I am currenlty beyond tired, so I do not have a big note for you guys. I just hope you like Edward's POV and:

Enjoy. :)

Lost and Found
EPOV

I didn't want our kiss to end. And when it did I was ready to plead with her for just one more. But I didn't have to, she reached up and placed her lips against mine purposefully once more and then I was satisfied. In more than one way. I'd gotten the extra kiss I wanted and Bella initiating the second kiss had let me see that she thought this was a good situation to be in. She wasn't afraid of me. My heart was soaring as I walked back over to Emmett's.

Emmett was already upstairs in the rec. room with his Xbox plugged in and Halo on the TV screen.

"Glad you could make it. Sit down, we've gotta talk." I knew this talk was coming soon; there was absolutely no way of avoiding it. And I didn't want to avoid it anyway. I needed to reassure Emmett that my intentions were good, that I would never hurt Bella in any sense of the word. So I sat down beside him and waited for him to start speaking.

He fiddled around with his game controller for a little while, paid a bit of attention to his game and then abruptly paused it and turned to me.

"Edward…I – I know what you've gone through. Your social worker has always kept us updated on where you were and what you were doing. She'd told my parents about every fight you've been caught in and that you smoke and that the places you came out of were really bad." I clenched my jaw together in range. How could she have told them all of that? This was my chance at a new, good life. Now I was labeled already: Trouble Maker, Defenseless Against the World, and Bad Decision Maker. My fists balled up and I had to close my eyes in a useless attempt to calm down.

"What's your point?" I managed to grind out through my teeth.

"My first point is that I haven't seen you smoke a cigarette in four days. I mean, I wasn't around you twenty-four seven, but you don't even smell like it anymore. My second point is that I know Bella, and I know she can make her own decisions without any of our help. So, please just take chill pill." I understood immediately. He thought that something was going right. I opened my eyes and chanced a glance his way.

He was smiling. Smiling like he'd told the biggest and best joke ever.

"For real?" I asked him.

"Dead serious. But I'm warning you now, you hurt so much as a hair on her head and I will kill you, family or not." I smiled.

"I'll hold you to that." Then we shook hands and he threw me a controller. He restarted the game and we were just about to play when Jacob burst through the door.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! You've gotta help me! I can't believe I said that!" Emmett got up and right into Jacob's face.

"What the hell did you do?" Jacob's eyes were bulging from his face and he looked so panicked. It worried me. He didn't strike me as the kind of person to freak out over little things.

"I…I didn't mean…B-Bella. You've got to help me!" at Bella's name I was standing up and was in Jacob's face as well.

"What's wrong with Bella?" his face turned from worried to enraged. I thought he was going to start swinging punched at me.

"This is your entire fault! If you hadn't come here nothing would be wrong with Bella!" what was he talking about? I racked my memory for something I could have done to hurt her. When I'd left her she seemed perfectly content. She'd had the sweetest smile on her face.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"I tried to warn her. You'll just end up hurting her." Then I understood.

"What did you say to her? I would never hurt her!" I grabbed the front of his shirt and gave him a shake. "I would break your jaw right now if I didn't know Bella would be angry at me for it." Emmett pulled as apart but didn't look any happier with Jacob.

"Where is she, Jake?"

"She got in the van and drove off. I haven't got a clue where she went." I had to hold back my fist and a growl.

I was surprised by Emmett's ability to keep a clear mind and go through the process of calling Jasper, Alice and Rosalie. I sat in an armchair two rooms away from Jacob. I would never hurt Bella. I wasn't sure why but she'd chosen me. I wasn't anything special. I had so many problems why would she want to be with me? I was so easily upset and I was going almost nowhere in school. It wasn't that I wasn't smart enough to pick up the subjects; I just never handed in the work. There were plenty of people out there for her. People on their way to becoming lawyers and doctors. But she'd picked me and I'd be there until she told me to leave her alone.

Secretly I hoped that that time would never come. I needed her. When I talked to her I could step back and see my life. And I realized how many mistakes I'd made. When she was beside me I felt like I could fix those mistakes. I felt like she was constantly forgiving me. Forgiving me for smoking, for fighting…

The thought of smoking made me even more irritated. I thought of the nearly full pack I had upstairs in my bag in my bedroom and how much one of them would calm me right down right now. Before I could stop myself I was dashing upstairs and ripping through my bag. I found the pack and took out a single smoke. I opened the window as wide as it would go and put the smoke between my lips while I looked for a lighter.

