Traditional. [Jasper Hale]

vii. Lost Cause

The Cullen Jeep was flying over the highway as Carlisle steered the fast-moving vehicle. Florence and Emmett were crammed in the backseat as Edward sat shotgun, currently engrossed with his phone call.

Florence could hear the ringtone. There was a brief silence between the time the ringing stopped to the time Bella spoke up, "Edward. Are you alright?"

Emmett and Florence both rolled their eyes before Florence spoke up, "Yeah, I'm okay too. Thanks for asking."

Edward ignored Florence's sly remark as he spoke urgently into the phone, "I'm coming to get you."

There was a pause as Edward mentally scolded himself for having to say the following sentences, "We - uh - we lost the tracker. The woman is still there. Rosalie and Esme are protecting your father."

"This is my fault," Bella sighed out, "You warned me, but I didn't think. I just..."

"Bella," Edward began in a comforting manner, "We're in too deep. We can't change how we feel."

"No, we can't," Bella agreed before changing the subject altogether, "When will you get here?"

Edward immediately told her of his plan, "In a couple of hours. Then you and I will go somewhere. Together. The others will keep hunting. Bella, I swear to you, I will do whatever it takes to make you safe again."

Then, both parties hung up and an ominous dial tone replaced all talking. Florence had a bad feeling run through her veins as soon as the call was disconnected. It was a part of her enhanced gift as a matriarchy. She was always destined to be a mother as a human, and when she got changed into a supernatural being, her maternal instincts were only enhanced. 

The next hour passed by in silence as Carlisle continued to violate speed limits when the traffic was low on the highways until Florence's ringtone blared out, filling the car with the classic iPhone ringtone from its place in her right pocket. 

She nonchalantly whips her phone out of her pocket, not thinking anything of it at first, before she sees Jasper's contact picture. She immediately clicked on the green phone button in order to pick up his call, "Is everything okay?"

Jasper sighs, "Uhm - how far away are you guys?"  

Florence shuffled around a bit asking Emmett how long he thought they would be before answering his question, "About half an hour, fifteen minutes if we keep speeding like we are."

"You guys might want to pull over," Jasper said.

Dr. Cullen pulled the Jeep into the emergency lane and put on the car's emergency lights, listening to Jasper's instructions with great trust.

"Wha - ? Why?" Florence asked, the bad feeling in her stomach growing, filling her unused veins up with an ice cold substance.

"Well," Jasper began cautiously, knowing that Edward was in the car listening to what he said, "Alice and I think Bella went to meet James. We were loading up the car, and we thought Bella was gathering her things. Instead, she must have been en route to her old ballet studio in Phoenix. James must have called her or something. We - uh - we don't exactly know what happened, just that we're going to need you guys to come to 8th and Palo Verde, Phoenix as quickly as possible."