"Now you're gone, I wonder why you left me here. I think about it on and on and on and on and on again. I know you're never coming back. But I hope that you can hear me. I'm waiting to hear from you, until I do, you're gone away. I'm left alone a part of me is gone and I'm not moving on. So wait for me I know the day will come...I wish I could have told you the things I've kept inside. But now I guess it's just too late. So many things remind me of you. I hope that you can hear me, I miss you. This is good-bye one last time, and wherever I go you'll be there with me, forever you'll be right here with. No matter where life takes me, I'll meet you there..."~Simple Plan

I walked around the corner to the nursery window and peered in. I looked around to find the right baby. I scanned the rows of tiny infants, some sleeping, some crying but all perfect.

I looked at each name tag carefully, hoping to find the right one. I felt my eyes tear up when I found her, Baby Girl Brandon. Alice had a girl and a beautiful one at that. She was the only one that was awake and not crying. She so content just to look around at the new strange world she was forced into.

I began to cry silent tears as I watched her squirm around in her small bassinet. I felt Edward wrap his arms around me and kiss my neck gently. "She's so little" he whispered in my ear.

"She's perfect" I sniffled, "Just like Alice."

Alice had been right all along, she said that she would have a girl then a boy. She claimed that it was scientifically proven that you can tell how many kids you would have and their sexes by the creases in your eyes when you shut them. I never believed her, but this made me think twice. She had said that I would have three boys and twins. I never really thought about it before but now that I believed she could be right I wondered if that would mean I would have three kids or five. I never got to ask.

A nurse inside brought her up to the window so we could see her closer. She had Alice's dark black hair and short flat nose. She was so small compared to the other infants, but if she got any of her mother's genes, it made sense.

A river of tears flowed out of me. I had so many emotions going through me; hate, fear, sadness, anger, hurt, confusion, longing, hope, love for this new life and dread for letting my best friend stray away from me.

I didn't realize it but Edward must have picked me up, brought me back to the waiting room and placed me on his lap. He gently kissed my hair and held me tight to his chest.

I breathed in his sweet scent as my crying subsided. "I love you" I mumbled under my breath.

Edward smiled, "I know." He gave me a tight one armed hug and kissed the top of my head, "I love you too."

We sat like that for awhile, me resting in his lap with his arms tightly around me and his face buried in my hair. He leaned down to kiss my ear, "Did you want to see her?" he murmured softly, not breaking the kiss.

I contemplated it for awhile. I had come to see Alice, but after seeing her daughter and loosing myself in my emotions I didn't know if I could do it. I didn't know if I could refrain from screaming at her, for leaving me, for not answering my calls, for ignoring me, for forgetting about me.

Today was a day for her to celebrate the birth of her daughter, not get attacked by an angry and confused teenager, who felt so hurt because of everything she did and didn't do.

"You don't have to if you don't want to love. I'll understand completely, we can just go home" he mumbled as he kissed the sides of my face.

He made it so hard to think when he did this. I made a rash decision, "No, we came here to see her; we're not leaving until we do."

"That's my girl" he smiled and kissed me gingerly on the lips. I wrapped my hands in his hair and pulled him closer. Soon I was straddling him, as he sat in the waiting room chair. I could feel him smile, but he didn't break the kiss.

I heard a couple coughs and groans around us, which reminded me that others were here too. "Let's go find Alice" I smiled with confidence, pulling Edward to his feet and dragging him to the reception desk.

"Alice Brandon's room please" I asked politely.

The girl looked up at me and rolled her eyes. She typed something in on the computer, looked up at us and shook her head, "Not in here."

I looked at Edward nervously; he smiled and leaned over the desk, "Try Mary Alice Brandon."

She rolled her eyes again and typed something on the computer, she looked up at Edward and said "Room 426, it's the third door on your left" as she smacked a piece of chewing gum loudly.

"Thanks" I mumbled, truly irritated with her rudeness. Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me toward Alice's room.

My pace slowed down as we approached her room. Edward came and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "It will be alright" he smiled crookedly. I turned quickly to look away, still unsure. "Hey, none of that" he said softly, putting a finger under my chin and pulling my face up to look at him. "You don't have to do this, but you know why you came here and I know why you came here. You miss Alice and you want to help her. And I bet you a million dollars she does too."

I nodded timidly. Took a deep breath, stepped forward and knocked on the door.

A tall dark man answered. I didn't recognize him; he had flame orange hair that went down to shoulders and tattoos covered his entire body. He was dressed in a white cut off t-shirt and big baggy black pants. He took one look at me and sighed, "We're not buying any damn girl scout cookies bitch, so just move along" gesturing for us to leave.

Edward became tense and ridged and his jaw tightened. I tugged his arm as hard as I could to try to make him forget it. But Edward being his protective self couldn't drop something like that easily. He pushed me behind him and walked up to the strange man. "Who are you to talk to her like that?" he growled.

"And who are you to defend her like that?" the man fired back.

