Disclaimer: The Twilight saga, and its respective characters, belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Bella POV

"Are you all right?"

My voice was merely a gasp as I held on to the armrest, my fingers digging into the fabric as we accelerated at break neck speeds. I stared at Edward, alarmed and dazed.

"Yes," he snapped, but his foot inched the car closer to a hundred and fifty despite his words. His fingers held the wheel so tightly I was afraid it would snap, his features in a frozen state of fury. Panic seized me as I scanned the road behind us. Were we being followed? Was that the reason for the fast getaway?

"Did they find us?" I whispered, my voice holding all of the panic and alarm I felt.

Edward glanced towards me, his expression softening just slightly.

"No."

I sighed, my head falling forward in my hands. My hair fell around me like a curtain.

"Edward!" I groaned, exasperated. I decided to forgo the questions – obviously they would get me nowhere as to his sudden reaction.

We sat in silence again as the road plummeted beneath us, the car barely moving at all in its high speed. We were passing through Snohomish County as indicated by a sign hanging above the highway, and I stared out at the waterfront. It was beautiful; there were at least a hundred boats in the marina. I couldn't recall the last time I had been to a beach. It would have had to be during my human years, but I could not remember much of those.

I glanced around the car, looking for a distraction as the backdrop had become trees and mountainous rocks and my eyes landed, yet again, on the black screen hovering over the radio.

"What is that?"

Edward looked over to where I was pointing. "GPS."

Oh!

"Shouldn't we be using it?"

He shook his head, "It's touch activated." I waited patiently for him to continue, but he stared back out towards the road, his hands loosening on the wheel until he was driving with just one hand. I watched his fingers curl around the leather in a daze.

His head tilted down towards me and I looked away, embarrassed, quickly pressing my index finger to the dark screen. Nothing happened. I turned back to him, confused, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Our bodies, namely our fingers, lack warmth or moisture. These have capacitive sensing." He touched his finger to the screen where mine had just been. "They cannot detect the heat or humidity needed to function." He shrugged, gripping the steering wheel again. "It's practically useless."

I stared at my fingers, wriggling them and then feeling the tips with my thumbs.

"So, basically you're saying we're dead."

"Technically, yes." He laughed that carefree, musical laugh that did not match his countenance from only moments before. He turned away from the road to look at me, a smile still lighting up his dazzling features.

"Or, as you would say, undead," he amended. I smiled, staring back at him.

There was something about his dark eyes as they gazed back into mine. Golden flecks moved through the charcoal irises alluringly. It was like he could see straight through me – my eyes no more than a window straight to my very being. The atmosphere around us charged quietly with a gentle hum, my limbs loosening and tightening at the same time under the spell. He didn't look away from me though, the car still moving steadily along the highway. His smile faltered and his lips parted. I took a breath and leaned back against my seat, forcing myself to look forward before I did something reckless.

The building desire to touch him hadn't lessened any, though, and I was happy – and disappointed – when he finally looked away as well. It was new; it was strange. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't necessarily dislike it.

After what felt like hours of restraining myself from looking up at him, I let my head turn a fraction, my eyes landing on the side of his face. He seemed troubled…dismayed, somehow and I wondered why.

I didn't have long to wonder, though, when we passed a flashing sign on the side of the highway. The words were bright orange against the black background. They were simple enough, but they spoke volumes:

3HR delay on 101. Alternate route for:

Neilton

Quinault

Queets

Kalaloch

I didn't even bother studying the alternate route or continuing to read the list as the last town encompassed along the heavily traveled route stuck out like a sore thumb: Forks.

Ah. So this was why he had taken a sudden fall into despair. We were close to Forks.

"Are we taking the alternate route?" I asked softly, peeking up at him. His jaw clenched.

"No. We are headed south, still."

I bit my lip, still watching him. He should at least say goodbye to his family…

"I'm sure we could spare the time," I continued, "They must miss you."

His hands clenched around the wheel as he scowled. "It will be safer if we stay far away from them."

I shook my head, vehement, now. "No, it'll be safer if they know that you are okay. And, besides, we should probably fly, right? I mean, it'll get us south a lot faster than driving." It was a foolproof plan, and I could tell that Edward was contemplating as the car slowed just an inch.

