The Swan residence seemed so quiet without Bella. It was like the whole point of it being someone's home was missing. When Bella had been there, this place had been like a second home to me. As much as I loved Charlie, it wasn't the same without his daughter around. It was only early this morning that Bella had left, just before Edward returned from his hunting trip to Goat Rock with Emmett and Jasper, yet I was already wishing she would come back fast. Edward was back in his reticent, introverted mood. He had driven away to Seattle to gather information on Victoria's whereabouts. Carlisle was in the hospital. Emmett and Jasper where in the forest tracking the unfamiliar scent we found in Bella's room the other day. Esme had gone hunting with Rosalie. I decided to position myself in Bella's house should the intruder return and keep close watch over Charlie. I had promised Bella that I wouldn't let Charlie be harmed in any way. I would have done it even if she hadn't asked me.
Needless to say Charlie was surprised to see dinner ready at his table when he came home from the police station.
"Alice, you really didn't have to do any of this!"
"Of course, I did!" I put on my best I'm-five-years-old-and-I-eat-sand expression. "You can't even cook properly from what Bella told me. Besides, this is nothing!"
He chuckled. "Ah, Bella – she loves mothering over me. You ought to know, she's been so used to doing it with Rene, she would shudder visibly wondering how I got by all those years without her."
At this, both of us burst out laughing and we continued for a full five minutes. Once we stopped, I sighed.
"What is it Alice?" Charlie asked concernedly.
"I miss Bella. I wish I could go with her, but she said she needed to get away from here for a while."
"She sure did. Don't feel bad, Alice. It's for the best, trust me."
"Well, I guess I understand. Doesn't make it any easier, though."
"I know. And let Edward know that he must understand this very clearly, as well, that he can't go after her. Not this time. And I'm not saying this because I bear any ill-will towards him. Relations have been sort of strained between us lately, but I know that Bella cares deeply about him. And that is good enough for me. Look, I don't know what happened between the two of them, but all I want to say is that this is going to be for good for everyone concerned." He got a faraway look in his eyes, like he was remembering something. "You see, dear Alice, some journeys need to be made on our own and there are some things that we need to work out ourselves. And we all need to give Bella her chance to do it, don't we?"
"Yes, I suppose."
Something seemed different about Charlie all of a sudden. It was weird enough that he could predict Edward wanting to follow Bella to England. I didn't think Edward's disposition would be this obvious to a human. He was slipping up. But there was also something more to it – I had a feeling that he wasn't telling me all the facts. I tried seeing into Bella's future for more information but there seemed nothing. And that was odd, because there should have been something at least, even though she was already quite a long distance from here, even some minute decision like choosing between apple juice and coffee. I always found something if I was looking out for someone specifically but nothing today. This worried me. It wasn't like how it felt like when she was with the wolves. That was like a complete blackout. This was something so much stranger. It was like a heavy mist had descended over Bella's future; I could feel there was something hazy and faint beyond the mist, but I couldn't get there. Was it because of the distance? I needed to talk to Edward and Carlisle about this. Perhaps they would reassure me that I was merely panicking like Edward because Bella wasn't here.
The ringing of the doorbell and the pungent odour that hit my nose immediately brought me out of my reverie. Charlie's favourite mutt was here, I thought with distaste. He went to open the door. Jacob Black lumbered in.
"Well, if it isn't a Cullen?" He sneered. I glared wordlessly at him.
"Now, now, Jake, be nice to Alice." Charlie reprimanded lightly. "She is a good girl."
"Whatever, Chief. I came here to ask about Bella. How come she left so sudden?"
"I had been urging her to visit her cousins for quite some time now." Charlie said. "They had sent her the ticket months ago. She only agreed to go yesterday; she finally admitted that it will do her some good. And frankly, I agree. She has been cooped up in this isolated, little town for so long." Charlie knew nothing about Italy, not that it could be counted as a vacation, of course.
"But why England?" Jacob persisted. "She never told me she had cousins in England. Heck, I didn't even know she had cousins in the first place!"
"Neither did I, for that matter." I mused. Jacob Black gave me an odd look. I had not realized that I was thinking aloud. I would never have let slip something in agreement with him right in front of him otherwise.
"Well, she is not particularly intimate with her cousins." Charlie said thoughtfully. "They live in different parts of the world, so they don't get to meet each other much. We decided now that they were old enough to travel on their own, it would be nice to allow them to bond."
"How long is she going to be there? Could I talk to her somehow?"
"Well, I'm sure you could Jacob, as soon as she gets herself a phone there."
"She's getting herself a phone there? Is she going to be in England for long? What about college?"
"She might want to go to college there itself. It all depends on how things go and whether she likes England or not."
Jacob Black's face looked crestfallen. I might have revelled in his disappointment had I not been so anxious myself about seeing Bella again. What the heck, I thought to myself, if Bella decided to go to college in England, so can Edward and I. I'm sure it won't take the rest of the family much convincing to relocate with us. I couldn't wait for the others to come home.