XXXIV. Phoenix.

Edward, Emmette, and Alice surrounded me once we arrived at the Cullen house. Edward was on one side of me, and Alice on the other side, her arm linked in with mine. Emmette was walking behind me, scanning the woods surrounding the house, carrying my bag.

We went into the house just as Carlisle and Laurent came down the stairs. Edward wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling my protectively to his side. Alice wrapped her arm tighter around mine and Emmette moved in front of us, taking a hostile stance against Laurent.

Carlisle held up his hand as he shook his head. "He came to warn us." He informed us and all three vampires surrounding me eased up a little, even though both Edward and Alice still kept their protective holds on me. "About James." He added and nodded at Laurent.

"I've grown tired of his games," Laurent explained his betrayal to his friends. "But he's got unparalleled senses. Absolutely lethal. I've never seen anything like him in three hundred years..."  He said with a shake of his head, his body tensing up. "And the woman, Victoria, will back him. Don't underestimate her." He warned. "I'm truly sorry for what's been unleashed here," he said, his eyes briefly flicking towards me.

Edward pulled me to the side and Alice stepped in front of me as Laurent left the house, Carlisle walking him out, telling him about a place he could go. Alaska, to live with the Denali clan that Edward had told me about before.

After Laurent left, everyone gathered in the garage. They were all hastily moving around me, packing bags and preparing cars. "I've had to fight our kind before," Jasper spoke up as he looked toward Emmette. "We're hard to kill."

"But not impossible," Emmette replied with a shake of his head as he opened a cabinet with clothes inside. "We'll tear him apart, then burn the pieces." He insisted.

"I don't relish killing another creature," Carlisle spoke up as he counted wads of cash before handing them to Emmette. "Even a sadistic one like James." He added softly as Emmette shoved the money and a few pieces of clothes into a bag.

"What if he kills one of us first?" Rosalie asked her adoptive father as she pulled herself up onto one of the counters in the garage, sitting with one of her legs crossed beneath her.

My eyes shot towards Edward before I turned to Carlisle. "No, I can't have you risk your lives for me," I said as I vigorously shook my head. I couldn't bear the thought of anyone dying because of me. Because I fell in love with someone I wasn't supposed to.

"Too late," Rosalie replied and Alice shot her a nasty glare as she passed by, heading out of the garage and upstairs.

I turned to look at Rosalie, my jaw clenching."I didn't ask for this to happen, so spare me your comments because right now I am not interested." I snapped at her and she quirked an eyebrow at me.

Edward's arm wrapped around my waist again, holding me close as he shot his sister an annoyed glare before turning to look at his father. "I'll run Ana south, while you lead the tracker away," he suggested.

"No, Edward," Carlisle replied with a shake of his head as he turned to look at his son. "James knows you won't leave Ana." He explained and Edward tensed up next to me, his eyebrows furrowing as he lowered his head. "He'll follow you."

I glanced down at the ground, realizing Edward couldn't come with me. We were going to be separated and I'd have no idea if he'd be safe this side, hunting the sadistic monster. A quick haze covered my mind to restrict me from thinking how all of this could go wrong and Edward could get hurt...or worse.

"I'll go with Ana," Alice spoke up as she came back into the garage with a bag, handing it to me. I glanced inside with furrowed eyebrows, seeing some of her clothing inside. "Jasper and I will drive her south." She insisted. She and Edward silently stared at each other for a second before she sighed. "I'll keep her safe, Edward." She assured.

"Can you keep your thoughts to yourself?" Edward asked Alice in a snippy voice as he stared at her with squinted eyes, his eyebrows deeply furrowed and a frown tugging at his lips.

"Yes." She replied with a huff.

Edward grabbed my bag that Emmette had brought inside, pulling out two of my jackets. "Esme, Rosalie, put these on so the tracker will pick up Ana's scent." He instructed as he tossed them each a jacket before handing Alice my bag and she went to put it in the trunk of the car Jasper was prepping. They placed all the other bags around mine, I presumed to cover my scent that lingered on everything.

"Why should I?" Rosalie asked as she raised her eyebrows, glaring at her brother as she gripped onto my jacket. " What is she to me?" She asked as her glaring eyes shot towards me for a brief second before returning to Edward. "Just a danger you've inflicted on us." She snapped.

Carlisle dropped what he was doing and turned to his daughter. " Rosalie, Anastasia is with Edward now." He spoke, his voice soft but his golden eyes stern. "She's a part of this family now. And we protect our family." he insisted.

If I wasn't scared out of my mind, I would have felt emotional at Carlisle's words, taking them straight to my heart and burry them somewhere special. But all I could focus on was, fighting the urge to throw up or curl up into a ball and cry. My mind was blank though, the haze had spread and I couldn't think about much. But I could still feel all the horrible emotions.

