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oh merde
( twilight. breaking dawn pt i )

chapter eighteen.
eyes of red

    THE human blood they had given Bella seemed to work wonders for her. Her pulse had increased; she became stronger than she was before, and her baby seemed to be less restless. Despite Georgine not enjoying the fact that her best friend had to drink another person's blood, if it was working, she'd ignore the disgust that resided within her.

     Blood bags after blood bags were emptied into cups for the human━━Bella was slowly but surely becoming more like herself, once more. The only difference was the pregnant stomach she carried around.

     Every now and again, Bella had been calling up her father, checking in with him and making sure he wasn't becoming too suspicious. Their excuse had been that Bella had suddenly come down with some horrible illness, and they didn't want Charlie Swan around his daughter in case he caught it, too. In a twisted way, Georgine supposed there was some truth behind it. She didn't like the idea of calling the baby an illness━━but it kind of was. Bella was human, carrying an immortal child that the inevitable ability to kill her. If that wasn't a dangerous illness, Georgine Brodeur didn't know what was.

     The more she thought about it, Georgine felt bad for Charlie. His only daughter had only just come back to him after so many years, and already, at the age of 18, she was married and pregnant. (He didn't know she was pregnant, of course, but that was besides the point). Charlie had no idea what was happening to his daughter, he was out of the loop. But, they couldn't tell him the truth for the same reason they couldn't tell Sandra, Georgine's mother, the truth. It would only put them in danger. The family was trapped within a web of lies, ones they couldn't unravel themselves from, but stayed within to keep those they loved most safe.

     A few days had passed, and the moon had cascaded itself down unto the forest. Georgine was keeping guard from just moments away from the house, watching as Jacob started the plan. The Cullens needed to feed, and they couldn't do that when the wolves were constantly surrounding the perimeter, waiting for their chance to strike. So, they came up with the idea of Jacob going out to distract them, so Carlisle, Esme and Emmett could sneak past them without any confrontation. From where she was standing, it seemed to be working.

     Jacob was talking to the wolves, demanding that he came to speak with them so they'd take Leah and Seth back. The latter pair hadn't known about the plan, so their shouts of disbelief and protests were genuine.

     For a second, it seemed as though the plan would work the entire way through. But, then, Georgine heard something. Wolves growling, hurried steps, panted breath. They had managed to trick some of them, but not all of them.

     The plan hadn't worked━━the wolves had heard them.

     Immediately, Georgine took action. Uncrossing her arms over her chest, her body tensed. She turned, and saw that the others had heard it all, too, concerned expressions mirroring her own features. Georgine's manner spoke one of plead━━she needed to go, and in a way, they all knew that. There was too much pent-up anger and frustration waiting to burst through the young vampire; a fight may very well do her some good.

     So, the instant Jasper and Georgine locked eyes, understanding each other, and he nodded━━she was off.

     She sprinted as fast as she could, trying to control her berated breath as she weaved in and out of the trees, her feet barely missing the roots built up from the soil. The wind blew furiously in her hair, the scent of the wolves trailing towards their whereabouts.

     It didn't take her long to get to where they were, and she was glad it didn't, either. As she arrived, her hurried steps didn't falter for a moment; she noticed Esme alone, running aimlessly away from a wolf. Panic seeped into Georgine's veins, and she raced forward, forcefully pushing herself further, to her limits. When she was only seconds away, the wolf opened its jaw, baring its teeth, leaping in the air and ready to pounce upon Esme, and Georgine turned slightly on her side, colliding with the wolf. They both fell to the floor, struggling against one another as they tumbled down a hill.

     As Georgine picked herself back up, another wolf approached, aiding its pack member. Georgine breathed heavily, stance at the ready, as she had her eyes narrowed at the two in front of her. Nobody turned as Esme suddenly ran to her daughter's side, stepping just in front of her in order to protect her.

     The wolves growled and snapped their jaws at the girls, before Emmett jumping from the side, bashing in to them just as Georgine had done seconds ago. Whilst the wolves were down and distracted, Carlisle came up behind them, grabbing the girls and urging them to run. They did so, the wolves just inches away from them until they were able to jump to the other side of a parting in the earth, landing carelessly and looking back. They weren't able to cross over with them, thanks to the treaty. But, it didn't subdue the anger that fuelled inside her.

     They could only howl in agitation, letting the rest of their pack know what had happened; how they had been fooled, how it had all been a trick. The others would soon know, and Georgine began to worry about Jacob, Leah and Seth's safety.

     But, as the quartet of vampires arrived home, everything seemed to be in order. Leah and Seth continued to stand guard outside, refusing to enter the Cullen house, as Jacob walked up the steps and into the room with everyone else.

