Alan

Author’s Note

Well, the last chapter was rough. I hope this one is better for you.

Tell me what you think, and I hope you enjoy!

-Page Break-

Bella sat in the corner of the room. Her knees were pulled tightly to her chest as she looked out the window. The last call she received she had been excited hoping it was J who was calling, instead her entire world crashed when it wasn’t him. It was Angela’s parents calling to let her know the news. The entire day she had thought that Ben and Angela had stayed overnight in Forks and Angela would tell her in person about their engagement. Instead she was hit with the harsh reality that her two closest friends were dead. Brutally murdered and tortured, their killer still on the loose. The police had suspected Angela and Ben’s killer was the one to kill Mike as well.

Bella wiped the tears from her face and sighed. A large part of her wanted to believe that their deaths had nothing to do with the supernatural, but her instincts told her she was being naïve. She flinched as the phone rang, this time she knew for certain it had to be J. Her only problem now was wondering if she had the guts to pick up the call. With a trembling hand she reached forward and took the phone into her hands and answered the call. “Hello.”

“Little Dove…” The voice she had grown so attached to rang through her ears.

Bella looked out the window her attempt to see whomever it was that was out there watching her. “I’m sure you heard the news.”

“I did.” He replied neutrally his tone giving nothing away as he spoke.

A tear slipped down Bella’s face. “Tell me, J, did you do it?”

“Do you believe I would do something like this to you?” He questioned in return.

“It’s hard to really know anything about you when I haven’t really met you.” Bella responded as she wiped away her tears. “How do I know this isn’t your way of getting me by myself? Making my life so miserable and lonely that I practically beg you to turn me?”

“I am not cruel, not to you.” He responded simply.

“If you didn’t do it. If you’re not the one who’s killing off my friends, than you must know who it is.” Bella said as her face grew cold. “The cops believe that were kidnapped at the high school, that’s where there car was found. No one knew Ben was proposing there except me, and you have been following so you must know who did this. The person who killed them had to have been listening into Ben and I as well. Do you know who did this?”

“I do.” He replied shortly.

Bella sighed, “Please, I need to know who did this.”

“You are human, this is out of your realm.” J responded. “Do not get involved into what you cannot handle.”

Bella shook her head, “I hate that!” She yelled. “I hate when people act like they know what’s best for me. These were my friends, J. This was Ben. This was Angela! Everything is falling apart and at the very least I deserve to know the name of the bastard who is doing this! I deserve to know!”

“Little Dove, if I tell you, it will only hurt you more.” He replied sincerely. “Trust me when I say that I will protect you, even from yourself if I have to. This is not something I will share with you.”

“It will only hurt more.” Bella replied she looked down as something just clicked in her head. What could hurt more than knowing her friends were dead? She looked back out the window. “They died because of me.” She whispered as she realized the only thing that could make matters worse was knowing it was her fault they died. “They were tortured because of me. That’s it isn’t it? I did this. I’m the cause of all this mess…”

Bella looked out the window and stiffened. She stood up immediately as another thought hit her. “None of this started until after you.” She walked closer to the window and her eyes searched the area outside for anything. “Was all of this because of me and you? Did I provoke whoever did this by accepting you? By actually enjoying your company?” she paused as there was no answer. “Answer me, J.”

“She doesn’t appreciate you being happy.” He replied simply keeping his voice calm.

Bella nodded, “Happy…” She wiped her eyes again as the unsuspected tears rolled down her face. “She’s done a really good job of making me unhappy.”

“Do not let her do this.” He commanded as he knew Bella well enough to know where her mind was going.

Bella shook her head. “It’s clear isn’t it? If me being happy is causing the people around me to die, then I have a decision to make. My happiness or their lives…” Bella hung up the phone and threw it on the ground crashing it to pieces. “Goodbye, J.” she said quietly. She closed her curtains and locked her doors. She headed into her room and closed the window locking it to make sure it stayed closed. She shut the curtains and crawled into her bed.

She didn’t expect to sleep, but maybe just maybe she would drown in her own sorrow. That would certainly make things easier for her. For everyone around her.

-Page Break-

Bella held on tightly to Alan’s hand as they sat in the church room ready for the service to begin. Bella stared on ahead at the two large black coffins. She was doing everything possible not to break down in the church. This was her fault. She lost her best friends because she decided to be happy. She kept looking over her shoulder hoping for that one moment where she would get that familiar feeling of J watching her. Yet, there was nothing only an empty ache in her chest and a pain she had never really felt before.

“Bella Marie.” Alan whispered nudging Bella to get out of her thoughts. “They’re calling your name.”

Bella’s head turned to the podium and sure enough Ben’s mother was staring straight at her. She stood and as gracefully as she could she made her way to the stage. She hugged Ben’s mother for a moment before heading to the microphone.

“Hello.” She spoke softly as she adjusted the Microphone. “If you all knew Ben and Angela, you probably knew me too, but in case you don’t my name is Bella Swan. I started Forks high school my junior year, and since the very beginning Angela has been my best friend. When she began seeing Ben that year, he became my friend too. There isn’t much I can say up here that you haven’t heard already, so I’ll tell you a story. Something small so you can all understand that my two best friends were the best people in the world.” Bella took in a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment.

