Violet Forsythe has finally found peace.
She successfully escaped a coven of malignant vampires, worked hard to get an education, and has actually managed to pull herself together.
But, as old acquaintances begin to resurface, the life that Violet w...
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The snow had not lessened by the time we were ready to get off of the plane once we landed in Bucharest. To my relief, Jane already had everything planned out to a T.
I was rushed off of the plane, tossed into the back of a nondescript rental car, and promptly driven to a high end hotel near the center of the city. As thankful as I was to get to a warm bed as quickly as possible, I wished that I had more time to enjoy the sights of the city on the ride over to the hotel; it was too dark, and too snowy for me to see much more than the soft, ghostly glow of the street lamps as we passed.
The hotel was stunning. It was vast, picturesque, and exuded luxury. Entering the lobby felt like stepping back into the early twentieth century, with its soaring ceilings, tall, arching windows, and glossy stone pillars and floors. Blue velvet couches and delicate chandeliers added to the hotel's timeless grandeur.
The entire scene was to die for.
Our suite was just as gorgeous. The walls had soft grey wainscot paneling that reached all the way up to the high ceilings, which matched the muted cool tones in the herringbone wood floor. The rooms were decorated with simple, art deco inspired elegance that was unlike anything I'd even seen before.
'Maybe being left here for a few days wouldn't be the worst thing in the world,' I thought as I circled the bedroom slowly. I was sure there was most likely plenty of shops and cafes within walking distance that Renesmee and I could explore, as well.
Ugh. Alec's invitation to use my time out of the country as vacation suddenly sounded like a really nice idea.
The bedroom was large and comfortable, with massive floor to ceiling windows framed by heavy taupe curtains and a large opulent bed that took up most of the room.
Needless to say, after two days of being dragged halfway around the world by vampires, it didn't take long for me to pass out that night.
* * *
When I woke up the next morning, muted sunlight filtered through the curtains and illuminated my bedroom.
I sat up in bed, still a little groggy from coming out of a such a deep sleep, and scanned my surroundings.
For the first time in days I was alone.
All alone.
I climbed out of bed and went into the en suite bathroom and enjoyed a long, hot, much needed shower.
In the back of my mind I wondered where Renesmee was. When we stayed in the hotel in Dallas we shared a bed, but this time she was nowhere to be found. I knew I should've been a little more concerned about her absence, but I was enjoying being alone too much to rush off to investigate.
When I shut off the shower, I pulled on a plush, white robe and returned to my room to put on an outfit to hold me over until Jane showed up with a better set of clothes.
Once I felt properly refreshed, I ventured out into the living room of the suite. There, I found Renesmee sleeping on a couch on the right side of the room, and Felix and Demetri standing silently on the opposite side of the room, as far away from her as possible.
"Good morning," I said, patting Renesmee on the forehead.
"Jane and Alec will be returning shortly," Demetri said without being prompted.
"Cool. Thanks," I said, avoiding eye contact. I knew we were both better off if I kept my distance. I returned my attention to Renesmee. "Hey. Wake up."
"Huh?" she mumbled, rolling over.
"If I have to be awake, you do, too," I said as I continued to poke and prod.
"Fine, fine. I'm up," Renesmee sighed, forcing herself to sit up.
I joined her on the couch after flipping on the TV. The silence in the room was awkward. Nobody wanted to say anything.
"I love this show," Renesmee remarked as the Forensic Files theme played.
"Me, too," I said. "I like that they always catch the killer at the end of every episode."
"Really? I like the science part."
"I'm sure you do, nerd," I teased.
"Not everyone has the natural gift of music," Renesmee laughed.
"Aren't you a master at playing piano or something?" I asked.
"My dad taught me while I was growing up, but I'm a little rusty these days," she said, blushing a little at the complement. "How do you remember that?"
Felix and Demetri looked over at us with interest.
Uh oh.
"Lucky guess," I shrugged.
"I guess so," Renesmee replied, laughing it off.
The guys didn't look convinced, but Jane and Alec returned just in time to interrupt their opportunity to question me.
"Oooo!" I gasped, inhaling deeply. "That smells amazing! What is that?"
"Well, we can't let you starve," Jane said as Alec set a large Styrofoam container in front of me, on the coffee table.
I peeked under the lid of the container and was greeted by the sight of a stack of beautiful, piping hot Belgian waffles with a side of golden brown maple syrup.
"We know what you like," Alec said when he saw the elated look on my face.
"Thank you," Renesmee said as Alec set a container in front of her, as well.
I dug into my waffles and paid Alec and Renesmee no mind. I was surprised that they were being civil - though I guess they had been in Forks - but I didn't want to blow it out of proportion and risk ruining it.
Jane dropped a couple of large bags by my feet as I ate. "This will be enough clothing to last you until we return to collect you. You can fill out your wardrobe more once we're back in Italy."
"You were being serious about leaving us behind in the hotel?" I blurted out.
Jane stared at me.
"What?" I blinked. My question made me sound way too invested in the current situation.
'Maybe if I played dumb she would brush my suspicious question off.'
Jane narrowed her eyes and stepped closer to me, approaching me slowly. Renesmee watched her cautiously as she leaned down in front of me, bracing herself on her knees, and stared into my eyes intently.
"Back up," Renesmee said, lowering her voice.
"There's something different about you today, Violet," Jane said, ignoring Renesmee. "Something...darker."
"Back up," Renesmee repeated, raising her voice.
Jane refused to acknowledge her, so she retaliated by jumping up and physically shoving her away from me.
Before my mind could fully process what my eyes were seeing, Alec rushed over and caught his sister, who had been sent wheeling backwards from the force of the shove.
I was in utter shock. I'd never even heard of anyone attacking Jane, much less witnessed it myself. I could tell by Felix and Demetri's mirroring expressions that they felt similarly.
And, of course, we all knew what was going to happen next.
