Just a quick message to let everyone know, I haven't forgotten about this story. Life is just far too busy at the moment thus updating takes more time.

I am nearly ready to put a new chapter up (just need a final review with the help from my Beta, Penny who is amazing and always brave enough to read and sift my long long chapters Imagine all the correcting she has to do ;)

Anyway, to hold you over just a little while longer...a small preview.

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He is smiling. Edward is actually smiling...genuinly.

"What are you doing?" he asked with strong fascination burning in his voice.

His voice alerted me and I snapped out of it immediately. I opened my eyes and shrugged apologetically.

"It's nothing.." I mumbled.

Liar, someone commented from behind me.

I rolled my eyes and called this person out.

"Alice.." I concluded wryly.

Carlisle turned to look and see how Alice jumped down from the branches of the larch behind us.

"Have you been eavesdropping?" Carlisle rebuked her gently.

She ignored his question and kept her eyes on me. I didn't look at her but from my peripheral vision I saw that there was a hint of speculation in them. And she shielded her thoughts from me again by reciting an unfamiliar rap song. She was here with a purpose.

"We're leaving soon. " Alice announced as she came to our side. "After the party"

She ignored me and turned to Carlisle. "Esme needs some help with the books you want to take with you. She asked for me to call you" she stated.

"So I wasn't eavesdropping. I was on a mission" she winked.

She sure was, just not a mission of being the messenger. I was already dreading the direction in which this was heading.

Carlisle nodded and smiled at Alice before he turned his attention back to me.

"Think about it." he gently ordered me.

He took a fluent leap and landed on the branch Alice had been hiding. It wasn't before long that his thoughts faded as he darted through the thinning woods to make his way back to Tanya's house.

Alice stood across from me, still eyeing me speculatively. This was such a deja-vu. Had we not been here before? Last time she had tried to force me out of my misery by showing me visions of Bella. And as a result I now saw them all the time. Granted, I wanted to see them, in spite of the further damage they inflicted on me. I wondered what her modus operandi would be this time.

"You're not going to me with us, are you?" she said.

There was no vision flashing in her mind. She didn't need to look for my future. There was no point.

Because there was no future.

"I can't see what you'll do or where you'll go instead," she clarified her statement, "Just that you won't be with us"

No future. Just endlessness.

I didn't speak and looked at the floor. I wanted to close my eyes and call out the mirage. The voice. The amazing beauty. The pain was more appealing than another one of Alice's lectures.

I didn't want to have this discussion with my sister. If Carlisle couldn't convince me with logic than Alice was certainly not going to with pleading or manipulation. I was not going to fall for that again.

"Ithaca won't be so bad. " she said.

And she was right. It wouldn't be bad.

It would be the same.

The same as any other place where Bella would not be.

Hollow.

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The rest is coming soon, promised!

Happy weekend :)