Emmett adjusts his leisurely position, turning onto his side and yawning in a carefree manner as he goes. He wraps his arms around Rosalie lying next to him in bed, nuzzling into her hair contentedly.
She brushes a lock of golden hair out of her face and exhales gently. Her back is to him, but he's fairly certain she's awake.
He kisses her neck as he snuggles her, hoping she will pick up what he's putting down. An early morning roll around the sheets sounds like the perfect way to start the day.
"Morning, babe," he mumbles into her ear, kissing her again, his hand skimming up her side.
She wordlessly brushes him away.
Well, that didn't work. Emmett slumps back onto his side of the bed.
Maybe she's on her period or needs a few more minutes of sleep. Or perhaps karma's giving him the finger for making fun of Edward's non-existent sex life the day before.
"I'm gonna go take a shower," he tells her, getting up to go to the bathroom.
It's going to have to be a cold one, too.
Emmett returns to the room a few minutes later squeaky clean and wearing a towel. He finds Rosalie sitting propped up against her pillow, reading something off her phone.
"Morning," she greets, not looking up from her scrolling.
He grabs clothes out of his bag and starts to get dressed. "How'd you sleep?"
"Pretty okay. It was like being next to a heater all night," she replies. "You're really warm."
"Is that good or bad?"
"I was cold, so good, I guess."
He grins and sits down on the bed. "I'm glad I could keep you toasty."
Rosalie gives him a terse smile. She seems to be in a weird mood.
"Excited to go up to the slopes later this morning?" He tries to rally her excitement.
"Yeah, I haven't gone skiing in a while. I used to go every year with my parents." She runs a hand through her long hair, pulling through a loose tangle. "I think my father's still mad at me. I wasn't invited this time."
"What do you mean he's still mad at you?"
"My ex was a big investor in his company. I messed up a pretty big business deal for him."
Right, her asshole ex. It adds up.
"Damn." Emmett lounges on his side, propping his head up on his arm. "That's rough. Your parents didn't side with you?"
"No, and I don't want to talk about it."
"Oh, sorry." He exhales. "I get it. I've had some crappy parents over the years."
"Like step parents?"
"Foster parents. I don't know my biological ones and I got moved around a lot," he says, watching her continue to absent-mindedly detangle her tresses with her fingers.
She pauses and looks at him pointedly, her light blue eyes narrowing. There's no doubt in his mind that she's on her period now. She's extra feisty. It's kind of turning him on again.
"So we're both miserable and have no families? Great," she retorts.
"Nah, it means there's no obligatory travel for the holidays. Plus you have Jazz, and I have Carli, Tedward, and Alice. They're better than family because I got to choose them. You can't say the same about most families."
She doesn't look convinced. "Do you know what happened to your birth parents?"
"Uhhh...I don't know. I guess they gave me up when I was little. I had three other siblings, and they were having trouble keeping us fed and stuff."
Rosalie frowns.
He didn't mean to put a damper on the morning. He likes it more when she's pissed off rather than sad.
"It's no biggie. I had a lot of fun getting to know so many different people over the years, and I think I turned out okay." He smiles. "It got me where I am today. I wouldn't have met you if I was still down in Tennessee."
"You're from Tennessee?" She softens her glare.
"Mhm, and now I'm legally obligated to say that you're the only ten I see."
She rolls her eyes, giving him a judgmental half-laugh. "You're the worst."
"And you're the best, which is why we're perfect together," he says, leaning in to kiss her.
She kisses him back, her full lips soft against his.
"I'm going to go get ready." She pushes him away and stands, ignoring his obvious attempts to keep her in bed.
He lets his hands drop from her waist and watches her leave with a sigh. There goes his last sliver of a chance some pre-breakfast action.
...
"Gorgeous. Just look at how beautiful that blood looks against your skin."
Rough hands run over the deep cut, smearing crimson down a pale arm. The girl whimpers.
"Please, don't do this."
"Bella, Bella...even if you beg, you're not getting out of this in one piece. It's too bad your boyfriend isn't here to watch. I'll make sure to send him a tape."
Alice gasps and jolts awake at the gruesome dream. She sits up, trying to catch her breath.
Her sudden movement causes Jasper to stir beside her. He opens his eyes groggily. "What's wrong?"
"Sorry, bad dream. I'm okay."
"Sure?"
She pats his shoulder lightly. "Yeah, you can go back to sleep."
"Mm." He nods, closing his eyes again and turning his face into the side of her pillow.
Last night, Alice wanted to give him and Carlisle some space and privacy to talk, so she went back upstairs to wait until they finished. Forty-five minutes later, Jasper returned looking slightly better after having had a beer from the case Emmett left in the back of the car. Carlisle told him he would get his prescription filled in the morning.
