"An animal attack?" I asked
"The camper that was found lost a lot of blood" Charlie mumbled dejectedly while he looked over to me "He didn't make it"
I knew it wasn't an animal it was obvious. In all my years I had never really heard of an animal that just went for a human's blood... I knew it was one like us, a Vampire.
I also knew it wasn't my family so it had to be someone from the outside, someone passing through. I figured Carlisle would have known by that time as to what was going on so I had a feeling that I should have probably be getting home sometime soon.
If there was another vampire around then I knew that we were going to have to kill them to protect the people of Forks.
I had to protect Bella.
"So what happens now?" Bella asked folding her arms
"We're going out there tomorrow bright and early to have a look. Billy and Harry are coming with the sheriff's department to see if we can hunt it down" Charlie said while folding the paper neatly and placing it in front of him
"Are you sure you should be going out there?" I asked raising my eyebrows skeptically
The last thing I wanted was for Charlie to be killed by a member of my species
"We have too" Charlie shrugged "I'm just going to head to bed but Alice you're welcome for as long as you want. Bells I'll be gone in the morning so I'll see you tomorrow night"
"Okay well be careful" Bella said timidly
"Always am" Came the simple yet meaningful reply from Charlie
He walked to Bella, kissing her on the forehead and he headed towards the stairs
"It was very nice to meet you Alice" Charlie said with a tired smile "You're welcome over whenever you want"
"Thank you and It was nice to meet you too Chief Swan" I replied as politely as I possibly could manage
"Call me Charlie" He said as he disappeared up the stairs
Bella and I were silent for a few minutes after Charlie had gone upstairs to bed. I fiddled with my hands in front of me while Bella stayed staring at the newspaper with a furrowed brow and her arms folded
"That's actually really scary" Bella shuddered "I mean that could have been anyone"
"Yeah" I said trying my best to pay attention to what she was saying but I was distracted in my own mind
"Should we get back to our work?" Bella asked awkwardly
"I think...I think I should get out of your hair. We did quite a bit today and we can finish this another time" I mumbled
"Oh. Well you don't have too. You're more than welcome to stay" Bella said shrugging "In fact it would be nice to have company seeing as Charlie's gone to sleep"
"I would love to Bella I really would but I should get back. Can I take a rain check on that offer?" I asked hopefully
Bella smiled slightly and she nodded slowly
After I rushed upstairs to gather my things; Bella walked me down to my car where we paused just before the driver's side door
"Thanks for having me over" I said with a grin "It was fun...as much fun as school work can be anyway"
"Any time" Bella said nodding "It was fun just hanging out"
"Well I'll see you tomorrow" I said as I backed up slowly
"You're not going to go camping or anything anytime soon right?" Bella asked quickly
"What?" I chuckled
"Well Jessica said that your family has a tendency of going camping whenever it is sunny but you can't go now because there's a wild animal out there attacking campers" Bella said seriously
I laughed melodically and shook my head
"That's very sweet of you to be so concerned Bella but you have nothing to worry about when it comes to my family" I replied playfully with a smirk "Besides, it's rare that you get a sunny day here"
"I just don't want you or your family getting hurt" Bella said as her seriousness continued to build
"Well thank you Bella but you don't need to be concerned for us" I said shaking my head "You should look out for your own safety and not worry about me"
"Alice why do I get the feeling that you're going to disappear somewhere?" Bella asked after a short pause between us "That one day when I go to school that you and your whole family are just going to be gone"
I paused, she had me stunned and honestly that didn't happen often. She obviously hadn't intended to say that until she actually did
"Why would you say that?" I asked in a sympathetic tone, furrowing my eyebrows "Where would I go?"
