Chapter 4

Soft moss and warm dirt were all that Bella could feel as she walked barefoot down the open and spacious forest trails. Bella smiled to herself, breathing in the relaxing smell of rain, trees and vegetation. There had just been a rain storm, and the forest ground was slightly cool and damp to the touch, but Bella did not mind. She was used to this environment; it was where she thrived. Bella continued walking down the trails, stopping as she came to a fork in the road. Bella tilted her head to the side, mulling over her options. There was heavy fog coming in, that was settled between the two paths. The path to the right was rather cold and barren. Little to no vegetation. The path to her left was much brighter and warm, full of vegetation and of life. Bella knew that logically, she should go with the path to the left, but for whatever reason her feet did not want to move. From the wind, Bella could hear a faint and soft feminine voice, urging her to choose her path.

Bella stole one last look to the right and to the left. Her bare feet moved to the right, shivering at the cold frigid air that seemed to encase the entire path, and yet felt so familiar. She then moved to the left, feeling the intense heat, so strong that Bella began to sweat and feel faint. She then moved back to the middle, between the forks of the road. She felt strong fear coming from the middle area, and yet it was only when she was facing the fog ridden area that she did not feel too hot or too cold. Just simply perfection. Bella moved towards the center, uneasy as she could not see more than a couple of inches ahead of her as the fog wrapped around her like a cool blanket. Suddenly a strong hang grabbed her from the right, while another grabbed her from the left. Bella's eyes shot to the left and the right. A hooded figure to the right with bright red eyes grinned, while the hooded figure to the left with yellow eyes growled.
"Let go of me" Bella gasped, trying to shake free from their hold.
"You have to choose. Left or right." The figure with the red eyes hissed.

"No, I don't have to choose. I can create my own path, my own destiny!" Bella argued back, shaking her head.
"Your destiny has already been decided for you, you have no say. You may only choose how you would like it all to end, and the role you will play in such" The figure with the yellow eyes murmured.

Bella shook lightly, before finally breaking free from their grasp and falling to her knees trembling, her hands covering her ears.
"No, this can't be" Bella responded, shaking her head harder. Bella stood up and blindly ran through the forest, unable to see anything. Unable to feel anything. Suddenly, she reached the meadow. The fated meadow where everything had begun. She was alone, she was scared. Suddenly, Bella's foot caught an uprooted root, and she fell onto the ground, in the middle of the meadow.
"Please, I can't make these decisions. It's too much. I don't want to be alone. Please" Bella screamed into the quite air, pulling her skinned and bleeding legs to her chest, breathing deeply in and out, trying to calm her nerves.
"Bella, you have never been alone" A quite voice echoed throughout the air.
Bella's eyes shot open, and she looked around. The voice, it was so calming, so peaceful.
"Who…Who is there?" Bella whispered, standing up with tears running down her paled face.

From the mist and the fog, Bella could see a figure walking towards her. Bella squinted her eyes trying to see more clearly. There was a light that seemed to be radiating from the figure, it was warming and inviting.

"You will see, in due time. Please for now, just trust in what you cannot see. What you don't understand. I'm sorry, but it's not yet time for you to know. When it is, you will know, and you will act. I promise. Believe in me, believe in you, and believe in…us." The voice responded.

"Please, don't go" Bella shouted, as the figure began to fade back into the fog. Bella stood up and raced towards the figure, and jumped through the air, desperate to be with whoever this person, this presence was. The ground beneath Bella disappeared, revealing a large chasm. Bella gasped midair, falling through the large earthy abyss, her fingers clawing desperately to grab ahold of anything, to stop her from falling. The loose dirt became embedded under her nails, but she continued to fall.


"Please!" Bella screamed in desperation both in her dream and in real life, and woke with a start.

Bella's head was swimming, and she groaned as she laid back down onto the cool sheets. Her stomach was queasy and her head was pounding. Her throat was raw from screaming and from dehydration. Bella laid her arm over her eyes, trying to put together what had happened the night before. Surely, it all had just been a dream, right? A light ding sound from her phone caused her to roll over and check her phone. 27 unread text messages? All from Jacob?

