CHAPTER 1

BPOV

I lay in bed that night clutching my arms around my stomach, trying to hold myself together. It wasn't working. My days had started to blur together, but I still kept count. I had not left my room for 20 days. Ever since I realized that he wasn't coming back.

That day in the forest he had told me that he didn't want me that he wasn't coming back, but it took a while to sink in. After he left me in the forest I wandered around until I fell down, I never got up. Charlie told me when I woke up in the hospital that I had been missing for 2 ½ days and that I had finally been found deep in the Olympic National Forest about 25 miles from our house. I vaguely remember leaving the hospital the next day.

I could tell Charlie was concerned for me, he kept asking what was wrong, where Edward was, and I could not reply. I could not even think about it.

During the week that followed I had gotten up, eaten breakfast, showered, got dressed, and waited. I did not watch TV, or read; I sat numbly on the porch steps and waited.

I continued waiting for seven more days, I knew Charlie was worried, but I couldn't bring myself to care. That day Charlie came and sat by me on the porch. I heard him speak, but the words sounded very far away. I focused on what he was saying, maybe he had come back.

"Bella, what's wrong, I can't take it anymore, I have to know, what happened."

This was not what I wanted to hear. I continued to sit on the porch steps without answering his questions. I had not spoken since I woke up in the hospital seven days ago, the last conversation I had was with him, and I wanted it to stay that way. I continued watching the setting sun and started to tune Charlie out again. I was roughly brought back to the present when I felt him grasp my hands and start to rub them with his own. I heard Charlie say,

"Bells, you're so cold."

What did I care if my hands were cold? Why did it matter? I didn't care. I mutely sat staring ahead at the sinking sun. Charlie kept rubbing my hands and soon I forgot he was there.

CPOV

It had been a week since Harry Clearwater had found Bella in the forest. Those 2 ½ days had been the worst of my life. In my head I replayed what had happened a week and two days ago. I had gotten home from my shift around 8 and noticed that Bella was not home, but it was Friday night after all and she was a teenager, with a boyfriend. The last thought made me grimace. My little Bella had a boyfriend and it was Edward Cullen. I had a deep respect for Dr. Cullen he was a great man and Forks was lucky to have such a talented doctor in such a small town. It wasn't the fact that Bella was dating his son that concerned me, it was that Bella was dating at all. I logically knew that she was 17 and that girls her age dated, but I also could not fathom that my little girl was old enough to date anyone. Over the last couple months Edward had been over constantly, and even after that ordeal in Phoenix last summer I had begun to begrudgingly like the kid.

It had been a long day and I looked in the fridge to see if Bella had left anything in there for supper before she left. I had eaten better than ever before since she had come to live here. Renee was a terrible cook, I survived on takeout from Pacific Pizza before she came back, and I had to admit I was definitely getting spoiled from the food that Bella made. Score, there was still leftover lasagna from a couple nights ago. I watched the delicious slice of lasagna slowly rotate in the microwave, my mouth watering at the smell. Once it was done I grabbed a can of Vitamin R, flicked on the TV, settled into my recliner, and started to watch the Mariners game.

The game had started at 8pm and ended at 11pm, Bella's curfew was midnight on weekends and she had never been late before. I was not concerned she was a responsible girl, mature beyond her years. With Renee as a mom I was pretty sure I knew why. I started glancing at the clock every couple of minutes waiting to hear Edward's Volvo turning into the driveway. Those Cullen kids had it good; my first car had been a light blue Rabbit with 200,000 miles. It must be nice to be that rich.

I listened as the clock struck midnight and decided to give her a couple more minutes. I did not want to be the overbearing, controlling dad who overreacted when his daughter was five minutes late. I waited until 12:10 before I called the Cullen's house.

I called the Cullen's home to see if time had gotten away from her. The phone rang 13 times and when no one answered the feeling of uneasiness I had been trying to keep at bay since midnight got closer forcefully descended upon me. I then called the hospital and asked the nurse who answered to connect me to Dr. Cullen. That conversation burned itself into my memory, it was the moment I realized that something was very, very, wrong.

"Forks hospital, nurse Fran speaking how may I direct your call?"

"Hello, this is Chief Swan, my daughter seems to have forgotten her curfew and I was hoping that Dr. Cullen could tell me where Edward and her have gone?"

"Oh, hi Chief Swan. I'm sorry but Dr. Cullen no longer works for this hospital. He got an offer to work in L.A. and I guess he was needed immediately because he packed up his office and left."

The uneasiness I had been feeling was turning into panic very quickly as the nurse spoke to me. She sounded like she was unhappy with the situation and I could tell when a person was going to start a rant, and I didn't have time for a rant so I interrupted.

"Excuse me, but are you telling me that Dr. Cullen is gone?" The nurse replied in a somewhat miffed voice, probably at being interrupted so abruptly.

"Yes, Chief Swan, he is gone. Then entire family is gone, and I do not think they are coming back."

I hung up the phone not caring that I was being rude and became extremely panicked.

The first coherent thought I had was that she had left with them. I quickly realized that could not be what happened, Dr. Cullen would never allow something that irresponsible to happen. The next thought I had was that Bella was a responsible girl and that if she was planning on being out late she would have called me, or left a note. I ran into the kitchen and checked the answer machine, 0 messages. I picked up my cell phone that had been close to dead when I got home and was now plugged into the wall charging, 0 messages. The panic was starting to become unbearable as I glanced around the kitchen looking for a note. I had almost called the station when I saw the white corner of an index card sticking out slightly from the bottom of the refrigerator. A note, I smacked my hand against my forehead, of course she had left a note. I just had not seen it because I was distracted by the lure of lasagna. The panic that had been building with every second that went by responded to this thought gladly and I felt it go down a couple notches.

I snatched it up from the floor, immediately recognizing Bella's familiar script.

Dad, I am going for a walk in the woods. I'll be back in time for dinner.

Love, Bella

I stared at the index card, the respite from full blown panic was a distant memory at this point, and I could hear my heart beating loudly in my chest as it overwhelmed me. I felt not only panic now but worry and fear. She had gone for a walk in the woods, alone. She was lost. FUCK! I had sat around for the last four hours and all that time she was lost. I called the secretary at the station dreading the words I knew I had to say.

"Hello, Forks Police Department, this is Jackie speaking, how may I assist you... Hello…Chief Swan, I have you on caller ID I know it is you, what's wrong?"