The Safe Haven

Chapter Five - What The Bloody Hell Do We Do Now?

Bella couldn't believe she had been so idiotic. it didn't matter how much the family she surrounded herself with tried to ease her guilt, it didn't make Bella feel any better. Bella had escaped her fate in Forks, but what had it cost? Would it cost her father's life? Would Edward kill him to make her pay for leaving him at the altar? The part that scared Bella the most is that she had no idea whether he would be driven to murder or not. Would they arrive in Forks to find her father alive and unharmed?

The drive to the airport had dragged on for what seemed like hours, Bella barely speaking a word as Klaus drove. She was furious, absolutely bloody furious. It was one thing for that family to control her, but to endanger her father was another thing entirely. The blind panic that she had felt in the kitchen was something that Bella had never experienced before, sure she had felt imminent panic before, everybody had, but the threat against her family made her blood run cold. 

Klaus had packed a small bag for the both of them with a change of clothes, the rest of the family following suit and quickly disappearing to their rooms to pack whilst Davina stayed downstairs with Bella, who had quickly filled with rage as she waited for the family to return to the courtyard.  What felt like forever, was only five minutes in reality, and the Mikaelsons piled into Klaus' SUV for the short drive to Louis Armstrong International Airport. 

Bellas's hands twitched as she sat in the passenger seat, absentmindedly listening to Kol and Elijah speaking in the backseat. Her phone was left behind as it had smashed to pieces when it hit the tile floor in the kitchen, but she doubted anybody would answer if she called anyway. All they knew was that Charlie was preoccupied with the Cullens, whatever preoccupied means when you are surrounded by a bunch of controlling homicidal maniacs. Klaus had called Rosalie and Emmett from the road, able to catch them just as they were about to board their flight to join them in New Orleans. They had been shocked to learn that Edward would sink so low to get Bella's attention, and even more shocked to learn that the rest of their so-called family were okay with the decisions Edward was making. 

The flight to Washington felt much longer than the typical six hours it typically took, and then they were back on the road. They had met a man who had handed Elijah the keys to a shiny SUV just outside the airport terminal, Bella had heard Elijah on the phone on the flight so figured he had arranged it then. Her blood still felt like it was boiling, her sheer rage only intensifying as they crossed the Welcome to Forks sign. 

"Bella, can you show us the way to your father's house?" Hayley asked, quietly. The hybrid had come along to Forks with the group, much to Bella's relief. She and Hayley had become good friends since Bella's arrival in New Orleans, and she had been a great source of comfort during the journey. 

"Yeah, of course. It's just up here, turn when left when you get to the stop sign." Bella answered, chancing a small smile at Klaus as she spoke, trying to show him that she was fine even though she was far from it. It didn't matter though, he knew how she was feeling, and his rage mirrored hers. He was enraged that that thing was tormenting Bella again, so soon after she had gotten the freedom she should never have had to fight for in the first place. 

The street was quiet when they turned onto it. Bella had half expected there to be multiple cars outside of the house, one silver car in particular, but only her father's cruiser sat in the driveway. Feeling like she was in the clear, Bella scrambled from the car before anybody could stop her. Running up the icy path, she threw the door open before Klaus could reach her. 

The scent had hit his nose just too late. The familiar sweet scent of blood that he had accustomed himself to over the last millennium. It took just seconds for the remaining occupants of the car to reach Bella, just as the scream left her mouth and she fell to the ground in the hallway, the knees of her jeans soaked in the pool of blood that had spread down the hallway from the kitchen.