Blanket Disclaimer Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse are not mine; they belong solely to Stephanie Meyer and her publishing company. I don't even own the idea for this story; I am simply expanding on Stephanie's brilliant work. Nor am I profiting monetarily for the creation of this story. That being said, Edward Cullen and Jasper Whitlock are my addictions. Oh, along with James Potter, but that's in the wrong category here :)
Blanket Warning Later chapters will be rated M for obvious reasons; (self) abuse, the want/need to hurt/kill and angst. If this is inappropriate for some readers because of their age and/or mentality, you have been warned.
Flames are fine; if they're warranted, I'll take it into account and try to improve. If they're unwarranted, I will mock you… publicly if I'm in a sardonic mood. You have been warned about that, too.
Prologue – 00.00 Hours Missing
Bella's point of view
"You know, I'm fully expecting you to come back from Seattle with new clothes, right?" Alice said, hands on her hips as she eyed the plain khaki pants and semi-loose green tee I was wearing. I'd been invited to go shopping with Angela in Seattle, and since this was the weekend that the Cullens were all hunting, I'd jumped at the chance to get out. It was always hardest when they hunted, and usually Alice stayed behind to keep me company, but it had already been too long for her to be in this close proximity with me for the whole weekend, especially alone, with no one there to ground her.
I rolled my eyes at her scrutiny, "I know." Beside me, Edward laughed and I unconsciously leaned into him. As if sensing my discomfort, he kissed my temple softly and I sighed at the contact. I hated being away from him, but this was important – he could kill me.
"It's only two days, Bella." You know, I thought it was Jasper who could sense your emotions… so how did Edward get so good at reading me? I know it hurt him to be away from me just as much as it did me to be away from him, but I can't help but be a little bit selfish right now. Without Angela's shopping trip, I think I would go crazy.
I sighed and pressed my face into his cold chest, even as he wrapped his arms around me. "I know," I whispered, "I'm just being silly."
His arms tightened and he rested his chin on the top of my head; a perfect fit. "It's not silly, but it's only two days. We've done it before." Of course we'd done it before; a hundred, possibly a thousand times before. But that didn't make it any easier, especially as we'd only returned from Italy about four months ago.
I sighed, and he probably correctly interpreted it as 'I know, but I really don't care right now'. "Angela will be here soon," I muttered, not actually wanting to leave before them, knowing they'd still be in Forks for a while longer. She was picking me up at my house and we were going together in her dad's car – one that went faster, and made much less noise; something less conspicuous to drive in a big city.
Edward nodded and picked me up from his lap, setting me down on my feet as he stood up. Alice smiled at me encouragingly as we all headed out the door, but I couldn't bring myself to smile back. Sure, I was excited to have a girls' night with Angela, but I was only agreeing to one night; not the whole weekend. I was also going to have to pretend to be fine the whole weekend, just so Charlie won't think I've gone off the deep end again and so Angela won't think I hate her. Wow, the complications this one whole weekend involves; the suspense. It's killing me. Really.
As we reached the bottom of the staircase a horn honked outside; I cringed and inwardly cursed Angela's perfect timing. Sighing, I turned back to the Cullens and muttered, "I guess that's me." Alice laughed as Edward scooped me up, pressing his lips against mine to which I eagerly responded to. His lips were cold, as always, but I don't think I'd like it any other way if given the choice now.
A cough behind us sounded as Charlie entered the room, "Have fun, Bells." He smiled, not-so-subtlely elbowing Edward out of the way to make room for his own hug.
"I will," I grinned, amused at Charlie's antics. We all stepped outside and I gave Alice a hug goodbye and Edward a final hug and kiss – to which Charlie pointedly stared at – before rushing off to Angela's father's shiny new Peugeot. Opening the door and tossing the purse I'd grabbed quickly upon my exit onto the seat, I quickly slid in and shut the door behind me, savouring that 'new car' smell. "Hey, Angela," I laughed, now genuinely excited for my shopping trip.