     Georgine was stood beside Rosalie and Alice as they all spoke of baby names, Bella lay almost uncomfortably on the sofa. There was no point in attempting to curve her mind━━she'd chosen her two options, and there was no swaying her.

     Rosalie sighed, teasingly. "Can't we come up with something just a little more classic?"

     Laughing, Bella rolled her tired, sunken eyes and shook her head. Georgine was pushing back the stray hairs from her best friend's face, wanting to keep her as cool as possible. The heat was getting to her, now.

     Joining in, Georgine mocked her sister. "Rose━━you're age is showing."

     She scoffed, removing her hands from where she was gently rubbing Bella's bump and standing up, coming to Georgine's eye-line. "Ha, ha." Rosalie sarcastically spat. It only made the other three girls smile more.

     "It's her choice, anyways." Alice reminded them.

     But, their conversation came to a stop as Jacob and Edward finished their own, walking in to the room and stopping in front of the trio of females. Alice and Rose helped Bella stand to her feet, using all their increased strength to keep her upright, letting her lean all her weight on them. Georgine came round to stand on Rosalie's left, folding her arms over her chest. No matter how many times Jacob tried to show his forgiveness for the times he had wronged Bella, Georgine was still protective over her best friend. Hell, she was protective over Bella when it came to Edward━━her own husband! Jacob didn't stand a chance.

     When she was stood, Bella heaved a great sigh. "Hey... are you okay?"

     Of course, Bella was talking about the plan they had previously set up, and she had heard that it almost went to shit. The entire time, Bella had been worried for all of their safety, but she was arguably more concerned about whether Jacob had made it our before his late pack took their anger out on him.

     "Yeah," Jacob replied, looking Bella up and down. "It's not like I'm the one carrying a demon."

     Georgine scoffed, making sure it was purposely loud so Jacob would know he'd just pissed her off. She shook her head in resentment, and continued to glare his way. He noticed, and looked down, muttering an extremely soft sorry, she wasn't sure she heard correctly, even with her increased hearing.

     Bella didn't seem as affected, however. Maybe she was just too weak to be annoyed at him. After all, if she really didn't have a lot of time left, it wasn't like she wanted to spend the majority of it being negative. Georgine couldn't blame her.

     Rosalie directed her words towards Bella, capturing everyone's attention. "This is pretty important, Bella. Why don't you tell Jacob what you've decided."

     From where she was stood, Georgine could sense the panic emitting from the werewolf. He turned to Edward, and looked back at the girls. "What now?"

     Edward laughed, looking at his girls fondly. "Rose is trying to talk Bella out of her baby names."

     Giving Rose the side-eye, Bella chided, "She hates them."

     Georgine shook her head, teasingly, "I can't say that I blame her."

     "Huh," Bella joked, "I thought you were on my side." Georgine laughed. Even just a moment or two of happiness and bliss was something they all treasured. They didn't know what was coming for them over the horizon, through the storm. But, they'd make the most of it for as long as they could. "They're not that bad...  If it's a boy; EJ━━Edward Jacob."

     "Okay, fine, that one's not awful... Why don't you tell them the girl's name?" There was a teasing tone behind Rose's words, and it brought a smile to Georgine's lips, knowing how much Rose wished for her best friend to pick different names.

     Looking down, Bella confessed. "I was playing around with our moms' names━━Renée and Esme. And I was thinking..." There was a pause in her words, potentially cautious of her loved one's reactions. "...Renesmee."

     There was silence around them as Jacob took in the name Bella had offered, and he seemed at a lost for words. He stuttered. "Re-Renesmee?"

     Edward was laughing behind him, enjoying the reaction that came from the wolf thanks to what his wife wanted to name their baby. Bella noticed this, and looked back to Jacob, wondering if it was too much. "Too weird?"

     "Um━━"

     "No, that's not too weird... it's beautiful." Jacob still didn't know what to say, as Edward continued on. "And it's unique, which certainly fits the situation." Unique. Well, that was definitely one way to describe their situation. Bella━━a human━━and Edward━━a vampire━━the married couple, were expecting a child; one they didn't fully understand. They knew it wasn't human, but was it completely vampire? No one could be sure at this stage... they'd just have to wait and see where the road took them. "I like Renesmee."

     "Me, too," Georgine joined in, looking Bella in the eyes. Rosalie bent down to grab the cup of blood that she had been drinking from (Georgine had forced herself to sustain the temptation in order to be there for her best friend━━it was a difficult process, one she had to go through fairly quickly━━but she stuck through it), and Georgine carried on speaking. "I mean, yeah, some people might think it's a little weird, but, it's━━"

     Georgine never got to finish her sentence, for Bella was suddenly crying out in pain. The cup that Rose had placed in her hand had dropped to the floor, blood spilling from its contents. They could hear bones breaking as Bella bent backwards, gripping her stomach in agony. And, then, she collapsed.

