Chapter one: Persuasion
"Come on! It'll be fun! Just us girls." Alice grinned at me. How can I refuse her?
"Ok, fine!" I sighed in resignation.
"It's all set then. We'll leave first thing in the morning." Alice danced away from me before I had time to object.
"She's lucky she can out run me." I mumbled to myself, knowing Alice could probably hear me. I felt cold arms wrap around my waist and pull me close.
"You know you don't have to go. I CAN outrun her. We could make a break for it." Edward whispered softly in my ear. His smell was still intoxicating even after all this time. My entire body shivered against my will. Edward pulled back slightly and I turned in his arms.
"Not that I wouldn't love to escape with you, but Alice deserves some time with me too I suppose. Once I'm a vampire time will no longer be an issue. But until then..." I trailed off as I saw the pained expression I knew would cross his beautiful face.
"We'll talk about that later Bella. You go have fun with Alice." Edward dropped his arms and his whole body seemed to tense up.
"It's not up for negotiation Edward. I will become one of you eventually!" I glared at him as much as one could while staring at such a perfect beautiful man. I thought I was getting better at it though. Edward sighed and I felt guilty knowing how much this hurt him. Through all his reassuring I couldn't help but think he wouldn't love me the same if I became a vampire. I shook that thought from my head and reached up to give Edward a kiss. He kissed me back with a fervor I hadn't expected.
"Does that mean you're not mad at me?" I choked out as I gasped for air.
"Of course not Bella. I could never be mad at you. Only at myself." He pulled me close and whispered in my ear again.
"I will always love you. Even...if...you become a vampire." Edward always seemed to know how I was feeling. I was really starting to wonder if he could read my mind now. Before I could respond Alice came dancing back into the room.
"Now now you're not trying to take her away from me are you?" Alice stopped and closed her eyes for a second.
"Nope. We're still good to go." She grinned again. I scowled.
"I guess I better go pack. Charlie will be thrilled though so it wont take much convincing on his part." I kissed Edward goodbye although I knew I would see him again in a few hours.
"8:00 am" Alice answered before I could even ask the question. Psychics.
Charlie eyed me suspiciously as we ate in silence. He had figured out by now when I wanted to talk to him about something.
"So...What did you do today Bells?"
I swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes. I shouldn't be this nervous. Charlie loved Alice. Still, I couldn't keep the butterflies from creeping into my stomach.
"I hung out over at the Cullen's." I paused waiting for the remark that was sure to come.
"Oh...Did you have fun?" Charlie asked, clearly uncomfortable. I had to give him some credit. He really was trying to give Edward another chance.
"Yeah. Edward wasn't around much so I mostly just talked with Alice." Charlie's face brightened considerably at this news.
"How is Alice? She hasn't been over in a while." Charlie seemed almost happy now.
"Alice is fine. She tried to give me another makeover though." I frowned as I remembered the events leading up to the dreaded road trip idea.
"Actually, Dad, Alice wants to take a road trip. She was thinking of driving down to Florida and wanted to know if I would go with her." I studied Charlie trying to gauge his reaction.
"I think that's a fine idea. Maybe you guys can stop in Jacksonville. I know Renee would love to see you." Charlie seemed downright giddy now. I was starting to get a little irritated. He was entirely too happy with the idea of me spending time away from Edward. I stood up and started cleaning the kitchen. Charlie brought over his dishes and offered to help.
"Thanks Dad. I gotta pack and get to bed soon. Alice will be here at 8 tomorrow morning." I groaned.
"Well let me clean up here. You go on and pack." Charlie took the plate from my hand and started washing it. I stepped back and sighed. I guess there's no way to prolong this. The only thing getting me up the stairs was the thought of Edward waiting for me on my bed. However I was shocked to find he wasn't the only one waiting for me.
"Alice! What are YOU doing here?" I hissed not wanting to draw Charlies attention.
"She doesn't trust us not to try and make a run for it. We'd have a good head start by the time she saw what we were planning. And since I am faster..." Edward looked at me apologetically.
"Besides I can help you pack!" Alice jumped up and started rummaging through my closest.
"Oh Bella we have got to get you some new clothes!" She held up an old pair of tattered jeans as an example.
"Great." I wondered idly if Edward grabbed me and made a run for it if he'd be fast enough to get away from Alice. She stopped looking at my sad wardrobe for a second before turning to glare at me.
"Don't even think about it."
I took a step back and Edward raised his eyebrows in question. I smiled sheepishly.
"OK Alice lets just get this over with." I pulled out my suitcase and flipped it open.
"That won't be necessary Bella. Our first stop will be Olympia. I'm going to pick out a whole new wardrobe for you!"
"Really Alice that wont be necessary." I glared at Edward as if this was somehow his fault.
"Oh it is necessary. Look at these clothes!" Alice shrieked but still sounded like an angel. It really wasn't fair. I knew there was no way I was going to win this one so I didn't put up much of a fight.
"Fine but I get the final say in whatever you pick out." I sat on the bed and pouted. Edward pulled me to him and wrapped me in his arms.
"I still don't understand why you wanna go to Florida. Its not like you can lay on the beach and get a tan." I tried to glare at her again but being in Edwards arms made that nearly impossible.
"I've never been." Such a simple answer.
"We could go somewhere else. I just thought you might want to see Renee." She was right. I was dying to see my mom again. The last time I saw her I was nearly comatose...I stopped there not wanting to relive what I went through when Edward left me.
"Of course we will be stopping along the way as well. Do you have any special requests?"
In spite of myself I was starting to get excited. It might be fun to stop in different states and cities. Then another thought occurred to me.
"Uh Alice, are you going to do all the driving?" My stomach did flips.
"Of course." She smiled sweetly.
"That's what I thought." I started to feel nauseous. With the way Alice drove we could get down to Florida and back in less than a week. Part of that made me feel better, knowing I wouldn't be away from Edward as long as I thought. I yawned and decided it was time to get some sleep.
"Alright its time for you two to leave. I'll never get any sleep with both of you here. I'll see you at 8am Alice." She jumped out the window first while Edward was more reluctant to get up.
"I have the cell phone you gave me. I think I'll be fine. And we'll keep in touch along the way. I'm going to miss you though." I wrapped my arms around him tighter. Edward lifted me up gently and began kissing me like he was never going to see me again. This scared me for a moment but as his lips moved against mine thinking became impossible. He finally pulled away leaving me breathless and disappeared into the dark night.