UNHINGED - A victim of your mind

She sits quietly, shadowed in the corner of a small room and rocks back and forth, back and forth, over and over again. The silence which was deafening at first is comforting, but the silence, like everything else, everyone else is broken, broken by the soft creaking of the rocking chair. The white wall behind her has shapeless stains caused by years of moisture seeping in from the continuous downpour of rain. The rain has washed away all traces of civilization, excluding her.

Cold wind blows through the broken windows carrying with it the musty scent of death and rot that saturates the air, making it unbreathable, but she doesn't care. She makes no attempt to move out from her seat, and just continues rocking in that never-ending rhythm. She's as pale as a ghost and her hair which was once a rich, radiant mahogany has turned black and falls limply over her shoulders. She's alone, all alone and her face shows it. Her face is vacant, unknowing and unseeing though she has stared out the broken window for nearly an eternity, initially with hope of a savior but now with resignation. There's no redemption for her, she know it, no relief. Though her face doesn't change, she's trying hard not to remember the beginning ….

I twisted in my bed and shivered- this wasn't unusual- Edward had a body temperature of less than zero degrees Celsius and the weather outside did little to help the general conditions I slept in. I turned once more trying to get comfortable and sleep again. No use. I sat up and with my eyes close punched the pillow into a more convenient shape. I was just about to give up when I sneezed. I groaned and fell back into my bed. I lay still for a few minutes and let my mind wander, dreaming about my future : with the Cullens, with Edward.

Then it struck me, I didn't hear the alarm go off, meaning I had overslept. I started panicking pried my eyes open with some difficulty and turned over to get a look at my personal miracle, however small the glance may be. But all I saw was an empty bed.

Had he gone to change?

Now thiswas unusual, he generally had changed before I woke up. I was wasting time, I told myself, it's not like you aren't going to see him.

I kicked off the sheets and got out of bed anyway and hauled myself into the shower; my eyes weren't fully open even then, in my state of half unconsciousness. I reached blindly at the faucet on the basin and turned it on.

Nothing happened…

Was the faucet not working? This wasn't doing anything to help my mood, first Edward and now this. But it woke me up, today was evidently one of my worse days and on those days I tend to break bones, mostly mine.

And then I saw something that shocked me…

The whole bathroom was coated in a thin layer of dust and cobwebs hung from every corner. The bathtub was covered in moss. It looked like no one had lived here in years. Was I still asleep?

I ran out the bathroom and into my room, only to see it in a similar condition. The books were in its perfect place, all of them covered in dust, the desk covered in dust, the floor covered in dust.. Dust, everywhere. My fingers dug into my arms causing pain, trying to wake me up. This couldn't be real, could it?

I turned around and similar sites greeted my eyes. The whole room looked like it had been deserted not for a day but for decades; the windows were just barely hanging on by their hinges and creaked as a soft, cold breeze swirled into the room. Black mould formed patterns on the wall and the clock on it had long since stopped working. I felt a sudden urge to throw up. I had to get away, I had to, and if I wanted to keep my sanity intact I had to get out of this place.

I ran down the stairs -two steps at a time- eager to get away. The living room will be better; I cleaned it up just yesterday… But any hope I harbored was brutally crushed as I reached the living room. It looked the same if not worse than my room. Damp stains on the walls reached out to me like bizarre tentacles, the wedding photographs had faded with time, the sofa was torn and its foam filling littered the floor. I was too afraid to open my mouth, except to give out a strangled cry.

The whole house looked uninhabited, not just my room.

"Charlie" I cried" Charlie, are you there?"

Silence was my only answer. I was shaking and sobs ripped through my chest, softly at first but it soon escalated into a full out wailing.

"Charlie, answer me. Dad!" I yelled through my tears, I stamped my feet hoping to wake him up from where ever he was.

I sank to my knees and the wood creaked beneath me. I shook my head slowly, not able to register or understand anything that was happening. Where was he?

"Daddy, please answer me?" I mumbled "please".

I gasped as it hit me Charlie could have gone fishing. I scrambled to my feet and sprinted to the door, unable to contain my relief. My dad was still there, I though, elated. My heart beat a tattoo against my ribs in anticipation.

But when I reached out to get the car keys and saw it… There it was, his fishing pole, sitting in its holder as if it hadn't been touched for a long time. It mocked me, he wasn't fishing, he wasn't at the station, I had just deluded myself to believing that he had. A wave of fresh pain lapped at me, making me sway in my spot. He was gone.

I realized I could stay here, burrowed in my grief and never resurface, letting myself go but no, I wouldn't do that. No, I had to find out what was happening…for my dad. I couldn't bring myself to call him Charlie for some reason, as if it brought him closer to me. I suddenly stopped weeping when a thought struck me, Edward.

Edward would know. He'd help me and so would the rest of the Cullens. I had to get to them. I have never needed them more. A small voice in the back of my head kept telling me that he wouldn't be there, that they wouldn't be there. He wasn't with you this morning, maybe he had gone the same way Charlie had. I shushed it and sat up.

Adrenalin pumped through my veins as I got up and walked out the door, not even bothering to close it. I didn't have time to lose.

I ran to the truck and pulled the door open and got in. I jammed the key in the ignition, praying it would work. I turned the key…

The truck roared to life, even though it seemed slightly chocked and I let out the breath I didn't realize I had been holding in. I backed out the drive way . I was bumped and jotled so much that I nearly broke my neck.

