A/N: I've run out of all my authentic excuses...So let's just say it took me so long 'cause my cat ate my flashdrive, 'kay?

Anyway, I feel really bad for not updating in a while and there was a lot of confusion with reviewing because I was stupid and deleted my author notes, so it messed everything up. I'm not sure, but I think this chapter might fix it. Maybe. If not, then I understand why I won't have many reviews. But if it does fix things, then I have one thing to say: REVIEW!!!

If you do, I'll even be nice and thank you! Lol.

This chapter probably could have been seperated into two, but I , again, felt bad so I decided to just go ahead and post it all. Sorry is it's confusing, too. I think my way of thinking may not be like everyone else's, so I say and write things that other people end up not understanding at all.

Oh, well, enjoy! And review to tell me how bad it is!

CHAPTER 20

BPOV

When I no longer felt myself moving, I took the chance to open my eyes. As I had guessed, we had stopped. Avery stood in front of me, the look on her face one of pure annoyance.

"I can't believe he chose you," she spat. "Clumsy, annoying, average little you. You can't even go a week without being hurt in some way, can you?" she asked, motioning to the brace still on my foot.

I chose to say nothing in fear of angering her further. Who knew what she could do to me?

"I can do a hell of a lot worse than your ankle," she answered my unvoiced question. She came closer, then, putting her hands over my foot. Her eyes closed in concentration, and seconds later there was a glow coming from her hands much like the one emanating softly from her wings.

The pain in my ankle began disappearing, going from an intense sting to merely a dull roar. And then, it was gone altogether.

Avery opened her eyes, uncharacteristically smiling. "You can probably take the brace off now."

I nodded, not knowing what else to do or say to her sudden mood change. Where were we, anyway? All around me was darkness, the only light source coming from the angel before me. If you could call her that anymore. Upon closer inspection and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness I could make out shapes in the distance. They were that of trees and soon I realized we were in a forest of some sorts. Time must have passed quickly, because when I'd first gone with Avery the sun had still been high in the sky—it was covered by clouds, but still there. Now, I couldn't even see the moon. All above me were the towering forms of more trees.

My thoughts were pulled from where I was to one of more importance: Where were the rest of the Cullens?

"For the love of God! If you want to know something just ask, already! Your thoughts are rather annoying."

"Then don't listen," I retorted, surprised by my boldness.

"If only it were that simple." The smile she flashed was haunting.

"Can you read everyone's mind?" I asked.

"For the most part. Other vampires are somehow immune, though. That just adds to Edward's charm. He is a mystery. But a lovely one, for sure."

It angered me knowing she thought of Edward like that, in a way that no one else but me had a right to. I decided to keep my mind on other matters, though. She had said Edward was okay, so I had to believe her. For now.

"Fine. Where is my family?"

"Their safe, not to worry. Do you wish to see them?"

I was cautious. Something about her—other than the small detail that she had kidnapped me—worried me. The look in her eyes implied that she wasn't sane. On second thought, she probably wasn't.

"What's the catch?" I asked.

"No catch. It's just a simple question. Do you, or do you not, wish to see your family?"

"Do you swear you won't hurt them?"

"On the bible," she smirked.

"Yes, then."

"As you wish." She snapped her fingers and the scene around me suddenly changed. I was no longer in a dark forest but instead at the Cullens' house, in the front yard. My eyes were wide as I looked at Avery. If she could do this, then why did she bother kidnapping me and taking me into the forest?

"Because then I would have transported Edward, too. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

I shook my head, afraid to even speak.

"Go in," she ordered. "I should warn you, though. You won't be able to get back out once you enter. Not unless I let you out, anyway. It's best if you listen to whatever I say, or else your dear Edward…Well, I can't guarantee what will happen to him, Isabella. Say hi to Emmett and Jasper for me, by the way. They're fantastic kissers," she winked. And with that, she was gone.

Slowly, I walked into the house thinking about what Avery had said. What the hell was that about and when had she kissed Jasper and Emmett? And why?

I shook my head trying to dispel all the questions that were forming in my mind. When I made my way into the living room the first thing I noticed was Emmett and Jasper on one side of the room and Rosalie and Alice on the other, glaring at their spouses. Carlisle and Esme sat huddled on the couch, whispering to each other.

"Um…hi?" I offered meekly. You could cut the tension in that room with a knife it was so thick.

"Bella! You're okay!" Alice exclaimed, rushing over to give me a hug. "I was so worried that that…thing had gotten you. I had a vision, but it was all black. I couldn't see anything but you and her."

"I'm fine," I assured her. "What about you all? Are you okay?"

"Bella, we're fine," Esme's calm voice said. "You should know not to worry about us."

"It's a habit, I'm sorry. What happened, though?"

"Well," Carlisle said, "we're not sure. All I know is that one minute I'm at the hospital and the next I'm here with a house full of emotional teenagers. They've yet to fill Esme and me in on the specifics. But every time one of us tries to leave, we end up in another room of the house. It seems that Avery placed some sort of…charm, if you can call it that, on the house so that we can't leave."

