"Bella!" a gruff voice called urgently, "shit."
Briefly, there was a warm, solid body surrounding hers, overly warm hands pressed against her hip and ribs. Then she felt herself being gently lowered onto the cold, wet asphalt. The warmth retreated, replaced by the dull roughness of the road beneath her. Something cold brushed against her throat, her forehead, the inside of her wrist.
Another voice spoke, soft and smooth as silk. "Bella? Can you hear me?"
She didn't want to open her eyes, this latest delusion was already breaking her.
The first voice spoke again, only slightly less tense. "Is she okay? I tried to catch her."
"As far as I can tell, she's fine," the beautiful voice responded. "Just fainted. She should wake shortly, but I'll take her inside."
A brief pause while two steel arms slid under her. A second later, she was floating, the right side of her body pressed against a marble statue. When the gruff voice returned it sounded further away, "Um, I think I need to get back to the rez, like…right now, if that's okay."
"Of course. We'll look after her, I promise. Thank you for your help."
The familiar sound of Charlie's front door opening, though there was no jerking movement up the steps or scuffling of feet against the mat. Then, she was lying horizontally again. The sofa was soft beneath her, but she instantly missed the stony embrace. The scent of Charlie's living room rushed in with every breath, now saturated with an intoxicating sweetness that could only be…
Carlisle's face was concerned, but still beautiful beyond all sense when Bella's eyes blinked open. Of course, he looked the same as he had the last time she'd seen him. Honey colored hair and golden eyes, his face pale as stone, but somehow still warm and kind.
"This is new," her voice shook, almost too weak for her own ears.
Carlisle's head tilted as his gaze flicked across her face.
"Usually, it's just…him," Bella explained, trying to explain this sudden change to herself. Had her subconscious developed another delusion? Had the cliff-jumping caused brain damage? Or finally driven her insane? Perhaps she was actually still beneath the roiling waves, dead, and this was some long, strange welcome into the afterlife.
Suddenly, his cool hand was on her forehead. His perfect face twisted with concern. "Bella, did you hit your head?"
"No," she murmured. His fingers were running gentry through her hair along her scalp. It felt nice, her eyes drifted shut again.
"Bella!" Another voice interrupted, an angry soprano.
When Bella looked up again, Alice was standing over her too. She had her hands on her hips like an enraged schoolteacher. One of her perfect eyebrows lifted, scowling at Bella. In that instant, the veil of denial seemed to evaporate. A force seemed to build in her chest, like a flash flood rushing through the chasm of grief, so forceful the water was spilling over the top. Reflexively, she brought her arms around herself, but then realized the debilitating sensation was new. There was no pain at all. It was joy. Pure, euphoric happiness that was overflowing inside her.
"Carlisle!" She gasped, lurching forward to throw her arms around his neck.
He reacted to the impact of her body against his perfectly, shifting backwards slightly so she didn't hurt herself. In her ear, Bella hurt a light chuckle. "Bella, I'm glad to see you again."
Bella's eyes were watering. She pulled away and lunged at Alice. Her friend wasn't so quick, so the hug felt a bit like running into a brick wall. But Alice was there, her sugary scent filling her nostrils. She wanted to hang on forever, but Alice gently pushed her backwards so she was kneeling on the sofa, both of them gracefully crouched on the floor.
"Bella!" Alice said angrily, "would you like to explain to me how you're alive?"
"Alice…" Carlisle murmured.
"What?" Bella's mind was struggling to keep up, her joy was overpowering her senses.
"I had a vision of you. You jumped off a cliff!" Alice said, "Why in the hell would you try to kill yourself, Bella?! What about Charlie? What about–"
Bella interrupted, shaking her head. "I didn't try to kill myself."
Both of them stared at her in disbelief, Alice infuriated, Carlisle deeply concerned for her sanity. Bella wiped at her face, now streaked with tears. Her cheeks felt hot as she explained, "I was cliff jumping…recreationally. It was f-fun."
Carlisle and Alice continued staring, the heat in Bella's face continued to spread down her neck and up her ears.
Alice stood abruptly, throwing up her hands. "I've never met anyone more prone to life-threatening idiocy."
Bella looked down at her hands, watched them as Carlisle gently took them in his. The cold of his skin felt perfect.
"What Alice means to say," he said, "is that she didn't see you come out of the water. So we thought…"
"I wasn't thinking about the storm and the currents. I didn't really think about the water, to be honest. But Embry saved me," she looked at Alice, "you didn't see that?"
"No," Alice said. "Believe me, I was looking."
Carlisle asked, "Embry? The boy who was with you?"
"Yea."
"Do you know he's…"
"A werewolf?"
Carlisle grinned. "Yes."
"He's a friend," Bella said.
