Chapter Four: An Empty Future

Alice (POV)

I was too late. My visions didn't warn me that Edward wouldn't act. I had seen her with us, the two of them together as mates. I knew she would be one of us. I stood in the middle of the parking lot as the sound of her body giving way between the two bulks of metal filled my ears. I looked back at Edward in disgust, just as he ran away.

"Alice?" Emmett said approaching me, concern etched on his face. I started to reply when the first scent of blood crossed my nose. We both turned and knew we couldn't stay. I ran in the opposite direction from Emmett and straight to the hospital. I took the familiar route to Carlisle's office and found him looking at his computer, likely researching as usual.

"There's been an accident." I said feeling sick and wishing I was human so I could feel that sickness fully.

"Someone hurt?" He asked almost rhetorically.

"Bella, she was crushed between a van going around thirty miles an hour and her truck which was stationary." I tried to be dispassionate about it, but all I wanted to do was cry. I liked Bella, I wanted to be a part of her life, even though Edward refused to let me even try to be her friend.

"My god, was Edward…?" Carlisle started, but I shook my head.

"He didn't even try to stop it. I got halfway there but it was too late. I thought he cared. I mean I saw them together, and now I can't see anything. The future feels empty, like fate was erased." I was terrified, my visions had always been a reliable source of information for me. I could easily push myself along a good path, the consequences of choices laid out like a never-ending cheat sheet.

"It's okay Alice, your sight will return. Meanwhile, could you let the rest of the family know what happened?" He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I nodded once. I took my time running home, sure that Emmett would have filled in Esme and Rosalie who were out of town on a shopping trip. I thought idly if Rose had found the bolt of cloth with the pattern I was looking for, but shook my head at the shallowness of the thought.

When I got home, I could hear Rose humming to herself in her room, and Esme upstairs at her easel, likely painting another masterpiece. I couldn't hear Emmett at all, which was odd. I wondered where he went. Rose and Esme both stopped and made their way downstairs to greet me, I wasn't sure what else to do so I just waited for them.

The instant Esme saw me she rushed to my side. "Alice? What's wrong?" I felt desperate for solace, so I just wrapped myself against her, taking comfort in my surrogate mother.

"It's Bella, she was hurt, badly." I whispered into her shoulder, not really knowing how else to explain what happened.

"Was it Edward?" Rosalie said through clenched teeth.

"No, and yes." I said finally, pulling away from Esme who kept me close by wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Which is it, yes or no?" Rosalie said, looking mildly confused.

"Tyler was driving like an idiot and hit a patch of ice. He slid right into Bella's van, and right into Bella. Edward was right there; he was the only one who saw it coming and was fast enough to get there." I knew my words were coming out as sobs, and I wanted nothing more than for there to be tears accompanying them.

"Why? I don't understand." Esme said with a frown, "I know how much he cares about her."

"Maybe he was trying to protect the family." Rosalie said nodding as if understanding his actions somehow.

"You would've done the same?" I asked, feeling like my sister was betraying me somehow.

"I don't know. Bella doesn't mean anything to me, and I wouldn't have interfered in an accident to save a random mortal." Rosalie shrugged; and I had to admit her rationale had some validity. But I couldn't accept it.

"Except, think about it like this. What if it was Emmett, he was still human, and you could've saved him from that bear attack and chose not to." As I spoke the words, I felt indignant. No matter the practical reason, it was one devoid of passion or emotion. Rosalie's face fell and she closed her eyes for a moment in contemplation. When she opened them she was boiling with anger.

"I hope Edward loses her then, he deserves to suffer for this." Rose turned and stormed out the back, clearly to go and hunt.

"Rose!" I yelled after her, hurt by her declaration. I couldn't fathom wanting Bella to die in the hope that it would hurt Edward. It felt like cutting off my nose to spite my face.

"It's okay Alice, she didn't mean it." Esme said gently caressing my hair. I sighed and pulled away from Esme.

"Thank you, mom, I needed that." I smiled and hugged her again, before going up to my room.

I sat down in the middle of the floor and folded myself into as small a ball as I could. I knew Jasper was away, he still had friends out in the world he had to maintain relationships with. Whenever he came back, I always felt he was a little angrier with our choice of lifestyle. I thought about calling him, at least telling him the news. I wanted his comforting words. No, I wanted his gift to make me feel better. So I waited for some kind of update about Bella.

