A/N: As I had promised in the previous chapter . . . a special POV!! Unfortunately, it is not Edward's but I will get to that later in about two chapters after this one! I know some of you need your daily doses of Edward and I assure you that he will be coming up soon!! But, for now, bear with me! I hope you like it!
Alice POV:
Bella was being hauled off in an ambulance, a boy with dark, curly hair near her. Three EMTs were rushing to get Bella oxygen and different IVs. She was so thin . . . her cheeks had sunken in. She looked as if she had lost at least ten pounds since I had last seen her, and she didn't have ten pounds to spare to begin with. Her face had turned a dangerous color; pure white and her lips were tinted blue. Was she dead?
I gasped and clutched the armrest of the couch. Jasper's hand was on my shoulder. "Alice? What do you see?" I didn't answer him as I concentrated on what the EMTs were saying to each other.
"What happened when she passed out?" someone asked the dark haired boy. Bella was hardly visible under all of the people trying to help her.
"I don't know," he answered. I could tell from his quavering voice that he was worried sick. Had Bella found someone else? "When she came to my house, she was a wreck. She kept gasping, and the next thing I knew, she couldn't even stand up anymore. She was shaking all over when she passed out."
"Did she say anything to you about how she was physically feeling? Did she complain about a symptom?"
The boy shook his head. "No, I don't think she could. Her teeth were chattering; she was completely out of it."
The EMT he was speaking to nodded, his face grim. "Definitely an overdose."
"Oh, God. Bella," I choked. This wasn't possible. There was no way this was Bella; it couldn't be. I knew her, and she would never, ever resort to drugs. Was she trying to kill herself? It wasn't supposed to happen this way. Not this early. She was only 19 years old . . .
Did she even know what this would do to Edward? I froze as soon as his name entered my mind.
Edward.
Leaping up from the couch, I began frantically searching for a cell phone, throwing couch cushions this way and that. I searched in the pockets of my jeans and jacket. Unsuccessful, I hurried into the bedroom. "Jasper," I called out to him "I need your cell phone. I need to call Edward."
He moved to stand in front of me, preventing me from ransacking the house even further. He put both of his hands on my shoulders and I felt immediate calm. "Alice, what is going on?"
"It's Bella. She's overdosed on drugs. I think she was trying to kill herself." The words sounded so ridiculous. "I have to call Edward now," I said, the words coming out all at once. I watched again, the same scene with Bella and the dark haired boy in the speeding ambulance. But I didn't see any sign of whether she would live or die - her future was up in the air, no sign of what would happen next. There wasn't anything besides chaos as the EMTs ran around.
Jasper sighed. "Are you sure you are seeing all of this correctly?" He eyed me skeptically. "Are you even sure that you saw Bella instead of someone who just looked like her?"
"I know what I saw, Jasper," I snapped. He remained calm as I panicked. "The problem is that I can't see anything else. What if she dies?" I cringed internally at the thought. Bella couldn't die. I couldn't even imagine what it would do to Edward . . . he wouldn't dare live through it. "I have to tell Edward. He needs to go back."
I moved away from Jasper, finally spotting the cell phone on the desk on the far end of the room. He stopped me again. "Wait, Alice. How do you think Edward would react if he found out Bella tried to do this to herself? We couldn't even find it in us to tell him about what happened to Charlie and Renee. We knew he would hate himself for not being there for her. How do you think he would feel if she committed suicide?"
"What happened with Charlie and Renee was different. I hoped he would find out on his own and go back because he wants to. We were wrong to keep that from him; he is going to find all of this out and some point. But even then, Bella's life was never on the line. He has to go back now." I sighed. "I'll lie about what happened with Bella. You're right; he can't know the reason why she is nearly . . ." I broke off, not wanting to even say the word.
Dead.
Jasper let me go as I grabbed the cell phone and quickly dialed Edward's number. It rang and rang, but there was no answer. I should have known that he wouldn't have picked up. I hadn't spoken to him in months. And then last conversation we had, he was not at all in the mood for talking - it was the day of Bella's birthday. I hadn't called back since.
Frustrated, I dialed again, hoping that he would answer me just this once. But hoping he would just wasn't enough.
"Damn it." I shut the phone and concentrated, waiting to see the image of my brother. Edward was inside of what looked like an abandoned warehouse. He wasn't doing anything; he was just sitting there, his back up against a concrete wall. His face was so expressionless and dead . . . I could hardly stand it.
The vision faded. I turned to Jasper. "I can't just sit here and wait to see what happens. By then it may be too late." I put the phone in my jacket pocket. "Please call Carlisle and tell him where I'm going. And also tell Esme not to worry." I kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can. When I get there I will call you."
As soon as I was out of the door, I was already making arrangements for Red-Eye Flights. I dialed every number possible for the fastest airlines in Europe and finally reached one. I got into Jasper's car, the Audi, and hit the gas hard. The tires squealed out of the garage and I sped down the road, nearly crashing into a few cars in my frantic hurry.
