging to be released. Instead, I reached through the cage and turned the heavy lock between my palms. I tested the latch half-heartedly, knowing it would be locked securely, and sighed when I felt it hold true. I dropped it to knock loudly against the bars and turned my eyes to scan the basement around me. I was right in my assumption that I was being held captive in the center of this room. Dark and damp unfinished cement walls supported the wood-beamed ceiling above. One bare light bulb hung from the center of the room, just in front of the door to this cage. The window graced the wall in front of me. The stairs were built up on the left. A knotty work-table lined the wall to the right. Other than those things, there was nothing to distract from the hard lines of the building structure. There were no boxes holding stored camping equipment. No hunting gear or fishing poles. No shovels or rakes or other assorted tools in the corner. It was bare, and daunting in its emptiness. Just a work-table and a cage. The room was obviously used for nothing more. The sinister implications of my observation slithered up my spine and caused me to shiver. Cold, hard fear rose in the back of my throat and I pulled a ragged breath in through my nose while I struggled to swallow it back down 28

Toye and control it. I would never find an escape if I started freaking out now. I needed to remain calm. With my hands gripping the bars in front of me tightly, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I searched my mind for images and memories that might help me calm myself. Oddly, in the dark behind my closed eyelids, I heard a gentle humming melody. It rested in my ears and teased just beyond the edges of a memory. Like a song I had heard in a dream. Soothing& peaceful& hopeful& With the sudden feeling that I was no longer alone, I opened my eyes widely and spun around. The hair on the back of my neck was standing up, goose bumps broke out on my exposed skin. I felt as though I were being watched. "Hello?" I whispered timidly. My throat was hoarse, and it hurt for me to croak out the salutation. My eyes scanned the room around me frantically, looking into the dark shadows for the presence I detected. But no sound returned my fearful greeting. I pressed my lips together and frowned. My head whipped sharply to the left when I heard the basement door open at the top of the stairs. Automatically, my feet stepped backwards, instinctively taking me as far away from the door and from the danger that might accompany the approaching footsteps on the stairs. I expected to see Jasper, my captor, descending into this dank place. Or Emmett& better still. Because I had yet to determine his association to this nightmare. I was shocked to see it was neither. A man with thick, blonde hair strolled almost casually to the cage. His hands were in his pockets, and even though his chin was pointed downward as he stared at the floor beneath his loafers, I could tell that he had the type of features typically seen on the faces of soap opera actors; a strong, square chin, wide and generous mouth& an aquiline nose and strong brow line. My feet carried me back toward the man, only stopping in the center of my cage when he squared his shoulders in front of the door and pulled his face up to look at me. His eyes were blood red. My mouth popped open in surprise. The man merely took in my shocked countenance and smiled at me. It was a cold, hard smile that made no 29

Toye impression on the deadly and frightening color that surrounded his pupils. "Don't stop. Step forward, child," he said. His voice was lilting, and persuasive. I found myself wanting to move closer to him. But somehow, I remained still. He quirked an eyebrow at my stubborn refusal to obey and an easily deciphered look of annoyance clouded his handsome face. "Listen," he spoke again. This time his honey voice sounded hardened. "You can do exactly as I request& or I can come in there with you. I promise, you will prefer the first option." I shifted my feet below shaky knees and walked to the front of the cage then. I was rewarded by another smile that did not meet his eyes. It didn't matter. I already knew in my gut that he was to be feared. Eyes that depicted damnation could not be counted upon for salvation. "Good girl," the man condescendingly complimented me. "Now& it's time, perhaps, that we get to know one another. My name is Carlisle. And you are?" The fear in my lungs was trapped under my tightly clenched throat. My chin shook but I couldn't open my mouth to speak. "Her name is Bella." My eyes flashed away from the man at the door, and saw with alarm that Jasper had moved down the stairs to join us. He walked slowly, staring at me through the bars, as he moved to stand beside Carlisle. The shoulder to shoulder stance told me even better than previous intuition that they were one and the same. "Short for Isabella?" Carlisle asked softly& coaxingly. My eyes were drawn back to his, and I nodded with the barest movement of my head. His chin moved downward again as he obviously stared at my body from head to toe. "Tell me, Isabella," Carlisle murmured. "Are you a virgin?" Again, I pulled a shaky breath through my nostrils. I had no idea why that bit of personal information would be important to him. But the possibilities terrified me. At my hesitation, Jasper answered. 30

Toye "I heard her and her friend talking about it. They didn't know I was there. She's innocent." "I'd like to hear it from her," Carlisle said stonily. His lips pulled downward and he stared at me with determination. "I asked you a question, Isabella." "It's&. none of your b-b-business," I whispered. I was surprised that my voice could be heard at all, supported as it was by my shaking breath. In a moment, Carlisle's arm flashed between the bars of the cage. His hand harshly wrapped around my wrist as he tugged me closer to where he stood. The thin bones above my hand twisted painfully, and I cried out at the sudden pressure. "You'll answer me," Carlisle sneered, closer to my face now. "I'll obtain my information from you one way or the other. You can speak the truth now, or I could examine you myself. It's of little consequence to me, either way." "I am!" I gasped and he released my arm almost immediately, pushing it away from him as though touching me was in some way disgusting. He actually wiped his palm down the side of his khaki pants. I stood, rubbing my wrist and staring at the two men with trepidation. "I want her," Jasper spoke to Carlisle, while smiling at me. I frowned and stepped back to the far corner of the cage again. As though the distance could somehow shield me from Jasper's leer. "You can't have her," Carlisle spoke sharply. "You know that Edward will want this one. He won't be able to resist." Jasper growled quietly. It was a sound that should have shocked me more, as it rumbled around in his thin chest. But I was becoming jaded to these startling new revelations. I blinked and tried to process this new bit of information. "Who is Edward. And what would he want me for?" Carlisle sighed and rubbed his hand tiredly over his forehead. I was pretty sure that he didn't like me speaking out of turn. But I also knew that the mention of 31

Toye this 'Edward' and my captivity being something to do with him was vital information for me to understand. "Edward is another of my sons," Carlisle explained. "You could say& he's second in command around here. And he's denied himself for far too long." "Denied himself what?" I asked. "What does he want with me?" "Enough." Carlisle turned then, dismissing my other questions. He shrugged over at Jasper. "Personally- I don't see it," Carlisle said. "I prefer a more seasoned taste." "Speaking of&" Jasper continued their mysterious turn of conversation as he moved to the far corner of the basement that was partially obscured from my view by the work table that lined the wall. He looked down and nudged something on the floor with his foot. "You usually clean up after yourself." "I know," Carlisle sighed. Neither man looked my direction now, as they spoke with one another. "Edward was in such a hurry to leave. I didn't get a chance last night&" Carlisle bent at the waist and reached into the darkened recess. I tilted my head, watching his actions curiously. When he stood upright, I was momentarily confused by the dark shape that was draped over his arms. As he moved in front of the light provided by the window, the shapeless object revealed itself in form and I had to throw my hand across my mouth to stifle my scream. My legs gave out beneath me, and I fell straight to my bottom on the cold, hard floor. As horrified as I was, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the ghastly image in front of me. Carlisle held a woman. Her arms and legs dangled with unnatural fluidity away from her torso as though she were boneless. A cascade of thick, caramel-colored hair flowed away from her porcelain, pale face. The delicate arch of her brow and bow of her slightly-parted lips lent her the appearance of a nineteen-forty's movie screen siren. And her pencil skirt, ruffled-blouse and kitten heels only added to the aura of grace and refinement. But her eyes& I 32

Toye sobbed behind my hand as I looked at the beautiful woman& her eyes stared straight ahead; unblinking and unseeing. Carlisle 'tsk'-ed as he looked down at her limp form before tossing her unceremoniously over his shoulder. "It's a shame this one didn't last longer," he lamented. "She was fun." He started to exit up the stairs then, and my stomach lurched. I couldn't control the burning bile that surged into my mouth and nose and squeezed its way past the fingers that were still clutched tightly across my lips. Bitter and foul, I heaved up the fluid that was in my stomach, not even slightly concerned with the way it ran from my chin onto the front of my jacket and splattered against my lap. Jasper noticed, and laughed. I was stunned, and rendered immobile by the realization that I had just seen my own fate in the casually handled corpse that was just carried from the room. Jasper watched me with a wicked glint in his haematic eyes. I felt sure he was waiting for me to break& for me to cry, or scream or give in to hysterics. While I couldn't control the tears that flowed down my cheeks, I did manage to stifle the accompanying sobs. Slowly, I lowered my hand and wiped the purged contents of my stomach from my fingers onto my skirt. I used the sleeve of my jacket to clean my face. Jasper watched my careful and slow movements. I refused to let him break me. Looking faintly dissatisfied by my silent response to this new horror, the smile slipped from Jasper's lips. "I can feel your fear, you know," Jasper said then, smartly. "It's practically dripping off you." "That would be vomit," I retorted with as much disdain as I dared. I hadn't counted on my feet sliding as close to the door as they did. But in an angry flash, Jasper reached through the bars and grabbed my ankle. A tug that was borne of strength I could not understand slid me to him. Grappling through the bars, Jasper wrenched my clothing until I was standing again& like I weighed ounces and could be manipulated with the tiniest bit of exertion from him. My mouth hung open and I gripped the bars in front of me, throwing my weight backward and trying to put distance between us. But Jasper held strong and 33

Toye pulled me painfully against the bars. His face slid sideways beside mine, until I felt his cheek pressed to my own. "Go ahead. Fight back. I like it&" he hissed. Tremors racked through my body at the menacing tone of his voice. "I have half a mind to take you now& to tear your body in two& Edward wouldn't think twice about you then." Jasper held me tight against the steel with one hand, and reached his other lower to crudely grope underneath my skirt. I stilled when I felt the unnatural coolness of his hand cupping me between my legs, and whimpered with new dread. "Don't touch me," I said through gritted teeth. Jasper's fingers didn't stray. He just held the juncture between my legs and lifted my weight so that my toes barely reached the floor. I kicked my legs then, and started to thrash my head from side to side, desperate to be released. But the movement brought my nose in sharp contact with the bar at the side of my face, and I winced at the pain I inflicted upon myself before the telltale warm rush of liquid began dripping from my nasal cavity. "Ahhh&" Jasper turned his face toward mine, excitement evident on his features. "Lovely. So & lovely." The hand that was trapped between my thighs moved upward, and tangled in the back of my hair, pressing my face between the bars once more. And then with alarming speed, Jasper pressed his mouth against my top lip. I cringed and squeezed my eyes shut as I felt him suck my top lip into his mouth. And then, with a slow reptilian smoothness, his cold tongue licked the trail of blood up and flicked quickly into my nostril. A lustful sound hummed from the back of his throat as he relished this act of depravity. The very nature of what he was doing disgusted me so much that I thought I might puke again if my stomach wasn't absolutely empty. And then a blur of movement simultaneously knocked Jasper away from me and caused me to fall in a heap on the floor as the force supporting my weight was stripped away. I gasped and pinched my hand to my nose, pulling my 34

Toye fingers away to find them completely clean. Jasper hit the wall so hard that the stone cracked around him. And with wide eyes, I saw Emmett's arms thrown out defensively in front of him. He had saved me from Jasper! I crawled to the front of the cage and grabbed the bars to pull myself up, as relief rushed through my tired body. "Emmett. Thank God!" I cried. He turned to look at me then, and my relief was multiplied to see that his eyes were not red. If anything, they were unnaturally dark. From this distance, they appeared black. But I didn't have the foresight at the moment to be alarmed by that. I only cared that they didn't match the hue of eyes of the man whom had just attacked me. It set him apart. I clutched to newfound hope that Emmett would come to my rescue. Jasper stood and moved away from the wall, shaking his head with a rueful smile as he looked at Emmett. My joyful respite was cut short when he almost playfully punched the larger man in the shoulder. "I wasn't going to do nothing&" Jasper grinned. Emmett turned away from me then, and I continued to watch in confusion. "You were latched on to her face," Emmett scolded, sounding anything but confrontational. "Didn't want it to go to waste," Jasper shrugged as though his earlier behavior was acceptable in any way. "You better be willing to share," Emmett said then. "She smells sweet." My stomach twisted as I continued to watch their conversation play out before me. "See for yourself," Jasper smirked, stepping up to his friend.

