It took me almost an hour to finally calm down enough to listen to Alice. She was patient, though, and waited for me to be ready to listen. I paced around my room in anger, fuming. I put together the pieces of the plan on my own before she could explain, and I had thrown a pillow at her, furious. She stood by my door, statuesque, waiting for me to relax.

And then Jacob came back.

I thought I was asleep and dreaming when I finally heard him. He threw the front door open loudly, running up the stairs like a rocket. He stood in my doorway, his eyes locked on mine, his breathing heavy. My heart dropped, and my breath flew out of me like I'd been punched. In his eyes was the rawest emotion I'd ever seen, as raw as the joy in his kisses, as full as the fury when he almost shifted in his garage so long ago. His eyes were open wide, the pain and relief and grief and elation almost spilling from them. I had no idea what expression filled my face.

We were frozen, staring at each other. And then he was reaching for me, and I fell into him, my heart aching. I smacked his chest with my fists, anger and relief twining together into an indiscernible mass of emotion. He let me hit him, his arms around me, one hand running through my hair. His hands trembled against my skin, and he kissed the top of my head gently. I felt the tears coming, but I bit them back, trying so hard not to cry. He cupped my chin and lifted my face to his. Seeing the absolute bliss in his features broke something in me; I cried, trying to control the noise. He held me, and I was comforted by his presence, as I always was.

Alice waited until we had both calmed down, Jacob's hands no longer shaking and my sobs reduced to pathetic sniffling, before she moved from the corner of my room. She looked pained, her eyes hard. I wiped my eyes with my shirt.

"I am so sorry, Bella," she said quietly. "I hate putting you through this." I sniffled again.

"I'll forgive you in the morning," I said, my voice hoarse. A tiny smile turned up her lips, and Jake rubbed my arms.

"Please don't blame Jacob," she said, her eyes turning to him. "This was my idea."

"Just tell me what you saw, Alice," I said impatiently. She bit her lip and glanced at Jake.

"It was nothing," she said, and her voice started speeding up. "You were just…being you, and it was a freak accident that can easily be avoided, and I'm upset with myself for thinking it was anything more than just an coincidence because of course you would be the type to almost kill yourself just driving around town." She shut her mouth tightly, and I blinked.

"Anything else?" I asked, trying to gauge her reaction. She moved, almost as if being unhinged, and came to stand beside me and Jake.

"I really was overreacting," she said, smiling lightly. "It was a rainy day and you skidded. I should never have worried you with my frenzied crisis at not being able to see you clearly-"

"I'm not upset with you, you know," I pointed out. She gave me a look.

"-and I'm just glad it's something preventable. It's nothing to worry about. You'll be fine. I'll talk to Jacob and make sure that, on that day, he drives you to work instead." I sighed. The knots in my insides untangled, and I felt a warm tangible relief flow through to my fingers and toes. Jake wrapped his arms around my shoulders and chuckled.

"Nothing to worry about," he repeated. I leaned into him and breathed.

Alice decided to stay in Forks until the beach party in La Push after Sam – relieved with her vision and, I suspected, slightly proud of her devious plan – had invited her along. With only a few days left until the party, she went into a whirlwind of planning, calling every furniture gallery and antique shop within a 200-mile radius to design my tiny new house. I didn't try and stop her, though I knew I would have to rein her in eventually; my bank account wasn't as big as she seemed to think. I planned on my own, happy with whatever furniture Charlie was willing to give to me.

He had taken it much better than I'd expected. I told him the day after Alice's plan, cornering him in the morning before he went to work. He was on his guard, watching me and Alice with cautious eyes.

"I have something I have to tell you, Dad," I said, trying to sound calm. He raised both eyebrows, switching between the two of us.

"You better not be moving to Maine with her and the rest of them," he said in a low voice. I laughed, a little too loudly. Alice didn't look phased.

"No, Dad," I said, holding up my hands in reassurance. "I'm staying here."

"Well, good," he said, folding his arms. "That's better."

"It's something a little along those lines, though," I said in a very tiny voice, hoping he couldn't hear.

"Are they moving back?" he asked. He had heard me. I sighed, defeated. Alice cleared her throat, and I glanced at her. She looked annoyed, like she was going to just burst out and say it before me. I rolled my eyes.