"And I'd like to wash up a bit," I added with a small smile. "I haven't had a shower in months."

He peered over at me, his expression disbelieving. Yes, my clothing was nearly immaculate, but only because I had recently borrowed the sweater and jeans from a drying line somewhere in Red Rock. Showering was not a necessity to vampires, but I knew that my hair was caked in dirt. Thankfully, it was not nearly as noticeable.

"And you can get there in less than half the time the board suggested," I continued, not able to hide the pleading in my voice now. The thought of cleansing myself beneath hot water was really too much to bear.

He pursed his lips, but ultimately nodded as he veered off to the nearest exit, a few cars honking in his hasty wake.


The house was a lot larger and a lot more modern than I would have pictured. It was shocking, really, that they could live like this at all - among the humans. I was almost positive they did not succeed in blending in what with their unnatural beauty and golden eyes.

"They must have left already," he had stated with relief as we quickly darted from the car into the mansion. I didn't miss the tinge of sorrow, though. He wanted to see his family as well.

I snorted as I stared up at the enormous winding staircase. No wonder he was able to quickly buy such a lavish car.

"There's a bathroom over there," he motioned down towards a long hallway. It was dark, but there were at least twenty garnished paintings hung up along both walls. The ceilings were so high.

"Will it work?" I asked, testing a light switch on the wall. Ten lights flickered, lighting up the massive hallway. Wow. I couldn't recall the last time I had been inside of a house.

"Yes. They must have left everything running just in case we made a stop." His brow creased suddenly as though he was considering this notion. Quickly, he moved out of sight as I stood, gazing up at one of the large paintings on the wall. It was a bed of roses – red, pink, yellow, purple, white… It was lovely. The detail was so intricate.

"You have one message." Robotic words echoed through the silent house and I waited before turning to the bathroom. Would it be the Volturi?

"Edward!" It was the girl from the payphone – Alice. "I cannot believe how late you are making decisions. It is really quite annoying. I know you and Bella will be stopping by in an hour and twenty minutes." I darted to his side at the sound of my name, giving him an inquisitive look. He was pinching the bridge of his nose, his arms crossed as though irritated.

"The Volturi haven't realized yet what has happened, but I will keep an eye out for you. There's a phone in the drawer beside the sink." I glanced down, pulling open the drawer carefully. There was a small silver device. Not a touch screen, it seemed. I took it out gingerly. The phone immediately rang, a sharp, shrill sound that had my limbs tensing.

"Answer it," Edward ordered, stepping back towards the open room. I did as he said, hesitantly.

"Hello, Bella!" I froze, uncertain. Edward nodded once, telling me that it was all right.

"Hi," I answered softly.

"Tell Edward that your plan for the flight will work perfectly. You are booked for the next available flight – 2:27AM in the morning. There are some clothes that you can borrow in the room upstairs and to your left. Ask Edward, he will help you. Call us once you, land, okay?"

"Uh, okay," I answered quietly, confusion marbling through my tone. How had she known all of this? I hadn't heard Edward make another phone call – we hadn't even stopped after purchasing the car…

"Stay safe." Were her parting words before the phone disconnected, an irritating tone playing through to my ear. I closed the silver phone, putting it down on the counter.

"What…was that?"

Edward had been watching me, his expression guarded, yet amused. He shook his head, his bronze hair flopping over his forehead. "She's a clairvoyant. She can predict the outcome of things we have decided." Wow.

"Oh…" I trailed off, looking at the clock. It was just after ten in the evening. So much had happened in such a short period of time.

"Are you sure I'll have time to shower?" I asked, glancing back up at him. He nodded, moving swiftly past me towards the hallway, but quickly detoured to the stairs, motioning for me to follow. He led me onto the second floor and through a large room on the left – the room Alice had told me about. There was nothing in the room besides a tall bureau, a large desk, and an even larger bed. I watched, standing against the wall leading to the bathroom as he dashed around, grabbing towels and shampoo.

"Everything you need you should find in here. You can put your clothes in here." He motioned to the plastic bag hanging on the handle of the door separating the bedroom from the bathroom. "Would you like to keep them?" I shrugged, moving out of the way as he practically darted back to the bedroom.