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Toye My own mouth fell open then, when Emmett grinned and dug his fingers into the sides of Jasper's ashy blonde hair. With a practiced tilting of his head, Emmett pressed his mouth against Jasper's parted lips. My breath caught in shock as the two men kissed. With their mouths open to one another, their tongues danced eagerly together. Moans of satisfaction were emitted between the two of them as they pulled at each other's lips. Emmett actually sucked on the tip of Jasper's tongue before they finally separated, grinning at one another. "You're right," Emmett laughed, licking his own bottom lip before looking back to glance at me. "She's delicious." "I should be able to keep her," Jasper said darkly. "You can't," Emmett reminded him with a sigh. "You know she's for Edward." The smile dropped from his face and he looked stern once more. "Maybe you should get away for a while. Check the traps. Something good is bound to come by soon." Jasper gave one last resentful look in my direction, and then nodded and walked up the stairs, leaving me alone with Emmett. --Reviews are better than necrophobia. Leave one.

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EvIf
~~*~~ Seeing the nature of their relationship played out before my eyes, left me little hope that I would be able to convince Emmett to free me. Jasper and Emmett were obviously lovers; which brought my mind to something else to focus upon. "Emmett?" I whispered from where I sat. I took a deep breath and tried to make my voice stronger when he turned his dark eyes and looked at me once again. "Where is Rosalie? Is she okay?" I twisted my fingers into the bottom hem of my jacket and said a silent prayer that my best friend had escaped. Or that she wasn't locked up in a similar circumstance as my own. If she was fine, and free, she would still be able to bring us help. "Rose?" Emmett asked, while raising his large eyebrow. "She's fine. She's upstairs, sleeping," he grinned. "I wore that ass out." When he chuckled lowly in his chest, I stood up in anger. "I swear& if you hurt her&" My chest heaved with my sudden burst of adrenaline and I clenched my fists. Emmett just tipped his head back and laughed. "You'll what? Stomp your foot?" Emmett grinned. " Pout me to death?" He shook his head and moved to the table that adorned the side wall. With a loud scraping sound, he pulled the heavy wood to the center of the room in front of my cell and then turned to sit up on its edge, facing me. " Ohhh& that's right," Emmett smiled again. "You had pepper spray. Very effective." He snickered and looked at me as though I were the highest form of entertainment. His words had a cooling effect on my temper. I knew that my idle threats would only give him additional ammunition for this sick bout of teasing. He was mocking me. So I forced myself to calm down and tried to change tactics.

37

Toye "I& just want to know that you didn't hurt her," I whispered, and looked down. If she was alive, I still had hope. "Relax, Pet," Emmett sighed. "I didn't give her anything she wasn't begging for." My stomach rolled again, sickened by the fact that they had obviously been intimate. Rosalie had no idea what kind of people they were, or who she was giving herself to. And as if he could read my mind, Emmett continued. "Rosalie and I are, essentially, very similar creatures. We just like to have a little fun, and never take anything too seriously." "And Jasper doesn't mind& when you are with someone else like that?" I asked, curiously. Emmett looked confused. "Why would he?" "It's obvious& you two are& in a relationship," I pointed out hesitantly. I bit my lip, worried about offending him by delving into his personal life. But Emmett finally looked like he understood my comment, and rocked back on the table, laughing loudly. "You think we're gay?" he finally gasped out. "Oh man. Eddie's gonna love this. Usually it's his skinny ass that gets accused of being a 'mo!" Emmett chuckled and continued to shake his head from side to side. "I& watched you kiss&" I said slowly. "You think that was because we're lovers?" Emmett cringed and then wrapped his fingers over the edge of the table. He began to swing his legs back and forth beneath him. "You're funny," he finally said. It sounded like a compliment. "Emmett& please&" "You haven't figured it out yet, have you?" His eyes searched my face for some enlightenment that I certainly did not feel. I had no idea what he was talking about. "And here I thought that between the two of you girls, you were the smarter one." 38

Toye "Let us go," I grabbed the bars at the front of the cage with my sudden plea. "I am smart," I nodded. "And I know that you don't have to be implicated in any of this. Rosalie and I can leave& and I can tell my father that you helped us. You haven't hurt anyone. You don't have to do this&" "I can't let you go, Bella," Emmett almost looked sorry. "They'd kill me. And Edward&" I was getting so sick of hearing his name. The mystery that shrouded this 'Edward' loomed over my head with a threat I could not fathom. But I beat back my surge of annoyance and concentrated on the pity I saw on Emmett's features. "Then let Rosalie go," I pled. "Let her leave. If you only need me, there is no reason for her to be hurt." "You're right," Emmett nodded. "She's too beautiful to ever have to feel pain&" "Yes," I agreed whole-heartedly. "Thank you," I sighed with a shaky breath and closed my eyes in real gratitude. I could hear in his voice that he was considering my plea. "You would do anything& wouldn't you?" Emmett asked quietly. I opened my eyes to look at him. He sat on that rough wood table, contemplating me solemnly. "Too keep her from being hurt& from feeling pain. You would do anything. Wouldn't you?" Emmett asked. "Yes," I nodded immediately. "I would." I knew it was true. Rosalie had been my best friend since childhood. I would do anything to help her escape this place unscathed. I knew that she would move heaven and earth to get me out of this hell. I just had to survive until she could bring help. Emmett's attractive features smoothed back out then, and an irrepressible grin pulled across his lips. He put his chin in his palms and swung his legs back and forth with more excitement.

39

Toye "Bella& let's play a game!" I was shocked by his sudden turn in attitude. I scowled lightly in disappointment and moved away from the bars. "Emmett& I'm not in the mood to play," I said tiredly. I lowered myself to sit in the center of the cage once more. Looking very much like an over-grown five year old, Emmett jutted his lower lip out and pouted playfully. " Please Bella?" He whined. "I'm bored. And I want to have some fun. You said you'd do anything." "You seriously want me to play a game with you?" My voice rose in skepticism. But I checked it. I didn't need to annoy him. I felt that he had been very close to helping us. "I do. And I'll tell you what&" The devil danced in Emmett's eyes and he flashed his dimples. For some reason, the expression that would have seemed mischievous on a small boy only looked sinister on the large man in front of me. A tremor ran down my spine in instinctual warning. "When we are done with the game, you will understand this all so much better." "And Rosalie?" I whispered, trying to remind him of the discussion we were having just moments before. Emmett smiled wickedly and jumped to his feet. "I'll be right back!" Emmett bound from the room and I took a deep breath. What in the hell was I dealing with, here? Carlisle was obviously a murderer. Jasper& was some sort of sick fuck that couldn't decide between beating me and molesting me. Emmett was like some gigantic child with ADD. And Edward&. Who in the hell was this guy? And what did he want with me? I paced back and forth behind the bars, groaning in frustration. I didn't know anything. Nothing made sense. I could only concentrate on keeping myself alive. Surely by now, my father would have started to search for me. And if 40

Toye Rosalie could escape, she could bring help. I knew I was grasping at straws. But at this point, I had to grasp at something so I wouldn't lose my mind. I heard footsteps on the stairs again and I turned to look. First, Emmett's large legs came into view, followed by long, tanned legs above bare feet. I sucked in a painful whoosh of air when I realized that Rosalie was following him down into this gloomy basement. While the relief was instant, knowing that she was obviously fine and healthy enough to be walking on her own, I was terrified that he only meant to imprison her too. Another small chance of gaining our freedom would be removed if she were brought to be caged with me. "Em?" I heard Rosalie's voice before I could find my own. "It's gross and dirty down here. What's so important to show me?" Her big blue eyes scanned the room and came to rest on me while she spoke. With her final word still hanging on her lips, her expression changed to shocked disbelief. My own eyes widened, and tears began to slide down my cheeks. I shook my head, frantically, trying to warn her not to do or say anything that would tip the scales against her in the precarious position that she was in. She ran to me, and I met her at the front of the cage. Her hands reached through the bars, and she cupped my face between them, almost too hard. She looked at me in confusion, as though she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. I tried to convey to her with my eyes to tread lightly& to be careful. I warned her silently that she was going to have to try to stay calm. "Sh& sh&sh&" was all I could utter through my cracked lips. "What's going on here?" Rosalie finally asked, fearfully. Tears welled in her eyes and she shook her head. "What is this?" "Please," I whispered& "Please&" "What the fuck is this?" Rosalie backed away from me and her voice grew louder. "Emmett? Is this some kind of sick goddamned joke?" She whirled toward the man that she questioned. And while she was only covered by one of 41

Toye his button-down shirts, she threw her shoulders back and tossed her hair behind her fearlessly, as though she were standing in a suit of armor. Emmett walked toward her then, and lowered his forehead. They stared at each other, and I watched in amazement as Rosalie's rigid stance slowly relaxed. Her shoulders slumped down. And she didn't say another word. Emmett circled her then, and moved her hair away from her ear while he whispered something too low for me to catch in the air. He did turn his head and smile at me then, before letting her long golden locks slide through his fingers to rest behind her shoulder once more. "Rosalie?" I called out with a trembling voice. Emmett just shook his head at me and smiled, before he placed his hands on her shoulders and shifted her body so that she faced me, once again. I could see right away that something was wrong with her. Rosalie's eyes stared ahead, but straight through me, focused on some distant point of reference that I could not imagine. Her face was relaxed, and perfectly still. She looked like a doll, or a store mannequin. She looked like she was molded from wax. "What& is wrong with her?" I asked with a whisper of fear. "What did you do to her?" "It's like hypnosis," Emmett shrugged. "It's very easy for us. Power of suggestion? Most of you succumb very simply to it. A few of you are more resistant. Rosalie, here, is highly susceptible to the power. It's almost too easy. Not much of a game at all, really." His word left me scrambling to find my footing with him again. " Game," I said loudly, drawing his attention to me. "You said you wanted to play a game!" I hoped to God his ADD tendencies would aid in my distraction. If I got his attention focused elsewhere, maybe he would stop whatever in the hell he was doing to my friend.

