Alice POV
I was frozen at the cracked door, my body unable to move. He was gone. Jasper. He was gone. I was finally realizing it. He was gone, and, and he wouldn't be back for a while. He was risking his existence to protect mine…

I suddenly felt way too important, like a precious jewel hid from society and preserved in some unknown substance. But Jasper was out there, vulnerable, emotional, and, all the while, scared. I was scared… My over-protective fool was not here to do his job; What if Maria came here to find Jasper and came up empty handed? What would she be capable of doing then? Would my knight in southern armor come racing to the rescue? Or would I be alone, left only to fend for myself?

Shaking my head, I tried to get rid of those thoughts. All the while, invisible tears were streaming down my face, sobs choking my very throat. Soon I was on my knees, curling myself into a small clump like I had done so many times in that retched asylum I had once been confined to. I needed my Jazz. I needed him to hold me, to reassure me that everything was going to be okay even though I knew better than to believe him. It was so much easier to just give in to temptation, to take the bait and go with the unknown and impossible. Looking at reality, I would much rather believe a lie than have to live with the facts.

"Alice?" A light knock echoed softly on my door; I looked up to see a curious Edward. His eyebrows were wrinkled together, confusion taking over his perfectly pale face. "Alice, what's wrong? Where's Jasper?"

I didn't even look up as I muttered, "He's gone. He left me. He said he's protecting me. It was all a silly little vision…" The words came out quick and jumbled together; even I had a hard time understanding what I had said. Soon Edward was kneeling next to me, the same expression clear on his face.

"Your thoughts don't give you away," He said, playing with his hands slightly. I stole a quick glance at him, wondering why he was telling me this. "It's weird, most people's do. Now, would you like to tell me exactly what happened?" Edward sat down, not exactly welcoming me in but not pushing me away. At this point I was shaking. I tried to move towards him, but ended up merely lying on the floor pathetically. He finally picked me up lightly, setting me in his lap.

The tears seemed to become more prominent as I described to Edward what had exactly happened, how fifteen minutes ago everything seemed normal up until now, which seemed nothing but. I had never thought that I would ever have to see a new day without my mate. He had saved me, and now he was trying to again. Jasper had already done so much for me; It was so painful to be without him, to not have the reassuring fact that he would always be there for me. I knew now that I could possibly be without him for quite some time, and perhaps, horribly, forever.

"Alice?" Edward broke my train of thought, and I was so thankful for it; they were only leading to more devastating ones. "It's my understanding that he truly does love you. From his thoughts, he couldn't humanely bare a single day without your emotions, your presence, your being. Jasper's doing this for your own good; It's tearing him up inside and out to leave you. He has to re-enter his past; You have no idea how terrifying that is for him. But he's willing to go back. And why? For you."

I had honestly never thought of it that way. I was too absorbed with the pain and destruction to my own pain and woe that I hadn't even taken two seconds to think of his. Was it because he wasn't here, or because I simply didn't care anymore?

"You're so important to him, Alice." Edward probed, stroking a strand of soft, spiky hair. "You'll definitely be seeing each other soo—" He was cut off at my sudden movement. I was sitting straight up, stiff as a board. My eyes were unfocused on the open door in front of us, seeing a scene that was at least a few hundred miles away from Alaska. "Alice?" He asked, sitting straighter as well. "Alice, what do you see?"

"It's… It's Jasper," I muttered in a strained voice. "Maria is… She's trying to get him back… She's… She's seducing him with… blood! Human blood! And other pleasures… And then it goes all blank."

"He's indecisive," Edward commented in a grave voice. "He knows better, but is considering it."

"No!"

"Yes." His voice was grim. "Alice, we've got to go find him before he makes the biggest mistake of his existence."

Before Edward could even stand up, I was out the front door, racing frantically to wherever my next vision would lead me. I could distinctly hear Edward behind me. He—and my visions—would be my only guide in this world of sudden uncertainty.