Twilight FANFICTION
CLASH OF REALITY
CHAPTER 5
As Edward and Jacob stood there, helplessly watching as Bella drove away full throttle, they looked at each other panicky. They couldn’t catch up to her, that was impossible. Where was she going in such a hurry? And why had she been so weird when they met her in the garden? Obviously she couldn’t understand why they suddenly weren’t trying to tear each other’s throats out… But there had been something more than that. She had just acted weird… Like they were aliens or something. Maybe she knew their secret???
As Bella’s truck disappeared around the corner the front door was suddenly torn open and Charlie sprinted out on the road in front of them - this time he was dressed though.
“Bella!!!” he yelled from the top of his lungs, immediately spinning around facing the two men still standing there:
“What have you done to her?!” Charlie hissed with a furious look on his face as he fumbled for his car keys in the pocket of his jeans. Edward was just staring at the fading red light from the truck’s rear lights as they were engulfed by the black darkness of the forest.
“Nothing, she acted all weird and took off!” Jacob said, also staring in the same direction as Edward. Bella’s father pierced them with his brown eyes as he stuck the key in the lock to his car door and opened it with a force that wasn’t at all necessary to open a car door. Out from the passenger seat of the police car he pulled a shotgun, which suddenly was aimed at Edward and Jacob…
“I swear to God, that if my little girl gets hurt tonight, I WILL kill both of you!” he hissed at the two of them, who immediately raised their hands into the air. Edward paled even more and Jacob’s goose bumps seemed to spread all the way down his spine.
“Mr Swan, please, we only want to help your dau…” Jacob started, but Charlie cut him off:
“Get in the car!” he ordered, waving the shotgun a little to the side, pointing towards the vehicle. He didn’t trust Edward, never had… But now he was beginning to doubt his faith in Jacob as well. Something was wrong and his guts told him that these two were in the center of it somehow.
“What??” Edward said, snapping back to reality, just staring perplexed at Charlie… But apparently he was dead-serious. Jacob and Edward looked at each other as if they were trying to comprehend what was going on and how it had all happened so fast.
“IN THE CAR!!!” Charlie roared and now they knew that they didn’t have a choice but to follow orders. Edward couldn’t help but think about how he just four or so hours ago could have just dodged a bullet… And Jacob thought how easily he could have just escaped or torn the shotgun away from Charlie. But now they were mortals, weak and unprotected…
Still with their hands in the air both of them walked to the car and Edward was about to get in, when Charlie put a hand on his shoulder:
“Lean against the hood! You too, Jacob!” he said and frowning both of them did as they were told. If they got hurt because of a dispute now, then Bella would be in a lot of trouble. They had to go with it. Leaning forwards against the hood of the police car, Charlie quickly searched them - all he found was Edward’s shut down phone. Looking down on the smooth surface of the car’s hood Edward and Jacob were told to stand still. Behind them they could hear a little rummaging about and nervousness started to rumble in their minds. Had Charlie gone mad?? Was his intention to take them into the forest and… Suddenly a quick series of ‘clicks’ were heard and to their surprise Jacob and Edward realized that their hands had been cuffed behind their backs. Apparently Charlie was NOT taking any chances. Quickly Charlie helped them - a little roughly - into the backseat of the car and got in the driver’s seat. Immediately he turned the key and rumbled off down the road in the same direction as Bella. Edward and Jacob sent each other a short, nervous glance behind the bulletproof glass which separated them from Charlie... Then he turned on the siren.
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Bella had made it almost halfway to Carlisle’s house and constantly she was looking at the rear view mirror, double-checking that no one was following her. She had never been so confused and scared in her entire life. She just couldn’t match the pieces of this puzzle, yet still she knew what she had found in her room. Not to mention the incident in the backyard. Her thoughts were almost making her head explode, or so it felt like, as she speeded through the woods along the dark, narrow road. Without even realizing it she was hyperventilating, constantly shifting her focus from the road to the mirror. With the gas pedal pressed completely down she turned another long curve on the road, driving up a long hill with shrieking tires. Before she knew it she was on the top of the hill and began the quick descend towards another curve in the distance. Instinctively she lifted her foot from the gas and pressed slightly on the brake… But nothing happened. Her speed was the same?! Panicky she stepped on the brake… no effect.
