"What? We're just gonna...wh-how..." I was at a loss for words.
"We're gonna go somewhere he can't find you. I've got to keep you save," he declared.
"But, we-I...we just moved here," I whimpered but truthfully that's not what I cared about. My thoughts were on Charlie. I'd just met him and now what? We were just going to leave?
"Bella, he's a tracker and he wants you and when he wants something, he won't stop looking. You are my life, now. I have to keep you safe," he explained.
"Bu-" I started before hearing feeling a swish of air from the back. I screamed and turned to look behind me. There, in the middle of the backseat, sat Dad. "What the hell, Dad? I just had a heart attack!"
"Language," he warned before turning to Edward. "Rose and Esme are following behind us. Carlisle and Alice are spreading around Bella's scent with her coat." It was only then that I noticed Id left my coat at the baseball field. "Jasper's trying to track down James and...deal with him," he said with a glance at me. It wasn't necessary. I knew what he meant: kill him.
"Alone?" Edward asked. I could picture it: Jasper alone facing James with those two other characters, uh, Victoria and Laurent, by his side.
"No. Alice is about to follow and so am I. I just need to know where your headed. I'll send a text out to the others," Dad explained.
"Give me the cell, I'll send out the message—just in case James is in hearing range," Edward said and Dad handed him his cell. That was an awful thought, James lurking in the forest somewhere, just out of sight, watching me. I shivered. Edward typed something into the phone and handed it back to Dad.
"Wait, don't I get to know?" I asked.
"No," they said in unison. They're deliberately keeping me out of the loop!
"Why?" I demanded.
"Bella, I love you but if you get overly emotional, we don't want you calling anyone and telling them where you are," Edward gently informed. I knew he meant Charlie and that severely offended me.
"I would never!"
"Good," Dad replied but offered no information. I crossed my arms and sat back in my seat.
"I just got to meet him," I whispered. I didn't look back at him but Dad's voice was sympathetic,
"I know and I'm sorry, baby girl. Maybe when this is over we can back for awhile."
"Yeah...maybe," I muttered but I was hopeless.
"I'm sorry baby girl but I gotta go." As upset as I was, I glanced back to say,
"Be safe."
He smiled. "You too. Love you."
"Love you too." With that he was gone again with a swift gust of air. I slouched back into the seat and fought the tears in my eyes. I didn't wanna cry in front of Edward.
"It'll be okay, love," Edward assured. I knew he was probably right but at the moment it certainly didn't feel like it would anything would be okay.
"Can we put in a CD?" I asked weakly, glancing at him.
"Of course," he responded and with a moment a soothing guitar ballad was playing.
We drove for hours on end and the sun quickly went away, the crescent moon rising in the sun's fall. Edward was trying to coerce me to sleep but I wasn't very tired. So he was deduced to humming my lullaby but still, my sleep was scattered and dreamless.
At around 6, rest finally claimed me and I slept till around 8 when I was awoke by Edward stepping out of the car. We were at a gas station. I yawned before stepping out of the car to stretch. I was starving so Edward gave me two twenties to buy breakfast, which was way more than I needed but I was grateful for the few moments to myself inside the gas station. I bought a couple of donuts and a bottle of water along with a travel sized mouth washed and entering the dirty gas station bathroom.
I quickly used the restroom and washed my hands, splashing water onto my face. My eyes were red and puffy so I could assume I'd been crying in my sleep. I thought it was odd that Edward had awoken me but perhaps he thought I could use any sleep I could find. After using some of the mouth wash and running my fingers through the tangles of my hair, I exited the bathroom. Before heading back to the car, I noticed a shelf of assorted key chains, many bearing the state name Wyoming.
We were a long way from home. When I finally exited the the store, Edward was back in the car and right behind the car was Grandpa's car. The windows were rolled down on the cloudy day so I could clearly see Grandpa, Grandma, and Mom. I waved but I didn't walk over to them. I was t really sure what to say. So I got in the car and Edward continued driving. I ate the donuts, vaguely amused by the knowledge that if this wasn't a dire situation then I would never be allowed to eat in Dad'd precious Jeep.
After eating and drinking over half of my water my eyes began too droop. It was daylight now and I was no longer afraid of James lurking in the shadows. I quickly fell asleep.
This time when I woke up, I wasn't in the car anymore at all. I felt soft blankets wrapped me. I opened my eyes and blinked several times before taking in my surroundings. I was in a large hotel bedroom with white walls and blue flowered trimming. I glanced over to find Edward lying next to me. I snuggled up to him.
"Where are we?" I asked softly.
"A hotel," he replied and I groaned. Obviously.
"What state, at least?"
"You aren't planning on contacting Charlie?"
"No," I said firmly. "I wouldn't put him in danger."
He seemed to accept this response as he sighed and told, "We're Dalia, Colorado."
Turned out it wasn't merely a hotel room, it was a four bedroom suite with a living room and a kitchen. I took a hot shower and when I left the room and went into the small plain living room, everyone was there. I wasn't particularly interested in everyone though, just Mom and Dad. I embraced them in a hug and we sat down on the couch together.
"We'll just give you guys some privacy," Grandpa said.
"Bu-" I heard Edward say but he must have changed his mind because I heard them all leaving the room. Once everyone was gone, I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. I laid down, my head on Dad's lap, and sobbed uncontrollably. Partially, from all the fear of James and of becoming his next meal and partially because of Charlie. I'd just gotten to know him. He was a part of me, of my past, that I had the chance to finally know and it just ended.
Mom and Dad tried to soothe me as best they could but it was useless. I cried until I couldn't produce anymore tears and then I just stared depressively ahead of me. It was a long time before I gathered myself but once I did, all my questions surged forward.
"Where's James?"
"We lost track him a few states ago," Dad admitted. "But, covered your scent up fairly well and we led your scent in a different direction." Right. The coat. This was good. Maybe he'd end up in Canada or something.
"Are we staying here? For how long?"
"Yes, we're staying here," Mom replied and then hesitated for a moment before saying, "Until we find a house." There it was. The final ball had dropped and it felt more like a boulder.
"So that's it," I stated monotone. "We're moving again."