“I had just moved into my own apartment and Ben and Angie had volunteered to help me set everything up. Angela of course went straight into decorating, while Ben decided he was more than capable of setting up all my electrical things. Ben decided it would be totally cool to mount my T.V. to the wall, I agreed, so I let him do his work and went to help Angela. Hours had passed and Angela and I grew suspicious of the growing silence coming from the living room. Being curious we went to check in on Ben. To my surprise he was hanging up a large portrait of an elephant, a picture he had bought from my new neighbor across the hall. At first, we didn’t find this suspicious, Ben was always a naturally kind person, so buying a painting for me didn’t seem odd. Later that evening my other neighbor hit the wall causing the wall to shake and the picture titled.” Bella smiled at the memory.

“It revealed the edge of a very large hole. It turned out Ben had underestimated his strength and when he was hammering something into the wall he broke off a chunk and this chunk led to a larger piece that fell off. He planned to pay to have it fix on a day that I didn’t have school. Angie being herself decided we could do it ourselves needless to say but things didn’t go as plans. This hole was now covered in everything we thought would fix it. To this day there is an elephant painting hanging in my living room in an attempt to hide a large mess. It’s no secret I won’t be getting my safety deposit back.”

Bella took in a deep breath. “Ben and Angela are the greatest people in the world. There will never be anyone like them. They have and always will be my definition of true love. I don’t know how life will be without them, they were my best friends and I feel as if I’ve lost a part of myself. I guess all I want to really say up here is that I love you both and I will never understand why this happened. I’m sorry.”

Bella walked down the steps quickly and out of the doors of the church. She put her hand to her chest and tried to calm her breathing. Tears rolled down her face and she fell to her knees. These were friends… how could she even come here knowing she was the cause of all of this.

Bella jumped as she felt a hand rest on her back. She looked up and sighed as Alan was standing there. “Al…”

“Come on, Bella Marie, let’s get you home.” Alan said as he helped her stand. “You should eat something as well, I don’t want you to get sick.”

Bella simply nodded and let Alan lead her away. She stared out the window as Alan drove her home, she had refused to use the car that J had gotten for her since she had last spoken to him. She had just lied and said there was a problem with it, nothing else needed to be said.

“Come on, Bella Marie, let’s get you inside.” Alan said as he parked outside of Bella’s building.

“I couldn’t even make it through the funeral.” Bella whispered. “What sort of friend am I that I can’t even make it through their funerals?”

Alan sighed, “You’re a good friend. It’s not a bad thing to show that you’re hurting, Bella Marie, it just shows you’re human.”

“Sometimes I think being human is my biggest weakness.” Bella mumbled as she followed Alan inside.

“It’s only a weakness if you let it be.” Alan replied as he took her key from her and opened the apartment door. He helped her get inside and made sure to lock the door afterwards.

“Al.” Bella said, “What am I going to do now? I’ve lost my friends, my family.”

“Life goes on and you have to go on as well.” Alan said he helped Bella sit on the couch. He grabbed Bella’s blanket and draped it over her. “You can’t let your grief control you.”

“But I can’t act as if none of this ever happened.” Bella responded bitterly as she wiped her eyes. “I know I look pathetic right now and that my self-loathing is probably getting on your nerves, but this has just been too much for me, Al.”

Alan took a seat beside her and smiled sadly. “This is too much for anyone, but if there’s anyone who can handle this, it’s you. You’re far stronger than you realize and I am more than certain you can handle anything that comes your way.”

Bella nodded, “I think this time it just might be different, Al.”

Alan shook his head, “I know what I’m talking about, the older you get the wiser you are.”

Bella laughed lightly. “I suppose with the years on you I should trust what you’re saying.”

-Page Break-

Bella sighed and used the hidden key to open the door to Alan’s apartment. She shook her head probably guessing he was asleep more like hoping he was asleep and not hurt. Bella set the cookies she had brought with her down in the kitchen. “Al.” She called out, as she headed to his bedroom. She paused when she passed the living room. She shook her head hoping she had just seen things. She closed her eyes and using all the motivation she had she walked back to the living room.

Her heart stopped when she was right. Her hands shook as she looked at Alan thrown down on the floor of his apartment. Bella ran over to him and instantly fell to her knees. “Al. Al. No, AL!” Bella said as she looked him over and could clearly see the bruises and cuts where he had been beaten. A shaky hand reached up and checked for a pulse. She closed her eyes as it was faint, but it was there. She reached for her phone and dialed 911.

Bella gave all the information of his address, “Yes, there’s a pulse. It’s faint, please you have to hurry.”

“Don’t worry, mam, the ambulance is on its way. I need you to stay on the line with me in case something changes.” The woman on the line said.

Bella nodded she was about to respond when she was pulled by the back of her hair and thrown across the room. Her scream echoing through the phone causing the woman on the line to become alerted. Bella rubbed the back of her head in pain. Her eyes were blurry and she could feel something warm trickling down her neck.

“It was so sweet of you to think you could save him.” Victoria replied as she stepped forward and crushed the phone with her foot.

“Vic…” Bella stuttered out as she was losing her strength. “Please.”

Victoria’s vicious laugh rang through the room. “So pathetic of you to plead for your life.”

Bella shook her head, “Alan. Please. Not him.”

Victoria laughed, “He’ll be dead anyhow, for an old man he does hold out longer than I expected.”

Victoria walked over to Bella and kneeled down in front of her, “Let’s leave him here to die. I want some alone time with you. Just you and I. I’m done killing off all your friends and family, I want you now.”

Bella shook her head. “Why?”

“You took what I loved the most, so I did the same to you!” Victoria hissed as she grabbed Bella by the neck restricting the air to her lungs. “I’m going to make you suffer like I’ve been forced to suffer.”

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