UPDATED
RENEEPOV
My shoes made loud and sharp tapping noises while I was pacing in the silent kitchen. 'Phil,' I started, his eyes looked up from the local newspaper he was reading to meet mine, 'I'm getting worried.' I finished, biting my lip slightly and crossing my arms over my chest.
My heart was beating just a few flutters faster than normal and my forehead must've been creased from worrying, Phil on the other hand sat relaxed in one of the dark brown kitchen chairs, his back leaning heavily against it while he was carelessly turning the pages of his paper which laid in front of him on the rather small kitchen table. Beer in one hand he shrugged while bringing the bottle to his lips and taking a large gulp.
'If you're really that worried just call her again honey.' If his exterior didn't show any worry his voice definitely didn't, he sounded like relaxation himself. 'You don't seem to be worried,' I stated, a hint of annoyance in my voice as I stopped pacing again to face him, 'You know Bella,' he said without looking up from the paper, 'she has more responsibility in her body at seventeen than the two of us together as adults.'
Somewhere in my mind I realized he had made a good point, I stopped pacing when I faced some family photo's which covered most of the space under the air conditioning that hung in the kitchen. Most of them were from Phoenix but there were a small number of two from back in Forks, when Bella had been just a baby. Thinking about Charlie always made me feel guilty, I truly hated myself for leaving him, for hurting him the way I did, I still hate myself for taking his daughter away from him.
But I had to leave that place, sure I had been happy for a while but I soon discovered that that place was not good for me, the constant blanket of clouds which covered the small town made me feel like I was suffocating. It made me feel like I was somehow locked up, away from the light, it drained away my energy, my happiness, and so I decided to leave.
'I've called her sixteen times Phil,' I nearly screeched when I had called her again and she hadn't replied, 'she still hasn't answered her phone!' I was getting to a point of hysteric, and I'm sure Phil was rolling his eyes right now thinking I am just some sort of overprotective, crazy mother in panic-mode. But I know my daughter and I know that she would never be home late, I know that she would never forget to call or send a text that she would be a little later, hell she would even text me when she would be five minutes later than usual.
She had always felt like the parent, something I hated myself for. She was always the one who made sure the bills were paid on time, that everything was organized, that there was food in the fridge and gas in the car. She was always the one reminding me and Phil of our appointments, of emails that needed to be answered or phone calls that had to be made, I always hated how it seemed like I had taken her childhood away from her, by nearly forcing her to grow up to help me.
'Just try calling her again in a few minutes,' Phil murmured whilst getting up and grabbing another beer from the fridge before walking over the big, dilapidated couch in the living room to watch baseball. Rolling my eyes in frustration I angrily pressed the call button again before being greeted by my daughter's voice: 'Hello, you've reached Bella's phone, I'm sorry but I can't pick up the phone right now, but I'll call you back as soon as possible, bye.'
I sighed before sitting down in the spot Phil just left at the kitchen table, I let my phone fall on the table and angrily pushed away the newspaper until it left the table, pages separating on their way to the ground and nearly covering every inch of the small kitchen when they touched the floor before putting my elbows on the hard table and letting my head fall in my hands.
ESMEPOV
Something that nearly never happened in my crowded household was a moment of complete and utter silence, but this was one of those rare moments, the only sound filling the house was the voice of the news reader on the television reporting a missing person, Isabella Swan daughter of the chief of police of Forks.
'It has been over a week since seventeen-year-old Isabella Swan from Phoenix, Arizona went missing, her parents are pleading for her safe return. Isabella was last seen leaving her classroom before winter break, nobody has seen her ever since. Isabella is a reserved and mature young girl who would never leave without letting anyone know about her whereabouts.'
After a clip of whom I assumed where Isabella's mother and step father a large picture of Isabella filled the television screen, my breath stocked in my throat. She was beautiful, she seemed so innocent and pure but her eyes held so many emotions and thoughts. She didn't look like your average high school student, her eyes held wisdom, a certain rare intelligence, but also pain and sadness. Her skin was pale, nearly as pale as the skin of everyone who filled this room, but unlike us, her cheeks were filled with a stunningly rosy colour, she had some light freckles and a little scar on her porcelain skin. Her hair was long, shiny and a beautiful, rich dark chocolate brown colour.
