Disclaimer : All things Twilight belong to SM. No infringement is intended.

Summary: After a summer spent in limbo, trying to forget her best friend, the boy she happened to be in love with - the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead - Bella returns to Forks, ready to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into her schoolwork, her writing, and eventually her friendship with Jacob, who just might be her ticket to getting over her loss once and for all. Though, the fates it seems, have other plans...

Haunted Souls

Chapter 1 – Losing Grip

"Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while..."
~The Princess Bride

"Isabella?" Renée Dwyer called out softly as she knocked on Bella's bedroom door, "Will you please come downstairs today? We can go out to that Italian place you like, or at least have supper with Phil and I tonight." She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised when Bella did not reply, but it hurt nonetheless. "Okay, Bella, that's fine, but if you change your mind at anytime we'll still be here."

Returning to the living room, she collapsed next to her husband, wrapping her arms around him. "It's her birthday Phil, and I don't know what to do. I feel like such a failure at being a parent, and it's my fault too. Bella's always been so self-sufficient; I took advantage of that and I wasn't the mother I should have been. And now, when it matters, when I should be there for her, she won't let me in."

"There's no one to blame in this situation. The poor girl's just been dealt a horrible hand; someone that young shouldn't be forced to deal with a loss like this. She wasn't prepared for it and she's still struggling to deal. It's nothing to do with you Ren, she's shut herself off from everyone, even Alice. Just give it time," Phil spoke softly, trying in vain, to calm his wife of four years.

"Time? That's all we've given her these past months, and what good has it done?" Renée rose abruptly, before continuing, "She won't speak, and she barely eats...she's wasting away in front of us, and I can't ignore it anymore."

"What do you suggest we do? I'd say to take her to a grief counsellor, but I doubt we'd get her there."

"No, I think we need to do the opposite: get her away from all the rem..." Her idea was cut off abruptly by a loud crash, followed by the sound of glass shattering coming from upstairs.

The couple turned around just in time to see Bella racing down the stairs before bolting out the front door.

Isabella Swan sat on her bed, staring at the picture frame in her hands. She had barely registered her mother's request to come down for dinner, but her mother's frantic voice travelling up from the level beneath her was harder to ignore. It's my birthday?, she wondered to herself as she looked at the calender on her wall, still set to June. Time had become practically nonexistent to Bella over the past few months; hours or years could have past since the event and Bella would not have noticed the difference, nor would she have cared.

She realized blankly that it had to be the second week of school by now. I suppose they knew better than to even try and get me to go. Her attention turned back to the photo in her hands as she studied the image of the carefree group. The photo had been taken less than three months ago, at his sister's graduation. Bree was in the centre, clad in a cap and gown, with her brother, one arm around her and the other around Bella on one side, and Alice and Riley on the other. She took in their smiling faces, none of them knowing that death loomed over one of them.

"Bella, darling, I'm so sorry. There's been a terrible accident..."

She pushed the memory from her mind, before it had the chance to overtake her. In a fit of rage and despair at being so weak, she threw the picture frame across the room with as much force as she had. The noise it made upon impact was cathartic and she continued to grab at the items, the reminders of him littered throughout her room, and throw them until there was nothing left of him or of her.

The room was closing in on her, she needed to get out, and she most definitely did not want to be around for her mother to question anytime soon. Still in her pyjamas, she ran out of her room and outside the house for the first time in over two months.

She continued running, unaware of where her legs were carrying her until she reached the cemetery. Her pace slowed as she approached his grave and her arms wrapped around herself as she stared blankly at the words on the grey stone. She shook violently, as her legs buckled beneath her and she fell forward onto her knees.

The sky grumbled as the winds pick up, sending dust flying through the air. A flash of lightening lit up the sky in the distance as the rain began to descend, and it seemed almost as if the heavens were shedding the tears that Bella herself could not.

In the parking lot, a girl of about eighteen, with long dark brown hair spoke quickly into her cellphone, as she stared at the figure in the distance.

"I found her Alice. Yeah, right where you said she'd be. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; she hasn't visited his grave since the debacle at the funeral, and now she picks the worst day of the monsoon season to go and camp out there." There was a short pause as she waited for a reply, "Okay, hopefully I'll be on my way home with her by the time you get here," pause, "Well, one can only hope right? Wish me luck and see you soon!" Ending the call, she tossed her phone onto the dash, and grabbed her umbrella before exiting the car.

The rain came heavier now as Bree approached the grave. "Isabella, you can't stay out here. They're calling for heaving thunderstorms for the rest of the night." Bella however, made no move to even signal that she had heard Bree and made no reply. Sighing, she studied the girl in front of her who was just over a year her junior, and had to wonder whether Bella had yet to notice her presence.

She tried again, "You're mother's been worried sick. She's had the entire city looking for you since you took off this afternoon; you should probably head home and let her know you're alright."

No response. Exasperated, Bree decided that talking was overrated and that trying to reason with Bella was useless. She tried to pull Bella up, but she was a dead weight, and refused to budge.

"This is ridiculous! You're going to get sick, B," she stated, as she continued to yank at the younger girl.

"Does it even matter?" was the monotone reply she got from Bella, whose blank gaze, void of emotion had not yet moved from the gravestone.

