There were some absolutely awesome reviews for the last chapter and I would like to say thank you so very much to everyone that left them. You put a big huge smile on my face. I'm so, so sorry about the cliff hanger! I'll try not to do that anymore but I'm making no promises. The chap was over 4,000 words and 10 pages long on MS word, it had to end somewhere!
Playlist: Seein' Red by Unwritten Law and Hairline Fracture by Rise Against
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This isn't happening, not now. No, for Christ's sake not now! I was doing so well, getting on fine without them in my life or existence or whatever you want to call it. Alice's eyes were full of emotion, she was clearly in pain. I felt the urge to run into her arms and tell her how much I've missed her but my anger reminded me that she was probably just upset that she had to be in the same room as me.
"Bella…" she whispered.
"No Alice, we aren't doing this now. You aren't ruining my sister's dream day like you ruined my life," I hissed as I took a seat next to Brendan, who was clearly confused by the sudden shift in moods. He reached over and grabbed my hand, as if to tell me everything was going to be ok. I was surprised that he hadn't flinched away from my cold touch at all tonight. I already knew that one day he would be another person I could say was one of my best friends. I peeked out of the corner of my eye at Alice, she was staring at Brendan and my interlaced hands and then shifted her stare at me. She obviously had thousands of questions she wanted to ask me, probably ranging from where I got my outfit to why I was a vampire and why I looked so different, but in the few seconds since I walked through that door I made up my mind that I wouldn't be speaking to Alice or any of the other Cullens. Shouldn't she have been able to see the answers to all those questions before they even happened anyways?
Bud was explaining something about the paintings` to Alice, Brendan and a few other people in the room I had failed to notice. There were two older people that looked to be together but not dating and another middle aged woman. Aislinn was glancing back and forth between Alice and I. Checking to see if I was ok and then glaring daggers at Alice and probably contemplating whether or not she should lunge at her here and now. I gave her a nod to tell her I was ok and mouthed 'ignore her.' She looked at me and then to the door as if to tell me that I could go if I needed to. I rolled my eyes, she's always such a mother. She needed me here more than I needed to escape so I focused all my energy on listening to Bud.
"Ok, Brendan," he said, "would you like to start with your negotiating price for this piece?"
Brendan looked at me as if to ask how much would be a good amount to offer and I shrugged. It didn't really matter to Aislinn. We didn't need any money and she was just glad someone wanted to buy it at all. He looked to her and she shrugged as well. "Five hundred dollars?"
"I'll offer one thousand dollars," Alice quickly countered. So she was the other buyer interested in the painting of me. Why? I gave her the meanest glare I could, the hairs on the arms of the humans in the room, besides Brendan's, rose. She stared back at me with sad eyes.
"Ok then I'd like to offer one thousand five hundred dollars," Brendan said. I looked at him with wide eyes; he does not want to get in a bidding war with a Cullen.
"Brendan…" I whispered, "That girl has more money than anyone could ever dream of having and I doubt she'll give in. If you want I'll have Aislinn paint you something special. I'm sure she'd like that."
"Bella," he whispered back, "I don't work at the airport because I have to, if I didn't have a job I'd go crazy and I never fail to have an interesting day at the airport. I'm more successful than I let people on to."
"I wasn't implying you didn't have money, I was just stating that I know for a fact that girl has loads of it to throw around as she pleases-"
As if to prove my point Alice spoke "ten thousand dollars." She had obviously heard our small conversation and was using what I said to her advantage. So typical, Alice. Mr. Gee, I mean Bud, almost yelped with glee when she said that. Aislinn was still glaring at her, this time probably contemplating whether or not she wanted a picture of me in Alice's hands. Brendan gave me a questioning glance, I had to do something to stop this and get out of here.
"Aislinn is still getting a lot better with her art. I'm sure if you wait a couple weeks you could get a much better picture. I'm not really feeling well; I'm going to go out to the car. Will you come with me?" I said as I gave him my best puppy dog face. I could see him caving in before my eyes. Being a vampire had its perks and being able to 'dazzle' was one of them.
"Of course I'll go with you," he whispered. "She can take it," he said in a louder voice to Bud. I got up, walked over to Aislinn, hugged her and gave her a kiss, transferring the memory of Jacob's call in the process. She nodded at me and I made my way out of the room quickly, making sure to glare at Alice in the process. 'You're not welcome here' is what I was trying to say. She glanced back and forth between Aislinn and I, she looked…jealous?
"A Lamborghini? Isn't that a little ostentatious?" he said with a smirk when we reached the car. So much for what I said about him never being like Edward.
"Yeah just a little," I said sarcastically. "That is why I hardly drive it. Aislinn wanted to make an impression tonight."
"I see. It makes sense now; it really doesn't seem like your style at all to drive something like this."
"Well it wasn't my idea to drive it tonight but I did buy it. Not for the looks, of course. Just for my new found love of driving fast. It helps me kind of escape. I can focus all of my attention on the road instead of my problems."
