Brrrr. Brrrr. Brrr.
Emmett wakes up to the sound of his pillow beeping and vibrating.
His palm comes to his face, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he fumbles around in the dark trying to locate the source of the noise.
There are five missed calls and sixteen unread messages, all from Rosalie.
He suddenly feels very awake despite having come home from getting drinks with Tanya, Kate, and Irina less than an hour ago.
"Hey, babe, 'sup?" he mumbles, wondering if he's in trouble. He's fairly certain she isn't supposed to be back in Seattle until Tuesday, so he can't already be late to pick her up.
"I called Edward to tell him to stop being a brat because he blocked Alice and isn't talking to you, and he somehow misunderstood, so now he thinks Bella has a new boyfriend," she blubbers.
He can't tell if she actually isn't making sense or if he's still drunk. "Uh..."
"Alice is mad at me because it's my fault he called Bella, and she said she thinks he's going to try to kill himself, but no one can get ahold of him because he isn't answering his phone."
"Like Alice saw it happen?"
"What do you mean 'she saw it happen'? He's in Italy."
"Yeah, if he still has her blocked and she hasn't talked to him, then she definitely saw it. Remember how I said she's like real-life That's So Raven?"
"That's not real. People can't do that. Edward wouldn't do that even if she could see the future, right? Alice is guessing, and it's a wrong guess."
"Yeah, but if you tell that to Alice, she'll just go on about how no one believed Cassandra after that Apollo douche cursed her, and she was always right about what would happen," he replies. "Her weekly hiking forecasts are super accurate, so I don't question it too much."
Rosalie doesn't reply right away, and he can hear her muffled sobbing on the other end of the line. "What am I going to do if he dies and it's my fault? And I'm going to have to find another friend to go shopping with when Esme's working because Alice hates me."
Emmett scratches his head, thinking over the last time Edward had a meltdown. "Dammit. If he was here, I'd just kick his ass and yell at him until he stops being stupid. I wonder if Carlisle has enough air miles points to get a flight there..."
"Alice and Bella are already on their way to the airport."
"Without me?! The hell! I'm his best friend. What are they gonna do? Use the power of compassion to talk him out of death?" Emmett retorts skeptically. "His last existential crisis resulted in him smashing a Steinway & Sons to pieces. That thing cost more than grad school. And he went around trying to fight people and being a real asshole, too. What he needs is a reality check. I'm gonna go to Italy and—oh, hang on. Someone's texting me."
Emmett pulls the buzzing phone away from his ear to see the message. It's from Alice. Can you drive Jasper to his interview at 10? Stay in Seattle. Thanks.
He sighs. "Well, I guess I'm not going to Italy. Shoot. I wanted some good gelato, too."
"Edward texted you?"
"No, Alice. She wants me to give Jazz a ride tomorrow morning. Sucks what happened to his car."
"Peter must be busy."
"Yeah, or she doesn't want me to have any fun joining in on their trip," he grumbles. "You shouldn't worry about it. I'm sure they have everything under control."
Rosalie isn't convinced. "I feel awful."
"Same. I didn't drink enough water earlier. How did everything else go? I meant to call you and ask, but I got home late and figured you'd be asleep, not waging war on my friends."
"Everything else doesn't matter right now, Emmett. Your best friend's life is at stake. I...I thought he would hurry back or call one of you to complain."
"Don't worry, I'm messaging him again on all his socials just in case." Emmett types out a quick message on Snapchat and Instagram asking Edward how he's doing and telling him to call. "It's not your fault, okay? I'm sure he'll be okay."
As much as he wants to charge in and help, Emmett isn't exactly in a spot to make an impromptu trip across the globe like Alice. If she doesn't want him to come with her, then he has to stay home and wait. Pulling his hair out and anticipating the worst isn't going to change anything. At least that's what he's telling himself.
He hopes Edward isn't as stupid as Alice thinks he is, and he hopes she's able to make it in time to set things straight.
...
"Come on, Bella, let's go. We have twenty minutes before boarding!" Alice reminds her, hastily ushering her through SeaTac airport.
They came as they were, without luggage or carry-on baggage of any kind, which speeds up the process, but Bella's still struggling to keep up. She stumbles her way past the seemingly endless series of gates, darting this way and that to avoid other travellers.
She's been to the Phoenix airport a handful of times in high school, and she vaguely remembers the Los Angeles airport she traveled through as a child when her mother moved them to Downey, but she's not exactly a frequent flier. She would be lost without Alice's guidance.
"The gate should be over there and—breakfast! Can we stop here for a second?" Alice asks, rerouting them abruptly toward a shop selling various sandwiches on bagels. "Sorry, I haven't eaten since lunch. I'm starving."
Bella agrees without giving it much thought. "Sure."
Her mind's caught in a whirlwind of anxiety over the journey ahead. She can't stop worrying about Edward. If he's really in as bad of a state as Alice says he is, she wonders if he'll be okay even if they do make it in time.
"I'll have two egg and cheese bagels and two coffees, please," Alice says to the cashier.
When they get their food, she hands Bella one of the sandwiches and drinks, even though Bella's certain she won't be able to down a single bite. She's far too upset.
