A/N: I am letting the readers decide… Who would you like to see Bella end up with? It can be cannon or non-cannon. Do you want her to end up with Edward, one of the other Cullen men, or someone else from the book/movie? Or do you want her to end up with someone completely new? The choice is yours. You can either tell me in review or pm me. Thank you all!

Chapter 4 – Silence

The first change in cars happened in Seattle. Alice was sad to let her yellow Porsche go, but she didn't have much of a choice in the matter right now. She could always get another one later. Switching the bags to the new car quickly while Bella got in the passenger's side, they were soon on their way once again.

"So does this mean you are just going to leave Jasper behind?" Bella whispered. She knew that Alice would be able to hear her.

"No, as I said he will meet up with us eventually," Alice said feeling sad for her friend.

"But just like that, Edward and I are no more?" Bella was feeling a little bitter about everything.

"I don't know," came the soft reply.

"What do you mean you don't know? You are the one that can see the damn future!"

"Your right, I can, but for some reason, I can't tell you if you and Edward will be together in the end. I think there are some decisions that need to be made still before that vision can come to me. I just don't know. I'm sorry," Alice said softly. She knew that her friend would be angry and upset. She had every right to be since she had just been hijacked from her own wedding and now she was being told that she may or may not end up with the man she loved.

Bella took in what Alice said and couldn't fathom why she couldn't get any straight answers out of her normally vocal friend. Alice had visions all of the time, so why could she not see if she ended up with Edward or not. It just wasn't fair! Her friend had Jasper and he was going to be coming to join them, but Bella wasn't going to have that, at least not yet. Suddenly Bella felt very alone. Burying her face in her hands she wept. She mourned for the loss of the future she put so much stock in, her ruined wedding day, and at least for now the loss of Edward and her family and friends.

Alice knew when she made the decisions that she did, she may lose her best friend and she was prepared for that because she knew it was the right thing to do. By now Carlisle would have found her letter and he would understand what happened. Others would have said that there had to have been a better way, but any way she tried it, someone got hurt or killed. This was the only way to make sure everyone stayed safe, at least for a time. If should could have cried with her friend, she would have.

Hours passed on the road before they finally stopped for the night. Although Alice could have driven all night without any problems, Bella was growing restless. She needed space and time to think. So they stopped and got a suite at a hotel in Sacramento. Bella questioned why they would stop at such a large place with more people to see them and Alice explained that large towns and cities offered more traffic and that meant that it was harder to recognize people and point them out.

The suite offered a living area and a separate bedroom. It was nice and had all of the amenities they would need and some that they didn't. Bella immediately went to the bathroom and started running the bath water. She wondered if she would have time to get to the phone and call Edward. She just wanted him to know that she was safe and to tell him that she loved him. She walked out of the bathroom and noticed that the phone in the bedroom was missing. She cursed Alice for her foresight and went back to soak.

Alice knew that Bella would try to use the phone. She didn't need to have visions of the future to know that one, although she did get that vision. Taking all of the phones and unplugging them, she took all means of communication from her friend. Now was not the time to communicate with anyone. It was still dangerous. She heard Bella walk into the room and the sigh of frustration that escaped her friend's lips before walking back into the bathroom and slamming the door. She quietly apologized again for taking the measures that she had.

Alice let Bella have her space and time. Except for walking into the bedroom to take the phone, she would not go in there again. She ordered room service once she heard Bella step out of the tub and then when it arrived, she put it on the floor outside of the bedroom door and knocked, "Bella, I ordered you some food if you want it. It will be here on the floor if you get hungry." Stepping back she walked back to the couch and sat down.

Bella heard Alice and knew that she needed to eat something since she had declined food all day. She opened the door and saw the tray on the floor and Alice nowhere near it. She stooped and grabbed the tray bringing it into the room and shutting the door once again. She needed time to gather her thoughts and to wrap her head around what happened to her today. She knew what Alice told her, but she knew that there were things that her supposed friend had left out. Bella just didn't have the energy to talk about it or ask any more questions right now. She would rather sink into oblivion than to face what was coming.

In the end Bella finished eating and then lay down on the bed. She tried to watch TV, but it seemed nothing was on except things that had couples or weddings or something else that depressed her and reminded her of Edward. After she turned off the TV and threw the remote across the room, she hugged a pillow to her and cried herself to sleep.

Bella found herself in a forest, but it wasn't the one near her house. She heard laughter surround her, mocking her. She tried to yell for help, for someone, anyone, to come to her. No one did. She was alone. Hearing her name behind her, she turned quickly and saw Edward standing there in his tux and she took off towards him, but she tripped on a root and fell. When she looked up again, he was gone. She rolled over onto her back and looked at her surroundings. She still heard the mocking laughter, but couldn't find where it was coming from. Then the sun was blocked out and there as a dark face above her, "You are mine now!" Hands reached for her and she screamed.

Bella felt arms shaking her and a voice telling her to wake up, but she fought the arms that were grabbing her. She opened her eyes suddenly and saw Alice next to her. Her hands were cold on Bella's shoulders. Bella's eyes widened and she moved away from her friend. Taking deep breaths, she looked around the room to get her bearings. She was still in the hotel room with Alice and it was only a nightmare. She put her face in her hands, the nightmare wasn't over though. Edward was still in Forks, she was still with Alice, her wedding was cancelled due to absent bride, and she may never see her family and friends again. It wasn't a nightmare, it was an alternate universe.

"Are you alright?" Alice asked handing her friend a glass of water.

"Yah, it was just a dream. Just a dream," Bella murmured sounding like she was trying to convince herself of that fact.

"Do you need anything?"

"Not from you," Bella snapped. "Sorry Alice, I know you did what you had to for my safety. I know you wouldn't have done what you did without reason." She was trying to be understanding and although she was able to get the words out, she was not sure she wholeheartedly believed them.

Alice looked crestfallen, but she understood that Bella was hurting right now, "Its ok. Why don't you get dressed and I will order you some breakfast. Then we can get back on the road." She stood up and walked towards the door with one last look at her friend before she walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

Bella was confused. Didn't she just go to sleep? She looked at the time and realized that it was 8:15 in the morning. She had slept through the night and that dream had woken her up. Shivering at the memory, she stood up and headed for the bathroom needing a hot shower to get rid of the chills.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, Bella walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. She sat down on the couch where a tray of food waited for her on the coffee table. "Thank you," she said softly to her friend and started to eat.

Soon enough they were back on the road and the silence between them was thick with accusations, unanswered questions, hurt, and longing. It was not an easy silence and neither wanted to be the first one to break it. Alice felt guilty for hurting her best friend. Bella was hurt and angry about how everything happened. So the silence continued for now.