"They're staying in Maine," I said. "But I'm moving out." It took a moment for it to sink in, but as soon as it did, the first emotion across his face was pain. I scrambled, trying to find the words.

"No, oh god no, it isn't about you!" I cried, my hands fluttering around. "I just figured that I should get a place for myself, and you must be getting tired of me living here now that I graduated, and-"

"Bells," he said, interrupting me. "Just stop." I exhaled slowly. "I knew you'd want to move out eventually, especially with Jake spending the night half the time anyway." My eyes got huge and a deep blush spread across my cheeks. Alice beside me laughed her tinkling laugh, and Charlie smiled like he was teasing.

"Jake doesn't-I mean-we don't-" I spluttered, my entire body hot. I wanted to sink into the floor.

"It's fine," he said, chuckling. "Why do you think I haven't said anything? But you two should learn to keep it down when you talk all night. Jake talks like he's shouting at you." I tried to breathe evenly, but Alice just kept laughing. Charlie beamed at her.

"I'm sorry," I said sheepishly, ashamed and embarrassed. He shook his head, still smiling.

"I told you, it's fine. I knew you'd be moving out soon, though. It can't be fun for him, having to sneak around at night." I was still blushing, and Alice was still trying to compose herself. I was in hell.

"I'm not moving out because of Jake," I muttered, staring at the floor. That set Alice off again, and she had to dance over to the couch to sit down. Charlie stepped a little closer to me.

"I know, Bells," he said gruffly. I glanced at him, and he was suddenly serious. "I'm teasing. But I know you've always been so independent, and I knew that this was coming. You're staying in Forks, which is more than I can say for…" He trailed off, but I didn't need him to say my mother's name for me to know who he was talking about.

"Oh, Dad," I mumbled, moving closer. I wrapped my arms around him in an awkward hug. Charlie was never big on hugs, but he squeezed me back. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll show you the place I found, too. It's really close and I can still see you all the time."

"You already found a place?" he asked in disbelief. "Wow, you don't waste any time." I blushed again, the redness creeping back onto my face.

"I'm sorry," I repeated.

"Kiddo, I'm teasing again." He ruffled my hair like he used to when I was a kid. "I'm always here for you. When's move in day? I'll help you get all of the furniture in. Alice, have you seen the place yet?"

"Of course!" she called from the couch, turning over around the back of the sofa. She was instantly grinning. "It's so cute, you'll love it! I've already started calling the furniture stores here in town and let me tell you, their selections are abysmal. I was thinking maybe we could take a trip down to Seattle to shop…" Charlie moved to the couch with her to talk logistics. I stood a few feet away, letting the blush fade from my cheeks and trying to get a grasp on myself before joining them.

"Bella, I need the blue rug from that store in Portland!" Alice shouted from inside, her voice angry though still beautiful. I sighed loudly, and Jake laughed, leaning against the side of the moving truck. Charlie was inside, helping to put away plates in the tiny kitchen. The living room was the task at hand, and Alice was at the end of her rope with me. Apparently, I wasn't as enthusiastic as she wanted me to be.

"Bella," she had said the day before, holding up two different throw pillows that looked, to me, almost identical. "These are both so different. How can you not see the variations in stitching patterns?"

"Bella?" she had called out, her voice drifting back to me from behind a tall bookshelf. "Come here and tell me which of these plate sets you like."

"Bella!" she had cried in exasperation. "If you don't make a decision on which towels you want, I'm going to scream!"

Moving was tough.

I had, at first, been extremely adamant about my indifference for furnishings. I finally admitted to Alice that I just didn't have the money to afford the types of stores that she had in mind. She had brushed me off, excusing the huge expense as a house-warming present from her and the rest of the Cullens, and when I had refused that, she had threatened me with a shopping trip. I had gone along with her quietly after that.

Charlie, to my immense surprise, was just as excited as Alice about my new place. His house was homey but almost bland, and I had never expected him to have any desire to help Alice map out the decorations. But he threw himself into the planning with excitement to rival Alice's fervor. Maybe it was because he wanted to still be involved in my life. I couldn't be sure.

Jake went along with whatever I wanted, which was a nice change from Alice and Charlie's united front. He was there to squeeze my hand when Alice got to be too much or kiss the top of my head when Charlie snickered at my discomfort. Jake, after hearing Alice's vision, had slowly brightened back into his old self, but I felt that he was holding something back. I would catch him staring at Alice across the stores, his eyes as distant as hers, and I'd wondered what had happened between them, what they were hiding. But, if I asked, he would quickly change the subject, wrapping his arms around me to distract me.

