I would just like to thank everybody for staying with this story. There is so much more to come and trust me it's going to be a journey but it's going to be great

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Ch 13: Following Your Heart

EPOV

"My son, you seem very restless tonight" a female voice said gently from behind me. I turned slowly to see my mother sitting on a picnic blanket.
"Mom it's horrible! Bella is missing!" I cried as I flung myself into her arms. She held me close and rubbed my back.
"Is that the young girl from the cabin?" she asked.
"I'm not sure… I think it could be. But I can't tell people that! I'm already a suspect because I was last seen with her… nobody will believe me that she's in a cabin. Besides, I don't even know where that cabin is." I said with a groan.
"Edward. Remember what I told you" she said sweetly. I gave her a puzzled look and she laughed.
"You have a soul connection. Follow your gut and it will lead you right to her. You will know if something happens and she dies because your connection will be cut off. You will know the feeling. Now go son, you need to find her." She said with a shoo of her hand.

"I can't thank you enough mom. Maybe one day we can talk just us? I'd love to know about you" I said looking down.
"Of course, all you have to do is call me to your dreams…" she said as she started to fade away.
"I love you mom!" I yelled at her dissipating figure.

I woke up to the sun shining brightly into my bedroom. I looked at the clock and it was almost seven already. I rushed in the shower and packed a bag that would be suitable for hiking in the woods and enough clothes to last me a few days. I knew where I was going today and it wasn't with the other search groups around Forks. I could tell she wasn't close by. I packed an extra jacket just in case she was cold if I found her and some stuff I remembered from boy scouts that would be handy in the forest, and I headed downstairs to see my parents. They looked shocked at the determined look on my face.
"I'm not going with the search parties" I said flat out.
"Well you sure aren't going out by yourself" my mother warned. I scoffed.

"She isn't around here ma. Nobody will believe me when I say that. They will throw me in the slammer because I was the last one seen with her. I have to do this on my own." I explained. My mom gave me an understanding look and I knew I was in the clear.
"I might not come home tonight if I have to stay in a hotel. I don't know how far I'm going, but I won't be back until she is found. My cell will be with me. Keep me updated." I said as I walked over and kissed her on the cheek. I nodded towards Carlisle and I was out of the house and running to my car. I had to find her soon. I couldn't let her be alone any longer than necessary. I had to follow my gut. I listened to my mom's words over and over "you have a soul connection. Follow your gut and it will lead you right to her"

I sped off towards Port Angeles to fill up my tank. I was heading to Seattle. I knew it was a long shot because it was a city and I knew she was in a forest because of my dreams, but there was forest surrounding the city and she had to be somewhere in it. If she wasn't there I didn't know what I'd do. I was nervous for this. I was on my own and there was day's worth of hiking in the forest surrounding the city. I could be too late if I went the wrong way and I could pass by where she was without even knowing. I didn't know what this guy was doing to her and why he had taken her, but I needed to find her before it was too late. I couldn't let her die, because if I lost her I was positive I would lose myself.

I got to Seattle in record time, I hadn't realized how much I had been speeding until I looked down as I got to the city limits and saw my speedometer saying 100 miles per hour. I slowed down a lot because I didn't need to get caught for speeding right now, I had shit that needed to be done and it couldn't wait. I found a parking lot near the outskirts of town and parked and locked my car. There was a path that lead through the forest just ahead and that was where I was going to start. This was closest to Forks and in Seattle so it was where I was going to start. I heard my phone go off a couple times and I yanked it out of my pocket to check it.

Be safe sweetie 3 –Mom

Where are you Eddie, we could be in a search party together and search each other's bodies against some trees ;) – Jess

I scoffed in disgust at Jessica's message. She didn't even care that Bella was missing; she just wanted to fuck me against a tree and forget about the search all together. I was positive I made the right decision in going on my own now that she texted me. I didn't want her anywhere close to me again, if she couldn't care about Bella, the hell to her. The anger subsided as I read my last message and couldn't help but smile.

