Chapter 2: Homecoming
It had been 4 years, 5 months, 13 days, 27 minutes and 18 seconds since the last time that his feet had touched Forks. When he had left, he had been running as fast as his vampire speed could carry him away from town; his family and most importantly, away from the only woman he would ever love. Now he was back. Time had always meant nothing to one of his kind. Years seemed like mere seconds while decades seemed like days. Yet, that all changed the moment he left her in the woods thinking that he no longer wanted her. During those four 4 years of his personal exile, time seemed to have suddenly slowed down to the extent that mere seconds now seemed like years. Those years of his life had been nothing but a cycle of torment and unending pain. The pain of not knowing about her and never contacting her had eaten away at him like a cavity to a tooth. He had mistakenly thought that he could live like that. He had thought that just knowing that she was alive in the world would be enough for him. But it hadn't been. He had been living his own personal version on hell, as if he had his own personal ring in Dante's Inferno. Never had the desire for the ability to sleep become more prevalent than the last four years. But, sleep and dreams would never absolve him of his torment. He had stayed away as long and he could and now he was back.
"Edward? Edward Cullen?" A familiar voice spoke his name. He turned to find a tall thin attractive woman in her early twenties coming toward him.
"Angela?" He asked with a soft smile forming from his lips. Bella's friend from high school Angela Weber had indeed changed over the years. The insecure sweet female who always had a kind thought or word for Bella was now standing in front of him looking fashionable as any of the women on the cover of Vogue magazine. She was wearing a very stylish gray high necked trench coat over a form fitting quarter length dress that was tailored to her exact measurements with an exquisite hand-woven collar and matching jeweled gray belt.
"That is you! I thought so." She came toward him with a warm smile. "What are you doing here in Forks?"
"I was just passing through near here and I wanted to see the old town." He looked around seeing that very little had changed. "I had enjoyed my teenage years here and thought it would be good to come for a visit. I figured I'd stop by my old house." He paused for a moment taking her dramatic change in. "You're looking well." Gone where her glasses and in its place were contacts. She even had a very stylish shoulder length bob haircut that enhanced her natural beauty along with her attractive eyes and features. He studied her for a moment seeing a small blush creep up on her cheeks.
"Ummm…thanks." She blushed again tucking a stray of hair behind her ear. My god, he looks the same. What in the world do those Cullen's eat that make them look so amazingly beautiful? They always look so incredible. Not to mention those clothes, that black shirt and pants are definitely Armani, those shoes Gucci and that car, a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. WOW! He reeks of money but….he….doesn't really look as happy as he did when he was here with Bella. Money can buy you a lot, but it certainly can't buy you happiness.
Edward gave Angela a sheepish grin; after all, she had no idea how correct her summation of thoughts about him were. Angela had always been, next to his sister, one of his favorite people as far as Bella's friends. Unlike Jessica, who only used her guise of "friendship" as a ploy to keep taps on Bella. Angela was a loving, caring person who truly cared for her. For that he'd always been indebted to her. She had always been very astute and more importantly, selfless, a trait most humans and vampires lacked.
"How are you doing these days Angela?"
"Oh…I'm doing well." She replied with a smile.
"Do you still live here in Forks?" He asked making small talk, though it wasn't really necessary.
"No…I actually live in L.A."
He raised an eyebrow. "L.A?"
"Yeah….I know. Who would have thought that I would move there? I went to design school on a scholarship. I got an internship at Michael Kors." She beamed. "They loved my work so much that they actually gave me a job as a designer, can you believe it? I have been working for them for over a year now." She pulled at the neck of her collar slightly in a nervous gesture that reminded him of her earlier years. "Who would have thought me, nerdy Angela a designer? Right…it's crazy."
"I could see that happening to you. You always seemed to have a wonderful sense of taste in high school." He stated honestly, well as much as he could remember. During those days humans held very little interest with him other than how they interacted with Bella.
"Really?" She was stunned by Edward's comment. She wasn't even sure that he had known her other than being one of Bella's friends. In those days, Edward Cullen didn't seem to be interested in having friendships with anyone in Forks. "Your sister Alice, she always wore amazing clothes. If anyone would be considered a fashion designer, it would be her and not me."
"Angela…my sister is more up to being a personal shopper for some exclusive shop." He added gently. "It's true though, she does have exceptional taste, but it takes a special kind of person to come up with designs. Especially ones where you take the simple yet beautiful styles of living things such as flowers and put them into the molds of your designs for your dresses, skirts and prints.
