Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight related.

A/N: And it happened again. I'm an ass and you're all wonderful for being so gosh darned patient. Finals are done for school, but I am already back in the thick of another semester. But that good news is that the stress and pressure of finals is weeks away. Thank you to those that are still with me and supporting my story. I love you all! And a huge thank you to the always amazing beta of mine, Oceanwaters2006. You're simply an angel and you know I'm thinking about you when I pick out my play list ^_~

Playlist: Skin by Sixx AM, To the Grave by The Pierces, Killing Me Inside by Crossfade, Get Up by Korn, Sick by Adelita's Way, Waysis En Alta by Rozaline, Wasted by No Love Lost

Chapter 20 ~

Esme was pacing back and forth in front of Edward and I . I kept looking between her and Edward, trying to figure out if I had done the right thing by telling her everything. She looked very pale and confused. Not a good sign.

"Esme, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in. This is the kind of stuff I watch on television."

"Tell me about it."

"So what are you going to do now? They've already found you once, why wouldn't they be able to find you again?"

"That's my thinking exactly. I'm sick of running."

Edward squeezed my hand and pulled me closer to him.

"Bella, I'm not going to let you throw yourself to the wolves just because you're tired."

"Edward, people are getting killed because of me. How many more before they stop? They aren't going to give up anytime soon."

"I don't care if I have to take you out of the country, I will not let you give up."

Trying to argue with Edward was pointless. I just couldn't keep putting everyone in danger. But maybe he was right. If we at least left Montana, Esme and Carlisle would be safe.

"Where are we going to go?"

"I already talked to Emmett and he wants us to head to Alice and Rosalie's location. We're going to re-group and go from there."

"Fine. When should we leave?"

"We can leave right now."

I nodded and walked over towards where Kirby was laying on the ground. His tiny head peaked up and nuzzled my outstretched hand. I couldn't keep dragging Kirby around with me. He was the last piece of Jess that I had and I didn't want anything to happen to him.

"Esme, do you think that you could keep Kirby here? I don't want anything to happen to him."

"Of course. I'll keep him as long as you need me to."

"Thank you. He's the last piece I have of Jess and I promised I would take care of him and I just can't if I'm constantly on the run."

"Well I don't foresee having to keep him for very long. All of this will be over soon and you will be safe again."

"I sure hope so. I miss being normal."

I stayed lowered by Kirby and scratched his ear until he fell asleep. I was going to miss him but I knew that I couldn't take care of him right now. I had to leave him. I stood up and walked back over to Edward's side and squeezed his hand.

"We need to get going. Dad, you and Esme will need to lay low. Don't trust anyone that you don't recognize. And if anyone asks about us, just say that we had to leave because of a family emergency and leave it at that. If anything happens, call me when you know you're alone."

Carlisle ran a hand through his hair, the same way Edward always did.

"I was really hoping that we would have the chance to make amends. It's been so long since I've seen you and I know your mother would be upset with how things happened in the past. But you're just like your mother, she was always very protective of the people around her. And Bella, you have the same determination to put everyone else before yourself. I can see why Edward is in love with you. Please take care of each other and try to come back soon."

Carlisle pulled Edward into a hug before turning to me to do the same, though he was very careful of my fresh wounds. The words Carlisle had said were still running through my head. Was Edward really in love with me? The thought brought both happiness and fear. All of my life I had wanted someone like Edward in my life but why did he have to come into my life when it was falling apart? If Edward were to stay with me, I was very aware of the likely possibility of something happening to him.

Esme was the next in line to bid us farewell. She hugged Edward and patted him on the shoulder before moving to stand in front of me. She brushed a stray hair out of my face and smiled sweetly.

"I am so glad I got to meet you. You gave me the courage I needed to go after what I wanted. I was really hoping that I would get to keep you around for a lot longer, but I know that you'll be back and everything will be better soon. You'll see."

"Thank you, Esme. For everything."

"Anytime."

I feebly wrapped my arms around her and ignored the searing pain in my side. I hoped she was right and everything would go back to normal soon. I couldn't handle much more running. Edward and I started walking towards the back door of the building. I looked back and smiled at Esme and Carlisle. Kirby was still asleep on the floor and I felt a lump form in my throat. Hopefully I would be back soon.

Edward pulled his gun from his waistband and slowly pushed the door open. He carefully looked around the alleyway before opening the door further to check the other side. Edward pushed the door open fully and waved me to follow him. The air was crisp and almost painful the breathe in. I kept glancing behind us to make sure that no one was following us. Edward opened the door to the SUV and checked inside of it before motioning for me to get in. I ducked down in my seat and started to say a silent prayer that no one had seen us.

