A/n Okay peeps this is the sequel to "The TA" / "The Freshman". READ ONE OF THOSE FIRST. I'm working on two other projects because according to LJ, I like burning my candle at both ends. (Not quite what she said but I'm going to keep the A/n innuendo to a minimum.) I would wait and post this after it's been beta'd but ... I haven't secured anyone to beta this story yet AND I don't want y'all to feel like I've forgotten you. So, if any of you are interested in beta'ing, please PM me. I need a member of the Grammar and Punctuation Gestapo.

On the "other projects" front. I am working on a fic to accompany the blog for Lambcullen's new fic "Tilt". It will be M-rated because of frank sexual discussion and adult situations. I'm also working on continuing "Biological Compulsion".

So, forgive me, but I'm kind of stretched thin. Previews for reviews may or may not happen, depending on how the chapters flow.

Music:

Jennifer Nettles Band, "Remain"

It didn't take long for Bella's plan to seduce Edward to work. I found myself glad that I made the trip to Forks to get Edward's mother's engagement ring and the dress that I ordered for Bella. When he finally caved in and agreed not to wait until everything was perfect in their relationship, I was ready. We would have had the wedding two days after his proposal but Carlisle and Esme felt that we should invite some of our friends to share the day. The Denali Coven came into town along with Liam, Siobhan, and Maggie. We sent announcements to the other major covens and a few nomads showed up. It was hard on Bella to not have her parents there. I don't think that she's a girl who ever dreamed about getting married, but when it came down to it the day was lacking without her parents. Jasper gave her away, and I was her matron of honor. She smiled and she was happy to marry Edward but deep down she was still sad.

After the wedding the house settled into a familiar groove. Bella insisted that she and Edward put off their honeymoon to Isle Esme until after she felt more confident that she wouldn't hurt a human. Instead, we built them a little cabin about three miles away from the house in the middle of the forest. Being there was easier for the two of them as Bella was still a bit shy, and Edward had difficulty being intimate with her in the house. Edward set up a bed in their room at the main house, and they spent a good portion of their time during the week at the house with us. They lived in the cabin on the weekends, and any night when there wasn't some sort of activity going on at the main house.

Bella insisted that we also continue with college as previously planned. Her reasoning was solid, but Edward still wanted to run off with her. She pointed out that it would be more suspicious if we left so soon after her disappearance. I think that she secretly didn't want to be a burden. She knew that she couldn't really go out in public until her eyes faded from red to gold, and she hated the contact lenses that I bought for her. I could sympathize with her. The lenses made things slightly blurry and they were uncomfortable. So, she stayed home and read while we went to class.

It was after one such day of school, that everything changed. Edward and I were the only two with class on Monday afternoons. Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett had taken to returning home separately after their morning classes finished on those days. It was initially done so that they could help Esme keep an eye on Bella on days when Carlisle worked. Bella really didn't need supervision though. Edward and I pulled into the drive that afternoon, and bypassed the garage. Bella's scent was faint in the driveway like she had taken a walk recently. I smiled and bounded up the stairs to her room, but what I found there shocked me.

She was gone. I didn't notice at first, because, Bella faded in and out of my visions over the past two months. She was practicing using her shield, and I grew so accustomed to her appearances and disappearances, that I missed it when she made the decision to leave. Edward was by my side before the revelation had completely sunk in. He grabbed my shaking hands, and looked into my eyes.

She's gone. I can't find her, I thought for his benefit. I closed my eyes and threw my mind into the future to try again but I could only catch a faint shimmer of her. There wasn't enough information to do much other than confirm that she was still alive.

"Do you know why?" My brother leaned in the doorway opposite me.

No, she's just gone, I replied.

"Is there a note?" He pushed off of the door frame, and moved into the room that he shared with his wife.

"I don't know, I only just discovered..."

"Let's not panic. Maybe she's just gone hunting, or shopping?" He scoured every flat surface in the room for a note. Her scent was still strong in the air, so it hadn't been long since she left.

"Shopping?" I asked. "She changed into a vampire, not a completely different person." I sighed and went to go check the garage for her motorcycle. There was no way that Bella had gone shopping by herself. I practically had to drag Bella by her hair to get her to go buy lingerie for her wedding.

Jasper met me at the bottom of the stairs. His face was lined with worry.

"What's wrong?" He murmured.

"Bella," I offered only the one word in explanation that did more to puzzle Jasper than to clear up why I was worried.

"She's been awfully quiet today," Emmett spoke up from the couch.

"She's missing," I whispered. Emmett was on his feet and to the garage in a flash. He stormed back in with his eyebrows scrunched together and his fists clenched.

"The bike's gone," he declared.

"Did she say anything to either of you?" Edward's voice sounded from behind me.

