Annora |E. Cullen|

ELEVEN

Ninety-degree weather was a sure fire way to calm me down. I sat outside on the balcony of the hotel room in one of the chairs that allowed me to lie down if I pleased. I was technically supposed to stay inside, I made the argument that I was still in the hotel room and that James would reveal himself to thousands of people if he came at me during the middle of the day.

I let the Sun beat down on my skin and I smiled as I felt the sweat bead on the backs of my thighs. I left Bella with Alice and Jasper, I couldn't handle the constant worrying from her. I understood why she was worried, but I had a different way of dealing with worry, it was opposite of revelling in it.

I was brought food from time to time, I couldn't eat all that much, however. I usually just finished off the French fries that had accompanied the food, I left the rest for Bella. By the fourth time food was brought around, I was only given french fries. I giggled to myself about of quickly the behaviour was learnt before I slowly picked at the food.

By the time I had finished my food, Alice came out and peeked through the opening in the door, "Annora, can you come inside? It'll be dark soon."

"Sure thing," I lifted myself from the chair, grabbed my book and my cell phone, and followed Alice inside.

She locked the door and I smirked, like anything we were hiding from could have been stopped by a locked door. I walked over to one of the free couches and laid down with Emmett's blanket wrapped around me. I had my headphones in and my music played softly; I was able to hear any conversation that occurred, but I could also cover up any silence at the same time.

I dozed off, my eyes shut closed and would not open without a certain amount of effort. I wasn't concerned about it until I heard Bella's panicked voice answer her phone.

"Are you okay?" She asked and waited while the other person responded. "She's fine, she's sleeping," I understood that she was talking about me. "Okay... all right... okay. See you soon," her voice held hope at the end.

She came towards me and shook my shoulder lightly, "Annora?"

"Yeah?" I asked without opening my eyes.

"Edward and Emmett are coming to Phoenix, they're meeting up with us and then taking us to a safe place," Bella relayed the information.

"With a level of determination that James holds, there is no such thing as a safe place," I whispered as I fell asleep.

The next time I woke up, I heard Bella's voice on her phone again, she was even more panicked. She seemed to have been talking to her mother, I stayed in my same position so that I could eavesdrop. After a moment, I learnt that she had been talking to whom I assumed was James. She agreed to meet up with him, she told him she would leave right away. After she hung up the phone, I heard the scribbling of a pen across paper before I heard her close the door quietly.

I thought about my options for a split second. If I went with her, there was a large chance of me being injured or killed. If I went with her, I could provide for extra distraction until help arrived. If I didn't go after her, I would be safe, but I would feel guilty for the rest of my life. I decided to stand up, slip my shoes on, and run to the place that Alice had seen in her vision earlier.

I took a cab ride, the first cab ride I had ever taken, and paid the woman after she stopped at the dance studio. The fear I felt was different as I approached the building, it wasn't for myself, it was for Bella. I took a deep breath, rolled my shoulders, and walked through the front doors. I was immediately greeted with Bella's shrieks and screams.

I stood in my place and observed the situation before moving forward. Bella was on the floor with her back pressed against the wall and her hands were clasped around her bleeding leg. James stood relatively close to her, but his eyes were looking directly into mine. I walked forward and kept my heart and breathing rates at a normal level.

"The other snack? This should be fun," he grinned and flashed towards me, video camera in hand. He lifted his arm, but I stopped him quickly.

"Beat me in a game of wit," I challenged.

His smile disappeared, "That sounds boring."

"Why? Because you're 300 years older than me and you still can't match my level of comprehension?" I asked.

"Ooh, you're feisty, I like it," he grinned.

"I didn't ask you what you liked, I told you to beat me in a game of wit," I kept a straight face.

"You're no fun," he pouted. "What do I get when I win?"

"If you win, take my own life instead of hers, you don't want her, she's average. She's stereotypical, she's nothing special," I glared at Bella, hoping that somehow she would see through my facade.

"What did she ever do to you?" James questioned, his eyes lighting up.

"Like I said, she's far beneath me, inferior," I turned away from her sharply.

He thought about it for a moment, "I take your bet."

"Sit," I bravely put myself at a lower level first, he followed quickly.

"What are we to discuss?" He grinned in excitement.

"Profile me," I decided.

"That's all? You're bound to lose!" He gave a harsh laugh.

"Go on then," I pushed, "For everything you get wrong, I will reveal a truth about yourself."

"Easy, you're a seventeen-year-old, small town girl who's biggest desire is to be different from everyone else," he smirked.

"False," I said with a straight face. "You're extroverted, you're too impulsive to be observative, you let your emotions control you, you don't think things through, and you don't judge situations thoroughly enough."

I fully expected him to do what he did. Instead of countering my argument, his face dropped, he grabbed my neck and threw me to the side of the room. I crashed into one of the mirror walls, the glass came raining down on top of me.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a hoarse voice, "Can't take a little truth? Can't play fair?"

"I do know one thing about you, little girl," he picked my up by my wrist and crushed it, I held back a scream. "You try so hard to be the good guy, but you'll always be the villain," he smiled at me, "Just like me," he then threw me across the studio again.

"Annora!" Emmett hollered as they all flooded into the room.

"Go after him now, I got inside his head, he's overthinking every step he makes," I sat myself up and pulled my bloody hair out of my face.

Emmett reluctantly went after James with Jasper at his side while I made the painful walk over to Bella and Carlisle. He tied off one of her wounds and coached Edward through sucking the venom out of her blood system. I sat beside them and minutes passed before he was able to stop. She was completely lucid, maybe, for her sake, she wouldn't be able to remember all that I had said about her.

Edward took her in his arms and Carlisle rushed me out of the burning building before assessing my injuries. "My wrist is broken, I know that much. Other than that, I just have minor cuts and bruises. I fucked him up mentally, he only lashed out because I was right," I shrugged.

"Let's get you cleaned up at the hospital," Carlisle sighed and Emmett carried me the entire way.