Four Months.

That's how long it's been since he left. With the days all coming together as they had been, I'm surprised I can still keep track…

For a long time, he was all that occupied my mind. I guess I am a little naïve. Obviously, his leaving should have made something click in my mind that he was really gone and not coming back. He made it clear that I was of no interest to him. I was no good for him and he didn't want me. Any normal person would forget it and move on. But I just can't forget about him. No matter how much it hurts.

I did have some distractions, though. Jacob Black had been a constant friend in my time of grief. Even though nothing could fill the aching hole in my chest, when I was with Jake, it didn't seem to hurt as much. I'd find myself looking forward to the time we'd spend together. Even though I don't smile quite as much anymore, I feel like some kind of weight has been lifted when Jake is around. I wish that he was with me right now.

We were supposed to be doing this together. It may seem weird, wanting to bring Jake to the place that is so sacred to him, but I just didn't think that I could handle it on my own. Plus, Jake was much better at the whole navigation thing than I was. I didn't really know how to read this compass and was trying to remember how to get there based mainly on my brief memory of it. I remember the long walk. I remember wishing we would get there already. I remember thinking that it had better be worth the crazy amount of time and energy we were spending on it. I remember it being the most remarkable thing I had ever seen. It contained one of most vivid memories of us...of him. It was there that he first showed himself to me. The first time he let me in completely. The first time I let him in completely. All of our cards were on the table and we were ready to let the chips fall where they may. It was difficult to think back on these memories, but it was the only way I could hang onto him, and even though he didn't need me, I still couldn't let him go.

It was getting late and I quickly regretted not waiting for a time when Jake could go, but I've been getting the impression that he was avoiding me. It all started that night at the movie theatre when both he and Mike had gotten suddenly sick. I tried calling him that night to see if he got home okay, and Billy seemed to be sincere when he said it was probably just the flu, but something seemed wrong. I got even more suspicious when I spoke with Jake the next day…

"Hey, Bella. Sorry about rushing home after the movie last night. It must have been something I ate," he rambled quickly.

"It's okay Jake. I just wanted to make sure you were really okay. Can I bring you anything?" I asked.

"No! I mean, no don't worry about it. I'm fine. Don't come over here. It's not safe" he whispered.

"Not safe? Jake what are you.."

"I just mean, I don't want you to catch the, uh, bug, er, whatever I have. I have to go. I'll talk to you later Bella" he said quickly, cutting me off.

"But Jake, I.." I started, but he had already hung up.

It was then that I realized something weird was going on. Charlie claimed that something strange was going on with the phone lines when I had complained to him that I couldn't get anyone to talk to me. Whenever I did get Billy on the phone, he would just say that Jacob was busy or unavailable or something simple like that. I knew Jacob, though. I knew he wouldn't just ignore me unless there was a good reason why. Billy was hiding something, I just couldn't figure out what it was.

It was my call today that sharpened my resolve to just go on this trek by myself. Billy answered today, a little more chipper than usual.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Billy. It's Bella. Is Jacob feeling any better?"

"Oh, Bella. You just missed him. He's out and about now. Apparently, it wasn't the flu. Guess it was just one of those quick bugs."

"Well, does that mean I can come over and see him now?" I asked him impatiently. He could probably sense the vague hostility coming from my voice, but I was annoyed with his incessant avoidances.

"Ooh, Bella I'm sorry" he mumbled. "He just left with some friends."

Unbelievable. I was almost livid. Jacob had to know how worried I was about him. All of the constant calling and nagging had to have been evidence enough that I feared for his health. He was all better now and didn't even bother to call me and let me know. It made me angry at first, but then all I felt was hurt. While I was home being bored and lonely and missing his company, the time apart obviously did not provoke the same feelings on him. Maybe the time we had spent together these past few weeks was only ignited from the pity he felt towards me. Maybe he just felt bad for the girl he used to be friendly with a long time ago when she would visit with her father. Maybe we weren't getting as close as I thought we were. Whatever the reason, I knew I would have to talk to Jacob sooner or later just so I could understand. Even if he was only hanging out with me out of pity, he still owed me some kind of explanation.

The snap of a twig behind me pulled me out of my thoughts. I quickly stopped and turned around, trying to find the source of the noise, but not seeing anything.

"Stupid squirrels," I muttered.

I guess I should've realized that walking this deep into the woods by myself was risky. I knew what kinds of things lurked around out here. He had warned me countless times. At this point, though, I didn't really care. I knew I would get there soon anyway.

Thinking over the past few days, I continued walking through the woods looking for my final destination. I could tell by the location of the sun in the sky that I only had a few hours left before the sun would start setting. As cloudy as my memory was of how to get there, I knew I had to be close. As I walked past of few broken down trees, I finally saw the faint outline of an open area a few yards ahead. That had to be it. Excited, I started running to the final trees before stopping dead in my tracks upon reaching the opening.

