Here's the next chapter guys ^_^

I had originally anticipated posting this this past weekend, but it got reaaaally busy and I forgot about it. Hahaha, sorry! But, I remembered last night, so I decided to post it this morning (before school, it's 5:45 a.m. here -_- I must love you guys a lot)

Now, this chapter might be a little bit confusing, but trust me--there's a method to the madness. Just follow along, and all the questions will be answered if you combine last chapter's, this chapter's, and next chapter's persectives. (By the way, I have the next chapter done already, and I'll give it to my editor today so she can have that ready for you.)

Enjoy!

Please read and review...

Keep reading!

-TG

Chapter 9- Through the Rabbit Hole

Bella POV

At first, I had no idea what was going on. I was so terribly clumsy, as I had been frequently told by others in the past… as I had been told by Alice in the past. All that I could comprehend at the time was Alice. There she was. She was right there, across the room from me, looking back at me. I couldn't even believe it. I knew I wasn't dreaming. She was actually there, in the flesh. When I saw her, it was like my mind had established blinders over my eyes, shielding them from the rest of the world that didn't involve Alice. Because Alice was right in front of me. I didn't even have time to absorb what I was seeing really, I just stumbled forward towards her. But that's the thing about having blinders on: more often than not, you overlook important things—like steps and doors.

Suddenly, I couldn't see Alice anymore. It wasn't because she was gone, but because my eyes had closed as I catapulted towards the floor. My arms subconsciously stretched in front of me to try and catch myself, saving my face from the impact. But my hand had stretched out too far, catching the sharp corner of the wooden door. I could feel the jagged wooden edge as it sliced the side of my hand deep enough so that I could feel the blood begin to drip down my palm. I could smell the blood, like rust and salt, permeate the air around me. All this time, however, I wasn't thinking about falling, because I did that far too often for it to be a novelty. I didn't think about the pain of the cut on my hand, or the fact that it was probably filled with splinters. I didn't think about the blood that spilled from the wound, because it was just a little blood and no big deal, so I tried to tell myself. All I could think about was that I couldn't see Alice anymore, because my face was still turned toward the floor.

As I scrambled to compose myself, already preparing myself to apologize for my clumsiness, I began to hear rather disconcerting sounds. I froze, whether in shock or fear I couldn't say, as I heard a deep feral sound emit from something in front of me. I heard a boisterous crash so quickly after, that I didn't know what could have fallen in such a short amount of time or what else could have made such an ear-splitting sound. For the moment, I was almost afraid to look up. I couldn't imagine what could have happened in the few seconds I had been on the ground. I was perched on all fours, a little concerned that the blood on my hand was tarnishing the nice white tile. But as I looked up, my concern over the trivial things disappeared. I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at. The big one, I didn't know any of their names besides Alice and Dr. Cullen, was pushing someone back. I could see the thinner man over his right shoulder; his face warped and enraged. I didn't know what was going on, and the sight was terrifying—but I couldn't bring myself to look away. The man was not the only person that the big one was forcing backwards. There was another form, which I couldn't see from behind the big guy. And, though I couldn't see the other, I had a vague suspicion I knew exactly who it was. The big man pushed the other two forms farther and farther back until they were almost out of my line of sight. Two other women followed behind, inhibiting my vision even more. Just as they were about to disappear into the next room, I caught a glimpse of my sister. Her face was warped as well, in that feral mask that I had seen in the other man's face as well. But that wasn't the only time I had seen this face. This was the face of Alice I had seen in my dreams on multiple occasions—the Alice of my nightmares.

As she looked over the big man's shoulder towards me, her face morphed into one of pure horror. As she focused her gaze around the room, her golden eyes now looked as terrified as I felt in the pits of my heart. Suddenly she screamed, and the sound was so deafening that it shook the air around me. "EDWARD STOP!"

I looked around, trying to see what she was talking about, but suddenly I was shoved backwards towards the wall. I slid over the tile until I hit the wall with a thud, my side already feeling beaten and bruised. I looked over to see what happened, only to see the broad shoulders and golden hair of the man I knew to be Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He was shoving someone as well. He appeared to be wrestling someone who was trying desperately to get around him. But the two were moving so quickly, they shook. This… this wasn't possible. No one could move that quickly. I saw a flash of bronze, which I realized was someone's hair. The person who I had seen was fighting to get around Dr. Cullen, his face frozen in a frenzied mask similar the others'. I was so shocked, I couldn't even register how deeply afraid I should be. Because, though I didn't realize it at that moment, there was a common element to each of these people's ballistic frenzies: the man before, the bronze-haired man now, and even Alice all appeared to be trying to get somewhere, to someone… to me.

