Hello Readers. Thank you for your wonderful reviews, this chapter was quite hard to write, it was really just a filler but the story needs it. I wanted to be lazy and just do the whole "3 days later…" sort of thing, but your kind words kept me motivated. I'm hoping to update weekly but if there's ever a week when I can't I will post a little note apologising. Still no beta, not sure how to go about finding one but I have read over this 5 times. I hope I've caught all the mistakes, sorry if that isn't the case! This chapter is in Bella's POV but I think most of this story will be in Paul's. He's pretty interesting!

The rain was drifting down in a strange misty curtain making it impossible to see beyond the waves of green in the forest. Bella was soon soaked through her clothes and thin jacket but she was beyond caring. All that mattered was finding him and stopping him from leaving with her heart. As the cracks in her chest burned, hot salty tears were threatening to overflow. Bella was trying desperately not to cry and to stay strong in her mission to catch up with him.

As she blindly marched on, Bella was losing all concepts of time and coherency. The green forest lurched past her sickeningly.

Bella was so focussed on walking she barely felt the skin of her knee tear when a root got the better of her. Rising carefully, the rain continued to diffuse into her already soaking clothes. There was mud and blood staining her jeans and as the sun sank further behind its veil of clouds, the gaps between the trees became darker and it was more difficult to see which way to go.

His cold words echoed in Bella's mind like a cruel chainsaw, tearing at her as she became more and more lost. In the far back corners of her mind there was a voice frantically repeating, "Charlie," and Bella knew she needed to think practically. To start with, she was lost in the woods and bleeding. She also knew that her blood might attract vampires and praying to whoever was listening Bella hoped that it was the Cullens who would find her. She prayed extra hard that it would be him that came through the trees. He would swing her into his arms and Bella would burrow right into his cold chest and breathe him in, then this awful mess would be quickly forgotten about.

She had to keep going.

After what felt like hours of mindless marching another root tripped Bella up. She had fallen into a mess of dead leaves and mud. It finally dawned on Bella that he was not coming to save her. She gave into the tears that had gathered in her eyes and curled up under some ferns next to a tree, hoping for some shelter from the rain.

It was so cold and Bella was tired to her bones. Her mind began slowing down while more time passed, all she could focus on was his words and the hurt they left behind.

He was gone and never coming back. Bella's tears began to dry into itchy tracks on her face and she had never felt so alone. He was her everything, she had spent time with him and his family over the other students at Forks High, with a lurch Bella realised her relationship with her parents had deteriorated too. She had nothing left. Intentionally or not he had isolated her from family and friends making her completely dependent on that whole family. Bella was left wondering what she would do and cursing her own neediness.

There was a sudden rustling nearby. Bella froze, confusingly, she had both hoped and dreaded he would come back. In her periphery vision there was a shadow crouching next to her.

"Bella" the shadow breathed. The shadow was not Edward; this realisation hit her with conflicting emotions, relief and disappointment. The intense heat from this person sank into her, and began to spread a comforting warmth through the block of ice she called a body.

Slowly Bella turned her head towards the source of the heat. There was large man staring at her with wide, concerned eyes. As she became warmer her mind became more lucid. It looked like he was only wearing ripped denim shorts and Bella noticed he looked vaguely familiar. She guessed he was Quileute and she had probably met him when she saw Jacob at the beach. Possibly.

After the many stranger danger lectures Bella had endured, especially with a police chief parent, not to mention the incidents with various vampires fresh in her mind, Bella slowly edged away from him until her back touched the tree trunk. She was in the middle of the woods, lost and now there was a stranger who knew her name.

What was most worrying was that Bella didn't feel in danger, He obviously wasn't a vampire and his stance was anything but aggressive. She took a moment to compose herself, knowing that if she spoke to him then her voice would crack.

They stared at each other for a few minutes before Bella cleared her throat and sat up properly.

"How did you know my name and why are you here?" It was a relief to hear her own voice and Bella was pleased her question came out clearly.

The stranger gave a deep rumbling cough. He looked uncomfortable.

"I understand you don't remember me but we met on the beach in L a Push, you were there with some people from school. My name is Paul. I volunteer on the reservation to act as a community warden of sorts and your dad called us to help find you when you didn't come home."

"Oh." Bella didn't know what to say, "I was a little preoccupied."

"That's fine; I'll take you home when you're ready to go."

Bella squinted at him and took in his appearance. All he was wearing were those cut-offs.

"Why are you so under dressed? I have a jacket and I'm still freezing." She tried to stand up but a flash of pain brought her to her knees.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Paul asked, he looked worried but almost afraid to reach out to her. While feeling grateful he didn't try to touch her, Bella also noticed that he dodged her question.

"I'm ok, just sprained my ankle. Can you pass me a branch, please?" Bella asked softly, panting slightly through the pain. She grabbed the tree and used it as a support to help her stand up. Paul watched her with a frown.

"I can just carry you, we'll be able to move quicker."

"I'm not going to do that. The reason why? Firstly because I have no idea who you are. I don't let random men pick me up. We may have met briefly before but you could be crazy and dangerous. To be honest, I'm getting that impression because you're not even wearing a shirt in this weather."

Paul narrowed his eyes as he took her in while crouching in the mud. Bella hoped she looked firm as she stood to her full height. I've survived a vampire attack, humans should be piss easy. Bella didn't feel nervous, she felt impatient. Bella was just desperate to get home and cry into her pillow. Why couldn't this stupid man get that?

"Ok, sure thing Bella. You've got a sprained ankle and a cut knee, you're miles into deep into the woods and you want to walk yourself out? Good idea. I'm sure basic first aid advice dictates you walk off ankle injuries. I'll just get that branch for you." Paul rolled his eyes as he stood to his own full height, his full head taller than her height. He snapped a thick branch from the tree Bella was leaning on and passed it to her.

"Shall we go? It's very dark and your dad is worried sick about you."

Bella blinked at him, confused by the whole interaction. Her heart was still hurting and she was exhausted. Those feelings mixed together into indignant irritation and Bella marched off through the ferns. The effect was ruined by her makeshift crutch and her jeans brushing past some low leaves spilling the massive puddles that had collected all down her leg.

"Bella, you're going the wrong way. Look, there's the path you created earlier." Despite the darkness Bella could imagine Paul's eyes glittering with amusement.

"Yes, thanks. I was testing the crutch. Let's go." Bella replied tetchily, walking in the direction his shadowy arm was pointing. She was about 10 feet ahead of him when she heard a soft laugh. Bella just felt lonely and sad. More tears began to drip down her face.