My hands were shaking. I wanted this smoke so bad. I needed just a second of calm. I could taste the cigarette and it made me even more anxious to find the lighter. I picked up my bag and dumped the entire contents onto the floor. There on top of the pile was my little, red lighter. I nearly let out a cry of happiness. I picked it up and sat by the window. I flicked the lighter and brought the flame to the end of the smoke. It lit and I took a long drag. I took it between two fingers and blew out shakily. Then Bella's voice came back to me.

I wish you wouldn't.

It was a punch to the gut. How could I do this to her? Didn't I say I would never hurt her? This would hurt her. This would hurt me. In disgust with myself I crushed the burning end of the smoke against the window sill and then threw it and the pack into the garbage beside the bed. I bent my head and laid it in my hands. I was still shaking. But now I wasn't just shaking from the withdrawal, I was shaking because I was confused. What was I supposed to do to find her? I had to calm down and think rationally.

I'd only known her for six days but I knew she would never just run away. She'd at least come home for some clothes, food and money. I had to look for her until then, but I should leave something at her house so that she'd know I cared and that everyone else cared and she didn't have to run. I got up to go and do that, but the front door opened and I could hear Alice in the front hall.

"Where is she? Oh God! How could I have not picked up on this! I should have known if she was this depressed. Why would she leave? Oh God! This…this is horrible. I can't…Jasper, my sister's gone! Oh God!" she was sobbing so hard. I walked to the top of the stairs to see Jasper holding her close to himself, stroking her hair, whispering in her ear. I wanted Bella there right then. So that I could hold her and whisper in her ear. To reassure her.

I walked down the stairs and sat back down in the armchair I'd occupied earlier. Rosalie was sitting on the couch with Emmett already and Jacob was leaning against the wall as far as he could possibly get from me. It was a good thing to, that one taste of nicotine had me itching for more, shaking more, stressed out more. If he'd come within five feet of me I wouldn't have been able to stop my fist from meeting the side of his face.

"Okay, this is how we're going to do this," Emmett's voice was harsh and menacing. "We'll check houses first. Angela, Mac, Toby, Mike, Tyler, the La Push guys, who ever! Then we'll try businesses. The police station, day care, diner on Forks Avenue, library, even Newton's Outfitters, anywhere you think she might be. It's currently twelve noon. We have approximately five hours until Renee comes home from work. If we could get her home before then it would reduce a whole bunch of stress. On everyone.

"Jasper and Alice, you two can be a team. Check out La Push. Rose, you can go by yourself and check out Angela's, Mac's and Tyler's. Edward and I will take Mike's and we'll check out Jessica Stanley's and Eric Yorkie's.

"Jacob you can check Toby's and Sam and Emily's. We'll all drive around on the outskirts of Forks and La Push and then we'll meet back here at three. If we haven't found her we'll move on to other places. Understand?" everyone nodded their heads. Emmett flashed Jacob a look that made Jacob cringe and then quickly run out of the house to his car.

We all dispersed and went to our assigned destinations. At Mike's we nearly got a door shut in our faces. He looked so scared. He confessed a while later that he thought we were there to beat him up. Emmett promised him that we hadn't forgotten. Mike shut up after that. He told us he hadn't seen her for two days. Hadn't even talked to her.

Jessica said she hadn't spoken to her since the end of the school year. Then she proceeded to tell us that if Bella didn't call her soon there was no way they'd be hanging out next year. She didn't seem like a huge loss to me.

Eric looked worried when we asked if she was there. He told us she wasn't and left it at that. He didn't try and talk to us. He could see we were in some what of a frazzled rush.

After that we circled Forks. We didn't see one glimpse of her van. My stomach started to drop. Was I wrong? Would she really just leave?

No, I told myself. I could feel it, she wasn't gone yet. She was too intelligent to do that.

Emmett and I got back to his house just before two. Everyone else arrived only a short time after that. No one had found her. Jacob was trembling and Emmett looked like he was going to reach over and kill him. Alice was hyperventilating now. Jasper was trying to do his best to calm her down but it was almost not worth the effort. Although, his controlled appearance and air was making everyone else calm down. It was good to know that at least one of us was collected.

"Okay," Emmett spoke, "obviously none of us have found her. So now we're going to start checking in public places. I don't care where you check just make sure that you don't leave any place unsearched. No matter how obscure and un-Bella like the place may be. Same groups. Meet back here at five." We all left the house at two thirty.

Emmett and I checked the library first. The Forks library was horrible. I couldn't see Bella spending any time there at all. After that he had us check out a few restaurants and parks and then Emmett pulled up outside of a cemetery.

