Chapter One

Okay. I can do this.

I look down over the edge and feel a rush of fear and adrenaline flow through me. I close my eyes for just a second. Just a second, so I can hear his voice.

'Don't do this.' I hear his soft voice in my head.

I smile. It feels like it's been so long. I can practically see his shadow beside me.

"You wanted me to be human," I say to him. I unzip my jacket and sling it off my body.

'Please,' he begs. 'For me.'

I look over the cliff and see the waves crashing against the cliff.

"You won't stay with me any other way!"

I can hear him plead but I've already made up my mind and jumped. I felt so liberated in that moment. The fall seems forever and just for the briefest moment, I wonder if Alice is watching me. I wonder since my letters won't reach her, did she see me hurl myself off the cliff?

All of a sudden, my body felt cold and the water surrounded itself around me. I kick my legs and move my arms around, forcing my way up to the air.

I knew that it would be the single most adrenaline-induced amazing experience I would ever have on my own.

My moment is short-lived though as I turn around and find a huge wave moving towards me and crushed me underneath. My head is spinning and I repeat the routine to lift myself into the air, but as soon as my head pops up, another wave comes crashing down. The lack of oxygen is starting to get to me, as I feel light-headed. I try to force my eyes open in the salty sea and almost have a fucking heart attack at what I see.

Red hair.

Red curly hair. Swimming right at me.

'Victoria?'

My immediate reaction is to swim back, but I didn't realize my position in the sea and my head knocked itself right into the cliffside.

Fuck! That fucking hurt!

I don't have enough oxygen in my brain to really process what happened since my vision begins to fade in and out. My arms and legs begin to feel numb and they've stopped moving.

Darkness clouds my vision and just for a moment...that moment where I'm in a half-state of consciousness...I wonder...can Alice see me? Will she miss me?

Slowly...all my thoughts drift to nothing.

"Hey, Miss? Are you alright?"

Ugh. What was that noise?

"Miss, I don't think you should be laying here…there are some people staring at you."

Who's staring at me? I'm fucking lying at the bottom of the ocean.

"Please wake up!"

I groan internally. My head is really killing me but nonetheless, I force my eyes to open slowly and cringe at the sun beaming down on me.

God, everything is really fuzzy. I adjust my head to look up at the body hovering over me.

It's a little kid. Finally, when my vision focuses into view, I find myself staring into I think a nine-year-old little girl with huge brown eyes.

"Are you alright?" She asks in a really cute voice.

I force myself to nod my head even though I feel like I've been hit by a dumpster truck.

I'm alive. I actually survived.

Placing my hands against the ground, I lift myself up slowly with the help of the little girl and dust my jeans off. I notice a ragged jacket on the floor which I recognize as mine. I reach down and dust it off before folding it over my arm.

That's when I noticed.

This is not Forks.

Another note I have: What the fuck are all these people wearing?

All the women by us were wearing skirts or dresses. I looked down the little nine-year-old who also was wearing an old-fashion dress.

'What is this? The 1920s dress-up day?'

"You dress really weird...but a nice kind of weird!" The little girl said happily.

"Uh..." I didn't even know what to say. Everything seems really messed up. I don't have the slightest clue of what's going on!

Maybe I did die.

'Okay. Don't panic. You're already drawing enough attention. Just ask the little girl what's going on.'

"Uhm..." I started to say but was cut off when the little girl spoke.

"I'm Cynthia Brandon!"

Okay, now the little girl has a name.

"I'm...Isabella. Where are we?" Was sharing my real name a smart thing to do? Too late now.

"That's a really pretty name! We're in Biloxi, Mississippi, Miss," Cynthia shouted before she gasped in horror.

"Oh, no! I really have to go. I promised my big sister that I'd return to our shop quickly with her lunch!"

Shit. I can't have her leave. I don't know what the fuck to do here.

"Can I come too?" I blurt out. The little girl looks at me weirdly for a second but nods her head nonetheless.

"I guess..." She starts off. "But that means you have to carry her lunch then! Besides, I think Mary Alice will like you. She likes weird people."

I fight the urge to grimace and nod my head rather stiffly. I grab the brown bag Cynthia was holding and follow behind her as she skips along the sidewalk. I lower my head and try to make myself as small as possible because literally everyone is staring at me.

I awkwardly stand out since I'm wearing a long-sleeved shirt, some type of button-up shirt over that, jeans, and sneakers.

'Okay, Swan. Focus. You're not dead...hopefully. You're in Biloxi and everything looks like it's from the 1900s. Jesus fucking Christ, why did I jump off that cliff?! Was it really worth seeing Edward's face and hearing his voice? Because surely now you're gonna end up in the loony bin.'

I chant expletives in my head as we walk.

Cynthia was whistling and turned the corner on the sidewalk and when I turn the corner as well, it seems that we've reached a jewelry shop. Pushing through the glass door that sets off chimes, Cynthia walks through and motions for me to follow her in. I awkwardly walk in and take a look around.

Even the jewelry seems 1900s.

"Cynthia, is that you?" A bell-like voice chimes from the back.

'Huh? She sounds familiar...It sounds like...'

A slender body walks through the back door, heading to us and I almost have a fucking heart attack right then and there as a take a good look at the girl before me.

