All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Dollybigmomma is my beta guru!

Chapter 48 – On the Road

BELLA

Edward was flipping out at everything, and that pilot dude, Rusty, really creeped me out. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't know and hadn't seen it for myself. I'd heard rumors about such people existing, but they were all urban legends. Of course, that was what I'd thought before I'd met Edward and experienced Alice. That was the only way to describe an encounter with Alice, an experience.

I felt suddenly calm as the dark-skinned man approached. Rusty had said his name was Nahuel, and he was an empath. Empaths were supposed to feel your emotions, but I think he might've been manipulating mine. The calmness I'd felt helped me be able to keep Edward from trying to kill Rusty the creepy pilot.

A woman came out of the building shortly after Nahuel. She was wearing a huge smile and had her arms open wide, ready to hug somebody. "Beautiful, just beautiful," she said as she pulled me into an awkward hug. She cupped my cheek when she stepped back and turned to Edward, "I do hope you'll invite us. I understand why you can't at the moment, but maybe with time, you'll change your mind."

She turned to Rusty, giving him what could only be described as a death glare. "I told you to leave them alone. He's very protective of his girl and his family," she growled at him. "One more misspoken word or step out of line, and you will be sorry. You know your powers don't work against a seer, we have the upper hand."

"Ah, come on Charlotte, it's not like they're married yet," the jerk whined.

"You don't have a snowball's chance in hell. Not another word." I was really liking this Charlotte woman. I think Edward was, too, because he cracked a small smile.

"If you'll join us at the ramada, we can get lunch and go over the paperwork," Garrett invited us with a wave towards a park area.

"Ramada? Paperwork?" I'd felt ten steps behind ever since we'd landed.

"Edward won't feel comfortable in the building, so we've set something up outside for everyone," Nahuel answered.

"The paperwork is for the animals. They can't cross state lines without it. We've also drawn up some form of legal papers for the monkey and parrot. It's illegal to own both, but you can if you have a mini wildlife preserve. It was the only way around that one," Garrett said as he led the way.

"What about Percy?" I pointed to Jasper's parrot.

"Different breed and pet store bought. Your little Polly is definitely an exotic, though, and anyone with bird knowledge could spot her a mile away," he answered.

"Good boy," Polly responded to Garrett, making him smile.

As we were walking over to the covered picnic tables, Charlotte gave Edward a smirk and raised her eyebrow at him. "Just say the word, I'll gladly give you a hand," she said cryptically.

Edward looked over at me and a still nervous and sniffling Jake, who was hiding his face in my shoulder. He let out a sigh and shook his head no.

"Alright, let me know if you change your mind," she offered.

With a bunch of mind readers and seers, I had a feeling I'd always be ten steps behind. There was no catching up with this group.

Charlotte sat down with Edward and I. "This is the best route for you to take. You'll only have to show your papers for the animals once, and it won't be by anyone who has any connections or care about why you have them. There are a couple of points on the alternate routes that have places you'd have to show your papers. Avoid this one," she pointed at a section of map. "The man working there is a government agent that's been put on probation. He'd jump at the chance to rat you out in a second. These other two are iffy, it all depends on the kind of day they're having. You know how that can affect a decision. This one really is your safest bet, but I understand if you don't trust what we've plotted out for you." She looked up at Edward and nodded, "Yes, that would work, too. I've contacted her father. He'll meet you at the edge of town."

"Edge of town?" Now I was really lost. Why would my father need to meet us at the edge of town?

"You're transportation will be changed. You'll have your old truck, and the goat and chickens will ride in the back, laying down for the short run. We don't want you to draw any attention to yourselves. The quiet entrance will make it easy for the town to accept your family. We're going to try and minimize the publicity of your return. Small towns are the hardest to influence, though. I think your father stepping in is the only thing that keeps Eric from running an article in the paper about your return." She squeezed my hand gently, "Everything is going to be fine." She looked at Jake in my arms, "Take what's given to you and be patient. You'll get what you want eventually. It's just going to take time."

Edward frowned and looked over at Alice. "She's right, Edward, I've tried to work it out. I've got nothing that'll change it so far. I've kept it masked, hoping to keep the emotional factor out of it, but it's impossible."

"What are they talking about?" I didn't like this conversation.

"Jacob's grandfather lives close to your small town. He'll want his grandson back, but will let us visit and help with him. It'll take a while, but the strain of having a baby will take its toll on him. He'll give him up, but we have to give him up first."

I squeezed Jake to me tighter. I didn't want to give him up, and I hated that I had a couple of psychics, or 'seers,' telling me I had to.

"There's got to be another way," I begged. Alice had to keep looking.

"I haven't given up, but it's not there yet. I'll let you know if anything changes," Alice answered glumly.

I didn't like this, not one bit. I felt my body being calmed again, and Edward gave Nahuel a nod. There was no doubt in my mind that Nahuel was doing it. I didn't know if I was happy or mad about it, and I had a feeling I wouldn't know until I was away from Nahuel.

We were given a van with the back row of seats missing and a kennel for the chickens. I thought it was going to be a tight fit and didn't know how we were going to fit Alice, Jasper and Emmett in it, as well as Jacob's car seat. The way they had the van set up, it only seated five people. I realized once Alice hugged her sister, she probably wasn't coming with us. I was pretty sure Jasper was going to follow her wherever she went. He seemed to be pretty into her, well, less crazy, anyways.

Alice's sister, Rose, pulled Emmett aside, and they seemed to be carrying on an intense conversation. He looked at her worried. He surprised me, and it looked like her as well, when he took her hand in both of his, kissed it and then pulled her into hug.