The first thing I noticed was the grass. It was in need of a cut and it was incredibly green. So lively for a place so full of death. It hadn't rained all day, but it was humid and a coat of fog was trapped in the cemetery, barely leaking out of the wrought iron gate around it. The tombstones were all different shapes and sizes and ages. Many had moss growing on them, distorting the words on the front and making them crumble a bit.

At first it wasn't obvious why we were there. I merely followed Emmett through the rows of graves, not saying a word. The due on the grass grazed against my ankles and made them chilly. I took in my surroundings as we walked. I read a few of the gravestones.

Mark Gray
1909 – 1925
Beloved son.

Judith Stones
1932 – 2002
Daughter. Wife. Mother. Grandmother.

And then we stopped. I looked around Emmett at the tombstone in front of him. It made sense then. The stone read:

Cornelius Redding
August 1989 – January 2004
Everyone's wings.

Remembering how Bella had shook and spoke to softly when she told me about him brought tears to my eyes. It wasn't fair that he'd been taken from her, ripped from her world in one cruel moment. Emmett never looked at me. I stood one step behind him.

"Did she tell you?" his voice was apathetic. I was worried how he would react to my answer.

"Yes," I said quietly and cautiously.

"Good, if you two are going to be together you should know everything. I'm warning you, Edward, do not try to make her forget him. She'll resent you and push you away."

"I would never want her to forget."

"Good." He didn't say anything more; he just turned and walked back to the truck, content that Bella was definitely not here.

We spent the rest of the day checking different shops and then the beach at La Push. We couldn't find her. I was hoping that was because someone else had found her before us. When we got home those hopes were quickly squashed. Alice was on Emmett's living room couch bawling her eyes out. Jasper was trying to sooth her by rubbing her back and whispering in her ear again. It didn't seem to have any affect on her. He was frazzled now. There was a slightly nervous glint in his eyes and it made everyone else all the more nervous. Rose had Alice's head in her lap and she was running her fingers through her hair. Alice was whimpering out,

"I should have seen something was wrong. And I was so mean to her this morning! I threw a phone at her head! Jazz, I'm a horrible person." To which Jasper would reply,

"No you're not. Don't say that." I didn't feel like I had a place with them. I tucked myself into the armchair for earlier and tried to reassure myself that Bella was okay. Emmett glanced nervously at the clock on the wall. The second hand seemed to be moving at double speed. 4:47 PM.

"Come on, Ali, let's go to your house and wait for Renee to get home," Emmett said. We all got up and followed him silently through the backdoor, backyard, gate and into Bella's living room. I excused myself to the bathroom; I'd just remembered that I needed to leave Bella something. I reached her room and looked around. I found some paper on her desk and a pencil. I quickly jotted down a note.

Feed Knox.

Don't do anything rash.

Alice is in hysterics and Emmett looks like he's going to kill Jacob.

Plus I need someone to help me stay off the smokes. Four days now, by the way.

See you soon,

Edward

I made sure it was light and personal. I hoped that something grounded like feeding Knox would make her see how rash running away was. I knew it was what I would need. It was something I'd asked for in my mind every time I'd run from a foster home. After I taped it to Knox's bowl I couldn't find anything else I could do. I felt helpless and out of place. I made my way downstairs and sat in the kitchen on a stool like I had the night before. No one came in and bothered me. I was left to my thoughts.

Did she not know how much she already meant to me? She knew what it was like to have someone taken from you. I hoped she didn't put me through that, she was strong I was not. There was no way I could stand life without her. That was the first time I'd ever thought that in so many words. It was almost liberating to know that I'd found a person in this world who made me feel like living. The only part that held me back from screaming at the top of my lungs with joy was the fact that she was currently missing.

The front door opened and a woman who looked like an older version of Bella walked through with a few grocery bags in her arms. I went over and took a few from her.

"Oh, thank you!" Then she looked over to see who was helping her. "Um, not to be rude, but, who are you?"

"Sorry, I'm Edward Cullen, Emmett's cousin. Everyone else is in the living room."

"Well, nice to meet you, Edward. I'm Bella's mom, Renee."

"Nice to meet you, too." She smiled at me and I noticed that though she had the same hair colour, eyes, nose, face and height as Bella her mouth and smile were completely different. Renee placed the rest of the bags on the counter next to where I'd rested the bag I'd taken from her. Then she left the kitchen all together and went to greet everyone else.

From the gasp I could tell that she'd caught sight of Alice. I heard whispers from a few male voices and then a sob that was louder and more dramatic than Alice's – if that, of course, was humanly possible. I opted to stay in the kitchen, I did not have a place in comforting a woman I didn't know.

