Stolen

By: Skyela Rickman-Walters

Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own any of the Twilight Saga. It belongs to Stephenie Meyer. They only thing I own is the story plot and a few original characters I have created.

A/n: This story takes place during New Moon, after Bella had her motorcycle accident and had to get seven stitches. She is on her way to hang out with Jacob.

Chapter 2: Lost

February 2nd 2006

11:58 a.m.

Charlie's POV

Renée arrived first thing in the morning after catching a redeye midnight flight with her new husband. I sat, watching her hold Phil's hand while my officer's searched our house, looking for any possibilities that Bella had run away or there had been some kind of abduction. All though I was convinced, and had told them many times that there was no way in hell Bella had ran away, O'Donnell wanted to narrow everything down as if this were someone else's daughter.

As though this was not my Bella missing…

Renée looked sick as she sat on my couch, constantly twitching, her blue eyes wide and watery. I knew it was a mixture of fear for our daughter and the overwhelming awkwardness of being back in Forks, in our old house with Phil sitting right there next to her. My mind lingered over our conversation the previous night…

"Hello?" Renée's voice came over the phone, an edge to it as she waited for me to speak. Lately, everything we had talked about was Bella and how Bella was coping with what happened last fall.

"Renée," I said, my voice tight in my throat as I struggled to speak. I could picture her eyes widening with fright before shrinking back down again at how I must have sounded.

"Charlie, what is it?" she asked, pain evident in her words. "Is it Bella? What's wrong? Let me speak to her, Charlie-"

"I can't let you speak to her," I whispered, hurt by the reality of it all. "Renée, I don't know where Bella is." I couldn't breath; finally speaking the harsh truth of the situation hurt much worse than realizing it.

"Well, find her! Forks isn't that big of a place, Charlie, she can't have gone too far. You're a police officer for Christ sake!" Renée snapped, sounding irritated. I swallowed hard, feeling horrible…Yes I was a police officer, the chief to be exact, but there was nothing I could do to help…

"Renée, they aren't releasing it now, but something is very wrong," I said, putting Chief Swan on the phone now. I couldn't talk to her Renée as the father of our daughter anymore. It hurt to much. "They think Bella was kidnapped this afternoon. They found her truck and everything and Bella is no where to be found. They can't file a missing person's report because Bella is eighteen…" I was speaking very fast now, Chief Swan slowly dissipating from my demeanor. Taking a deep breath, I blinked back few tears that had been threatening to fall. "Please come, Renée…Bella needs you…I need you…"

Silence. I waited, hoping that Renée hadn't fainted from the terrible news I had just given her. Time seemed to tick by slowly, minutes feeling like hours…and then-

"We're on our way." And she hung up the phone.

"Charlie?" Renée's soft voice brought me back to the present and I blinked back my memories of yesterday. Her blue eyes looked trouble as she clutched Phil's hand, and I felt a slight pang of jealousy towards him. "I thought-I thought you said she didn't run away…. Why are they-why are they saying…?" She trailed off, unable to speak. Phil held her tighter and looked at me, wanting the answer as well.

"They're covering all their bases," I explained, twiddling my thumbs as I leaned forward in my arm chair. "They just want to cut out everything they don't specifically need to know. For instance, after they came up with the running away idea, they thought Bella might have been a victim of cyber dating-"

"And?" Renée's voice was as sharp as a knife, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"No," I answered affirmatively, shaking my head. "Bella was in no state to be even looking into relationships. She cowered at watching romance movies or even reading that Wuthering Heights book she loves so much. If anything, her person of interest would have been Jake, the kid she was going to visit yesterday when-" I stopped, unable to speak anymore, folding my hands over my face tiredly. Renée didn't question anymore either.

And so, the hours slowly ticked by, one by one, second by second. Billy and Jacob stopped over to sit with us while we waited for anything to come up. For the most part, it was quiet, except for the constant questions of, "What time is it?" or "Anyone want a drink?"

This was all my fault, I thought, cringing at the thought of it. If-if I had been able to push Bella to live with her mother, or even rejected Bella's idea of living here with me, she would have never met Cullen, he never would have broke her, and maybe, she would have had a chance to get away from who ever took her…

I napped for seconds it seemed, but time never hurried up; it was as if time was torturing us, laughing at as we all sat, huddled in my living room, twitching in anticipation…

"Charlie?" Brayley stood at the archway to the living room, watching all of us for a moment. We all sat up, Renée and Phil swinging their heads around to get a better look at him, as he walked into the crowded living room and took the floor.

"The time is now three-thirty in the afternoon and everything is set in motion to file a missing person's report." His voice was calm, level, but there was pain hidden behind his façade.

"Have you found anything?" Phil asked, his voice full of concern. I watched him, raising an lazy eyebrow.

"Nothing that has led us to believe Isabella had any knowing this was going to happen. We believe she was kidnapped and we are still trying to uncover the motive behind it." Brayley looked at me for some sort of approval after his small speech, but I could only stare at him. This was real, I realized, and it hit me with the force of a three ton brick. My Bella…my little girl…was gone…

A soft hand grasped mine and I looked up from my dream-like state, trying to filter out the surreal from the reality. Renée smiled softly at me, a tear sliding down her face as she patted my hand. "It's going to be okay, Charlie," she whispered, her voice trembling as she fought to keep her emotions under control. "We're going to find her…"

***

February 2nd 2006

5:58 p.m.

Los Angeles, California

Edward's POV

I sat in my dark room, staring at wall, emotionless. I hadn't moved for at least six hours and I wasn't planning on moving at any time in the near future. It hurt to move…for someone with out a soul, who was already clinically dead, I felt as if my death was coming again, slow, agonizing…torturing me until I screamed how sorry I was…how-how pathetic I was…

"Edward." Esme said my name from down stairs, but honestly, what was the use of moving at this point? Yes, I had only come back to visit them for a little while, because I was getting frustrated with tracking Victoria…I just needed sometime to think…time to brood…time to re-convince myself that leaving her to be free was the right choice-the selfless choice. I could hear the vague sounds of laughter and funny noises from Emmett's cartoons downstairs.

Suddenly, my mind tuned into something very strange as a picture of my sweet Bella flashed through my sister's mind; unusual though, because it was a still picture, as if it had been taken before, long before we had met. Other pictures flashed through my mind as well, ones of Bella as a young child, another of her with her mother, one of her with her father…a few of her with two other girls I had never seen before…Anger rippled through my body like a massive tidal wave and I growled, knowing Alice could hear me.

"Alice, you promised. Stay out of her future," I whispered into my knees as I pulled myself into the fetal position, trying to block out stupid Alice…

Edward, get down here now, something is very wrong, Alice thought shrilly. My head snapped up as I heard Alice whoosh by my door.

"Turn on the television!" she yelled, although she didn't have to. "Turn on the news, Emmett! Now!"

I was up and out of the room, down the stairs and beside the large tree plant in moments, watching Emmett flit through the stations one at a time. I tried to read Alice's thoughts, but right now, she was fuming with Emmett.

"Oh, give me that!" Alice swiped the remote from Emmett's hand effortlessly and changed the channel to the six o'clock news just as Emmett was about to retort.

"This just in," a female reporter with a very fake suntan and very blonde hair said in a dramatic voice, "a missing person's report has been filed and sent out across America today; an eighteen year old girl from Forks, Washington, allegedly disappeared yesterday afternoon while driving to a friend's house. Isabella Swan, a senior at Forks High School, was driving down to La Push beach to visit a family friend. Jim Savage has all the details, live from Forks."

A picture of Bella appeared on the screen, the exact same picture I had seen in Alice's vision. Dozens of pictures, all the pictures Alice had seen in her vision, played like a mini slide show. Dread filled my stomach as I realized that Alice really wasn't searching for Bella's future, but had only seen the news episode.

"Yes, Tiffany, this is certainly a tragedy that has struck the little town of Forks," Jim Savage said, and I realized Jim was standing in front of Bella's truck that was parked on the side of route one-oh-one. Yellow police tape was wrapped around the area and I could see police officers searching through the forest. If my heart was still beating, it most certainly would have been surging though my chest right about now. "Yesterday afternoon, around three-thirty in the afternoon, Isabella Swan was driving to visit a friend on the reservation, just five minutes away from where her truck broke down right here. Police suspect someone, an assailant, pulled up behind her truck, made it seem as if they were going to help her out and after gaining her trust, took her.

