A/N: I wanted to let you all know that I have been working with a great Beta, 7 Ace. Starting todayI will be removing the current chapters to update them to the new ones. Thank you all for staying with me through Bella's journey. I want to make sure this is the best story it can be. I promise I am working on the next chapter and should be able to update soon. So if you are a current reader and are not sure we all left off on chatper 19 :) As always i do not own Twilight.
Love Will Bring You Back
Chapter 10
"Edward, I think I am ready to meet with your family."
"Are you sure, love? You know that I will not push you on this, but I know that they would be happy to talk to you."
"It will not be easy, but Mason needs his entire family. I'm ready to move on. I want my whole family back, you are all I have left."
"Do you want to see everyone at once?"
"No, I think that will be too much, too soon. I think I would like to meet with Alice. Do you have her number?"
"Yes, let me…"
Edward was unable to finish his sentence, as his phone began to ring.
"Edward, its Alice. I still can't see Bella, but I can see you giving her my phone number. Can I talk to her?"
"Is that Alice? I should have known she would see it. I'll talk to her, Edward," she said with a bit of a chuckle. She didn't realize how much she missed Alice's energy.
"Alice, hold on for one second." He moved the phone from his ear and looked at Bella. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Can you please take Mason outside for a while? I will be down when I am done."
Edward handed her the phone, kissed her quickly, and walked out of the room. Bella heard Edward and Mason walk out the door, as she put the phone to her ear.
"Alice," Bella said timidly
"Oh, Bella. I am so sorry. I miss you. Please, can we meet? There is stuff you need to know. Please, I need to explain?"
"Alice, I think that I would like that. We have a lot to talk about. Can I meet you somewhere?"
"I will meet you wherever you want to."
"Alice, can you come here?"
"Of course I can. When do you want me to meet you?"
"Can you come today? Edward is taking Mason out for a while, so that we can talk."
"Sure. Can you tell me where you are? I can't see you anymore. I don't know why, but I can't. I can't see Edward when he's with you, either. If I didn't know he was with you and Mason I would be worried."
Bella gave Alice the address and went to ask Edward to take Mason out for a bit. They decided that they would go hunting with Ben and Angela. Alice arrived about 2 hours later. There was a knock at the door and Bella went to the door nervously. They were sitting on the couch when Alice spoke.
"How have you been, Bella?"
"How have I been? Do you really need to ask that? You left me. I needed my best friend and you left me."
"I know, and I am so sorry. We didn't have a choice, Bella."
"What do you mean, you didn't have a choice? You chose to walk away when he left me. At least he was man enough to admit it. Are you seriously going to sit there and tell me you didn't have a choice?"
"Bella, you don't understand…" she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, as Bella stood up and interrupted her.
"Don't understand? You're right, I don't understand. I don't understand how you could call me your best friend, then walk out on me. I don't understand how you didn't respond to my emails. I don't understand how you could ignore my pleas for help. I don't understand how you let me go through everything I went through. I had a baby, Alice. I did it by myself because you all walked out on me. You didn't even say goodbye."
"Bella we never wanted to leave the way we did. We did it to protect you."
"Protect me from what, Jasper? I told you all that I did not blame him. It was not his fault."
"They were going to kill you, Bella."
"Who was going to kill me? None of you would ever hurt me. You could not hurt me physically, anyway."
"The Volturi, Bella."
"What do you mean, Alice? Aren't they the royal family of your kind? Why would they want to kill me?"
"Because you knew about us. We don't have that many rules, Bella, but the most important one is that no human can know about our existence unless we either plan on killing you or changing you. You knowing what we are and Edward not changing you, put yourself and all of us in danger. They found out about you."
"But how? I don't understand."
"To understand better, let me start from the beginning. Ok?"
"Let me get a drink first. It sounds like I may need it." Bella went to the kitchen and made a cup of tea before returning to Alice in the living room. She curled up in the oversized chair tucking her feet underneath her, as she looked to Alice and said, "Ok, tell me your story."
"It all happened the day after your party. Jasper was so scared that you would never trust him or forgive him. He couldn't even forgive himself. He knew you were never that close, but he thought of you as his sister, the same as I did. He didn't let himself get close to you because he was scared that he would not be able to control himself around you, and he never wanted to hurt you, but it happened anyway.
I told him that you would forgive him, that you already had. I could still see you then. I saw how you cared for him, for all of us and that you didn't blame him, but it was still hard on us, especially Edward. He really did see it as being his fault. He truly believed that in a way, it was him that was hurting you, that he couldn't keep you safe.