"They aren't mine; you can throw them away if you'd like."

He looked at me curiously and then arched an eyebrow.

"I didn't take them," I rolled my eyes, knowing he was comparing my thievery to his earlier one from the airport, and then huffed, crossing my arms. "Okay, but I left something of mine on their back porch. It was a trade."

"What did you leave?" he asked, tilting his head questioningly.

"Just a locket," I said quietly. I had worn it ever since I had woken as a vampire. I wasn't sure where it was from or if it even had any relevance or importance in my human life, but it seemed to be worth money. I was almost positive it was made of pure silver.

He looked as though he wanted to ask more questions about the trinket, but I turned quickly to head into the bathroom. "I should probably shower. We don't have much time."

"Yes," he answered softly. "Help yourself to the closet once you've finished." And then he was gone.

I inhaled softly and turned to the shower stall. At least something good could come out of this situation – a shower.


The shower was cleansing and purifying – emotionally as well as physically. I felt clean; something I hadn't felt in months. My hair was drying slowly, dripping down my back as I gazed into the extensive walk-in closet. One side was filled with men's clothing and one was filled with women's. I wondered briefly who this room belonged to. Whoever it was, they sure owned a lot of clothing.

I settled on a dark pair of jeans and a dark gray sweater. Even the bra seemed to fit my size. It felt nice to dress in soft fabrics. These were obviously meant to fit the bodice well. The shirt and jeans I had taken back in Canada had been slightly oversized.

Edward walked back in as I was hanging the towels over the rack to dry.

"We should be all set to go…" he trailed off as I moved around the door to look at him, combing my hair quickly. He was holding two pieces of paper in his left hand.

"I can't find any shoes," I admitted, and he glanced down at my bare feet. I felt suddenly self-conscious, standing in this room – his? Was I wearing Alice's clothing?

"Over here," he said after a moment, moving towards a hidden section of the closet. He pressed a button and shelves magically appeared, one elongating after the other. The shoe collection was impressive. I stared, wide-eyed.

He picked up the pair closest to him – black stilettos. I bit my lip.

"I'm not sure high heels are the best option given the situation…" I trailed off, eyeing a simple pair of boots. They seemed more sturdy. Better for running through the woods if the need came about.

I moved closer to him, reaching to grasp the pair. They were brown and rose just past the ankle. I liked them.

"Here." He dropped the heels and pulled a pair of socks from another drawer. I took them gratefully and then moved back to plop on the long, fabric bench in the center of the room.

"This is some closet," I stated, glancing around. "Did they not take anything?"

"Probably not." He shook his head, moving to sit on the other side of the bench. We were further apart than when we were in the car, but it felt more intimate, somehow. There was no sound of the road, no outside scenery, no cars falling behind us…. Just Edward and I in this silent, brightly lit room.

"They'll most likely purchase all new clothing and furniture once they reach…wherever they've gone." He ran a hand through his hair and then leaned forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. He had changed his clothing as well, I noticed. He was in a light grey button up and black pants. He looked spectacular. I laughed.

"What?" he asked, glancing up at me with a small smile on his lips. I could feel him attempting to push through my shield to no avail.

"We match," I commented. "Sort of…"

He glanced between us and then laughed as well.

"Are they going to tell you where they've moved to?" I asked after a moment.

"I would rather they didn't. I don't want Aro to be able to find out anything more on my family."

"How would he be able to do that?" I asked, glancing back up at him. He was watching me in that slight way that he often did – down his nose as though he found me interesting. It was mostly my shield, I figured.

"Aro can read minds."

"Like you?" I was appalled. But, of course he would be able to.

"No, not like me." He ran his hand through his hair again and I watched as the bronze color glinted in a million different shades under the lights. It was beautiful, really.

"I can read from a distance only what you are thinking as it passes through your mind," he gave me a pointed look, "Well – not you." I rolled my eyes. "Aro has to have physical contact in order to do it, and he can see anything that has ever passed through your mind. It's like a movie of your life."

I shivered, not at the thought of Aro being able to view anything anyone has thought, but at the thought of being touched by the vampire. I had never seen him before, but just the idea of him trying to read my mind… I shivered again.

"Don't worry," Edward said, guessing where my mind had gone. "With any luck, he will never have a chance to read you."

