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 5: Defiance and Hope

Renée's POV

February 28th, 2006

Forks Police Station

"Renée we need to know facts."

I looked to Charlie before gazing back into the face of Detective Lyons. What more facts could they possibly need? The Cullen family was off the hook because of my sheer persistence and Charlie's belief that they had returned to help us. The police were looking at every situation, at every person Bella had talked to that day she seemingly vanished into thin air. They had even taken Charlie in for questioning at one point. Phil had been questioned for twenty-four hours just days ago, and even Jacob Black had been put into a juvenile detention hall for three whole days. And now, it was my turn. Although I hadn't seen Bella since September of last year, it was my turn to take a spin in the hot seat.

"I don't know…" I replied, trailing off as I lost myself into deep thoughts. What I would give to know one little piece of information about where my Bella was. And then…

"Well…" I said slowly, racking my brains as an old memory unleashed itself. Charlie's hand tightened on mine as I raised my eyes to Detective Lyons. "Back-back when we lived in Arizona, just before I met Phil, a girl went missing. She was twelve, three years younger than Bella was, but she lived just up the block from us. Her disappearance was just as sudden." I looked at Charlie. "She was just gone."

"Did this girl know Bella?" Detective Lyons began scribbling in her notepad wildly. My eyes widened a bit.

"Yes!" I paused a little as my heart accelerated inside my chest. "Yes, Bella used to babysit her!" I stared at Detective Lyons in disbelief as the shock of this realization began to set in. How could I have not remembered this? And how could this be relevant? "But…but that was three years ago…I don't think-"

"But there are a lot of coincidences between Bella's case and Olivia Bennett's case," Detective Lyons cut in, her blue eyes lighting up indefinitely.

"But…but how did you know that the girl's name was-"

"Mrs. Dwyer, I was the lead investigator for the disappearance of Olivia Bennett," Detective Lyons said, as she pulled open her file cabinet and thumbed through some old manila folders. "Olivia, although she was six years younger than Bella was when she was abducted, disappeared in midday while her mother went to the store. According to her friends they had just arrived home from the mall and her babysitter was supposed to be at the house waiting for her, but Mrs. Bennett called ahead to tell the babysitter not to come. Nothing was taken from the house besides the child, nothing had been moved or misplaced. It was as if she had simply vanished."

"Could there be a tie?" Charlie asked, looking at Detective Lyons with those hopeful brown eyes that mirrored Bella so much that I couldn't bear to look. "Could there be a connection between these two cases?"

Detective Lyons eyed Charlie quietly for a moment, as she folded her hands together complacently. She looked back to me, and I knew that the small connection between the girls would never be enough.

"Chief Swan," Detective Lyons began, staring at my ex husband as though trying to make him see the horrible details. I was pretty sure Charlie knew about abductions-he was the chief of police-but he was the parent, a victim by association. His views were completely biased. "Approximately two-thousand hundred missing children reports are filed each day. So far, you and Renée have been able to supply us with the best key pieces of information of your child like height, weight, eye color and a bunch of recent photos…Given the fact that tomorrow will mark four weeks since Isabella's disappearance. No, I am not giving up," Detective Lyons said sternly as Charlie opened his mouth with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm only trying to show you how unrealistic it would be to piece together each abduction case. It's completely absurd. However, I do believe that it is odd that Olivia and Bella lived within a block of the other, they knew each other fairly well and three years after Olivia had been abducted, Bella goes missing as well. Mrs. Dwyer, do you remember if there was anyone who seemed to be rather fond of Bella while she lived in Arizona?"

"Well, Bella was a likeable kid!" I said exasperatedly while Charlie and I exchanged a meaningful look. "Her teachers adored her, she had a few close friends, Mrs. Bennett thought she was wonderful with Olivia…The only suspect the police ever took in for questioning was Paulo, the Bennett's gardener. But he was released on lack of evidence to support that he did anything! I think Bella only mentioned him once, twice at the most."

"And this is where Olivia's case went wrong," Detective Lyons said softly, reaching out to grab my hand. "No suspects, no leads…it was as if Olivia Mae Bennett never existed."

"Maybe Paulo is the missing link!" Charlie said quickly, sounding so desperate I just wanted to reach out and hold him. He looked so tired, so empty inside…it broke my heart to think of how badly he was aching. "Yeah, maybe this Paulo had some kind of thing for Bella! Maybe-"

"Charlie," I shushed, patting his hand. "If Bella felt uncomfortable with Paulo, she would have told me or Mrs. Bennett. She-"

"Olivia was kidnapped on the one day that Bella didn't babysit. Maybe Paulo went there for Bella, realized she wasn't there, and took Olivia instead to avoid confrontation! It makes perfect sense!"

