A/N: I am really so, so incredibly sorry that I hadn't updated the chapter earlier, and that was due to a lot of reasons the first was that I was busy with my sister's wedding and school. My Beta was busy, also, with her school and such and couldn't edit the chapter earlier. Once again, I am terribly sorry.

Enjoy

Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own twilight.

Chapter twelve

I tried to ask Alice to explain, but instead of the call getting clearer, it became worse. I tried calling her again, but had no luck whatsoever. Edward was watching me patiently, but the worry and confuzzlement was evident in his eyes.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"I am sorry, I think I have to go home, I am so sorry," I excused as I stood up and practically ran to the hostess to give me my coat. I was very much aware of Edward's frantic steps behind me.

"Bella, wait!" Edward called breathlessly as he ran after me. I stopped and turned to look at him. "What's wrong? Why are you running?"

"I have to go home. Now. I think something bad happened." I explained, I was practically bouncing in my place, waiting for him to stop interrogating me so I can go home and call Alice, or ask Leah. Maybe she knew what the heck is wrong with Jasper.

"Will you at least let me drive you? It would be faster than if you took a taxi." I pondered his suggestion for a few seconds then decided that he is probably right. I guess he saw my acceptation of his offer on my face, as he stepped closer and tugged on my forearm silently directing me to his car.

I buckled my seatbelt hurriedly as Edward started the car and sped toward my house in breakneck speed. Even though I was frightened that we could crash, but my worry and concern for Jasper and Alice shadowed any other emotion; such as remorse, because I definitely just ruined what could have been a wonderful date due to my fucked-up life.

"Calm down, Bella." I didn't realize I was bouncing in my seat until Edward placed his hand on right knee to calm me down.

"I am sorry, I … I am just very anxious." I took a deep breath to steady my voice, "this person that may be in danger or trouble is a dear friend of mine, practically family."

"I am sure everything is okay, you just need to calm down." He reassured me firmly. I sighed and nodded my head reluctantly.

After a couple of much-needed deep breaths, we arrived. I was out of my seat in less than half a second after Edward parked his car. I was about to unlock the door with my extra key that Leah give me for when she was in work or too lazy to move her butt ( her words not mine) when I felt a large hand grasping my wrist. My breath hitched when I turned and saw how close Edward was, I could feel the warmth of his body assaulting me wave after wave.

"Bella, even though our date has been cut short, I want to tell you that I had never had such a nice time only talking to someone," he said sincerity shinning in his forest-green eyes, "and I really hope that everything is alright, but if you need anything, don't ever hesitate to call me."

He put a piece of paper in my palm, no doubt containing his number, and closed my palm around it.

"Have a goodnight, Bella." He kissed my cheek gently as he whispered these words; I stared at his retreated figure as he got in his car and took off. A couple of minutes passed as I stood on the porch gaping like an idiot. I could only thank God that Edward was long gone in his way home to see my embarrassing reaction to his simple cheek kiss and proximity. I shook my head trying to achieve a clear mind that didn't focus on Edward but the soon-to-be disaster.

"Leah!" I shouted, "Are you here?"

"Ssh!" Leah hissed from behind me. I yelped and turned to glare at her.

"What was that for?" I demanded.

"You were going to wake the pixie up; I did the impossible to get her to sleep and quiet crying." She said.

"Alice!" I exclaimed "Alice is here?"

"Yes." She answered shortly.

"Did you know what was wrong with her? Why was she crying?"

"No, unfortunately," she frowned, "but she kept repeating Jasper's name and your name a lot. I didn't catch anything else."

"When did she come here?" I asked.

"About ten-fifteen minutes ago." She replied thoughtfully, "God, she was a mess when she arrived."

"Where is she now?"

"I took her to your room; I figured that you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not, I would have kicked your useless behind if you didn't."

"I would love to see your royal feet try." She snorted.

I ignored her and made my way up the stairs, heading toward my room where Alice now rested. I tried to be as quiet as someone clumsy like me can, but I guess I failed judging by the shift of Alice's body in my direction.

"Bella? Is that you?" her voice was hoarse and raspy from lack of usage and crying.

"Yes, honey. Go back to sleep; you need your rest." I ordered softly.

"B-Bella…Jaspe-r-r-" her voice broke as she started sobbing.

I quickly went over to her and hugged her small frame as tightly as I could, but she continued to sob hysterically. I whispered comforting words in her ears, trying to calm her and send her back to her slumber; she eventually did.

I placed her head back on the pillow and tip-toed my way toward the bathroom, taking my pajamas and toiletries with me. I was half-way to the bathroom when my phone started ringing. To say that I was shocked to find Jasper's number flashing on my cell phone screen is an underestimation, the underestimation of the freaking year.

