BPOV

He wouldn't like it.

Yeah... and?

What would happen when he shows up?

That's assuming he does.

There is no way he won't. He loves me.

Pushing myself to sit up in the bed of Peter's truck, I leaned forward, sliding my fingers into my hair and holding my head up by my roots. I needed the slight pain to find some semblance of balance as the world tilted around me. Everything was blurry, but I wasn't sure if it was from tears or the fact I couldn't actually focus on anything. I could feel the coolness on my cheeks when there was a soft breeze, so I knew my face was wet from crying, but I wasn't sure if I still was or not, which was kind of weird, honestly. One should know when one is crying.

One should also know when to give up, but hey... here I am, talking myself in circles over someone I don't actually want anything to do with.

I know I don't want anything to do with Edward. I know I never want to see him again, but there was this part of me that, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stop from reminding me of all the good things, and all the good memories. I wouldn't tell anyone, but there was moment where I thought, just for that moment, of going back. I was dead now, so there was no excuse for him not to turn me anymore. He didn't want to end my life, well... that was already done, so really, there was nothing to end.

Yet, here I was still was, in the bed of Peter's truck because I wanted to sit down and I left my keys inside so I couldn't sit in mine. It was a nice night, as it usually was, I just stared at the stars, hoping they would guide me, but no. They just twinkled like they didn't have a care at all.

He loves me.

Those three words were haunting, repeating in my mind, not letting me focus on anything else.

He loves me.

He destroyed me, and I know that, too. He used his vampire charm to do something to me, and I know he did it.

He loves me.

No, he doesn't. He loves the idea of having someone to worship the ground he walks on and kiss his literal ass.

He loves me.

Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!

He loves me.

"God damnit!"

That was quite unwise. I'll have to remember not to slam my fist onto the floor of a truck bed again, because damn that hurt.

Holding my poor hand against my chest, I tried to rub away the fact I probably broke something as I dropped my head again, looking off to the distance at nothing. There wasn't anything around close enough to see in the dark. It wasn't necessarily in the middle of nowhere, but it was set away from everything else on the stretch of road it was located on. It was the last building on the road before you started driving through fields to either side of the road. If you kept driving past Dom's, you would eventually pass Peter's ranch that was about fifteen miles out. You couldn't see the main house from the road, which was by design so he could be out during the day, because shockingly enough, he had horses.

I couldn't help but giggle at the memory of the first time he let me ride one. He asked if had ever done it before, and I had a couple of times when I was a kid. He stood back and let me attempt to saddle a mare, who he decided not to tell me had one hell of a personality and didn't like anyone, at all, other than Peter. Her name was Bunny, and it was fitting. If anyone got near her with anything other than a handful of sugar cubes, she would hop, like a fucking bunny, so you couldn't touch her. I looked at him with wide eyes, because I had never seen a horse do that before, and he had the widest smile on his face as his shoulders shook from silent laughter. It wasn't until I asked if I broke her he actually laughed, and it was almost a magical sound. It was deep and so completely carefree, it drew me in and I smiled at him, despite the fact he was all but falling on the ground laughing at me with nothing holding him up but his fingers that were wrapped around a ceiling post.

Eventually, he had gotten control of himself and walked over to Bunny's pin, pointed a finger at her, said 'knock it off', and I'll be damned if she didn't do it. She bobbed a couple of more times before she actually nodded her fucking head. She then let me saddle her as he rubbed her nose, though I can't say she particularly cared for me. When she had a bit of a hissy when I tried to get settled, Peter actually had to catch me when I lost my center of balance. He gave the brat the stink eye, put me on my feet, grabbed a long sleeve flannel shirt that was hanging on a hook and slipped it on, leaving it unbuttoned, before hoisting himself onto her back. She tried the same shit with him, and he just rolled with it, pulling at the reins and forcing her to bend to his will instead of her doing whatever the hell she wanted.

