A/N: I don't own it.
I have no beta.
Things are picking up.
This entire chapter is in Alice's POV.
APOV
This was one of the days when I wished we didn't have to play human by attending school. It was so boring. I have officially graduated high school over twenty times now. A vampire can only take so much.
I just wanted to skip and take Bella shopping with me. I was impressed with how well she could keep up with me at the mall. I was just dying to have a shopping weekend with just us girls.
"Twenty-three," I answered Mr. Varner barely paying attention to math class. I was also sick of math.
I was scribbling away in my notebook designing a dress for my new best friend when I was hit with a vision. Bella was on her way out of the gym when someone came up from behind her and slammed her head into the wall. I couldn't see who it was but the hand that grabbed her throat and was choking her looked like it belonged to a male.
The figure said, "This is what happens when you cross me." The mystery person released her, and Bella then passed out.
Oh, God, we need to get to Bella. I know Edward saw my vision, so I was sure he was on his way to her. I decided to start fake coughing and asked Mr. Varner if I could run to the restroom. Since I never ask to leave class, he handed me a pass and let me leave.
The moment I was out the door I was running toward the girl's locker room. Both Edward and I got there at the same time. Once we rounded the corner, we found Bella unconscious on the floor. She was bleeding pretty badly from a wound on the back of her head.
"Alice, go get help," Edward yelled as he knelt down beside her and checked her pulse.
I ran out into the gym and called out to Coach Clapp. "Coach, Bella Swan is unconscious in the locker room," I yelled out while the coach stopped what she was doing and ran to the locker room.
I whipped out my cell and called 911. After hanging up with them, I called Carlisle's cell, hoping he was not in surgery or seeing a patient. He picked up after the third ring.
"Hello," Carlisle answered.
"Carlisle, Bella was attacked in the locker room. She's unconscious and has a head wound that's bleeding pretty badly. The ambulance is on the way," I said too quickly for humans to hear.
"I'll be waiting," he said and hung up.
Next, I had to call the police station to let Chief Swan know what happened. A woman answered the phone, and I asked to speak to the chief. She transferred me to him immediately.
"Chief Swan," he said.
"Chief Swan, this is Alice Cullen. Bella was attacked in the locker room. She was unconscious when my brother and I found her. An ambulance is on the way."
"Got it. I'm on my way," he said curtly and hung up.
I ran back to the locker room to see several teachers standing around. Edward was waiting against the wall keeping a close eye on everyone. "Do you recognize the scent on Bella," I asked him at vampire speed which humans were not able to detect?
"No, it definitely doesn't belong to anyone that goes to this school," he growled out.
"Is Bella alright?" Rosalie asked as she, Emmett, and Jasper showed up.
"No, she's unconscious," I told her. "Take a whiff of the scent on Bella. Do you guys recognize it at all?" They all shook their heads no. "The ambulance will arrive in a minute and twenty-six seconds."
"Is her dad almost here?" Emmett asked.
"He just pulled up, and he is pissed," Jasper told us. "I'd hate to be the jackass that attacked the chief's daughter."
We heard the ambulance siren as it neared the school and watched as Chief Swan stalked into the gym and made his way over to the locker room. Bella's father was really angry and was out for blood. He walked right up to Principal Greene who took a step back from the pissed-off parent.
"What happened?" he said attempting to keep his temper intact as he stood looming over the much shorter man.
"We're not sure, Chief Swan. Alice and Edward Cullen found her unconscious," Mr. Greene replied nervously.
The Chief was then interrupted by the EMTs coming in and carrying a gurney. They rushed over to Bella and began to take her vitals. I watched as they put a neck brace on her and put her on the gurney.
"Alice, Edward, I'm going to have to get a statement from you later. I'm going to follow the ambulance to the hospital," he told us.
"No problem, sir, we were going to head to the hospital to see how Bella is doing anyway," Edward said not able to take his eyes from Bella as the EMTs wheeled the gurney with her on it out to the ambulance.
Since there was so much chaos around due to the attack, the principal dismissed school early. No one was in the mood to continue classes, and most everyone was worried about Bella. This was the first ever attack to happen in Forks High and everyone was on edge.