"Jasper?" I asked, still disbelieving. I had thought that the guy was dead by the way Alice was acting.

"Hello, Bella." his voice sounded tired and full of tension and stress.

"Um, hi, Jasper. Everything's alright?" I asked. Maybe he knew the reason behind Alice's bizarre behavior. Maybe he was the one who sent her here and he's now calling to tell me that her life is in danger or something. Or that the police are suddenly after her, too.

"Yeah, everything is...fine, just fine." He replied dryly.

"It doesn't sound like that."

"Has Alice called you, Bella?" he sighed.

"No, is something wrong with her?" I decided to play naïve and wait to see where he is going with this conversation.

"No," he answered quickly, "well, at least I hope so."

"What do you mean by ' at least I hope so' isn't she with you?" I feigned surprise, hoping that he would tell me the reason for all this already.

He sighed heavily. "No, she isn't with me. I can't seem to find her. I am so worried and afraid that something might have happened to her, I… I…" his words were broken by a sob. It was so strange for me to hear Jasper cry, he was always the calm, collected and comforting person among us. And I knew Jasper very well by now to know that very few things could shake him, apparently one of these things is Alice.

"Calm down, Jazz, and tell me exactly what happened before she left? Were you two fighting?"

"Not at all, we were at home. I was working in my office while Alice was watching TV in the living room. After a while she came to tell me that she was hungry and wanted Chinese but didn't want to order delivery because the delivery guy is slow and always delivered the food cold so I offered to go get the food myself. I went to get the food but when I came back she wasn't there. Her clothes were scattered everywhere like she was in a hurry to get out of the house."

"Did you try calling her?"

"I tried, Bella. God, I tried." He groaned tiredly, "and every time I did it went straight to voicemail."

"Maybe she went to Rose, or her parents?" I suggested.

"I called her parents first as you know that Alice always goes to her mother when she's upset. They told me she wasn't with them and that she didn't even call them today. I got nothing from this call except having the pleasure of hearing Alice's dad threatening me to kiss my balls goodbye if I didn't find Alice." he laughed humorlessly and continued, "I called Rose after that, but the call was as fruitless as the one with her parents. She got pissed and kept grilling the fuck out of me and made me promise to call her if I found anything but I don't think that I would have that chance because she's been calling me every ten minutes."

He sounded so frustrated; it was probably why he was cursing because Jasper wasn't a person that curses were like gum in their mouths especially if he's talking to a lady.

"I even called your Dad, Bella, but got nothing. You were my last hope, I thought that maybe she was with you or that she even called you." He paused trying to collect himself, "I am so worried, Bella, I don't know what to do. I never felt so lost."

I didn't know what to tell him, how to comfort him. What he just told me only added to my already existing confuzzlement. Why did Alice leave Jasper without any explanation? That wasn't something I imagined Alice could do. She always told Jasper everything and vice versa. And why is she reacting as if Jasper died?

"I think you should go rest for now. Who knows what the morning sun could bring?" I said softly.

"Always the philosopher, Bella." He chuckled.

"Rest now, Jasper, I'm sure Alice is just angry or something. Give her time to cool down."

"Maybe you are right," he admitted, defeated, knowing that his chance for talking or finding Alice tonight was shot out of the window. "Thanks, Bella, and I am terribly sorry for disturbing your night."

"Believe me, you didn't disturb my night." Alice beat you to it, "it was nice hearing your voice, Jasper even if the news weren't so pleasant." It was nice knowing you're not dead, too.

"Likewise." he replied.

We said our goodnights to each other and the call ended leaving me with a headache from all the questions and possibilities that kept running through my head, and I was certain that all the answers I sought were with the sleeping pixie in my room occupying my bed.

I made my way to the bathroom. As soon as I got in and looked the door, I stripped of my clothes and stepped into the shower. I stayed in there until the hot water turned cold, trying to wash everything from my brain, so that I could be somehow relaxed enough to sleep.

Leah greeted me outside the bathroom with a devilish smirk and a steaming cup of my favorite herbal tea; I took the drink from her outstretched hand and eagerly took a sip while keeping my eyes on her suspiciously.

"What's with the evil face?" I asked after a minute.

"Nothing." she replied while swinging on her back and forth like an innocent child. "I was just thinking about you and a certain bronze-haired investigator."

She wrung her eyebrows suggestively at me and started making kissing faces, I just rolled my eyes and waited until she finished her imaginary make-out session with the air.

"Are you finished?" I inquired dryly, "Because I would like to go to my room and sleep."

"Oh c'mon, Bella, don't be so mean. Just give me bone tiny detail like was he nice? Where did he take you?" she whined childishly, and the only thing missing was for her to start stomping her feet and she would complete the process of turning into a five year old girl.

