I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
April and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and Fran, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.
Outtake
APOV
"That should do it." I placed the last pin into the hemline of the dress.
I stood as the bride-to-be scrutinized herself in the mirror with a critical eye. She smoothed out the non-existing wrinkles.
"When will it be ready?" she asked me.
"We can have it ready in three weeks and then schedule a second fitting. Will that be okay?" I asked.
"That will be perfect." She smiled.
"Okay. Just hang the dress on the hanger in your dressing room, and I will get it afterward. Do you need help getting out of it?" I asked.
"I should be fine." She glanced at her friend, who was texting on the couch. "Jess, could you give me a hand?"
"Of course." She jumped to her feet and slipped her phone into her purse.
The two disappeared behind the curtains as I picked up my small basket of pins. I went into the back room and placed it on my station. As I turned around, Charlotte exited her office looking stressed.
"How is it going out there?" she asked.
"One bride found a dress and Mckenna is helping her with accessories and ordering. I just finished with Bree," I told her.
"Great. I don't know about you, but I need some caffeine and something to eat. How about we order and eat here since it doesn't look as if we'll be able to close the store to go out. We have back to back clients today, and the phone has been ringing off the hook," she suggested.
"That's fine with me," I agreed.
Charlotte turned to Jared, who was sitting at a table playing solitaire, looking bored out of his mind. "Jared, be a dear and run out for us. I would like a chicken Caesar salad and an iced coffee. Alice?"
"Tuna on wheat bread, with lettuce and tomatoes. Iced coffee for me too, please," I said.
"Sorry, but I don't think I should leave without backup here," Jared said apologetically.
"Oh, for heaven sakes, the only thing dangerous here is a bridezilla who doesn't fit into her dress at her final fitting. We'll be fine." Charlotte rolled her eyes. "If we wait for delivery we will be waiting all day."
Jared gave in and stood. "Lock the back door after me."
"Of course," Charlotte said as her office phone started to ring.
"Alice, Bree has a question for you," McKenna said as she popped her head in the doorway.
"On my way." I went back out to the main room.
Bree and her friend Jessica were waiting outside of the dressing room. When she saw me, she waved me over.
"Do you guys have any crowns? I was thinking instead of a veil, I'd wear one of those," she asked.
It took a half-second for my brain to process what she was looking for. "Yes, we have tiaras and rhinestone headbands in a display case over here." I led her to the back corner of the room.
Bree hemmed and hawed over the selection before asking if she could try on a few. After about fifteen minutes of her going back and forth, she decided on one, and we brought it up to the counter. As she and Jessica opened the door, another girl rushed in with tears in her eyes and a dress bag in her hands.
"Please…please say you can help me. I have a wedding this weekend, and the straps on my dress broke," she asked frantically.
"Let me see." I held out my hand for the dress.
I pulled the bag from around it and gently laid it out on the counter. I examined the area where it looked as if the strap had been pulled out at the seam, due to poor stitch work. It would be an easy repair.
"I can fix this and have it ready for you tomorrow afternoon," I promised.
"Oh my God, thank you, thank you." She looked relieved.
"I just need your name and phone number, where we can reach you." I grabbed a pad of paper from beside the register, and she rattled off her information before leaving the store. I had just finished fixing the bag when the door opened once more. A mother and daughter entered the store, looking excited.
"Hi, I have an appointment with McKenna." The young girl tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
"Give me one moment, and I'll get her for you," I told them.
I took the dress with me to the back room. Mckenna was tossing out her yogurt container when I entered.
"Your next appointment is here," I informed her as I hung up the dress I was carrying.
"Thank you," she said with a sigh as she stood.
"Is Jared back, yet?" I asked, looking at the table where he usually sat.
"I haven't seen him," she said over her shoulder.
I paused by Charlotte's office; she was still on the phone. She glanced up at me and mouthed Jared. I shook my head and went back to the main floor to grab Bree's dress. On my way, I ran into two teenage girls, who were probably skipping class to be here.
"We're looking for prom dresses," one of them said.
"There are some you might be interested in over there." I pointed to an area of the store. "I will be with you in a moment."
I disappeared into the dressing room to retrieve the wedding gown. When I exited, I heard my name being called from the front of the store.
"Alice."
I adjusted the heavy bag I was carrying and looked up to see Jasper and his father. One of the teens was so distracted looking at Jasper that she walked right into a mirrored column. I started to giggle until I noticed the expression on the faces of the guys.
"What's wrong?" I asked in alarm. It was strange to see them this time of day.
"We need to speak to you and Charlotte. Where is she?" Peter was looking around the room.
"She's in the back." I jerked my head to the door.
"Let's go," Peter stated firmly.
Jasper placed his hand on my back and guided me along. I practically had to run to keep up with them.
"What's going on?" I was getting annoyed.
"We will explain in a minute," Jasper told me. "I've been trying to call you."
"Your ma doesn't let me have my cell phone on me at work," I explained.
Jasper stopped short when we passed through the doorway. "Where are Jared and Nathan?"
