Eleanor had changed clothes by the time Bella arrived to the house that night. Instead of jeans and a t-shirt, she now stood in a red knee-length dress. She leaned against Carlisle next to the piano while awaiting the girl's arrival.

She had just been dozing off earlier when Alice barged through Carlisle's door, demanding the two get up and help decorate the house. Eleanor hadn't been pleased, choosing to tiredly grumble at she helped pin up balloons.

Eleanor looked around the family room, eyes running over each vampire. Rosalie stood across from her with crossed arms and a disinterested stare. Emmett's arm was curled around the blonde's waist, lips curled into a mischievous grin.

Jasper and Esme conversed next to Carlisle and Eleanor, but they spoke so quietly thatEl could barely hear the words coming from their mouths. Alice had disappeared,probably to drag Bella into the room. She realized she was right when she saw Alice leading Bella down the stairs.

Esme perked up beside El, dropping her conversation with Jasper to greet thebirthday girl. She pulled her into a hug. "Sorry about all this. We tried to reign Alice in."

"As if that would be possible." Eleanor snorted, winking at Alice who only shrugged in acceptance. The girl reached for the camera sitting on the piano and pointed it towards Bella.

El watched Bella flinch when the flash went off and laughed into Carlisle's shoulder when the girl sent Alice an unamusedlook. Alice grinned, sheepishly. "I found it in your bag. I hope you don't mind."

Alice had turned on her heel before Bella could response, now pointing the camera directly at Eleanor and Carlisle. "Smile guys!"

Eleanor straightened her back, wrapping an arm around Carlisle's waist as she smiled widely. She grinned up at him when the flash went off, cheeks heating at his tender expression.

"Cute!" Alice giggled as she stared at the camera screen. El pushed her cheek back into Carlisle's shoulder, her smile staying onher face when he gripped her tighter.

Alice skipped over to a small table sitting along the back wall and grabbed a little box off the table. She spun on her heel, holding the black box out to Bella. "Open Rosalie's first."

"It's just a necklace." Rose spoke up before Bella could get too far. "Alice helped me pick it out."

Bella thanked her with a soft smile before she moved onto Emmett's package. Bella frowned, shaking the package lightly before glancing to Emmett.

The man was laughing, his shoulders shaking as he did. El smiled in amusement as he spoke. "Already installed it in your truck. Finally a decent sound system for that piece of-"

Bella held up a hand and laughed. "Hey, don't hate the truck."

Esme handed Bella her next present - a small white envelope - with a grin. "Something from me and Carlisle. You've been looking a little pale lately."

Everything seemed to move in slow motion from there.

Bella began to open the envelope, wincing when the edge of the paper slit her skin. She held it up, laughing awkwardly before going back to the gift.

Eleanor watched in horror as Jasper tensed beside her. She acted quickly, moving away from Carlisle's side just as Jasper lunged at Bella. Edward jumped between Bella and Jasper as Eleanor shot a blast of energy towards the vampire.

He fell back into the piano and surged forward again just as Carlisle gripped his arm. Emmett appeared on his other side, grabbing ahold of his other arm and shoulder as Jasper fought against them.

Jaz, it's alright. It's just a little..." Eleanor rushed to Bella's side as Alice moved between the humans and her mate. "Blood."

The room was tense, each vampire waiting to see what happened next. Carlisle spoke first, glancing cautiously between Jasper and Eleanor.

"Get Jasper out of here." He ordered before flashing over to Bella and Eleanor. He leaned forward to examine the new cut on her arm before sighing. "I'll have to stitch this up in my office."

"Carlisle-" Eleanor began, wanting to know what she could do to help.

"Eleanor, go wait in my room. I'll come get you when I'm done." Carlisle interrupted her, glancing at her once before focusing on Edward. "Edward, go talk to Jasper. I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you."

Eleanor's shoulders slouched and she stayed where she stood for a moment before she felt an arm on her shoulder. Rosalie stood beside her and offered her a grin before pulling El behind her.

