"Oh, thank goodness!!!" Alice exclaimed when we walked in the hotel room. She flew over to meet us, torn between hugging me or Jasper first. She finally decided on Jasper, hurried over to me, and then went back to Jasper.

"We didn't know where you were, you didn't pick up your cell phone when we called, we were worried sick that they had changed their minds and gotten you, I couldn't find you in any visions, I was about-" she cut off when she properly saw me for the first time.

"What happened?" she asked in alarm, her eyes glancing back and forth between the ashes on our clothes and the dead look on my face.

"Bella went back to the house," Jasper explained. "She's the one who made the decision, so that's probably why you didn't see it. My cell phone didn't ring, or I would have answered it."

"Oh, I called Bella's…." Alice said, "but I guess her phone got ruined in the fire, didn't it?"

I nodded.

"What are those?" Alice asked, noticing the things in my hands for the first time.

"Things I found in the ashes," I answered emotionlessly. Carlisle had come over to join us, and I wordlessly handed him the cross. He accepted it delicately, reverently, and looked up at me with gratitude in his eyes.

"Thank you, Bella," he said. I nodded once.

"What's-" Alice started to ask, but stopped when she realized that the other object was Edward's ring. "Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry."

"Do you have a necklace?" I asked.

"Here," Rosalie said. She appeared next to me and held out a single gold chain.

"Thank you," I said quietly as I took it from her. I slipped Edward's ring on it, and then my own, before putting it around my neck.

"How are you doing, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"Fine," I lied. I could tell that they didn't believe me. "When do we leave?"

Carlisle exchanged a glance with Jasper, and Jasper shook his head, telling him that I wasn't okay. Carlisle didn't press the matter, though, he just answered my question. "Within the hour."

"Okay," I answered, my voice emotionless and flat. Alice looked at Jasper in alarm, and I saw him shake his head.

"I'm going to go wait on the balcony," I said, and pushed through the crowd known as my family. They didn't stop me.

"That's exactly how she looked the first time that he left," I heard Alice tell our family. I didn't care. They could worry all they wanted, but in the end it didn't matter. They were all going to die soon. I was going to die once they were all dead. That was how it was going to be, and nothing I could do would stop it.

Not that I wanted to stop it. Life wasn't worth living if I didn't have Edward.

I sat down and curled into a ball, resting my chin on my knees, with the rings on the chain around my neck in my hands, which were in my lap. As I stared at the landscape through the railing without really seeing the beautiful mountains and other natural features, I heard a voice in my head.

"I love you, Bella," Edward's voice said, but it wasn't really his voice. It was dull, flat, and emotionless; just like my current state. It was a memory of him, tainted by my mood.

"I love you too," the me in my memory said with a giggle. "I'll always love you forever."

"Forever is a long time," Edward warned me.

"Are you saying that you won't love me forever?" I had asked worriedly.

"No, no, nothing like that," Edward had hastened to assure me. "I'm just warning you that forever is too long for even me to comprehend, and I've been alive longer than most people. You're still twenty two."

"I'll love you as long as I shall live," I said, giving him a kiss. "We have eternity to be together, and I'm planning on loving you for every second of every day of eternity."

"I'll always be with you for eternity, so long as you want me to be here with you," Edward had promised.

"But you lied, Edward," I whispered to the wind. "You lied, because eternity hasn't even started yet, and already you're gone, never to return to me. You broke your promise."

The door behind me leading into the hotel room opened, but I didn't bother turning around. I was sure it was one of my family members coming out to comfort me, to try to pull me out of the depression I was spiraling down into before I was so far gone that they couldn't pull me out again. I didn't want to deal with it, so I didn't turn around.

But when whoever was outside with me didn't speak for several minutes, I grew curious. I peeked over my shoulder to see Victoria standing there, leaning on the wall, staring at the landscape.

"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?" she asked without looking at me. I turned back around to actually look at it this time. I took in all the different angles and colors and shapes that make the landscape what it is.

"I suppose so," I sighed, "though I'm having issues finding the beauty in anything right now."

"I know what you mean," Victoria said. She moved forward to sit next to me. "It was the same for me."

"Are you trying to pull me out of my depression?" I asked bluntly turning to look at her. "Because I don't want to get over it yet. I want some time to wallow in my grief and mourn my husband."

"I'm not," Victoria assured me.

"Good," I said, and then turned back around to stare unseeingly at the landscape once again.

"You know, I never thought it would be this hard," Victoria said, almost as if she were talking to herself. "Starting over with a new life. I thought I could outrun my old one. I thought that I could just leave it behind and start anew, getting rid of all the monsters in my closet and the horrible things I have done. But just when I start to really love my new life, just when it starts to get easier, something has to happen. I just wish that it didn't involve you this time around."

"This time around?" I echoed.

