Chapter 1
Charlie was looking at the clock, waiting for Bella to get home. Ellie had come over to visit with Emmett so Charlie could get to know him better.
Charlie was sitting on the couch, newspaper in front of him on the coffee table while Ellie and Emmett were on the other couch, "Dad, she will be home on time" Ellie told him leaning back.
"She better." was all Charlie said.
Emmett smirked, "So Charlie, I hear you like to go fishing" he said to try and change the topic.
"Yeah, I do. Catch a couple of trout and…."
"Have dinner for the next week or so" Ellie interrupted.
Charlie smirked and pointed at her, "Smartass" He checks his watch this time – just as the front door opens. Bella enters, throws down her book bag. Charlie is looking at this watch.
"Four o'clock on the dot. Does he have a stopwatch or something?" Charlie retorted as Bella went over to Ellie to hug her and Emmett.
"He has a name. And now he's too punctual for you?" she said as she starts to head towards the stairs.
"Wait a sec, will you? Sit down." Charlie said as she pauses, then moves to a sit down next to Charlie on the couch.
Charlie faces her, "Okay... You understand why you're being punished, right?"
"I know, I put you through hell."
"That's an understatement" Ellie muttered and Bella glared at her.
"Yes, you did. But I have other reasons, for grounding you. Like... I just want you to get some separation from... him." Charlie continued.
"Dad, there is nothing you can say. Edward is in my life. You don't say anything about Ellie." Bella said trying to change the subject. Ellie put her hands up in defence.
"Yeah, I'm gathering that. And Ellie lives with them but she still makes the time to visit. So, alright. How about this? I'll make you a deal. You're not grounded anymore, if... You use your new found freedom... ... to see some of your other friends too, Like... Like Jacob." Charlie suggested.
Bella darkens; a painful subject. Charlie notes this, "He's going through a really tough time right now. His Dad's really worried about him." Bella stops. This hurts her to hear but he continued anyway, "I remember when that was you. You needed a friend, Jake was there."
"He is right Bella. I remember Sam going through something similar" Ellie said as Emmett gave her a look. "Down boy!" Ellie spoke to Emmett through his mind, "I think it would be good for you and Jacob"
Bella sighed and got up off the chair and headed upstairs without saying a word.
Charlie threw his hands out to his sides, "I don't know what else to do El" he said.
"Dad, give her time. It's young love. Remember how you were with Mom." Ellie pointed out.
Charlie sighed, "I suppose. I am so glad you are so smart and you can help with this. You were an easy teenager" Charlie said as Emmett had to stop himself from laughing.
"Thanks Dad. I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. But I am glad I can help. I'm only a phone call away." she said as she elbowed Emmett, "Anyway, we have to go Dad" she said as they stood up and Emmett followed.
"Alright. Glad to see you" Charlie said as he hugged her.
Once he broke the hug, he shook Emmett's hand, "You take care of my daughter" he told Emmett.
"Not that she needs it, but I will sir." Emmett replied.
"Good man… And please, call me Charlie." he said making Emmett and Ellie smile.
"Ok, Bye Dad" Ellie said as her and Emmett stepped through the front door and closed it.
A little while later, Bella exits the house, heads to her truck and climbs in. She turns the key and nothing happened which makes her try again. It'd dead.
She feels a slight gust of wind – suddenly, Edward is sitting next to her and Ellie at the front of the truck.
She jumps, catching her breath.
"You guys scared me."
"You're going now to the reservation." he said.
"How'd you -? Alice had a vision." she said as his guilty face is her answer but Edward tries to make light of it.
"Hey, did you do this to my truck?" Bella asked but he looked at Ellie who held up a part of her truck. Something she obviously needed.
"He asked me to do it" Ellie said.
"Bella, you have to understand. Your safety is everything to me." Edward explains.
"Jacob is not gonna hurt me." she tries to tell him.
"Not intentionally, but the wolves have no control…" he says.
"Edward. I have... Until graduation, to see him. And I'll be one of you, and he'll hate me forever." she said.
"I'm sorry." he tells her. She looks at him. Then gets angry, forces open her door and climbs out of the truck, slamming the door. Edward appearing next to her. "I want you to be happy... but alive is more important."
Frustrated, she pushes past him and heads to the house. Edward looks at Ellie, "Can you put that part back" he asked her knowing she could hear it and she nodded working quick to put it back.
He appears on the stairs before she reaches them. "I'll understand if you're too angry for me to come to your room tonight. Just close the window."
In Bella's room, Bella closes the window and locks it. He pauses for a few moments and then she unlocks the window, opens it a bit. Looks at it. Opens it as wide as it will go.
Next day at school, Bella and Edward sit with Angela, Eric, Mike and Jessica. Edward and Bella are on the end, slightly apart. Angela is busy addressing a pile of note card envelopes. Mike writes what he's saying on a legal pad.
"My fellow students. Cool. Right? Wow. Okey, right? - Cute. We are the future. Anything is possible... ... If you just believe." Mike recites.
"Nice." Angela comments.
"Blah, blah, blah... Perfect. And got yourself a speech." Mike continued while he rips the page off, hands it to Jessica.
"No, this will be my speech. When I want everyone to throw diplomas at my head. So... Thank you." Jessica says as she crumples the paper and tossing it at him.
"Ya gotta embrace the cliches, Jess." Mike tells her.
"They have the bread and butter of all valedictorians." Eric adds in.
"And that is why you are not valedictorian. And Jess doesn't need cliches. Speech is gonna be epic." Angela says.
"Epic? It'll change lives." Jessica tells them.
Alice and Jasper have abruptly appeared, carrying trays of food they won't eat.