"So do you want to talk about what was bugging you in there or do you want to drive and just forget about it."
"I can't leave Aislinn," I said with a sigh.
"Alright, do you want to talk about it then?" he asked, seeming genuinely concerned.
I thought it over. I couldn't tell Brendan everything, but the weird thing was that I wanted to. I wanted us to be friends with no secrets but I didn't know how he would react, and if the Volturi was aware that he knew then it wouldn't be good. I decided on telling him what I could. "Well that call I got was from my best friend Jake, the one from La Push I told you about. Well this girl that… well, hates me, is back in Forks starting trouble. He said he had the situation under control but I'm still worried. Then I walked in the room and well there sat Alice Cullen."
"Cullen as in your ex boyfriend Cullen?" he said with a hint of worry and anger appearing on his face.
"Yes, she's Edward's sister and someone who I thought was my best friend at one point," I said sadly.
He pulled me into a hug and rested my head in his chest protectively. How Ironic. "I'm so sorry, Bella. It must be hard to see her. Why is she here?"
He smelled so good and there were little burning flickers in my throat but I still kept my head submerged in his chest. As odd as it was, it did feel like he was protecting me. Not physically, of course, but having him there was definitely taking my mind off of the bad things. "I don't know why she is here or why the hell she wants that painting." I admitted.
"Well I don't know your sister very well but she looked like she wanted to kill Alice," he chuckled.
"You have no idea. Aislinn feels as hurt as I do about what the Cullens did and she feels very protective of me. She is very motherly."
He was now looking into my eyes, almost studying me. "You seem like the kind of person that doesn't want to be protected by anyone, though," he said quietly.
"I am, usually. With certain people it is a different case though," I said while shying away from his gaze and looking towards the ground. "Aislinn knows I can take care of myself; it's just her instinct to act like that. I don't mind and even if I did I wouldn't say anything. She needed someone to take care of after what happened to our brothers. Besides, everyone needs to be protected in one way or another at some point, even if they don't want to admit it."
Brendan and I spent what seemed like years talking about anything and everything. I was surprised at how interesting his life was. We had gotten to know each other pretty well through the various letters we wrote to each other but it was nothing compared to this. His dad, grandpa and uncles owned the biggest law firm in Seattle and he was in his last year of law school. He worked at the airport because his friend's dad was in charge of security there and needed more people. His favorite things to do were play Spanish acoustic guitar, read and bake.
"You like to bake?" I said while raising an eyebrow at him and stifling a laugh. I couldn't imagine this brawny guy wearing an apron and frosting cupcakes.
"Yeah, try not to hurt yourself while keeping that laugh in," he said with a smile. "My mom owns a little bakery because baking is her favorite thing to do. Growing up she would always have me help her. So I guess baking reminds me of my mom, and I like that. It doesn't hurt to get some good food in the process either."
"Well that's better explanation than I thought you would have, it's actually very sweet."
"Oh you're hilarious, Bella. You never told me you were a standup comic," he said sarcastically.
I shifted my focus onto the group of people that were now coming out of the building. Bud and the three other people made their way out but Aislinn and Alice were nowhere to be seen.
"Crap. I have to go check on Aislinn and make sure she isn't fighting with Alice," I told Brendan.
"Do you want me to go with you? I could help you break up the fight."
Yeah, sure you could. I'm sure there is no quicker way to ruin a guy's ego than having him try to break up a girl fight and fail miserably. I chuckled at my thought. "No it's kind of something I have to do by myself. You don't have to wait here though you can go home."
He debated for a moment before speaking. "I should go home; I'm helping my mom out at the bakery tomorrow. Will you call me when you get back from taking care of whatever is happening in Forks?"
"Of course I will," I said with a smile. He hugged me and then made his way over to his car. A Bentley? And he said my care was ostentatious? As soon as Brendan was out of view my good mood disappeared and anger took its place. I ran through the building and into the office in a flash only to find Alice and Aislinn circling each other. Aislinn lunged at Alice with full force but Alice moved aside at exactly the right moment.
"I already told you Aislinn, I don't want to hurt you but you are pushing it," Alice said with a growl.
"Aislinn, give it up. You can't beat someone that sees the future," I said holding my hand out for her to take. She growled at Alice and then came over and took my hand.
"Bella, I'm so sor-" Alice started to say but I cut her off.
"I don't want to hear anything you have to say Alice," I hissed.
"What do you want from her Alice?" Aislinn questioned, her voice dripping with fury. "You ruined her life and you have no business being here. I've seen her memories; I've seen how happy she once was. She hasn't been like that since you and your family left her. Now she has finally been making progress and you have to show up here."
