Alice. I'm alright. Until I'm alone... and lately that's all the time. Jacob's gone. He's hunting Victoria; Charlie's hunting Jacob, and you're gone and so is Edward. And there's just nothing now. Nora's here, but she's been through so much I don't want to burden her, I can't.

I realize where I have to go, what I have to do to see him again.

Nora's bloodshot eyes stared at the screen in confusion as she read the unsent email over and over. Once again she found herself alone. Her father had left this morning with Harry and a great number of volunteers, going to hunt the supposed wolves that terrorised Forks and La push. Unfortunately she had absolutely no idea where Bella was.

Questions swarmed in her mind as she read the email for the tenth time. It made absolutely no sense to her and she wondered if she was missing something or just being a total ditz. Who was Victoria and why was Jacob hunting her like some weirdo? And why was her dad supposedly hunting Jacob? A headache pulsed at the front of her head, brought on by her lack of sleep last night and the puzzling email.

Her sleepless night was the result of some concerning dreams about those three faceless men, surrounding her, circling her like hungry wolves and whispering senseless promises into her ear.

It was horrifying, because she had no idea what it meant. Her other dreams were normal and mostly not of anything, really. These dreams, with these men, they only seemed to happen when she would have nightmares about the...incident. Like they were trying to chase her trauma away-scare away the monster.

Thankfully she'd woken in the early hours of the morning, scared but filled with an odd sense of longing that made her feel hollow. Sleep had evaded her for the rest of the night; she found she was too afraid of dreaming that same dream and not being able to wake up.

She had been disgruntled when her dad's yell of goodbye to both her and Bella had made her headache that much more painful; she couldn't bring herself to respond, mind consumed with what the dream could have meant and why she kept seeing these men.

Hours passed as she sat and obsessed, she was only snapped out of it when she realised she hadn't heard Bella move at all. Quickly she pulled on some black jeans, a white lace vest that peaked out the bottom of her forest green long sleeve top, and her paint splattered black zip up hoodie and went to check on her sister.

When she received no response she entered her room only to find it empty. The thought that maybe Bella had gone to see Jacob filled her with ease, but as she went to leave she caught her name on Bella's computer. Curious nature getting the better of her she read the words on the screen with a cheeky grin; it dropped as she read the nonsensical email.

Now she found herself stumped, fretting over where her sister had hurried off to and what she planned on doing to see her wayward boyfriend again.  God Bella. Why can't you just be a normal teenager?'

Chewing nervously on her nails she thought about all the places Bella might have run off to- coming up short with each possibility.

Many times throughout the rest of the day she had tried to distract herself but it was useless. Soon darkness surrounded the quaint home and at this point she was on the brink of a full blown panic attack.

Her dad was taking way too long, something must have happened. 'What if Bella's hurt?' 

Dread washed over her like the raging waves of a stormy sea, crashing into her as she thought of all of the tragic scenarios that could have befallen her sister. It might seem over the top but her mind always jumped to the worst situation.

Sitting on the living room couch she sipped thoughtlessly at her freshly brewed black coffee, trying her best to stay awake even as the comforting abyss of sleep called to her. All tiredness left her when bright headlights shone through the window; jumping up she raced to the door, heavy thoughts abandoned as she yanked it open.

What greeted her on the other side made her  recoil in surprise and awe. In front of her was not her dad or Bella, but a beautiful pale woman who strongly resembled a pixie. The woman seemed to stare at her with the same shock maring her perfect features, her strange golden eyes clouding over for a moment before flitting around Nora's face with recognition.

"Nora?" Socked feet slipping along the wooden floor she stepped back, unnerved as to how someone she never met apparently just knew her name.

"How do you know me? I think I'd remember if I met someone like you." Nora muttered, her suspicions enhanced when the woman had to take a lengthy respite.

The question had been laced with accusation but the pixie payed that no mind, smiling at her and stepping forward. Nora hated to admit that she found her smile quite disarming.

"I'm Alice Cullen." Her voice was sweet and had a bell-like quality to it, ringing pleasantly in Nora's ears. Overcoming her trance of awe she sized the small woman up. Alice. From Bella's emails. Of course she'd show up now, when things had collapsed into mayhem.

