Ren barely limped through her Chemistry test the next Monday. She was starting to think high school was particularly trying to kill her. Ren was starting to feel there was more to the story of the Cullens. She had done many things in her existence on Earth but it seemed the entrance of Bella jumped started some sort of greater narrative.

She had obviously wanted the best grades possible but her lack of real motivation had left her.

Jessica slammed her locker with a huff, Ren grinned. It almost the end of the day and despite confusion, and frustration on Jessica's part Bella had not responded to any of their texts.

"Does she think she's better than us or something," Jessica's voice burned with jealousy, "I mean, I thought we were her friends and she just ghosts us," Jessica snapped her fingers, "Like that."

Ren shook her head, "I'm sure she has a reason, just calm down," Ren switched the topic, "So prom?"

Jessica huffed straightening her hair, despite what facade she put on to the rest of the school Ren knew Jessica and Mike were not doing particularly well. Jessica gave her a glare, "Mike and I are . . Trying. Do you have a date yet?"

Ren looked down glumly at her tan leather boots, "No."

No one had bothered asking her to prom, she wasn't sure what she going to do. She could do what Bella did and haul off to wherever to visit family when her whole family was in Forks.

"Well we'll remedy that quickly," Jessica said confidently, "Lauren has already made a list, also you know about Lauren's party right?"

Ren walked down the hall she beckoned her friend to follow, "Nope, I really think she's out to get me at this point."

Ren and Lauren had never seen eye to eye. But they tolerated each other like teenage girls do, with petty over-the-top back-handed compliments. Jessica took her arm, Ren looked back giving her a lop-sided smile. "See do you understand what I'm getting at with Bella now?"

Ren refused to share her head, "These situations are so different, Bella is just a quiet soul, she isn't really one to overshare. Edward and Bella are in the honeymoon phase where everything is happiness and 'i'll die for you' things. Lauren and I just deeply hate each other."

Jessica huffed rolling her eyes dramatically, "How about Tyler?"

Ren reached her locker and lifted a brow, "What about Tyler?"

Jessica nudged her, "Why don't you ask him? Girls choice and all, he would totally go with you."

Ren stuck out a tongue, "Ew! I couldn't, It would be weird," She had never thought of it, she paused, "It would be weird right?"

Jessica groaned, they had been over the fact that Tyler Crowley was an option. Ren wanted none of it "No it wouldn't, and if you don't want to bring him bring the mechanic."

"You know I can't bring him! The guidance counselor already thinks I'm the devil."

Ren grabbed her books and swiftly closed her locker, Jessica and her had a history together. Angela and Eric waited by the door. They waved as Ren and Jessica came closer. "Mrs. Ewankiw is just a patronizing bitch, I think," Jessica dropped her booked down on the table and turned back to Ren, "You should just live your life, Ren."

Ren felt warm, she smiled "Okay."

"Which means, we need to hang out."

Ren condemned herself to get no work done that evening, but even then she wondered if Bella was okay. So after school, she drove down the road to the white two-story home.

The Swan residence was empty.

Ren had rung the doorbell, knocked, hell she'd even yelled out asking if anyone was home. Just as she was about to leave, the familiar 'Forks Sheriff' car rolled up and onto the lawn and parking abruptly.

A sullen, heartbroken Charlie walked out almost dragging his legs. He has large dark bags under his eyes. Ren walked fast towards him worryingly.

"Cheif are you alright?" Ren whispered. She touched his shoulder lightly. He flinched looking up, his eyes looked close to tears.

Charlie gathered himself the best he could but he still looked the part of a desperate father. "I thought she was happy here, she made friends, you're her friend right?"

Ren nodded, "Yeah of course I was and am. Charlie, what- happened to Bella. . . is she?"

Ren didn't want to use the word.

Dead. She looked at Charlie's nose to avoid staring him in the eyes.

Charlie's head shook, "No, no she left," Charlie fidgeted with his hands pulling his key out of his pocket.

Ren didn't know what to do, she had never had to comfort a grown man. She hadn't, rather had any connections to father figures, the closest she been was her Mom's boyfriends that bought her two-dollar birthday presents to keep her sufficiently appeased as a child. Her mom never brought home a boyfriend or, anyone Ren could look to for support for long enough. "Charlie, how about I park you inside, I can get you some tea and we'll talk it out?"

Charlie grimaced under his bushy mustache, "No I'll be," Charlie looked up at the sky, "I'll be fine Ren, no need."

"It would be a neighborly thing to do," Ren urged, "You're Bells' dad."

"We're not neighbors," Charlie followed behind Ren and opened the door.

"Oh well," Ren shrugged strutting inside. "Where do you keep the coffee?"

