I do not own Twilight.

You've Got To Hide Your Love Away

Chapter 2: Phoenix

July 11th, 2014

It was time to leave the modern academy campus hidden in the woods of Maine. Jasper took me to the Portland International Airport so I could catch a flight to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. I spent a little less than three hours in a comfortable seat in Business Class. Once landed, I gathered my luggage and went to the private parking lot to get my shiny new Volvo. The security guard of the parking lot had my keys and after identifying me as Edward Cullen he gave them to me. My car purred smoothly as I sped towards my new home.

The builders were still there packing their stuff when I approached the house. They were paid a lot of money to build the shell (walls, door, ventilation system, etc.) of the safe room and to stay quiet about this project. They had been told a story that the new house owner was extremely paranoid and needed to have a panic room, I wasn't keen on acting like a crazy man, so I posed as the son of one. I was pleased with the work the builders had done. Once they left, I dialed Aro. After a few beeps I was answered.

"Good afternoon, Edward. How are you?"

"I'm well, Aro. I'm calling to tell you that the workers just left." I said. "You can send the packages."

"Will be done, son." And he hung up on me.

I explored the house, unpacked my stuff, done some work on my computer and just then, a few hours later, I heard the doorbell ring. Finally, the academy courier delivered the packages. Now I had something serious to do. Some of the packages had unassembled furniture: a desk, a chair, a few shelves, and a few cupboards. Others were loaded with modern technology and weapons. I carried all of it to the safe room and started reassembling the furniture. By midnight the safe room was furnished. The computer and weapons were in their places too. Tomorrow I would check the neighborhood and her house which, in fact, could be seen through my bedroom window.

July 12th, 2014

I woke up early, but not too early. Number one on my agenda was a jog around the neighborhood. If I went jogging too early, it would look suspicious; if I went later, it would be too hot. After all, this was Phoenix and I shouldn't have been surprised when I saw a lot of people up at this early hour. I jogged by her house and down the street. On the corner of Fifty-eighth and Cactus street there was a ballet studio and a coffee shop. I turned left and continued running down the Cactus street, a mile further was the Cactus High School. The school had a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire and metal detectors. Getting into school for an outsider could be difficult. I didn't have time for further inspection of the school territory now. I ran further and circled the neighborhood. When I was home I considered the public places she might visit. I came to the conclusion that I should break into the school, visit the nearby coffeehouse, the supermarket, and a small park.

I couldn't just go and break into her house in the middle of the day. Someone could notice. That's why I changed my plans and went shopping. I killed two birds with one stone: it's beneficial to know the arrangement of the supermarket in case we needed to run and disappear quickly; also, a man has to eat and my fridge was completely empty.

The sunset meant that I would be able to sneak into her house soon. I prepared my bag of tools: my small laptop, needed wires, new tiny alarm system, a set of screwdrivers and lock-picking tools, gloves. I wore dark jeans and black long-sleeved top. I was in front of her house in no time. Hacking the already installed security system was a piece of cake. Once it was done, I entered the house.

It didn't take long to upgrade house security. The new security system that I had chosen to install was too small to be noticed and didn't use a lot of energy. I connected it with the old device and it actually looked like a part of it.

Then came the part of the break-in I anticipated the most - a house tour. The way the house looked or a room was decorated told a lot about the person. Yet again, I felt like a creepy stalker. I silently promised Isabella that I wound not rummage through her underwear drawer or read her secret diary if I found one. She had a right to have some privacy even if additional knowledge could make my job easier.