Angela's mouth popped open with surprise. "How did you…."
"Alice adores fashion and Fashion Week. She told me all about your designs she saw when she dragged poor Jasper along last year." He stated as he plucked the image of one of Angela's beautiful designs from her memory. She really had talent. He wasn't really lying, he was sure that Alice had probably gone to fashion week. However he didn't have firsthand knowledge of that fact. Over the last few years he hadn't had much contact with his family since choosing to go into seclusion. He leaned forward and took a breath to keep the appearance that he was human. "She adored that royal silk strapless dress, the one where you made the folds similar to the folds of the petals on the orchards. Impressive. You ought to be proud of your work and…." He paused for a moment seeing a way to help Angela whom he owed a debt to. "You really ought to consider branching out on your own." He wanted to make the woman's dream come true. "You know my sister really has a passion for fashion and would probably love investing in an up and coming company with a designer of your caliber and vision." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a card with Alice's number. "You should give her a call."
Angela blushed amazed by the turn of events. This was a dream come true for her. She wanted to branch out on her own but had been afraid of taking such a risk; not to mention she didn't have the capital for maintaining the cost it would take to start a fashion business albeit a small one. Her parents had enough on their hands with affording design school even with her scholarship. But they also had to think about her twin brothers' futures. Having an investor like Alice Cullen would be a golden opportunity. Alice, she remembered, although a little eccentric at times, had marvelous style, not to mention a great deal of money. Everyone knew that the Cullen's were loaded. "Are you serious?" She asked afraid with a hint fear that maybe she heard wrong. "Why would you be willing to do this?" She bit her lip.
"From what Alice has told me, you're very talented Angela. I don't know too much about women's fashion, but believe me when I say that she'll get her investment back tenfold." Edward had a lot of confidence in Angela. Siphoning bits of images of designs from her head, he saw that she was very much a talented young woman. This would work out beautifully.
"I can't believe this!" Angela beamed with her hands moving excitedly as she chatted. "Bella and I were just taking about this…." She paused and paled as if she had made a faux pas. "Oh…Bella. I didn't mean to …"
"It's alright." He reached out to touch her with his glove covered hand. "I've had very fond memories of Bella."
"You do?" Angela looked surprised.
"Contrary to what people probably believe, I didn't want to leave Forks nor her." Edward became still fishing the thoughts out of Angela's head. His heart constricted as she remembered Bella weeks after he left. It was as if the life had been literally drained out of her. She had looked drained, small and fragile, barely alive. Almost as if she was a walking talking zombie. Edward was rocked with the knowledge of what his disappearance had done to his beloved. It took everything in his power not to have a physical reaction to the information just supplied to him.
"But then…how come…" Why did you leave her? She shook her head. "Never mind. It's none of my business."
"You want to know why I broke up with her."
Angela nodded. Yes. "Only if you want to tell me."
"Funny…" He grimaced. "It was to protect her."
"Protect her?" Angela looked at him disbelievingly. I've heard a lot of different stories in the past for reasons guys break up with girls, but this doesn't make sense to me.
"Yes, to protect her from future heartache. My parents made the decision for us to leave. I wanted to be with her but they thought that it would only make things hard for us as we were so young and in love. They thought that since we had only been dating for a half a year, it would make sense for us to break up than to try to hold on to each other from such a long distance. And I thought….I thought that in the long run I'd bring her nothing but pain." He gave her pieces of the truth. After all he was a gifted liar.
"But they didn't see what it did to her Edward. Bella wasn't herself for a very long time. She was withdrawn, lifeless….we were all worried. And then…"
"Then what?"
Those hateful bitches tormented her. "Jessica and Lauren, they made things worse for her. They knew you hadn't called her. They even speculated that you had…."
Angela trailed off but he caught her thoughts. The girls had speculated that Bella had given him her virtue and that he had used her for her body and simply walked away from her without a backwards glance. Images of their hurtful remarks and glee at the pain they caused Bella reverberated through Angela's mind. But what caused him the most pain were the images of Bella taunted, humiliated, isolated and alone. Those images ate away at his core like acid. Edward clinched his hands in reaction. The information given to him made him downright murderous. How dare those selfish spoiled cretins make things worse for Bella during her time of despair?
