Undisclosed Desires

The boxes, still unpacked on your bed, sent a new wave of fury through you. Nichole had given in, and was now throwing the contents of her side of the closet into her box, but you didn’t want to budge.

“Alex-“ Nichole began, looking anxiously over at you. You shot her a glare that would have burnt a hole through her head, and she quickly decided not to finish her sentence.

There was no way you were leaving Forks. It wasn’t even possible. Even if somehow you managed to get over the fact that Bella and Edward were still here and pull yourself away from the Cullens, it wasn’t possible to leave Paul. Just even thinking about moving away from him made your heart twist so painfully you couldn’t stand it. You would possibly die of a broken heart if you left him behind.

You heard a soft knock on the door and you dropped onto your back on your bed, rolling away from your dad as he walked in.

“Alexis, I know you don’t want to leave. But.. This is the best choice we have.”

“You don’t want to leave,” you said, glaring up at him. “You’re just going along with her. You don’t want to leave the memory of mom behind. I know you don’t.”

“Maybe I’m ready to move on with my life,” he challenged, sitting down next to you. You sat up and looked at him.

“But you don’t, that’s the thing. You miss her just as much as me and Nik do.”

“Then why is Nichole packing to leave?”

“Because she’s a good kid,” you said, shrugging. “She listens to you. I don’t.”

“Maybe you should learn from her.”

“Nah, too late for me,” you said, shrugging. You stood up again. Your side and leg were hurting, but you ignored that for now. “Even if somehow you get me to leave, I’ll find my way back. You can’t keep me away from here.”

“Enough, Alexis,” your dad said wearily, standing up again. He patted Nichole on the shoulder, and then sighed disappointedly at you as he left.

“I know you’re upset,” Nichole said quietly, looking over at you. “But maybe you should just go along with him. He doesn’t want to leave either, and it hurts him to see you hurting. Maybe you could just try to make it easier on him.”

“Gee, thanks Dr. Phil,” you muttered, shoving the boxes onto the floor. “I’m going to bed, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Alex-“

“I’ll. See. You. In. The. Morning.” You growled, glaring at her as you crawled under the covers.

And you couldn’t fall asleep. The ominous sound of Nichole packing kept you awake until 1 in the morning, and just as you were dozing off, you heard Trisha and your dad arguing, most likely about you.

By 4:30, they had quieted down, but you still couldn’t sleep. You thought hopelessly of the pained expressions of your friends, and of Paul, and it haunted you as you tried to sleep. By 5:30, you rolled over and stood up, feeling a wave of excitement. Everyone was asleep. You could leave right now, without anyone noticing.

You leapt up and grabbed your backpack off the floor, dumping everything out and running to your closet. You grabbed a few clothes from the hangers, and then dumped other valuables of yours, including your laptop, into the bag.

For a brief moment, you considered climbing out your window. But, with your hurt leg and injured side, it probably wouldn’t work out so well. As quietly as you could, you eased the door open. It didn’t make a sound. You crept out into the hall; it was pitch black, but you still had a sense of where you were headed. You could just barely make out the head of the stairs, and you silently began to descend. You stepped over the second to last step, knowing that one was the squeaky one.
The kitchen was silent except for the steady hum of the refrigerator. It was comforting, in a way. As you crept through the living room towards the door, it was empty and just as quiet as the kitchen. You quietly turned the knob, and pulled the door open. No squeak.

Creeping as quietly as you could, you hurried down the gravel driveway towards your jeep. A soft drizzle of rain was steadily falling. You were only half way down the drive when you heard,

“Good morning, Alexis! Nice to see you up and about.”

A small shriek of terror escaped your lips, and you quickly clamped a hand over your mouth.

“Oh, don’t worry about waking me up,” your dad said, walking towards you from the side of the porch. I’ve been up for a few hours now, anyways.”

You mentally smacked yourself. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Enjoying a nice walk in the rain?” He mused, reaching your side. You sighed angrily, and allowed him to lead you back into the house.

“Nice try, kiddo, but you really gotta get better with your escape plans.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” you muttered, tossing your bag onto the couch.

“Are you going to go finish packing?” He asked, sitting down at the table.

“Nope,” you said, shrugging as you dropped down onto the sofa. You flicked on the TV and settled down to watch the cartoons.