Eleanor and Rosalie entered Carlisle's room and El made her way to his bed while Rose sat in one of his chairs. She couldn't help the hurt that stung at her heart as she laid her hands on her stomach.

The girls sat in silence as the events rolled through each of their heads. She felt bad for Jasper, knowing that the man was probably beating himself up now.

She knew that things would be changing now. Carlisle was likely going to be more protective and wary around Eleanor now, especially when they were around the rest of the family.

It wasn't long before Carlisle entered into the bedroom. Rosalie stood from his chair and exited the room without a word. El sat up on his bed, observing Carlisle as he leaned against the doorframe.

He was silent, a frown pulling on his brow. His eyes were lowered to the ground and, instead of speaking, he jerked his head towards the hallway before disappearing from view.

Eleanor gulped and took a deep breath before reluctantly following after him. He walked out of the house with his hands deep in his pockets, head bowed as he watched his feet move towards El's car.

She slid in front of him, pressing her weight onto the hood of the car. Carlisle still wouldn't look at her so she raised her hand to cup his cheek. "Carlisle, it was an accident. Don't overthink it."

His amber eyes raised and locked with hers. He looked deep in thought and El could feel a lump rise in her throat when he didn't answer. "Carlisle?"

"Go home, El." He leaned down to kiss her forehead before turning away. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She watched hopelessly as he trudged back up the stairs and into the house.

She didn't move for a few minutes, instead keeping her eyes on the front door and debating whether or not she should march back into the house and tell Carlisle to get his head out of his ass.

After a few more minutes of thinking, she sighed and unlocked her car. She sat in the silence, not wanting to leave and not wanting to stay at the same time.

Eleanor scoffed at herself after a moment and she shook her head before starting her car and speeding off.

The Cullens' didn't show up at school the next day.

Or the day after that.

Eleanor hadn't heard from Carlisle either, despite the fact that he told her he'd call the next day. He hadn't even bothered to return any of her phone calls or text messages.

Edward was doing the exact same to Bella.

Eleanor was beginning to get angry, nearly half tempted to show up at Carlisle's doorstep and ask him what the hell his problem was. However, she knew that once she saw him, she'd have a hard time staying angry.

Eleanor headed straight for her house after school, not wanting to talk to anyone expect Carlisle.

She slammed the front door shut behind her and bolted up the stairs to her room, ready to crawl into her bed. The house was empty with her mom at work and Jess at Lauren's.

El stopped short when she entered her bedroom, surprised to see Carlisle sitting on her bed. His hands were connected in his lap, eyes drawn to the carpet. He didn't look up when she entered and El clenched her jaw.

"What do you want?" Eleanor asked, dryly, trying to act unbothered as she threw her bag down into her desk chair.

He stood, crossing the room to where she stood. Carlisle wasn't preparedfor what he was had to do. The last thing he ever wanted to do was leave Eleanor.Eleanor's blue eyes were wary of him as he reached for her hands. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She pulled her hands away before he could grab them, not quite caring that she was being petty yet. She had every right to be upset with him.

"My family and I are leaving Forks."

Eleanor stared at him, her brow furrowing slightly as Carlisle waited. "What do you mean you're leaving Forks?"

Carlisle blew out a puff of air, his eyes pleading for her to understand.

"Oh." Her heart clenched in her chest and she hoped that he only meant for a short time. "For how long?"

"El." Carlisle breathed and Eleanor knew. She knew he wouldn't just be leaving for a short time.

"Why?" She asked quietly, looking down at her feet and uncrossing her arms now. "Is this because of Jasper? That was an accident, Carlisle."

"I know it was." He agreed, reaching down for her hands. El let him take them and gripped onto him tightly. "But Edward doesn't want to take another risk. I tried to convince them to stay but they all voted against me."

Eleanor shook her head. "So? Just because they all voted against you means that you have to leave?Why can't you stay? You can make your own choices!"

Carlisle's face was scrunched in pain. "They're my family, Eleanor."