"What took you so long? I was starting to worr—who's this?"

Cynthia just looks proud of herself while I look like I've seen a ghost—I might as well have.

"A-Alice?" I stutter out.

It was definitely Alice standing in front of me. There's no mistaking her facial features. Except for couple things like...her hair is longer, much, much longer, even if it's the same shade. Her eyes are not the gold I'm used to seeing, but rather a russet shade, beautiful none the less, it matches her peachy skin tone which also makes me light-headed because let's see...

She's not a vampire?!

She's also wearing a peculiar outfit as well. It screamed business but also 1900s women fashion.

I probably look like a crazy person since I was breathing so heavily.

"Is that you?" I ask her with the utmost disbelief in my eyes.

She looks back at me confusedly and tilts her head.

"Well, Alice is my middle name. Most people call me Mary Alice. Do I know you?"

I'm struggling to not choke—maybe puke and luckily I don't even have to answer her because Cynthia beings to talk.

"Mary Alice! I found her lying on the grass down the street and her name's Isabella and she dresses a good kind of weird and I really like her! Can I keep her? Wait, wait, wait! Maybe you've already seen her coming!"

Alice's attention is torn away from me as she sends a scolding look at her sister.

"Cynthia, you know you can't talk about that! Especially in front of strangers!" She scolds her sister who looks back at her apologetically.

'I don't think I'm a stranger, Alice,' I think mockingly to myself.

"Mother and father are going to be home soon and you best not talk about that anymore. You know how upset they get."

Alice turns her attention back to me rather sheepishly and I return the look. I clear my throat and awkwardly hold up the brown bag to her. She takes it from me, mumbles a thank you and moves over to the counter and places the bag on it. She can tell from my face that I want to talk to her about something but refused to since there was a kid here.

"Listen, Cynthia," Alice says in her sweet voice.

"Why don't you go into the back and play for a little bit. Isabella and I want to do some grownup talking."

Cynthia frowns but listens to her older sister. She runs up to me and gives me a brief hug, which I return by patting her on the back. She disappears behind the counter and into the back and I'm finally able to focus solely on Alice.

Human Alice.

"So...my sister found you lying on the grass?" Alice says while she unpacks the food from the bag.

I walk up closer to her with my hand sheepishly behind my neck.

"Err...yeah. I must've not been feeling well."

"Do you need to see a doctor?" Alice asks me worriedly and I can't help but smile.

I could be a serial killer and she's still worried about me. Her personality really made it through her transformation.

"No, I'm fine now, but thanks. Anyways though...I actually had some questions."

"Shoot away." She says while she beings to eat her sandwich. I'm about to just do so when all of a sudden she freezes on the spot, her eyes are glazed over as if she's a million years away and she's just...catatonic.

"Alice?" I ask worriedly and reach over to shake her shoulder when she doesn't answer me.

Suddenly, she comes back to life and grips my hand before I can touch her shoulder. I give her a concerned look and she drops my hand when she realizes she was gripping it.

"I'm so sorry!" She says, looking as if she's about to cry.

I panicked because I've never seen Alice cry before because she couldn't, and I certainly don't intend to see her cry now. I motion her to come to the other side of the counter to where I am and pleased when she does it.

"Hey...please don't cry," I say to her when her eyes really start to well up with tears. I pull her into one of those comforting hugs that Alice used to give me when I fought with Edward. I rubbed her back in slow, soothing motions while she tries to reel her tears in.

"Please don't think I'm weird," She whispers into my neck and I just chuckle.

I was reeling in the information that I had observed and collected on my own. Whether this was a fucked up dream or reality, I had somehow managed to throw myself back to where Alice was once a human. That glazed look is the same she gets as a vampire when she has visions.

Alice, as a human, still must've had premonitions of the future.

I could only imagine how fucked up her life could be because of her gift during this time.

"Calm down, Alice. I don't think you're weird. Did you see something bad?"

Alice pulls her head out to look at me with horror and confusion.

"W-What?"

I give her the same puzzled look.

"Uh...did you see something bad?" I repeated because I thought she just didn't hear me, or something.

Her jaw locks into a tight position and she narrows her eyes at me.

"Did Cynthia say something to you?"

What could a nine-year-old say to me?

"No?" I replied confusedly.

Alice's face crumbles for a bit and she looks vulnerable. She bit her bottom lip, which made me realize that I'm staring at her lip and force my attention to the rest of her face.

"You...you know, and you're okay with it?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Am I not supposed to understand and be okay with it?"

"You...don't think I'm crazy? Cursed? A witch? Changeling?"

I frown visibly for a moment. Is that what the townsfolk are calling her?

"You're not any of those, Alice. Do people call you that? They better not call you that in front of me. You're like...Alice, with a little extra. Perfect, in my opinion."

Alice's arms wrap around me tighter and I can feel her smiling against my neck.

"No one's ever said something that nice about me before." She mumbles against the base of my neck.

It sent a weird tingle down my spine and I tried my best to ignore it. I pulled out of the hug and find Alice smiling so wide it might split her lips.

"Alright, alright. Let's save the gushy stuff for later. What did you see?"

Alice's smile drops instantly and is replaced with a frown.

"I saw...you going to jail."

.

.

.

"What?!"