When Edward pulled up just up from the house, I saw the lights were still on, dad was waiting up for us.

My mind was going a million miles a second, how on each would we convince dad to let us leave, I couldn't break his heart, I glanced to see Edward and Alice were obviously alert, ramrod straight in their seats, listening to every sound of the woods, looking through every shadow, catching every scent, searching for something out of place. The engine cut off, and I sat, motionless, as they continued to listen.
"He's not here," Edward said tensely, I let out a sigh of relief,

"Let's go." Alice said as she was suddenly reaching over to help Bella get out of the harness, the worry evident of her face,
"Don't worry, Bella" Edward said in a low but cheerful voice,

"we'll take care of things here" Edward confirmed to us, I glanced around searching for the person I desperately wanted to see, suddenly my door opened and I felt moisture filling up my eyes as I looked at Emmett.

Not knowing when I would see him again after tonight was anguishing, only a few hours ago I was so happy and content and now that was all at risk, I knew this was just a faint taste of the goodbyes I would have to survive in the next hour, and the thought made the tears begin to spill.
Suddenly I was being pulled out of the car and into his protecting enclosure of his arms, I held onto him for dear life, scared if I let go he would disappear,

"I'll be right outside, I'm not leaving you" Emmett muttered in my ear, I nodded into my chest, knowing that statement was only true until we had to part soon. Too soon.

Edward and Bella waled round and I gave Emmett one last squeeze and followed them swiftly toward the house, my eyes always roving through the night.
"Fifteen minutes" Edward warned under his breath, I nodded
"I can do this" Bella sniffled.
I stopped on the porch and watched as Bella took hold of Edwards face in my hands.
"I love you, I will always love you, no matter what happens now" Bella said in a low, intense voice.
"Nothing is going to happen to you, Bella," Edward said just as fiercely, I felt as if I was intruding on their moment,
"Just follow the plan, okay? Keep Charlie safe for me. He's not going to like me very much after this, and I want to have the chance to apologize later" Bella explained,
"Get inside, Bella. We have to hurry" Edwards voice was urgent, I glanced around and spotted Emmett in the tree line, I gave him a small sad smile,
"Don't listen to another word I say tonight" I heard Bella say and I turned back to see that she had turned and kicked the door open, I quickly slipped inside, before her,
"Go away, Edward!" Bella yelled at him, running inside and slamming the door shut in his still-shocked face, I looked almost confused myself,
"Bella?" Charlie had been hovering in the living room, and he was already on his feet,
"Leave me alone!" Bella screamed at him through her tears, which were flowing relentlessly now. I watched as she ran up the stairs to her room, I watched as dad gave me a helpless look before running up after her, I quickly followed, and rounded the corner to see dad was pounding on her door.
"Bella, are you okay? What's going on?" dad's voice was frightened, I lent against the wall worried,
"I'm going home!" Bella voice shouted from the other side of the door,
"Did he hurt you?" His tone edged toward anger, he turned to me, I shook my head faking innocence,
"No!" Bella shrieked a few octaves higher,
"Did he break up with you?" Charlie was perplexed.
"No!" Bella yelled, slightly more breathless
"What happened, Bella?" Charlie shouted through the door, pounding again.

"I broke up with him!" Bella shouted back, suddenly Bella opened the door and pushed past dad roughly, struggling with her heavy bag as she ran down the stairs.
"What happened? I thought you liked him" dad yelled, as he was right behind her, dad caught my elbow in the kitchen. Though he was still bewildered, his grip was firm.
He spun Bella around to look at him, and I could see in his face that he had no intention of letting me leave, I didn't know what to do,
I watched as Bella glared up at my father, fresh tears in her eyes,
"I do like him! that's the problem. I can't do this anymore! I can't put down any more roots here! I don't want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like Mom! I'm not going to make the same dumb mistake she did. I hate it! I can't stay here another minute!" Bella screamed, I gasped and watched as his hand dropped from her arm like she had electrocuted him, Bella spun and headed for the door,

"Bells, you can't leave now. It's night time" dad whispered from behind her but she didn't turn around.