"I never wanted to leave her." He whispered hotly. "I only did what I thought would be best for her…I had no idea….if I did. If I thought that she was going through what I was going through…"
Angela saw the raw pain in Edward's eyes and had not wanted to see it continue. My God. He really DID love her. "You really did love her, didn't you?" She voiced her inner thoughts and feelings.
Edwards's golden gaze caught hers for a moment. "Yes…" he cleared his throat.
Angela paused for a moment considering her words. "How come you didn't come back? How come you weren't there for her when Charlie died?"
"What?" Edward was stunned and very little ever stunned him. "Charlie died?"
Angela stepped back. "Yes, around three years ago. Oh my god, you didn't know." She looked perplexed. "I thought Alice would have told you. After all, she was at the funeral."
Flashes of images of his Bella crying reaching out to the casket that held her father hit him like a ton of bricks. It felt like fire was burning up his chest. She HAD needed him; yet he hadn't been there. The guilt, the pain…it hit him like waves crashing upon the shore. "I didn't know….Had I'd known…." He stopped. "I haven't been in contact with my family because I was abroad…" He looked away. "Angela…I need to go. I'm sorry." With that, Edward hurried away from her toward his car and drove off immediately.
Angela stood there for a moment collecting her thoughts. "Oh my…" If he hadn't known about Charlie, then there were other things, other aspects about Bella's life that he knew nothing about. She turned, not sure what to do. Should she call Bella and tell her that Edward was back? Or allow her friend who had been through so much heartache and pain some peace. The truth was it really didn't matter if Edward was back on not, did it? Bella was with Jacob Black now. The dark handsome Native American had eyes for only Bella and loved her with a passion and fervor that Angela had never witnessed between two people before. What would telling Bella do to her or to her relationship with Jacob? Although neither Bella nor Jacob mentioned Edward, Angela knew first hand that Jacob hated Edward for the pain that he had inflicted on Bella all of those years ago. Bella was happy now. She had worked hard to get over the loss of Edward and the loss her father. She had found a very loving and passionate relationship with Jacob built on trust, friendship and understanding. Surely Edward Cullen was the past, wasn't he? But…Angela had seen the flash of raw pain and fury in his eyes. Bella may be over Edward, but he certainly wasn't over her. Still, he had run away yet again instead of staying to prove to Angela that he was nothing like Jacob Black.
Hours Later
Edward was now looking at the home that had once been Bella's. For how long, he wasn't sure. However, the daylight had turned to dusk, so it must have been hours. Although he knew from the voices and noises that came from the house that Bella no longer lived there; there he stood looking up toward the window that he spent his nights climbing through. If only he could relive those nights. The nights were often his favorite as he would drop her off and then sneak back in to simply talk, hold and sing her to sleep. As it had been so difficult to deal with the thirst of being near her; however he found that was nothing compared to the torment of being without her. Just watching her sleep and knowing she was safe had given him such peace, a peace that he had never experienced before or after. Bella's house was now occupied by a small family. He was going to have to use what little "people" skills he had in order to gain access to information about her. He flinched at the images of Bella that now hauntingly ghosted through his mind of the pain that she endured because of him. She had been all alone because of him. He took in a breath, the first in hours and walked toward the front door. He rang the doorbell and was greeted less than a minute later by a young woman holding a small baby in her arms.
"Yes." She answered.
"Hello Madame…My name is Edward Cullen. I used to live in this town a number of years ago. I'm looking for a classmate who used to live here. Do you happen to have any information on the past owner, Bella Swan?"
She nodded. "Yes. I know Bella. She sold this house to my husband's parents a few years ago." She looked up at him in awe for a moment. "You are friend of hers?"
He smiled his dazzling smile for her; the ones that made women's heart rate speed up. "An old one." He replied. "I just wanted to know if she moved to Florida to be with her mother." He was determined to find out where Bella went.
"No. Bella still lives here in Forks."
A man came down the stairs towards them. "Honey, who is at the door? Oh." He looked surprised. "Edward Cullen. It's been years." The young man was one of their classmates. Edward didn't really remember the man so he plucked it out of his wife's head.
"Yes, Justin, isn't it? It has been years. I was just stopping by and wanted to drop by to see if Bella Swan was still in town. I heard her father passed away."
