New Beginnings: The Final Volume (4 page)

I
walked into my house and my mother was waiting. “I am sorry about all of this,”
she said quickly.

“I
want to move on. Please just forget about everything. Let’s pretend none of it
happened,” I said hoping she would agree.

She
looked at me a little surprised then nodded. “If that is what you want.”

“It
is. I am going to bed. I have school in the morning,” I said quietly then
hurried upstairs. I opened my bedroom door and scowled. James was on my bed.

He
smiled at me and stood. “You look grumpy.”

“You
lied to me,” I growled.

“Whoa,
I followed Alexander’s orders. I didn’t want to lie to you,” he said raising
his hands in surrender.

I
rolled my eyes and flopped down on the bed. “Go away I have school in the
morning.”

He
laughed. “You are going back to school after everything? What about getting
your memory back?”

“I
don’t want it back. I am starting over. Now go away,” I said as I used the remote
to flip the TV on.

“What?
I don’t understand. How could you just give up?” He moved so he was in front of
the TV. He wasn’t going to let me ignore him.

I
scowled at him. “No one likes who I was. They barely like me now. I am not
going back to that. Now get out.”

He
climbed on the bed. I was about to protest as he pinned me. “I am not leaving.
You are not giving up.”

“I
am giving up, and you are leaving. Now get off me,” I countered.

He
smiled playfully. “It wasn’t long ago that you liked being underneath me. In
the garden, and in the shower,” he teased as he nuzzled my neck.

I
felt my cheeks redden. “I don’t remember so it didn’t happen.”

“I’ll
help you remember,” he offered as he pressed his hips into me. I gasped when I
felt his erection press against me through his pants.

My
eyes widened in surprise. “I am not having sex with you. I don’t even know
anything about you!” I squeaked.

He
laughed. “You know everything about me.”

I
pushed him, and he rolled off me and laid on his side. I stood quickly trying
to keep from blushing scarlet. “I am not the same girl I was. Now go. I will
see you at school tomorrow.”

He
sighed. “Fine, I will see you in the morning,” he grumbled as he stood. He
walked up to me and leaned into me playfully. “You have a birthmark on your
upper thigh, it’s kind of hot.”

I
shoved him and he laughed. “Go!” I said mortified. Maybe I had slept with him.
Alexander said I slept with most of them. I was beginning to really regret the
girl I was.

The
next morning I woke up early. I was determined to start over and have a good
day. I knew I wouldn’t be able to forget everything I had learned, but I wasn’t
going to try to find out anymore. I was just going to act like a normal college
student.

I
walked downstairs and my mother already had breakfast on the table. She didn’t
say anything, but I could see how worried she was. I didn’t know why she was so
worried. I felt better today than I had since waking up.

After
breakfast I stepped out into the cool late summer air. James was waiting for me
on the porch just outside my door. “Hey,” he said smiling.

“Hey,”
I said as I walked down the stairs and started walking toward campus.

“You
look better today,” he said as he followed me.

“I
feel better,” I said and smiled. “I think I am going to go to the movies
tonight. Do you want to come?”

He
smiled. “Ya that sounds like fun.”

As
we walked toward campus I made it a point to talk about classes and the town. I
didn’t want to talk about anything serious. James played along, but I could
tell he thought it was amusing. He was acting like I was playing a game. I
didn’t care. I was going to keep pretending until it felt normal. I wanted
normal more than anything.

Our
first class was European History. We found our seats near the back. Alexander
walked in soon after we took our seats. He scanned the classroom. His eyes
landed on me and he smiled. He was obviously relieved that I came back to
school. The thought of just staying home had crossed my mind, but I was trying
to be normal and staying home all day wasn’t normal.

The
class was relatively uneventful. My mind was on my next class which was
chemistry. I knew how Dorian felt about me pretending I was normal. I was
almost positive he was going to corner me in class. Once Alexander’s class
ended I followed the herd of students out. As we approached the chemistry
classroom I decided I didn’t want to face Dorian. I was in too good of a mood.
I snatched James’ hand and pulled him in the opposite direction.

“Where
are we going?” he asked amused.

“Anywhere
but here,” I said as I pulled him toward the exit.

“Are
we skipping Dorian’s class for a reason?” He had to know the reason. He knew
Dorian; so I knew he could figure out why I wanted to skip.

“I
want to go have fun. I don’t want to listen to him tell me how much of an idiot
I am,” I said quietly.

He
laughed and slung his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go have some fun.”

I
was glad he wasn’t against it. I needed to have fun. “Where can we go?”

“I
know the perfect place,” he said amused. He guided me toward the woods near the
school. “Tag you’re it,” he said playfully then took off running once we
reached the woods.

I
ran after him. He was a lot quicker than me. He ran through the woods dodging
trees and jumping over logs. There was no way I was going to catch up with him.
It wasn’t long before I lost sight of him completely. I came to a clearing by a
lake and stopped. I looked around and he was nowhere in sight.

“Ok,
you win, where are you?” I called out.

