A/N: Sorry about the wait. I was on spring break this past week, and I was more busy over break that I ever am during school. Here's the next chapter. (Warning - there is a slight amount of possibly inappropriate language in this chapter, but it's not like we all haven't heard/read it before. Just a forewarning... Anyway, on with the chapter!

The next week was one of mixed emotions. On one hand, my family thought I was better, so they were happy. I still knew the truth, and knew that we had limited time, but I couldn't act like I still believed the message was real, so I had to be happy-go-lucky just like everybody else. Emmett suffered, for obvious reasons, and we all laughed at him for that. I noticed Victoria kept looking around the house and woods, attempting to find any clue to help her. When the rest of the family asked why she was spending so much time in the woods she answered that she was getting ready to go to a stupid school, where she had to sit with stupid humans all day long, and she wanted to be prepared. No one questioned her after that.

No more notes came, no one appeared, and I almost caught myself wondering if I really had imagined everything. But I knew I hadn't, and I couldn't keep from wondering when the other group was going to strike. I wanted them to do something and just get it over with.

"Bella?" Edward asked one day in the middle of the week. I was sitting in a chair in the living room, simply staring out the window.

"Yes?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He picked me up and he sat down properly in the chair before putting me sideways on his lap so that my legs were hanging over the arm. "You've been very quiet lately."

"I'm just thinking," I told him. I leaned into him and rested my head on his chest. "I have a lot to think about."

"Like…" he prompted.

"Nothing that important," I told him with a little smile. "You know, the meaning of life, what came first, the chicken or the egg, you know, those kinds of things."

He groaned. "I keep thinking it will be easier to not be able to hear your thoughts, but it gets nothing but worse the longer we know each other. You never give me a straight answer."

"I do too," I protested. "I may edit a little, but I usually tell you what I'm thinking about."

"You really edited that one," Edward accused me.

"Just a little," I agreed, "but not a lot. I'm really thinking about family. I'm lucky enough to have two close families. Most people don't get this close to their in-laws."

"Most people aren't vegetarian vampires," Edward told me wryly. "We kind of have to live like this."

"I'm not complaining," I told him. "I love you guys enough to want to spend eternity with all of you."

"We love you too," Edward assured me. He gave me a kiss on the top of my head and then stood up, taking me with him.

"Where are we going?" I asked politely.

"School shopping," he answered. "We need new school supplies. Ours got misplaced during the move."

"Okay," I agreed. Edward carried me up to our room so that we could get changed into new clothes to go to the store. I gasped when I entered the room and saw all of our papers, pencils, pens, and other school supplies completely shredded and thrown about the room.

"What?" Edward asked.

"I… nothing," I said. "The glare from the window blinded me for a second." Edward looked outside at the dark clouds, looked at me questioningly, but then shrugged as a way of accepting my explanation.

"Go ahead and get changed," Edward told me, giving me one more suspicious look. He grabbed his own clothes and went into the bathroom attached to our room.

I knelt down and sifted through the paper, knowing that there would be a note. There was. It was written in blood again.

"Good luck at school tomorrow. Someone will die before noon, and if you're lucky it will be an innocent human not someone in your family. Tell anyone and we kill you immediately."

"What's wrong, Bella?" Edward asked as he emerged from the bathroom.

"Nothing," I said a little too quickly, standing up and dropping the note. "I lost an earring, is all."

"Go get changed," Edward told me. I grabbed my clothes and rushed into the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom I leaned on the door and sank to the floor. I couldn't tell anybody, yet how was I supposed to keep that a secret? How could Edward not feel the paper as he walked through it? How could he not hear the crunch as he stepped on the plastic pens and they succumbed to his weight? How could I be the only one to see these things?

"Bella?" Edward worriedly asked through the door. "Are you okay in there?"

I didn't realize that I had been sobbing. I sprang to my feet and pulled on the fresh clothes.

"I'm fine," I called back. "I'll be out in a second."

Sure enough, exactly one second later I was out the door with my dirty clothes in my arms. I threw them on the bed and looked at Edward.

"Let's go," I said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Edward asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," I insisted. "Let's go."

"Bella," he said, and started to cross the room to embrace me. "Tell me what's wro-" he cut off as he tripped over the strap of one of the shredded backpacks. He looked curiously at the floor and asked, "What was that?"

"I… I don't know," I stammered. "Let's just go to the store."

"I tripped over something," Edward protested, still looking at the floor. "What was it?"

"There's nothing there," I told him. "Let's go."

"You can see something there, can't you?" Edward asked, looking up. His eyes locked with mine, and he unleashed the persuasive power of his eyes on me, full force. "Tell me," he breathed as he crossed the room to gather me in his arms.

It was almost impossible to think coherently while drowning in his eyes, but I managed it somehow. I forgot to breathe for a moment, but I had to take a deep, yet shaky, breath before I could answer. "I… I… I don't see anything… there."

"What's going on in here?" Jasper asked from the doorway. He glanced curiously between Edward and me, taking in my panicked emotions and Edward's confused feeling.

"I'm not sure," Edward said, "Bella's trying to hide something."

"I am not," I protested.

"Why are you so upset?" Jasper asked me.

"It's nothing," I said. I pulled out of Edward's grasp and headed for the door. "I'm going to go wait in the Volvo, Edward."

"She's hiding something," I heard Jasper confirm as I ran downstairs. I ran outside and got in the car.

"Bella?" Victoria asked as she came out and opened my door. "What's wrong? You're freaked out, I can tell."

"Nothing," I stressed. I gave her a desperate look, and she seemed to understand.

"Another note?" she whispered.

"No," I lied. "There's nothing." I gave her another desperate look and added in a whisper so only she could hear, "I can't tell anyone."

"Where?" Victoria demanded quietly.