As I backed up until my back was against the wall, I had the sudden urge to look down at the trickle of blood I had left in my path. I looked down at my hand, the blood finally beginning to ease its flow. I could still smell the rust and salt smell lingering from the wound, and it made my head spin at the sensation. I looked back up to where the struggle was occurring before me, and suddenly my mind seemed to clear and the shock ebbed from me. As I watched the blond and bronze-haired men struggle to push each other in opposite directions, my mind didn't seem able to comprehend what was happening. The force with which they were shoving at each other was too strong. The speed at which they attempted to get around each other was too fast. The appearance of the bronze-haired one's face wasn't human. Nothing that was happening in front of me was possible… or, at least, not humanly possible.

I had the sudden urge that when I had stepped through the door to the Cullen's beautiful home, I had stepped into the entrance to a new and foreign world. I was Alice. Not my Alice, but the Alice that was falling through the hole in the earth to find herself in a completely different dimension—into Wonderland. I was Alice, and I had found the rabbit's hole. I was falling, deeper and deeper into the earth until I couldn't see the world above anymore. I even had the sensation that I was falling, as I watched the two in front of me.

Dr. Cullen yelled, and his words became muffled in my mind. "Edward! Edward, stop this! What's wrong with you? Control yourself! What's going on that you can't shee hoaw yur acshting… zzz mmm..." The doctor's voice seemed to get farther and farther away as I fell away from that world into another.

I was Alice, falling down the rabbit hole. As I fell, the darkness surrounded me until it was suffocating. The other world disappeared from sight until it became unreachable.

I was Alice, descending into Wonderland; a place unlike anything I had ever experienced. But, if the first few moments here were any indication, I could already tell that this "Wonderland" was a much darker and more unimaginable place than I had ever anticipated.

When I first realized I had regained consciousness, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes at first. Though I took the few moments to figure out where I was, I still was too afraid to open my eyes and confirm my suspicions. I was no longer laying on the floor, pressed against the wall. My hand no longer felt exposed and stinging with pain. I closed my hand slowly, feeling the tight bandage that was wrapped around it. My fingers felt tingly as if they had been numbed. The doctor must have fixed my hand while I had been unconscious, and I thought distantly about how long I had been asleep. Through this minute of useless pondering, I still couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. Everything that had occurred before had been terrifying and confusing, yes, but that's not what worried me must. My deepest fear, that felt like it was consuming me from the inside, was that when I opened my eyes, this would all prove to have been a dream. My worst fear was that, after coming close to being with my sister, Alice would be gone.

Still not willing to open my eyes, I listened around me. After a few minutes of focusing, I began to hear the distant sounds of people talking. After a few more moments of straining to hear, I realized that the people weren't only talking—they were arguing. As their voices got louder and my alertness slowly came back to me, I was able to distinguish a few words being said.

"I still don't see why she can't just stay here!" A deep, booming voice yelled out, which made me think that this was the big man I had seen before. For a moment, my heart clenched in anticipation. Somebody thought I should stay here? Did the others think that too? I had a brief moment where my hopes were raised, until I could vaguely sense the sound of a few scoffs in reaction.

"Emmett," A velvety male voice, not unlike Dr. Carlisle's but somehow sounding younger in a way. The tone with which he spoke was harsh and criticizing, which made me doubt how much influence the deeper voice had had over the others. "Shut up. I think you have already done enough here."

"Me?!" The deeper voice yelled in outrage. "Me?! Please, I believe I was the one who remained lucid when all of the rest of you went into frenzy back there. Seriously, Edward, what's your deal? Since when do you flip out at the smell of human blood? I thought you were supposed to be the high-and-mighty, almost-to-Carlisle-status one out of all of us? You're usually the one holding us back, not the one trying to sneak a bite."

"I don't know, alright?!" The softer voice yelled back. "I don't know what came over me! Her blood was just… different. I think she may be my, you know—"

"Stop it!" A high-pitched female voice interrupted the argument ensuing between the two men, and the sound of that particular smooth voice made my breath hitch in my throat. "Just stop it! This isn't just any human we're talking about here! This is my sister. Don't talk about her like that! Don't talk about her like she's just some random bucket of blood that you smell walking down the street! Ugh, you boys are insufferable! And, no, Emmett she can't stay here. Do you realize how hard this is for me as it is without having my own sister here? God, how can you be so dense?"