I climbed the stairs and opened the first door. There was a double bed in the room. By the bed I saw a photo of a married couple - Renee and Phil Dwyers - and a decorated baseball bat. This was definitely not Isabella's room. I closed the door and went further. The next door hid a small lumber room. I t didn't look very promising so I skipped it too . The last door led to her room. It wasn't big. A single bed, closet, desk and shelf filled the space. The shelf held a lot of books (mostly classics) and CDs. I approved a lot of her CDs - she had not only a good taste of literature but also an excellent taste of music. A few CDs seemed to be missing and I was pretty sure she took them to Europe. Her desk was clean, a few pictures were displayed and a few notebooks laid on the top of the desk. One of the pictures was of her and Renee; I could tell they were close. Another picture was of her and another dark-haired girl with glasses - she might be Isabella's friend Angela Weber. There was no computer in the room, although she could have taken it with her. On the windowsill Isabella had a well maintained succulent garden. Her bedspread was light green and seemed to make the room look more organic. Finally, on her nightstand was an outdated alarm clock and an old book - Wuthering Heights. This was supposed to be studied in English, so she probably was preparing for the new year. I wasn't as bothered to look into her closet as I thought I would be - it was almost empty, there were a few shirts, summer dresses, jeans. I didn't find anything particularly interesting in her desk drawers too except for her school essays. She was mature for her age - independent, caring, aware of society and environmental issues, perceptive. She was worth being protected.

I was lost in thought and jumped a little when my phone buzzed.

"Waiting for an update. Jazz" was the message.

"Just installed the security system. Looking around the house." was my answer.

It was not wise to stay there any longer, so I put everything back into it's previous places and went home.

July 13th, 2014

Monday. I preferred it to Saturday or Sunday since people had to go to work and I was less noticeable while walking around the neighborhood. Also, the Community Library was about to open. On my way to the library I stopped by the coffee shop I saw the day before to get a cup of coffee. As I was waited for my Almond Macchiato with additional shot of espresso I was sitting near a geeky looking boy and a dark-haired girl who was facing away from me. There I heard the boy speak:

"Angela, she can make that choice. You know you won't change her mind. If Bella is sure that it will make her mom happier, she'll do it."

"Yeah, I know, but she's my best friend and she's throwing away her own happiness so that Phil and Renee would be happy. You know as well as I do that she hates Forks." Forks, Phil, Renee, Angela? Could she be the girl from the photo? Could they be talking about Isabella? Bella could be a shortened form of name Isabella.

"Almond Macchiato!" the barista shouted. I went to the bar to take my drink but stayed concentrated on the conversation.

"Maybe her move to Forks will be temporary. You know that Phil may not get signed. Even I can see that he is not the best player."

"You might be right," Angela sighted,"I have to be more positive about this situation."

The boy looked fearful for a moment, took a deep breath and asked, "Anyway, would you like to go and see the new movie tonight?"

"Um, yeah, sure..." the girls voice faded as I was going towards the door. I had no need to listen to their awkward flirting, I already had the information I needed from them"

I got into the car and dialed Jasper.

"Hel..." I didn't let Jasper finish.

"Change of plans, Jazz. She seems to be moving to Forks."

August 4th, 2014

I was still in Phoenix but my trip to Forks was scheduled. Isabella couldn't meet me before moving to Forks so another agent had to be assigned to protect her. The traitor was still not known and for this reason Jasper had taken on the task to follow Isabella in Jacksonville. Isabella informed her father about her arrival and registered for the school two weeks ago. However, agency didn't rush to register me - it would look rather strange if two new students who had no connection registered for school on the same day in the same little town. As far as I knew, my new house was prepared for my arrival and required documents would be sent to school soon.

Speaking about my time in Phoenix, in the past few weeks I saw Angela a few times. She came to the house and left with small packages. My guess was that she was sending those to her friend. She also collected some of the mail, although the mailman hadn't brought any letters since last Monday. There was only one incident that worried me. Two nights ago alarm at her house went off. I didn't need police presence so I immediately turned it off and went to search the area. The front door was open, the key was still in the lock. I saw the brick that hid the extra key Angela used was lifted. Damn it, had someone else been keeping tabs on Isabella's house? Why did I miss that? Sadly, the intruder was gone and I was not sure if he or she had taken something. Some things were missing but that could have been taken by Angela. I used my CSI kit as I looked for prints and other evidence of the intruder, but I was unsuccessful. That was the reason I had installed three cameras in that house. One overlooked the front door, second and third - the hallways. This would allow us to see the faces of people who entered this house in the future even if I highly doubted that the intruder would come back.

A/N:

Hi,

Read and point out my mistakes! You are very welcome to do so!

Anyway, I can't wait for the next chapter. They'll finally meet and Edward w... Oh, I shouldn't tell you. :D

Love,

luciasy