I got in to the cherry red Ford F350 Charlie bought me when my truck finally kicked the bucket last year. I sped all the way to the Cullen house, getting butterflies in my stomach at the thought of seeing Alice again. Her yellow Porsche was sitting in the open garage, Emmett's Jeep was parked next to it, which I found slightly strange, I let the thought of Emmett slip from my mind to a much more peaceful one. Alice, my Alice, really had come back to Forks to see me. I parked my truck in the driveway, not wanting to park it in the garage next to her car, I couldn't ruin the moment. The driveway, along with Esme's garden, still just as beautiful as it was the last time I saw them. I walked toward the garden and started to tremble. How many days had I sat on the porch and watched Esme work at human speed, slowly pulling the weeds and admiring the beauty of the flowers that she nurtured? All of a sudden I felt like the wind was knocked out of me by a wall, Alice.
She wrapped her arms around my waist and let her dry sobs slowly creep out, as I cried in to her neck and let my tears fall on to the smooth, pale skin. I didn't know that it was possible to miss someone so much. She held me there for what felt like an hour while I cried in to her shoulder, not saying a single word. When we finally released each other, I looked in to her sparkling, topaz eyes. "Bella, I'm so sorry we didn't do this sooner. Edward wouldn't let me out of his sight. Every time I made up my mind to come and visit, he saw it in my mind and practically attacked me. If it weren't for the fact that Jasper is always so close, I swear he would have killed me." The dry sobs were starting to come from her again as her face turned from one of excitement, to one of remorse.
"Alice, you never have to be sorry for not coming to visit me. Even though you are far away I can always feel how much you love me." I looked in to her eyes and smiled. How did I ever live so long without my best friend?
The moment Alice realized I forgave her she scooped me up from where I stood and ran us to her car. "You owe me a shopping trip!" She looked up at the house, a little concerned, "We are going to Canada though! My Porsche stands out too much anywhere else." I frowned at the thought of driving to Canada and my excitement quickly turned to panic when I realized that she was planning on spending the weekend there. "Alice, I um, I really can't be gone that long. Jacob is expecting me home and…" I stopped myself, no way were thoughts of Jacob going to ruin this.
"So,tell me all about life on the reservation, and Jacob." She pleaded with me, and I smiled wide and nodded my head frantically. "I don't want ANYTHING to ruin this trip for you, Bella!" Her eyes moved back to the road and she smiled like a little kid on Christmas. We talked until we got through the border, when I realized she was pulling in to a huge mall. Oh my goodness, Bella, what have you gotten yourself in to. I thought to myself. "Are we going to be gone all weekend? If we are, I need to call Jacob." I looked down and twisted around the ring he gave me three months ago. She grinned devilishly and I knew that was a yes. Just as I was pulling out my phone, I got a text message from Jacob.
J-Bells, Sam found Victoria's scent and tracked it down to Mexico. Can you believe it? I have to go and I won't be back this weekend. Stay with Angela?
I smiled at Alice. "Jake's gone all weekend too. Seems they tracked Victoria down to Mexico and they are looking for her there! You've got me all weekend. If I am shopping all day today, you'd better promise that I get to go in the nearest bookstore." She looked lost in thought for a moment, and then smiled at me, "You got it, Bella!" She grabbed my hand and led me in to the mall. I sent a message back to Jake and told him that I would be more than happy to stay with Angela. She had moved to Seattle now, so no one would suspect that I was not there. I sent a message to Angela next and explained the situation; she completely understood and said she would play along just as long as I promised to buy her a new pair of shoes.
Eight hours, what seemed like thousands of stores, 48 shopping bags and ten male helpers later, Alice and I finished our trip. She smiled at guys who had been following us around since Alice enlisted their help and thanked each of them, hugging them and kissing each of their cheeks before sending them on their way with three hundred dollars each.
"Angela is going to LOVE her new shoes!" Alice looked at me as she tried to fit all of the bags in to her Porsche.
"Well, you didn't have to buy her six pairs, Alice. She would have been fine with just one!" We both fell in to a fit of laughter as we maneuvered our way in to the car with all of the bags.
"No shopping tomorrow, Bella, I promise. I do have another plan for us, though!" I trembled at the thought of what Alice had planned for me; she just gave me a sheepish grin. We talked a while about Edward, and I told her about the dreams I had been having. "They feel so real, whenever Jacob is gone. I dream that he is in the room with me, and I feel like he is really there. I just don't know what to think of it." I looked at her, and she must have sensed how trouble I felt by it all. She started to say something when her eyes went black and distant. She was having a vision. "Uh-oh, Bella, we have a BIG problem."
