Chapter 1: Coma
Alice POV
I stared out of the
window at the barren Alaskan landscape. My heightened vampire senses
allowed me to see every leaf and twig in the trees, every snowflake
swirling through the air. I could hear the wind howling against the
house, even through thick walls and closed windows. I could feel
every thread in my clothes as I wrapped my arms around myself.
Seven months.
That was how long it
had been since we were in Forks, since I last saw my best friend;
since any of us had seen Edward. Since we were all happy and
together, and everything was right with the world. Now, I felt like
my world had crumbled and cracked. It hadn't toppled yet; that could
never happen while I still had Jasper. But our whole family had been
affected by Edward’s decision. Even Rosalie, cold and unfeeling as
she was towards Bella, admitted that life just wasn't the same
without her. Smiles were few and far between around here.
Perhaps it was because
I was thinking of her, or maybe it was just coincidence, but at that
exact moment a vision hit me with so much force, I stumbled backwards
and collapsed on the bed behind me.
Bella stood on top of
an unfamiliar cliff top. Waves churned below her, and wind whipped
her hair around wildly, blowing rain in her face. She closed her
eyes, smiled, then stood still for a few moments, as if waiting for
something. Then, her arms rose above her head, as if she were about
to dive.
Though I knew it would
do no good, I shook my head violently and whispered, “No!”
But the vision
continued. Instead of diving, Bella seemed to step into the air,
plummeting downwards. A shrill scream burst from her, before she
disappeared below the waves. I clung to the pictures, not allowing
them to slip away as they wanted to. I waited... and waited... but
nothing happened. She didn't surface. She didn't wash up on the beach
nearby. Nothing.
The vision faded, and I
realised I was shaking and sobbing, a dry pricking in my eyes.
Despair unlike any I had ever felt gripped me, tightening around my
heart.
Of course, that got
Jasper's attention. He appeared as if by magic at the door of the
room we were sharing in Tanya's house.
“Alice?” he asked,
frantic. “Sweetheart, what is it?”
I couldn't speak yet; I
just shook my head.
He sat down beside me
and took my hands in his. “What did you see?”
I could feel him trying
to calm me, and his touch helped, but the anxiety was too strong to
be crushed completely. I could only choke out a weak cry of “Bella,”
before I crumbled against his chest and began to sob again.
Why would she do
something like this? Was she really so unhappy? Despite Edward's
request that I not look for Bella’s future, I couldn't control the
random flashes I saw every now and then; I was so attuned to her
after our time together, they just happened. What I saw always
crippled me. I saw her crying and screaming in her sleep; sat alone
at lunch, not speaking, ostracised by her other friends; in class,
the seat beside her that Edward had occupied still empty; going about
her daily routine like a zombie; Charlie getting more and more
worried every day.
How could she? Didn't
she even think about Charlie, what this would do to him? I had a
sudden urge to help the poor man, to go back to Forks and do what I
could for him. I pushed out of Jasper's arms and ran to the closet.
Pulling down a big hold-all off the shelf, I began putting my clothes
inside, one by one, moving much faster than a human would have been
able to see. Even in my rush, I felt when Jasper followed me. His own
worry permeated the air, rolling off him in waves. I could tell it
was unintentional; he didn't know what on earth I was doing, and that
put him on edge. But this only added to my frenzy.
“What about Bella?
Alice, are you going back to Forks?”
How well he knew me;
how quickly he guessed what I was up to. I placed the last of my
clothes in my bag. “Yes, I'm going back. I have to.”
I darted past him, out
of the bedroom, and he followed me again. Down the stairs, to the
living room, where Rosalie was sat on the sofa reading a magazine.
She looked up as we entered, frowning. She had obviously heard our
conversation.
“Alice, you can't.
Edward said-”
I cut her off, abruptly
furious. “I don't care what Edward said! Bella's in trouble!”
Jasper stepped back,
alarmed by my anger. “Ali, darlin', just think about this for a
minute. We can't just-” He trailed off as my expression turned
murderous.
“You're asking me to
wait?” I shrieked, hurting my own ears and making both of them
flinch. “I just saw my best friend throw herself off a cliff and
you're asking me to WAIT?”
