26.

John's perspective –

"John? John, dude, wake up."

My head fell forward and rolled around as someone shook me. Groggily, I opened my eyes and muttered, "I'm up, I'm up."

The shaking stopped and my body fell forward without someone holding on to it. The snapping of my head shook me completely out of sleep. "Wha-?" I uttered I surprise and looked around. The jet engines were quiet and I could see the gravel runway out the window. Still, I asked stupidly, "Are we there?"

Emmett, who had been the one to violently shake me awake, nodded. "Yeah. Volterra, Italy, home of the Volturi and nice Italian people."

I unbuckled my seatbelt and stood and shaky legs. "What did you give me?" I asked Emmett as he grabbed my arm to steady me.

"Maybe one would have been enough," he muttered.

I laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, you think?"

Emmett elbowed me and walked behind me off the plane. The bag I had packed sat on the tarmac, bathed in lamplight. Emmett went to grab it but I stopped him. "I got it," I said as I heaved the bag onto my shoulder, where it dug into my flesh. Maybe I had packed a little bit too much, but I wasn't sure what I should prepare for. The night air was warm, though not humid. I set down my bag to shrug off my jacket. The Cullens were already making their way towards a parking lot situated on the left side of the runway. I hurried after them, glancing around. The airstrip appeared to be private, only used for noncommercial planes. Carlisle had made his way to a little shack and was handing a big Italian man some cash. I wondered if the Cullens' kept different currencies just lying around the house.

In return for the wad of cash, the man gave Carlisle two sets of keys and pointed towards a closed off area of the parking lot, where the rental cars were kept.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked as he turned around.

Edward nodded in reply to an unspoken question. Carlisle tossed him the second set of keys. "Let's go."

I looked at Emmett as we began walking again. He walked slightly faster than me, slowing down whenever he got too far ahead. "Where are we going exactly?"

"Hotel."

"Where you're going to lock me up so you can go scouting?"

Emmett glanced at me and I could tell I had read their intentions clearly, but he shrugged.

I jogged until I was right next to the bulking figure of my friend. I lowered my voice, hoping no one else could hear. "You can't do this to me, man."

He looked at me, something close to sympathy crossing his face. He turned his face to look forward and didn't respond for a few minutes. "Look, I know it's hard, but it's really better. The Volturi aren't your average school bullies. They play dirty. There's no reason why we should put you in danger." Then he glanced back at me. "We can handle this, John."

I bit back another comment, nodding my head instead. Everything he said made perfect sense, but I couldn't make it want me to not go with them. I would die for Lisa, though I knew that would not do any of us good. For this reason, just to keep myself alive for her, is why I finally gave in to the Cullens' requests for me to stay at the hotel. Esme decided to stay behind with me; though I was sure it was not just because they were scared I would disobey. Esme wasn't the type of person to seek out fights, and if one could be avoided, she did.

The hotel was probably the most expensive one in town, guessing by the cleanliness and decoration. The room I was going to be sharing with Emmett had two twin-sized beds, covered in gold satin. Paintings of buildings hung on the walls in thick cherry oak frames. A door connected our room with Edward and Bella's.

Esme and I sat on the couch in their huge suite, absolutely quiet. She was scanning through an article on homes in Italy while I flipped through the channels on the big flat-screen TV. I finally found something I recognized and watched in silence, my mind only partly on the flickering images of blown up buildings and gunfire. I pulled out my wallet and ran my finger over the picture of Lisa I kept inside. It was an old picture from when we first started dating. I let my mind wander as I thought about our first date.

"Wasn't sure you'd show up." I stood and pulled out a chair.

She laughed softly, sounding every bit like an angel. "Been stood-up much?"

I nodded, acting ashamed to admit it. I flashed her a smile and she returned it.

"Quite a nice place you picked out for a first date," she commented as she scanned the room. It wasn't a five-star restaurant, but one of my friends had told me the food was five-star quality and the service was excellent. The inside looked like it belonged next to a Chanel store in a fancy mall.

I shrugged. "Wanted to impress you."

She smiled. "Well, you have."

I looked her over slowly, taking in her curling blonde hair and full lips. "You look stunning."

She blushed slightly, looking down at the menu in her hands. A charm bracelet jingled softly as she reached for her water. "Better than the first time you saw me, I'm sure."

I looked at her, unsure of what she meant.

"Well, I'm not sweating now," she added, embarrassed that her joke had not caught on.

I smiled. "That was you sweating? You looked beautiful."

She laughed. "I think I like you already, John Freeman."

"I like you, too."

I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until a door slamming shut woke me up. I jerked awake in surprise and looked around, dazed. For a moment, I couldn't remember where I was. Then the events of the last night all came rushing back to me.

I looked towards the door and realized that everyone was back. Carlisle and Esme stood in a corner discussing something quietly. Edward and Bella sat together on the couch opposite me; Bella was murmuring something to Edward, who looked incredibly distressed. I glanced towards Emmett, who was wearing a hole in the carpet with his frantic pacing. Jasper looked scared, unsure of what to do, and Alice was standing next to him, silent. Rose glanced at Emmett, who was still pacing. She seemed unsure of what to do with her hands, crossing and uncrossing her arms over and over, checking her nails, clenching and unclenching her hands.

I looked around the room once again. Suddenly I was very scared to ask what was happening, though I needed to know. When I looked down, I noticed my hand was shaking slightly. Nervously, my eyes kept going around the room, watching each person.

Carlisle and Esme split and she left the room, looking very nervous. I had never seen her this way before. In fact, I had never seen any of the Cullens nervous or unsure in the least bit. Another wave of fear washed over me as I thought about that.

Carlisle was watching me. I couldn't read his expression, which made my stomach squeeze nervously. I felt like I was going to be sick from all the tension in the room.

"What is it?" I croaked out, my mouth having gone dry.

Edward glanced up as if realizing just now I was there. He stared at me in a sort of disbelief, like he was in a trance. I turned to Carlisle, who was standing behind me. "Carlisle?"

Carlisle glanced at Jasper for a split second. "She's not here," he finally said.

My brain went numb and I couldn't process that. "What do you mean?"

"She's not in Volterra. No one has seen or heard from Aro since they left him in Forks."

"Lisa is not in Volterra?" It was all I had heard, and I repeated it numbly. My head fell in my hands as I tried to think through the fog that was crowding my mind. I looked after a few minutes to find that no one had moved. "Where is she then?"

Edward seemed to snap out of his trance. He stood and slammed the wall I anger, leaving a huge dent. He ran his hand through his hair, standing still before turning back around o face me. "We have no idea."