I felt my unbeating heart sting and clench at the thought of how her poor parents must be feeling, I knew the emotion I was feeling all too well, if I would've still been human, I would've been crying right now, but I couldn't. Glancing around the room I was looking at my own children, thinking about how I would feel if something would ever happen to them.
Emmett was the first one to move and speak: 'what cruel human being could just take a girl like that?' his eyes were unfocussed as he stared at the white wall behind the television. Looking at the other members of my family, it looked like I wasn't the only one surprised by Emmett's words.
Rosalie shifted on the couch before sighing and getting up, her heels making scratching noises against the wooden floor, 'It's just another stupid little human Emmett,' her voice nearly sounded icy as she laid her hand on his back. 'Maybe someone had her for dinner,' she murmured almost too quiet to hear, almost, but I certainly did and I grinded my teeth in anger as I saw a smirk appear on her face.
'Rosalie, do not speak that way again in my presence, understood!' I said to her, my voice calm but filled with anger at the same time. 'You don't understand what her poor parents must be going through right now.' I added before she rolled her eyes and turned away from me.
I wanted to call her out again but at that exact moment Carlisle's car pulled up in front of the house, he opened the door and was inside within the same second. His posture was tense, his face hard and tired as he leaned down and gently pecked me on the lips before laying his hand on the small of my back and stepping back a little. I linked my fingers with his before moving down to the couch and sitting down, 'what's wrong?'
He shook his head, 'they brought in Charlie Swan today' he rubbed his forehead with his other hand in defeat, 'you probably heard about his daughter on the news.' He said while looking around at the rest of our family. Everyone nodded, 'He's absolutely devastated, he's not talking to anyone, it's like he can't hear us, he also neither eating nor sleeping.'
It was quiet for a few minutes before Edwards soft voice filled the room, 'he's going into shock.' Carlisle nodded without looking up from the spot on the floor he had been starring at, Edward undoubtedly had been looking at the events of the day in Carlisle's mind, Edward kept staring at Carlisle while silence filled the house again.
BPOV
I had lost the ability to understand the difference between the painful reality I was in and the nightmares of my fantasy. My head was pounding and aching badly, it felt like someone was trying to escape my head from the inside out. Every time I tried to attempt to open my eyes, the world seemed to be spinning and crashing down on me, so I kept them closed. My heart was pounding fast and painfully against my chest, I had tried to calm it down, but I couldn't.
I didn't know how much time had actually past, since I didn't have any daylight, I had turned off the light of the cupboard since it started to hurt my eyes after what I thought were a few days and I kept being really tired, I didn't know how much I had slept but it felt like I was more asleep than awake, but reality was just as bad as sleep because every time I fell asleep, I dreamed of my upcoming death.
I know one can survive a particular long time without food, I had once read an article about a seventy-four-year-old man who had survived twenty-one days without food and only some sips of water, but I didn't have any water. I also knew that the amount of days you can survive without food depends on a lot of factors such as body weight and the state the body is in before going without it. Water on the other hand was absolutely necessary and it frightened me to death that I didn't have any in here, I knew one could only survive roughly about a week without water under beneficial circumstances, which I knew I was in. I wasn't in a dessert and I hadn't been wasting too much energy.
I wanted to slap myself when after only an hour my throat had been begging me for water because I had been yelling so much for help. My lips felt dry and chapped and my eyes felt like there wasn't any liquid left in them what so ever.
I frowned in confusion when I suddenly started to feel really hot and my body became stiff, I could feel my arms and legs twitch, my chest heaving and shaking and before I could try to make sense of what was happening to my body, I lost consciousness.
RENEEPOV
Leaning against the doorframe of her room I burst out in wild sobs again, my sweet girl had been missing for eleven days now. I had left her room untouched apart from her bed where I had found a good night's sleep after days of not being able to, I had found my rest along the scent that is my daughter. They had rolled their eyes at me at first, telling me how she was probably just out having fun, that I didn't really know my teenage girl, I left the police office in anger and ended up calling Charlie, who helped me.
