CHAPTER 9

I wanted him to kiss me and that scared me. I was falling fast and hard and I didn't understand. Stepping back, Alec pulled me away from the wall and forced us to continue walking in silence until we came to a single door tucked into the wall. Unlocking it, Alec pushed the door open with a force only a vampire possessed. I could see the fountain in the town square where Alice, Edward and Bella were waiting. A part of me didn't want to leave, a part of me wanted to stay and be with Alec. I looked up at Alec to see him already looking at me, watching me.

"I-if I wanted to stay here… would you let me?"

"Yes. Do you want to?"

"I um… I don't know. I'm all very confused and I don't understand what I'm feeling. I ju-"

"I understand. This is all new and overwhelming, not just for you but me also. You are not alone in this. We will figure this out together."

Alec reached out and entwined our hands together, calming me of my frantic nerves and growing anxiety. I didn't understand why I was so consumed by him, I barely knew him and yet I was having a hard time pulling myself away.

"You need to go to your sister before I change my mind and not let you leave."

I smiled at him but saw that he was not joking. I wrapped my arms around him and gave him one last hug before I ran off to where my sister and the Cullens were waiting.

Back in Forks Bella and I were grounded, but I soon left to go back to Ravenwood Academy for final exams, giving me a sense of freedom from the Cullens stalking and Edwards mind reading.

It didn't take me long to unpack my bag in my dorm room before I dove head first into studying and preparing for my final exams but after a day of non-stop studying I was burnt out.

Pulling out my laptop I did a quick search of Volterra, Italy and found the number for the receptionist for the Volterra Castle Tour and dialed the number, hoping they answered.

"Buongiorno come posso aiutarti?"

"I don't speak Italian. My name is Cecilia, I need to speak to Alec."

"Hold please."

I wasn't on hold for long before there was movement on the other end of the phone before Alec's voice came through.

"Cecilia. Are you okay?"

I breathed a sigh of relief before flopping down on my bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to talk to you. Is that okay?"

"Of course that is okay. Is there anything specific you wish to talk about?"

"No. I just feel… lonely? Like…"

"Like something is missing. It's not a strong feeling but subconsciously you feel like you are missing something but don't know what it is."

"YES! That is exactly what I'm feeling! Finally I can talk to someone who understands it."

"Have you not talked to your sister about this? She should understand what you are feeling."

"Oh. Well, I'm not in Forks rig-"

"Where are you?"

"Ugh… At my school. Ravenwood Academy. I have final exams and after that I will go back to Forks."

"I have to go. I will call you soon."

I was disappointed but said goodbye and hung up, throwing my phone down next to me.