... I wasn't going to make this easy for him. I was going to put up a fight. I started walking past the tree he had disappeared behind.
"Edward!" I screamed.
"Edward!" I said sternly as I turned around the base of the tree. He wasn't there.
"Edward!" I screamed again.
"Edward! Where are you?" There was no reply.
"Can we talk about this? Please! Edward!" I yelped. My face was getting hot. I had to keep going. I had to find him. I wasn't going to let myself be sad. I was livid. Anger was building inside me quickly. He can't just walk away. I love him.
"Edward! Face me! Come out and talk to me!" I heard nothing but my own hot angry breaths. He was going to talk to me. I was going to find out why he didn't want me. Then it echoed in my head: he didn't want me. My stomach collapsed inside of me and my tense shoulders sulked.
No, I needed answers. I wasn't going to cry. But the more I thought about it, the more appealing it sounded. How easy it would be to just collapse. Let my knees buckle under me and let me fall on the hard cold ground. Hard and cold, like his skin. I let a whimper slip out of my throat. He was getting away as I was standing there, letting him.
I heard a crunch straight ahead of me. "Edward!" I cried. Running forward, I saw nothing. But he was fast. I kept running looking in all directions for him. All I saw were trees, bushes and leaves. What I didn't see was the root that I tripped over. I fell flat on my stomach. I didn't have time to brace the fall with my hands. I made a low painful groan and clutched my stomach. He knows I'm hurt, I thought. If I stay here long enough he'll come after me. He will wrap me in his steel cage arms and carry me to my second home to my second family. Carlisle will look after me and Alice will hold my hand and brush my hair out of my face. Emmett will make a joke about my clumsiness then Edward will take me home. I will greet Charlie in the living room and apologize for being late. I will refuse on dinner because I already ate then run quick steps up to my room where Edward would be waiting. Lying on his back with his hands behind his head and a soft close lipped smile on his face. I waited.
The light of day was slowly disappearing and I hadn't heard a thing. I tried to call out to him again but my throat was too dry. I couldn't speak. I could hardly breathe. Before long I couldn't see my own hands in front of my face. Edward hadn't come and I tried to push away the disgusting truth that he never would. He was gone. I closed my eyes and felt a snap inside me. Something physically broke. Pain flowed through every inch of my body. Even thinking became painful. I had to do something to make it stop, anything. I started slowly rocking back and forth, tossing my body about on the forest floor. It didn't necessarily help, but it was a distraction.
"Ella..." I heard softly in the distance. Edward?
"Ellaaaa..." I stopped moving.
"Bella..." The deep booming voice came closer.
"Bella..." If it wasn't Edward I didn't want to be found and that voice wasn't Edwards. I stayed as still as possible so it wouldn't find me.
"Bella!" The voice sounded more angry then worried.
"Bella! Where are you?" I could hear the footsteps of the voice come closer to me.
"Bella... C'mon, Bella. Where are you?"
"I'm gone." I muttered.
Much to my distaste the footsteps were headed right towards me. I held my breath.
"Bella!" It found me. My eyes were still shut tight. I felt a hot hand on my cheek.
"Damn, Bella. Are you okay?" I didn't reply. I was going to play dead.
"Bella?" Two hot hands were now on either side of my face.
"Bella?" I didn't even flinch.
"Shit... No, no Bella..." The hands left my cheeks and lifted my body up to a much warmer one. I resisted its force and was able to fall back onto the cold hard ground where I wanted to be, where I wanted to die.
"Bella, you've gotta get up."
"No," I moaned. "Leave... Leave... Leave me..."
"Bella, we've got to get you home." I felt myself rising again and thrashed away from the body's warmth.
"No! Leave me! I want to die!" I cried.
"Bella, stop. You're freezing. You need to get home."
"They're gone. I don't have a home." I began to sob.
"What?"
"Just go! Leave me here!"
"No." The hot hands grabbed onto me once again with more pressure than they had before.
"You don't want to die and you're not going to die. I am taking you home where your father is." I flinched. "Don't even try to resist me." I gave in. I had no energy to fight. I curled into the body. The warmth of the strangers' skin soothed me.
The body that held me started walking and saying things inaudible to me. I didn't want to listen. All I wanted was Edward.
Soon I heard other voices in the distance. One stood out more, my fathers.
"Bella!" Charlie yelled. He ran up to the body and I.
"I can take her." He said then took me in his arms. "Thank you, Jacob."
The body was Jacob Black, my best friend. I told him that I wanted to die. If I had the energy or the voice I would have apologized but now I have nothing.
"Lemme get you to your room, Bells." He said into my hair. He carried me past the crowd of muffled voices up the steps to our front door, through the door, to the stairs then to my room. He laid me on my side and took off my jacket. Then he grabbed a thick blanket from the hallway closet and draped it over me.
"Do you need anything?" I stayed silent.
"Call if you need something." He said. He started to close the door but pushed it open again.
"Bella?" I would have said 'yes?' if I could.
"I love you." Then he shut the door behind him.
I opened my eyes and looked out the window at the black nothingness night. I waited until the black became morning for Edward to sneak in through the window like he always does. The light of day slaughtered my hope. He never came. If my body would have allowed, I would have cried to the point of vomiting but everything inside of me was gone. I was dead with a pulse. There, but not really. Alive, but so far gone.
AN: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please R&R! I like to get feedback on my work so I can make it better for your guys. Any constructive criticism, suggestions and praise is welcome. Thanks!