I know what you're doing. I wish you had brought me with you… I know you care for her. Find her Edward and then you need to save her from herself… - Alice

I slid my phone back into my pocket as I started walking down the path keeping my eyes and ears open for any little movement or sound. I wasn't so sure that I would find her just in the forest, but there were many animals our here that I didn't want to find me before I could find her. I didn't know what I was looking for but I figured I'd try looking for a cabin. In the dream it wasn't far off a trail wherever it was but I wasn't even sure she was in a cabin, I was just going by a dream. I pulled out my pack of cigarettes and lit one up and took a huge puff. I breathed out in relief as it virtually calmed down my body.

The forest was quiet and above the sky started to darken. I took out my jacket and tied it up before the rain started and put my backpack in the garbage bag I brought. I couldn't afford for all my dry warm clothes to get wet along with the clothes I was wearing so I made sure I brought everything I needed that I learned at boy scouts when I was young. I had a few layers on so the cold wind wouldn't cool my body down too much and I kept walking through the sheets of rain coming down and around the mud puddles forming at my feet. We were in Seattle, where it rained most of the time and the weather got down right cold when the sun wasn't shining. I kept thinking about Bella to drown out the wind hitting my face and my soaking wet feet getting colder and colder by the second. The rain finally stopped and I took off the layers I had on as the sun came back out. I had been walking for hours and I hadn't seen anything that would show me where to find a cabin out here and I became defeated. I was going to be too late…

BPOV

I woke up on the uncomfortable bed from the night before. I was alive? I looked down at my naked body and saw dried up blood everywhere. My wrists had been bandaged since those cuts had been very serious and were causing a lot of blood loss, but the ones on my ribs were dried up. The one deep one on my leg had been bandaged as well with thick gauss and I could see blood coming through it. As I lifted my head I felt very dizzy and wondered how I got from the wall where I was chained to the bed. He must have cared enough to not leave me hanging there bleeding to death, but I guess that was for his own gain.

If I died, he would have to get another girl and I guess that would be a bit of a hassle. I laughed at how sad this all was. My mouth was dry and even though I had been unconscious, I felt like I hadn't slept a wink. I was afraid for him to come back in and want more. If he cut me again the blood loss very well would kill me a second time. He might know that though if he had tortured people before me. I looked around the dimly lit room. The chains were on the wall where they were last night and down below you could see a bunch of dried up blood in a circle. How much blood had I lost? Obviously a lot if I had blacked out, but how was I still alive? The blood loss was much more than I had ever lost before and I had almost passed out before, with all that how had I not died when I had become unconscious?

My body was sore. I felt abused and parts of my body that shouldn't be burning were. My arms were stiff and you could see where the chains bruised my wrists and my ankles from being changed. My head hurt and I wondered if it slammed back against the wall when I became unconscious. Thoughts were circling around in my head and it was making my head pound. I didn't want to think about this. I wanted people to rescue me. I wondered if they had given up, it had been at least two days now, maybe three. Who would even care enough to look? Obviously the police because of my dad, but life would probably go on as normal back in Forks. I wasn't a hot commodity; hell half the school didn't even know me. Edward might have heard of my disappearance, but we were just friends and he wouldn't waste his time trying to find a girl that had as many problems as me.

I heard doors slamming outside the bedroom and I wanted to get as far from the door as possible but my body was too weak to move. Slowly the man came into the room and smiled when he saw I was awake.
"My little pain whore, I am surprised to see you awake so fast. You rejuvenate quickly. Must be all the pain you've put yourself in before" he said as he strode closer to me. I watched him come towards me and run his hands down my body. From his other hand he grabbed a sponge out of a bucket and slowly started cleaning some of the blood off of my body. It had dripped from my ribs all down my legs and of course my arms, but those had been cleaned as they were bandaged.

