The Unwanted Imprint

Chapter 18

"The first place that he's going to go is Bella's house," Edward said as the Jeep raced along the road at a dangerous speed.

"What?! But Charlie's there!" Bella shouted. "He could get hurt because of me!"

"Actually...I might have an idea." Nichole said hesitantly. "But it depends on how good of an actress you are Bella."

The plan went smoothly, Bella pretended to act upset because Edward had broken up with her and she decided that she was going to go back to Arizona. It broke CHarlie's heart of course, but once things with James had been cleared up then Bella could go back home. Bella had quickly packed a bag, as did Nichole, with Esme's help.

Esme hugged Nichole tightly, pressing a kiss to her head. "Now, I want you to listen to your siblings, okay?" She said, and Nichole nodded her head. "I-I will." Her voice broke a bit, trying not to show the fear that she was experiencing at the moment. This was different than everything with her father, her father had been human, thus he had been easy for the Cullens to deal with. James was a vampire, and an experienced one from the sounds of things. But she couldn't show Bella that she was scared, because then Bella would be even more scared than she already was.

Nichole had just finished packing her clothes when Laurent arrived at the house. He had come to warn them about James. He was lethal, and he wouldn't stop until he had gotten his prize, or in this case, prizes, as he was after both Nichole and Bella. He said also that Victoria, the woman who had been with them, would back up James.

So now they would have two vampires after them. Nichole sighed, well that was just wonderful, wasn't it?

Laurent gave her a look of surprise. "You are surprisingly calm about all of this."

"Believe me, I'm scared out of my ever loving mind, but I've also been in danger before, and I know that showing fear doesn't get you anywhere, in fact, it will often lead to your end if you show fear."

"Try to keep that mindset once you face James, because believe me, there will come a time where you will face him. You can run and hide from him all that you wish to, but he will find you eventually, and he will feast on your fear before he feasts on your blood."

Laurent left, and Carlisle folded his arms across his chest. "He's a cheery fellow, isn't he?"

"I suppose that's one word for it." Nichole bit her lip. "Carlisle...everything is going to work out...isn't it?"

"Of course it is." Carlisle pulled her into a hug. "Everything is going to be okay. But we've been talking...we think that it would be a good idea if you and Bella were to split up, it would be easier for James to find you if the two of you were together. Alice and Jasper are going to take Bella, and I'm going to bring you to a friend of mine. Amun has a coven in Egypt."

"Egypt?!" Nichole's eyes widened. "But school, my project-"

"I'm sorry Nichole, but right now I'm more worried about your life than your schooling. Besides, you can go to school there." Carlisle sighed softly. "I wouldn't do this if there wasn't any other way. Alice had a vision...it didn't end well for you."

"How...how long am I going to be gone?"

"Until this business with James and Victoria is finished."

"But who knows how long that could take?! It could take weeks or months-" Nichole had never been away from her family for a full day, let alone any longer than that. "Carlisle-"

"Nichole." His voice was firm. "My mind is not going to be changed about this matter." His voice softened. "I care so much about you Nichole, and I don't know what I would do if you were to get hurt or killed by these two. They are very powerful vampires, and they wouldn't hesitate to turn you or kill you. Please...just listen to me."

Nichole sighed in defeat, and she nodded her head as Carlisle pressed a kiss to her temple. "Rosalie is going to take you to the airport. I love you so much, Nichole."

"I love you too."

The ride to the airport was mostly spent in silence, with Nichole staring out the window. Things would have been different if she had someone from her family staying in Egypt with her, but they would all be staying here. Nichole would be on her own, with vampires that she had never met. How did Carlisle know that they could be trusted?

"Things are going to be great." Rosalie tried to reassure her younger sister. "There's a guy there that's about your age, his name's Benjamin. You're going to have a great time, and you'll be home before you know it."

"Yeah, and how long is that going to be." Nichole couldn't help but snap. "Once this shit with James is done, what if there's other dangers and Carlisle decides to keep me there even longer?"

"Nichole, it isn't going to be like that-"

"You don't know that! You don't know how long this is going to go on for! None of us do! He just decided that he was going to dump me in this place-"

"Nichole, is that really what you think? That Carlisle is just going to dump you off, that he's just getting rid of you?"

Nichole sighed, and her voice softened just a bit. "I can't help but think that, Rosalie. I've caused nothing but trouble for you guys, I wouldn't blame him if that's what he was trying to do."

"Nichole." Rosalie pulled over to the side of the road before gripping Nichole's hand. "Carlisle loves you, okay? Our entire family loves you, he wouldn't do this if there was another, safer option. As soon as we can, we're going to get you home, but for right now, you just need to trust us, okay?"

"Okay," Nichole whispered, and Rosalie pulled her into a hug. "Everything is going to work out in the end, I promise. If you can't trust the others, then trust me." Rosalie cupped Nichole's cheek, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Now, we need to hurry, your plane is going to be leaving soon. Amun and Benjamin are going to be meeting you at the airport in Cairo."

Nichole nodded her head. She didn't know what would be coming next, but she knew that she had to trust Rosalie's words and believe that in the end, everything would turn out alright.