A/N: Sorry for the major wait, I wanted to finish one of my other stories before I continued this and be focused on it more. But I'm back, so enjoy!

Alice and I talked more about more about the future and less about the past as the night went on, both wanting to take the first step in moving past from the events that had taken place over the last few months. I hadn't realized that I had dozed off until I felt Alice pull the blanket out from under me and covered me with it, and I turned over to face her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." She whispered, as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Are you leaving?" I asked, coming out of my sleepy daze.

"No. I was just going to go fix you some food."

I nodded, calming down instantly. I relaxed back into my pillow, then realizing that there was a good amount of light coming through the window. "What time is it?"

"About four in the afternoon."

Ugh, I hate the time change.

"You should rest though, you haven't got much sleep recently."

I didn't really feel hungry at the moment, so I pulled the covers back and pointed to the spot next to me, so she'd get in bed with me again.

She smiled and took her shoes off, sliding under the covers with me, my skin getting goosebumps from her cool skin.

"I love you, you know." She whispered after a few minutes.

I didn't really know how she meant it. Whether it was an 'I'm in love with you' I love you, or an 'you're like a sister to me' I love you. Either way, I was happy to hear it.

"I love you, too."

"When I got the vision of you telling Rose about the images I sent you in your dreams, I knew it was just a matter of time that she'd figure out we were in Italy."

So she was the one behind that...

She nodded with a smile.

"How?"

"I've tried for decades with Jasper, or anyone, to expand my power. To get others to see what I see...but it never worked."

"Then why did it work with me?" I asked.

"Carlisle once told me there's a theory that mates share a special connection that they don't share with anyone else..."

I didn't know if I heard wrong or imagined it, but I could have sworn she was implying that I was her mate.

"Once I saw that you all were coming to look for me, I tried it with you. It takes a lot of energy, so I didn't know if it was working or not, until I saw you telling Rose."

I didn't know what to say. Was she really saying that we were mates? Did this mean that she returned my feelings? I had to know, I had to tell her how I've felt for so long.

"Alice..."

I paused for a few seconds, getting the courage to reveal my biggest secret. I was just about to blurt it out when her cold hand cupped my cheek gently, forcing me to look her in the eyes just before she leaned in slowly. Her lips covered mine, firmly moving against them. After the initial surprise, I closed my eyes and kissed her back. It was nothing like kissing Edward, but the complete opposite actually. He held back, but it was still a little rough and hard, and I didn't get much enjoyment from it. With Alice, her lips were so soft, like velvet, and I never wanted to stop kissing her.

When she pulled back slightly, I parted my lips and leaned in capturing hers this time. I felt her smile when I let my hand slide into her hair and tug on her short locks, as she wrapped her delicate arms around my waist, pulling me closer. She tasted as good as she smelled, sweet, but not too sweet. I felt like Goldilocks when she found the bed that was just right. Alice was the perfect amount of everything for me. When we finally broke apart, it was due to my lack of oxygen, and she rested her forehead on mine and waited for me to catch my breath.

"I've wanted to do that since the first vision I had of you." She said, taking my hand from her hair, entwining our fingers. "I never actually thought I'd get to."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked after a few moments. "I know you didn't want to hurt Jasper, but you deserve to be happy too..."

"I know...but I wasn't supposed to want someone else. I mean, I married Jasper because I thought that we were soul mates, but that all changed when you came along in one of my visions, which Edward happened to see, and he was adamant about going after you from that point. He was too consumed with you that he didn't notice my thoughts...and with practice, I learned to shield myself from him, which he wasn't too happy about. He complained all the time that he couldn't turn his gift off, yet he was angered by the fact that he couldn't get in my head anymore."

"Unfortunately, it was very hard to shield my emotions from Jasper. It wasn't long after you got here that he realized what you made me feel. Even though I hid it the best I could, he knew, but I still tried to fight it. I thought that's why he never said anything, because he could feel my turmoil. But right before James attacked, Edward warned me to stay away from you, because you were his, and I already had Jasper. He was the only one who hadn't had a mate, and he wanted you so badly."

"Though after James' attack, I felt like I had to take care of you...mate instinct. Edward and Jasper were furious, and finally they had had enough, so that's why they came up with the plan to leave. I didn't want to leave you, of course, and I ending up telling them how I felt about you, even though they already knew, I thought if I actually said told them my side of things, they would understand. Especially Jasper, thinking he would be a gentleman and let me go, because it was the right thing."

"But I was wrong, and he used his gift on me, as you know, convincing me to go with him. Edward...he was mad about having to leave, but he'd rather be alone, thinking you were still his, then the possibility of me taking him from you. Of course I felt extremely guilty about making them so upset, but I couldn't help the way I felt...feel. I've never experienced such amounts of joy, just by spending time with you, Bella."

