~8~

I woke in the morning to find the sun streaming through my window and pouring onto my bed and pillows. It was a sunny day, how odd here in Buffalo. It was ironic how one of the darkest and saddest days of my life could be so sunny. I heard my door creep open and looked up to find my mother in the doorway. When she saw I was awake, she ran over to me, wrapping her arms around me. I felt that if she wasn't made of stone, her eyes would me spilling over with tears.

"I can stay here for you. I don't have to go", she muttered into my shoulder.

I placed my hand onto her cheek willing her to believe that though it would be hard for me, she had to go for my grandfather's sake. She had to save him. He was in danger from a flock of vampires, I was in danger from my raging teenage hormones.

"Okay, I'll go. But I'll come back as soon as I can", she let go of me and stroked my cheek, smiling through her misery.

Just then, it was like a party gathering in my room. Carlisle, Esme, my dad, Alice, and Jasper were suddenly all standing in my room, ready to say goodbye.

"Take care of yourself Nessie. Don't let Alice be too hard on you," said Carlisle coming over to give me a hug.

"We'll see you soon!" said Esme, kissing my cheek.

My father walked over stiffly to me. He bent down and kissed my forehead. I touched my cheek to his hand. "Bye, Daddy. I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you too", he muttered sadly. "Be a good girl. I love you."

"I love you, too" I said. I took my hand away and watched him follow everyone else out of the room except my mother. Something then clicked in my head.

Wait! I screamed in my head. I watched him turn around. I knew he heard me. Where's Jacob? I asked. Doesn't he want to say goodbye? I said in my head to him.

"He's gone," he muttered and turned around to head back out the door.

My mother turned to face me one last time. "I'm gonna miss you so much, but please call me every chance that you get"

"Of course I will", I said as I smiled to her. It was the first time I had ever been separated from my mom for a long time.

She laughed to herself, "Great, I'm starting to sound like my mother now!"

I giggled along with her.

"I love you, Nessie. Take care!" she uttered earnestly.

She hugged me tight one last time and kissed me on the cheek.

As she walked out the door, I felt the tears fall from my eyes as I uttered, "I love you too, Mom."

I stayed in bed for an hour after everyone had left, just dealing with the pain of seeing them all go, especially my mother. It would be the hardest to not wake up to her smiling face and her caressing hands everyday.

"Knock, knock!" I heard Alice say in the doorway.

I looked up to her holding a big stack of pancakes.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. "I know Bella usually does all the cooking for you, but I thought I might give it a try. I hope they taste good," she said handing me the platter.

"I'm sure they will, Alice" I replied back.

She sat on the edge of my bed as a dug through my pancakes. Honestly, they were definetly not as good as my mom's, but I would never tell her that. As I ate, Alice sat in silence, staring off into space. I left her with her visions, and me with mine. It was then that I noticed as small rolled up piece of paper sitting on my desk.

"Alice, what's that?" I asked pointing to it.

She turned around and glanced at it, then turned to face me silently.

"It's a note. From Jacob, I think," she said glumly.

I didn't answer her. I just stared at the note sitting on the desk. I didn't know whether to open it or just leave it there. What would he have to say to me after I screamed at him?

Alice just went easily and picked up the note and threw it at me. I just sat and stared at it. She sensed the tension and worry on my face, and said, "I'll just take these dishes downstairs", and silently crept out of the room.

Slowly, I unrolled the piece of paper that contained a note from my lost Jacob:

Nessie-

I'm so sorry for the way I treated you last night and the way I ran away from you so suddenly. The truth is, I wasn't just hurting you by leaving here, I was also hurting myself. When you left Forks earlier this August, I missed you so much. I wasn't able to think straight, sleep, or eat for months. Not even a pack of vampires could distract me from the pain of missing you. To leave you last night, I had to be angry with you. I knew it was the only way I could walk away. By hurting you so much that I couldn't even look at you! I don't know what I'll do when I leave you now, but I don't want that to worry you. Your mother told me you were having such a fun time going to school and hanging out with friends, so I don't want to ruin that. Go on having as much fun as you did, it will make leaving that much easier. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you, but now I won't cause anymore. I'll leave you alone while you're here and I'm in Forks so you can grow up without me overshadowing. Then, we can meet again when we've both grown up a bit. I'll always be your best friend and I'll be there for you when I see you again. I think it will be easier if we don't speak while we're away from one another, I'll be too busy anyway! :) Your friend,

Jacob

Under the note was a tiny ring taped to the paper. Under it, it read:

P.S.- I found this in an antique shop in La Push. When I saw it, it reminded me of you. I'm sorry for breaking my promise, but hopefully I still will be there with you in a way.

I ripped the ring from the paper and held it up to my eyes. It was a silver ring with a howling wolf on top of a full moon. It reminded me of my Jacob. I slipped the ring onto my finger and felt the tears stream from my eyes. His note fell from my hands I bent over myself, letting the tears fall. All these years, Jacob had been my best friend; the one I would go to for fun and excitement, but now it was clear to me that I loved him. I didn't love him the way a brother would love his sister, I loved him like I wanted to be with him forever.