Chapter 2 – The Welcome.
Alice watched as the cab speeded along the road. Her phone was ringing again. She had thought that Esme and Carlisle would finally give up now but it seemed that even after last night's outburst they were keen on keeping her in Alaska, away from them. She knew they loved her. She knew that they cared for her but somehow she has never understood their overprotective nature that they had solely for her. Yes, she was the youngest among them and she was sure she was the shortest one too but there was no reason for them to worry about her so much. Even logically, she would be safer if she stayed with the rest of the family instead of staying alone, so far from all of them.
The most important thing was why they were so keen on keeping her away from them. What was the reason that they have estranged her from themselves? They had sent her away to Alaska and got her into a boarding school when she had been seven years old. She had stayed in the school and had been under the care of Esme's relatives – Tanya Delaney. She had lived with Tanya until Tanya shifted to another flat just next to hers after she got married.
Alice knew that there were a lot of things she had to know about her family. She was dying to know about them. The phone rang again. Alice sighed and picked it up, "Hello?"
"Alice! Edward here," Edward said in that serious voice he had.
"Yes Edward," Alice said. She knew that he would start up like Esme and Carlisle too. She braced herself for it.
"When is your flight?" he asked.
Alice narrowed her eyes. How come he was asking her about her flight? Were they going to delay or make her miss it? That would be so childish. "I will reach by the evening, I guess," she said, vaguely.
"Great, Emmett, Rose and I would see you at the airport then. Esme and Carlisle are very happy and they are looking forward to meeting you." Edward said.
Alice arched her eyebrows. What exactly was going on in her family? She sighed inaudibly and said, "I am looking forward to seeing you guys too." So finally they had given up on making her change her decision. Well that was a relief…
Esme's POV
Edward cut the call and looked back at us. He knew what we were doing was for her good. He had been the only one who had seen them. Alice had been really small, she hardly remembered it all. Carlisle had done what he could to save her from them. It had pained all of them to let Alice go but she needed to be safe. If they knew where she was they would have come back for her.
Carlisle broke the silence. "I hope you are right, Edward. I don't want any risk on Alice again."
Edward was silent for a long time and then he said, "I know it is the right thing to do Carlisle. Alice has a right to know. Alice has a right to live with her family. She has a right to be with her parents. We all want her to come back. I am sure they are not looking after her now. They left this place ages ago. They all believe she is lost."
"That is the only hope we can hold onto, Edward." I said, at last. The past was flashing before my eyes. I couldn't stop the cold shiver that went down my spine. It still scared me; even when we were the most lethal creatures on Earth. We were vampires and Alice had no idea about the danger that hung on her life.