The news came almost a day later, when Carlisle returned home. I hadn't moved the entire time, almost praying for Bella to pull through. I was a bit surprised that Edward was with him.

"Months of recovery Edward and she'll never walk again." Carlisle said, which seemed a bit like it was something he had already argued once before.

"Yes, but that's human. She's human, and I want to keep her that way." Edward rebutted, his usual refrain. I was convinced it was the entire reason he was even struggling to get involved with her.

I made my way downstairs just as Emmett and Rosalie returned together. Esme also joined us, and for the first time our entire family, save for Jasper, was in the same room since the accident.

"I'll turn her." I offered without preamble. I didn't want her to suffer, the thought made my body shake with anger.

"No. She's stable and alive, and right now her heart is too weak to survive the transition. She needs to heal." Carlisle said dismissively.

"Fine, then when she's ready. We tell her the truth; we owe her that much. Then let her choose, it's the least we can do after Eddie here decided to let her get crushed." I countered easily. It felt like the best and only choice. I could feel my decision forming a path to the future as I said it. Bella would take to being one of us like she was born to be a vampire. She would be happy and a part of our family.

"Alice?" Esme asked, pulling me out of my vision.

"Sorry, that would be a good choice. She would be happy with us." I said, and then looked at Edward who seemed less than pleased. Suddenly that future vanished, replaced with nothing again.

"You did it again, you erased her future. Our future with your selfishness." I almost screamed at him.

"Is it selfish to wish that she retains her soul?" Edward's old argument was tiresome, we had gone back and forth on it for weeks.

"Edward has a point, even telling her condemns her to our life." Carlisle said, trying to mediate the dispute.

"You love her Edward, I know it. Why fight so hard against her being your mate and equal?" Esme said pleadingly, and I smiled at her approach to the argument.

"If she were turned, I would accept her happily. I just cannot condone willfully robbing her of a chance to be human." Edward reiterated his only point, this time it was starting to feel a bit flimsy.

"She'll never be normal again, and her human life will be short and painful. Are you that ready for death my son?" Carlisle asked, finally capping the point with a question that Edward clearly wasn't ready to answer.

"I'm going to go watch her. I'm not ready to fight anyone on this." Edward dashed out of the house without another word. I looked around the room at everyone, trying to gauge their reactions.

"Is it just his choice?" I asked no one in particular.

"That's a good question." Carlisle said out loud.

"Shouldn't it be her choice?" Rosalie said after a long minute of silence.

"Can she make that kind of choice? She's human, and young. I still haven't determined if she can have children yet, so her life may be a full one." Carlisle offered; his argument again anchored in ethics. The side-effect of centuries in the medical profession.

"Informed consent is dubious, none of us had it when we were turned. None of us could have made that choice in our condition. We've all had different reactions to this life, and we have no way of knowing how she will react." Esme suggested her own transformation as complicated as the rest of us. While happy, a part of her would always mourn for the child she lost.

"I would've chosen no." Rose said easily, a sentiment she has repeated every so often. Emmett squeezed her shoulders in support but that only made her frown. "But I am happy, most of the time."

"So, my idea really is the best option. We bring her into our life slowly and let her know her options." I said hoping the rest of the family would agree with me.

"I don't think we have a choice in bringing her into our lives, Edward is determined to be at her side until she passes. Unless you can think of a way of untangling him from her, I don't see your option working." Carlisle said with a frown. "Because sooner or later we would have to tell her about his choice, and I cannot imagine she would simply forgive him."

I shook my head and left the room without another word.

The next several months unfolded exactly as Carlisle predicted. While Bella, Angela and Tyler became our friends to an extent. Edward acted as a watchdog, preventing me from ever spending time alone with Bella. Jasper's return a week after the accident was even more strained. For the first time since we met there was something pulling him away from me. It was all the worse with the near constant presence of three humans, he would frequently stare at Tyler or Angela and occasionally even at Bella as if they were food.

Summer came and went, and he wouldn't talk to me. Then a few weeks before Bella's birthday he finally admitted we needed to talk. We went to our spot in the forest, a secluded clearing away from the areas the family usually hunted. When we arrived, he kept his back to me, clearly trying to order his thoughts. Then he turned, his expression was very serious.

