A/N: SM owns the characters. The storyline is mine. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks, as always, to my wonderful girls, Karmabalance and JaspersBella, who checked this chapter for awesomeness before I posted. ;)

When I laid down in the bed, I sent a text to both Alice and Jasper, telling them that my second night had gone well, and that I missed them both very much and would talk to them in the morning, and then quickly fell into sexy, swirly tequila dreams.

Such Great Heights

Chapter 20

I woke up early on Saturday morning, much earlier than I expected to after the amount of tequila I'd consumed the night before. I laid there for a second, still feeling rather sleepy, but not really wanting to go back to bed. I was much too excited about spending the day in San Francisco with my friends.

Instead of closing my eyes again, I dragged myself out of bed and padded barefoot down the hall to Rose and Emmett's room and pushed the door open. Just as I had promised, I didn't bother trying to wake my friend, who was sleeping on her side, facing Emmett, her blonde hair splayed all across her pillow. Looking at the large king-sized bed in front of me, I silently analyzed my best move.

Silent as I may have been, though, Emmett apparently sensed my presence. Without even opening his eyes, he lifted the covers that had been laying undisturbed over the empty space of the mattress between himself and his wife. Understanding his unspoken invitation, I climbed up onto the foot of the bed, and then crawled forward, sliding under the covers and putting my head on the edge of Emmett's pillow.

My friend's large body seemed to dwarf mine as he curled up behind me and laid his arm over my side, reaching out to grab Rosalie's hip and pulling it toward us. A minute later, the three of us laid side by side in the bed, arms and legs draped casually over each other.

"Morning Bells," Emmett whispered in a deep, gruff morning voice. "Morning baby."

Rose and I both chorused our mumbled replies, and then the room returned to silence as all three of us began to doze once again.

I loved cuddling with them. I loved cuddling in general, really. There were simply not enough hours of my life currently devoted to this lovely activity. And while Emmett was surely not Jasper, and Rosalie was not Alice, it still felt nice.

We slept for about an hour before Rosalie woke us again. "Come on, you two lazy fools. We have a whole city to explore!"

She was amazingly chipper for having just woken up. I looked over my shoulder at Emmett, who appeared to concur. He shrugged. "Good way to start a morning," he said.

I had to agree.

"Bella, sugar, why don't you go shower and do whatever you need to do. I'm going to make breakfast and then get Kate up. Half and hour sound good?"

"Perfect," I replied.

Still wearing the towel I had wrapped myself in after my shower, I picked my phone up from the futon mattress in Emmett's studio and texted Jasper.

Good morning baby. I just got out of the shower. Showers are always kind of a let down now that I've shared one with you... We're going to see the city today. Wish you were with me.

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a light sweater, then went back to the bathroom to brush and blow dry my hair. When I was finished, I went back into the studio to get my shoes, purse, and phone, and found a message waiting for me from Jasper.

I hope you have a fun time, sweetie. I wish I was there too. And I know what you mean about the shower... We have to do that again.

Anytime, Jasper. There's not much better than standing so close that my wet, naked body is touching yours...

God, you're pure evil. I haven't even gotten out of bed and you already have me hard.

I'm not evil. I'm an angel. -points to halo- And anyway, bed is a good place for that... I'd come over and help you if I could. Just saying...

-points to the horns holding up your halo- forget about those, baby?

-giggles- maybe... I hate to do this, but I have to go.. Em and Rose are waiting for me. TTYS?

You bet, sweetie. -kisses-

The next few hours were spent with Emmett, Rose and little Kate leading me all over Fisherman's Wharf. We went to the aquarium and bought enough salt water taffy to last a lifetime before Emmett dragged me to a shady-looking cart near the end of the sidewalk.

"Come on, Bells! It's lunch time!"

I looked at him like he had completely lost his mind. Maybe he had. "I am not eating anything that is sold from a cart, Emmett!" I hissed.

Emmett threw his head back, laughing hard. "Rosie!" he called. "Oh my god, babe," he said as she reached where we had stopped. "Bella here is freaked out about the vendor!"

I scowled at him. "Seriously? The only thing I've ever seen sold from a cart was a hot dog. And everyone knows better than to eat that!"

Now Rosalie had joined her husband in his laughter.

"What?" I shouted, exasperated.

"Sugar, this is how you get clam chowder in San Francisco. The real stuff, anyway," Rose explained. "I promise, the carts are on the up and up."