"I'll sleep in the truck if I get tired." Bella said simply,

"I'm going too" I simply added, dad spun round and faced me,

"Liliana, no you can't I just got you back" dad pleaded tears filled his and my own eyes,
"Just wait another week, Renée will be back by then" dad pled, still shell-shocked, I froze, what?

"What?" Bella said shocked as well, dad continued eagerly, almost babbling with relief as I hesitated.

"She called while you were out. Things aren't going so well in Florida, and if Phil doesn't get signed by the end of the week, they're going back to Arizona. The assistant coach of the Sidewinders said they might have a spot for another shortstop" dad explained, Bella shook her head, trying to reassemble her now-confused thoughts I imagined.
"I have a key" Bella muttered, turning the knob. Dad was too close, one hand extended toward me, his face dazed. I knew we couldn't lose any more time with Bella arguing with him. She was going to have to hurt him further, I sighed knowing she couldn't, so I finally spoke up,
"Just let us go, Charlie." I repeated my mother's last words as she'd walked out this same door so many years ago. I said them as angrily as I could manage, and I walked forward and threw the door open. "It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Forks!" I said with all my might, my cruel words did their job, dad was frozen on the doorstep, stunned, while I followed Bella into the
night, I kept Bella close as I was hideously frightened of the empty yard. I ran wildly for the truck, visualizing a dark shadow behind me. I waited for Bella to throw her bag in the bed and wrenched the door open. The key was waiting in the ignition, I quickly got in the back and slammed the door,
"I'll call you tomorrow!" Bella yelled, I sat there tears running down my face, wishing more than anything that I could explain everything to him right then, knowing I would never be able to. Bella gunned the engine and peeled out.
suddenly I saw Edward reaching for Bella's hand,
"Pull over" Edward said as the house, and dad, disappeared behind us.
"I can drive" Bella said through the tears that were pouring down her cheeks.
His long hands unexpectedly gripped her waist, and he pulled her across his lap, wrenching her hands free of the wheel, and suddenly he was in the driver's seat. The truck didn't swerve an inch.
"You wouldn't be able to find the house" he explained calmly, I sat there, silent hating myself for using the words that undoubtedly broke my own father's heart, lights flared suddenly behind us. I spun and stared out the back window, eyes wide with horror,
"It's just Alice" Edward reassured me. I turned back and watched as he took Bella's hand again.
"The tracker?" Bella asked quietly,
"He heard the end of your performance," Edward said grimly.
"dad?" I asked in dread, my face pale again,

"The tracker followed us. He's running behind us now." Edward said, my body went cold.
"Can we outrun him?" Bella asked,
"No" he simply said, but he sped up as he spoke. The truck's engine whined in protest. Bella's plan suddenly didn't feel so brilliant anymore.
I turned and was staring back at Alice's headlights when the truck shuddered and a dark shadow sprung up outside the window.
Bella's bloodcurdling scream lasted a fraction of a second before Edward's hand clamped down on her mouth,
"It's Emmett!" he explained, my posture relaxed ever so slightly, Edward released Bella's mouth, and wound his arm around her waist.
"It's okay, Bella, you're going to be safe" Edward promised, I stared into the darkness as we raced through the quiet town toward the north highway.

"I didn't realize you were still so bored with small-town life," Edward said conversationally, and I knew he was trying to distract me and Bella,

"It seemed like you were adjusting fairly well — especially recently. Maybe I was just flattering myself that I was making life more interesting for you" he continued, I shrunk in my seat trying not to remember what had just happened,
"I wasn't being nice," Bella confessed, ignoring his attempt at diversion, looking down at her knees.

