Alice'S POV

I reached out for the knob and stopped. The place was so silent. One could have heard a pin drop and so I could hear them; hear my family whispering and for some inexplicable reason I stopped. I leaned towards the door and stopped breathing.

"Carlisle, she cannot stay here." Edward said. I gripped the door knob tightly.

"Edward!" Esme said. She was shocked and she was distressed. I could make it out even from here. I stopped breathing.

"Esme, he was there. He saw her. He saw that she was with us and he knows…" Edward's voice trailed away.

There was a dead silence in which I completely stopped thinking. A long pause passed before Carlisle said, "Whitlock?"

Edward didn't answer. Carlisle sighed. Esme was hysterical when she spoke, "Carlisle I cannot lose her. We cannot tell her to go. Carlisle..?"

"Esme, by telling her to stay here… we will not only endanger ourselves but also her. Remember what happened the last time? We lost a dear friend and Kat is still trying to get over the wounds of her lost sister. We cannot fight. We all have lost and we cannot get the Volturi involved again. You know the consequences…"

There was a whimper and then there was a silence. My head was reeling. I didn't know what was happening but the thought that I could be the reason for any danger for my family was making me sick. I clamped a hand over my mouth to stop the gasp that was escaping from it.

I waited and a little later, Carlisle said, "She will be alright. But now that he knows, I agree with you, Alice cannot stay here."

My heart sunk. I was ready to break down. I had come here to be with my family but here… I could not think beyond it. I was completely shaken by the thought that my living here would put my family at mortal danger. However, how much I wanted to be with them, I couldn't let them get into any danger. My train of thoughts broke as Edward said, "Carlisle, she will be hurt."

"It cannot be helped." Carlisle replied. "If it happens again, I cannot bear the thought of losing you, Esme, Bella, Emmett, Rosalie, Nessie or even Jacob. Plus if they learn about Alice, I don't think they would back out this time and I have promised never to let them get her."

"You promised that woman." Edward said very quietly.

My heart leapt. 'What woman?'

"Edward, do you think it is easy for me to do this? I don't know how or what will I tell to her! I don't know how to face her! We are going to strand her again!" Carlisle exclaimed.

I gasped. Carlisle was distressed beyond hope. I knew it. I could make it out. My heart was breaking. I could not stop it. I slid down on the bathroom floor. Now, I understood why my family did not want me to come back. I hid my face in my hands. Why? Why was I such a burden to everyone?

"I will talk to her." Edward said. His silent voice was like a thunder in the screaming serenity.

"You?" Carlisle voiced my thoughts out.

"Me and Bella." Edward said.

It was like another era passed by but all I heard were the footsteps of someone going away; footsteps of a tired heartbroken person. I pursed my lips and hid my head again. I don't know what I was waiting for. There was nothing left here for me. I couldn't live here and I didn't want to go to Alaska. There was nothing there either. I had thought I would live in Forks; the town where my whole family had lived for so long.

I felt a tear slide down my cheeks. It had been ages since I had cried, but now I could not take it anymore. My heart was in pieces and it hurt. It hurt a lot. I curled up into myself all the more. I wanted to forget everything. I wanted to roll back time and go back to Alaska and never come here. It is easy to nurse a heart when you are rejected but it is unbearable to let your heart hurt voluntarily or you would end up hurting someone else instead. I didn't want to hurt my family.

Knock knock.

I zipped back to reality and hurriedly got up. I wiped out the tears on my cheeks and waited for my breathing to turn normal. It was impossible to appear normal now.

"Alice?" It was Edward. I braced myself for the news. I knew he was going to tell it to me. He was going to tell to me that I couldn't stay here. I knew it still I hoped.

"Alice?" He said again. I sighed and then I slowly opened the door. There was Edward standing looking down at me with concern. I looked away. His amber eyes seemed so knowing. It felt as if he could read through my mind and he knew that I had heard the entire conversation.

"Alice," a female voice said. I looked up to see a girl standing beside Edward. She was Bella. I knew it before she said anything. It was the way Edward had entwined his fingers with hers. It was as if he was drawing courage from her. She smiled nicely at me and my hurting heart warmed at it.

"I am Bella," she said. I nodded in answer. There was a long silence and I peeked at Edward. He seemed to be trying to work out his mouth to say the impending words to me. I looked up at him and said softly, "I heard you."

He looked up at me in shock. He wasn't expecting me to say it. He knew that I knew that he knew that I had heard him but he was not expecting me to say it.

I sighed and said, "I heard you and Carlisle. I wouldn't have come if I had known…" I stopped. I had no idea what to say any further than this. I swallowed the lump at my throat.

"Alice, it is not your fault." Edward said.

"Then whose fault is it?" Alice exclaimed. Tears were threatening to roll down again and she looked away to hide her face from Edward. The silence was nerve racking. We both knew what has been planned. We both knew I couldn't stay here and yet it seemed we both hoped for some way, some miracle to happen to us.

It was straining, the atmosphere around was so depressed and sullen that it made it hard for me to control my tears. Suddenly I felt a pair of freezing arms surround me. I shivered but the embrace was warm with emotions and I snuggled to it. It was Bella.

"Alice, you don't need to leave Forks." Bella whispered.

Edward gasped and said, "Bella?"

Bella gave me a tight squeeze that seemed like it would probably pull out all air from my chest and turned to face Edward. I gasped in some air slowly and waited for my breathing to return normal.

I looked up at Edward and Bella to see them in a fierce eye battle. They seemed to be staring down at each other and then Edward sighed and said, "Will you let me in? What is going through your mind?"

She turned to face me and smiled again. I felt my insides go warm with all the warmth and love she was bestowing on me. She turned back to Edward and said, "There has to be a family meeting."

"What?" Edward said. "Why is that? Bella whenever you have said that word it has only brought trouble to us…"

"… and it always has brought the best decisions in this house too." Bella completed him confidently. Alice watched them in extreme fascination. She could feel it. Bella was just not a mere girlfriend. She was more, much more to Edward than any girlfriend, partner or lover could be. She was his other half – the half that seemed to complete him. They both knew this and they both cherished this. Alice felt her heart tighten again. She looked away.

Edward sighed and said, "I will call them." He looked at Bella expectantly. She smiled and turned back to Alice. "I will talk to Alice till then."

I shrugged my shoulders and as Edward passed out of the room I looked around nervously. "They all love you, you know." Bella said softly.

I looked up at her and nodded, "I know."

"We don't want you to leave." She said.

"But I know that I cannot stay." Alice smiled.

She watched in surprise as Bella adorned the most mischievous look that she had ever seen in the world. Alice knew then she could hope.