A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! Sorry that this chapter took me longer than expected; as you can imagine, December was quite chaotic what with the holidays and all. But lucky for me, I had a friend motivating me to get this chapter out to you all. I truly hope you enjoy it, and don't worry, Ch. 10 is not that far off. :)

As always, I only own my O/C's. Any Twilight Saga characters are property of S. Meyer. Also, please read and review. Your words are what keep this story going!

CHAPTER 9

EVIE

As Bella walked out the door, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her. It wasn't like I didn't appreciate the sentiment, but given that we would've been dead if it wasn't for Paul – and the others – I really didn't think that making threats was the right thing to do.

A low growl pulled me out of my thoughts and I glanced over at Paul, only to find him scowling at the front door. It took everything I had to not go over there and touch his arm or offer some sort of comforting gesture. What the heck is that about?

"Don't mind her. As much as I love her, my cousin's just like a Chihuahua," I said casually, hoping to diffuse the situation.

"What?" he asked, his eyes moving from the door to my face. The scowl was still in place, though I noticed that it had softened a bit.

"She barks and talks a big game, but she's got no bite. Especially not compared to you all," I explained, whispering the last bit. Who knows what sets these wolves off…

Paul's eyebrow's furrowed for a moment and I couldn't help but wonder how fast I could poof out of there if I had indeed pissed him off when suddenly his face relaxed and a series of smooth, deep chuckles rolled out of him. Soon, the chuckles turned into a string of laughs that seemed to shake the walls of the house.

"That mental image is too awesome," he said when he'd finally been able to stop laughing. Just then, there was a loud rumble from above us and as quick as the laughter had been there it was gone, replaced with – surprise, surprise – a scowl.

"I knew I shouldn't have left it there," Paul muttered quietly.

"Left what where?" I asked, moving toward the window that was closest to the door. I parted the curtain slightly, taking in the sight of the rain pelting the window.

"My truck," he said as I turned to face him. "I left my truck at Sam's place this morning and since I've got to get you home…well…you can see the problem." I couldn't help but notice that as he said that, he ran his hand over the back of his neck.

"How far is his place?" I asked.

"Not too far," he said. "About ten minutes; five if I run. But don't think I'm going to leave you here while I go get it." He strode over to where I stood and looked out the window.

"Why not?" I protested. "I'd only be alone for a bit; ten minutes tops if you run. I'll be fine!"

"No way; that leech could come back and…"

"And I could easily poof myself out!"

Paul's frown deepened. "Maybe so, but it'd be safer if you were with me."

I felt myself start to frown too. "Paul, really, it's not going to take that long; go on and get the car. I'll be fine."

All at once (much like the redheaded vamp), he was in front of me and his hand, which was absolutely boiling hot, was on my shoulder. "I'm not going without you, Evie."

PAUL

Evie's eyes locked with mine and after a moment of silence, she nodded. "All right," she said hesitantly.

As much as I hated myself for it, a huge wave of relief washed over me and I let go of her shoulder. "Do you have a poncho or anything with you?" I asked her.

Evie shook her head. "Damn it," she muttered. "I knew Mom and I forgot something."

"Crap…well...I guess it doesn't matter; the run'll be so short that you won't get too wet."

Evie's face scrunched in confusion. "I'm fast but I'm not that fast. There's no way I can keep up with you."

My mouth almost fell to the floor. "You really think I'm going to make you run beside me?" I asked incredulously.

"Well how else…?" She paused for a moment and something clicked in her head. "Oh, no! Don't think I'm letting you carry me like a little baby. I've been babied enough today."

"It would only be for a few minutes, Evie. And it's the best way."

She shook her head. "No…I mean, not that I don't appreciate it," she said quickly. "But really, Paul. I…" Evie's eyebrow's scrunched, as if she was searching for the right words.

"Would it be better if you rode me?" I asked her, crossing my arms over my chest.

Evie's head snapped up. "What?" It wasn't until I saw how wide her eyes were that I realized just what I'd said.

"Sorry," I said, uncrossing my arms and running a hand over my face. As much as I tried, I couldn't help the thoughts that entered my head. "What I meant was…" I paused, trying to refocus on the task at hand. "Would you like me to phase and take you over to Emily's that way? You could ride on my back."

