Broken Soul • Emmett Cullen

chapter fifteen

CW - Mention of sexual assault

She could hear a feminine scream, a blood-curdling noise in the distance. The room was pitch black, but she knew she had to help this girl, whoever she was. She began running.

"Alaina," a voice echoed in the distance, startling her. She picked up her pace and ran even faster towards the screaming, which was growing in intensity.

She couldn't make out where she was or why she was running, with only shadows passing by her.

"Alaina," the voice whispered again, more urgently this time. Hearing the voice confused her even more. She started sprinting towards the screaming girl once again, but also away from the voice. She finally reached the source of the noise; a lifeless body now lay on the ground, covered with bright red blood. She wildly looked around to see what happened, and the only thing she could see were two bright red eyes staring dangerously at her.

"Alaina!"

Her eyes fluttered open and she could feel herself gasping for breath. The kind eyes of her father were filled with worry as he looked down at his daughter. "Sweetheart, I think you were having a nightmare," he said cautiously. "It was just a dream."

Alaina tried to calm her breathing and her heart rate down. She sat up in her bed and realized she was sweating, her sheets soaked with her perspiration. "Just a dream," she repeated but didn't quite believe it. It felt so real. It looked so real. And she couldn't shake the feeling that she recognized that body that was covered with blood.

"It's time to get up, Alaina," her dad said, standing up from her bed and turning all of her bedroom lights on. Her eyes fluttered from the bright lights. Instead of leaving the room to allow her time to get ready, he sat back down on the bed next to her and looked at her seriously.

"Bella isn't coming," he said sadly, watching his daughter for a reaction. Alaina sat there frozen.

"Wait, what? What do you mean she isn't coming? She already has her plane ticket!"

"Your mother called Charlie this morning to see if Bella needed a ride to the airport, and Charlie said she is driving to Arizona."

Alaina's eyes shot open. "To Arizona? And she left last night? In her truck?" This didn't seem right to Alaina but the memory of yesterday immediately flooded her mind. She knew something was wrong. "Did Charlie say why Bella was going to Arizona?" Alaina tried to keep her voice level, but she was feeling more paranoid by the second.

"Charlie told us that Bella broke up with Edward and she wanted to go home to her mom, the poor thing."

Alaina quietly scoffed. There is no way Bella would have broken up with Edward. She knew at once that Bella was lying; something big must have happened for her to cover up with such a ridiculous lie. Even though she knew there was a reason for her to miss going back home with Alaina, she couldn't help but feel incredibly hurt. Tears began welling in her eyes as she searched for something to say to her dad.

"I know." Sensing her emotions, her dad gently squeezed her shoulder for comfort. "Try to be downstairs in ten minutes. Breakfast is on the table and we needed to get going." He stood up and left Alaina in her room, alone with her thoughts that were now spiraling out of control.

She threw off her blankets and reached for her phone. Her heart sank when she saw that she had no missed calls or texts. She quickly pulled up Bella's number and shot off a test:

Bella for the love of God, please tell me what's going on. I know you didn't break up with Edward. Text me as soon as you get this.

Alaina felt numb as she was getting ready, anxiety pulsing through her body. Putting on the outfit she laid out for herself last night, she felt herself fumble with the buttons on her jeans. Her hands her shaking with nerves and she didn't know if it was due to the radio silence of her friends or the fact that she was going back to the hometown that hurt her so much.