"It would seem shifters are a blindspot in your vision, Alice."
Alice was pacing the room. "Werewolves? Edward was right—you're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out of trouble?"
"There's nothing wrong with werewolves," Bella huffed.
"Leave it to you, Bella. Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you have to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find," Alice said.
"I wasn't better off," Bella blurted, "and not all the vampires left. Laurent would've killed me and who knows about Victoria, the wolves–"
"Wait," Carlisle interrupted, "Laurent was here? When?"
Bella swallowed, "a few weeks ago."
"What happened?" Carlisle asked.
"He wanted to kill me, but the pack found us just in time. He said Victoria might be after me, so they've been patrolling in case she comes back."
"Bella, Victoria's dead. She's been dead for months."
A tension suddenly lifted from Bella's shoulders, leaving her feeling bizarrely sore and exhausted. "Dead?"
"I saw her," Alice said, "Jasper, Emmett, and Edward found her and killed her."
"Oh," Bella said. The name 'Edward' rang through the room like the toll of a bell. "Um, did you tell…him? You know, about why you came here?"
Carlisle shook his head. "No, he's not living with us at the moment, and he only calls in every few weeks."
"Esme, Jasper, and Emmett went to find him. We thought it was better to tell him in person…" Alice said.
"That I was dead?"
Carlisle and Alice nodded, and Bella felt her head bobbing in reaction.
"I need to call Esme," Carlisle stood and withdrew a cell phone from his pocket.
"You'll get her voicemail," Alice said, "they just took off from LaGuardia and they won't land in Houston for another four hours."
"Then she'll hear the good news then," Carlisle said. His other hand stroked Bella's hair briefly, then he walked into the kitchen.
Bella only heard the faint melody of his voice, and she was instantly distracted by Alice. Her friend crossed the room and sat beside her. Their fingers intertwined. Bella was still trembling with joy that they were truly here. That she could touch Alice's marble skin and hear her wind-chime voice.
"Well," Alice said, the anger gone like smoke on a breeze, "you humans sure do cause a lot of trouble."
A wet chuckle broke from Bella's chest, her vision blurred with tears once again. She dropped her head sideways onto Alice's shoulder. All this time, she'd been so confidently waiting for this family to return to her life. But now they were back, her emotions were rushing too fast for her to even attempt to understand them. They sat in silence while Carlisle spoke into his phone in the kitchen. Alice's small hand rubbed soothing circles up and down Bella's forearm, leaving a landscape of goosebumps. Bella smiled weakly.
Carlisle returned, all anxiety gone from his features. He sat on Bella's other side and wrapped an arm around both of them. Bella closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of their closeness.
"What happens now?" Alice asked after a few moments.
The blissful mood faded, Bella's stomach dropped. It hadn't occurred to her that there was any alternative to the reality she'd been hoping for. She didn't open her eyes, not wanting to see any pity or annoyance or disappointment or reluctance in their faces.
"Will you stay? Please?" Her voice cracked, "At least for a little while? I've missed you so much."
"Is that what you want?" Carlisle asked evenly.
"I want all of you to come back," Bella whispered. She couldn't work up the strength to ask for Edward specifically. If they refused, she'd shatter entirely and the pieces would never fit together again.
"Then that's what we'll do," Alice said decisively.
Bella opened her eyes, sending fresh tears down her cheeks. "Really?"
"Yes," Carlisle said. His melodic voice was heavy with words unsaid, but they just let the confirmation hand between the three of them. Bella's chest felt lighter with every breath she took. "Actually, I think I'll go back to Ithaca as soon as possible. Our sudden departure will raise questions if someone isn't there to deal with things."
Alice's face went blank for a second, then she said, "There's a flight to Toronto that you'll make if you leave now and run."
Carlisle nodded, his arm slid away from Bella as he stood. "Alright, I'll leave you the car."
"Wait," Bella blurted. Two perfect marble faces stared at her as she looked up at Carlisle. "You'll come back?"
A sad smile passed over Carlisle's face. He extended a hand to gently cup Bella's face. "Yes, before you know it."
A few minutes later, Carlisle was gone, and Alice warned Bella that Charlie would return shortly. Buzzing with energy, Bella went into the kitchen and found some leftovers to reheat. Alice followed her like a shadow, and listened patiently while Bella told her about Harry's unexpected death. The borrowed grief struck her, from Charlie and Billy and Jacob, Seth and Leah and Sue and everyone on the reservation. And herself, for the man that had cared for her however he could for all her life. She felt selfish for resenting the way it ruined her joy at Alice's return. And she felt horrified at her own actions, which almost made Charlie lose a best friend and daughter on the same day.