     Edward, Jacob, Rosalie and Alice all ran to Bella to ensure she didn't harm herself as she landed on the floor. Georgine couldn't move. She was frozen in place. She thought she had done well to ignore the temptation of the human blood when it was encased in a cup, but now it was out, filling the air around it and attempting to cause Georgine to go in to overdrive. All she could do was stare at the blood on the floor, desperately trying to diffuse her urges, control herself. She worried if she went for that blood, would there be anything stopping her from attacking Bella?

     "Alice." There was urgency in Rose's voice as she sat beside Bella, giving her sister a look. Georgine couldn't see what was happening, but Alice was instantly at her side, her hands grabbing Georgine by the arms and forcing her away.

     Georgine was disappointed in herself. She had wanted to be there for Bella as she went through something so traumatising, something so dangerous━━she was her best friend, and she couldn't even help her. What kind of best friend did that make her?

     When the fresh hair hit rapidly on Georgine's skin, she came back to her senses. Looking around, she noticed Alice must have pushed Georgine as far away from the house as she could, but not too far so they couldn't hear what was happening inside. Georgine began mumbling to herself, a non-existent heart beating repeatedly. "No, no, no."

    It was happening. And, Georgine wasn't there to help.

     "No, no━━" she continued to recite, "I need to get back in there━━"

     Alice grabbed her, once more. "No, Georgine, you know you can't. There'll be too much blood and you might not be able to control yourself." Her words were rushed.

     She couldn't stop herself from snapping. "I can't just stand out here doing absolutely nothing whilst she's in there! I should be helping━━how am I supposed to help when I'm out here?"

     Her sister tried to calm her as best as she could. "You're helping more than you realise by being out here━━if you were in there, there'd only be more accidents, and that wouldn't be helping Bella, would it?"

     Alice had a point, and Georgine knew that. But, she couldn't help but feel so useless. So, what? She was to just stand there... and wait? Georgine was about to protest some more, but Jasper appeared from beyond the distance.

     Instantly, he came up to his love, cupping his hands around her face and forcing her night-like eyes up into his sky-like ones. She was breathing rapidly; scared; terrified...

     It was happening.

     Jasper must've sensed her terror from wherever he was previously, something Georgine was thankful for. They knew, if someone needed to hold her back, that it would be Jasper. He was the only one she'd truly listen to, other than Bella.

     "Listen to me," he spoke calmly, his words alone beginning to bring her back to the ground, rough-felt thumbs caressing her pale cheeks, eyes never averting anywhere else, "everything's going to be fine━━Bella will be fine. Remember what we spoke about━━promise. We all promised we'd do our best for her, and everyone's going to do exactly that. Nothing less. You just have to trust everyone will do their job. And, your job is to stay out here with me, so you don't put yourself, or Bella, in danger."

     Georgine knew he was right━━she'd known Alice was right, too━━but that didn't mean she wanted to accept it. Right then, Georgine would give anything to help her best friend deliver her baby, but they were stuck in a predicament that they couldn't get themselves out of. They were right━━for everything to be okay, Georgine needed to stay outside.

     So, that's what they did.

     For ten minutes or so, after Alice left to help, Georgine and Jasper stayed outside, watching the house from the far distance. She had asked her love to speak to her about anything and everything; she needed something else to listen to, rather than the pained screams and terrified cries of what was happening from inside their home.

     It didn't take long until Jasper halted, stopping himself from talking, and they both listened intensely. Crying━━a baby, crying. It was alive. They had managed to deliver Bella's baby. Relief rushed through Georgine all at once, and she leant into Jasper's body as his arm wrapped itself around her shoulders. They were both full of elevation━━the baby was alive.

     But, then━━

     Something else filled her senses, or rather, it didn't. A heartbeat had stopped, one that had been so obvious before, so prevalent ever since she had first heard it. Bella. Bella's heartbeat had stopped completely.

     Jasper must have noticed it, too, because his arm had slackened, and then suddenly tensed up again, trapping Georgine's body within his reach. He needed to keep her there. If she went back to the house, there'd be too much blood for her to handle, she wouldn't be able to control herself. Even if Bella was dead, Georgine would hate herself for the rest of eternity if she'd drank even a drop of Bella's blood.