"Bella doesn't live here anymore. She moved when Chief Swan died." Justin became silent for a moment. "His death was a real shock to her and us all. It had to be hard for her to come home and find him here dead. A heart attack at his age….he may not have been the most fit guy but it was still unexpected and painful for her. I guess living here was too much for her. She moved out after Charlie's funeral.
"Oh." He paused allowing the information to sink in. "Do you happen know where she might be living now?"
Justin nodded. "Sure. She moved to the Quileute reservation to live with the Blacks for a while. Billy Black was a good friend of her dad. I think that he took her in as a promise to Charlie or something. Right now, she's got her own house out there. It's a beautiful place; a cottage right there nestled in the middle of the woods about 10 miles from those cliffs. Just ask anyone there, they'll tell you where the house is."
Edward nodded. "Thank you." He paused for a moment looking at Justin's wife and son. "It was nice meeting you." Edward disappeared toward his car and over heard Justin's wife. "He went to high school with you. WOW! He looks like one of those male models with that perfect skin and cheekbones."
"Yeah." Justin laughed. "All the girls had things for him. They thought he was an Adonis."
"A playboy? With those looks and manners, I know that girls ate it up."
"That's the weird thing though. He never really showed an interest in anyone until Bella Swan moved here. He had a thing for her. Apparently it was a big deal. Lots of hearts got broken when those two starting dating."
"Really?"
"Yeah…a lot of guys were crushing on Bella and the girls…they loved Cullen. But then they broke up the next year."
"So, what happened? Why did they break up?"
"His foster dad, Dr. Cullen got another job offer and they moved away suddenly. Bella from what I remember was crushed for a very long time after he left. She took it really hard. It was like the end of the world for her. Teenagers…we could be so dramatic back in those days."
The Cullen Home
Edward sat in his car for a moment looking at the home that he and his family shared when they had lived in Forks. The house, although abandoned for years, looked exactly the same as if it had never been left. He had expected the woods around it to be overgrown and overrun with weeds and grass; however it seemed that someone had kept up the maintenance of the landscape.
Stepping out of the car, he made his way to the house and opened the door using a key he never thought he'd use again. Edward expected the house to be shut down, white covers covering the unused furniture, dust collected on the surfaces, cobwebs hiding in the nooks and crannies of the rooms, the stale smell of a closed house with the lack of air. But to his surprise, he found himself standing in the front foyer looking at it as if the house was lived in. The sweet smell of fresh pine in the air assaulted him. The furniture was uncovered and everything was clean. The glass shined as if someone had just shined it, the furniture gleamed as if Esme herself had checked for her stamp of perfection. As he walked toward the first floor living room, he expected to see the broken shards of glass from when Bella had, had her accident on her 18th birthday. But he didn't find it. What he found was that the glass table had been replaced with another that currently held fresh cut Tiger lilies.
"Esme would like this new table; don't you agree it has her own personal style?" A cheerful musical voice asked. Edward looked up and there standing at the bay window, looking beautiful as ever in a white and black dress with ballooned sleeves and opened toed black Jimmy Choo shoe boots, was Alice. She looked a bit matured with her layered long hair that fell just below her shoulders. It was a simple trick that she used to make herself look older. She smiled at him. His heart ached. "I never thought you'd get here. I've been here for days Edward waiting on you to come home." She admonished stamping her foot.
Using his vampire speed, Edward soon found himself hugging her. God, he hadn't realized how much he had missed his sister and best friend until now. "Alice."
"Oh Edward." If she could cry she would have tears in her eyes. "I've missed you."
He looked down at her smiling face, touching her cheek gently. "As have I dear sister." And he had. Although he had missed Carlisle and Esme's parental love, it had always been Alice who had been his partner, confidant and friend. The two freaks of all freaks had always looked out and protected each other. Over the years he had missed her so.
Alice pulled him toward the sofa. "Please tell me what have you been doing all of these years? You know you should have called or written." She said with a frown on her beautiful face.
Edward saw glimpses of Alice and pain over the last years. "I'm so sorry. I was a fool." He paused for a moment looking around. "How his Jasper? Is he here with you?" Before she could speak Edward saw his answer. Alice had a vision a few weeks before about him coming to Forks. Jasper had decided to remain with the family in Boston to allow Alice to see him. He hated the thought of them being separated because of him. "Please let Jasper know that I do not blame him for what happened all those years ago. My exile had nothing to do with him….it had do with me. I know that he didn't mean to hurt Bella."