"You must be Edward's sister, right?" Nora assumed and Alice frowned as she heard the malice coating her words when she spoke her brother's name.

She supposed she couldn't blame her. Her brother had acted impulsively and broke Bella's spirit by dragging them all away from Forks. If it were one of her adopted siblings hurt in such a way she'd feel the same.

"I am." She affirmed before sighing regretfully. "I'm sorry, to all of your family. The way my brother handled things was completely unacceptable and I'm deeply sorry it hurt Bella so much, it was none of our intentions." Like someone had flipped a switch her flawless face was suddenly troubled and she moved closer so she could peer inside the house.

"Is Bella here?" Nora stepped back and pulled the door closed slightly, flabbergasted at how bold this woman was.

"She's not." Nora grunted tersely. She had to exhale a controlled breath through her nose to calm her sudden anger. If she was rude to the woman, even though it was deserved, she'd get it in the neck from Bella. "I don't know where her or my dad are, okay?"Try as she might Nora couldn't hide the worry that seeped into her tone.

Alice was horror stricken, looking like that was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. Her eyes widened before they became glazed over again with a far away look. That bad feeling crept inside Nora's heart, the strangers theatrics not doing anything to help calm her.

Alice snapped out of it looking scared, her unnatural eyes flickering around her madly. "I can't see her." She breathed, so panicked and quiet Nora thought that maybe she hadn't meant to say it out loud.

Alice didn't hide how disturbed she was as she wrung her hands together. Meeting Nora's bemused stare she wasn't surprised that the human woman was looking at her like she was a psycho that had just escaped from the looney bin.

"...Right, well if that's all then?" Nora queried in an angry, short way, wanting more than anything to close the door so she could get back to her worrying. Alice was being useless with her cryptic behavior.

The small woman suddenly pushed against the door with a surprising amount of force that sent Nora stumbling back. Glaring fiercely with her face flushed by her rage, Nora prepared to slam the door shut in Alice's face like her mind had been begging her to from the beginning.

"NO! I need to know if she's alright. Just let me in so I can wait, please?" Alice appealed fiercely, palm flat and pushing against the glass. The ferocity behind Nora's glare wavered at the genuine concern she detected in Alice's voice.

Stalling a moment so she could think, she reluctantly nodded and the odd woman wasted no time; barging in like she owned the place. Nora winced as she felt her headache come back ten times stronger, her vision dancing with black spots. 

'This is too much, I think I'm gonna pass out.'

"Though it throughly pains me to say this, you can wait down here until she comes back. I honestly just don't care anymore. I need to lie down, my head feels like it's going to explode." Rubbing her forehead she walked up the stairs, not caring to hear if Alice had responded or not. Collapsing on her bed, she fell asleep in no time as the stress of the day caught up with her.

Nora jolted awake; her breathing harsh and palms sweaty, hearing raised voices from downstairs. She jumped from her bed and cautiously crept down the stairs.

"Don't, get me upset. Or things are gonna get very ugly." Jacob Black snarled at Alice viciously, eyeing her with disdain. Nora had no idea when Jacob had joined the party, but her shoulders fell from their uptight position and she nearly thanked the god that she didn't believe in when Bella rushed to his side, very much unharmed and alive.

"Hey stop, stop. Stop, Jacob." Bella urged him and his shaking subsided when she touched his arm gently.

The stairs creaked under Nora's weight and she smiled sheepishly when the three turned to look at her, clearing her throat awkwardly...No, hang on. This was her house, they were the ones intruding.

Standing taller she scowled at Bella, her momentary happiness replaced with unbridled anger at being left to worry after Bella's reckless actions once again. She was growing sick and tired of her behavior.

The temperature of the room dropped. Alice and Jacob glanced tensely between the two sisters as they stared each other down.

"Can I have a moment alone with my sister?" It was a rhetorical question, that much was clear to them all and there was no warmth in Nora's voice, her icy tone causing Bella to freeze.

'I'm in deep shit.' She bit her lip nervously when Alice nodded.

