I was going to refer to the deceased girl as 'She' and 'Her.' I wanted to honor Her with some type of remembrance. The murderer I named 'Him.' It wasn't said normally like Him, but Him, with a deep burning hate.

Jacob was planning on sending me on a plane to Chicago, Illinois. He said that he had some distant relatives there, second cousins, or something of the like. If they didn't find Him in the next three or four weeks, I was to be on a plane out of here ASAP. And so we waited…

***

Three weeks had now passed. That made it about seven weeks since the Tragedy. I was just pulling up to Charlie's house when Jake pulled up in his Rabbit and ran over to my door, flailing his arms about wildly, a few pieces of paper in his hand.

"Bella! Bella! Bella, we have to go, your plane leaves in three hours. We have to be at the airport an hour earlier than that, and it's about an hour's drive down to Port Angeles, so that gives you about an hour to pack, oh but what if there's traffic? Well I doubt it, but still, it's good to have some time left over—"I cut him off right there so I could interrupt.

"Wait. What?" He looked at me as if I had just said that I saw flying pigs.

"What do you mean 'what?'? Do you not remember our little deal three weeks ago? When I said that if that guy hadn't been found in three or four weeks that I was going to get you out of here?"

"Of course I remember, Jake! It's just…don't you think this is all a little short notice? What am I supposed to tell Charlie?" What was I supposed to tell him? 'Oh, hey Dad? I just wanted to tell you that I'm flying to Chicago tonight because I'm trying to avoid a killer. I love you! Bye!' I didn't consider my dad quite a normal reactor, but I didn't think that would go over too well with a lot of parents.

"It's already taken care of. I told my dad that you told me that you wanted to take a trip over summer break. So Dad passed it on to Charlie and…he gave the ok!" Jake looked pretty proud of himself.

It did sound like a pretty good excuse. And Charlie had believed it, even given his permission. But I had three more days of school left. Then again, we weren't even doing anything these last three days. As it is, today all of my class time was spent watching movies. Final exams were finished last week…fuck it, Jake had already bought the tickets. I turned to him to nod my head and tell him that I was going to leave tonight.

"Then go start packing! Take no more time than an hour."

"Alright, I won't take long."

But as I went in the house and into my room, I realized that I didn't know how much to pack. A month? A week? Three months? It's better to be overpacked than underpacked. With that thought, I grabbed my biggest suitcase and duffel bag and began to shove clothes and toiletries into them. Not forty five minutes later, I was heading back down the stairs with my two very large bags, to a waiting Indian standing in my living room.

"I just called Charlie and told him about the plane. You ready?"

"I guess so," I answered reluctantly.

Jake's hand went under my chin and pulled my face up so my eyes would meet his. "Bella, it's going to be okay. I'll make sure of it." That little comment didn't do its job of making me feel better.

"If you say so." I knew my accompanying smile didn't look quite right.

"Let's go," he said quietly.

***

It was nice to finally sit down. I had a window seat, which I was thankful for. I loved to look out the window as the plane flew over the land; it was so scenic. The security line had gone on forever.

"I guess you can go now Jake, I only have to go through securi—ty…" I was taken aback by how long the line was. It was winding like a snake along the wall, around the corner, and about fifty yards down that wall.

"Uh, actually, do you mind talking to me while I wait in line?"

"Sure, no problem, Bells." Jake had a look of amusement on his face. Obviously he had seen the line, too.

"Geez, how many people fly out of Port Angeles on a Tuesday evening?"

Jake laughed before answering, "I don't know, but aren't you glad I'm here? Just imagine how much longer it would seem to take if you had nothing to do."

I had been very thankful for Jacob's presence. But even when it seems like things will never end, they always do; I had reached the security checkpoint all too soon. I never really liked goodbyes, I thought as another flashback came to me.

I was looking at the floor, staring at a cricket that amazingly hadn't jumped since I'd been looking at him.

Jake saw me staring at the cricket and decided to do what only Jake would do.

"Hey look, a cricket!" With that, he lifted up his giant foot and brought it down to stop only an inch above the little cricket.

My poor heart was beating so fast.

"Jake! Do NOT step on that cricket. I repeat, do NOT," I said while moving in between him and Mr. Cricket, then muttered, "Jerk."

The little cricket was no longer stationary, though. He had since jumped about seven feet away, in the path of the other security line.

"Now look at what you did!"

"Oh, he would've done it eventually."

I looked back at the cricket, except…it wasn't a cricket anymore. Mr. Cricket was now just a green mess on the floor. I surveyed the surrounding area for the culprit; there was a little blonde boy looking at the bottom of his shoe. I stared daggers at him.

"Ew, gross! I got bug juice all over my shoe! Oh, well, at least he's dead."

I stared flaming daggers at him. Stupid kid…

Meanwhile, Jacob was standing at my side, laughing with his head thrown back, grabbing his sides.

"Shut up."

It was now only two people until it was my turn to go through. I had better say goodbye.

I turned to Jake. He had a crestfallen expression on his face. He knew what was coming. But before I could even get anything out, he had scooped me up into a rib-crushing hug.

"I'll really miss you, Bella."

"I'll really miss you too, Jacob." My voice was thick, and there was a stupid lump in my throat.

I didn't want to move. I wanted to stay and breathe in his woodsy, musky scent. But he let me go, because the person in front of me had just gone through the metal detector and I was still standing here with my shoes on.

"Goodbye, Jake."

"Goodbye, Bella."

"You'll call me often, right?"

"Of course, Bella honey. You're my best friend."

"As I am yours. Always."

Yes, I never really liked goodbyes.

A/N: I liked how it ended, so I kept it this length. I'll update later today with a longer chapter.