Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight Saga or any of the characters in the story.

Hello all of you lovely people!

Yes, this is a new story from yours truly! It is not entirely an AU story, although it differs in the extreme from where the Twilight stories end up. It begins at the beginning of the book Eclipse and you will read in the beginning of this chapter that it is directly taken from Chapter Two of Eclipse. I recognize that this work is not my own and that it belongs entirely to Stephenie Meyer. I am only using it as an intro and example of where I differentiate from the plot line. It will be written in italics, and then once it gets to my own writing it will be in the regular font once again.

I hope that you all enjoy this story as much as the other that I've written. Enjoy the chapter and Happy reading of my new story Saudade!

~W. M. Hunt

Saudade

Chapter One

Edward was long gone and he wouldn't be back until Charlie was asleep - he was probably out hunting or something to pass the time - so I was in no hurry to undress for bed. I wasn't in the mood to be alone, but I certainly wasn't going to go back downstairs to hang out with my Dad, just in case he thought of some topic of sex education that he hadn't touched on before; I shuddered.

So, thanks to Charlie, I was wound up and anxious. My homework was done and I didn't feel mellow enough for reading or just listening to music. I considered calling Renee with the news of my visit, but then I realized that it was three hours later in Florida, and she would be asleep.

I could call Angela, I supposed.

But suddenly I knew that it wasn't Angela that I wanted to talk to. That I needed to talk to.

I stared at the blank black window, biting my lip. I don't know how long I stood there weighing the pros against the cons - doing the right thing by Jacob, seeing my closest friend again, being a good person, versus making Edward furious with me. Ten minutes maybe. Long enough to decide that the pros were valid while the cons were not. Edward was only concerned about my safety, and I knew that there was really no problem on that count.

The phone wasn't any help; Jacob had refused to answer my phone calls since Edward's return. Besides, I needed to see him - see him smiling again the way he used to. I needed to replace that awful last memory of his face warped and twisted by pain if I was ever going to have any peace of mind.

I had an hour probably. I could make a quick run down to La Push and be back before Edward realized I had gone. It was past my curfew, but would Charlie really care about that when Edward wasn't involved? One way to find out.

I grabbed my jacket and shoved my arms through the sleeves as I ran down the stairs.

Charlie looked up from the game, instantly suspicious.

"You care if I go see Jake tonight?" I asked breathlessly. "I won't stay long."

As soon as I said Jake's name, Charlie's expression relaxed into a smug smile. He didn't seem surprised at all that his lecture had taken effect so quickly. "Sure, kid. No problem. Stay as long as you like."

"Thanks, Dad," I said as I darted out the door.

Like any fugitive, I couldn't help looking over my shoulder a few times while I jogged to my truck, but the night was so black that there really was no point. I had to feel my way along the side of the truck to the handle.

My eyes were just beginning to adjust as I shoved my keys in the ignition. I twisted them hard to the left, but instead of roaring deafeningly to life, the engine just clicked. I tried it again with the same results.

And then a small motion in my peripheral vision made me jump.

"Gah!" I gasped in shock when I saw that I was not alone in the cab.

Edward sat very still, a faint bright spot in the darkness, only his hands moving as he turned a mysterious black object around and around. He stared at the object as he spoke.

"Alice called," he murmured.

Alice! Damn. I'd forgotten to account for her in my plans. He must have her watching me.

"She got nervous when your future rather abruptly disappeared five minutes ago."

My eyes, already wide with surprise, popped wider.

"Because she can't see the wolves, you know," he explained in the same low murmur. "Had you forgotten that? When you decide to mingle your fate with theirs, you disappear, too. You couldn't know that part, I realize that. But can you understand why that might make me a little . . . anxious? Alice saw you disappear, and she couldn't even tell if you'd come home or not. Your future got lost, just like theirs.

"We're not sure why this is. Some natural defense they're born with?" He spoke as if he were talking to himself now, still looking at the piece of my truck's engine as he twirled it in his hands. "That doesn't seem entirely likely, since I haven't had any trouble reading their thoughts. The Blacks' at least. Carlisle theorizes that it's because their lives are so ruled by their transformations. It's more an involuntary reaction than a decision. Utterly unpredictable, and it changes everything about them. In that instant when they shift from one form to the other, they don't really even exist. The future can't hold them. . . ."

I listened to his musing in stony silence.

"I'll put your car back together in time for school, in case you'd like to drive yourself," he assured me after a minute.

With my lips mashed together, I retrieved my keys and stiffly climbed out of the truck.

"Shut your window if you want me to stay away tonight. I'll understand," he whispered just before I slammed the door.

I stomped into the house, slamming that door, too.

"What's wrong?" Charlie demanded from the couch.

"Truck won't start," I growled.

"Want me to look at it?"

