Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight
This chapter is dedicated to Darth Viper and Grumpu84 for their reviews. Enjoy!
Chapter 9 – Goodbye
BPOVAlice squealed. "Come on Bella, let's go pack and tell Charlie. Now I know this isn't the best thing that could happen, but it's going to be so much fun, you'll love England." Alice rambled as she towed me towards the door. Yeah, too bad I wouldn't get the chance to see it. At least this exchange program excuse would take care of Charlie for a while; he won't call the FBI as soon as Christopher takes me.
"Bella, I am going to take care of some things here, I'll be over to pick you up in a few hours, ok?" Edward asked me. I was reluctant to be apart from him for even a second now that our time was so limited together but I new I would have to go along with it.
"Ok" I responded and pulled him into another long kiss. Our kisses, too, were numbered and I would try to make them last as long as I could.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you, too" I responded. G-d, how I was going to miss saying that to him. Then I turned around to look at the Cullen house for the last time. It was beautiful, like another home to me. "I'm gonna miss it here" I whispered, but I'm sure they all heard. They probably just assumed I was talking about leaving to England, though, only I knew that I would never come back.
"Yeah, me too" I could have sworn I heard Edward say as Alice and I left.
The next few hours all passed in a blur. The first thing we did was tell Charlie. He, of course, was very doubtful about the whole thing, so Alice had to keep reassuring him that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and that she would be with me the whole time, us being the two students selected from Forks for the 'elite program' and all. In the end Alice had to dazzle Charlie a fair amountto for him to let me go. She also told him that the whole Cullen family was moving to New York, because Carlisle got a better job offer, but that Esme hated big cities, so there was a chance they'd be back; a pre – excuse for if we came back early. It was very well planned All through this I just nodded in agreement and put in a few words of encouragement, I felt somewhat dead inside knowing what I was about to do, but it was the right thing. The only way. Alice hardly noticed my melancholy mood as she packed vigorously, throwing things into my suitcase at a speed I didn't know existed.
"Okay, Bella I think we're done here." Alice said after a short while. "I'm just going to run home to finish up there and I'm sure Edward will be here any minute to pick you up." She finished with a smile.
"Thanks, Alice. For everything." I told her sincerely. Alice was my best friend and I would miss her only second to Edward. Who knew when I would get another chance to thank her without looking too suspicious? I reached out and gave her a big hug, which she reciprocated, only remembering my fragility at the last second.
"Oh Bella it's nothing, you're family, and don't worry about this whole mess, I'm sure everything will be fine." Then she smirked at me. "Now please try not to hurt yourself while I'm gone." With that she sped off.
I sunk to my knees. Leaving them is going to be so hard, but it was what had to be done. By tomorrow at this time I would be Chris's captive. Captive? Well even though I was going willingly, it was blackmail so I decided it was fair to use the term to describe my predicament. I let out a small sob as I uncrumpled the new note from my pocket. I was still shocked that one of Chris's vampires had gotten into the Cullen residence and sneaked me another note while I was in the bathroom this morning. I guess they were even better than we thought, which is just more of a reason for me to do what I was going to do. I had cried silently to myself in the bathroom for long enough that I was sure Edward was going to come upstairs to investigate. Thankfully, he must have been preoccupied with making pancakes or the Neilans, because if he had come up he could have ruined everything. Eric, who had also been at Suede the night before, had been waiting inside the bathroom for me. He was holding two letters, one in each hand.
"So are you going to save them or not?" He had asked me sarcastically. I had nodded and he had handed me the letter in his right hand. "See you soon" he told me and then he disappeared completely. I guessed he was the teleporting one. I reread the messag, memorizing it.
Dear Bella,
I trust that you have received my last letter and have made your decision. If my companion has handed you this letter, you must have told him that you wish to spare the lives of the Cullens and Neilans. To do so you must obey the following instructions. Tomorrow, you and your friends will be passing through Idaho, in a pathetic attempt to throw me off your trail. On your route, approximately 12 hours after you recieve this note, you will pass a restaurant called Jack's Bar and Grill. You must insist upon eating there. You can use the excuse that it is the only place to eat for hundreds of miles. Once you enter, order your food and sit by the stage at one of the front right tables. There will be a band playing. You must then 'accidentally' fling one of your possessions on to the stage. Quickly rush up the stairs in front of you and onto the stage on the pretense of retrieving it. Slip behind the curtain. One of my associates will be waiting there for you. He will run you over to me. Don't worry about your things, they will be teleported here and don't worry about being caught, my associate is very fast, I assure you. If all goes according to plan, no one should get hurt, as I intend to keep my promise, but, if any one is notified of the plan, I will not hesitate to annihilate the entire family. You have chosen well. I will be seeing you soon.
Chris
I shivered as I read the word annihilate. I could not let that happen, I would follow the instructions. I hoped with all my heart that I could pull this off. I wiped the stray tears from my face and cleaned myself up in the bathroom until my reflection showed no hint that I'd been crying. I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes.
"Tired already?" an angelic voice mocked. I opened my eyes to see Edward standing over me smiling crookedly. I decided to play along.
"No, I was just hoping to dream about a certain gorgeous guy I know." I said dreamily.
"Oh really now?" He raised his eyebrows and smiled mischievously.