"Aw, come on sis! Don't be like that—" The deep, booming voice pleaded.

"Shut up, Emmett!" This time, the rebuttal was supplied by multiple voices. Multiple people had silenced the loud one all at once, making me think that this kind of thing was common among the odd group of people.

Having heard my sister's voice in the other room, my fears were allayed. I sat up suddenly, opening my eyes to face what was going on. I looked around the bright room quickly, realizing I was in the large, white living room that I had seen from the entry way. Feeling odd as I moved, I looked down to see that I was in different clothes than I had been wearing before. I supposed that my clothes must have been dotted with my blood, but it concerned me that someone else had changed me. The clothes were nice, though, and they fit me. I was in a comfortable pair of jeans and a tight, navy button-down shirt. Like I had expected, my hand was wrapped in a clean white piece of gauze without even a dot of blood marring its perfect surface. Realizing I had stopped focusing on what was going on in the other room, I tuned back only to be disappointed. The tone of the voices was subdued to a dull murmur every now and then. Could they have heard me wake up? There was no way, I thought. Then again, so far nothing that had happened within the walls of the Cullen home seemed possible.

Suddenly, a voice raised in tone, "Well, it's not like Jasper or I can do it! Carlisle, why don't you…" The distinct voice of my sister had chimed in, but had quickly dulled as her voice dropped in pitch. I could sense a few more responses, though I couldn't understand what was being said.

"No!" Alice yelled once again. "There's no way! I'm sorry, Edward, but I can't let you do that! This is my sister, and obviously you have some sort of weakness when it comes to her specifically, so I can't let you…" There was another hushed response, though I could hear that it was one of the boys.

"Edward, please don't make me do this! I can't let you, or anyone else for that matter, who is so likely to hurt her go anywhere near my sister!" There was another response, this time sounding a little angry in the tone of the unintelligible words. "Of course I trust you; you're my brother."

The response this time was calmer, the tone even and controlled. I couldn't hear what Alice said in return. After that, the tones were so quiet that I couldn't distinguish between them.

I looked around the room, finally, taking in the beautiful place. There were many windows, letting in the little light that got through the thick, gray clouds that shaded the sky. The living room was entirely white, and the entry way was bright and open as well, with hints of wood paneling on the curving staircase and the walls. For some reason, I felt uncomfortable sitting on the Cullens' couch in the Cullens' living room. Something was too personal about it, for someone who wasn't even in the presence of one of the Cullens themselves. I stood up, walking back toward the entry way where I had been before when the… when whatever had happened before had actually happened. This felt better, being in the entry way. Guests who were waiting for someone waited in the entry way. But when I made it to the center of the huge room, I felt the head rush hit me. My head still felt light, and my legs felt wobbly beneath me. I made me way to the wall until I found myself against a raised platform which held a magnificent grand piano on top of it. Though I felt I might be intruding on something important to someone else, I found myself continuing towards the piano. Not only did I need a place to sit for the moment, but I found myself oddly drawn to the beautiful instrument. We had had a piano at our house, but there was something cold and unwelcoming about it. I couldn't remember the last time the mini-grand had been played, but when I was little, I could vaguely remember my mother playing simple pieces on the old upright we had had before my parents came into money. I couldn't remember happiness or music in that house, since it hadn't been present there in years.

As I took a seat on the bench, it squeaked in protest beneath me. Hesitantly, I reached out to the pristine white keys and began to slowly play the beginning of Fur Elise—something I subconsciously knew from when my mother had tried to teach me a very simple arrangement of the popular song. My mother hadn't been that great of a musician, and she was even worse at teaching music to others, but she was good enough to play us Christmas carols in the winter long ago. Me, on the other hand… I hadn't really inherited any particular gift or talent for anything in particular, not taking a knack to any particular sport or instrument. I had slightly above average smarts in English and literature, slightly below average grades in Math and Science. I looked like any other girl you could see on the street, no attribute of my appearance particularly interesting. I was average in every way, really.

"Do you play?" As a voice broke me out of my silent reverie, I jolted up from the piano, feeling as if I had been caught doing something I wasn't supposed to.

"I'm sorry, I just—" I stammered out, only to be interrupted.

