Chapter Five: Abandoned

I couldn't sleep. For some reason, without her curled in a ball next to me, it was too…lonely. My bed was too empty without her warmth, my room was too quiet without her breathing, and my nights were too lonely without my Luna. I sat up in my bed, my eyes shifting over the dark corners. I hadn't gone back out, and Charlie and Bella had disappeared without my knowledge, as my mind was till racing over the events of the day.

Somehow, through all that had happened today, I had managed to lose her, get her back, confess to her, and lose her again; all that in about five or so hours. I would have to fix it, I would have to. I couldn't deal with this, I needed her around me. Somehow, in all the mishaps of the day, I had realized just how much I really needed her with me, how accustom I had become to her warm hands in mine, her small frame pushed against me as we slept.

Unless I could convince her to come in here, I would die of insomnia.

I stood off my bed and crossed the room, my hand resting on the door. I felt odd, like I shouldn't go looking for her out there; like she wouldn't be there. I took a breath and opened the door to the outside world. The hallway was dark, and I could hear Billy snoring in his room. I walked down the hall quietly, and gently turned the door to my sister's room, expecting to see her sitting there, just as awake as I, her cool blue eyes reflecting in the darkness.

But, I met an empty room; an empty room and an open window.

"Luna?" I called out cautiously. There was no answer. I flicked on the light, and all I saw was my t-shirt, folded neatly on the bed. I picked it up, and held it to my face, inhaling her scent. She was gone. I felt tears come to my eyes as I leaned against the doorframe, gently sliding down it until I was seated on the ground, my shirt in my arms, the light scent it gave off the only proof that she had ever existed.

She was gone.

I felt my heart break.

---

"Luna!" I called as I rushed out the back door of the house. It was the middle of the night, and it was times like these that I was happy that everyone on La Push was so asleep, a hurricane couldn't wake them. I needed to find her, I needed her here. I know, it was rude of me to think that she would come back willingly, but she was all I wanted, all I needed.

I sniffed the air, finding a faint scent of her, but not enough to follow; not enough for my unskilled nose to find. I needed help, I needed lots of help. I was in front of Sam's door in minutes, and, to my luck, it was open, lights on inside and laughter heard from the family room. I panted, catching my breath as best I could; I had never run faster in my life to get there.

The stares I got when I walked in the door were hurtful, and they were terrifying all at the same time. The living room was full, all of my brothers there, sitting, watching something on TV, each with a pop in hand. Paul stood, as he was closest to me, and looked down on me with concern. Sam remained seated, calm.

"I need your help, guys…" I said, my voice cracking like a child's. They each exchanged glances, their expressions ranging from weary to cautious to downright anger. I bowed my head, ashamed that I was begging for their help after I had practically told them all off, said all I needed was Luna and disobeyed my leader.

"Jake…where's Luna?" came a soft voice from the kitchen. Emily was standing there, drying a dish in her apron. I bit my lip and looked away from everyone, trying to hide the fear and terror in my eyes.

"I…I don't know…" I said, my voice shaky and soft. I hadn't been this unsure of anything in nearly a year, I hadn't been so ashamed or upset of anything in a long time. "…I need your help, please, I need to find her." I looked up from the ground, my eyes meeting with Sam's. I begged without words, hoping to convey the dire necessity of my situation without having to speak too much. Sam looked up at me, and sighed before standing and walking over to me. He clapped his hand on my shoulder, then looked away.

"She's not on La Push, we can't do anything about it, Jake," he said calmly. I looked up at him, my eyes wide.

"You knew she was leaving…?" I asked, wanting to take a step back from him. Sam nodded.

"I felt her leave, I knew she was leaving, and I couldn't stop her, Jake, she's not one of us," he explained. My mind was frantic, I was lost. I needed help from my brothers, and I was being told there was nothing I could do; nothing they could do.

"Please, just come searching with me, that's all you need to do…just help me find her," I said pleadingly. "I…I'm not strong enough to find her on my own…."

"Why didn't you stop her?" I turned, and my eyes fell on Embry, who was standing beside me, his stance defensive, his eyes hard as they stared at Sam. Sam looked over at him, his expression just as serious as Embry's.