"Yes, I think I should go tell Mike I'm in love with him before we go." I got up from the bed, trying to keep a straight face. A low growl emitted from Edward's chest.
"Newton!" He said incredulously, although he had caught on with the joke. Edward began to walk closer and closer to me, cornering me against the wall. "You think Newton is gorgeous?" He growled again playfully.
"Yes, he's very handsome, you know, and smart, and…" I stopped abruptly as Edward pressed his lips against mine. My heart sped up in response. Kissing him like this was heaven, and for a few minutes everything felt normal again. Even though our kisses were frustratingly chaste, I wished I could spend forever just kissing him like this.
"Now Newton can't do that, can he?" Edward asked, withdrawing himself after a while. I shook my head, flushed from all the kissing. "Are you ready to go?" Edward asked, shattering my bliss with reality.
"Yes, Alice packed for me." I told him, trying to smile. Edward grabbed the five huge suitcases full of my things and carried them all effortlessly downstairs. Carlisle was in the living room talking with Charlie. They stopped as I came down the stairs. Edward took the stuff to the car leaving me to say goodbye to my father. This was the last time I would ever see him. I seriously doubted Christopher would let me come and visit him once in a while.
"So I guess the Cullens will be taking you to the airport with them now" I nodded sadly. Charlie shook his head in disbelief. "This just seems so sudden." He sighed. "Oh well, Bells, have fun and be careful."
I threw myself at him and gave him a giant hug. Carlisle had inconspicuously disappeared, so I had no qualms about showing my true emotions.
"I will Dad, I love you, goodbye." I could not let myself cry. I had to be strong, what I was doing was right, noble even. Still, it was sad to be saying goodbye to your father forever. "Don't forget to call Rene, tell her I'll try to be in touch soon." I told him. Lie. I would never be in touch. I would never see my mother again either.
"I won't forget, love you Bells. Goodye" He said as I walked out the door. Don't cry. Don't cry, I kept telling myself. This is for the best. The Volvo, the Mercedes, and the BMW were all parked outside my house. Edward was standing outside, leaning against his Volvo, frowning.
"What's the matter?" I asked him, worried.
"You'll see." He said as he opened the passenger door for me.
"Hey, Bella!" Alice gushed.
"Yes, hello Bella. This is going to be fun, don't you think?" A light British accent quipped. I turned around to see Luke sitting next to Alice in the backseat. Luke grinned, showing bright white teeth. At that point my emotions just kind of burst out and I started laughing. I was about to leave for good and Edward was upset because Luke was riding with us. It was somewhat ironic.
"Well at least someone has some humor, Edward here would probably tear a clown to pieces if it tried to make a joke within a 10 mile radius of him." Luke said jerking his thumb toward Edward, who was now glaring at Luke through his rear view mirror.
"Shut up Luke, I don't lack a sense of humor, I just hate yours." Edward retorted.
"Oh stop it you two. Let's go already, Edward." Alice interjected cheerily. Edward pulled out of my driveway. I twisted around to look at my own house one last time. It was full of memories. Memories I just couldn't bear to think of. Goodbye, I thought silently to myself. Then I closed my eyes, leaned my head against the glass window, and let my subconscious drown out Luke and Edward's bickering.
"Bella, love, we're stopping here for gas. Do you want a drink or something?" Edward shook me awake gently. I had fallen asleep. I started to panic. How long had I been sleeping? What time is it? Did we pass the restaurant already?
"Where are we?" I asked, my voice full of alarm.
"We're still in Washington, Bella. Are you alright?" He asked me in a concerned tone. I nodded. Washington. Good. The restaurant was in Idaho.
"Yes I'm fine." I told him, still somewhat shaky. He eyed me warily.
"Okay then. Do you want to get something from the store while we're here?" I looked around and noticed that we were at a gas station in the middle of the highway. The Cullen cars were all lined up and getting their tanks refilled. Luke and Alice were waiting impatiently outside the car, obviously wanting an excuse to go into the 24 hour shop and pick out some ridiculous items for me to eat. Well, my throat was kind of dry.
"I'll get a drink." I said. In a flash Edward was at my side, opening the door for me. Luke, Alice and Jasper, who had joined Alice from the other car at some point, all greeted me.
"Hey Bella, how was your nap?" Alice asked happily. Jasper waved at me.
"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes. Do you know you actually spoke while you were sleeping? You said Edwards name quite often… What were you dreaming about?" Luke raised his eyebrows suggestively. Jasper elbowed Luke in the ribs and Edward growled in response.
I felt a light blush creep onto my face. "Let's just go get my drink. Okay?" I hurried towards the entrance of the store. But, like whenever I hurried, I tripped. Cold arms wrapped around me a few inches before I hit the ground. Edward gave me a sly look.
"Thanks" I whispered. I walked towards the store and began to open the door.
"Hey Bella, What's this?" Edward asked. I turned to see him holding Chris's note in his hand.
Author's note: Is Edward gonna find out? If he does what will he do about it? Okay guys I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. Basically last chapter without anyone knowing Chris sneaked Bella another note. Feel free to ask me any questions if you have. Okay I got too many complaints about seting a review limit, so I wont do it this chapter. But if I don't get any reviews then it's back to the limits. I only want reviews because I really need your feedback!! So review and tell me what you think or I assume you hate it.
