If you're in, I'm in.

Chapter Twenty: Bella

"It's nice to come to Forks without coming to do damage control." Alec announced, at my side.

I was finally back. Staring, blankly at the Forks town sign. Everything looked the same, yet very different. Of course, I was seeing it all with new eyes. It was a miracle that Aro allowed me to come back at all. I was a little concerned about the fact that he made Alec join me, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from what needed to be done.

"So, where does your family live?" Alec asked, reminding me of my cover story.

"Not far from here." I answered, refocusing.

Keeping my eyes forward, I walked with Alec at my side, down the road into town. Everything still looked so...normal. I'm not entirely sure what I expected it to look like. I mean, of course it all looked different thanks to my newly enhanced vision, but it still somehow looked all the same.

Monotonous. Boring. Suffocating.

"So, what do you plan to say to your father when you see him?" Alec asked, suddenly in front of me, and walking backwards.

What am I going to say? Hey, Dad! It's me, Bella, the newborn vampire!

Rolling my eyes, I responded, "I'm going to say, hello. Then, I'm going to ask him how he is doing."

With a scoff, Alec returned to his place at my side, as we continued forward, now reaching the main part of Forks. The streets and sidewalks were vacant due to it being near midnight. A small town like Forks basically shuts down at 8 pm anyways. I couldn't say that was necessarily a bad thing at the present moment. The lack of fresh blood pumping through the veins of creatures I could now easily tear to pieces allowed me to focus more on what I came here for.

Edward. Or Jacob. Or both, honestly. I just wanted to cause them the same pain they had caused me. I wanted to ruin Edward and everything he ever loved. It was no longer just about breaking my stupid human heart. It was about the fact that meeting Edward had set events into motion that ultimately led to my death.

Of course, I was reborn, but at what cost? Was this new existence really going to be worth everything I had to lose?

"You're awfully quiet." Alec's voice jerked me out of my inner monologue.

I glanced to my left at him, then quickly scanned our surroundings. We had made our way to a small neighborhood. House after house, all dark, and silent. Their inhabitants sleeping peacefully away, completely unaware of the dangers that lurked so near their front doors.

"I was just lost in thought." I answered. Not really bothering to continue the conversation, I sped up, walking ahead of him for a few paces. He easily caught up with me, of course.

"You know, this whole trip would be much more enjoyable if we actually said more than three to six words to each other every hour or so." He said, with a slight smirk.

I came to a sudden stop, causing him to step ahead of me slightly, and have to backtrack a half step to stand in front of me.

"What exactly am I supposed to talk to you about? My miserable life here as a human? Or maybe the fact that I let a vampire destroy my heart, and trust not once, but twice? Oh, no, wait. Maybe we could talk about how your sister ripped me from my home, dragged me to Italy, and how you turned me into a blood sucking monster? Would any of those topics be suitable for you?" I watched Alec's expression change rapidly from mild amusement, to a flicker of sympathy, and finally to a look of what I could have sworn was guilt, before he quickly recovered and masked his features with a blank expression.

I wasn't entirely sure why I was taking this out on Alec.  Okay, yes, he did turn me, and yes, I spent the majority of the time I knew of his existence fearing him, and thinking that he was evil. But, the entire time I was in that room in Italy, every encounter I had with him, he had been anything but the evil creature I'd imagined him to be. He had actually been nice. He helped me get back to Forks. He even allowed me to glimpse a part of him that was possibly good.