"I don't know...I just...I really don't know that much about you" Bella spoke almost inaudibly as she shook her head
"Another time Bella" I said soothingly while nodding but to prove that I wasn't afraid to put myself out there I took one step into her "I'll tell you whatever you want to know"
"Will you take me up on that offer when I ask?" Bella asked seriously
"Whatever you want Bella" I nodded as I felt my teeth ache. All that time in her house had made me thirsty
"Your eyes, they're golden again" Bella observed
"I told you it was the lighting in the hall" I murmured quickly "I've got to go, I'll see you tomorrow though"
"Hug?" Bella asked hopefully as she extended her arms
"When you ask like that, how can I refuse" I said with a smile and I obliged her with a hug. She gripped my back tightly for a brief moment and I swore she nuzzled her cheek against my hair.
I had been waiting for years just to have moments like that with Bella. I always thought that our relationship was going to take a lot of work but things were developing greatly on it's own. I was obviously drawn to her but she seemed to be drawn to me as well. Even if she didn't know what I was it still made me happy that she was accepting me for me...well the part of me that was pretending to be human anyway.
Laughing to myself I pulled away from the hug slowly and backed up towards my car again. With a meek, apologetic smile I quickly got in and I waved to her as I pulled out the drive way.
I drove home as fast as I possibly could, which for us was really fast. It was just that I could certainly feel that things were a little off.
My car came to a quick stop in the garage and I gracefully hurried inside to see the family sitting in the lounge room. Respective couple's sitting together with Esme sitting on the arm of the lounge as Carlisle was in the front of the room with a small frown present on his face
"I take it that you guys heard about the camper" I said looking around the room
They didn't look happy; the atmosphere was tense and the experience wasn't really bringing up any family bonding moments
"We need you to keep an eye on the situation" Carlisle said folding his arms with a sigh "Keep a look out for another vampire. It looks like they may have come through La Push. I'm surprised you didn't see anything"
"No I know. I don't know why, my visions seem to be working perfectly but I didn't see anything like this" I said walking to Carlisle "We're going to need to have a look around the woods just to make sure they haven't come back"
"Who told you about this?" Jazz asked raising an eyebrow
"Charlie, Bella's dad" I explained "Chief Swan"
"Oh met the parents already" Emmett smirked "Moving a little quickly don't you think Ali?"
"Not the time Emmett" Rosalie scowled hitting her husband on the arm
"We should head out now to search the woods. It only happened a short time ago so maybe we can pick up a scent and see where that takes us. Alice may I speak with you for a moment?" Carlisle asked looking around at everyone silently asking them to leave
"Sure" I replied nodding
Everyone left the room wordlessly and I stayed with Carlisle as he expelled a heavy sigh; a look of concern washing over his face. I hadn't really seen him so troubled in a long time and that made me feel really uneasy.
"Alice the attack was closer to Bella's house than I'm comfortable with" Carlisle said placing a hand on my shoulder "I think it would be best if you waited outside her house tonight when we return home. Jazz said she would stay with you just to make sure that she is safe. If the vampire happens to go past her house they will catch your scent there and become curious"
"Okay" I said nodding but I could feel a lump begin to develop in my throat "Okay yeah that's a good idea...do you really think that they would go after Bella though?"
"Above your scent Alice, her blood is very tempting" Carlisle nodded unhappily "We should go"
Carlisle took a few hurried steps to join my family outside but I shook my head and moved towards him again
"Carlisle" I called and his steps halted
"Yes Alice?" He turned around to face me
"Do you think we could work together? Bella and I?" I asked as I fiddled with my fingers nervously "I have never heard of a human vampire relationship before and it scares me...a lot"
"Alice you're in love with her, you would never harm her" Carlisle said with a reassuring smile.
I didn't know if he was being completely honest but it felt genuine to me and Carlisle would never allow me to see Bella if he felt that she was in too much danger.
He was right though, I was in love with her and I wouldn't harm her nor would I allow harm to come to her if I could help it.
I nodded silently as Carlisle placed an arm around me while we walked out to the front of the house where everyone was waiting anxiously. I was aware that everyone would have heard what was just said but Carlisle was kind enough to give me the illusion of privacy, which was the closest thing I could usually get in my family.
