Bella's graduation was a grand affair, with a party that Alice insisted on throwing. Although I sat front and center next to Charlie during the pomp and circumstance, I stayed to the edges of the party, enjoying watching and feeling my girls as they enjoyed themselves.
It took Bella a while to settle into it, starting out nervous and self-conscious. She eventually relaxed into her role as co-host though, making sure to greet everyone and see that they were having a good time.
Carlisle was basking in his role as chaperone, revelling in it a little too much. He would sneak up on cuddling couples and clear his throat loudly to make them jump and run.
"Why?" I asked him after feeling a startling followed by embarrassment accompanying his glee for the fifth time. Lauren Mallory and her date ran shame-faced into the dancing crowd in front of me.
"They jump so high!" he said with a laugh. "Those last two deserved it though; they were verging on indecency," he said with a frown. Then his eyes lit up. "Hear it?"
It was the unmistakable smack of lips making noisy kisses.
I shook my head. "Whatever floats your boat," I teased.
He rubbed his hands together before chasing down the necking couple.
"Hey," I heard from the porch behind me.
I turned to smile at Jacob, just climbing the stairs. "Hey. I was wondering if you'd changed your mind."
He grinned, hearing what I did.
"NO!" Alice shrieked, storming out. "When did you decide to show your hairy-"
I wrapped an arm around Alice's shoulders, my hand lightly covering her mouth. "Enough," I whispered before dropping the hand. "He has as much right to celebrate with Bella as we do."
She growled, glaring at me. I wanted to hear her argument if she had one.
"Jacob!" Bella shouted before Alice could speak again. She ran out to hug her friend.
"Congratulations! Did you see me?" Jacob asked, grinning.
I chuckled, remembering Jacob howling at the back of the gymnasium as Bella received her diploma.
"No," she said rolling her eyes. "Were you there? I thought someone had brought their dog along."
I chuckled with Jacob at her wry humor. Alice was still a block of ice under my arm, but I didn't release my grip on her.
"You leave next week?" Jacob asked.
Bella nodded, shifting nervously. "Wednesday." Then she smiled. "It'll be nice to see my Mom again."
Jacob's nervousness and anxiety faded some. "Yeah. But you'll call me? Keep in touch?"
"Will you guys excuse us?" Bella asked Alice and me.
Alice opened her mouth, angrier. I covered it with my own in a quick kiss. "Let her go," I all but ordered.
When she didn't try to say anything more, I turned us with a nod to the other couple. They were both shifting awkwardly now.
As soon as we were out of sight, Alice sprinted to the bedroom window, abandoning her guests. I sighed and followed. Carlisle joined us there. His jealousy rivalled Alice's.
"Honestly, she's barely touching him," I complained. At that moment though, she pulled him into another hug.
"I'm going to miss you Jake."
"Then don't go," he said, teasing. His hands tightened in accordance with his words rather than his tone and I could feel his desperation.
She laughed, rocking back on her heels. "I'm missing my Mom, too," she complained.
Jacob rolled his eyes. "I suppose. If you love her more than me." He grinned.
Bella laughed. "I will call, Jake. And I'm coming back at Thanksgiving; it's already planned."
"Aww, you don't have to come back just for me," he said with mock modesty.
She laughed again. Then there was another hug. The love shared between them made me smile despite my envy. It was made bitter by the goodbye.
"Come back to me, Bells? I love you so much," Jacob whispered to her. We could barely make it out over the music. "I know you need college," he continued a little louder, "but after... with me..." He stumbled, looking for the right words. "I can give you a life, Bella. I would." He backed up enough to find her eyes before kissing her.
There were hisses on either side of me and a growl escaped my throat as well when Bella didn't push him away. She indulged the kiss and all three of us were ready to leap out of the window by the time she finally backed up, breaking their lip-lock.
"I'm sorry, Jacob. I can't promise you that. I promise I'll come back, but I can't promise it will be to you."
He nodded and I felt the heartbreak from him. "You still want to be one of them."
"I do," she croaked. "But I do love you."
He wore a sad smile, and I felt his loss keenly. "But it's not enough."
She shook her head, tears slipping from her eyes. "I need more."
"You don't know what you're asking for, Bella. You can't want that, to be frozen forever? Why would you? You could live, grow, be happy."
"I will live and be happy. I think I can trade the growing for being where I belong." She wiped her tears.