"I'll let him know he's forgiven. But wouldn't it be better if YOU did." She murmured taking his hand. "But he was relieved as we all were to find out that you would be coming home. I thought that it would be best if I was here to greet you and say, it's time to come home."
Edward nodded. "I agree. It's time for me to stop running and face the truth."
Alice kicked off her boots and slid her feet under her body. "Which is?" She prompted.
"I realized that I made a horrible mistake running away. Running away from my family and from Bella was a horrific choice. I realize that although I put distance from her physically, that it means nothing to the ache in my soul. That each moment and second of each day, I want nothing but to be near her." He paused. "I've also realized that I am a selfish bastard but….I want her any way that I can." Pain etched in his face like a stone. "I can only pray that she can forgive me for the horrible way I treated her when I abandoned her the way I did. I Left her as if she were nothing but mere scraps for the vultures to pick at; especially in the light of the demise of her father." He paused again. "I will get down on my knees and beg her to allow me to be in her life any way shape or form. That I will stay by her side until the last breath leaves her body, in which I will find mine."
"Oh…Edward." Alice wasn't sure if she wanted to cry out of happiness or frustration. It had taken her brother years to figure out what they always knew. Running away from Bella to protect her wasn't the answer. She hoped and prayed that her brother would find happiness, but wasn't sure. "It's been a long time. Things could have changed."
"I know that there is a risk." He knew how badly he had hurt Bella, the risk he had taken. But he had hope. "Have you had contact with her?"
"No." Alice stated in a whisper. Edward saw her frustration and pain in that fact. He had messed up royally.
"I am sorry."
"You should be." She answered honestly. "You not only took Bella away from you, but from us as well. I so missed her." Alice lessened the blow by touching him gently. "We all did."
He turned to look at her. "Why didn't anyone tell me about Charlie?"
"You called to little too late. By the time you did, it was 6 months past his death. We thought it be better to tell you in person. We had no idea that you would stay away so long."
"You went to the funeral?"
"Yes. I wanted to pay my respects. To see Bella…but….she never knew I was there. Only a few saw me and then I disappeared." Alice turned away looking outside to the trees. "What I saw of her was only pain and sadness. I wanted to reach out to her, to let her know that she still had a family. But…that didn't happen."
"What did?"
Alice didn't have to say a word since he began to read the images in her mind. Bella standing in the pouring rain wearing a black dress that looked too big for her frail frame. Her cheeks gaunt, a haunted look of true pain clouded her eyes. Dark circles against the alabaster skin proved that she had little sleep as her hands clenched into a fist drawing a drop of blood that fell to the muddy ground at Charlie's funeral. Jacob Black, who looked to have gone through a significant growth spurt at 6'6, was standing next to her with his long trademark locks gone. His face was etched with pain and concern, and seemed to be the only thing physically holding her up. There were more flashes of a stoic Bella looking confused and listless during the service with dead eyes. Then finally being led away by Billy and Jacob to the waiting truck. She tripped over her own black flats, almost toppling into the mud when Jacob caught her and swept her up into his arms as if she were a mere child. Her eyes closed with pain and sorrow. As she clung to him her head cradled against his chest, her fingers tangled up in his black suit jacket as he tried to protect her from in the onslaught of rain.
"It should have been me." Edward whispered bitterly. "I should have been there to catch her when she fell. I should have been the one to show her comfort, to protect her, to look out for her. Not him." Edward's anger with himself reared. "I should have been there for her when she lost Charlie."
"It was difficult for her." Alice admitted. "We were all worried, especially after I saw how frail she looked. I think that it was too much. I talked to Angela, she stated that when you left…."
"It almost killed her. I know. I ran into Angela today." He sighed. "By the way, give her a call; I mentioned that you might be willing to invest in her business. You mentioned she was talented and she has been a true friend to Bella. It's the least I can do. I will wire you the money for her business, spare no expense." Alice nodded knowing that Edward would indeed be generous to Angela. However that was not what was on her mind. "How….How bad was it?" She knew that he was talking about when he had left.
Alice sat down. "It was bad. According to Angela, Charlie was considering having Bella institutionalized for awhile. She was catatonic for weeks and then when that was over the nightmares began. It took almost a year for her to start living again. In fact, people say that if it hadn't been for Jacob Black, she may have never have made it through those dark times."
