"Bells, I can't believe you won that trip to Italy!"

"I know, I know. I'm so excited. Mom blew a crapload of money on it at that silent auction. She said she wanted me to have something special for my senior year. I wish you could come too."

"You know I would if I could, Isabella Marie. You've got to send me postcards from everywhere you go."

"I will, Jacob Ephraim. Promise."

"I love you, Bells."

"I love you too, Jake."

He blew her a kiss. "I'll talk to you… I don't know…."

"I'll email you."

"Okay. Bye, Bells. See you in two weeks!" Jacob hung up the phone and Bella went back to packing. Her trip to Italy was going to be amazing. She looked at the brochure again. Rome, Venice… Volterra? She'd never seen that on a map before. Hmm. No matter. It must have been some small eclectic Italian town with fat guys baking amazing, delicious things and beautiful views and—

"Bella! We're going to be late for the plane."

"I'm going, Phil. I've just got to finish this…"

"Just hurry up."

"Okay, okay."An hour later, she was ready. "Mom! Phil! I'm ready!"

"You packed like you're going to live there."

"Cute, Phil. Let's go."

They had to take several connection flights in order to get to their final destination: Seattle to Chicago, Chicago to New York, New York to London, and Finally, London to Venice, where they stayed for three days. After sending the promised postcards to Jacob, Angela, and all her other friends, Bella got ready for her trip to the odd town called Volterra.

It was more majestic than she imagined. Tall stone wall encased the ancient city and Iron gates led the way in. An enormous castle rose from the city, towering above the walls. It looked unreal against the surrounding mountains and rising sun, almost like a painting.

She stared. Somehow, amidst all the beauty, this place gave her the creeps. "Mom? Did you know this place existed?"

"No. But it's beautiful. I'm sure you'll have fun."

"I hope so." She felt the creeps go away and excitement take their place as they entered the city. "Wow! This is so amazing! Why I everything decorated in red?" She asked their tour guide.

"St. Marcus day today. There's a parade a little bit later. Want to go?"

"Yeah! What's St. Marcus day?"

"It celebrates the day in which St. Marcus drove the vampires from the city."

"Vampires?"

"It's a myth," shrugged the tour guide, "But it's a big holiday here in Volterra."

"That's cool. So what time is the parade?"

"Around noon, we'll come around. We'll go to the square."

"Cool. What will we see now?"

"For now, I will show you to your hotel. We will start the tour tomorrow."

"Oh." She sighed, little disappointed. "That's fine, I guess."

"See," crowed Phil, "I knew you'd get excited. She's right though, we need a break."

"Sure, sure." She grinned as she remembered that that was a phrase she'd picked up from Jacob. She would email him when she got the chance. "I guess you're right."

"Cool."

"Yeah thanks for everything."

"Yeah, no problem. Enjoy your rest. I will come back to get you around eleven thirty."

"Okay."

Bella waited impatiently while they checked in to the hotel and while their things were brought to their room. After they were finally settled, Bella whipped out her laptop.

Six new messages.


Subject: I miss you :{

BELLS! I miss you like something crazy. Quil and Embry say hi. They were wondering if they could use your motorbike. I told them to leave it alone, but… Quil's watching me write this over my shoulder, so I can't NOT ask. Anyhoo, I hope you're enjoying your trip. You've got to tell me everything.

I got your post card. You're so sweet, Bells. Thank you. Seth says he wants one too.

I love you, Beautiful. I'll talk to you soon.

Your best friend,
~jake.

She Immediately hit reply.

To:
Subject: RE: I miss you :{

I miss you too, Jake. Tell Quil and Embry they can use it… as long as they don't hurt it. Tell Seth hello and I promise I'll send him one when I send you one.

This trip has been so beautiful. The views are amazing, the people are so friendly… even though I don't understand what it is they're saying. I have to say, I really wish you were here with me. We're in this place called Volterra and it's beautiful, but… okay, it's really ancient, older than Rome, and it's got this huge castle and a clock tower right in the middle of the city. It's like something out of Van Helsing or something. I would feel less creeped out if you were with me.

There's a parade later, and I'm dying to go. Our tour guide said we could go, and that he'd hooked us up with a tour of Creeptown Castle too. It'll be interesting.

And quit calling me that. My name is Bella. That's it. Bella. I don't care what that means in any other language. It's my name, okay? Deal with it.

Love,
~BELLA (my given name).

She had to say she was confused about her relationship with Jacob. He was a very sincere heart. She'd know them since they were very young, and they'd always say 'I love you' to each other… even then. It felt awkward now that he'd asked her out when she went this summer and she'd turned him down. She just didn't feel that way about him. Their relationship hadn't really changed after that, but she felt very awkward. Perhaps it was all in her head.

Shaking her head free of her confusing thoughts, she dressed for bed, deciding to nap until the tour guide came for them. She was exhausted after all.