"I can't do it anymore Alice. I thought it was what I wanted, that you were all I needed. I love you; I'll always love you. I just cannot live this lie anymore. I don't have the strength to fight against my nature." He paused, and I started to interrupt but he held up a hand. "I'm going to join Peter and Charlotte for a time, and maybe in a few decades I can return. I don't expect you to wait for me."

"Jasper. I don't understand. I thought you didn't want to hurt anyone. That you were done with killing." I couldn't make this about me, I didn't want to manipulate him that way.

"In theory yes, in practice it's untenable. I suffer surrounded by humans every damn day. Is that misery worth it? I've struggled with that for decades now, and I've come to the realization that we can only fight our nature for so long. Or maybe it's just me, but even Edward broke and succumbed to his instincts for years. We're predators, and they are our prey. Tell me that isn't true." Jasper had made his decision, and I couldn't think of an argument to talk him out of it. I wanted to use us as leverage, but if he had chosen to return to his old lifestyle, maybe he didn't care as much as I thought he did.

"It sounds like you came back to say goodbye. Is that now?" I said softly, my world crumbling around me.

"Yes. I've already made arrangements to untangle myself from your family. I left instructions with J. Jenks, you will be his contact for the family from now on. I'm sorry Alice, I wish you could come with me." Jasper closed the distance between us, and for a second I thought he was going to kiss me goodbye, instead he leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Goodbye." He said before running East and quickly disappearing into the forest. I watched the shadows where he had disappeared for some time before finally turning back for home. I felt heavy, like I had been punched in the stomach. Yet for some reason I didn't feel as devastated as I always imagined I would feel. A part of me always knew our relationship could end this way, that he would fail to live like the rest of us and return to the life of a nomadic vampire. At least with Peter and Charlotte he wouldn't be alone.

I had no idea how I was going to tell the family; Jasper had been a part of their lives for decades. For a second I found myself wondering if they would accept me without him. I quickly shook my head at that, I knew Carlisle and Esme would love me forever as their daughter. Rose was my sister, and Emmett my brother. Eventually I would forgive Edward, and Bella would be one of us. Of that I was sure.

Bella. Our lives had been consumed by her presence since she arrived in Forks. While mainly Edward, I had felt a connection to her the moment I saw her. I wanted to act, to whisk her away and turn her so that she no longer had to suffer though the constant pain we all knew she was dealing with. But I knew that would never work, he would read me and stop me if I got too close to her.

My only hope was Carlisle.

I changed directions and ran to him immediately. He was in his office, reading through one of the medical journals he used to keep up with modern practices. I had been listening as I made my way to his office, and found that the hospital was quiet so I knew we could talk freely.

"Alice." He said with a smile, motioning me to sit down. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"News, and a thought. Jasper's gone. He left me… left us. He said he couldn't live a lie anymore." It was harder to say than I thought it would be. The words somehow made the reality of it all the worse. I closed my eyes to tamp down some of the pain I was feeling at his absence. More pain than I really knew how to deal with.

"I'm so sorry Alice. You could have gone with him." Carlisle offered, but I just shook my head.

"No, this my life. Jasper was a good part of it, but he didn't define me. Our choices, or lifestyle does. I will never hurt a human again." It was the reason Jasper knew it was over, he knew me too well to ever consider that I would abandon this life and my family.

"I know my dear. I was always afraid this would happen; he's never been truly happy with our lifestyle." Carlisle sighed slightly, and then cocked his head. "What is your second reason?"

"Bella. Edward has tunnel vision; he can't see what we all can see. She's miserable and thinks of herself as nothing more than that chair. She can't see what makes her special. I think this must be your choice, and it seems like a simple one. Turn her or lose them both." I had mulled over the scenarios in my mind a thousand times, even saw some paths form towards a potential future. None of them matched that original future before the crash, or the one where I turned her before Edward shot it down. I waited as he mulled it over, hoping to see a new future.

Then a glimmer crossed my sight, not just one future but a thousand. The path Carlisle was deciding on held nearly infinite choice. Then one future solidified, and the next several weeks unfolded like a beautiful diorama. Until one evening our doorbell would ring, and as Carlisle answered the rest of our futures disappeared.