Southern Belle

“Will do” he said “now I think you have some business to take care of.” He nudged me with his foot and I would have been insulted by the fact he obviously wanted me gone if my mind wasn’t already calculating every step I’d take for the next few days.

“I’m gone” I promised as I stood up and started walking toward the front of the house. Just as I was about to step out of the tent that was set up for the party, Ricky grabbed my wrist.

“Where are you going?” he asked. The others were all behind him with a look on their faces that meant they wanted to know too. I didn’t have time for this.

“Come one, we’ll talk on the way.” I pulled free of his grasp and ran to the front yard that was currently being used as a parking lot.

“Who was that guy you were talking to” asked Roxy as I made it to my car and practically ripped the door off its hinges in my attempts to get inside.

“A friend of Bella’s” I answered honestly. I jammed the key into the ignition and started the car with my friends still standing outside.

“What did he tell you?” asked Lester. I was itching to speed out of the lot and leave them in my dust but that seemed a little cruel even for me.

“Just get in the car” I growled and they immediately did as I asked without hesitating. That was properly a good idea on their part since I wasn’t above dragging them into the vehicle by their collars and locking the doors behind them.

Once everyone was situated I put petal to floor and started speeding down the twisting path that led back to the main road.

“Liddie” said Ariel hoarsely as she hung on to the back of my seat for dear life. “Do you mind telling us why you’re acting like this is The Fast and the Furious?” She really wasn’t being over dramatic in that statement. I was driving like the maniac that I am.

“I was right” I said as I turned onto another street, causing a very loud and annoying screeching sound. “Alice can somehow control Jasper when he’s with her.” The silence that followed that statement was almost deafening.

“You’re going to find him aren’t you?” asked Ricky.

“Yeah” I answered “I am” that little demon could not and would not get her disgusting claws into my Jasper. I’d make sure of that.

“But, you said that she can only control him when they’re together” said Roxy. I had no idea where she was going with this but my physic senses told me I wasn’t going to like it.

“Yes” I said hesitantly. “Go on” She started fiddling with a piece of lace on her dress and I knew whatever was about to come out of her mouth was something she really didn’t want to say. Vampires do not fiddle with things.

“That would mean that everything he said in your bedroom, he said under his own free will.” She whispered. It took a few seconds for her words to really sink in but when they did, I didn’t feel any different.

“It doesn’t matter” I said as I pulled into our driveway. I didn’t turn off the car and simply ran inside and up to my bedroom.

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?” asked Ariel as all four of them burst into my room while I was digging through my desk drawer trying to find my passport.

“I don’t care if he doesn’t love me. I don’t care if he’d rather see me burn than be in the same room as me. All I care about is the fact that Alice forced him to go to Italy with her and I can’t sit here and let that slide.” I pushed past the wall of people and slid my passport into my back pocket before filling up a backpack with clothes.

“You really do love him, don’t you?” asked Lester. He had a look of pure awe on his face, like he had never heard something so amazing.

“I do” I said simply. “And that means I’d do anything for him, even if doesn’t ask me to” That seemed to ease everybody’s mind but I could tell there was something Ariel was dying to ask. “What?” I asked.

“Do you have a plan?” she asked. “I don’t want you getting yourself killed because you were careless.” She was standing in front of the door as if to say. “Give me the answer I want and you can leave.”

“Yes, I have a plan” I answered “and it should work if I’m right about the Volturi.” That means its fool proof since I’m never wrong.

“That ‘if’ is bothering me” said Ricky “Sit down and explain your idea to us because you’re not leaving until you do.” There’s the annoying Ricky that I sometimes tolerate.

“Fine, I’ll run through it real quick” I wanted to leave, not have a conversation. “I’m going to go to Volterra, request a meeting with the Volturi, ask them to kill me, this should jog Jazz’s memory and he’ll stop them, then I will bring him home and we’ll love happily ever after.” I am like a genius; I came up with all of that in like ten minutes.

“What if that doesn’t jog his memory?” asked Roxy “Liddie, they’ll kill you.” Wow, morbid much. I mean, way to only see the problems with the plan.

“They won’t” I promised “the same thing happened to Edward; I’m too valuable to them to be killed.” They had heard me call Edward by his real name countless times over the five months that Jasper left and it didn’t bother them.

“Are you sure?” asked Lester. There was real concern written all over his face and I realized it wasn’t just my life it was putting on the line, it was theirs too. Since they can’t possibly live without me.

“I’m sure” I said “now, who’s driving me to the airport? I’m not leaving my car in the parking lot.” Some things, I just could not do.