“Oh my god…!!!” she burst out as her heart rate escalated violently, almost making her vision blur. Repeatedly she stepped on the brake, but it refused to work. The curve, which had been in the distance before, came closer and closer at a horrifying speed. She had no chance of making it, not all the way around… She didn’t touch the gas pedal, but downhill the car had only slowed down a little bit. The long road curve was surrounded by ditches and forest on each side along with signs with big, fat arrows on it. It came closer. And closer. Too fast. But there was no going back. Bella grabbed a hold of the wheel so hard that her knuckles turned white and then she turned. The car’s rear end started to skid to the left as she hit the right turn - and she pulled at the wheel with all of her strength… But the signs, the low ditch and the trees came closer and closer. It all happened in slow motion in Bella’s mind and pictures of notes, broken dream catchers and Edward’s and Jacob’s faces flashed before her eyes. She thought of Charlie… Oh god, what had she done? The tires’ shrieking became ear-deafening and the car was now almost sideways or the road, skidding diagonally across the road bend - Bella closed her eyes and ducked slightly as the left front wheel made it into the ditch. Why wasn’t Edward saving her? With a terrified scream Bella grabbed an even stronger hold of the wheel as the car hit a sign and broke it into a thousand pieces. The car continued down in the low ditch, dirt and grass flying everywhere - and then it hit a broad tree with a loud, metallic sound. A lightning bolt of pain exploded in Bella’s left thigh… and then everything went silent except for the humming of the engine. Silence… Darkness… Bella fought hard to open her eyes… She was breathing, she could feel it. Or was she? Panting she slowly and carefully forced herself to open her eyes… she was in the car… in the ditch… and alive. She was alive! With a gasp she felt her forehead - blood was trickling down from just under the hairline, where her head had hit the wheel. And her thigh hurt like crazy. She looked down and saw how the left side of the car was smashed inwards… a big dent in the metal had hit her thigh, but at least she wasn’t stuck in here. Heaving for air and dizzy from the adrenaline she opened the passenger door and managed to climb out… she fell from the seat and into the ditch with a loud gasp.
“Auuw…” she panted as she got up on all fours and got to her feet. Limping she walked slowly to the road side… she thought she could hear something?? In the same moment blinking lights could be seen in the distance, around the bend where she had come from. And the sound of a siren. The police! She hoped that they would reach her in time… Before Edward and Jacob showed up. She wondered why they hadn’t yet… Dizzy she looked down at the asphalt where the many pieces of the shattered sign were lying, spread over an area of a few yards. The lights came closer… blinking and blinking. She couldn’t believe that she was still here… standing. Alive. The sound of the siren got stronger and stronger and with smoking tires the police car came to a hold close to her. Bella blinked her eyes a few times… her heart was beating so hard and her lungs seemed like they couldn’t get enough air. The door to the police car opened.
“Bella!!! Thank god, you’re alright!!” Charlie’s voice said and before she knew it she was in his arms as he hugged her tight.
“Dad…?” Bella said disoriented and in disbelief.
“Honey, you’re bleeding…!! What is going on??” Charlie said as he guided her to the car, so she could lean against it.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry!” Bella said and finally she burst into tears as she buried her face in her father’s embrace. She could hear Charlie’s fast heartbeat and she cursed herself for putting him in a situation like this.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed??” Charlie said, still holding on to Bella gently. He had never felt this frustrated or scared before… Bella didn’t look up, but was still hugging him tight:
“My brakes didn’t work…!” she sobbed into his chest. Charlie’s eyebrows shot up:
“But Jacob just installed new ones…”, he started, but then fell silent. What on earth was happening?? Quickly Charlie grabbed his phone with one hand and dialed one of his colleagues’ number. He asked for a patrol car to get down there fast and secure the area… and most important of all - check the brakes.
“Oh, sweetheart… Where were you going in such a rush…” Charlie almost whispered as he hugged her. He could feel the stinging of salty tears trying to make their way down his cheeks. Bella didn’t answer, but just hugged him tighter.
“Come… we’re going to the station,” Charlie said comfortingly and led her to the passenger side of the car. Bella wiped her cheeks with her sleeve… the station. ‘That sounds nice’, she thought. That would be the safest place to be. For now anyway.
Charlie opened the door and Bella looked in - just to stare directly at Edward and Jacob sitting in the back. With a shriek she jumped a little and almost lost her balance as she accidently supported herself on the injured leg - Charlie was quick to catch her:
“What is it, Bella, what’s going on??” he asked concerned and looked at her with this sad look in his eyes that broke her heart. She couldn’t tell him… she couldn’t. Not yet. What IF she was wrong? What if this all was a misunderstanding??? But the notes… How they acted… how HE acted… Carefully she looked at Edward again. He looked… different. Somehow different.
“Bella, what is happening…?” Jacob began, but Charlie cut him off:
“I said, be quiet!” he snapped and looked at his daughter again:
“Bella, you have to tell me what it is that scares you so much…” Charlie said as he cupped Bella’s cheeks with his hands and looked her in the eyes. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly… How could she lie to him? How could she lie? Withholding some of the truth wasn’t lying, was it? Charlie looked at her… time seemed to stand still… She had to answer him. This time silence wasn’t tolerated.
“I… I think they were in my room…,” she said, trailing off. She couldn’t get herself to say any more. Charlie’s eyes grew wide as he stared at Edward and Jacob in the back of the car through the bulletproof glass. Charlie’s face has turned pale and he did his best to remain his cool:
“We’ll talk at the station…”, Charlie just said as he guided Bella into the passenger seat, and then he added:
“Don’t worry. It’s bulletproof, they can’t touch you,” he said. But Bella knew otherwise.