Chapter Seven
"No."
And then I ran.
And then I fell.
I managed to catch myself on the railing of the stairs before plummeting down the remaining eight or so. I was short of breath and beginning to sweat I was so nervous.
This is insane, I thought. I'd just been proposed to. And all I'd wanted to do was break up with the guy. Talk about being on the wrong page. Right, more like the wrong chapter. Maybe my rejection would do the job? I somehow doubted it. Edward wasn't the type to give up easily. I heard Alice say something just before I nearly collided with Rosalie, Carlisle, and the front door. Rosalie looked pissed as usual and Carlisle smiled and greeted me kindly. I swear that girl was frozen with eternal PMS. I'm just saying, she could lighten up a bit.
"Just leaving?" he asked.
"Yeah," though it would have been nice to have you as a father in law, I thought. Rosalie sidestepped around me with an air of venom, and I took the opportunity to say a quick goodbye and catapult outside like a cannon. If I'd taken the time to notice I would have smelled the warm pine scent of the air, the last bits of spring fading into summer. I heard my own ragged breathing as I threw myself into my truck and dug out my keys. My hand felt around in my pockets, searching in a frenzy. I heard approaching footsteps, damn it. I must have dropped them in Edward's room when I undressed. I slapped my forehead, groaning in frustration. Nice, Bella. Real smooth. I leaned back in the seat, waiting for Edward to begin his next monologue. But after a moment of silence I looked out the window to find no one there. Out the windshield, nothing. To my right-
"Shit, Alice, you scared the hell out of me!"
She giggled, tossing me my keys. "Sorry. But uh... speaking of hell," she glanced over her shoulder, propping herself on the headrest of her seat. "Edward just decided to try and catch you before you can drive off so unless you'd like to witness the vampire equivalent to weeping-"
"Noted." I shoved the key into the ignition and floored the gas. Alice giggled again as my car reached its full speed.
"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you!" I turned on her angrily.
Her smile dropped to a slight slant of her lips. Could those eyes get any bigger? But no way was she getting out of this no matter how cute she got.
"That night on the beach when I told you I was going to leave him, you were going to say that you thought the two of us were going to get married. You knew all along that he was going to propose!" I was so enraged that I narrowly avoided hitting a rather large tree with Alice's tactfulness.
"What, and ruin the surprise?"
"Surprise? Alice, seriously? That was a nightmare! You could have given me a bit of a heads up."
"It wouldn't have been fair to Edward. He deserved at least the chance to make things right and then, if he chose to, propose."
I looked at her sideways, unbelieving what I was hearing. "But you did know he'd ask me."
"It simply wasn't my place to interfere. I'm sorry that things didn't go too smoothly but at least it's over with now. He's out of your hair! Isn't that what you wanted?"
"You could have told me, that's all." I grumbled, turning sharply off the road and onto another path I hadn't been down before, not really paying attention.
"My power is... strange. It changes. Sometimes I don't feel like I have a grasp on it at all. You have to understand that I saw many possibilities. One where you accepted gladly."
I cringed.
"One where he decided not to ask at all. A future where he broke off the relationship."
I slowed down the car, considering this.
"I wasn't sure which future it would be, but I hope you're okay?" She reached out for my hand and I sighed, slumping into my seat.
"I'm sorry I was mad. It was just pretty nuts in there..."
"I'll say!" she laughed. "Fantastic timing on my part, don't you think? I didn't even have a vision of having to rescue you."
I had to laugh at that. "Yeah, you saved me big time."
"So... It's like you owe me a favor now..."
I groaned. "You haven't cleaned out the shops by now?"
"Well, actually, I was considering another little favor," she reached over and strapped on my seat belt for me. That strange tropical scent hit me and I felt disillusioned for moment.
"You might veer sharply left in the next three seconds and hit the breaks."
I sat bolt upright as I saw the approaching drop off, following her instructions not a second too soon. I gave a short yelp as I felt the ancient car swerve, the back passenger tire hanging dangerously off the edge. A nest of birds flew off in alarm as I realized the tree which they called home was the only thing keeping us from plummeting to our-my-death. As usual, I was still in shock as Alice calmly dealt with the situation. When I finally regained my wits I unstrapped my seatbelt and joined her outside.
"Bella, would you be so kind," she was pointing to a rock about the size of a basketball and I went to retrieve it for her. I saw that she was now not only propping up the car, but the tree as well. Its trunk was cracked and the truck was leaning. She smiled and accepted the rock, shoving it under the back tire that had been hanging off the ledge. That gave the vehicle enough balance to stay put while she righted the tree as much as she could. Just like Alice. For one thing Edward wouldn't have given me the chance to save myself, just take the wheel and veer in time himself. For another, he wouldn't have given a damn about any little tree. I admit I was mostly concerned for my truck after I knew that we were safe, but it was a nice gesture. Edward probably would have just picked up the car and carried it out of the way too. Alice liked working through problems with logic more than her superhuman brawn, and she wasn't in your face about it either. She dusted off her skirt and sighed contently. It was the first time that day I'd actually looked at her. She was wearing one of the outfits I'd picked out for her. I remembered her pleased smile when I brought it to her, hangers up and down my arms with the clothes she'd picked for me. After that I'd been so wrapped up in my Edward problems that I hadn't noticed she'd bought it. I hoped I hadn't been blinded too much by my relationship issues that I failed to be a good friend to her. She'd understand of course, but I still knew I should spend more time with her than I was.
"Thanks," I told her. She thought it was just for saving my truck, but it was for a lot of things.
We hid out a few miles away from the school by a river my dad would catch salmon in sometimes. I started to think of how much I'd changed over the past year. Moving here, reconnecting with my dad, adjusting to the small town life. Then meeting Edward and his shocking circumstances. I'd fallen too fast for the wrong reasons. Infatuation was not something I'd experienced before, but neither was love. It was hard for me to tell the difference. Maybe I was wrong and that's all love was. If so, I didn't feel like I was missing a whole lot. My own parents couldn't make it last. They'd married too early, had me then split. I didn't want that to ever happen to me or someone I might love. I'd been in love with the idea of good vampires, with the Cullens being my family. With belonging somewhere.
Alice was flowing from rock to rock amongst the rapids, blue skirt like a wave itself. I still had the Cullens, I still had her. She thought she'd been being too bold by expressing her true thoughts toward Edward and my dead relationship with him. To be honest, I wished she'd said something earlier. I didn't quite know what yet, but I was beginning to change again. And I liked it. I got a chill as I finally let myself relax into the change, understanding that it wasn't only life that got to make it. I felt able to decide my paths and take on my own battles. I glanced at Alice, spinning ballerina style as the gold sun set around her, face the embodiment of happiness.
Living proof that a little optimism never hurt.
A/N: Sorry for the title. What? I like Bowie. :P Please review anyway. Where do you think the story is going? How's Edward going to react? Stay tuned. Oh and... *insert guilty advertising here* check out my jewelry shop if you have some spare time? Thanks lovies! No spaces: aeroglow . etsy . com
