Chapter 1
Alice was nuts.
Vampires don't blend in well even in places like Forks, but of course, leave it to my overly peppy sister to make incognito even harder. "This is absurd," I told her lightly, reclining back on my couch with my eyes closed. "In case you haven't noticed, we tend to sparkle under the sun."
"Oh Edward, please?" Alice pleaded with me, her eyes shining brightly. "It'll be good for us! We could use the change in scenery!" This was ridiculous. There was no way she actually came up with this idea.
"We are not moving to Arizona." I told her, an edge creeping into my voice. If this was some sort of joke, I wasn't pleased. "Why on earth would you possibly want to go there?" As soon as the words were out of myself, I berated myself for my stupidity. There was only one reason Alice EVER chose to do anything.
"I saw something really good happen, honest! Oh please please please!" I sighed and tried stealthily to get a glimpse of her vision in her mind, but I was met by intimate pictures of Jasper. Needless to say, I recoiled. Quickly.
"Alice, what are you hiding?" I growled suspiciously. Her smile widened and she winked at me. "That, my dear Edward, is for me to know and you to live out." And with that, she pranced away, undoubtedly to coerce the next member of the family to agree to her preposterous plan. I was tempted to peek into her mind once more, but the thought of more images of Jasper quickly stifled that particular train of thought. As I heard Alice skipping into the living room downstairs, I sighed in frustration, and ran a hand through my hair. My throat tingled, and I irritably got up from the couch in one fluid motion. I need to hunt soon.
Grabbing my keys from the desk on which they were carelessly tossed, I descended the stairs to hear Rosalie and Emmett's reactions to Alice's news. Rosalie was less than pleased, but Emmett seemed to take it fairly in stride. They had undoubtedly grown accustomed to Alice's visions by now. Alice squealed, and I imagined her smiling happily as she found Jasper. However, she now seemed to be preoccupied by something as were Rosalie and Emmett, and, as I extended my mental reach, Carlisle and Esme as well. Puzzled, I searched through their minds to find the culprit of their distraction, only to find... Oh dear.
Leaving the house quickly, I slid into my Volvo and pulled out of the driveway as fast as I could. I had long ago learned that at the Cullen household, when you heard absolute silence and saw couples retreating to their respective corners of the house, it was simply the calm before the storm. As I continued down the long driveway, noises were beginning to come from the house, and I shook my head to clear their thoughts away. "The least they could do is give me some warning" I muttered.
I drove aimlessly around for a while, and then decided to ditch my car in favor of faster transport. The sun was beginning to peek through the clouds, so I decided to go to the one place that would always be my own safe haven - my meadow. I quietly shot through the trees, stopping at the wide clearing before me. The meadow, which had always looked so pleasant and inviting in the past, seemed to be detached and impersonal today.
I felt the pang of an unknown feeling deep in my chest as I turned away to slowly make my way back towards the house. The meadow no longer held the promise it did for me just a short while ago, and I was puzzled. Perhaps Alice was right, perhaps it was time for a change of scenery. Although for me, I didn't particularly care. Eternity was a long time, and after a while, the days blended into one another. If we left Forks, we'd still be back one day, perhaps in another century or so. Either way, it really was of no consequence to me.
Again the feeling in my chest returned, a dull throbbing ache. I brushed it aside. I had to return to the house to receive Carlisle and Esme's final decision on the situation, and hopefully, the various "activities" in the house had died down by now.