"You belong with me, Bella," he said angrily. I felt his disappointment, his anger with himself. "You know it."
She shook her head. "A part of me might belong with you. But no, Jacob. I've never belonged here, not really."
I felt the hurt from those around me. It was also Jacob's.
"You're wrong, Bella. And after you've been gone for a year, or two, you'll realize that." He kissed her again, fast and rough. "I'll wait for you."
"No, Jacob," she started to argue, but he turned and ran for the trees, dropping his shoes and shirt behind him. He howled from the forest.
Alice flew back down the stairs, taking Bella in her arms. "Are you alright?" she asked just as I reached the porch with Carlisle.
"I... Yes. That was about as good as I could have hoped for, I suppose." She was a little upset, but not distraught. Her words were honest. She turned to the house and pushed away from Alice, returning to her guests. "You coming?" she asked Alice over her shoulder.
I nodded to Alice and she took Bella's hand at the door. "Sure!"
"Did she mean it?" Carlisle asked me. "Does she really think that?"
"I can't know what she thinks. She was honest though. She believed what she said." I've never belonged here. I clapped an arm around his shoulders. "You want Alice and I to put off our trip?" I asked.
Alice and I planned to leave shortly after Bella. I had already given my notice at the shelter. We were headed southeast to try to get information about Daniel, the vampire that had changed Alice, and her human family and past. We didn't expect to be gone more than a year, so Carlisle was going to keep his position at the hospital.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'll be fine on my own for a while. Not that I don't love the company, but you two can be very noisy," he complained wrinkling his nose. He frowned. "Almost as noisy as those teenagers. Excuse me." He walked off in the direction of the moans coming from above us.
Bella waved to us from her father's cruiser. "I'll miss you! Write me!" she called to us as Charlie pulled away. We waved until they rounded a bend and out of sight. I put my arm around Alice.
"Just you and I now. Will I be enough for you?"
She snorted. "I'm sure you'll manage," she said with mild sarcasm. She hadn't been intimate with Bella since her announcement two weeks ago, and she hadn't been intimate with me for a week after that. It was a long week for all of us. When Alice came back, she was calmer, happier, and tight-lipped. I knew she must have seen something since neither Bella nor I had spoken to her since she had left.
"You ready to go?" she asked me.
I nodded. Our flight was leaving only a few hours after Bella's, but from Seattle. We had to leave soon, even at the speeds we drove.
Carlisle emerged from the trees behind the house. He'd had a private goodbye of his own with Bella. Alice had probably seen it, but she didn't share. He was sad, but hopeful.
"Ready?" he asked.
We nodded. Carlisle was driving us to the airport and returning with the car.
"I am going to miss you both," he said as we drove away, Alice on my lap.
"We're going to miss you too, Dad," Alice said, brushing her fingers through his hair. "It's only a few months though. We'll come back at Thanksgiving when Bella does."
I started a little at that. "We will?"
"Of course, silly. She isn't coming back just to see Charlie." She shook her head as though that were obvious. "I don't know if we'll be done our search by then, too many factors, but we'll have learned a lot. I can see that much." She smiled at me. We were starting in Whitfield, where she had been committed. There would be a lot we could learn there alone: her name, her birth date, her death date. I felt her excitement and was glad I would get to help her in this search.
"Good luck," Carlisle wished us as we unloaded our bags. "You know where to find me."
Alice hugged him tightly. "I'll miss you. We'll be back before you know it though. Oh, and Tanya is going to come visit in September as well, so you'll have that to look forward to."
I shook my head. Trust Alice to drop something like that as an aside. "Thank you for putting up with us, all of us," I said, trying to include Bella in my sentiment. He'd had to endure a lot, especially given his own feelings for Bella.
"It was no real hardship. After all, I got a family out of the deal. Those always come with quirks." We all chuckled at that.
"And we are still a family. We're just... vacationing," Alice said with a smirk.
"Right," Carlisle chuckled again. "Well, enjoy your vacation."
"We will," I hugged him now, patting his back, and sharing with him how much I would miss having him close by. Then I grabbed the handles of our two bags and followed Alice through the glass doors.
Another reminder that I have a collaboration in the Love Lost Contest .net/u/2458839/ Make sure to read and review these great stories. And... four chapter to go. Thanks again Sharebear.