"No," I laughed as she pouted.

"Please? Pretty please, just one thing?" I was surprised at her girly behavior, which was very out of character.

"Who are you? And what did you do to Leah?" I asked disbelievingly while laughing.

"Ha ha ha, very funny, Bella." She sighed, "You know what? You are the cruelest person that I have ever known. You had a date with Edward Cullen and you are refusing to share information with your housemate."

"Housemate?! Is that even a word?" I laughed at her absurdity.

"Oh, you know what I mean. Housemate is the same like roommate but instead of sharing an apartment we share a house."

"Goodnight, Leah, see you in the morning." I said with finality and strolled past her.

"Goodnight." She said as she also retreated to her room, also.

I laughed silently as I grabbed an extra pillow and a blanket from the cabinet and tip-toed my way to the room. I decided against sharing a bed with Alice even though there was enough space on the bed, trying to avoid another round of sobbing and moaning Jasper's name miserably. So I camped on the floor.

Thousands of millions of questions and possibilities swirled around in my head. All of them were possible and impossible at the same time. Was Jasper cheating on Alice? I kicked that thought on the butt as soon as it crossed my mind, this was impossible: Jasper practically worshiped Alice. Telling me that Jasper has cheated on Alice is like telling me that the sun rises from the west. Maybe Alice found out Jasper was a mob boss? That question almost made me laugh out loud, but I bit my lips to hold it in.

I had to stop watching TV with Leah.

Question after question, idea after idea, they all eventually lulled me to sleep. Images of everything that had happened tonight swirled before my eyelids as the first stage of sleep greeted me. You know that part where you are half-asleep half-awake, the part where everything is possible, nothing is real and nothing is imaginary.

I woke up sweating bullets and feeling that had I lost the ability to sleep. I got up from my make-shift bed and tip-toed my way outside the room and to the bathroom.

Leah wasn't awake yet and probably won't wake up for an extra hour. I decided to cook breakfast trying to avoid thinking of my still very existent thirst for answers.

There weren't many ingredients to work with for breakfast; only some eggs, a mix of pancakes and some bacon. There wasn't even any juice or milk. a trip to the grocery store was now required.

"Whoa, what's all this food? Have we opened a B&B?" Leah sleepy voice startled me, making me jump.

"All this food!" I exclaimed-snapped, "We don't even have milk, and the pancakes taste horrible. And that's all because someone forgot to go grocery shopping!"

Leah stared at me wide-eyed and her mouth slack open from surprise.

"Wow, someone is PMS'ing." She observed as she grabbed her plate

We didn't speak to each other after her comment at my earlier out-burst, each one of us deep in thought. Then Leah killed the silence by asking the only question that I seemed to find for it no answer.

"Hmmm, why do you think your pixie of a friend is here? You think Jasper sent her?" she paused then answered herself, "No, I don't think so. She was crying and sobbing his name yesterday like the guy had died or something. Maybe… I mean… do you think something bad happened to him?"

"Nothing happened to Jasper, Leah. He's absolutely fine. He called me yesterday after Alice fell asleep again."

"Did he know that Alice is here?" she asked.

"No, he said that she left without telling him and that he couldn't find her. I didn't tell him she's here." I said thoughtfully.

"Good thinking." She nodded.

"You never told me how come you and Jasper become friends?" I wandered.

"I was in a dark place; I almost lost myself and the people I love, but Jasper pulled me out of that place. He used to be my brother's friend and colleague when he was studying law in Washington." She said "hey, don't give me that look. Our relationship was and is and will always be platonic. He just understood what I was suffering from and instead of criticizing me, he advised me without judging."

"He was always a kind and an understanding person." I smiled, and she nodded in agreement

"But did you trust him enough to let him bring me here to hide in your house?" I asked, frowning, "what if I was some kind of a serial-killer?"

She laughed breathlessly. "You? A serial killer?" she snorted "unless people could die from being exposed to spoiled brats."

"Ha, ha," I laughed dryly.

"But yes, I trusted Jasper and I also trusted that you are really innocent like he said and even if he didn't, it was obvious."

I was about to ask her why when a low whimper of my name interrupted me and made us both whirl our heads around to glimpse the person who made the sound. The person who whimpered was descending the stairs right now, and was heading to the living room. Leah and I were silent. Leah had that strange expression that was a mixture of curiosity, concern and anticipation, and I guess that mine was almost the same as hers. But mine held something that her expression lacked - and that was a faint hint of fear.

That's why I always hated surprises: it made me feel vulnerable and unprepared. The faint voice called me again, but louder this time, it shook both me and Leah from our statue-like state.

