Hi- I wanted to post this chapter today instead of making you wait until Tuesday! Thank you so much for all the story alerts and reviews. It makes me happy knowing you like my story. This one is a bit short. See you Tuesday!

Chapter 6- Attack

Alice POV

I was so saddened by the fact that Bella wouldn't speak to me. She wouldn't even allow me to explain how much I hadn't wanted to leave her, and how much I'd missed her. Every day I saw how much she'd changed. Physically, Bella was almost unrecognizable. Mentally, she was barely functioning. She was a shell of the Bella I once knew.

Jasper was sitting next to me rubbing my leg, comforting me, while we watched Titanic. What a poor choice of entertainment under these circumstances. I felt like I was living in a tragic love story. The ending hit me hard, and right before Jack died, I shook my head and jumped to my feet, determined. I had to talk to Bella.

Esme and Carlisle were relaxing in the great room, and I saw Bella curled up on her side on the couch. I arched a brow at Carlisle questioningly.

"She finally agreed to take the medicine. She curled up like a little cat and fell asleep." He answered.

She looked so peaceful, and I was relieved. It had been hell listening to her scream in her sleep, and after the first time I woke her up and got a water bottle thrown at my head, I hadn't tried to do that again.

"Did she eat anything?" I asked.

"She ate a little bit of the soup I made for her. Hopefully she will eat some more when she wakes up," Esme said as she rose to her feet. "Can you sit with her? I need to hunt."

I nodded my head. I was more than happy to sit with her.

Esme turned to Carlisle. "Let's go. You need to hunt, too. It would do you good to step away and gain some perspective. We'll be quick and won't go far."

I wished them luck with their hunt and went to grab a blanket out of the closet. Right on top of the pile of linens was the blue afghan that Esme had crocheted for Bella. She had almost finished when we left Forks. I remembered the reason Esme started making it. We would watch Bella shivering on the couch next to Edward but not wanting to move away from him. Being close to him was more important than being warm. I laid the beautiful blanket over her sleeping form, and she snuggled deeper into it.

I brushed Bella's hair away from her face. It was so long. I don't think she'd had her hair trimmed since the last time I cut it before prom. I hoped she would let me trim it, because it desperately needed it. I'd missed her so much and wanted to pull her into my arms and just hug her. I settled for lightly sweeping my fingers down her cheek. As I touched her, she swallowed and pursed her lips like a sleeping baby. She looked so young.

Jasper came up behind me, his head on my shoulder looking down at Bella. He wrapped his arms around me. "How would you like to beat me in a game of chess?"

I turned my head, smiled at him, and pulled him toward the game board. "Okay, I'm game."

"No cheating, Pixie." I laughed at him. I couldn't help what I saw even if I honestly didn't try to see what moves he would make. I could never control what I saw.

We were about a half hour into our game when I noticed Bella getting very restless and talking in her sleep. It was incoherent, but I could tell she was having another nightmare by the whimpers that escaped her. I went over to the stereo and put in a CD of piano music. The music seemed to calm her last time when Rosalie had played for her, and I hoped it would have the same effect today. As the strains of the piano trickled lightly through the room, Bella visibly calmed; but her head was in an awkward position, and I was afraid that she would have a sore neck when she woke up.

I looked over at Jasper."I am going to go and straighten her room up. I think she will be more comfortable in her own bed. Give me a minute or two, and then will you carry her in?"

Jasper agreed, and I headed into her room. I changed the sheets and smoothed the blankets. As I was putting fresh towels in the bathroom, I heard an earth-shattering scream coming from Bella. I ran into the great room and was shocked to see Bella wrapped around Jasper, one hand pulling at his hair, the other beating him in the face. He reached up to pull her off, but she was holding his hair tightly and screaming. I went to help Jasper, and she growled at me low in her chest, like an animal.

I must have yelled for help as a reflex, because Emmett and Rosalie came running down the stairs before I could form an actual thought to call for them. With Bella attached to him like an octopus, Jasper turned to them, a look of helplessness on his face. It was too crazy in the moment, but I was sure that I would be laughing later, not only at Bella attacking Jasper, but also the look of befuddlement on his face.

Jasper glared at Emmett. Bella hadn't eased up a bit and was still punching away at his face and shoulders. "Are you going to help me?"

Emmett, as usual, found this so amusing; he couldn't stop himself from laughing. When he pulled himself together, he gently spoke to Bella in a soothing tone and rubbed her back. Bella relaxed at the sound of his voice and at his touch. He was able to pry her hand out of Jasper's hair without making him bald. Jasper could have easily thrown Bella across the room, but he, I was sure, didn't want to hurt her. Emmett continued to rub her back and shoulders, and she finally relaxed. He pulled her limp body completely off Jasper and sat on the couch cradling her. She looked so tiny and broken in his arms.