"No. I'll try it in the morning."

"Want to use my car?"

I wasn't supposed to drive his police cruiser. Charlie must be really desperate to get me to La Push. Nearly as desperate as I was.

Chewing on my lip vigorously I looked down at my feet. My fingernails dug into the palms of my hands as I clenched them into fists, anger roiling within my body at how Edward had acted. I was a grown woman. I did not need babysitting. I did not need someone to tell me that I could not go and see my friends. He had left me and now he was telling me what I could and couldn't do?

Yes, I understood that Alice couldn't see me, but I had spent months in the company of Jacob and I had never been afraid of him… Could I say the same about all of the Cullens? I mean. So far they had a worse track record of wanting to kill me than the wolves did.

With my resolve strengthened by my anger I came back to the real world aware that Charlie had been staring at my irate face while I'd had my inner musings.

"You know what… Yeah. I'll take your car," I said in a low voice. Charlie didn't say anything, but nodded to me, his eyes still on my face.

"I'll be back soon," I said to him, turning out of the living room and swiping the keys to the cruiser from their place in the key bowl, while dropping the ones for the truck inside. Walking back out into the dark I practically sprinted to Charlie's car and jumped inside. Jamming the keys into the ignition I started the car with a low rumble and glanced around wildly to the forest behind the house. I half expected Edward and Alice to run out of the cover of the trees and attack the car before I got it out of the drive, but nothing happened.

Breathing heavily I backed out of the driveway and turned down the street, going a bit faster than I was normally used to. The cruiser seemed touchier than the truck. Although that wasn't all too hard to believe considering the truck was absolutely a piece of junk. But it was still my piece of junk.

As I drove a light drizzle started to come down on the car and I took the turns as fast as I dared to. I wouldn't put it past Edward to jump onto the top of the cruiser before I reached the La Push borders. However I wondered how he would have me explain the dent he would undoubtedly leave on the roof from his body.

Slowly my thoughts trickled towards Edward, and I cringed at what he would say to me tomorrow morning. Maybe he wouldn't even come to my bedroom tonight because he would be so upset. But surely I was in my own right to go and see my best friend if I wanted too? Right?

I wasn't doing anything wrong.

Jake was my best friend. He was my Sun.

The one that had held me together and tried to fix me when my entire world had crumbled in front of my eyes.

And I had to fix this. No matter what Edward said. No matter the fact that Alice couldn't see me when I went to La Push. The pack would never hurt me. That was a fact that I was positive of.

While my thoughts drifted I registered that the rain had begun to fall harder on the car.

Turning on the windshield wipers I tried to focus on the road, however my thoughts kept pulling back my attention.

Maybe I should just have stayed home. Being in bed with Edward was a very appealing option. And I could always just go and see Jake another time maybe? It wasn't worth it if Edward would be upset over this. I knew that Jake would forgive me at some point. He had to. He'd told me that I was his best friend. We'd been through so much… He wouldn't just walk away from that? Not when I explained to him how much he and Edward meant to me…

As my mind started down that path of thoughts I had finally crossed over the La Push boundary and a relieved sigh left my mouth. Smiling slightly as I turned a sharp corner, I was shocked to see that a large deer was standing directly in the middle of the road. As if in slow motion, every single movement registered in my head.

Without thinking, I wrenched the wheel to the side, trying to avoid the deer. As the car veered towards the steep incline on the side of the road, I slammed my foot on the brakes, however with the heavy rain, the car slipped along the asphalt. Hurtling towards the guard rail, I watched with horrified eyes, and a pounding heart as the metal bent and caused the car to flip over it.

It was at that point that everything seemed to speed up out of whatever slow motion my brain had put me into. The car lurched violently over the side. Spinning through the air, my head swung forward with impact as the car rolled down the steep incline and smashed into a tree at the bottom, leaving the car on it's side.

The airbags had deployed and were shoved into my face while the window to my left that was pressed into the ground was shattered. My eyes were bleary as I tried to make sense of what had just happened.

I should get out of the car.

I should get some help.

I should get back up that hill.

I need to get to Jake's house.

Charlie will probably worry about me.

Jake will probably worry about me too.

The thoughts swam around in my head, but they made no progress as they seemed to be swimming in a thick syrup. I couldn't seem to move my hands to unbuckle myself and I could still hear the drumming of the rain on the side of the car.

I wanted to close my eyes. Something hot and thick dripped over my forehead and I turned to see dark liquid dripping onto the dirt and broken glass. Belatedly I realized it was my own blood, but I could not find the strength within my body to will it to move.

I just wanted to close my eyes.

They were just so heavy.

I just wanted to close my eyes.

And so, I did.

If you'd like to let me know how you liked the first chapter, leave a comment. Thank you for reading!