Runaway

Night time action

"Is everything OK with your friend, now?" Esme asked as Bella and Alice entered the kitchen and put the bowl onto the counter. "Yeah, she actually thought I had stayed home, so she wasn't that worried after all." Bella answered although she was pretty sure they had heard every word of their conversation with their super sensitive vampire hearing. Then she looked around a little clueless. "Well … what do I do now?" "You can put these in the bowl for a start." Esme handed her the eggs smiling warmly.

While mixing the cookie dough Bella thought she'd take her turn and do a little questioning of her own. "So now that you know about me. What do you do?" She asked glancing at Alice. "Well Edward and I are going to school again. Senior year. Rose and Em got married YET AGAIN after graduation last summer." She made a face. "But the party was a blast - thanks to me!" She grinned proudly. Bella rolled her eyes and Esme couldn't hold back a smile at their antics. "Jasper's interning at a newspaper and Carlisle's working at the local hospital." She continued and after a long pause she added: "And getting you back again was basically the most exiting thing that happened in the past several years." She finished nudging Bella's nose with her flour covered index finger. Bella was taken a little off guard by that declaration and stared at her dumbfounded.

They were happy to have her back? Did that mean that this wasn't just a one more time helping out the damsel in distress kind of thing? Did they actually want her back in their lifes? Although that idea made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside, she also dreaded their reaction to all the not so glamorous parts of her life. It was kind of strange that they hadn't even thought to ask her - jet - how she could affort her life style. How she paid for college, a fancy car and stuff. But maybe that was because they didn't really stop to think about money all that much. They couldn't relate.

The rest of the day had passed rather uneventfully. Alice and Emmett had shown off their Christmas presents. Money apparently wasn't a concern of theirs. And Emmett made her challenge him at his new video game. Of course he won every time and rubbed it in her face until she'd snapped and vowed not to play with him ever again. Later they were eating the freshly baked cookies – or at least she was, cuddled up on the couch between Alice and Edward until her eyes started to fall shut and she went to bed.

Being so close to Edward again after all this time was making her feel so right again, but at the same time it was kind of awkward. Uptight. What was appropriate and what wasn't? How did he feel about her now and how did she feel about him? Was it just nostalgia? Was it just the idea of him that attracted her? Or was she really still in love with him after all this time? And could they ever make it work living in such different worlds on so many levels? Fretting about all that stuff was kind of exhausting and she drifted off to sleep.

Later that night Bella was in the middle of a very nice dream, when she was awakened by the ringing of her cell phone. "Ugh" She moaned and blindly felt around for her mobile. She held it in front of her face before she answered and groaned. 2:30 am.

"This better be good, Roxie ..." She muttered but was wide awake when she heard her friend sob on the other end of the line. "What's wrong?"

Roxie sniffed. "I can't take this anymore, Bell. It's making me all sick again. I just wanna get away. I wanna go home." She choked on her tears.

"Oh Roxie ... please calm down. Did ... did you ... again?" She cried harder and Bella sighed heavily.

"I wish I could help you, but I'm stuck here right now."

"I know. I just wanted to hear your voice and I thought maybe you could sing me my lullaby to help me get some sleep?" She asked in a small childish voice.

"You want me to sing? Into the phone?"

"Please?"

Bella sighed again. "Are you shure this would help? Maybe you could take some of your moms sleeping pills or you could go to the hospital and have yourself admitted until New Years."

"Please, just sing for me." She pouted.

"Alright." Bella finally gave in. "But only because it's you. Are you comfortable?"

"Uhu" She answered and so Bella started to sing.

When you feel afraid
When you lose your way
I'll find you
Just try to smile
And dry your eyes
I will bring back the moon
Into your skies

Whenever you will
Remember darlin'
I'll be there to sing to you
I promise you, I promise to
Comfort you and sing to you
Darlin' I'll be there just for you

There's so much to learn
And when you want me
Then I'll show you
And through the years
You'll always be
A lullaby in
The heart
Of the child in me

Whenever you will
Remember darlin'
I'll be there to sing to you
I promise you, I promise to
Comfort you and sing to you
Darlin I'll be there just for you

Hold it... Feel it
Music is in your heart
And when you need it
Just keep listening
Let it sing, let it sing

Though you grow away
No matter how you change
I'll know you
When you tire of life alone
There'll always be
One sure way back home
Just turn on the quiet
Close your eyes...
And listen inside
Unconditional...
Unconditional...
Unconditional

I'll be there to sing to you
I promise you, I promise to
Comfort you and sing to you
Darlin' I'll be there
Anytime and anywhere
Cody I'll be there
Just for you

Bella finished the song and smiled. "Any better?"

"Ughu" Roxie mumbled into the pillow on the other end of the line and Bella chuckled.

"Hang up the phone before you're out."

"Uhm, night." She answered groggily.

"Sleep tight." Bella smiled to herself as the line went dead.

Out of the corner of her eyes she detected some movement and noticed that the door was open a crack. She frowned and got up, but by the time she was at the door, they were all gone of course. She stepped into the hall and called loudly "Nice try!" She briefly considered going back to bed but she was wide awake now. So she made her way down to the living room. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and took in the scene before her. Emmett and Jasper were perched awkwardly on the couch. Alice was curled up in the armchair pretending to read a fashion magazine – up site down and Edward was leaning against the armchair exaggeratedly casual. "Again. Nice try." She stated and their faces fell.

She skipped over to the couch and jumped onto it. "Sooooooo, what are we up to?" She exclaimed glancing around. They looked kind of confused. "We? Aren't you going to sleep? It's 3 am." Jasper finally asked. "Nope. I'm wide awake now." She stated and they thought for a moment. "Well you wanna play some video games?" Emmett suggested. "Or some non video games for a change." Alice added frowning at him and he pouted. "How about some arm wrestling?" He tried again. "Well Roxie and I like to play Jenga." Bella ignored him. "Oh, we've got that." Alice beamed and swooshed out of the room. There were some bumping noises like she was throwing around something and then she was in the living room again. They all gathered on the ground and prepared the game. "Where are Carlisle and Esme?" Bella asked curiously. "Upstairs" Edward said nonchalantly and the others grinned meaningfully while Emmett wiggled his eyebrows. Bella squeezed her eyes shut trying to shake that picture from her mind. Too. Much. Information.

Even at that game the vampires clearly had the advantage especially Alice, who could easily predict which block would make the tower topple. Edward would read her mind and profit from her knowledge, while the others still had much steadier hands than Bella. It would have to become her mission to finally find a game, where the chances were even.

A/N: If someone can think off a game like that, please feel free to share.

The song is called Cody's Song by Kenny Loggins. If someone wanted to listen to it, it's on youtube.