A/n: Yayy! So many reviews! Can we try and hit 100 after this chapter? Pretty please with lots of sugar and cherries and sprinkles and chocolate and caramel and whipped cream and gummy bears on top? (When I use the gummy bears, you know I really want something.) But anyway...

We shall start with a flashback this time; I'm gonna mix it up a little! The quote at the beginning is going to refer to the flashback. Enjoy!

~Golden Fruit

Chapter 10

"Cause one second
it was perfect,
now you're halfway
out the door."

Forever & Always

Unknown POV

---Flashback---2/3/03; 12:42 PM

Bella cringed as she heard the screams downstairs. It's never stops. They were always yelling. Ever since... he left, it had only gotten worse.

She thought it was something she did. She blamed herself for what happened to her brother. God, when was he coming home? She needed him by her side. She needed him to tell her it was going to be okay. It had been five months, he had to miss her. He would be home soon, she hoped. He would smile at her and hug her. They could be a family again.

CRASH! Woah, what was that? Bella got up from her bed and pressed her ear against the cold frame of her bedroom door. She could hear the muffled words of her parents...

"Five months, Charlie!" Renee screamed. "Five months without my son!" She was getting aggravated with her husband. He wasn't working hard enough... he wasn't doing his job right!

"I'm doing the best I can, Renee!" Snapped Charlie, his face growing red.

"You're best?!" sneered his wife. "You're the chief of police, for God's sake! If you can't find our son, then obviously you're not a very good one."

That stung. That stung Charlie to his core. He wanted his son back just as much as she did. He missed him, too. And he was trying his hardest. But how could he ever tell his wife, the mother of his two angelic children, that the only they found was Emmett's Camry in a parking lot in Arizona? He didn't want to crush her hopes; well, what was left of them.

Angry tears formed in Charlie Swan's eyes; he wasn't usually sentimental, but he was too crushed to hold them back. He turned and stomped towards the door. Renee had her arms crossed over her chest, in a huff. As Charlie opened the door, he looked over his shoulder and uttered painfully, "He's my son, too, Renee," before slamming the door.

---End Flashback---
---Flashback---2/4/03; 3:18 AM

Charlie stumbled in through the front door, an empty bottle in his hand. He went to throw some vodka down his throat, but then realized it was all gone and tossed it to the side. It shatters in half on the floor.

He tried to make his way to the kitchen, using the wall for it's support. At that moment, he felt like he was on top of the world. His wife's words earlier no longer meant anything to him. He was determined to find his son one way or the other.

"Charlie?" whispered a familiar voice as he entered the kitchen, flicking on the lights. At the table sat his wife, the only one he would ever love. She knew that Charlie was not a drunk, he rarely ever drank as heavily as he did that night. Yet still, she is appalled that he went and got wasted and put off finding their son.

Charlie was filled with sadness. He could see the disappointment in her eyes as she looked at him. But this was her fault. "Do you see what you've done to me?" he asked, smiling painfully. His wife continued to stare at him, breaking his heart a little bit more."Do you see the pain your words cause me?" He made his way over to her, kneeling in front of the chair she was sitting in. He placed her hand on his heart, which was beating erratically. "You're breaking my heart, Renee."

She knew that Charlie was not a drunk, he rarely ever drank as heavily as he did that night. Yet still, she is appalled that he went and got wasted and put off finding their son. She shook her head. "No, Charlie," she said. "You're breaking mine."

Inside her room, Bella was waiting for the screaming. She lay on her bed, listening. But all stayed silent. Was the fighting over? Could things go back to normal? Was her dad going to find Emmett?

Reader, I would love to tell you that all these things were possible, however the answer was no to all of these. But Bella was far away from knowing that as she lulled to sleep, dreaming of the family she used to know.

---End Flashback---
---Flashback---2/4/03; 8:47 AM

"Bella," a voice breathed in her ear. It tickled her skin and she balled up more in her bed. Someone started to shake her gently. "Bella, sweetie, wake up." She groaned and slowly let her eyes drift open. Hovering over her was her mom. Her mom pat her shoulder and said, "Come on, get dressed and pack a bag; only the important things."

