Hey everyone! I AM ALIVE! :) I am still using my husbands laptop to write but I am happy to say that the block has been defeated. I do have chapter 8 finished and chapter 9 is slow in coming but it is coming.
Major thanks to hammongirl (who also had a broken laptop... only she just got her laptop fixed) she is the best beta! (yeah you are)
Disclaimer: Steph owns it all. I own the entire 10 seasons of Friends which may have had a hand in delaying this chapter.
I watched as Bella slumped forward, releasing her hold on my hand. I immediately missed the warmth she provided. Jasper slowly backed into the house, relinquishing his hold on her once she was through the door and Rosalie and Esme led her back to the living room.
"You can breathe now, Bella," Alice said, moving to sit in a chair across from her.
With her head down, Bella took in a cautious breath and placed her head in her hands.
"What was that, Bella?"
Bella's eyes shot to Jasper, who was looking directly at her.
"What do you mean?" she asked, sounding as if what happened was the most natural thing in the world.
"One minute I feel your anger peaking, the next it's gone and I feel nothing from you. I could, however, still manipulate your emotions enough to calm you. It took a bit of work though." He was as confused as I was, now that I was paying attention.
Why was it that I was continuously blocking the thoughts of my family? I am sure I would have heard Jasper having problems calming Bella, or even seen the vision that Alice was currently replaying in her mind as she analyzed it. No, of course I didn't pay attention. My sole focus was Bella, as it had been from the moment she walked in to that classroom.
"I don't really know what it was. The sudden need to protect all of you all from the threat overwhelmed me, I guess. My vision turned red and I could feel and pinpoint each of you around me."
She thought about it for a moment. "It was almost as if a bubble surrounded us and you all were part of me, but each of you had an individual color and flavor if you will. It's similar to the way you each smell. Of course, I didn't think that I would see the sparks again, let alone taste them."
"Again? What do you mean by again, Bella?" Carlisle asked, his thoughts momentarily lost as he was brought into the conversation.
"Well, before I woke up, I felt nothing. I heard nothing. It was like being alone in a dark room with no way out, but at the same time I could sense everyone around me. I couldn't tell who was with me, until now, but you each had a distinctly colored spark and I knew by the color and brightness who was near and how they felt." She paused, looking in my direction but not at me, her voice softening. "For the longest time, Edward was the dullest green I had ever seen. But just a moment ago he was quite the opposite, so bright."
My eyes moved to watch Alice as her eyes glazed and the vision played before both our eyes.
"I think that would be an excellent idea, Carlisle" Alice interrupted. "I think it would be beneficial for us to see them, but instead we should go there, at least for a while."
Carlisle nodded and excused himself to his study to call our cousins up north, while the rest of us contemplated what this meant for Bella; for all of us. I concentrated only on Alice's mind as she continued searching the meaning behind her vision.
"Go see who?" Bella inquired.
"Family we have up north. They share our same dietary choice so we have grown quite close to them," Esme answered.
Bella nodded in understanding as her mouth formed a small o.
Alice was jaded that her visions would abandon her when danger was around. She couldn't find any reason for the vision that had taken place moments before with Bella and the Quileute's. In the vision Bella was screaming at no one. There was nothing but an empty space in the direction the five of us had been facing.
Then it hit me. It was the wolves; she couldn't see the shape-shifters. They were a blind spot in her visions. I could feel my eyes widen slightly and Jasper's voice rang out in my mind questioning the matching emotions coming from both Alice and I.
"What's wrong?"
"It's the wolves," Alice and I said at once.
Everyone in the room turned to look at us.
"What are you both talking about?" Jasper asked aloud; the same question was ringing in the minds of the others.
"It has to be. Why else would I see nothing but emptiness where they stood?"
I sat down in the nearest chair wondering if this blind spot would become a problem, but quickly set it aside. We were leaving soon and it would not be an issue unless we returned.
Jasper moved closer to Alice as she began shaking her head. "I kept wondering why I never had a vision of them showing up. You'd think that I would have."
Carlisle returned to the room ending the conversation. "We're flying out in four hours."
I looked at Carlisle like he was insane. After what happened how could he allow Bella or myself to be aboard an aircraft with that many people?"
Before I could say anything he continued.
"I have of course procured a private jet that will be flown by a friend of mine who is luckily in town."
We all let out a collective sigh then one by one left to gather the packing materials we kept around for moments like these. We had three hours to pack all we needed and basically move out.
"If anyone needs me," Alice said as she grabbed a small purse and headed for the garage, "I will be at the mall getting dear Bella a new wardrobe. I'm too small for her to borrow my pants, Rose is entirely too curvy, and Esme is taller than she is."
Bella laughed as she fiddled with the hem of Esme's shorts, or Bermuda shorts as Alice called them. "Gee thanks, Alice, way to make me feel inadequately adequate."
Alice blew her a kiss and left the room. She looked around and noticed that everyone else had left. She turned around and looked at me, but quickly averted her gaze.
"I'll be upstairs packing if you need anything," I said, ending the awkward silence that had settled around us. She responded with a simple nod. Would she ever look at me again?