According to Carlisle's expert opinion, Jasper's going to have to be weaned off of alcohol and his overly generous pill usage gradually. His body needs time to safely get adjusted to not being heavily intoxicated and sedated.
With close medical supervision and a continuously decreasing dosage, though, he'll eventually be sober and healthy again.
Regardless of that fact, Alice was too worried about Jasper to sleep. It seems like she barely fell asleep when she was abruptly thrown into the nightmare about Bella.
She tries to think back on what the room in her premonition looked like, but can't seem to remember anything of note beyond the dim, red-hued lighting. It feels both foreign and familiar.
Suddenly another vision comes into focus.
Dirty blond hair. Dark eyes. A broad jaw and unkempt stubble. A man is in one of the classrooms at the university, sifting through a pile of photos.
Alice sees herself in several of the pictures and recognizes them from the assortment that was hanging up in the darkroom vision several weeks ago.
She carefully slides out from under Jasper's arm, hops out of bed, and tiptoes out of the room and down the stairs. She has to talk with Edward and Bella. Maybe they will know who the man is.
She knocks quietly, hoping she doesn't wake up anyone else in the process. There's rustling on the other side, and she hears someone coming to answer the door.
Edward looks surprisingly awake for how early it is, though his pajamas and typical level of morning misery are still present. "Alice?"
"I got another vision and Bella was in it," she says in a low voice.
"Just now? Of what?"
"It's not good. I couldn't tell what was going on because it was so dark," she relays. "There's a man that's going to hurt her, but I don't recognize him."
Bella overheard them talking. She comes to the door, peeking around the corner in her oversized t-shirt and flannel pants. "What did he look like?"
"A little older than us, plain, kind of blondish-brownish hair. His clothes looked worn. I think he goes to our school. I saw him in a classroom."
"James?" Bella asks, her brows knitting together. She looks to Edward. "That sounds like what my TA for journalism looks like."
She goes back into the room to get her phone and does a quick search online to find a picture. She shows Alice his Instagram profile.
He looks exactly like who she saw.
"That's him," Alice confirms.
Edward scowls. "You're sure?"
"Mhm. He's the one who's been following me around."
Bella's brows knit together "Following you? I don't understand. He's just a grad student. He's a bit odd, but he's not..."
"He's dangerous. You need to stay far away from him," Alice insists, shaking her head.
"I'll be fine here then, right? He's all the way in Seattle. He's not even my TA anymore."
"You're going to be okay. I promise he won't hurt you, Bella," Edward cuts in determinedly. He looks like he's on the verge of panic. "We know who to look out for, so you're going to be safe. We can hire a private investigator and guards, and we have Alice to warn us. There's no need to worry."
Alice nods in agreement and hopes her premonitions will be reliable enough to act as a safety measure. "I'll try to keep watch. I can't see everything, but I'll do what I can."
Edward gives her an uneasy glance like he wants her to leave. He'll say something if she doesn't.
"I'm going to go get ready then. I'll see you at breakfast later!" Alice says, turning and heading back upstairs.
...
Bella slips and falls face-first in the snow for the dozenth time, the icy fluff so cold it burns her skin. "Ouch!"
"You need to focus your weight backward more," Edward instructs. "And put a little bend in your knees."
"I can't do this, Edward. I told you I'm not good at sports," she says as he pulls her crumpled form back upright.
"You're getting better, though! You almost had it."
"I'm getting more bruised is what I'm getting. Can we please go back now? My legs are tired." She isn't going to be able to walk tomorrow.
He sighs. "Fine, fine. We can head back."
After three hours of trying to learn to ski, Bella is thoroughly exhausted and in pain. She didn't think it was possible to be continuously embarrassed about her lack of athletic prowess for so many continuous hours.
She feels useless as she watches the others slide down the side of the snowy mountain effortlessly while she struggles to get more than two feet without losing her balance.
Edward does his best to help her down the rest of the way, and Bella falls four more times in the process.
She's never doing this again.
"Are you two leaving?" Bella hears Alice's high-pitched voice ask over the sound of gusty wind as she snowboards down the bank, catching up with them easily.
"Yeah," Edward replies. "I think we're going to call it a day and head back."
"Oh, okay! We'll meet you at the car in a little bit if you aren't in a hurry," Alice replies, following them down the bottom of the hill. "I just want to let the others know first."
Jasper slides to a stop behind them and starts to unclip his boots from his board while Alice watches for the other four members of their group.
"Sure, we'll wait." Edward looks to Bella for confirmation. "Is that okay?"
