Hey people! Firstly thank you for reading my story this far. I hope you have enjoyed it. Secondly, I am almost to the end of Book 1! YAY! I love reviews and feed back. I'm always looking for constructive criticism to increase my writing, so feel free to let me know honestly what you think! Just, please, please review if you have 30 seconds.

ALSO. I NEED IDEAS FOR THE TITLE OF BOOK TWO. IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, EITHER LEAVE YOUR VOTE IN A REVIEW OR PRIVATE MESSAGE ME! THANK YOU!

ESME POV

Carlisle and I had been in Oregon for two days when we got the call. At the time, Carlisle was meeting with Dr. Razul Jameson, having finally secured an appointment with the busy specialist. I was in my happy place, shopping for home décor at a little specialty store I had been itching to visit. I was finally relaxing a little, having called home over a dozen times to make sure Leila was okay. Each time she had humored me answering all my questions in a laughing tone.

Satisfied that she was safe and happy, I was sorting through a big rack of wrought iron wall hangings and I almost ignored my phone when it rang. Tucking a particularly intricate piece under my arm, I dug out my cellphone. Jasper. Huh. I wonder what he wants?

Making my way towards the register, I answered. "Hello, son." I tried to take as many opportunities as possible to reinforce Jasper's place in my family. I placed my purchase on the counter before withdrawing cash from my wallet.

"She's gone." He replied in a monotone voice. I was nearly amazed at the speed the sales girl enfolded the iron decoration in paper and placed it into a bag.

"Who's gone?" I asked nonchalantly. I was preoccupied with thinking of my redecorating scheme for the foyer. "Eighty-seven sixty-five," the brunette teenager informed me.

"Leila. She's gone." I froze, staring at the fan of cash in my hand. My reaction or lack there of, was only momentary before I moved so as not to alarm the girl at the service counter. I quickly passed her five bills.

Snatching up the bag which held my find, I smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I have to rush. Keep the change." I exited the store at an excruciatingly slow pace. I was ready to scream and barely held onto my composure until I was ensconced in Carlisle's shiny Mercedes.

"What do you mean she's gone?" I said furiously to Jasper.

"Just that. She's gone. She was outside with Renesmee and a minute later she was gone."

I heaved an incredulous breath as I swerved into traffic and drive unusually fast towards the hospital Carlisle was at.

"You're telling me that with six full grown adults, who I might mention have super natural hearing and enhanced gifts, she just disappeared without any of you noticing anything?" My voice was harsh even to my ears, but I was on the verge of serious panic.

I felt more than heard Jasper's sigh. "Esme, we're following her trail and Alice is watching her future."

I laughed humorlessly. "That will most likely be fruitless, as she can thwart at will." I grimaced at the words, realizing that some of little Leila's gifts could turn into curses at the wrong time. "I'm getting Carlisle now. Please look for her Jasper." The last was said in a pleading voice. I hoped that Jasper didn't take my previous harsh words personally.

"Of course Esme. I already am." I knew he was too. More than anyone I had seen him with, Jasper loved Leila. Not in the way he loved Alice, but he had a connection with her that seemed to take away some of his emotional trauma more and more.

I hung up the phone as I turned into the hospital car park. I locked the car remotely as I hurried towards the annex that housed Leila's father's offices. The receptionist behind the circular desk looked up with a pleasant smile which fell from her face as her jaw dropped open. I smiled kindly.

"Hello, I'm looking for my husband. Dr. Cullen." She stared mutely for a few more seconds before she seemed to remember where she was. Shaking her head, she smiled halfheartedly at me.

"Yes, he's with Dr. Jameson." She pointed to the left. "Second door on the right." I nodded. "Thank you..." I looked at her name plate. "Sierra." I hurried down the hall, and could have cried in relief when a door opened and Carlisle emerged from it. He paused in the hallway, looking towards the dark man who was exiting after him. I was momentarily struck with how handsome he was. Smiling at my husband with a brilliant white smile, I instantly knew why Leila loved this man so completely. There was something about his mere presence that spoke of his excellent character.

Worried out of my mind for Leila, I felt a pang of regret that we would not be able to spend at least a short amount of time getting to know him. I wished so badly I could reassure him that his daughter would be cared for and loved for the rest of time. That is if we could find her.

"Ah, Esme!" Carlisle called when he spotted me. In truth I knew that he had known I was there long before, but there was always appearances to keep up. Turning back to Dr. Jameson he introduced us. "Razul, this is my wife Esme. Esme, this is Dr. Jameson."

I smiled pleasantly. "Hello, it's so nice to meet you."

His eyes crinkled as he smiled back. I reached out to take his extended hand. The moment he shook my hand he looked down at it and then back up to me with startled eyes. Not sure if he was reacting to my cold hand or something else all together, I removed my hand from his and looked to Carlisle. I hoped he could see the urgency in my eyes as I wanted nothing more than to get home as quickly as possible. Apparently he was as in tune with me as I was with him.