"Hey, Bella, aren't you ready yet?" Angela grinned, her face mirroring mine with her smile. She tossed her brown hair, which she'd kept loose today, over one shoulder and turned down the song that was currently vibrating through the seats.
Raising my eyebrows, I sniffed and muttered, with as much mock-disdain as I could muster, "As ready as I'll ever be for a day shopping," – I used the word with the equivalent of disease – "but at least it beats out staying home and waiting for the Cullens to come back from camping." I could tell she'd noticed the slight bitterness in my tone, but like always, she declined to comment. Revving up the engine and putting it into gear, Angela backed out of my driveway and I gave one last wave to the Cullens and my father before we were completely out of sight range.
"Why don't you ever go with them?" At my raised eyebrows, she elaborated. "Why don't you ever go with them – you know – camping. I mean, I know you don't enjoy the outdoors, Bella," what an understatement, "But then you wouldn't have to miss Edward for the whole weekend."
They never really prepare you for this, you know. How do you tell one of your best friends that you can't go camping with your boyfriend because his version of 'camping' includes mauling bears and mountain lions? There should be some sort of class for this; like Sex Ed, only more violent and less graphic. Without skipping a beat, I managed to mutter, "Because it's more like a family outing. Esme and Carlisle like me well enough, but its family time… like a family dinner would be for the rest of us mere mortals." Family dinner… well, that was a new way to put his hunting. I'd make a note to mention it to him later.
Using my tone of voice as an indicator of my souring mood, Angela wisely let the subject drop. I looked out the window at the passing trees, enjoying the scenery and letting the music wash over me. 'One by one hollow heroes separate as they run. You're so cold; keep your hand in mine.' I hummed along with the beat, closing my eyes softly. 'Don't you cryin this land of make-believe, dead and dry.You're so cold but you feel aliveLay your hand on me one last time.'
The trip to Seattle was meant to be a long one, so I settled in and made myself comfortable. "Can I change the song?" I looked over at Angela, who was looking at me questioningly in between brief moments when she'd look at the road to make sure everything was running smoothly.
"Yea, if you want. It's almost over anyway." I shrugged and looked out the window again, noting the darkening skies. "It looks like it's going to rain…" I muttered, shaking my head.
Angela took her eyes off the road and glimpsed upwards. "The weather channel did mention light storms, but those clouds are getting pretty gray. I'd turn around if we hadn't gone so far already…"
"We'll make it quick," I promised, "And take a longer trip some other time." Preferably with Alice and Edward in tow, so I wouldn't be so nervous without them near me. After Italy, I honestly don't think I could bear it if Edward was away from me for more than one weekend; my dependence on him unnerved me slightly, but I was comforted by the fact that he felt the same way.
Angela nodded, "I think we'll have to. Maybe we should limit our trip to an hour in Seattle and back? Or maybe even less, if it starts lightening. I really don't want to be on the roads then…"
I looked at the clouds again and shook my head, "This storm isn't going to hit for awhile; we'll make that hour last. Hey, do you think we could stop at a Starbucks on our way back?"
"I think there might be one if we take that Interstate off Weber Street."
My mouth watered in anticipation, "Yumm," I moaned, "I haven't had a good Starbucks in so long!"
Angela laughed, "Oh you poor thing. The trauma you must be going through…"
Snorting, I turned to face her. "Oh hush you; when I lived in Phoenix, I used to have Starbucks at least once a day; now I'm limited to whenever we get to Seattle. I'm going through withdrawal, I tell you!" I tilted my head in a dramatic fashion, pressing the back of my hand to my forehead in a classic damsel-in-distress pose. Angela's laughter increased and grinning, I said, "Oh shut up; aren't you meant to be keeping watch on the road, anyway?" I pouted in mock-hurt.
We reached our first stop; a store that we both liked called Identity. The little bell rang as I opened the door, holding it for Angela as she passed me. It was cool inside; the AC still blew strong and it hit us directly as we entered the store, making me shiver and encircle my arms around my waist. Angela led me to an aisle that looked promising, and we both separated slightly to scan through the racks. I held up a baggy black tee that read 'your dad thinks I'm hot' in capital white letters and laughingly showed it to Angela.