"Ah, shit" Bella murmured and relocked her phone and sat it back face down on the end table. She couldn't deal with this, not right now. As she was setting her phone back down, she saw a cup of water and a couple of aspirin on the bedside table. Bella sighed in relief and sipped on some water before swallowing the aspirin. Bella smiled slightly as she began to feel better. Bella suddenly choked on her water as it dawned on her that if last night was not a dream, then that meant that Alice was there.

Bella slowly rolled over on her bed, holding her breath in anticipation, her eyes coming into contact with the soft gaze of Alice, and a gentle smile

"Good morning Bella, how are you feeling?" Alice asked.

"Um. Kinda all over the place to be honest" Bella murmured, unable to take her eyes away from Alice's.

" I meant with your hangover specifically" Alice responded, gently checking Bella for a fever. She was no longer hot to the touch.

"I've had worse. Thank you for the water and aspirin." Bella replied, biting her lip as Alice's cold hand came in contact with side of her face. Never in her life had she felt such a strong feeling from just a simple touch.

"You're welcome" Alice murmured, her hand gently falling back to the bed. Her sharp eyes were taking in Bella, trying to read her. Despite everything, it was always such a difficult task.

"So, uh. Were you here the whole night?" Bella asked, sitting up slightly against the headboard.

" Yes. I thought you maybe were coming down with something. You felt very warm. Plus everything that had happened, as I was concerned you may have issues sleeping" Alice responded, also sitting up, making note of the way Bella's eyes suddenly looked down, unable to make contact with her own, "Apparently I was right."

"It… it was nothing compared to others. Trust me" Bella murmured back, playing with her sleeve, pulling it down so that it covered her tattoo. The tattoo covered the scar to a human eye, but she knew it would be visible to Alice. That was something she never wanted to share.
"Does it happen a lot, these nightmares?" Alice asked, her head tilting to the side. Edward had never mentioned her having sleeping issues.
"Eh, you know. Just been having these issues my whole life…" Bella shifted uncomfortably before snapping her gaze to Alice, glaring slightly, " Why does it even matter to you?"

Alice cleared her throat, thinking of how she would proceed with this conversation. She could tell Bella was getting angry, and rightfully so. She needed to proceed with caution. This much she knew.

" Bella. I apologize if that was too forward of a question. I just didn't know that it was an issue. Edward never mentioned it" Alice responded, grimacing slightly as Bella stood up from the bed and turned her back from Alice, her fists clenched. Bella picked up the small package and threw it against the wall, which broke open upon contact.

"Don't bring up his name to me, ever again." Bella hissed, visibly shaking. Bella breathed heavily, trying to calm down her anger. She had been able to speak about him freely for over a month now, where was this coming from?
Alice's eyes were wide, this was out of character for Bella. And how did she have so much strength?

"Bella, you're right. I'm sorry." Alice responded in a soft voice, causing Bella to relax as she walked over to pick up the broken open package to throw it away.

"No, I overreacted, I should be the one who is…" Bella began, before looking down at the paper. It was the results from My Heritage. Bella's eyes scanned throughout the page, and froze in midsentence.

"Bella?" Alice questioned.

"Sorry. I am the one who should be sorry" Bella quickly replied as she crumpled up her results and walked over to her phone. She quickly unlocked it and opened her conversation with Jake. She ignored all of the unread texts and sent a message.

' Jake, we need to talk. Now. SOS'

Bella relocked her phone and sat it face down before sitting on the bed, her mind running at a mile a second.

"Bella, this was not exactly how I saw this conversation playing out. Can we start over? Alice asked as she stood up and walked over, watching Bella's reactions carefully.

"I… of course. Yes, please" Bella responded and leaned against the computer desk.

"Alice, why did you leave? I know you can't speak for anyone else, but why did you? I thought we were best friends?" Bella asked as she finally broke the ice.

" Edward. After the… event… that had occurred on your birthday, we all had a family meeting. Edward was adamant that we leave. We were not all in agreement. Not even Rosalie wanted to leave. Edward just wouldn't give it up, and threatened to act irrationally if we didn't comply. Carlisle was worried about his mental state, and made the decision that we needed to go, for Edward's sake." Alice responded, choosing her words carefully.