The cruiser crunched along the gravel driveway as she pulled the lasagna from the oven, a waft of cheese-scented air filling the small kitchen. Alice's nose wrinkled. But she smiled as she looked out the window. "Showtime."
Bella's heart raced as she stepped outside onto the porch. Even the sky had lightened, the storm having lost all momentum. Charlie's reaction was some final test, that Alice was really here, that it wasn't just a dream.
He trudged slowly up the walk, his eyes on the ground and his shoulders slumped. He didn't even notice Bella approaching until she hugged him around the waist. Then he embraced her back fiercely.
"I'm so sorry about Harry, Dad."
"I'm really going to miss him," Charlie mumbled.
"How's Sue doing?"
"She seems dazed, like she hasn't grasped it yet…" The volume of his voice faded in and out. "Those poor kids." He shook his head.
He kept his arms tight around Bella as he started toward the door.
"Um, Dad?" Conflict roiled in Bella's stomach, but she figured she'd better warn him. "You'll never guess who's here."
He looked at her blankly. His head swiveled around, and he spied the black Mercedes across the street. Before he could react, Alice was in the doorway.
"Hi, Charlie," she said in a subdued voice. "I'm sorry I came at such a bad time."
"Alice?" he peered at the slight figure in front of him as if he doubted what his eyes were telling him. "Alice Cullen?"
"It's me," she confirmed.
"What brings you to town?"
Alice gave a perfect impression of a bashful girl as she lied, "Esme and Carlisle are planning to return to town, I volunteered to come open up the house."
"They're coming back?" Charlie's voice was flat, his arm tightened around Bella's shoulders.
"That's the plan," Alice nodded, "Esme never quite settled into L.A.; she misses small town life."
"What about you? And…the rest of the family?"
Everyone understood that there was only one member of the Cullen family that Charlie cared about returning.
Alice answered smoothly, "I'll be here, I'm taking a gap year. The others are scattered around."
Charlie's posture remained tense.
"She can stay here, can't she?" Bella pleaded.
"Of course," Charlie said mechanically. "We'd love to have you, Alice."
"Thank you, Charlie. I know it's horrid timing."
"No, it's fine, really. I'll be busy down at the rez; it'll be nice for Bella to have some company. The funeral won't be for a few days, lots of people coming from out of town."
He restarted towards the house, still holding Bella close. When they crossed the threshold, the loss of his warm body stung against the left side of her body. "There's leftovers ready for you."
"Thanks, Bell," he mumbled, "I just came to shower and grab some clothes, I'm gonna sleep at Billy's."
Bella's throat stung at the pain written over his features. He looked thirty years older than he had that morning. "Eat before you go?"
"Sure, sure." He shuffled towards the kitchen.
Alice went back to the couch, and Bella followed. They leaned against the cushions, squeezed against one another with their hands intertwined. Alice grinned and whispered, "I have a house, Bella."
"I'm not letting you out of my sight," Bella said.
For a moment, they listened to Charlie rustling around in the kitchen. Then Alice murmured, "Our leaving didn't do you any good at all, did it?"
"It was hard." Bella swallowed.
"I told him," Alice said to herself.
"What did you think you were going to find, when you came back? I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes? You know me better than that."
"I do. But I hoped."
"For what?"
"That he would change his mind."
Bella's chest cracked once again, and it hurt more than ever before. In this short time, her resilience to the pain had already vanished. "And he…didn't?"
Alice sighed, her dark eyes stared up at the ceiling. "I saw him wavering constantly. Sometimes if I looked I'd see him coming back, but then a few seconds later he was back to hiding away. He's very determined to leave you alone. Idiot."
"That must be difficult for him," Bella murmured. Her heart was aching, but she felt so close to Edward, just through this conversation. It was exhilarating.
"Oh no," Alice huffed, "don't go feeling bad for him. He doesn't deserve it."
A wet chuckle broke from Bella's chest, she leaned her head against Alice's shoulder. "I missed you so much."
Alice's cheek rested against Bella's hair. "I missed you too. I'm so sorry."
Bella sniffled. "I've had a lot of time to think. I think I understand why he…did what he did?"
"You don't have to understand. I don't understand, even now. My advice: get angry and stay angry for as long as you want."
"I'll try my best."
Charlie came out of the kitchen, his face blank, and went upstairs without looking at them. Bella curled herself further against Alice's small body.
"How would you have spent the rest of your day if we hadn't turned up?" Alice asked.
"Sat around, worried about Charlie," Bella said, "gone a bit stir crazy."
"Hmm, I think my day would have been similar."
They both chuckled, Bella's voice sounding gruff next to Alice's. Bella asked, "What should we do?"
"I would actually like to go check on the house," Alice suggested.
"Alright, but I couldn't even find the driveway."