When I saw that even seven year old Kate was eager to get a bowl – which, I might add, was made out of sourdough bread – of chowder from the vendor, I sighed and agreed. "Fine. But if I get sick from eating street food..."

Emmett hugged me close as his laughter started all over again. "God, I love having you here. You're fucking hilarious."

I rolled my eyes as I smiled at him, and took the bread bowl, examining my soup for a full minute before I willingly took a bite.

"Oh god, it's so good!" I moaned, closing my eyes to savor the flavor.

"That's hot," Emmett said. Rosalie may have hit his arm; I was too busy enjoying my chowder to notice.

We finally went back to the house, but not until after we watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean from the end of Pier 39. At Kate's insistence, we popped in the dvd of the four of us "riding a magic carpet" over San Francisco – it was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever seen, I was sure, especially considering the fact that Rose and I had mascara-filled tears streaming down our faces for the majority of the video because we were laughing so hard at Emmett, who had nearly fallen off the rug that we were being filmed on the first time it began to move.

When the video was over, only seconds after Kate had been caught yawning by her mother, Rosalie got up out of her chair and told her daughter to kiss us goodnight, then took her off to bed. Emmett got up and walked into the kitchen, leaving me alone on the couch. I could hear him moving around in there, opening and closing cupboards. I heard the sound of glasses clinking together and realized what he was up to.

While I had a second to myself, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to both Jasper and Alice.

Had so much fun today. Missed you both though. Hope your day was good... Thinking of you here. It's tequila time!

I slipped my phone back into my pocket just as my friends re-entered the room, Emmett with Jameson, Patron, and shot glasses in hand. Rose grinned at me as she saw what her husband had done, and I patted the couch cushion beside me.

Emmett sat on the floor right in front of us and passed out the glasses, then poured each of us a shot. "Ready?" he asked, grinning so much that his dimples showed.

"Abso-fucking-lutely," I agreed, holding up my shot glass. I was hoping for a night just as fun as the one before had been.

The three of us chorused our favorite toast, then threw back our shots. I moaned a little as my body shuddered, the burn of the tequila hitting my nose first, then settling pleasantly in my stomach.

Emmett quickly poured round two. "Make that noise again," he said, grinning at me.

"What noise?"

"That sexy sound you made when you took that last shot. Do that again."

I blushed what I was sure was a fierce shade of crimson, causing Emmett and Rose both to dissolve into laughter. "I hate you," I said, scowling at him. I really didn't though, and he knew that.

With another 1, 2, 3, fuck it, the second shot of tequila disappeared. I could feel it making it's way through my body. It hurt, almost like I was on fire all the way down to my fingertips. I loved it.

"Guitar!" I cried, jumping up off the couch and running into Emmett's studio. I studied the instruments in there, gasping when I realized that he had a Gibson in his collection. "Oh fuck," I exclaimed, admiring the sunburst coloring of the guitar's body. It was gorgeous. I kinda wanted to stick it in my bag and run for the hills. Instead, I picked it up by the neck and carried it reverently back into the living room, finding Emmett and Rose waiting for me, our third shots already poured.

I handed the beautiful instrument to my friend, taking the shot glass from him in trade. Holding the glass out toward him, I grinned. "1, 2, 3..."

"Fuck it," we all chorused before swallowing our shots. I didn't even shiver with this one. My whole body was beginning to feel fuzzy, and I couldn't feel my tongue anymore. For some reason, I found this hilarious.

"What are you laughing about?" Rose said, starting to giggle along with me even though she had no idea why.

"My tongue is numb," I replied, feeling my face get hot. My body wasn't the only thing fuzzy now. I swear, I could feel my brain absorbing the alcohol. And it felt awesome.

When Emmett could stop laughing at me long enough to hold his hand steady, he poured another shot. "One more! One more!"

Giddily, I reached out to take the glass from his large hand. "One shot," I said. "Then you have to start playing!"

He tried to look serious and nod his agreement. It didn't work. It made me laugh harder.

"1, 2, 3, fuck it!" Rosalie exclaimed beside me, clinking her glass against mine and Emmett's and then tossing back the fourth shot.

My giggles got the best of me. For the record, tequila does not feel good coming out of one's nose.

We all set our glasses down once I was done choking and flailing, and Rose and I snuggled together on the couch as Emmett began to play. I stared at his fingers, watching the way he used them to pluck the strings instead of strumming chords with a pick the way Jasper did. It wasn't better or worse, just different, and interesting. It was intricate and engaging and incredible to watch.

