Hello again, here's your third chapter.

I'm only getting reviews out of this people, no money (rather unfortunately). All these characters and themes are owned by the lovely Ms. Meyer, and though I wish I could have thought of all this first, I didn't, and so now she owns them. I only own the computer which I typed this on.

Previously:

It took all of two seconds for someone to answer.

"Alice speaking."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bella's POV

Even though I knew deep down that the chance I would be connected through to a vampire by hitting one of the buttons on a vampire's speed dial, it still hit me like a ton of bricks when my former best friend answered.

It was evident in her bright, chirpy voice that she was confused as to why someone was ringing her from her own house when it was supposed to be deserted.

It grew apparent that I hadn't answered her, and I wasn't sure whether I should. Alice finding out I was a vampire and had just broken into her house wouldn't go quite so well. I was reaching for the end button when her confused voice rang out again over the speaker.

"Edward, is that you?"

I inhaled a sharp gust of air and pressed the end button, the hollow beep of the dial tone sounding across the room, before turning itself off.

If she was asking for Edward, that meant he wasn't wherever it was they had taken off to, and probably that he hadn't been staying with them for at least couple of days. Maybe Alice asking for Edward that way meant that she didn't know where he was, which probably alluded to the confusion in her tone.

So why wasn't he with his family?

He said that they would move somewhere else, together. That he didn't want me to come with them. Those words implied that he was moving with them.

Probably his distractions, I decided. An image of a beautiful woman with strawberry blond hair and the same golden eyes as the Cullen's came floating into my head. I'd never actually met this vampire who had supposedly made a move for Edward before me, but I imagined her to be more beautiful than I ever could be. Was it that now Edward had discovered the world of love, he had gone onto someone he could actually love? Someone who was equal to him in every way? A beautiful, rich vampire. Someone who was good enough for him, and he would be someone good enough for her.

I knew he was never supposed to love me.

I focused back on the room I was in, a red haze covering everything like a transparent sheet had been hung in front of me. I felt Jealous of Tanya. Whoever she was, if Edward was with her, she was off much better than me.

I approached the door, and clamped my hand in a fist, feeling the need to leave a calling card, like taggers do on the streets. I felt the need to destroy, just to show Edward a fraction of the pain he'd left me in.

I reached back, but an inch of air was between the wood and my knuckle when the phone rang out again, saving the door from a hole that would have been quickly punched through it. It only took one look in the reflection of one of the many windows of the house to see that the last light was flashing red once again.

I yanked the door swiftly open, and pulled it closed behind me while I ran down the porch, feeling the entire frame of the house vibrate with the movement. I really didn't want to be discovered at their house. I had already left too much scent around; I just had to pray that if someone came to investigate, they wouldn't recognize it was mine.

I ran vaguely in the direction I thought I had come from, trying to get as far away from the house as possible and then solve the problem of how I was going to find Jake.

Even so, apparently also thinking of the devil will make the devil appear.

"Bella!" Jake's voice cried out with relief as he suddenly appeared to the left of me, "geez, where were you?"

"Hunting," I replied cautiously, widening my eyes to prove my innocence.

"Oh," his eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"You never go out this long," he observed.

My brow furrowed in confusion, my innocence scheme forgotten, "How long have I been out?"

"Three and a half hours," he grumbled, his arms crossing.

"Well, I obviously didn't murder anyone, did I, Jacob? I am perfectly capable of handling myself, you know. You don't have to act like an over-concerned parent," I told him, my arms defensibly crossing too, and straightening my back to try and – unsuccessfully – make me taller.

"You're my responsibility," he protested.

My mouth dropped wide open. How dare he!

"I'm eighteen," I said, appalled.

"And you're a vampire. I need to make sure I'm with you all the time, otherwise Sam might change his mind."

I flinched. "You're lying. You would never allow Sam to kill me."

He didn't respond for a few moments, his resolve faltering, and I started to feel smug that I had won this debate. I turned around to head back to Emily's, but Jake spoke up again.

"So if you have been hunting for three hours, why are your eyes still black?"

I stopped in my tracks. I hadn't thought about my eyes! I tried to think of an excuse.

"Well... I was... in the bushes. At school." Well done Bella, I thought. He's so going to believe you now.

"You were in the bushes at school," Jake said, his tone suggesting he knew I was lying. When I turned around he had his muscular arms crossed, and one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," I shrugged it off indifferently, "just watching my friends."

"Watching your friends..." Jake said, snorting.

"I just wanted to make sure that Angela and Ben were still okay," I defended myself, "and that Jess and Mike had finally noticed each other. I just wanted to see how they were doing..." The idea made me pensive. This idea was actually starting to sound good. Maybe I should visit my old high school sometime.

Jake started tapping his foot against the mossy forest floor, and then smirked, raising one eyebrow in challenge, "It's Sunday,"

Oops.

"What's it matter to you anyway? Why do you suddenly care what I do all the time?"

"I already told you that Bella," I could see he was getting more annoyed, "Sam–"

As soon as Sam's name came out of his mouth, I had to stop him, "Sam has nothing to do with this. He would just let me go off by myself. He's already seen I'm not a danger to humans, he would let me leave if I wanted to!"

"You would never leave," he scoffed, completely sure of himself, "let's go," he decided, stomping off to La Push.

"You know," I sneered, "I don't think I will."

He snickered, which just made me angrier.

