A/N--sooo I just figured out how to put in Author's Notes!! LOL...so let me say thank you really quickly to my awesome beta, alicedances and all of my readers here and over at Twilighted! I also have a forum thread over there if you're interested;) I post teasers and what not:)

Chapter 11~Missed Calls

APOV

Struggling to resist the temptation to crumple the cell phone in my hands, I instead placed it on the bedside table and searched around for something else on which to take out my anger. Spotting a dress in my closet that was from last season, I strode towards it and ripped it from the hanger, tearing it to shreds vehemently.

I was livid. If Edward were here, I would have torn him apart piece by piece. Stupid, masochistic brother.

Growling loudly, I searched for clothing that I had worn a few too many times, and vigorously went about expressing my anger on the designer dresses. Jasper appeared at the closet door a few minutes later, wearing a look of confusion and concern.

"Alice? Why are you so angry?" He remained at the door, eying the heap of ruined clothes under which I was halfway buried, apparently afraid to venture in any farther.

"Edward," I growled.

Seemingly relieved that I was not mad at him, he came closer and picked up a few pieces of the destroyed clothing, holding them up in question. "So you're taking it out on your beloved wardrobe?" He chuckled lightly as he spoke.

"I don't see this as funny at all," I snapped back, climbing out of the pile and grabbing the scraps of fabric out of his hands. "Besides, these are older. I won't miss them."

"All right, all right." He threw up his hands in mock surrender before pulling me into a hug and resting his chin on my head. I instantly felt much calmer and lighthearted.

"Jasper. Stop it." I grumbled into his chest while I struggled to break free from his grasp.

"Stop what?" He replied innocently, tightening his hold on me and stroking my face as I felt another wave of lightheartedness roll over me.

"You know what! Stop trying to calm me down! I'm mad at Edward, and I have a right to be!" Wiggling myself free, I ducked underneath his arms and stomped out of the closet, heading for my cell phone again.

No missed calls. I hit the send button, tapping my foot impatiently as I listened to the phone ring. Jasper had moved to sit on the edge of the bed, having given up on trying to calm me down. Reaching Edward's voicemail for the fourth time, I left him another message in the string of angry rants he would be getting from me until he decided to answer his phone.

"What did he do?" Jasper questioned from his place on the bed once I had hung up the phone. I hopped up beside him and sat cross-legged, and he turned to face me. Strands of his blond hair fell haphazardly across his forehead, and I instinctively ran my hand through it, pushing it out of his eyes. His eyes were shimmering gold and filled to the brim with concern.

"He left her. He left Bella. She was talking in her sleep and it sounded like she asked Edward not to hurt her—but that couldn't be what she meant, why would she think Edward would hurt her?" I searched his eyes for an answer, something to tell me that I could have heard it wrong.

He stroked my cheek lovingly before answering; he seemed to be weighing his words very carefully. "Alice. I know you love Bella and I know you think that she left for some other reason, but doesn't this just confirm what Edward believed all along? She is scared of us."

"You said that you never felt any fear from her! You told me that she always felt safe and comforted around us," I protested.

"Not on her birthday. She was scared when I…when I…" He was struggling to find the words, and I quickly quieted him by pressing my lips affectionately against his and running my hands through his hair.

"Don't do this to yourself. What happened at her birthday was an accident, and it could have happened to anyone--"

"Not to you. Not to—"

"Stop blaming yourself." Gripping both sides of his face so that he could see straight into my eyes, I continued, "You are not the reason she left, and I will not have you continuing to put this burden on your shoulders." Kissing him again, I turned around and leaned my back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me as I went back to contemplate Bella's sleep-talking.

"Where is Edward?" The sound of his name quickly brought back up the anger boiling in the pit of my stomach. Jasper quickly flooded me with a rush of tranquility to pacify my anger.

"He hasn't decided. He keeps changing his mind." I watched his various options soar through my head—South America, Canada, Isle Esme… "He's definitely not coming here, though."

"What was his reaction to Bella's dream?"