I caught the plane just before it took flight, thankful that it looked fast enough to get me halfway across the world in a reasonable time. During the ride, I kept a close watch on Bella's condition. From what I could tell, she had overdosed on more than one drug. Cocaine had been one of them, but the doctors had not yet discovered what else she had taken. Her condition was extremely unstable for a while, but she seemed to be barely holding on.
The plane rocked violently as we landed, jolting me from my concentration. I opened my eyes to the Forks Airport, keeping an eye on Bella. She was still alive.
Remaining unseen, I jumped into the nearest car that looked fast enough to suit me. It was a convertible with the top down; and lucky enough, the keys were hidden in the glove compartment. The comforting, soft rumble of the engine kept me calm as I made my way over to the hospital, which was only a couple minutes away if I avoided any late night traffic and ignored any unreasonably slow speed limits.
I parked the car in the closest spot to the emergency room door. I jumped out, not taking the keys out of the ignition. The automatic doors slid open as I walked into the dim-lit lobby. The receptionist looked up at me, her expression full of envy and curiousness. "How can I help you?" she asked.
"I'm looking for Isabella Swan."
She glanced at her computer and typed in a few things with a quick hand. "She's in room 201. Down that hallway and to your left in the Intesive Care section." She jabbed a finger behind her. "I'm not sure they will let you in yet. I believe her condition was only just reported stable."
I nodded. "I won't be long." I hoped that I wouldn't ruin anything Edward had planned by showing up and having her realize that I was there in the first place. If she was going to make it - which I still couldn't exactly tell through my visions - then I would stay until she was perfectly fine. If she wasn't going to live through this, then I was going to have to intervene; I was going to have to get to Edward somehow.
As I hurried into her room, I tried to think positive. But it was hard to think that way when you were able to see the future, able to see what negative things could or would happen next.
I felt a sudden wave of relief as I noticed Bella's room was now empty of nurses and doctors. It was only her, asleep in the small, white bed and the steady beeping of her heart monitor. I glanced at the clock on the wall; it had taken me only three hours to get here, and I was glad to see that time had done her some good.
I stepped closer, and the sight was even worse than in my vision. She really was deathly pale and her skin was stretched tightly over her even more prominent cheek bones. The deep purple circles under her eyes bothered me. She looked horrible . . . like she hadn't slept in years. It was the outcome of the drug use, most likely, I realized with extreme dismay. Even though I could never see Bella using any sort of drug, I suddenly believed that she had definitely been exposed to them as I received a thorough look at her.
I bit my lip and sat down in the chair beside her bed. I pulled out the cell phone, quickly dialing Jasper's number. He answered after the first ring. "Alice?"
"Yes, I've just gotten here," I said, answering the question I knew he was going to ask.
"How is she?"
I hesitated. "I don't know, but I think I should stay a while so I can be sure." I sighed. "From what I can tell, I don't think she will be waking up any time soon. Have you heard from Edward?"
Jasper made a sound of disapproval. "No. Carlisle wasn't happy with Edward for not answering the phone. He wants to go and get him, but I stopped him before he and Esme left. Carlisle said that those who overdose as severely as Bella did don't usually live through it. Things like this can take turns for the worst; and most of the time there is nothing any doctor can do." I felt an uneasy lurch in my stomach as I looked over at Bella again. She was covered in different IV tubes and cords leading to monitors. Her condition looked relatively grim, but she had been lucky so many times before . . . "It's now or never," Jasper added, his voice concerned.
I sighed. "I'll try calling him again. Let Carlisle know that I will keep him posted on what's going on. If Bella isn't better soon, tell him to find Edward and get him back here as soon as possible." Unfortunately, Bella's future wasn't clear at all. I couldn't see anything promising enough for me to voice.
"All right. I will," Jasper replied. "Call us tomorrow morning for another update, please."
I nodded even though I know he couldn't see me. "I love you."
"I love you, too." I hung up the phone.
I began dialing Edward's phone number, leaving messages saying that it was urgent, but not letting on about any specific details. He never answered me. I watched him in visions; unmoving and still completely lifeless. He hadn't moved from his position from when I last saw him. He was still in the abandoned warehouse, his back up against the wall. I could tell that he hadn't been hunting. His eyes were black as pitch and he had very deep purple circles under his eyes. He looked so tired.
If only he knew what was going on. . .
I redialed his phone number again.
A/N: Yeah, I know. It's a long chapter, but hopefully this explains some things. The next chapter will be a a mixture of an Alice POV and a Bella POV. You'll understand why very soon. The next one after that will be another Bella POV which leads to her disappearing. And then, after that, EDWARD'S POV!!!!! So review and let me know what you thought of this uneventful chapter :D
