A warm thank you to all my brilliant reviewers! You guys are awesome! Anyways; I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer- Twilight is obviously the property of Ms Stephenie Meyer.
Chapter Four: Nothing
Bella Swan cared for nothing. Felt for nothing. Smiled for nothing.
And the events of last night did not change this feeling. In her dreams, Bella was standing in the middle of the forest, in the exact same place where she had been abandoned. Around her was nothing but the shadows of the trees. Darkness in the place of light; once, Bella Swan had grown to love nature.
Then again; once, Bella Swan had actually been wanted.
Bella Swan got out of bed stiffly and walked numbly towards the bathroom. She passed her father, Charlie on the way but made no sign of greeting or recognition. Once Bella was done, she walked downstairs. Bella's face was blank and her eyes were lifeless.
Bella sat down. Her shoulders sagged and her hair leaned forwards, hopelessly against her cheeks. She was only sitting there motionless for a few minutes before Charlie entered the kitchen. Charlie was dressed in his uniform.
Bella's father sighed at her still posture and quickly put a bowl of cereal in her face.
"You need to eat." he reminded her seriously.
Bella Swan looked at the food as though it was an alien. The momentarily emotion on her face was wiped. Blank and lifeless. Slowly, Bella's spoon scooped out a small portion and even more slowly; she tipped the contents into her mouth. She chewed in a mechanical manner.
It took an alarming amount of time before Bella finished two thirds of her food and her father breathed a little sigh of relief.
Bella Swan moved slowly to her truck and began to reverse down the driveway. She drove slowly to school and parked at her usual, lonely position. The other kids usually stayed out of Bella's way when she drove; three months ago, Bella had bumped into a girl named Sylvia Stone without even realising it.
As she ploughed to the main building, a flash of white from her left caught her attention.
When Bella Swan looked again, there was nothing.
***
Alice Cullen was becoming extremely frustrated. No matter how hard Alice strained and tried, she would never find a conclusive vision of her brother, Edward. Alice would see flickers; a bronze copper haired boy darting through the trees, an aeroplane taking off and landing somewhere in Brazil and Bella's face flickered too.
Alice Cullen felt sad each time she saw that face. It was the face of her best friend. Alice knew that Bella was suffering; she was feeling completely hopeless that she couldn't use her gift of tracking down Edward to help the other Cullens.
But, Alice also felt hope. The hope wasn't an artificial mood created by her beloved husband, Jasper. Hope was a blooming dazzling light that Alice could see. What she couldn't see was whether or not the hopes would be received. It was difficult. Alice Cullen was not used to being blind. Her gift created visions with a basis on real life decisions; Alice couldn't see a happy future for her best friend, simply because the family had not tracked her lover down.
Alice knew that Edward's arrival would not only bring happiness to Bella, but the rest of her family too. Her parents, Carlisle and Esme would be beyond pleasure if Alice saw him even considering coming back. Alice sighed. Her brother's future was an undefined, horrible mess.
Alice picked up her cell phone and rang Edward. She was ninety nine percent sure that he would not pick up. Edward never did. He sent an occasional text and a few phone calls from time to time but not enough to please anybody. Alice's sister, Rosalie wanted to kick his butt.
Alice arrived at her brother's voicemail and sighed deeply. The message she left was similar to the couple of hundreds that had already been sent.
"Edward, this is Alice." she said wistfully. "Please come home to the family. We all miss you so much. If Esme could cry, she'd spend every moment of every day doing just that."
Alice Cullen was hoping that the guilt trips could make her brother come. She scanned quickly into the future but once again, images were blank and inconclusive. Alice threw her phone onto her bed with frustration. She gritted her teeth. Normal vampires weren't supposed to get headaches. Alice sighed again.
Picking up her cell, Alice walked out of her room and flitted down the stairs. Her husband met her half way. Alice and Jasper quickly joined their family who were seated in the lounge room. There were still things to be decided. Alice's brother, Emmett had taken a quick glimpse of Bella at school and according to his information; she too looked like the walking dead.
One of the pressing issues was when or if the family would actually make contact with Bella.
And with so many decisions in the way, Alice Cullen could see nothing.
***
Esme Cullen has seen it all. She has seen the fights with her family placing ridiculous bets. Esme has also seen the comical discussions which had everybody laughing their heads off; in the case of her adopted son, Emmett, he would have probably have torn the chair apart.
But, this was a different experience for Esme Cullen. Serious family discussions only happened once or twice in a decade; and, when they did happen Esme knew that the outcome had to be chosen correctly. Esme Cullen recalled that the last big meeting had concerned whether or not her daughter, Bella would remain alive. Esme shook her head slowly. Her dead, frozen and unbeating heart still had the ability to hurt.
Esme's family were still making no ground. She alongside Alice and Emmett wanted to reunite as soon as possible and try to cheer Bella up. On the other side, her husband, Carlisle were agreeing with her children, Jasper and Rosalie that turning up without Edward would make her even more heartsick.
Esme Cullen's heart also was pained about the absence of her youngest son. When Esme said youngest, she was obviously referring to the age of transformation.
Oh, why in the world wasn't Edward answering any of the family's texts or phone calls? Esme Cullen was plagued with the worries that maybe he was actually annoyed at her. Esme tried to shake those bad thoughts away and focus on the family talk.
"Emmet! Think!" Esme's daughter, Rosalie was calling out. "It's fairly obvious that Edward, the idiot, is an important in Bella's life! If we all suddenly turn up after six months of nothing; the very first thing she'll think is 'Oh. Edward's not here.' And you know what, Emmett? That wouldn't be on my list of best ways to help Bella!"
There was a silence in the room. Esme Cullen beamed proudly at her daughter. She did not recall Rosalie having ever made such a strong family committed comment about Bella. Esme was glad that at the very least; these complications had healed the rift between two of her daughters.
"I didn't mean it like that" Emmett pouted unhappily. "I meant; Bella's doing nothing at the moment. Wouldn't one of the first things that would help is to let her have fun?"
Esme Cullen agreed with her son. But, she couldn't deny that her daughter also had a good point. Esme only wanted what was best for Bella; if there was anything that needed to be done, she would do it.
The conversational debate continued. Esme Cullen merely waited.
Sooner or later, time would tell and Esme's family could be wholesome once more.
Sorry for the rather abrupt chapter ending. It was the only real natural place to break it off. Otherwise, we'll just be listening to a little more backwards and forwards, repititive conversations. Please REVIEW!