"Oh Charlie," I sighed, taking his hand in mine and holding it tightly. "Charlie you're just-just putting words together. Olivia was kidnapped three years ago. Why would Paulo wait for three years? Why would he travel all the way to Forks just to kidnap an eighteen year old girl when he knew where Bella lived in Arizona for years? It just doesn't make sense…"

But something in the back of my mind stirred. Maybe Charlie had a point. Maybe Paulo's whole intention was Bella when he took Olivia. Maybe he saw Bella last spring and followed her back to Forks. Maybe…

Oh Rainy, you're losing it, the voice inside my head whispered; I had to bit my tongue to hold back my tears. The voice-for years now-had always sounded like my Bella.

***

Bella's POV

March 1st, 2006

It had four weeks today. I knew that much. I heard Vince say something to Tilly before she left for work that sounded like, "Just a few more weeks and we won't have to hide…" I was pretty sure it had to do with me, with my disappearance. Every day I saw less and less of my face on the news unless Tilly watched Nancy Grace or Dateline NBC. Some days I just wanted to scream, to run outside and show the world that I was alive and that I was right here, just so people wouldn't give up hope. But with the doors locked and with the windows chained down, it was pretty much useless. The Shuman's were very careful and precise. They had thought out their plan of action over and over again.

I watched Olivia as she flicked through the channels of the television. Her quick fingers hit the channel button with precision and accuracy. Nicky clapped his hands as he looked up from his messy pile of blocks. Olivia smiled at him and finally landed on some wacky cartoon.

"I love this one," she mumbled, settling back into her bed. Nicky stood and ran to where the television sat, and watched the cartoon without sitting. I looked up as a character was squashed by a falling boulder.

"You remind me of someone I once knew," I said suddenly, pulling myself up onto the bed with Olivia.

"Really? Who?" Olivia asked.

I stared at her for a brief moment, taking in everything about her-the blond hair, the bright green eyes, her high cheekbones and her sweet nose…I had seen it from the very first moment I met her, but I was too afraid to really believe it. Maybe I didn't want to believe that she had been stuck here for three years, or maybe I wanted to think that she wasn't suffering anymore.

"Earth to Bella!" Olivia called, waving a hand in front of my face. I blinked. Olivia laughed a little bit and rested her chin in her palm. "Who do I remind you of, space cadet?"

"Your last name-it wouldn't happen to be…Bennett, would it?"

Olivia froze. Her eyes widened to their full extent and her jaw dropped in shock. She stared at me with incredulity, her eyes seeing but not fully believing. I patted her shoulder gently and gave her a smile.

"Its okay-I've thought so. You looked so familiar to me, I thought it was just because I saw you on the news. You've grown up so much!" I told her.

"How-how do I know you?" Olivia whispered, looking around the room wildly.

"Don't I look familiar to you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "Don't you remember me?"

"I don't remember…a lot," Olivia admitted. "I repressed quite a bit. For instance, I can't remember if I was still at the mall when I was kidnapped or if I made it home. I think-well I just don't know…"

"I used to be your babysitter!" I exclaimed. "We used to do a lot together-baking cookies, taking walks in the park-don't you remember?"

"A little," Olivia admitted. She looked downcast as she racked her brain trying to fill the void. "I remember fighting with my mom-she wanted you to watch me, but I wanted to be a grown up and not need a babysitter anymore. I think that's what happened actually-I think that Mom promised me that I wouldn't have a babysitter when I came home from the mall or something like that…" she smiled sadly at me. "I'm sorry-it's hard to remember."

"I wish I didn't have to remember…" I muttered.

"Don't say that," Olivia scolded. She sighed softly and stretched. "You don't know what you have until it's gone."

Isn't that the truth? Life without my loved ones was almost unbearable. I didn't know how much I appreciated Charlie until he wasn't there anymore. I didn't know how much I would miss Renée and Phil until I arrived in rainy Forks and immediately missed mom's sunny personality and Phil's bright outlook. I didn't know how much I would miss Jake's warm laughter or how much it would hurt to even think of Ed-

That overwhelming need to keel over hit me like a freight train was I remembered the last time I saw him. I instinctively grabbed my stomach and longed for a sweet escape. My eyes clenched shut and I was amazed at the beautiful colors that dotted the backs of my eyelids…

"Bella-are you okay?" Olivia's worried voice shot threw me like an arrow. I opened my eyes to find myself curled up on the bed in a tight ball, holding my stomach as if all of my insides were spilling out over the ground.