"Phase?" She arched an eyebrow. "Oh! You mean into your wolf form?" I nodded. "Well…If anything, that sounds riskier…"

I placed a hand on her shoulder again and I felt a jolt of electricity at the touch. "You ever ridden a horse before?"

Evie nodded slowly. "Yeah, but it was a long time ago…"

"It's just like that."

Evie bit her lower lip softly. "Wouldn't it be better if I just orbed us there? That way neither of us gets wet and we get there in seconds?"

I felt my eyes widen as my hand dropped from her shoulder. "You can do that?" Holy shit; and I thought exploding into a ball of fur was mind-blowing.

"Well…I think so. I mean…" She paused for a moment and looked down at the floor before looking back at me. "From what my mother's said, it can be done. Besides, I bought my backpack with me." I shot her what could only be a quizzical look because she elaborated. "The backpack was on my back when I came back from Orlando, which means that if I could carry it, I should be able to get you there with me if you hold on tight."

Yes. Say yes. Hold onto her and… "I don't think so," I said, quashing my traitorous thoughts. "A backpack is way different than a human or a wolf for that matter." Evie's eyes narrowed, obviously offended. My inner wolf chafed against my words, aching to say yes, to have another excuse to touch her and my control nearly gave. "Besides, you don't know where Emily's even is and you've been through enough today – your exhaustion could influence your powers."

What the…? Paul Rose, snap OUT of it; you don't do this gentle as a butterfly crap! I admonished myself. "Wouldn't want to end up in Timbuktu with half my ass missing."

Evie glared at me and I forced myself not to wince. Instead, I stared her down as coolly as I could, crossing my arms again.

Finally, after what seemed like any eternity, Evie sighed. "As much as I really hate to say it right now, you have a valid point." Grabbing her forgotten backpack and hoisting it on her shoulder, Evie glared at me again. "So, how does this work, exactly?"

"Go onto the porch and wait for me. When I phase, I'll come out and let you hop onboard." Evie's glare faded into a nervous glance and I couldn't fight the urge to comfort her. "Trust me, Evie." A soft hmph from her lips told me she didn't believe me. "I won't hurt you and I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Evie studied me for a long time, finally giving me a small nod. Against my better judgment (or my will; my inner wolf won the battle), I grabbed her hand and led her out to the back porch. "Just give me a second, okay?" I said, jogging down the back ramp that led to the yard and to the woods.

After making sure that I was out of Evie's line of sight, I stripped down and bound my clothes to the tie around my ankle. All too quickly I felt the burn of phasing rip down my spine and through my veins. In an instant, my bones shifted and fur burst from every part of me. With a yelp and a final inhuman arch of my spine, I landed with a thud on all fours.

Quickly, I padded back out of the woods and over to the ramp. Evie's eyes were wide as she left the porch and went down the ramp toward me. "Wow," she murmured, rubbing a tiny hand on my face.

I wanted to pull away. I truly did. My human side was screaming to get away from her but my wolf – so much more powerful in its true form – leaned into the touch. Slowly, I lowered myself to the ground so she could climb on.

"Oh!" she said with a start. "Sorry about that, Paul." A small laugh left her lips as she climbed aboard. She wiggled a bit, trying to get settled and it took all I had to not let out a happy noise. "So…I just hold onto your fur?" she asked hesitantly. I bowed my head slightly and she did so. "Let me know if I'm gripping too tight, okay?" I bowed my head again and her grip got firmer.

As soon as she did, the rain –which hadn't been too bad while Evie and I were getting ready to go – began to fall a bit harder and I took off, making Evie let out a little yelp.

EVIE

My yelp made Paul let out a bark – which I could only assume was laughter because he sped up ever so slightly. Slight or not, the increase made my heart race and I held back the urge to let out a whoop, not wanting him to take that as a sign to go faster. This is much better than a horseback ride – hell, it's better than a roller coaster!

Paul darted expertly through the forest's dense cover of trees so that the rain barely hit us and as his paws – it still blew my mind that the term applied in the literal sense – hit the ground, I couldn't help but feel that we were flying.