     "No." Georgine instantly denied, refusing to let the truth be her reality. "No, no, no━━" She hated not being able to show her true emotions━━vampires couldn't cry, and whilst Georgine was crying, it just looked as though she was in pain. In a way, she supposed she was. When Bella had died, a part of her had, as well. They were close, practically sisters, and now she was gone.

     Gone, forever.

     A pain-filled, scratch-endured scream tore through the atmosphere, hurting Georgine's throat a little, but she didn't care. She was bent down, falling to her knees and clutching her head. Her hands grabbed fistfuls of her hair as she pulled at it, hoping the pain would help wake her up, show her that it was all just a dream, all just a nightmare. But, nothing worked. This was her reality.

     Scream after scream, cry after cry, Georgine couldn't stop herself, couldn't calm herself down. All she thought about, repeatedly, was Bella dying, envisioning it, and Georgine wasn't even there with her when it happened. How could she have done that━━how could she have let it all happened? Jasper stayed beside her, cradling her in his arms━━even his gifts of emotional manipulation couldn't help Georgine Brodeur, now.

     Suddenly, a lightning strike bared down just a few yards away from them, surprising Jasper, but he didn't falter away from Georgine. She was angry, and devastated, and partly traumatised. This time, she didn't bother attempting to keep her own gifts at bay.

     After a while of nothingness, of emptiness, Georgine's screams and cries of pain had subdued, but she still continued to be out-of-it. Yet, that didn't matter, as both their heads shot up and stared in the same direction━━growls and pants could be heard, once more. The wolves were coming for the baby.

     They didn't need to confer with one another, because they both had the same intentions━━protect Bella and Edward's baby. Running in sync, they used their heightened speed to get to the house as quick as they could. A wolf's fastest speed and a vampire's fastest speed weren't too far off one another, and it had never bothered Georgine before. Except from now━━Georgine really hoped they got there before the others did.

     "Georgine! Jasper!"

     Their names were called out from the house, full of pain and despair, desperation━━Edward. He was calling out for their help, he had heard the wolves, too, and knew they were coming for his child. He wanted━━needed━━his family there to help protect them.

     Within record time, the couple arrived at the front of the house as Edward and Alice were walking down the front steps. Dried blood lingered across her brother's face, and more hurt shot through Georgine. She didn't have time for that, though; she couldn't be feeling so down when they needed her to be angry.

     Standing in a line, they watched as the wolves ran over the hill, before coming to a sudden stop. Glares of hatred and evil lurked within their irises. Georgine only sent them one back.

     Jasper sounded almost defeated as he spoke. "We're outnumbered." They were, it was true, but they couldn't let that stop them. They were here to protect Bella's baby, and if that wasn't enough motivation, Georgine didn't know what was.

     "By a lot." Alice agreed, a shake in her voice.

     Georgine looked at her sister, a hand reaching out to hold her own and she squeezed gently. "That doesn't matter."

     Edward nodded. "I won't let them hurt my family."

     He was right. This was what they were fighting for━━family. And, if they lost, they'd go down doing it for those they loved the most.

     Wolves started pounding forwards from every direction━━one went straight for Edward (the alpha, presumably, considering he was at the front of the pack), but he was quick to fight back. From their left, one began leaping up to Alice and Georgine, but before it could get too close, Georgine sent a bolt of bright blue lightning down just mere inches away from the wolf. It shocked it back, not enough to kill it, but enough to distract it, and hopefully, warn it.

     They were throwing wolves around, left, right and centre, until it all got too much. They were outnumbered, and they didn't stand a chance. Alice was thrown away by one of them, her screams filling up their surroundings; Jasper went to help his sister, but another one grabbed him with its teeth, forcing him to a stop. As Georgine noticed this, she went to run towards him, but a wolf stepped in front of her, then another, and the another. They had her cornered━━she was surrounded.

     Looking over, she noticed Edward to be on the floor, too, pinned underneath the alpha, its jaw just inches away from snapping at Edward's face. Georgine was desperate to help, but she couldn't do anything. One wrong move, and she'd be a wolf's meal.

     But, then, she watched as Carlisle pushed the wolf from off his son, sending him stumbling away. Esme had ran to get Alice, whilst Emmett helped free Jasper. When they'd succeeded, both boys came to Georgine's aid, clasping the two wolves in their holds and throwing them away, kicking one and hitting another, one hitting its back on a tree.

     More and more fighting ensued, more and more pain filtered through both sides. The vampires were cornered against their home, forming a safety barrier over where they were keeping the baby, and Bella's body, protected. They weren't going to let them through, any time soon.

     They were in line, fighting stances prepared, eyes ablaze with rage and exasperation━━it was then that Georgine noticed the new additions of Leah and Seth. She was glad they'd joined their side.

