Chapter 9

Back at home, a few months later, they were beginning to lose hope in ever finding her. The first weeks were spent with none stop searching - Carlisle using his years of stored up holiday hours - but with no luck, no trance, not even a scent no matter how old to follow. The Denali's - the only vampires in the world that the Cullen's had actually told of Isabella - came down to help as well as well as having a look up near their territory on the slight chance that someone had passed through there.

It was one of those things where you can only look for so long before you having to stop trying so hard because there are no more clues to follow no matter how much you wanted to keep going. They Volturi were still echoing in the back of Carlisle's head but he knew practically every scent in that Coven/Guard and nearly everyone's gift unless Aro had been keeping someone secret from him. There was also the fact that if there was a child within the Volturi news would have spread about that fairly quickly... unless Aro was purposely keeping it under wraps. That was thing, he tried to convince himself that the last place Isabella would be is the Volturi, that he and Aro were good enough friends that if she was with him, he would send her back to them, but his brain just giving him counter argument's and there was no way he could just go to the Volturi and ask if Aro had seen a girl he was supposed to never have known anything off. It was killing his brain so he threw himself into work, knowing that sometimes if you don't look for something, it'd appear. Of course he knew that Bella wasn't just going to appear out of thin air but maybe something else would become clear in his mind, some detail he over looked, something he didn't notice if he didn't strain his brain to try and find it.

Esme wasn't fairing much better either but instead of throwing herself into things like her artwork she withdrew from it, trying to avoid anything that would remind her of their daughter. Edward tried to cheer her up but the piano would only make her sob.

So yes none of them were faring well without Isabella and the house was all the quieter because of it. It didn't help of course that tomorrow was her 11th birthday

The door to Isabella's bedroom remained firmly shut as did the bedroom window, Carlisle wasn't sure what difference it made except that they didn't have to watch the room become covered in a thin layer of dust and the curtains flutter innocently every time they walked past it.

He glanced at the closed door as he walked past it, feeling an ache in his heart, but continued on to his own room where Esme had been holing herself away for the past few days.

"Es," he muttered softly as he entered to his wife body, curled up under the covers and he could just see her fingers moving to play with her engagement ring as she often did as she was thinking. He perched next to her, "come on, please, I know this is hard, trust me, it's absolutely killing me every second of the day knowing she's out there somewhere and I don't even know where, let alone protect her and that's meant to be my job. I'm sorry, you're so upset, darling, I'm sorry I couldn't protect our girl properly but will you please get up for me and for Edward. He needs you right now, he's just lost his little sister as much as we've lost a daughter."

Esme rolled over to face Carlisle and he felt a pang go through him as he hated for that single second how much Isabella looked like her mother. He gave her a tense smile which she weakly returned. She allowed him to take her hand and pull her off the bed into his embrace before they headed downstairs to present a united, caring and supportive front for Edward.

Time continued to pass by as crazy as the idea seemed – eventually against their desire they moved away from West Aurora. They knew it was silly staying and endangering themselves as well on the very low chance that Isabella would find he way back to them by herself. Even if she got away from wherever she was, the likelihood that she would find her way home was even lower. Moving made no difference really but it didn't stop them from putting it off as long as they could, it didn't stop Esme from almost crying as they locked up the house for the last time, leaving the keys in a safe place and driving away to start afresh.

They were going to New York, Rochester to be exact, simply because they had never been there before and they'd never visited it with Isabella, there would be no memories to haunt them there.

It was 1930 when the moved, 3 years after they had lost Isabella. She'd have been six and half at that point (or 13 depending on which you were measuring by) but they gained another member of the family eventually. A blonde haired teen called Rosalie Hale, a vain, selfish creature but one Carlisle couldn't bear to see die. It was nice having an addition to their family, giving Esme a girl to talk to but it didn't help the hole that still churned painfully in their hearts.

She found her mate in 1935 and the whole family was so happy for her and remarkably proud for the restraint she found when carrying him back to Carlisle to change. He was Emmett McCarty, an innocent seeming but imposingly looking creature with a love of life. He brought laughter back into the Cullen house but darkness still descended over the place and the three original occupants too often to say he'd cured their misery.

Sorry, really short but it's just a filler really x