"If that is the case, why are you here?" Bella pressed; her eyes locked into Alice's.

" I couldn't bear it. I didn't want Edward to have that much power or control over me, over the family. I left the Coven, Bella. Three months ago. The same day that you thought we had left" Alice replied, gently gnawing on her bottom lip.

" You… you have been here the whole time? Bella replied, her mind working furiously trying to figure it all out.

" Yes, the entire time. At least the times that you were here and not on the Tribal lands or with Jacob. I'm not allowed on them per the treaties. I had to know you were safe. That you were okay! I thought about letting you know I was there, but you were making so many leaps and bounds in your personal journey and seemed so happy, I didn't want to be selfish and stop you from doing what you were!" Alice responded, her eyes begging for Bella to understand.

"So why now, why did you decide to show up now?" Bella responded, with a raise of her eyebrow.

"The email. I received an email from you, which prompted me to believe you were ready." Alice responded, tilting her head as she saw Bella's face visibly pale. Bella lifted her laptop screen and opened her emails. Sure enough, the email to Renee was sitting as a draft. Her several pages of raw emotions and thoughts that she had written with no intention of ever being read, had been sent. Bella's anxiety began to rise with her heartrate.

"Bella, it's okay. Honestly. It was flattering. I understand, you had pent up feelings that needed release. I know you probably feel humiliated that I read what you had wrote, but I swear, there is no judgement. I was happy to be let into your world, even if it was by sheer accident." Alice murmured, standing up and slowly walking over to Bella, and placing a gentle hand on her lower back and began to hum, trying to calm Bella down. Alice smiled slightly as she heard Bella's heart rate began to slow.

"Alice, what about Jasper? Isn't he your mate, your husband? How could you leave him, for well…. Me?" Bella whispered, turning around to face Alice, as she leaned against the computer desk, trying to change the subject.

" Jasper… It's very complicated. He and I are wonderful friends. But that is all. We pretended to be mates to help finding a coven be an easier task and so that we could be more easily accepted. He was the only one who had initially supported me leaving. He is still with the family, and has been keeping me posted. We still talk on a daily basis. There are just reasons why he and I could never possibly be mates. I told you, I am very selfish." Alice replied, gently taking Bella's hands in her own.

"Oh, Alice. You are the least selfish person I know. I don't think you have the capability to be selfish" Bella spoke softly, gently running her fingers against Alice's.
"Us leaving was selfish, Bella. I know that we have all caused you so much pain, and I will completely understand if you say no or are unable to, but I ask for your forgiveness. I want to start things over with you, get to know, be there for you. The way a friend, no, a best friend always should have been. I want to be in your life. I never want to be apart from you again" Alice finally spoke after a few moments of silence.
Bella's eyes widened. Alice, wanted to be her friend again? She wanted to be a part of her life? This had to be a dream. This could not be real.

"Alice..." Bella began, looking up to look at Alice. She could not find any more words. She could not think. Bella repositioned herself, and put her palm against the side of Alice's face who had looked down, fearing the worst response. Alice's eyes shot to Bella's, feeling the warmth of Bella's skin against her own. Alice could hear Bella's heart beginning to beat faster, and began to lean in closer to Bella.

"… I will try. But you will have to understand that a lot of damage was done. Pain… it changes people. I'm not the same person at all. It will be a long process, and you will have to be patient with me and with the situation. We will have to learn everything about each other. It will have to be a clean slate…" Bella's eyes began to match Alice's movement, her hand still caressing Alice's cheek.

"I understand Bella, thank you for the second chance. I will not take it for granted, or you again for that matter" Alice whispered, her eyes locked deep into Bella's. Alice had never felt such an emotion as she was feeling now, not once in her entire existence. She could not fight it, she could not control it. She was simply just not strong enough. Edward has always mentioned how Bella's blood impacted him, but nothing could have prepared her for what she was experiencing.