I nodded, hoping that he was right.

He stood and I followed suit, running my fingers through my still damp hair. It would take a while for it to dry completely. I glanced once more at the bed in the center of the room; there would only be one use for it in the vampire world.

"Is this your room?" I asked, biting my lip.

"No, my mother and father's."

"Mother and father?!" I gasped. He turned to glance at me.

"Adoptive parents," he said with a smile. "Esme and Carlisle."

Ah. Carlisle was the man from the phone. He had sounded very fatherly – he had cared deeply for Edward, his son, as I could tell. Before I could ask anything else, he held out the silver phone to me hesitantly. I looked down at it and then let my eyes travel back to his, uncertain. Did he want me to call Alice again?

"Would you like to call anyone?" he asked, his eyes wary. Oh. I shook my head. I didn't have a family like Edward. I was on my own. He seemed to understand, and the phone was out of sight within half a second. He really could move very fast.

"We should go," he concluded and I nodded in agreement.


He was handing me the sunglasses at the same time as he pulled the car into the dark parking garage. There was so much noise; so many people. It was nearly overwhelming. My throat burned, but I ignored it. If it got to be too much, I could always hold stale air.

"Won't this look suspicious?" I placed them over my ears, glancing at myself in the side mirror.

"Not if you have this," he answered and flashed a golden card at me from his wallet. I wasn't sure what it was, but I didn't think I wanted to know. Most likely some extremely expensive royalty card.

I followed him closely through the airport, hanging off of his left side. A few times I had gripped onto the corner of his dark blue jacket, dodging the small children and equally juvenile adults as they bustled through the busy airport.

"Are you all right?" He had asked at one point, his mouth moving close to my ear. I fought back the tremble that threatened to move along my spine, inhaling his delectably fragrant scent. It was sweet like honey. It made me want to move closer to him.

We were waiting in line to give our tickets to board, the man behind the counter glancing up at us often. His eyes lingered on me for a moment and I looked away quickly, praying he would not request that I remove the sunglasses. I was running through the options in my mind: contacts, a disease, allergies… None seemed good enough but thankfully the man – Tom – printed two tickets. Edward took them quickly, a scowl again on his lovely face.

"Have a nice flight Mr. McCarty. Ma'am."

I nodded, shooting Tom a thankful smile and Edward grasped my elbow gently, leading me towards the runway to board the plane. He carried the small duffle bag that he had quickly filled with clothes for the both of us. I had thrown in the hairbrush and the bottle of shampoo that Edward had to switch out for a tiny bottle. Any chance I received, I would be clean.

"McCarty?" I asked, watching him as we hurried on board. We were not late in the least, but he seemed in a haste to leave the grating airport behind.

"I thought your last name is Hale."

He glimpsed down at me from the corner of his eye. Honestly, if he still didn't think he could trust me…

"Hale was my sister's human name; McCarty was my brother's." The word sister and brother should not have shocked me as much as they did. He referred to Esme and Carlisle as mother and father. Clearly the rest would be siblings of some sort.

"What was yours?" I asked.

He didn't answer as the flight attendant came into view, her deep red lips perfectly matching my eyes. I held my breath, noticing how tiny the area was about to be. I could hear a few humans on board already. Was I ready for this?

Edward didn't seem concerned as he pushed me forward, his hand pressing to my back lightly as he handed the girl our tickets from over my shoulder. My eyes were wide behind my glasses. Hers had not yet moved from Edward.

"Mr. McCarty, thank you for choosing our airline. If there is anything we can do to further comfort you, please. Let me know." I wondered if Edward could hear the suggestive tone of her voice, but then I realized – he could. He could hear the suggestive thoughts as well.

He smiled tightly, "Thank you."

The stewardess shot me a long glance as I passed.

I stared in awe as we walked through the velvet drapes and into a section of the plane that was filled with white, large chairs. There were small windows beside each seat and each seat seemed to be accompanied by its own table alongside an elongated footrest. There was a television attached to a small wall that rose from the foot rest. This side was much different than the smaller, cramped side.

"Have you ever been on a plane before?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him watching me, an amused expression on his face.

"I'm…not sure. I don't think I ever have, no." I was sure I had never been in the sky before. Even as a human. I was sure it was something I would remember.