"Oh, Bella. You must know I'd never let some ferns get in my way."
"I wouldn't want you to break a heel."
Alice huffed, but they were both smiling.
They waited for Charlie to leave again, Bella gave him a tight hug on his way out.
Then Alice and Bella loaded into the black Mercedes. The storm had passed, but the sky was already fading into Twilight. When Alice pulled onto the highway, Bella gasped and clutched her seatbelt.
"What?"
"I forgot how fast you drive."
Alice's musical laughter filled the car, and the engine rumbled as she increased their speed. "You've been living in the slow lane."
Bella rolled her eyes, her face aching from her smile.
A few minutes later, Alice abruptly slowed and pulled off the road. They climbed out of the car, and Bella chided herself for missing it. There, between two enormous trees. About ten feet across, the vegetation was much thinner. When she peered back into the woods, the pattern continued. Sapling trees and small ferns, fallen branches, but the path was obvious. Still, it was too overgrown for the car.
Bella climbed onto Alice's back, feeling cumbersome atop her tiny friend. She tucked her face into inky hair and closed her eyes. The sensation of flying never came, but she felt the whoosh of wet air against her cheeks as Alice ran. Then, a few seconds later. "We're here."
The last time Bella had seen the Cullens' beautiful mansion in the forest, she'd been consumed with grief. Its emptiness had seemed to mirror herself, a hollow shell with no soul inside. But now, with Alice beside her, the facade seemed to glow with life. Alice danced up to the front porch and slid a key into the lock.
"Home sweet home!" She sang.
Bella followed in a daze. Stepping through the door felt like stepping back into a previous version of herself, where this place was home as much as Charlie's little house.
"Aw, what the hell?" Alice groaned.
"Hmm?" Bella asked. Alice stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at a fist sized rock on the floor, surrounded by a spray of glass from the broken window. There were crunchy leaves and twigs and pine needles scattered around the room too. "Oh, I think that was me."
"Excuse me?"
"I came here a while ago," Bella said. The memory was fuzzy, diluted by the intensity of her despair in those first months after Edward left her. "I got angry, threw a rock."
Alice looked from Bella to the wreckage, then back to Bella. Then she burst into a fit of giggles. Bella joined in, and a second later their combined laughter was echoing through the empty house like music.
"Wow, Bella," Alice said, "I didn't know you had it in you."
Bella shrugged.
Alice turned towards the stairs and started up towards the main floor. Most of the windows were covered in steel panels, so the house was nearly pitch black. Bella put her hand against the wall to guide herself, stepping carefully. Even after all this time, she knew her way around the room.
"You're vandalism let some new residents in," Alice said.
"What?"
Something large, and warm, and furry, scurried just in front of Bella's feet, its nails clicking against the floor and tail brushing her shoe. Bella shrieked. "Ah! Oh my god!"
The creature - a raccoon - dashed down the stairs and fled through the open front door. Bella put her hand against her chest, attempting to calm her racing heart.
"Cliffs, werewolves, vampires," Alice said, "no problem. But mid-sized feral mammals are where you draw the line?"
"Yes!" Bella gasped.
Alice chuckled. "Go wait in the car while I scare off our friends and open the windows. I think I'm smelling hazardous animal feces and mold anyway."
Bella obeyed, though she didn't go as far as getting in the car. She waited at the base of the stairs to the front door, where she could hear Alice rustling around inside. No less than a dozen animals escaped from the vampire, running right past her into the safety of the forest. Then a deafening mechanical screech, and the window guards started to lift.
Alice emerged pristine as ever, though her face was twisted with disgust. "Ugh, what a mess."
"What's wrong?"
"Problem with the roof, it's been leaking for at least a year."
"Oh, no," Bella said.
"Yes, tragic," Alice said brightly, "we'll have to redecorate. Esme will be devastated."
"Was there a lot of damage?"
"Some. Mostly in Edward's room."
"Aww, that's too bad."
"Hmm," Alice hummed. "What was it Mike Newton used to say?...Oh, yea - karma's a bitch."
The sky was nearly dark when they returned to the car. While they sped along the road towards town, Alice rambled about her hopes for the renovation of their house. It was probably the most beautiful and airy house Bella had ever seen, but Alice wanted more. She wanted the interior to reflect the house's natural surroundings. No more clean whites and creams, she wanted natural woods, patterns, green and brown and blue, plants hanging from the ceiling and climbing the staircases. "I want it to feel like there's nothing but a pane of glass separating us from the forest, won't that be lovely?"
"Yea," Bella nodded. "Will Esme like it?"
Alice waved her hand. "I'll convince her to try. If we hate it we'll start over."
"Right, sure."