Moving in was an entirely different story. Alice, who, despite the occasional outburst at my apathy, was on a rampage, and she flitted around the tiny house at a speed that was much too fast for a normal human. Charlie, thankfully, was too busy organizing the kitchen, which he had taken as his personal project; he made sure I had all the right cooking utensils and pans and serving bowls and things that I didn't even know I needed. Jake and I had tried to help at first, but Alice's deadly cold stare had caused us to retreat outside, sitting around the moving truck that held my entire life, new and old. Our job was to bring her furniture that she then placed with a frosty "no, thank you" when asked if she needed help.

"You should bring that rug in," Jake said, shaking me from my thoughts. "She might start screeching again." I shuddered, remembering the shrill voice that had burst from the open front door when I had taken too long to bring her my shower curtain, and grabbed the rolled-up rug from the truck. When I brought it in, the place was transformed. Charlie was busy organizing the small appliances on the kitchen counter, but Alice had created a living room straight from a magazine. The couch, picked from an antique store in a tiny town almost 100 miles away, was a light green, which matched perfectly with the rug that she snatched out of my arms. The walls were decorated with canvases full of flowers, daisies and sunflowers and tulips and flowers that I didn't recognize. The coffee table matched the end table next to the couch, and beside that was a small armchair in dark blue that somehow complemented the green couch. Alice smoothed out the rug, placing a few of my books onto each corner to hold it down, and flitted into the bedroom.

"Go have Jacob bring me your desk," she called from the room. I leaned around the doorframe and saw her fluffing out pillows on the bed. Charlie had been fine to let me take my old bed, but Alice insisted on something fancy. The headboard was vintage and beautiful, and the bed was bigger than my old one. She turned around to face me, looking irritated. She made a face, motioning to the door.

"Oh, right, desk," I said, hurrying back out to the moving truck. Jake was laughing, his entire body bent over. I smacked him hard, but he only laughed harder. I threw my hands up in exasperation and went back inside. I turned into the kitchen, where Charlie was standing back a few feet staring at the new toaster he'd gotten me. He smiled at me when I walked up and patted the counter beside him. I leaned up against it next to him.

"I think this place is great," he said, still contemplating the toaster.

"Thanks, Dad," I said, smiling back at him. "And thank you for all of your help with this. Seriously, Alice is crazy and Jake is just taking up space."

"I heard that!" Alice called from the bedroom, and I heard her huff loudly.

"Love you too, Bells!" Jake shouted between his laughter. I shook my head and turned to Charlie. He was smiling wide.

"When you visit, leave them here," he joked. Alice poked her head out of the bedroom and made a face. I laughed, the sound filling the house. With all of the blinds open and the front door letting in the rare sunshine, their presence, happy and annoyed together, made it feel like home.

I gave up. I tossed my shirt to the floor and flopped back onto my bed. The rain pattered away on the roof of the tiny cottage, but it was letting up. Alice was always sure of the weather.

"What now?" she asked, peeking around the bathroom door. She was swiping a brush through her hair expertly. I grunted, and she laughed.

"I'm not going," I said definitively. "We can just tell Jake that I fell and broke my ankle on the way out. He was talking about that loose stepping stone in the garden all day yesterday."

"It'll be fun, Bella!" Alice said, her voice chipper. "I love big parties! Just try this on. This one will look great, I promise." She tossed a shimmery lump of clothing at me, and I held it up by the very thin straps with dainty disgust.

"This is way too flashy," I said, trying not to be rude. "This is something you'd wear."

"I know," she replied easily. "It's mine." Of course.

"Well, I'd rather just wear something plain."

"If you wear that, Jacob wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off of you." I rolled my eyes.

"The last thing I want is attention, even from Jake." She sighed and moved inhumanly fast to my open closet, rifling through the clothes hanging there. I waited only a second or two before she held out one of my favorite blue shirts.

"This is a favorite, right?" she asked, her head still stuck in my closet. "You wear this all the time. You know you look good in this." She turned and stuck out an old pair of jeans in the other hand. I smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Alice," I said, taking the clothes. "I promise, I'll dress up for the next big werewolf beach party." That set her off, and her ringing laugh danced around the house.