"That was the same thing my mom said when she left him. You could say I was hitting below the belt" I grimly said with more tears in my eyes, Edward gave me a sympathy smile,
"Don't worry. He'll forgive you." Edward smiled a little,
"Bella, it's going to be all right" Edward said rubbing circles into the back of her hand,
"But it won't be all right when I'm not with you" Bella whispered.
"We'll be together again in a few days" he said, tightening his arm around her, "Don't forget that this was your idea" he joked almost,

"Why did this happen? Why Bella?" I asked, my voice catching, Edward stared blackly at the road ahead.

"It's my fault, I was a fool to expose her like that." The rage in his voice was directed internally.
"That's not what I meant, I was there, big deal. It didn't bother the other two. Why did this James decide to kill Bella, there're people all over the place, why her?" I insisted, he seemed to hesitate,
"I got a good look at his mind tonight," he began in a low voice. "I'm not sure if there's anything I could have done to avoid this, once he saw Bella and the way I defended her… well, that made it a lot worse. He's not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. He thinks of himself as a hunter and nothing else. His existence is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is all he asks of life, suddenly we've presented him with a beautiful challenge — a large clan of strong fighters all bent on protecting the one vulnerable element. You wouldn't believe how euphoric he is now. It's his favourite game, and we've just made it his most exciting game ever." His tone was full of disgust, I nodded trying to wrap my head around everything,
"why not Liliana? Does he know she's human" Bella asked, he paused a moment,

"yes. But she's different to him" he explained, I was confused,

"how?" I asked, not knowing if I actually wanted to know, Edward seemed to glance outside,

"when you didn't show any fear towards him and stood in front of Bella, he thinks that you're the prize, he wants to kill Bella and then make you a vampire and feed off of her" Edward said lowly, my head spun, I could hear the tires cross the bridge, though I couldn't see the river in the dark. I knew we were getting close to the house,
"How can you kill a vampire?" I asked
He glanced at me with unreadable eyes and his voice was suddenly harsh. "The only way to be sure is to tear him to shreds, and then burn the pieces." He answered me, I nodded, knowing I potentially needed to know that bit of information,
"And the other two will fight with him?" Bella asked quietly,
"The woman will. I'm not sure about Laurent. They don't have a very strong bond, he's only with them for convenience. He was embarrassed by James in the meadow…" Edward started to say,
"But James and the woman, they'll try to kill you?" Bella asked, her voice raw.
"Bella, don't you dare waste time worrying about me. Your only concern is keeping yourself safe and please, please try not to be reckless" Edward pleaded with her,
"Is he still following?" I asked quietly,
"Yes. He won't attack the house, though. Not tonight" Edward confirmed, I nodded.

As we turned off onto the invisible drive, with Alice following behind.
We drove right up to the house. The lights inside were bright, but they did little to alleviate the blackness of the encroaching forest. Emmett had my door open before the truck was stopped, he pulled me out of the seat, tucked me like a football into his vast chest, and ran me through the door.
We burst into the large white room, Edward and Alice at our sides. All of them were there; they were already on their feet at the sound of our approach. Laurent stood in their midst. I could hear low growls rumble deep in Emmett's throat as he set me down and pushed me be hide him,
"He's tracking us," Edward announced, glaring balefully at Laurent.

"I was afraid of that" Laurent's face was unhappy, I watched as Alice danced to Jasper's side and whispered in his ear; her lips quivered with the speed of her silent speech. They flew up the stairs together. Rosalie watched them, and then moved quickly to Lucas's side in front of me, her beautiful eyes were intense and when they flickered unwillingly to my face I only saw a furious stare towards me and Bella,
"What will he do?" Carlisle asked Laurent in chilling tones.
"I'm sorry, I was afraid, when your boy there defended her, that it would set him off" he answered sorrowfully,
"Can you stop him?" Lucas asked, Laurent shook his head.