"I'm fine." My voice was tight, clipped. I bit my lip and pulled myself into a sitting position. "It's just cramps-you know."

"Oh," Olivia said, sounding unsure. She patted my back soothingly and looked into my eyes. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah…" I slid off the bed and stared at the cream colored wall. I hadn't felt like that since my innocence and my dignity had been stripped from me. I shuddered as I remembered that night and the nights that followed after that…bile rose into my throat instinctively, but I forced it down with a strong swallow.

"I think I miss my mother the most."

I turned around; Olivia had swung her legs around the side of the bed, looking at me thoughtfully. Her face suddenly broke out into a smile and she tossed her blonde hair from her shoulders. "Yeah…definitely Mom…I miss the smell of her hair…the way she used to tuck me in at night. God, I can remember telling her not to tuck me in-that only babies could be tucked in before bed. What I would give to feel her pull my quilt up to my chin just one last time again…" She stopped and gave me a questioning look. "What do you miss the most Bella?"

"I dunno…lots of things, I guess," I said shifting my weight to the other foot. With one glance at Olivia, I could tell my answer wasn't enough. I took a deep breath and continued. "I miss Charlie-my dad-and my mom's crazy emails…I miss my stepdad…my friends…my…" I trailed off, feeling overcome by that overwhelming feeling of pain again. I longed to feel the comforting cold; that was the only way I could think of him now. Through the days of watching the news, I had not once seen any of the Cullen's. I had seen Jake and his gigantic friends-but not one of them. Had I really hurt them so terribly? Did he not even care that I was missing? Had Alice-and I cringed as I thought of her-seen anything in her visions?

"Izzy!" Vince hollered from downstairs. I shuddered instinctively and looked at Olivia for support.

"Just go, Bella. It'll be easier for you if you just go."

My shoulders sagged and just as I turned for the door, it swung open. Obviously I hadn't moved fast enough.

"Why didn't you come?" Vince slurred, his fingers curling around the neck of my shirt. I could smell the bitter taste of alcohol on his breath; I held my breath as he dragged me closer.

"I need you," he groaned, dragging me towards the door. "I need you before the new girly comes to play…"

This was the first time I had seen him drunk. The way his hands clung to me startled me immensely. My breathing grew deeper as terror sank into my heart; with one look at Olivia's startled face, I knew I was going to be in trouble.

Vince slammed the door as we entered the hallway. Instantly my lips were pressed towards his, and I could feel his tongue cramming itself down my throat. I had never been kissed like this-never in my entire life. I couldn't let him take me-not when he was like this. Adrenaline surged through my body as panic set in. I began to struggle against Vince's strong arms, but try as I may, though in his drunken stupor, it was still no use.

Vince pulled away from me and smiled with hazy eyes. "What?" he crooned, "You don't want this? You don't want to feel me, Isabelle?"

Vince pulled me closer. I acted on impulse-I don't even know why I decided to fight back again. Vince hollered loudly, pulling me to the floor as my spit hit him square in the eye. Vince was angry too-he regained his strength and pulled me to my feet by the neck.

"You little…" he cussed me loudly. I couldn't breathe-all the air was gone and I was struggling with his tight hands that were wrapped around my neck.

"Please…"I choked, trying to take in some blessed air. "I-I'm sorry…"

He released me. I crumpled to the floor in a heap and tried to breathe normally. As I turned my face to look up into his cold eyes, his steel-toed boot hit with my face-

And my reality spiraled into darkness…

***

Edward's POV

March 1st, 2006

The Meadow

Even my special place caused me grief now. My guilt was endless-I couldn't run from it and it cornered me where ever I went. I sighed and plucked a sprig of grass from the wet ground. It crushed easily in my hands and I was reminded at how fragile anything that lived was.

I couldn't go home. There, I was annoyed easily as I wondered why Alice was reciting the Gettysburg Address backwards all the time now and how the rest of my family watched me sadly and yet bitterly at the same time. I knew that Alice knew something-something bad had happened to Bella. I begged her to tell me, but she kept assuring me that Bella was alright. If Bella was alright, then why, why was everyone so careful to control their thoughts around me? Maybe I was unsafe to be around me family. Maybe one thought about my Bella would send my entire being into an uproar…

Behind me, a branch creaked in the distance. I sat perfectly still; I didn't care what ever it was. If Bella was dead-I'd soon be dead too.