His dark eyes flickered over mine once more before he stood to the side, ushering me into one of the small aisles that held two large seats. Only a wide arm rest separated the two.

"You can sit by the window," he offered with a smile.

"Masen."

I looked over at him shocked. We had been sitting in comfortable silence, my face practically stuck to the window as I watched the men below work to fill the bottom of the plane with packages. So many suitcases and musical instruments, it seemed.

"My last name," he added.

"Oh!" Edward Masen. I liked it – it suited him.

"But we tend to go by Cullen. It's Carlisle's given name."

Edward Cullen. I liked them both…

"Is Isabella Marie Swan your human name?"

"Yes." I could practically feel the blush trying to lighten my stone cheeks as my full name rolled off of his tongue. He nodded appreciatively and then glanced out towards the aisle, his brow furrowing slightly before something that looked like understanding flitted across his features.

"What is it?" I asked, figuring he had heard something.

"It seems all of First Class has been booked, but no one has arrived besides the two of us." He peered down at me quickly before looking away again as though wanting to drop the subject, but I could see a pattern registering here. Alice, the clairvoyant, had known about the plan to fly. She had booked the flight; she had probably even seen Edward give me the sunglasses…

"Alice booked the entire section, didn't she?" She had seen my red eyes – she knew I drank from humans.

Edward leaned closer to me suddenly, his wide obsidian eyes raked over my face quickly and I accidentally let out the remaining air I had been holding for speaking at the surprise of how close his face was to mine. His eyebrows knit together slightly as he stared at me.

"Don't be upset," he murmured, his voice soft as velvet. "My sister only did what she thought would make you most comfortable. She most likely hasn't seen how controlled you are just yet."

After a few seconds, I managed a nod and he leaned away from me, seemingly content with my change in expression. But, as I drew in a quick breath, watching as he flipped down the arm rest between him and the aisle, I couldn't help feeling that she was correct in her assumption. My throat burned ravenously as the scent of the hundreds of humans seated behind us a wall away ravaged my senses. I had never been in this close of contact with so many humans before.

But, as the thirst died down with the blockage of the blood-infused air, my other senses become unclouded. Specifically, my sense of hearing.

"Sister?" I questioned, eyeing his suspiciously.

"Yes, Alice," he replied, testing the control of the volume on the small television before him. He had changed it to a music station. A soft melody was crooning through the speaker.

"She's not your mate?" I had to admit, the sudden surprise that flitted across his face was reasonable.

"Alice is not my mate. Jasper is her mate," he concluded, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It was one of incredulity; obviously this notion was amusing to him. "I don't have a mate," he added. The strange feeling of relief that washed through me was confusing. Why would it matter if he had a mate? Why would it matter if Alice was his mate?

"Does he have a gift?" I asked to distract myself from the force of his words as well as the look on his face.

"Jasper is an empath. He can manipulate the emotions of a single person, or a crowd of people. It is very interesting." I listened in awe, wanting to know even more about his family, but a light dinged on the screen at the head of the plane, and a rehearsed video began.

I barely paid attention to the instructions of a safe flight, focusing on this new detail about his family. There were three, maybe more, gifted vampires in his family. No wonder he didn't want Aro to know about their whereabouts.

I looked at Edward, shocked as the lady on the video began demonstrating the use of the oxygen masks.

"How necessary are those?" I asked, glancing back as she described some of the scenarios in which such techniques would be required. I had heard and read, of course, about plane crashes as a vampire, but I had never known they could be so…imminent. But Edward was already shaking his head.

"An accident is very unlikely. Besides, we would be able to walk away unharmed," he mused.

"But the humans wouldn't," I reminded him.

He cocked his head to the side, his eyes hypnotizing me once more.

"I suppose you are right," he said after a moment, clearly bewildered as to my concern for the human lives. They deserved to live just as much as we did. It was a strange thought, coming from a vampire that fed off of humans and I turned back to the window in my despondency.

It would all change, though. The human life I had taken a week ago would be my last.

Thank you for reading! This chapter took me a bit longer than I had hoped for, but I hope you had a great Easter! I'll be updating hopefully twice weekly now... Classes are starting to pick back up so I won't have much free time :(