I was standing out of Bella's eyesight so she didn't freak out. She was staring straight ahead but not seeing anything it seemed.

I whispered to Rosalie, who was standing next to me, "I don't understand. Why would she attack Jasper like that? I was sure she was asleep. She looked completely knocked out. He was just going to carry her into her room. "

Rosalie shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe she woke up and saw him standing over her? Unfortunately, she has a valid reason to be afraid of him."

I knew that was true, but to attack him like that baffled me. "I am going to call Carlisle."

Rosalie sat next to Emmett. Bella was sound asleep again. It seemed to me that even though Bella had been drug free for a week, she was still deep in the grips of withdrawal. I was afraid we were not making the right decision by keeping her with us. Carlisle was a great doctor, but he had no training in the field of drug rehabilitation. I thought Bella should be in a hospital where she could get the right treatment. On the other hand, I wanted her to stay with us and be safe. We would keep her safe.

I called Carlisle.

He answered on the first ring. "Hello. Alice?"

"Hi, I am so sorry to bother you."

"You know it is no bother. Is there a problem?" I explained to him what happened with Bella and Jasper.

"Was Bella saying something that you could understand when she was dreaming?"

"No, but when she was on Jasper, it was like she was possessed."

"Hmmm." I could tell that he was trying to work it out in his brain. "It almost sounds like she's hallucinating. I know that is a rare side effect of the Clonidine, but on the other hand, she has already been having nightmares and delusions. Is she okay right now?"

"Emmett has her right now, and she's asleep."

"That's good. Sleep really is the best medicine for her right now. We won't go far tonight, and I will check on her when I get home."

I expressed my thoughts to him about whether or not she should be in a hospital program to him.

He let out a long breath. "Alice, at this point, I'm afraid of what she will say about us. I'm not worried about our secret. I'm worried they'll think she's crazy and lock her up. I think we should just give it time."

I agreed with him. I knew before I even asked. I just wanted to do everything I could to help her. "I'll see you when you get back. Don't worry about anything here. We can deal with her."

"Okay. And Alice, please don't hesitate to call me if you need me."

"I won't." I hung up the phone and saw that Jasper had left the room. Bella's presence had been hard on him. Not because he was afraid of losing control, but because the guilt he felt was oppressive. He had learned to control his instincts, and he was much stronger because of that incident. It was almost like Bella's birthday had cured him of his need for human blood.

Emmett was still holding Bella when I came back in the room, and she had goose bumps on her arms from the close proximity of his cold body. I suggested he put her to bed. I helped him get her settled, watching her cuddle down into the cool cotton sheets with a soft sigh.

I found Jasper in our room, lounging on our bed, reading. I stretched out next to him, and he opened his arms so that I could lie on his chest.

"I'm sorry."

He shook his head, but I could see he was bothered by her reaction.

"Carlisle thinks she may have been hallucinating," I explained.

He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "She has every right to be afraid of me, hallucinating or not."

"I don't know why she's having such a hard time. I thought she was stronger than this."

He put his book down and tilted my face up to look into his eyes. "She is strong, Alice, but we have no idea what her life has been like for the last four years. The Bella we knew was different then. She was a child with no real worries in her life. She's had to deal with a lot of sad things, and I'm sure she had to change to survive them… the loss of Edward, and you, and then losing Charlie so traumatically. Those are hard things for someone as young as Bella to deal with."

I understood that. "But why won't she talk to me? Why is she so angry with me?"

"I don't know, Sweetheart. It could be that she blames me or even both of us for Edward leaving – me, because I lost control and tried to kill her, and you, because you didn't see it happening. I don't know. I'm sure she'll talk to you soon.

"Withdrawal is a horrible thing to go through, and you've seen her; her physical health is not good. The combination of that and the withdrawal is very dangerous. It may be a while before she can function on any level."

"Do you think we should leave? We could go on a trip, Europe or Alaska? Maybe if we weren't here, she wouldn't be so apprehensive, and she would heal more quickly?" I suggested.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid that may backfire, and she would see that as us abandoning her again. The best thing we can do is just be there for her when she's ready to talk." He kissed my lips softly, scooted down to my level, and put his forehead against mine. "She'll forgive you. She'll forgive us all."

I sighed and relaxed against him. "I hope so."

XOXOXO

So there it is.

Thanks to Jessypt who sent this back faster than I ever expected and seriously deleted at least 50 "thats". What can I say? I write like I talk and I don't talk so goodly. ;)

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I own a brand new bottle of Peppermint Mocha cream for my coffee and a lonely 4 year old who wants lunch at 9:30 am.

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