Once she quit trying to toss him off, he patted her neck, calling her a 'good girl', and moved the bandana from around her neck to over his nose before settling his hat in such a way that it would set what of his face that wasn't covered into shadow before helping me onto Bunny behind him. I asked if it was too much weight for her and after he told me no, he wrapped my arms around his waist, snapped the reins, and we were off.

I had never ridden a horse with someone else before, and it was one of the funnest things I had ever done. It took me some time to get into groove of Peter's movements, the roll of his hips in time with Bunny's leaps and jumps because damn if that horse wasn't on crack or some animal equivalent. He drove her pretty hard at first, letting up when he got to the back of his property before he dismounted and had me take over, something Bunny didn't like anymore than I did. Peter just pulled the bandana down off his face, crossed his arms, and gave little directions here and there.

"Take 'er in the water." "Show the ol' girl who the boss is." "You ain't gonna hurt her, Darlin', but she'll buck ya if given the chance."

And she did, too. I went right over her shoulder when she kicked high with her back legs, but at least I landed in the water, or that would have hurt something awful.

When I surfaced, Peter was up to his knees in the lake, standing between me and Bunny, his hands up, 'whoa's, 'hey now's, and clicks of his tongue to settle her back down falling from his lips to get her to back up until I was able to scramble out of the way. Once he got her to stop rearing up and dropping back into the water without a care as to what she landed on, he looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes slightly wider than normal, and his voice carrying actual concern when he asked if I was alright. I was fine. Nothing was hurt but my pride.

I had no idea what caused her to act like she did, but it was Peter's guess something touched her leg and it scared her. It made sense. I wasn't a fan of things touching my leg when I was in the water either, so I didn't hold it against her.

That wasn't the last time he took me out riding, but it was the last time I tried to ride Bunny. That was clearly Peter's baby, and I wasn't one to come between a girl and her man.

A hard throb in my wrist brought me back to myself, and I whimpered due to the pain, but that memory with Peter stayed with me. Little details stuck out, and I compared it to some of the things I had done with Edward. He never would have allowed me to horseback riding in the first place, but had I gotten thrown off a horse's back with Edward, that would have been the absolute last time it ever happened, regardless of I wanted to do it again. With Peter, we went back out the next day, just with a different one of his horses, because I wanted to.

Maybe Jade was right. Maybe I was holding the only thing Peter and Edward had in common against him, that he was also a vampire and thus able to do the same exact thing to me if he got it in his head to do so.

But Edward loves me. He just doesn't want anything bad to happen to me.

Oh... for fucks sake.

PPOV

There isn't a whole lot that makes me crawl out of my skin anymore, but this waiting shit was gonna kill me... or Demetri. I was leaning toward that option when I heard my girl shriek and he once again stopped me from moving. In that moment, it wasn't about about interfering in shit. That was about making sure she was alright. All he said was there was no one there, so there was no cause for concern. Unless or until she physically called for help or actually called my name, I was staying put.

She hadn't been outside but fifteen minutes before she came back in, but that was the longest fifteen minutes of my life.

She didn't even spare me a glance as she made her way back behind the bar, her eyes cast to the floor with her arm held to her chest. From my place across the room I could clearly see the bruise that was working it's way to the surface, but once again, I was stopped from even finding out what happened.

I was gonna kill this mother fucker tonight, and could do it three times before the bar closed; four if I put my mind to it.

There was this look on his face, warning me to be patient, but that shit was for the damn birds. Growling at him, I knocked back another shot, and didn't even try to look like I was giving the two human females their assumed privacy when Jade inquired what happened to Bella's wrist as she made herself an ice pack out of a bar rag.

To the question, Bella shrugged. "I hit the floor of Peter's truck bed a little harder than I meant to."

There was a hiss from Bella as a concerned Jade took her abused appendage in her hands. "I think ya broke it, Darlin'."