After a few minutes, Paul began to slow down. "We getting close?" I asked. Paul bowed his head once before tossing it back and letting out an ear-splitting howl. "Holy crap, Paul!" I snapped, shoving him slightly. "Give a girl some warning, for Pete's sake!" I swear I felt him shrug beneath me. Wolves don't shrug…right? I pushed the thought out of my head as what looked like a backyard came into view.

As Paul padded into the yard, a sliding glass door opened and a beautiful woman with the same russet skin that Paul and the others possessed, straight black hair, dark brown eyes and three large, angry scars came out and headed toward us, an open umbrella over her head. Paul went over to her and leaned into her affectionately before lowering himself to the ground. Slowly, I climbed off and when my feet were firmly on the ground, Paul nudged me toward the mystery woman and gave her a look before darting back to the trees.

"Come with me," said the woman cheerfully, moving the umbrella so that it covered the both of us. The walk back was quick and silent, punctuated only by the sound of the rain hitting the umbrella and the sliding of the glass door. Once we were inside the considerably warmer house – more specifically, the house's kitchen, the woman closed the umbrella, extended her hand to me and smiled. "Hi. I'm Emily, Sam's fiancée."

"Hi," I said, taking her hand and shaking it. "I'm Evie, Bella's cousin."

"Good to meet you," she said. "Hope you didn't get – "

"You okay?" Paul interjected as he entered. How the hell does he stay so quiet? "I hope I didn't scare you too much."

I couldn't help but glare at him as he smirked at me. "You didn't. Though I'm sure you wouldn't be sorry if you did."

Emily gave Paul a knowing smile. "Let me guess," she said to me. "He sped up when you let out a noise?"

I quirked an eyebrow at her. "Yes," I said. "I take it you've gotten a ride before?"

She laughed out loud before smacking Paul on the back of the head. "Yes; Sam told him to take me home one day and make it quick. What he didn't realize is that Paul's usual speed is break-neck."

"Hey now! He gave me an order, I followed it," said Paul, brushing past us to go grab a muffin from a basket that was sitting in the center of a small kitchen table. He took a giant bite before sitting down at the table.

"Jesus, Rose, rude much?" exclaimed Emily. "Evie, would you like a muffin? I just made them."

"Sure," I said. Quickly, Emily grabbed me a muffin and a napkin and beckoned me to a chair. As I sat down, I noticed that Paul's face was a mix of emotions. "Sorry about that," he said gruffly.

"No worries," I said, wondering what had gotten into him. One second he's fine, the next minute he's freaking out. It's like he's never satisfied.

A short conversation and another muffin later (they were amazing – I couldn't just take one), Paul was leading me out of Emily's house to his truck.

"It was wonderful meeting you, Emily," I said.

Emily beamed at me. "Likewise! Feel free to pop in any time." She stepped forward and wrapped me in a warm hug. "Welcome to the pack." I tried not to let my confusion show as I pulled away from her and followed Paul out to his truck, a beautiful candy apple red Dodge Ram. Paul went to the passenger's side and opened the door for me, standing behind me as I climbed in. When I'd buckled up, he shut the door and went to his side, taking off after buckling in.

"Emily's awesome," I said after we rode in complete silence for about 15 minutes.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Paul's face. "She is," he agreed. "Even through everything, she doesn't – " Paul glanced up into his rearview mirror as a loud rumble echoed behind us. "What the…? Huh. Looks like Swan and the pup got done at the hospital."

"Swan and the pup?" I said as my phone started ringing. "That sounds like the title of a horrible Disney movie." Paul glanced quickly at my face before bursting into laughter and as much as I tried to stop myself, I couldn't help but join him. "Hello?" I said between laughs.

"Hey, Ev…Weren't you supposed to be in Forks a while ago? You're right in front of us," Bella said, doubt in her voice.

"Paul and I got a bit delayed while picking up his truck at Emily's. Who is totally awesome, by the way."

"Yeah, she is. Well, Charlie said he was going to stay in La Push for a little while longer, keep helping Sue Clearwater."

"Ah, okay," I said, trying to suppress my laughter. "So we'll see you soon?"

"Yeah. What's funny?"

I glanced at Paul and started laughing again. "It's…it's nothing," I said. "I'll see you in a few, Bells."