Bella could feel the coolness coming from Alice's skin, her lips, and her nonexistent breath. Bella licked her lips in anticipation. Alice closed her eyes, awaiting the much needed and fated by the starts contact.
Suddenly the moment was broken as Bella heard the front door slam, and heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Her eyes shot open, and so did Alice's, realizing that what had just almost happened. Bella quickly moved away from Alice, clearing her throat and putting a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes stole a glance at Alice, who was nervously playing with her hands. In that moment, a shirtless Jake entered the room, his eyes wide.

"Bella, I just got your text and I got her as soon as…" Jake trailed off as his head turned to the right, and he made eye contact with Alice, " What the fuck is going on, why are you here you leech?" Jake growled.

"Jake, please calm down." Bella responded moving away from the computer desk to stand between Jake and Alice.

"No, fuck this! You left me at the club, you had me worried sick and then I find you with her, one of them?" Jake yelled at Bella, " How can you stand to be around them, after everything they did to you, don't you remember the first couple weeks that they weren't here? It almost killed you, Bella!"

"Wait, it was him that you were with last night? Are you two a thing?" Alice asked, her eyes shooting to Bella. Had Edward been right the entire time?

"Alice, no. I'll explain that later. And Jake, stop. This is something that I need to work out, and for now you just have to understand that I have my reasoning. You have to believe in me, Jake. I don't have a choice in this." Bella replied, doing her best to calm Jake down. She hated when he got like this, and the last thing she wanted was for Jake to bring up the reason for the scar.

"No, I don't have to understand jack shit. Bella, you're making a huge mistake! If your mind is so made up, why did you even ask that I come here? You have her, you have them. You don't need me anymore" Jake shouted back.

" Jake, you're my best friend. I always will need you! Stop being so damn stupid and hard headed!" Bella shouted back, her anger rising.

"Stupid? I'm not being the one that is stupid, Bella! My path has been decided for me. I can't fix or do anything about it. You had a chance to rewrite your story. You had a chance to actually have a say in your fate. And you're throwing it away for some disgusting murderous leech of a being, who has no right existing in this world!" Jake shouted.
Bella stopped, feeling something inside of her shaking, clawing, and trying to get out. The same feeling as last night, but stronger. Bella was visibly trembling, shaking from head to toe. Her eyes were shut tight, desperately trying to get everything under control.

"Bella?" Alice questioned, moving slowing towards Bella. She felt off. Something was wrong. She could deal with the attacks and insults from Jake, but she wouldn't stand for it if it was bothering Bella like this

"How dare you speak like that of her, you don't even know her!" Bella hissed, her eyes opening and made eye contact with Jake.

"Bella, what the fuck is wrong with your eyes?" Jake stammered, taking a couple of steps backwards.

Bella saw his reaction and felt Alice's uneasiness. She had to go. She had to go now. Someone was going to get hurt, and Bella couldn't bear the thought of that being Jake or Alice. Without thinking, Bella pushed passed Jake, and ran down the stairs and out the front door. She was thankful to see her motorcycle had been brought back, probably by Jake. Without thinking, without her helmet, Bella started the bike and raced off towards the woods, riding the familiar roads she had grown to know like the back of her hand. Her flight instinct had taken over, but Bella had no time to think things through, she just knew that she needed to get away, and get away fast.

Jake and Alice stood in Bella's bedroom, trying to put together what had happened. Finally, Jake broke the silence.
"Alice, look. I know we don't get along. You don't like me, and I sure as hell don't like you. But I swear to you, her eyes, for just a brief second, they were a gray green color, almost like a jade."

" That can't be possible." Alice responded, suddenly very worried about Bella, " what could that mean?"

" I have an idea, but I'm not exactly sure yet. What I do know is that we need to go to her. Now. The both of us. And we need to hurry." With that Jake turned to Bella's closest and grabbed a spare change of clothes, turning to Alice who was looking at him, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Just in case. She will likely need these if I am right. Please." Jake insisted, before Alice nodded and took the clothes.

Jake jumped out of Bella's window followed by Alice. Jake phased and started running towards Bella's scent, with Alice hot on his heels. Jake smiled lightly, Alice was fast, and he was happy she was able to catch up.

' Bella, please. Let me be wrong.' Jake thought to himself as he tore through the forest, willing his legs to move faster. If he was right, there was no time to waste.