Once again, Bella just shrugged. "Oops." She chewed on her bottom lip before she flicked those doe eyes of to me. I heard her sigh hard before she grabbed Jade's wrist with her good hand and drug her into the back where the storeroom was, probably thinking I wouldn't be able to hear her, but sorry for her, I could still hear her just fine.

"What if you were wrong?"

"'Bout what?"

"Everything from before. What if you were wrong?"

"Do ya think I was?"

"I don't know what I think, but this is what I know. I know I can't..."

"I'ma stop ya there, Dolly, 'cause ya can. There a difference between can't and won't, and this ain't a can't."

"Alright... I know I won't be able to handle you being wrong."

There was a snort. "Ya know somethin'... ya think too damn much, Lizzy. There ain't nothin' wrong with puttin' thought inta whatcha doin', but Jesus Almighty, Child, do ya like ta beat a dead horse ta its second death. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I highly doubt I am. So, instead runnin' them circles you runnin', figure out whatcha scared of, Baby Doll. That's what stoppin' ya, and that, isn't somethin' I can help ya with unless ya tell me what happened before."

"I can tell you exactly what I'm scared of without doing that." There was a pause. "I'm scared of you being wrong."

There was another slight pause, and I'm not sure if I would say Jade was amused or bemused. "In otha words, you scared he gonna turn ta down. That always a possibility I suspect, but you ain't gonna find out back here with me, are ya?" Pause... "Do ya like the fella, Darlin'?" Pause... "Do like that fella enough ta be with 'im?" Longer pause... "If ya honestly don't know, then there ain't a lot I can do here, Baby Doll. If you just scared, then...Oh! Hows about, when the bar close, them boys come back ta my place too, and we just... have some drinks an' see what happens?"

"I uh... I don't know about that, Jade. Demetri is from Italy, which is a long flight, and you have one of those pretty early tomorrow morning."

"So? Honey, seven AM ain't that damn early."

"It is when we won't get out of here until three, and you're not done packing yet."

"Damn it." That was a voice of pure pout. "I can always not go. Not like I eva liked the bitch."

"She's your aunt."

"She a dirty, rotten old hog that sat there and read a damn book as my daddy beat on my mama. I ain't all that sorry she dead. Hand ta God, I hope it fuckin' hurt."

"Then why did you agree to go?"

"'Cause my cousins alright, I suppose. I like 'em well enough, but I love you, Dolly, and if ya need me, I ain't gotta go stand before Christ ta pay fake respects ta someone I ain't got no real respect for. Pretty sure that against some moral law, ta stand in the House a God and, ya know... lie."

There was another lull in their conversation, and it was Jade that spoke again. "'Ight, this what we gonna do. I'ma call the doc and let 'im know you comin' ta get that looked at, and you gonna go getcha wrist checked, cause it really do look like ya mighta broke it. While you doin' that, think 'bout the offer, and let me know whatcha decide when ya get back. If it gonna take longer than a hour though, call me so I know I'm shuttin' down alone. Sound like a plan?

"Sounds better than anything I've come up with so far. I just came up with breaking myself."

"Somethin' I don't think ya should really be doin', honestly. G'on; I got this place while you gone."

"Are you sure?"

"Honey, I been runnin' this place by myself for two years. Them boys know not ta fuck with me cause they also know I ain't too big ta kick 'em in the damn balls."

It was another couple of minutes before Bella and Jade came out of the backroom, Jade with her cell in her hand and Bella with her hand still held to her chest with the makeshift ice pack against it. There were some parting words between them before Bella cut her eyes to me, her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyes returning to Jade. "I'm just going to let Peter know what's going on, and I'll see you in a bit."

Jade didn't even look up from the notebook she pulled out from under the bar, sliding a finger down the page. She just flicked her fingers at Bella, before dialing her phone.

As Bella made her way from behind the bar and across the room, I didn't move from where I had taken up residence when she came back inside. I was still leaning back against the side of the pool table with my arms and ankles crossed. She looked like she was thinking about something pretty damn hard, but when she got closer, she lifted her eyes from the floor and looked up at me. I didn't give any indication that I heard what she clearly didn't want me to, and she let out a sigh.

