Author's Note: First off, thank you for reading! Second, I wanted to thank those of you who have reviewed. There was a question of the relation between Olivia and Charlie and I wanted to clarify that Olivia is Valerie's paternal aunt (her fathers' sister) while Charlie is Valerie's maternal uncle (her mothers' brother), in case others had that same question. I address this in a later chapter, but realized it's not in the first one. Oops! I've added it in an edit to that chapter now.
"Uncle Charlie!" I yelled as I jumped out of the car before Olivia even stopped. He turned to me with a grave look. "Any sign of her?"
"Nothing yet. She went into the woods but we have no idea what direction she could have gone," he said shakily.
"Don't worry, Charlie," Harry comforted from next to him. "We'll find her."
"And there's still no answer at the Cullen's place?"
"No sir," said another officer.
"Dammit," Charlie cussed. "I don't get where they could be."
"Edward and the other Cullen's haven't been at school for a few days," I said to Charlie, not sure what exactly that would do to help him.
"Did they leave town?" he asked but didn't wait for an answer. He barked at the officer nearby. "Talk to Doctor Gerandy and find out what he knows. Did they leave, did they go on vacation…whatever it is, find it."
I backed up as the adults continued their conversation, feeling useless and sorry for my uncle as he clearly panicked.
"Valerie!" a familiar voice called from the road. I turned to find Jacob jumping of his bicycle and jogging towards me.
"Jake, hi," I hugged him tightly. It stopped the shaking of my body for a while.
"Charlie called my dad about Bella. Any word?"
"Not yet," I answered as we pulled apart. "You rode your bike all the way here?"
Jacob shrugged, trying to hide that he was completely out of breath. "Dad said there was nothing we could do and wouldn't drive me. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, I'm just worried about Bella. And Charlie."
"We have to find her before it gets too much later," Charlie shouted by the front of the squad, drawing mine and Jacob's attention. "It's already cold out here and we don't know how long she's already been out there."
A sickening feeling began to wash over. It was more than just Bella missing. There was something else hanging in the air that made my stomach fill with butterflies, and yet at the same time there was an urgent excitement, like static. I looked around, wondering if I was the only one feeling this way when I noticed, over in the woods, something moved, and every hair on my body stood up straight.
"Charlie" Jacob said as he noticed the movement from the tree line, too. Everyone turned to watch as the mysterious shadow emerged.
Bella was being carried by a burly man with biceps the size of bowling balls from the pitch-black forest. With each footstep, it's like the earth was silenced and all eyes were on him. Immediately, my uncle was running for his daughter who was looking awfully lifeless.
"Bella," I whispered, fighting the tears that wanted to fill my eyes. She couldn't be –
"She's alright," said the stranger as Bella was shifted into Charlie's arms. At this news, there was a breath of release among everyone. "She just keeps saying, 'He's gone'."
"Who's gone?" Jacob whispered to me, not fully aware of the situation at hand.
"Edward," I acknowledged all too quickly, turning to look at Jacob. "I-I think." Behind me, I could hear Harry say 'Good riddance'. My attention was pulled to him for a moment until Jacob spoke again.
"Crazy people will believe in anything," he groaned under his breath.
"What?" I blinked.
"Bella, are you okay?" Charlie asked as he held onto her, shifting under the weight of his daughter in his arms.
"Tell you later," Jacob whispered to me in a strained and stressed voice as Charlie, Bella, and the mystery guy passed by, headed for the house. The burly man and Jacob exchanged a look that I would ask about later, but this was about Bella right now.
"Bella," I followed after her and Uncle Charlie.
"She's okay," Charlie insisted.
"We'll come inside," Olivia said as she came from behind and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Make something warm for everyone."
"Thanks, Liv," said Charlie, not looking at us. Even with Bella found, there was so much concern in his heavy eyes.
A lot of people left right away, people that weren't really close to Bella or Charlie. People that only came for the drama, like Kennedy, who I ignored as she watched from afar with the senior boy whose arm she was hanging off of. Other's lingered and came into the house or at least on the porch and were offered tea, hot chocolate, and decaf coffee that Olivia, Sue Clearwater, and myself whipped together quickly. Angela and Mike were in the kitchen with their dads and tried to ask me questions, but I really had nothing to tell. I knew about as much as they did. Everyone's eyes were darting around, searching for answers even though we all knew now what was really the source of this.
