"So, am I getting this right? You want me to call up Charlie and tell him that we're in LA because my grandfather died and we'll be staying in LA while we grieve and get my grandfathers affairs in order?" I asked my family in disbelieve as we sat around in the living room of the hotel suite. "Yes," Jasper responded. "It'll buy us time to find James." "How much time will it buy?" I asked, directing the question towards Alice. "About a month, maybe," Alice replied. A month. It didn't take a vampire mind to figure out what that meant. I had a month to talk to him and then it was over if they didn't find James. "Great," I muttered. Charlie seemed to take the news well. In fact he seemed relieved. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "But I'm glad you're okay." "Yeah, I'm fine," I responded. "Well, how long are you going to be gone?" He asked and I had to fight back tears. "For awhile, I'm not really sure but I'll make sure to call and keep in touch." "Good...Bella, I don't want to fall out of touch with you," he admitted. "Me either. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" "Okay," he agreed. "Stay safe." "You too," I said before hanging up and letting the devastation I was feeling take over. It didn't take Grandma and Grandpa long to find a home. Unfortunately for us all, the house was in the middle of a neighborhood and not very private and therefore we were constantly having to try and blend in. Just a day after this, they enrolled us in the local high school which was awful. To keep me protected, I had every class with at least one of my family members except for one but they were trying to change that. It was miserable and everyday I went home and called Charlie, making up stories about my grandfather and how difficult it was making arrangements for his burial. I stayed up late into the night, laying in my unfamiliar bed with my Edward next to me, worrying about James and Charlie and whether or not I'd ever see Forks again. I week after our move into the new house, I was sitting in the art classroom at school, my one class away from my family, when my phone vibrated. I don't know what possessed me to answer the blocked number, maybe intuition, but it was before class started so I did and what I heard chilled every bone in my body, "Bella, I've been looking for you." "James," I breathed. "Yes, Bella?" He asked. I managed to ask, "What do you want?" I could hear his laugh as he answered. "I think we both know that I want you. Now, you're the one with the options. You can come to me, nice and easy, or I can come to you and then your little family are going to be the ones hurting," he threatened. I thought for a mere moment. If I could manage to get to where he was, surely my family would follow and kill him if I could hold out long enough. Even if I couldn't hold out, dying in the place of the ones I love is surely a good way to go. Maybe James would leave my family alone after that and just run away. "I'll come to you," I answered, already moving down the hallway to the parking lot, feeling the set of keys resting in my pants pocket. Edward had let me drive today. "Good girl," he remarked. "I'm at Edna's Ballet Studio." "I've seen it," I whispered. "I'll be there soon." I got to the car and immediately jumped in, starting the ignition. "Good, and Bella?" He asked as I raced out of the parking lot and on to the street. "Yeah?" I murmured. "Don't keep me waiting." With that final threat the phone call ended. I tossed my cell onto the passenger seat and drove as fast as I could, without wrecking, to the ballet studio downtown as sweat drizzled down my face. Surely I was doing the right thing. I knew at any moment Alice would get a vision and then they'd all be on their way. Yes, this was the right thing. If I could hold James off, even for just a minute or two, it would be enough. My family would come and finish him off and we could go back to Forks and all would be well. I'd have a solid year and a half to spend time with Charlie before I asked Carlisle to make me immortal. Even if I couldn't hold him off...well, at least I will have tried. The ballet studio was almost all mirror. I entered the studio with near petrifying terror but it quickly turned to adrenaline when I called, "James," and saw his reflection in front of me. I turned and was face to face with the monster. His eyes were what entrapped me. They were a steel black I'd never seen in eyes before; my family never allowed their hunger to get so bad. Aside from his eyes, the only other thing I could focus on was his thin, sickening smirk and some sort of video camera that he held in his hand. "Bella," he purred and I immediately wanted to run but resisted. "It's been awhile." "Not long enough," was my response. I needed to keep him talking vut I found myself having trouble making noise come out of my lips. "Now, don't be that way." The back of his hand caressed my cheek and I shivered at the foreign invasion of my space. He took a step closer to me and I could feel his icey breath on my skin. "This is really only natural. This is just a way to even it all out," he explained, though his voice took on a sort of distance that made me feel that he was not really talking to me. "Even what out?" I asked and his smirk fell just a bit before returning full force. He began his story, "The girl had spent almost her entire life in the dark. She was a perfect, easy target. That is, until some weasel of a man made her immortal. She was the only one that ever got away from me." It took only a second for me to be reminded of one of my family members tale of immortality. "Alice," I breathed. " You tried to kill Alice." He nodded swiftly. "I suppose you're a fair trade-off. though I am tempted to go finish what I started." Adrenaline turned to rage as I yelled, "Stay away from Alice!" He laughed. "How touching. I'm sure her and that boyfriend of yours will absolutely love watching this." He gestured to the camera. "Love watching you defend her before your words turn to..." I felt his hand on mine and then a snap in my wrist. Pain shot through me and I couldn't help the shouting that ommited. "...screams. How interesting. I was expecting tears." I once again considered running but I knew it would be no use as he could run any number of times faster than I could dream of doing myself. I grasped my wrist and took a few steps back. He followed. In a swift move-that I didnt understand how it had happened-I was flying through the air for just a second before my head hit a mirror witha pounding motion and I slid to the floor. I was sure I had screamed again but I had tried not ti. My uninjured hand then shot up to my head and I felt something wet and hot. When I pulled my hand away, it was soaked in blood that made my stomach curl. I looked up at James who now had his camera facing himself. "Oh Eddy," he hissed. "I will admit: she's pretty." "Don't talk to him," I grunted but the world around me was becoming dizzy. "Such loyaly. Such a shame," I heard James say but I wasn't paying much attention as the dizziness was overcoming me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward just before I blacked out.