It had changed. It wasn't the same beautiful meadow it had been when I was first here. All of the beautiful pinks and blues and purples of the flowers were now white and brown from the weeds that had replaced them. The grass was no longer green, but a dark brown with no trace of life. This was not was I was hoping for. I needed to see the beautiful colors. I needed to be reassured that it wasn't just a dream. I needed to know that it was real. That he was real. This is not how it's supposed to be. I laughed at myself, thinking of the irony in this picture. I always did think of him as a life source. He brought me to life when I first arrived in Forks. It only makes sense that he would have an effect on the life of the meadow, too.

I was about to turn and leave, feeling extremely disappointed, when all of a sudden I felt as if I were being watched. I looked around and didn't see anything. I thought back to the sound of that tree branch. Was someone following me? All of a sudden, I felt strangely anxious to get out of these woods, even though I knew it would take at least an hour to find the trail where my truck was. As I was getting ready to turn out of the meadow, I heard a faint gasp a few feet away from me and turned quickly to the sound.

"Bella?"

"Laurent!"

"My, my Bella. I was not expecting to see you here." I grinned as my anxiety went down a little as I saw his familiar face. For all of the creatures that could be out in the woods, at least I knew this one.

"You scared me, Laurent. I thought something was following me."

"My apologies, Bella. I assure you, I had no idea you were here. This unexpected meeting does raise some problems, though my dear," he said, strangely.

"Problems?" I asked.

"Well, I'm afraid that my business here in Forks is no coincidence," he began. "I am here as a favor" he stated. "To Victoria."

"Vic…Victoria?" I mumbled. The anxiety that was beginning to melt away, was quickly returning. Obviously it didn't matter if I knew this creature or not, he was still a threat to me.

"Oh dear. Your blood is very overwhelming. You have somewhat interrupted my hunting. I can see what great lengths your Edward had to go through to stop from killing you" he stated blatantly. The sound of his name shot daggers through my heart. While he was constantly on my mind, I tried not to think or say his name. It always seemed to make his absence even more real than I already felt it. The mention of his name also worried me. Laurent had to have noticed that he was not with me.

"But where is Edward? I stopped by the Cullen's house, but found no one there. Surely they have not left you here alone."

I didn't know what to say. I was trapped. If he knew that they were gone, he would have no problem killing me. I had to think of something.

"They have left on a short trip, but will be back anytime now. They never leave for long periods of time, and they always check in," I lied, hoping he couldn't make out the quivering in my voice.

"Really?" he asked, confused. "But, I took the liberty of going inside their home and it seemed as though it has been empty for quite a while," he stated, walking closer to me.

It was clear he didn't believe me, so I decided to change strategies. "When they hear about this, they will come after you," I threatened, hoping to scare him enough to leave me alone.

"I do not think they will," he said slyly. "I do not think that they have any intention of coming back, my dear Bella. I do not even think they will know you are gone. Even if they do, how would they know it was me?"

To this question, I had no response. He was right. Even if they did come back, there were plenty of ways this could have happened. He warned we before that there were dangerous things in the woods. He no longer needed me. I'm sure he wouldn't go after Laurent. These thoughts weakened my defense and I began to ramble. "Why would you hurt me? You helped us with James. You weren't like him or Vic..Vic.." I started, not being able to control my breathing.

He quickly shortened the distance between us. "Calm down, Bella. I will be nice, I promise. As I said before, I came here as a favor to Victoria. You must know how upset she is for Edward killing James. I did feel some guilt for helping you and the Cullens in defeating him and felt I owed her. She asked me to come and see if they were still protecting you. I promise you Bella, I had no intention of harming you…"

"H-Had?" I mumbled.

"Well, as I said. You interrupted my hunting trip. And I am so very thirsty."

I felt his breathing slow and could see in his eyes that he was ready to attack. I recognized the movements to be much like James' in the ballet studio. At that moment, all I could think of was him. Even if he no longer wanted me, I know he wouldn't have wanted me to just give up. With that resolve, I ran. I knew it would not solve anything, since Laurent's speed was unmatchable by a human, but I had to try. I could hear him grunt behind me as I started to run to the other side of the meadow. As I was halfway through, I felt his hand grab my arm and throw me back to where I was originally standing, my back hitting a tree. I slid down and saw him walking slowly towards me and then crouching, getting ready to attack. I shot up quickly and moved to the left as he lunged, barely missing his snarling teeth as he hit the tree instead of me, effectively knocking it down. I thought I heard the rustling of footsteps running in the forest toward us, but quickly resolved that it had to be a forest animal running away, terrified from the growling of Laurent.

He got up from the now fallen tree as I slowly slid backwards, trying to regain the feeling in my legs to try and run again. I found my footing and stood up, just as he grabbed me again by my neck, forcing me against a firm oak. With such force, I thought that my neck had to have broken, but I could still feel my body trembling.

"I can see what attracted James to you. He loved a challenge. But I'm afraid, my dear, that I do not have time for this." He said.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the rage in his. I could hear the same faint rustling sound of running through the woods, but had my attention quickly turned from that when I felt a sudden pain in my forearm.

"AHHHH!" I screamed as the pain shot through my arm to every nerve in my body. That faint rustling was growing louder now and I felt Laurent drop me down after a moment. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to see what was about to happen to me next. The rustling stopped and I could hear loud breathing that did not belong to Laurent. He chuckled.

"Well, Well" he said. "What have we here?"