"So... I might have broken my wrist."

Glancing at the aforementioned body part, I just hummed. "And how that happen?"

Her little nose wrinkled. "I hit your truck." When I snorted, she looked away. "I'm being sent to Dr. Devereaux to have it looked at and find out."

I just cocked my head to the side. "Want me ta drive ya?"

She was pretty quick to shake her head. "No, stay here. I'll be fine. It's just right up the road, I just..." she finally made eye contact, "didn't want to show up at home with a cast on my arm and not let you know what was going on beforehand."

I gave her a nod and stood up. "Then ya better be off, Darlin'. I can tell ya now ya broke it." When she raised her brow, I pointed to the back of the top of her hand. "I can see it right there."

She looked down at her hand as I moved around the corner of the pool table, snagging my cue that was next to me. "Well, shit. That sucks. I didn't even leave a dent, so that's hardly fair."

I turned my head to look at her, a smirk on my lips and I bent to take a shot. "Ya better not a left a dent in my truck. It didn't do nothin' ta ya."

Her nose wrinkled again and her eyes crinkled. "It was the floor of the bed, and I doubt you would have noticed it if I had." When I raised a brow at her, she huffed. "Shut up." She then looked at Demetri, who was sitting at one of the high top tables. "It was nice to meet you, Demetri."

He just nodded back to her. "The pleasure is mine, Stella."

With one last glance at me, she turned around and started to walk away, but paused three steps into her exit. She stood there for a moment, and if I was betting man, which I am, I would stay she had that bottom lips of hers between her teeth and her eyes searching the ground for the answer to the question that just popped into her head. She was a surprisingly hard human to read, so I wasn't really expecting her to turn back around and walk back to me while saying my name to grab my attention she hadn't lost.

Setting my hands on the side of the table, I remained bent at the waist, but looked at the human. "Yeah, Darlin'?"

There was a spark in the back of her eyes I almost missed before she lowered them slightly. "I um..." I heard her swallow back the lump in her throat and a slight strain entered her voice. "I just, uh..."

When it comes to me getting caught off guard, it doesn't happen very often, so when it does, I tend to freeze for a moment. Vampires can process a massive amount of shit in a single second, but in this moment, caught off guard, I couldn't process the fact that human actually pressed her lips to mine.

Maybe I could. Maybe I was more caught up in how soft her lips were than I was she had done it at all, but by the time my mind had caught up with just happened, Bella had pulled away, smiled at me, and told me she would see me later as she looked up at me with the brightest eyes I had ever seen. They contained the same reds and caramels as her hair, and they danced around each other in a hypnotizing fashion.

Those crystal clear brown pools of hers had always been so dull, hidden behind a veil put in place by someone I was gonna beat the dog shit out of. I wasn't gonna kill him. It wasn't my job anymore. I hadn't been an executioner in longer than I was one, and I just don't get the same kind of pleasure in a killing a vampire I once did. The thing was though, vampires could be broken into teeny, tiny little pieces and put back together again, and again, and again, and not die.

Death was certainly not the worst thing that could happen to one of us.

Finding yourself of the bad side of a sadist was.

I stood there, like a fucking idiot, for a solid three seconds before I blinked myself back to reality. Looking down at her, for the first time, I didn't see the meek little thing that showed up at my inn room door that first time, or the second when she was carrying on like the sky was falling around her. I didn't see the girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. I didn't see complete confidence, there was a little fear in the back of her eyes, but it wasn't the same fear that had nearly crippled the girl into hiding in a house for days on end because she was afraid of repercussions. It was a fear everyone feels when they step out of their comfort zone and do something spontaneous.

Time to squash that shit flat.

