Alice

Alice muttered incoherently to herself as her car sped furiously around a curve. Four times already she'd pulled over and considered going back. And four times, she continued on. The faster that she spoke to Jasper, the faster she could back to Bella. Her Bella, hopefully. Her eyes burned with rage and fear as she tried desperately to keep the car under control. 150 miles per hour down winding curves probably wasn't the best idea, but she didn't care. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, listening to the leather underneath her palms squeal with friction. A sign for the Alaska state line came into view and she sighed as she slowed down at a relatively short borderline. She closed her eyes for a moment, and saw that she would pass through with ease. Her vision was correct and as soon as she was out of sight from the border patrol, she increased speed again and headed directly to Denali.

As she drove, she kept listening to repeated conversations in her head. Most of them were from Bella. And most of them were happy. She smiled, remembered the way Bella's eyes lit up when she held her, the lone dimple on the right side of her cheek, the one canine tooth that was just barely crooked. It was all so beautifully Bella. And then another voice came into her head. It was rough, demanding, and it made her heart ache with rage.

"I love her. I should be the one protecting her…. You need to work out some stuff with yourself. In the meantime, I'll stay with Bella."

"Asshole," Alice murmured under her breath as the tires screeched against the road. She still didn't know if he was right or wrong. He was so good at manipulation. He was so good at getting his way. And now Alice was wondering if she hadn't just fallen into another one of his traps. Again, she pulled over to the side of the road. What if he just said those things to get her away from Bella? What would he do to Bella? Terrible thoughts quickly filled her mind but Alice shook them away. Edward loved Bella. He would not harm her. He just wouldn't. But what if he did?

Alice began to gnaw on her lower lip, glancing around at the white landscape of Alaska. She was just a few miles outside of Denali. She couldn't leave now. Vowing not to stop again until she'd reached her destination Alice put the car back in drive and pulled back out onto the road. The rest of the drive was uneventful as Alice pulled up into the driveway of the Denali clan. She'd just barely applied the brakes when she saw the door open and two very familiar vampires stepped outside.

"Esme," Alice breathed as she raced out and hugged her mother. She felt Esme's arms wrap warmly around her and sway her. Carlisle placed a hand on her head and she looked up and smiled at him before pulling away.

"How are you?" Esme asked kindly. However it was evident to everyone that she was asking much more than that.

"I'm still not sure," Alice answered, looking up into the house. "Is…Jasper here?" She watched as Esme's eyes widened a bit while Carlisle adjusted his posture. Alice looked back and forth between the two of them, begging for either of them to say something. Finally, Carlisle gave a heavy sigh and a kind smile.

"Jasper…wishes to be alone."

"But he is here?"

Carlisle gave a single nod and Alice watched as Esme folded her hands across her waist. Alice sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I want to respect his wishes, but I can't. I need to speak to him. It's very important." Neither of her parents chose to answer and she grabbed Esme's clasped hands, holding them to her heart.

"Esme, please, I don't have much time. Edward's back with Bella and he can't be trusted." They both looked up at this, worried expressions evident on their face.

"What do you mean he can't be trusted?" Carlisle asked in his doctoral tone. Esme nodded urgently beside him and Alice shook her head.

"Please, just tell me where Jasper is."

Carlisle and Esme looked back and forth between each other before Esme finally let her shoulders fall, embracing her daughter again. "He's up north a few miles hunting. Please be careful."

"And I'd like an explanation when you get the chance," Carlisle finished, patting her back. Alice nodded against her mother's cheek and pulled away, thanking them both before sprinting north into the woods. As soon as she passed the house, she caught onto Jasper's scent and quickened pace. Jasper may be hurting, but he would understand the situation. He understood everything. Alice felt her eyes stinging with unshed tears as she violently rubbed her eyes. What good was crying if you had no tears to show for it? She'd only been running for a few minutes when he scent became potent to her. She stopped running and closed her eyes. If he was hunting as Esme said, he would be in a feral mood and she didn't want to be caught in the middle of it. Especially since she wasn't exactly the person he was dying to see.

There was movement to her far right and instinctively Alice jerked her head towards it. He was over there somewhere. "Jasper?" she called out just a bit loudly, pulling her jacket tightly around her. More movement was heard and Jasper slowly came into view. It took everything Alice had to keep from sobbing as she laid eyes on him.

His hair was unusually disheveled, even for him and the shirt he was wearing was terribly wrinkled as if he'd slept in it. His eyes were an onyx black and he seemed to shake on the spot as if he were afraid of something. Jasper's eyes widened as he focused on her. She looked so beautiful, so…unharmed. In spite of himself, it pained him to see her looking so good. He would have been happy just to see her shoe untied. But she looked as perfect as ever. Then he reached her eyes. He noticed the utter, dying desperation in them and the fact that she'd been crying. She was hurt…terribly. And it didn't make him feel any better as he thought it would. Cautiously, he took a step towards her, careful not to make the wrong move. Alice seemed to wake up from her daze as he approached her. Then she followed his movements. Each took slow steps until they were just a few feet away from each other. It was eerily silent in the foliage of the woods. The wind whipped madly around Jasper's hair and Alice was hit strongly with his scent. Even if he looked unkempt, he still smelled gloriously. Finally, when she realized that he wouldn't take the first move, she sighed.