"It happens every time I start to get comfortable with my life the way it is," Victoria said. "The first time it happened, my father died. The second time, we had to move because my brother couldn't live on a farm due to what I now know was asthma. Another time I got bit by a vampire, and then I was left to die in the street because he was too cowardly to come back and help me. More recently, James was killed. Then I came to kill you, and I was happy with that choice, but you stopped me, and I became part of this family. Now, this is happening. I just wish that it didn't involve all of you this time. My problems shouldn't affect everyone else."

"We'll help you get through it," I said, but she could hear that I didn't really believe it.

"I'm not sure you can," she said. "We're up against a powerful enemy."

"I know," I whispered.

"You're doing better than I was," Victoria told me. "At least you aren't off trying to find and kill the people responsible. I had no better reason to kill you than that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and my husband couldn't just leave you be. Your family did nothing to deserve this, and yet you don't run off in a rage to go kill Edward's murderer, and you're still at least civil with me."

"If I ever come face to face with any of the club, they will die," I vowed. "But if I'm outnumbered, and everyone else is dead, then I probably won't fight at all. I'll just let them kill me too."

"I am sorry," Victoria finally said. "I am sorry for everything that I have ever done to you, every mean thing I've said, and every problem I've caused. Your family deserves much, much better than that."

"Our family," I corrected her. "Families stick together. You're part of the family now, and that's never going to change."

"I'm thinking of leaving, after this whole mess is over," she admitted. "If I'm still alive, that is. You guys don't deserve having to help me through this stuff every time I get comfortable with this life."

"You can't leave," I told her. "Call me selfish, but I don't want to be the only odd one out. At least if you're here, then I have somebody to talk to while everyone else is coupling off."

"We'll see," she said. "We may not have to worry about it because we may not be alive."

"I know," I said.

"So, does this mean we forgive each other?" Victoria asked.

"Yes," I said, turning to look at her. "It does. I'm sorry I was so rude earlier."

"The same goes for me," she agreed. "Let's just forget about it and be friends again."

We stood up and hugged. I held on a little longer than was necessary, but she didn't mind. She was hugging me just as hard as I was hugging her.

"How are things going out here?" Emmett asked as he popped his head out the door. "It doesn't sound like you two killed each other yet…"

I gave a breathy laugh, a pathetic attempt to sound happy as I pulled away from Victoria. "We're fine. We forgive each other."

"Then we're ready to leave," Emmett said. "Are you two coming?"

"Yes," we answered together.

Once in the parking lot we split up into the different cars. I went in the Mercedes again. I didn't think I could handle the Volvo just yet.

When we arrived at our new house Carlisle and Esme went to talk with the realtors and the rest of us waited outside.

"Bella?" Alice asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I… we… this was…"

"Just spit it out, Alice," I told her warily.

"This was in the Volvo," she said, handing me an envelope. It had my name in Edward's elegant script on the outside, and I looked at her, confused.

"He put it in his car two weeks ago, but I didn't, and still don't, know what it is." She explained. I took it carefully and held it in my hands, trying to decide if I could open it or not.

"Are you going to open it?" Emmett asked impatiently.

"I'm not sure I can," I admitted.

"Wait until we get inside," Alice advised. "That way if you break down, then we don't have to answer any questions."

"Okay," I agreed.

"But I want to know what it is," Emmett whined.

He shut up when everyone glared at him.

"I may not want to share it," I said. "After all, it's addressed to me, not everyone else."

"I hope you enjoy the house," the previous owner said as the adults all came out of the house. We all exchanged looks before going over to meet our parents.

"Have a nice day," Carlisle told the humans. They shook hands with Carlisle and Esme and then left.

"Let's go in," Esme suggested. We all filed in behind her.

"It's not as big as the old one," she said, "But we have enough room. Everyone who wants their own bedroom can have one."

"Let's explore," Emmett suggested.

"Or not," Victoria said. "I would rather just pick out my room."

"That's the point of exploring," Emmett explained patiently. "That way we know what there is and we know what we want."

"Fine," Victoria sighed.

"Ok, on your marks," Emmett said, "Get set, GO!"

And everyone else was off. Esme and Carlisle smiled at Victoria and I, who hadn't started running.

"I know that you aren't familiar with our new house traditions," Carlisle said, "But if you don't hurry and go stake your claim on a room, then you'll end up with the worst ones."

"I really don't care," I said, "but thanks for the warning."

"Nor do I," Victoria said. "I don't anticipate that we will spend much time there anyway."

"BELLA!!! VICTORIA!!!! GET YOUR BEHINDS UP HERE!!!!!" Alice yelled.

"We're coming," I grumbled, knowing that Alice would hear. Victoria and I started trudging up the stairs.

"These are the only two left," Alice told us when we arrived on the third floor. "Unless one of you wants the really nasty attic, and then there's that."

"I'll take this one," I said, nodding towards the one on the right side of the hall.

"Then I'll take that one," Victoria concluded.

"Okay!" Alice exclaimed. She grinned, and then bounced down the stairs to go do something else.