Bella was too tired to ask questions or argue. She got up and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater. She packed her bag next; three pairs of clothes, four pairs of socks, a scrapbook, her mp3 player, and a necklace Emmett had given her on her thirteenth birthday. It was golden locket and in the shape of a heart, with two curved figures with connecting hands. In the space between the two figures a heart was formed. Though she had tried many times, the locket never opened. She had asked Emmett once to do it for her, but he told her she had to do it herself. (Pic on profile; necklace becomes important later)

As Bella came downstairs, hair brushed and in a ponytail with her bag slung over her shoulder, it suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea what was going on. "Mom?" she asked the figure standing in the foyer. "What's going on?"

Renee stared at her daughter for a moment. She had written the letter, she had signed the papers. And he would too, she knew it. He wasn't strong enough to fight for her. God, he wasn't even strong enough to fight for their son. "We're going away for a while, Bella."

Bella furrowed her eyebrows. "But, what about Dad?"

"Your father isn't coming with us." Renee stated, putting her hand on Bella's back as she pushed her towards the door.

"Why not?"

"Because he's weak!" snapped Renee. Bella jumped and Renee's face got soft again. "Bella, we need to make do on our own for a while. We can be happy together, without your father." They had gotten to the car by now. She placed their bags in the back as Bella got in the front seat.

As her mom strapped herself in, Bella asked, "Where are we going?"

Renee smiled sadly. "To stay with a very close friend of mine."

---End Flashback---

Emmett POV

Bella had disappeared. Oh, dear lord, I'm a terrible brother! We're here for five minutes and I've already lost her. If someone had kidnapped her I swear to god I will snap their neck.

"Emmett," breathed Rose, who was clutching my hand. We were searching the club wildly. Rose must have sensed my distress. "It's going to be alright. We'll find her." I squeezed her hand.

"Emmett!" Screeched Alice, bouncing up to us. "Come here for a second!" We raced after her, stopping at a door. Edward and Jasper were there, looking worried. "Press your ear against the door and listen," Alice instructed.

I gave her a weary glance before doing so. Through the wood of the door, I could hear two voices.

"-believe you would hurt them," said the first one. It was soft and sweet. It was Bella.

There was a dark laugh. "Well, you better think again," said a second. This voice was raspy and unfamiliar. "I have people everywhere Bella. In the woods, in the city, even in your school."

"Emmett, what do you hear?" asked Rose. I silenced her with my hand, pressed my body closer to the door.

"You're safe no where, Bella," said the man again.

"Please, don't hurt Emmett. He doesn't deserve this," whimpered my sister.

"Emmett doesn't deserve this?! And do you think I deserve this; this pain that cuts me inside? You kill me, Bella. You and your mother both!"

"Don't you dare talk about my mom that way!" snapped Bella. "She never did anything to you!"

"Ah, but Bella, she did. She turned away from me. She still loved your father Bella. But you know what? He couldn't have her. She came to me, remember? I never asked for any of this," the guy barked angrily. What had mom done?

"Charlie was twice the man you'll ever be and will have infinite times the more love than you!"

There was a slam, I tensed up. "Don't. You. Ever say his name again in my presence!" He yelled.

"Or what?" Came Bella's strained voice. "You'll kill me? Fine, go ahead." There was a pause. "You're a lot of things. But you're not a killer." Her voice was no longer strangled.

"I'm anything I want to be," he said. Then there were footsteps. He was walking away. Where were they?

The knob on the door turned and I backed away quickly. From behind it, a red-faced Bella appeared. She looked as if she had been crying. As soon as she saw us standing there, however, she pushed past us. "Bella!" I called after her, the others followed.

"Who was that?" I demanded. She kept walking. "Dammit, Bella! Answer me!" I ordered, turning her around to face me. She gazed up at me, brown eyes coated with fresh tears and her lips quivering.

"Do me a favor, Emmett," she whispered, voice shaky. "Don't follow me this time."

With that, she stormed out the front door and hopped in a taxi that two people were just getting out of, driving away quickly. Driving away from me.