And then he started to sing. His voice was smooth and relaxing. I leaned into Rosie, the drunk slowly taking over my body, making me feel like a picture out myself taken out of focus. I closed my eyes and just let myself feel every skin cell on Rosalie's fingertips as she ran them across my forehead as Emmett sang to us.

"I fucking love tequila," I said, hearing the slur in my own voice.

And then, I sat up suddenly, startled by my phone vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the screen, excited to see a text from Jasper.

I turned a little on the couch so that Rose couldn't read over my shoulder, and then opened the text.

What are you doing?

Drunking teqwuila nd listening tto eMmett play guiar. . Fuck. Tewuila makes hy tyrping bad.

Tequila, huh? Is that all you're doing?

Um,,,,yeah?

Are you sure?

I didn't like where the conversation was going, so I excused myself from the room and went out to sit on the back porch. Rather than text Jasper back, I dialed his number.

"Hello," he answered, his voice sounded gritty and rough, the same as it had the last time I'd heard him drunk. He didn't sound happy to hear my voice.

"Baby, why are you asking me weird questions?" I asked, trying to keep myself from slurring any more.

"Maybe they aren't so weird," he replied. "I talked to Tanya tonight; she skyped me. We talked about you. She had some interesting things to say."

Fighting the urge to be jealous that he had been on skype with someone else, I rolled my eyes and sighed. I could only imagine what Tanya had to say about me. The last email she'd sent me before unfollowing and blocking me from every method of communication had not exactly been complimentary. I still didn't understand the reasoning behind it, but I wasn't a fan of drama, so if she didn't want to be my friend, I wasn't going to make her.

The problem was, Tanya and Jasper were good friends. She had been the one person that he'd confided in, other than me, when he and Alice had their problems back when we first became friends. He trusted her.

I just hoped he trusted me more.

"What did she have to say?" I asked, hoping I sounded less cold than I felt.

"She said that you went to San Francisco to fuck Emmett. That you'd do Rose too, if that's what it took, but that it was him that you wanted. She said it's been going on awhile, that she had proof. Is it true, Bella? Is that what you're doing down there?"

I really wished that Tanya didn't live in Eastern Europe somewhere, so I could kick the bitchy, gossiping, huge tit-having whore's ass.

"Jasper, I am only going to say this once. I do not want Emmett. I do not care what motherfucking gossip goes around on Twitter. That place is full of too many hags who have no lives and nothing better to do that talk trash about everyone else. You want to know the truth, Jasper?" I demanded his answer. I was drunk and angry and in the mood to be honest.

"Yes. Tell me the truth, Bella," he replied, his voice was hard, but I could tell he was trying to hide how nervous he was. Jasper wanted the truth, I was sure, but only if the truth was that Tanya was lying.

Luckily for him, it was.

"I don't want Emmett. But if I did, you shouldn't care, right? I mean, you and Alice told me to fuck whoever I damn well pleased. Right?" I was talking too loudly; hell, I was practically yelling at him.

Jasper didn't answer me.

"I may be allowed, Jasper. Our little Constitution may give me permission to be a whore, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to. I don't want Emmett, Rose, or anyone else. I want you, Jasper. You and Alice. No one else. You might not have asked for exclusivity from me, but you're sure as fuck going to get it."

"What?" he asked softly, all the anger gone from his tone.

"I don't want to be with anyone but you," I repeated.

I was drunk, but not so much that I didn't realize that what I'd just admitted to Jasper could get me into trouble. I took a deep breath and held it, waiting for his reply and hoping for the best.

"Really?" he asked. It was sweet; he sounded almost amazed.

"Really Jasper," I said, my anger extinguished. I realized now that he hadn't actually been accusing me of anything, as I had first thought. What he had really been doing was freaking out because he didn't want me to be with anyone else any more than I wanted to be.

"Good," he said, almost whispering the word.

"Baby, there's always been rumors about Em and me. Hell, my mom even asked me if I was interested in him! I guess we ask for it sometimes, because we flirt with each other, but I swear, we don't take it seriously. I'd never do that to Rosalie, anyway, even if I was interested in him. But the truth is, Jasper, I don't need or want anything but what I already have."

"I'm sorry, Bella."

"Don't be," I replied. "I kind of like knowing that you were jealous, even if it was without cause."

I was drunk, yes, but I swear I heard him blush through the phone.

"I just... You're my...our...girlfriend. I'm glad that you're only going to be with us."'