"No, I haven't seen her all morning." Emmett shook his head.

"She doesn't come out of your room very often when you're gone. She likes to be alone so I don't bother her," Jasper explained.

"Was there a note?" I turned to Edward.

"No, but she took her saddle bags." He shook his head and ran his palms over his face before settling down on the steps. "Has she said anything to any of you? Has something been off lately?" He looked up at Jasper. "Jasper? What was that?"

"Alright, don't be mad. She told me that she'd tell you in her own time," my husband explained. "She's been depressed. She hid it exceedingly well but I assumed that it had to do with Charlie and Renee." He gave Edward an apologetic look. "You have to know that if I had thought that anything was out of the ordinary that I would have said something."

Edward uttered and expletive and I stared at Jasper. He and Bella had been keeping her feelings a secret not only from Edward but from me as well. It hurt.

"Wait, how did we miss the bike starting up and her leaving the house?" Emmett blinked a few times.

"She must have walked the bike out," Jasper hypothesized. "I'm going to go try calling her." He stepped a few paces away ad dialed.

"She's on the bike so there should be a trail to follow." Rose closed the door to the garage behind her and stood next to Emmett. "I wouldn't be too concerned though. She always comes back."

"What do you mean she always comes back?" Edward growled.

"She likes to take the bike out while you're in class Edward," Rosalie explained and crossed her arms defensively.

"No one is accusing you of doing anything wrong babe." Emmett used his thumb to wipe a smudge of grease off of her cheek. Rosalie leaned slightly into his hand but her expression remained solid.

"And you just let her go?!" Edward was on his feet and in Rosalie's face. He stared intently into her eyes and concentrated on her thoughts, drowning the rest of us out. I could tell that she wasn't cooperating out of spite.

"Does she ever take a bag Rose?" I asked.

Rosalie's face fell and she shook her head. Edward hissed and I raised my eyebrows at him.

"I should have noticed. I'm sorry," Rosalie gasped. She turned and gave me an apologetic look. "She took her saddlebags today."

Jasper clicked his phone closed and shook his head. Bella's phone was off, and had gone straight to voicemail. Edward's agitation grew.

"How long?" Edward grunted and pushed past Emmett as soon as the question was out of his mouth. I caught a glimpse of Edward getting into the jeep within the next few seconds and motioned for Emmett to follow him. Emmett lumbered out the door after Edward and helped him take off the hard top before preventing him from driving. Jasper joined the other two after kissing me on the cheek.

"This isn't my fault," she informed me.

"I never said that it was." I held my hands up. "How long has she been gone?"

"Three hours, she normally would have been back two hours ago. I just assumed -"

"Enough Rose, it would have been nice if you told us that she was sneaking out." I rested my hands on my hips.

"Well, you and Edward normally keep such close tabs on her that I figured you knew about her little joy rides in the afternoon," Rosalie snapped. "Her control is impeccable, she's never attacked a human, and she's a heck of a lot more durable now that she's a vampire. She's not going to hurt anyone. Would it kill the two of you to give her some freedom?"

"Rose, this is all beside the point. She's missing and she took a bag with her. We need to find her."

"Well, why don't you do your thing and find her future?"

"I've tried," I spoke through gritted teeth. "She's been practicing with her shield in the afternoons and it's currently up. I won't be able to find her until she drops it." If she drops it, I added mentally and heard Edward sigh in the garage.

"Have you ever thought that maybe she changed her mind? Maybe she doesn't want to be here? Maybe she doesn't want to be one of us?" Rosalie stood up a bit straighter and let the accusations fly. "She didn't agree to this life until that day. We should have -"

"We should have what Rose? Let her die? I can't believe that you would suggest that after seeing what both she and Edward went through without each other. Esme did the right thing." I pointed a finger into Rosalie's chest before making my way to the garage.

"Alice, wait!" She called to me when I had made it halfway out the door. "She isn't happy. She thought that she would be but it's obvious that she's not and it's been getting worse over the past two weeks." Rosalie sighed and shook the hair off of her face before she continued, "she's been hiding something from us other than being upset. Something is actually wrong. When you and Edward are gone, she's a different person."

"Thanks Rose," I whispered. "I'm not mad. You know that I love you, right?"

"Yeah Alice, I know."

I closed the door behind me and left Rose in the house by herself. Jasper beckoned to me and I leapt into the back of the Jeep with him. Emmett took off as soon as I made it in. I sighed and snuggled into Jasper's shoulder for comfort. Edward focused on Bella's scent, and directed Emmett where to go. We had to drive uncharacteristically slowly in order to make it work but using the Jeep was less suspicious than all of us running down the street to follow her scent.