"Nothing stops James when he gets started, and even more than he girl he wants his prize" he said his eyes landing on mine, I gulped a little,
"We'll stop him" Emmett promised. There was no doubt what he meant.
"You can't bring him down. I've never seen anything like him in my three hundred years. He's absolutely lethal. That's why I joined his coven" Laurent answered Emmett.
His coven, I thought, of course. The show of leadership in the clearing was merely that, a show.
Laurent was shaking his head. He glanced at me, perplexed, and back to Carlisle.

"Are you sure it's worth it?" he asked, I grabbed hold of Emmett shirt as both his and Edward's enraged roar filled the room, Laurent cringed back,

"I'm afraid you're going to have to make a choice" Carlisle looked gravely at Laurent, Laurent understood. He deliberated for a moment. His eyes took in every face, and finally swept the bright room.
"I'm intrigued by the life you've created here. But I won't get in the middle of this. I bear none of you any enmity, but I won't go up against James. I think I will head north, to that clan in Denali" He hesitated for a second,
"Don't underestimate James. He's got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. He's every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be, and he won't come at you head on… I'm sorry for what's been unleashed here. Truly sorry." He bowed his head,
"Go in peace," was Carlisle's formal answer.
Laurent took another long look around himself, and then he hurried out the door, but suddenly stopped and I saw him flicker another puzzled look at me,

"James wants you, be careful of Victoria" he's warning was meant for me, Emmett growled again and Laurent quickly left the house.
The room fell silent, I only thing I could hear was mine and Bella's anxious breathing, but the silence only lasted less than a second.
"How close?" Carlisle looked to Edward.

Esme was already moving, I watched as her hand touched an inconspicuous keypad on the wall, and with a groan and huge metal shutters began sealing up the glass wall. I gaped wondering where on earth they have come from, I watched as they slid down the window and a vase caught my eye, the bouquet of roses from what seem like a lifetime ago was sat there on the side, I frowned wishing I could just go back to that moment, when I felt safe and I hadn't shattered my dad's heart,
"About three miles out past the river, he's circling around to meet up with the female" Edwards voice pulled me back into reality,
"What's the plan?" Lucas asked seriously, I turned to look at Edward,
"We'll lead him off, and then Jasper and Alice will run Bella and Liliana south" Edward explained,
"And then?" Lucas asked again, everyone was looking at Edward, myself included,
"As soon as Bella is clear, we hunt him" Edward's tone was deadly, I frowned at the thought,
"I guess there's no other choice" Carlisle agreed, his face grim, I hated that they were all risking their lives for us, Edward turned to Rosalie,
"Get Bella upstairs and trade clothes" Edward commanded, she stared back at him with livid disbelief,
"Why should I? what is she to me? Except a menace, a danger you've chosen to inflict on all of us" she hissed back, I saw Bella flinch back from the venom in her voice, I felt my anger rising,
"Rose…" Lucas murmured, putting one hand on her shoulder but she shook it off, I watched Edward carefully, knowing his temper when it came to protecting Bella, but he surprised me, he looked away from Rosalie as if she hadn't spoken, as if she didn't exist.
"Esme?" Edward asked calmly.
"Of course" Esme murmured, within half a heartbeat, Esme was by Bella's side and had picked her up easily into her arms, and dashed up the stairs before I could gasp in shock, quickly followed by Alice all while I still stood be hide Emmett, motionless,

"this is ridiculous, are we still going to ignore the fact that she is putting our family in danger!" Rosealie snapped,
"Rosealie!" Carlisle said in a short tone,

"No Carlisle! Why should we! She's not family! She's a useless human!" Rosealie snapped, suddenly I wasn't be hide Emmett anymore,

"watch it! She's my family, my sister and vampire or not, I won't hesitate to protect her against anyone including you blondie!" I almost snarled towards her, I heard a chuckle from be hide me, I knew it was Emmett,

"Liliana, you and Bella are both our family too now and we protect our own" Carlisle said as he walked forward and placed a hand on Rosalie's shoulder, I saw Rosalie giving me a scowl, but I refused to back down from her glare.

