A/N: Thank you to all of my reviewers. All of you are awesome! I will say this, yes Alice's vision happened at the time of Edward and Bella's breakup. You will find out what Alice's vision actually was by the end of the story. I promise not to leave you hanging too much. LOL. So, here is the next chapter. Unfortunately to get to the mending and relationship growing, you have to go through the angst, but I am hoping not too much. Enjoy and if you get the chance, please review. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 3 – A Letter, An Explanation?

Bella woke up the next morning dragging and dreary. She wasn't ready to face the day and she wasn't ready to get out of bed. Her saving grace was that it was Saturday and she didn't have to go to school, but her downfall is that she promised Angela that she would help her find a dress for some function that was coming up. She just wanted to bail, but knew that she couldn't. She couldn't fall back into the old Bella that fell apart and disregarded her friends and her life. No, this time it had been her choice and she knew she was stronger than that. Things may be strained between her and Edward for a while, but they would get past that stage. Alice was still her best friend and Emmitt was still like a big brother to her. Bella got up and grabbed her clothes to take a shower, today was a new day.

She quickly got ready to meet Angela and walked out to her truck. She opened the door and sitting in the driver's seat was a letter with her name on it. The handwriting looked like Alice's and that made her curious as to why Alice Cullen would leave a letter in her truck without seeing her or calling. This wasn't like her friend at all. Getting in, she grabbed the letter and ripped it open. She read the letter and then had to re-read it again.

Dear Bella,

As you are reading this you are wondering why I have left you a letter and did not contact you some other way, the reason is simple, I have left Forks and could not stop to face you right now. A lot of things are about to happen and I cannot go into a lot of them, but know that everything will be ok. I know that you and Edward broke up and I now believe that this is for the best for both of you. Don't worry after a "grace" period you two will be friends again, but that is all you will ever be going forward. The family doesn't hate you; they still love you and will welcome you with open arms any time you want to come over to the house. I am sorry that I cannot be there though.

Now before you read on, check inside your glove compartment, you will find tissue. Pull it out because you will need it.

(Bella stopped reading and opened the small door in her truck and sure enough, there were the tissues. She pulled them out of the cubby and pulled one of them out of the packet and into her hand. She couldn't believe that Alice was gone.)

I will not go into detail or explain all of my reasoning of why I am doing what I am doing, but I felt that I needed to say some things to you. This family has not let humans get too close to them for good reason. We cannot let them know our secret, but somehow you managed to get close to the family and then you became a member of the family. Just because you are no longer with Edward, that has not changed and will never change. You are still a part of the Cullen family. You have made your way inside all of our, dare I say hearts, and we all love you more than you will probably ever know or understand. They will need you still Bella.
Don't worry they are not going to leave because they believe that I will be coming back soon or at some point. I am not. Maybe one day, but not any time in the near future, and near future my dearest friend is years to a vampire. They will need you to lean on and to help them through this and you will need them just as much as they need you.

I am also leaving behind my dearest Jasper. I have told him that he cannot come with me. My reasoning is simple. I had a vision and he has to stay. Only I can do what needs to be done, just as he needs to do what he needs to do for his part. I know I am not explaining what the vision is or what everybody's part is and I won't. I am sorry, but I can't. Just know that this is how it has to be and that includes me leaving. I know that this will hurt him more than the others. Please watch over him and be there for him. He won't hurt you, I promise. He needs someone that is willing to look beyond his past and what he has done and see the man he is. I believe you are that person Bella. I understand that you will be afraid to be alone with him and you don't have to be alone with him, just be there for him. Both of you are hurting right now and will need someone to be there. I know you are wondering how I can leave him when I love him. Know that this isn't easy for me, but I am doing what needs to be done.

Next my vision of your future and what you become has not changed. You will still become one of us and the Volturi will still be "expecting" you to be welcomed into your new life soon. It will happen, although I am not sure of the timeline or the circumstances surrounding the change.

Please help them. They need you. Tell them not to look for me and to not wait for me to come back. They need to move on without me as if I don't exist any longer. That is the same message I give to you Bella. I will not be staying in contact. In fact this is the last message you will ever have from me (for now). Maybe we will see each other one day in the future, but not in the near future and not soon. I am sorry this hurt you and Jasper and the family. I wish I could explain it better, but one day you will understand that this is the way it needed to be. I love you all so much and will miss you, my family.

Good Bye

Alice Cullen

P.S. Don't worry about having to go shopping, Angela needs to cancel.

Alice had been right. Bella had gone through the entire package of tissues that she had found reading her letter. Her best friend was gone and she would probably never see her again. This couldn't be happening. This had to be some kind of sick joke, right? What kind of vision would make her leave everyone behind, especially Jasper?

Bella was pulled out of her thoughts when her cell phone started ringing, "Hello?"

