Chapter three... meheheh. I gotta say, I'm having fun writing this story... it's a lot different than the other ones I've written... and, a sincere thank-you to all my reviewers out there, not only for this particular fic, but for everything else as well! Your reviews mean the world to me; without them, well, I've got no idea where I'd be. =] Thank you, and enjoy chapter three... =]

Carlisle Cullen

3:46 AM. I haven't had a sleepless night like this in ages. I sighed heavily and flipped over onto my back, staring at the white ceiling of my bedroom. What is wrong with me? She's just a new kid. That's all. Nothing more. I turned my head and glanced at the bright green digital numbers on my clock that had only added one minute to the amount of time I'd been awake. Running a hand through my tousled blonde hair, I sat up in my bed and stared at the wall.

"Guess I should get up," I muttered, throwing my blanket off of my leg, throwing on an old tee-shirt and quietly making my way down the stairs. I didn't bother to turn on any of the lights in the kitchen when I grabbed the coffee and put a few spoonfuls into the coffeemaker, a routine I'd been doing since I was nine years old and my mother would demand her morning brew. You'd think she would've changed in the six years that followed that, but, to this present day, she still kept herself in that boring rut of a life. I pressed the power button on the laptop that was left sitting on the table, planning to check my e-mail as I did every morning. It wasn't often that I even got any mail in my inbox, besides the usual advertising and chain-mail forwards. I typed in my password and pressed the 'Enter' key, surprised to see that there was in fact an unread e-mail that wasn't one of the usuals. It was from Erin; sent at 3:14 AM. It read:

Yo, Carlizzle. Yeah, I'm sending this at quarter after three in the morning. Can't sleep, y'know, my usual. But.. I just saw some story on the breaking news thingamabob about some girl going missing in the forest... I think it may be your little girlfriend there. -hint hint wink wink- okay, sorry, I know, its not funny. But I thought you might like to know that. See ya at school tomorrow... err... today, that is. ~ Erin~

I didn't even move the mouse to click on the 'reply' button. I just stared at the one little line in her e-mail for I don't even know how long: some girl went missing in the forest.

"Oh, God," I whispered, setting the computer aside and letting my gaze drop to the floor. "Oh SHIT!" I let myself fall back onto the couch, my fingers knotted in my hair frustratedly. "I shoulda gone after her.. I know it... dammit." I moaned quietly, ignoring the beep of the coffeemaker, signaling that it was done, and just stared at the ceiling again, hoping that somehow this was just all a dream.

A Few Days Later...

Four days... and she still hadn't come back.

Erin was right. I really was being obsessive over this girl... Esme. That was her name. Not 'that girl' or 'the new chick'. Esme. Just the thought of her being missing, possibly dead, led me to three more sleepless nights. My whole body and most of my brain was running on caffeine and nothing else; I'd even stopped eating regular meals every day. My friends had obviously noticed the change in my mood and eating habits, but it was Ryan who came right out and said it.

"Carlisle, what is it about her? You've never been this way before. Especially not over a girl."

"I don't know," had been my simple answer. The most truthful, honest answer that came to my caffeinated brain.

"Well, you need to stop it. Whatever you're doing, or, rather, not doing, isn't healthy. I mean, look at you, for God's sake." Erin had turned me around to face my reflection in the coffee-shop window to stare at my face and expression. Deep purple bags had formed under my eyes, which were drained of all possible emotion. I'd resorted to attire similar to Clark's; baggy sweatshirts and jeans. I normally wore the same Converse sneakers every day, but even those seemed to look faded with age and depression.

"I can't stop it, Erin," I murmured quietly. "I don't even know why it's happening. How am I supposed to stop it if I don't know where its coming from?"

"Well, you obviously like the chick, don't you?" Clark said, staring at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Her name is Esme, Clark. Not 'the chick'. And... I dunno." I leaned my forehead against the cold glass of wine window. Ryan slapped my back.

"Ha! Carlisle's finally found a girl he likes! Like, really likes! Jeez, bro, took you long enough," he laughed. I glared at him and he dropped his smile. I turned around and scanned the faces of the half-circle the three had made around me. Clark shared the same expression as Ryan and Erin just looked slightly disappointed, but covered it with a light smile.

"Well, hopefully she'll come back," she started. "Then maybe, y'know, we can try to talk to her. Maybe she'll end up becoming our friend... it'd only be the nice thing to do." She added the last part when she saw the other two guys giving her one of those cliché 'yeah, right' looks. I let my gaze drop to the pavement and slightly nodded.

"Yeah, we could try. I think she'd appreciate it," I added softly. "If she comes back, of course."

Erin looked at me sadly, "Yeah. If."