42

Toye "Ah, yes," Emmett hissed and rubbed his palms together. "And I promised to help you understand what is going on." "Yes," I nodded with desperation and hoped it came across as excitement. I needed to keep him focused on me. "Let me ask you a question, first," Emmett grinned. "Did you really think that Jasper and I were gay?" My eyes darted back and forth between him and my partially-dressed and coma-like friend. "I was confused by the kiss," I admitted truthfully, while avoiding a specific answer that might upset him. "Silly Bella," Emmett chuckled. "Jasper was just sharing the taste." "Of what?" I whispered in confusion. " Your blood." The words hung in the air between us, still not forming anything cohesive for me to understand. "He drank your blood," Emmett said slowly. "I could taste it in his mouth. On his tongue. Behind his teeth&" "You're&. disgusting," I said in a quiet rush. Emmett just twisted his lips. "So hypocritical," he frowned. "I don't insult your desire for cheeseburgers and coke." "You aren't making any sense," I urged, impatiently. "Tell me anything that I can understand!"

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Toye Emmett's muscular body began to pace back and forth in front of my cage slowly. Like a tiger& his head shifted on his shoulders to keep his eyes trained on me when he turned to complete his circuit. I felt drawn to his heavy, black stare and moved closer to where he walked. " Dakhanavar?" He hissed. I shook my head and willed my limbs to not feel so heavy. " Strigoi?" I still moved forward. And his feet stopped directly in front of me when he whispered again. "Nosferatu?" If not for our confinement, our chests would be mashed together as I took another unwilling step toward him. My head felt foggy and I reached for the bars in front of me, certain at any moment I might lose control of my legs and fall. " Vampire?" I whispered. I don't know where the answer came from. It felt like someone whispered it in the back of my mind. Emmett's huge hands wrapped around my fingers on the bars, and he gently ran his thumbs up and down across my knuckles. The cold temperature of his skin made me shiver and I closed my eyes against the sensation. When I did, I felt in better control and more lucid. "Are you asking me, to believe that Jasper& that you&are some kind of& mythological creature?" I'd seen enough of little gothic mall kids who wanted to dress in black and wear thick eye-liner to piss off their parents to take his suggestion seriously. And I had heard of those who worship the vampire lore so heavily, that they actually convince themselves to drink blood in some misguided attempts to give respect to the un-dead creatures of their fantasies. But Emmett& and Jasper too, for that matter, were by all accounts, clean-cut and totally normal looking. It didn't mesh with the image in my head. "I'd never expect someone as smart as you to believe a claim like that so easily," Emmett shook his head. "Which is exactly why you and I are going to play a little game."

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Toye He moved away from me then, and walked to stand behind Rosalie, smiling at me over the top of her head while cupping her shoulder in his hand. "No," I shook my head frantically. " No," I said more forcefully. I suddenly knew with absolute clarity that I did not want to play his game. Especially if it involved the still-form of the girl between us. "Yes," Emmett nodded. His arms encircled Rosalie from behind, and his fingers started to undo and separate the buttons at the front of the shirt she wore. "Don't," I begged. But Emmett continued to flash his boyish dimples in a smile that belied his evil intent. "You said you wouldn't hurt her," I struggled to keep my voice strong. Her blank expression was eerie. I felt like her presence was missing from the room, even as she clearly stood in front of me. "And you said you'd do anything&" Emmett replied. "I will," I said. " I will!" "Good," he grinned. "Because this is going to be a fun game." "What game?" I asked. My arms began to shake, and I clung to the bars to borrow strength from the solid formations of steel. Emmett slowly moved his hands to the collar of Rosalie's shirt and began to slide the soft-looking material away from her shoulders. Her expression didn't alter& didn't flicker& didn't change as he pulled the shirt away and dropped it beside her on the floor. She stood there wearing only a white lace pair of panties. She was completely unaware of her nudity or of her surroundings. "Your beautiful friend," Emmett said while lowering his face to kiss her shoulder, "is going to die today."

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Toye "No!" I whimpered and felt my knees go out beneath me. Somehow my grip on the bars allowed me to stay upright. "She doesn't feel a thing, right now," Emmett murmured quietly, rubbing his lips back and forth across her skin. My own flesh crawled as I watched him. "And it can stay that way." "Please& don't hurt her," I choked quietly. Tears obstructed my vision and I begged for his mercy. "That is going to be up to you," Emmett spoke again. I blinked to clear my vision and saw that he had walked around Rosalie to step near where I held myself at the front of the cage. "What& what do you want from me?" I asked hoarsely. I would do anything at all to make this nightmare end. "Keep your hands on these bars," Emmett instructed. My fingers automatically tightened around the steel. I clutched the bars so tightly that my fists ached. "And whatever you do& don't close your eyes." "Wh-wh-what?" I stammered. I didn't understand his rule. He smirked a little and stepped back toward Rosalie. "She can't feel this," Emmett said. I watched him reach up and place his hand across her upper arm. With the barest flex of his fingers, I watched as color blossomed under her skin around his fingers. He slid his hand away, and a dark red-handprint remained, marring her creamy flesh. I knew it would leave a horrible bruise almost immediately. And yet- Rosalie hadn't even blinked. "She's deeply under a trance," Emmett explained. "And I can take her out of it, just as easily as I put her there." Emmett leaned down to whisper in Rosalie's ear, and in a second, I watched life spring back to Rosalie's gorgeous face. Her features distorted in fear and pain, and she opened her mouth wide to scream. But the sound pierced the quiet of the basement for only a second or two before Emmett placed his 46

Toye fingers aside her jaw and twisted her face so that her eyes met his again. And the sound stopped immediately. Emmett used the same fingers to press her head back into a forward position and looked over at me with a smug expression on his face. My heart was hammering so loudly in my chest that I felt I might faint. But still I stood there, watching him. "Now you get the idea," Emmett nodded appreciatively. "You keep your eyes open, and I promise. Your friend will feel no pain. If you look away& if you close your eyes for longer than it takes to blink& you will listen to her scream while she dies. And she will feel everything." I bit the inside of my cheek, causing pain to keep me conscious, realizing more than ever the kind of sick and demented person I was dealing with. He was going to kill Rosalie. His game was to make me watch. He must have seen the determination in my eyes, and he smiled again. Slowly, he began to walk in a circle around the immobile body of my best friend. He looked at her naked form as if contemplating where to begin. All the while, his eyes flashed back to mine, to be sure that I was playing by his rules. If this was all I could offer Rosalie, I refused to forfeit the game. I pressed my face between the bars and held my eyes open, trying hard to put myself in a state that would help me ignore the silent horror in front of me. Emmett nodded at my acquiescence and brought one hand up to trail across the top of Rosalie's chest, just under her collar bone. I didn't see an instrument in his hand. He might have used the edge of his fingernail for all that it was possible for me to ascertain. But I noticed the red line that appeared on her skin right away, like a shadow of his movement. Slow and dark bubbles of blood rose to and escaped from the perforated cut that skipped across the delicate skin of her chest. Emmett looked even more excited as the crimson liquid began to rush more quickly toward the exit he provided. It pooled up until it was heavy enough to begin to fall and slide downward. Like the valance of a vaudeville stage-curtain, the red dripped down toward her breasts in ornamental gore.

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Toye My chin shook and my hands trembled. I forced myself to stand there. Emmett literally hummed with pleasure as he lowered his head and drew his tongue against the darkening liquid he had drawn. I watched him lap at the blood until her chest was clean, save for the pink line of the original cut. "God, so good," Emmett moaned and righted his stance. He stared at me again, and I felt the familiar wooziness over-take me. I refused to close to my eyes. "You aren't going to fold, are you?" He finally asked. "No," I said through gritted teeth. Until this game of his was over& I would do this for my friend. Emmett shrugged as if suddenly bored, and moved behind Rosalie once more. And then, in a manner that showed me quite clearly that logic and reason did not exist within the walls of this prison I was trapped in, he proved to me that mythological creatures do, in fact, exist. With his jaws unhinged, he opened his mouth wider than should have been possible for a man and bit harshly into the side of Rosalie's neck. This was not the careful and seductive death-scenes depicted by scary movies I had watched in the past. There were no fangs& no long drips of spilled blood moving erotically away from two tiny-puncture wounds along the jugular. No. This was like a starved lion feasting at a gazelle. I knew that when he released her, Rosalie's neck might not even be left with enough connective tissue intact to hold her head on her body. And there was no blood to be seen. He didn't spill nor waste his bounty. I heard it sloshing and gurgling upward as he grunted and groaned and sucked at the deadly wound he created. I did hear the light sound of liquid splashing on the floor, but knew that Emmett was too efficient a killer to spill the nectar under his lips. It was my own urine& burning hotly down my legs and into the one shoe that I, for some reason, had yet to remove. It pooled beneath me, hitting the floor just seconds before my body did, as I finally gave in to unconsciousness. --48

Toye In my mind, I drifted in a thick, black cloud. It was soft, and I nestled my face into the cool, dark surface and breathed the sweet, sweet-smelling moisture that surrounded me, pulling it deep into my lungs. It filled the cracks that had formed in my dry chest, cleaved into my lungs by my screams. I had screamed so long, and so loud that my insides had twisted and torn and bled under the force of my wails. And then when my voice choked away, my piercing shriek was replaced with a slow and gentle melody in my ears. It was a song I had heard before, and it rumbled through the cradling cloud below me and wrapped itself around my weary limbs with blissfully cool and soothing comfort. I clung to the ghostly sound, craving its gentle decibels that reminded me of goodness and decency and love. My fingers reached through the foggy mist in which I floated, and found something more solid to grasp onto. I pulled a tangible piece of my dream between my fingers and struggled to bring it with me as I became more aware. But the sound stopped and the cloud disappeared, and I blinked my eyes open to find myself curled into the corner of my prison. As soon as consciousness returned, grief and pain came with it. Blackness surrounded me again in this hell, but it no longer cushioned me with comfort. It squeezed me until I was gasping for breath. And I wrapped my arms around my legs and wept. With no one near to witness my weakness, I sobbed into my knees and allowed despair to wash over my head. I wished I could drown in it. I wish I could suck it into my lungs until they exploded with the burning pressure of it. It would certainly be an easier death than what was planned for me here, in this place. When my tears ran dry, I shuddered and shook and wiped my nose against the stinking and hardened sleeve of my jacket. And as my breathing calmed and my sobbing subsided, I heard a sound from somewhere beyond my cage walls. It was quiet, and controlled. It was familiar. It was& the lullaby from my dreams. Only this time, I was sure that I was awake. The song twisted from the corner of the room and slid between the bars around me until it settled in my hands. I cupped the invisible gift and pulled it against my chest. My fingers held it there above the frantic beating of my heart. "I know you're there," I said into the dark room. I wanted to cry when the music stopped. No sound was uttered in reply to my whisper. Maybe I had 49

Toye finally gone mad. I certainly felt half-crazed. I was being held captive by blood-thirsty creatures. I watched my best friend become a meal to one of them. A hysterical cackle tore from my lips for a second before I was able to contain it again. Surely, my mind was imagining things to help me cope. "It's wasn't a dream," I accused to no one. I shook my head. "You've been here before. You sang to me." Again, my voice rang alone inside the cement walls. And I slumped my shoulders and dropped my forehead to my knees. "Please&" I whispered. "Sing it again. Please& let me have your song. I don't want to be alone&" I knew I was begging for my own psyche to create the music in my head again. I didn't care that I was talking to myself. I held a tenuous grip on sanity, at best. I simply, did not care anymore. I startled when the music came again. It was louder, stronger& and came from a source just behind my shoulder. I pulled my head back and rested it in the corner of the cage. I didn't need to close my eyes to find blackness, but the effect of my lowered lids soothed my puffy and sore eyes. My back relaxed against the bars behind me and I sank into them. The humming was beautiful and deep. I inhaled greedily, trying to absorb it into my muscles. I listened to its pleasant sound until it faded and disappeared again. "Thank you," I whispered. I didn't know why. But I was so grateful for the beautiful melody that had lilted through this ugly place. My leg jerked aside and I sucked in a deep breath when something rolled into my cage and came to a stop against my bare ankle. I barely suppressed a scream of fright and my heart beat so hard that I could feel it in my throat. I didn't want to imagine the rodent or hideous creepy thing that might have wandered in to join me where I sat. "It's an apple," came a soft voice from behind. "I didn't mean for it to scare you. Please& eat."