Edward and his family left.
When I brought Bella some tea, she was as dead as a zombie. She wouldn't even look at me. I felt forced to get out of the living room quickly because a grey-haired man, who was apparently the doctor, was asking her questions and checking her for…well, I didn't know what. Damage? Psychosis? Not to mention, the big guy who found her was in there too, with two others that looked similar in style – shirtless and muscly. I didn't feel comfortable in the kitchen either because it was so packed. To be honest, it reminded me too much of when Mom and Dad had the accident. Our house was packed for days between the wake and funeral. This was the same, almost. The memory hurt and made everything more uncomfortable. With all the predators in this geographical area, things could have ended so much differently for Bella, and it would have been recovery instead of rescue. To escape the crowd, I found sanctuary outside, leaning against our car.
"Hey," someone said to me.
I turned to see Jacob, but didn't try to hide behind a smile. "Oh, hey. Sorry. I just…had to get out of there."
"Too many people?"
I let out a huffy nervous laugh. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"The whole town seems to be here," he said, leaning against the car with me. "Although, half left now that Bella's back."
"Is she though?"
Jacob looked at me with confusion.
"I don't know what happened exactly," I sighed, "but she's not really here. Her mind is totally gone. I've never seen someone so depressed. I mean, no emotion. Crying would be better than what she's doing. She is in complete shock."
"She'll snap out of it, won't she?" he asked, hopeful.
"I hope so." I bumped myself off the car. "Hey, who was that guy? And the other two with him?"
Jacob began to shift uncomfortably, like a nerve had been struck. "Sam, Paul, and Jared. They run around the res thinking they run things, acting like big shots."
"Hm. They look like mouth breathers to me."
"Yeah," Jacob snorted. "I guess you could say that. Their grades sure fell after they changed. Believe it or not, they used to not be half bad."
"They go to high school?" I asked, bewildered. "No way. They look like they belong in college at the very least."
"Well, Sam's not anymore, and Paul just graduated last year. Jared's on his last year, if he makes it through. Last year, him and Paul would randomly disappear during the school day," Jacob explained.
"That's weird. I wonder why they were here," I pondered verbally.
"Probably thinking they have a right to be in charge of something." He shifted his weight between his feet. "I should probably get going though. It's already really late – "
"You are not riding your bike home," I stated, appalled by his mode of transportation in the dead of night. "Come on. You'll have to say goodbye anyways."
"I can't spend the night here," Jacob said, lagging behind as we walked to the house.
"I'm not suggesting that," I shuffled my feet along. "I don't think anyone would want to be in that house with that tense atmosphere. No, I'll see if Olivia will let me borrow the car to take you home."
"You really don't have to worry about that. Besides," he tried to argue, "you should be here."
"I really can't do anything. The helpless feeling isn't healthy." I skipped up the steps and excused myself past people to make way for the door. "Giving you a ride will make me feel better."
"Oh, so I have to do this for you?" laughed Jacob softly.
"Exactly." I approached Olivia, who was talking quietly to Mike's dad. She looked at me and tried to smile.
"Hey, kiddo," Oliva rubbed my back. "How you doing?"
"I'm okay. How's everything in here?" I asked. "Anything new?"
She shook her head. "No. Jacob, I didn't see your dad here. Did you come alone?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said a little shyly. "I, uh, rode my bike. I already got the lecture from Val. I was about to leave for home, but she wouldn't let me."
"You don't need to be riding your bike on a main road at night. Especially not with everything that's already been going on." She sighed and spoke under her breath. "We don't need another missing kid in this town. Val, why don't you take Jacob home. I'll stay here and help Charlie with these, um, guests. You should go say something to him before you go. Keys are in my coat pocket. Charlie's office."
"Thanks, Liv." I turned with Jacob to head through the dining room to the living room where Uncle Charlie was leaning over with his hands on the back of the couch as Bella seemingly snoozed on the couch. How she could sleep with the buzzing whispers all around was beyond me. I cleared my throat quietly behind him.