"Same as yours. He decided that Bella was right to leave us, that we're too dangerous for her, and then he left." I replayed his face in my mind and felt my heart ache for him. "He was heartbroken. I could see it in his face. He was more broken than when I found him in the meadow after she left."

"Did she see him?"

"No, she—"

Abruptly, the room turned black as my vision overtook my senses.

There was girl with long brown hair standing alone, surrounded in complete darkness. Her face was full of fear and her breathing was heavy and panicked. A thin, pale hand emerged out of the darkness and placed itself on her shoulder. She turned sharply and backed away. A woman with flaming orange hair emerged from the shadows.

"Alice? What was it? What did you see?" Jasper was huddled above me, cupping my face and holding my body close to his.

"Bella," my voice trembled as I spoke, "with Victoria."

I felt the waves of fear flow unconsciously off of Jasper as I tried desperately to focus on my vision. I couldn't make out anything, it was too dark. "I don't know where they were," I mumbled frantically. "I couldn't see…"

"When? How far into the future?" Feelings of fear were quickly replaced with calm as Jasper's face became a mask of determination and authority. Whenever there was danger, he would always revert back to the beginning years of his life, a soldier ready to protect his family.

"I…I don't know." Closing my eyes, I tried to force another vision to come, but was unsuccessful. I reached for my cell phone again, dialing Edward's number for the fifth time as Jasper went and alerted the rest of the family. When he didn't answer, I quickly typed him a text:

Bella is in danger. Call me immediately.

EPOV

I drove mindlessly, without purpose. The night enveloped me from all sides, as I desperately tried to distance myself as quickly as possible from Bella. A sob escaped my throat and reverberated throughout the car as her face flashed before my eyes.

"Don't hurt me. Edward…" Her cries played in my mind, over and over again like a broken record. I had hurt her; even in her sleep, I was hurting her. My entire body was wracked with guilt and self-loathing. I should have stayed away from her. She had finally done something good for herself. She had left me, the monster, behind, and I had been too selfish to let her be.

I caught my reflection in the rearview mirror; I was disgusting, a monster trying to pretend to be something he's not. Wrenching the rearview mirror from its place, I threw it in the backseat, too revolted by the paleness of my skin and the color of my eyes to look at myself anymore.

The phone in my pocket broke my thoughts as it vibrated relentlessly. Pulling it from my pocket, I confirmed that it was Alice. I knew she would have known that I had changed my mind. I also knew that she would be upset. But it wasn't her decision—it was mine. I needed to protect Bella, and the only way to do that was to stay out of her life.

Trying to rid myself of the fear on her face I saw during her nightmare, I instead pictured her on the night of prom.

"Edward," she whispered, "I honestly can't dance!"

I couldn't help but chuckle as her eyebrows scrunched up in nervousness. Her brown hair cascaded in spiraling curls down her back, and framed her face perfectly.

Leaning in close to her ear, I whispered, "Don't worry, silly. I can." I gently trailed my hands up the sides of the deep blue, silk dress, tracing her curves before bringing her arms up softly around my neck. Radiating in her warm touch, I slowly brought my hand back down to her waist and lifted her gently and positioned her on top of my feet. Her cast made things somewhat awkward, but it didn't matter. Whirling her around delicately to the slow beat of the music, I became lost in her eyes. Alice had accented the brown perfectly with Bella's makeup.

I watched her eyes dance with delight as she giggled lightly. "I feel like I'm five years old!" Her face was alive with joy and her lips were spread out in a huge smile. She was beyond beautiful. In my entire existence, I had never seen anything so stunning as my Bella.

"You don't look five," I muttered and pulled her body closer against mine. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the warmth and electricity that was shooting between our bodies. My dead heart seemed to jump back to life as we waltzed around the room.

The phone's vibrating tore me from my memories again. Looking down, it now said I had five missed calls, five new voicemails, and one new text message…all from Alice.

I needed to be alone. I would contact my family when I was ready. Rolling down the driver's side window, I tossed the phone out into the night and drove on.

I feel like I was born
To devastation and reform
Destroying everything I loved
And the worst part is
I pull my heart out, reconstruct
And in the end it's nothing but
The shell of what I had when I first started