These chapters keep getting longer and longer! Hope you enjoy it. I don't own, but please review anyway!
As Alice displayed an amazing ability to do without sleep, the three of them drove through the night from Forks to Phoenix. Elena had wanted to call Charlie and Renee to warn them of the incoming danger, but Alice and Jasper wouldn't let her, and somewhere between Washington and Nevada, she just gave up. She placated herself with the knowledge that Edward would do everything in his power to keep the people she loved safe.
It was a wonderful feeling, actually, Elena thought, looking out the window at the Arizona stars. She had forgotten what it felt like to be number one for someone and have that person put her needs above anyone else's. And was it a little bit shallow to think that the combination of his protectiveness, his good looks, and his wonderful family was enough to make Elena see Edward in a different light? Maybe, she thought, when this is all over…
Elena didn't let that thought finish. Who was she kidding? When this was all over she would go back to being Bella, yet another girl at Forks High School staring longingly at Edward Cullen whenever he passed her in the hallway or happened to look her way. It was pitiful actually, the way females reacted to him, almost as if they couldn't help but fall at his feet. But she, Elena, would resist, she decided.
Almost as if he realized she were thinking about his foster brother, Jasper turned around from where he was sitting in the front passenger seat and said, "Don't worry about Edward, Bella. He can take care of himself."
Elena quickly responded, "I'm not worried about his safety."
Jasper looked a little taken aback at her sharp response.
Alice peered back at Elena through the mirror. "It's okay to be scared, Bella. But we'll keep you safe, from James or anyone else."
Opening her mouth to contradict Alice's statement and claim, falsely, that she wasn't scared at all, Elena was interrupted by Jasper who said, while turning back toward the front, "You just seem tense, is all, Bella."
"I'm not worried," she said again. At least, not about Edward's safety. The state of her heart, on the other hand, worried Elena greatly.
The trio eventually ended up in Phoenix around 9 in the morning. Elena was sure that the speed with which they arrived had something to do with Alice's recklessly fast driving, but Alice simply laughed and said, "Don't be silly, Bella. I was following the speed limits the entire way."
Elena knew that the drive she had taken from Phoenix to Forks with Charlie not so many weeks ago had taken a lot longer than their race through the night from Washington to Arizona, but she said nothing.
It was then decided that Jasper would go get a hotel for the three of them while Alice got food for Bella. As if they don't need to eat too, Elena thought. Apparently not, however, for when Alice and Elena met Jasper at the hotel he had found, there was only enough food for one. And Elena, after eating everything Alice had bought and still feeling hungry, dropped into one of the double beds and promptly fell asleep.
When she woke up a few hours later, it was 3 in the afternoon, and Elena was alone in the spacious hotel room. She was about to roll out of bed to find Alice and Jasper when the bedside hotel phone rang. Assuming it was just the front desk or housekeeping, Elena picked it up.
"Hello," she said, still somewhat groggy from her long nap.
"Remember me?" the voice on the other line said, creepily.
"I'm sorry; you must have the wrong number. I don't know who you're looking for, but I don't think it's me."
Elena moved to hang up on the strange caller, but before she could, the voice replied "Don't even think about trying to hang up on me, girl. I'm an expert tracker and I love a good challenge. I will find you whether you listen to me or not."
"James!" Elena gasped out, suddenly terrified. She looked around, frantically searching for Alice and Jasper.
"Oh, good." He said. "You know my name. That always makes things so much more enjoyable. But do you know what I am yet? I'm sure your precious Cullen's will have told you everything by now, right?"
At Elena's answering silence, he continued. "Or not. Hmm. Interesting. Well if they haven't told you yet, I'm sure not going to ruin that surprise. You'll just have to wait and see, I suppose. How exciting."
Elena resisted the urge to shudder at James' words, and put everything she had into sounding confident and unafraid when she asked him, "What do you want with me?"
He chuckled, low and ominous. "I'm sure you are well aware of what I do with my…pets. Whatever else you might be unaware of, the Cullen's have definitely told you that. I had thought about waiting for you to call your mother, or should I say Renee? Because you and I both know your mother died in a car accident a long time ago. But then I decided, why wait? You see I went through your records at Forks High School, but it turns out that Bella Swan didn't actually exist until you moved to Forks. So I went back a little farther, and found myself in Phoenix. After that it was pretty easy to find Renee. Your Edward tried to lead me away from the policeman, but I stayed at your house long enough to hear a frantic call from that man to Renee about how his precious 'Elena' hadn't come home yet."
She gasped then. How could James know all of this about her?