"Yeah." She nods.
They pause for a break at the little coffee stand near the parking lot. Edward buys her a hot chocolate to drink while he runs to get the car.
She's grateful to be spared the opportunity of making an even bigger fool of herself by slipping on the way to the Tesla. Her legs feel like jelly.
Her phone starts to ring. She grabs it out of her jacket pocket and sees an unknown number listed on the caller ID.
"Hello?" she answers.
"Bella? Bella!?" her mom's frantic voice calls out.
"Mom? What's wrong?" Her stomach does a nervous flip.
"Bella, where are you?"
"I'm here! Did something happen?"
She hears deep laughter on the other end of the line. "Hello, Bella. How is your winter break going?"
She knows that voice. "James..?"
"Very good! Yes! I was just calling to let you know I'm here with your mother. She was going to surprise you and come to Seattle after all, but sadly you aren't here."
"Is she okay? She sounds scared. Why are you with her?" Bella worries aloud.
"She'll be fine if you do what I say."
Alice's warning earlier in the morning is being realized sooner than Bella anticipated. She thought she wouldn't have to worry until she was back in the city. She thought she would be safe in Whistler.
"What do you mean?" she asks.
"I want you, Bella. You're so much fun, and I just couldn't bear to see you go the other day,"
His words anger her. "Leave my mom out of this. If you so much as—"
"Relax. We're just having a little chat," he sneers. "I'm going to send you an address in the Industrial District to meet me at. We can do a trade. She goes free...and I get to spend some time with you. If you leave now, you'll arrive just in time for dinner."
So he wants a date or something? Gross. She has to go help her mom, so she doesn't have much of an option. "Okay, I'll...I'll come. Just please don't hurt her."
"Good. Take care not to dawdle, and don't even think about calling the police or bringing your little boyfriend with you. I can't make any promises of what might happen to your mommy if uninvited guests show up."
The phone call ends and she's left with silence and dread.
Alice said James is dangerous, but if she tells Edward, she would put not only herself in danger, but him and her mom at risk as well. She doesn't want to take that chance. She can't.
She has to go alone and keep it a secret if she wants both of her loved ones to stay safe.
She sees Edward's Tesla driving toward her. Her panic doubles. She gets into the car and looks over anxiously at him, eyes scanning his handsome face.
"Who were you talking with?" he asks.
"My mom just called. She wanted to surprise me and flew to Seattle. She was asking where I was."
"She's in Seattle? Now?"
"Yeah. I feel bad for not being there to see her. I should go back."
Edward's eyebrows furrow. "Does she often just show up like that? It seems strange. Did you not tell her that you'd be with me in Whistler for the weekend?"
"I guess I forgot. I'm trying to figure out how I'll get back, though. It's pretty late in the day."
Edward sighs. "As soon as Alice gets here, we can drive to the cabin and get your things. We'll get to Seattle around seven. Maybe you can introduce me to her."
No! No! This is exactly what she can't let happen!
Bella sees Alice leading Jasper over to the car a few yards away. She needs to think of a way to keep everyone safe and quickly.
"Edward, you've been looking forward to this trip for weeks now. We've been together a lot lately and...and...I think maybe we just need some time apart. I'm tired and sore and I just want to spend some time with my mom," she says, trying to sound sure of herself.
His beautiful emerald eyes look at her with confusion and worry. "I know skiing was rough, but I thought you were having fun."
She's going to have to escalate things.
"Fun? I told you I'm horrible with athletics and yet you insist on making me hike, ski, and play baseball at every opportunity," she blurts out a little too easily, conjuring up her best impression of an exasperated Renée. "You don't listen to anything I say—including right now when I'm telling you I need to go see my mom, and you need to stay here."
His voice lowers. He looks disheartened by her words. "So you don't want me to meet your mother?"
"I don't think that would be a good idea."
Bella gets out of the Tesla feeling like an emotional wreck. Alice and Jasper are approaching the car, whispering amongst themselves.
"Hey! Is everything alright?" asks Alice, smiling nervously at the couple's upset demeanors.
"I need a ride back to Seattle," Bella replies.
"You're not staying the rest of the weekend?"
"No, my mom unexpectedly made a trip to Seattle and I'm going to go see her."
Edward sighs. "I'm trying to tell her I'll drive her back, but she doesn't want me to."
"Because I don't want to go with you," Bella reiterates, knowing she's pushing her luck. She doesn't want to hurt him, but he could be hurt even more if she doesn't push him away now.
"Alice," Edward says, looking at her pleadingly.
