Heroin ain't got nothing on you.

I don't own anything. I love other characters and want them to play a different game!

Edward left her in the woods. Bella was destroyed. Here is the reason she fell apart, why their departure hit her so hard. Vampires are the ultimate predator, everything draws you in...

Chapter 1

Six years after they left, I'm reborn yet again. I've died twice now yet my broken heart still beats.

My dad faked my death the first time for my safety, as well as his own not to mention the rest of the community. I still stay in contact with him but he knows how to keep our communications hidden. I learnt my Dad is more resourceful than most people give him credit for, including myself. He may be quiet but he spends his time listening. He used all his contacts from work and some that, well it's best not to ask too many questions, to create me a new identity and a new life at the other side of the country.

I still need to stay hidden, Victoria is still out there somewhere but the wolves haven't caught her scent in La Push or Forks since they faked my death.

This time, most of the ground work for faking my death fell to me. Dad helped me with most of the paperwork for my next new identity and all the other paperwork that goes with it, doing some himself and giving me his contacts for the rest to get the job done. The cause of death is the same as last time, another car crash. Yet another tree bites the dust in an effort to keep people safe. The main difference is it's me that is the potential threat this time. Vampires are a still the reason I can't live a normal life.

My second incarnation, otherwise known as alias, did very well for her self and made a shed load of money. The research to find out what is wrong with me, lead me to making the money. It is also the reason I have a good idea what might be coming.

I bought an isolated house and a huge parcel of land soon after the money started coming in. You would be amazed at the number of huge properties built over the years in the wilderness. House may not be the most descriptive name for the huge isolated property I decided to renovate. I had it all updated so I can continue my research from there. Now I need too. I have acquired quite a few parcels of land that adjoin mine, some with properties on them but many just acres of wilderness. It's amazing what you can get when you have the funds and determination. I should have plenty of area to hunt without as much fear of encountering humans.

I got quite upset when an empty property about 10 miles along the ridge wasn't available to buy, the agent told me the owner wouldn't budge, even at over the odds prices that I was offering

When Bella Swan died, I made sure even if I came across anyone from my past life they wouldn't recognise me for their own safety and the safety of everyone back at home. I've lived in disguise for most of the last five years. Living in isolation has the advantage that I can get rid of the disguise at long last. I have hidden myself from others for so long, I'm not sure who I am any more. I drove myself to find answers, never relaxing to spend any time living. I'm changing into something I fought to be, until I the reason I wanted it threw me away. I don't want to do this alone.

I have spent the last two months at the house. Not having to spend time every morning donning the disguise is still a relief but it comes at a cost. Now I like my own company and crave solitude to a point but I'm well past that point now. My research is no long such a driving force. Books are great to a point but finding something new to read is always a challenge for me. Films are all well and good but they just don't hold my attention. It's the pain that makes everything so difficult.

I found an 'Anonymous letter to normal people; letter to people without Chronic pain' on the web. It sums up parts of what I go through but I have had to hide that I'm even in pain, pretend it doesn't even exist. I put a smile on my face as the last part of any disguise before I walk out of the door. Here, all alone, it's harder not having anyone to pretend for. I find I focus on the pain instead of trying to hide it and that just seems to intensify it even further.

My resistance to testing the synthesised venom is sliding further each day. The tests I did on test tubes of blood were hit and miss. I'm not sure I want to be the guinea pig for the test if it fails. The blood cells in the failed tests look like a battle field, it's not the sort of death I want to face. The burning pain is so bad that the fear of it working or not are becoming smaller and smaller reasons not to give it a go.

Day after day not seeing another soul catches up with you. I don't want to spend eternity alone. I decided to make a supply run just a distraction, to have some contact, someone to talk to. It took the best part of half an hour to don all my latest disguise, I hate having to hide this way. Between the wig, the latex mask, the fake scent and the padded clothes, I look totally different from either Bella or Annabel (the alias, in case you were wondering).

