A BRIEF AND SOMEWHAT STANDARD DISCLAIMER: Whilst the plotline and its components are in essence my own, the characters and dynamics belong solely to Ms Stephenie Meyer.

Please read the AN at the end, otherwise you're gonna be sadly disappointed for a week or two.

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Chapter 13 - Chase

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"Thank you Jake. I missed you so much." He hugged me back tightly, before I pulled away.

"Love you Bells. Always."

I smiled at him, then turned and ran back towards Charlie's house. I had to find Edward, and hoped I wasn't too late.

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As I ran I pulled my phone out of my pocket, only to see I had two missed calls from Alice. I hit the redial button and held the phone to my ear, slowing my pace as I neared Charlie's house. She answered before the first ring.

"Bella! Oh thank god, where are you? What happened? I lost you!" I blinked, confused.

"What do you mean, lost me?"

"I couldn't see you. Your future went blank. Why didn't you answer my calls?"

I quickly relayed my encounter with Jake. I heard Alice gasp several times but she didn't interrupt. When I had finished she let out a sigh, and I could almost visualise her shaking her head.

"Bella, you're lucky to be alive! Werewolves are highly volatile! At least this explains a lot of things...." Alice trailed off, but I wasn't listening. I had suddenly caught the scent that was so painfully familiar to me.

"Alice, I'll call you back." I said hurriedly, and started to run. I followed his scent across the lawn, where it came to a stop underneath my old bedroom window. The lights in the house were off now, so I didn't have to worry about Charlie catching me. I quickly scaled the side of the house, and, grasping the window sill with one hand, pushed my window up and leapt through.

Nothing had changed. Just one glance brought back all the memories that I shied away from now. The bed, where he had slept next to me, just watching me sleep. The rocking chair, where he had been sat in the morning, the first night he stayed with me. The feelings of loss and rejection were overwhelming. I blinked and tried to focus, knowing that I had limited time.

He had been in here too; I could smell the same mixture of lilac and honey. My gaze fell upon a hole in the floor, where a floorboard had been pulled up. I frowned and knelt down, but froze as soon as I saw the scattered objects next to the hole.

With a shaking hand I reached out. My fingers brushed against a clear CD case, and a booklet of thin card containing plane tickets. Lastly, I reached out and grasped a handful of photos, images that I had longed for since September.

He was there, in front of my eyes, glorious and immortal, pale, sitting as though carved from stone at my kitchen table. I felt my eyes burn with dry tears as I shuffled through the rest of the pictures. When I reached the end they fell from my grasp onto the floor, and I wrapped my arms tightly across my trembling body as the gasping sobs broke free. They had been here all this time, hidden under the very floorboards I had paced with agony in my heart. The proof I had longed for had been in my room the whole time; proof that he had existed and wanted me, for however short a time.

It will be as if I never existed

I pulled myself together quickly. He had existed. Our time together was real. During my humanity I had had my doubts. After all, reason was against me. But here it was; undeniable proof that an angel had come into my life.

I rose to my feet as determination made me strong. He was real, and would continue to be real. I had to believe that, and I had to do my best to ensure it.

As it turn to leave my foot brushed against a discarded photo that I hadn't noticed before. Half a photo, in fact. I bent down and picked it up. I recognised the image immediately as one of Edward and I, standing in Charlie's living room. It had been torn directly down the middle, separating the pictured Edward and myself so that I was missing completely. I scanned the floor, hoping to find the rest, but couldn't see it anywhere. I tucked the photo into my jeans pocket to look over later, glanced around my old room one last time, and leapt out of my window.

I followed Edward's scent to the tree line as the trail headed north-west. I broke into a sprint, half-crouching in order to follow the scent. I followed it mindlessly for about ten minutes, dodging trees instinctively, not caring about where I was going. Here and there the trail was crossed with scents that were foul and unpleasant, but they reminded me of Jacob, and I guessed he wasn't the only werewolf running around here. I wrinkled my nose. They smelled of wet dog, only worse.

Suddenly I broke through an opening in the trees and stopped abruptly, shocked, as I immediately recognised my surroundings.

The meadow.