My brothers, sister, and I ran out to the Volvo as soon as possible, and Edward drove at break-neck speed to get to the hospital. He was having trouble remaining calm because his mate was attacked, so Jasper has been sending him his calming vibes.
When we finally made it, we walked into the emergency room and I asked the nurse at the desk about Bella. "I'm sorry, we cannot divulge that. Only family members can have access to her information."
Damn! I forgot about those lousy HIPPA laws. I turned around and walked over to the waiting room and sat down next to Jasper. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close to his side. I felt the wave of calm he sent me, so I kissed his cheek in appreciation.
"The bastard responsible for hurting little Swan is going to face a world of pain from me," Emmett growled angrily but too low for the human ear to hear. Rosalie put her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.
"Not before I get my retribution for that idiot thinking he can lay his hands on my mate," Edward snarled getting up and pacing the length of the waiting room.
"Guys, we all have smelled that scent. Perhaps they left a trail back at the school. Emmett and Jasper should go back after everyone leaves and see if they can pick up anything," I suggested.
"Good idea. I'd feel better being proactive. Edward, we'll find something. There's no way the scent trail got washed away yet, so there's a strong chance that we are going to find the culprit," Jasper said trying to calm our brother down.
"Honestly, while I was having the vision, I thought it was Newton that attacked her. I was afraid Edward was going to kill him," I whispered.
"I thought the same thing. He has been harassing her so much since she first started. In a way, I was disappointed it was not him. I hate not knowing who did this," Edward said running his fingers through his hand and yanking on it.
"Newton left school right before lunch," Jasper informed us. "He told the teacher that he had a doctor's appointment he had to get to, so it couldn't have been him."
"Damn it! I can't believe someone attacked my mate. What kind of sick bastard hurts a student like that let alone a woman?" Edward said in frustration.
"We'll find something, little brother," Emmett told him. Turning to Jasper, he said, "Let's head on over to the school. Everyone should be gone just about now since they're all showing up here."
Jasper placed a loving kiss on my head and headed on out with Emmett. Rosalie walked over and took the seat Jasper just vacated. I laid my head down on her shoulder as I tried to search my visions to see if I had missed anything.
"Chief Swan is about to come over and ask us some questions, Edward," I informed him. He nodded letting me know he was paying attention.
The chief walked over and sat directly across from me and Rosalie. I lifted my head and gave him a sad smile. "Hi, Chief Swan, is there any news on Bella?"
"Hello, Alice, is it?" he asked. I nodded to let him know he got my name right. "Dr. Cullen said she has a concussion and he had to give her five stitches for the wound on the back of her head. He's keeping her here overnight to keep an eye on her," he said while leaning back a bit. The chief looked like he just aged twenty years since we saw him at the school.
"I just hate that someone hurt Bella. She is the sweetest person ever. She's my best friend," I said softly. I had been so scared that Bella would have a more serious head injury. While I hate that she was hurt at all, I'm just glad it's not the worst-case scenario.
"Bella has spoken very highly of all you Cullen kids. You have been very kind to her, and I genuinely appreciate it. I'm glad you and Edward were the ones to find her," he said looking between me and Edward. "Did either of you notice if anyone was around when you showed up in the locker room? Perhaps maybe you saw someone running away?"
"I didn't see anything. Edward and I got there at about the same time, and there was no one coming out or running off," I answered.
"No, sir, I didn't see anyone other than Alice. I just hope Bella wasn't laying there unconscious for a long time. The thought of her being alone like that…," Edward trailed off not able to complete the sentence.
"Thankfully, it wasn't worse. I'm just glad you two found her when you did," the chief said. "You may get a call later from one of my deputies. I have to go call Bella's mother," he said with a grimace as he walked away while pulling out his cell and dialing a number.
"He looks almost frightened to call Bella's mom," Rosalie pointed out.
"Based on what Bella told me, her mom freaks out over everything, so neither Bella nor her dad like to give her the bad news," I explained. "Carlisle is on his way out here," I told them. We looked up as we saw him walk through the emergency room doors. He had a small smile on his face as he approached us.
"Carlisle?" Edward began.
"She's going to be fine, Edward. We're just keeping her overnight for observation. She does have a pretty bad concussion and some stitches, but she's doing fine. She woke up a few minutes ago. She's such a sweet soul," he said easing our worries just a bit.