I have a huge 4x4, I need something with a bit of power behind it just to get in and out of my remote home, it's red, my nod to the truck Dad got me. I feel I need mountain climbing qualifications just to get in and out of the thing but it drives like a dream and can cope with the terrain. Living in the wilderness is all well and good but roads are in short supply!

I was a good hour into the drive when she landed right in front of my truck. Another f-ing red eye vampire staring at me, just what I need. What has fate got against me? I may hurt like hell but I've fought to stay alive this long, I don't intend giving up. I reached into the door of the truck and pulled out a bottle of special perfume, one I prepared for circumstances just like these. The anti vampire pepper spray looks just like an innocent bottle of scent!

She glided up to the door of the truck opening the door. That's when I struck, spraying her directly in the face. Essence of wolf with a few other nasties added in for good luck should distract her for long enough for me to put some distance between us. I hit the accelerator. The door slammed shut as the truck surged forward.

Looking where I was going rather than back at the vampire I realised she wasn't alone.

I hit the brake, I love my new truck. There is absolutely no point driving into a vampire, all it will do is wreck my truck and shake me about, the pain of that just isn't worth it.

"What?" I yelled through the window at him.

"We come in peace?" he said through a smirk.

"You lot never come in peace, what do you want?" I grumbled back at him.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Isn't that what we are already doing?" I shot back at him.

"Will you come with us so we can sit down and talk?" he asked back still smirking at me.

"Do I even get a choice about it?" I retorted, mumbling under my breath, "Pushy fucking vampires."

He laughed out loud at me, "No, but I was trying to be polite and considering what you did to my mate. What did you do to her?"

"It's just a scent bottle, obviously I didn't do any lasting harm but it should have been enough to distract her while I got away, until you got in the way. I love my truck. I didn't see any point in wrecking my truck by driving into you. The truck would be totalled and you wouldn't have a scratch," I have verbal vomit. I really need to someone to talk to!

He paused and looked at me, "All we want is to meet the neighbours. I think I'm being very reasonable with you."

"In my experience vampires are never reasonable, between trying to kill me, wanting to eat me, hunting me, infecting me and abandoning me, I haven't much respect for vampires," I grumbled.

"You're not very sociable are you?" he asked smugly.

"I do have some sense of self-preservation. The last red-eyed vampires I came across all tried to kill me, Excuse me for being wary," I mocked back at him.

"My Mama taught me not to play with my food. If I wanted a snack I would take it, not talk to it. Shall we try and start again. Hello neighbour, would you like to visit our house so we can get to know each other. We promise not to eat you, pretty please!" he threw a bow and an arm flourish in at the end. I had to hold back a snigger at his theatrics.

"Fine, do I get to drive or are you going to drag my ass cross country," I relented.

Holding back his laughter, "We'll go slow so you can follow."

The female was stood by him now, I guessed he was checking she was okay as she nodded at him at the same time as clipping him around the back of his head. Looking at me she rolled her eyes and shook her head at him, I like her! I spray her with vamp pepper spray and she blames him not me.

The chance of some company is appealing. I had a good feeling about these two, they make me smile. I must be losing my mind, all these years avoiding people and I follow the first vamps I run into. Being honest with myself, company and the chance of some help with impending vampdom are pretty big draws.

A half hour or so of driving later I was driving up to a house with a similar style to mine, I snidely thought mine was bigger and better maintained. It unnerved me to realise this house was only just along the ridge from my own, my nearest neighbours are vampires. Just my f-ing luck! My research had come back it was unoccupied but the owners wouldn't sell.

I jumped out of the truck. The spray firmly tucked into the back of my jeans, the shape-changer tooth and lighter hidden just inside my sleeve as always. It may be an outside chance against two of them but a girl can only go down fighting.

...

Many thanks to Kemq for taking a quick read, making a few suggestions and giving me enough confidence to post this story.