"Me too, Jasper." I heard footsteps in the hall, and realized that I'd been hiding in the dining room too long. "Baby, I have to go, ok? Rose and Em are going to wonder what the hell I'm doing and come looking for me any second. Do you feel better now?"

"I do," he replied. "Thank you for... everything. Sleep well, sweetie."

"I will, Jas. You too, ok? Goodnight baby."

He whispered a good night back, and then we ended the call. I slipped the phone back into my pocked and walked back into the living room, ready to return to the land of tequila and guitars.

"Everything alright?" Rosalie asked when I sat down beside her.
"Yeah, everything is good," I answered, smiling when I remembered the way that Jasper had called me his girlfriend. It sounded even better coming out of his mouth than it had in a text.

"Well, it's about time your ass got back here. There is still tequila in this bottle!" Emmett exclaimed, holding up the bottle of Patron as evidence.

"Pour us some," I instructed, picking my shot glass off the floor and handing it to him.

Two shots later, we were ridiculously drunk. The three of us had moved out to the backyard and somehow managed to get into the hammock without flipping the damn thing over, though that feat had not been accomplished without some serious effort.

The hammock was rocking slowly, and all three of us were laughing at some goofy joke that Emmett had just told – a joke that probably wouldn't even have been funny without the tequila, and one which I have no memory of, other than the fact that it had something to do with a moose. I was in the middle of the hammock, which was all well and good until my friend, who, despite being much bigger than me, was just as drunk as I was, decided that he wanted to make out with his wife.

Wanting to get out of there before my drunken friends started taking advantage of each other, I slid under Emmett's arm and off the end of the hammock, giggling as I walked – swayed, whatever - back into the house.

I didn't blame them. I understood the effects of tequila quite well.

I got a text just as I was tying the waistband of my pajama pants. I picked my phone up off the bed and saw that it was from Alice.

They keep playing Kings of Leon at work. Makes me miss you babe.

I smiled. I loved those little reminders of us. I started typing my reply, and it took me fifteen times to spell the first word right. Then I just gave up. I rolled my eyes at myself. My typing abilities went to hell when I was drinking. The autocorrect on my iphone really wasn't helping with this problem either.

-smiles- I misse you to. And I have Thad a LOG of teqwuila.

Yes, I can see that. What's going on?

Just fun...nad a little chit of drama. But all googd.

She seemed to be getting the message, despite the drunken typing.

Drama?

Yeaj... Tanya todj J some tongs. He as uspet.

I know about J. I was there. Did he talk to you? He wasn't supposed to.

I frowned at the message. Why wasn't he supposed to? I was glad that he had. I was a firm believer that, if something was bothering a person, they should talk about it.

Yeah, take your own advice, Bella, right? But Edward was a different story. It wasn't like I hadn't tried to talk to him about the problems; I had. He'd change for a day or two, and then everything would go right back to how it had been. In my marriage, talking didn't accomplish much. I'd switched to ignoring long ago. That didn't work much better, really, but it was less irritating at least.

Even in the haze of six tequila shots, I could see how stupid that sounded. I'd have to try to remember that when I was sober.

He sid. I madfe himm.

Please don't. It's a pain talking him down. I had him ok. I pretty much knew what happened, but he processes things differently.

Now I was really confused, and it wasn't all to blame on the tequila in my brain cells. First of all, what did she mean, she knew what happened? Did she know that Tanya was full of shit, or did she think I was sleeping with Emmett and just didn't care? I seriously hoped it was the first.

And second of all, why wouldn't I talk to Jasper if he was upset? Alice couldn't have had him as "ok" as she thought, considering the way he had acted with me. Not to mention the fact that I hadn't found it hard to "talk him down" at all. He just needed a little reassurance. And the truth. Once he had that, he was fine.

Amazing, how much the truth could help a relationship.

It's ok1! We had s goold talk. Everiygings ok now. I'm glad we did _ he feels beter.

Ok sweetie. I'm sorry if he ruined your night.

Despite my frown, I felt a little better after reading this text. That was what she had meant – she was just trying to ensure that I had a good trip and didn't want an argument with them to interrupt it. I could handle that. Especially since the conflict with Jasper hadn't ruined anything at all.

He didn't. He feels beter, , I'm frunk and happy. Everything's prefect execept I miss you..

I miss you too baby. Gotta go back to work now though. -kisses-s

I sent her kisses back, then reached over to turn off the light. Too many thoughts were swirling around my head now. I needed to sleep.

I woke up the next morning and peeked at my phone. It was nearly eight-thirty, which was earlier than I wanted to wake up, but just the right time to go crawl into Emmett and Rosalie's bed and cuddle.

