Gifted

Chapter 11: Shattered

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Please read and review, if you've gotta moment. Enjoy!

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Bella's heart pounded in her chest. Her eyes screwed shut and her hands clenched into fists. Alone with her thoughts, she screamed silently for mercy. But she knew as she cried out, that she didn't want, didn't deserve any such clemency.

She fell hard on her knees and wrapped her arms tightly around herself as she fought to maintain control. The pain she felt coursing through her body did not lessen, nor did it reach its breaking point-the point where the monster would be released and she would finally get her reprieve. Good, she thought bitterly. A fitting sentence.

She cursed herself for letting down her guard. The last week had been like a dream. For the first time in years she allowed herself to forget the past, forget why she was here.

It had taken just ten minutes with her father for everything she'd built last week to come crumbling down. She was such a fool. What she had built...it was a house of cards. A house of cards that Charlie had been able to knock down with one look.

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It really was a wonderful week, the best she'd ever had. It was spring break, and no matter how much Bella insisted that she was, in fact, perfectly able to fend for herself, Esme held her ground and mothered over her like she was one of her own. Bella smiled briefly at those memories.

She had to hand it to the older woman...she could cook like a pro. Bella really didn't understand her enthusiasm...has she not been cooking for her 5 kids all their lives? With every visit, Esme would sit her down in front of a feast. She tried her best to please the woman. God knows she wanted to make her happy. But Bella literally couldn't fit a quarter of whatever Esme gave her into her stomach. She had seven years of habits to break, and she was definitely not in the habit of satisfying her hunger. At each meal, Bella managed to stuff herself a little bit more for Esme's sake, silently praying to herself that none of it would come back up later.

The rest of the time, she spent with Emmett, Alice, Jasper and Rosalie doing a myriad of activities. Emmett noticed her examining one of his video games, and immediately asked if she knew how to play. Bella shyly said she'd never had the opportunity, and that dictated the rest of the day as Emmett insisted she try out every console and game he had. She had to admit that it was pretty fun. Here was a great example of the benefits of her photographic memory and quick mental faculties. In no time at all after she had read the complete manual for one of the most complicated (according to Emmett anyway) games in existence, she was holding herself up pretty well against him...though still getting clobbered of course. It didn't matter though-Emmett was ecstatic to have found a willing partner (who, unbeknownst to Bella, couldn't read minds, couldn't see the future, didn't hold back, and could still make him work super hard to win). She smiled as she remembered his face when she beat him for the first time. His happiness at her improvement and skills made it hard for him to feign disappointment at losing, and his face kept going back and forth between the two extremes causing everyone in the room to laugh.

Alice was an odd one. The girl's enthusiasm for her was incredibly confusing for Bella. She couldn't understand how one day the two of them were perfect strangers and the next, Alice clamored for Bella's attention like they were best pals. Bella knew better than to question it though-as she slowly got over the shock of someone actually treating her like a best friend, she quickly welcomed it, enjoying for the first time in her life the knowledge that someone in the world really did like her enough to want to spend time with her. After a few days, Bella found herself returning much of Alice's affections...even after Alice nearly had a panic attack when she found out the clothes in Bella's backpack were literally all that she had.