For the POV, I had two requests for Alice, one for Bella, and one for Edward. So we'll be seeing a bit through the eyes of everyone in this chapter. Sorry you had to wait so long, if you have been waiting, which I find hard to believe, but nothing really surprises me anymore.
On with the show…
Alice POV
"Edward Cullen, have you lost your freaking mind?"
He winced, but continued playing his stupid piano and didn't turn to look at me. I continued glaring at him, knowing fully well that my thoughts were bothering him more than the daggers being shot from my eyes.
"What do you want, Alice?" he asked wearily. "Or do you even have a purpose in coming here?" I smiled and slowly walked up behind him.
"You underestimate me, brother dear," I crooned in his ear. "And not even your stubbornness can stop me now." I cheerfully bounced around the piano bench to take a seat next to him. He sighed in frustration, holding his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He really is trying to get out of this, I mused.
"Did you ever think about what she wants?" he accused me. "She wanted me to leave."
"She wanted you to explain," I corrected, "there is a difference. And she has regretted sending you away ever since you climbed out that god forsaken window."
"How would you…ah," he realized, "you brought Jasper."
"I needed to be a hundred percent positive," I shrugged, "and you know how I hate being away from him. You honestly believe that I didn't think this through?" He fell silent, unable to contradict me.
"He told me that he's never felt anything like it," I said softly, remembering Jasper's fib from earlier. "There was anger on the surface, sure, but underneath that is an ache that never stops throbbing. Whatever she said to you this morning was her body trying to protect itself from completely falling apart." His face constricted in agony, not wanting to hear of Bella's pain.
"I noticed, too," he admitted. "She wasn't exactly herself." You don't know the half of it, I thought, and he cringed. I took a deep, unnecessary breath before continuing aloud.
"I know that I promised not to look at her future, but I couldn't stop," I hurried through the explanation. "Like it or not, I'm as in tune to her as any one of us, and after my first vision I had to keep watching out for her. Edward, she was almost in a catatonic state, Charlie considered institutionalizing her, he couldn't help or do anything at all, she's severely depressed, and now she just covers it up all the time. She doesn't have fun, she rarely talks, she never sleeps," I bit back the tears that would never come, "The Bella that we all love vanished along with you, and today is the first time in months that she has even resembled her old self."
"Her old self, as in the one that didn't want me to leave?" he asked incredulously. "You realize that you just contradicted yourself completely?"
"No," I was disgusted that he still didn't understand. "She was stubborn, Edward, she actually fought for something, even if it wasn't what she wanted. Trust me, it's a major improvement."
"If I could go back," he whispered, "I would find a way to make her forget everything, and really understand that I was doing what was best."
"You would take away all of her happiest memories?" I nearly screeched. "I think that you're confusing best with easiest. Things got a little too complicated, a little too risky, and you bolted. Edward, there's no denying it."
"You think that it was easy for me, to lie to her, to leave the only reason for my existence?" I would be surprised if Bella couldn't hear us from the car. I cursed myself for not parking further from the house. I knew that my last resort would have to be pulled out, no matter how much it hurt him. Everything would be better in the long run, I assured myself.
"If you and Bella are so against having this relationship, then why am I still seeing this?" I emphasized the last word meaningfully, then concentrated on my most recent visions. Bella and Edward, her sitting on his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist, at the beach watching the sun rise, both with the cutest grins plastered on their faces. Bella and Edward, lying down on a roof, holding hands, laughing at a funny joke. Bella and Edward, alone in his room, his face pained, hers waiting with a small smile, him leaning down to plant a chaste kiss on her lips, then dragging his face down to her neck and opening his mouth, the light flashing off his teeth…
"No!"