I walked quietly down the hall and opened their bedroom door, hoping to God that they had put pajamas on after whatever...activities...they'd gotten up to after I abandoned them in the hammock. When I stepped into the room, I carefully studied the scene from the doorway. When I saw the red cotton of Rosalie's tee shirt sticking out from under the covers, I took it as a sign that it was safe to enter, and walked over and took my place in the bed.

An hour and a half later, we finally got up and our of bed. While Rosie went in to make breakfast, I went into the studio to send a text to Jasper before I showered.

Good morning baby. Just got out of bed and I'm missing you already. Not sure what we have planned for the day, but my flight is at 6 tonight. Hope you have a good day. -kisses-

I sent one to Alice as well, even though I knew that she was asleep.

Hey babe. I know you're sleeping, just wanted to tell you that I hope you had a good night at work. I miss your pretty face... Maybe we can skype tomorrow before you work. Anyway, sweet dreams.

I set my phone down and went into the bathroom for a quick shower.

When I was dry and dressed, I hung up my towel and returned to the studio, finding Emmett sitting at his computer desk, waiting for me.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I was thinking about something last night. With as much as you love guitars, why don't you play one?"

I shrugged. "I don't know how. I have one at home – it was Charlie's when he was younger, and he told me I could keep it last time I was at his house because he kept catching me look at it. But I don't even know how to tune the strings, much less play it."

Emmett nodded at the wall where all of his guitars sat. "Pick one."

I furrowed my brow at him, confused. "What?"

"Pick which one you want to play. After breakfast, I'll teach you some chords. You gotta start somewhere, Bells."

I stared at him for a minute, almost daring him to change his mind, but when his dimples started to show, I ran over to the wall of guitars and began to consider them. It took all of three seconds for me to pick the same Gibson that I'd given him to play last night. I mean, really, how many times would I have the chance to play what I knew was probably a $5000 guitar?

Emmett nodded. "Alright then. Now get that hot ass of yours to the dining room table before Rosie comes in and beats us both."

I grinned and ran out of the room, stopping only for a second by the futon to grab my phone on the way.

I used incredibly stealthy, ninja-esque skill to check my messages as Rose brought our breakfast out to the table. There was one, and it was from Jasper.

Have a great day, sweetie. I'm going to take the kids to the park in a bit so that Ali can have some peace and quiet. Then maybe some guitar time. I'll be happy when you get home so we can go back to talking whenever we want.

I quickly texted him back underneath the table.

Me too, baby. I miss you. Have fun at the park. -kisses-

I tucked my phone back into my pocket and grinned at Rosalie when she walked back in carrying a huge plate of French Toast.

"Oh Rosie, you're so good to me!" I exclaimed, excited by the spread she had laid out.

Emmett entered the room a minute later, followed by a pajama-clad, sleepy-eyed Kate, and the four of us sat down and began piling our plates high with breakfast.

"So what do you want to do today?" Rose asked.

"Well," I said, grinning, "Emm here has promised to give me a guitar lesson, and then whatever you want until I have to go to the airport at four."

Rose smiled at Emmett. "That's a really great idea. Why don't Kate and I go get some groceries while you have your lesson, and then we can go to Nob Hill, take Bella on a trolley ride and walk around a bit before the airport? Sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," I agreed.

After breakfast, I took Kate in and helped her get dressed and do her hair. She was really a sweet little girl – and adorable to boot – and I'd had a great time with her the day before. Rose had told us that Kate was going to her grandparents' house after the grocery door, because Sunday was the day that she spent special time with Rose's dad, so I wanted to get in a little more time with her before they left.

About ten tight hugs later, Kate and Rose were off, and Emmett and I were sitting across from each other on the couch holding guitars. He spent a few minutes telling me which string was which, and then showed me how to strum with my thumb. I got a little frustrated trying to figure out how to make any sound come out of the instrument when I made the upstroke, but I eventually got the hang of it. Kind of. Well, I'd have it with a bit of practice.

Once I could strum the open strings, Emmett taught me a few of the basic chords. It was easier than I'd expected it to be, really, and it didn't take long before I was trying to made smooth transitions from one chord to the next. By the time Rose got back to the house, I could switch between any of the five chords I'd just learned with relative ease. Well, as long as I only strummed down the strings...

I was thrilled with what I'd learned, and with the fact that I'd gotten to play such an amazing instrument. I was already getting excited about playing Charlie's guitar when I got home, and about asking Jasper to give me a lesson in two weeks when I saw him again.