We made our way into the woods without wasting any more time. Edward being the fastest got there first and he had a quick look around before we all got there. The smell of another vampire was certainly there, he had been all over the place. That was evident enough as soon as we got there and it was obvious that they had been there for a little while but we had no idea who it could have been.
"Their scent has moved through here so I think they might have been passing through" Edward said looking around
"I don't know Edward, the scent is really strong" Jazz said looking to her husband "It feels like they had a good look around while being here. Like they could have been looking for something or maybe someone?"
"Who though?" Esme asked
"Us maybe" Edward shrugged "They would have smelt us too and would have been curious about a coven claiming residency here"
"What you think it's someone we know?" Emmett asked
"If we knew them though we would know the scent" Rosalie countered "This is different, we don't know this vampire"
"I would suggest a nomad" Jazz crouched to touch the floor
If I was going to trust anyone in this situation it would have been Jazz. She had been through the vampire wars; being in charge of grooming newborns for her army. She had knowledge on newborns but she also had met her fair share of nomads in her lifetime. Jazz's story wasn't a pleasant one but it had a happy ending much like mine which was one of the reasons why I thought we got along so well.
"We need to be very careful about this. There isn't much else we can do tonight but everyone has to be very cautious about this situation. We don't know who they are or what exactly they want. If they want to see us then they will make contact" Carlisle warned "Alice I trust you to keep an eye on the situation"
"Of course" I breathed almost silently as I looked around carefully. I was listening and watching as thoroughly as I possibly could to avoid missing anything, I couldn't afford too with what I had to lose "If you don't mind, I'm going to wait outside Bella's. I can sense something here and it doesn't feel right to me"
"What are you stalking her now?" Emmett asked with a smirk
"Yes" I replied bluntly not even half amused by Emmett's joke
Ah Emmett, always finding the most inappropriate things to say at the most inappropriate times.
"I know what you mean Alice. It almost feels like someone is lingering around here" Esme nodded
"I'll be able to see next time if they come back" I continued scanning the area "I'll also be able to see if they have intentions of hunting here on our territory again"
"So you're going to use that as an excuse to spy on your girl?" Emmett asked which chuckling
"I think it would be best that Alice stay close to Bella's right now" Carlisle spoke very seriously "Jazz?"
"Let's go Alice" Jazz said confidently as she strolled over to me, looping my arm in hers supportively
The good thing about Jazz was that I knew she could always pull through and that she would always have my best interests at heart. She was always there for me, even when she was supposed to be spending time with Edward. I could never have asked for a better sister.
Bella's wasn't too far away so we got there pretty quickly; I didn't want to waste any time. Bella's light was still on even though it was getting late and judging by her heart rate she was still awake but she was tired. I could see in the shadow of a light she was sitting at her computer desk. I smiled to myself and I felt Jazz tug on my arm gently
"We should move back, if she comes to her window she could spot us" She reasoned with me in a whisper and I nodded compliantly
"You can go back to Edward if you'd like" I replied as I looked up to the window again with a smile "I'll know before they decide to come here and you shouldn't have to be away from him just for me"
"I can't want to spend time with my sister?" Jazz asked in an almost convincingly somber tone. I would have believed her if she wasn't smirking at me "I mean this is an exciting time for you finding her. I want to know what's going on with my favourite sibling"
"I'm glad I have you Jazz, I wouldn't be able to cope without you" I sighed and looked down at my feet while I twisted my foot a little into the dirt "She's everything what I expected from my visions and she's more. She seems to value my friendship and we get along well. I just don't know how and when I'm going to explain to her what I am. I mean I've had a decade to prepare but honestly I was just focusing on finding her first. I wasn't sure if I actually ever would. I almost convinced myself that she wasn't really out there and my mind was compensating with my vivid visions"
"Vivid visions huh? Say that five times really quickly" Jazz chuckled to herself
"Jazz" I warned tapping my foot on the ground impatiently
"I think you should just let that happen" Jazz offered warmly after rolling her eyes at me
"What am I supposed to just be like oh hey Bella, how was your night? Oh and I'm a Vampire just to let you know. Want to hang out this weekend?" I asked folding my arms like a five year old throwing a tantrum
"Not like that" Jazz said chuckling lightly while patting me on the arm lightly "Though that would be funny. If you do decide to tell her like that please let me be there"
"Jazz" I groaned
"Ali she's going to have questions and when she does you should answer them for her; make her life easier by just being honest with her. Make your life easier by being honest with her" My sister said as she placed a hand on my shoulder "She's going to love you Alice so if she's really supposed to be your mate then what you are won't matter. Nothing will"
"It's not like I have webbed toes or anything simple like that Jasmine. I'm a vampire. An ancient, bloodsucking, indestructible, faster than the speed of light vampire. An immortal! Something out of movies that no one ever expects to be real but is. Kind of like...I don't know bigfoot but with smaller feet I guess" I complained "It's going to matter because I'm not normal"
"Point me to a teenager that is normal" Jazz retorted taking her hand from my shoulder
"Okay fine, I'm much more abnormal than an average teenager" I shrugged "Happy?"