Bella POV
Alice had parked the car, put on the child lock (do those even come on sports cars, I wondered), and flitted into the house. Rosalie moved easily into the front seat and ran her fingers over the steering wheel, smiling to herself. I frowned at the fact that they had successfully made me their prisoner. Sure, I had come into the car willingly, but now I wanted nothing more than to run into his arms. I knew that Rosalie had been left with me to stop me from doing specifically that, and I understood that Alice wanted talk to him first, before I saw him. Actually, I appreciated it. At the time. But that had been a good while ago, and now I was getting antsy. Every now and then, I would hear a raised voice, but I could never make out what they were saying. Rosalie could of course, but she wasn't sharing. She hadn't said a word to me at all, in fact, since Alice left. All of a sudden, there was a shout from inside, and Rosalie cringed, weighing her options apparently. She glanced at me and sighed, before moving at superhuman speed out of the car and around to my side. I didn't even notice that she had unlocked it, or maybe she didn't, but my door opened and I was being pulled inside.
Edward POV
My entire being recoiled away from Alice's vision, my breathing becoming more labored. All I had to do was decide not to, and that would never happen. I tried to calm myself with my own thoughts, tuning out everything else, but it wasn't working. Alice was so confidant of her visions this time, it didn't seem to be something that was up for change. I could never turn her into one of us, I would die before putting her through that agony, anything but that. Alice cleared her throat, knowing how much torture she was putting me through, and I braced myself for her apology.
"It had to be done," she said sternly. "As does this." I lifted my head to find Bella staring at me from the doorway, with eyes as wide as the Mississippi River. I caught a flash of long blond hair, then Alice quickly followed Rosalie out the door. I knew that they were waiting to ambush either one of us, should we decide to walk out before sorting through our issues. Bella was still watching me carefully, and I returned her gaze with my own look of sorrow.
Bella POV
When I walked in the door, I could see that he was in pain, though from what I wasn't sure. I supposed Alice had shared something with him, something about me probably, and I twitched at realizing that I was the reason for his current state.
Where do I start? With how sorry I am? With how much I wish I could take it all back? What about how much I need him in my life? How much I had missed the sound of his velvety voice, the feel of his stone cold arms around me, the concentrated stare that always made me blush self consciously? Or did he want to say something. I thought about what I longed for him to tell me, the words clearly visible in my mind. Words may be a bit of a stretch for us right now, but… I cleared my throat, inspiration dawning, knowing exactly what I wanted to say. Or, more accurately, what I needed to hear.
"Play for me," I pleaded quietly, unsure of how he would take it. His face softened, nodded, and turned to face his piano. His fingers hesitated, then pressed down onto the keys, forming a familiar melody, but not the one I wanted. I moved closer, so that I was standing behind and to the left of him, and let him play for a while, soaking up his being there more than anything.
"Clair de Lune?" I asked mockingly. "Not exactly what I had in mind." His features tightened, as if he was holding himself back, and he paused while sorting through what I had said. When my meaning became clear, he bowed his head in defeat.
Edward POV
"I don't know if I can," I replied, and I noticed a single tear well up in her eyes. I couldn't bear to make my Bella shed another tear for me, so I quickly justified my statement. "You being so close after all this time, it's hard to focus on anything." After over a century of waiting, you would think that the words would come easily for the one that you love. Still, I didn't want to mess it up this time. I wanted her to know exactly what I felt, and how much I wished we could be together. I drew in a breath before continuing. "Playing that song requires me to think of my inspiration, and thinking of you is the most distracting thing in the world, especially when you're this close. Bella, you have no idea how intoxicating your presence is." This made her smile, and I paused for her to explain.
"Like a heroin addict, right?" Ah, so she was recalling our past conversations. I was surprised that she remembered, but chuckled anyway.
"Exactly." The silence settled around us, and I tentatively struck the first note of her lullaby. She faced me, and turned the full power of her big brown eyes on me, no trace of tears now. I can't quite describe the emotion there. The closest thing to it would be a perfect combination of passion, yearning, and incredulity. An odd mixture, no doubt, but there it was, etched onto the face of my reason for living, my lover, my soul mate, my everything. I could scarcely begin to hope that she thought of me the same way.
So this is only part one of Bella/Edward figuring out exactly where they are. We all know how it ends, I'm not that crazy, but getting there is all the fun right? The next chapter should be up sometime this weekend, depending on how much free time I have to write. And no, we have not seen the last of Jacob :)