A few minutes later, Paul pulled into a free space in front of Bella's house and from what we could hear, Bella's truck pulled in behind us. "Holy crap, how does she drive that thing and not go nuts?"

"Are you sure she isn't?" Paul asked. Though I could tell he'd said that mostly in jest, there was a snarky undertone underneath it that I didn't quite like.

"Maybe she is," I acceded as I undid my seatbelt. "But love itself is nuts. Love makes you nuts. And you can't help who you love." I opened my door and was just about to step out when all of a sudden it slammed shut. I gasped; how the hell had Paul managed to reach across and shut that door so quick? "What are you doing? And more importantly, how did you do that?"

"It's a wolf thing. And there's a vampire in that house."

"What?" It took everything I had to not let my jaw slam to the floor of Paul's truck. "How can you tell? Is it that bitch from the beach?"

Paul wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I can smell it and – what the hell is that leech lover doing?"

I was about to reprimand Paul for the insult when I realized that Bella was jumping out of her truck with Jacob hot on her heels. Since Paul and I were in front of her, I opened my door and blocked Bella, who would've collided with it if Jacob hadn't stopped her.

"Evie, move!" my cousin demanded as I scrambled from my seat, blocking her in even more.

"Are you out of your leech-loving mind?" Paul hissed, suddenly appearing beside me. "Do you have a fucking death wish?"

"You can't go in there, Bella. It could be a trap – " said Jake from behind her.

"It's not! I recognize the car; it's Carlisle's! They're back, Jake." As much as I tried to restrain it, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Bella sounded as though Christmas had come early.

"If they are back, we can't protect you here; this is their territory. Bella, it isn't safe."

"Jake, I can't not go back to my own house. Trust me, it's not a trap."

"You don't know that," snapped Paul. Apparently, Bella's stubbornness was not going over well with him; he started shaking violently. Almost as if it had a mind of its own, my hand went to his arm and all at once, the shaking stopped. Paul looked at me with a cross between a grimace and a look of shock on his face.

"Paul and Jake are right, Bella. For all you know, that car could be a rental. You can't go in there – I won't let you."

Bella's eyes gleamed with anger. "Won't let me? Evie, you're my cousin, not my mother. Get the fuck out of my way."

I tried to let the words roll off of me, to not let them have any effect. But I couldn't help the wave of hurt that hit me. I took a breath and narrowed my eyes. "You stubborn…" I bit my tongue, suppressing the rage that bubbled inside me. "You want to go in there?" Bella gave me a sharp nod. "Fine. But you're not going in there alone."

"We can't go with her, Evie," Jake snapped at me. I fixed him with a sharp glare and, almost as if he were my personal mirror, Paul did too.

I roughly clapped a hand on Bella's shoulder and felt her flinch beneath my touch. Good. Serves you right, I thought. "I wasn't talking about you. I'll go."

Paul's muscles tensed underneath the hand that was still on his arm. "Don't tell me that her brand of crazy is hereditary," he groaned. "Evie, if we can't let lee – Bella – go in there, what the hell makes you think we'd let you?"

"You don't have to do that, Evie. They won't hurt – " Bella began.

I broke my hold on Paul and fastened my hand onto her other shoulder. "You listen to me, Isabella Marie. Either you go in there with me or you don't go in there at all. And if you even think about trying to be sneaky, I'll poof you and me back to Orlando and get you the fuck away from all of this crap so fast you won't know what the hell hit you. Am I clear?"

Behind Bella, Jake was growling up a storm. "Jake, quit the growling before I go Dog Whisperer on your ass." I could feel Paul shaking from beside me, probably still upset at my suggestion. "You too, stop with those shakes," I said to him.

"It's too dangerous," he snapped at me, though I could tell he was trying to control his tone. "If you're there – "

"She has a better chance of survival! Don't you get it?" I asked, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. "If I go with her and it is a trap, I can get us out of there quickly. It's better than nothing." I turned my head a bit and glanced at Paul, who was grimacing. "We'll be fine, Paul. I promise." I focused my gaze on Bella. "So, am I going with you or what?"

"I guess you are," she snapped, her eyes blazing with anger. She stormed away from Jake and Paul and stomped up the steps, throwing the door open.