"Very" Jazz smirked and she sighed "Alice Cullen will you just calm down? I don't like seeing you stress like this, it isn't you. Just be you and she will love you okay? No matter what this girl is going to love you because of your personality, your soul"
I scoffed at her statement but she shot me a mild glare. There was one thing that Jazz and I disagreed about and that was the presence of our souls. I wasn't sure whether we still had them after what we had become, what we had done but Jazz strongly disagreed.
She was convinced that we still had them because we chose to live the hard life but it was the right one to lead. Whether that was just hope for herself or whether she really believed that, she was truly convinced.
"I don't want to hear it Ali" Jazz warned mildly
"I'm sorry. It's just easy for you because you married a vampire" I hissed looking up at Bella's window again "This is just a little bit more complicated than your marriage"
"Do you wish your mate was a vampire?" Jazz asked
"Well yes and no mostly no. It would make my life so much easier if she were a vampire because I wouldn't have to freak her out by telling her what I am but mostly no because she wouldn't be who she is if she was a vampire. She wouldn't have her nervous twitches, she wouldn't be so clumsy, and she wouldn't blush at almost everything. She wouldn't be Bella so no I don't wish she was a vampire"
"I know you don't" Jazz nodded supportively
"I just want her to be happy and safe" I replied quietly bringing my eyes down to my sister "I know that Edward would be in my ear right now telling me that she could never be safe with me because of what I am if he was here. He would say that she would be safer without us but clearly he hasn't seen Bella because she's a danger to herself already. I mean someone has to help her right?"
"Alice I love my dear husband so very much but sometimes he can be too sensible and too pessimistic" Jazz smirked playfully at my rambling "But you are the poster girl for optimism and if anything is going to make this relationship work, it'll be that. It will be your positive outlook on life"
"I'm not going to ever hurt Bella, I would never dream of it" I swore to myself more than I had intended that comment to Jazz
"Oh I know that" Jazz replied seriously "And honestly you are my sister but if I felt that you were going to hurt her then I wouldn't be encouraging you like I am"
"I just don't want to give the poor girl a heart attack when she finds out what I am. How on earth is she going to deal with that?" I rubbed my eyes in frustration "But she has to know sooner or later, she already wants to ask questions"
"Well we could always leave Forks if you don't want this" Jazz said "If you don't want her to find out we could just move again"
I sighed, shaking my head
"That is the last thing on this earth I want to do. I promised that I wasn't going to be going off anywhere anytime soon" I said "She's it for me Jazz. If I leave her then I have no one. I couldn't even leave her if I wanted too, which for the record I really don't"
"Then you'll make it work" Jazz said reassuringly "If anyone in the family can do it, it's you. Things happen for a reason right?"
"I guess" I said furrowing my eyebrows
Jazz had always strongly believed that fate had brought everything together for a reason. She believed she was turned so that she could have our family and she could have found Edward. She believed that coming back to Forks was the reason why I had found Bella because I didn't know it at the time that she would be there when we decided we had to move.