"Ready for round two yet? First I made you some food. I have a very special afternoon prepared" he said as he leaned down capturing my lips and biting my bottle lip hard. I groaned in pain and he took that as a sign to put down the bucket and hop on the bed over top of me.
"I guess I could give you a preview" he said like he was doing me a favor and shoved himself far into me as I cried out loud. My body was still weak and he grabbed a hold of my bandaged wrists to put them above my head. I screamed in pain. I could feel his leg rubbing against the cut in my leg and my whole body was screaming in excruciating pain. My body couldn't take this. I was slowly blacking out again, and I guess he could tell. He slapped my face hard.
"Stay awake you whore! You already passed out during our last session! I WILL NOT PUT UP WITH THAT" he screamed into my face. I tried to shrink back but he was as close as he could get to me and kept up his fast pace. I felt tears falling down my face again and tried to fight off the blackness threatening to take over my body.

I fought hard but he kept on going. My body was going numb and he had ripped the bandages off my wrists and they were slowly bleeding still. My head started to go fuzzy and I could feel my body starting to shake. I was sure I was going to be sick and then everything faded away slowly.

EPOV

It was getting dark fast and I was too far into the forest to even think about going back to my car. I had come so far and I wanted to start off as far in as I could tomorrow. I had seen no evidence of any cabins so far and I was slowly becoming defeated. I didn't want to sleep on the ground because it was wet from the rain so I started to climb one of the large trees that looked like it provided the most protection from the environment if it rained tonight. I piled on my layers once I got up to a comfortable branch and put my backpack under my head as a pillow. If I didn't get any sleep I would be useless tomorrow and it was too dark to go looking for a cabin in the woods at night when there was no moon to produce light.

When I woke up in the morning the birds were chirping, and the sun was shining. But fuck was my body sore. Sleeping in a tree was definitely not good on your back but I climbed down off the tree, stretched and peeled off some layers filling up my backpack again and grabbing one of the snacks I brought and a water bottle. I leaned against the tree and listened to the forest come alive. I still didn't know where she was but I didn't feel as far from her today as I did when I was in Forks. That was a good sign, but I still didn't know how close I was to her. She could be tens of miles, hundreds of miles away—hell I could be going the wrong way all together. How would I ever know? By the time someone got a lead she could be too far gone for us to help. What if the person who took her was on the move? They could be across the country by now practically. We would never know.

Her state mentally could be broken by now. We didn't know what this person was doing to her. There could even be a group of people torturing her and her mental stability at its already fragile state, would be broken beyond our ability to repair. She was strong; I could tell that from the little time I'd known her, but even at our lunch together I saw she was weak. You could see it in her eyes and her sunken in cheek bones. She wasn't eating properly and who was to say the person was feeding her at all? Would she die of starvation, dehydration, or would the person just kill her before that could kick in. I wish I just knew! I groaned out loud in frustration and punched the tree closest to me.
"FUCK!" I screamed. Shots of pain shot from my hand down to my wrist as I groaned and I was nowhere closer to finding Bella.

I had been walking for hours and there wasn't even a path anymore. I left the realm of where anyone ever went last night and I wasn't even sure I'd be able to find my way back anymore. I didn't care. As long as I found Bella, nothing else mattered. I thought about the amount of times I was going to punch the bastard in the face before I killed him, but that guy, was going to die. I walked for hours and hours and the sun started to set by the time I sat down to eat another granola bar and drink some water. I didn't bring enough for more than 3 or 4 days and I didn't know how much longer this was going to take. I needed to find her. I wouldn't go back without her. My body was getting more weak as the days were going on because I wasn't eating properly and I was walking an awful lot.

As I was sitting against the tree I let myself drift off into a sleep like haze. I was tired and I needed a rest. I didn't know where to go from here. Should I go back, or keep going? This was the point of no return. If I kept going I was likely to run out of water and food before I found her. And if I went back, there was a good chance I was never going to find her. I felt myself drifting off into sleep and I didn't even try and fight it.

