Chapter Two

Bitch Slap

I sit up and attempt to give voice to my thoughts, but I am interrupted by Alice's words.

"Bella, he's leaving. We all are. I'm so sorry Bella…" her voice trails off.

"Alice, I know." I am eerily calm and resolute. It is my biggest fear and yet I am conscious and aware. It was what I had always expected after all. I had known this day was coming, long before that stupid party, even before that awful night with James in the ballet studio. I think I knew this moment would come the first time I laid eyes on Edward Cullen. He was always too beautiful, too otherworldly, to be pinned down and trapped in my boring and very human world, and despite the fact that he told me repeatedly how much he loved me, and how I had given him life, I knew in my heart that he would not dwell in my life for long.

I look at Alice and asked the question I don't want ask.

"When?"

"In a few hours, Bella. I'm so sorry... We're already packed." Her words are bitter, yet expected.

"Jasper…" I try to say, but I am interrupted once again by Alice.

"Jasper's already left. He is so ashamed, " her voice is sad and full of sorrow.

"But Alice, I already forgave him. It wasn't his fault. If I hadn't been so damn clumsy and careless."

"No, Bella…don't you dare try to blame yourself for this. Jasper struggles with his urges every day. I should have seen this coming. If it was anyone's fault it is mine and mine alone. I just got so caught up in the idea of throwing a party that I didn't even stop to think what it might mean for you and for him. I put you both at risk. I'm so sorry Bella. Sorrier than I can say. I love you like I would a sister; you're the best friend I've ever had." Her eyes looked different…glassy, unfocused. Although there were no tears I knew this was Alice crying. I reached to comfort her, to comfort me.

"Alice, I love you too," I say…tears starting to clog my shaking voice. "What should I do?"

I try to think of my life without her in it…I see the lunch table where we all sit…and I am empty. I feel dead inside. No more mindless chatter or struggles with her interference in my wardrobe choices…of unwanted trips to the mall.

My heart breaks… And then it breaks further when I think of my life without him. I see myself sitting solo in English class listening to Mr. Berty's inevitable drone. I witness myself driving up the long and winding driveway in my rust bucket truck and pulling up to a house that is vacant and still. I picture endless nights of being alone; of a window that is shut and barred, and of curtains that will never part again. I envision myself in our meadow…and I see myself lost and alone.

All at once the dead feeling suddenly disappears and is replaced by yet another emotion. A feeling I rarely ever feel when I think of Edward.

Anger.

Suddenly I am no longer sad. I am no longer embarrassed. I am no longer tearful.

I. Am. Pissed. He is going to throw all of this away.

"How fucking dare he?"

I am incensed. I am livid. I jump up and begin to throw my jeans on, struggling with the zipper. I look frantically around the room and see my gray sweatshirt, the one with the faded Forks High School emblem printed on the front. The words are so care worn that the letter O now looks like a u and the r is completely missing. I like to joke to Jessica that I attend Fuks High School. She giggles and offers me her sharpie every time, daring me to write in the missing letter C. I never do though because I am aware that it will somehow offend Edward. And up until this very moment, I have never consciously offended him and his old fashioned principles. But I know now that this is all going to change. I make a mad dash over to my desk and shove my hand inside my drawer and pull out a marker and scribble in the missing C.

"Bella, what on earth are you doing?" Alice looks at me like I've grown two heads and I'm spitting fire, and despite the fact that she is a Vampire and I am the human she looks almost…afraid? Yes…I am thinking to myself. Good. If I can make Alice afraid of me, just think of what I can do to Edward.

"Doing?" I scream (Thankfully Charlie has the early shift and has already left for the day). "What am I DOING? I'll tell you what I am DOING…Alice." I put my hands on her granite shoulders and stare her straight in the eyes. I take a deep cleansing breath and punch out my words like I was typing them on my laptop.

"I (period) am (period) breaking (period) up (period) with (period) HIM!"

"Oh thank God. I hope you hand him his ass!" Alice giggles, relief floods her features and her face is transformed.

"Hand him his ass? Oh Alice…when I am through with him he'll be sporting two assholes." (Not even sure where I heard this expression before but I'm thinking I got it from Emmett). The thought of Edward having two assholes makes me giggle, so I am momentarily distracted. However the giggles are short lived when I begin to realize that I may never hear Emmett's off colored and brilliantly delivered jokes again. My anger returns with a vengeance.

I turn to Alice with a steel glare and ask, "Now, where is he?"

Alice puts her hands and my shoulder and sighs, "He's just over the border in Vancouver. He'll be back in time for school to end. He's planning on meeting you here at the house and then taking you for a walk in the woods." All at once, Alice loses focus on my face and begins to drift, I recognize this as her fortune telling stare.

"Tell me everything Alice, exactly as it is supposed to unfold", I beg.

And she does.

She finishes her sooth saying by telling me that he will kiss my forehead gently, just before he makes me promise him that I'll never do anything reckless. And then he will leave and I will be forever alone, lost in the dark Washington forest, left crying on the soft green ground. This was my nightmare and all of my insecurities wrapped into one ugly package.

"The WOODS!" I scream. I cannot believe that he is planning to take me into the forest and tell me this crap. "What is he planning to do…leave me there? Crying? Begging for him not to leave me?"

At once my anger evaporates and I am feeling the hysteria and sadness returning. In my mind's eye I suddenly see Edwards' beautiful face looking down at me; I hear his melodic voice uttering the words that Alice tells me he will say" Bella…you're not GOOD for me". My face crumbles. My heart clenches…the love that I feel for him …MY Edward, is so intense in this moment that I buckle at the waist and (predictably) stumble forward. But before I crash on the floor I am grabbed roughly by marble arms and feel a sharp sting on my cheek. I look up shocked and realize have just been bitch slapped hard by Alice.

"Alice, what the HELL!" My face is stinging and the anger I am squelching returns with a vengeance.

"Bella, snap out of it! Don't you DARE start to feel emo again…leave that to the expert…Edward Cullen! That moody bastard deserves to be put in his place. Now he's my brother, and I love him. But Bella, he just won't listen. He has lived his whole life in this sad void…he's never been happy…never even been alive. Not until you came into his world.

Bella, Edward loves you. He does. You are his whole world. You're everything to him. Everything. And he is about to throw it all away. And why? Because he is too stubborn to listen to you and what you want, what you need. Our whole family supports you Bella; we all want what you want. We WANT you to change…to be one of us. Edward wants it too. He's just too blinded by his love for you and his need to protect you to see it clearly. He's stupid Bella. What can I say? He may be a vampire, but he's also a guy."

Stupid Vampire.

"But Alice," I hear my voice start to quiver. "What do I do? What do I say? I'm out of my element here. I can't do this alone." I feel my eyes filling with tears once again.

"You won't have to do it alone, Bella. I saw this coming and I knew we were gonna have to call in the big dogs."

"Big dogs?"

"Well, not dogs. Actually that is a very poor choice of words considering what we are. And believe me...we only need ONE to help you out in this case. No... something more along the line of a feline. Maybe a tigress... a very seductive and unscrupulous tigress. You might say she puts the ME in the YOW."

I look up to see my window being opened. I am not at all surprised when I see a flash of gold dart inside my bedroom.

Rosalie….