Before her nerves could talk her into turning and bolting, I hummed in the back of my throat as I snagged her arm she didn't hurt and used it to pull her back to me, being extremely mindful of the fact she was holding her broken wrist. I could feel the smirk on my lips, see my reflection in her slightly wider eyes. I just clicked my tongue and tsked as I dipped my head. "That ain't gonna cut it."

I'm not sure if she really thought there was going to be a negative reaction or what, but a shot of shock passed through her scent and I heard her heart skip a beat when I captured her lips in a proper kiss. There was a fraction of hesitation on her part, but as the shock and nerves cleared her scent, she leaned into me, a quiet noise in the back of her throat as a soft growl sounded from mine.

I didn't push for anything more than that, but there was clear disappointment in her eyes when I pulled back. She looked up at me, and that disappointment melted away to something else as she cleared her throat. "Are you hungry?"

I just cocked a brow at her. "Not for blood. Go getcha hand fixed before I forget ta be a gentleman."

I watched as her cheeks darkened and she nodded as she backed away slightly, her lips tucked back and held between her teeth. She scratched her temple and cleared her throat again. "I'll... I'll just see you at home if you aren't still here when I get back."

I crossed my arms and leaned my thigh on the pool table, watching as Bella walked away. I wasn't going any fucking where.

Feeling the presence of someone beside me, I didn't look at Demetri, even when he started talking. "An hour and twenty minutes from start to finish. Not a record, but still very impressive." I felt his eyes on me, but I continued to watch Bella as she stopped by the bar, having a quiet word with an overly excited Jade. "She was harsh, but it wouldn't have worked otherwise."

No moving my eyes, I hummed. "I ain't ever heard Jade talk ta her like that."

"That was my fault. She didn't want to." Now I was looking at him, but he was looking at the ladies. "She needed to challenge Bella's way of thinking, and there isn't a nice way to do it. She wanted to do it a different way, but when her way didn't work, she did what she needed to do, and it did." He shifted his eyes to mine, "the best way to get a human that can't think for themselves to think for themselves is to get them angry. It's no different that combatting your sire's empathy."

Cringing slightly, I rolled my shoulder to try and get the tension that appeared in my next at the mention of Jasper's gift. He didn't use it like he used to, but he certainly still could. "Didn't know others knew how ta do that."

He snorted, crossing his own arms. "The Volturi know everything, Peter, but in this case, I've dealt with empathics before. It's not hard to figure out how to balance yourself against manufactured emotions by merely making yourself feel the opposite of what they want you to. It might not always be easy, but it is always possible. In the case of your human, anger is the counterbalance to the depression she's been feeling."

I rolled my eyes. "She been angry plenty."

He shook his head. "But not for the right reasons, though I'm sure perfectly valid at the time. She needed to be angry with herself, so much so, she would be able to actually take that step back and have a look at the situation through a different set of eyes. Whatever it was that gave her the push she needed is irrelevant. Had she continued to always make excuses, nothing would have changed, and eventually, she would have snuck away from you and gone back to the Cullens because she wouldn't have known better." He lowered his voice for the next bit. "Her scent told me more than you ever did of the situation. It wouldn't have been much longer before she gave up, for her to be drawn back to where she was convinced she was wanted. There was never anything you could have done for her because you weren't capable of crossing a few lines. That's not your fault, but it is the truth. You wanted to protect her, but that's not what she needed."

Then, he shrugged, his voice going offhand. "Our tactics might not always be the most desirable thing in the moment, but they are the most effective. It will still take her some time to fully reconnect with herself, but in the meantime, there is no reason you cannot attempt the groundwork for a future relationship. The only thing you will need to keep in mind is to not get angry with her if she questions seemingly random shit or makes less than pleasant accusations against you."

I got his meaning. I was a vampire, which meant I could do the same mind numbing control shit Cullen had done to her. I wasn't stupid. I knew shit wasn't going to happen right away, but patience wasn't a virtue I was born with as a human or reborn with as a vampire. For the fact time wasn't a factor in my life anymore, I was impatient as a mother fucker.

But for her? I could learn.