"Hey Bella its Angela, I have to cancel today. I am feeling sick and cannot get out of bed right now," she said drearily.

"That's ok; you take care of yourself and feel better. I will talk to you later," Bella rushed. She hung up the phone before her friend could ask any questions or say anything else. She was not in the mood for conversation right now. She only had one thing on her mind; she needed to get to the Cullen's house as soon as possible.

She drove as fast as her old truck could take her to the house and as soon as she came to a stop in the drive way, she got out and flew up the stairs to the front door. She didn't have to stop at the door or knock since Emmitt was waiting for her with the door open having heard her coming, "Bella now is not a good time."

"Shut it Emmitt. I know what is going on. Alice left me this note," Bella retorted walking past him and into the living room where she found everyone but Edward and Jasper. "Jasper please come down here," she said in a calm voice. She knew he could hear her without yelling.

"Bella, what do you mean she left you a note?" Carlisle asked.

"I went out to my truck this morning and this letter was in the seat." She passed the pages to him to read and when he was done he gave them back to her.

"I was hoping that it would explain why she left," Carlisle said softly, "But all it really does explain is that you are still part of this family. And she is right about that in case you doubted it."

Bella shook her head at the patriarch. She didn't doubt it per se, but she wondered what she could do for a family of vampires that they couldn't do for themselves. "Where is he?" She asked when she noticed they were still minus one southern vampire.

"I'm sorry Bella but he said he is not in the mood for company right now," Esme apologized. "Bella, may I read the letter?" She was curious about what her "daughter" had to say. Carlisle was right, it wasn't much and yet, it held so much love for the family and for the human that she considered one of her own. She couldn't understand the sudden disappearance.

"I understand, but can I at least show him the letter? Or do you think it might do him more harm than good?" She looked between both Esme and Carlisle and they looked at each other.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" Edward said surprised. He had just walked in the house to see his recent ex speaking to his "parents" looking like she had recently been crying and was on the verge of another round, "Are you ok?"

"Yah, Alice left me a letter and told me she was leaving, so I came here," she answered quietly trying to contain the sorrow; but seeing Edward and knowing her best friend was gone was too much for her, the tears started to spill from her eyes again.

Edward wanted to hold her when he saw her start to cry, but he knew he couldn't be that person for her right now. It would be too hard for both of them. He gave an anguished look at Carlisle and Esme and after apologizing to her, he ran up the stairs to the sanctity of his room.

As soon as Esme saw the tears, she pulled Bella in for a motherly embrace. Her children were hurting and she couldn't stop it, but at least she could console them to the best of her ability. She held her and gave her comforting words. She tried to sooth her and calm her as she would one of her own children.

Soon calmness enveloped the whole room and Bella's tears dried up. She felt like some of her sadness had been taken away and that did not make sense to her until she looked up and saw Jasper standing 10 feet from where Esme held her in her arms. "Jasper," she whispered his name when she saw him and tried to give him a small comforting smile. She wasn't sure it worked or not, but he tried to return it so it looked like it did something.

"What did you want Bella?" Jasper asked. He watched her step away from Esme and take a deep breath before addressing him.

"Alice wanted me to check on you. She left me a letter and I thought maybe you might want to read it. Do you know why she left?" Bella said hiccoughing from crying so much.

His eyes grew at the mention of the letter. Maybe it provided answers that she herself had not provided before walking out the door, "I don't know why. She didn't say anything except she had to go alone and that she got a vision. May I see the letter?" He took the letter from Bella's outstretched hand and read it. Then like Bella he re-read the letter. It gave him no more information than he had before. "She doesn't want us to look for her? Why?"

"I don't know Jasper. I'm sorry; I know this can't be easy for you. I just want you to know that I am here if you want to talk or need someone. I may not have been married or in a relationship as long as you, but trust me when I say I can understand what you are going through."

He turned his sad eyes upon her and offered her a small smile, "Thank you." Then he reluctantly handed her back the letter and went back to his room. He just didn't understand what Alice's plan was.

He wasn't the only one. No one understood what Alice was doing. "If only Edward was here when Alice had her vision then we could understand why she had to leave the way she did," Emmitt said to no one in particular.

"That's it. That's why she left when and how she did. She didn't want us to know what the vision was and she had to leave before Edward got home. Something in that vision made her run and she doesn't want us to know about it yet. She knew that Edward would be able to read her mind and would then be able to see the vision as she saw it and we may have stopped her from leaving. Her letter said we will understand when the time comes, which means when it happens we will understand what the vision was, but what was the vision?" Carlisle stated.

The family would not have their answers that day, but they were there together and they would make it through this crisis as they had the others, together. Alice had left, but she had made sure she sent Bella to comfort them in her stead. Neither Bella nor Jasper could figure out what Alice was doing, but they knew there was always a reason for what she did; they just had to believe in that.