Rosalie pulled my jacket on all the while she glared at me and Edward. Then she stormed off towards Emmette's Jeep and Carlisle followed behind her. I took a shaky breath as I looked up at Edward. "If any of you get hurt because of me," I whispered as my eyes pooled with tears.

Edward reached out and cupped my cheeks with his cold hands. "We won't, there are five of us, two of them." He assured me softly as he shook his head. "When it's done, I'll come get you," he told me and I nodded. He leaned forward, pressing a feather-light kiss to my lips. "You're my life now," he whispered as he rested his forehead against mine.

"And you're mine," I replied softly as I closed my eyes, a tear slipping down my cheek. "Please be careful, Edward." I pleaded, sniffing as I opened my eyes and pulled away to look at him.

He nodded his head, wiping away my tears before giving me another soft kiss. My heart ached when he completely pulled away and walked over to the Jeep, sending me one last look before climbing in.

Then, it was just me, Alice, and Jasper as the Jeep drove away. Alice instructed me to put on some of her clothes to mask more of my scent, while we waited for the other's to distract James long enough so we could make our escape.

Once we got the green light, Alice got me into the car, sitting in the backseat with me while Jasper drove. We were all completely silent. I was lying with my head on Alice's hard, cold shoulder, blankly staring at the front seat.

The haze covered my mind completely, and I felt almost numb. I couldn't think of a single thing. I looked dead. Not moving, barely blinking. Any indication Alice had that I was alive, was that I was still breathing and she could hear my heartbeat, and feel the heat of my skin.

I was completely quiet and unmoving for the whole four-hour drive to Seattle. Alice had to keep a firm grip on me, supporting my weight as we made our way through the airport. Instead of flying to Phoenix directly, we took the two-and-a-half-hour flight to Los Angeles. Jasper insisted our continued switch of transportation would throw James off a little and slow him down.

I spend those two hours and thirty minutes, constantly running to the bathroom to throw up. Not because I was a nervous flyer, but because being on this plane hit me with so much realization. I was now so far away from Forks. From Edward and my mother.

Once the plane landed, Jasper rented a car and we made the long, nearly six-hour drive to Phoenix. Again Alice sat with me in the backseat. My head was on her shoulder again, but instead of blankly staring at the front, I slept this time.

I stirred awake only when we got into Phoenix, realizing the sun was out and it was later Saturday afternoon, but luckily Jasper managed to get a car with tinted windows. I lifted my head from Alice's shoulder and sat up. She looked over at me with concern in her eyes. "How are you feeling, Ana?" She asked softly.

I pursed my lips as I stared out the window. I was silent for a second as I thought about her question. There were so many emotions inside me, that I couldn't make sense of them all. But two I felt more than the rest; fear and worry. I sighed softly as I lowered my head. "I'm worried..."

"You're safe with us," Alice assured me as she reached out and took one of my hands into her, giving it a gentle squeeze. I know she was right. I was safe with her and with Jasper, the only one whose fought his kind before.

I shook my head, sniffing as I pursed my lips again. "I'm worried about them," I explained softly as I turned my head to look at her. My mind had effectively blocked out all the thoughts of what could happen to the family in Forks, but my emotions still lingered.

Alice offered me a small smile. "I can still see everyone's futures." She informed me softly as she patted my hand before pulling away. "Which means the path everyone is on right now, is safe." She assured.

"Which way to the airport, Ana?" Jasper asked from the front seat as he glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

I turned to look at him, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Stay on the I-ten," I instructed him softly. "We'll pass right by it," I added and he nodded. "Are we flying somewhere?" I asked as I raised my eyebrows. I had thought the plan was to stay in Phoenix but perhaps that had changed while I was sleeping.

"No, but it's better to stay close, just in case," Jasper explained and I turned to look at Alice who nodded in agreement, offering me a small smile.

We went to a hotel just next to the airport and Jasper booked us a room. I immediately went to take a bath. The water was scorching hot but by the time I had managed to pull myself out of the bath, it was almost as icy cold as Edward's skin. I never realized the change in temperature until I got out. I just laid there for a long time, in a complete daze as I stared up at the ceiling.

I changed into my own underwear but it was still insisted that I wore Alice's clothes, just to mask my scent. She had packed more comfortable clothing, which I didn't even know she had. Just a simple pair of black leggings and a hoodie.

I went to the one bedroom in the hotel room and laid there in the darkness for hours, blankly staring up at the ceiling, until Saturday afternoon became Saturday night. The haze was still in my mind so there was an absence of most thoughts.