The vehicle started moving and my anxiety doubled. Edward continued to check all of the mirrors.

"I think we are in the clear, but we won't know for sure until we get a little ways out of town."

"Edward, I'm sorry I'm taking you away from your dad. I know that you two haven't seen each other in a long time."

"Bella, it's okay. He understands that this is my life now and that you're part of it. Besides, I swore that I would protect you and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

I pursed my lips and looked out the window before turning back to him, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Is what Carlisle said true? Are you in love with me?"

"Bella, how could I not be? You're an amazing woman. But if you don't mind, I would like to hold off on having this discussion with you when we're somewhere safe."

I nodded and peaked up from the passenger seat. We were a few miles outside of Belgrade. We weren't safe yet, but we would be soon. I saw red and blue lights flashing in the distance. I felt sick when I realized that it had to be the ambulance and police cars responding to James' car. Edward reached for my hand and took it in his. He lightly squeezed it when we drove by the car. I watched as two paramedics pushed a gurney with a body bag on it towards the ambulance. I felt sick knowing it was James in that body bag and I felt even worse knowing he was in it because of me.

Edward said nothing. He just held my hand and drove.

I had fallen asleep an hour outside of Belgrade. I felt the slight jerk of the car as it slowed to a stop. I sat up quickly and looked around me. Other than the street lights, I could tell that it was still dark outside. I felt Edward rub my arm to reassure that everything was okay.

"We're just stopping to fuel up and grab some food. Wait in here until I'm done filling up the tank."

Edward closed the door and I glanced out the window again. There was a light sprinkling of snow on the ground and the parking lot was near deserted. The only other vehicles were an old Chevy pickup and a silver Honda. I didn't want to be stopped right now. I wanted to be moving. There was no way to tell if we had been followed or not, but I trusted Edward's judgment. He wouldn't have stopped somewhere if he didn't think it was safe. The driver's side door opened and Edward climbed back in.

"I forgot how cold it gets at night this time of year."

"Me too. I hope we're going somewhere warm. All of my clothes are in the other car."

"After we meet up with Rosalie and Alice, we can stop and get some more clothes for you."

"Could we do that before we get Alice? I love the girl and miss her to pieces, but I hate shopping with her. I'm like her living Barbie doll."

"In that case, we can stop before meeting up with them. I don't like the idea of you trying on an ass load of clothes and moving around too much until you're healed."

"Thank you for having both mercy and pity on me."

The click of the gas pump vibrated throughout the vehicle. Edward climbed out and put the nozzle back on the stand. I slowly unbuckled my seatbelt and took a deep breath. I knew I was being overly paranoid, but all things considered, I was pretty sure that was understandable. Edward opened my door and helped me down which served as a great reminder that I needed some ibuprofen. Or tequila. Whichever one they had.

"If anyone asks what happened to you, just say that it was a car accident and leave it at that."

I nodded and followed beside him, not saying a thing. I was not going to speak unless spoken to. The bell above the door rang as we entered the building. The smell of fresh coffee was almost intoxicating. That was a must.

"I'm going to run to the restroom a wash up. And assess the damage to my face."

"Okay, you go and I'll wait by the door."

The look of repugnance on my face must have been too obvious.

"You can give me that look all you want. I could go in there with you if you'd like."

"Waiting is fine. I'll be right out."

The florescent lights in the bathroom buzzed above my head. I braced myself and took a deep breath before looking in the mirror. A shocked gasp left my mouth when I saw my reflection. My nose was a dark shade of purple with splotches of red. My eyes were already starting to bruise and there were several small cuts along my cheek. I looked like utter hell. I quickly washed up and got out of the bathroom before Edward would start to think something happened and cause a scene.

Edward stood up against the wall, waiting for me. He looked so handsome and I looked so out of place standing next to him. His arms pulled me into his side and held me close to him. I felt his lips on the top of my forehead and smiled at the sweet gesture. The smell of coffee pulled my attention away from Edward and I quickly made a B line to it.

"Sorry, I need coffee."

"Get whatever you'll need. We won't be stopping again for a few hours."

I wandered through the aisles and grabbed random snacks. I stopped to look down at the blood splatters on my shirt. I must look like an axe murderer to the clerk. Looking around, I spotted the obligatory shirt rack. I looked over the designs quickly and grabbed the first one in my size. I wasn't going to spend the rest of our trip covered in mine and James' blood. With full arms I went and stood by Edward, who was holding a case of water with some chips and sandwiches on top of it.

"I grabbed a shirt. I really want to get out of this one for obvious reasons."