"I decided to throw a party." Alice added out of nowhere as they sat down.
"After all, how many times we gonna graduate high school?" Jasper says as a joke and Edward stifles a smile.
"A party? At your place?" Angela asked.
"I've never seen your house." Jessica added.
"No one's ever seen their house." Eric mentioned.
"Another party, Alice?" Edward asked.
"It'll be fun." Alice said.
"Yeah. That's what you said last time." Bella added in.
Suddenly Alice freezes, her eyes glazing over. She's having a vision. Mike hasn't noticed yet but keeps asking questions.
Alice still looks into the distance. Awkward. Bella looks at Edward, concerned. Edward shrugs it off-nothing to worry about.
"Wake up, Alice." Edward tells her.
"She hasn't been getting much sleep lately, senior jitters" Jasper tells them. This sounds weird and weirdly fluent coming from Jasper, but it serves to break the moment.
Bella and Edward enter the police station. Charlie is behind the counter talking with a middle aged couple, whose faces are etched with grief and worry.
"So – what was that at school? What did Alice see?" She asked him.
"Nothing. Something about Jasper. It was innocuous." Edward tells her to try get her off the topic.
"I know you know what she saw. Tell me" Bella told him.
"It was nothing." He tried to deflect.
"You looked worried." Bella pointed out.
"Just that everyone would notice how strange Alice is."
"I think that ship sailed long ago." Bella said.
Charlie looks up at Bella and Edward and subtly gestures for them to keep their distance. It could be interpreted as hostile.
"I wonder what's wrong." Edward pondered.
"There's someone missing in Seattle, over a year ago. Charlie is doing what he can, but... Do you know something about this?" Bella asked.
"We've been tracking the situation in Seattle for a while. Unexplained disappearances, killings... If the situation gets anymore conspicuous, the Volturi will step in."
"If they go to Seattle, they can come here. They can see I'm still human." Bella said concerned.
"We won't get that far. But we'll go to Seattle if we have to." Edward told her.
Charlie approaches Bella and Edward, "Hey." he said.
"Hey." she replied.
"You're ready for dinner?" he asked Bella.
"Yeah."
"It is still just... you and I, alright?" Charlie asked.
Edward smiled, "No, I'm just dropping her off. See you later." he said.
"Bye." Bella said as Edward starts to leave and stops.
"Oh... Bella. My parents wanted to remind you about the... Airline ticket you got for your birthday." Bella eyes him with suspicion but he appears clueless.
"What airline ticket?" Charlie questioned.
"A round trip ticket to see Mom in Florida."
"Wow, that was generous." Charlie said surprised.
"And it expires soon, they say you might wanna use it this weekend." Edward suggested.
"Well, I can't just drop everything and go." Bella said.
"It might be your last chance to see her before you graduate." Edward reminded her. This lands with Bella.
"Well. It might not be a bad idea. get out of the town for a couple of days, get some distance." Charlie said.
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing Mom... As long as you use the companion ticket." Bella said.
"Wait, just two tickets? Super, That makes me really happy. Why not take your sister?" Charlie asked.
"She has a few assignments to complete" Bella told her Dad.
The woods are all mist and shadows - The Cullen's and Ellie all standing around, spread out, still as statues, waiting for Alice, ready to spring.
"You sure this is where you saw her?" Jasper asked.
"She's almost here." Alice informed her.
"On your left." Alice calls out.
Emmett explodes to his left, Ellie right behind him. Jasper, Michael and Carlisle go wide, looking to cut Victoria off, Esme and Alice following up the rear.
Victoria was racing through the trees, tense but not afraid. Escaping is what she's good at. She reaches-a ravine – she doesn't break stride, just leaps across it—
Carlisle pulls up short, yells to Emmett and Ellie, "Wait. She's in their territory."
"She'll get away." Rosalie called out from behind.
"No she won't." Jasper pointed out.
On the other side of the ravine, three giant wolves leap onto the scene and take up the chase after Victoria.
A parallel chase ensues, the wolves and the Cullens keeping to their sides of the ravine, which we realize is the line that demarcates the territories, Victoria leaps back over.)
"All ours now." Emmett says as the Cullen's close in.
Emmett grabs hold of her shoulders and hair. They roll head over keester – Victoria uses the momentum to her advantage and flings Emmett off and over her into a tree. She takes the split second he's down to leap back over to wolf-land and keeps running.
"Emmett don't!" Ellie called out. But Emmett seeing red flies over the ravine-the second his feet hit the other side -Paul-wolf turns to face him.
There's a moment of standoff. It would be simple enough for Emmett to defuse the situation by jumping back-but that's not his style. Paul growls with bravado. That just makes Emmett smile.
Victoria, at a safe distance now. She slowly looks back, surprised to see what is happening. She studies the conflict with curiosity. Paul and Emmett charge each other. BAM! They roll in dozens yards in the dirt.
The black Sam-wolf appears next to Paul, growling.
"SAM!" Ellie calls out.
Sam looks at her, then back at Paul and Emmett and growls after a few moments at Paul who slowly backs up a bit after some hesitation.
"EMMETT! Get back over here" Ellie tells him.
He is hesitant to do so, but he slowly backs up and jumps up onto the ledge by Ellie.
"Thank you" she tells Sam telepathically as they wolves back away and run off.
Ellie turns around and hits Emmett, "Don't scare the crap out of me like that again. They could have killed you." she tells him. The others just standing there, not saying anything as Ellie runs into the forest back to the house as they had lost Victoria.
Emmett is stunned for a moment before the rest also head back, but also check
End chapter 1
How are you guys enjoying this series?
Please let me know.