"Your mom sent Nathan home since he had the stomach flu. Jared went to go get our lunch," I answered.
Jasper and Peter exchanged a look between themselves. I don't know if I was getting paranoid or not, but they were acting weird.
"How long ago did he leave?" Peter asked me.
I glanced at the clock. "I don't know…thrity…forty minutes ago."
"He's still not answering his phone." Jasper exchanged another look with his father.
"Go," Peter ordered.
Jasper left my side; his hand reached for his gun on his way to the back door.
"Peter, what on earth is going on out here?" Charlotte asked as she came out of her office.
"We need to get you and Alice out of here immediately," Peter said.
"Now? But this our busy season, we can't just leave in the middle of the day," Charlotte argued.
"I'm not asking, Charlotte. This is an emergency." Peter went to the wall and hit the fire alarm.
The siren wailed through the air, making me cringe from the loud noise. Charlotte stared opened mouthed at Peter.
"Look, I don't have a lot of time to explain, but Bella was kidnapped. We need to get the rest of you to a safe location so we can deal with it without worrying who else Aro will take." Peter had to speak loudly over the noise.
"Bella…but how…" I was confused.
Bella was so strong and a fighter … how did she get kidnapped? I had seen for myself, how she could flip Emmett onto his back—she made it look easy. If she could be taken did the rest of us stand a chance?
"Let's go." Peter was getting impatient.
Charlotte nodded and quickly grabbed her purse. I realized I still had the garment in my hand and went to hang it on the rack. I turned quickly and was suddenly yanked back so hard it made me stumble. I felt something cold against my forehead.
A swell of panic gripped my chest. My mind became fuzzy as I tried to remember everything Bella taught me. But I was drawing a blank, and all I could think of was that she knew more, and she still failed.
Charlotte caught my eyes, and hers widen in fear. "Alice!"
Peter's head snapped in my direction. He pushed Charlotte behind him and grabbed for his gun.
"I found Jared, and he's been…" Jasper stopped midsentence when he saw me.
He immediately pointed his gun in our direction; his face was dark red. In all the years I've known him I've never seen him look so angry.
"Easy there, pretty boy. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your girlfriend, would you?" a man spoke from behind me.
"Let her go, Demetri. You know Alice is off-limits." Peter glared at him.
"Rules are only for pussies." Demetri snickered darkly.
"What do you want?" Peter demanded.
"I will be taking Alice with me, and you don't need the details as to why. If you try and stop me, I'll shot the three of you, just like I did her poor excuse of a bodyguard…or Liam," Demetri threatened.
"You killed my brother?" Peter's voice shook with fury.
"And enjoyed it," Demetri taunted.
Peter took a step forward, and Charlotte tried to grab his arm to hold him back. He shrugged her off.
"Peter, don't," she begged.
Suddenly Demetri removed the gun from my head and shot Peter straight in the chest. Charlotte screamed and fell to her knees, trying to catch Peter's falling body. I felt as if I was moving on autopilot as I elbowed the man behind me in the gut and then grabbed his arm. The next thing I knew, he was staring up at me, and I didn't even remember flipping him. Demetri looked as shocked as I did.
I fumbled with his gun in my hands and shot at him, missing. That seemed to wake him up, and he lunged at me. I squeezed the trigger two more times, hitting him in the chest and then the face. He fell backward and laid unmoving on the floor in front of me. I raised the gun again, refusing to take my eyes off him.
"Alice…Alice…" I heard Da call, but he sounded so far away. "Mary Alice, he's dead. You can drop the gun."
"Da?" I glanced away.
When did he get here?
He was standing a few feet away, cautiously approaching me. I looked around the room. Jasper was holding his sobbing mother but was looking at me with a pained expression. Peter was lying on the floor, unmoving, and I feared he was gone. My eyes again fell on Demetri's motionless body, and my stomach turned at the sight of the blood pouring from him. I had just killed someone, and I felt sick about it.
"Where's Ma?" I asked nervously.
"She's safe with Rosalie. She went home early today," he told me.
"Any word on Bella?" Jasper asked.
"Not yet." Da wouldn't take his eyes off me.
I felt my body start to shake from nerves and stress. My wrist was throbbing in pain, and the room was starting to spin. This isn't how I thought I would feel after protecting myself.
"Drop the gun, Alice," Da pleaded softly. "It's over. He can't hurt you; you're safe."
I nodded and dropped the gun as Da kicked it away and pulled me into his arms. Once I was in his embrace, the tears started to flow. He rubbed my back and kissed the top of my head.
"You did well, Alice, I'm so proud of you," he said.
A/N: I hope this gives you the insight you wanted, I'm not used to writing in Alice's pov. Demetri wasn't going to give a monologue about why he was taken Alice, it's not his style to give his enemies information. Just know she would have been used as more levage. . Incase of confusion, Carlisle showed up after Alice shot Demetri. He made sure Esme was safe first. You didn't see him come in because Alice was preoccupied at the time.
Thank you for everyone that shared their thoughts with me .