"Our room. Our school stuff was shredded and strewn about the room."

Edward came out of the house then, and I gave Victoria a look that told her we would talk about it later. "It was nothing, really. I don't know why you guys think I'm hiding something."

"Whatever, Bella," Victoria said with a shrug. "Have fun shopping. We'll see you when you get back."

"See you later," I told her as Edward got in the drivers side. Victoria ran back in the house as we pulled out of the driveway.

"Bella, what's really wrong?" Edward asked.

"Nothing," I insisted.

"We're alone and no one can hear us. Tell me what's wrong."

"You don't know that we're alone," I told him sadly.

"You still think that there's someone out there, don't you?" Edward asked.

"No!" I yelled at him. "Give up, already! There's nothing wrong!"

"Calm down," Edward told me, alarmed at my sudden shift in mood. "I'm sorry I asked."

I crossed my arms and angled my body so that I was practically facing the door. I didn't talk to him for the rest of the short ride to town.

Once we arrived at the store we got out of the car, and I refused to hold his hand as we walked in.

"Bella," he complained softly.

"We're supposed to be in ninth grade," I reminded him just as softly. "Shouldn't we start acting now?"

"Ninth graders hold hands," Edward reminded me. "Some sixth graders have already had sex."

"We're supposed to be model children," I argued.

"There's nothing wrong with holding hands."

"Bella?" Someone asked. I turned around to see who had already recognized me.

"Luella," I greeted her icily with narrowed eyes.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, honey!" she exclaimed, moving forward to give me a hug. I stopped her with a hand on her chest. She dropped her arms and gave me a sad look.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"Can't an aunt be happy to see her niece?" Luella asked. She readjusted her purse, and I noticed a note pinned on the strap which read, "Play along or he's the first to die."

"I don't ever want to see you," I informed her, "You have made my life miserable."

"Now, is that any way to treat your aunt?" she protested.

"Bella, be nice," Edward scolded me softly.

"After what you did to my family, confusing them and acting like that, I'm not ever going to forgive you, nor give you the common courtesy of pretending to like you. Now, if you don't mind, auntie, I'm going to go shopping with my husband." I gave her one last glare before whipping around and storming away. Edward was about to follow, but Luella stopped him.

"Aren't you Mark?" she asked. Had I still possessed a beating heart it would have stopped right there.

"No, I'm Edward," Edward corrected her. "Bella and Mark got a divorce."

I stomped back to the group. "How do you know about Mark?" I hissed.

"You think my sister didn't tell me that her only daughter was getting married?" Luella questioned.

"My mother never talks to you," I told her, "and I know you didn't get an invitation or wedding announcement."

"My sister talks to me more than you may realize, sweetie," Luella said. "She told me all about the marriage."

"Then why didn't she tell you about the divorce?" I asked.

"It may have slipped her mind," Luella said offhandedly. She looked at her watch and looked startled. "Well, look at the time. I need to get shopping. What are you kids looking for? Maybe we can shop together."

"We're going home," I muttered before Edward could answer. "I never want to see you again, Luella. Stay away from my families, and go back to whoever sent you. I don't want you ruining my life even more."

"Bella!" Edward exclaimed. "We're in public! Be nice!"

"We're going," I told him. I grabbed his elbow and started pulling him out of the store.

"It was nice to meet you, Eddie Boy!" Luella cackled.

"Bella, we have to get school supplies," Edward protested as he followed me. I took the keys from his pocket and went to the driver's side, leaving Edward to take the passenger side.

"Not from this store, we don't," I said. "I never want to be in the same building as that woman again."

"She seemed nice enough," Edward protested.

I waited to answer him until I was sure we were far enough away that she wouldn't hear. "She's the reason why we need new school supplies. She's the reason why you tripped over an invisible, yet shredded, backpack. She's the one that left me those lovely messages. She's the whole reason why my whole damn life is going to be ruined!"

"Language, Bella," Edward gently chastised me. "How could she do all that? She's just a human."

I turned my head to stare at him incredulously. "You couldn't even tell that she was a vampire?" My nostrils flared and I gazed at him angrily. "You couldn't even tell that she had burgundy eyes and white skin and huge bags under her eyes?!"

"Watch the road," Edward reminded me.

"You can't even tell that the woman who's going to ruin everyone's lives is a vampire! How do you expect me to watch the road?!" I shouted.

"Pull over," Edward commanded.

"No, we're driving until we're out of here," I snarled.

"Bella, you're upset, you're losing control of your gift, you're going over 200 mph, and there's a cop coming. Pull over."

"Fine!" I snapped. I slammed on the breaks, throwing us both forward. "I'm running home. Don't let Luella kill you while I'm gone."

"Bella!" Edward called after me, but I was already out the door and gone. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Victoria's number.

"What?" she asked when she picked up.

"We ran into Luella at the store. Edward can't even tell she's a vampire."

"Sh-" Victoria started.

"But that's not the worst part," I continued, cutting her off. "The note that I found on the floor of our bedroom is." I relayed the message, and Victoria let out a low whistle.

"That's bad," she said. "But why are you telling me? What if she can hear you?"

"I don't care. We're telling the whole family tonight," I told her.

"We can't!" Victoria said. "She'll kill us all!"

"I don't want anyone dying tomorrow, and if that means that we have to tell our family so that she'll attack now and not at school tomorrow, then so be it. We can protect ourselves."

"This is a mistake," Victoria warned me.

"I don't care," I told her. "No confusing everyone tonight. Let them think freely for the first time since we've arrived."

"Very well," Victoria assented with a sigh. "I'll get the family in the living room so that when you get here we can start talking immediately."

"Thank you," I told her. I hung up and put my cell phone back in my pocket before running faster. I had to beat Luella to the house.