Toy Story 2 came on about an hour later, and you were happy to watch that. As it neared the end, you were drawn into it.

Brilliant.

Had you really not thought of that before?

It was pure genius!

You grinned to yourself as the movie came to an end.

Trisha was up by now, and you practically skipped pas the table as you headed for the stairs.

“Off to pack?” Your dad asked sarcastically.

“Yep,” you called over your shoulder as you took off up the stairs.

Nichole was still asleep, but that was okay. You began to pack up your clothes, taking the time to fold them neatly and get everything just right.

By nine o clock, when Nichole was beginning to wake up, you were completely packed up. She sat up in surprise, looking around.

“You okay Alex?” She asked warily, eying your packed boxes.

“Yep! Here, I’ll help you finish up!”

She stood and stretched, watching for a moment as you began to put the rest of the contents of your room into boxes. When she saw you were being serious, she began to help too. It was noon when you had finished with your room, and the two of you went downstairs to help your dad finish packing up the living room, as Nichole helped with the kitchen.

It really did end up taking all day to finish putting everything away, and by dinner time, you all were tired and hungry. Trisha ordered you all a pizza, and you, Nichole and your dad went out back to relax. It was a nice night, and it was surprisingly not raining.

“I don’t know what made you change your mind, kiddo,” your dad said, looking over at you. “But I’m fine with it. I’m glad you’re finally going along with this.”

“I think I’ll like California,” you agreed, smiling over at him. Nichole seemed in a good mood, too, and she joined in on the discussion. When Trisha brought the pizza out, she joined in, and you actually didn’t bother her too much with at him. Nichole seemed in a good mood, too, and she joined in on the discussion. When your rude comments. By the time the pizza was finished, you were all ready for some sleep. The movers would be here in the morning, and you were eager to get a good sleep.

You and Nichole returned to your room, and as you began to crawl into bed, she looked over at you and said,

“You’re up to something.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You didn’t want to go to California just last night, and now you can’t wait to leave?”

“California seems better and better as I think about it,” you said, not meeting Nichole’s eyes. She could always tell when you were lying.

“You’re gonna leave tonight, aren’t you?” She accused.

“No, I’m not leaving tonight.” This time you looked at her and tried to sound sincere. You really weren’t. She sighed and said,

“Well, you’re up to something.”

“Goodnight, Nikki.”

“Night Alex. Love you.”

“Love you too,” you said, flipping off the light and making your way to your bed. This time, you didn’t have a problem falling asleep.
You were in forest clearing, the moonlight streaming through the trees. You stood off to the side, calling for Paul to come back to you. He was hunched over something; as you got a little closer, you saw it was a little girl. Not Renesmee, this girl had jet black hair and slightly darker skin. The little girl was lying on the floor, blood pouring from her injured arm. As you tried to get closer, you saw Bella running for you. She was seeming to run slow motion, and you knew what she was going after. You lunged for the girl, trying to save her. Paul dove in front of Bella, trying to save you. You heard Paul let out a whimper of pain, and then you turned to see Bella lunge for you. She had vicious fangs, dripping with blood. Her eyes were a bright crimson, and she reached for your neck. You closed your eyes.

“Alex!”

You shot up in bed so fast you threw yourself off balance and fell out of bed.

“Oh, oops,” Nichole said sheepishly, bending down to help you up. You glowered at her as she pulled you to your feet.

“Sorry,” she began, letting go of you to finish brushing her hair. You felt your side screaming in pain, and you limped over to the bathroom, where you had left your medication Carlisle had given you. You took it quickly, and then hopped in the shower, ready to get the day going.

You dressed in the clothes you had laid aside for yourself, and then pulled your hair back into a simple ponytail. You came out just in time to see the movers taking your bed downstairs. You followed them, and then went to see what everyone was up to.
Out on the front lawn, your dad was talking excitedly to another man you had never seen before. As you approached, you realized they were talking about your dads truck.

“It runs great, I’m glad you could take it off my hands!”

“No problem, enjoy California!” The man said, grinning as he climbed into the cab.

“Dad!” You cried, jogging forward, making sure your jeep was still where you had left it. Luckily, it was.

“What, Alex?”

“Why… Why did you just sell your truck?”

“Well, we can’t take a truck on the plane.”