The day after, we all knew something was wrong. Edward was different. His mind was all over the place and I couldn't see what he was planning, it changed too often."
"What does all of this have to do with the Volturi?"
"I'm getting there, I promise. Edward left that afternoon. We didn't know where he went, but we know now he was with you. That's when I got the vision. I have never had one so clear. It scared the hell out of me, Bella. Edward leaving you along with Mason saved your life."
"Mason? How did he save my life? I don't understand, Alice."
"In my vision, I saw Aro ordering his guards to come to Forks. He had been told that we were keeping a human with us and that there were no plans of changing or killing you. They couldn't let this happen. We are the largest coven besides them, and we make them it a bit nervous. It's not normal for vampires to form a coven as large as ours. It's even rarer to find one that feeds like us.
Bella, I saw them coming to Forks. I saw them finding you and Edward. Bella, they were going to kill you both. Aro had always wanted Edward as his own, because of his gift. Edward refused so many times. He was not about to let him be happy, let alone with a human. I have no idea how they found out about you, but they were going to kill you. I was so scared." Alice thought about the events that played out that day and the days after…
"It can't be. They are going to kill her. No, this can't be happening. So much blood."
Jasper put his arms around me when he sensed the fear rolling off my body in waves.
"Darling, you need to calm down. What did you see? Who are they going to kill?"
"Bella. They are coming for her."
At this time, everyone that was still in the house had gathered in the living room with me.
"What do you mean they are coming for her? Who, Alice? I will not lose my daughter," Esme said with a hint of fear in her voice.
"Jane, Alec and some others. They found out about her. They are on their way now to kill her. I saw it. They killed them both."
"Alice, who's both. Who else do they kill?" Carlisle spoke up.
"Bella and Edward, they are going to kill them both. We can't stop it."
There were gasps heard all around the room.
"Bullshit. I will not let them kill my family. We will kill them first." Emmett had his fists clenched, as he spoke.
"We don't have a choice. I can see it. There is so much blood. So much pain."
"When will they be here?" Carlisle asked.
"They will be here in 7 days," I told them all.
"We need a plan. We can't let them die. I have never seen Edward so happy, and I don't dislike her that much." It was the first thing Rosalie had said since Alice's vision.
It was then that Edward burst through the door. I remember the look on his face. There was so much hurt in his eyes, so much pain.
"Edward, what's going on? Is Bella ok?"
"I'm leaving. I can't keep hurting her like this."
"What do you mean you are leaving? What happened?"
"I told her that I didn't love her. I can't keep her safe. I only hurt her. I love her so much, but I can't take her life away. I can't do it. You all need to leave as well. I need to make it as easy as I can on her. I need to make a clean break."
"Edward, what the hell are you talking about? I don't understand. We can't leave her. Not now. I need to tell…"
"You can't change my mind, Alice. It's done. I am leaving tonight, I can't stay here. If I am really your brother, if Carlisle and Esme really see me as their son, if you all love Bella a fraction of way that I love her, you will leave. You will leave tonight. I will find you later. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for all of this. I can't be here. Goodbye."
"Wait. Edward, they are going to kill her," I tried to scream after him. He was already so far gone, he never heard me.
"What are we going to do now? How can we even try to protect him, if we don't know where he is going?"
Jasper wrapped his arms around me and tried to send me all the love and calmness he could. It only helped a bit.
"I need to hurt something. I am going to go hunt for a while and think. I'll be back in a few hours."
"I will join you, love," Rose said, as she took Emmett's hand and they walked out the door.
I remember sitting there in the living room, no one talking. We were all trying to find a way to save Bella. It was Carlisle that spoke first.
"Here is what we are going to do. We are going to leave. We will meet the Guard, as they are on their way. We need to keep them away from Forks at all cost. We must protect Bella. We will spend the entire day hunting tomorrow. We are going to need all the strength we can get. We leave the day after that."
That night was one of the hardest nights I have ever had to live. I had wished like crazy that I could sleep. Just to get away from the fear, even if it were for only a little bit.
We hunted for 9 hours straight the following day, before we met at the house to prepare to leave.
"What are we going to tell them?" Rose asked.
"We will deny it all. They don't have Aro with them, do they Alice?" Carlisle asked.
"I do not see him at this time, no."
"That's good. They can't read our minds without him. We may have a chance. We leave in the morning. Only pack what you need for a few days, we will buy more things as we need them if we have to."
What would have taken a human quite some time to remember, Alice had taken only seconds for the memories to replay in her head. Bella began to shift in her chair, as Alice told her what had happened that day.