"Look Jacob, I now have forever to do absolutely nothing, so I might as well start doing something. Right now I'm just sitting around at La Push, being a nuisance to everybody. I'm not going to end up staying with Sam and you for the rest of eternity. You've already proved I'm not a danger to humans, why can't I just leave? I might as well do something with this life; I could go to school somewhere else, I could travel, I could go to college!" I finished off the longest rant I'd probably ever had.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at me, thinking I wasn't serious about what I was saying.

Still in the frame of mind my outburst, I sped past him and ran as fast as I could to La Push. I could feel the air around me vibrate delicately, and I knew that Jake had phased. I still had a pretty good head start, so I wasn't worried about him stopping me before I could carry out my decision.

I reached Emily's house in record time, sped into the hallway to get the bag that contained my possessions, and ran back out the sliding doors. I could hear someone approaching at high speed from where I had just come from, and I hurried into the trees behind the house.

I didn't get far before I felt a warm hand grab mine, and turned around ready to address Jacob.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" asked Sam's deep voice.

I raised my eyebrows in the surprise of seeing Sam here, and then put on my frequently used poker face.

Sam's face showed no surprise, however, and he placed a light rectangle object in my palm. Looking down, I saw a small cell phone.

"Just in case there's any trouble," he stared at me, studying my face, waiting for an answer. I nodded at him, and put the cell phone in my bag. I thought it a bit strange that Sam would be letting me go like this, even though I had told Jacob he would. I had been counting on a fight.

"Just don't get killed," he warned me, but I could see a small smile threatening to come out.

"I'll try. You know how I'm a danger magnet."

He smiled fully this time, "yeah, yeah. Just check in with us once in a while."

I nodded, and we stood awkwardly for a few moments.

"Can– "

"Where– "

We both spoke at the same time, and laughed uncomfortably.

"Can... can you tell Jake I'm sorry. And... that I'll miss him?"

Sam smiled, and shifted around for a bit, and then asked me his question.

"Where are you going to go?"

His question made me freeze, because I really didn't know. I could go to college, but I wouldn't have any idea how to fake a story or any documents, or where to live. I didn't even have any money! I didn't know where I could go now, I had no home. I could go check on Renee and Phil, but where would that leave me, apart from in the middle of a city filled with two million humans?

Sam could see my frightened expression, and took my hand gently, startling me, since he never showed physical affection towards anyone but Emily.

"You wouldn't be off any better here, Bella. I can see it in your eyes that you're only here for us. I'm honestly surprised that you didn't leave earlier. Go find something to do out there. You can take care of yourself. Why do you think I would be letting you run off?"

I couldn't think of anything to say to that, so there were a few quiet moments till Sam released my hand and nudged my shoulder.

"I mean it, take care of yourself. And call us, kay?"

I nodded and twisted my mouth into half a smile. Sam took off running back in the direction he came from and glanced back to my still form once before disappearing behind the green canopy.

I hadn't realised how quiet and lonely the forest could be out here.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Over the next couple of hours I wandered round the state, weaving through countless trees and spending some time finally quenching my thirst by hunting around Mt. Rainier. I couldn't bring myself to run further than 200 miles away from the place I used to call home. From the place everyone I knew and loved lived. The one place where I knew the Cullen's once were. The place Edward and I had loved each other, where we had experienced countless extraordinary moments together. The place where my life was.

The place where my life had been.

I had to now do something with this new life I had received. I wouldn't stand around and waste away. The question was what would I do?

At least I knew I could interact with humans right away. Maybe I could get a job somewhere... obviously nowhere sunny. Maybe an indoor job somewhere in the north. I could study somewhere.

I had never had an idea of what I wanted to do after high school. After Edward came into my life, I'd always thought I would become a vampire and follow him around the world. Plan B was college, but I would've had no idea what to major in. It wasn't like I was gifted in anything. I was average.

If I went anywhere and interacted with humans though, I would have to fake the documents and papers required, and I had no idea how to do that myself, or who could do that for me. I had a sneaking suspicion there were no forger listings in the yellow pages.

I had no idea what to do anymore. I wasn't doing anything for myself by staying with Jake and the pack. Going back to either Charlie or Renee and Phil would backfire, because they had to think I was dead. Interacting with humans required fundamentals that I wouldn't be able to make. I couldn't even go as far as buying anything because I had no money to my name.

I had just been changed into a vampire a matter of weeks ago. I was just 18 years old, and it was too lonely out here, I was all by myself. Even I, the ever independent girl who had raised her mother emotionally and then cared for her father, needed someone right now. I couldn't make any of these important choices by myself.

That's when the simple solution popped up in my head.

I didn't know what to do with myself.

I needed to see someone that was just like me.

Someone who could help me in this life, give me direction.

I had to find a vampire.

Guess who the only vampires I knew were.

I know that Jake is cruelly OOC in this chapter compared to the last one, but he had to be angry in order for the story to progress. And Sam's pretty nice. Talk about role reversal.

Still liking this?

This time round its Master of the Universe by Snowqueens Icedragon. Many of you can probably guess what it's about judging by the title, but for those of you who can't it does have some dark themes. It is a about Bella Swan, who is drafted to interview the reclusive enigmatic Edward Cullen, multi-millionaire CEO of his company. It's an encounter that will change her life irrevocably, leading her to the darkest realms of desire. There are many twists and turns, and has me waiting eagerly every time for the next update.