"She's not one of us, she's her own," said Sam, his eyes glaring in a way that made all of us, Embry included, want to back down and cower. Quil came to stand on my other side.

"You should have at least tried, for Jake," said Quil.

"Just like we should have tried to protect the vampire-lover for Jake?" asked Sam. Quil and Embry looked away, but now I stood full. So that's how he felt? That's why he's been so tough on me; he doesn't want to associate with me because I associate with Bella, who, unfortunately, associates with bloodsuckers.

"Yes, you should have, because I'm your brother," I said before turning to leave. "I'll find her without you if you're so reluctant to help those outside of your own family." No one tried to stop me as I left.

---

I ran back to the house as fast as I could and jumped into the car. I was alone, I had to find Luna on my own, and there was nothing I could do to stop that fact. I would search forever if I had to. But, that was unrealistic, I didn't have forever. I looked up, my rear-view mirror giving me a perfect view of the dark horizon.

I didn't have forever, but I knew there were…people who did, people who had stronger senses than I did. I jammed my key in the ignition and threw my car into reverse, swerving my rabbit around before shoving in the clutch and kicking into third gear, then fourth, then fifth. I was speeding as I drove like a maniac out of La Push, then down into Forks. It was so late, I was certain I would have to wake her when I got there. I parked in the woods, about a mile from Charlie's house so I could avoid suspicion. I darted through the darkness and skidded to a stop behind Charlie's house, and, to my surprise and delight, the light was on in Bella's room.

I climbed up the tree, I'm not even sure how I did without much effort, but I managed. Before I could reach out and tap her window, it flung open. I snarled as my nostrils filled with the cold, dead scent of my natural enemy.

"What are you doing here?" Edward Cullen snarled back. He was standing protectively against Bella's window, denying me entry. Bella poked her head around from behind Edward, her eyes groggy and her hair messy as she focused on me.

"Jake…?" she asked questioningly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Edward, let him in…" she said, shoving against Cullen. He didn't budge.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled again. My eyes fell away from him, trying to wipe the disgust and anger from my face as I looked back at the bloodsucker before me. He was pale and cold, like marble, and I didn't understand why anyone ever would find him attractive, but that wasn't my place to judge. I was their hunter, not their prey. But, right now, I was balanced—badly, I might add—in a tree, unfortunately, at Cullen's mercy.

"I…I need your help…" I said, forcing myself to swallow the obvious disgust in my voice as I looked back at Cullen, then at Bella. "…Both of you."

---

"So, she left?" asked Bella as she sat on her bed, Cullen positioned protectively beside her. Cullen glared at me when we met eyes, and I slowly nodded at Bella.

"I can't track her, my senses aren't…strong enough, I need to find her, Bella, I don't know what I'll do if I don't," I replied. Cullen snarled.

"Why can't you ask one of your puppy-pals?" he barked. I glared.

"They won't help me, please, I know this is…wrong, but I need your help," I pleaded. Bella's large brown eyes met with mine, and, I can actually say they didn't effect me in anyway other than the way a sister's would. She studied my features, contemplating to herself; I could see it in her eyes that she was trying to figure out if I could be trusted. It burned, to know that she had to think about whether I was telling her the truth or not.

"Fine, I'll help you," she said, a soft smile playing on her heart shaped face. I smiled, but Cullen positioned himself between Bella and I. "Edward…" she said calmly, looking up at him. His eyes never left me. It was weird, because I knew he could hear my thoughts, I knew he could see that I wasn't lying—and I knew he could see how I felt about Luna.

"…Please…Edward," I said, gritting my teeth as I called him by his name. I saw the stone muscles in his lip twitch; apparently he didn't like the familiarity any more than I did. My eyes hardened, reasoning with him was harder than I thought it would be. "…What would you do, if you were in my position?" I mumbled, soft enough that I knew Bella wouldn't have caught it, but Cullen's eyes flickered over to Bella, instantly softened, then landed on me again.

