Chapter Ten

Bella

With no obvious alternative I settled back and was almost asleep when Charlotte pulled the car over to the side of the road. Sitting up groggily I looked out to see Peter on the ground under the truck, had I got a flat? I couldn't remember if the spare was pumped up or not, there were lots of things I forgot about these days. When he wriggled out he was holding something in his hand and looking pissed off. He came over and Char wound the window down,

"I knew there was something wrong, I could feel it, an itch between the shoulder blades. That bastard had a tracking device on Bella's truck so he's probably following us. I'll leave the truck here with the keys in it and hopefully some mutt will steal it"

"Hey that's my only transport"

"It's also a way of finding you, or do you want to find yourself in Dr Dooms Lab?"

I shook my head which wasn't a great idea because now I felt sick. Hauling myself out of the car I ran to the bushes beside the Highway and threw up, my head spinning and my stomach churning. I felt a cool hand on my forehead and turned to see Char standing behind me,

"Come on Bella let's get you away from here before Carlisle turns up"

"You really think he's trailing me?"

"I think it's a distinct possibility. Peters been trying to contact Alice but no luck so far. He left a message and he's waiting for her to get back to him."

She walked me slowly back to the car and as soon as I was in, laying across the back seat, she took her place beside Peter who had taken over the driving and he set off again, a little faster.

"Once we get further from the Interstate we should be OK, he has no way of knowing where we live and its a good place to hole up, we can see for miles in every direction."

I tried listening but my head was thumping so I didn't take much in, just closed my eyes and dozed.

The feel of the car bumping over rough ground woke me up and I sat up rubbing my eyes and feeling a refreshing cool breeze on my face. We were in the mountains and the sun was just setting, had we really been traveling so long? Char turned round hearing me move and smiled handing me a bottle of water. I gulped it down feeling dry and dusty then put the empty bottle on the floor of the car.

"Are we nearly at your place?"

"Sure are Bells. Won't be long now"

His name for me reminded me of Emmett, I missed him, but his accent reminded me of Jasper. I guess I missed him too, he was a quiet reassuring presence in any room and Peter was much the sane although I sensed he was much more outgoing than his friend.

I was dying for the loo and in the end had to ask Peter to pull over, the jolting was just too much for my poor bladder. I blushed crimson as I got out and grabbing a handful of tissues from my jacket pocket ran into the bushes. I dreaded going back and seeing Peters grinning face but he was gone, there was only Char sitting in his place. I looked round,

"Where's Peter?"

"He's run on ahead, it gets cold in the mountains at night so he's going to light a fire and heat some water for you."

I climbed in the front and put my seat belt on as she drove off.

"Do you believe Alice?"

She shrugged,

"I don't see what she has to gain from making it up and believe me I've tried."

"You don't like her either?"

"Not really. She kept The Major away from us, I think she thought we were a little uncouth, not quite up to Cullen standards."

"Oh. Did you know Edward too?"

"Only of him. We never met the others. The Major met them after he left us. I wonder where he is, I hope the rumors aren't true"

"Rumors?"

"Alice didn't tell you he was missing?"

"No, she didn't say much at all. He's missing?"

"Yes and there's a rumor from up North somewhere that he's dead"

My heart stuttered,

"Is that possible?"

"Highly unlikely I'd say, but sometimes things do happen and he had a lot of enemies"

"Jasper? Why?"

"He wasn't always the man you met. He was a commander of the most fearsome army of vampires in the South."

"Really? How come?"

He was changed by Maria whose army it was, especially to train her newborns and he was very good at it. But that's all in the past. Did you know him well?"

"Not really, he helped me to run from a nomad tracker, that was the most we ever spoke. So why would Alice think that I'm pregnant, especially with his child? It doesn't make any sense."

"Nothing does at the moment but let's get you settled, then we'll try to work things out."

Charlotte

Peter was waiting as we pulled up and helped Bella across the rough ground between the drive and the house, we had been meaning to finish the drive to the house for so long now it was a distant memory. Once inside the house Peter sat her down by the roaring fire and soon came back with a steaming mug of what smelled suspiciously like coffee. I looked at him questioningly and he smiled innocently back. I decided I'd ask later. I heard a rattle and saw Bella with two pill pots in her hand.

"Charlotte can I ask your opinion?"

"Sure"

She shook a pill from one pot in one of my hands and one from the other pot in the other,

"Are they the same?"

I looked at them,

"Only superficially. One is slightly darker and heavier" and I sniffed them, "they smell different too. Why?"

She held up the two pots which were identical.

"This one" she held up one "Is from my apartment. The other I bought at a rest stop. They're supposed to be the same but they aren't which means someone has been doctoring my pain medication in the apartment. I kept feeling someone had been in there but I never found anything moved or altered."

"Do you think its connected with what Alice told us?"

"Well if Carlisle is involved in all this then maybe. Is there any way of getting these tablets analyzed privately?"

I took the doctored pot from her.

"Let me make a phone call, see if my friend Penny is still working for the Pharmaceutical company in Detroit. If she is maybe she could take a look."

I left her sitting curled up on the sofa hugging her mug of coffee to her and looking apprehensively at Peter.

Peter

I knew Bella wasn't quite comfortable with me, very few people were, even vampires but I'd try, anyway she had the answers to some of my questions.

"Bella, can I ask you what happened at your party? Alice said there had been an incident involving The Major."

She looked at me for a few minutes worrying her lip before answering,

"I cut my finger opening a present, just a paper cut but the smell of the blood affected everyone. Edward thought Jasper was going to attack me and he pushed me too hard into a table full of crystal."

"Ouch"

"More like, "Bella for supper". Rose and Emmett fought Jasper off and took him outside then Alice and Esme followed them."

"The Major was going to attack you?"

"No, at least I don't think so, I think he saw Edward overreacting and tried to stop him pushing me. Anyway, Carlisle stitched up my arm and Edward took me home. The next day they were all gone, all except Edward. He was waiting for me after school and told me they were all leaving. That was it, I never saw any of them again."

"Funny that, no ones seen Jasper since then, not even Alice. They had a furious row according to her and he walked out. Since then no one has seen or heard from him. He's vanished like the Invisible fucking man"