Only once they had situated themselves at the table in the kitchen with two black coffees did Charlie calm down and tell her. He hungover the chair with clenched fists up on the table. Ren didn't mention she could see tears wavering on the brink of his warm brown eyes.

"I've failed," Charlie said, "I'm just not cut out to be a dad, maybe I should've just left her life all together then Bella would've felt the need to sacrifice her happiness."

Ren frowned, "I can honestly say Bella loves you, Charlie, maybe this isn't permanent? She'll come back before you know it."

"I should've never let Edward date-"

Ren planted her ground standing with her friends with her chin up, "Edward is just supporting want she needs Charlie. I'm sure- Everything is okay," She was as nervous as he was. As a police officer, she was sure he could tell.

Ren sighed, as Charlie got up and hung his belt and badge. "I failed. They weren't bullyin' her were they?"

Ren spent the rest of the evening assuring a broken Charlie that Bella would be alright.

In the end, she'd put some 'easy kraft mac n' cheese' on and sat with Charlie watching re-runs of some past football game. His team was winning so she supposed it cheered him up. Despite Bella being missing, the Sawn house was distinctly warm and inviting, everything was a mismatch of colors and memories. She had seen numerous framed photos of young Bella sitting with a young boy with wide smiles and muddied hands.

"No, look Charlie is there someone that you need to call? Maybe you could get a buddy over huh?"

Charlies gruffly shrugged fidgeting with his hands as she gathered himself, "I got Billy I'd call him."

"Ok then," Ren rehearsed, she didn't really know if Bella wanted to call him, from what she could see Bella was pretty distraught. Ren thought it unlike the brunette to do so. "Maybe we can get him over and we can wait for Bella's call?"

"Yeah so Bella is gone, the Cullens are all on vacation apparently according to the school." The two best friends sat across from each other on the windowsill, Jessica's homework was sprawled across Rens' bed. Jessica gossiped back, she had a bottle of pre-mixed drink steadied on her lap. Ren rested her head closing her eyes. Jessica could hardly shut her mouth when the drama came by.

That didn't mean she wasn't worried.

She could not deny the pit in her stomach, urging her that something was off about the Cullens. Maybe she had been wrong to blindly trust Edward's intentions. Ren could tell the despite Jessicas outward display she was dreadfully worried. Ren knew how she was.

"I just think she could've told us she was homesick or whatever?" Jessica haughtily said, "Who just leaves town all of a sudden like that? Now all the Cullens have disappeared to, Carlisle has even CALLED IN SICK. It's fucked, Ren."

It was known Carlise Cullen never called sick, he was a workaholic. His work ethic was admired and feared in small-town Forks. Downstairs Ren could hear the door opening and closing and the clack of heels against the hardwood. Jessica quieted for a few moments as the door to her mom's bedroom shut.

While she knew her mom had to work she wished she would at least say a 'hello.' Anything. Ren rubbed her face with her hand and grimaced. Her heartfelt heavy, she knew it was wrong to be sad, something so small shouldn't affect her. She'd always just evaded the feelings.

"Yeah, I don't know-"

Jessica continued the babble on, Ren swallowed thickly and raised her head. "By the way, are we going down to the beach again soon? Mike was wondering today, also he asked about Bella. I just like told him she probably was sick."

Ren has observed Mike's obvious jealousy. She didn't mention it, didn't think it her place.

"Yep!" Ren grinned, "Tylers new van will fit all of us now so we won't even have to have two cars."

"Awesome because I found the cutest bathing suit I want to wear this summer but I want to try it out you know?"

Ren smiled, "In a controlled environment."

"Exactly, and I'll get some pics for insta."

Ren giggled, she got off the window sill and jumped down to her bed. Jessica gasped in protest as her homework was bent. Ren looked back evilly. "I'll do it, but," Ren stuck up her pointer finger before getting under the covers of her thick duvet up to her eyes. "I'm tired can we go to bed Jess?"

Jessica laughed landing back on the bed, "We don't know anything do we?"

Ren turned over raising a brow, "Somethings are left better as an unknown."

Ren could feel her world unraveling inside waking her up. She wanted to run away from it. She had run away before, to boyfriends for a couple of days, she. lived out of her car for a couple of weeks. When she came back, because she always seemed to, she asked why her mom hadn't called the station. Her mom always shrugged quietly. Said it wasn't worth it.

Jessica always knew when she'd left though. She called her every day asking her to come back down to Earth. Then, they egged her ex-boyfriends' house leaving only a bouquet of rotting flowers. It was the moment Jessica and Ren had made a pact of 'no more small-town boys.'

"Ren are you alright?" Jessica asked. Ren scoffed.

"Yeah I'm okay," she was just trying to ignore the dark. "We need to get out of Forks."

