Chapter 10
Bella:
"Wait, so, Carlisle thought you were going to be Edward's mate?" I ask.
"Yep. That would never, ever happen though," Rosalie grins, linking her fingers with Emmett.
"And then you found him who, let me get this straight, was being mauled by a bear?" I say to Emmett.
"I've had an appetite for bears ever since!" Emmett grins, laughing. I laugh along with him while Rosalie rolls her eyes, obviously used to hearing that from her mate.
I've been living with the Cullen's for three days now and they are some of the nicest people I've ever met. Which leaves me wondering what happened that made Edward leave and not come back. Something must have happened, but, for whatever reason, the Cullen's aren't telling me.
"What about you, Bella? How come you were changed?" Rosalie asks.
I pause, working out what to tell them. Maggie is the only other person I've told my story to. "It happened in 1943, during the war. My dad was a soldier, which left mum and me at home while he was out fighting. One night, there was a terrible air raid. No one had time to get to a shelter and my entire town was bombed. Afterwards, in the wreckage that I somehow survived, I saw a man in the distance. He was looking for survivors, so I called out to him. I was badly hurt and bleeding, but I thought he was going to save me. Turns out, he was looking to make an army out of us, an army of vampires. When I woke up after the change, I managed to escape from him. A few days later, the Volturi arrived at the warehouse we'd been staying at and killed everyone inside."
Emmett and Rosalie both look shocked at my story. I don't know why. Everyone who undergoes the change has a terrible story. People are usually on the brink of death and you don't get into that position in a happy way.
"It's ok, though. I found Maggie about a decade later, and we've been together ever since," I smile at them. "So, you've been as a family for quite a while. How has he managed to vanish from you?" I ask.
At my question, Alice and Jasper walk over to join our conversation. I assume that Maggie is still with Carlisle and Esme, talking about Siobhan and Liam.
"It's because he knows us," Alice answers, sitting on the sofa opposite the one I'm sat on with Rosalie and Emmett.
"You mean he knows about your gifts?" I guess.
"Yeah, and because of his gift, he knows exactly how ours work. Like he knows that if he doesn't make decisions then Alice won't see him," Jasper answers, wrapping his arm around Alice.
"There's more to it, though. He knows that we know all about him and his past. Which means that all the places that having meaning to him, we know about," Alice adds.
"So, the places he's going to…they're completely random?" I say, thinking out loud. "Ok, so tell me all the places that mean something to him. Then we can work from there!"
Emmett goes out to buy a map and some marker pens to help us brainstorm. When he returns, we spread out the map on the floor in their living room. Everyone is huddled around the map, with Esme and Carlisle joining us to help out. Carlisle has known Edward for as long as he's been a vampire – I quickly learn that Carlisle is Edward's creator.
"Seattle, obviously, is out of the question. As would be the rest of Washington," Alice begins, drawing a large, black cross over Washington State.
"Chicago. That's where Edward was born and grew up," Carlisle adds. Alice throws Carlisle the marker pen, which he uses to cross through Chicago.
"How about Alaska? The Denali's live there, so…?" Esme offers. With a nod, Carlisle crosses off Alaska.
"What are we going to do about Italy? It sounds like you don't think he's there but we can't be sure yet," I say.
"Italy is more an opportunity to question the Volturi instead of finding Edward. How about for now we put a question mark over it?" Alice suggests. Everyone agrees, so a large question mark is drawn over it.
For the next few hours, Maggie and I watch as the Cullen's cross through various different states and countries. While it seems there are an awful lot of places crossed out, there are still an awful lot more that are possibilities.
It feels like we may never find him.
A/N: Do you think the Volturi's will know anything about where Edward is?
Leave me your thoughts in a review!
Sidenote: tomorrow I'm going to be posting a new story, entitled Safehouse. I hope you check it out!