"That's fine. Do you have everything? The next stop is going to be several hours away."

"Yeah, I'm good. I have enough junk food for a small army."

Edward and I piled our stuff on the counter and smiled at the clerk. I saw the concerned look in his eyes as they darted back and forth between Edward and I.

"I was in a car accident this evening."

I saw the sideways glance that Edward gave me and the clerk looked a little relieved. The bell rang above the door and I watched as a young woman with bright red hair walked in. Her eyes fell on me and I got an uneasy feeling. I leaned into Edward's side and I could tell he was tense and watching the woman as well. We paid for our things and quickly headed to the SUV. I loaded what I had into the vehicle and watched as Edward walked around it.

"What are you doing?"

"I have a bad feeling about that redhead. I'm just checking for footprints to see if anyone else was by the vehicle."

After Edward had gone fully around the vehicle, he checked underneath it. While he was on the ground, I heard the door open again. I turned and saw the young redhead walking towards us. Edward got up quickly and was by my side in seconds. She stopped a foot in front of us and smiled. She reached her arm out and held a bag in her hand.

"You forgot this on the counter. I'm glad I caught you before you left."

Edward took the bag from her hand and smiled, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. You can always depend on the kindness of strangers, right?"

"Yeah, something like. We have to get going, but thank you again."

"It was no problem. Have a safe trip."

"You too. Have a great night."

I still felt uneasy as I watched the woman walk towards her car. Edward motioned for me to get into the car. I turned and walked towards the passenger side, still feeling uneasy. Just as I was reaching for the handle, the back window exploded around me. I whipped around and saw the redhead pointing a gun at Edward. His gun was drawn and clenched in his hand.

"Get in the car and stay low."

"Like that's going to save her. She's going to die no matter what you do, Edward. Whether it's at my hands or someone else's"

"Fuck you."

"A very witty retort. I suggest you save yourself and let me take her. It isn't you that we want."

"You'll take her over my cold dead body."

"Funny you should say that."

I wasn't sure who was the first to shoot. I dropped to the ground and crawled to the other side of the SUV. It was suddenly quiet. I peaked around the corner and saw that Edward and the woman had now both dropped their guns and were in full on hand to hand combat.

For every punch Edward threw, a punch was returned from her. Edward maneuvered around every move she made. I was sure that Edward was going to be okay until she delivered a blow by kicking his knees out from under him. He fell to the ground and her fist connected with his jaw. Edward pulled her down with him. She quickly scrambled to straddle him and attempt to hold him to the ground.

Her fists continuously struck his head and I watched helplessly. I saw a metallic glint in her hand and it only took a second for me to realize that it was a switchblade. I couldn't sit back and watch her kill Edward. I looked around and saw the neglected guns still laying on the ground.

Without hesitation, I ran to the first gun I could get my hands on and aimed it at the woman, "Hey! Let him go."

Her head snapped around and she climbed off of Edward. A small trickle of blood sat at the corner of her nose and she looked at the gun in my hand.

"How sweet. Trying to save your boyfriend?"

"Get away from him or I'll shoot."

"It doesn't matter, sweetheart. He had his chance to walk and he didn't take it. You're both going to die now."

"Go to hell."

I squeezed the trigger and the hammer clicked against the empty chamber. I squeezed again and heard the same sound. Her cackle cut through the cold night air as I desperately pulled the trigger. She began to walk towards me and I pulled the trigger one last time. A loud explosion rang out into the night and I watched a shocked expression form on her face. I looked down and saw a red blossom spread across her chest. Her hand went to her chest and then looked at the blood coating her fingers. Her breathing became raspy and shallow. Her eyes met mine as she fell to her knees. I kept the gun aimed at her as she dropped to the ground. A strong hand clamped on my shoulder and I jumped away from it.

"Bella, it's okay."

Edward took the gun from my hands and stuck it in his waistband. I could feel my body start shaking. Edward led me to SUV and opened the door. I climbed in and tried to focus on my breathing so I wouldn't hyperventilate. The SUV shifted as Edward climbed in. The engine turned over quickly and we drove off. I watched in the mirror as the woman's body got further and further away.

"Everything is going to be fine, Bella. I'll call Emmett and he'll take care of it."

My hands were shaking and starting to get clammy. It took a few minutes before I actually registered what had just happened. When it finally clicked, I felt sick. I had killed someone.

A/N: So to soothe your worries, the other chapter is already under way. I know where I'm going with it so it should be a lot easier to write. *fingers crossed* I love you all and I appreciate those of you that have stuck it out through my dip-shittery. ***HUGS ***