Renee was brought into the kitchen and sat down next to me. Jasper got her a glass of water and Jacob sat, rubbing her back trying to make her calm down. His attempt was futile.

"Where haven't you looked?" Renee squeaked out between deep breaths.

"I was thinking Port Angeles next. She might be in a hotel or just wandering around," Emmett told her.

"Good idea. Bella is level headed. She wouldn't just run off without a plan. Hotels are our best bet." This idea seemed to make Renee feel better. She sipped at her water and then got up. "I'll call Charlie. He'll meet us in Port Angeles and we'll spread out and check the hotels and motels there."

"Okay, we'll start driving over now," Emmett said to her while he motioned for me to follow behind him as he left. I did and we ventured back over to his truck. We sped off to a new place. We didn't talk. The only time either of sad anything was the only time Emmett flipped and started smacking the steering wheel.

"What's wrong with him?! I know he's worried about her! We all are. That doesn't give him the right to loose his temper. He does that way too often. Usually she just shrugs it off, but he took it way too far this time! I can't…" then he trailed off whispering under his breath to himself. Years of being friends with people who obviously needed some angry management classes taught me to keep my mouth shut while a person went on a furious rant.

Port Angeles was packed full of tourist due to the summer weather. Trying to find her in a hotel was hell. The hotels were so packed that it took a while for the people behind the desk to go through the guest book and see who was there that night. Trying to find her in a restaurant or store was even worse still. They were so full off people bustling around that it was nearly impossible to see if she was there and even if she had been, she could have very easily slipped through the crowds and out of our sight.

Emmett was starting to get frustrated by eight o'clock. The sun was starting to sink as well and it made me heart skip a beat thinking that she was still out here somewhere alone. Emmett called Jasper's cell phone to see if he and Alice had had any luck. They hadn't. In fact everyone he called seemed to make his shoulders sag just a little but more with a negative report.

Eventually all we could do was give up for the night and go home. We couldn't stay in a hotel because there was no room and we hadn't found Bella yet.

We all drove back in a caravan much like the one coming home from camping. I thought we might go back to Emmett's but he passed his house and went around the block to Bella's. The Astro was in the driveway. Before the truck could completely stop I'd jumped from the passenger seat and was running full speed to the front door and then up the stairs and into her room. Alice was huffing and puffing right behind me. I pushed open her door to reveal…no one. It felt like my ribs were crushing my heart. Piercing it and bruising it as they fell on top of it.

I heard voices from the kitchen and managed to drag my feet behind me all the way back down the stairs, Alice behind me with new tears in her eyes.

In the kitchen Charlie was reading a note. When I heard my name I perked up.

"P.S. Congratulations on four days, Edward. The first two weeks are the hardest. You can pull through. Don't worry; I know you can do it. Don't forget to feed Knox," he paused for a moment. "You're Edward," he said pointing at me, "but, who's Knox?"

"Knox is the fish we bought today," I told him. Everyone turned to look at me. Alice was smiling a little under the tears, Emmett looked amused and Jacob was shaking and scowling at me.

No one had enough energy to question Knox for real, instead they all just slumped down into different spots of the kitchen, calling parents who might be wondering where they were and grabbing things to eat.

I sat alone racking my brains, trying to think of where she might have gone with my limited knowledge of the town and her.

And then, as if from above, it hit me. The tree house. I was up and running from the room and house as fast as I could. People were shouting behind me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

It seemed someone had caught on because there was suddenly something lighting up the path, it was running and keeping pace with me. My heart refused to beat as I pounded through the forest under the night sky. All I could think was: Please be there. Please be there. Please be there. It was a mantra.

The makeshift latter was in front of me after a few minutes and I was scrambling up it, feet slipping and fingers getting little splinters in their tips. I reached the top and climbed in. I could hear her breathing and I could feel her body curled up in the corner. Without thinking I pulled her over to me and gathered her against my chest.

"Bella," I breathed. She shifted in my arms and looked up into my face; I faintly realized the light from the path was now shinning into the tree house.

"Edward?" her voice brought tears to my eyes and I couldn't hold them back.

"What was I supposed to do if you were actually gone? Oh, Bella, I need you, please don't leave me." I'd never admitted out loud to needing someone before. But I knew as the words came out of my mouth that was exactly how I felt about her. She reached her tiny fingers up to my face and wiped away as many tear as she could before she too started to cry, too. Her fingers left a trail of feeling down my cheek. It tingled and warmed at her touch. She wrapped her arms around my body and buried her face in my chest and we sat there together, magnets once again. In that very moment there was a connection that locked us together that I could only describe as love.