"Come on, we can't stand here all day," Leah sighed, though she sounded like she wished to. I took a deep breath and started making my way toward the living room. My legs and feet felt so heavy right now. I felt like I was dragging tons and tons of iron. Finally, finally, after what felt like a journey that lasted for days and weeks, even though it was merely thirty seconds, I reached the living room with Leah following behind me silently.

The sight that greeted us was as following; the living room looked exactly like how we left it yesterday, filled with used tissues and pillows that Leah told me Alice had used. A cup of water, and on the used couch that I now became familiar with sat a small creäture hugging herself. Her eyes were puffy and red, marks of last night's tears still staining her cheeks.

"Alice, hon, how is you, this morning?" I said softly, as not to startle her.

"Fine," she said emotionlessly, coldly. I had such a hard time believing that Alice was the one speaking in that tone. An incredibly awkward silence fill and I couldn't seriously know how to break it. Should I approach the subject slowly, give her a hint maybe? Or should I just ask her bluntly?

I didn't have time to think about this more thoroughly; because suddenly I heard Alice groan and said, "This is so hard, I don't know how to tell you this. I don't know where to start."

"Start from the beginning." It was Leah, not me, who said that, and though curiosity was the foremost emotion in her tone sympathy and compassion were there, too.

"Jasper and I were at home. He was sitting in his office and I was sitting outside in the living room watching TV and flipping through pages of my favorite fashion magazine. I was starting to get hungry and I didn't feel like cooking, so I went to Jasper and asked him to go get us some Chinese himself; because the delivery guy was so slow, and always brings the food cold." She paused and sniffed then continued," after Jasper went to get the food, I returned to my position on the couch in the living room, but after a couple of minutes, I discovered that I forgot my magazine on Jasper's office. I went to retrieve the magazine, but while doing so a paper from a file fell. It was a hotel receipt for the past and the next week. The receipt was booked by Jasper but the person that was staying in the hotel was a woman. I couldn't help it and I couldn't wait for Jasper to come home, so he could explain, I pulled the file that the paper fell from and started digging in its papers. I found a lot of things, Bella, ID, plane tickets from Rome to N.Y.C, and even some photos. I couldn't believe it, I was so shocked and I couldn't face Jasper, so I ran."

"Oh My God, I can't believe my own ears, are you saying that Jasper cheated on you?" I asked shocked and disbelieving.

She shook her head and said something that confused me to no point, "No, Bella, he cheated on you."

"What?" I wasn't sure I heard her properly.

"The woman I was talking about is Jessica." She said slowly trying not to overwhelm me.

Well that's too late, my inner voice yelled. "Jessica who?" I asked, though I already knew who she was talking about, but my mind still wanted to live in denial for a couple extra minutes.

"Jessica Stanly." She clarified.

I didn't mutter a word for a while too shocked to use my tongue, and then I did what was the only reasonably thing to go in this situation; I laughed hysterically.

"Oh, I get it Jasper is with Jessica and Jacob, that's totally cool with me I don't mind." I said as I laughed, I probably looked mental.

Leah and Alice were both staring at me with the same careful, guarded and sympathetic expressions.

"Bella, I think you need to sit down." Leah said and put a hand on my shoulder to guide me but I shook it off violently and made her flinch.

"Don't touch me; you must be with them, too. Jasper must have sent me to you to keep an eye on me," I snapped angrily.

"Bella, Leah doesn't know anything about this," Alice defended Leah confidently.

"And of course, you would know, because, and like we all know, you are the queen of the mafia along side with your king." I yelled sarcastically, "tell me why you are really here, huh? And don't give me I am your best friend crap. This shit is getting old. Did Jasper decide to give you a small share from the money, huh? Answer me, God damn it."

Alice winced at my harsh words, but didn't reply. "You don't have to say such things, it's not her fault. She wouldn't be here if that was the case." Leah soothed calmly, though I could tell that she was starting to get angry.

"I want her out of my sight. I want you to get out of here." I snarled, pointing at Alice.

Alice's eyes were filled with tears and remorse. Good, I thought to myself. Though a small part of me was saying that she was my best friend and that I shouldn't treat her like that, I couldn't trust anyone anymore.

"Alice is not putting one foot out of that door." Leah said stubbornly. Her tone and the look in her eyes were enough reassurance for me that her words were one hundred percent true.

"Fine," I huffed and bolted to my room to take my purse. When I passed the living room again in my way to the door, they were both staring at me with confused expressions but with every step I took toward the door, understanding began to replace that confusion. And as I got out of the front door and slammed it, I heard the frantic calling of my name and the question about where I was going. But, to speak truthfully, I honestly didn't know.

A/N: what do you think? Did you expect that or something else?

I want to thank everyone who reviewed: yoshii, MaryMary123, Pandorazul and a guest.

I will try to update as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed reading the chapter and PLEASE REVIEW.