28
The ride from Forks to La Push was full of tension and awkward silence. I don't think either of us knew what to say or do right now. We both knew just how dangerous Aro Volturi was, Bella more so than I did, but I still knew. I saw the look in his eyes, the determination set firmly on his face. He would do everything he could to get the two of us to do his bidding and I knew that meant hurting those we loved the most.
"Ok, so we have to act normal," said Bella, pulling her car up in front of Jacob's dinner and looking over at me. "You look like shit."
"Gee, thanks," I muttered, harshly.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. I looked over at her. "I didn't mean to get you involved in this."
"It's not your fault," I sighed, taking a deep breath. "I love you, Bella, and I am not going to let him hurt you."
"What if you get hurt?" asked Bella, looking over at me. "That would kill me, Edward."
"I won't let him hurt me, either," I offered, trying to sound as confident as I could.
"I just…" she trailed off, looking back at the restaurant as the front door opened. Carlisle looked over at us, cocking an eyebrow. "We had better go."
"Ok," I murmured.
Bella and I climbed out of the car and met in front. I slipped my arm around her waits, pulling her as close to me as I could. Needing her to be as close to me as she could be. Bella seemed to be feeling the same way as she turned and wrapped her arms around me, gripping my t-shirt in her hands.
"What took you two so long?" asked Carlisle.
"Nothing," muttered Bella. "We were just talking."
"Yeah, talking," I said, quietly.
"Ok, well, get in here before Em and Jas start telling embarrassing stories about us," snickered Carlisle.
Bella and I tried to laugh with him but it came out sounding forced and tense. Either Carlisle didn't notice or he choose not to say anything because he just turned and headed back into the small dinner. Bella and I followed him in and found our collective families sitting together in the back. They all looked so happy and relaxed. If only they knew about the dangers that were around us all but at the same time, perhaps it was better that they didn't know.
"We were starting to worry," frowned Elizabeth, pulling me and Bella into the seats next to her. She reached out and grabbed Bella's hand, once she pried it off my t-shirt that is. "Are you feeling better today, Sweetheart?"
"Yes," whispered Bella. "I'm sorry about yesterday."
"Don't be," said Elizabeth, squeezing her hand. "I'm just glad you are feeling better today."
Just then the front door of the diner opened and Ben, Angela, Kate, and Garrett came in. All four of them shared a look before they went into the back. It was odd that they were here and ever odder that they didn't come over and say anything to us.
"WHAT?" roared Jacob from the kitchen. "ARE YOU SHITTING ME?"
"What the hell?" asked Bella, as we all looked over at the door that lead to the kitchen.
Jacob stormed out with Garrett, Ben, Angela, Kate, and Ness following him. His face was set and flushed bright red. I could feel the anger flowing off of not only him but all of them. I just didn't understand why they were all so pissed off. Could this day get any worse?
"Ok, call Sam and get him here now with the van," barked Jacob, looking at Angela. She nodded and whipped her cell phone out. Jacob then turned to Kate and Ben. "Call Peter and James. Have them meet us at headquarters."
"On it," said Ben while Kate just nodded her head. They both whipped out their own cell phones as Jacob flipped the lock on the front door and turned to the rest of us.
"They've been compromised," said Jacob. I didn't understand what the hell he was talking about.
"How?" asked Charlie, standing up and moving over to Jacob.
"We don't know, sir," said Garrett. "Aro Volturi was spotted in town this morning by Jenks. He saw him talking to the boy."
"Shit," muttered Charlie, looking over at us. "Ok, we need to get them out of here."
"Sam is on his way," said Angela, coming back over. "ETA five minutes."
"What the hell is going on here?" asked Carlisle, looking around.
"We don't have time to explain," said Charlie. "Just sit tight."
"I will not fucking sit tight," growled Carlisle, standing up. "I want an explanation."
"And I don't have time to give you one," snapped Charlie. "Now sit down and shut the fuck up."
"Car, just listen to him," said Renee, pulling on his arm to sit down. Carlisle glared at his sister. "Please."
Carlisle shrugged her hand off of him but sat down. I looked around the table and saw that nobody, other than Renee, seemed to understand what the hell was going on. Bella nestled herself into me even more. I tightened my arms around her as I pressed my lips into the top of her head.
