A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Life's a little hectic these days. I also apologize for the short length of it, but I didn't want to leave you hanging for much longer and it's the most I could get out. On another note, here's a little something different in this chapter; an Alice POV! ;)
Chapter 4: A Roll of the Dice
Alice's POV
Bella and I were left alone in the house as my brother and my husband left for the hunt. Anxiety had gripped itself onto my bones and hung on with sharp claws as a feeling I rarely experienced claimed me entirely: Uncertainty.
Since we left the clearing, swirling images had begun taking over my mind. Several different events that could possibly take place overlapped each other but never fully played out. Instead, one occurrence would freeze midway only to be replaced with a flash of something completely opposite, and then back again. And it looped. It was extremely dizzying.
Edward was struggling with himself. His confusion attributed to the mele battling in my mind which was highly frustrating. I was used to the fact that my visions were subjective and that they could always change, but the rate at which Edward was bouncing back and forth in his decisions was bedazzling. But worse than that, if Edward chose to give in to temptation, the possible future was terrifying...
It was violent... It was bloody... It was awful... and I couldn't allow it to happen.
He teetered his decisions continuously, back and forth. As confusing as it was for me, it probably couldn't compare to the anguish Edward was putting himself through. Nothing was ever certain, but I couldn't get a good handle on him, and this worried me. He had rendered himself unpredictable and it was impossible for me to decipher which of my visions were more accurate. As much as I hated to, the only thing I could think to do was to expect the worst.
It probably didn't help Edward to make him think that I predicted he would be a danger to Bella, but maybe it would cause him to be extra cautious around her. I couldn't blame him that the brief taste of human blood ignited in him what we truly are, but I held on to the hope, knowing that Edward was always strong enough to overcome his demons. Yet, as ever-changing as my visions were, the blood was so vivid that I could nearly smell it myself, and my anxiety dug its claws further into my being.
My most recent vision played out while standing at the bottom of the stairs before Edward had left. Despite what I was, it had made me sick: Blood was everywhere. It had flooded the tiled floor, making tiny rivers as it followed along the grout. It painted the walls and the ceiling. It stained the piano keys with its crimson syrup... It was Bella's. Edward hadn't merely killed her; he had massacred her body.
The vision had been so fleeting that I didn't even have time to react to it. However, there was another flash, and everything changed. The blood disappeared and Bella remained alive, standing before Edward wearing an encouraging smile as he simply backed away from her, looking at Jasper with gratitude.
I was all too relieved when the latter of the two situations actually played out no more than a second later, and as I kissed my husband goodbye before he left, I whispered a thank you into his ear. Because he had sensed Edward's temptation about to get the better of him — as well as my trepidation due to my vision — Jasper had projected a sense of calmness upon him, eliminating the possible bloodshed. My hero. My soldier.
It was apparent that we both needed to keep a close eye over Edward, and together we could try to help him before things got out of hand. I almost felt guilty, plotting against Edward this way, but if the horror of what I saw passed through his mind once, it was surely apt to happen again.
I hesitated whether or not I should divulge what I had seen to Bella, then realized it probably wouldn't have made a difference. She already knew what Edward — what all of us — was capable of. Her faith in Edward's control was unwavering, solid. I understood that kind of love... but would it be enough to keep her safe?
My aching uncertainty burned. I was at a loss.
The piano sounded softly as her delicate fingers stroked randomly across the unstained keys. She looked up at me with a somber gaze and I smiled at her tentatively, hiding the fear I felt for her as the worst of my visions echoed in my memory, and prayed that they would never come to pass.
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Bella's POV
As I watched the front door shut behind Edward, the breath I was secretly holding came out in a rush. My smile faded as anxious tears began to well up behind my eyelids. I didn't want to say that I was afraid of Edward — I don't think I ever could be — but I couldn't stop thinking about the way he looked at me in the clearing before Alice came between us. If it was possible, his black eyes looked as they were getting even blacker; shinier. It was mystifying. But it was like someone else was peering at me through them. It wasn't my Edward looking at me, and that was the only thing that scared me.
Resuming my seat at the piano bench, I absently glided my fingers lightly along the ivory, not pressing strongly enough to create any sound. Suddenly feeling that I was being watched, my gaze lifted to meet Alice's and a peculiar smile presented itself on her face. It looked forced; painful even, if smiling could inflict pain.
I frowned. "What is it?" I asked, feeling a chill run down my spine. Her expression remained frozen as her eyes unlocked from mine and focused through the large window instead, watching our significant others disappear into the distance. She looked just as confused as I felt, which, for Alice, was very unsettling to witness.
"Edward is..." she paused uncomfortably, looking as if she were searching her mind for the appropriate words to continue. "...I'm not sure," she finally answered, obviously uncomfortable with her inability to reply with anything concrete.
Not sure. Those words coming from Alice was disconcerting. Keeping silent, my hands slid off the clavier and into my lap as I watched her standing statuesque by the banister, pained by her apparent confusion.
"He wouldn't hurt me, Alice," I offered, taking my best guess at what was on her mind. I was also hoping to reel some kind of a confirmation from her, and I held my breath in anticipation.
"No. He doesn't want to... But that doesn't mean he won't," she said bluntly.
My expression pained at her words and she finally looked back at me just in time to catch it, but her golden eyes were unapologetic. The usual optimism in her character was missing, leaving me without reassurance and comfort. Even if the future was bleak, at least I would know what to expect, but she gave me nothing other than a blank stare that encompassed nothing but questions.
"Just... be careful," Alice added, and turned to walk up the staircase, gliding her hand gingerly over the banister as she climbed. I stared after her until she disappeared, then I was completely alone in the large empty living room where it was silent except for my heartbeat that began to thunder in my ears.
Be careful. Of Edward? Alice's words didn't make any sense. I couldn't believe that Edward would ever hurt me. He would never allow himself to and I would never show him that I believed anything other than exactly that. But apparently Edward thought otherwise about himself... I had sensed his hesitation to touch me before he left with Jasper. He looked afraid and like he was in pain, barely kissing me goodbye.
Edward was complex but also very simple at the same time. His concerns usually boiled down to one thing: protecting me, keeping me safe. He killed Ethan for exactly that reason. I realized that Edward would have a hard time dealing with it, but there was nothing that lead me to believe that this would make him a threat to me. So why did both he and Alice seem to think so? Was I the only one with any confidence in him?
The tears that burned behind my eyelids finally slipped down my face. Shutting my eyes tightly, I lowered my head and rested the heels of my palms over my eyes, cupping my forehead. First Edward, now Alice... It seemed like everyone around me was morphing into someone I didn't recognise. It was all so confusing, and the uncertainty of what to expect gnawed at my mind.
Frustrated, I dug my palms harder against my eyes until I saw stars, whimpering softly as I wondered when the answers to the endless amount of questions would be discovered. With a tenuous sigh, I brushed my hands downward along my face, wiping away the hot tears. The blinding stars gradually began to fade... only to be replaced with two brilliant pools of glistening onyx.
Just... be careful...
