Evelyn had been to Phoenix only once before.

She could not have been more than nine or ten at the time. Her father and mother had both decided that a trip to the Valley of the Sun would be perfect for a spring break getaway. She remembered feeling incredulous that the temperature could reach above fifty degrees in the springtime; 70 degrees was absolute heaven. Her parents had done everything they could to make the trip memorable; they went to waterparks, hiked on beautiful hiking trails, ate hotdogs and popcorn on the lawns at spring training baseball games, and one night they even drove north to Sedona to stargaze. The sky had been impossibly clear, and Evelyn had never seen anything more beautiful in her young life. Her memories of this city were nothing but happy, and she couldn't help but think how unfortunate it was that she was back under such terrible circumstances.

Now, as she stared at the mesmerizing desert landscape flying past them, she couldn't help but think that it was strangely beautiful, too. Saguaro cactus as tall as trees were abundant on both sides of the interstate, reminding her of statues or sculptures. The blue and purple mountains surrounding the valley stood tall and strong, and made Evelyn feel very small. Various other cacti and plant life scattered the desert landscape, and occasionally she saw birds or a coyote or bobcat hiding in the brush. This place was not anything like the lush forests of Washington or the green of the midwest; it was hot, and dusty, and sharp. But life still persisted here in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, and that is what made it beautiful to her. If it was possible to survive here, then maybe she and her loved ones would be able to survive their situation, too.

Evelyn was pulled from her thoughts when Bella sighed loudly and tossed her phone down on the middle seat between them. "She still isn't answering. I'm starting to get worried."

Evelyn pulled her gaze from the land outside to meet Bella's concerned eyes. She offered her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure her phone is just dead or something. She'll call, Charlie is probably blowing up her phone right now, anyway." She knew that her friends was extremely worried about her mom, and Evelyn didn't blame her. Marie had only just called her back an hour ago, but before then she had been just as frustrated as Bella.

Her friend nodded, her eyes faraway as she seemed to remember something sad. "You're probably right." Evelyn would have asked her about it, but by the way Bella turned away from her, she knew not to push.

The rest of the ride to the hotel passed rather uneventfully. Bella fell asleep while Evelyn and Emmett played silly road trip games like finding license plates from each state or finding words on road signs in alphabetical order to pass the time. Alice wasn't allowed to play since she could see when and where certain signs or plates would come up, but she didn't seem too upset. Evelyn appreciated the fact that Emmett could find the lightness and humor in any situation, and she was very glad that he had come with them.

That evening they pulled into the parking lot of a fancy, modern-looking hotel just after sunset. It did not take long for Alice and Emmett to convince the front desk worker to give them a suite on the top floor; Evelyn could not decide if it was his fear of Emmett or his attraction to Alice that made him give them the room, but nonetheless they got the room keys with no questions asked.

"You didn't have to scare him that much, you know," Evelyn told Emmett as they walked down the hall to their room. Emmett merely smirked, mischief flashing in his eyes.

"Well where's the fun in that? If I have to be here instead of hunting that tracker down, I might as well enjoy it. No offense," he added quickly, but Evelyn just shook her head and laughed.

The passage of time seemed even slower once they got settled into the hotel room. Evelyn and Bella were not allowed to leave out of an abundance of caution. The television in the room was on constantly, but none of them ever really watched it. Bella spent most her time in their bedroom trying to call her mom, and Alice elected to sit with her so that she wouldn't be alone. Evelyn passed the long hours by drawing in her sketchbook that she had brought; she mostly drew the sunsets that she saw each night, which never failed to be spectacular here. During the day she would play cards with Emmett with a deck he had found in one of the nightstand drawers.

She was relaxed on the first day they were there, but as a couple more days passed her worry began to eat at her constantly. They had not heard from the others since they had left, and her concern for Jasper was what occupied her thoughts most of the time. She would not be able to live with herself if he or Edward or anyone else was hurt because of her. She had not been a super religious person at any point in her life, but as the days dragged on she found herself praying that everything and everyone she loved would be alright.

It was on their fourth day at the hotel that things abruptly got worse.

