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Chapter Eight: Carlisle and Esme

It was silent in the car as we drove to the airport. Nobody wanted to talk about what had just happened at the Denali coven's house.

"Bella, are you okay?" Alice asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Yes, I am fine," I said truthfully. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yes, Bella, we are fine," Alice said with a roll of her eyes.

"Bella, we are vampires, remember? It takes a lot to hurt us," Jasper said while sending waves of calm in my direction.

"I know. I still worry about you both, though," I said. "You're my family, so isn't it right that I should worry about you?"

"Yes, of course. We just want you to know that you don't have to worry so much," Alice explained.

"I'll try, but I make no guarantees," I said with a smile.

"That's all we ask," Jasper said with a smile of his own.

"Do you think Irina will be ok?" I asked. I couldn't help but think about how much pain Irina must have been in when we left. You could see the depth of her grief in her expression, and it was something I wouldn't soon forget.

"I think eventually she will be okay," Alice said, and I could tell she felt bad for Irina, too. "She has her family to help her through this."

"She probably hates me, but I didn't have a choice. Laurent was going to hurt my little sister," Jasper said while looking at me in the rearview mirror.

"Thank you, both of you, for what you did," I said sincerely.

"Bella, you are our sister. We would do anything for you, you should know that by now," Alice said as she turned around in her seat to squeeze my hand.

I smiled and squeezed her hand in return as we pulled into the parking lot at the airport. Jasper parked the car and we all got out and started walking toward the front entrance.

"So where exactly have Esme and Carlisle been since you left?" I asked as I tried to keep up with the other two.

"In Salem, Oregon," Alice said. "The climate is similar to Forks, so of course we have a house there, too."

"Of course," I said sarcastically.

Jasper bought my ticket, even though I told him I had enough money to buy my own, and we started walking toward our terminal to wait for them to start boarding our plane.

"Bella, are you hungry?" Alice asked suddenly.

"A little," I admitted, and quickly realized I hadn't eaten in a while.

"Okay, let's go. This time I am taking you to get food while Jasper stays here," Alice said. I blushed as I thought about the last time the three of us had been in an airport together. Thinking that I was doing the right thing, I had snuck away from Jasper to go meet James.

"I really am sorry about that, you guys," I said.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't ever do it again," Alice said as she put her arm around my shoulder, and we went on our search for food. After we found a food court just a short distance away from our terminal, where I ordered a slice of pizza and a pop, we went to find Jasper again.

They started to board the flight just as we made it back to Jasper, so the three of us made our way onto the plane. Luckily we had three seats together. I sat by the window, Alice sat in the middle and Jasper sat on the aisle seat. The plane ride went by quickly and was rather uneventful, for which I was grateful. I felt like I had enough drama to last a lifetime, or in my case an eternity.

When we got off the plane Alice pulled out here cell phone and called for a cab.

"Can't Carlisle or Esme come and pick us up?" I asked Jasper as we waited for Alice to complete her call.

"Alice wants this to be a surprise," Jasper said with a smirk.

"I see," I said, and couldn't help but be a little excited at the thought of surprising Carlisle and Esme.

Alice finished her phone call, and when we finally made it outside a cab was waiting for us. As we got into the cab, I realized we hadn't retrieved my duffle bag from baggage claim.

"Alice we forgot my duffle bag," I said.

"No we didn't. I had the cab driver get it from the baggage claim for us," Alice explained.

"Thanks," I said gratefully.

"No problem," Alice said as she looked out the window at the passing scenery.

Alice had surprised me with my duffle bag earlier today when she pulled it out of the trunk at the airport in Alaska. I was so grateful she had grabbed it, because it had everything that reminded me of Edward in it.

Twenty minutes later we pulled up to a big white house surrounded by trees, and I knew at once this was the Cullens' house, because it looked just like the one in Forks.

We all got out of the car, and Jasper paid and tipped the cab driver, who handed me my duffle bag from the trunk. We walked up the steps of the front porch and came to a halt in front of the door.

"Should we knock, or do you guys have a key?" I asked.

"We should knock," Alice decided after a minute, and she made a fist and pounded on the door.

A moment later the door swung open, and Esme was standing there with her mouth open in shock.

"Bella," Esme said when she finally found her voice.

"Hi Esme," I said with a smile.

Esme hurried forward and threw her arms around me in a tight, motherly hug, which I happily returned.

"What is going on down here?" Carlisle said as he came down the stairs.

"Bella's here," Esme explained, as she finally let me go.

Carlisle came forward and wrapped his arms around my shoulder in a fatherly gesture, and led me inside the house.

"It's good to see you, Bella," Carlisle said as we entered the living room.

"Hey, we're here too, you know." I heard Alice say behind me. "Isn't anybody happy to see us?"

"Of course we're happy you're here too, dear," Esme said, and I turned around to see them walking into the living room as well.

"So Bella, how did you find Alice and Jasper?" Carlisle asked once we were all seated.

"Well, I found the Denali coven in Alaska, and Alice and Jasper showed up there a few days later," I explained.

"What were you doing with the Denali coven?" Carlisle asked, both curious and confused.

"I was looking for Edward, because I realized that he left to protect me; not because he didn't love me, like he said," I continued to explain.

"Good for you," Esme said, and I could tell she was proud of me.

"Actually, we were hoping that you might know where Edward went," I said, getting down to business. "Did he tell you where he was going when he left?"

Esme and Carlisle looked at each other, and then turned back to me. I could tell by the looks on their faces that the answer was no.

AN: Thanks to my beta fnmom68! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE :)