He was gone. I still couldn't wrap my head around that. He left, and there was a reason for that—he didn't care, he never did. How could I believe that someone as ordinary as me was right for him? Edward, the beautiful, charming, intelligent vampire deserved much better than me. I had just been banking on the fact that he wouldn't realize it. But he did. He left me, his family—hell, he up and left Washington. I could figure out where he was if I wanted to. His older sister, Alice, would know exactly where he was, why he left, and if he was coming back. Since he left, I hadn't talked to any of his family members. For one, I couldn't bare the shame of seeing them after they all realized I wasn't good enough for Edward. Alice and Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, they were perfect soulmates, and I couldn't bear to be in the midst of that after just losing Edward. For two, going to the Cullen house would only remind me of all the times I spent there, laughing and talking like I was part of the family, always tucked under Edward's arm. I had only just gotten over the stage where everything reminded me of him. I didn't think I could handle going back to a place with so many memories attached.

The next thing I knew, my tires were squealing out of control, and an oncoming car slammed on the brakes. I must have made an unconscious decision to turn the wheel at the exact last second. As the car lurched to a stop, I rested against the steering wheel. Edward was probably not the smartest thing to think about while driving on a twisty back road late at night. But I still couldn't get him out of my mind. If he were here—well, first of all, I wouldn't be driving, and I wouldn't be wondering why he abandoned me. But if I for some reason happened to be, he would have grabbed the wheel in plenty of time to avoid the almost-crash that occurred.

All of a sudden, my car door opened and a stranger was yelling, "Are you alright!"

I looked up. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I might have seen him. Forks was a small town, sure, but he could easily have been the brother of someone in my classes, or he could have been a face in the checkout line at the store. Even with less than 5,000 people, I couldn't recognize everyone—especially because the only reason I ever took second glances at people was if they looked even remotely like Edward.

He was tall; he had to lean over to see in my truck. His skin was a deep olivey brown, and his eyes were chocolate-colored. His hair was semi-short, not flippy but not buzz-cut. He looked concerned and immensely guilty, as if he thought this was his fault.

All of this I registered between the time I looked up and he gasped. "What?" I said.

"Wow…nothing," he said, shaking his head to clear it. "Are you hurt? Is your truck damaged?" he asked quickly.

"No, is yours?"

"No, I hurt my arm a little trying to pull the emergency break…stupid piece of shit, wouldn't even budge. Excuse my language," he said. "Hey. I think I killed the engine on my truck, you don't happen to have jumper cables do you?"

"What the hell are jumper cables?" I said, accidently out loud…I meant to think it.

He laughed and walked around to the other side of the truck. Only as he slid into the passenger seat did I realize it was pouring out and he was drenched. I felt guilty for making him get out of his truck to see if I was okay when I was the one who almost caused an accident. My truck didn't exactly have high ceilings, and he had to duck his head to fit.

"D'you mind if I…" he gestured to the glove box. I was pretty sure there was nothing in there except my proof of ownership papers so I shrugged. He pulled it open, and sure enough, it was empty save the papers. He ran a hand through his dripping hair, frustrated. "I'm sorry to ask this, but could you drive me into the little town up ahead? I need to find some jumper cables."

"That's the way I'm headed anyway," I smiled, starting the engine.

"Thank you," he said, and leaned back in his seat. "I should put my seatbelt on if I want to live through your reckless driving."

"I'm really sorry; I had a lot on my mind."

"I'm joking, I'm joking," he said, laughing. "I'm Jacob, by the way."

I looked over at him, "I'm Bella."

"Yeah, I know."

"You know?" I said, surprised.

"'Ey, 'ey, eyes on the road!" he grinned. Then in a completely different tone, he said, "Yeah, of course I know. You were the talk of the town about a year ago when you came. From Phoenix, right?"

"Yeah, it rains a lot here."

"You get used to it, after living here, oh, 18 years."

"Yeah. Do you go to school at Forks High?"

"Oh, no, I go to school on the rez."

"Rez?"

"Reservation. My family lives there and my dad wouldn't let me go to school off of it."

"Oh, okay. I thought you looked familiar from somewhere, but I guess not. I've never been down to the rez."

"Yes, you have, just not recently."

"I have?" I asked, confused.

"You're…Bella Swan, right? Charlie's girl?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, you probably don't remember me, but your dad and my dad are really good friends, and we always used to hang out when we were younger. Down on the beach. I remember we'd always make mud pies, and one time you even convinced me to take a bite of one."

"You're Jake?" I said disbelievingly. I remembered convincing a little dark-skinned boy with big brown eyes to try a bite of a mud pie I made when I was six. He was an exact copy of the man sitting in my truck, except twelve years younger. What were the odds of running into him again?

"I said my name was Jacob, I thought you might make the connection."

"I used to call you Jake, though," I said defensively.

"Actually, I distinctly remember Jakey," he snorted. "I hated it and loved it at the same time. My dad still teased me about that for years after I didn't see you anymore."

"This is weird. It feels like I've known you my whole life."

"Well, in a way, you have. We just didn't see each other for like, ten years. But hey, here we are."

I smiled. "Here we are. What's new with you?"

"Let's see…ohh, turn left here, sorry."

I barely cleared the trees on the side of the gravel road. "This goes into town?" I asked.

"No," he said, "It goes to my driveway. I remembered nothing in town is open this late, and I think my dad has some jumper cables in the garage. But anyway, not much new. Joined softball, quit. Got a girlfriend, got dumped. Started building motorcycles, which actually I'm almost finished with my second one. Umm, got a liscense. My dad's in a wheelchair now. Grew my hair out to my elbows and then cut it. Oh, me and my buddies got caught swimming after dark and had to pick up trash all over the reservation for three hours. There's a strict curfew cuz there's been a lot of attacks lately….people just go missing and never return. So we all have to be inside before ten. I'd like to get a piece of that bear that's doing it, ten o'clock is when the party is just gettin started!"

I had a sick feeling it wasn't a bear.

"So what's new with you?"

"Well, just that Cullen kid, Edward."

"Yeah, he like, vanished off the face of the earth, didn't he?"

"Not before ripping my heart in two."

"Aww, I'm really sorry," he said. "I can't see you giving your heart to someone like that, though. He's a little cold-hearted, if you know what I mean."

"You know?" I gasped.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I know he's a vampire. But that's a whole other story, so I'll tell that to you later."

Without meaning to, I slammed on the breaks.

"Whoa, easy," he said, lurching forward. "Do you have a liscense?" he asked doubtfully. "Oh, but perfect timing." He opened his door. "My house is right through here."

"Should I go with you?"

"Yeah," he called casually, halfway through the forest of trees already. I couldn't tell how he could see where he was going, it was almost pitch black in here. I walked very carefully, several steps behind him.