A/N: Thank you guys for the sweet reviews from those of you who ACTUALLY review. I understand if you don't have free time and you've got to run after you read this chapter, but if you have a minute after you get done reading, please post a review, even if it's just a single word. Chapter title borrowed from "Help You Fly", an original song by yours truly. (That means I wrote it. Lol.)

Part Eighteen

'Till You Find Your Way

"Where have you been, Bells?" Edward asked, concerned, as he jumped up from his swiveling chair next to the sound board. "I've been here for… at least half an hour. Are you all right? Did you run into Jacob? Are you hurt?"

I laughed inwardly, blessing Edward's genuine concern. "I'm fine," I said, taking off my long, pink-and-red plaid winter coat and hanging it on the back of a vacant chair. "I'm so sorry I'm late. Jess and I lost track of time… Really, Edward, I'm sorry."

"It's all good," a skinny, limbic nerd said, dismissing it with a flick of his bony hand.

"Umm… You must be…" In truth, I had no idea who he was, but I felt, for some reason, that I should.

"Marty Maniac," he finished, holding out his hand. I shook it nervously, afraid that at any moment his hand would turn into a human, flesh-looking body part. It did not. The aliened, pale "hand" remained unchanging.

"Bella Swan," I introduced myself, forcing myself not to gag when he kissed my hand.

Edward cleared his throat suggestively, saving me just as I was about to swat him away. "Right," Marty, the radio deejay for the local station, corrected himself. "I guess you'll want to hear the recordings, then." He looked at Edward, shaking a bit at his angry glower.

"Please," Edward said. I giggled quietly, taking my seat beside Edward, who embraced me almost immediately. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Isabella Marie Swan."

I nodded, noting the seriousness in his tone. "I really am sorry."

"I forgive you, love," he grinned, draping his arm around my shoulders. "Just don't do it again."

Now it was Marty's turn to be uncomfortable. He trudged across the room silently and shoved a cassette tape into the player. "The stalker," he reminded us.

"Right. Let's get to it. Bella's got to get loads of sleep for school tomorrow," he said, not bothering to move his arm away from me, for which I was glad.

"Whatever," Marty muttered. "Here's the first one." He hit play.

"Bella Swan, if you're listening to this, we're coming for you. And you too, Cullen. You'll pay for what your stupid brother did to Jake," the first recording said. The voice was incredibly familiar, but I could not put my finger on its owner.

"That's the end of the first one. It was fairly unimportant," Marty noted.

"Unimportant?" Edward snarled. "Yeah, it's totally no big deal. My girlfriend got shot, as did I, and now two of the idiot's friends are threatening us. No big deal."

"I meant compared to the others," he mumbled, taking the tape out and turning it to the other side before forcing it back into the player and pressing the 'play' button again.

"You'll never believe what I found when I was in your charming little guest room at the Cullen's the other day, Bella," another, distinctly familiar voice crackled. I shivered. Edward's grip on my shoulder tightened slightly. "Bet you didn't even know I was in there, didya? Yeah, well, I'm just that good. Anyway, that little journal of Renee's, it's in our possession now. And you can tell your little boyfriend that I dare him to try and get it from us. We've got toys, just like the one Jake had. Only we're a little but looser with ours."

"That's it, Bella!" Edward said, obviously annoyed. "Who could it be? I've never heard that voice before in my life! God, Bella, what are we gonna- Why are you crying, love?"

He was by my side as soon as the tears began to fall, wiping them away with his cook thumbs. I grabbed his hand, pressing it to my face, feeling his skin against mine for a few seconds to strengthen me. "He… Mom's diary… He took it… From my room Edward! How… he knows where I am. He'll kill me. At any time that's convenient for him. He'll kill me, Edward, and then he'll… he'll…" I hiccupped, another sob rising in my throat.

"Bella, listen to me," he demanded, his voice wavering. "I won't let him hurt you. I won't let Jacob hurt you. Tell me if… Are you scared? Are you insecure? Because I don't want you to feel vulnerable. And I swear, as soon as I find out who these freaks are-"

"Yeah, they're the freaks," Marty said under his breath. Edward ignored the incognito comment.

"I'll… I don't know yet. I'm too mad to think straight, love, but I won't let them hurt you. No matter whom they are. Even though, well, we don't exactly know yet…"

"Actually…" I started, straightening up a bit. "I know exactly who they are. I recognized the voices almost immediately…"

A/N: Uh-oh, so the stalker is someone Bella knows! Sorry if this chapter was kind of short, but this is all I wanted to say for this chapter. The next chapter will be quite lengthy, and it's the one where they go back to school for the first time in… a while. Haha. So make sure to leave a nice little review, even if it's simply "Good" or "Bad". I honestly couldn't care less. Much love,

C.J.