Charlie and Jacob were standing next to the front door, whispering to each other, while Garrett, Ben, Kate, Angela, and Ness were running around the place, yelling back and forth at each other. A moment later, a large black van slammed to at stop outside of the restaurant. A tall, russet skin man climbed out of the driver's seat and looked around as he made his way up to the front door of the diner.
"The coast is clear," said the man. "Let's get them loaded up inside."
"Everyone listen up," barked Charlie, looking around at us. "We do not have time to explain this to you but we need to get all of you out of here now. This is for your own safety."
"Why should we trust you?" growled Carlisle, throwing his chair back.
"Because I'm telling you to," snapped Charlie. "Now, get your asses up and move out."
"Now, look here-" started my father.
"NOW!" bellowed Charlie, pulling a gun out of the back of his pants. "I'm not asking here, I'm telling you to get your asses up from the table and get them into the fucking van."
Renee stood up and headed over to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder, lovingly before she followed Sam out to the black van. I wasn't sure what the hell was going on but I knew better than to argue with a man who was holding a gun. I stood up, pulling Bella up with me.
"Edward, no," hissed my mother, grabbing on to me.
"He has a gun," I said, firmly. "Just do as he says."
Bella didn't say anything as I led her past Charlie, who nodded his head at the two of us. I lifted her into the van and climbed in next to her. Renee reached out for her but Bella scooted closer to me. One by one the rest of our families joined us in the back of the van, all looking like they weren't sure we weren't being take to our deaths. Charlie climbed into the back with us while Sam and Jacob climbed into the front seats.
"Ok, now, I know you are confused," said Charlie as the van took off. "I'm sorry that I had to pull my weapon on you but this if for your own safety."
"Excuse us for not trusting you, Charlie," snapped Emmett, pulling Rose closer into his embrace. "If that is really your name."
"It is," said Charlie. "Renee, baby, come here."
Renee moved over and settled on the floor next to him. He slipped his arm around her and kissed the side of her head, almost lovingly. I was more confused than ever but I wasn't sure what to say. When I woke up this morning, my biggest concern was making sure Bella was ok. Now, I had to worry about the rest of my family as well.
Nobody said anything. I could feel the tension, the fear, the sheer terror flowing off of everyone. Bella was clinging onto me like she was afraid that if she let go that I would be sucked out of the van. I could feel her body shaking and I knew she was scared. I just didn't know what to do or say to help her right now so I just tightened my arms around her, holding her as close to me as I could.
Looking around, I noticed that everyone else seemed to be reacting the same way. Emmett had Rose tucked into his side, whispering into her ear as she let her tears flow. Alice was sitting on Jasper's lap, arms wound tightly around his neck. I could see her shoulders shaking as she too cried. Carlisle had Esme's hand in his own. He pulled it up to his lips, placing a small kiss on it. Esme laid her head his shoulder. I should have been happy that my sister had finally found someone to love, and I was, but it had also cost her dearly.
From my sister and Carlisle, I looked over at my parents. They were sitting next to Esme, wrapped in each other's arms. I could almost see the gears in my father's head turning as he tried to figure out what to do to get us out of this situation. He looked over at me and simply nodded his head as if to tell me to trust him to take care of us all. I really wanted to but I didn't.
I'm not sure how long we had been driving when the van came to stop. Charlie kissed Renee's head once more before he moved and opened the door. Sam and Jacob climbed out of the van and met him around the back, weapons raised. Charlie looked around for a minute before he turned back to the rest of us.
"Ok, it's very important that you follow my orders," instructed Charlie. "We are going to lead you somewhere safe. Please, don't fight is on this."
"They are waiting for us," said Jacob. "We need to move them now."
"Ok," sighed Charlie, looking back at us. "Let's go."
Without saying a word to us, Renee climbed out of the back of the van. Knowing that we didn't have much of a choice in this, I stood up and pulled Bella behind me as we stepped out of the van. Just like at the diner, the rest of our family followed us off. I took a moment to look around and saw that we were in an underground parking garage, a deserted parking garage.
Charlie didn't say anything as he and Jacob lead us through the parking garage with Sam, Ness, Garrett, Ben, Angela, and Kate following us. We were ushered through a large iron door that lead to the basement. We were lead down a long cold hallway until we reached a red door. Charlie looked back at us before he pushed the door open and ushered us inside. As we stepped inside, Bella, Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle all gasped. Bella stepped away from me and she looked over at the people.
"Mom? Dad?"