"No, no, that's fine. Please, sit down." I looked up in shock at the boy, who I now realized could not have been much older than me. He looked maybe seventeen or eighteen, but not much older than that. I finally got a good look at his face, now that he was so close and still as he stood in front of me. He had bronze colored air that stood up in various directions seemingly without the use of gel. His face was very, very pale, much like Dr. Carlisle's was, and it had that same luminescent quality to it that I couldn't exactly explain. His eyes were bright amber gold, and I felt like I could keep looking into them and never see the farthest depths they contained. He was tall and muscular, but not drastically so. Quite frankly, he was, well… beautiful. And it pained me to use that term in reference to any boy, but there was no other way to put it. He had a look that most Abercrombie models, and Greek Gods for that matter, would envy.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He asked quietly, and I finally noticed how smooth and velvety his voice sounded. It was a little entrancing, the way his words came out sounding almost rhythmic like a song.

"Not at all." I muttered, sliding over to make room for him on the end of the bench. He sat down beside me, and I noticed briefly that both of his hands were clenched into fists against his legs. The muscles in his forearms were pulled taut beneath the pale skin of his arm from the strain. It was like he was dealing with some inner conflict that he was very good at shielding from showing in his face. Very briefly, an image of that same shock of bronze hair fighting to get around Dr. Cullen as the two men fought appeared in my mind. This was that same boy, I realized. I hadn't been dreaming; I was sure of that. My mind told me, for some reason, that I should be afraid. As I sat quietly next to the boy, my mind told me he was dangerous. But my heart didn't want to listen. My heart knew that these people had a connection to my sister. My heart also knew that if I was afraid of this boy, I was bound to be afraid of everything else that had been going on around me since I had stepped through those doors. Therefore, I refuse to let myself be afraid.

The silence between us had stretched into a few seconds, and I looked up into his eyes to get another glimpse of the gold I had only seen before in my dreams and in the eyes of Dr. Cullen. He stared back at me, an amused crooked smile gracing his lips. I had heard a name used with him before, but I wanted to say something to break the silence. In some ways, I didn't want to break the silence though. There was something comfortable about the silence that stretched between us, like we didn't have to really say anything to entertain each other. God knows, I could have watched his face for hours without getting bored. Nonetheless, I spoke, "What's your name?"

His smile grew, and he slipped his hands where mine had been previously on the keys. "Edward Cullen." He replied, starting to play something light and sweet without even looking at the keys.

I watched his hands move over the keys, a little in awe. The piece was light-hearted but difficult and quick, as I could see while watching his hands. I began to speak again, "I'm—"

"Bella." He answered for me, never breaking the rhythm of the song. "So I've heard."

I nodded, not really paying attention as I was mesmerized by the song. When the quick rhythm came to a close, he stretched it out into a complicated bridge before he settled into a slower, softer song. A flicker of recognition sparked in my mind, and I looked at him slowly. "Clair de Lune?" I questioned.

A look of genuine surprise passed over his features, before his amused smirk replaced it. "You know Debussy?" He asked, that surprise and amusement present in his voice.

"Not well." I admitted. "My mother used to play classical music around the house all the time. This was one of my favorites."

He smiled, his eyes lighting up with some hidden emotion. "It's one of my favorites as well." I watched his hands intensely as they crossed over each other and stretched past where I sat. I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my face as the silence replaced the conversation once again. It felt like he was focusing on me nearly as acutely as I was focused on him as he played. I didn't look up to his face to meet his gaze, though something in me felt that I should. I thought back to the previous incident, thinking about how different this boy was then compared to him now. I didn't know what was going on with Alice and the Cullens—not in the least. But I felt the desperate need to stick around and find out. That was it then: I didn't care who Alice was now or what I had to do to adapt to the different person she was, but I wouldn't lose her again.

"What are you thinking about, Bella?" Edward asked, and I finally looked up to meet his gaze in surprise. He was still looking at me as he played, his amused smirk reaching his topaz-colored eyes. With that amused, but some how intense look he was giving me, suddenly his question slipped from my mind. His eyes bore into mine, and suddenly I felt light-headed again, but this was different. I wasn't dizzy or a fainting risk like before. Now, I just felt light, like a weight was suddenly lifted from me after a long time of being burdened by something. Looking at him felt like one of the first wholly right things I had done in months, maybe years, and it made me not want to look away. Without realizing it, the playing had stopped and he was just looking at me. His smile grew, and he spoke again, breaking the daze I had slipped into, "Bella?"