As Alice said, the rain had stopped completely by the time we pulled up to La Push in her flashy Porsche. When we got out, I saw Seth, walking up with his mom, eyeing the car. He gave me a wide smile and bounded over to us, never afraid of the vampires the way the other wolves were.

"Hey, Bella!" he exclaimed, giving me a hug. He was definitely another 6 inches taller than before, and if he didn't quit growing, he would be as tall as Jake soon. "Hi, Alice!" He waved at Alice but didn't stand away like most of the pack. I wondered if the smell bothered him. She beamed at him, her teeth gleaming.

"Have you ever been to one of these parties before?" she asked him. He waved one hand at her dismissively.

"Sure, sure," he said mockingly, winking at me. I laughed. "They're so fun! You'll have a great time, I promise!" Alice, still glowing, linked her arm with mine and almost marched down to the beach. The rest of the pack was there already, and Jake started over when he saw us. My heart fluttered at the sight of him, dressed for once in a tight white t-shirt and dark jeans. He was absolutely beautiful, and I felt, for the first time, like I paled beside him. But when he reached out to me, tangling his fingers into mine and pulling my chin up to kiss me, I felt like there was no one else in the world that we could be with.

"I'm glad you made it," he said teasingly, glancing back at Alice. She laughed, her arm still linked in mine. The stark difference between the icy skin of her arm and the fiery touch of Jake's fingers was startling.

"She was going to fake a broken ankle," she said, making a face at me.

"That stepping stone?" he guessed. Alice laughed, one short sound.

"How'd you know?" He rolled his eyes and kissed me again.

The party was big, but it wasn't as big as my wild imagination had thought. When I had laid awake the night before, pulled tight to Jake's chest, I had thought up the worst: hundreds of people, too-loud music, and at least one person puking on me by the end of the night. It ended up being the pack and the wolf girls, plus everyone's parents and a few friends from their school. I was comfortable with them, and I let myself sip on a soda while people skipped stones on the water or threw off their shirts and jumped in. Alice, surprisingly, was friendly and animated, moving between the wolves with ease and grinning at me whenever she slid past. I stayed with Jake, our hands locked together, and I felt like I belonged.

Charlie helped Sam drag a large grill down to the beach from Sue's house, and Charlie and Billy cooked dinner. They couldn't get the burgers out fast enough for the pack, and every time they flipped a burger onto a bun, it disappeared. Alice eventually ordered pizza, which stuffed everyone enough to settle down. We arranged ourselves along the beach on logs and rocks, making a crooked circle. I didn't talk often, just listening to the conversations around me: Seth, talking to Colin about a girl he liked at school; Sam, talking with Emily about more wedding plans; Sue, whispering to Charlie and Billy about how worried she was for Leah. Leah, who had run off after the fight, had been gone almost the entire summer. She never phased, wherever she was, because no one could ever hear her. Emily had tried to smooth things over with Sue, making up some story about going with a friend to southern California for the summer, but I think Sue knew better.

The clean night air grew chilly, and Jake rubbed my arms to keep me warm. I glanced around at the other wolf girls, the imprints with their boys, and they were all so happy. I tried to picture Jake and I imprinted, the nagging strange but not unbearable. I trusted him enough to stay with me, and if he ever imprinted, we would jump that hurdle then. Things were close to perfect, and I couldn't imagine anyone coming between us, all weird wolf-y feelings aside.

When it got dark, Sam lit a bonfire in the middle of the group, and the boys roasted marshmallows. I declined the only one Jake offered before he stuffed four in his mouth at once. Alice, who had been wrapped up in conversation with Emily, twirled over to us. Her eyes were as bright as stars. She told me about the amazing pack dynamic, about the individual lives but the combined mentality. She had talked to the wolves who, after Victoria, seemed comfortable with her, and she loved the attention. Jake went with Sam to set up the fireworks, and I stayed with Alice, huddled together and talking about the wolves.

I glanced up, catching Charlie's eye and smiling. He winked, grinning, before turning back to an animated conversation with Sue. Paul and Jared were fighting over the last marshmallow, smacking each other over the head. Seth was with Quil and Embry, sitting in the sand at their feet, listening like a tiny child to their story. Everyone was wrapped around each other, like a tiny heartbeat of excitement and shared stories and laughter. I leaned my head against Alice's shoulder, staring around the circle at the people who had accepted me, who had become a family.