She manages a sip of coffee while Alice is busy stuffing a handful of sugar packets and creamer pods into her coat pockets before taking off again. The hot liquid is tasteless, and it makes her already runny nose start to run more.
"Perfect," Alice chirps, not stopping a second as she walks straight through the carpeted waiting area to the gate and sits crisscross in an empty chair. It's facing a window with a view out into pitch-black nothingness.
The sun still isn't up. The digital clock above the gate desk reads 2:04 am.
If she hadn't been so stupid—if she hadn't tried to chase those adrenaline highs to remember Edward—they wouldn't be in this situation. Jacob wouldn't have come over, he wouldn't have answered the phone, and he wouldn't have kissed her.
Jacob wouldn't have kissed her.
"Alice, why did you suddenly show up at my apartment anyway?" Bella asks, struggling with a new surge of guilt and anxiety. "It wasn't because of Jacob, was it?"
It seems odd that she would show up out of nowhere after not talking with Bella for several months. It wasn't as if this was the first time Jacob's hung out with her or been in her apartment. If Alice had seen Edward calling in a vision, she could have just answered the phone herself.
Alice makes a noncommittal sound as she chews, her mouth full of bagel, and she tilts her head with a shrug. Bella waits with knitted brows, dreading what could have prompted the sudden check-in.
"I thought you died," Alice says once she's able to talk. She takes a drink from her coffee, and Bella notices how tired the normally bubbly girl looks. "I didn't see Jacob at all. I saw you driving down the freeway on a motorcycle and losing control. You were going to hit a guard rail."
Bella's heart tugs. She feels so guilty for worrying her."Jacob stopped me. He was following behind me. He made me pull over."
Alice stares down at the carpet, her lower lip pushed out to the side in thought. "I didn't see that at all. How strange. I was almost certain I was too late, but then you showed up with your...friend."
"We grew up together, and he's thinking of coming to Seattle for college soon," Bella explains defensively. "It wasn't like I had anyone else around to hang out with. You and Edward both left me."
Alice tears open three of the sugar packets and pours them into her coffee cup—avoiding eye contact—then adds some creamer and swirls the cup around in a shoddy attempt to mix it. "I didn't want to. I was trying to be a good friend to Edward, but that meant not being a very good one to you."
"We're still friends then?" Bella asks hopefully.
"Of course we are. That's why I'm here now," Alice says solemnly. "If I'd known what would happen on New Year's Eve, I would have done more to prevent it. Clearly, my judgment and intuition aren't infallible. I never thought Jasper would ever be an issue..."
Bella nods, thinking over how quickly that night came and went and how abruptly her new group of friends and her boyfriend vanished.
Alice points a crimson-lacquered nail at the untouched sandwich sitting in Bella's lap. "It'll get cold," she says. "You should eat something too. It's going to be a long day."
...
Jasper sits in the lobby of the University psychology center, a printed copy of his resume in hand.
He was surprised when Emmett showed up to take him to his morning interview instead of Alice. She was supposed to drive him, but he hasn't heard from her since last night.
Because of this, instead of sleeping, he spent most of the night unsuccessfully reviewing interview questions and studying up on the department staff while watching his phone, his nerves in tatters.
She's normally quick to respond, but the texts he sent her earlier are also still unread.
She sounded so panicked last night.
He thinks about trying to call her back again. There's plenty of time since Emmett dropped him off early. He doesn't want to jump to conclusions if she simply lost track of time and fell asleep. Hearing her voice and knowing she and Bella are both okay will ease his concern.
Without getting a chance to dial her number, his phone buzzes with an incoming call.
"Hey, so change of plans," Alice says as soon as he picks up. "I'm with Bella still and won't be able to make it to lunch."
He lets out a relieved exhale, nodding. "Okay, yeah, no problem. We can raincheck it. You and Bella are both okay then?"
"Yeah, we're fine. There isn't a scratch on her, and I found food. We're at a layover in Florida right now waiting for our flight to Florence."
That's not what he was expecting to hear. The information is alarming, a new wave of confusion and concern arising in his body.
"Florence? As in Florence, Italy?" he asks.
"Mhm. We should get there by early morning their time."
"Why are you going to Italy..?"
"There was a mini emergency last night, and we need to stop Edward from doing something really, really bad. He isn't answering his phone, so we have to fly," she explains. "He and Bella need to talk. He's under the impression that she's moved on because Jacob answered when he called last night."
Jasper's struggling to piece together what exactly happened overnight to prompt this emergency trip. "She has a new boyfriend?"
"No, but that's not going to stop Edward from trying to jump off a building. He's not doing so hot. I was thinking you and I could reschedule our lunch to breakfast Thursday."
Four days. That's short for an international trip, but her trip over to check on Bella at her apartment was also supposed to be short. The situation escalated drastically overnight.
"When's the flight? I—"
"No, you go to your interview." She cuts him off. "You're going, right? Say hi to Emmett for me. Good luck!"
"Yes, but is anyone else going with you? Who's Jacob? Are you—"
"Perfect, good luck!" she chirps. It's like she can't even hear him.
