Author's Note: Okay, I dedicate this chapter to Min, who literally beat me with her seven-pound biology book until I started writing. Without her, this chapter may have never been. As always, thanks to my lovely reviewers who give this story the fuel on which it thrives. For all the other anonymous numbers on the hit counter—if you want to be a part of that awesome metaphor, speak up and review.
Chapter One—Not a Prologue!
Trees went speeding by the window in a dizzying multicolored blur. Bella reached up and absentmindedly brushed her hair away from her eyes, a small smile set upon her lips. Faint memories of the surrounding woods from her childhood drifted languidly across her mind; relaxing her muscles, she closed her eyes and listened to the world around her. Every time she closed her eyes, the things she heard became even more astonishing.
It had been over sixteen years since Bella had become a vampire, but everything still seemed so new to her. The one thing she hadn't counted on was retaining all of her memories so clearly. After remembering how most of the Cullens had lost their human memories, she had written herself a letter a few days before the set transformation date, to remind her of her life so far, including her love toward Edward and, of course, Alexander. Even though her old memories were important to her, she would have traded them in a second for her new ones.
She glanced up into the rear-view mirror which gave her a perfect view into the backseat. Stifling a laugh, she turned around to get a better look. Somehow, Alexander had managed to tangle himself up in his seatbelt as he'd tried to stretch across the backseat. His right arm was tangled by his side and his left arm lay across his eyes. A disheveled mop of bronze hair was pressed against the door and his feet were pushed up against the opposite side. Even though he looked extremely uncomfortable, he was fast asleep. Smiling, Bella reached back and squeezed his hand. "Zander," she whispered softly. Grudgingly, he pulled his arm away from his face, uncovering his startlingly green eyes.
It always surprised Bella how much he had turned out like Edward—in looks, anyway. He had a pale, soft face with occasional dark shadows under his eyes. And in reality, he was just a little shorter than Edward, but he still managed to seem taller. "Mom," he said in a slightly irritable, but still melodious voice, "I only need to sleep once a month. It's bad enough I have to do it in the back of one of Dad's cramped little sports cars. At least let me do it in peace, okay?" Disgruntled, Zander tried to turn towards the front seat, but only managed to twist his arm. Cursing, he pulled at the seatbelt until he finally just gave up and settled back into his former position.
"Zander," Bella repeated in a harsher tone. "Zander, wake up. We're here."
Raising up his head slightly, he glanced through the window and groaned. Letting his head fall back down he mumbled, "All I see is trees. We can't possibly be in Forks yet."
Bella just smiled and turned back around to face the road. Yes, she remembered similar feelings of teenage angst, but he'd have to get used to it, just like she had. Unfortunately for him, he'd have no vampire boyfriend to fall back on. Seeming to know she was thinking about him, Edward reached over from the driver's side and took her hand. The ghosts of chills ran through her immediately, but now there was no heartbeat to betray her. Slowly, she turned his hand over, palm side up. Her fingers lightly traced his lifeline, which, ironically, was rather short. Raising up his hand, Edward caressed her cheek softly. Another moan emanated from the back seat, ruining the mood. Smirking, Edward glanced back. "I thought you were asleep."
Sitting up and pulling at his seatbelt, Zander muttered sarcastically, "What's the point? It's obvious that I can't leave you kids alone together. Being the older brother, I'll need to keep my eye on you two."
Edward replied coolly, "And who said you get to be the older brother?"
"Well," Alexander said matter-of-factly, "I'm way past the age that I can pass off as your teenage love-child, so the truth is out. I can't really pass off as your little brother, either—because, honestly, Dad, I look older than you do. The only logical choice is to let me be the oldest."
"Alexander," Edward answered in a fatherly tone, "you forget that your mother and I are going to be keeping an extremely low profile while we're here. As far as the town's concerned, you're an only child. If you weren't so set on going to high school, you wouldn't exist either. And, by the way, you do not look older than me." With a dejected look on his face, Alexander leaned back against the seat and fixed his gaze on the window that was now beginning to show streaks of rain.
