Vengeance

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter 22

The Plan

“ISABELLA, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Esme’s voice was a mixture of fear and anger as she called to me from the Denali’s front porch.  I had already come to terms with the fact that she’d be upset and disappointed with my choices, so I didn’t make any attempt to hide.  As I strode up towards the house, Rosalie and Emmett came from the woods to flank me, each one appearing extremely upset.

“How could you do such a thing, Bella?” Rosalie hissed, her lips forming a tight line, and refused to look at me.  “I thought we taught you better than that.”

“Yeah, sis,” Emmett agreed and threw a morose look my way.  “I mean, that’s not what we do.”

“That lifestyle was something that Carlisle preached,” I snapped, glaring at them over my shoulder.  “You expect me to follow the rules set by him?”

“It isn’t just about Carlisle,” Rosalie growled in return and grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at her.  “It’s about valuing humans as more than just food—it’s about compassion.”

“To kill a monster, you have to become a monster,” was my only answer.

Rosalie and Emmett couldn’t truly understand what I had been through; despite Rosalie’s delusions, it wasn’t her child that was killed.  As I glowered at the two of them, mentally daring them to say or try anything, it was Esme who acted first.  She strode across the field, and, after a light sigh escaped her lips, she pulled her hand back and slapped me.

Even though I was rock-solid, and immortal, it hurt.  I recoiled, letting my hand rest on the site where she had struck me, and hissed at her.  Her expression did not change, although her bottom lip did waver a bit, as she continued to stare at me.

“How could you do this, Bella?” When Esme finally spoke, her voice was small and barely a whisper. 

“It was something that I had to do,” I said firmly and squared my shoulders.  The looks of shock, disgust, and disappointment were getting on my nerves, and finally, after an additional minute of nothing but gawking stares, I snapped.  “STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! I’M A NEWBORN; THIS IS WHAT I DO!”

“No!” Esme growled and I stopped my rant immediately.  “You’re supposed to control yourself, not submit to your animalistic side.”

“If she wants to be killed, yes,” Maria called and materialized beside me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder.  For some reason, even though I disliked her, I felt comforted by her touch.  “Instead of condemning her, I would think you’d be getting yourselves ready.  We’re leaving soon—isn’t that right, Bella?”

I nodded.

 “It was Bella’s decision alone,” Maria continued arrogantly and took a step forward, daring Rosalie to make a move.  “No one forced her to go, but, if you want my opinion—.”

“We don’t,” Emmett cut her off angrily and crossed his arms, flexing his huge biceps.

“If we want your opinion,” Rosalie growled, moving closer to Esme, “then we’ll ask for it.  Until then, you’d do best to keep your mouth shut; you’re lucky you’re still alive.”

“She chose the right path,” Maria finished and smiled at me.  “Do you regret it, Bella?”

“Part of me does,” I admitted, my face cringing as the voice of reason told me I was terrible for taking a human life.   However, the more I thought of the man’s blood on my hands, the more the other voice piped in.  The secondary personality told me that I’d made the right decision—it was an inevitable part of what I had become.  “But another part does not.”