a/n Special thanks as always goes to my beta lanacullen

Chapter 24- Questions

Bella stared at the spot on the floor where her bag used to be. She tried to remember if she had put it somewhere else but came up with nothing.

She should be more concerned, but Edward had captured her attention and made her want to pull her hair out.

She replayed the evening in her mind.

Edward was all over the place. First he said that he was there for her and then he said that he needed his space. It was all so confusing. How was she supposed to react when she was told that she was wanted, but not romantically? If Bella was honest with herself, it was beyond hurtful. The way the Cullen's had treated her had not changed, and even though she was 'accepted' she was still regarded with caution and suspicion. Would this ever change? Bella didn't know, but if she had to guess then she would say no. The one thing that she'd learned while being around the Cullen's was that vampire's rarely change who they are.

Bella flung herself on her bed and closed her eyes. Was this worth it? She had found something she had never expected with Edward and yet it was one sided. She was not sure if Edward would ever trust her completely. Foolishly she had put what fragile trust she had left in him, and he had walked away with it. Bella did not want to turn into a bitter woman who scorned all men and was closed off to relationships because she had been burned, but she could not quite walk away scratch free.

She did not know what to do. She would feel foolish to just return to Edward after all he had done, but she couldn't help the craving of his company.

Bella stared at the phone. Should she call him? She had judged him very quickly and now she was second guessing her decision. She sighed, one night with Edward and all of her feelings were turned around. Before she'd come to Forks she'd let no one decide her fate, besides Chase, but Chase was family and she knew that he had her best interests at heart.

What did Edward really want?

That was a question she wasn't sure how to answer. The obvious answer was blood and to live his life inconspicuously but she wasn't sure if even that was right. What could she really say she knew about Edward other than his species? The more she thought about it the more her head began to throb. There were too many variables in her equation to consider.

Bella rolled over; the whole day had been a mess. It had started out nice but quickly turned to shit. The Volturi were coming, planning to do who knows what and her sole trump card rested with a family of vegetarian vampires. How and when did she and Chase back themselves into such a corner she wondered?

Then there was Edward; she cared about him that was for sure. It might not have started out as an honest relationship but it was definitely progressing genuinely. He was the first person she had ever let her guard down with and that was a big deal, but Bella wasn't so sure what was to come. How was she going to get Edward to trust her if she didn't trust him completely herself?

Bella picked up her pillow and stuck her face in it; she groaned loudly and tried to get any lingering frustration to leave her. It was a helpful exercise but she didn't quite feel as free as she hoped she would once she came up for air.

Bella stood up and went to the bathroom. She began to get ready for bed when her cell phone started to buzz. It had been put on vibrate, because Bella detested being interrupted by a cheesy ring or song lyric when she was in the middle of something. As her phone vibrated across the counter, she fought to catch it and not trip over her sleep pants at the same time.

"Hello?" she finally managed when she had righted herself.

"Bella, its Alice." Came a familiar voice. Bella stared at the phone in her hand for a second and wondered if she had the right phone. Alice had never called her before; hell she hadn't even given her her number.

"Alice?" She questioned when she had confirmed she was in fact, holding her phone.

"Yes, Bella I'm calling you, and not by mistake. I wanted to talk to you, in person. Do you think you could meet me somewhere, or could I come to you?"

Bella was a little dumbstruck and stayed silent for a second too long.

"Bella, I'm still here." Alice said.

"Sorry. Ah, yeah you can come by…I mean if you want, if that's better-''

"Great! I'll see you in ten minutes."

Bella was slow to respond. The dead air she was listening to only gave way when the line began to beep a signal that meant Alice had disconnected.

Bella stood there a moment, wondering what exactly had just happened. She hung up the phone and walked back into her room, slightly confused. What did Alice have to talk to her about that couldn't wait till they saw each other in school? Better yet, why did she want to meet alone without her family around?

Bella quickly stopped herself there; she was pretty sure why Alice didn't want the rest of her family around her.

She sat on her bed, deciding to wait there. Less than ten minutes later the phone rang, Bella picked it up, suddenly nervous.

"Hello?"

Alice chuckled, "Bella I'm outside, are you going to let me in?"

Bella immediately felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Where else had she expected Alice to show up? The front door was the obvious answer, yet she had secretly wondered if Alice would shove herself through her window. Bella shook her head, why on Earth would she think that?

"Right, I'll be right down." She said and hung up.

Bella was downstairs in seconds and pulling open the door to reveal an excited looking Alice.

"Hi Bella!"

"Hey Alice, uh what can I help you with?" Bella asked as Alice walked past her into the living room.

"Is your brother with us?" Alice asked instead.

"Uh he's in the garage. Do you want me to go and get him?"

"No, no, I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh." Bella couldn't hide her surprise. Alice had barely spoken to her before except for when she had told her to buzz off and she found this new found kinship strange.

Alice smiled and reached for Bella's hand. Bella didn't resist and followed Alice when she began to lead her to one of her couches. When they were both sitting down Alice started.

"Bella, I know you doubt Edward right now. I don't have to be psychic to know that."

Bella shrugged and looked into her lap, not sure what to say.

"Bella, I wanted to see you to tell you a little bit about my gift."

Bella didn't move her interest suddenly peaked. "Many of my visions shift constantly. The future is never concrete, people's opinions change all the time and therefore so do their outcomes."

Bella looked up, confused. "Why are you telling me this?"

Alice smiled. "What you might think is a dire situation now, doesn't necessarily give way to the future. Things change, people change and sometimes, vampires change."

Bella's eyes widened as she understood what Alice was referring to.

"Bella, I want to apologize for the way my family reacted to your news two weeks ago. We were surprised and caught off guard and definitely not expecting it… I know it might seem sudden but I'd like to be able to call you my friend. "

Bella stared at her with her mouth agape. Bella was used to dealing with Edward's rapid and quickly changing emotions, but what she had taken for granted was that the speed at which he expressed his emotions was the exception, not the rule. Alice seemed to be moving at a pace that was, at best, difficult to follow.

"What?"

Alice smiled, "Bella I know things between our families has been difficult. But we need to move past that if we are going to work together. I'm calling a shopping day. Me, you, Rosalie and Esme will spend the day together to get to know each other and then we will begin."

Before Bella could voice her reluctance Alice clapped her hands together and said, "Great! Tomorrow afternoon we'll all go."

"Wait, Alice!" Bella called. "What did you mean about beginning?"

Alice smiled sadly, "We will need to train before the Volturi come. Jasper wishes to teach you how to fight vampires, and how to avoid... death."

Bella nodded to herself, unaware that Alice had taken her leave.

She was unsure about training, but was more than certain that it was needed. There were very few ways to kill a vampire, and since Bella nor Chase had ever faced a vampire in a fight she needed all the practice they could get.

Bella was on the stairs when she realized what Alice had said before she had left.

"Shopping day?!"

a/n Sorry for the lateness and the shortness. I am working on the next chapter though.