Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

Chapter 18: Silence

Bella POV:

Fuck! I was completely fucked! I knew I shouldn't have gotten close to Alice again. I fucking knew it. I was too weak. And now look what happened. Oh god they're going to try and kill me. What if they tell the Volturi?! I pulled to the side of the road in a panic and called Liam. He told me to calm down and he'd be there in a few hours. How was I supposed to calm down? Carlisle worked for the Volturi for Christ's sake! Studying medicine! What if he wanted to experiment on me as well?

At this point I was having a full blown panic attack in my car. I didn't even notice Jake pull up behind me and knock on my window. He opened the driver's side door and gently moved me to the passenger's seat while he took the wheel. He was sopping wet, it was pouring outside.

"We're home Bells." I hadn't even noticed that he moved me from the car. Jake had placed me in my bed, I looked around dazed and confused. He went downstairs for a little while and came back with a mug of steaming tea. "Here drink this. I put a shot of bourbon in there too. You look like you need it." I wanted to thank him but couldn't. The tea did help quite a bit, and eventually I became more aware of what had happened.

"How did you-?"

"Liam called." He sighed and plopped down on the bed next to me. "Get some rest Bells. I'll make sure everything's ok. Liam said he'd text me once he was here." He could tell I was hesitant. "Really Bella. I have the whole pack ready to move if need be. But I don't think it will be a problem. You need to sleep. I'll wake you if anything happens." The tea was kicking in hard and I hadn't slept in days. So despite my best efforts, I ended up fading into sleep.

Alice POV:

"What's wrong with her?"

"I'm not sure. She hasn't moved or said anything since."

"Can vampires go catatonic?"

"Not that I've heard of. Maybe in shock for a while."

"Did you see what was on her arm that got her like this?"

"No. She was in the way. And then Bella left too fast." The sound of my mate's name seemed to ring some sort of bell in me.

"Is Edward back yet?"

"Yeah almost."

"I'm here. Where is she?" Someone leaned down next to me. "Alice?" I heard my brother inhale sharply as he prodded my mind. "No. No. It can't be." He collapsed next to me and started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Ok what the fuck is going on here?" That was Emmett. I was starting to recognize voices now, but had no will to look at their owners. Or answer them.

"Jasper what can you feel from them?" Carlisle sounded very concerned. Two of his children were now unresponsive.

"Suffering." Jasper sounded strained as he answered. "Immense pain and guilt. I can hardly bear it Carlisle." Well that makes two of us. My mate had been tortured and turned against her will because of me. There was a piercing wail that rang through the kitchen. It took me a while to realize that the sound came from me.

"Carlisle! Do something!" Rosalie had thrown herself on top of me, trying to fix me. It was no use, the only thing that would make me feel better would be death. Death, or killing the entire lot of the Volturi. My body shook with a rumbling growl.

"Now it's anger. Rage I've never felt before. Carlisle I need to hunt."

"It's alright son, you can go. Thank you for trying." I heard Jasper leave.

"You said Bella told you sorry and left? Why was she sorry?" There was my mate's name again. Bella. I needed Bella. Everyone gasped as I abruptly stood. How long had I been down there for? My body felt stiff.

"Bella. I need to see Bella." My voice was monotonous and my eyes were focused in front of me.

"Like hell you are! You're not going anywhere until you tell us what's wrong! You've been unresponsive for hours, crippled Edward with whatever was on your mind, and drove Jasper out of the house!" Hours? It felt like only a few seconds. I blinked several times. Bella was my priority, but my family was in the way of the path to her. I was debating whether to fight them or not, when the doorbell rang. "Oh now what?" Emmett moved from the kitchen to get the door. "Sorry may I help you?"

"Hello. My name is Liam Jackson. May I come inside please?" Whoever was on the other side of the doorway had a very smooth voice.

"Um no? Sorry I think you have the wrong address man." Emmett usually would have been more polite, but it had been a long few hours. I heard him go to close the door, but instead there was a loud bang, and the door swung wide open. "What the fuck!?"

"I am truly sorry to intrude but this is a matter of extreme importance. I need to speak with your family immediately."

"Emmett let him in." Carlisle called before Emmett did anything rash. I heard footsteps coming closer towards the kitchen and looked up at the intruder. He looked remarkably like Bella. His hair was about the same length, slightly shorter, and their eyes were matching exactly. As I looked down his body, I saw the same black binding that Bella wore on her left forearm. This was the other.

"Good evening Cullens." He had the same tense politeness in his voice that Bella had. "I believe we need to have a little chat."