She heard him smiling through his words as he continued, "Oh yes, I know everything there is to know about you, Miss Gilbert. So, here's my proposition: I have Renee. I was prepared to wait for you, but, like I said, waiting is boring. And you don't believe me? Check the house. Quite a nice little place she's got there; don't know why you'd ever want to leave it." He chuckled again, and Bella heard a quiet whimper in the background.
Renee! She thought, desperately. What has he done to you? "I'm so sorry, Renee," she whispered.
James heard her, and said gleefully, "I assume you'll agree to my proposed exchange then. You lose your bodyguards and I'll trade you a life for a life: yours for your precious Renee's. And then all you have to do is dance your way to me, mystically of course." With that, James abruptly hung up the phone, and Elena sat there for a good thirty seconds, just staring off into space.
He found her. She couldn't believe it. There was also a small part of her that wondered why James was so driven and able to find her, but Damon apparently forgot, or no longer cared, where she was. It hurt to think about, so Elena simply buried that thought deep down and tried to focus on the problem at hand.
So James had Renee. Though they weren't actually related, Renee was the closest thing Elena had to a mother since her mom, Isabelle and Jenna had all passed away and Elena simply wasn't willing to lose anyone else in her life, blood relative or not.
The only problem was how to find her 'Mom'.
Elena was still sitting on the bed with a blank look on her face when Alice and Jasper returned a couple of minutes later. Alice quickly rushed over to Elena in concern, but before she could ask if she were alright, Alice's eyes glazed over.
Though Elena was confused about this sudden change in behavior, Jasper simply grabbed a pen and paper, set it in front of Alice, and sat back to watch as she grabbed the pen and began to draw.
"What is going on?" Elena asked, suddenly confused.
Jasper looked tired; it seemed uncharacteristic for him, Elena thought. "Alice sometimes has a special ability," Jasper finally said. He looked apprehensively at Elena, but she merely shrugged.
"My best friend back home swore she was psychic," she said without thinking.
He was suddenly interested. "Home?" He asked. "In Phoenix?"
Elena, realizing her mistake, nodded slowly, "Um, yeah. Here. In Phoenix. My home."
Edward's brother looked at her strangely, but was soon distracted by Alice pulling out of her trance and staring down at the drawing she had created.
"I don't know this place," she said, holding up her drawing with a confused expression on her face.
"That's a dance studio!" Elena said. Suddenly, James 'cryptic speech made sense. Elena quickly formulated a plan and said "I used to go there when I was little. It was near my house, but I don't remember the name. Do you think it's important?"
Jasper and Alice looked at each other cryptically. Finally, "You stay here with Jasper, Bella," Alice said. "I'm going to see if I can find out what's so great about this dance studio."
Her boyfriend nodded in agreement.
They both looked at Bella for her opinion, but she merely nodded, got off the bed and made her way to the bathroom.
Once inside she locked the door, sat down with her back to the door, and thought about how to get rid of Jasper.
Her stomach grumbled, then, and an idea came to her. Everyone's got to eat, right?
After convincing Jasper that, yes, she would be fine on her own for an hour or so while he went out and grabbed her food, he left. Alice, at that point, had already been gone twenty minutes, and Elena, after both were gone, grabbed a few essentials and quickly left the hotel room.
Taking the back stairs to avoid detection in case Jasper was still anywhere near the lobby or the hotel's front entrance, Elena exited the building and hailed a cab to the airport.
Knowing that Alice and Jasper would catch up with her eventually, Elena used her real name—Elena Gilbert—but didn't bother to pay with cash, and instead used Charlie's emergency credit card to buy a plane ticket for that afternoon at five.
Elena was soon on the plane and in the air. When the plane finally reached cruising altitude, Elena breathed a sigh of relief and attempted to get a little sleep before she arrived. It was going to be a long night, she knew, and if James didn't kill her, the emotional toll of being back home probably would.
She was trying to decide if, when all of this with James was over, she should go see all of the people she had left behind. Jeremy and Alaric were long gone, but it had been a long time since she had seen Care or Bonnie. Elena didn't even want to think about Damon, or even Stefan. She didn't think she could face Damon, knowing that he had willingly abandoned her in his anger over their stupid little argument. As for Stefan, she didn't know what to say to him anymore; he simply wasn't the person she used to know.
With all of these thoughts running through her head, Elena lay back in her seat and closed her eyes, dropping into a restless and uneasy sleep, every second taking her closer to the place she had tried so hard to leave behind: Mystic Falls.
Hope you enjoyed that. Either way, let me know! Reviews are love.
