What If? - Chapter Three

Forks, Washington

Alice's POV

I opened my eyes to see my whole family gathered around me, all looking at me with a concerned look on their faces.

"What?" I said, looking at each of them in turn, stopping to look directly into Jasper's eyes..

Jasper reached for my hand and gently squeezed. "Uhm Alice, you were completely zoned out for like 20 minutes or so," he whispered. "We were starting to get a little worried. You've never gone completely blank on us before."

I turned to look at my 'brother' Edward questioningly.

"Yeah, Alice. I didn't see anything at all. I was getting a little worried myself. Your mind just went blank. Nothing there. Zilch"

My eyes opened wide as I looked around at my family. They were waiting for me to tell them what had happened but I wasn't sure what I was going to tell them about what I saw. The visions I see aren't set in stone. They change depending on what the person decides.

"Uhm .. Well.. It was actually pretty weird. This vision kept blipping in and out .. Like a TV station trying to focus in on a signal but having problems zeroing in."

Carlisle was starting to look concerned. Probably wondering if there was something wrong with me. I looked over at him and smiled reassuringly.

"Its ok Carlise. It isn't me. Its something to do with the girl I saw in the vision. I'm not sure what is different about her but there is definitely something."

"Alice, this has never happened before. I am really quite concerned that you were literally gone for that long a period of time." Carlise exchanged a look with Edward. "You're sure there was nothing you could hear in her mind?"

Edward shook his head. "Absolutely nothing."

Wow, I thought, everyone was really worried. It hadn't felt that long when I was seeing the vision. I just saw a young girl with brown hair and brown eyes laying on her bed with an I-pod on. Then the vision changed to the girl and an older woman sitting in a living room talking very seriously. I saw the brief look of horror on the girl's face and the quick way the older lady comforted her. The girl got up and headed out of the room and that is when my vision stopped. It was really strange how I couldn't really get a clear picture of what the vision meant. It was true that the visions weren't set in stone but they were usually like watching a segment from a TV show but this was like a scratched DVD where it skipped and stopped sporadically.

Edward's Point of View

Ok, now that totally f*cking freaked me out. No matter how many times I wished that I could block out my family members thoughts on a deeper level, I was totally shocked when Alice's mind just went blank. It was like she had been wiped off the face of the earth.

Why would this vision of a girl completely take out Alice's mind from the constant menagerie that run through my head? Alice says this girl is different. How? What could make this human any different than the millions of others in the world? And why was Alice getting visions of someone she hadn't even met before. Now THAT was just f*cking weird!

"Alice, have you ever seen the people in your vision before?"

Alice looked at me with a surprised look in her eyes, "uh, actually come to think of it, I didn't recognize either one of them. I also remember seeing bright sun coming in through the windows of one of the rooms I saw them in."

I looked at her for a few minutes, "well, I guess they aren't in this area unless we're going to get some sun in the middle of December."

Since there wasn't going to be a quick way to solve the mystery of the brown eyed girl in Alice's weird vision, the family went their separate ways for the evening. I decided to hide out in my room and listen to my tunes. I had almost every CD ever made of every band that I even took the slightest likening to. Then I discovered I-tunes and had been spending tons of money downloading everything I could get my hands on. I still hadn't downloaded the latest Marcus Foster EP, so I'd would do that tonight along with some Bobby Long and a few others.

I got my laptop fired up and opened the I-tunes program. it's a good thing the family was filthy rich with all the money I was spending. I lay on my futon while the laptop downloaded the songs I selected and I found my mind wandering to the vision I saw through Alice's mind earlier. The girl was kinda pretty but didn't seem to have any self confidence. I shrugged. Oh well, its not like I am ever going to meet her.

Carlisle's POV

"The incident with Alice tonight is quite concerning, Esme. What do you make of it?"

I turned to see my wife looking out the window of my study with a frown on her face. She turned and slowly walked over to me.

Her hand automatically went to play with her hair, like she always does when deep in thought.

"I don't know, Carlisle. I was really scared when Edward couldn't even here a single thought from her for that length of time. Who is this girl in her vision? Why is Alice seeing her when she has never even met her? What role is this girl going to play in our lives?"

"I don't know, dear. I am as worried about the implications as you are."

As long as we had been together as a family, we have never had this situation come up before. Alice had always only seen visions of humans or vampires that she was acquainted with, never with a complete stranger. I couldn't decide if she was predicted some kind of danger to our family or if this was a random vision brought to her for who knows what reason.

"I guess we are going to have to wait and see what happens. Unless Alice gets another vision about this girl, there is no need to panic about something that may or may not happen."

Esme sighed. I stood up from my desk chair and reached for her. I embraced her with all the love I have felt for her for the many years that we had been together. I still couldn't believe this wonderful loving woman was mine.

She hugged me back, sighed again and left the room.