As I packed, I listened to Carlisle arrange for the moving trucks to come within the next few hours. It would take them at least three days, with frequent rests, to get to Palmer where Jasper and Emmett would be waiting to place everything in a storage facility. Then from Palmer, we would move everything to the house near Petersville. We would pack the clothes we needed for those days in smaller carry-on suitcases.
"Carlisle, where are we flying into?" I questioned.
"Talkeetna Airport," he replied before continuing internally, "The less people around, the better. I know it means will be back-tracking along the spur before getting to the highway, but I'd rather be safe than have Bella go through what she did again. It's also closer than the others airports. If we have to run, we only need to cross the river to get to the house."
From the living room I heard Bella sigh.
"Bella, would you like to help me pack up this office?" Carlisle offered.
"I would be happy to help, Carlisle."
She quickly made her way upstairs and headed towards the area Carlisle was. The office was on the same floor as my room and she paused momentarily as she passed by my open door. I glanced at her as I took things from my shelf. She turned away quickly and walked into the office.
Jasper kept his mind blissfully blank, but I could almost feel him arch his eyebrow at whatever emotions she was throwing.
It took me about an hour to place all my clothes, every piece of music I owned, my electronics, and my "valuables" into 5 large boxes labeled with my name and one small suitcase. By that time, Carlisle and Bella had moved downstairs to pack his and Esme's study and the library.
"You have so many books, Carlisle."
He laughed. "That I do, Bella. Normally Jasper would help with the packing of these tomes, but he is packing for himself as well as Alice since she is out."
There was a moment of silence as they continued packing.
"I didn't mean to cause any inconvenience." Bella sighed.
Carlisle chuckled at her response. "Bella, you did nothing of the sort. If anything, you did quite the opposite. Alice loves to move, but she hates to pack. Conveniently enough, you are here and I am most thankful for your help."
I watched Bella smile through Carlisle's thoughts. She was exquisite when she smiled.
"If it were up to Alice, she would throw everything but the clothes into a box and ship it off without proper packing," Esme added from the first floor.
Bella laughed and my dead heart soared. If only it were me giving her a reason to make that sound. To keep myself from brooding at that thought, I moved to the garage and started preparing the cars for transport. Rosalie was very adamant about everything that needed to be done for the cars, and was listing the things for me to check in her mind.
"Got it?" she asked.
"It's not like I haven't done this before, Rosalie," I bit back a bit too harshly.
"Edward, I understand that something went on between you and Bella. Alice won't say exactly what went on, but you do not need to get an attitude with me," Rosalie's inner voice snapped.
"I know and I apologize. I'm not cross; I guess I'm just dejected."After several seconds, I noticed the house was eerily quiet; vampires were stealthy by nature and you could hardly ever hear us. "Is everyone listening to me? You know, sometimes I wish I had the power to say any damned thing I wanted to whomever I wanted without you all listening."
Apologies rang out in my mind from everyone in the house, with the exception of Bella of course, who still said nothing.
"I just worry about you, Edward."
"I know, Esme. I love you more for it, but you don't have to."
I had finished prepping Rosalie's remodel and my Volvo when Alice pulled into the garage. Rosalie's BMW was completely filled with bags from numerous stores. They ranged in sizes, and there was one that was too small to hold any type of clothing. Normally, I would have attempted to peak into Alice's mind and to out exactly what she'd bought, but she was blocking me. I would have continued listening, waiting for her to slip up but I really didn't care to continue to listen her sing the Star Spangled Banner in every language.
"You know it's only proper to sing that song in English." I laughed, which only prompted her to since a rousing rendition of God Save the Queen in Portuguese. "That's blasphemous, Alice. Don't let Carlisle hear you."
"Hear what?"
"Nothing, Carlisle, Edward is just mad he can't peek into my mind right now," she said as she grabbed all the bags and headed inside.
"Well it's apparent you're hiding something, especially when you're blatantly blocking your thoughts. So naturally I am going to be suspicious." I laughed and started prepping my Aston Martin.
"Need any help?" Jasper asked, walking in the garage.
I shook my head, moving on to Carlisle's Mercedes.
"You sure about that?"
"I'm fine, Jasper," I said, my voice filled with a false calm while giving him a look that said, Are you really questioning me about this now, while she's within hearing range?
He put his hands up in surrender, popped the trunk on the BMW, and removed more bags and boxes. "Just asking is all."
It hadn't taken long to prep the cars and I was sure Rosalie would recheck them during loading. I walked into the living room and noticed just how different the house looked. All of the furniture was covered with white sheets and boxes were stacked by the door. We always left the furniture in the homes we lived in, but it was everything else that we took with us.
Of course it still looked like a house. The rooms still held furniture, though not in use. But everything that made it a home was removed only to be replaced by sheets. I felt exactly like this house looked. I looked like a human. Everything inside me was technically human, even though it was left unused. But everything that made me human was long gone, to be replaced by venom and bloodlust.
They say that a family makes the home. I say that Bella made me whole.
I really hope you like it! Please let me know!