All the lights were dark when they returned to Charlie's house, Bella had forgotten to leave any on. She struggled to fit her key in the lock, until Alice huffed and took it from her. The world felt warm and safe and perfect once they were inside. But then Alice had to ruin it.
"Bella, I'm sorry, but I think I need to hunt," she gave a sad smile.
Her eyes were nearly black, with deep shadows underneath. Bella hadn't noticed before. When she spoke, her voice wobbled, "Oh, of course. It's okay."
Alice stepped close and put her hands on Bella's shoulders. "I only need an hour, I promise. Go take a shower and change your clothes, you look terrible."
Bella huffed, it turned into a sniffle. "I drowned today."
"Don't think you've gotten away with that," Alice said, "We'll talk when I get back, I promise."
"Okay," Bella said.
The moment Alice left, Bella went into the kitchen to check the time. The clock above the stove read 4:39. Barely six hours had passed since she jumped from the cliff. Enough time for her entire world to shift on its axis, back into the proper alignment. Bella told herself she wouldn't check again, Alice had promised.
Without Alice's euphoria-inducing presence, Bella became aware of the miserable state of her body. Her clothes and hair were crunchy with dried seawater. Her chest ached in both directions - inside from the water she'd inhaled and outside from the impact of Embry's blows against her sternum. A headache was building behind her eyes, all the salt had dehydrated her. Her legs stung from her impact with the water, and she was a bit dizzy, because she hadn't eaten since before sunrise. Not wanting to embarrass herself further by fainting in the shower, she ate some of the leftovers Charlie hadn't finished. The food stung on the way down her ruined throat, but she finished her plate, then put her head under the faucet and drank for a full minute.
She couldn't stop herself from staring out the kitchen window. The car was still there, looking far too expensive for the surroundings. But its presence made it easy for her to suppress the anxiety that she'd imagined everything. Upstairs, she put her salty clothes straight into the washing machine, then gathered the rest of the dirty clothes from her room and started the load. The hot shower felt wonderful, chasing the lingering cold of the ocean from her bones.
When she wiped the steam from the mirror, Bella was surprised to see a small smile on her lips. The aches of the day lingered, but they barely distracted from the warm joy spreading through her. As she brushed her hair, she bit her lip to contain girlish giggles and eventually her cheeks began to hurt from smiling.
The phone rang while she was halfway into her warmest pajamas. Thinking it must be Charlie calling from La Push, Bella pulled on her sweatshirt and hurried down the stairs, mumbling, "hang on, I'm coming."
She crossed the threshold into the kitchen as the last ring sounded through the house, but when she lifted the phone from its cradle, there was only the dial tone. "Dang it."
Since she was already in the kitchen, Bella allowed herself to glance at the clock. 5:31, Alice still had eight minutes, Bella went to the sink to wash the dishes. But she was mostly admiring the way the warm yellow light of the streetlamp outside glimmering off the black finish of the Mercedes.
.oOo.
A different phone rang across town, in a dimly lit building thick with the scents of ink and coffee. Deputy Mark looked up from his crossword puzzle and answered, "Forks Police Station."
"Good evening, may I speak with Chief Swan?" The caller asked. The voice was entirely polite, eerily so, and so cold that Mark felt shivers run down his spine. Inexplicably, he looked towards the front door of the station, across the road at the busy parking lot of the diner. The sight comforted him, the voice had tricked him into a bizarre fear that he'd look up and see a monster staring back at him.
Mark cleared his throat and replied, "I'm sorry, he's not here at the moment. Can I take a message?"
"Will he be there tomorrow?"
"No, sir. He's out for the week, arranging a funeral. Is there something urgent you need help with, I'm happy to assist however I can–"
The line was already dead.
.oOo.
Even before they stepped off the plane, the temperature difference between gulf-coast Texas and upstate New York was striking. It was only early March, and already the afternoon sun was sending ripples of heat off the tarmac. The metropolis in the distance was entirely unfamiliar, but Jasper still felt unnerved. Now more than ever, Houston - the sixth largest city in North America - was contested territory in the never-ending Southern Wars. Maria or another clan leader would not be pleased to learn of three vampires entering their territory. The constant fight for control, prestige, territory, and above all, blood, still felt more familiar to Jasper than his life with the Cullens, which now felt like it was crumbling around him.
"Dude, you're projecting," Emmett hissed in his ear.
Jasper pulled himself back to the present, and forced his gift to regulate. Emmett and Esme were sending off despair in waves, it wouldn't help anything for him to add his anxiety to the mix. "Sorry."
"It's alright, Jasper," Esme said smoothly.
She sat between them, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her lovely face was calm as a statue, but to her companions, her grief was obvious. There were two small children in the row in front of them, a baby who whined through takeoff and landing, then fell asleep in his mother's arms, and a toddler who spent most of the flight climbing all over her father and talking in gibberish. With every whimper or giggle, Esme's pain lashed Jasper like a whip.