Phil had taken me to hospital where I had begged him to take me back, tears streaming down my face, all I wanted was to drown myself in her bed, smother her pillow against my chest. But he had insisted, I overheard him talking to a nurse, telling her he was afraid that I wasn't functioning properly anymore, that I was losing myself.
Afterwards I went to the police telling them how my daughter used to be bullied by a group of boys and girls from her year, I couldn't tell them if it was still going on. Bella used to swear it didn't, but something her eyes ever so often betrayed her, her eyes were almost constantly filled with pain or sadness. But since I had no proof that there was actually something going on, they couldn't do anything. Some of her teacher had even suggested that she might have tried to end her own life, to which I lost it and made a humongous scene right on the spot. They're all telling me that I should be preparing myself for the worst, that she's probably dead. I can't and won't believe them, I can feel she's still out there, somewhere.
UNKNOWNPOV
Angry voice filled the dirty, unused hallways. I watched the figures before me hastily walk forwards, turning around ever so often to check if nobody was following us.
'Dude, it's been eleven fucking days and they haven't found her!' I yelled at the others, the guilt had been eating me alive, every day I had wanted to run to school and yank the door out of its hinges, but they wouldn't let me, they told me they would tell the police it had all been my idea, my fault. My hands ran over my scalp and pulled at my hair, 'what are we going to do when we find her dead?'
A high pitched voice laughed, 'so what, it's not like anyone's actually going to miss her.' She said while looking at her nails, a bored expression on her painted on face. Anger filled me and I grabbed her by her shoulder and slammed her roughly against the wall, making her screech.
'If they find out it was us, we'll all be going to jail for the rest of our lives!' I screamed, her face only inches from mine. 'Do you even realize what sort of trouble we'll be in if she's dead?'
Her long nails clawed at my skin, 'get your filthy hands off me you fucking freak!' Her nasal voice was the most annoying thing I had ever witnessed in my life. 'The brat will be okay and we'll force her not to tell anyone anything.' She added while looking further in the hallway.
I started at her in shock, 'are you really that stupid?' I growled, 'do you really think someone is going to be alive after being stuck in a cupboard for eleven days without food or water?' She just shrugged before pushing past me and walking ahead, my hands clenched into fists and were shaking by now. I had killed someone, sure it hadn't been just me, but I am a part of this. She was going to be dead, because of me.
As we got closer and closer to the possible horror scene my breathing hitched and my palms got sweaty, my mind felt cloudy and I didn't hear the others around me. I kept looking behind me, in fear of being followed or caught.
I was scared, proper shitting your pants I want to cry now scared. I was terrified of what we were going to find when we opened that door, terrified of the state she would be in. We all just stood there for minutes, our eyes all fixed on the laying on the floor object: her bag. It was still laying in the exact same spot, the untouched key in the lock but the scariest thing was the fact that not the slightest sound came from the cupboard.
BPOV
I wanted to laugh at how naïve I had been, I had actually believed someone would find me, I had actually believed someone would notice my absence, I had prayed for people to find me, I had fought to stay alive, fought to not just give in to the darkness lurking in the back of my mind. I had to live, I couldn't die, my mother wouldn't even survive a week without me. But as time went on and on, nobody came and I started to lose hope, was anyone actually looking for me? What if they didn't care, what if they never came?
My body was aching with every shallow and uneven breath I took, I could feel my mind giving up, I could feel my mind finally agreeing with my body to just let go, to let the pain take over and drift away. I was scared, I wanted to cry, I wanted to sob, but I couldn't. My body was empty, dry, my body was just done and unable for releasing even one final tear.
As the darkness crept closer and closer I found myself dreaming of what could have been, about finding love, having a career, getting kids and growing old while sitting in an old rocking chair and reading a book with my grey hair tied back. But here I was, not a happy and well-lived old lady, but a lonely and sad, bullied seventeen-year-old dying girl.
I wanted to laugh at the melancholy of it all but darkness finally claimed me for its own.