We were enveloped in complete darkness until Bella flicked on a light and we were met with a glance from a pair of golden eyes.

"Alice!" exclaimed Bella, throwing herself at the owner of the eyes. She was tiny, with her inky black hair cut into a pixie cut.

"Bella? I…I thought I was hearing…would you like to tell me how you're alive?" She gave me a wary look. "I saw…I mean…"

I locked eyes with the vampire. "Were you about to say that you saw her jump?"

The vampire –Alice's – eyes widened and she turned her gaze to Bella. "You told her about us?"

"I didn't have a choice - !" Bella began.

"Who else have you told? And why didn't I see that?" Alice started pacing around us.

"Alice! I only told Evie, and like I said, I didn't have a choice!"

"Bella, what on earth could be so important that you'd tell our secret?"

"You mean other than her life?" I scowled at the vampire who was still pacing. "You saw her jump, like I did. Except what you didn't see is that I saved her and after I did, one of your kind tried to kill us." Alice stopped pacing and went to put an arm around Bella. "You might remember her. Bright red hair, sounds like a ten year old?"

"Victoria?" said Alice. "She tried to kill you?"

"She was counting on my cousin taking a dive. When she didn't, she came ashore."

Alice quietly contemplated over the information. "And you got away…but that still doesn't explain why Bella's future disappeared. And how did you see her?" Alice stepped over to me and took a massive whiff of air. "You both smell human…Ugh! With a side of wet dog…"

"That would be Jake," said Bella, finally moving us into the living room and settling in on the living room couch with Alice. I took one of the living chairs across from them and set my backpack down beside it. "He's a werewolf."

"Bella! Werewolves are not good company to keep," chided Alice.

"Coming from a vampire, I find that statement extremely hypocritical," I said.

"So do we." I whirled around to find Jake and Paul stalking into the house. Paul moved to stand beside me and Jake went behind Bella. "I had to make sure you were okay," supplied Jake.

"Well, I wouldn't hurt her," said Alice defensively.

"No, of course you wouldn't. That's your brother's job, isn't it?" sneered Jake.

This set off an argument that soon escalated to the point of yelling. "Guys! Guys! Stop!" said Bella, trying to get between Alice and Jacob. But it was no use.

"Everyone shut the fuck up," yelled Paul, making me jump a foot in the air. But his exclamation did the trick, making Bella, Jake and Alice shut up. "What are you doing back here, Cullen?"

"I don't have to explain anything to you," she snapped. "Besides, this is our territory. You shouldn't even be here."

"Hold it!" I exclaimed, just as they were about to get into another word war. "You may not have to explain anything to him, but you sure as hell owe her one," I said, nodding my head at Bella. Alice winced, but she stayed quiet, clearly not wanting to say anything in front of the wolves. "And I want to hear the story too, given that Jake and I were the ones that had to pick up the pieces that your brother left behind."

Alice took an unnecessary breath and focused solely on my cousin. "Bella…we never wanted to hurt you. Edward insisted that we leave after what happened…said that we were too much of a risk for you, that you should have a normal life. So, we went to Alaska and stayed with the Denali clan. But Edward…he became a shell. And then one day…he left. He calls in every couple of months but...we don't know where he is or what he's doing."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here," Paul ground out. Bella glared daggers at him and my hand got a mind of its own again and found its way to his hand, which was resting casually – or as casually as possible, in this case – on the armrest of my chair. Please relax, I begged mentally. It wasn't like he could hear me, but maybe if I thought hard enough, he'd get the point.

"In any case," continued Alice. "I always tried to glimpse in on you, especially after he broke away from us. We never stopped caring." Bella arched an eyebrow. "Well…most of us. So today…I saw you on the edge of that cliff and then…nothing. You were gone. I had to come down here and see for myself if you were really gone."

"You mean you never saw if I jumped or not?" Bella asked.

"No. One second, you were ready to spring and then the next second, you weren't there. Not even the faintest trace." For a second, Alice looked down at the floor and then looked up at me, a look of contempt on her face. "I can't see past you or the mutts! What are you?"