"And what am I?" She asked, pulling her hands from Carlisle's and turning her back to him. Her eyes were watering, tears dangerously close to falling down her cheeks. She kept her eyes on the street below her window. "Get out, then."

"Eleanor-" He reached out to her before El stopped him.

Carlisle's heart broke as he looked at her. El's tear-filled eyes were now glowing a bright red, voice trembling as she spoke. "You've made your choice, Carlisle. Now go."

He clenched and unclenched his jaw, feeling conflicted with his own actions. Before he left, he moved in front of Eleanor and pressed his lips firmly to her forehead. Carlisle pulled away and locked eyes with his mate. "I'll come back for you, Eleanor. Let Edward think this through."

Eleanor only shook her head, her eyes closing as the tears finally fell down her cheeks. She felt a breeze slide across her skin and, when she opened her eyes, he was gone.

She let out a shaky breath, raising her hands to grip at her hair as she tried to regain control of her emotions. Her chest felt tight and a sob broke through her lips as she paced and, before she knew it, she was sobbing into her knees as she collapsed on the floor.

"Ellie?"

She was shaken awake by her mom, who had a tight grip on her shoulder. Elsniffled, turning her face further into the carpet. "El, baby, wake up."

She sniffled again, peeling her heavy eyes open and peering up at her mom's worried face. Mrs. Stanley sat beside El on the floor, her hand still on her shoulder as she assisted the girl in sitting up.

"Are you okay?" Mrs. Stanley asked, raising her hand to wipe away the tears that were still on her face. "You've been crying."

El looked towards the window, noticing that the sun had set and the moon was now in the sky. She wondered when she'd fallen asleep.

"I'm fine, mom." Eleanor wiped her eyes with the back of the hand, trying not to wince asshe touched the raw skin. "I just had a bad day at school. What's wrong?"

Mrs. Stanley regarded her curiously. "Have you heard from Bella?"

Worry flowed into her veins as she shook her head. "No, why? What happened?"

"Charlie called me and asked if you were with her." Mrs. Stanley said. "He said that her truck is at the house, but she's not."

Her eyebrows drew together as she thought. She began to wonder if she had left with the Cullens' before remembering what Carlisle had said about Edward not wanting the girl to be hurt. There's no way Edward would have let Bella leave with them.

"El?"

"I'm going to help look." She scrambled off the floor and reached to her bed to grab her jacket. "I'll be home soon."

She ran out of the room before her mom could say anything else, rushing to grab her keys and start her car.

Bella's house wasn't far from Eleanor's and she arrived quickly, alarmed to see how many people had flooded their front yard. Police cars were lined up and down the street, their bright lights illuminating the night.

Eleanor shut her car door before hurrying over to Bella's father. "Chief Swan!"

"Eleanor?" Charlie turned to face the girl, his eyes widening at the sight of her. "You haven't seen her?"

"Not since this afternoon." She said, opening her mouth to speak with someone cut her off.

"Charlie!" A man closer to the forest shouted. "They've got her!"

Charlie took off towards the man and Eleanor watched with wide eyes as Bella was carried out of the woods. She was unconscious, her body tucked in close to a man's chest.

She didn't get a good look at him with the darkness of the night, but she felt a weight lift off her shoulders knowing that her friend was safe.

"What happened?" Eleanor flinched at Jacob Black's voice, not realizing that he had appeared next to her. "Is this because the Cullens' left?"

Eleanor swallowed against the lump in her throat and she shrugged. "I'm not sure. Who found her?"

Jacob followed her eyes with his own. They narrowed into a glare once he caught sight of the man and Eleanor frowned, wondering why Jacob seemed so wary of the man who had saved Bella. "Sam Uley."

Eleanor turned to watch as the man passed Bella off to Charlie. Sam Uley's eyes found the two in the dark and Eleanor shuddered. She had a feeling she'd be dealing with the man soon and raised her chin to him.

Sam stood there for a moment longer before ducking his head and disappearing into the trees.