I
was suddenly tackled, and we went rolling into the soft grass by the edge of
the lake. He pinned me and grinned down at me. “You aren’t very good at this,”
he teased.

I
shoved him off me. “I never said I was good at tag. I am going swimming,” I
said amused as I climbed to my feet. I stripped out of my clothes and he laid
on his side and watched me. I was a little shy about undressing in front of
him, but he claimed I slept with him so I undressed anyway. “Are you coming?” I
asked as I tossed my panties at him.

He
grinned as he caught them. He jumped to his feet and quickly undressed. He ran
at me and I squealed in excitement and ran for the water. I cussed as the cold
water touched me. He knocked me over and I gasped in surprise. “You ass!” I
squeaked as I surfaced.

He
laughed and swam away from me as I attempted to smack him. “You are the one
that started it.”

I
rolled my eyes and started to swim. The weather was still warm because it was
late summer. In a week or two it would probably be too cold for swimming, so I
was going to enjoy it while I could. He went under and I stood up looking
around. I was starting to wonder where he went.

He
popped up in front of me, and I yelped in surprise. He grabbed me and pressed
his lips to mine. His tongue touched mine and I felt my pulse quicken. I
hesitated a little startled; then I wrapped my arms around his neck and
deepened the kiss. My body surged with excitement as he kissed me. I liked how
he was touching me; it felt familiar.

A
piercing howl in the distance suddenly broke the silence. He pulled away from
me and looked around. I could tell he was worried. “What’s wrong?” I asked
breathlessly as I looked around.

Another
cry filled the air and he moved toward the shore. “Someone is hurt,” he said
starting to sound panicked. Before I could respond he had already reached shore
and shifted into a large wolf. He ran into the woods, and quickly disappeared
from my view. I was suddenly really nervous.

I
waded to the shore and quickly dressed. I didn’t really like being in the woods
on my own. I made my way back through the trees. A branch snapped behind me and
I spun around. There was nothing there. I felt a slight rush of panic. I turned
and walked quickly back toward the way we had come.

I
was suddenly hit from behind. I fell, landing hard on the ground. I rolled to
try to see what hit me. It was a wolf, but it wasn’t James. This wolf was
snarling like it planned on killing me. I brought my arm up just as he went for
my throat. He latched on to my forearm, and I cried out in pain. I tried to
pull away, but the wolf had a firm hold on my arm. Blood started to soak the
sleeve off my hoodie. A loud roar caught both of our attention. My eyes widened
as a white tiger leapt from the trees. The wolf released me, and squared with
the huge tiger. I scrambled to my feet and backed away from them both. My arm
was burning like crazy and all I could think about was getting away. I turned
and ran as the two huge animals attacked one another. I didn’t want to wait and
see which one of the two won the right to eat me.

My
arm was dripping blood as I ran. I quickly pulled my hoodie off and wrapped my
arm. I didn’t want to leave a trail of blood. It would just make it easier for them
to find me. I made it back to the campus. I turned and looked back toward the
wood line. When nothing jumped out I turned back toward campus. I stumbled
backwards and fell to the ground when Alexander appeared in front of me.

He
stepped forward and pulled me to my feet by my uninjured arm. “What happened?”
he asked as he led me toward the parking lot.

“A
wolf attacked me; then a huge white tiger came out of nowhere and attacked the
wolf.” Right after I said it I immediately regretted it. The whole thing
sounded ridiculous. Then again I was telling a vampire so maybe it wasn’t as
ridiculous as it sounded to me.

Alexander
didn’t speak. He led me to a car and pushed me in the passenger seat. He went
to the driver’s seat and got in. I cussed as he grabbed my injured arm and
unwrapped it. His expression darkened. “Why aren’t you healing?” He looked
directly at me like he was asking me.

I
shrugged. “Because a wolf just bit me. I don’t know.”

“You
should have already started healing. Keep pressure on the arm,” he ordered as
he started the car. “Where is James?”

“He
ran off when he heard another wolf in trouble. I haven’t seen him since. I
didn’t think sticking around the woods would be a very good idea.” Alexander
seemed upset which unnerved me. He was the only one that seemed cool and calm
out of all of them.

Alexander
sped toward the house and he arrived in less than five minutes. He climbed out
of the car, then came to my side and opened the door. He pulled me along with
him into the house. “Dorian! Alan!” he called as he pulled me into the main
living room. “Sit,” he ordered.

I
sat and he walked to the bar and grabbed a bottle of vodka. “Whoa what are you
doing?” I asked a little worried.

“You
should be almost healed by now,” he said as he grasped my wrist and exposed the
bite. The bite looked worse. It was still oozing blood, and it was red and
swollen.

I
stifled a cry with my free hand as he poured the vodka all over the wound on my
arm. Dorian, Alan, and Rick came in the room as he was doing it.

“What
happened?” Dorian asked as he came to Alexander’s side and examined my arm.

“She
was bit by a werewolf, and it isn’t healing,” Alexander said as he pressed a
clean cloth to my arm.

“Why
isn’t she healing?” Dorian asked confused.

“I
don’t see anything,” Alan said as he flipped through a book.