Charlie turned. His eyes showed just how exhausted he was, red, puffy, and absolutely drained of any energy after the long night. He scratched the back of his head.
"Hey, kid." Charlie forced a smile and nodded at Jacob.
"Hey. So, Jacob rode his bike here. I was going to give him a ride back, unless you need help with anything," I started asking.
"No, no," insisted Charlie, in a bit of a daze himself. "You two go. Jacob, thanks for coming."
"Tell Bella I say hi when she wakes up," Jacob requested.
"I'll be back after," I added quickly to my uncle before walking into his office and grabbing Olivia's coat. On the desk, I couldn't help but notice some missing person files. As Jacob looked at Charlie's sports memorabilia and books on the shelves, I found myself prying. The files contained gruesome details of the missing people and possible connections to some animal attacks in the area. Some had pictures of blood trails through the woods, or worse. I closed the bloody folders quickly before my stomach churned.
"Looks like things could have been a lot worse," I cringed.
"What?"
"Nothin'. Just Charlie's work giving me the heebie jeebies. Shall we?" I asked, jingling the keys.
"Yeah," Jacob shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm ready to go." It was about five minutes into the drive before he spoke again. "I can't believe this is your car. It's so fancy."
I laughed a little, gripping the steering wheel. "It's not mine, not really. Olivia wanted it. Honestly, I hope I can get my own car soon. She's had to go to Seattle a lot more than planned which leaves me without a way to get around. She doesn't even let me stay at the house alone because of it. Says I'm trapped all by my lonesome."
"I'm sure she just worries about you getting bored," he suggested.
"I wouldn't get bored. Especially if I had a car," I grumbled. "I mean, I get that we moved here to be closer to family, and I love spending time with Charlie and Bella while Liv is working…"
"I sense a 'but' coming," Jacob said quietly.
"But…" I sighed deeply. "I really would like the freedom to come and go as I please. I don't want to be a mandatory thing for them to watch over. I wouldn't mind a part time job either." I steered the car with the long curve of the dark, shadowed road. "Anyway, maybe someday."
"I've borrowed Dad's truck before when I really need to get somewhere. Charlie doesn't like it," he laughed. "I can't wait to finally take my own car out on the road."
I nodded in acknowledgment. "That's pretty cool. I have to admit, I'm jealous."
Jacob snorted. "Of a VW Rabbit? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love it. Most people think it's lame."
"I have a natural soft spot for old Volkswagen's," I shrugged. "My dad had an old 70's Beetle. Now it's my brothers. I love that thing – shit!"
Something huge darted into the road, flashing only for a moment in the beam of the headlights. Black. I slammed the brake pedal to the floor and the tires of the car screamed against the black, damp pavement of the road. When we finally screeched to a stop, both Jacob and I were breathing heavily.
"What the hell was that?" I gasped.
"I have no idea," said Jacob, just as panicked as myself.
I gawked out the side window. "It was huge! I mean, it had to be the size of a horse!"
"Just lucky we didn't hit it," he retorted.
"Do you think it's okay?" I stuttered, fumbling with the seat belt. "I mean, I didn't clip it, right? I was so freaked I didn't even notice. M-maybe I should check the car-"
Jacob pulled me back as I reached for the door handle to get out and inspect the car. "No, no, no, no. That's not a good idea." He laughed nervously as I shifted back into my spot. "Seriously, Val? Something huge just crosses your path and you think going outside is a smart choice?"
"I'm just curious," I mumbled, gripping the wheel again.
The remainder of the drive was uneventful, thankfully. When we pulled up to his house, Billy was in the open door, waiting for Jacob. He did not look happy. I suddenly felt really bad for Jacob, since he was probably about to get a major lecture.
"Uh-oh," I looked at Jacob. "Good luck."
"Thanks," he grimaced, opening the car door. He lingered with one foot out the door as he looked back at me. "And thanks for the ride. I'll have to talk to Dad about picking it up my bike."
"Don't worry about it," I waved. "I'll figure something out. No need to make him even more angry with you. Okay?"
"Okay," he smiled, getting out of the car. "Thanks, Valerie. Drive safe out there."
"Safe is my middle name."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Thank you for your support!