"I was wondering…" I said to Embry.
"Yeah?" he grinned. I found my thoughts stuck on that grin, the way his white teeth contrasted with his coppery skin, the way it made me feel good that that smile was for me.
I shook myself out of my little daydream and said, "Can I see you in your wolf form?"
He hesitated for a second, but agreed. He led me outside into the woods. "Wait here," he said as he jogged off.
It had hardly been a minute before a sleek gray wolf with black spots slowly walked out of the trees. The wolf hesitantly came up to me before nudging my arm with his nose.
Carefully, I reached out and stroked the wolf's snout, giggling when he made a silly expression. "You're cute as a wolf," I murmured as I gazed at him.
He made another face before backing away into the trees. A moment later, Embry returned in his human form.
"You said I make a cute wolf," he said, grinning again.
This time, his smile tore my heart apart as, like a wave, thoughts of Jasper flooded my mind again. His smile, so different yet exactly the same as Embry's, seemed to be branded into my mind. I couldn't forget him, try as I may.
I was suddenly extremely confused. It was as if the lines between Jasper and Embry, two guys who I loved in very different ways, had merged into one.
I stepped closer to Embry, knowing it was him and not Jasper. Still, it seemed so real…
The next thing I knew, two hot hands were pushing me back. "What?" I asked Embry, surprised at his violence.
He looked extremely embarrassed as he stepped away from me. "Listen, Alice...I know you're upset about the leech, but honestly, I don't think what you're doing is wise. I mean, I'm flattered, but-"
"What just happened?" I asked him, confused.
He looked equally confused. "You tried to kiss me."
I looked at him with an expression of horror. "Really?"
He just nodded.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened, you were Jasper and I…" I shook my head. "Never mind. I'm just tired. I swear I didn't mean for that to happen."
He smiled a small smile. "It's alright. But if we agreed to not mention this again…?"
"Yeah, totally," I said. "Uh...I should be going."
He nodded once and ran the other way.
I went home and groaned as I sank down onto the couch. My stupid self-fulfilling desire had made things incredibly awkward, and now I was sure things wouldn't be the same between Embry and I ever I again. I guess I'd just lost my only remaining friend, too.
All of a sudden, I had a vision, just a quick flash. It had my father in it, a rare occurrence. He was standing in...a tux? There was a blond unfamiliar woman next to him, wearing a puffy, white, and frankly hideous dress. Wait...were they getting...married? What?
The vision faded, and I heard the door opening. "You're getting remarried?!" I cried as soon as the man himself stepped into the kitchen to wash his hands.
He frowned. "How do you know?"
Crap. I had forgotten he didn't know about my visions. "I just heard, from...people," I stammered.
"Ali, I haven't even told anyone about it yet. Hell, I haven't even bought a ring!"
Shoot. "Oh," I said.
"Ali!" he said, stepping forward. "How do you know?"
I shifted to my other foot nervously.
"Tell me!" he roared.
"Okay, okay," I sighed. "Um..." Should I tell him about my visions? Or not? I debate silently for a minute before I decided I might as well tell him.
I spilled it all out, telling him from when I started having them to now. His expression was livid as the last few words fell out of my mouth, and I wondered if I'd made the wrong choice.
When I finished, he grabbed my arm. "Get in the car!" he barked.
"Where are we going?" I whimpered.
"To the mental hospital," he growled.
I actually believed it was just sarcasm until he pulled up in front of the Seattle Institute for the Mentally Ill.
"You can't be serious!" I said, the waves of betrayal hitting me like a truck. Yes, I'd known my father wouldn't be happy about my visions, but I'd never known he'd take me to a mental hospital!
He didn't say anything, just dragged me inside. At this point I was struggling to fight back. No one helped, assuming I was crazy. "Mom wouldn't have wanted this!" I yelled as I tried to twist out of his grip. He ignored me and gestured to a lady who quietly injected something into my arm as everything blacked out.
When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a bed. I pushed myself up and gazed around the dark room, practically empty. A pair of baggy gray clothes sat on the bed, which I assumed was for me to wear.
Instead, I sat on the bed and let my head fall into my hands as I cried silently. All I'd wanted was to read Bella's diary. I wondered if I still would've done it if I'd known the consequences.
I stood up straight as I got my answer. Yes, I would, there was no doubt about it. And if I could survive everything that had been thrown at me so far, from my mother's and sister's death to having my heart crushed, I could survive this.
I'd make it through.
A/N: Huge thanks to itsthefangirl for helping me with this chapter and being an awesome reviewer, as well as sibuna826twihard and csp4 for being frequent reviewers too :)