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Toye I wasn't sure why the voice did not shock me. Perhaps it was because of the velvet texture of the sound that carried such polite and kind words. Perhaps it was because I recognized in the speaking voice, the tones that matched the music in my heart. I pressed my hand flat to the ground beside my leg, and slid my palm across the stone surface until I felt the small, hard fruit that rested against me. I grabbed it and pulled it up toward my face. Both hands cupped the small object while I explored it with my fingers. I couldn't see the food, but I could feel its taut, unblemished skin. Its grainy meat gave under the pressure as I pressed my fingertip against it, hard. And when the skin broke under my fingernail, the irrepressible scent of apple assaulted my senses. "It's not poisoned," the voice spoke again, reassuring me. The warmth of the voice was unmistakable, and I waited, wanting to hear it again. "I need to you eat. You need to stay strong." I positioned the apple at my mouth then, and bit hungrily into it with a sweet and loud crunch. Once the taste burst across my tongue, I bit and chewed more frantically. The juices dripped from my chin and down my fingers. But I was unable to stop until I literally sucked at the depleted core. "I'll need that back, now," the voice spoke quietly. "I don't want them to know I was here." Without questioning his words, I slid the emaciated core between the bars beside me and retracted my fingers quickly, to rest in my lap. "Why?" I whispered. I wasn't sure what I was asking, exactly. He could have deciphered the question in a million different ways. Why was I here? Why was he here? Why the song& the apple& the kindness? And why was he remaining hidden? Why didn't he want the others to know he had come to me? "Because I'm still trying to figure out how to get you out of here, alive&" the voice answered. Hope barreled through my chest and I felt tears spring to my eyes once more. I was afraid& so afraid that I had heard him wrong. But I needed to believe that 51

Toye there was a possibility that this beautiful voice in the dark truly meant to offer me help. "Please& let me out," I whispered. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, and held my breath. I was afraid of the answer that I knew I would hear. "I can't," the voice dropped to near a whisper. "Not yet. But& Bella& I need for you to understand that I am working on a plan." "Wh-what plan?" I stammered, staring into the darkness in front of me once again. "A plan to leave this place, with you," the voice said smoothly. "I'm not sure exactly how& but I swear to you. I will not allow you to die in this place." I sobbed quietly and dropped my face into my hands. His words were laced with conviction and sincerity that I could hear. But I wanted to see his face, to know if he spoke the truth. "Turn on the light," I begged brokenly. "No." The voice was stronger, and nearer. In front of me. I blinked my eyes open and saw a ghostly white form just inches in front of my face. I stared at it. Was it possible that he had actually come inside my confined space without me having heard the door or the lock being opened? I reached a shaky hand forward to try to touch the apparition, but it skittered away and was swallowed by the dark. "Please," I begged again. "Why won't you let me see you?" Disoriented, my head turned to the side when I heard the voice behind me once again. "It's because, I look like them," the voice whispered. "I don't want you to be afraid of me. And& you'll see me and you will be frightened."

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Toye "You aren't," I shook my head in denial. "You aren't like them." I needed to believe it. They didn't offer me hope. They didn't offer me salvation. They didn't sing to me or soothe me or pull me from the insanity that threatened to hold me in shackles. They were the dark that terrified me and made me weak. This voice provided light and strength. I shivered when I felt a solid and cold form settle in behind me. I could feel his spine where it met mine between the bars. I slid my hands backward, scraping them across the floor of the cage until they rested near the bars to the side of me. And then, in a touch and gesture too soft and too gentle to cause me any alarm, I felt his hands move through the bars to rest on top of mine. I took a deep, shaky breath and willed my body to relax. Deliberately, I tipped my hands beneath his much larger ones. And then I sighed when he twisted his fingers and tangled them with my own. We sat, back to back with the bars separating us. I could feel the gentle motion of his breathing, and matched mine to it. I leaned my head back, to rest in the shallow indentation between his shoulder blades. Our hands were clasped together, and I concentrated on the strength I was able to draw from the contact. "Who are you?" I finally asked. After an seemingly interminable silence, the voice answered. "I am Edward." --Reviews are better than agliophobia. Leave one.

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XiS
~~*~~ Edward. I waited for the dread that should have filled me when finally presented with the mysterious owner of that name. But I felt none. Instead, I felt& relieved. It might have been irrational. I was, perhaps, too emotionally exhausted to feel fear for myself. But the fingers that twisted in my own-- while distinctively cold, hard, and foreign-- were applying a pressure that belied the damage I knew they were capable of. I had expected the very worst from this creature behind me. And yet, sitting with his back aligned to my own, I couldn't bother to recoil from his touch. I didn't feel threatened by his presence. I couldn't even imagine that he meant me any harm at all. "I've been saved, for you," I finally whispered. "Yes," came his sad-sounding reply. My fingers tingled under his touch. When I should have been moving away, I felt a pull toward him that I could not understand. The electricity between us should have repulsed me. But I only felt fascination. "Why?" I asked. His hands moved slowly, and his thumbs started lightly stroking against the sides of my fingers as he held them. "You are pure," he explained, quietly. "Un-touched. Some of us believe& that innocent& virginal blood& tastes sweeter than any other." I swallowed hard around the lump that formed in my throat, but still perceived no threat in his softly spoken admission. "And& will you kill me now?" I asked when my throat felt less constricted. 54

Toye How calmly I could sit, discussing my own demise! "No." Edward spoke clearly and there was a hard edge to his voice. I felt his back straighten behind me. "I meant what I said. I want to take you out of this place." That hope, again, burst through my chest, blossoming brightly and warming my skin. I heard Edward inhale deeply and I squeezed his fingers in silent appreciation of his pledge before his hands slipped away from my own. It scared me that he moved away, and I spun on my rear end and grabbed the bars that he had been resting against. "Now," I pled. "Please& take me now. I can't& I can't stay here. I can't survive&" "You must," Edward spoke again. His voice was further away. I tried to make out his faint shape in the darkness, but it was no use. "We can't leave now. Three of them together are too strong. If they tried, they could stop me&" "I don't understand," I said, feeling miserable once more. "I& have a plan." I pulled my head up, eager to hear his next words. "Soon, there will be a meeting in the city. A convergence of several covens of our kind. My family will want to go. If I can convince them that I want to stay& with you& we will be alone and free to leave this place." "Where will we go?" I whispered. "That will best be saved to discuss later& after a few more details are made clear to me." We sat for a while in the dark. He was so silent, that I was afraid he might have gone. But still, I spoke to the darkness. "Edward? Why am I here? Why& are they so cruel, while you are not?"

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Toye He sighed deeply. This time, I heard as the door of my cage opened. I moved up to sit on my knees. Though I could only make out his faint outline, I could tell that Edward had mimicked my pose and knelt in front of me. "It's a horrible truth that I am about to share," he murmured. "It will sound callous. But many vampires simply get bored after& just existing for so long. We seek ways to entertain ourselves. To put it simply& vampires like to play with their food." "I'm a toy, to them," I stated bitterly. He didn't reply. "And this& is their playroom? This cage& is a toy box." "Your words& not mine," Edward said quietly. "But, yes." "You didn't answer the rest of my question," I pointed out, sad and sickened by my revelation. "Why are you different?" "I don't want to be a monster," Edward sighed. "Yet& they've saved me for you." I couldn't keep the tremor from my voice. "They are hoping to tempt me." I closed my eyes, and unintentionally flinched when I felt the barest sensation against my face. I concentrated on holding still as soon as I realized that Edward had reached forward and was drawing his finger lightly down my cheek. He retracted his hand almost immediately. "I'm sorry," he whispered. I couldn't reply. My unsteady breaths were the only sound between us. But I still felt him there. In this dark place& in the deepest desperation I had ever known& he provided a light of hope that I clung to like the final shreds of my sanity. I needed to believe these whispers in the dark. I needed to believe his song.

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Toye "Bella? I have to go now," Edward murmured. "But I need you to do a few things for me." If he really planned to deliver me from this nightmare, I could certainly not deny him any requests he was about to make. But I also couldn't allow myself to swear my willingness or ability to do ' anything'. That promise, made earlier, had nearly been my mind's undoing. "I'll try," I finally allowed. Already, I felt my optimism ebbing, simply by knowing that I would be alone again soon. "You'll meet me& with my family& later today," Edward said with a hushed voice. "I need you to not show any signs that we've met before. Truthfully, my appearance may alarm you. And so, it shouldn't be hard for you to pretend fear. I might say things to aid the deception. But I do not want you to believe what you hear when I am with them. I want you to remember what we've talked about, here. But don't let my family know that we are acquainted already." "I& can do that." I nodded. It was a simple request. Edward's appearance mattered little to me. But I knew, when faced with his family again, that I would have no problem showing the very real fear I felt in the threat of their presence. They were savage killers. I could never forget. "I also need you& to please& do everything you can to keep Jasper's attention away from you while I am away." "What do you mean?" I asked. Edward sighed, and I felt him move away. "The best I can compare Jasper to&" Edward murmured. "Is a child who enjoys pulling the wings off of insects to watch them kick around before they die." A wave of nausea hit me hard, and I sank back to sit on my bottom again, dropping my face into my hands. "I'm no more than a bug to him," I whimpered.

