Chapter 17

"Edward," A voice cried my name from in the distance. I snapped back. I could move again. It took my mind a few minutes to reset itself, but other than that, I was fine.

"Edward," It was Lacey. Her face was wet with tears, they hit my face.

Around her was every member of my family, and Tina. She was crying too.

"What's going on?" I sat up, Lacey pushed me back down. I was on a bed, I realized.

"Rest," She whispered. There was a pregnant pause before she answered my question. "She has my mom."

We had failed. "Lacey I--" She put her finger to my lips.

"It was my fault." Her eyes flashed to my hands.

"How? You were--" She kept me quiet. I decided to just let her speak.

"I escaped from Esme, Alice, and Rosalie. We were close to Forks, heading for Canada, so it didn't take that long for me to reach the house. When I did, the scene I saw was the most disturbing thing I had ever seen in my life. But, something inside of me broke—it was like I had a leak. And then...everything went blue. My hands were held out, my eyes closed, and my mouth involuntarily speaking words of another language. I didn't know what was happening," She couldn't continue, so Emmett did.

"After the light faded, Victoria was gone, and her two companions lay dead. I mean, dead dead." His expression was unreadable.

"It must be a power," Carlisle was holding Esme. I suddenly longed for Lacey in my arms. I reached to pull her down beside me, and she came willingly. Alice comforted Tina.

"We'll save her," I whispered to Lacey. "I promise."

"We fortunately have the support of the werewolves," Jasper pointed out.

"What happened to Jacob?" I wondered.

"He went back to La Push, their discussing means of attack on Victoria." Esme said.

"And where are we?" I looked around. The room was not familiar.

"In a hotel just outside Port Angeles," Alice reported, dabbing Tina's face.

We all fell silent. There was nothing more to say or do...but wait. Wait for a signal from the wolves. They were leading the attack.

A few days later we were still in the hotel room, waiting for a call or a visit from the werewolves. Everyone was getting impatient. I had no idea how Bella had lasted this long all those years ago. It was a terrible thing to wait, and I could sometimes be a very impatient person.

I sat down on one of the beds, and buried my face in my hands. How could I have let this happen? I blamed myself for everything. If I hadn't been the selfish one and gone back to see Bella, she wouldn't be in this danger. For all I knew, Victoria could have killed her already. My insides began to melt at the thought. But, something inside me told me that she was still alive. My hope also hung on something that I remembered Victoria saying while I was frozen (a part way in the back of my mind was still working and stored this memory). Such power that girl has. She killed both my comrades! If I had her under my power...would she come to me for her mother? Those lines repeated in my head, and each time they repeated my hope grew stronger. She wasn't after Bella, which meant we had time to plan.

I felt warm hands on my shoulders.

"Are you okay?" She whispered into my ear.

I turned to look at my angel. She was so beautiful, so soft, so innocent. Just like her mother.

"Yes, I'm fine," I tried to smile, but it didn't reach my eyes.

Her concerned face turned to worry. "You can't beat yourself up about this Edward."

"But, it's all my fault. If I had not come to visit you--" She began to trace my lips with a small finger.

"If you hadn't come to visit, I would be dead right now." Her serious expression told me that she was not joking.

"How? Why?" I wanted to know. Who would do such a thing to her? My mind flashed to Victoria.

"My depression had reached an all-time high. It wasn't just part of my Peace-Keeper ability..." She sighed. "My parents were divorced, my dad was having another kid with another woman. School was getting tough, and I felt like the whole world was against me." Her eyes shone with tears at the memories. I caught one with my index finger, as it slid down her cheek. "That's what I was doing, the night you came. I was writing a suicide note." My dead heart reached my throat. I couldn't imagine Lacey, cold and dead. "But, then you knocked. This, beautiful, mysterious stranger. A stranger who somehow was connected with my mom...and who was also a vampire. I was scared...but strangely happy.

You see, whenever you were—or are—within close distance of me, the depression goes away. So, while writing that note, I felt a suddenly lift. Like I had no troubles, no problems. I had a longing that I could not understand, though.

Night after night I would dream about you. The dreams would vary from you saving me, to...loving me." Her story ended, but she seemed like she had more to say.

"I still--"

"Don't you tell me that coming to see my mother was a mistake, Edward. Because as far as I'm concerned, it was the greatest thing that had every happened." She had a glow in her eyes. We sat in silence, just endlessly gazing at each other. Then I pulled her into my lap, and kissed her. Her warm lips and my cold ones moving together in a passionate dance. It spoke for both of us, it said all the things words couldn't.

They're here, Edward. I heard Alice's thoughts. She didn't want to intrude.

I pulled away from Lacey's mouth and smiled at her.

"We're going to save your mother," I pulled her from the bed, and hand-in-hand we made our way to meet everyone else.

He doesn't deserve her. My eyes immediately found Jacob's. We glared at each other, until Sam spoke. It was just the two of them, the others must have been back in La Push.

"We have formulated a plan, and want to put it into action as soon as possible," He spoke strictly business.

"Explain," Carlisle answered.

"Well, we know that Lacey has an amazing ability. She was able to kill two vampires at once. We feel she needs to fight--"

"What?!" Jacob and I shouted in unison. It surprised me that he did not know.

"We never discussed that," Jacob protested.

"Not with you. We knew you'd react just like this. She's the strongest of us all." He stared at Lacey.

"She's not fighting," I wouldn't let her. It was too dangerous.

"She's our only hope," Sam sighed.

"I'll do it." Lacey whispered. "For my mom."

"Lacey it's too dangerous!" Tina stepped forward. Someone had told her what was going on. Her face was white and scared.

"I need to save her," She said more for my sake than Tina's. "I need to help." She searched my eyes for a response. I looked away, her face turned to sadness, but she looked back at Sam.

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow at dawn," Sam informed her. "We have heard from reliable sources that she is still around Forks. We can track her."

"Alright," Lacey nodded distantly. I felt her eyes on me.

I left the room. When I was behind closed doors, I smashed my hands against the wall. The hole reminded me of how I felt.