Thanks to my team, even though I always go back and change things.

"Nope. Nothing." Rose answers over the phone a few days later. Even though I had a mild breakthrough the other morning in the lake, I have to check in with her to see if there is any trouble on the horizon. The worry is always with me. I'm sure Rose is getting sick of my asking every time we talk, but I can't help it. Even though I'm enjoying my freedom, there's a constant storm cloud hovering above me, just waiting to explode.

I sigh my relief. "And Alice?"

"We agreed on no contact for now. Emergencies only."

"So no news is good news?"

"I would think so," Rose agrees.

I shake my head, not satisfied with Rose's answer. "He knows Alice and I would talk. He saw it for himself on the surveillance. Why wouldn't he go to her and ask if she knows anything? Why wouldn't he ask you?"

Rose pauses on the other end, eventually sighing tiredly. "You want to know what I think?"

"Yes, I do."

"I think he knows."

Dread fills my stomach again when I hear Rose's theory mirror my own. "Me too."

Rose clarifies, "I don't think he knows everything. I think he knows you took advantage of the storm and that Alice and I know something about your disappearance." I hear her take a breath before continuing. "I think he knows if he makes your going missing public, everyone will find out everything he's done to you."

"And we can't have that now, can we?" I roll my eyes with disdain. "So, he's biding his time. Trying to find me without raising suspicion to himself."

"Yep. At least that's what I think. I could be wrong," Rose offers, but when has she ever been wrong? "But that seems more along the lines of how he would handle it."

Suddenly I feel like crying.

"I want this over, Rose. All of it. I know it's only been a little over a week, but I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder."

"Okay. Just lay low. Let me look into how we can keep your location a secret and get the divorce process going. You can't stay married to him forever, no matter how great your hiding spot is." Her voice softens when she hears my sniffles through the phone. "The last thing you want is to find someone worth marrying, only to remember your first marriage was never legally ended."

"Never again," I shake my head in full disagreement with her words. "I'll never put myself through it again."

"I hope one day we'll both see how wrong you are," she replies. "Until then, just keep doing what you're doing. I miss you, Bella. So much. We'll figure this out. I promise."

"Love you."

"Love you back."

I end the call and toss the phone next to me on the couch, silence filling the cabin as usual. There's a small television in the living room across from the couch I'm sitting on, but I'm too restless to follow along with anything.

I end up in the shower in an attempt to occupy myself and rid myself of my worry. Instead, I spend the time beneath the water thinking of different scenarios of being found by him. I wonder if he'll kill me immediately or make me go back to Rhode Island with him. Maybe he'll kill me there and make it look like an accident.

When my skin is red from the heat of the water, and my thoughts turn into those of my worst nightmare, I turn the water off and step out of the tiny shower, wrapping my terrycloth bathrobe around me. With my toothbrush hanging out of my mouth, I use one sleeve of my bathrobe to wipe away the condensation on the small bathroom mirror.

My reflection is blurry, but I still see the frightened little girl staring back at me. My eyes are tired and weary, the threat of my past life weighing heavily on my shoulders. My cheeks, still pink from the shower, don't hold the smile they once knew. My hair hangs limply over my shoulders and down my back, heavy and cumbersome.

I'm tired of things weighing me down.

Which is why, ten minutes later, I'm chopping my hair off with wild abandon. To anyone passing by my cabin on this lonely night, they would think I went crazy.

Fuck, maybe I did.

But it feels so fucking good to see my hair fall to the floor in thick clumps. I pretend it's my revenge - cutting him down to the pathetic, insecure size he is.

Even Edward's familiar knock on the door doesn't scare me from the natural high I'm on.

I swing the door open, not caring at all about my bathrobe or my shorn locks for the time being. He stares at me for a fraction of a second, shock crossing his features in the soft fluorescents of the porch lighting.

"Your part is in," Edward says once he's taken in the sight before him. "Wanna come with me tomorrow to pick it up? We can stop and get you some of those bullets you think you need."

I don't hesitate. "Absolutely."

Bella's finally starting to look a little more like our banner for this story! Head on over to my facebook group, Lily Jill Fics, to check it out! See you tomorrow!