Disclaimer to Stephanie Meyer.

Chapter Two

I was frozen. My eyes locked on his figure, refusing to blink. They dried as I scanned him from head to toe, taking in every detail that I could. He was as beautiful as I remembered, his skin as white as the snow on the ground, glimmering slightly from the slits of light shining through the clouds. Though my shoulder continued to bleed, the pain that I had felt moments before was now gone. He stared at me through the broken windshield, his mouth set in a firm line.

He bent his head slightly down, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Bella…" his voice whispered.

My breathing stopped. The sound of his voice brought goosebumps to my skin. I waited, hoping he would say something again, until I realized he was waiting for me to come to him.

As soon as I comprehended, my hands flung to my seatbelt lock to unbuckle myself from the driver's seat. It proved to be more difficult than I would have anticipated, as my hands were shaking anxiously. I never broke eye contact with him, even as I finally managed to lift the seat belt over my head. I gripped the center console to stand, but immediately recognized that the space between my legs and the steering wheel has shrunk in the collision. I dipped my hand below the seat reaching for the lever to push my seat back. My shaking hands were preventing me from maintaining a grip on the bar, causing me to groan in frustration. I leaned forward as far as I could, still maintaining eye contact with him, until my hands closed around the bar enough to pull.

My seat shot back, and my body thudded against my driver's seat. A sharp pain pulsed through my shoulder and my head impulsively shot down. The bleeding had not slowed down, and the blood had now started to pool at the base of my sweater. I was suddenly aware of how tired I was. I began relaxing my muscles to rest my head at the base of the window, which I then noticed was also shattered. My eyelids felt heavier than they ever had before, and the cab of my truck began to blur.

"Bella," his voice sang.

Through the fog, I lifted my heavy eyelids. He was still standing there. He looked disappointed. I had promised.

I slowly reached my hand to the ceiling handle to pull myself up. I had to get to him. If I died trying, then so be it. It seemed as though I was going to die anyway.

Pulling myself up with the handle, I managed to clench my hand around the handle of the door and pull. Falling onto the door, the weight of my body flung it open until it smacked loudly against the tree. I fell out of the cab, landing in a foot of untouched glittering snow.

I pushed myself up from the snow, steadying myself against the tree to get on both feet. As I rose, I saw the stain of my blood mixed in the formerly perfect snow, now an ugly shade of pink. I felt dizzy, and a knot in the back of my jaw bent me forward, placing my hands on my knees. Had I eaten anything this morning, I would have vomited.

I stood there, hands on knees, dry heaving while blood dipped from my shoulder darkening the pink of the snow to a light shade of red.

"Bella…" It came out more like a breath than a word.

I grabbed onto the tree and turned my body to lean against it. With all the strength I could muster, I lifted my foot to step around the tree. My foot slipped and I collapsed into the snow. My legs sprawled out in front of me and my back pressed against the tree. I could feel the scrapes of the bark against my skin as my sweater has lifted in the fall. The snow began seeping into my jeans, the sting of the cold pricking at my thighs.

I looked up from the cocoon of snow I had folded myself into. Pain shot through every muscle in my body. My back arched against the tree, scraping yet another cut against my skin, as a tiny cry of pain left my lips. I scanned the tree line, searching for where he had been.

The snow where he had stood was untouched.

I rested my head against the base of the tree. I would allow myself to succumb to the inevitable. I had lost my mind before I had even realized. I let my eyelids fall, feeling the pit inside me expand and grasp everything it could.