"As of right now there are no leads on this tragic case. The police of Forks have had to switch the roles around, due to the fact that police chief, Officer Charlie Swan cannot participate in the investigation because he is Isabella's father. If you have seen anything, or know of anything suspicious, please call the hot line number on the bottom of the screen. Isabella prefers the name Bella. She is five feet four inches tall and has brown hair and brown eyes. She is eighteen years old. The man who took her is being considered armed and dangerous. Back to you, Tiffany."

"Tomorrow morning at nine a.m. pacific time, her parents are holding a press conference…" The lady named Tiffany went on to her next topic of news, but the television was abruptly turned off. I stood shaking, trembling in anger…and possibly fear too, but I was unable to tell due to the wave of rage that was sweeping through my body, running through all my dried up veins where, if I was human, my blood should have been. I glanced around me to see my family, staring at me, their faces torn, hurt, angry…

"I thought she'd be safe," I mouthed. "I thought-I thought that-"

"It's okay, Edward," Esme said, suddenly at my side, wrapping her arm around my shoulder comfortingly. "Your heart was in the right place. You were only trying to protect her."

"I say we go back," Alice chimed in, her voice light and wispy-hopeful. I glared at her, causing her to roll her eyes in return. "Look, Edward-they have no leads as of right now. The road Bella was abducted on isn't the busiest road in the world, and I can tell you right now that absolutely no cars drove by while she was being kidnapped. I saw it, just now while watching the news episode-Bella was recapping it in her head-I think if we could go back…we could get a scent, or I could focus really hard and try and locate where she is-"

"Alice, that would make us a little more…obvious, wouldn't it? I snapped at her. Alice put her hands on her hips delicately and pursed her lips, giving me a perusing look.

Edward, we have to help one way or another. We owe her that much…It won't be obvious at all! We'll just have to play it out… Before I could think my thoughts, Alice saw them, and shook her head negatively. We aren't going to get found out-I can see it.

I felt so guilty. Glumly I nodded and my family was up and off, packing their things quickly. I stood there, with nothing to pack. A hand touched my shoulder and I sighed.

"I don't know, Carlisle…What if we go back, find her, and people start to get suspicious-we'd have to leave, and I don't know if I can handle that again, leaving her…" I trailed off, shutting my eyes.

"Son, Alice has a plan. Don't worry about it-we will find Bella." Her name ripped open a hole deep in my chest, and I sucked open a deep breath, cringing at the phantom pain. Carlisle patted my back before walking away, leaving me to brood…

Why'd I leave you?

***

February 2nd, 2006

9:47 p.m.

Bella's POV

We'd been driving for more than twenty-four hours at least-or at least it felt like more than twenty-four hours. I'd began to last track of time and after a while, even listening to 'Mutt' and 'Jeff', the fearless navigators, grew tiresome. I slept little, partially from the nightmares that caused me to jerk awake and from being so uncomfortable. I was terrified, so terrified, I couldn't even think about where I was going, or where I would be tomorrow-all that mattered was now.

At some point, maybe a few hours ago, we had stopped at a motel I think. Mutt and Jeff went inside and left me sitting in the van for a long time. My stomach rumbled. Groaning, I tried to sit up properly but it did no good. There was just no comfortable position when you were tied up, pulled down to the ground like a dog…

The van door clicked; I froze, even stopped breathing as I waited for something, anything to happen. Maybe somebody found me! I thought, my heart soaring high above the clouds.

"You hungry, girlie?" a voice leered, grabbing the ropes and pulling me around to face him. My heart sank deep into my chest once more. I could smell something that smelt delicious, but I didn't trust these two enough to actually eat it. I could wait…I could die…The sack was pulled up so it touched my nostrils-it smelled horrible. I gulped and breathed raggedly, wanting nothing more than to just disappear…humiliation washed over me as heat rose to my face.

"If I take off this tape, are you gonna be quiet, girl?"