She wrinkled her nose with distaste, "Well, to each his own…"
I gasped, "Not for me! Although I wonder what Edward's reaction would be if I wore it to his house… or, for that matter, Carlisle's." I mulled the thought over and actually considered buying it just to have a nice laugh over it later when I saw the price on the tag. There was no way I'd pay forty dollars on a shirt I'd only wear once.
Groaning, Angela held up another shirt that read, 'Notice: Will Trade Sister for Video Games'. "Who would buy this?" She demanded, exasperated. Obviously Angela had never met people with sibling issues; she never ceased to amaze me with her only-child-mind-frame. I shook my head, not really wanting to explain to her that plenty of people would buy it and shrugged.
We leafed through the appointed aisle; Angela finding a cute orange top that somehow went well with her complexion – I'd always thought orange never went with anyone's complexion, until now – and with me finding nothing. As Angela paid for her shirt with her club card, I debated whether I wanted to buy those pink flip-flops on sale, but decided against it; with all the rain in Forks, where would I wear them? I had enough anyway, besides, when I wore flip-flops, I fell a lot more often… maybe too much flop for me, but I didn't want to wear anything that highlighted the amount of times I topple over.
We left the store after that, not wanting to waste too much time in only one place and, after noticing we'd spent half an hour there, decided to go to one last shop before Starbucks and home. I glanced up uneasily, the clouds where darker now, and I'd never really gotten over my irrational fear of storms. Angela, noticing my glance, muttered darkly something that sounded like 'dumb weather channel man'.
Not really sure where we'd want to go next, we simply decided to go on foot down the select street, where an array of shops were located with various selling products. Angela parked the car in a nearby parking lot, and I met her up by the stop sign on the corner of the road. We walked the length of the road, finally, because we were pressed for time, heading into a shop called Smiley's Store of Smiles. Sure, it sounded creepy, but it was either that or just go straight to Starbucks; frankly, I think the latter was the better option, but Angela insisted that we may as well make full use of our intended hour.
The store was dark, contradicting its name, but I was saved from having to look around by the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance. Sure enough, as I turned to look out the window, it had already started to sprinkle; the water droplets fast becoming a steady sheet of water; since when did freak rainfalls occur in Seattle? I shook myself and pulled on Angela's arm, "Maybe we should go back to the car," thunder rumbled again, sounding closer now, "I can always get Starbucks another time… I'm not quite sure I want it now, anyways…"
Angela frantically nodded and we headed out of the store into the now-heavy rainfall. "Let's run to the car!" Angela half-shouted, trying to make herself heard over the sound of water falling. I nodded frantically and we took off, our feet pounding the pavement as we tried our best to avoid the puddles that were forming. Water got into my eyes and I stopped quickly, trying to wipe them so I could see. By the time I was done, Angela had disappeared.
"Angela?" I strained my eyes through the sheets of water, but still couldn't even see a shadow of her. "Crap," I muttered, and went under the gazebo of a nearby shop. Taking out my cell, I opened the contacts list and hit 'A'. Scrolling down to Angela's name, I hit the picture of the green phone and put my cell up to my ear. "Pick up, pick up!" I said, agitated, with my teeth chattering. Before I could say much more however, something heavy hit my head and I felt something damp pressing against my lips and nose, and I tasted copper in my mouth.
I fell into someone's outstretched arms, my last thought being; 'Edward will find me' as I was loaded into the back of a truck, the rain washing our scent away.
Note: Each chapter is not an hour difference. Some are, but others may skip up to four hours or more. Also, each chapter is not in the same point of view, so if you're planning on following my story I'd recommend checking how many hours she's been missing and whose point of view it is before reading the actual chapter. Thanks a bunch, and hope you like it!
The song mentioned is So Cold by Breaking Benjamin.
Also, I'd like to point out that this is just a test. If I see that I have fifty million hits, but only one review, I'm obviously not going to update. More reviews equals faster updates, and that's pretty much how I roll. I am a review whore, take it how you will.
Bonnie -xx-