"I appreciate you taking the time to consult on my case," Carlisle spoke in his smooth, cultivated voice. He shook Razul's hand in farewell. "We must be getting on the road. We have a good drive to get home, and we wouldn't want to leave our children for too long." The dashing Arab doctor smiled that dazzling smile again.

"Ah, yes. I know just how children can be. My daughter is quite the mischievous girl." His face was instantly sorrow filled as he realized what he said. "Was..." he murmured quietly. "She was such an amazing girl." From the way he spoke towards Carlisle, I gathered that he had discussed Leila with my husband.

Carlisle laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I am very sorry for your loss. I can't imagine your pain."

"I know she is in a good place with love," Razul said, his gaze flickering to me with a strange light in them. "Well, it was good meeting you, Dr. Cullen – Carlisle. I look forward to working with you again."

I was almost trembling now with anxiety. I needed to get home and somehow find Leila. Carlisle turned me with an arm around my shoulder and led me with slow steps out to the Mercedes. The moment we cleared the doors words began pouring out of me in a torrent.

"Leila is missing, Carlisle! Jasper called and he said she's gone. How could she just disappear? He said she was out in the yard with Renesmee and a minute later she had vanished!" I was breathing furiously again, angry and afraid. "How could she disappear with non of them even noticing? And what about Renesmee? They weren't even watching her if Leila could vanish from playing with her and they didn't know! I swear, when I get my hands on them..."

Carlisle held open my door and I plopped on the seat unceremoniously. He smirked at the unaccustomed lack of poise from me. He quickly circled the car and got in, starting it and reversing out of the parking spot in one smooth action. "How long ago did she disappear?" Carlisle's voice was calm and soothing as usual, but for once it did little to calm me.

I recounted my conversation with Jasper verbatim and then lapsed into a tense silence. Carlisle reached over the console and held my hand. "We will find her Esme. We will look for her until we find her. I promise." I looked at him and saw it in his face. He meant every word. He would look for Leila, if nothing else than just to make me happy. We flew over the back roads on our way home, the needle of the speedometer vibrating against the pin past the 120 mph mark. Somehow it still felt as if we crawled.

Leila POV

I ran through the darkened streets back towards my house again, heeding Aurora's command to stop at home on my way out of town. What on earth was I supposed to do there? I stopped in the backyard and peered up towards the bedroom windows facing me. Okay. I was here. Was I supposed to go in? I waited for ten minutes and decided there was nothing left for me here.

As I turned to leave, I suddenly froze.

"I wish I had been a better mother to her. I wish I could do it all again and tell her I loved her. I wish she hadn't had to die thinking I hated her."

The weeping voice hit me full force, and I gasped, stunned as I realized it was my mother. I couldn't move. I listened closely, wondering if she spoke aloud or had merely thought it.

Was she awake? When I heard nothing more I turned back to the house and dropped my bag, scaling the wall. Quietly I opened the window at the end of the hallway.

"I wish I knew if she knew I did love her."

The heart that no longer lived squeezed painfully in my chest. I had never heard such despair in her voice. She had always just been the restrained mother who met my physical needs, but was frozen towards me emotionally.

Until recently, I had never understood why a flash of regret was in her eyes every time she looked at me. With my brothers and Lily there was always hugs and unbridled delight in them.

The few occasions I did remember her hugging me, it was obligatory and strained and always in public. I learned really young that it was more comfortable to seek out my dad for emotional support and be as stand-offish as she was. It seemed to ease her discomfort some.

Now as I stood frozen, listening to her sorrow, I wondered. Did she know more about my origins, and hers than Aurora knew? Was this just remorse because I was dead? Or had she always secretly loved me, but just couldn't bear the evidence of her own betrayal to my dad? My mind was a mashed up mess of confusion and I could hear deep sobs now and then the quiet bass voice as my dad comforted her.

I miss him! My eyes burned as my throat always did at the sound of his voice. I longed to run in their room and hug him and tell him I was fine and could come home, but I knew simultaneously that it was impossible.

Listening intently to make sure no one was awake, I quietly made my way back to my room and sat in my old desk chair. Quickly I activated my computer and jammed a thumb drive into a port. I had left every thing except my journal on the desktop. Now I pulled portions of my diary onto a new document and then saved it with the bold heading "My Journal".

I read the parts quickly, adding portions here and there to convey my personal feelings now that I knew the truth of everything. I left the icon in the middle of the screen, knowing she would see it someday. The parts I had put there would tell her what she needed in order to have peace and know I didn't hate her. I felt calm as I re-traced my steps and leaped out of the hall window. Somehow, leaving words of forgiveness for her made me feel resolution of my childhood distress.

I left my bag by the back fence and climbed up a tree to watch. In the early hours of the morning I heard a whispering wish from my mother again, and I granted it, sending the idea to look on my computer. Accepting that there were no ties left for me, I leaped down from the branches. I stared at my childhood home with the leaden knowledge that I would never see it nor my family again, before turning to accept my destiny. As I picked up my bag, I felt the weirdest sense of urgency and danger. Something told me I needed to get home to the Cullens, NOW!