"I'll... give you a minute." Sending Bella an undecipherable look that Nora didn't bother to understand, Alice squeezed her sister on the arm before exiting the house.

Nora turned her eyes onto Jacob next. He cringed away from her stern stare and looked at Bella pleadingly.

Nora felt sympathy for him when she saw the love and concern for her sister reflected in his eyes, love that was very much not returned. Poor kid.

"I'll be in the kitchen." He mumbled. She couldn't remember telling him that was okay, but she let it slide as he scurried away. With that the two were alone.

"Where did you go Bella?" She asked, her voice shaking. It betrayed how angry she had wanted to be, showing clearly how upset she was.

Slight tears wetted her eyes and Bella frowned with regret. She didn't realize that her sister would react like this, but Charlie wasn't home yet and she'd been gone all day. No wonder she was so upset.

"I'm sorry Nora. I went cliff jumping, recreationally. It was fun." Bella laughed nervily when Nora's eyes widened in shock.

Nora opened her mouth, ready to most likely scold her for her stupid actions but Bella hurried to explain. "The boys down the reservation do it, it's perfectly safe. I promise."

She sounded honest and that surprised her. Usually she was an awful liar but she didn't really feel like telling Nora that she'd nearly drowned, visited by the ghostly hallucination of Edward.

Nora face-palmed heavily and Bella stared, apprehensive, waiting for her sister to explode.

Nora did the opposite of what Bella expected. She began to chuckle to herself and Bella's eyes widened, bewildered. 'Why isn't she screaming at me?'

"I can't even be mad. That's so unlike you that I'm actually kind of impressed," Continuing to giggle to herself a stray thought caused her to sober up.

"Where's dad?"

"You haven't heard?" Bella whispered. Nora's stomach twisted itself in knots at Bella's hesitant question.

"Heard what? Has something happened to him?" She was being a bit interrogatory, but her dad was her world. If he was hurt...no, she wouldn't ever think about that. He was fine, he had to be.

Bella didn't answer and just continued to stand there, pulling on her shirt sleeves and avoiding Nora's gaze like she was Medusa. Growing frustrated Nora gripped the staircase.

"Heard what Bella?!" She hadn't meant to shout, but Bella was taking too long, like she was trying to scare her purposefully.

"Harry Clearwater had a heart attack. He didn't make it. I'm so sorry." Bella's mouth twisted into a frown as she watched Nora blink in shock.

Her heart had dropped like a lead weight into her stomach and Nora shakily walked to the couch, sitting carefully and staring mutely ahead of her. This was awful. Harry was one of her fathers close friends, even a friend to her when she needed one most. Death had always scared her, but to actually now know how quickly people can be taken in its clutches made her all the more frightened of it.

"Dad's there right now with his family, that's why he's not here yet." Bella explained softly. Nora became even more glum when she thought of his family. Poor Sue-and Leah and Seth, god he was only fourteen.

She sighed and buried her head in her hands. Bella hovered uncomfortably, indecisive in knowing how to comfort her. Sometimes she really did wish she was as caring and thoughtful as her sister...Nora always just knew what to do and say in these situations.

Choking back her tears Nora mustered the courage to look at her, though she avoided Bella's eyes and looked at her chin instead.

"Can I be alone for a minute Bells?" Bella had never heard her sister so bleak. The only remote comparison was when she had called them those few weeks back.

"Yeah, of course. I'll be in the kitchen...if you need me." Bella squeezed Nora's shoulder gently as she passed, her way of letting her know things would be alright; that made Nora feel slightly better. It was heartwarming how much Bella tried.

Nora felt sick to her stomach. She'd literally been talking to Harry a couple of days ago and he was perfectly fine. It all began to feel like too much, the room felt like it was caving in on her. First Bella had been missing all day, then her dad had never come back from his hunting trip. An unnatturally gorgeous woman just shows up out of the blue and basically freaks her out even more and now Harry clearwater was...dead.

Nora wanted to get up, to stop thinking about it but she was so exhausted that she could barely move. She was saved from her miserable thoughts by the sound of yelling coming from the kitchen.