"Did she say anything about who attacked her?" Rose asked.
Carlisle shook his head. "No, Chief Swan asked her, but she said she never got a chance to see who it was. They rammed her head into the wall immediately when she entered the locker room. She tried to fight the dizziness but when the attacker grabbed her neck and choked her, she just lost consciousness."
"He said, 'This is what happens when you cross me.' He threatened her, Carlisle," Edward told him.
Carlisle placed a calming hand on Edward. "I know, son. We're going to go home and have a family meeting. We need to figure out how to best handle this as well as provide protection for Bella."
"Can we go see her, Carlisle?" I asked dying to see my best friend.
"Not tonight, I'm afraid. The chief is staying with her. I think the attack has really shaken him up," Carlisle said with a shake of his head. "This is the first time I have ever seen Chief Swan show any kind of emotions."
"He loves his daughter," said Rose with the saddest smile. She also considered Bella to be her best friend.
"Let's head on home. Emmett and Jasper are heading back to the house in a few minutes. They have some news," I told them
"I'll be right behind you. I need to clock out and grab my things," Carlisle said on the way to his office.
~GOL~
We all gathered in the dining room which was where we often had our family meetings. Both Jasper and Emmett returned within a few minutes of us walking in the front door. Neither of them looked too happy.
"Okay, everyone, let's start. First, Bella is fine. She has a concussion and some stitches but is physically doing fine," Carlisle told us.
"Oh, thank God," Esme cried. "I was so worried."
"Jasper and Emmett went to the school to see if they could pick up a scent trail," Edward told him.
"Yea, and we did pick up on a little something, but the scent disappeared out in the back parking lot near the backdoor of the gym. So whoever did this had a get-away car," Emmett said.
"More importantly, it's obvious that the attack was planned," Jasper supplied.
Edward clenched his jaw tightly trying to fight the anger he felt. It's a natural response for a vampire whose mate has been harmed to go into bloodlust. Their entire focus zones in on the one who harmed their mate. It's unheard of for a vampire to be able to snap out of this heightened state until the guilty party has been eliminated entirely. Edward was struggling to remain clear-headed so that he could be available for Bella.
"I know you're angry, Edward. Try to stay focused on Bella for now. In the meantime, you and your siblings will have to be on the lookout for any suspicious people hanging on or around the school Carlisle said.
"Carlisle, we are going to need to have one of us guarding Bella when she's at her house," Jasper suggested. "This incident wasn't random. Bella just moved here. The only people she has had any kind of problems with are Mike, Jessica, and Lauren. Neither girl is intelligent enough to pull this attack off, and Newton wasn't even on school property at the time."
"So this issue could have stemmed from her time in Arizona," Rosalie said thoughtfully.
"No, I don't think so. I haven't seen anything negative coming from Bella moving here. Whatever happened has to be something from the Forks area," I said trying to make sense of my best friend's attack.
"Edward, have you read negative thoughts toward Bella from the people at the school?" Esme asked.
He shook his head no. "There has been nothing unusual. The majority of the male population thinks she's hot and wants to take her out. The female population can't stand her because she's so beautiful and all the guys are paying attention to her and not them. The teachers all find her to be highly intelligent and a great addition to their classes. There's not been anything ominous whatsoever," Edward informed us while laying his head on the table in exasperation and then banging it a few times.
"It's okay, Edward. We'll get to the bottom of this one way or another. Just pay close attention to the thoughts you pick up. As for you, Alice," Carlisle said turning his attention to me, "Pay close attention to your visions. Anything that seems odd or insignificant, make note of it. As for the rest of us, be vigilant. Bella's attacker is still out there."
"Yea, and he managed to get into the school unnoticed. He may be a bit too proud of himself and try to do something even more dangerous," Jasper warned.
"My mind keeps going back to what the attacker said to Bella. He said that she crossed him. How the hell could Bella have crossed anyone in her short time living in Forks? It doesn't make any sense," Rosalie
"Unfortunately, we're going to have to wait until this fool makes the next move. Once he tries, we go in for the kill," Jasper said. "I meant the metaphysical kill, Carlisle," he explained quickly to avoid a long lecture about how wrong it is to take a life