"What about you, dear?" Esme asked. "What happened to you?"

"The power went out at Charlie's, so Edward went to go fix it and then Avery came and told me not to do anything. The next thing I know, we were in a forest and when I asked about you she brought me here."

"What about Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm not sure," I whispered, realization dawning on me. I hadn't even bothered to ask what she planned to do with him. It was true, she said she didn't want to hurt him and that he was safe. But...it was stupid of me not to even ask.

Alice's eyes glazed over, then. She was having a vision. When her eyes opened she looked at me and frowned.

"Bella, I think you might want Jasper and Emmett to explain the extent of Avery's powers. It might come in handy when you see Edward."

EPOV

I heard Bella trip upstairs and I chuckled. She was so clumsy, yet by far the most beautiful creature to ever grace the planet.

"Edward, can you bring a glass of water and my pills when you come back?" I heard her ask. She must have hurt her ankle again when she fell.

"I'll be right up!" I shouted.

For some reason, the fuse box was giving me problems. All the other lights on the street were still on, so it couldn't have been the storm. I was sure that it had to have been a fuse, but nothing was working. Maybe the fuse was blown and needed to be replaced. And if that was the case, then I'd have to leave to get one. Unless Bella knew where Charlie might happen to have a spare.

Oh, well. It could wait. Surely there were candles somewhere that we could light until the power came back on. I grabbed the glass of water that Bella had asked for and grabbed her pills from the table before continuing upstairs.

When I got to her room, I noticed that the door was closed. That's funny, I don't remember closing it when I left, and why would Bella need to close it? Slowly, I cracked the door open, hoping to see Bella lying on her bed peacefully, staring at nothing in particular or with her eyes closed. But that's not what I saw. Instead, I saw an empty bed and an open window.

"Bella!" I called, hoping it was all a mistake. She couldn't be gone, not again. This was too much like the last time, when Victoria had taken her. But Victoria's dead, I reminded myself.

But Avery isn't.

"Bella!" I shouted again. "Bella, where are you!"

I was careful not to break the glass when I sat it down with the pills. Bella had to be somewhere in the house. She couldn't have just disappeared, not again. And Avery couldn't have taken her. My family would have called to warn me, right?

"Edward?" I heard a voice come from behind me. It was her voice. My Bella's.

I spun around to see her there looking curiously at me and I didn't think twice before sweeping her into my arms and holding her tight. I thought I'd lost her again.

"Bella," I asked, pulling away from her and grabbing her shoulders quite forcefully . "Where were you?"

"What do you mean?" Her eyes were fearful. "Edward, you're hurting me."

I released her immediately, turning away. Something was wrong. "Bella," I said slowly. "Where were you when I called for you?"

"I was in the bathroom," she answered. Lie. I spun around to face her again, looking closely at her face.

Something about her was different. It might have been the sound of her voice. It was higher or lower than usual, I thought. No, that wasn't it. It was her eyes. They weren't as telling. Bella's eyes gave so much about her away, and now they were empty of any emotion at all. The big brown pools I were so used to were gone, replaced by two shallow, cold irises.

"Why didn't you answer me, then? You could have at least let me know you were okay."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tilting her head forward to look at her feet. That's when I noticed it; the brace was missing.

"Why did you take your brace off, Bella?" Her head snapped up and her hair swirled around her face. Her scent was wrong, too. It was too strong, not at all like her usual scent.

"Um, it was getting annoying."

"Why is your window open, then?"

She glared at me.

"What's with all the questions, Edward? Don't you trust me?" She stepped closer, placing her hands on my chest.

I wasn't sure if I should. I was almost one hundred percent positive that the girl before me was most definitely not Bella . "Of course I trust you, Bella," I smiled, deciding to play along for now. "I love you."

The girl in front of me smiled. She had know idea I was on to her. How stupid she must have thought I was. I loved Bella far to much to be tricked by an imposter. Whoever was trying to trick me clearly didn't know how much I was obsessed with Bella. A little too much, most would say.

"I love you, too. I'm sorry for scaring you."

"All is forgiven, love. Don't worry."

The girl leaned forward slowly, her eyes seeming to bore into mine as if asking permission to kiss me. I leaned in to meet her lips and the girl's eyes closed. I knew exactly who I was kissing, then, and it certainly wasn't Bella.

It was Avery.

A/N: Most of you already knew it was Avery. I thought I needed to do that in Edward's POV because you needed to know what was happening with him. I'm debating whether or not to do part of next chapter in Avery's POV just so you can see how messed up she and her way of reasoning is. Review to let me know, cause if you don't tell me then I guess I'll foget the idea altogether.

By the way, the Emmett/Avery, Jasper/Avery thing will be explained next chapter. But just think about it, and you'll know what happened and why Rose and Alice were mad at them. And don't forget to REVIEW!!!