"W-what?" I asked, blinking my eyes against my dazed stupor. I shook my head and look down, a blush rising to my cheeks. I glanced over briefly to see his hands clench again and his body tense.

"Your thoughts," He answered, the light tone to his voice hushed slightly as he sighed the words. He sounded tense again, suddenly. "I can't figure out what you're thinking about. I can usually read people easily. You can say I have a certain gift for it. But you… I get nothing."

As another blush crept up my neck and cheeks, I was sincerely glad that he couldn't figure out what I was thinking. If he could hear me fixating on how he looked like some tribute to the Greek God, Adonis, or how looking into his eyes made me feel right… I shuddered a bit inside. I sounded like some love struck teenager obsessing over her celebrity crush. It was so unlike me that I could hardly recognize myself. I shook my head, laughing lightly. "I'm sorry, but it brings me a great deal of relief that you can't know what I'm thinking."

He chuckled softly as well, resuming the song he had stopped on in the exact place he left off. "Oh, Bella." He breathed, and I couldn't help but think that my name hadn't sounded so great until he spoke it. I felt like kicking myself at how ridiculous I sounded in my head, but it made me glad once again that he couldn't figure out what I was thinking. "If you're trying to abate my curiosity, you are doing a miserable job at it."

I laughed lightly, resting my elbow on the top of the piano with my head in my hand. He looked back at me, that odd but intriguing crooked smile shining back at me as he played. I closed my eyes and listened to the music for a few minutes, until it stopped quite suddenly. I opened my eyes, about to question his sudden halt, but his gaze was focused past me to behind the piano. I turned around, following his gaze. Behind us were four people; I recognized Dr. Cullen immediately. Next to him was a beautiful caramel-haired woman, who must have been his wife from the way they were standing so close to each other. Beside his wife was a daunting figure. He was intimidating to say the least, being far past six feet tall and very, very muscular. But something about his expression made me doubt he was such an intimidating person after all. He eyed Edward and me as we sat on the piano bench together with a suggestive look, one eyebrow raised in question. A blush rose to my face for no particular reason besides that one look. He laughed aloud to himself, receiving odd looks back at him from the others. The girl beside him was intimidating for a very different reason, mostly because she was probably the most beautiful woman I had seen in my life. The blonde that stood beside the big guy was somewhere in between a Victoria Secret model and one of Heaven's angels. She seemed to have a permanent scowl etched on her face, which somehow didn't diminish how beautiful she actually was.

They all seemed to be looking at me expectantly, but I didn't know what to say. All of them looked back at me with those amber eyes, and I was lost for words. Luckily, Dr. Cullen spoke instead. "Bella, we have been talking, and we need to discuss some things with you. First, I'd like to introduce you to some of my family. This is my wife, Esme, my son, Emmett, and my daughter, Rosalie. And as you already know, this is my son, Edward. Everyone this is Bella."

They each murmured a quick greeting, except for Edward, and I nodded as I committed each of their names to memory. "It's nice to meet all of you." I replied.

"Bella, if you'd like to come with us, we can talk in the other room and answer any… questions you might have." Dr. Cullen looked wary; as if afraid what kind of "questions" I might ask. To be honest, I did have a lot of questions: What happened earlier? Where's Alice? Who- or what, for that matter- are these guys? But, to be honest, I didn't care what the answers to any of those questions were. I was curious, yes. But none of those answers would really change my mind. It didn't matter to me what they were. Nonetheless, I stood up from the bench to follow them.

As I stood, I felt a hand brace my elbow and guide me over to the step down. I followed the arm until I looked up into Edward's face, questioning his assistance. He chuckled, but the amusement didn't reach his eyes this time. "Pardon my assumption, but I get the idea that you have a tendency for falling."

I laughed at his remark, though it was a nervous prattle when it escaped my lips. I confirmed his statement, "You have no idea."

He smiled a tight smile, and said, "Well, then. We wouldn't want to have another accident, would we?"

As I watched him, he looked over at Dr. Cullen, his father and slowly, almost insignificantly, nodded. I narrowed my eyes, confused at the odd exchange. It seemed like he had been answering some unspoken question—something I had missed. I looked from Edward to Dr. Cullen, trying to sense some silent language that was being spoken between them. However hard I observed, there was nothing I could draw from their expressions besides their silent understanding.

