feel free to hate me for not updating in forever. the reason is a combination of not being able to log in for a month due to technical problems on the website, writer's block, and being extremely busy visiting family, going camping and reading breaking dawn. sincerist apologies.

Disclaimer: Twilight and all of its affiliates belong to Stephenie Meyer. NOT ME.

enjoy.

Previously: It was as though she didn't WANT to be found.

Chapter 4

I wondered vaguely how much caffeine you had to ingest before you gave yourself a heart attack. I was now running on my ninth cup of coffee, sitting in my cramped little cubicle, writing my latest How To article. The crash was coming on fast, I could tell, but that was the result of an all night video extravaganza. I was still clueless as to how to find Bella Swan, but I was also sure that my determination would pull me through to my goal. I heard a low rapping sound against hollow metal.

"Hey, Edward." called a familiar southern voice from over my shoulder. I turned and saw my favorite editor and good friend Jasper Whitlock leaning against my wall with a mellow expression on his face, knuckles outstretched to knock against one of my filing cabinets.

"How's it going?" He asked casually, as he scanned my cluttered office, his usual easy grin playing at the corners of his lips.

"Fine." I answered, closing the lid of my laptop and stretching in my seat.

"Want to grab some lunch?" He wasn't really asking, as it was custom for us to get something to eat and hang out every work day.

"Sure thing." I said as I grabbed my favorite leather jacket from the back of my chair and stood up. I glanced at the generic clock on the wall and blinked in surprise.

"Wow." I said as we moved out of the tiny space. "One 'o' clock already?"

"Yes." Jasper said with some amusement. "I came by about an hour earlier, but you were too focused to even notice me."

More like too distracted. I thought as I nodded and laughed an apology at Jasper. I had spent the better part of the morning brainstorming ways to return the messenger bag to its owner. I couldn't even recall what my article was supposed to be about.

"Those are some monstrous bags underneath your eyes." Jasper noted, curiosity leaking into his voice. "What were you doing last night that distracted you from your beauty sleep?"

"Insomnia's a bitch." I lied, grinning jokingly. The real story was much too crazy. He chuckled appreciatively and changed the subject to the cloudy weather. We sauntered down the hall and into the elevator, falling into a companionable silence as the doors slid shut.

Halfway down the shaft, an awful screeching sound emanated from the outside the elevator, and Jasper and I simultaneously clapped our hand over our ears. With a violent shake that sent both of us tumbling to the floor – him backwards into the wall, and me sprawling forward against the ground – , the elevator came to a halt. Jasper groaned loudly and I cursed under my breath.

"You okay, Edward?" Jasper asked, rubbing his head on the spot it had hit the wall.

"Define 'okay'." I said sarcastically, nursing my newly rug-burned hands. He grinned half-heartedly and hoisted himself up, searching his pockets for something. He extracted his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911, helping me to my feet in the process.

He chatted with the operator on the other end for several minutes, describing our dilemma in full detail and giving the address. He flicked the phone shut and banged his head back against the wall, forgetting for the moment about the swelling bruise on the crown of his skull.

"Ow." He muttered, glaring at the wall in annoyance. He looked back at me and his expression turned apologetic. "The lady estimated that we would be stuck in here for about three hours or so." I started cursing again in response.

We sat there for a long moment after that, contemplating the situation. The silence broke when his stomach growled. "Ugh." I said. "Thanks for the reminder." I told him, as if it was his fault.

He smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders, sliding down to a crouch. I followed suit, sighing and running my fingers through my hair as I went. I pinched the bridge of my nose out of habit, hoping it would fend off the oncoming migraine.

"I have some breath mints in my pocket." He offered fishing around in his jacket.

"Do you have some lipstick in there too, miss?" I laughed, accepting the two icebreakers he held out.

"Ha ha." He said sarcastically. "You're so funny. My sides are splitting." He rolled his eyes at me and popped his own candy into his mouth.

"Seriously though," I said incredulously. "Why do you have those on you?" He turned a bright red.

"Well…" He muttered, looking hesitant to tell me. I nodded encouragingly, if not condescendingly. "I have this new girlfriend. Her name's Mary, and I'm always so god-damned nervous around her. I'm always thinking about ways I could embarrass myself in front of her."

"So you carry around breath mints with you?" I asked.

"I don't want her to think my breath smells bad." I snickered and he punched my arm with quite a bit of force.

"Sorry." I said in the most unapologetic way possible.

"I really like this girl." He defended himself. Then he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I think she's the one, you know?"

I blinked and nodded as if I understood. Sure, I had dated a few girls, had gone steady once or twice. But it was impossible for me to know exactly what he meant by 'the one'. I had never met anyone who had lit a fire within me, who made me feel electricity at the simplest touch. I hadn't even lost my virginity.

Jasper's stomach rumbled loudly again, reminding me again of the hunger pangs within my own. "Ugh!" He groaned loudly. "I need sustenance! Now!"

"You sound like Emmett." I teased.

"Hey, how is Emmett? I haven't seen that big lug in a while." And with that we were off into lighter topics for the next half hour before we fell into a painful, hungry silence. About an hour after that Jasper went to sleep and I started pacing a circle around the elevator. My thoughts were back on the messenger bag and Bella Swan.

