Edward was troubled. He felt Bella curl up to him, but it wasn't the same. She wasn't warm anymore, that was true, and he missed that, but there was something else that he wasn't the same. Not about her, about him. He wanted something different. And then there was the ordeal about the calling.

He'd heard it last night, while Bella lie in his arms on their bed. She didn't stir, so even with her acute hearing, she didn't detect it. It was calling his name, whatever it was. A soft breath of a whisper upon a breeze through the open window. It sounded so sweet, so enticing…

He shook his head. Bella looked at him questioningly.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. He shook his head, looking up at the ceiling. She frowned, but stood from the bed. "I'm going to go call Rosalie and see what time she's wanting to go shopping," she told him, covering her naked form with a silk robe. He nodded his head, watching her stride gracefully from the room. Another thing he missed… catching her when she fell. She never fell anymore.

Once she had left the room, his thoughts traveled back to the calls. He was suspicious of them, but something about them attracted him. He wanted to find where it was coming from. He arose and dressed quickly.

He walked down the stairs to find Bella just hanging up the phone. Her face fell at the expression on his. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Nothing," he replied gruffly, not bothering to put on a jacket since they were away from any people. "I'm going hunting."

"But we just—"

"I didn't get my fill," he said loudly, his voice firm and snappy. She looked taken aback, and then frustrated.

"Then do you want me to come along?" she asked.

"If I had wanted you to come, I would have invited you." His tone was cold, surprising even him. He knew that she was probably hurt by his words but was trying not to show it.

"Do you have a problem?" she demanded, her hands flying to her hips and her glare piercing his eyes. He stomped and opened the front door, slamming it behind him. He felt the force of the impact split the door, and the doorknob came off in his hand. He turned to see her wide-eyed, and looked down at the now-crumpled doorknob. He threw it to the ground.

"I'll fix it when I get back," he muttered over his shoulder. He figured that she'd have been crying if she could, but making her think he was angry at her was the only way he was sure she wouldn't follow him. He heard Rosalie pull up outside the house, and knew that Bella would be leaving to go shopping without bidding him goodbye. And frankly, he didn't care.

Alice dropped the china she was dusting. She didn't feel it brush through her fingers. She didn't hear it crash loudly on the floor. She felt her eyes grow wide in complete darkness. Colors flashed at random. She heard people, but it wasn't talking. It was thoughts carrying a conversation to and fro.

"You're breathtaking,"

"You flatter me so. But don't you have someone waiting for you at home?"

"I don't know if I will keep her for much longer. I never realized how many of her human qualities I would miss. It's as though she isn't the same person. I don't love her as I did."

Alice blinked, and she saw figures—shadows of things that were yet to happen. Silent, but somehow she knew exactly what was happening. She saw their lips exchange words. She said her name was Gabrielle. He touched her hair, and she leaned into his touch. Edward's lips caught hers, and Alice could feel the emotions they were both feeling. Alice blinked. Edward cradled Gabrielle in his arms, their naked forms hidden by what appeared to be a cloak. The images faded.

Alice's eyes slowly opened. She had slumped to her knees. The expensive china she'd bought to put on display in their dining room lay shattered not far away. She could see in color now, and heard everything from twittering of birds to butterfly wings. She tuned it all out, and reflected to what she had just witnessed in her mind.

She needed to call Bella, that was certain. She ignored the china on the ground, walking through it to her cell phone lying on the coffee table. Her fingers dialed the number quickly, and she became impatient at the slow, monotone ringing of the phone. Voice mail.

She swore loudly and hung up the phone. She paced a little and realized that today was the day that Bella was going shopping with Rosalie. She swore again, running her fingers through her hair. She would bet her eternity that Bella had walked right out the door without her cell phone… again.

"Damn it!" she breathed, pacing some more. How could Edward do this? After she'd basically given her life for him, this is his repayment. She knew he was rebellious and hesitant to settle, yes. But Bella seemed to have changed him for the better. Of course, it was perfectly obvious now that this wasn't the case.

Alice tried to remember if she knew where Bella and Rosalie had gone shopping. They hadn't told her. She swore again, trying to keep from smashing something; the things in this room cost a lot of money; to get angry here would be like an earthquake in a glass store. She stomped out of the room darkly, hearing all the trinkets, vases and what not titter and shake with the force of her angry strides.

She tried to check the future to see where Bella and Rosalie were shopping. For some reason she could find nothing. They must have just been shopping at random. Probably in another country, or at least state. She groaned and rubbed her temples in frustration. So be it. She'd have to wait until Bella got home.

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