There and Back

I sat cross-legged leaning against the headboard as far away from Jace as the bed would allow. He was on a rocking chair at the foot of the four-poster king-size bed. His expression was cautious but happy while mine was wary and glaring. He sat as still as a statue and was not even breathing. I was the first to break the silence. Damn my curiousity.
"What the hell is going on, Jace? Why are you here?"
He arched an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious?" he smirked.
I narrowed my eyes dangerously. "Of course it is. You're a vampire. Big freakin' deal. What I want to know is how. Give me every little detail, not just the standard version. Were you a vampire the whole time?"
He nodded. “Yep. You didn’t believe in my kind so it wasn’t hard hiding what I was from you. Megan was the vampire that changed me, not my stepmom. But I guess you’ve figured that out by now, huh? You were a lot easier to fool a few months ago. Living in Forks has really sobered you up.” I guess now that I knew about vampires, it was pretty obvious that I’d been so ignorant before. How could I not know that he wasn’t human? And I seriously went out with him? Fuck my life!
I glared. “Yeah, it did. What the fuck are you doing helping these sadistic assholes get to me and Bella?”
"I've known Victoria since I was first turned. She and James saved my life once and now I owe her."
"Who's James?" I interrupted.
Jace's expression darkened and I immediately cringed away. "James was Victoria's mate. Your sister's boyfriend killed him. Now Victoria just wants to even the score."
"And what does that have to do with me?" I spat.
"You didn't hear her yesterday?” he smirked cockily. “Victoria only wanted you for leverage. It's Isabella that she's really after." My heart froze and my blood ran cold. I guess that it hadn’t really hit until now how screwed my sister was.
"A-and that Aro guy? What does he want with me and Bella?"
"He and the Cullens have a little deal going that involves your sister. Like Aro said, he was just curious to see how much alike you and her were."
“What kind of deal?”
He shrugged easily. “She’s got to either die or change. Most of us are kind of hoping that he doesn’t do it so then we can just eat her.”
I snapped my jaw shut. I had to keep my cool if I wanted to keep getting answers. Plus, it wasn’t any of his busienss to know Bella was going to be a vampire soon. "And where do you play into all of this? Other than the betraying me part."
He frowned. "Like I said, I owed Victoria. She found out about you being Bella's twin sister. She came to me in Florida and asked for my help. I agreed and now here we are," he answered with a shrug.
"Yes, here we are. I'm stuck in a castle full of bloodthirsty vampires all because you had to go and help the red-headed bitch kidnap me! What the fuck is wrong with you, Jace?!" So maybe keeping calm wasn’t exactly my style. I couldn’t help exploding at him when I was so pissed off.
"Hey! It was either I help Victoria get to you and Bella or let her kill you. Which would you have rather me do?" He asked defensively.
"I don't know, Jace, I really don't know. But if she gets Bella then I'm holding you personally responsible."
"Lizzy, I'm sorry, honey. I just don't want to see you get hurt." He walked to where I was sitting and put an arm around me. I shied away from his cold, hard skin.
"It's a little late for that," I sneered.
"I promise that Jane won't hurt you again. She-"
"Dammit, Jace, that's not what I meant. Don't you get it? I want to be back in Forks. For the first time in my life I was actually happy. I was with my dad and my sister. I wasn't cutting anymore and I was eating real food without puking it back out. I had a guy that-" Jace' face looked livid. I was completely scared shitless by the look he gave me.
"What guy?!" he roared.
I jumped to my feet. Being angry was better than frightened. "It's none of your goddamn business!" I scowled right back at him. It's probably not the best idea to fight with a vampire. But then again, when have I ever had good ideas? I always make the dangerous and stupid choice so I guess fighting with my vampire ex-boyfriend was just the kind of thing I would do.
Jace suddenly chuckled softly. "You never do the right thing, do you? And you're so cute when you're pissed off. I think that's why I fell in love with you."
I relaxed my tense position from shock. "L-love? Jace, you're kidding."
A small smile graced his lips. "Nope. That's why I'm able to resist your blood so well."
"What do you mean?"
"I’m a vampire and your blood smells especially delicious to everyone but it’s even worse than normal for me. It’s even more appealing than your sister's."
I gulped. "Bella's blood smells good to you?"
"Yeah. But Aro says that it smells even better to Edward Cullen. Everyone's in total shock that he hasn't killed her yet." He laughed darkly, enjoying the “Edward killing Bella” scenario much more than I’d like.
I glared again. "That's true love in work for ya. And he didn't have to kidnap her to get it."
His eyes narrowed and his hand raised as if to hit me. I stuck out my chin stubbornly in a silent dare for him to do it, although it could very well kill me.
He sighed and dropped his hand. "Liz, just go to sleep before you get yourself hurt or killed."
I yawned widely and my eyelids fluttered closed without my meaning for them to. Within seconds, I was off to dreamland.