I noticed Edward silently talking with Alice again. I would have been jealous if I hadn't known better. She hung on Jasper like day-old seaweed. Alice smirked at Rose and Emmett, and I felt Edward tug on my hand. "Come on, we need to get a move on."

"We need to wait for Emmett." He was still entrenched in a conversation with Rose.

"Nope, he's not coming with us. His future lies elsewhere." He looked over at Alice, and she waved goodbye to us.

Polly rode on Edward's shoulder, and when Ollie saw us leaving, he left Emmett's side and climbed up my back. When his arm came around my shoulder, I put my hand on him, reassuring him that I was glad he was there. I carried Jake, Edward carried the chickens, and our goat and Sam followed on their own accord, too nervous to stray too far from us.

I waved goodbye and then asked Edward, "Are we going to be okay?"

"From the looks of things, we are. Alice's mind has a clear plan that's going to take some time, but it'll work out. Charlotte has confirmed it as well." He ran his fingers through Jake's hair. "It's just going to take time," he reiterated.

We hadn't gotten far when Edward started gritting his teeth. "Do you need me to sing?" I asked.

He shook his head no and turned on the radio. I realized that Edward was a very different man away from the island. He was very stiff as he drove, and when we stopped at a stoplight, the couple arguing in the car next to us was really getting on his nerves.

"What's it about?"

"What?"

"Their fight, what are they fighting about?"

"Marco is cheating with a woman named Regina. His girlfriend suspects he's cheating, but has no proof. He's a sick lying narcissistic bastard."

"Roll down your window," I ordered. They were in a low-rider with their windows down. I was sure it was to blast their music, but his girlfriend must have turned it down to fight with him.

"Why do you want me to…?" Edward began to protest.

"Roll it down," I gave him a stern look. He did as I asked, and I leaned over him and yelled, "Hey, Marco, you doing my friend, Regina, right? I knew I recognized you. You should give her a call. She's worried you knocked her up."

Edward quickly rolled the window up when the woman started shouting. She wasn't sure who to yell at and decided to focus on Marco. After that, Edward actually cracked a smile.

"Putting jerks in their place is gonna be fun."

"You can't always do that, Bella. The only reason I let you say anything is because he was annoyed about leaving his gun at Regina's and was worried she was gonna drop by to return it. If he'd had it on him…"

"Fine, I'll only freak out the people who are unarmed."

"That doesn't mean they can't hurt you in other ways. A man can…"

"Edward, have you seen your body lately? I know we didn't really have mirrors, but I thought it'd be pretty obvious with the way your shirts didn't fit anymore. You're ripped and mean looking. You'd intimidate anyone just by looking at them. I really don't think anyone is going to give me trouble with you standing next to me."

"All the same, Bella, I'd really rather not have you poking at the crazies. The human population is always on the verge of snapping. With all that goes on in people's minds, I'm surprised there aren't more murders. I can only assume that it being against the law is the only thing that stops them from acting out."

"I find that hard to believe."

We pulled up to another red light, and he pointed to the bus stop. "I swear, at every damn bus stop, someone wants to shove someone in front of the bus…some out of anger, others out of curiosity. That guy is just one of the curious sickos. As for the gentleman getting into his car who just came out of the minimart, he's pissed that they were out of his favorite beer. He considered yelling at the attendant, but didn't. Still, he wanted to give her a good shake and shove her into the display. That woman there coming out of the donut shop is considering killing herself. She thinks she should kill her husband first. She's sick of him calling her fat."

"She wants to kill her husband and herself? Shouldn't we say or do something?"

"You've never had a moment where you've felt down? Sometimes it's just a flash of not wanting to deal with life anymore, other times, it's just not wanting to deal with a certain person anymore. All this shit I just told you, it's common stuff I hear every damn day, all over the place. I can't get rid of it. I can't stop it." He cringed and glared at a man out my window. "Really? Fuck off, you asshole. Keep your eyes off her tits, they're mine!" he shouted.

The guy let out a huff and gunned it when the light turned green. I knew this was going to be a long trip for Edward. He was still scowling about the tits guy when we crossed out of the city limits. I think we were both relieved to be away from the large population. He didn't stop frowning, though. I looked in the back seat to make sure Jake was asleep. He'd dozed off after Edward's last yelling bit. I knew better than to ask him what others around us were thinking after that. I finally understood why Edward's mind being stuck in other people's heads was not a happy place.

I grabbed his hand in hopes to cheer him up. I squeezed it, and he gave me a forced smile, so I shoved his hand up my shirt and made it a real smile. "You said they were your tits, care to enjoy them for a bit?"

He glanced at me and gave my nipple a pinch. "When we stop at the hotel tonight, I'll enjoy a lot more than your tits." He rolled my nipple, and I shifted in my seat. "I really wish I knew what you were thinking. I'm pretty sure I'd like it."

I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I know for damn sure you'd love to hear me thinking of your hands in my pussy, your lips on my breast, your cock in my hand, ready to push into me..."

I saw him check the rearview mirror, and I was sure to make certain Jake was asleep. Edward's hand went to my thigh, and he squeezed it a couple of times. I opened my legs and pushed it up higher, hating that I was wearing jeans. He rubbed against the seam of them, and his smile grew wide as I squirmed. "Tonight, baby, definitely tonight."

"Good, now focus on that and nothing else. You have a mental task to keep your mind busy. You need to map out your plan to make me come hard and enjoy my first time, our first time. Do you think you can do that?"

He smirked at me, "Yeah, I can do that. I can definitely do that."

He didn't flinch as we drove through the next few small towns. I was happy my plan was working. I was also really looking forward to the plan he was making in his head.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!