Bella looked back over the seat at Alexander. She hated how he always seemed to look like he thought he was out of place. He didn't fit in with humans, he didn't fit in with vampires, and he was always alone. That was her greatest fear, she thought, him being alone. Her parents must have worried about that at one point; she'd never gone on dates, or had many good friends, but she'd always thought they were just being overprotective. Now she knew what it was like to be a parent, she knew it was a very powerful feeling. That was the reason she was coming back to Forks after all these years—she was going to tell her mother and father everything. It had probably been torture for her parents, not knowing where she was, if she was okay, or even if she was alive. The Cullens had probably caught hell for it as well; knowing that Edward had gone missing as well, her parents would have put two and two together. There had probably been massive repercussions for everyone left behind, but she hadn't had a second thought about leaving. She knew she had been selfish, but now she really wanted to make things right again. Although she was so set on doing this, Edward was unsure. It was really a 50/50 chance whether or not he would contact the Cullens, but she was almost certain he would find them.
"Pull over," Alexander demanded suddenly. Edward quickly guided the car over to the side of the deserted highway. Swiftly, Zander unbuckled his belt and shot through the door. His left arm finally pulled free of its bindings, but it still managed to make him stumble onto his knees as he tried to escape the car. As his lunch made its reappearance, both of them were at his side.
"Honey," Bella asked, concerned, "are you okay?"
Without answering, he just leaned back and pulled his legs out front. Dark, odorless blood seeped out from the newly acquired holes in his jeans. With his fingers, he spread out the blood to get a better look at his knees. Sighing, he whispered in a hoarse voice, "It's already healed. No need to worry, Mom."
Kneeling next to him, Edward put a hand on his shoulder. "What would we do with you if you couldn't heal yourself, huh, kid? Now," he added with a slightly more serious tone, "how's your stomach?"
Groaning, Zander stood up and then staggered. His father reached up protectively to catch his son if he fell. "I think I was just in the car too long," he finally replied after regaining his balance. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to walk around for awhile."
"But it's raining," protested Bella frantically. "The house is only another twenty minutes away. You really shouldn't do this if you're sick."
"Well," he answered, taking a few steps forward, "if it's that close, I could do the walk pretty easy. The house is north, right? So I'll be able to cut through the woods, which will cut down on the rain."
Bella shot a glance at Edward. Sighing, he also protested, "Alexander, you don't really have the best record when it comes to directions. And you can't deny that you tend to be a little clumsy sometimes. Besides, you don't know what could be in the woods."
"Alright," their son said, turning to face them, "if you find my dead body in the woods tomorrow, you were right. If I make it home safe, then I was right. Deal? I really don't think I could make it another three minutes in the car, so I'll take my chances in the woods."
"Edward," Bella pleaded.
Shaking his head, he sighed. "Sorry, Bella, there's nothing I can do. He takes after a certain stubborn mother of his. I know when to give up."
Sending his mother a reassuring smile, Zander turned towards the woods. "Don't worry, Mom, I'll be fine. Trust me."
As she watched her boy disappear into the forest, all Bella could think of was all the horrific possible outcomes of the excursion. Finally, Edward led her into the car and they went off to await his arrival at their new home.
.. Major scene change! La Push Reserve ..
Raechel Uley pressed her ear against the council room door. Using every ounce of her acute hearing, she tried to figure out what the big meeting was about. After several long moments of trying to decipher quiet mumbles, he father's voice rang out clearly. "I don't think you realize the gravity of this situation," he protested loudly. "If, in fact, the Cullens are back in town, what are we going to do about it?"
Another voice, this time an unfamiliar one, interjected, "Sam, calm down. Mitch said he only saw the bronze haired one—Edward, I believe he's called. As long as they don't come near the reservation there should be no problem."
Raechel could hear her father breathing heavily, trying to control his temper (she only knew this from personal experience, after having ticked him off so many times before). "Still," she heard him say through clenched teeth, "we need to be prepared for anything."
A familiar and welcome voice cut in then. "You know," Jacob said, "it would be a good chance to break in the new werewolves. The Cullens aren't violent, and the newbies need experience." Raechel's heartbeat quickened, and a blush went across her cheeks. Yeah, she was sixteen and he was in his early thirties, but every girl had to have an irrational crush at her age. Besides the fact that Jacob was cute, he always seemed to stand up for her. She knew that when he said newbie werewolves, he meant her too, something her father would never acknowledge.
"Well," Sam said thoughtfully, "Jason, Rich, and Chris would benefit from this." Her stomach dropped. Of course she wasn't included.
A rush of anger washed over her as the council members began to vacate the room. She needed to get out of there, clear her head. Angrily, she rushed out of the door and towards the woods.
More thanks to Courtney, my favorite werepire. Again—thanks to Min. Please review, and you can be included in next week's lovely reviewer's metaphor (we'll work really hard on that one).