Note: this story is planned to be pretty short, and originally I decided the entire thing would span over four chapters. Thanks for reviewing!
When I woke up, three vampires sat on the floor by the couch, watching me. Esme, Jasper, Emmett. I smiled automatically. Just seeing them there, watching me like they really did care about me made me feel so much closer to better. Jasper smiled back at me, and I wondered whether he was responsible for this. Still, it could just be the comfort of this room, every memory of this place and the people who lived there.
"You're awake," Esme said, pleasedly. "I'll go get breakfast."
"You missed everything," Emmett said, sounding downright gleeful. "Rose is off sulking, probably because she feels really bad about you and--you know. But she won't admit it because she's supposed to have her grudge about you. And if you can believe it, Jazz and Alice seem to be having a break up-"
"Temporary seperation. Space." Jasper said.
"Break up," Emmett said. "It's been a hectic day for all of us, anyway."
"What? You're breaking up?" My gaze flicked from Jasper to Emmett. "But you guys don't just break up. I mean, vampires don't..." I trailed off confusedly.
"Trust Bella to think that's the most important news of the day," Emmett chuckled. "The unlucky couple don't even seem that concerned about it, to tell the truth."
"We're very concerned, actually," Jasper said. "It's just that, as I have explained multiple times, Alice and I have always had a complicated relationship. It's not as if we didn't know this was coming."
"Anyway," Emmett said. "I think Esme wants to kidnap you, Bella. She keeps drilling us on how we have to be hospitable and make you feel comfortable at all times. She even called Charlie to tell him you might be staying here for a while."
"Charlie," I said. "No. What did he say?" My heart rate increased.
"Little worried," Emmett said. "Seemed to understand pretty well, considering."
I was on my feet in a second, but Emmett and Jasper were faster, pushing me down again. "Esme wants you to relax for a while," Emmett insisted. "She specifically said not to strain you in any way."
"I have to call Charlie," I said, voice trembling. The thought of what Charlie would do, how worried he must be about Edward's family 'kidnapping' me...I couldn't even imagine it.
"I'll get the phone," Jasper said. "I think Esme would approve of whatever makes her happy." I smiled gratefully as he dropped a sleek, silver flip phone into my hands.
I shouldn't have worried; Charlie was fine, if a little grumpy with me for the sudden disappearance. Talking to Esme, though, seemed to have dispelled any doubts he might have had about my safety. In fact, he practically suggested it might be good for me to stay with them for a while.
I was halfway into the most delicious breakfast I'd ever had when Alice sat down next to me.
"How are you?" She asked, staring out the window. Her usually happy expression was gone, like all the life had left her. She sagged next to me, leaning on my shoulders and picking up my cup of lukewarm coffee to grip between her hands so hard I was afraid it would shatter.
She was so small, so sad, that I had a strange urge to protect her. But I had to remind myself that this was Alice. She was a hundred times stronger than me, and whatever it was that was making her sad was probably something I couldn't do anything about. I would always be the breakable human.
"Fine. Are you okay, Alice?" I asked, worriedly. "Is it Jasper?"
"Not entirely," she said, with a sigh, dropping her head into her hands. "It's more me than anything, Bella."
"I don't understand."
"It's funny," she said, stirring the coffee and watching it swirl around in ribbons. "After so long, you'd think I'd know more. But the thing is, I still don't have any idea of who I am. Sure, I know the facts, but is that really enough? I want to know what it was like before..." Before she was changed.
"Oh," I said softly. "Alice, I-"
"I want to go and find out," she said, fiercely. "Nobody else knows except Jasper. I don't know anything about what I was like, Bella. Can you imagine what it would be like to have a part of your life just be missing? And I can't be with Jasper, not like we were. I can't be tied down." She looked so determined that for a moment I couldn't say anything.
I'd always imagined that Alice was perfectly happy with what she had. She never faltered, not once. She was always so happy, so bubbly, that I'd never thought maybe she'd just been hiding the other part of herself. If Edward had been here, he could have stopped her.
"I'm leaving tonight," she said. "I want you to tell everyone; they'll take it better, coming from you." She squared her thin shoulders and met my eyes, hers blazing a bright gold.
"You won't change your mind," I said numbly. Even as I wished Edward were here to clean this up, the worst thing wasn't missing him anymore. I was watching the Cullen family fall apart with no way to keep it together. The dull ache of not having him anymore seemed unimportant, compared to losing this family as a whole. I'd always considered their lifestyle, just like them, to be immortal. Unchanging, remaining exactly the way I needed it to be.
"No," she said. "I'll miss you a lot, Bella. I promise I'll come back when I can. This is just something I have to do." Then she got up and left me sitting frozen on the couch, trying to decide whether I should warn the other Cullens about Alice before she was gone.
Whose side was I supposed to take?
That night, as I was supposed to be sleeping, I heard the others talking downstairs.
"She's gone," Emmett said. "I circled for hours and she's just gone."
"It makes sense," Esme said softly, dawning comprehension in her voice. "I sometimes thought she wasn't as happy as she said...she can get so restless."
"We can't lose another one," Carlisle said. "All our strength comes from staying together.
"She wants to go," Esme said, placing a hand on his arm. "We can't stop her.
"She might not come back," he said.
"She might not. And we'll have to deal with that if it's the case."