There was no address or phone number attached to the bag. Her cell phone was thoroughly dead and un-chargeable. She wasn't listed in the phone book, and neither were Rosalie or Alice. What was the next logical step? I paced for a while longer, thinking through my resources. I could Google her name, though that probably wouldn't give me the information I needed, even if her name did come up. There was a serial number on Alice's camcorder, but I would more likely than not need a password of some kind to get onto any online accounts.

Frustrating. This was so frustrating. I sat down again and put my head between my knees, wanting desperately to take a break from thinking.

I counted the number of buttons on the elevator door eleven tines. Counted the two cameras hidden behind the whirring lights. Counted Jasper's snores until I hit three hundred and sixty seven. Counted the number of cousins on both sides of my family – which was a lot.

I went through a mental list of chores that needed to be done at home. Washing the dishes. Vacuuming the carpet. Doing the laundry. Changing the bed sheets. Watering the plants.

Jasper woke up somewhere in the middle of that exercise and looked around blearily, clearly not remembering where he had fallen asleep. "Hey." I greeted him boredly, yawning widely.

"Mmph." He replied, still trying to get his bearings. "How long have I been out?" His voice was thick with sleep and his southern accent.

"A couple of –," I began, but was cut off by a might wrenching sound from outside the doors. We both looked up in alarm, and then relief as we realized that it was probably help.

We jumped up expectantly, and five minutes later we were outside giving the fireman warm, profuse thank you's. Although we were reassured that it was most certainly safe to let the elevator take us the rest of the way down, we still took the stairs, as we probably would be doing for the next two weeks.

"You still want to get something to eat?" Jasper asked, checking his watch. "Although it'll be dinner instead of lunch." He chuckled.

"Nah." I murmured, waving off the suggestion with my hand. "I just want to go home now." I informed him. He laughed.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." He winked at me then. "I have a hot date in a couple hours."

I gave him the thumbs up and waved a cab down. "See you tomorrow, Jazz."

By the time I got home I was absolutely exhausted, both from my caffeine crash and my long night before hand. I ordered Chinese take-out and flopped down on the couch, patting the messenger bag laying on the coffee table before grabbing the remote and flicking to some random college football game.

There was a loud knocking at my door, and I assumed it was the delivery guy, so I got up to answer the door. A split-second after the door was open I was barreled down by my burly brother as he stormed inside, not even bothering to wipe his feet before he stomped his grimy shoes against the carpet.

"Where were you today?" He asked as he shuffled to my fridge and began ripping through its contents.

"Help yourself." I muttered, going back to flop on the couch. I froze when I saw the messenger bag sitting guiltily on the coffee table, shooting a glance back at Emmett, who still had his face stuffed into the refrigerator, fortunately.

"I was worried about you, bro." He informed me, tossing the ingredients for a sandwich behind him.

I ignored his question again. "I'll be right back." I informed him in a voice three or four octaves higher than usual. I snatched the bag and sprinted to my bedroom, hastily shoving it under my bed. Knowing Emmett, he probably wouldn't even remember the bag from yesterday, but I wasn't about to take any chances. That was an embarrassing situation waiting to happen.

When I got back, another knock sounded on the door and I took the food from the delivery guy gratefully, giving him an extra large tip. Emmett was already eating by the time I sat down at the kitchen table.

"You haven't answered my question yet, man." He said through a mouthful of food. "Why didn't you meet me on the subway today?"

"I took a cab today." I said between bites of fried rice. "Jasper and I got stuck in the elevator."

He laughed loudly at that, spraying bits of chewed food at my face. I scowled and wiped them away with a napkin with disgust. "Just your luck, bro." He chuckled. He stayed for about an hour after that, yelling at the television animatedly. It was a relief to me as he grabbed his scarf and waved, slamming the door behind him. I wanted to hit the sack early.

I took a long, thirty minute shower, trying to wash away the stress in my muscles. Something nagged at the edges of my mind as I shampooed my hair, and I frowned in concentration, trying to find out what it was. I gave up as soon as I wrapped the towel around my waist and stepped out from behind the curtain, drying off quickly and slipping into an old t-shirt and a pair of boxers.

It wasn't until three in the morning, when I jolted from the middle of a dream to upright in bed, that I figured it out. Jasper's girlfriend's name was Mary, he said. I frowned at that, knowing that it was a one in a million chance that she was Alice from the camcorder videos. I still had the impulse to ask though, and it couldn't wait.

I seized the phone from its cradle, typing out Jasper's number in a blur. I had to hang up several times due to my jittery fingers, but I finally got it in the end. Four rings later, He picked up.

"'Lo?" His voice was thick with sleep again.

"It's me, Jasper." I said impatiently.

"Edward?" His thick voice was puzzled. "What could you possible want at this hour?"

"You mentioned your girlfriend's name was Mary, this afternoon." I said in a rush, barely able to pick out the individual words myself. "Tell me, Jazz, what's her full name?"

"Mary Alice Brandon. Why?" But I hung up without an answer.

maybe if you review, i'll update faster. much much faster.

izzy x edward