Jasper ran his fingers through the spikes in my hair and I sighed. I could only imagine what Edward was feeling. I focused myself on scanning for Bella's future. Something serious had to have happened for her to run off. I sent text messages to Carlisle and Esme explaining the situation. Esme was at a fundraiser for the botanical gardens and Carlisle was working. I watched both of them receive the message and drop everything to get home to help Rosalie with research. I wasn't quite sure what information we needed just yet, but their help would be necessary.

I pulled my phone out in anticipation of a call from Rosalie. She hadn't decided what she was going to say. So, I was left in the dark. It was possible that she had done it on purpose. Over the years the family figured out little ways to keep me from knowing everything before it happened. I was unaware that my acting skills were that bad until Edward started putting off decisions, then Rosalie and Carlisle, followed by Jasper and the rest of the family. Bella figured it out as a human but in the past couple of months with aid of her shield she made it nearly impossible to predict what she was going to do.

The phone rang as I flipped it open.

"Alice," Rosalie sighed from the other end. "I've been trying to figure out what she had in her saddle bags. I went through her things and she's taken a few days worth of clothes. But more importantly, she took all of the cash we had in the house."

Edward cursed again. Jasper and Emmett each drew in a sharp breath.

"Thanks, Rose."

"It's bad isn't it?" She asked.

"I still can't see anything. I don't know why she'd run off or why she'd take so much money with her." I shook my head. Bella took several thousand dollars, and that much money in her hands was frightening because, I knew that she didn't want it for some frivolous purpose. What would Bella need that much money for?

"I'm so sorry. I'm going to keep looking for clues around the house." She hung up before I could assuage her guilt.

"I don't know, Alice," Edward answered my question of, 'why?' before I could voice it.

"We need to figure that out, because I guarantee that Bella isn't going on a shopping spree with all of that cash."

"I just don't understand," Edward tore at his hair again. "How didn't I know that she was unhappy?"

"Edward …" Jasper warned him.

"Turn left, Emmett," Edward grunted.

"She was genuinely happy when you were home," Jasper explained. "I never sensed anything other than love between the two of you. She loves you Edward. I know it."

"There has to be some logical reason for this," Emmett spoke up. "This isn't like her. Bella is responsible, ridiculously responsible. She makes Carlisle look irresponsible for goodness sakes. Her control is perfect but she didn't push boundaries to go out except for her trips out on the bike. Why would she go out without telling anyone other than Rose?"

Edward grunted.

"I'm saying it anyway," Jasper directed his comment at Edward. "Edward is overprotective. Bella's been a vampire for months and he still gets nervous every time she hunts."

"This is more serious than that," I argued. "I'm not overprotective of her and she hid from me too. Something is terribly wrong."

Bella liked her privacy. I think that she realized soon after her change exactly how much we faked not knowing what was going on. We always knew what had gone on between her and Edward. Back in Forks, we knew everything from when they kissed to when he had denied her pleas to become one of us. We could tell by scent if she had a cold or missed showering because she was in a hurry. We heard every conversation at the house, and I saw every fight that she and Edward had.

She figured it all out within the first week of being a vampire. Bella was distraught when she knocked on my door. She pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail and slumped onto the bed in my room.

"My hearing isn't any more sensitive than yours is it?" She folded her arms behind her head.

"It's not likely," I squeaked. The rest of the conversation wasn't going to go well. Bella would leave unhappy and feeling betrayed.

"So, when I was a teenager and …" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence and let the fact that I'd already seen her question ask it for her.

"Yeah Bella, we heard everything. Emmett and Jasper were always impressed at how little time it took you to get Edward worked up to the point where he would make you stop." There was no gentle or easy way to approach the topic. She knew that we could hear things but the illusion of privacy sometimes fooled her into thinking that we didn't. "We never intentionally listened," I clarified.

"I knew that you could hear us but I never quite caught on to how much you could … Wow … This is awkward," she grimaced.

"Please don't be mad," I begged even though I knew that it was fruitless.

"You just treated me like I was such a child, and I wasn't," she huffed.

"We wanted you to be comfortable at the house, and if you thought that we were always listening, then we never would have seen you or Edward," I tried to explain.

"That doesn't make knowing any easier. I feel like a fool."

Actually hearing the words hurt more than my premonition that they were going to be said.

Jasper stroked the back of my hand and I looked up. Bella had parked her bike outside of a shopping mall. Edward jumped from his seat and to the bike before the Jeep stopped. He picked up her scent and headed toward the mall. My eyes clouded over. He would come back within minutes. I could see that he didn't find a trail past the doors and we needed to call home for more information. This was a dead end. Edward looked up at me after sharing my vision and reached for his phone to dial home.

A/n: Some of you are cursing me right about now. That's okay.

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