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I reached the edge of the pool of light and stepped through the last fringe of ferns into the loveliest place I had ever seen. The meadow was small, perfectly round, and filled with wildflowers — violet, yellow, and soft white. Somewhere nearby, I could hear the bubbling music of a stream. The sun was directly overhead, filling the circle with a haze of buttery sunshine. I walked slowly, awestruck, through the soft grass, swaying flowers, and warm, gilded air. I halfway turned, wanting to share this with him, but he wasn't behind me where I thought he'd be. I spun around, searching for him with sudden alarm. Finally I spotted him, still under the dense shade of the canopy at the edge of the hollow, watching me with cautious eyes. Only then did I remember what the beauty of the meadow had driven from my mind — the enigma of Edward and the sun, which he'd promised to illustrate for me today.

I took a step back toward him, my eyes alight with curiosity. His eyes were wary, reluctant. I smiled encouragingly and beckoned to him with my hand, taking another step back to him. He held up a hand in warning, and I hesitated, rocking back onto my heels.

Edward seemed to take a deep breath, and then he stepped out into the bright glow of the midday sun.

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I barely had time to collect my thoughts before another memory hit me, one that could not have been more different to the first.

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Laurent followed, lithe and graceful."Yes," he assured me. "I'll be very quick. You won't feel a thing, I promise. Oh, I'll lie to Victoria about that later, naturally, just to placate her. But if you knew what she had planned for you, Bella…" He shook his head with a slow movement, almost as if in disgust. "I swear you'd be thanking me for this."

I stared at him in horror.

He sniffed at the breeze that blew threads of my hair in his direction. "Mouthwatering," he repeated, inhaling deeply.

I tensed for the spring, my eyes squinting as I cringed away, and the sound of Edward's furious roar echoed distantly in the back of my head. His name burst through all the walls I'd built to contain it. Edward, Edward, Edward. I was going to die. It shouldn't matter if I thought of him now. Edward, I love you. I shouted it in my head, my last thought. As I squinted through my narrowed eyes Laurent sprang, moving too quick for me to follow, and within a second I felt the searing pain as his teeth pierced my neck, straight over my jugular vein.

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I gasped, recoiling from the emotional pain that accompanied the flashbacks. My gaze fell on a patch of grass a few feet away, where my heightened senses could barely detect a few traces of old, dried human blood that were still present, mixed in with the soil. My blood.

I shuddered, and gingerly sniffed the air again. Edward's scent was overwhelming here. A patch of grass was flattened next to the spot where Laurent had bitten me. I pieced together the scene in my mind. Edward had come here after visiting my room. I don't know if the was looking for me or had thought I was long dead, but he had arrived here and smelt the 3-month old blood that lingered in the grass. He had sat here, for a long time. His scent was fresh now, so he hadn't long left here. I looked around, wondering what had caused him to leave so suddenly. I followed the fresh trail to the other side of the clearing, near the stream.

Just then another scent reached me. One of a vampire, but not Edward. It wasn't a scent I recognised, but I knew who it was instinctively. Victoria.

A snarl ripped through my throat as I hurtled after the trail that was now her's and Edward's scents combined, leaving the meadow, and the memories, far behind me. I sprinted through the forest, narrowly avoiding trees and rocks, intent on the path I was following. Then I heard growls from up ahead, and a huge crash that sounded like boulders colliding. I increased my speed and broke through into a clearing at the edge of a cliff face.

My eyes took in the scene in front of me, and despite the situation something triggered a deep reaction in my unmoving heart, as my gaze fell on his face.

Edward..............

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OK, this is a completely rushed chapter, but it'll have to do for now. Unlucky 13 I guess. Sorry if it's a little short, and trust me, it will be rewritten in the near future, but I couldn't stand to leave you guys hanging for much longer. I'm moving into my new house on Saturday, and I don't know how long it's going to take me to get an internet connection set up, so this might be the last chapter in a while. But have no fear! Even if I'm not publishing I will be writing, so your patience will be rewarded! Also, as well as the next chapter I'm going over the entire story, amending bits and adding details everywhere, not to mention and extended summary and preface will be added to the first chapter, so it may be worth rereading it when I finally update the whole thing. The amended version will be posted at the same time as the next chapter.

Once again, let me know what you think, and hopefully you'll be hearing from me soon!