The whole process of parking and unloading the plane seemed to take hours, but they were in no hurry. Their layover was several hours long, and none of them were particularly eager to get to Brazil anyway. Emmett was hoping they missed the flight, and could delay the whole situation until Carlisle and Alice could accompany them. Esme was thinking of the beautiful little island off the coast. They could bring Edward and all stay there for a few years while the grief lightened. Jasper was focused on the burning in his throat, it was a decent distraction from the disaster swirling around them. None of them wanted to consider the inevitability ahead of them.
Emmett and Jasper tried not to remember Victoria. Her broken mind and detachment from reality. Immortals did not recover from such losses, but they would beg Edward to continue living. They did not allow themselves to contemplate the selfishness of such a request. They didn't want to lose him too, so they would try to force him into some shell of an existence without his mate.
Finally, it was their turn to disembark. They had to move carefully through the airport, avoiding the sunlight slanting through the enormous windows. Finally, they found a shaded spot to settle for the wait.
"You're both too still," Jasper said.
The others blinked, Emmett crossed his arms and Esme brushed her hair behind an ear. Jasper went to the nearest coffee shop and purchased three drinks, the reeking scent of the shop followed him back to their seats. It was an easy way to play human, especially when none of them felt like talking. They held their breath when they brought the cups towards their faces to feign taking a sip, the scent was revolting. Emmett absentmindedly stirred the little wooden stick, while Jasper watched the human throngs pass them by. A few of them looked their way, then subconsciously walked faster or lowered their eyes. Their instincts warned them to stay away and avoid drawing attention.
The shadows shifted across the room, and they had to move positions to stay out of the sun. Jasper watched the plane that would take them to Rio roll into the gate. He wished they'd connected somewhere with the possibility of leaving the airport. But here, in southern territory, there was too much risk. The airport, with its thousands of humans passing every day, was decent cover, but in the city, they were sure to draw attention from whoever was in charge currently.
Maintaining the human facade was becoming exhausting. Esme rummaged around in her purse, checking her passport and boarding pass. When she turned on her phone, the noise it made seemed louder than the engine outside.
"Message from Carlisle," she said. A bolder of grief sank from Jasper's throat into his stomach, and he couldn't even tell who the emotion had come from.
Emmett put his arm around Esme as she brought the phone to her ear. Everyone listened, Jasper still looking out the window while Emmett stared at the floor in front of him.
"Esme, darling!" Carlisle's recorded voice said. "Bella's alive. She's alive! It's a long story, but she's fine. Alice and I are with her now. I don't think you should go to Rio, we need to reconsider things. I'll call you again later, I love you."
A mechanical voice replaced Carlisle's smoothe one. "If you want to hear the message again, press one. If you want to delete the message—"
"Esme, darling!" Carlisle's voice restarted. Emmett and Jasper were not staring intensely at Esme, all of them listening. Jasper felt like he would explode from all the emotions racing through him.
They listened to the message half a dozen more times, before Esme exhaled shakily and broke into a smile. Emmett ran a hand through his hair as he threw his head back. "Jesus, fuck."
"Language," Esme scolded, now halfway to giggling from relief.
The older couple sitting across the aisle from them looked at them nervously, Jasper tried not to let his teeth show through his smile when he said, "Sorry, we've gotten some good news."
"Oh, there's another message," Esme said.
Jasper and Emmett leaned closer, for the sake of their human observers, though it was utterly unnecessary.
"You probably haven't landed yet," Carlisle said, "but we've spoken to Bella, and she wants us to come back, all of us. And I agree. In a few weeks once we've settled back into Forks, I'm thinking of taking Bella to Brazil to speak with Edward. They need to work things out for themselves. I'm heading back to Ithaca now, and I'd like you all to return. I'll be on the plane again when you get this, but call me back. I love you, see you soon."
Esme, Jasper, and Emmett were moving before the message ended. Stood from their seats, gathered their belongings, and slowly - agonizingly slowly at human speed - made their way to the airline help desk. Esme spoke into the phone while they walked, telling Carlisle she loved him and they'd rejoice together soon. How excited she was to see Bella again, and how certain she was Edward would make the right decision.
The young woman working at the airline desk easily helped them change their flights. Jasper covered her with a soft blanket of focused calm that smothered her instinctual fear and allowed her to work efficiently. In another mood, he would have used that fear instead, but now he preferred the carrot to the stick.
Leaving New York, time had seemed to rush around them. Propelling them towards tragedy so quickly they could barely breathe. On the flight home, time seemed to slow. All of them felt drunk with relief, and Esme was buzzing with excitement.