By this time, I had gone through a roller coaster of emotions. I was mad at Edward and Jasper all over again. Mad at Edward because he thought I was his, even though it was his decision to leave. Mad at Jasper for hurting and manipulating someone that he supposedly loved. Then I was sad that Alice felt guilty about upsetting them, when she really only did what anyone else would. And finally, I felt so loved. More loved then I had ever felt before.

Alice had a way with making me feel special, like no one else could, without really even trying. She didn't even need words...i just knew it by the way she looked at me, her big golden eyes melting my heart, making me feel all warm inside. I wanted to make her feel the same way, though I wasn't the best at speaking, so I used my mouth for something that I was much better at. I leaned over and kissed her, trying to put all of my emotions into it.

By the way she kissed me back, I knew she was getting what I was trying to say, and she was reciprocating with an equal amount of passion. My fingers threaded through her short hair easily, at the same time holding her in place, not wanting the kiss to end.

We must have been kissing a while, because eventually my stomach started making noises, alerting me that I had gotten hungry, and it wasn't going to shut up until I ate. Irritated, I pulled away from Alice, and we headed down to the kitchen.

It was just after five o'clock now, and Charlie would be returning home soon, so we started to get dinner ready. Nothing special, just spaghetti for tonight...especially since I was having a hard enough time focusing on getting this done, with Alice constantly touching me, or kissing me. When I finally got everything in the pots cooking, I gave in and pinned her against the cupboard. Well, more like she let me pin her, but still, she was letting me have the power...and that was something I wasn't used to.

Getting more brave, I moved down to her neck, where she moved it to she side to give me more room. I let my hands wander to her hips, gripping at her shirt. When she stiffened against me, I thought that I had gone too far, so I pulled back, but I was met with a blank stare. She hadn't had a vision since Volterra, at least to my knowledge she hadn't, and not only that, but this one was taking her extra long to come out of. I waited patient until she blinked a few times, coming back to the present.

"Alice, what did you see?"

She looked at me with worried eyes. "Jasper..."

"Wait, what?" This couldn't be. "How?" I managed to get out in my confused state.

"How do you think? He must have used his power to manipulate. I just don't know why I haven't seen this before, we left a week ago!"

"Well, where is he?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Still in Europe, I think, but he keeps changing his mind as to where he's going to go."

"How the hell has he avoided The Volturi this long? Aren't they made up of the best trackers or something like that?"

"Demetri is their best tracker, yes, but Jasper knows how to elude them, and if he comes in contact with another vampire, he'd just use his gift to make them forget that they saw him."

"That's just great..." I said, rubbing my temples with my fingers.

"I have to go home and tell the others, you stay here, your father will be home in a few minutes."

"But-"

"I'll be back in a little bit, don't worry."

And with that, she disappeared from my sight, and I was left alone in the kitchen, then only noise coming from the boiling noodles and cooking sauce. Don't worry? How the fuck could I not? The selfish, manipulative, vampire that hates my guts is on the loose, and she doesn't want me to worry? He had escaped The most powerful group of vampires on the planet, and I know that he won't be satisfied until he gets to Alice or myself, and gets revenge...that's just who he has become.

Sure, Alice had her visions, but now that we know that she had missed his great escape, who knows what else she could miss. And now, we really couldn't afford to miss anything while the psycho is on the lamb, eliding the best of the best, plotting to kill us. The front door opening took me out of my thoughts, and I heard Charlie's voice announce that he was home as he took off his jacket. Making myself look busy, I turned around and stirred the noodles, then the sauce,

"Hey, Bells." He said, sauntering into the kitchen. "Smells good."

"It will be ready soon, you should go ahead and wash up."

"You got it."

I didn't know whether I should tell him about Jasper or not. Maybe I was jumping the gun with the whole panicking thing; The Volturi were after him, and who says that he wouldn't be caught by them before he got to the U.S. I needed to have more faith in them and in Alice with her visions. Now that she will be looking out for him instead of letting the visions naturally come to her, we would be better off than not even knowing at all.

And why didn't The Volturi give any of us the heads up? If they didn't catch him within a day or so, I would have figured that normal people would warn the ones who are in the most danger, but then I remember that the vampire royalty aren't exactly normal people...so should I really be surprised? Spooning the noodles onto Charlie's plate, I heard him making his way back down the stairs, and he was in the kitchen and sat down by the time I poured sauce on them, and sat the plate in the table in front of him.

"How was your day?" He asked after I got my own plate ready and sat down across from him.

"Okay. Caught up on sleep. I'll be ready to go back to school tomorrow."

I sure needed the distraction.

"You sure? You just got back...I know your wiped out."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I need to catch back up it you want me to graduate on time."

He nodded, twirling his fork in the pile of spaghetti. "Where's Alice?"

"Went home to take care of something...she should be back soon."

Maybe then she would have some answers for me, and that's the only thing that will keep me sane. I need to know what's going on, or it will drive me crazy. Edward left me in the dark all the time, and I couldn't take it. I know Alice is different than him, but I also know she would do anything to protect me...and that is what worried me the most.