"Hello, Jasper," she said slowly, enunciating each word.

"Hello," Jasper answered just as slowly, the wild look in his eyes dissipating as he heard her bell-like voice.

"It's…I…how are you?" Alice played nervously with her hands. Visions weren't coming to her and she felt naked in front of him. He shook his head sadly and tried to fix his hair as he looked just over her head.

"Are you really asking me or are you just being polite?"

"I'm really asking."

"I've been better…Alice." Just saying her name was almost too hard for him. Not to mention looking into those pained eyes and knowing he was the cause. He heard her give a staccato sigh and knew that she was crying again. Now he definitely couldn't look at her. Not if he wanted to stay standing.

"Jasper…" Alice spoke softly, afraid of her own words, "why…why did you…?" She couldn't finish the question. It was too hard to try and speak to him while they were both in so much pain. The guilt within Alice was overwhelming. It was taking all of her strength not to double over in pain. The leaves rustled beneath Jasper's feet as he stepped closer to her, using his finger to gently push her head up. Her eyes met his and Jasper watched as her lower lip trembled with another cry. Without hesitation, he pulled her tightly to his chest, kissing the top of her head as she clung to him and sobbed. When she'd calmed down enough to hear him, he whispered softly into her ear.

"It's what you want."

Alice pulled away, looking up at him. She was so beautiful. He longed to look away, but he didn't have the strength. Alice sniffed one last time and shook her head. "But it's not what you want."

"Yes it is. All that I want is for you to be happy, Alice."

"But…you look so terrible." Jasper chuckled at her words and cupped her cheeks in his hands.

"Thanks for pointing that out." Alice smiled softly and he felt the hole in his heart mend just a bit.

"But, Jasper…you look so sad."

"I am sad, Alice. I'm sad that I'm not the one making you happy. But Bella does. And I'm willing to step out of the way for the both of you."

"I'm sorry, Jasper. I did love you. Please know that."

"I know. I've always known. You still love me, just…not like you did." He hung his head as Alice nodded sadly.

"I'm so, so sorry, Jasper," she repeated, her lovely voice cracking and echoing around them.

"Don't be sorry, Alice. You're in love. It's not your fault. It's not my fault. I know that now. I just still need some time to figure out what I'm going to do."

Alice smiled again, resting her head against his chest as he held her once more. "You're too good for me anyway," Alice whispered, smiling as his chest rumbled against her in a chuckle.

"If only I were a woman, right?"

Alice looked up at him and put her hands around his neck. Standing up on her toes, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek. She felt him sigh at her touch and pulled away slowly. "What are you planning to do?" she asked him as they sat down on the ground. Jasper shrugged, crumpling a leaf in his palm.

"I'm not sure, yet. I'm thinking about leaving for awhile, seeing the world… or, more of it anyway. What about you, Alice? What's wrong? Why did you come back?" His eyes were hard and his tone was firm. Alice could tell that he was worried and she blinked a few times to ease the pain in her eyes.

"Edward came back. He…came back to Bella and he's with her now. He said I needed to figure things out with you before I could come back."

"Why did you listen to him?"

Alice thought for a moment, her heart sinking with every realization that hit her. She had fallen for it. She'd fallen for Edward's manipulations and right into his trap. She closed her eyes angrily as the first vision in a quite awhile hit her.

"What's the matter, love?" he asked, his voice soft and tender like it was before. Bella shook her head, smiling at the fact that she was undaunted by his smooth voice.

"I'm not your love. I'm not yours. I'm Alice's love. I'm Alice's."

"Come again?" The frightening look was back again. Bella became slightly fearful but refused to show it.

"Edward, I don't know of your real intentions. But I do know that you are manipulative, abusive, and possibly sadistic. I was a fool to fall for it before. And I was a fool to let Alice walk out the door too many times. Please, Edward, leave." Bella closed her eyes, feeling the tight emptiness leave her being. She felt lighter, yet more complete. She felt happy, unrestricted, uninhibited.

However, the feeling was short lived as she felt her head smack roughly against the plaster of the wall. Black eyes poured into her as the growl within Edward's chest was reverberated through her own.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Bella whimpered beneath his grasp.

Alice growled violently as she snapped out of the vision. Jasper jumped to his feet, ready for anything at the sound of her growl. His eyes were fierce and ready for battle as he looked around. "What did you see, Alice?" Alice jumped up and started to race back to the house. Jasper was right behind her as she reached her car. "What, Alice?" he shouted urgently as she reached the car door.

"Edward," was her simple reply as she slid into the car and sped off as fast as it would go down the street. Everything was flying past her in a blur. She thought she heard sirens but knew she wouldn't be caught. God help whoever tried to deter her from her Bella. She'd been too late before. And as she flew down the road at record speed, trying desperately to wipe the pain from her eyes, she vowed that she would never be too late again. She only prayed that her vision had come soon enough.