Just then Esme and Alice reappeared with Bella, now in a completely different set of clothes, I tried to look as natural as I could be, in order not to alert Bella to the conversation that had just taken place, Rosalie looked away and walked over the wall, I watched as everyone moved quickly, suddenly Emmett was carrying a heavy-looking backpack over his shoulder. Carlisle was handing something small to Esme, he turned and handed Alice the same thing, when my eyes focused I could see it was a tiny silver cell phone.

"Esme and Rosalie will be taking your truck, Bella," Carlisle told Bella as he passed her, she nodded, I saw her glancing warily at Rosalie. She was glowering at Carlisle with a resentful expression, I glared at her , to which Emmett kissed the top of my head,

"calm down Rambo" he joked quietly, I looked at him and gave me a small smile,
"Alice, Jasper, take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in the south" Carlisle explained,
They nodded as well and walked off, I was guessing to get the car,

"Lucas, Emmett, Edward, We're taking the Jeep" Carlisle said towards Emmett, I stood there for a second before I realized suddenly, with a stab of fear, that they made up the hunting party.
"Alice, will they take the bait?" Carlisle asked, I turned and saw Alice was back in the room, with jasper, stood by the door, everyone watched Alice as she closed her eyes and became incredibly still. Finally her eyes opened.

"He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that" Alice's voice certain.
"Let's go" Carlisle began to walk toward the kitchen, followed by Lucas, I spun round to Emmett before suddenly I was in a hard iron embrace and he was crushing his icy lips against mine, but before I could even register it, they were gone and it was over, Emmett set me down, still holding my face, his glorious eyes burning into mine,

"be safe Lil. I love you with everything I have" Emmett said deadly serious and suddenly he was gone. I saw Edward had also gone and then I dawned on me I couldn't believe the first time he had said he loved me he was heading off to fight a vampire,

"I love you too Em, stay safe and come back to me" I whispered knowing he could still hear me.
The rest of us stood there, the others looking away from me and Bella, I turned and saw the tears streaked noiselessly down Bella's face, I quickly went and gathered her in my arms to give her some comfort,
The silent moment dragged on, and then Esme's phone vibrated in her hand. It flashed to her ear in a millisecond,
"Now" Esme said and Rosalie stalked out the front door without another glance in our direction, but Esme touched our cheeks as she passed.
"Be safe" Esme whisper lingered behind them as they slipped out the door. I heard my truck start thunderously, and then fade away.
Jasper and Alice waited. Alice's phone seemed to be at her ear before it buzzed.
"Edward says the woman is on Esme's trail. I'll get the car." She vanished into the shadows.

Jasper and I looked at each other, I was worried, I knew Bella was worth this, but surely I wasn't, I could stay and be bait that would have been a better plan, Jasper stood across the length of the entryway from me… being careful.
"You're wrong, you know," he said quietly,
"What?" I asked quietly,
"I can feel what you're feeling now and you are worth it" Jasper said simply,
"I'm not, If anything happens to them, it will be for nothing" I mumbled
"You're wrong," he repeated, smiling kindly at me, then Alice stepped through the front door and came toward Bella with her arms held out.
"May I?" she asked kindly,
"You're the first one to ask permission." Bella said as she smiled wryly.
She lifted me Bella in her slender arms as easily, shielding her protectively and vanished out of the door,

"you're worth it just as much as Bella you're in just as much danger, if not more than Bella" Jasper said, still at the other side of the room,

"I don't care about myself, Bella is the main priority, even if we have to use me" I said, honestly believing that,

"try telling Emmett or anyone else that, I don't think you see how others see you" Jasper said, he glanced to the door,

"we have to go" Jasper said motioning to the door, I nodded and quickly walked out and into the waiting car at the bottom of the steps, Jasper shut the door behind me and suddenly we were speeding out of town. Please be safe Emmett, was my only thought as the tree's whizzed past.