“What
if she just forgot how?” Rick said absently.

They
looked at Rick, then at one another. “That is a possibility,” Dorian said as if
he was considering it.

“How?”
Alexander asked sounding skeptical.

“Well
a vampire’s mind is how everything is possible. If you want someone to do what
you say you think it and it gets done, maybe healing works the same way,”
Dorian said as he snatched the book from Alan.

“That
makes no sense,” Alexander growled.

“It
does, she has to make herself heal. She has to remember how too,” Alan said
like it made complete sense.

“That’s
great and all, but if she doesn’t remember how too what do we do?” Alexander
countered.

“I’ve
got an idea,” Rick said amused. I watched him a little hesitant about his
ideas. I was sure they would hurt me in some way. “Stand up,” Rick ordered.

Alexander
and Dorian backed away so I could stand. “What are you going to do?” Alexander
asked as I stood.

“I
am going to help her remember by pissing her off.” As soon as he said it he
brought his arm up. I barely saw it before his fist connected with my jaw. I
went crashing into the couch, and crumpled to the floor.

“No!”
Alexander growled stepping toward Rick.

Dorian
caught his arm to keep him from advancing on Rick. “This might work,” he said
softly.

“Or
he might hurt her more,” Alexander countered.

“It’s
a chance we have to take,” Alan said agreeing with Dorian.

“This
is going to be fun,” Rick said happily as he grabbed me by my arm, and hauled
me too my feet.

I
glared at him and went to speak. He cut me across my face with another punch
sending me back to the floor. I didn’t know what to do. I scrambled to my feet
as blood poured from my nose. I couldn’t believe they were just going to let
him beat me. I swung at him and he easily dodged it. He grasped my injured arm
and squeezed. I went to my knees as I cried out in agony. He brought his foot
up and kicked me in the stomach. He kicked me again and again. Then he released
me, and I collapsed sobbing. I couldn’t fight him. He was too strong and I
didn’t know what to do. He quickly knelt beside me and wrapped his hands around
my throat. I looked at him terrified as he squeezed tighter and tighter. I
struggled, but it seemed useless. I was suddenly very angry at the fact that he
was doing this. I swung and caught him across the jaw. He flew into the
opposite wall and I rolled onto my stomach. I got to my feet and rushed him,
but Alexander caught me around the waist.

“He
was trying to help,” he said softly.

He
was trying to kill me,” I growled as I attempted to get past Alexander. Rick
was slowly getting to his feet. He looked amused and it only infuriated me
more.

“I
doubt that. Look at your arm. You healed yourself,” Alexander said softly.

I
hesitated and looked at my arm. He was right it was completely healed. My body
didn’t hurt like it should have from the hits I took. I looked at Rick one last
time, then turned on my heel and stalked out of the room. I was furious.
Alexander didn’t act like it was a big deal, but I knew Rick was hitting me
harder than he needed to. I walked out into the garden and took a deep breath.
It was late afternoon and the sun was high in the sky.

“Bella?”
Ali’s soft voice called from behind me.

I
turned and looked at him. He hesitated like he wasn’t sure what to do. “Are you
ok?” he asked cautiously.

I
nodded. “I need to be alone,” I growled and walked further into the garden. I
could hear him follow, but he was keeping his distance at the same time. “What
do you want?” I asked after a few minutes.

“I
wanted to make sure you are ok,” he said softly.

“I’m
fine,” I said trying to sound less angry. Ali didn’t do anything. It wasn’t
really fair to be angry with him. I could hear him move closer to me. I was
suddenly very aware of his presence. I could smell him. I could smell his
blood. I turned and looked at him.

“Are
you sure?” he asked looking uncertain.

I
stepped back as my eyes went from his eyes to his throat. I wanted to bite him.
I wanted to taste his blood. It was the oddest sensation and I didn’t like it.
He stepped closer to me, and I shook my head. “No don’t,’ I pleaded. I didn’t
understand what was going on. I wasn’t sure what I would do if he got any
closer.

“I
want you to bite me,” he said stepping even closer to me. He sounded desperate
and I didn’t understand why.

I
hesitated. I wanted to bite him, and I didn’t like it. The scent of him was too
much. I didn’t care. I stepped forward and bit down on his neck. I was startled
by how easily my teeth sunk into his soft flesh. He gasped as I held him
against me. His cool blood filled my mouth, and I closed my eyes as a feeling
of euphoria overtook me. It was an amazing feeling. I suddenly realized what I
was doing and it scared me. I released him, and looked at him horrified. “I’m
sorry,” I said slightly terrified. He looked like he wanted to say something,
but I didn’t wait for him to speak. I ran further into the garden. Once I
reached the garden wall I easily scaled the wall and landed in the soft grass
on the other side.

I
walked along the road. The metallic, sweet taste of Ali’s blood was still in my
mouth. I liked the blood, and it bothered me. The road led back into town. I
walked to my house and went inside. I stopped when I realized the place was
torn apart. I looked around starting to panic slightly. My mother was in a heap
on the floor in the living room.