Vengeance

Chapter Thirty

Chapter 30

Decisions

We pulled up to the front of a very large building, the outside lavishly adorned with what looked like marble and silver plating.  I gazed up and felt myself swoon at the height of the building, impressed by its grandiosity.  I counted at least thirty floors.  Although there had been plenty of buildings like this in Phoenix, it had been a long time since I had seen them, let alone stood next to them.

Rosalie and Emmett rushed ahead of me, Emily tucked firmly in Rose’s arms, heading straight for the front door.  They stopped and turned around, realizing that I wasn’t following.  My unease of entering a new place was driving me crazy, and I found it best if I didn’t move whatsoever.  However, as Rose moved back toward me I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass covering the front door; I looked like a statue, completely motionless.  The eeriness of my body language didn’t help my mood.

“Bella, is everything all right?” Rose asked warily, her eyes roaming all over my body.

“Where are we?” For the first time since I had become a vampire, my voice actually sounded like it used to.  It was husky, with a slight hint of exhaustion, and warmly familiar. 

“We’re at the Denalis’ condo,” Rose answered with a smile. “They always said we could use it should we ever need a vacation.”

“Or a hideout,” Emmett commented as he appeared beside Rose.

My mouth fell open as I stared at Rosalie, Emmett, and Emily, all together.  Rose and Emmett loved one another unconditionally, and would never betray one another.  They were what Edward and I could have been, should have been, had he not tried to make decisions for me once again. Emily deserved parents like that; parents who loved and supported one another.  As I continued to observed them, I noticed how Emily had started to cling to my sister-in-law, wanting her as much as me.  It made me uneasy and yet…strangely peaceful.

“Hey, guys,” Emmett said and looked up at the sky. “If we’re going to do something, we have to do it now because our friend the sun is about to make an appearance.”

Glancing up, I saw that Emmett was right; the sun was about to peek around the large patch of clouds.  Without hesitating, I shut the car door and rushed into the massive building, the others hot on my heels.  In fact, we made it just as the sun lit up the sidewalk with radiance.  I breathed a sigh of relief as Rose and Emmett led me to the elevator.

It didn’t take long to reach the top, and I was guided into the most lavish apartment I’d ever seen.  The entire place appeared to wrap around the side of the building, giving us an incredible view of the Seattle skyline.  Emmett promptly moved to the side and pulled a large curtain over the view, blocking out the glaring sunlight.

I wanted to ask what the plan was, where we were going to go next, or how long we were going to stay here, but a series of voices stopped me from answering.  Rose had disappeared into the backrooms and I could hear her speaking to familiar voices. Before I could stop myself, I was barreling down the hallway and throwing open one of the doors, ready to protect my family.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t concentrating on wielding my strength, as I had been a few moments ago, and the door shot off its hinges and flew down the hallway.  I cringed as it bounced off the ground a few times, before resting just outside of the kitchen at Emmett’s feet.

“Uh, wow,” Emmett remarked and scratched his head before bursting into a fit of laughter.  “Thanks, I really needed that.”

“What’s going on out here?”

I gasped as I turned around and came face to face with two very familiar vampires, Tanya and Irina.  Without thinking, I launched myself towards them, clinging to them like they’d disappear if I didn’t hold on, and found myself dry sobbing into them.