The school missed Bella. In a small school, the structure was overall disrupted. Lunches were different without Bella's awkward comments about outdated movies. Ren's back ached from sleeping in a weird position but she didn't want to stretch. Eric stared at Angela as she ate her spaghetti. Ren thought it strange but tried not to look.

"What's got you down Smithers?" Tyler said as he quickly sat beside her. Ren sighed he didn't normally come over to their table so she reasoned she must look especially terrible. No one seemed to think Bella's absence was weird.

She thought it strange.

"Nothing, hey, are you down to the beach or out somewhere?"

Tyler frowned, "Sorry I got to practice."

"Right," Ren sat up straight.

Tyler started to rambled about his basketball games, Ren found it hard to concentrate upon it. She turned and gestured to Jessica to see that Tyler and her would not work. Jessica rolled her eyes back at her.

"Have you studied for the calc test Ren?"

Ren groaned, of course, she forgot. She pulled a hand through her hair closing her big brown eyes. Sun dappled through the cafeteria windows brushing her face with warmth. Despite being known as incredibly rainy, Forks did have beautiful days of warm sun.

It had been two days since Bella had left, Ren hadn't tried to call because she was scared of the fact Bella might just reject her call. She thought they were close enough that Bella might call her and tell her that everything was alright.

"We have an extra practice tonight anyway, don't we Ren?" Jessica spoke up nudging Ren. Ren knew Jessica was trying to cheer her up with some extra playing around in the gym, but Ren wasn't at all in the mood. She didn't want to say to the group that all she wanted to do was jump in her car a jet up to Seattle or Portland, go to IHOP, or something ridiculous at 2 am.

Evan had texted her that morning, she was going to go to the shop to see him; she hoped he would cheer her up. "Yeah," Ren said unusually quietly.

"So what do you guys think about the next issue for the news," Eric started excitedly like a puppy. "Cullens and Swan missing: A conspiracy?"

Lauren flipped her hair over her shoulders, "I don't know Bella is old now, even the Cullens are the same old. They'll come back to Forks, they always do. They are probably visiting family up in Alaska."

Ren found the overt rejection that anything strange was going on to be hilarious. She knocked shoulders with Tyler as she stood she blushed lightly getting her phone out. It was getting ridiculous she had to call Edward. Walking out of the cafeteria and out to the parking lot, she passed the posters for prom.

She clicked for Edwards contact, she held her phone to her ear. It rang out for long moments of hesitation. She wrapped her sweater around her tapping her feet.

'Dearest Edward Fucking Cullen, I realize you may be busy with Miss Bella Swan but, if you do not respond the little devil on my shoulder is telling me to print that ugly photo I took of you hanging from my tree and paste it all over the school, TLDR: where are you?'

The reply came back as she made her way to the sixth period.

'Dear Ren,

I am busy.'

Her answer was simple:

'good to know your ok'

He responded immediately: 'you're'

'Where are you guys?'

Jessica came over for dinner, Ren and she played Uno as she waited for the reply to her question. A fire danced in the small fireplace in the corner. Jessica was calling Angela who had just had a first date with Eric.

While saying she 'waited' for a reply was a stretch, with aid from Jessica they managed to craft fourteen messages, each more annoying than the last. "C'mere."

Ren looked up from the fire in the living room, "Careful don't spill on the carpet Mom would kill me."

Jessica raised a brow carefully putting her hot chocolate on the wooden coffee table and sliding down the couch to the carpet where Ren sat. Jessica squeezed Ren's shoulders. "Gotcha' so where is Isabella"

"Oh, shoosh don't sound so annoyed."

Jessica scoffed back a retort, "I'm not annoyed," she turned on the tv to a gruesome zombie movie, "Uh, not another zombie movie."

"Oh no," said trying to sound interested in Jessica's long-winded chats about the representation of zombies in modern-day media. Ren thought back to Tyler, brushing hands with him.

Jessica quieted, it always happened when she wanted to talk seriously. Ren turned her head with a frown.

"Ren, you aren't going to skip town again?"

Ren looked back, it was tempting to leave. She had become a fixture of Forks drama. The girl who'd leave town, go up upstate a bit. Despite the rumors, Ren had never gone into Canada. She was the same girl from elementary school that was crowned 'most likely to become a legend' while simultaneously entering high school and be called 'most likely to drop out and be found in a ditch.'

No one had ever said it. But Ren knew what folks talked about. Her teachers gave in to giving inventions to keep her in school because 'she was a bright young girl.'

Ren knew she was smart, she had goals to become someone. Travel, live. But sometimes it becomes too much, and she rathered the game instead.

Rens's shoulders rolled back with laughter, "Nah, you're stuck with me dude. What to go out for a drive, we could see if Mr. Swan has any news?"

Yep, she was spiraling.