.° 🌿₊˚ෆ ❝ ADORE YOU ❞
๋࣭ ⭑𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 ₊˚﹟🔦' 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 ˚‧｡⋆🥀⋆｡‧˚
⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝙗𝙖𝙞𝙩 ‧₊˚🩸⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

‧₊˚🎧✩ ₊˚🥀⊹ ♡ CORI WAS PERCHED upon the window seat in her room, her legs pulled up to her chest, a book in her hands and a blanket draped over her. She looked up when she saw a car stop at the end of the driveway, her breath hitched a little when she saw a silver jeep.

She shifted a little to get a better look, a small part of her hoped it was Emmett because despite everything... she missed him. She deflated a little when Edward slid out of the car and started towards the house. "Just the psycho." She mumbled, settling back into her seat, her eyes on her book.

She wasn't sure why she had wanted it to be Emmett. She had broken up with him. She had told him she never wanted to see him again, though when she had said that she had completely forgotten that they shared three classes. But when she saw that jeep, she wanted it to be him. She wanted to see him, even if she didn't know why.

The young Swan spent most of the day reading, until her laptop dinged. Her eyebrows pinched as she pushed herself up, her book discarded on the window seat as she made her way towards her desk.

A smile pulled at her lips when she saw a picture of her and Lola on the screen and she quickly answered the Skype call. "Lola!"

"Caroline Swan." She scolded, her eyes narrowed but a smile played on her lips. "It's been ages."

"It's been two months." Cori chucked, pulling her legs up to her chest.

"Almost three."

"So not ages." She hummed, resting her chin on her knee. Lola's eyebrows pinched as she tilted her head to the side, her hazel eyes squinted slightly. "What are you looking at, weirdo?"

"You seem different." She mumbled. "What happened?" Cori sighed, she couldn't even hide it on Skype.

"There was this guy-"

"Was?"

Cori nodded, her hands locked together around her shins. "We broke up."

"I'm sorry, babe." The blonde gave her a small, sad smile. "Wait, when did you even get a boyfriend? And why didn't you tell me? Is it Paul? You talk about him a lot and he's so hot."

Cori giggled a little. "No, it's not Paul. He's with Rachel."

"Right, right." She mumbled. "Now, explain!"

So, Cori spent the rest of the night confiding in her best friend. Telling her all about Emmett and his family and how they made her feel welcome. She told her everything, leaving out the fact that shapeshifters and vampires were in fact real. She cried and Lola repeatedly told her she wished she could hug her.

After hanging up with her friend, Cori laid in bed, her eyes on the ceiling as she tried to force herself into sleep. She had no such luck and it only got harder to sleep when Bella got home. She was yelling, slamming doors, packing her bag in a not so quiet manner then she made her way into Cori's room.

Cori sat up, her eyebrows pinched as Bella dropped her bag at her feet. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah." Bella nodded. "I-I need to get out. I need to..." she trailed off, not having the words.

"Why?" Cori pushed herself to her feet and crossed the room.

The older girl reached up, tucking her hair behind her ear as she shook her head. "I just can't stay here anymore."

"Bella?"

Bella opened her mouth before closing it and pulled Cori into a quick hug. "I'll call you." She mumbled into her hair, squeezing her tightly and Cori wrapped her arms around her. "I gotta go." She pulled back and grabbed her bag before leaving in a hurry, leaving a confused Cori to watch her leave.

Cori eventually made her way back to her bed, pulling her cover over her torso as she started up at the ceiling. She was confused more than anything, but she knew one thing; she didn't want to leave Forks even if it meant that she let her sister go off on her own. But the longer she laid there, the more her mind raced, the more she wondered what had set her off and just as she sat up a hand was placed over her mouth and nose.

"You'll do." He hummed and she could feel his breath against her cheek before the lack of oxygen made her eyelids heavy and she passed out.

↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷ ˊ-

‧₊˚🎧✩ ₊˚🥀⊹ ♡ "SHE'S AWAKE."

Cori sat up, shoving herself back with her hands and feet to get away from the unfamiliar man in front of her. He wore a sickly sweet smile as he took a step towards her, his feet bare, same as his chest – all he wore was a pair of jeans and a leather jacket. His blonde hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and his eyes... his eyes were red.

"Vampire." She breathed out.