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Toye "He can't resist a spirited fight," Edward said without apology. "The more a victim screams& runs& fights back& the more he enjoys the game." " Game," I whispered with malice. I remembered Emmett's game with perfect clarity. He obviously liked to play a more silent, and subdued version. Tears sprang from my eyes again and I considered Rosalie's strangely frozen features while Emmett took her life. I was strangely happy then, that Emmett had taken her, and not Jasper. I could not fathom the gruesome cruelty he would be capable of, or that Edward hinted was his preference. "Just& let him see you meek. Remain quiet and complacent. He might be curious, but he'll leave you alone if he thinks that your spirit is broken." "That won't be hard to fake," I muttered. "I have to go," Edward said, and I heard reluctance in his voice. I wanted to reach out to him. But I knew it was an irrational urge best left ignored. I pressed my hands into my lap and waited. "Please," he urged once more. "Stay quiet. Make yourself invisible until I return. Be safe." "I will," I swore. I could promise that much. My life depended on it. The room stayed still. The darkness remained dark. The silence remained silent. But something in the air had changed. I could feel that he was gone. I moved back in my cage again, feeling blindly for the corner. Once settled into my nook, I turned my face in the direction in which I assumed that tiny window to be. I counted my heartbeats, for they were dear to me now and I didn't want to take them for granted any longer. And I waited for telltale signs of light to sneak through the murky glass. While I waited for day to break, I hummed Edward's song and wove it around me like the rope I would eventually use to climb away from this place. I did fall asleep again, and I was glad for it. My mind needed the healing oblivion and it helped me to pass the time. When I awoke, light filtered weakly into the room from the basement window, giving further indication that hours 58

Toye had passed. Hours that brought me closer to my freedom, if I could hold on to my sanity until then. I sat there, and rubbed my eyes while I awoke. But then my spine tingled with the eerie recollection of the noise that had brought me from my slumber. Feet on the stairs drew my face in that direction. Soon, I saw Carlisle slip into view. He had a small body draped limply over his shoulder. He didn't speak, but his strange eyes watched me speculatively when he opened the lock at the door. The deceptively handsome man simply moved in to join me then, and lowered the body he carried into the corner opposite me, as though he were dropping a bag of flour. I winced as her head knocked loudly against the hard floor as she landed. I could see that she was a girl. She moaned, letting me know that she was, for now, alive. I took a deep breath of relief. Carlisle's eyes flew back toward me when he heard the sound. But then he left as silently as he had come. I remained sitting in the corner of the cage, and watched the girl who laid unconscious in our shared cell. Who was she? How did she come to be here? I wouldn't have to wait long for my answers. The girl started to stir almost immediately. Groaning, she rolled to her stomach and pushed herself weakly from the floor into a crawling position. Her arms gave out initially, and she fell back to her chest with a muffled curse and a moan of pain. I glanced up at the stairs nervously, before scooting toward her. With one hand, I grabbed her forearm and tried to help her rise again. This time, she managed to achieve a sitting position and she jerked her arm away from me right away. "Where am I?" She asked with a high-pitched, girlish voice that did not match the irritation on her face. She was not as young as I would have guessed, by her physical size alone. Now that she sat, I could see that she was definitely a mature woman, wrapped in a very petite package. She shook her head, and her short, dark, layered hair fluttered against the sides of her striking face. She was lovely. And she was angry. Very angry. As she slowly gained lucidity, her 59

Toye pretty and delicate features twisted with righteous indignation. "Where the fuck am I?" She scowled at me, waiting for me to answer. I had promised Edward that I would remain quiet. I might have been taking it to extremes, but I didn't want to draw Jasper's attention to the basement with any sort of commotion that he might find unable to resist. I shook my head at the girl, and pressed my finger to my lips& trying to let her know that she should lower her voice. "Don't ' shhh' me!" The girl sneered. "Who are you? And what the fuck is this place?" "Please," I whispered. My eyes nervously flickered back to the stairs before I looked at her again. "We need to stay quiet. Please&" "Are you nuts?" The girl was practically yelling now. In an instant, she jumped to her feet. " HEY!" She screamed as she launched herself halfway up the bars at the front of the cage. Her hands and feet helped keep her grip as her voice tore through the silent space around us. " HEY!" she repeated again. " Can anybody hear me? My name is Alice&. I'm trapped down here! LET ME OUT!" I felt frantic in my need to convey the danger that she was putting herself in. I scrambled from the corner and grabbed her ankle, trying to bring her back to the floor and warn her about Jasper. "Be quiet!" I hissed in an urgent whisper. "He'll kill you. Please& you have to stop yelling!" The girl named Alice turned and kicked my hand away from her leg. With misplaced ire, she put two hands on my chest and pushed me backward. "You useless cunt!" The harsh word spat with her child's voice only let me know how terrified she was. She was lashing out. "You should be helping me get out of here! Are you fucking stupid? Why in the hell are you just sitting there?"

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Toye She was still yelling at me. I shook my head and parted my lips, ready to explain the warning that I had been given. But my head snapped to the side when I heard the basement door open at the top of the stairs. Self-preservation over-rode my urge to protect this irate stranger. I hastily slid back into my corner while she screamed at me in fear and anger. "What in the hell is wrong with you?" Alice's voice was hoarse already, from screaming. And I knew that the only effect her vocalizations had on anyone, was going to be her downfall. His creepy sing-song voice came ahead of him on the stairs. Alice and I heard it at the same time, and the furious and frightened girl silenced her tirade when she turned to the front of the cage again to see who came with the voice. " Mary had a little lamb& little lamb& li&.ttle& lammmmb&" I bit my bottom lip and held my breath, as Jasper sauntered down the steps. With an impish grin and a nursery rhyme on his twisted smile, he raised one arm and pulled the chain to turn on the bare light bulb over his head. The entire basement was flooded with faded yellow light, and I cringed against the unaccustomed brightness. The bulb swayed above him, and I blinked away the ache from my eyes. I wished to God that he had left the light off. I had a feeling I would prefer total darkness for what was to come. "Mary Alice Brandon," Jasper spoke. His eyes were cast down at the open wallet that he held in his hands. His long fingers pinched the corner of a rectangular piece of plastic that he read from. "Black hair. Blue eyes. "Weight? Buck-five. Height? Five foot nothing. Nice." He raised his eyes, appraising the woman whose description matched that on the identification card. Then he carelessly flicked the plastic to the floor. "That's my wallet," the girl announced redundantly. She spoke through gritted teeth, and Jasper ignored her for a moment, casually pulling additional cards from their organized compartments.

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Toye "Aww& you're certified to perform CPR." Jasper's eyebrows were raised. "That's& so& cute." "Give me my stuff!" The girl raised her voice in anger, and I trembled in the corner, knowing that this was all going to end very badly. "Oooh, and look," Jasper continued, grinning at the little pink piece of paper in his grasp. "You're a member of the Victoria's Secret Panty Club! Buy just one more& and get another free! That's hot. Whatcha got on under there, Mary Alice? Thong? Boy shorts?" "Listen, you sick fuck," Alice said with a growl. His rude perusal of her personal items obviously made her bold. "You better let me out of here! Or you're dead. Do you hear me? Dead!&" "Too late for that, Princess," Jasper hissed. Her shrieked threat was cut off abruptly. In a blur of movement I would have missed had I not expected it, Jasper had flung open the door to the cage and was standing inside with us. His fingers gripped the back of Alice's head, and he lifted her from the floor by a handful of hair at the nape of her neck. Her toes barely skimmed the floor while she dangled there at the end of his arm. "Ow! Mother-fuck!" The girl screamed and brought her hands to her head, trying to alleviate the pressure on her scalp while Jasper grinned and held her like she weighed nothing. I saw the pain and fury on her face while her legs swung uselessly in the air. Then with an easy twist of his wrist, the girl flew backward and hit the bars at the back of the cage with a loud thud. It must have knocked the wind out of her lungs, because she was quiet for a moment while she struggled to get back up on her feet. "My boyfriend," she gasped. "He& he only left to get a spare for the car. He'll be back soon. And& he'll come looking for me&"

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Toye "Imagine that." Jasper chuckled and looked over to where I sat, frozen with fear and determination to not make a sound. "Another flat. So many flat tires on this stretch of highway. Why& it almost seems like someone planned it that way&" When I realized the meaning of his words, my eyes tightened in an automatic reaction to the anger I felt. It was all a trap. I saw a spark of excitement on his face at my unintentional change of expression, and quickly fixed a blank look at him. But it was too late. He had seen and taken note of my internal struggle to remain passive. A harsh laugh came from his lips and he turned his attention back to the small woman that stood on weak legs beside me. He stepped forward and she raised her fists to fight him off. He was taking absolute delight in her resistant attitude. I couldn't even hope to protect her now. I just pulled myself into a tight ball, and hoped he would be quick about it. I felt horrible for even thinking it& but if this girl was beyond saving, at least her death might keep him sated for as long as I needed to ensure my own survival. What kind of a monster did that make me?" With my legs pulled up tight to my chest, I began to rock back and forth on my tail-bone. I shut my eyes tightly and tried to reduce the sounds of the carnage beside me, by covering my ears and by humming Edward's song quietly to myself. It had become an anthem to me, a reminder that I would see a day beyond this one. It was my hope to cling to, and my peace in the madness. A piercing scream tore through the song in my head, and I pulled my arms and legs in closer& folding in on myself&trying to make myself invisible. My fingertips pressed so painfully against my ears, I was afraid I would draw blood. But I couldn't keep the grizzly sounds of her death silenced. I heard it anyway. Despite my efforts, I heard her cries. I heard the tearing of her clothing, and the audible ripping of flesh. I heard the snapping of bones and cartilage. It sounded as though he were butchering her beside me. Jasper grunted and made slurping sounds. He sighed and moaned with lustful satisfaction. I could tell he was feeding from the girl, and I struggled to shrink further into my corner to escape her flailing limbs while her body shook in death spasms.

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Toye When her body became still, I heard him chuckle in evil amusement. "Resuscitate that, bitch!" His words were brutal and completely said for his own sick pleasure. I shuddered at the malicious cruelty of it all. And then, blissful silence returned. My own harsh breathing was the only sound in my ears. I was afraid to open my eyes. I didn't want to see what he had done to that poor girl. And I could feel that he was still crouched beside me, watching for my reaction. "Look at me," he ordered. His face was so close to mine, that I could smell the blood on his breath. " LOOK AT ME!" His voice thundered, and something cold and wet splattered on my face and on my exposed wrists and hands. It had a numbing effect, like a topical anesthetic, and I finally blinked my eyes open as he had instructed me to do. I saw his spit spattered on my skin. Thick, and white, and tinged with the girl's blood. I wanted to wretch. I wanted to scream and claw at his disturbing fiery eyes and kick him away from me. I wanted to wipe the evidence of his cruelty away from my hands. But I sat like a statue and stared blankly ahead. He might kill me now. But I would not give him the reaction he hoped for. My death could be unsatisfying for him, and I would have felt the victor for dying silently. " Jasper." The harshly uttered name spoken by someone beyond the cage made the man who lurched above me freeze with the silent order that it implied. My eyes flew quickly around his form to find the owner of that velvet-voice. Unfortunately, this also brought the image of the mutilated corpse beside me into vision. The girl's chest was ripped completely open. Broken pieces of her rib cage twisted away from the bloody cavity of her chest, like the defeated slats of a white picket fence around a deserted home. But I couldn't concentrate on that. I couldn't let it be real. I needed to focus on the voice that stopped Jasper from delivering me to the same fate. It was Edward. He had come, as he promised he would.