Bella was curled up on the couch, playing with her phone while she stared idly at the television. Alice was deathly still as she perched on the arm of the couch; she was facing the TV, but Evelyn knew that she was sifting through her visions trying to find anything that could be useful to them. She knew it was probably exhausting, and she reminded herself to do something to thank Alice when this was all over.

Evelyn sat at the small dining table with Emmett, who was almost too large for his chair, playing a game of Go Fish. She had already won three times and was incredibly bored, but Emmett refused to let her stop playing until he won.

"Do you have any threes?" He asked, his eyes focused.

Evelyn shook her head and yawned. "Nope. Go fish."

Emmett's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "You have to be lying, there is no way that you don't have any—"

Evelyn groaned, throwing her cards on the table with a flourish. "Emmett, why would I lie about a kids' card game when I've already —"

She was cut off by Alice's sudden gasp. Bella leapt out of her seat and scrambled for the remote to turn the TV off. Emmett and Evelyn jumped up as well, card disputes forgotten, and hurried over to Alice as she sunk down onto the couch.

The first thing Evelyn noticed was the glazed over look in her eyes, and she immediately knew that Alice was having a vision. She sat down on the couch next to the petite vampire, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Alice? What's wrong? What do you see?"

Alice's voice was strangely calm and level when she spoke. "The tracker... he just changed course." Alice reached for the pen on the coffee table, and Bella immediately ripped a blank page out of Evelyn's sketchbook and shoved it across the table to Alice's waiting hands.

Emmett crossed his arms over his chest as he focused intently on Alice. "Where is he going now?" He asked, the boyish tone in his voice from earlier completely gone.

"Mirrors," She murmured as she began sketching on the paper without looking down. "A room full of mirrors..." Evelyn felt her eyes widen as she saw Alice drawing so quickly without so much as a glance down at the paper.

Bella shifted uncomfortably across from them. "Edward said that the visions weren't always certain."

"They can change as someone changes their mind. The future is subjective," Emmett confirmed, sitting down on Alice's other side as he watched the strange room take shape on the paper. "She sees whatever path someone is currently on. When decisions change, the visions change."

Evelyn looked up at Bella just as she saw her eyes widen in recognition. "Okay, so the course that he's on now will lead him to... a ballet studio?"

The room went silent as Alice stopped drawing, her eyes now focused on Bella in the present. Evelyn and Emmett shared a quick glance before turning their attention to Bella, too.

"You've been here?" Alice asked, the concern evident in her voice.

Bella nodded. "I took lessons as a kid." She paused, pointing at the large room Alice had just drawn. "The school I went to had an arch just like that."

Evelyn felt sick to her stomach. "Was... was the school here in Phoenix?" She knew that there could only be one reason that Alice had seen this studio: James must be coming here to find them.

"Yeah," Bella started, but she was interrupted by her phone ringing. Her face lit up when she saw who was calling, and Evelyn knew it must be Edward. Bella turned and disappeared into their bedroom without another word to them.

Not a second later her own phone started to ring, and she did not have to look at the screen to know that it was Jasper. She answered immediately.

"Please tell me you're okay," she breathed, standing and walking over to the corner of the room. She heard him chuckle on the other end of the line, but even from thousands of miles away she could hear the strain in his voice.

"I'm perfectly fine. We all are." He paused for a moment, and Evelyn felt her anxiety dissipate slightly at the sound of his voice. "But Edward and I are coming to get both of you."

She felt herself frown as she clutched her phone tighter. "Why? What happened?"

"We... we lost the tracker." Evelyn's heart broke at the pain in his voice; she knew that he was probably blaming himself for this as well. "The woman is still in the area, so Rosalie and Esme are going to watch over Charlie and Marie until she leaves."

She was relieved that Marie would be safe, but now that James was most likely on his way here, she suddenly felt lost and scared. "What happens, now?"

"We'll go somewhere, you and me, and Bella and Edward. Somewhere we can protect you both. The others are going to keep hunting," he told her, his voice thick with emotion. "I promise that we'll figure this out. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know," she whispered, a soft smile playing on her lips despite her fear and uncertainty. "I trust you."