"A damn good cousin who knows how to be in the right place at the right time," I said coolly. "As you can see, Bella is one hundred percent alive." I wish I could say she was well, but after that stunt…

"Thank goodness for that," said Alice, rising from the couch. "I'm going to go…"

"Alice, don't!" said Bella, rising quickly.

"I'm just going to go hunt, Bella," Alice said calmly. Noticing Alice's coal black eyes, Bella let her go immediately, apologizing profusely.

"But you're coming back, right?" she asked timidly. At that moment, she sounded like a child, and I couldn't help but remember the time that Bella had come to visit me when she was about five. She'd asked me the same question when she realized that I was going to a friend's house for a sleepover. It'd been one of the few moments that Bella showed any real attachment to me.

"Of course. As soon as you put the dogs out."

As soon as Alice had gone, I locked eyes with her and stood up. "You want her to stay," I said, disbelief lacing my words. "Not just for a night or two but permanently."

"Of course I do," she said. Jake sucked in a breath and Paul growled, but I didn't mind them.

I'd planned on keeping my mouth shut. All I was going to do was roll my eyes and ask Bella where I'd be staying for the remainder of the weekend; according to the "damage control" plan that Mom and I had set in place, I'd stay there for two days as if I'd really planned the visit, then come home. That way, I could help Bella as much as possible and get some time for myself (though from the looks of it, that wasn't happening). But apparently, my anger overpowered my mouth.

"You're out of your mind," I said with exasperation. "I didn't think it was possible anymore but you truly are out of your everlovin' mind."

"She's my friend, Evie. She's like my sister and I've missed her. Of course I want her to stay."

"Of course. Because friends leave you without so much as a goodbye and stay out of touch. Or don't keep in touch at all for the better part of what, a half a year? Or even better, leave you unprotected knowing that someone out there is gunning for your blood. Or hell, put you in those damn precarious situations to begin with!"

Bella was shaking with anger. "He didn't…not on purpose! He loved me, Evie. You just don't understand."

I wanted to yell. I wanted to scream at Bella and shake her and get her to wake up but I was suddenly exhausted. I was tired of being angry, of trying to be rational in the face of insanity. I just have to get through the weekend. Just two days. Two days. I can do it. Two. Days. "If you say so, Bella. Look, can I please go put my stuff down?"

Bella shoulders sagged as she relaxed. After staring at me for a good minute, she nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead and drop it in my room," she murmured. "Second door on the left." Just as I bent down to pick up my backpack, a very large, tan hand picked it up for me. "I've got it," Paul said to me smoothly. I tried my best to keep my face blank as I looked into his eyes. They seemed to be pleading with me to not take the bag back into my own possession.

"Uh…Thank you," I murmured, before heading toward the stairs. I felt, rather than heard Paul's presence behind me as I made my way to the second floor and to Bella's room. When we got there, Paul brushed past me as I took in my surroundings and placed my bag on Bella's bed.

I hadn't realized that I'd zoned out as I memorized the layout of the bedroom until Paul's voice nearly gave me a heart attack.

"Do you mind if I stay up here with you for a bit? Sounds like they're having a moment."

"Huh?" Your intelligent responses are astounding, Evie Hazel. Before he could repeat himself, his words caught up with me and I nodded. "Oh. Of course," I said. Silence surrounded us again except this one was a tad more awkward than our silence in the car. For reasons that I didn't understand, Paul made me nervous, but not in a bad way. Far from it, in fact. And that nervousness – more importantly, what it meant - scared the hell out of me.

"Hey, Paul?" I said, trying to make what I was about to say not seem awkward. I heard the phone ring downstairs and prayed that someone answered so I could just get out what I had to say. He looked away from Bella's bed – or more specifically, the dream catcher that was on its headboard – and shifted his gaze to me. "Thanks…for…" I paused, trying not to lose whatever nerve I had that possessed me to open my mouth to begin with. "Everything."

A flurry of emotions flitted across his face and as they did, I kicked myself for having opened my mouth to begin with. Just as I was about to look down at the floor, Paul gave me a small smile. "Anytime, Evie."