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Toye "Get away from her," the voice ordered. Jasper growled lowly and his fingers dug into the floor. He stared at me with hate and defiance in his eyes. I was almost convinced that he might ignore Edward's orders and kill me anyway. With obvious reluctance, he finally tore his eyes from mine, and turned to leave the cage. "Take that with you," the voice ordered with distaste. I still hadn't raised my eyes beyond knee level of my savior. But I tried not to look as Jasper picked the ruined body of Mary Alice up from the cage and carried her away from me. I kept my eyes trained to the floor, and bit the inside of my cheek. I had to remember what Edward had told me. I needed to hide the fact that we had met. Surely, the gruesome murder I had just witnessed would aid in my deception. I didn't even feel like myself. I shook in the terrorized aftermath of the event, and in my own relief of having been so narrowly rescued from receiving the same brutal treatment. "So. This is what I come home to?" The voice was familiar, but cold. I heard that Carlisle had joined him, when his voice added to the conversation above me. "She's pure, Edward. She's perfect for you." "She's filthy. And she smells like piss." I flinched under his harsh words, and tried to remind myself that this was the same person that had promised to take me away from here. He had showed me extraordinary kindness. I needed to remember that he was not like the others. I needed to trust him, now. The door squeaked on its hinges, and I felt a gentle touch under my chin. My breathing escalated in fear, and I finally lifted my eyes to look at the face in front of me. Edward knelt before me, looking deep into my eyes. The swirling red depths of his irises pulled me in, and made me feel whoozy. I trembled, and he pursed his lips with a small frown. 65

Toye "What's she thinking?" I recognized Emmett's voice now. "I've been dying to know what's in her head." "I don't know," Edward continued to stare into my eyes. "She's silent to me." "Well, that's something new," Carlisle chuckled. "Don't tell me you aren't dying to crack that mystery, at least." The corner of Edward's mouth pulled up in a small grin, and I was sure he was trying to reassure me. I was held immobile by his gaze. And at how absolutely, and devastatingly handsome he really was. He said he looked like the others. His strange, red eyes were the only connective feature I could find. He was beautiful, and I sighed. But his features hardened, clearly a reminder that I should not appear comfortable around him. He stood and walked out of the cage, away from me. "She's nearly broken," Edward said with disdain. "What am I supposed to do with her?" "Leave her for me," Jasper shrugged. My eyes flew open in terror, and Edward spun around so quickly that I gasped. He pressed Jasper against the wall with his forearm shoved against his throat. "I don't share," Edward warned lowly. Jasper chuckled and didn't seem at all put-off by Edward's possessiveness. The men separated, watching each other warily. I sat, waiting to see how it would all play-out. "Decide if you want her," Carlisle finally sighed. He sounded bored. Edward turned his head and seemed to consider me for a moment. "I do," he finally said. My heart picked up speed when I heard his declaration. I was closer& closer& "But she needs to be cleaned up. I'm taking her upstairs." "You know we keep them down here," Jasper pointed out. Edward rounded on him with his fists clenched.

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Toye "She's mine, and I'll do what I want with her!" Carlisle put one hand on Jasper's chest and held his other palm out toward me. Edward moodily turned and flicked his fingers up in my direction. "Come with me," he said icily. While it was what I was waiting for, I couldn't make my legs move. Somehow, these bars had begun to provide a feeling of safety for me. They kept me separated from the men that all stood outside, watching the interaction between Edward and myself. "Get up," he ordered through gritted teeth. With his back turned toward the men, I saw a pleading look on his face that was obviously meant for only me, before he lowered his brows again. I had a feeling that I needed to move quickly. And so I blindly reached for the bars beside me, and used them to pull myself up onto shaky legs. I took one step forward, and nearly fell. Edward frowned, and then he stepped forward and pulled me up into his arms. I closed my eyes wearily, cradled against his chest. Under other circumstances, the position might have felt romantic. But I could only focus on not looking at the faces of the monsters that Edward took me away from. The gentle rush of air told me that Edward moved with surprising speed. And in a moment, I was being lowered to my feet once more. We were in a hallway I didn't recognize, presumably on the second floor of the cabin. Edward looked over his shoulder warily, and then opened the door in front of us before ushering me inside. --Reviews are better than ligyrophobia. Leave one.

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NeVeS
~~*~~ I hesitated in the doorway, but the pressure of his fingers on my lower back urged me forward without compromise. My eyes were trained on the large, four-poster bed that occupied most of the living space in this room of his. I would have been less shocked at seeing a shiny coffin and billowy cobwebs decorating the space. The faded, soft-looking quilt and stacked pillows looked somehow out of place and even more ominous in comparison. Edward saw what had captured my attention, and sighed loudly as he pushed the door shut behind us. The mechanical click of the lock made me jump, and I felt his hands cup my shoulders from behind. "You're wound up as tight as a clock," his voice hummed near my ear. His fingers started to apply light pressure, stroking back and forth from the base of my neck to the top of my arms. "While I can certainly understand your anxiety& most human minds would have buckled under the games my siblings have played with you& I do hope that you'll be comfortable enough here, in my room, to try to relax." I sensed the underlying tone of an order as he stated his wish. I knew I should appreciate his generosity. Edward had been true to his word, and had begun the motions to take me away from his place. A little gratitude shown in trusting him would not be out of order. "I'm& sorry," I whispered. My throat was so dry that I felt I was swallowing past sandpaper. I looked at the floor in front of me, dutifully willing my nerves to calm. "You need water," Edward stated knowingly. "And perhaps something to eat?" I nodded and kept my eyes trained downward. My attention came to my hands, illuminated as completely filthy here, in this pristine upper-room. I used the 68

Toye fingernail of my right forefinger to scratch at the dried spittle on my opposite wrist. My brows lowered as the crusty spot flaked away from me. "Venom," Edward murmured, stepping in front of me. It brought my eyes up to his for the first time since we entered the room. I looked at his face questioningly. He gripped my wrist lightly and brought it up toward his face, inspecting it more closely. "Venom," he repeated again. "We are venomous. The secretion actually numbs the immediate area to dull the pain and partially paralyze the victim. Jasper& was obviously over-excited. His venom is on your skin." Edward's thumb-nail caressed the side of my hand. With a frown, he flicked away a dried spatter of the fluid he had just explained. "You need to bathe," he said. I cringed, remembering his harsh assessment of me in the basement. I dirtied his private quarters with my very presence. I was filthy, and bruised, and covered with substances I didn't even want to contemplate. Edward dropped my hand as though he noticed how disgusting it was, at the same time I did. And then with a breeze-like motion, he disappeared. I turned my eyes toward an open door in the corner of the room, when I heard bathwater being drawn into a tub. My knees started to shake. Edward reappeared in what I now knew to be the bathroom door, and crooked his finger to indicate that I should join him. I was afraid that if I moved even one leg in that direction, I might fall. I stood rooted to the spot I had been in since entering the room. Edward rolled his eyes slightly, and looked annoyed for a brief moment before walking over to me and deliberately taking my hand in his. "You can do this on your own, or I'll carry you," Edward warned quietly. "But my family will never believe that you've occupied my attention for long in the state that you are in. They know my preferences for order& and for cleanliness." His lip curled a little as he let his eyes travel down my body. "Where is your other shoe?"

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Toye I looked down at my feet as I walked. He was right. I still, wore only one. "I don't know." My voice shook. But I was moving forward under his direction. His gentle grip on my elbow helped give me the strength to remain upright. "You'll feel better after a bath," Edward sighed. "And you are going to have to try harder, if you want to help me convince my family that you are tempting me." "Are you& tempted?" I asked, with my feet pausing in front of the bathtub. I don't know what made me bold enough to ask. But I felt so much of my nervousness hinged on his answer. A look of understanding flashed across Edward's eyes, and he smiled sadly. With the back of his hand, he swept my tangled hair behind my shoulder. "You tempt me in ways I do not quite understand," he murmured. A shiver ran down my spine to accompany his words. But I felt no threat in his simple statement. "You intrigue me. I want to understand what is going on in your mind." He let his fingers dance lightly in an arc across my forehead before dropping his hand to his side. "But right now& there is no denying& I could find something in the woods to eat that would be a cleaner meal than you." His lips curved up in a soft smile, and his features relaxed in an expression I could define as teasing. I licked my lips, and winced when my dry tongue scratched against the inside of my mouth. "I'll leave you to your privacy," Edward nodded toward the tub. "I'll be back in a moment with something for you to eat, and drink." The immediate relief I felt at his words was quickly replaced by alarm. Leaving me alone also meant leaving me vulnerable. Edward trailed his hand from my elbow to my wrist reassuringly. "I'll be back by the time you are settled in. You are safe here. But don't think of trying to leave," he frowned. "If you stepped outside the door, I could not hope to offer you protection." "Okay," I promised. He looked satisfied by my response, and turned to leave. 70

Toye Carefully and robotically, I went through the motions of undressing. I didn't bother folding my clothes. I knew they were ruined. Hell, they probably needed to be burned. I wasn't sure what Edward expected me to wear, but I knew that after my bath, I would not be allowed to step back into these filthy bits of material. So I tossed them in the small trash can under the sink, and then gripped the edge of the tub while I stepped into the hot, sudsy water. I hissed in absolute pleasure as a sweet, florally aroma washed over me in the steam. The scented oil that Edward had obviously poured into the bath stung my abrasions while the heat of the water went to work soothing my muscles right away. I turned the faucet handles to stop the flow of water, and then slid downward until the thick bubbles reached my chin. I couldn't help the response of my body, however, when Edward's voice startled me and water slopped loudly over the side of the tub onto the floor. "I'm sorry for scaring you," he spoke quietly. I pulled myself into my familiar curled position, and tucked my legs in close to my chest. "I told you I'd return quickly." "I know," I shook my head and tried to smile in apology while I rested my cheek against my bent knee. "I'm sorry." "There's no need," Edward insisted, pulling a folded wash cloth from a silver ring on the wall. I closed my eyes as he knelt beside the tub. Carefully, so as not to startle me again, his hand began pulling the material through the water and up across my back. I concentrated on breathing slowly and trying to relax as Edward methodically cleaned my shoulders and the tops of my arms. He made no move to touch me inappropriately, and I relaxed under his capable fingers. "You are incredibly fast, and strong," I whispered. "Venomous and hypnotic." I was listing, out-loud, the knowledge I had collected about the man beside me. "Your& family members spoke like&" I bit my lip and he remained silent, waiting for me to continue. "Can you read minds?"