There was a soft knock at the door and my eyes slowly drifted towards the big white double doors. "Ana, can I come in?" Alice called out softly from the other side of the door.

"Yeah," I called out softly as I sat up, crossing my legs on the bed and burying my hands in my lap.

Alice walked in, flicking on the light and I flinched, closing my eyes for a brief second. She rounded the bed and came to sit on the edge, right next to me. "You look like you could hear some more sleep." She said softly as her golden eyes flicked around my face.

I sighed and lowered my head, staring down at my lap. "I can't sleep," I whispered as I shook my head.

Alice pursed her lips as she stared at me and when I looked back at her, I could see the concern still lingering in her eyes. She silently stared at me for a second before nodding her head and changing the topic. "Jasper went down to get you some food." She informed me.

I offered her the smallest smile I could muster up. "I'm not really hungry," I said softly as I slowly shook my head once again. I still had a nauseating feeling lingering in the pit of my stomach, which made me lose any appetite I may have had.

"You have to eat something." Alice insisted in a firm voice as she reached out and grabbed my hand, giving me a pleading look. I remained silent and she sighed softly. "Edward will kill both me and Jasper if we return you malnourished to him." She added.

"One missed meal won't kill me," I assured softly as I shook my head, offering her another small smile, even though it never reached my eyes.

Her head tilted to the side as she gave me a deadpan look. "No, but Edward might kill me for it." She replied with a soft sigh, the pleading look still present in her eyes.

"I won't tell if you won't," I replied as I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Although we both knew Edward would know about every single thing that happened here if he saw her and Jasper again. Luckily, he wouldn't see my depressive episode in the bath or when I was lying alone here in the room.

"You have to eat something, Ana." Alice pleaded softly with me. I could tell it wasn't because she was worried Edward would be angry with her, but because she was worried about me. Me and Alice had grown really close and I knew what she meant that first day at their house when she said we'd be great friends.

I pursed my lips and lowered my head. I felt awful for denying her this because she just cared about me, but I truly couldn't muster up an appetite right now. "Have you heard anything?" I asked her softly, in an attempt to change the subject.

"No." She replied softly as she shook her head and I looked up at her. "Doesn't mean it's a bad thing." She assured me as she gave me a small smile "Just means there's nothing to tell or they're busy." She suggested with a shrug of her shoulders and I nodded.

When Jasper returned with a wide variety of food, Alice forced me out of the room and into the small sitting room. I still couldn't bring myself to eat so I stood there awkwardly, my eyes darting around. Then my gaze landed on both their phones lying on the table. I stared at them silently for a second before I began pacing, my eyes remaining on the phones.

Both Alice and Jasper's eyes followed me as I paced up and down the length of the room, my arms crossed over my chest and my eyes never once leaving the phones. They should have called by now, there should have been an update, any update.

When I passed by Alice for the hundredth time she shot up, grabbing onto my arms to stop my pacing. "You've been pacing around for ten minutes now, Ana." She informed me as her lips pulled into a tight line.

"I keep waiting for the damn phone to ring." I huffed softly as I lowered my head, tears pooling in my hazel eyes.

"I think it's going to be a while longer." She informed me softly as she rubbed my arms gently. "You should eat." She insisted as she nodded her head towards the wide variety of food Jasper had brought for me.

"I'm not hungry," I repeated myself with a shake of my head. I pulled away from Alice, running a hand through my hair. "They could get hurt," I whispered as I let out a soft sigh, wiping my eyes before the tears could escape. "It's not worth it." I insisted with another shake of my head.

"Yes, it is," Jasper spoke up for the first time. My eyes shot towards him. He was sitting on the couch, hands clasped together in his lap. "Edward's changed since he found you. And none of us want to look into his eyes for the next thousand years if he loses you." He said with a shake of his head and Alice hummed in agreement. "It's worth it."

"I'm putting all of you in danger," I argued with him as I shook my head once again, running a hand over my face. "That's not fair," I said. Jasper silently stared at me for a second and despite my inner turmoil, I suddenly calmed down extremely fast.

"You didn't do it intentionally," Jasper argued back as his head tilted to the side. "You have good intentions, we know that." He assured.

I silently stared at him, I couldn't even be angry or annoyed with him if I tried. "Jasper no fair with the mood changing," I muttered as I crossed my arms over my chest.

A grin tugged at his lips. "My apologies." He said and I knew it wasn't sincere because my calmness remained for the rest of the night.

Alice took advantage of my mood and made up a plate of food for me. She sat with me, watching to make sure I ate everything. I complied for her sake.

----

I love Ana and Alice so freaking much!!!

Also, Jasper was so sweet with Ana in this chapter.