"I…we didn't mean for it to be like this, Bella. We didn't want to leave; we thought it was best for you. We wanted you to be safe and obviously that backfired. If I had known then I would have put my foot down and told Edw-"
"You are going to sit here and tell me that you, Alice Cullen, who can see the future, had no idea about any of this? You're insulting my intelligence by even thinking for a second that I would believe such an obvious lie," I yelled. Well, I suppose it was more of a growl.
"She sees memories, right? Well then have her see mine," Alice said, sticking her hand out for Aislinn to take it. Aislinn looked at me and I gave her a nod. She glared again at Alice and then touched her hand for a second before gasping and taking her hand away. I knew immediately it was too short of a time for her to see every memory of the past few years. Alice and I were both staring at Aislinn whose eyes were wide with terror.
"Well, did you see my proof?" Alice finally asked impatiently. Aislinn glared at her once again.
"No, I didn't get that far because I saw your vision about Victoria. When were you going to tell us about that? People that Bella and I care about are in danger and you just sat here for hours without telling us?"
"Because I'm going to help you, I had to see Bella and apologize first," Alice said.
"Do you want to fill me in Aislinn?" I asked, still not trusting Alice.
"Our little friend here saw a vision of a bunch of newborns roaming around Seattle and then coming to Forks tomorrow!" She yelled.
I turned to Alice and my anger almost got the best of me. "Don't you think I could have used this information a bit earlier, Alice? I could have made Charlie get on a plane so he would be safe and we could have come up with a plan with the pack," I spat. She ruined my life the least she could do is warn me in time of my family being in danger.
"I didn't want you to be fighting so many newborns by yourself. I had no idea you were changed at all until I saw that vision. I had to come and help. You have to be able to trust me for me to be able to do that though," she said as she took a step towards me and held out her hands like she wanted a hug.
"I don't trust you at all. You can't trust someone that you don't know, and I don't know who Alice Cullen is. All I know is that she wasn't who I thought she was. I don't need or want your help, I have a pack of werewolves, the Volturi and my sister on my side. I don't need to be worried about snakes in the grass. If you want to make up what you did to me then do me the favor of staying away from me and my family." I tightened my grip on Aislinn's hand and we ran to the car, not bothering to listen to what Alice was yelling to us as we ran, she had said enough. I didn't need Aislinn to see her memories for me to know what went on. I took off in a flash and was never happier that I had bought this car. I was easily going 140 mph and the 250 mile drive to Forks would take less than 2 hours.
"So what exactly was in Alice's vision? I mean every detail, we can't overlook anything."
"There were three visions but only two had Victoria in it. The first one was her in Seattle, changing person after person and authorities in Seattle were thinking they had serial killers on their hands. The second was Victoria and a boyish looking vampire in Charlie's house, grabbing things that you touched last time we were there. The third was about twenty newborn vampires coming towards a Forks but Victoria wasn't with them."
This was big, much, much too big. Too many people were going to get hurt and I had to do something about it. I picked up my phone and dialed Jake's number.
"Bella?" he answered, sounding very tired.
"Hey Jake, I have a huge problem and it's all because of Victoria. I'm on my way up to Forks now but we need to get Billy, Charlie and everyone else on a Plane immediately. Everyone is in a lot of danger."
"Why?" he sounded more awake now. "What's going on Bells?"
"Victoria created a bunch of newborns and they are on their way to Forks. You and everyone else need to get out of there."
"I'm going to call together the pack. How long until you are here?" I could hear the angry growls rising in his throat.
"Half an hour."
"Ok meet me at my house. Bye."
Could this really be happening? Everyone I care about, apart from Falyn is in danger and it's all because of me. I had no intentions of letting anything bad happen to anyone. Tomorrow would be the final day of my existence, I was sure of that much. However I wasn't sure that giving up my existence would save the lives of everyone I care about. It was all I could give but I didn't know that it would be enough. I looked over to Aislinn, who was touching my hand, looking through my memories.
"What are you looking at? Haven't you seen all my memories yet?" I asked while not taking my attention off the road.
"I'm studying everything about Victoria. Analyzing how she moves should help me in the fight."
"No, Aislinn. I won't have you fighting her, or anyone else for that matter. Didn't you say that Alice's vision didn't have Victoria in it?" I asked. How could she think that I would let her be in danger?
"Didn't you tell me that Alice's visions can change? I'm going to help you, Bella. There is nothing you can say to stop me," she said with a huff.
We spent the rest of the ride to La Push arguing. My last day on Earth wasn't going to be an easy one.
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Omg what's going to happen? Will Alice do what Bella says and leave her alone? Will Aislinn ever see all of Alice's memories so that they can know why the Cullens really left? :) Hmmm…. We'll have to wait and see!
Thank you to all of you who left me awesome reviews for the last chapter: Kenai52503, Yana5, Bleached Kitty, Spider-Hand, Starlit Tiger and deepcutfighter. To my anonymous reviewer 'a friend', no, dear I don't want you to kill yourself in anticipation. Please live and keep reading. I promise to update as soon as I am able to. :)