"I guess I can drive her back if that's okay..." Alice suggests meekly, obviously not wanting to be in the middle of the disagreement. "If Jasper's okay with leaving too?"
"Yeah, that's fine."
Tossing his key fob to Alice, Edward gets out of the car and walks away from the parking lot.
...
After three and a half hours of listening to Bella's poorly disguised crying and sniffling coming from the backseat, Alice finally sees the familiar landmarks of North Seattle zipping by as she drives down I-5.
In the passenger seat, Jasper looks similarly miserable.
"We're almost to the hotel. Just another thirty minutes or so, I'd say," Alice tells them.
Bella exhales and nods, apparently cried-out for the time being.
"I don't think Edward meant to overwhelm you with everything. He just tends to get carried away. He'll call you later tonight to make sure you're okay, I'm sure."
"I don't want to talk to him tonight. I...need time to think," Bella says shakily.
Something feels odd, but Alice can't quite place it. The vision from that morning keeps popping up in her head like a glaring reminder every few minutes.
"Sleep on it and see how you feel in the morning," Jasper speaks up for the first time since they've gotten in the car. "I'd wager he really cares about you, so I'm sure he's willing to work things out."
Alice glances at Bella in the rear-view mirror and sees her looking at Jasper with a puzzled expression. Her eyes are all swollen, her nose is runny, and her hair looks like it could use a brush.
"Thanks..." Bella says quietly.
"You said the hotel your mom's staying at is on First Street?" Alice asks. "Kind of an odd spot when you're all the way across town in Eastlake. It's the next exit, right?"
"Yeah, and then it'll be on the right," she confirms. "Hey, Alice?"
"Yes, Bella?"
"How do your visions work?"
She has to think about the logistics for a moment before answering. "They just kind of pop up. Sometime's I'm awake. Sometimes I'm sleeping. They usually come true, but sometimes not. The weather's easy."
"What about visions of other people?"
"Depends on how close we are, I guess. And how important the event is. I don't usually see people I don't know. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. Just wondering."
Alice assumes she must be worried about the James dream. Surely she will be okay if left for a few hours with her mom. They can come up with safety precautions in the morning.
She slows the car in front of the older, mid-sized hotel on the waterfront where Bella said her mom is staying. It's on the outskirts of downtown and the type of place that she wouldn't consider staying in if her life depended on it, quite frankly. Alice can tell from the outside that it lacks pizzazz and taste.
"Are you going to be okay?" she asks, turning to look back at Bella's pallid, weepy face as she collects her things out of the backseat.
"Mhm. I'll...text you later." Bella gets out of the car and slams the door behind her.
Alice rolls down her window to continue talking. "Okay, have a good night. Tell your mom I said hi. And don't go anywhere alone until we figure out what's going on with James, okay?"
"Got it. I'll be careful," Bella agrees. She walks up to the front doors and gives a sulky nod before going into the hotel lobby.
Well, that takes care of that.
Alice looks over at Jasper. If he weren't so tall, he would be easy to miss with how quiet he's been. "Where to? Should we stop and get something to eat?" she asks. "I kind of want sushi."
"That's fine with me."
"Sorry, we had to leave early. I didn't want Bella to miss out on time with her mom or end up fighting with Edward more."
"It's alright. There's always next time."
Alice grins and makes a U-turn back towards the city center. There's a Japanese restaurant she likes just a few blocks north.
A vision flickers into view.
The darkroom is washed in red light. A TV sits in the corner, showing a surveillance camera feed of four different locations: an empty driveway, a steel door, a cluttered storage room, and a dim car-lined street with a view of the hotel Alice just dropped her friend off at.
James grabs Bella and drags her across the smooth, tiled floor as she struggles to break free. He roughly zip-ties her wrists to a metal support column in the center of the room.
"Alice!" Jasper's arm quickly reaches across the car to correct the steering wheel. She tenses as she's suddenly made aware of the road seconds before nearly slamming into the side of a bus.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry! Normally it auto-corrects. Edward must have turned it off. He hates how it slows him down," she squeaks. "I think we need to go back. I think something's wrong with Bella. Can you call her?"
Alice picks up her phone from its spot on the center console and hands it to him while making a haphazard turn across five lanes of traffic. A series of car honks follow her as she swerves and picks up speed.
"Did you see something?" he asks, holding up her phone so she can unlock it.
"The passcode's J-A-Z-Z. I just saw her with James and they're in a building across from the hotel. There are security cameras everywhere and photos and knives and..."
"What? She said she was going to stay with her mom."
"I know, but something's going to happen. I don't know how. I just know she's going to be in trouble, and we need to make sure she's okay."
Jasper dials Bella's number and it goes straight to voicemail.