She also believed that I didn't remember my past because if I did it would have probably have made me a bitter person. She believed that what I had experienced could have soured my personality so it was probably best that I had forgotten everything. She thought that I forgot because I had blocked that time from my life because I was that traumatized by it. I hated to think about that but knowing Jazz; she was probably right.
"I can do this right?" I asked looking for a little more reassurance from my sister as I looked up at Bella's window again to see the light turned off "I can love her without harming her?"
"Of course you can" Jazz said taking a step into me and wrapping her arm around my shoulder, giving it a quick supportive squeeze as her gaze also moved to Bella's window "Of course you can. Now stop being so stressed over this because this isn't who you are"
The night passed without further incident and without any visions. When daylight broke we made our way back to the house to get ready for school. School seemed a little trivial but the only reason why I was going was to spend time with Bella.
I arrived at school early because I didn't want to just wait around at home and have my thoughts about this other vampire swallow me whole. Something certainly felt off. I was standing at my locker with Jazz and Rosalie as people slowly began to arrive at school.
My eyes were pulled to the door as my senses began to tell me that Bella had entered the hallway, lugging her book bag on her shoulder. She looked tired like she didn't get that much sleep for some reason; like she had experienced a very restless night which made me very curious. She spotted me and began to walk in my direction
"We'll see you at lunch" Rosalie mumbled
"Bye" I said happily and my sisters left me to be
"Now I'm the one who can drive a crowd away" Bella said as she arrived in front of me while watching my sisters walk away
"I guess we're both good at that" I offered shrugging "They had to leave anyway; Rose was getting antsy about class"
"Oh. Well how was the rest of your night?" Bella asked as she took her bag off her shoulder to place it on the floor by her feet
"Fine...we just had an unexpected visitor" I said "Good thing I went home when I did I guess"
"You have like a sixth sense I swear" Bella said with a smirk "You're a bit of a freak"
"Ouch" I said while placing a hand on my dead heart as if she had just hurt me
Bella laughed and I saw a blush rise to her cheeks, I cocked my head to the side slightly while watching her
"How was your night?" I asked thoughtfully
"I just did some homework and spent some time on the net" Bella said chuckling "It's really amazing how much time you can waste when you're bored"
"Yeah I know" I agreed as I pushed a piece of my hair back into place "You look a bit tired actually. Did you have trouble sleeping?"
"Yeah actually, my brain just wouldn't turn off" Bella said shaking her head "I kept thinking about the camper and the animal"
"Oh...well I'm sure someone will catch the animal soon" I said with a reassuring smile
"So about this weekend... we're still good to hang out right?" She asked almost nervously
"We're perfect" I said nodding enthusiastically "I'm looking forward to it"
"Well I have a confession and hopefully you won't hate me after but Mike and Eric kind of talked all of us to go to a beach on Saturday. It just kind of came up in a conversation and before I knew what I was saying I kind of agreed and then I realized what an idiot I was" Bella said with a hint of guilt "Anyway, I thought maybe you would want to come with us and we could you know just hang out? I mean we could just spend the day getting to know each other more at the beach"
"Oh, well that's okay. It sounds like fun anyway" I smiled. Any Bella time was good enough for me "Which beach is it?"
"La Push" Bella answered with a slight sound of hesitation "I probably should have asked you first because I know we planned to hang out this weekend"
"Oh" I stated being completely calm on the outside but on the inside I wasn't too ecstatic that she was going to grounds that I could not go too because of the treaty. At a time when I needed to be around her the most I couldn't go with her and make sure she would be okay or at the very least having a good time with her. My jaw clenched tightly as my hand gripped tightly to the pocket of my skinny jeans "I can't go"
"What? Why not?" Bella asked furrowing her eyebrows
"I just...can't okay? I mean I would love to go and spend time with you and your friends there but I just can't" I grumbled "It's a little complicated for me to explain right now and besides, La Push beach isn't really my style. It can get a little crowded there sometimes"
"Okay" Bella said nodding slowly though I could hear the suspicion in her voice "So what should we do on Sunday then?"