Jasper's voice was hoarse when he spoke again. "I wish I could talk longer, Ev, but I have to go."

She nodded even though he wasn't there to see her. "I love you, Jasper."

"I love you more," he told her. "We'll be together again soon." Her chest tightened as he hung up, and more than anything she wished that he was here by her side to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be alright.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Alice, who had just reentered the room from the hallway.

"I just spoke to Carlisle. They're flying in later this afternoon, and both of you are leaving from the airport with Edward and Jasper." Alice picked up her wallet and keys from the coffee table. "I'm going to go check us out. Em, can you go to the café downstairs and get them some food for the drive, please?"

Emmett nodded once, disappearing out the door without a word. Alice turned back to Evelyn and Bella, who were both standing by the couch. "Pack your things, I'll be back up in a few minutes." She nodded to both of them and danced gracefully out the door.

The girls were quiet as they gathered up their things. Evelyn didn't bother folding any of her clothes; she was too preoccupied with running through all of the possible scenarios of what could happen in her head. The thought of seeing Jasper in a few hours was the only thing that kept her hands and feet moving as she flitted between the bedroom and bathroom to pack her belongings.

They finished in minutes, both of them sitting down on the edge of the king size bed they had shared over the past couple of days.

"Are you scared, Ev?" Bella suddenly asked, her high voice betraying her own fear. Evelyn met her friend's dark brown eyes, struggling with how to answer her.

Finally, she nodded. "Of course I am. I'm terrified. But we have to trust that we'll be okay, Bells. The Cullens wouldn't let anything happen to us."

"I know, but I just keep thinking that if one of them gets hurt because of us..." Bella trailed off, shaking her head.

"I'm scared for them, too," Evelyn murmured, her voice soft as her and Bella both averted their eyes to the floor.

Suddenly the high-pitched ringing of Bella's phone pierced the sad silence. Bella jumped up as soon as she saw who was calling her. "It's my mom," she mouthed to Evelyn before putting the phone to her ear.

"Hey, mom, I'm glad you got my message. What are you doing home?" She paused, and Evelyn could hear the muffled sound of her mother's voice through the phone. "Calm down, everything's fine. I'll explain everything later -- Mom, are you there?"

Evelyn stood when she saw that Bella had gone extremely pale, her eyes widening and lips parting in shock. Bella swallowed nervously, and Evelyn could hear a man's voice on the phone now. Her heartrate increased; she got the sudden feeling that something was very, very wrong.

"Don't touch her!" Bella exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Evelyn asked, but her best friend ignored her as she listened to whoever was talking. The feeling of dread was growing more prominent as she watched helplessly as Bella listened intently to whoever was on the phone.

Suddenly, Evelyn noticed Bella's jaw set, her lips in a hard line. "Where should I meet you?"

"Bella! What the hell are you doing?" Evelyn exclaimed, but Bella held up her hand to quiet her. Bella nodded as she listened, her eyes panicked.

After a few more seconds, Bella's eyes widened. "No, I can't ask her to --" As she was cut off, her gaze flickered to Evelyn. At this point, Evelyn had had enough. She gripped Bella's shoulders with both hands, staring intently at her friend.

"Bella," she started, a warning in her voice. "What is going on?"

"It's James. He's here in Phoenix and-- and he has my mother, and he said that Victoria has a way to get to Marie." She gulped, looking at her friend with pleading eyes. "He says that I have to meet him at my ballet studio. He--" She topped, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Evelyn loosened her grip on her, acutely aware of the dread growing inside her. "What else?"

Bella swallowed, the phone shaking in her hands. "He said that you have to come with me. If you don't," she paused to let out a shaky breath, "-- he's going to kill my mom, and tell Victoria to kill your aunt."

**********
sooo this story is almost done?? I have 2-3 more chapters planned out and then it's finished!! so thank you all so much for reading, we hit 7k this week and I appreciate it more than you know!
ALSO I updated the cover but I'm not the best at that kind of thing and I still don't know if I like it... I'm better at writing than I am at editing 🤪

Anyway I hope everyone is safe and healthy! Next update is later this week :)