“What about my jeep? I don’t want to sell it!”

“We’ll come back for it, how about that? Just you and me. We can have a road trip!”

You thought about it.

Well, leaving the jeep here wouldn’t be so bad. No one would mess with it, probably. And no one would really want it. It ran good, it just didn’t look too good. And having the jeep here would help with…

“Alright, sounds like a good idea!” You said, sounding a little too enthusiastic for your own good. Your dad seemed to think you were excited to spend time with him; you felt a pang of guilt.

As the movers finished loading everything in the van, you saw a taxi pull up in front.

“Our ride is here!” Your dad announced, herding you all towards the car. You, Nichole and Trisha sat in the back, and your dad sat up front. Nichole had her small bag for carry-on, and Trisha had a little tote. You still clutched your backpack, filled with some of your clothes, a bundle of money, your laptop and other small things. You stared out the window as the car made its way to Seattle.

The car pulled up in front of the airport around ten, and you got out, still enthusiastic. Trisha actually seemed in a good mood today, and it surprised you.

“Alright, lets go get everything settled, the plane leaves in about two and a half hours!” Your dad announced, heading through the doors. Since you didn’t have any actual luggage, check in went faster than expected. By eleven, you were all sitting in the lobby.
Nichole was staring intently at you, and you knew she was still wondering when you would disappear.

You slipped your headphones on and settled back into the chair, trying not to think about the events that would unfold in the next few hours.

****
Your dad woke you up at eleven thirty to board the plane. Your heart began to race as you walked towards the gate. You really, really hoped this worked. But there was no turning back now.

You followed your dad onto the plane, and shuffled down the aisle towards your seat. The rows held three people, so you and Nichole were in one row, and your dad and Trisha were in the next row up.

As you pretended to put your backpack up above the seats, you waited until Nichole was distracted, and then sat it down by your feet. As you closed the compartment, you looked over to Nichole and said,

“Hey, I really gotta go to the bathroom.”

She nodded. That was your goodbye.

You headed away from the door, letting her think you really were going along with this. You hooked your backpack around your ankle and tugged it along with you, ignoring the weird stares. You slipped into the bathroom, and then you had to wait. You held on until you heard the noise outside quiet down, and then you slowly opened the door. Nichole wasn’t looking for you, that was good. Slipping silently from the bathroom, you turned and headed towards what seemed like the cockpit. You were glad no one stopped you.

As you went a little farther back, you saw the door to the cargo bay.

Jackpot.

You looked both ways, and then slid inside. It was completely pitch black, but you were prepared. You pulled out your ipod and turned it on, then used the light to maneuver out from the piles of luggage. As you got further back, you saw a faint light up ahead. That had to be the door.

Running now, you reached the door, and skid to a stop as you heard a mans voice.

“Alright, that’ll do it for this one!”

“C’mere, help me check the list one last time.” You heard the footsteps of a guy walking away from the door. This was your one and only chance. You rushed forward, and, after gauging the distance, you dropped down to the ground. It wasn’t as silent as you hoped, but the roar from the airplane masked that. There was a luggage cart a few feet away, and even though your leg was hurting now, you toughed it out and hobbled towards it.

You crawled on, concealing yourself in between the luggage left on there.

“It looks like it’s all here, lets get back to the docking bay and grab a bite before we load the next one.

The cart pulled you towards the airport.

As it came to a stop, you waited until you were entirely sure they were gone, and then you peeked out. As you were looking around, you spotted the plane with your family on it. It was just leaving. You felt your heart tighten and a few tears begin to form, but you had to get out of here now. You could feel sad and guilty later.

You climbed off as quick as you could, and spotted an entrance a few hundred feet away. You jogged as quick as you could, and after checking for anyone watching, you quickly slipped back into the airport.

You had done it. You had stayed in Washington without your family knowing. You felt so amazingly smart, you couldn’t describe it. As you began to walk through the terminal, you let your thoughts wander.

Well, you needed to get home. How much had the taxi cost? Close to a hundred dollars. You only had fifty. Well, crap.

Wait… you could always call Bella! Your heart surged as you made your way to the closest payphone. You dug around for a few quarters, and then slipped them into the phone. You had only half-dialed her number when a strong hand came down on your shoulder.

“Little girls shouldn’t be alone in Seattle.”