"Her boyfriend" Edward snarled through his teeth. It didn't matter that he was defending himself to an idiot, when he proudly claimed that he was my boyfriend, it made my heart stop.

The man let out a low snort, "You're girlfriend?" Edward nodded proudly putting his arm around me. "I wouldn't see a bitch like that even if she was the last one on earth."

I slumped down, knowing he was right. I was nothing, a Plain Jane and next to Edward I must look ridiculous. I wasn't good enough for him; he could have so much better than me. I was just plain.

A small growl escaped from Edward's throat. He stepped forward ready to fight. I jumped in-between them, "Edward NO!" I screamed, "He's not worth it."

"Are you going to let this bitch tell you what to do, or are you going to fight me like a real man?" the strange man questioned.

Edward gave me a pleading look, but I shook my head no. Edward's head bowed in defeat. I smiled and turned to the man, "Can we please just go in and see Alice?"

"And who may you be?" he asked rudely, "How do you know Alice?"

"Does it madder?" Edward roared. The man nodded and Edward sighed, "I'm Edward Cullen and this is Bella Swan. We are old friends of Alice's." The man's eye lit up with the sound of our names. He seemed to reevaluate us.

He mumbled something under his breath and then turned to us, "Sorry, doesn't sound familiar. She never mentioned you."

My eyes clouded up. I tried to hold back the tears as Edward and the man fought. I didn't listen to them. All I thought was how could Alice never mention me? Had our friendship meant nothing to her? And who exactly was this guy? Who was he to say who could see Alice and who couldn't?

"Alice! Alice it's me, Bella! Come out, I need to talk to you! Please Alice, please" I screamed over the man.

"Shut up bitch you'll wake her."

"Stop calling her a bitch" Edward yelled, trying to get past the man.

"Alice please. Please." I cried, falling to my knees.

Edward exchanged a few choice words with the man and bent down to me. He picked me up and carried me bridal style out of the maternity ward and down to the car.

I don't remember much about the rest of that day. I was pretty much in a fog. I couldn't feel any emotions. Edward kept telling me that I did nothing wrong and that we would find a way to see her, no madder how long it took.

I wanted to believe him, but at the same time I couldn't. It had taken us almost a year and a half to make an attempt to see her which didn't even work. I didn't want to think how long it would take to actually see her.

As time passed, I soon gave up hope on seeing Alice again. I think the reason I was able to semi go back to my normal self before was that I had a small hope that Alice would still come back, that I would see her again and it would be as if nothing had happened.

But after that day in the hospital, all my hope was gone. Things could never be the same again.

Before I had put myself into a numb state, but I couldn't remember how I had done it. I felt pain all the time. My heart felt like it had been pulled apart and part of it was now missing. But I tried to hide my pain from Edward and my family. Even though they could still tell I was hurting, I just refused break down in front of them.

I later learned that the man at the hospital was the father of Alice's child and her finance, Mark.

It took awhile for me to get over everything that happened that day. I had lost all hope, which is never a good thing. But fortunately Edward was there to help me pick up the pieces. It made us grow closer as a couple.

We spent everyday together and most nights. He was my support, my crutch. He would sing to me to sleep on the nights when I couldn't. It was always the same soft sweet melody. Which I later learned was a lullaby he composed for me.

I would still wake up in terror from nightmares about Alice, but having Edward next to me calmed me. He helped pull me out of my holes of depression and was always there to comfort me.

The next three years were the hardest for me. I finished high school with barely passing grades, few friends and a bleak outlook on life.

I spent a lot of time at home playing with Cole and refusing to grow up.

Rose and I grew apart too. I don't think we were ever the best of friends. I think it was the common friendship in Alice that made us close, but once Alice was gone for good, so was our friendship.

I could still talk to her, but it was awkward. Edward and I still hung out with Emmett, Rose and Jasper but it wasn't the same. We now had an odd number and it always felt like someone was left out. Also it was hard for all of us to be together and not think of Alice.

I could barely do anything that I used to. I hated car rides and anytime someone would say 'yellow car' I would begin to cry. What's so special about yellow cars anyway? And why did Alice have to drive a stupid yellow car, out of all the colors in the world that is the one that people choose to pick out? It made my heart ache each and every time.

But shopping was the worst; I couldn't step into a mall without crying. And every time I saw a teenager with a baby I would shout, "Alice!" and go running after them. I was going insane.

Edward went to college in Seattle while I finished high school so he could be close to me. I never once visited him. I hated Seattle; it was the place I blamed for Alice changing. I always thought that maybe if I would have pressed harder she wouldn't have gone or maybe if I would have gone with her like she asked, nothing would have changed.

Little things and places would remind me of Alice. Edward always said that I just needed to get out of Forks for awhile, start over. And that was exactly it.

The week after I graduated I said my goodbyes to my family and the rainy town of Forks and set off to the University of Florida with Edward. It was surprisingly easy to leave, to go to a new place that I had never been before.

There I found comfort in writing and decided to major in journalism. It made me forget the problems I had and focus on someone else's.

