I have decided that I really enjoy writing Alice. She's the character I see myself the most in and I love how she inserts her thoughts into conversations so freely. A lot happens in this chapter even though it's shorter than some of the others. I've found myself plotting the Alice chapters to come, just because I love writing her. Anyways, thank you to each of you who have reviewed! Please keep them coming! They encourage me and add fuel to the fire for me to get these updates written and posted!
And because I haven't done it in a couple of chapters, here is a disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or anything concerning it. I'm merely a fan who adores the characters Stephanie Meyers as created who enjoys putting them in different situations.
Alice's POV
I bolted upright from where I'd been lying on my back, staring at the living room ceiling for the last two hours.
"Carlisle!"
Esme and Rosalie turned their heads just in time to see me bolt out of the living room. I rushed into the garage and pushed the button to open the garage door. Just as I'd seen in my head, Carlisle's Mercedes was coming down the driveway. I waited impatiently for him to pull in, tapping my foot against the cold cement. The half minute it took for him to pull into the garage seemed to take an eternity.
"To what do I owe this lovely surprise, my daughter eagerly awaiting my arrival home?" he asked with a smile as he got out of his car, briefcase in hand. The sound of the garage door closing filled the garage.
"Victoria," I blurted out over the noise. I saw Carlisle's face tighten.
"What about her?" he asked cautiously. He and were the only family members who knew Edward had attempted and failed to track her, me because I had seen it when Edward had made the decision to hunt her, Carlisle because I had gone to him out of concern for Edward. We had decided to keep it to ourselves unless it became necessary for the others to know.
"She was at our house in Forks," I explained quickly, recalling my vision. "She was making sure we weren't there."
"Why?" Carlisle demanded.
"She's after Bella. She wants to avenge James' death. We killed her lover so she wants to hurt us - particularly Edward - by killing Bella."
"And where is Edward?" the questions continued.
"Australia," I said automatically. That was the last lie Edward had me tell the family so I guessed that was still our current story.
"Now is not the time for you to cover for him Alice," Carlisle warned me. He was good. It was the fatherly instincts - particularly the one that detected lies from his children - he had developed over the years I guess.
"He's in Columbia now, a basement of an old factory," I admitted, knowing lying for him was not helpful in this case. "He was in Brazil the last time he called, south Texas before that. He's going to leave the basement soon to hunt but I don't seem him leaving the country."
Carlisle was silent, thinking. I waited. Finally, he looked at me, his eyes worried.
"Do we tell him?" he asked me. He couldn't decide and was actually asking my opinion. This was new. It was usually Edward who's opinion was valued in these situations. I wasn't sure I liked it. This wasn't how things normally went when there was a crisis.
"Give me a minute." Carlisle waited patiently as I took the time to think on his question, using both my ability and how well I knew my brother to weigh each option.
"We tell him," I finally answered. "It's not ideal. He's going to track Victoria again which is going to bring him back to Forks. He's still determined to stay away from Bella but him being in Forks with a vampire that wants to kill her is going to test that. Good. He shouldn't be trying to stay away from her anyways, idiot that he is."
Carlisle raised an eyebrow in warning for me to get back on track. I continued.
"If we don't tell him, he's going to go ballistic when he does find out - and he will because of his mind reading. Esme would be the one to give it away whenever Edward calls again which, for the record, isn't anytime in the near future. She'll worry about Bella when she finds out and she won't be able to hide that in her thoughts."
The Esme part was more speculation than fact but I knew my family. It was damn near impossible to hide anything from Edward, especially something as big as a vampire out to get the person he lived for. Esme was terrible at keeping Edward out of her thoughts, especially when they weighed heavily on things like vengeful nomads.
"When it comes to Bella, Edward's not rational - hence the whole 'I'm staying away from her because I'm a danger' thing. Again, he's an idiot. If he isn't given the chance to protect her, it's going to infuriate him which can only go badly," I finally finished.
Carlisle shook his head slightly, probably out of annoyance with my rather long - and not completely on topic - answer.
"He's not well," he stated, worry etching itself across his face. "I'm worried about his reaction."
"He needs to know," I argued. I knew Edward extremely well. If things were different, Carlisle would have seen right away that telling Edward outright was the best option. But Carlisle was also a father and his vision was clouded by his concern for Edward's unstable well-being.
"If Bella is at risk then he won't rest until she's safe," Carlisle mused, deep in thought. I couldn't read minds but I knew what he was thinking. If Edward was protecting Bella, he wouldn't be curling up in tight balls in attics, basements, and well-shaded allies. I shuttered slightly. Carlisle knew things were bad with Edward. He didn't have the vivid mental image of just how bad they were though. I envied him that.
"Jacob Black is involved somehow," I said suddenly, another vision of Bella worrying over Jacob popping into my mind.
"Black?" Carlisle asked, his voice urgent. I nodded.
"He's a friend of Bella's," I explained. "She's been relying on him a lot since Edward left." I remembered then. The Blacks. La Push. The Quileutes. It all clicked into place suddenly. I wondered why I didn't piece it together sooner.
"Bella!" I groaned. "Only you would befriend werewolves!"
"Young ones at that," Carlisle confirmed my suspicions. "And more than one. I'd imagine there are five or six of them by now if I have their lineage right."
"Jacob must be protecting her," I guessed. "They've become good friends. I'd wager that Jacob sees her as more than just a friend." I grimaced at the thought. Bella belonged with Edward, not some dog.
"I'd almost guarantee it then," Carlisle nodded. He looked as though he were piecing together all the parts to this growing puzzle in his head, twisting and turning them against one another until they clicked just right.
"So who's calling Edward?" I asked. "And are we telling him about the werewolves?"
"I'll call but from your phone. He's more likely to answer if he sees your number on the screen as opposed to mine or any of the others. And yes, we'll tell him about the werewolves. I'm not as skilled as you are at keeping him out of my head. Then we'll go inside and fill everyone else in on what's happening and go from there."
I handed Carlisle my phone and perched on the hood of his Mercedes. I tuned into Edward, determined to see his reactions - and decisions - firsthand.