It was my entire fault anyway. If I hadn't decided that we leave, Bella would have been safe. I wouldn't have left her out of my sight for a minute. I wouldn't have let her hang around with those dirty mongrels that invaded the woods at night. I would have…

But it really came down to what I didn't do. I didn't protect her-I didn't keep her safe. I caused her so much pain when I left…I thought I had been doing the right thing, leaving her to let her live a normal human life. I never thought that anything bad would happen-I never thought…

Oh its you… a voice mumbled through my head. I rolled my eyes at the thought and turned to face the gigantic russet brown wolf. The wolf snorted indignantly and turned around to storm off in a sense.

"Wait," I called out, hoping that he wouldn't ignore me. Something clicked in my brain just then, and maybe I was just crazy to believe it.

The wolf froze but didn't turn. I could hear its breathing as it stood quietly, waiting for me to speak.

Well…?

"Listen dog, I know you're hurting just as much as I am," I began but was interrupted by a defiant snarl.

Watch who you're calling dog, leech.

I took in a deep breath and held it, trying to remain calm. Ignoring his interjection, I continued anyway. "Maybe we should put aside our differences…Maybe for now, we should work together-fight for something we both love very much."

If you loved her so much, then why did you leave her? His voice cut threw me like a dull knife, rough and hard. You don't know how much you hurt her-how you completely shattered her heart. She was like a shell without you. I've never seen anything so empty-and then I had her coming back, she was getting so much better. And now she's gone and you're back and if she comes back…I think it might kill her.

That stung worst than I thought it would. "I was doing what I thought was right!" I protested. "I was only trying to keep her safe-I never stopped loving her, not once. Without her, my night was the blackest black…it was a night with no moon."

Jacob was suddenly right next to me, scrutinizing my face with belligerent eyes. Think again, bloodsucker. Next time you should just follow your stone cold heart.

I hissed; Jacob backed away from me carefully. I was to my feet in seconds, staring him down, the monster slipping out from within me. "I apologize for breaking her heart! And I apologize for breaking yours too! I know how much pain you're in, I know because I'm feeling it too! If it wasn't for me, she'd be right here, right now. If I had stayed with her, those…crooks wouldn't have stolen her from us. It's my fault this happened…"

Jacob was silent. I looked at him angrily, only to see that he had transformed into a boy again, behind the brush of tree. When he emerged, some shorts covered his body, but the rain poured from the sky against his dark skin. He looked at me, pity in his eyes and slowly stepped toward me.

"I guess we have something in common," he said.

"What?" I snapped.

"We're blaming ourselves for losing the one we love."

***

Bella's POV

?

When I came to, I was chained to an old pipe in the basement. I groaned and tenderly touched my swollen cheek. It stung, but the pain wasn't the worst pain I had felt. I could hear talking from upstairs-

"From now on, your name will be Madelyn, girl," Tilly's voice squealed from above me. I winced slightly as the basement door opened and a girl's muffled sobs could be heard from above. "Forget everything you've ever know-because they've already forgotten about you! Nothing matters any more."

The door closed. Footsteps stumbled down the stairs and my heart wrenched at the girl's crying.

She was tall-at least a couple of inches taller than me. In the dim light, I could see a splatter of freckles across her pale cheeks and her light brown hair was pulled up into a loose ponytail. Pink pajamas covered her body and she seemed to be clutching the sleeves tightly in her hands.

The girl gasped upon seeing me; I must have looked like a mess, with a bruised face and dirty clothes. I would have stood up to greet her, the way Olivia did with me, but I was chained into a sitting position.

"Hi," I said sheepishly, watching the irrational girl with wary eyes.

The girl stared at me, chest heaving violently. In one terrified movement, her hands gripped her face. "Oh my God, this can't be happening to me!" she moaned into her hands as her knees gave out. She fell to the cement floor, and laid there, sobbing into the concrete.

My heart went out to her; I couldn't help but feel the need to cry a little bit too. I reached out to touch her hair but she pulled away from me, shaking her head slowly.

"Please," I whispered softly, wanting to help her the way Olivia had helped me. "It'll be okay-we'll be alright-"

"No we won't!" the girl sobbed, pulling on her hair in discomfort. "We will never be alright again! Don't you see? There is no hope!"

I recoiled, and hugged my knees. Well it certainly seemed that there was no more hope. But I couldn't give in-not now.

"We have to dig down deep to find it," I told her earnestly. "There is always hope-even when there is nothing left, there is hope…"

My words were drowned out by her tears. I sighed and leaned up against the heater, feeling the swell of water from behind my eyes.

God damn it all…

Thank you all so much for your kind words and wonderful reviews! I wrote this chapter for my reviewers especially! I can't thank you all enough for your continued support and love for this story! And for those of you who didn't review, please do. It only takes a few seconds and I would really appreciate it :)

Love always,

:)Skye(: