Bella's POV

Oh, God, he was alive. He was here. The moment my eyes landed on Laurent, I knew he was the reason I was here; the reason my mother was dead and my life turned upside down. My heart began to hammer, frantically pounding blood through my quivering body.

I could feel my hands shaking as he purposely drove me into the wall. This was it. I was going to die. I had somehow escaped my fate in the Desert Cactus commune, but no longer.

It was as his hands settled around my neck that I realized I didn't want to die. I wanted so badly to live. Nothing would be accomplished with my death, except for defeat, and I couldn't let that happen. My father had fought for fifteen long years to remove the Volturi from power so I would have a better life, and I wasn't going to let him down now when I was most needed. My body tensed to flee when I was suddenly ripped from Laurent's grasp and flung down the corridor. I landed roughly on my hands, further scraping them. Quickly, I scrambled to my feet.

"Run, Bella! Go!" Edward screamed at me, a savage look on his face. I stumbled backwards, away from the man who had just saved my life. The look on his face had been so visceral, so primitive, and it shook me to my very core. It was in that moment that I realized he had claimed me. His green eyes had burned with possession and fury - fury that anyone would dare try to take me from him.

I turned and fled in a panic. I was no longer running from Laurent; I was running from Edward.

I ran until my lungs burned with the need for oxygen and my legs trembled with exhaustion. A great sob escaped my throat, and I fell one final time. Gingerly, sobs still pouring from me, I crawled over to the shadowy wall and curled up against its cool strength. I gently rocked myself back and forth, my arms gripped tightly around my legs, my head tucked into my knees. My palms burned with fiery insistence, refusing to let me drift off into oblivion. Slowly, my sobs turned to soft whimpers and then to silence. Dazed, I sat staring into the inky darkness that surrounded me.

Maybe it was minutes, maybe it was hours later, but I heard someone calling my name, searching for me. I recognized the voice immediately: Edward.

My breathing picked up, and I sat up straight. Quickly, I wiped my cheeks of any remaining tears, grateful that the darkness would cover my weakness. I carefully plastered myself against the wall, hoping he would pass me by. It was a ridiculous hope; his eagle eyes easily located me in the darkness.

"Bella, there you are. I've been looking for you for the past thirty minutes, why didn't you respond?" He crouched down by me and began running his hands over my shivering limbs.

"I – I'm all right," I huskily whispered, pushing down the alarming sensations his touch caused.

"I'm sure you are, but I would still like to make sure. We need to get you to Carlisle and he can confirm."

I didn't want to go to Carlisle. As nice as the man was, he would know that while I didn't have any physical injuries, other than scraped palms and knees, I definitely had some psychological and emotional injuries, most of them stemming from Edward and the sudden change in our relationship.

Cautiously, I raised my eyes to meet Edward's. His hands slowly stopped their brisk inspection of my body and finally settled on my thighs. Time seemed suspended as our gazes locked and we took in each other.

My lips began to tremble and a soft curse escaped his mouth. His hands flew up to cup my face as his mouth swooped down to claim my lips.

To say that Edward's mouth erased every other who had come before him would be an understatement. The tentative kisses of other boys were nothing in comparison to the possession Edward was laying on my mouth.

His hands cupped my jaw tenderly as he crushed his mouth to mine. There was nothing soft about the kiss; he was making sure I knew I was his, and it frightened me. As if he knew I was scared, the kiss became tender and soon he pulled away to rest his forehead against mine, panting softly.

His thumb whispered lightly over my cheekbone as our breathing settled. He pressed tender kisses to my head as he lifted me up in his arms. A small whimper of protest escaped me; I wanted to stay in the dark where my confusing thoughts and emotions could run free. "Shhh, Bella," he hushed me, tucking my head into his shoulder.

Wearily, I shut my eyes against now encroaching thoughts and let him carry me back to the commune. I would deal with this another day; now was not the time.

"Hello," a little voice chirped as I groggily came to. My eyes carefully blinked open and I took in my surroundings; I was back in my room at Charlie's. Slowly, I sat up, hugging the covers to my chest.

"Hello," my voice scratched. I winced at the sound.

"I've got some water right here for you," she offered, handing me a cup.

"Thanks," I said after chugging most of the glass.

"You really should just accept that you're his and he's yours."

I choked on the sip I had taken. When I could finally drag in a breath, I turned startled eyes to the small woman by my bed. Large grey eyes that stared back at me without guile or artifice dominated her Elvin face.

"I'm Alice and we're going to be great friends."

"Um, that's, um, nice," I stuttered. This girl was really throwing me off.

An impish smile decorated her face. "What did you mean I should just accept things?" I couldn't help but ask.

"There's really no use fighting it."

"Fighting what?"

"Your destiny."

"My destiny?"

An exasperated sigh slipped from Alice's mouth. "Yes, you and Edward are destined to be together."

"I am not destined to be with Edward." It was true; spending too much time underground could make you go crazy.

"See, even your resolution right now changes nothing," she explained, a faraway look in her eyes.

"Okay. I'm going to go take a shower now…" I sat there awkwardly, waiting for the girl to leave.

"Actually, Charlie instructed me to keep you in bed for the rest of the day."

I wanted to bang my head against the wall. Charlie had stuck me in here with some loony. "I'm a big girl; I really don't need any supervision."

Alice just grinned back at me. With a scowl, I sank down into my pillows.

"Would you like for me to read to you?"

"No." Maybe if I sat here long enough, she would get bored and leave.

Forty minutes later, I was bored.

"So, how long have you been down here?" I timidly asked.

"Not long, a few weeks at most." Wow, she went crazy fast.

"Do you still want to read?" Anything to take my mind off the situation.

"Sure! I've got my old copies of Vogue with me," she exclaimed. My face fell, and I'm sure a grimace flashed across it. "Or I could read one of your books."

"I don't have any, they were all destroyed in the bombing," I calmly explained.

"Oh, that's right. Well, Edward gave me some books to read to you. How do you feel about Wuthering Heights?"

How did he know that was one of my favorite books? Eyes wide, I nodded my head. Alice happily clapped her hands and pulled the book from a bag by her feet.

This was turning into a very strange day…wait, what day was it?

Quickly, I interrupted Alice, "What is the date today?"

"It's the twenty-eighth," Alice peered at me curiously. "You've only been asleep for a little over twelve hours. When Edward returned with you, you were asleep; that was yesterday."

With a sigh of relief, I laid back down. I was tired of missing large gaps of time.

Alice began reading again and I quietly listened. Her voice sounded like a gently blowing wind, calm and comforting. Maybe she wasn't that crazy, maybe I was just being judgmental.

Again, I interrupted her, "Alice, why do you say that I am destined to be with Edward?"

"Because I saw it." And with that, she returned to the book.

Nope, I was right. She was crazy as a bed bug.