The fireworks exploded above us suddenly, and then everyone was on their feet at the edge of the water, gasping and cheering and shouting at the lights over the ocean. I felt Jake sneak up behind me, snaking his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my head. I heard him hum in content, and Alice squeezed my hand before swaying away to Charlie. I stood with Jake, the fireworks booming all around us, and I felt like I could do anything. I felt dangerous and beautiful and fun and wanted. I turned around, still in Jake's arm, and kissed him, my perfect sun, as the fireworks glittered back down to earth.

Alice drove me home after the fireworks. The party scattered, and people left, yawning. Jake kissed me on the cheek, and I promised to call him once I was home. Charlie, still not used to me not living with him, waited around for me for a few minutes before he remembered I wasn't going with him. I saw him sneak off, trying not to let me see his mistake. I vowed to myself that I wouldn't mention it and climbed into the Porsche.

"That was so great!" Alice exclaimed, speeding faster than usual. "I'm so glad I was invited!"

"I'll tell Sam how much you loved it," I said, watching her. She was practically jumping in her seat.

"I never get to do normal human things anymore, not since we moved to Maine! I really missed these types of things!"

"Would it be crazy to ask if you'd ever move back?" I asked, trying my luck again. She smiled, still happy.

"If Jasper is still as bored as I am, then I'll ask him if he would consider it." I perked up, not expecting an agreement.

"Really?" I asked, sitting up straighter. "But what about everyone else?" She shrugged.

"You know our stories, Bella. Jasper and I weren't created by Carlisle, and though we love them, we wouldn't be against living away from them for a few years." She stared straight ahead, thinking. I sat back in the seat, grinning at the thought of having Alice back in town.

She pulled up to the house and nudged it silently into my narrow driveway behind my truck. We went inside and packed up her things, Alice darting through the house picking up her things. I helped carry her bags out to her car, and she hugged me tightly, holding me a beat longer than usual.

"Be safe," she said quietly in my ear, and then she pulled away to kiss my cheek lightly. In less than a second, she was in the driver's seat and turning on the car, pulling away with a wave. I stood there watching her, wondering what she meant. I shook my head, trying to clear it, and went back inside. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and went to click on Jake's name.

When I saw him, I almost screamed. His pale skin stood out against the soft moonlight streaming in through the windows, and his eyes were pitch black, staring at me. I put my hand over my heart and could feel it pounding unevenly beneath my fingers. He wasn't moving, frozen like a cold statue against the far wall.

He was still achingly beautiful, his face boyish but almost older, pulled down slightly like the years had finally begun to age him. His lips, angled down into a tight frown, were still full. The prominent dark circles under his eyes were too noticeable, and I could see that he hadn't fed in possibly weeks. I didn't know what to do. Running seemed silly, but something in me told me that he was dangerous.

"Hello, Bella," he finally said. The liquid silk in his voice spilled over his lips, and I had to blink hard to compose myself. My phone clattered to the floor noisily, but we ignored it.

"Hello, Edward," I said, trying to sound cold. He didn't take his eyes from mine.

"I like the new house," he remarked lightly. I was appalled at his composure, at his easy demeanor. "It suits you."

"It was all Alice," I replied, the coldness fully faded from my tone. I couldn't rip my gaze from him.

"Ah," he said simply. It was quiet again.

"Why are you here?" I blurted out, my thoughts tumbling. He chuckled quietly.

"I could see it in your eyes," he said, still watching, "when Alice lied to you. You knew that something was wrong."

"Lied about what?"

"About how you died." My blood ran cold, and my jaw felt like it turned into gelatin. I couldn't move.

"She was lying?" He nodded, and his eyes narrowed.

"Against all better judgment, yes, she was lying." I tried to understand what he was saying, but it took me a moment for the implications of his visit were clear.

"I didn't die in a car accident," I said flatly. He shook his head.

"Alice believed it necessary to hide the truth from you. She and Jacob Black didn't want you to worry." My eyes glazed over. It was hard to make out his fuzzy shape in the corner.

"Worry about what?" I asked in a small voice. He took a step forward, his expression an agonized sculpture.

"The Volturi."

I fell, fell, fell, into the darkness.