Chapter One

~Two Days Ago~

"Jasper, leave me alone!" I slammed my door shut, but I knew it would do nothing to deter him. He was so much stronger than I, what with my being human.

"Please, listen to me." I childishly plugged my ears and turned away from him.

"Amber..." he was begging now.

How could I resist him? That voice, that face...he looked like an angel. Gabriel, maybe. I couldn't remember much right now; I was to busy being lost in his golden eyes.

Despite the slight fog over my brain, I could still remember that I was angry with him. Furious with him.

"Jasper, I don't wanna hear it. Save your shit for someone who cares." I attempted to shove him out of my room...with no success what so ever. He didn't even move.

Being one of Alice and Bella's best friends could be hard sometimes.

For example, the ever-hungry vampire boy—no, man--who had less control than the others. He could be a real trouble at times. Like when he almost attacked me about five minutes ago. That was troubling.

I felt a wave of calm come over me....and then I was more angry than I was before. He was trying to make me calm down. When he'd nearly attacked me? I was pissed now.

"You asshole! I don't want to be calm right now!!" I screamed at him. This time he let me shove him out of the room.

After I'd firmly kicked him out, I locked the door and sunk to the floor, tears flowing. I cried openly. Cried for myself. Cried for Alice. Because I loved him, so much that it hurt. How had I fallen in love with my best friend's soul mate? How could I? This seemed like some sick joke to me—it wasn't supposed to be this way. Ever.

But it was...and there was nothing I could do now.

I stood up and wiped my eyes. I needed to get out. I needed to get out of this house; Esme's loving expression, Edward's knowing eyes. I didn't want to see the hurt in Alice's eyes when she figured out how I felt about her one true love. And most of all, I did not want to see Jasper's face...his perfect, beautiful face. It was too much.

It wasn't entirely dark yet; the day was sunny, so I knew that if I were to go outside, they wouldn't follow me for long. They were pretty much confined to their home and the surrounding woods. If I could just take one of their cars out...

My plan was abruptly foiled when Alice flew up the stairs and appeared in front of me. Shit. I wasn't ever going to get out of here, was I? Certainly not with Alice's pleading eyes looking at me.

"It's okay, Amber. I understand. I'm not angry," she said quietly. I looked away from her. I couldn't bear this. I started moving past her, but her icy hand grabbed mine. "Amber," she sounded just like him when she said that.

I was crying again. "I'm sorry, Alice. I really am. I just need to get out right now," I said, my throat thick. If Alice could cry, she probably would right now.

But her eyes suddenly went blank, staring mindlessly at me. She was having a vision. I sighed impatiently and waited for it to pass.

Once she came back into the present, her eyes were wide with what seemed like horror. "A-Amber! You can't go!" she whispered. I had trouble hearing her.

I was getting pissed again. Was anyone going to let me leave? "I'm going, Alice. I'm sorry, okay?" I shook her off and walked quickly to the garage, grabbing the first set of keys I found.

It just happened to be Rosalie's M3. Oh well;she could be angry with me later on. It's not like I was going to go in and ask them for the keys to the Volvo or something.

I jumped in and started the engine, backing out of the garage as quick as I could. They were bound to hear the engine, so I had to get out into the open soon. Or I wasn't ever going to get out.

But luck seemed to be with me at the moment, and I got out onto the highway without incident. But I was still being paranoid; checking over my shoulder every few minutes, expecting to see Edward's Volvo or Carlisle's Mercedes behind me at any moment.

I drove into town, wandering aimlessly. I didn't want to go home right now; I didn't want to see my family. Because they weren't my family. Not in my heart, at least. My family was still in that house that I'd left behind, hopefully forever.