"Oh, so you do speak!" she said in mock shock, "Glad to see that that faculty is still intact, though it seems your others have disappeared," she paused, waiting for a response from Bella, but none was to be had. "I guess not," Bree finally cried in frustration, "It's what you want isn't it? To get sick and die?"

Silence.

"He'd be ashamed of you, giving up on life like this," Bree said with a shake of her head, disgust evident in her voice.

"What did you say?" Bella asked, her voice cold, as her head turned slightly in Bree's direction.

"You heard me Isabella! And even worse you know that he'd only hate himself for making you this way."

"I suppose it's a good thing he's dead then Bree, saves him from seeing this wretched sight."

"Don't do this Bella. Don't act like you're the only one who lost him. You may have lost your best friend, but I lost my brother." Her words trailed off at the end, her face showing her pain as tears welled up in her eyes, but Bella, if she noticed, chose to ignore it, as her next words clearly showed.

"Really, Bree? I couldn't tell?" she spat out sarcastically.

"Damn me for trying to move on then! Do you think it's easier this way, because it's not! Easy would be never leaving my room, not speaking to anyone...I'm trying to live because I know that's what he would have wanted. I have to put on a brave face for my parents, so that they don't have to worry about me on top of everything else."

"I'm sorry I don't have your strength Bree, or your acting skills."

Bree inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down; she would not fight with her in front of her brother's grave. "Bella, please I didn't..." Feeling defeated, she sighed, "Just let me take you home." she moved to help Bella up, "Come on, let's g..."

"No! Don't touch me! You're right, I have given up on life, so now it's time for you and everyone else to give up on me!" she exclaimed as she slapped away Bree's hands.

"Are you even listening to yourself right now? Think of how you're feeling, do you really want to put our families through that kind of grief again? We already lost one life that night, I won't have you adding yours to it!"

"You don't understand...how could you? I died that night Bree! They might as well have buried me with him..."

Slap. The sound of skin on skin echoed in the wind.

"Don't you dare utter anything like that to me again. I hope with everything that I have that he's not looking down on this right now, you're disgracing his life, by wasting yours." Bree's voice was like ice.

"Bella, Bella!" Alice took that moment to appear, rushing to Bella's side and cradling the broken girl in her arms. Taking in the scene and the unmissable hand-print on Bella's right cheek, that was growing redder by the second, she shot a questioning glance up at Bree.

Recovering from her shock, she addressed Alice a few moments later. "Thank god you're here Alice! I'm done. I've been trying for my brother's sake, but it's useless."

"So you resorted to trying to slap her back into her senses, I see." Glancing pointedly at Bella's red cheek that stood out in stark contrast against her pale skin, she continued, "Not the best idea, obviously, though I will admit I've considered it a few times myself. It's fine Bree, you should go home. I can handle it from here."

"Oh, Alice, I didn't mean to," she said, looking repentant as her actions finally sunk in, and Alice noticed a tinge of red on her cheeks, showing her guilt and embarrassment. "It's just we're all still so on edge and seeing her like this, it's like reliving the pain of losing him all over again."

"I know," Alice replied simply, glancing down at her best friend.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

Alice shook her head, "Riley will be here in a few minutes anyways to help me get her home. If you could just call Renée and let her know Bella's oka...well let her know we found Bella. She's been frantic since she ran off." Bree nodded once, before briskly walking away.

She looked at her friend's face and the tears streaming down it. No, not tears, she realized, it was only the rain giving it that illusion. How she wished Bella would cry and mourn her loss. These past few months had been spent in denial; Bella had closed herself off from anyone who was even remotely connected to him. Never leaving her room, Bella hadn't spoken a word since the funeral, nor to Alice's knowledge had she shed a tear.

"Bella, are you alright? Never mind, stupid question." Standing up, she helped Bella to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her steady and took in her dishevelled appearance. "Pyjamas Bella? Really? You don't leave the house for more than two months and the day you finally do it's in ratty pyjamas?" Alice caught the corners of Bella's mouth curve up before she could hide it. "Ah, that's the Bella I know and love. It's good to know you're still in there."

"You know, I wasn't really concerned about making a fashion statement when I left." Bella replied dryly. Bella looked up at her friend for the first time since she'd appeared, "I'm glad you never change Alice. I can always count on you to be here for me, even when i don't derserve it."

The friends spent a few moments in silence, before Alice spoke again. "It's okay to miss him Bella, I do too. No one expects you to go skipping about all smiles all the time, we just want you to keep living Bella."

"It hurts Ali, so much sometimes that I feel like I'm drowning in it."

"That's okay too B. The pain reminds us that he was a part of our lives; it makes him real. You just have to keep breathing in and out, day by day, and it will get better Bella, I promise."

"When did you get so wise Alice?" she asked, but Alice merely smiled back at her.

"Are you okay to walk? Riley's car just pulled in over there, unless you'd like to stay out in this downpour some more?" Bella shook her head. "You ready to go home then?"

Bella thought of the state Renee must be in by now and her trashed room, "No, not yet. do you mind if I..." she began, looking hopefully up at Alice.

She gave Bella a tight squeeze, "Of course you can stay with me. The crazy parentals are gone so it'll be nice and quiet too."

Bella smiled up at Alice in thanks and gazed at the words on the stone one last time before finally walking away.

Edward A. Masen

June 20th 1993 – June 27th 2010

Beloved Son, Brother, and Friend.

Gone too soon...

A/N: Like it? Hate it? I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions...