Annora |E. Cullen|

TEN

"I need to leave for a few days. I need you to let me go without questioning. I need you to trust me when I tell you that I am going to be okay, I need you to understand that I have analysed this over and over in my head, this is not as impromptu as it seems to you. I need you to let me go," I faced my father in the kitchen.

"I believe you, but, sweetie, you're worrying me," he frowned.

"I know I am. I'm well aware that I'm one of the only people that can just shut it off, and that's fine. I promise you, I will be okay. I love you, I need to go," I kissed his cheek, kissed Morgan's forehead, and then jogged out of the house with my bag over my shoulder.

I hopped into the passenger seat of Emmett's Jeep and he tore out of my driveway faster than I thought was possible. I placed one earbud in the ear farthest away from him and started to play music. He looked at me out of confusion.

"I can't handle silence, Em, you know this," I rested my head against the back of the seat and closed my eyes.

He shifted into a higher gear and sped up down the road towards his own home. I knew that the speed in which his car moved was not fast enough, nothing would be fast enough to him. It took less than five minutes to get to the house, he parked his Jeep on the side of the road and carried me with him inside, he was faster than I could wrap my mind around. He placed me down in the garage and started pulling my jackets from the bag I had packed. I walked over to Bella while he handled the clothing.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"It was awful, I don't think he'll ever forgive me," she shook her head.

"I think you underestimate a parent's capabilities of love and forgiveness," I smiled at her.

"How are you? What did you say?" She questioned and looked up at me with wide eyes.

"You know good and well that when it comes down to thought versus emotion, I always go with thought. All I told my father was that I needed to go and he needed to believe that I was going to be okay. He did," I shrugged.

"I wish it was that easy, just to be able to turn it off," she whispered.

I paused for a moment, "No, you don't," I then walked back over to Emmett and he subconsciously wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"We need you to make a decision, Nora, are you all right with doing that?" Carlisle checked with me.

"Run anything by me, I'll let you know the most logical course of action," I nodded.

"Is it better for you to stay with Bella or to go back to DC for a few days? Are you able to stay with your mother?" He asked.

My body went stiff at the mention of her, "No."

"Are you all right?" Jasper asked, feeling the sudden change.

"I can explain things at another time, but not now," I was very short answered and stern.

"All right. Will you be better off staying with Bella, then?" Carlisle questioned.

"Yes, that's the most logical course of action. Putting us together ensures that more of you can be there if one of them comes to us. Separating us causes issues and more paranoia," I rounded off.

"Okay, it's settled, she rides with Jasper and Alice to Phoenix," Carlisle nodded.

I broke away from Emmett's hold and walked towards the far corner of the garage. I had two pairs of eyes on me as I went from controlling everything to sliding down the wall and curling up into a ball on the ground. I heard two pairs of footsteps that abruptly stopped when Edward's voice became apparent.

"Only one of you. You need to choose which one, but she can only handle one person right now," he warned.

Only one pair of footsteps advanced from that point. Shortly afterwards, I felt a cool hand be placed on my upper arm.

"What can I do?" Carlisle asked me.

"I need to breathe. Ideally, I need five minutes to get myself in check. I'll take as much time as I can have, I don't want to be an inconvenience," I kept my eyes shut and my voice shook as tears slowly rolled down my cheeks.

"Do you need to talk?" He questioned, I assumed he had learnt from the night I had sliced my hand.

"No, it will take to long. Hierarchy of needs, I need Bella safe before myself," I kept my eyes closed.

"I understand," he rubbed my shoulder lightly before standing and returning back to the circle of informative conversation.

I controlled my breathing, inhaling for four seconds, holding for four, and exhaling for four. I repeated that action enough times until I felt well enough to stand, wipe the tears away from my eyes, and go on with the situation. I returned to Emmett, who automatically held me close as though he knew I needed it without my say so.

He then led me to the car and helped me inside before he knelt down beside me and took one of my hands in his. He pulled a blanket out of nowhere and covered me with it, "I know I don't sleep, or even need anything to warm me up, but this is mine. I know enough about you to know that this will hopefully help you when you're stressed out. Stay calm, Annora, you are so strong. I'm just thinking of coming back to you after all of this is over, and that's what makes it worth it. Stay safe," he kissed my forehead.

"I love you," I looked at him with tears brimming my eyes, the action he had just carried out meant more to me than anything he had done before, no matter how simple it may have been.

"I love you, too, angel," he kissed me once more before he shut the door and the car sped off.