They sat there staring
at me stunned by my outburst. I took a deep breath, calming myself
before I continued.
“The vision came out
of nowhere; she probably made a snap decision to do it. It's too late
to save her, but I can still do something for Charlie; I can't just
sit here.”
I turned for the door,
and Jasper grabbed my hand. I looked up into his anguished eyes.
“Call me when you get
there?” he pleaded.
I smiled. “Of
course.”
“You're just letting
her go?” Rose spluttered.
Jasper turned to her.
“When has she ever listened to me? Besides, she's right. You know
how much Charlie relied on Bella. He's going to need someone there to
help him out.”
He bent his face to
mine and pressed a soft kiss on my lips. “I love you.” he
whispered.
“I love you too.” I
replied with a smile, before turning and hurrying to the garage.
Hopefully Carlisle wouldn't miss his Mercedes for a day or two.
The lights were on and
the cruiser sat in the driveway when I pulled up to the Swans' house
around seven the next evening. To my surprise, Bella’s rusty old
truck was there too, forcing me to park across the street and dash
through the pouring rain to the door.
As I knocked and waited
for Charlie to let me in, I thought over what I planned to say. I had
to be very careful to act surprised when he told me, but more
importantly, I had to act like I wasn't dying inside from the loss of
my best friend.
The door opened
revealing a haggard looking Charlie. He really did look terrible; his
hair was a mess, he had bags under his eyes that reached all the way
to his cheek bones, and he looked – and smelled - like he hadn't
changed his clothes, let alone showered, in days. His eyes had a dead
look in them, as if he couldn't take the prospect of a visitor on top
of everything else. They widened when he saw me, and his jaw dropped.
“Alice?”
“Hi Charlie,” I
smiled, trying to sound like my usual chirpy self. “How are you?”
He gawked at me for
half a second before he composed himself. “What... what are you
doing here?”
“Well, since it's
spring break, I thought I’d come by and see you guys. I'm really
sorry we haven't been in touch. There was a ton of craziness getting
everything set up in L.A., and we've only just started to get it
fixed.” I forced another smile. “Do you mind if I come in? It's a
little cold out here.”
Charlie blinked twice,
then took a step back, opening the door a little wider to allow me
inside.
“Sure Alice. You know
you're always welcome here.”
I breezed as lightly as
I could manage into the living room, putting my purse onto the coffee
table. Then, I braced myself to ask the question that would set
everything off.
“So, where's Bella?”
I felt horrible as soon
as I said it. Charlie's face fell even further and he collapsed into
the armchair across from me. He put his head in his hands, and his
shoulders began to shake.
I didn't speak; I
couldn't. I waited.
“Alice,” he finally
choked out, “Bella... had an accident. She was swimming with some
friends down at La Push and...” He stopped, swallowing thickly.
I moved across the
room, kneeling by his elbow and gently rubbing his back. “It will
be easier if you say it fast.”
He looked up at me with
tear filled eyes. “She's in the hospital. Jacob Black took her up
there. He said the currents got the best of her suddenly, and he
thinks she hit her head.”
I was genuinely
shocked. This wasn't the news I was expecting. Charlie was still
speaking.
“That was two days
ago, and she still hasn't woken up. She's stable, but the doctor says
it doesn't look good. He doesn't know how long she'll last.”
He broke down then,
sobbing uncontrollably into his hands. I was frozen, relief and
horror fighting to be the most prominent feeling in me. Bella wasn't
dead. My vision was wrong. But she was still in grave danger, and
there was the chance that she wouldn't make it.
My mind spun in a dizzy
whirl. I don't know what's going to happen. I can't see. Why can't
I see? What do I tell the others? Why was I wrong? Is anything what I
think it is any more? I had
always relied absolutely on my visions; we all had. I trusted them to
be right, to always reach their conclusion. Never, in all the decades
since I first awoke to this life, had a vision been wrong. Sure,
things had changed. I had wrongly interpreted what I saw on several
occasions, but never this drastically.
Alice
Cullen doesn't make mistakes.
My head was a mess of
contradiction, confusion and uncertainty. However, there were two
things I did know with absolute certainty. I had to see Bella... and
I had to contact Edward, before someone else did.
One
lingering doubt nagged at me through all this.
What
if I was always wrong?