"Maybe we could head to Port Angeles and see a movie or something like that. Do some shopping?" I asked hopefully
"You get rid of the shopping part and you have a deal" Bella smiled
"Shopping? You want to get rid of shopping?" I asked furrowing my eyebrows in confusion "How could you get rid of the best part of the day?"
"So you really like to shop I take it" Bella smirked
"Retail therapy works for me quite well I find" I joked "I've got to get to class"
"I'll see you in Biology then?" Bella asked
"Yeah" I replied quietly as I walked away
Thankfully Biology came pretty quickly and I soon found myself sitting next to Bella with a grin on my face as I lightly hummed a song to myself
"You know I think Biology is one of my new favourite subjects" My smile widened to display my pristinely white teeth
"I don't know why it wouldn't be" Bella said smirking as she pointed to my paper "Seeing as you knew all the answers to that in like 5 minutes"
"I told you the first day that I was the average overachiever" I replied playfully "But I mean the company I'm keeping in Biology isn't really that bad either"
"I don't know about that one" Bella joked
"Well it could be worse" I said leaning in slightly, ducking my head to avoid her eyes "You could be partners with Mike. He has a huge crush on you"
"I know" Bella said chuckling "Not my type though"
"Oh so Bella Swan has a type?" I raised my eyebrow
"Everyone does and it's not him that's for sure" Bella replied "What about you? What's your type?"
"That is for me to know and you to find out" I said playfully
Bella nodded with a small chuckle before we both turned back to our in class assignment
"So you're sure you can't come to La Push?" Bella asked hopefully "I mean it would be really fun to hang out"
"I wish I could come Bella but I can't" I shrugged without reason "Maybe another time"
"Well we still have Sunday" Bella said with a small smile gracing her lips
"I've heard that Jessica really likes Mike" I chimed quietly as I glanced to Mike who was scratching his head with his pencil "Maybe you could avoid his huge crush on you by making him aware of that"
"How do you know?" Bella questioned
"Well" I began lightly "I may not talk that much but I sure do listen. Besides, she follows him like a little lost puppy"
"Now that you mention it I can see that" Bella nodded
"So what are you going to do at La Push? I don't think the weather is going to be that nice on Saturday. Maybe you just shouldn't go" I mumbled very quickly
Bella shot me a side glance before tapping her pen on the desk a few times quietly
"If I stayed inside every time the weather was bad here than I would never leave my house" Bella smirked "I think we're just going to the beach. A few of them want to surf but Angela and I are just going to hang out. Which we could do if you came"
"Guilt trips aren't very nice Bella" I replied "Just be careful when you're there okay?"
"Do you know something that I don't?" Bella asked furrowing her eyebrows
"I just have learnt how clumsy you are, which is very by the way" I said while lying through my teeth. I wanted her to be careful because she was going into wolf territory but also because the nomad vampire we were tracking ran off in that direction.
Saturday came very quickly; we had been watching for the nomad but I couldn't see anything which made me really uneasy but it also made me feel better at the same time. I tried to look for Bella while she went to La Push with her friends but I was having troubles and I wasn't too sure why.
I could feel a change coming that weekend. I knew it had something to do with La Push as well. Actually I knew it had everything to do with La Push and I knew that the moment was going to be coming very soon when Bella would confront me and I had to figure out exactly what I would tell her. On Saturday afternoon I was almost bowled over by one of the strongest visions I had ever had.
She was researching like mad on the term 'the cold ones' which meant that someone in La Push had gotten to her and told her the tale of the Cullens.
Saturday night came I was laying on the couch in my room when I saw briefly that Bella was going to send me a text message and tell me that she had to cancel our movie plans for the next day because she had homework. Which for the record she didn't have...She knew what I was
And I knew what was to come.