I followed the Cullens into a dining room, with a large table that would easily fit us all and then some. Edward, with his hand still resting behind my arm, pulled a chair at the very end for me. I accepted it with a muttered thank you, but was oddly sad when he didn't take the seat beside mine. Instead, he took his place on Carlisle's right hand side on the opposite side of the table. From where I sat, it felt like the Cullens were making a united front against me, somehow leaving me feeling alone again even in the presence of so many people. I shrank into my seat with apprehension.

"Bella, I'm not going to disrespect you by trying to convince you that this has all been an illusion and make you think you're insane for what has occurred here." Carlisle's serious expression made me listen intently, even though I felt that his tone signified impending bad news. "I know that you're a bright girl, and I won't pretend that I don't think you are. But, Bella, I must protect my family. So, I'd like to extend a helpful hand to you, but say that I think it's best that today goes unmentioned when you exit our home. For the protection of my family, and yours as well, you must forget what you have witnessed here. Or, if you feel that you can't truly forget, at least promise us that you won't speak of it after this."

I looked down, trying to analyze the meaning of his statement. Not speak of it after I left? I thought, ruefully, realizing the dismal truth behind the doctor's words. They expect me to go. Of course they wouldn't want me to stay. Just because my sister's here doesn't mean I can just impose on their lives like this…But no matter how much I tried to convince myself that he was right and that I should just leave, part of me wouldn't listen to any of it.

I could feel my eyes start to water at the prospect of leaving, and I tried desperately to avoid crying in front of these people I didn't know. But, I couldn't stop them. My eyes burned, and I tried to close my eyes to block out the pain but it only intensified. "I know it's terribly rude for me to say this, but I can't keep that promise."

Carlisle looked a little shocked at me, and for the first time he sounded frantic when he spoke. "Bella, you don't understand. If you were to speak of this it would not only put me and my family in danger, but your sister as well. Bella, think of Alice."

I flinched painfully when he spoke my sister's name out loud, finally hearing him acknowledge that the adopted girl in his family was my sister. I could feel the anger inside me start to boil to the surface, and as I looked up at the man I met his pleading eyes with a glare. "No, Dr. Cullen, you don't understand. I'm not talking about telling anyone. Not only do I have no one I would want to tell, but I already figured that I shouldn't tell anyone about this. You said yourself that you wouldn't misjudge my intelligence, so don't. Give me some credit before you beg for something I have already concluded myself. What I'm saying is that I can't keep my promise that I will leave. You see, I can't go. Not now. Not when I know my sister is here. You see, I'm sick of having to deal with promises. I was roped into a promise without my consent a long time ago, and so far it has only brought me pain and loneliness. My sister promised she would always watch over me, yet I've felt more lonely and vulnerable than I ever have in my life. Thus far in my experience, promises have only brought me suffering. And finally, you don't have to tell me to think of Alice. All I ever do is think of Alice. Sometimes I wish that I didn't think about her—that I could just forget her. My life would be so much easier if I could just erase the pain that thinking of her brought. But then I would remember, before I realized Alice was alive, that Alice was gone. I knew that the only way I could keep her close to me was to remember her, no matter how much it hurt me to do so. I came after Alice so that I could be with her again—so that that wounded part of me would heal and being close to her wouldn't hurt me anymore. I don't want to be in pain anymore."

I took a deep breath after my little speech, and sat back down—realizing I had stood up in the process of my rant. I looked over the Cullens, judging their expressions. The blond one, Rosalie Carlisle had said, looked unimpressed by my speech. The one next to her, the big one named Emmett, looked suddenly very guilty and wouldn't meet my gaze any longer. Edward peered back over at me with that same curiosity that he had before, though the amusement in his features was gone. Carlisle sighed and looked at me, but the most curious expression out of group was that of Carlisle's wife, Esme. She stood up very suddenly, her face looking almost as pained as I felt.

"I can't do this." She whispered to her husband, though the rest of us could hear it clearly. "I can't watch this anymore. You know how I feel about the situation. You all have discussed it, and I have included my input, but I know the final decision is up to Alice. But you know how I feel about this."

Without saying anything more, the woman left the room. Five curious faces followed her out, including my own. I didn't know what had just occurred, but I had the instinctual feeling that she agreed with me on this one. That made me think, however, that the others were not on my side. Carlisle looked up at me with a pained expression as well, looking like he wasn't going to explain his wife's sudden disappearance.