I tried to ignore the fact that the way my name rolled off his tongue seemed warm and perfect. Or that I felt my skin flush yet again as I took in his smile. But all too quickly, that feeling was replaced with the feeling of déjà vu. Seconds later, to my dismay, I heard Jacob's raised voice; Bella's broke through with an anguished, "Why didn't you let me speak to him?" The feeling grew worse. "Not this shit again," I muttered, racing out of the room and down the stairs. I followed the voices, now joined by Alice's musical tone, to the kitchen.

"He's going to the Volturi; he wants to die, too," Alice said. Even before Bella spoke, I could see exactly what she was thinking. As she started to move to the living room – and I assumed the front door – my feeling of déjà vu got worse and Jacob trailed after her. "Bella! Bella, hold on a second," I said, hot on Jacob's heels.

"He left you, Bella. He didn't want you anymore, remember?" Jacob said as Bella went out the door and down the front steps.

"I'm not going to let him kill himself out of guilt," she replied. Alice had zoomed ahead and already started the car, but Jake held Bella back. Because he stopped so quickly, I barely missed smacking into him; Paul had once again followed me and stopped me a mere second before I crashed.

"What about your dad?" Jake asked. He was grasping at straws now and I knew it – I think we all did.

"I'm 18. I can go – "

"You'd really be that selfish?" I snapped. As the words sprung from me, the intensity of my déjà vu faded, if only slightly. Bella's eyes met mine and her eyebrows narrowed.

"What?"

"You heard me, Isabella. Would you seriously be that selfish and put Charlie through the hell of losing you – again - just to run after a vampire who up and walked away from you?"

"Look, Evie…regardless of what he did, I can't let Edward do that! Besides, I'm not leaving permanently. I'd be back as soon as I knew Edward was safe."

"Why the f – GAH!" My frustration was making it harder and harder to be rational. At this point, I really didn't care if Jake was going to rip me apart – I was going to beat Bella senseless.

Just as I clenched my fist, heat flooded the small of my back and all at once, I relaxed a bit. "Bella…this is not just about you and that undeserving jackass," I hissed. "Let's not even talk about the fact that this could put you in even more danger. For one second, stop acting like Renee and think about Charlie!" Alice appeared beside Bella at once, the car turned off and glared at me. The pained expression on Bella's face told me that I'd hit below the belt, but I pressed on.

"You didn't hear him when you ran off back to Phoenix, Bella. You broke him. Every day, my mother talked on the phone with him. Every day, she had to keep him from drinking himself into a stupor or condemning himself." I crossed my arms as my gaze bore into her face. "He could barely function."

"She's right, Bells," Jake said softly. "My dad had to practically drag him out of the house. Or rather, get me to do it." I shot him a quizzical look, but he didn't supply an answer. Instead of waiting to see if he would, I kept talking.

"And when Edward left and you sunk into that depression…Bella, do you know how many times he called my mother in tears because he couldn't stand to see you that way? So dead?"

Bella's eyes were filled to the brim with tears but she blinked, trying to stop herself from crying, I assumed. "I'll handle him when I get back."

"What if you don't?" I challenged. "What if something happens? I'm assuming that these Volturi…they're bigwigs in the world of the undead, right?" I focused on Alice, who nodded.

"They are the closest thing we have to royalty; they enforce the rules of the vampire world – the main one being to keep our existence unknown to the humans," she said hesitantly.

"And if they were to see or find out Bella was there?" I asked her, not really knowing where "there" was.

"They wouldn't hesitate to kill her."

"You see?" I practically yelled at Bella. "You can't do this, Bella. Edward is old enough to make his own decisions; you know that. If you can't think about it in terms of saving yourself, then please, for the love of all that's holy, think of Charlie, of me, of Jake – of all the people who love you."

The tears that Bella had tried to hold back fell freely from her eyes. "I am, Evie! But I love him. I love him, even through it all, even if he doesn't love me. I have to do this. He's worth that risk to me. There's no other way!"

I closed my eyes, trying to hold on to whatever bit of patience I had left. Bella's words echoed in my mind and I knew that nothing would convince her. Unless…

Didn't you find it odd that sometimes, I wasn't there, and then, the next second, I was there, with Grandma by my side?

Wouldn't it be better if I just orbed us there? That way neither of us gets wet and we get there in seconds?

"Yes there is."