Since Edward and his family had left Forks, Bella had been on her own in Biology.

Most of the time, she was fine, distracted by her classwork. But other days, it was all she could do not to cry, when she looked at the empty chair beside her.

This was one of those days.

When the bell signalling the end of class rang, she swept up her books and left the classroom as fast as possible.

'Don't look back.' Bella told herself, but she did anyway. She always did. She still held a desperate hope that one day, she would turn and things would be back to normal, Edward right behind her, ready to walk her to Gym.

Her eyes gazed upon her desk.

Empty.

She turned forward again, making to leave the classroom. The teacher gave her a pitying look as she exited the room.

Mike Newton was fast catching up to her, no doubt to ask her out on a date once more.

Some days, Bella really didn't feel like going to gym.

After school, Bella walked to the car park, eyes only on her truck. It was bad enough that her eyes had searched for him in Biology. She was not scanning the car park.

She sighed with relief when she was out of the car park, and driving towards home.

She drove home in silence; she had ripped the stereo system from her truck, not wanting to look at it and remember. Her room made her think of him. His scent was still on the pillows.

That was bad enough.

She didn't need to remember him here, too.

Bella pulled into the driveway, and unbuckled her seatbelt. As she stepped down from the cab of the truck, she was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness, almost slipping. She righted herself and locked the truck, heading inside. She yawned as she hung her coat up on the rack.

'Just a little sleep, then I'll prepare dinner.' She thought, and headed upstairs for a nap.

It was seven in the morning when she finally woke, and Bella was stunned as she saw the morning light filtering through the gap between her curtains. She rolled out of bed, and smoothed her hair before walking downstairs.

"Good morning, Bells." Charlie greeted from his spot at the table when Bella entered the kitchen.

"Morning, Dad." She yawned, heading for the fridge. As she poured milk in her cereal, she scrunched up her nose.

"Does this milk smell sour to you?" She questioned, holding the carton out to Charlie.

"I just bought that this morning, it shouldn't be.." Charlie answered, but took an experimental whiff anyway, shaking his head in answer.

"Huh." Bella mused, tipping out the cereal anyway. Even with Charlie's confirmation, she couldn't eat something that smelled like that.

"So, you doing anything this weekend?" Charlie asked, a tinge of hope in his voice. No doubt, he hoped that Bella would start socialising once more. She shook her head.

"Nope." She left it at that. With Charlie, less was always more. Any expansion on her sentence, and Charlie would be asking multiple questions, trying to convince her to spend time with some friends.

She leaned back against the kitchen counter, picking up an apple to eat, in favour of the not-quite-right cereal.

"I'm worried about you, Bells.." Charlie trailed off, looking up at his daugher. Bella swallowed her mouthful of apple before responding.

"Dad, I'm fine. Honestly. I just don't feel like spending time with anyone. I have too much school work, and I want to focus on graduating." The words tasted of a lie as she said them, sounding fake even to her. Charlie certainly didn't look convinced, but let it drop for the moment.

"I'm going to go get started on my homework, I have a few essays to do this weekend." Bella exited the room and made her way up the stairs.

She put the finishing touches on her last essay, and packed her books away in her school bag. Deciding to go on the internet rather than go downstairs and face another awkward conversation with Charlie, Bella switched on her computer. It was about time she checked her emails. Surprisingly, none from Renee.

Bella opened up the web browser. She could kill a few hours here.

Bella gave up on it after an hour, and decided to go for a drive. She was going stir crazy inside her small house. She dressed in jeans and a sweater, and walked downstairs.

"Dad, I'm going for a drive. I'll be back in a few hours." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Okay. Be careful." Charlie advised, from his place o the living room sofa. Bella nodded.

"Of course." Bella agreed. She waved goodbye to Charlie, and grabbed her coat, leaving the house.

When she pulled out of the driveway, Bella realised that she didn't know where she wanted to go. She settled for driving aimlessly, intent on not thinking for once. She eventually came to a lookout. She exited her truck, and made her way to the barrier.

The horizon stretched out for miles over the dark waters of the ocean, and it was in this calm that she could no longer ignore what had been plaguing her thoughts for the past two and a half months.

She missed him.

She missed his embrace. His crooked smile. She even missed his temper.

She had cared so much for him. Loved him so, that she would have gladly given up her future, her plans, her life, if he had asked. Even if he hadn't.

And then he had left her.

"You're not good for me, Bella."

His harsh words seemed to ring in the moist air.

Bella heard the soft rumble of thunder rolling from inland. She didn't want to move, despite her exposed position. Leaning against the railing that was built to avoid people falling from the cliff and into the ocean, Bella wished she had some tangible reminder of Edward. Something to prove that it wasn't all just a dream. But life was not a fairytale. Prince Charming would not suddenly appear, nor a fairy godmother. This was the hand that Bella had been dealt.

A reckless thought passed through her mind, and she stepped on the lower bar of the railing, preparing to hoist herself up over the rail, to sit and observe the waves. She swung her right leg over the bar, and was now straddling the railing. She prepared to swing her other leg over the rail. Her promise to Edward echoed in her mind, but she ignored it. He had left her. He had broken his own promises. It wasn't like she was killing herself. She just wanted to feel some control. Control over her life, and herself.

I wouldn't be missed if I did kill myself, anyway. It's not like he cares any more. Charlie and Renee would be fine in time...

"Bella, don't. You're being ridiculous, Bella." An angry, velvet voice warned. Bella would know that voice anywhere. Her head whipped around immediately, and she lost her footing. She fell off the rail.

The fall was not as far as she had expected. She hit the ground, the air being expelled from her lungs upon the impact. She gasped hysterically as her mind caught up with what had just happened.

She shook violently as she picked herself up off the ground, looking around her for the source of the sound. There was nobody there. She eyed the railing, standing up shakily. She had been so close to falling the wrong way. She might have died. No. Definitely would have died, Bella amended, looking down at the jagged rocks at the base of the cliff. What had she been thinking?

Bella decided that it was about time she went home. She climbed into the truck, but it was a good half-hour before she was calm enough to put the key in the ignition and leave the lookout.

She had heard something, hadn't she?

Or was it just a delusion? Wishful thinking...?