This time, they were at the front of the plane waiting to disembark a few seconds after the seatbelt sign disappeared. Jasper drove just slow enough to avoid law enforcement in the city, then hit 120 on the open stretches of the highway. They drove with the windows down, letting the cold air whip into the car and washed the smell of recycled air from their clothes and hair. The trees and ground were still thick with snow, piled high on either side of the road. The sky was fading into darkness, but Jasper kept the headlights off. Easier to avoid detection for speeding.
As they approached the house, Jasper was barely aware of his good mood gradually draining. When they turned off the main road, the aura surrounding him was all bright happiness from Emmett and Esme. But by the time they parked in the driveway, everything was dark and heavy.
Carlisle and Rosalie stood on the front porch. Their faces were stony, but only Jasper detected their black despair.
Esme and Emmett ran to their mates. Carlisle pulled his wife against his chest, and Emmett kissed Rosalie passionately. Alice's absence suddenly felt like a black hole in Jasper's chest, ripping its way through his entire being and spreading into the ground around him.
"Carlisle," Jasper mumbled.
At his grim tone, Esme pulled away from Carlisle's chest. When she saw the expressions on their faces, her smile faded quickly. "What is it?"
Emmett shifted, looking between the rest of them and taking a few steps closer to Esme and Carlisle. Rosalie slowly descended the stairs. The rest of the family barely noticed her moving, except Emmett, who's eyes followed her nervously.
"What's wrong?" Esme demanded.
Carlisle grabbed her around the waist, his sadness nearly knocking Jasper off his feet. "Edward heard that Bella killed herself. He's going to Italy, to the Volturi…He wants to die too." Esme gasped, but Carlisle continued surgically, "Alice and Bella are on their way to stop him before he gets there."
"What?" Emmett grunted.
"No," Esme groaned, gripping Carlisle's arm tightly, "no, no, no."
Jasper felt the world shift around him. Or rather, the world vanished, disappeared from around him, leaving only one horrifying thought. He barely managed a whisper. "Alice…Alice in Volterra?"
Carlisle nodded, his eyes shining with phantom tears as he pulled Esme back into his arms. "By the time I landed in Toronto, they'd already left. She left a message on my cell."
"Can I listen?" Jasper grunted.
"Of course," Carlisle handed him the phone, and went back to rubbing Esme's shoulders. Her entire body was shaking.
Emmett huddled close to Jasper to listen.
"Carlisle, something went wrong, I'm not sure. Edward thinks Bella's dead, he's headed to Volterra right now. Bella and I are on our way to stop him. I'm sorry, I don't know what happened…but please, don't let anyone follow us. Keep Jasper there with you, please."
"Whoa!" Emmett said, grabbing Jasper's wrist. It was too late, the phone was already crumbling to pieces in his hand.
Jasper stared at the wreckage blankly. Some deep, instinctive part of him was shifting into the battlefield calm he'd perfected during his decades at war. He stared at Carlisle. The coven leader shook his head, and stroked Esme's hair. Jasper couldn't tell who the gesture was meant to soothe. "I don't know," Carlisle said.
"What the hell?" Emmett hissed.
Jasper ignored his brother. Instead, he started to dissect the emotional climate of his family. Fear, grief, anxiety, the utter devastation of having their unexpected good news suddenly evaporate. Esme and Carlisle were shattering. Emmett brewing with determination. And Rosalie…there, beneath everything else, guilt and shame.
"Rosalie," Jasper said coldly.
She wrapped her arms around herself, not meeting any of the eyes now staring at her. "I'm sorry."
Jasper lunged. Before anyone could think, he had Rosalie pinned to the ground, his hand around her throat. The growls erupting from his own chest sent him back to another time, when violence was the only currency that mattered.
A roar echoed behind him, then a bolder slammed into Jasper, ripping him off Rosalie, and throwing him thirty feet. He collided with the side of Esme's SUV, the vehicle cracked and buckled under the impact, but Jasper landed on his feet. Emmett caught him as he threw himself towards Rosalie again. There was no strategy in his movements, just the feral rage of a wounded animal–or a newborn vampire. Emmett growled, getting his arms around Jasper so he was immobilized.
Carlisle appeared in front of them, his hands like steel traps around Jasper's shoulders. "Jasper, please."
"She told Edward!" Jasper hissed.
"I know."
"Alice is going to Italy, to the Volturi! Because of her!"
"I know," Carlisle said sadly, "but hurting her will not solve anything."
Jasper pulled against Emmett's hold, the arms around him squeezed tighter.
"Settle down," Emmett grunted in his ear. He was already nearly calm, now that the danger to Rosalie was minimized.