"Alice, they were really coming to kill me? Where did Edward go? I though he was with you all this time?" Bella asked her.
"Edward was not with us. Two days before we were to meet up with the Guard, I had another vision. Aro had decided to come after all. He was behind the rest of the Guard, but catching up fast. This worried us more. You see, Aro can see everything you have ever thought, everything you have ever seen just by touching your hand. We knew there would be no way to deny you any longer. Not if Aro wanted to have a peek. The morning that we would meet with the Guard was when things went from bad to worse, or so I thought."
"What do you mean?"
"That was the day I stopped seeing your future. I don't know what happened Bella, but I can't see you anymore. The only thing I can think of is that it has something to do with Mason."
"Mason, can see my thoughts, when I let him."
"That's interesting. We will need to tell Carlisle about that. I truly think he helped save you. When we met up with them, Aro had already joined them. They asked where you and Edward were. We were honest and told them that we didn't know. And it was the truth. We had not heard from him since he left and I could no longer see you. Aro grabbed my hand and searched my thoughts. He was able to see you, the love you two shared. He was also able to see Edward storming out of the house and then my visions of you going blank.
Aro laughed and said his work was already done. Carlisle asked him what he meant and he said you were already dead. That it was the only way that I would no longer be able to see you. He said that he would find Edward one day, but instead of killing him, he would let him suffer, knowing that he didn't manage to keep alive his singer after all."
"Singer? What is that?"
"It's the one person in the world that calls to you. It's your soul mate, if you were still human that is. The blood appeals to you so much that it literally sings to you. Bella, no vampire that I know of has ever been able to keep their singer alive. The calling is so great that everyone I know has, has killed their singer within minutes of meeting them. No singer has ever lived in the presence of their vampire until you. Edward was somehow able to fall in love with you and protect you. He kept you safe. Aro knew that if he loved you enough to control himself not kill you, that the suffering would be worse to know that you were dead. They left soon after that with a warning that they would be watching us and keeping in touch. Bella, we were so scared for you that we couldn't come home. We thought there was a chance that you really could be dead because I could not see your future any more, but we couldn't take the chance. If we came home and found you while they were still watching us, they would have killed you. I'm so sorry."
Bella couldn't control the tears that were falling any longer. She was wrong. They didn't leave her because they didn't love her; they left because they did love her. They were trying to keep her safe.
"Alice, I'm so sorry. I didn't know and you've been back for a few months, and I refused to see you. I should have let you explain, but I was so hurt. I thought you left me because you didn't care. I missed you so much, Alice. I have missed you all so much."
Alice got up and pulled Bella into a hug. "It's ok Bella, you didn't know. How could you? We really didn't know if you were dead or alive. We went to Alaska to stay with friends. We never heard from Edward until the day he called us back to Forks and told us what happened."
"Alice. Would you…Would you like to meet Mason?"
"Are you kidding me? I would love to."
Bella called Edward and asked him to come home with Mason. She told him Alice was going to meet him and that she had some interesting news to tell him. She told him she loved him, as she hung up the phone. Alice and Bella talked about the last few years, as they waited for the boys to come home.
Edward arrived with Mason soon after she hung up. Alice was so excited that she could not sit still. She jumped when she heard the door open.
"Mason, I want you to meet someone, baby. This is your aunt, Alice. This is Daddy's sister. Alice, this is Mason."
"Hi, buddy. It's very nice to meet you. You sure are a handsome little boy, aren't you?"
"Hi. Momma says I look like my daddy."
"You sure do, buddy."
"Momma says that you are special like me and Daddy. Uncle Jasper too, but I haven't met him yet. Momma says I'm mostly like him."
"Well you sure do look like your daddy. You are right, I am special like you, but I think that you are even more special. What can you do?"
"Mason, buddy, I am going to go talk to Daddy. You can get to know Aunt Alice. If you need anything, just call for me ok?"
"Ok Mommy. I like her," he said, as he looked from Alice to Bella.
Bella took Edward to the backyard to tell him what she found out about Alice and the Volturi.
"I can do the opposite of you. Mommy told me that you can see the future. I can see the past. I can show you things from my memories and from others, as long as they are willing to show it to me first. She says that I am like Uncle Jasper because I can feel what other people feel, and I can make other people feel things as well."
"Wow, you are really special. I am so happy to finally meet you, buddy. I wish I had known you as a baby."
"Want me to show you? I did it for Daddy. It made him smile."
"Mason, I would be honored to get to know you as a baby and little boy," she said.