"Jacob?" Edward saw his face again at the funeral. Gone was the look of the young teen boy infatuated with Bella. In its place was a dark rugged man. There was a look of concern on his face, but there was more. In fact, he knew that Jacob's feelings for Bella were more than friendship.
"They said that he was good friend to her." Alice supplied.
"Friend?"
"Yes, Edward that was all. That's probably one the reasons she moved in with the Blacks. They were like family to her in such a trying time." Especially since her vampire family had abandoned her. Alice thought. Edward agreed.
"We did abandon her, didn't we?" He asked bitterly.
"Not entirely."
He turned toward Alice. "What do you mean?"
"Bella is family. We look after our own. After all, we love her too." Alice stated jumping up. "You took her from us."
He should have realized how hard it was on his family. He should have thought about taking care of her. What kind of mate would allow everyone including wolves to look after her? "I'm not upset Alice." He sighed. "Just tell me, please."
"We used Jasper's connections to create some financial independence for Bella. Of course Charlie had a life insurance policy in which he left everything including the house to Bella. But we wanted her to have enough to go to college and live without working. So we created another policy in which she received 250,000 dollars, more than enough money for college but not too much for her to suspect anything. Later when she graduated from college, Charlie's Uncle Levi died and left Bella stock in some companies in which his business associate a Mr. Bassister was in charge of running. She became the owner of stock in some of the fortune 500 companies and IPOs. She's independently wealthy."
"She didn't suspect anything?" He knew that money meant very little to Bella, but all the same was glad that she would be protected financially.
"Apparently she did do some calling around but when all the paperwork was filed there was nothing for her to suspect since her great uncle really did die. Mr. Bassister stays in contact with her. Being typical Bella, she doesn't seem to touch the money other than to share some of it in creating the Charlie Swan college fund for some of the kids on the reservation. Other than that and using a small amount to build her a home, she doesn't touch it."
"A home? Oh yes, the cottage on Quileute land."
"Esme designed Bella's cottage." Alice explained. "I got a vision of Bella meeting some architect trying to explain what she wanted in a home. Believe me I was excited because I hardly had visions of Bella anymore. Seeing this as a way that we could help her and knowing Esme's love for architecture, she went to work immediately taking the little I had from the vision and what we knew about Bella to create something magnificent. The plans were submitted under a pseudonym." Alice beamed. "Bella fell in love with it and the house was built."
"It seems that you thought of everything." Edward was touched. "Thank you so much for looking after her. I should have thought better for her. I also thought that Charlie would be around to protect her. You and the others looked out for her when it should have been me."
Alice saw the pain in her brother's eyes. Leaving Bella had been the hardest thing for him, she felt for him. "You couldn't have known Edward. Life IS unpredictable. Now is the time for you to go to her. Tell her of your feelings. Tell her the truth about why you left and this time stay by her side. Create a life for her and with her if she'll let you. Live with her in Esme's cottage….well at least rebuild because I don't think those wolves would want you living on their land." Alice stated off handedly.
"How? How can she forgive me I hurt her so much."
"She loved you so much Edward. As you know that kind of love doesn't die." Alice thought about her love for Jasper. "It never does." She touched his face. "This is your chance to make it right. It's time that you both stop suffering. Bella needs a family and we need YOU BOTH."
(Later that evening)
"You mean you see nothing of her?" Edward asked Alice as they sat together at the unused dining room table after they hunted in the woods. Edward had been stunned to find that his sister no longer saw Bella.
"No. Not really. Sometimes a flash, but this past year I've seen nothing at all. When we left, I kept a tab on her from the distance checking in from time to time." Alice bit her lip almost looking human in her gesture. "But Jasper needed me and I promised you I'd let go so….I didn't keep good range. By the time I saw Charlie. It was too late." She murmured with sadness. "I had already begun to have those black clouds of Bella when I did try."
"I don't understand. You've always been able to see … if only pieces."
"It puzzled me for a while as well. I couldn't figure out why I stopped seeing. Carlisle and I discussed it at great length. We were quite worried you know. But my questions were answered at Charlie's funeral when I smelled something."
Edwards turned away from the window toward her. "What did you smell?"
He isn't going to like this.
"Alice, what did you smell?"
"Werewolves."
