The familiar house loomed before me invitingly. Breathing a sigh of relief, I stepped through the door, Edward's hand firmly holding my own. I was immediately ambushed by several frantic vampires. Alice, Emmett and Esme all lifted me off the floor in a group bear hug.
"Bella," Esme whispered fiercely, "what were you thinking?" Her tone held an edge of hysteria, and I tried futilely to calm her frazzled nerves. My warm welcome was cut short when Alice's eyes fogged over quite suddenly. We all gathered round my elder sister, anxious as to what she was seeing.
"Alice," I gently murmured, tentatively extending my arm to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Her eyes refocused slowly, and she smiled in a way that way obviously forced. I looked back to ask Edward what she had seen, but he was in the process of letting out an irritated growl. No help there. "What did you see, Alice?" I asked, having a pretty good idea of the basic direction that her vision would be taking. It would most likely consist of the Volturi's rage, and their plans of revenge.
"Bella," she urged me frantically. "You need to follow me. Now." I nodded silently, anxiety pooling in my empty stomach. Without another word she shot out the door and into the nearby woods with me close on her heels. She didn't stop running for miles until, I assumed, none of the family would be able to hear what we were saying. She seemed to be concentrating on her surroundings intensely for a moment, then she sighed. Her posture was tense, a sure sign that her vision had, in fact, been a bad one.
Alice focused her butterscotch eyes on mine, daring me to look away.
"What happened to each Volturi member because of your power?" she questioned seriously. "Do you remember?" I nodded slowly, sorting through memories of the past two days since I first showed up in Volterra.
"First," I remembered, "Kristy couldn't read minds or see into the future, then Felix lost his strength…" I trailed off, confused. "But why didn't my power do that the first time I touched Felix?" Alice gave me a look that showed how little she presently thought of my intelligence, and explained for me.
"Now, this is only a theory," she cautioned me, sending my curiosity off the radar. I nodded sharply, eager to understand the power I had waited to know for over seventy years, "but I think it may be because the first time you touched him, it wasn't you who initiated the contact, as he grabbed you from behind. The second time, you grabbed his leg when he was jumping, remember?" I nodded, everything making sense now. Well, almost everything.
"Alice, how did you…" She cut me off by placing a finger to her lips. Then, she brought up her index and middle fingers on her right hand to tap her temple once, a knowing grin on her face. I smiled back, not realizing until then how much I had missed the simple action of bringing the corners of my mouth up to honestly express emotion. I had a sudden idea, and launched myself at Alice, gripping her arm before she had a chance to see it.
"Bella!" she scolded irritably. "What are you doing?" I widened my eyes at her innocently, and proceeded to drag her back to the house where I would begin initiating my plan.
"Sorry, sis," I apologized, throwing in 'sis' in an attempt to soften her up. It seemed to work, as she finally stopped fighting the vice grip I had taken her arm in. "I would tell you, but I'm afraid Edward would catch you off guard and hear what I'm about to do in your mind," I explained, earning myself an enthusiastic nod from Alice.
Once we arrived back to the house, Edward was immediately at my side, a growl brewing in his chest when I decided it would work out better to hang onto his arm and let Alice in on my idea.
"Oh, come on," I teased jovially, pulling him up to our room. Alice cackled evilly, and I wondered for a moment whether telling her had been the right idea. I quickly dismissed the notion, and hurried past Rosalie and Emmett's room (from where suspicious noises were emanating) and into Edward's and mine.
"Thank you," he said gratefully, pinching the bridge of his nose between the thumb and forefinger on his hand that I wasn't clinging to. "Judging by odds and noises, I am very much enjoying this unexpected silence that you're gracing me with." He flashed me a crooked grin, and it was all I could do not to let go of his arm to access his mouth better. Refrain I did, though. "I wonder though," he mused quietly, concern coloring his velvety voice, "why you are choosing to keep my family's thoughts secret. I'm guessing that because you were holding Alice when you walked in, you must be very determined to not let me know something." I opened my mouth to marvel at his logic and deduction, but he continued speaking. "Based on past experiences, a lot of the time when you decide to block me out, it's because you don't want to worry me for one reason or another. Very rarely is it good news that you go to such lengths to keep good news a secret."
Giving me an analytical look, he ended his assumptions and studied me for clues.
"You're right," I admitted, fighting back a grin that threatened to overtake my face. I was surprised when Edward didn't immediately see the traitor vibration in my lips, but judging by the anxious expression creasing his features, he had a lot on his mind now. I reached out with my free hand, gently rubbing my hand over his face to relieve the stress lines that had momentarily appeared. They wouldn't stay, but they still bothered me.
"I do have bad news," I announced, quickly telling him said news before he could freak out and break a window or two. Esme wasn't too pleased with me last time I purposely riled him up that way, though she tried to hide her disappointment. "The bad news is that I'm not going to tell you what I'm hiding from you." I finally let the smile I'd been fighting free, and Edward visibly relaxed.
"I'll bet I know how to get you to tell," he said, a sly look gracing his perfect face. Before I had a chance to back away, his lips were on mine, slowly torturing me. I refused to give in to temptation, but it wasn't as if I could let go of his arm. So, I pushed away slightly and called in a conversational volume,
"Emmett, would you mind coming here and keeping Edward from kissing me?" Emmett appeared, seemingly out of nowhere less than a second later, a patronizing grin aimed at Edward.
"Sure, Bella," he promised, grabbing Edward in a headlock, and laughing when Edward snarled menacingly. "What did you do, bro?" Emmett teased, confident with Edward incapacitated. "Don't tell me you tried to take advantage of her?" I nodded sourly, and Emmett just laughed.
"Wow," Rosalie's voice came from the doorway. "Do you want to paint Edward's nails, Alice?" she called down the hall. Alice's excited, pixie like face appeared in the doorway, followed closely by the rest of the family, all of whom were wearing amused looks on their faces.
"Please, no," Edward groaned, struggling hard against Emmett and I. He turned his pleading gaze to me, and I almost cracked, but then I caught sight of Alice's joyful face, and forced myself to look away from Edward.
"Have fun, Rosalie, Alice."