Mason climbed up in Alice's lap and snuggled into her, as he touched her face. Instantly, Alice saw visions of him as a baby. She got to watch him grow and learn. It was the most amazing thing that she had ever seen.
"Aunt Alice, can I ask you something?"
"You can ask me anything, buddy."
"When can I meet everyone else? I have seen them in Daddy's mind, but I want to meet them."
Just as Alice was about to answer, Bella and Edward walked back in.
"Bella, I am not sure how to answer that one."
Bella smiled softly, as she looked at Mason.
"Mase, how would you like to meet them tomorrow?"
"Really, I can? I really get to meet them, Momma?"
"Of course, buddy. Would you like to call them and invite them over?"
"Yes, I want to call Nana Esme."
"Ok, well, ask Daddy to dial. He has the number."
Bella watched as Mason ran to his daddy with the biggest smile she had seen on her son's face in a very long time. Edward pulled out his phone, dialed the number, put it on speaker phone and gave the phone to Mason.
"Hello. Edward, is that you?"
"Is this Nana Esme?"
"Mason? Oh my, is that you, Mason?"
"Yes, who else would it be, silly?"
"You are right, Mason. Nana Esme is silly. How are you?"
"I am good. Momma said I can call you and invite you over. Can you come over to see me? You can bring everyone."
"Sure I can. I can't wait to meet you. I love you, Mason. Can I speak to your Mommy or Daddy, Mason?"
"Sure, here is my daddy. Bye Nana Esme, I love you too." Mason handed the phone to Edward and started jumping up and down saying over and over again. "They're coming to see me. They're coming to see me."
Bella could hear Edward finish up the conversation with his mom.
"They will be here tomorrow at 6. Alice, will you be going home tonight or would you like to stay here?"
"I think I will head home tonight. I will be back with everyone else tomorrow though."
"Of course," Bella said, as she gave Alice a hug goodbye. "I'm really glad you came by. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you sooner."
"Bella, it's ok. It really is. We have a very long time to catch up, ok?"
They said their goodbyes and settled in for dinner. After they tucked Mason in, they decided to talk.
"Edward, what do you think about this whole Volturi thing. Am I in danger? Is Mason safe?"
"Bella, I'm not sure. I do know that I will do everything to make sure that you and Mason are safe. I will not let anything happen to him."
"Who could have told them about me? How did they find out? If they found out once, they could find out again."
"I'm not sure, love," he said, as he wrapped her in his arms. "But I will get to the bottom of this."
"I am so glad that I talked to Alice. I understand now that they didn't leave me for the reasons that I thought. I wish I would have known sooner. How did you not know? Did you not see them all this time? Where were you?"
"No, Bella, I had not seen them since the day I left you. The first time I saw them was when Mason showed me his gift. I never gave them the chance to tell me anything was wrong. If I had stayed with them that night, I would have known. I never would have left; I would have found a way to protect you."
"Edward look, we can't live on what ifs. What if you had stayed and they found me? We could have died. We could have lost Mason. Maybe you could have saved me. There is no way to know. We need to focus on now, on us."
"I know. love. There is just so much guilt I still feel. I love you and will spend my life proving it to you."
"I know that. love. I love you too. Look where we are. Look at how close we have gotten again. We found each other, Edward. We will always have each other. We will always have Mason."
"Bella, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, love."
"Do you still want me to change you?"
"I have been thinking about that a lot. I think I do. There is a chance that Mason will live forever. I cannot let him watch me die. I know what that feels like. I was there when Charlie passed. I also know that I am not quite ready yet. I need to get more info, talk to Carlisle. I can promise you that I will know soon. I don't want to be 30 when you change me."
"Bella, I have one more question, love."
"What is it, Edward?"
"Bella, when I left you, I really thought that I was doing the right thing. I see now that nothing is right unless you are with me. I know that I am not perfect; I know that I will probably make mistakes, but I love you. It has taken me over 100 years to find my one true love. I never thought it was possible. I never thought I would have what my family has. I was wrong Bella. I found it. I found you. You are the one person that was ever meant for me. You have given me so much. You have given me love, compassion. You make me feel like maybe I do have a soul. Then, you gave me something that I never knew I wanted. You gave me the most incredible gift of love. You gave me Mason. I want to give these things back to you. I want to give you as much love as you give me. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy, taking care of you. Bella, I want to do this right. Will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Even if that means you choose not to get changed and live only 50 more years, or if you choose forever, I'll change you if that's what you want, but I'm asking you to do it as my wife."