Chapter 13 – Time's Up

I skipped the rest of my classes for the day and stayed with Alice. "Where is he now?" I had to ask. We were at a mall in Seattle. I couldn't focus on shopping. "Boston. He's starting with the east coast." I groaned, "Alice, isn't there anything we can do?" "Edward is talking to Carlisle. They are considering the whole family moving." My eyes widened, "You can't be serious. Alice, your whole family shouldn't do that." She patted my hand, "Our family is doing what's best. Come on, let's go home." Alice and I walked to the edge of the mall parking lot, until we were out of sight and we ran home. As we reached the meadow, Alice and I bounded onto the porch and went inside. Edward and Carlisle were there, discussing their plans. Alice joined them, I smiled at them and went to stand by the glass wall. "Edward, that's a great idea." Edward and Alice were looking at each other, smiling. "What is it?" Carlisle asked. Edward gestured for me to come to him and I did. He held my hand and looked to Carlisle, "Brazil." Carlisle smiled, "That is a good idea. Bella was thinking about running to the Amazon before, now we could. It would be difficult to find us there. And worst case scenario, you two could go to the island." I stepped back, "What are you two talking about? What island?" Alice explained, "Isle Esme. Carlisle bought it for Esme some time ago. If anything, you two could hide there." I sighed; this was getting out of hand. Alice and Carlisle discussed their plans, while Edward and I sat on the couch.

I looked out through the glass wall and Edward was looking at me. "What are you thinking?" he asked, finally breaking our silence. I shook my head, "I can't take this. I am jeopardizing your family. When Alice first saw Demetri, I should have left." I held up my hand to stop Edward's protest, "I know none of you would have allowed that, especially you and Alice, but still. I am not taking this anymore. We are not running." Alice and Carlisle broke off their discussion and looked to me. I looked back at them, "Demetri is not going to take me back. I don't care if Aro begins to search for me, I refuse to go back. Even more so, I refuse to put this family in any more danger. You all are innocent and decent people. Let Demetri find me and he will find a woman refusing to be taken. And I refuse to have him find me with your family, Carlisle. I will go to him." Carlisle's eyes widened, Alice gasped and Edward stood up. I heard a growl coming down the stairs, it was Emmett. He came and stood with Edward, "Bella, you are not doing that." I stood and looked at Emmett, "I have to." Edward was shaking his head, "Maybe so, but you are not doing it alone." I stared into Edward's eyes, "I..." He pulled me into the circle of his arms, "I already told you, wherever you go, I will follow. If you think I am letting you stand up against Demetri alone, you are truly insane." He didn't release me as Emmett playfully punched his shoulder, "And if you two think you're going without me, both of you need to be in an asylum." A hiss flowed down the stairs, it was Rosalie. She stood on the bottom step, glaring in our direction; no, glaring at me. Edward released me and stood between me and Rosalie's hateful glare. I ignored her and focused on what we had to do next.

Alice was rubbing her temples, "This is in flux. One minute, I see Bella back in Volterra. Her eyes are still gold and she is speaking with her parent; telling them she refuses to remain there. The next minute, I see Aro and members of the Guard here at the house. I deliberated. Even though I was hurt by him, I knew Aro. If someone confessed to a crime, he would show some leniency. What if I contacted them and they met me here? A neutral territory. Not at the Cullens house, maybe somewhere in the mountains. Alice gasped, "That's perfect." I looked at her and Edward hugged my waist. They saw my plan and liked it. Edward kissed my cheek and looked to Carlisle, "Bella will contact Aro and they will meet us in the clearing. They will see us as a united front, together as a family. It will be on a day of a thunderstorm. For some reason, we're playing baseball," he shot a glance at Emmett. "It will be Aro, Caius, Marcus, the wives, Jane, Alec, Chelsea, Afton, Felix and Demetri. They are brining Alec and Jane to immobilize us and Felix and Demetri in case a fight is necessary." A huge smile broke out over Emmett's face. I exhaled in a huff, "Alec and Jane can't do anything, as long as I'm there. As for Felix and Demetri..." "All mine," Emmett declared. Jasper and Esme were at the bottom of the stairs with Rosalie. "No way, Em. I get Felix," Jasper spoke up. "This is ridiculous. We're going to get ourselves killed for this girl. She isn't our family." Alice glowered at her, "She will be our sister soon, Rosalie. This summer, as a matter of fact," she winked at me, "So you may get used to it." Rosalie remained silent and went to stand by the glass wall.

