Turn Scars to Stars [2]

Kidnapped

Since Alice had foreseen nothing out of the ordinary for the last weekend in May, Bella insisted that Edward take the opportunity to go hunting with Jasper and Emmett.

Carlisle was pulling a double at Forks Hospital, Seth was in La Push, Bella had a morning shift at Newton's Olympic Outfitters, and the boys were hunting, so Melaina stayed with Alice and Esme.

Alice hunted on the Cullen property and came back before Mel even woke up for breakfast at noon. Esme prepared French toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs, which Mel devoured happily at the kitchen table.

Alice perched on the edge of a wooden chair as she prattled on about their plans for the day. "Then after makeovers, I was thinking that we could do a bit of m--" She froze mid-sentence as a vision overcame her senses.

"No!" Mel jumped out of her skin as the seer growled, returning to the present. Esme and Mel waited for Alice to explain her outburst with wide eyes.

"Bella made a snap decision to visit the tribe, which means that her future has disappeared from my sight."

"I can ask Seth to keep an eye on her," Mel suggested. She thought that Alice was overreacting to a certain degree, but she also knew that Jacob could be a hothead as much as Paul, so her fears were legitimate.

"Please do. I cannot see if she returns home or not." Within seconds, Alice was calling Edward on the phone to express her concern. Edward, who was prone to overreacting, freaked out at the news and rushed back to Forks.

He didn't get a chance to hunt, so his eyes were as dark as night when he returned home after confronting Bella. Mel avoided the hungry vampire in an act of self-preservation.

Mel's older two brothers returned hours later with lighter eyes, while Edward remained hungry and moody until he went for a short hunt on the Cullen property.

~*~

On Thursday, Alice and Mel went to kidnap Bella after she was done with her shift at the sports shop. Alice and Edward weren't taking any chances after Bella ran off with Jacob the other day.

The sisters waited in the car listening to Mel's CD of Breaking Benjamin songs. Alice turned it up so that the Volvo shook when the bass played. When she saw Bella making her way across the parking lot, Mel opened the passenger door for her and hopped over the center console to sit in the backseat.

"Hey, Alice, Mel," Bella shouted over the music as she climbed in. "Where's your brother?"

Alice was singing along to the song, her voice an octave higher than the melody, weaving through it with a complicated harmony.

Alice nodded at Bella, ignoring her question as she concentrated on the music. Bella turned to question Mel. "Melaina?"

Mel was singing along to her music too, but she stopped and narrowed her eyes at Bella. "Isabella."

With a huff, Bella shut her door and put her hands over her ears. Alice grinned, and turned the volume down until it was just background. Mel groaned her complaint.

Alice hit the locks and the gas in the same second.

"What's going on?" Bella asked. She sounded uneasy. "Where is Edward?"

Alice shrugged. "They left early."

"Oh."

"All the boys went, and we're having a slumber party!" she announced in a trilling, singsong voice.

"A slumber party?" Bella repeated suspiciously.

"Aren't you excited?" Alice crowed. Mel laughed at her excitement--and Bella's lack thereof--from the Volvo's backseat.