Sitting in Tanya's lounge, I felt strangely at ease. The atmosphere was completely different than it had been earlier that day. Despite the unfamiliarity of the setting, of the furniture, of the dark red walls, I was calmer and more relaxed. Mostly, I presumed due to Jasper's gift. His presence beside me was certainly a relief. That and Carlisle's hand in mine.

If I was honest, I didn't usually feel as comfortable in Tanya's home but we made a point of visiting as much as possible. Rosalie had practically taken up permanent residence there since Edward's departure seven months ago. We lived much closer now and it was almost rude not to drop by whenever we were in the area. Jasper had phoned us while we were hunting and invited us to Tanya's for a few days. I was reluctant as Alice still hadn't returned but Jasper assured me that she would know where we'd gone.

The calm was slowly slipping away, however; I could my anxieties floating to the front of my mind. Rosalie was acting quite mysteriously, for some reason. We'd arrived at Tanya's, only to find Jasper alone in the house. He had been whispering into the phone but neither Carlisle nor I had been able to hear any of what he was saying. Apparently Rosalie and Emmett had something that they needed to do. It was all very strange.

So the three of us were in Tanya's lounge, on the red velvet sofas that could not have been further from my usual taste in furnishings and Jasper's calm was attempting to beat out my fears. For a while, it succeeded but Jasper's attention was clearly beginning to waver as my panicking began once more. Irrational, I told myself, firmly. Nothing is wrong, Esme.

The phone rang out and Jasper almost jumped. That shocked me, made me question his behaviour. If only Edward were around, to tell us Jasper's thoughts, to explain what was wrong. That thought brought me a new and very unwelcome revelation. Perhaps my children had discovered something about Edward that I had not yet heard…

Jasper's voice, so unnaturally stiff, as if he were hiding something, almost like he was forcing his tone to sound calm and relaxed, suddenly sounded. Although I possessed no supernatural talent like many of my family, I still had my senses. I knew when there was something wrong. Glancing at Carlisle, I saw his face tight in concentration. He too, had noticed that something was not quite right. We'd returned from hunting to a still, tense atmosphere, even though Jasper was alone in the house. Tanya and her sisters had gone out for the evening with some friends of theirs to do what they usually did with human males. I had watched Rosalie listening to their wicked stories with a little too much enthusiasm.

"No, she said to come home," Jasper's tone was urgent, frustrated. "You can't expect him to…" He scowled as the reply crackled through the receiver. He was walking too far over the other side of the long room for me to hear the reply clearly, although it sounded as if there were an argument taking place. Edward? Could he be on the other line? My breathing began to race.

"If he sees you, what do you think he'll do? Don't do it, Emmett." My hopes were shattered when I realised that he was not speaking to my lost son. The reply was short before Jasper cut over him. The conversation was starting to worry me.

"Alice saw it. It won't work."

More furious crackling.

"Yes, we all know how much you hate to miss out on a fight. I'm surprised that Rose hasn't dragged you back." What did Jasper mean? My head was spinning dangerously. Could vampires faint? I clutched Carlisle's arm in pure panic. The conversation was not merely worrying me now, it was petrifying me. Fighting? Who? I was praying with my eyes shut tightly that my precious Emmett was not in danger, that none of them were.

"Thank you, Emmett." Jasper sounded, if possible even more tense and unnaturally blank as he spoke. Then, a pause. But the silence spoke a thousand words. Jasper glanced quickly at Carlisle and I, tensed on the sofa and his head snapped back, a millisecond later. It was enough. He must have felt the fear surface in me.

"I'll have to tell them, Em. See you in a bit."

Very slowly, Jasper placed the phone back on the coffee table and turned to face us. His expression was unreadable. I wondered for a split second if he was trying to torture me, because it was certainly working. As skilled as Jasper was at handling difficult situations, he seemed to be unsure as to where to start. Carlisle was the first person to speak.

"Jasper...what's going on?" His voice held that authoritative edge that demanded to be told the truth. I respected him so much. Still, there was a hidden fear behind Carlisle's words. What was so dangerous or devastating that even our children would hide it from us? Jasper was testing the mood, I could feel him trying to calm and relax me. It did not work in the slightest. Having the knowledge and experience of Jasper's talent was exactly what I needed to evade it, if only subconsciously.

"I'm not sure where to begin," Jasper admitted. "I suppose it started this morning, when Alice had a vision." I did not interrupt to ask any of the million questions that had consumed my mind. "Alice saw Bella, jumping from a cliff and she rushed to Forks, even though she was afraid that she'd be too late." Both Carlisle and I gaped in shock, gasping at the news. Jasper brushed his hair back and gazed at us both. "Alice phoned and told Rosalie, Emmett and I. We didn't stop her from going but only Emmett agreed with her choice. We weren't meant to interfere in Forks anymore, remember?" A sad smile played on his lips.

What happened next only proved Carlisle's strength and intelligence. Before I had even processed most of the information, he had jumped to his feet and was staring at Jasper with wild, pleading eyes.

"You didn't...tell…?" He broke off, unable to finish. Never had I seen him so far from his careful calm, his tranquility before. It was as if the entire family's pain from the last seven months was resting upon his voice. Jasper sighed and looked at Carlisle, very apologetically. I couldn't make sense of what anyone was saying. Nothing was sinking in. I was completely dazed. Carlisle shook his head slowly. Jasper merely stared at him.

"It was Rose." Jasper whispered. "She kept on calling. Thought he had the right to know. I still don't know whether that was the best decision or not."

Suddenly, everything clicked. Alice had seen Bella jump from a cliff, just like I had. Bella had jumped to her death. Rosalie had, for some reason unknown to me, told someone. The only person who would be so badly affected by her death. The only person who I was pining to see. Edward.

"Oh, no…" I choked, through my tearless shakes. My breathing caught, spluttered. I gasped and clutched at the sofa arm for support. My entire body was ripping apart. What would Edward do? The news would have killed him if he were human. My Edward would be even more distraught than he had been all this time. I was sure that he would never regain any form of happiness, ever again. Carlisle's expression scared me more than anything that I'd heard all day. I could always rely on him to keep in control, to take charge of the situation. Now, his eyes were filled with agony and fears, far deeper than my own. He had realised something else, something worse. But what?

Carlisle moved slowly towards Jasper. Both looked like statues, they were so rigid and frightened. Even Jasper. Even Carlisle. They never had weaknesses. Ever…

"What did Edward do when he heard?" Carlisle whispered, the fears torturing his mind. I wanted to cry for him but I couldn't even get the tears out for my own son. The ridiculous shaking, gasping panic would have to suffice. Jasper stood motionless. I could see that he knew the answer to Carlisle's question but he couldn't tell us. Carlisle knew the worst possible reply that Jasper could give. I, in all my shock, distress and agony, knew that what Jasper would tell us was going to be the worst possible outcome. How could it be anything else, the way he was falling to pieces? The way that Carlisle was crumbling in front of me.

"Jasper, what did he do?" Jasper, still, could not find the words. Carlisle gripped Jasper's shoulders, gently but desperately, his gold eyes flashing with fear. Then, Carlisle spoke the words that I will never forget, for the rest of my existence. My absent heart sank even before Jasper had confirmed their validity.

"Has...Edward gone...to...Italy?"

Very apologetically, sorrowfully and slowly, Jasper nodded once. My body and mind froze.

Carlisle let out a agonised moan and sank to his knees.

But I didn't wake up.