Noras heart sputtered in fear when Alice burst frantically through the door and basically blurred with how fast she was running. Perhaps if Nora had been in her right mind and wasn't stricken with grief, Alice's near superhuman speed would have concerned her more.

"Is there not going to be a singular moment of peace for me today?" Nora grouched and with an exasperated groan, she forced her limp body off of the couch to stumble her way to the kitchen.

She had just got there when Bella barged her way past her and ran like a mad person up the stairs.

Nora took an involuntary step back when her eyes fell on Jacobs shaking form. He looked so angry, like he was going to explode.

"Okay, what in the hell is going on here?!" She snapped, only just managing to keep her tone level, even when Alice gracefully sped to her side.

The little sprite gripped her arm so tightly that Nora hissed in pain and had to suppress the urge to smack Alice round the back of the head for manhandling her and invading her personal space. There was also the fact it felt like the grim reaper was holding onto her arm-why was the small woman so fucking cold?

"Nora! I can't explain right now, but you need to go upstairs and get your passport if you have one and anything else you think you might need for a flight. Please, do this for Bella." Alice said nothing else, just gave her an intense look that willed her to do as she said. She left the room, headlights from her car shining in the living room only moments later. Nora glanced unsurely at Jacob but he just continued to sneer after Alice.

Getting to her room as fast as she could she grabbed her passport and anything else her muddled mind could think of. Pulling on a random pair of shoes, regretful that they were her old high top black converse, she rushed out of the room and down the stairs finding Bella placing a note on the living room table. Turning fast her deep brown eyes widened in surprise when she saw Nora's bag.

"You're coming with us?" It scared Nora how terrified she sounded and she was quick to think that maybe she was making a huge mistake.

Searching for that braver part of herself, she found it and steeled her nerves.

"Alice told me I had to but I would have demanded to come on my own. I don't know where we're going or why but I'm not leaving you to face it by yourself." Bella seemed to relax slightly, grabbing Nora's hand and dragging her quickly out of the house, fumbling to lock the door. 'Alice wouldn't have told her to come for no reason, I trust her.'  Even so, doubts still fogged Bella's mind. Her sister could be killed, and so could she.

"Go to the car Nora." Doing as she was told, even though she was older and being ordered around pissed her off, she passed a still livid Jacob and sat in the back of the expensive car, letting herself marvel at the fancy interior for a minute.

Bella and Jacob seemed to be arguing as her sister hurried to the car and Nora couldn't get her head around how the two were friends. All they ever did now was fight or be annoyed with one another. It was teenage angst that she didn't have the time for, not when they were supposed to be going somewhere.

Her headache was pounding in her skull, it was so painful that she squeezed her eyes closed and leant her head against the cool leather seat in front of her.

"Bella, please. Stay here...for Charlie. For me. I'm begging you. Please." The sympathy Nora had felt not so long ago for Jacob had vanished. She didn't know if it was the headache or him stopping them from leaving already but he was beginning to grate on her nerves. He was even grabbing the fucking wheel to stop them!

"Okay, intervention time." She said loftily, leaning between the seats and call her immature, but she essentially karate chopped his hands off the door until he backed away. "Shoo."

He growled. Growled. "Nora—"

"No." She sassed, eyes narrowed into a glare that shut him up while Alice and Bella gaped at her. "Thanks for all your help looking after my sister, buts she's a girl, not a toy. If she wants to run around Italy for whatever god damned reason, though I'm assuming it's for her boy toy..." She aimed a look at Bella who lowered her head in submission. Nora hummed, looking back to Jacob. "It's her business, Black. Now back the fuck off and keep your hands to your self. Adios."

'Whiny little bitch boy.'

She didn't say it, but her cocky two fingered salute and Bella and Alice's silence was basically a 'fuck you' anyway.

"Goodbye, Jacob." Bella was remorseful, but her tone was final-with that, Jacob Black's heart was shattered. The three occupants in the car payed him no mind and soon they were off, though Nora wasn't blind to the fact that Bella glanced in her rear view mirror, a single tear tracking down her pale face.