Just the thought of playing guitars with Jasper made me feel all tingly inside.

I gave Emmett a big hug and carried the Gibson, as well as the Ibanez he'd been playing, back into the studio, taking a few minutes to gather all of my things and get them packed back in my duffle.

When I checked the time on my phone, I noticed that it was almost noon. We had a few minutes before we had to leave, so I clicked the Twitter app on my phone so that I could pop on for a second and check what was going on.

The first thing I saw brought on a huge wave of concern. It was a tweet from Alice.

Not gonna be around today. Apparently I'm just a piece of shit and not needed anyway.

Whoever made her say that – her dad or Lauren would have been my best guesses – I was going to kick their ass. Why did everyone want to hurt my Ali?

I didn't bother with trying to reply to her tweet. Instead, I sent her a text, sure she'd actually see that.

Smile, babe. You're not shit to me.

I didn't even bother checking for anything else on Twitter. Worry about my girlfriend had me feeling anxious. Instead, I carried my duffle and my laptop bag back into the living room and set them on the floor.

"You ready?" Rose asked.

Trying not to let her see how unsettled I was, so that I wouldn't have to try to figure out how to explain the reason why, I just nodded and smiled.

Two hours later, we'd ridden a trolley up and down Nob Hill and been in and out of several of the small shops. We'd eaten lunch in a cute cafe. The one thing that hadn't happened was me receiving a text back from Alice. And it was really starting to eat at me.

I excused myself after the waiter took my plate, telling my friends that I needed to use the restroom. What I really needed was information. So I texted Jasper.

Hey J... I texted Ali several times today. Haven't heard back. Then I saw her tweet... Is she ok?

I was really starting to be concerned. Part of me knew that if something had happened to her, Jasper would have told me, but I couldn't understand why she was ignoring my texts.

Ali is kind of squirreled away today. She's had a rough one... Going through some stuff. She'll be ok. Just give her some space, alright?

I frowned. I hated space. There was enough between us already. If Alice was upset, I wanted to help.

I don't really like that. I want to give her support.

She doesn't want it, baby. When she gets like this, she just wants to be alone. Don't worry, ok? Just have fun on the rest of your trip. She'll probably feel better by morning.

Sighing heavily, I resigned myself to doing as Jasper asked, whether it was the way I liked to handle it or not. He knew Alice better than I did, and he was the one who was there with her now, so I was best to follow his lead. I just hoped that, whatever was upsetting her, it would be forgotten by morning. My stomach was already in knots at the thought of her unhappiness.

Ok J. Just kiss her for me, ok? Tell her I'm thinking of her.

I will, sweetie. I promise.

Hey J? I miss you.

I miss you too, baby. I'll chat with you later, ok? Go have fun with your friends. Your plane leaves soon.

Ok then. TTYS baby. -kisses-

Rose, Emmett and I explored Nob Hill for another hour before we walked back to the car and drove to the airport. I hugged them both tightly when I said goodbye, and we all expressed sincere wishes that we would get together again soon.

I checked in at the counter, then made my way through security. When I finally made it to the gate, I took a seat and pulled out my phone to check Twitter again, hoping against hope that Alice might have come out of hiding.

She hadn't.

I decided that, space or no space, I would send her just one more text.

Hey babe... I know you're upset. I wish I could help, but J says you just want some space. I'll give it to you, but know that I'm here when you want to talk. I may not be texting, but I will be thinking about you. Just wanted to make that clear.

I stared at the phone for a few minutes, frowning. I knew she wouldn't reply, but I still wished that she would. My unease was growing with every minute that passed. I just wanted Ali to be ok. I hated waiting. I hated not knowing.

Before I could think about it anymore, the airport speakers announced that my flight was boarding. I gathered up my things and went to stand in the line, texting Jasper as I waited for my turn to board the plane.

I'm about to get on the plane... I get in around 9. Text you then, ok?

Sure, that's fine. But can you skype me when you get home?

I couldn't imagine anything better than arriving at my house and getting to see his face right away.

Absolutely. I'll see you soon, ok?

A/N: I'm still down in Florida with my dad and siblings. This week has been one of the best ever. I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to reviews... mobile Ffn doesn't allow me to reply to reviews, and I seriously snuck over to my dad's neighbor's house under the cover of email my professor just to update this chapter! But please do review, I love reading them, and I will reply when I get home on Thursday.

Until next time... You know...