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Toye "Not all of us have the ability. But I can," Edward moved to the front of the tub and pushed his sleeves up his strong forearms. I stared at the chorded muscle there, and watched as he shoved his arms into the water to retrieve one of my legs. He held my ankle above the water, and moved to lightly wash my foot and my calf. His hands didn't stray farther than the water line at my thigh. He simply lowered my leg and repeated the process with the next. "I can't read your mind," he added. "You can't?" My brows lifted in surprise, and he frowned while drawing the washcloth over the top of my foot. "No." Irritation settled on his forehead, and I felt the need to return his honesty with some of my own. "I'm scared," I told him. His eyes moved up to meet my gaze, and he placed my leg back under the bubbles. "But if you could read my mind& you would know how& grateful I am. Grateful that you are helping me. Grateful to be out of that&" A sob caught in the back of my throat, and I was unable to continue. "May I wash your hair?" Edward stood, and I nodded, unable to deny him his simple request. I submerged my body in the water and let my hair become saturated. When I pulled myself back into a sitting position, Edward carefully massaged my hair into a luxurious lather. His fingers on my scalp actually caused me to sigh out loud with pleasure. His hands stilled for a moment at the sound, and then he resumed his efforts. "Rinse," he instructed. I did as I was told. When my hair was clean and suds free, I pushed the heavy curtain of it away from my face and looked up at the man who had so kindly ministered to my bath. "What will you have me wear?" I asked. He frowned slightly, as though he hadn't considered it. And then, with deft fingers he began to unbutton his own shirt. I stared, in awe as his bare torso was revealed to me. Pale to the point of oddity, his chest and abdomen were impossibly defined. Hard, and smooth, and strangely perfect in form.

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Toye "Beauty is another of your weapons, isn't it?" I asked with sudden insight. Edward shrugged. "We are meant to be attractive to our prey." "Obviously," I breathed. Edward smiled a little, and I felt an honest grin tug the corner of my lips upward in response. He laid his shirt across the sink, and looked down at me for a moment. He seemed as though he wanted to say something. But then he shook his head and moved toward the door. "Please dry yourself and get dressed. I have brought something for you to eat and drink, when you are finished." He left the room and closed the door. Something about his consideration of my privacy felt like a gift that I added to the pile of things that I was indebted to him for. Every move he made seemed to purposefully exaggerate that he wanted me to feel safe with him. He wanted to help me trust him. After all I had been through& after all I had seen& how could I not cling to the comfort he provided? To the hope he offered? I had to believe in his good intentions. There were no other options. Trying to ignore that I was dressed much as Rosalie was, the last time I saw her animated and alive& I walked quietly back into the bedroom. Edward was sitting stoically on the edge of the bed. I could see he had laid out a picnic of sorts, for me. My stomach rumbled, and I had to physically restrain myself from throwing myself at the food. My steps carried me forward quickly, and I made no effort to hide my enthusiasm as I nimbly climbed onto the bed and tucked my feet beneath me. I paused only long enough for Edward to tilt his head toward the food in silent invitation. It was hardly an extravagant feast. More peaches, a turkey sandwich wrapped in cellophane, three cookies that were left in an open travel-sized bag, and a bottle of water. It wasn't until I was swallowing the last bite that it even occurred to me to wonder where the food had come from. The last gulp of 73

Toye water forced the food down as guilt threatened to bring it back up. I could imagine it was packed away in the car of the girl that had become Jasper's plaything. I didn't want to ask. I didn't want to know for sure. Instead, I twisted the cap back onto the bottle and laid it across my now empty plate. "Thank you," I whispered. Edward had largely ignored me while I ate. His head had been turned to look away while I had tore and crammed pieces of stolen bread between my lips. Perhaps my eating habits were as disgusting to him, as his were to me. When he heard my whispered gratitude, he turned back toward me and removed the dishes from the bed. He only moved so far as to place them on the dresser in the room. And then he turned and leaned against the piece of furniture while he crossed his arms over his chest. "You certainly look better," Edward murmured. "Do you feel better, also?" "Yes," I nodded quietly. "Good," he smiled. "Because we need to talk. And you'll need your strength." "Okay," I answered. My fingers strayed to the worn fabric beneath me, and I brushed my knuckles back and forth against its soft surface. It was soothing. Edward's eyes watched the motion for a moment, before he spoke again. "I called your father." " WHAT?" My hands froze in their dragging motion, and Edward was before me in an instant. His palm pressed against my mouth to stifle the loud squeak of surprise that had come from my lips. His face was inches from my own, and his eyes were wide with an understood warning. I breathed through my nose, fast and hot against his cold fingers. Edward cursed lightly and tilted his head to the side before launching himself over me and onto the bed. I was so surprised I didn't have another chance to make a sound. I was lying flat on my back, and his knee was bent so that his heavy thigh pressed across my hipbones and trapped me partially beneath him. My fingers clutched at his arm and I kept my eyes trained on his, afraid of this sudden change. But then the bedroom door opened. 74

Toye Edward and I both turned to look at the person who entered the room. My heart picked up pace immediately in fear. And then I realized that Edward and I, for all intents and purposes, looked to have been caught in a very compromising position. His body nearly covered my smaller form on the bed. His hand had slipped from my mouth, and was clutching the comforter beside my head. My fingers dug into his arm and I knew my cheeks were stained pink from the rapid motions that had just brought us here. I stared with wide eyes up to where Emmett stood in the doorway. "Did you think of knocking?" Edward snapped. I flinched at the acid in his tone, but continued to press my fingers into the hard muscle under my hand. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to actually want his body to be pressing so tightly against mine. But he felt like a wall of protection between me and the monster in the doorway. I wanted to bury myself beneath him, crawl under his strength and hide there. Emmett chuckled while his eyes traveled over us. I shivered when Edward lowered his hand to my bare thigh. His fingers curled around my leg possessively, and effectively blocked Emmett from staring at my exposed skin. "Get out," he ordered. "I can see you kids are busy," Emmett chuckled. "Carlisle wanted me to tell you that we are leaving for the city before dawn. He wants to clean up the area a little so we won't have a problem coming back up here sometime. It's a pretty nice location for hunting, wouldn't you say?" Edward growled lowly in his chest, and I felt his fingers tighten on my skin. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the steady weight of the man above me. He had told me that his family would be leaving soon for a meeting. Once again, his words were proven to be true. "I'm not going," Edward said with a rough sounding voice. "What do you mean?" Emmett asked. I kept my eyes closed and bit my lip while I listened to Edward's plan play out.

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Toye "I mean& I'm. Not. Going," Edward enunciated each word slowly. His hand deliberately rubbed up and down my leg and I froze in place when I felt his icy breath under my ear. Gently, he placed a kiss on the delicate skin there before raising his head to speak again. "Tell Carlisle. I'll join you all later. I'm& having some fun first." "Well& hell yeah!" Emmett said, with a clearly congratulatory laugh in his voice. "Good for you, man!" "Yes," Edward murmured with his nose skimming my jaw. "Now get out. I don't want to be disturbed." My body trembled as his breath sent the words skipping across my throat. I heard Emmett's deep bass chuckle again before the door closed behind him. Edward froze then, but did not take his body from mine. I slowly opened my eyes, and was drawn immediately into his scorching gaze. We stared at each other for an indeterminable amount of time before Edward slowly shifted his body to lie beside me. His fingers wrapped around my waist as he lifted my body and turned it away from him. It was amazing, how strong he was. With the easy twisting of his hands, he had moved me to lie on my side in front of him, and he curled his body behind mine. I relaxed into the bed beneath me, even as his hard form pressed into me from behind. "They shouldn't interrupt again," Edward whispered near my ear. "But in case they do& it would be beneficial for us to remain close." "Whatever you think is best," I whispered back to him. His arm crossed over my chest protectively, and I raised my hands to lightly hold the iron bar that kept me safe. "You must stay quiet," Edward whispered again. "No more loud noises." "I'm sorry," I breathed. "I was& surprised when you told me that you called my father." Tears rushed to my eyes when I said the words that I wanted so 76

Toye desperately to be true. "Charlie Swan," Edward whispered, adding weight to the truth of his claim. "His phone number was written across a map in the window of your car." "Tell me," I insisted. "I made the call anonymously. There is a search party already in the area," Edward explained. "I've been watching their progress, and I know the path they are cutting through the forest. They are looking for you." "Will they come here?" I felt a surge of fear, thinking of my father inadvertently stumbling across the men that held me captive. I couldn't bear the thought of him being hurt while trying to find me. "No," Edward stated. "But there is a small hunting shack& several miles from here. If I am correct, their search party will be there by tomorrow morning. As soon as my family leaves tonight, I will take you there for your father to find." The tears escaped my eyes and ran down the side of my cheek onto the bed below me. I sniffled, and allowed my hands to caress Edward's arm in a gesture meant to show my gratitude. "You have to understand, Bella," Edward continued. "I do want to take you away from here. But I need it to be far enough away, so that my family will not be found, or implicated in any way." I nodded against him. Who would believe me? I would be locked away if I tried to explain what had really gone on here. The best I could hope for, would be that I might lead the authorities to find this place after Edward's family had gone. They might find evidence of the people whose lives had been taken. Maybe they would assume it was the work of serial killers. I wouldn't add to their investigation with the truth that would only lend them reason to doubt my sanity. "You should try to sleep," he finally said. "I'll wake you when it's time to leave."

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Toye "I don't want to sleep," I shook my head. "If I do& I'll wake up and I'll be back in that basement. Back in the cage. And all of this will have been a dream." "That won't happen, Bella," Edward sighed. "Will you stay here, and hold me?" I asked, tentatively. His arm tightened around me again, and I heard him take a shaky breath. "If I do& you'll only be waking, wrapped in a different nightmare." "You are no nightmare," I said strongly. "You are an angel." "Sleep," Edward said, not arguing with my disturbed description of him. "I'll hold you. Just& sleep." With a full stomach, a hopeful heart, and the strength of my angel curled around me, I slept. Groggily, I woke when Edward's gentle fingers pushed at my shoulder and his smooth voice danced in my ear. "Bella? It's time to go&" I sat up and pushed my hair away from my face. Edward pulled his fingers through his own messy hair, while I blushed and pulled his shirt down to cover my legs. "I'll be right back," he announced. I took a minute to use the bathroom, and when I returned, he held a bundle of clothing on his outstretched arms. He looked apologetic and anxious. But I soon determined why. The clothes he held, belonged to Rosalie. I swallowed back the pain of her memory, and tried to focus on the necessity of his offering. It wasn't like he could run out and buy me some clothes at the mall. Rosalie wouldn't need them again. And if she knew that her clothing would somehow be a part of my escaping this place, she would thrust the items into my hands herself.

