Apparently everyone in the house was thinking the same idea. I saw Bella flinching back from her sharp voice, but Rosalie's hard face didn't soften.
"Rose..." Emmett murmured, putting a hand on her shoulder. I noticed his slightly hurt expression when she shook it off. Obviously, Rose was not in a mood to be calmed. I saw Edward start to take a deep breath to calm himself, but as he was standing next to Bella, he thought better of it, and calmly turned to me.
"Esme?"
"Of course," I replied softly. I didn't need to, of course, but I didn't want Bella to be frightened. I rushed to her side, picked her up gently, and sprinted up the stairs. I ran into Carlisle and I's bedroom, and set her down. Then, I began taking off my shirt.
"What are we doing?" Bella asked breathlessly.
"Trying to confuse the smell. It won't work for long, but it might help get you out." My shirt, then pants dropped to the ground.
"I don't think I'll fit..." Bella began hesitantly. Impatient, but only for her safety, I yanked her shirt off for her, then put it on while she took her jeans off. When she was finished, I handed her my shirt, then yanked her jeans on. She was right, they were a little tight, but that was fine. I handed Bella my own pants, then rolled the hems a few times so that she could stand without tripping. Although she'd probably trip anyway, from what I'd heard from Edward. I pulled her back to the stairs, and Alice was already there with a small leather bag. I grabbed her elbow, and Alice grabbed her other one. We half-carried her as we rushed to join the others downstairs.
As we arrived, we discovered that Edward and Emmett were ready to go, with Emmett carrying a large backpack over his shoulder. Carlisle handed me a silver cell phone, and then handed Alice the same thing.
"Esme and Rosalie will be taking your truck, Bella," Carlisle told Bella. I noticed Rosalie glowering at Carlisle. Obviously, he hadn't asked her about this before making the decision.
"Alice, Jasper - take the Mercadees. You'll need the dark tint in the south." Alice and Jasper also nodded, with expressions that displayed different emotions. Jasper's was grave with the turmoil of emotions in the room, as it always was, and Alice's was worried with a hint of excitement of getting to take Bella somewhere, something that Bella would never had done unless her life depended on it.
"We're taking the Jeep." So that would mean that Carlisle, Edward and Emmett were the ones who made up the hunting party. I watched Bella's face mirror my terror as our loved ones were grouped into hunting the cruel, dangerous vampire.
"Alice," Carlisle said, quickly spinning to face her. "Will they take the bait?" Naturally, everyone watched as Alice closed her eyes and became still. The seconds ticked by as we all waited for a response.
"He'll track you." She finally said to Carlisle, her eyes opening. "The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that."
"Let's go." Carlisle responded, looking sadly at me, and then walking towards the kitchen. But Edward instead dashed the opposite direction, towards Bella. He wrapped his arms around her, seeming unaware of our watching as he pulled Bella's face to his, lifting her feet off the floor. Was I the only one who noticed the blank, dead look in his eyes as he turned away? I could tell that Bella saw it too, as her eyes welled up with tears and they began to fall. Then, Edward, Carlisle and Emmett were gone.
Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and I all looked away from Bella's face as we waited for some sort of signal. Rosalie was just glaring, so I assumed that her looking away from Bella was not a polite gesture. But Alice, Jasper and I looked away from Bella's face because we didn't want her to feel embarrassed. No one spoke.
My phone vibrated, so I flipped it open and put it to my ear. All I did was repeat the only word that Carlisle said to me before hanging up.
"Now," I declared, flipping the phone shut and putting it back into my pocket. Rose stalked out the door angrily, but I slowed as I passed Bella. Carefully, I touched her fragile, warm cheek, trying not to scare her, be tempted, or feel the thick human blood flowing beneath the membrane.
"Be safe," I whispered before putting on a full sprint to Bella's truck. Rosalie had already flown into the driver's seat, so I slipped into the passenger seat beside her, and slammed the door. As soon as my door was shut, Rosalie was already driving away.
I knew the plan. We were to continue driving away from Forks until a phone call told us otherwise. That we did. After the second day of Rose being in a complete rage, I asked her finally,
"Rosalie, what are you so frustrated about?" in my calmest manner possible. The car only edged higher above the speed limit.
"She is a menace! An unwelcome intruder into this family's secret life. If only Edward," she sneered his name, "hadn't chosen to fall in love with none other than a human girl, or instead chosen maybe one of the Denalis? I know Tanya's already hitting on him. But anyway, if it weren't for Bella, then the tracker wouldn't have stayed in Forks, and I would be spending another night peacefully with Emmett." Her rage had begun to wear out when she started the last sentence, and she broke down into sobs of frustration, anger, and also because she missed Emmett.
"If it weren't for the human snack-" she began, but I cut her off.
"Rosalie, use a different term with which to speak of your brother's girfriend. Be nice." I demanded, inflexible. She rolled her eyes.
"Fine, then. The human." She waited for me to object, but I didn't, so she continued.
"If it weren't for the human, then I wouldn't be spending my night cramped into a loud, thundering truck. For that matter, I don't even think it would go beyond sixty!" To prove her point, she stepped harder on the gas pedal, and something started rattling before she again slowed the truck into its internal speed limit.
"If it weren't for the human, then I wouldn't be worrying about Emmett being killed, I would be in bed!" Her face appeared slightly embarrassed as she said the last part of that sentence.
"But regardless," I said firmly, "I'm guessing she'll soon be a part of the family, from Alice's vision, and you need to start accepting her. Got it?" She made no response, so I assumed that she did.
And we drove on.