I went into my room and shut the door. It was painted black, very fitting for my mood. The carpet was cream colored. There was a window directly across from the door, and a door to a bathroom on the left side of the room. I peeked in the bathroom and saw a door to another room, which meant that I had to share it with whoever's room was on the other side. But since I really had no use for the bathroom except to shower after hunting, I didn't mind. I turned to look at my room again, taking in all the details. There was a closet on the opposite side of the room from the bathroom. There was a bed next to the window, and it had a new mattress on it. There were dressers next to the closet, and a desk along the same wall that the door to the hall was in. It smelled very clean, thought I could still smell the scent of the human that had lived in this room.

"Bella?" Esme asked, knocking on my door.

"Come in," I called.

"I have some bedding for you," she said as she opened the door. "I know we don't really need it, but I thought it would be nice to sit on a surface that is a little softer than the mattress."

"Thanks," I told her, accepting the bundle of new bedding. She gave me a smile before leaving.

I dumped the load on the mattress in a pile and studied the bedding that she had given me. Alice had apparently helped her figure out what to get, because it matched my room perfectly. The bedspread was black with large cream colored patterns on it, most of them spirals, circles, and triangles. The sheets were the same color as the carpet, and the pillows covers were black.

"I have clothes!" Alice announced as she waltzed in the door. She dropped about twenty humongous, bulging bags of clothes on my floor and then waltzed out again.

I sighed. I hated moving. It always meant that I had to put things away.

I started with making my bed. I did it slowly, even for a human, so that it would take time. Time that I wouldn't have to think about Edward.

The next thing to do was to put the clothes away. I found hangers already in the closet, and started taking the clothing out of the bags.

I was shocked to see what Alice had bought me. Most of it was black, more gothic than I had ever worn before. But as I studied it, I realized that it was exactly what I wanted to wear. I didn't want bright colors, I didn't want tight, revealing clothes. I wanted my clothing to reflect my mood, and my mood was pretty black at that point.

As I continued opening the sacks, I realized that there were other kinds of clothing too, the kind that I used to always wear. Alice must have seen me pulling out of my depression eventually.

I ditched Alice's gym clothes that I still had on and pulled on a pair of black pants, a red undershirt, and a black hoodie. They were comfortable, and the best part about them was that they didn't remind me of Edward. He would never approve of me wearing such depressing clothing.

It suited me well.

I finished hanging up my clothes, putting the normal kinds on one side of the closet and the goth clothing on the other side. I put some of the clothes, like underwear, socks, you know, those kinds of clothes, in the dresser. I put the jeans in one of the drawers, and the sweats that Alice had bought me for lounging around in another drawer.

Once I was done putting away my new clothing I turned to survey my room again. Making the bed had made it look more completed. I picked up all the sacks from the mall purchases and took them downstairs.

"It's about time you came to join us," Victoria said without turning around. The whole family was sitting in the living room, talking, and Victoria had her back to me. "We were going to come up and…" she turned around and trailed off as she saw me.

"Wow," Jasper said. He turned to look at Alice. "Why'd you buy her that stuff?"

"Because I knew she would wear it," Alice answered.

"You just need to die your hair black and put on the eyeliner and you'll really pull off the look," Rosalie commented.

I simply shook my head. I didn't want to die my hair black, and I didn't want to get anywhere near eyeliner.

"We're having another family discussion," Carlisle said, seemingly unfazed by my change in wardrobe. "Come have a seat and join us."

I put the sacks in the kitchen and went back out to join my family. I sat alone in a chair and curled into a ball so my chin was resting on my knees and my arms were around my legs.

"We need to decide what we're going to do about our situation," Carlisle said once he saw that I was comfortable.

"We need to fight this club," Emmett said. "Can we do a preemptive strike against them in their headquarters?"

"They don't have headquarters," Victoria said. "They just get word out to the members where they are meeting for the next meeting and gather wherever they decide to go."

"So no preemptive strikes," Jasper muttered. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Any war expertise or knowledge to impart upon us, Jasper?" Rosalie asked.

"Not really," Jasper answered, but he was still thinking.

"Do you know who is in the club?" Carlisle asked Victoria.

"Membership rotates," Victoria answered, "and I haven't been there for at least twenty years. I let Luella know that James was dead, and that was the first contact I had with them since I got kicked out."

"Why did you tell Luella?" I asked.

"She was trying to kill me," Victoria answered, "So while we were fighting I told her about James' death to distract her. That's the only reason that I managed to get away."

"So we don't know who we're up against, what powers they have, or how many there are?" Carlisle confirmed.

Victoria grimaced. "Right."

"Alice? Do you know anything that you haven't shared?"

"No," she answered, but she was distracted. Her eyes were closed, and I could tell she was looking for a vision.

"Bella? Did Luella tell you anything else?"

"No," I answered softly. "She just told me that they know everything about us, and that I will be the last to die."

Rosalie started to speak. "Maybe we should-"

She got cut off by Alice. "NO!!!" she shrieked. Her eyes flew open, and she glanced nervously around the room. "They're here!" she exclaimed. "They're outside!"