Very little would remind me of Alice out there, I could enter a mall, not to say I could shop, but I could at least walk around a mall now. Teenagers with babies could now safely pass by me; my life was slowing turning around.

While I was in Forks I would try to call Alice multiple times a week, which didn't help me at all. Whenever I heard the recording of her voice my heart would sink. But after three years I gave up. She just didn't want to talk to me.

I still call her periodically to see if she changed her mind but I always get her answering machine. I have called her thousands of times, but I only left a message once.

I read an article in the paper once on how the teen birthrate was rising and that a teen that comes from a difficult past is X% more likely to get into drugs, alcohol or get pregnant.

Alice had fallen into that X%. As Phil had said, "She'll just be another statistic." And that's all she is now, just another number in a book, nothing more. I always thought she would do better than that, rise above the expectations; show the world that how to make the best out of a crappy situation.

I thought that she would do something amazing, like create her own fashion boutique or become a fashion designer. But from what little information I had collected, she didn't.

I found out that she married her baby's daddy, then divorced him and is now living alone. Supporting her and her daughter by working two minimum wage jobs, she could do so much better.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After college everyone went there separate ways. Edward and I moved to Portland, Oregon so that Edward could work at a bigger hospital, be close enough to our families but far enough away from Seattle.

Emmett and Rose moved up to Vancouver and now had a one year old little boy named Owen. Rose is the manager of a little fashion boutique and Emmett is coaching the local boy's football teem.

Then there was Jasper, he was never the same after Alice left. He tried to hide his pain when he was around us but we could see through him. He never looked at another girl after she left either. He was still living in Forks, working as a lawyer.

At our wedding Emmett finally brought up the question that we had being wondering for years.

"You're next!" Rose smiled, playfully punching Jasper.

Emmett rolled his eyes, "That may be awhile."

"And why would that be?" Rose snapped.

Edward turned to face her, "Because he's not even dating anyone, you kind of need a girlfriend if you want to eventually get married."

"Dude are you gay?" Emmett asked punching Jasper.

Jasper sat up straighter and gave him a confused look, "Hell no, why would you think that?"

"He speaks!" Rose laughed.

"Jasper!" Emmett retorted, "You haven't dated anyone in like, what? Six, seven YEARS! We got to find you a girl."

"I found a girl" he said but his voice quickly got quieter, "She just ran away."

"Jasper you have to get over her!" Rose yelled from across the table.

"I'm over her, really. I just don't want to date anyone right now" he mumbled.

Emmett and Edward both looked at each other, "Denial!" they said in unison.

"I'm not in denial, I'm just…" Jasper started.

"Hang on there" Emmett interrupted, "What ever happened to that Jamie from law school?"

"Yeah, she seemed nice" Rose added.

Jasper looked down at the ground, "She wasn't Alice" he murmured quietly.

"No one's going to be exactly like Alice, Jasper. You have to move past it" I informed him.

"And you have? You still have trouble sleeping at night and I can tell that you hurt inside. Clearly you haven't gotten over her" Jasper said fiercely attacking a pile of mashed potatoes.

"But that's different, she was more than a sister to me" I said fighting back tears, Edward put his arm around me and pulled me close.

Jasper shook his head, "It's not different; she meant a lot to me too. Think about how you would feel if you lost Edward and much it would affect you. That's what I'm feeling. It's not something you can get over easily."

"But it's been over eight years!" Emmett boomed, "You can't let her affect your life this much. It's time to move on."

Jasper's eyes started to cloud with tears, he took a deep breath and sighed, "I haven't been able to look at another girl the same way I looked at Alice. I can't find it in me to love another as much as I love her."

I reached across the table and placed my hands on top of his, "We only want what's best for you. We've seen how sad you are and you deserve to be happy. Weather that's with a girl or not, but it's time to let the past be the past. We can't dwell on what could have been or what should have been, it's time to move on. It's time to start fresh, get out of Forks. Trust me it helps."

Jasper nodded slowly, "Thanks guys. I can tell you're concerned but honestly I'm fine with how I am. I'm convinced that I will see her again and until I hear from her that she doesn't care for me anymore, I'm waiting."

And he continued to wait; he hasn't gone a date in years and remains in a saddened state.

That day I tried to keep myself from thinking of her, but after that conversation I was full of anger and regret for the friend that never answered my calls so I could inform her of the wedding that she had predicted years earlier.

When Edward and I were getting our second ultrasound and the doctor asked us if we wanted to know the sex of our baby. I already knew, it was a boy, Alice had told me.

For the most part I tried to move on with my life, but little things would remind me of her, a yellow car, a bubbly personality or even a designer store.

The day I gave birth to Noah reminded me of Alice's daughter. The daughter I never really got to met, or even know her name. In my head she was still Baby Girl Brandon.

Edward used to bring Alice up once and a while and ask if I wanted to find her, but I knew in the back of my mind that the real her was never lost. She was in my heart and if she wanted to come back she would find me.