     Before anything else could happen, Jacob came running from out the house, landing in front of his late pack. A furious expression was plastered on his face. "Stop! It's over!" One of the wolves went about ignoring Jacob (again, more than likely the alpha), but he stepped in front of him, refusing to let him past. "If you kill her, you kill me."

     The wolf attacked Jacob, and he was soon flung into the air, turning into his own form of a wolf. He landed on all four legs effortlessly, teeth bared and saliva dripping from his jaw.

     Edward must have read the wolf's mind, for he spoke aloud something the other's couldn't register. "Jacob imprinted." Imprinted. So, that meant their baby was Jacob's... what? soulmate? She hoped it wasn't anything too weird, but, at least, it got the wolves to stop their attack. Shock filtered all of their expressions as they took in Edward's words, and he continued explaining, watching as Jacob's wolf's height towered over the alpha. "They can't hurt her."

     Through it all, Georgine hadn't noticed they'd been saying her, instead of he, anymore. Their baby was a girl; a beautiful baby girl. Georgine couldn't wait to meet her, but she knew she'd struggle looking at her, knowing Bella was no longer with them. She felt Edward's pain, but she'd power through it.

     Edward carried on. "Whoever a wolf imprints on can't be harmed━━it's their most absolute law." There was happiness, pride, within his tones, and the wolves slowly began to retreat, knowing they couldn't do anything more, now. It made Georgine feel slightly proud, too.

     Georgine sighed in relief, thankful the fight didn't last too long for someone to get injured, and thankful for Jacob's aid. It was all going to be okay...

     ...except it wasn't...

     ...because Bella was dead...

♡

     Bella wasn't dead, but she had been close to it.

When everything had settled back to normal (or, as normal as it could be considered to say normal), everyone had helped clean Bella up. Scrubbing her skin to perfection, wiping the dried blood away, and making her look like Bella, again.

They dressed her in a tight-skinned, dark blue dress, fitting her just right; they brushed her hair; they applied make-up to her hollow, corpse-like face. After that, they let her be.

She was still skin and bones, her insides sucking her skin into her own body. Georgine couldn't look at her most days, but she continued to stay by her best friend's side, waiting... waiting.

Bella wasn't dead, but she had been close to it. That's what Carlisle had told her when everyone retrieved back into their home, relishing in their victory and aiding Rosalie as she cared for Renesmee.

They baby girl was beautiful, a spitting image of both her parents, but bile was always prevalent in the back Georgine's throat every time she looked at her niece. She couldn't help but envision Bella's lifeless body.

But, the thing was━━she wasn't lifeless.

Carlisle told them that the morphine Edward injected just seconds after Bella's death was working, that it was allowing the venom to pierce through her system like it had done to Georgine just months ago. All Georgine could do for two days was listen to Bella's barely-recognisable heartbeat, repeatedly telling herself that it wouldn't be long before she awoke, once more.

It hadn't been the same process as it had with Georgine. Bella was actually dead when Edward bit her, whereas Georgine was simply just bitten. The venom had worked its magic immediately, but for Bella, it would take longer. No matter how many reassurances, no matter how much hope they all told her cling on to, it just didn't seem enough.

She'd be fine... she had to be.

♡

( and then... )

     Georgine hadn't been able to see Bella since. She was too panicked she'd find a way to throw up all the upset and hatred she had built up within her. Instead, she spent the days hunting with Jasper, hoping it would take her mind off everything that was happening around them. And, for a while, it did. Until they got back home.

     The one thing Georgine couldn't ignore was Renesmee. Beautiful, beautiful Renesmee. She made a promise to her best friend━━her last, dying wish━━and she intended on keeping that promise. Even if Bella wasn't truly dead, whilst she was still sleeping, Georgine vowed to go through with it.

     And, then, everything stopped.

     When everyone recognised it, it seemed as though the window everything else had stopped, too━━the wind billowing outside paused in its movements, trees stopped their family of leaves from falling to their demise, animals in the far-off distance ceased to exist. Because, so had Bella's heartbeat.

     Immediately, the family of vampires raced to the room Bella was being kept in, eight pairs of expectant eyes never once daring to leave Bella's figure. Instantly, Georgine could tell the difference a few days of not seeing her had made━━her skin was a lot more paler, skin full, eyes no longer sunken in.

     This was it.

     Everyone paused, bated breath preparing for her awakening. And, when her eyes shot open, all they saw, was red.

NOTE.
the last chapter of act two!! i loved writing for breaking dawn pt i,, but u have no idea how excited i am to start the final movie!! it's all going to be happening and you're all going to fall in love with georgine more so <33