The road or what had been the road was now covered in fallen trees and mud. The trees had been reduced to small pieces by rain and moss covered every inch of them. Stones and even some rocks littered the path. If I drove on these roads chances are that I'd bust a tire but I took it anyway.

"Edward, help me" I whispered and drove off carefully. The tears threatened to come but I held them of with determination that is generally born of desperation. "I will not cry" I told myself firmly.

The drive depressed me further, not one house seemed occupied. The fences had grayed and were broken and the lawns had grown into a wild thicket. The walls had faded and several roofs had even caved in. The town was so quite, if you listened hard you could almost hear the sound of the waves lapping the shore at the La Push beach.

The whole town was empty: a ghost town. Absolutely empty, devoid of people, people whom I loved, people whom I hated.

This filled me with despair and I knew hysteria was not far off.

As I drove I rolled down the window and called out the names of my friends and even those who didn't like me. Mike, Jessica, Angela, Ben, Tyler even Lauren, but none of them answered back. Not one. I knew they wouldn't.

Tears blurred my vision but I told myself "The Cullens will be there. Edward won't leave you, right? He loves you, he won't leave you. Its not like they can die" I almost smiled at that. Almost.

The forest came and then the trail to the Cullen's house. I couldn't take the truck through it since the trail had shrunk in width, trees had grown haphazardly. Trees? Trees took years to grow. What was happening?

I started walking around the trees and dodging the stray rocks in my way. It was growing dark, a storm was on its way and I had to get out of the open. I was about to give up and curl in on myself and let the elements have their way with me when I saw the familiar lamppost. The house was not far.

In another two minutes I could almost see the house. Edward would be able to, I thought and smiled. This gave me strength, the thought of Edward. I surged on with a new sense of control. The trees were closer together and it allowed very little light to fall on the undergrowth so I had to extra careful not to trip and not to fall. A fall could stop me from reaching Edward and Alice and Carlisle and Esme and the rest of them. My heart brimmed with relief that I nearly cried.

I could see the house now and I took of into a sprint. I was almost there. Faster, my mind screamed at me. Faster. And then I saw it.

The house was absolutely empty. I could see through the glass walls that the whole house had been cleaned and that the Cullens had left me.

Gone.

They left.

Edward left.

I would not see him again.

The sense of unreality was numbing and painful at the same time.

I screamed. I yelled. I cried.

No one came.

I threatened. I plead. I bargained.

No one came.

Gone.

The pain crashed against me and pulled me down. It ate me from within and let me rot. Unconsciousness wouldn't provide succor, it wouldn't let me leave all the fear, pain and confusion behind and fall into the warmth of oblivion where I could believe that I had my father, my friends, my life, my love.

Gone.

I screamed like a hurt animal. I was afraid. I was sad. I was alone.

I ran all the way back to the truck, falling more times than I care to count. My hands were bloody and the cuts on my legs stung but nothing hurt more than the sense that I had been abandoned in this ghost town but the family I had come to love as my own and by the love of my life.

Gone.

I stumbled into the car and wrapped my arms around my chest, trying -in vain- to keep myself from falling to pieces. My immortal. My love. Gone.

I drove off, hoping to hit some trees. Hoping to die. But it was as if the trees parted to let me have a save journey, to let me live. I couldn't see anymore, the tears blurred my eyes and I willed myself to give up on life.

I drove for nearly an hour, through the deserted town, past my vacant home and past the broken and faded sign that cheerfully read "THANK YOU FOR VISITING FORKS. COME AGAIN".

I was surprised I could read that. I just drove. I had to get away. Go anywhere; Seattle maybe and then phoenix. I had some money in my pocket just enough for another fill of gas. I drove like a madwoman, going even beyond sixty miles per hour which was the highest speed my car could normally go. Thought flitted through me mind but I pushed them away. I couldn't take anymore pain. I just drove.

I must have driven five miles when I saw another sign come up. I pulled up near it to get a better view.

It read…

WELCOME TO FORKS.

I screamed.

Charlie Point of View

I heard her scream again from the bedroom. I ran up the stairs to my baby. There she sat, without any emotion showing on her face, staring blankly out the window as if she was a statue, a part of the furniture. Tears rolls down my cheeks and off my chin as I see the shell of my once spirited daughter. Ever since Cullen left and Ulley found her in the woods she's been like this. She hasn't moved out of the rocking chair since that day, except when she screams, but even then there is no emotion on her face.

It gives me nightmares.

She won't move, she won't speak, and she won't do anything. I don't know what to do.

It kills me to see her like this.

It causes me physical pain every time, every time she screams wordlessly, like a dying animal. The fire in her eyes has long since gone out. I fear she is dying. But I don't say it out loud. I can't be. She's a trooper; she'll win the war against depression. She will. But as I see her sitting in the old rocking chair and staring out the window, I doubt it.

My baby. My poor baby…

Bella is catatonic. That's what Charlie thinks.

He's hopeful, that with time she'll come out of it. He's confident she will. She's always been such a trooper, he thinks. She'll fight the depression. But Bella has long since passed depression. Now her mind is simply unhinged, let go of reality.

But what can Bella do?

If there was a person who had her captive, then she could fight him. But when you are a prisoner of your mind, how do you fight it? How can you run? How can you escape?

AN: If it freaked you out, Review. If you found it sad, Review. If you, Oh just Review. Please?

If you don't understand anything in the story feel free to PM me.

I didn't have a BETA for this. I'm still in the process of acquiring one, so if there are any grammatical mistakes point it out.

Thanks.

-Love Symphony...