I nodded vigorously, wanting to breathe natural air-maybe I could scream and someone would hear me-

Don't scream Bella, Edward's smooth velvet voice scolded. My ragged breathing ceased as I clung to him, held on so tightly, it hurt. As the velvety ringing started to dissipate, I wanted to cry, because he was something from the past. Something that reminded me that I had people who cared for me, who were going to find me. Oh, what Charlie was doing right now? Or Renée? Or Phil? Or Jake? Where they looking for me? Had Alice Cullen had a vision of this horrible happening?

"If you scream, make one little peep, I'll slit your throat, girl," the man threatened, his greasy fingers grabbing at the tape and ripping it off my face. It took everything I had to keep from screaming. I gasped and bit my tongue so hard, I could taste some blood in my mouth afterward. The area around my mouth was burning in protest, but it was so good to breath in fresh air. I sat waiting for another piece of tape, but instead, my mouth was greeted by pizza. I choked, sputtered, as I gagged on the gooey cheese as pizza was rammed down my throat. I tried to back away, tried to breath, but I couldn't move-

"Shut up!" he hissed, smacking me in the face. "You wanna die girl?"

My cheek burned; I shook my head no, as I spit out the pizza, coughing as quietly as I could. I could smell beer on the man's breath, turning my stomach nauseously. "C-could you please-be a little gentler at least? I can't see…" I trailed off. It was hopeless anyway, asking stupid questions. They hadn't listened to one of my pleas or my cries for the whole damn ride.

A sigh. My body tensed, and though I couldn't see, I reflexively shut my eyes. Holding my breath captive in my lungs, I waited for the man to strike me.

A slicing sound; my hands fell in front of me. A slice of pizza was placed in my hands and I dumbly sat there holding the food. I longed to be able to see the man's face, to try to read what he was thinking, to see some sort of emotion run across his face.

"Eat," he commanded. I obeyed, bringing the food to my mouth, devouring it, eating as if I had not eaten in days. I was so hungry-I hadn't eaten since breakfast yesterday morning-and it tasted so good! I gulped it down so quickly, I sat, feeling defeated when it was all gone. The man gave me a sip of something very sweet-some kind of soda- and began to tie my hand back up.

"Can I please-clean up?" I asked, feeling the man's sudden resentment. Patiently I sat as the man roughly wiped my face and wringed my hands with a napkin. He grabbed my hands again and tightly bound them together as I waited silently, trying to think of something to say.

"Thank you," I whispered softly. The man paused, sighing with a sound that sounded gloomy. "Why-" I stopped quickly, wondering if I should even continue. But I had to ask-I had to know. "Why me? Why did you have to take me? I have a family and friends and va-" Now I put my foot down. The Cullens-and I shuddered still to think of them-were no longer a part of my life now. No matter how much I thought of them finding me, and taking me home where I belonged, I knew that they would just go on with their everyday lives when the world found out I was missing. He didn't love me any more. Edward didn't love me anymore…

"We was watching you for a while," the man explained quietly, his voice had a strange edge to it as if he was unsure if he was allowed to reveal this information. "Since you were young, but-"

"Hey!" The other man's voice boomed across the parking lot causing me to jump. "Bring in the beer!"

I heard the scuffing of metal cans against the floor of the van. A hand placed itself on my head. "If I don't put tape on yer mouth, you'll be quiet right?"

I nodded vigorously. His hand patted my shoulder. "I never wanted to do this-but I gots my own family to raise. Needs to get my money somehow…You understand?"

I nodded again, although I didn't understand. Why would you want to destroy somebody else's family to better yourself? As the van door slammed shut, the question brought me back to grade school, when I had been distraught for a whole week because a prissy fourth grader had had more than just a laugh at me. Renée had explained to me that some people had to make themselves feel better by making other people feel down right horrible. But why? What good did it do? I found myself still pondering…

All I wanted to do was go home…be safe….The tears started slowly again, but I kept my sobs muffled, trying to be true to the man. Although his reasoning was slightly twisted, I knew he felt sorry for me. He pitied me, and although I didn't want to be pitied, it was nice to know I wasn't the only one suffering. Slowly, carefully, I shifted my weight to lay down, hoping that maye I could get some sleep tonight.

***

Please read and review!

Love,

3Skye3