Several hours earlier…

Edward's POV

It was twilight yet again, here in Houston, Texas. I had been here for the last month trying to track Victoria down. Staying at this cheap hotel, I had been leaving at night to track and unless I had to hunt, staying here during the day. I've had little progress here, but I was hoping to change that tonight. I had a hunch to where she might be. Right now though I was sitting on the small bed, staring at the western horizon not as hidden by the clouds as in forks, going over one of the many conversations Bella and I had shared.

"How late is it?" she asked.

"It's twilight. I murmured, staring off at the horizon.

I looked back at her.

"It's the safest time of the day for us." I said, seeing the unspoken question in her eyes.

"The easiest time. But also the saddest in a way…the end of another day, the return of the night. Darkness is so predictable, don't you think?"

"I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars." Then frowning she added, "Not that you see them much here."

I sighed. I miss Bella so much, I thought as the familiar ache of her absence washed over me. Maybe if I just called her, just to hear her voice- No. I could not call her. The whole reason I left in the first place was for her have a happy human life. I couldn't break down and call her every time these unbearable urges tempted me. Getting up, I sighed again. It was time to see if my hunch was right.

Buzz Buzz.

Buzz Buzz.

Scowling, I picked up my phone off the night stand to see who it was. To my surprise it was Alice, I hadn't spoken to her for at least three weeks now.

"Hello?"

"Edward?" she asked solemnly.

"Yes Alice, what is it?" I asked more concerned now.

"Laurent came back."

"What!"

Edward I'm so sorry, but he bit Bella, she's becoming a vampire."

"I'm on my way." I replied simply.

Still holding the cell phone, I threw it at the wall as hard as I could, leaving a hole in the wall. Then without bothering to grab my things I walked out of the hotel, got in my car, and headed to the place I swore that I'd never return to. Forks, Washington.

Now…

Bella's POV

I was lying there, with my eyes closed, dreading to face the world. This is it I thought. I'm finally a vampire; my heart will never beat again. I dimly remember how upset I got everyday knowing I was getting older. Now I'll never age. My throat burned of course, but that was only to be expected. I used to want this life. But now that Edward was gone and my whole world was crashing down, I wasn't so sure.

I opened my eyes for the first time and was amazed at what I saw. The light was dim, but I could see every little dust mote that swirled around me, and how beautiful they were. I took a breath to settle myself. The action felt wrong. I considered this and realized that I didn't need air anymore. And though I didn't need it, I could taste the whole room around me in every breath. Right now I could taste the beautiful dust motes and something sweet like apple and moss. I could taste so many other things too, but the most dominant scent I could taste was dog. How strange.

I could hear people whispering tensely. I listened harder; yes there were five male voices. What were they saying? Somebody squeezed my hand.

Shocked by the unfamiliar touch, I jumped from the couch I had been laying on and away from the unknown, air hissing up my throat like a swarm of bees. This all happened so fast that it should have been a blur, but I could see everything. Crouched defensively, I attuned to scene around me. I was in the front room of Jake's house just as I expected. Alice was standing in the middle of the room; arm stretched out toward me her expression anxious. When I realized there was no danger, I stood up straight and then rushed to Alice.

"Alice I've missed you so much!" I exclaimed hugging her.

"Bella I've missed you too, but ow!" Alice replied breathlessly, leaning away from my embrace.

"Oh sorry," I said detaching myself from her. This time I noticed the sound of my voice for the first time. My voice rang like a bell, almost like I was singing.

"It's ok Bella; you're just stronger than regular vampires right now. It's because you're a newborn." Alice said slowly to put the point across.

I gave her a jerky nod to show I understood.

"Alice, what happened? What does Charlie know?" I asked my voice getting faster more frantic. "Why am I at Jake's house? And what-"

"Bella calm down." Alice said putting her hands on both sides of my face. "Look I know you have a lot of questions, but right now we need to go and hunt. I know you're thirsty." She finished taking her hands off my face.

Until she had mentioned it, I didn't really notice the thirst. There was so much more room in head and my new brain was keeping tabs on the burning. It was like how my old brain used to handle blinking and breathing.

Not anymore though. Now that she brought it up it was all I could think about. Making the burning hurt worse and worse. I put a hand on my throat.

"Ok fine, but afterwards you have a lot of explaining to do." I said stubbornly.

Grimacing she said "I know, but let's go hunt right now."Then she handed me a bag.

"What's this?"

"It's a bag of extra clothes." She smiled a little. "You'll need them."

Z