𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞 / 𝐈.

18.

18 - the flight

"What do I tell my mom?" I worry, Edward dragging me to his car. "I can't just disappear!"

"You can't stay here, either!" He argues back, his phone ringing frantically. "Answer that for me."

"Alice we know." I don't give her a chance for the girl to speak already knowing what she's going to say. "We're heading to your house now."

"Put Edward on!" She snaps. "He's so irresponsible! Edward, you were supposed to be watching out!"

"Hang up. I don't want to hear her lecture me." He growls, I snap the phone shut without another word and try to focus on my frantic breathing. There's no a how-to guide on dealing with being chased by a psychotic vampire. Everything is flashing around me from the speed, faster than normal pushing the speedometer. "I can't believe I let my damn guard down."

"Edward, why is he coming after me? What's the big deal?" Was it the same as the fears I had during the day? Did my choice of company really make me such an interesting catch?

"It's the thrill of chasing someone who's being taken care of by vampires. He finds you interesting, challenging, and fun. Your scent isn't helping him either, he's curious about the reeking." Edward says through gritted teeth, sharp eyes focused on the fast-moving pavement.

Burying my hands into my face I try to calm down my senses by shutting out any remaining daylight. But I can feel hot tears streaming down my face as I heave in and out. What do I tell Mom? Or Teresa and Jay? What are people going to think of my sudden disappearance?

The car jolts to a stop and the white light of a garage streams in as I force myself to look up. We got to the Cullen's house in record time, which means that I didn't have any time to put myself together.

"You're going to need a change of clothes, something to help cover your stench," Edward tells me, getting out of the Volvo. I follow behind him and we climb up the stairs into the rest of the house, I can hear his family rushing around.

When we get to the main floor, Edward pulls me to a stop, a dark-skinned man is speaking to Carlisle on the threshold. His eyes alert me, they're glowing red.

"Don't be alarmed," Edward whispers as the man looks over at us, recognizing that I'm the odd one out. "He was traveling with James. He's here to warn us."

"Here," Alice comes up to us and hands me folded clothes with a pair of cowboy boots on top. I'm grateful she doesn't mention my puffy face and red eyes. "They're Jasper's clothes. You and he are about the same size, give or take a few inches."

"Okay." She points me to the bathroom and Edward leaves before Alice can grill him. I exchange clothing, peeling off and on garments. If this wasn't such a serious time, I'd be offended and amused by the fact that I have to wear Jasper's clothing, all of the Cullen girls being several inches shorter than me.

"Yeehaw," I mutter once out of the bathroom, handing my old clothes off to her. "Is anyone going to tell me what the plan is?"

"Jasper and I are driving you south while Rosalie, Carlisle, and Edward leave a fresh scent for James to track, they hope to lure him in. Esme and Emmett are going to stay here in Forks and keep an eye on your mother and make sure the woman he travels with, Victoria, doesn't come back into town." Alice explains, giving my clothes to a disgruntled Rosalie. "Save the savage comments, Rose. There'll be plenty of time to chew Edward out for being careless later."

Rosalie huffs before snatching my clothes and sulking away. Even in a situation like this, she's still being difficult towards me, but I can't blame her. My relationship with Edward hasn't necessarily been the safest, there's always been a known risk. This incident couldn't have been predicted, though. I wish she'd put her differences aside but that may be too much to ask for.

"Alice, what am I supposed to tell my mom? I can't just disappear!" I express to her, trying to fight my frantic feeling.

"Don't worry about it, I've already taken care of it. We're going to an indie music festival in Arizona, she thinks you get exempt from exams tomorrow." Alice says. "You're well taken care of Heather."

"I'm surprised she agreed to that, especially with how spontaneous it is," I admit, Mom always wanted to know what I was doing in advance. She's not good with sudden events. "Arizona? Really?"

"Carlisle called her and assured her that there'd be an adult and that you'd be safe. That got her to relent." Alice explains, which makes sense. Mom looks up to her boss and trusts his word. "And yes, Arizona. The sunnier a place the harder it'll be for James."

"All the stuff you'll need for your trip," Esme says, passing me a backpack. "Toiletries, some clothes, snacks, and painkillers. Edward also asked that I put his MP3 player in there. Is there anything else you need? A book?"

"No, thank you." Usually, I'd grab a book, but I'm going to be too anxious to focus on one. "This means a lot to me, Esme."

"We need to get on the road, Alice and Heather." Jasper comments, "Are those mine?"

"Yes," Alice shrugs as he takes in her clothing choice for me. "She can't fit into any of my things."

"Alright, well, let's go cowboy." He nods to me.

"Can I say goodbye to Edward first?" I request, hoping he hasn't already run off with his father and Rosalie.

"He's waiting in the garage," Alice tells me, taking my arm gingerly. "Don't worry about him, or yourself, we're going to deal with James easily."

"Do you know that for a fact?"

"No, but there's a whole lot more of us than there is of him. So long as you don't run off, we'll be fine." She attempts to assure me, but until Alice has seen it set in stone, I won't take an easy breath.

When Edward sees me he wraps us up in a tight hug, I close my eyes and pray this moment can continue forever. I don't like what's waiting, stalking me outside.

"I'm sorry, Heather. I should've been more careful." He apologizes in a whisper. "You have a bad habit of making me let down my guard."

"Lovebirds! Cut it out! There's a vampire to kill!" Emmett calls out, stopping me from responding to Edward. "We're losing night with all that sappiness."

"Emmett," Esme scolds.

"Thanks to Laurent's help, we have a bit of an advantage. Hopefully, we can find and deal with James quickly." Carlisle tells me, patting my shoulder. "With his warning, we have the upper hand. He's going to travel north and stay with the Denalis."

"Thank God for one less psychopathic vampire," I mumble.

"I'll call you soon. I'm going to make this up to you, Heather. I promise." Edward tells me, we pull out of the embrace, I need to get away from him before I start crying again. "We won't stop until you're safe, I won't stop."

"Okay." I let go of his hands and get into the Mercedes Benz with Alice and Jasper. They're eager to get out of Forks and as far away from the tracker as we can. Before closing the door, Edward gives me a quick, farewell kiss, hopefully not our last.

"I love you," I tell him without a thought.

"I love you too." He closes the door for me, and Jasper is quickly wheeling the black car out of the garage. We race down the long driveway, onto the highway heading for the interstate, Forks and my sense of security quickly flees from me.