"Bella, I know you love your sister and- don't get me wrong- she very much loves you too. But for her safety as well as yours, I'm sorry, but you can't be together. It's not that we wouldn't want you to stay with us if it were possible, it's just that it's not in either of your best interests." He looked truly sorry, but his words were just empty pleas in my mind. It sounded like this was just Alice speaking through Carlisle, not Carlisle's own opinion.

I sighed in frustration and looked up at the group. "If Alice is going to tell me to leave, I'd prefer she tell me herself."

"I'm very sorry, Bella, but that's not possible."

"Why not?!" I asked, furious now. "My sister has left me on my own, and I always thought that it was just because she had to leave home. I don't blame her for wanting to leave our parents. But me? She always told me how important I was in her life…but now I know that can't be true. If I was so important in her life, she would take advantage of this opportunity to be in her life again. If I was so important to her, she would at least do me the decency of telling me she no longer wants me herself."

Carlisle began to look desperate, but no matter what he said my mind was made up. "Bella, please—"

"Don't be so ridiculous." At the voice, I looked up in disbelief. After Carlisle so vehemently explained that Alice couldn't talk to me, there she was. Everyone else, but Edward curiously, seemed surprised by Alice's appearance as well. I looked up at her, finally getting to see her. It was just like that first dream I had had of her—the one where she looked like an angel. Just as I had seen before, her short dark brown hair was no longer or shorter, but had darkened to black. Her eyes weren't milk chocolate anymore, but deep golden topaz like the others. Though none of them looked related, they all had that same things in common—the paleness of their skin and the color of their eyes. She was much shorter than I remembered, but I supposed that was because I had grown a lot in these past two years. She had dark shadows beneath her eyes, and it made me worried about her in spite of my anger. The expression on her face seemed just as unhappy as mine, and in my mind I thought she was frustrated that I was being so stubborn about this.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked, some question I couldn't understand silently spoken.

"I'll be fine, Carlisle." Alice said, never looking away from me while she spoke. "I've seen it. So long as Jasper and Edward are here, nothing will go wrong."

He nodded, and visibly relaxed in his seat. Alice's pained expression met mine for a few moments before I spoke again, "Alice?" I whispered.

"Bella." She said, the softness in her voice betraying the hard exterior she had assumed.

Finally, I couldn't hold my anger any more. Tears started to run from the corners of my eyes, and I suddenly felt like a little girl again in front of my sister. I asked, sounding rather pathetic, "Do you really want me to go?"

"No, of course not." She said, her response sounding saddened as well. She wasn't crying, not that she had ever been much of a crier. But she looked as though she would be crying if she were one to do so. "Why would you ever think that?"

"Because you left me!" I finally said, my cries turning into sobs. "You left me, and didn't want me to find you. But even when we're together again, you're trying to send me away."

"Alice?" Edward asked, the consternation in his voice seemed to be in response to something I hadn't heard. Alice gave him a deliberate look, and the shock on his face didn't fade. After a moment of this, he looked back to me and gave the briefest smile that seemed to be for only my benefit. "If you're sure… I certainly don't have a problem with it."

Alice seemed to realize something at that moment, because sudden recognition flashed across her face. In spite of our serious conversation, she smiled at Edward briefly and gave him another deliberate look. Edward narrowed his eyes in confusion, looked to Alice, then back to me. With another soft smile, he whispered. "I guess we'll see."

The tension in the room significantly lifted, and I seemed to feel happy for no reason at all. I shook my head, so confused with everything that was going on. It seemed almost like Edward, the boy who had spoke to me in the entry way, could read his family's minds or something. Maybe that was just it—maybe they all had super powers or something. Maybe Alice was some sort of super hero in a league of heroes, and didn't want her enemies to find me. I laughed at the ridiculousness of the thought in my mind. Finally, I looked back to Alice with the smallest hint of a smile on my face. "Alice, what's going on?"

"Bella, I'm going to tell you exactly what's going on, but only because I know that you'll be able to handle this much better than I had ever imagined." The other Cullens, except Edward, seemed to tense at her words but after a few moments their tension released. It was a very curious thing to watch, but I was about to get my explanation. "Not only that, but I have found that I could handle this much better than I had imagined."

Now, you have to admit, that is definitely not the worst cliffy I have ever had. ^_^ Keep an eye out for Chapter 10- Stronger