"And bingo was his name-o." He hummed, leaning closer to her, too close for her comfort. "You smell sweet." He mumbled, his nose close to her collarbone and she flinched. "I bet you're delicious." He pushed her dark hair back and she squirmed, pushing herself back into the wall as she turned her head, her eyes squeezed closed as tears welled up."I could just-" He snapped his teeth in her direction and she jumped, moving away from him again as she cried. But all he did was chuckle, it was low, evil. Like he was enjoying watching her squirm.

"Wha-what do you want?" She asked, forcing her voice to come out steady despite the fear that coursed through her veins. "Where am I?"

"Home." He answered her second question and her eyebrows pinched. "Phoenix." He whispered, leaning closer to her again and she looked around. The room was dark, small and she couldn't see much other than him and a few posters on the wall. "You know what would be fun?" He asked as he stood up straight. "We should make a movie." He held up a small camcorder. "Wanna be the star?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"It's fun." He shrugged, turning the camera on as he pointed it at her. "Now, I wanna see your fear." He held the camera closer to her face and she shifted away from him. "I wanna feel what you're feeling. Action!"

"Stop." She cried, shaking her head, pushing herself harder against the wall as she pulled her legs up – she was still in her pajama shorts and tank top. "Please." More tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Now, we're getting somewhere." He mused before he stood up again. "But it's not quite right." He tapped his chin as if he was thinking it over. "You have a sister, right?" He grinned, seeing the panic wash over her face.

Her eyes went wide as she shook her head. "N-No, I-I-I-"

He chuckled before shushing her, his finger against her lips. "It's cute." He smoothed his hand over her hair and she flinched, turning her head to the side, he didn't stop. "Trying to protect her. But this movie just... it needs more. We should give her a call."

"No!" She shouted but he held her phone up, waving it teasingly in the air and she reached for it only to have him move it out of reach.

"I'm on the phone." He tsked, shaking his head a little as he held the phone to his ear and wiggled his finger a little as if he was talking to a small child.

"Cori? What are you-"

"You're sister's a real peach." He cut her off, his voice low as a smirk tugged at his lips.

"No! Please!"

He chuckled. "We're having a grand 'ol time. Aren't we, Cori?" He held the phone to her ear as she sobbed.

"Bella-"

"Cori! I'm sorry."

"Bella, I'm scared." She sniffled, wiping her nose. "What's happening?"

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Sweet, little Cori." He mused, the phone pressed to his ear again as he smoothed his hand over Cori's hair and she moved as far away from him as she could. Not that she could go far, the room was small and she hit another wall before she even got a foot away from him.

"Don't touch her!" Bella shouted. "Don't-"

"Please, stop." Cori begged, hugging her knees to her chest as she gripped her hands. She was trying to find comfort in any form, but she couldn't. The room was too small and the vampire that stood before her was clearly unhinged. She didn't see herself making it out alive, and she just wasn't ready to die. She wasn't even seventeen yet. There were still things she wanted to do.

She wanted to go skydiving, she and Lola had talked about it a few times and even though the idea scared her she wanted to try it. She wanted to go to Alaska to see the northern lights. She wanted to throw a massive party, even if she wasn't sure if anyone would show up. She wanted to go to prom with a boy she liked, she had pictured Emmett with her. But that was before.

Most of all, she wanted to live.

"Please." She knew begging would do no good, but she had to try. "Please."

"You can still save her." He leaned against the wall, his eyes on Cori as she cried and curled in on herself. "But you're gonna have to get away from your friends. Can you handle that?"

"Where should I meet you?"

Cori watched as he smiled, her blue eyes overflowing with tears. "How about your old ballet studio? And I'll know if you bring anyone along. Poor Cori would pay the price for that mistake. And we wouldn't want that."

After getting an answer that he liked, he hung up and slipped the phone into his pocket before squatting down in front of Cori, the camera inches from her face.

"How does it feel?"

"Wha-what?" She hiccuped, trying to get her breathing under control.

"To know that you're just bait?" He tilted his head to the side. "A means to an end?" He stroked her hair again and she turned her head, moving away but he didn't seem to care. "Need I go on?"

"G-Go to Hell."

He chuckled, a smile on his lips. "You really are adorable. Maybe I won't kill you. I could turn you." He mused, holding her chin with his thumb and forefinger. "Keep you around forever. Like a little pet. Always wanted a pet."

She shook his off. "I-I'm not a p-pet." She sniffled, keeping herself in the corner, her teary eyes narrowed and her vision blurred just a little.

He hummed. "Not yet. But soon."

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