"My son. I see you are very worn out" my mother's sweet voice said. She was standing in front of me as I sat in front of the tree I fell asleep on.
"I don't even know if I'm going in the right direction mom. She could be anywhere and nobody even has a lead yet" I said as I put my head in my hands.
"Son. You are not listening to your heart. You can find her. You just need to follow where your heart leads you."
"But my heart isn't telling me anything! I can't listen to something that isn't talking to me!" I groaned in frustration.
"It is not that easy, but I'm sure you will figure it out. Until next time my dear" she said as he disappeared. I didn't even call out, it never made her stay. I let myself sit and enjoy the dream a bit longer. Trying to use my heart. Trying to listen.

I woke up and it was dark and it was starting to rain. I quickly grabbed my layers and rain coat so I didn't get too wet and cold. I took out my flashlight and started walking back towards the way I came from. I was trying to open my heart to her. I was trying to find Bella before it was too late and to do that I had to use our connection. As I walked the sound of the rain pounding against the ground and against the leaves was soothing. It was a warm rain with no breeze so my body was lulling off into a rhythm filled trance. My feet were taking me and I wasn't even thinking about anything but Bella. I knew I was going back the way I came and that was sure sign of my body finally giving up saying I needed to go home before I died out here myself. The wind started picking up and I hugged myself to keep warm. I thought I heard a scream from the distance and I stopped dead in my tracks.

I listened closer and tried to pin point where the sound came from but it didn't happen again. I let out a sigh and relaxed. It was late, I was tired and I was probably hearing the things I wanted to hear. I wanted to find her so bad I just wanted to be able to hear her. Know exactly where she was. I went over to a tree close by and I climbed up to make a bed like the other night to rest for a little while. Unless the lights were on in the cabin I was looking for, I wouldn't be able to see it at night anyways so I was walking around aimlessly. I sat listening to my surroundings for a while trying to let my exhaustion take over so I could fall asleep but everything was on high alert after I heard the scream. I didn't know if it was real but my heart hadn't stopped beating and I felt physically sick. I didn't know why my body was reacting this way but I knew I had to figure it out soon before I ran out of food and water.

I believed I was heading back towards my car but without a trail to follow I wasn't quite sure where I would come out of the forest. I knew I was miles and miles from my car but I hoped I came out close enough that I didn't have to walk far to find it. I knew the Seattle area well, but I didn't know the surrounding trails well enough to find my way blindly to my car. I finally felt my exhaustion taking over and knew that I needed rest for the next day. Either I found Bella tomorrow, or I found my way back to my car. I hated that this was me pretty much giving up, but I was going to kill myself before I could help her if I wondered around the forest for a few more days with no solid lead as to where she was. There weren't many choices when it came to this and I knew people were going to get worried. My phone had died yesterday and with no way to charge it, I didn't even know if they had any new information. Hell they could have found her by now and I wouldn't even know. I just hoped there was some sort of good news on my phone when I finally plugged it in.

BPOV

I hurt. The pain is completely overwhelming me and I felt like I was truly dying. My body was too stiff to even move and take inventory on my injuries. I didn't want to open my eyes. I just wanted to sit here until I died. I was sure it wouldn't be long. At the rate I felt my body weakening at I knew I wasn't going to be strong enough to get out of this. I heard the door open and shut and I couldn't even move to get away. I was sure he was going to subject me to more pain so I stayed perfectly still hoping he would think I was asleep. He came up and I felt a knife pressing against my thigh again. The cut was not going to be in the same spot but my body reacted right away. My intake of breath had him snarling at me.
"I want to show you that I will not put up with you disobeying me" he growled in my ear and pushed the knife sharply into my skin. I screamed as loud as I could in pain as my body shook and I cried. My screaming didn't stop until he took the knife away and walked out of the room laughing. I lay on the bed hoping and praying that I would lose enough blood to end this for good.

Thank you for reading! Remember to review and if I can I will answer back to any questions you have :) I'm trying to update every two weeks so keep checking :)

I also know it took my almost a month to update and I apologize that updates will probably move to being once a month now that school is back in. my assignments, tests and seminars are a lot more important than writing unfortunately… but I promise to write and update when ever its possible