For a split second, in his flickering eyes, I could see why humans would call him beautiful. His eyes, when they weren't enraged, were like a filtering swirl of topaz. His ashen hair was beautiful too, if I had to think so, and his features weren't disgusting to most, it was probably just me and my brethren who found him and his kind repulsive. My gaze didn't leave his as I stared back at him, not bothering to speak. He could hear my thoughts, he knew that all I really cared about right now was Luna; even the difference between our people could wait if it meant I could find her.

"She's all I need…" he said, in the exact pitch and speed as my mind. I twitched, it was eerie how he could narrate my thoughts, but it was true; she is all I need. I nodded slowly, watching as his eyes softened to a small degree before turning to look at Bella. I followed his gaze, my thoughts going back to that time when Cullen was gone, when I was the only one that Bella could trust, when I was the only one who could save her. I didn't need to look at him; I knew he could hear my thoughts loud and clear.

'You owe me; I saved her when you couldn't. Repay your debt.'

His eyes moved over to mine and I stared at him, serious in what I thought. He knew it, he knew what I meant before he exhaled angrily and nodded.

"Fine," he said hoarsely. I sighed in relief, and, for a moment, I could have sworn he did the same. Bella looked up at us, her eyes full of some confusion. I shook my head at her and moved towards the window, Cullen at my heel.

I looked into the darkness of the night, the cool air filling my lungs. I could barely sense her anymore. Cullen stood next to me, inhaling deeply into the air. I looked over at him, and he grimaced. I smirked, she was still close enough for him to sense her.

"Is she close?" I asked hopefully, my voice still hiding the disgust that was in the pit of my heart for needing his help.

"Close is a…relative term, Black," he said, before hoisting himself onto the window ledge. He jumped into the darkness and in an instant, he was calling up to us, so soft that I'm sure only I could hear. "Tell Bella to jump down, I'll catch her." I blinked, surprised and mildly appalled. I hear him sight. "I won't drop her, dog; I have better senses than you do." I rolled my eyes.

"He says to jump," I said to Bella. Much to my dismay, she didn't show the same initial fear that I did. She walked over to the ledge and clumsily fell out of it. When I didn't hear a scream of pain, I figured Bella was fine. It was my turn as I pulled myself out of the landing and fell to the ground. I landed on my legs, crouched, and an audible 'oof' was all that could really be heard. My eyes focused instantly as Cullen stood, as if he'd been waiting a long while for me, with Bella on his back, her legs wrapped around him and arms clinging to his neck.

"We're going this way, don't get lost," he said, crooking his head north. I blinked. I couldn't sense her that well, but I knew that she was closer than that.

"She's in the other direction, Cullen," I snarled angrily. He snarled back.

"I know that, but I can't find her alone, not now, she's too far. We're going to need some help," he said before taking off. I growled before I ran full speed to catch him. He was fast, faster than I was, so when he slowed down to a jog, if I ran full speed I could keep up. Bella was pressed to his back, her head buried in his back, eyes wrenched shut. We ran through the forest, dodging trees in the darkness.

"Where are we going!?" I shouted as I weaved in and out through trees and bushes, leaping over rocks. It was difficult; I hadn't run that hard in a long time. Cullen glided ahead of me as if it were simple, like a child skipping lightly off to play. He looked back at me and smirked evilly.

"My house," he said before continuing at the same pace. When we reached a clearing, I was panting for air as I leaned against my legs. We had run at least twenty miles, maybe more, in less than ten minutes. Cullen softly let Bella off his back and held her steady as she swooned against him. If I hadn't been so focused on breathing, I would have laughed at her; she really couldn't handle fast speeds.

The house was spectacular, and if it didn't reek of blood-sucker, I would have thought it was a good place to be. I breathed in the cool night air and Cullen stretched his back and walked up to the house. He looked back at me, and then at Bella before speaking.

"I'd invite you inside, but I have a feeling that they'll be angry enough as is," he said calmly. There was one large growl as two men showed up behind him, one large and fierce and the other lithe and young. Both had anger in their face and disgust in their eyes. To the side of them, the small, black, choppy hair of Alice Cullen showed up, an equal amount of hate and rage in her cool eyes.

"Angry is an understatement, Edward," she said, her eyes glaring at me.

This would be fun….