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Toye "Thank you," I mumbled. I started to pull her jeans up my legs, and Edward politely turned his back. I unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it across the bed, before pulling her black turtle neck over my head. I was rolling the hem of her jeans up to fit my much shorter legs when Edward turned back toward me. He picked up the shirt I had left for him, and buttoned it around his chest once more. "I found your other shoe," Edward stated. He had retrieved the one I had left in the bathroom, and both of my flats rested on the floor by the dresser. I stared at them with a wave of appreciation. I wasn't sure if I could have forced myself to wear Rosalie's red heels. Their luck had obviously run out. "Are you ready?" Edward asked. I nodded and followed him as he turned to walk from the room. Down the stairs, I noticed the absolute quiet around us. Everything was clean and in place. It was as though no one had visited at all. His family was gone. There was a definite chill in the air as I walked behind Edward out to the porch. The sun had not yet risen, and so I had no concept at all, of what time it was. I took deep breaths of the clean air, and cried at the sheer joy I felt to no longer be in that stifling cabin. It had seemed so cheerful when I first saw it. Now, it only looked like death. I was so happy to be leaving it behind, that I could have danced. Edward slowed his walk, and stepped beside me. Ever careful, he held aside branches and offered his arm to help me step over things that might have tripped me in the darkness. His silence was comforting. With each step, he led me closer to my father, and closer to my freedom. After a while, he finally sighed. "Bella? Do you trust me?" He paused and waited for me to answer. "I& do," I allowed after only a brief moment of hesitation. "We could get there a lot faster if you'd let me carry you," Edward told me. "I'm fast. I won't drop you. And it will take hours for us to get there at the 79

Toye speed you are walking." "I'm sorry," I apologized. He just grabbed my hand and put it on his shoulder as he turned in front of me. I understood the silent directive, and jumped up to let him hold me on his back. "Close your eyes," he instructed. So I did. And it felt like we were flying. I had no way to tell how far we traveled, or how fast. His body was fluid beneath mine as he ran through the forest, carrying me to the shack he promised was on the trail of the search party. Soon, he lowered my feet to the porch of the building he had told me about. And I clutched at his arm to remain upright until my equilibrium returned. "I'm dizzy," I explained breathlessly. Edward laughed lightly and I heard the loud crunch of wood when he forced the locked door open. "Let's get you inside," he said. "I'll start a fire. You are freezing." I realized then, that I was shaking. I had become accustomed to trembling in fear. My chattering teeth this time, had everything to do with the frigid night air that we had just torn through. There was no electricity in this small shack. But in no time, Edward had coerced a small fire to burn brightly in the fireplace that was built into the wall. "I& brought you this," he quietly offered. Edward pulled a foil-juice pack from his pocket. I was amazed, once again, by his thoughtfulness. I refused to consider which random victim of his family had not been allowed to drink this sugary treat. Instead, I pushed the cheery yellow straw through the perforated notch on top, and drank Edward's gift appreciatively. "Will you be comfortable here?" He was still thinking only of me. I sighed and sat beside him, on the floor by the fire. He had placed a faded flannel hunting blanket across the rough wood to ward off the chill, and the fire was warming me considerably. 80

Toye "Yes," I smiled. It was easy to be generous in attitude, when I knew that he had gone out of his way to treat me with kindness. I still wished I knew why. And my sigh alerted him to my confused thoughts. "What is it?" He asked. I turned my face, and watched as the firelight danced across his perfect cheekbones and his mess of like-colored hair. "I wish I could understand why you have been so kind to me," I finally stated, truthfully. Edward's eyes darted away from my own, and he picked at the blanket beneath us. "I don't want to frighten you," he said softly. "What you consider kindness, is selfishness on my part." "You don't frighten me," I replied. His eyes came back up to mine. His gaze held me captive as he tried to read my inner thoughts. I smiled, trying to clue him in. I wasn't afraid anymore. "I haven't felt& truly alive&in longer than I can remember," Edward said then. "But with you& I feel this& pull. It draws me to you. I'm sure it's as close to the emotion that you call 'love' as I will ever be allowed to know. I enjoy speaking the truth to you, and seeing that you believe me. And& you allow me to touch you like I'm not the deplorable creature that I am. For the first time& in so long& I feel like the man I wish I was." My breath caught in my chest at his tender admission. He bared his soul to me. And suddenly, I knew how I could repay him. In the early morning hours, before he would release me to my father's arms& I could make sure he knew that I saw him as that man he wanted to be. I could make him feel as close to 'love' as he craved. I didn't take my eyes from his, as I sat up on my bent knees. He watched me, with clear fascination as I leaned forward. And there, before the fireplace in that deserted hunting shack, I willingly brought my lips to his, and I kissed a vampire that wanted to be a man. His hesitation was brief, until he understood my intentions. And then his lips parted with a sweet sigh and I pushed out my tongue to taste him. His lips were 81

Toye cool and smooth against my own, and the sweetness that was carried on his breath was wet and delicious under my mouth. I was left with a faint tingling sensation against my teeth and my gums, but I didn't care. Because something in his touch ignited a fire in me that burned hotter than the flames that lit the room beside us. His hands went to my ribcage, and I let him lean me back. I gripped his hair tight in my fists, and brought his mouth to mine over and over again. I could feel his eager weight above me, and I parted my legs to help him find the position in which we should naturally align. He moaned with pleasure, and lowered himself to press against me. I couldn't explain my reaction to him. Maybe I really had lost my mind in that cabin& I had no other excuse for the way I rocked against him and pulled to get him closer. This was the man who had cared for me in my darkest hours. And this was the only moment in which I would be allowed to let him know just how much it meant to me. When he pulled his mouth from mine, I gasped and looked up at him. He rested with his forearms on either side of me and his eyes swirled with amazing sparks of red and gold, like lava& like heat and like need and like desire. I was dizzy with a passion that matched his. And I cupped his face in my hands and told him so. "I want you," I whispered. Though I could barely recognize my own voice, and I couldn't feel the way my numb lips formed the words. I heard them clearly in my own ears and saw the way they affected the man above me. He smiled and raised himself up far enough to grip my borrowed shirt in both hands and lift it up over my head. As if out of my control, my hands flew up to tug at the buttons of his shirt. I pushed the material away from his glorious chest, as his eyes and fingers discovered my body. And then he moved back down, and pushed our naked skin together while he kissed me.

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Toye Hot and cold. Soft, and hard. His hands and his tongue explored my skin and I thought I might faint from the delirious pleasure of it all. I couldn't question my own need for him. I just felt it. My mind and my body were no longer my own. If I even considered the fact that I shouldn't be acting this way, I had only to gaze into his burning eyes again, and lose the reasoning behind my worry. "Bella," he groaned into my mouth. "Beautiful& beautiful&" I was lost in his touch and his eyes and his taste. I didn't even notice when he had removed the rest of our clothing. But I felt him, sure and hard, pressed against my thigh. And I trembled against the magnitude of what this might lead to. Edward licked at my lips, and then tugged my bottom one lightly between his before leaning up and cupping my face. He stared deeply into my eyes once more. "Trust me," he whispered. I nodded, and kissed at his fingers when he pushed them against my lips. I licked them while he stared at me, and then he took his hand away and slid it down my body between us. Slowly, and deliciously, he used his moistened fingers to touch me between my legs. And my eyes popped open at the surprising feeling of his cold fingers that entered my body tenderly. "Edward," I gasped. And he slowly moved his hips to rub himself against my leg. "Just& feel," he urged. I bit my lip and writhed underneath him. His lips traced along my neck, my collar bones, my breasts. His hand continued its rhythmic motion against me, and he moved his own hips in time with my movements. I felt a pressure building within me& an urge for something I couldn't quite understand. I pressed myself against him harder, and Edward increased the friction of his touch. He moaned and moved against me at the same time, obviously rising to the same fevered place where I was. And finally I could take it no longer. I clutched at his wrist, and I begged him not to stop. My back arched as he twisted his fingers and curled them inside me. I cried out loudly and he grunted in his own release while the world broke into fragments around 83

Toye me, shaded by flames and lust and the color of his eyes. I laid there, dazed and disoriented. While my breathing slowed, I began to feel the hardness of the floor under my protesting muscles, and the chill of the cabin air as it finally began to cool my flushed skin. Edward rolled away from me, and I watched as he pulled his pants back up to cover his body. In silence, I reached for my clothing to do the same. I noticed, as he moved to sit in a chair in the corner of the room, that dawn had finally joined us and was lighting the sky through the window. I stared at it, and wondered how I could have lost so much time once more. Had it been hours, or merely minutes since I had given myself, here on the floor, to Edward? And now that he was removed from my immediate presence& doubt began to creep to my mind about what had inspired me to behave as I had. I wasn't myself. I would have given him anything he desired. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to thank him for saving me. How had it escalated to be so much more? I knew, without a doubt, that if he had wanted to take my virginity, he could have. "Did you& hypnotize me?" I couldn't keep myself from asking the question that had forced itself into my mind. "Yes," Edward answered cooly. I bit my lip and lowered my eyebrows as I worried about what he said. "But& I wanted to," I shook my head. "It was my idea." "You aren't as easily brought under as most are," Edward explained. "You were willing. I only assisted in making you more so." "But& why?" I asked, shaking my head. "I am mean& why stop there? If I was under your influence& why didn't you accept everything that I clearly offered?" Edward chuckled and left his chair to join me where I stood.

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Toye "I thought I explained all of this before," he murmured. With his beautiful angel's face inches from my own, he brought his hand, the one he had used to touch me so intimately, up to his nose. I watched as he closed his eyes and smiled while he inhaled deeply. My stomach tightened while I watched him, breathing me in. "Virgin blood tastes sweetest," he said softly. "Why in the world do you think I'd spoil my prize by fucking you before I could taste it?" Pain ripped through me, and I took a step away from Edward, clutching at the hole his words slammed through my chest. "You& lied&" I forced through my clenched teeth. "You& said&you brought me here for my father to find me!" "You've never heard a single lie pass my lips," Edward shook his head and smiled, though the expression had lost its warmth. "Your father will find you here. In fact& the search party is entering the north end of the clearing right now. Just beyond that window." My eyes darted to the dirty glass behind him. My heart pounded ferociously inside my ribcage and I felt like I might hyperventilate as my breathing became erratic. Tears flowed freely down my face. "Why?" I sobbed. " Why?" "Because," Edward hissed. He was standing with his chest pressed to my own. His hand tangled into the back of my hair painfully and he wrenched my neck to the side so I could feel his words against my ear. "Vampires like to play with their food, Bella. Some of us& just enjoy prolonging the game longer than others." I cried out again in rage and despair as he spun me away from him. Fear made my limbs useless, and he pushed me toward the window. With my last bit of strength, I raised my arms and stretched them out toward the glass. I could see the men entering the clearing. The familiar flannel coat my father always favored was easy to pick out at the head of the group. He raised his arm to point at the shack ahead of them. They were too far away for me to hear their 85

Toye voices. But my fingers stretched out and my hands were rigid claws as I tried to touch the glass between us. Edward held my hair, keeping me at just such a distance that window remained centimeters out of reach. I sucked in a deep breath then, with the intention of screaming to alert the men outside of the danger that awaited them. But the sound came out in a gurgle. I recognized the searing burn at the side of my neck at the same time that I began to drown on the blood that poured from the wound down my throat. I felt a pulling& a pulling&and I heard Edward laugh under the tight lips that clamped around the gnashing teeth on my neck. My last thoughts were of relief, believing that the men outside would be allowed to live. Edward would leave me there, on the floor of the cabin. His game would be in watching their reactions as they found me. His broken, and discarded toy. The End. --Reviews are better than hematophobia. Leave one.

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