I don't own twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and the plot of my story.

Author's Note at the end

Edward ran along the trail in the park. This is one of the habits he has gotten into since Bella broke up with him. He originally started it as a way to exhaust himself since he couldn't sleep. Back then thoughts of her kept him awake all night. He thought if he was physically exhausted then maybe the fact that his brain won't shut won't matter and he will sleep.

It didn't help initially, but over time it had a profound impact on him. The exhaustion accumulated. It helped him start sleeping better over time when he was too physically exhausted to function. It started to help him clear his head. Running made him feel like he was accomplishing something, not being stagnant.

Something he has been feeling for years.

Now he runs twice a day, once in the morning and another at night.

However, things are different this time. He is running towards her. When usually he runs from her.

"What are you doing here?" she asks him with an irritated scowl on her face. She is not a morning person. Neither is he. But unlike him, she typically woke up early instead of sleeping in like him back when they were dating.

She always tried to get him to run with her. It will do you some good, she would say. He always refused, every time with a more creative excuse.

"Someday you will look back and think to yourself, Bella was right about everything," she once told him. She has no idea how true her words were.

"I am here for a run." She scoffs in disbelief at his answer.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" he asks her knowing the answer.

"Because you never did that when we were together, so what gives?"

"What gives is that I am with someone who I want to deserve," he replies knowing it will piss her off. While the goal is to get her to trust him, Bella is not stupid. She knows him well enough to know that he is a pity person. If he tries to butter her up she will know something isgoing on.

She turns her back to him and starts her run. He doesn't see the hurt look on her face. He follows after her. Not at full speed to not make it seem like he is racing her, nor slower than her so she won't think that he is going easy on her.

Truth is that he needs to form some semblance of a relationship with her. He needs to at least get her to respect him and believe that he changed. That is the only way for her to take him seriously. He needs her to do that. His entire plan hinges on him being trustworthy.

He could just send her his findings anonymously. But his guilt won't allow him to do that. He can't have her face his findings on her own. He needs to be present when she finds out. He owes it to her to support her through her discovery of his findings. After all, he was the boyfriend that treated her so bad that when she jumped ship, she jumped into a pirate's one.

A part of him wants to save her life, but another wants her to realize the mistake of her lifetime; that is leaving him for Marco.

two days earlier

He is in his kitchen cooking when the doorbell rings. He looks through the peephole and finds Emmett waiting for him.

"Thank God you are here. I would hate to have to hunt you down. There is something you need to know," he tells him marching into his house, "don't lock it. Jenks is on his way," he continues when he sees Edward about to close the door.

"What is going on? Did you find anything bad?" Edward asks biting the inside of his cheek, a nervous habit he developed in middle school.

Emmett laughs sarcastically as he tells him, " Any, thing bad? Everything we found is bad."

"What is it?" Edward asks worry itched on his face. Jay Jenks chooses this moment to burst through the door. He sits opposite Edward as he fumbles with the folder in his hands not sure what to do with it.

"I am afraid I have brought bad news with me, there is something completely sinister about Marco. I am not sure where to start."

"Start from the beginning and don't beat around the bush," Edward orders frustrated with the fact that both of them are trying to give him introductory paragraphs when he wants to get to the body one.

"Marco Fernando was born in Sicily to a middle-class family. His upbringing was nothing special. 2 years after high school he was backpacking with a friend in Europe but then their families lost contact with them and they both disappeared and were presumed to be dead. Five years later he resurfaced but the Marco that returned is different from the one that disappeared."

"What is that supposed to mean? Was he killed? Is someone impersonating him?" Edward asks in disbelief his expression hard to read. He thought what will come out of it is him being an idiot or evading taxes in by pretending to be Italian at worst. This is not something he prepared himself for.

Ignoring his questions, Jay continues, "His friend was an American high school exchange student that stayed with his family during his senior year. He had fallen with a bad crowd in Italy and was heavily involved in the drugs scene in Atlanta and a series of pity crimes before he left the states to join Marco," "Then he is key to the actual Marco's disappearance," Edward cuts in.

"I thought so too and locked up his friend but it turns out that things are much worse. I think Jacob Black killed Marco now he iis using his friend's identity."

Hope you had a fun read. The next couple of chapters will be slightly focusing on Bella and Edward as a duo, we are nowhere near them reconciling but those couple of chapters are essential for the story to move forward.

Leave me your thoughts in a review. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Till my next chapter,

Stay safe.