Jasper's uncontrollable rage dimmed, but it was replaced with something cold and determined. Run and swim, or fly? Planes were generally faster, but that risked the hassle of ticketing, security, taxi, rerouting, air traffic. The thought of spending another twelve hours in a tin can with hundreds of humans, having to be still and in control of his thirst was…unappealing.
Jasper's phone rang in his pocket. Emmett's arms loosened enough for him to break free. The number was unfamiliar, but he answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Jazzy," Alice's bell-chime voice answered, everyone listened attentively.
"Alice, w-what? Where are you?"
"The plane," she said, "they have a phone they're letting me use for a few minutes. We're somewhere over the arctic now."
Jasper stomped away from the family, then back again, pacing. "Wherever you're landing next, turn around and come home, I'm serious."
"You know I can't do that," she said.
"Alice, I swear," Jasper started.
Carlisle interrupted, "Son, let me speak to her."
Jasper was losing control of his strength, so he handed over the phone.
"Alice," Carlisle said, "tell us what's going on."
"I can't be sure, I keep seeing him do different things, he keeps changing his mind."
"What are you seeing?"
"A killing spree through the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square, mostly things that would expose them–he knows that's the fastest way to force a reaction."
Jasper stood next to Carlisle and spoke loud enough for her to hear through the phone. "Stay wherever you land, I'm coming to you."
"No, you can't," Alice's voice dropped. "Think about it, Jasper. If he sees any of us, what do you think he'll do? He'll think we're lying in our thoughts and he'll rush it."
"I don't care about him!" Jasper shouted into the phone, "I care about you. You're not going to Volterra! Not without me!"
"Jasper," Alice pleaded, "You can't follow me. Right now I see us getting there in time, but you'll mess it up."
"Y'all get there in time? What does that mean?"
"I see myself coming home to you and the end of this," she said.
"You won't be in danger?"
"Well–"
"Alice!"
She laughed, but there was a catch in her voice, "Don't follow me, please. I promise, Jasper. One way or another, I'll get out."
Jasper took the phone from Carlisle's hand and spoke softly, "Baby, you know I need you to be okay, right?"
"Yes, I promise I will be."
Jasper ran a hand through his hair, pulling until his scalp stung. "Alright, keep us updated. I love you."
"I love you too."
The silence that hung over them when the call ended threatened to crack the entire world. Jasper slid his phone into his jacket and looked at the rest of them. Esme was back in Carlisle's arms, both of them calmer after hearing Alice's premonitions. Emmett was standing halfway in front of Rosalie, still guarding her from Jasper. Looking at the two pairs made Jasper abruptly sympathetic of Edward's years of solitude. How miserable to stand alone in times of joy or hardship.
"I think I'll go for a hunt," Jasper said.
"We can come too, if you'd like," Esme offered.
"No, thank you. No offense, but I think I'd like to be alone with my own emotions for a while."
Carlisle said, "Keep your phone on."
Jasper nodded. A second later, he was gone, a white streak into the snowy forest.
The rest of them made their way inside. They sat in pairs on the pristine white sofa and waited. Carlisle held Esme on his lap, their foreheads pressed together. Their eyes were closed and Esme's hands were folded together at her chest. They were praying.
Emmett and Rosalie faced the window, watching the leaves shift in the breeze and the stars slowly migrating across the night's sky. As morning approached, a thin layer of frost covered everything. The leather interior of the SUV would be destroyed, exposed to the elements. Jasper returned as the sun rose, his blond curls full of icicles and his clothes filthy. He didn't disturb Esme and Carlisle, and barely looked at Emmett, ignoring Rosalie entirely. The wound of her actions was already beginning to fester, but no one wanted to address it. His eyes were warm gold, but entirely empty. His soul would not return until Alice was back in his arms.
The five vampires were statue still in their waiting, they looked like a painting. Whether the scene was tragedy or ecstasy, happy ending or misery, joy or grief, they would not know until the phone rang again.
Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all the best in 2025!
The timeline of the end of New Moon (Alice seeing Bella is alive, staying with her for two nightsRosalie calling Edward, him calling Charlie, going to Volterra, etc.) absolutely HAUNTS me. Why does Alice not call the family to let them know Bella is okay? Why does Jacob answer the phone instead of Bella, in her own house? Why did Jacob come to see her when Harry's funeral was actively happening? And for that matter, how did they get a funeral for a prominent public figure thrown together in like 48 hours? When I tell you I've stressed over this i'm not exaggerating. That's why I've gone for a more movie timeline than the book, namely, that Alice is in Forks for a few hours instead of like two whole days. Also, I know phones and voicemail played a huge role in this LOL, y'all know i'm not a plot-enthousiast but we'll have Edward back soon then back to character stuff, now with FLUFF!
Please let me know what you think! xoxo