"Werewolves…
"Yes. It seemed that the Quileute tribe is once again changing into werewolves. There were a lot of people from the community and the reservation at the funeral. A lot of Quileute women and men were showing their concern for her. There definitely was more than one there. Ugh! Those wolves stink even from a distance. Seeing the physical change in Jacob Black, I'm sure that he is one of them. He looked to have grown to well over six feet and gained at least 40 pounds of muscle over night." Alice wrinkled her noise in disgust as Edward got images of Jacob Black's new transformation in his head. "If there is one creature that I can't see it's those dogs. Bella had been spending time on the reservation and the wolves are there. Carlisle and I surmised this is probably the reason I can't see her." A wrinkle found its way between her brows. "I will tell you it's frustrating. The only reason I even saw that Bella wanted a house was because she had gone to someone in Port Angeles for the designs and was far enough from them for me to see her. "
"She moved in with the Blacks." Edward closed his eyes and grasped his hands in his hair as if pulling at the error of his ways. "Wolves…My God…. Bella!" Alice knew just like he did that werewolves were erratic, violent and unpredictable. "My Bella in the mist of them. Living with one for years. I thought WE were dangerous, but those wolves are nothing but violent animals causing mayhem wherever they go. Surely a delicate creature like Bella would be in harm's way with their kind." Edward's hand clenched with fury. "I've got to get to …"
Alice moved fast to block Edward before he could fly out of the house. "Edward, calm down." She demanded. Alice was tiny but she could be a fierce fighter if she needed to be. "I know it's upsetting. But maybe it was a good thing."
He looked at Alice as if she had grown two heads. "How can you say that?"
"Because around the time of Charlie's death there were disappearances in Port Angeles. Later we found out through the coven in Denali that Laurent had teamed up with Victoria. She apparently was mated to James and wanted revenge. Apparently he had gone after Bella with her."
Edward turned with wide frightened eyes. "What?" He whispered menacingly.
"I know. It was a chilling fact. We didn't know. None of us did. Irina apparently became mated to him therefore she felt his pain as often as our mated pairs do when their mate is killed. It seemed that he tried to attack Bella, but it went very wrong. She was protected and Laurent was killed by those same wolves. Those mutts, as nasty as they are saved her life." Alice paused. "Irina was enraged. She wanted to take revenge on the wolves so Tanya asked us if we still had a treaty with them. Carlisle stated that Bella was still under our protection; therefore the treaty was still in play. No one of their coven could touch the wolves. Moreover he stated that we owed the wolves a debt for killing Laurent and Victoria before they could hurt Bella. Tanya accepted Carlisle decision; however Irina is still very angry. Relationships have been a bit strained since." Edward's breathing stopped as he thought about Bella at the hands of Laurent or Victoria. Alice could clearly see the anger rolling off of Edward.
"Edward, you must calm down. They saved her."
Edward closed his eyes. "What have I done?"
"Bella is safe Edward."
"Yes. But not because of me! God! I left her to protect her from us and it seemed that I have done nothing but harm her and put her in harm's way. If it hadn't been for the wolves…."
"It's partly my fault as well. I should have kept an eye out for Victoria. If I had known that she was mated to James, I never would have taken my eyes off of her."
Edward shook his head. "Alice, this isn't your fault. You can't keep your eyes out for everyone or it'll drive you crazy. I'm the one who killed James; she went after Bella to get back at me." He sighed. "No wonder I couldn't find her. I looked for her." He explained. "I looked all over the place trying to work on my tracking skills." He uttered with contempt. "I didn't want any loose ends and I had a feeling about her that I couldn't shake. I can see my instincts were correct. I thought many times that I had her, but she always would disappear almost uncannily. But all of a sudden around three years ago there was nothing, not a trace of her. Now I know why." Alice didn't state that she already knew these things. She simply listened to her brother knowing that he needed someone to listen to his thoughts and feelings. "I've made a mess of things."
"Yes, you have." Alice answered. "But the good thing is that you've come to your senses now. You and Bella…I don't know what's going to happen."
"You….didn't see it?" He asked almost afraid. If there was a time that he wished that Alice's gift was working it certainly was now.
"Werewolves, remember." She stated rolling her eyes. "She lives on the reservation. So, I can't see anything….but now that you are here, you can take charge of your life, change what you've done in the past. We all love Bella and want her to come home to us." Alice thought about Jasper and how hard this would be on him. "But even if she can't come home to us, she CAN come home to you." Alice said brightly.