He doesn't want to think about what would happen if this crisis involving Bella and Edward somehow grows even bigger and turns into a matter of Alice's wellbeing once more.
This time he's not there to help when she goes rushing to her friends' aid and the description she gave the other day of Edward's study abroad sponsor wasn't exactly comforting. He wonders if foul play is involved or if Edward really is that emotionally unstable right now.
Jasper's heard all the horror stories and experienced enough frightening events while running errands for Maria to know first hand how terrifying other people can be. If he hadn't gone downtown with her to James' studio last time something like this happened, she and the others could have met a very different fate. That started as simply dropping off Bella at her mom's hotel, but things weren't as they seemed. He isn't so sure he should believe this scenario is any different.
For being so conscious of the future, Alice doesn't seem to be particularly aware of her own risk and mortality.
"What if—?" he begins.
"I'm one-hundred-percent certain that we'll be fine! It's like a little vacation! You have nothing to worry about," she says, her tone indicating she's getting ready to hang up.
His brows scrunch together in stress. There's no way she believes that. "Alice, I love you, but—"
"I know, thanks. I have to go now. We're boarding soon. I'll call you later, okay? Buh-bye." She ends the call.
His heart is thudding in his chest. The suit he's wearing feels much too warm and the collar is cutting into his neck.
Before he has a chance to figure out a feasible solution, he's interrupted by the receptionist calling out his name.
"Mr. Hale, they're ready for you now. Right this way," she says, standing and leading him down the hall.
He sighs, putting his phone back in his pocket and standing to follow the woman into the interview room.
...
Bella sits in the thinly upholstered business class seat, jittery from lack of sleep.
The skin around her eyes feels raw, and she's certain her face is still splotchy and red from crying on and off throughout the fourteen hours that they've been traveling so far.
Alice rests slumped over on her shoulder, seemingly asleep.
Bella sniffles, more tears falling as her mind mulls over the thought of never having the chance to see Edward again. If he dies, they'll never get to make up.
He mentioned before how he wanted to take her to see Europe someday, but she never thought her first time there would be under such stressful circumstances.
She doesn't know how she'll pay Alice back for the plane tickets when she can barely pay her tuition and rent on time.
Alice's phone rings, the muffled sound of the old French song coming from somewhere buried in Alice's jacket. The small brunette makes no move to answer it, continuing to rest with her eyes shut, her head leaning on Bella's shoulder.
"Alice," she whispers. "Your phone is ringing again."
Alice yawns and sits up, stretching her arms before slumping back into the scratchy fabric of the airplane seat. "I'm so tired...I just texted him thirty minutes ago..."
Bella nods and curls up into herself, her head resting against her knees.
If they don't make it in time, she doesn't know what she'll do.
There's no amount of work, school, sleep, adrenaline, or even Jacob that could ever distract her from the pain of losing Edward for good.
What's left of her fragile, insignificant, boring life would crumble into dust.
She doesn't realize she's cried herself into a light slumber until she's woken up by Alice's voice beside her speaking softly. She must have finally picked up her phone.
"Hey, Jazz. I told you I'm fine. There aren't going to be many updates when we're over thirty-thousand feet in the air," Alice says in a hushed voice, sounding calm and casual. "No, stay there. I'm not even going to be anywhere near the Volturi, I promise...We're about to land, so I'll talk to you later, okay? I love you."
She hangs up and sighs. "I feel bad lying to him."
"What's the Volturi?" Bella asks. "And why would he be worried about it?"
Alice gives her a nervous smile. "The Volturi is the sister organization hosting Edward's internship. They're...interesting. We don't have anything to worry about so long as Edward doesn't do anything to piss them off."
Bella can feel the blood draining from her face. "They're not good?"
"Well, they do good things. They've donated huge sums of artwork and funds to various museums, fashion weeks, ballet companies, and orchestras as well as sponsored struggling young talent in both Europe and the United States," Alice informs. "They've done a lot to help uphold artistic standards and ethics in the community...when they're not being questioned on them themselves."
"Okay, they're hit or miss. They're not scary enough to do something that would get us in trouble though, right?"
Alice's eyes widen. "I sure hope so. I don't really want to find out."
"And if we do end up doing something to make them mad?"
"We might end up on the receiving end of their wrath. Or land ourselves a lifelong spot on their parties of interest list. According to Carlisle, they're notoriously efficient at gathering blackmail when they need to," Alice says with a nervous edge to her voice. "I didn't want Emmett or Jasper here specifically because of that. They're already on thin enough ice as it is."
This information doesn't make her feel any better. She's heard stories from Charlie about people who have fallen victim to extortion. And she's had James use her mother to manipulate and lure her in the past.
"I'm sorry, Alice, I didn't mean to put you in the middle of more danger," Bella apologizes. Tears spring back into her eyes and pain sears from the swollen skin as she blots them away with the sleeve of her hoodie.
The other girl leans against her shoulder once more with a sigh. "It'll be okay. We'll go get Edward and then hop right back on a plane home. You'll be back at your depressing, little apartment before you know it."
The optimistic reassurances don't have much effect on her anxiety, but regardless Bella hopes that her friend is right.