"Alright, Bella, when do you want to contact Aro?" Carlisle asked. I looked to her, "Alice, do you see any thunderstorms coming?" She closed her eyes and was silent for a moment, "Next Friday." The standoff would be in 8 days. "Well, how about I contact him when we see where Demetri is heading next?" Alice nodded, "Alright." Everyone went about their normal activities, but I needed to be alone. I ran into the forest, Edward didn't follow me. I sat in the high branches of the trees. This was it; I would finally stand up to my parents. I won't allow them to harm the Cullens. If anyone must be punished, just let it be me. If anyone must die, it will be me. Everything I did up to this day has been worth it. I saw some of the world, I fell in love and found a new family. Coming here, I got more than I ever thought I would get. I had to admit, I will be happy to see my mother and aunt again, but I will not go back. I refuse to be the trapped princess again. I rescued myself and found my prince. I will have my happily ever after. I cannot be denied that. I looked at my engagement ring. This ring was given to me out of love and commitment. Edward loves me and I love him. We will get married and live out the rest of eternity together. If anything else, I will get through this for him. He's lived for more than a century and we have found each other. Edward deserves love and I will stay here and alive, just so I can love him. Edward is offering me so much and my father will not take it away from me. I am going to be free; free to live, free to hope and above all, free to love.

I ran back to the house. It was after midnight and I still had to complete my homework. I sprang onto the porch and went inside. Rosalie was in the living room watching television. She did not acknowledge me as I went for the stairs. "Bella?" I turned, "Yes, Rosalie?" She muted the television, "Can I talk to you for a moment?" I nodded, "Yes?" She sighed, "This isn't easy, so I will just say it." I waited. "Your father will not be happy to see that you have defied him. He may just punish us all." I nodded, "I know. Hopefully, it will not come to that." She nodded, "However, if something happens to any of my family, I will personally, hold you responsible. We have been together too long for some spoiled brat to ruin everything." I gasped, "I didn't come here to do any of that. If you recall, I felt I should have left from day one. They wanted me to stay and I wanted that too. If anything happens to any of them, trust me, I don't need you to hold me responsible. I would beg Aro for death before I see of them harmed. I know what I did coming here and I am sorry. But I will not apologize for my reasons for staying. Believe it or not, I love your family. They have become a family to me. And once this is all over, I hope you and I could be friends." Rosalie glared at me, "If Emmett is killed……" "I will not allow that. If anyone has to die on that day, it will just be me." Edward and Emmett descended the stairs. Edward was glaring at Rosalie and Emmett was silent.

Edward stood by my side and spoke through his teeth, "Rosalie, if you ever talk to Bella like that again, I will rip you apart. I will not have you blaming Bella for something she did not do. Emmett, just keep her away from Bella." Edward took me up in his arms and we flew up the stairs into his bedroom. He sat me down on the couch and he walked over to the glass wall. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. I stood at the window for a long time, breathing deeply. I finally stood and wrapped my arms around him and pressed my face into his back, "Are you alright?" Edward took in another deep breath, "No. I can't stand the fact that Rosalie is blaming you for Aro's decisions." I sighed, "It is partly my fault. I knew how he was and yet, I still came here and endangered your family." He sighed and turned around, placing his arms around me. He pressed his lips to mine and held me closely to his body. "Bella, when are you going to realize that this is your family too? Except for her, we love you. We are happy to have you be apart of our family. And like Alice said, she needs to get used to the fact that you're remaining here." I smiled sheepishly, "That is all I want." I leaned my head against his chest and he kissed my hair. "By the way, what did Alice mean by this summer you'll be her sister?" I looked up, "I don't know. I mean, I was thinking about when we should have the wedding. I was considering this summer, when school was done. But I hadn't completely decided on that. I wanted to discuss it with you." He smiled, "Summer sounds good." He kissed me again, spinning me around so that my back was pressed against the glass wall.

The weekend came and went and still Alice saw nothing of Demetri's plans. This was becoming unbearable. Edward noticed my tension and tried to comfort me. At school, I was more relaxed. Lauren still made her snide remarks about me, when she thought I wasn't listening. When she thought about one, Edward would warn me and I shot her an evil glance ever so often. It was fun messing with the human's head. "You know, Edward, I was thinking. You and Bella could go to Isle Esme for your honeymoon," she smiled at me, "Bella, you would love it. No one around for miles and its bathed in the sun all day long. And the water is so am………" Her eyes focused on something far away. This was it, she saw Demetri. All of us watched her face and waited. My breathing picked up while waiting. Edward took my hand and squeezed it. He was watching Alice's vision.

She exhaled and looked at me. "What did you see?" Jasper asked. "Demetri is going to contact Aro. He's going to New York. He's planning on breaking into the security offices and look through the security videos. He'll see you flying out here. Your father knows we live out here, he'll put it together. You have to contact him immediately, before Demetri does. If you call first, Aro will be more inclined to listen." I looked at all their faces, saving Edward for last. I had to play my role one more time. I would contact Aro.