CHAPTER 2

LOST

It had been over one year since they had left.

They had moved 4 times. No place seemed to fit anymore. None of the places where they had stayed since felt like home. Right now they were staying in a pale replica of Forks, however picturesque it seemed to be: Park City, Utah. They were here for the winter. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Enjoy a bit of skiing, fun in the snow, and plenty to hunt. But the family had only continued to drift apart. Though still in the same general area, there were now three Cullen residences.

Emmet and Rosalie had been the first to split off; Rosalie not being very understanding of all the sadness surrounding their departure from Forks and consequently, their departure from Bella.

Alice and Jasper had been next. Jasper couldn't handle being around Edward and his overwhelming feelings of guilt and self-loathing and Alice had been unable to deal with Edward's refusal to let her look into how Bella was doing.

Carlisle and Esme had been supportive of the moves but made the two couples promise to stay close by.

Edward had merely watched them go, no words of discouragement or encouragement. He hardly even noticed, truth be told. He simply sat in his room on staring at the bare walls. His room was empty of any belongings. No bed, no music. Just Edward on the floor. He hardly ever left his room and that was only to hunt, but only if he had too. Carlisle and Esme had tried their best to coax him out, and get him to live a little, but Edward had refused their overtures. Life was meaningless for him now, and he was sure to let everyone around him know.

The morning dawned bright, not a cloud was in sight, just a pure light blue that could lift the heart of the dreariest of souls. But not Edward. He simply closed the shades, turned his back to the window, and continued to rot.

Outside, the snow shinned in the light. Laughter broke the air.

"Jasper, not again," a female voice whined. "You'll ruin my shirt."

He laughed, but didn't toss another snowball at her. Instead he grabbed her close and tumbled to the snow covered ground. Lying on the ground, the sky above them, the two turned to each other and shared a smile.

Alice sighed, looking up at the bright blue sky.

"I wish Bella were here."

"Alice don't-" Jasper began.

"Can I?" she turned her head, looking right into Jasper's eyes.

He turned to the sky.

"If Edward were to find out-"

Alice frowned.

"Right now, I don't care what he thinks, and he sure doesn't care what we think either."

Sitting up, Alice closed her eyes in concentration.

Jasper sat up too and watched her closely.

After a few minutes, Alice began to sob. She opened her eyes.

"I can't see her Jazz," she said frantically. "I can't SEE HER!" she screamed.

Reacting quickly, Jasper gathered her in his arms and offered her what comfort he could give.

"It could mean many things," he soothed.

"She's dead Jazz, I know it," she sobbed into his chest. "I've always been able to see her."

"Come on Alice, up you go," Jasper said standing up, pulling her up with him. "We have to get out of here, you're not capable of hiding this from Edward. We need to leave for a while."

Alice nodded and let Jasper lead the way.

"I think they left Carlisle," Esme said softly.

Carlisle didn't look up from his desk.

"There was note, no message," Esme continued, "So they must mean to come back soon; they wouldn't leave us permanently without saying so."

Carlisle nodded as Esme slowly rubbed his back.

Suddenly a door slammed shut.

"Edward," Carlisle said.

Immediately he stood up and walked out of the room, Esme barely made it to the stairs before a speeding Edward came rushing by. Quickly, Carlisle grabbed him and tackled him to the ground.

"What's wrong?" he questioned.

Edward answered by throwing Carlisle off of him and running towards to the door.

"Alice knows something," was all he said, before he walked out of the door.

Esme looked as if she was about to cry. Carlisle, noticing this, picked himself off the floor and took her in his arms. Their family was disintegrating before their eyes.

"It will be okay," he whispered to her, "You'll see."

It took nearly a week for Edward to finally realize where Alice and Jasper had gone. With her ability to read the future, she had probably known exactly where he would be so that they could avoid him. He had to admit though, they were pretty cunning. They had gone through Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, back through Utah, to Las Vegas, to California, to Oregon, and finally to where he presumed they were now: Forks, WA.

"It's too quiet Jazz," Alice said, looking down around the Swan residence from her perch on a tree.

"Maybe she went out," he suggested.

"Charlie's not here," she leaped down and walked to the front door. With a little finagling, the door popped opened and she walked in. Jasper followed quietly.

Inside, the place was a mess. Dishes lay forgotten in the sink. Newspapers covered the couch, and the place looked in need of a good vacuuming. Alice rushed up to Bella's room. Upon opening the door, Alice's face fell.

It looked like no one had lived in this room for some time. Dust layered the desk and the room smelt of staleness. Sniffing the air, Alice found that Bella had not been here for some time. Alice stepped further into the room and began to look through Bella's things, searching for any clue she could find. It was what she didn't find that told her what she needed to know. Bella's wallet and some clothes were missing. In a happy world she would say that Bella simply went off to college, but a nagging feeling in her heart told her otherwise.

Remembering Jasper, Alice left the room and went back downstairs. He was standing next to the sofa reading one the many newspapers.

"Alice you should see this." he said.

Curious, she walked to him and took the offered newspaper. Once she had finished reading the paper, she grabbed another, and another, until she had read them all.

"We have to go there," she said determinedly.

Jasper nodded.

It had taken some while, but the pair finally managed to find the rusted wreck that had been Bella's truck. It was buried under a mound of snow and only the rusted top had given it away.

Brushing what snow they could off, the two saw the full damage to the truck's hood. This brought a frown to Alice's face. Jasper moved to the door and fought to open it. Once it opened, Alice slipped by him and within. Inside she found Bella's wallet, along with the clothes and some extra money. She fingered the dent in the steering wheel. Just when she was about to get out of the truck, she caught sight of a small book. It had Bella's smell all over it. She fingered the pages until she landed on the last one.

...I can't take this anymore. First ...Him, then Jacob. I must be some person to scare away two perfect guys. Maybe that's all I'm good for. Nothing but scaring people away. I'm not going to deal with this anymore. I don't know how I'll do it, but I'm not going to suffer any longer. This has to end, and soon... it will...

Alice stopped reading.

"He's here," was all she said.

Edward was angry. Of all the places that those two could have run off to, they had to choose here. This only solidified his belief that Alice had gone digging where he had expressly forbade her to. It was still early morning. The clouds up above threatened rain like they always did. He growled. He wanted nothing more to turn around right now and forget about everything. But his curiosity kept him firmly planted. How was his Bella doing? Was she happy? Had she been able to move on?

Quietly, he approached the house. The driveway was empty. Edward sighed. She must be out right now or off at college. He reached for the door handle. Within a minute it was open. Walking in he narrowed his eyes. Alice and Jasper had been here and not too long ago. In fact he would bet that just hours before, they had been here. Just like Alice, he went to Bella's room first.

Leaving confused and slightly worried, he went back downstairs and seeing the news papers strewn about, picked one up. Soon he was going through each one as if he had a rabid thirst for them.

With a determined look on his face, Edward left the house.

"He's coming now" Alice said.

"Are we leaving then?" Jasper asked.

She shook her head.

"He's going to get a piece of my mind."

Jasper nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

Soon, they saw him.

They could tell that he was very angry.

"I told you not to look!" Edward shouted, "Now look where it got us!"

"No Edward" Alice growled, stepping out from behind the truck, "You got us into this" she walked right up to him and continued, "You left her here completely broken, she couldn't cope and now look at this!" she said gesturing to the truck. "She wanted to kill herself Edward, Kill herself!" she paused. "And it looks like she got her wish," she turned away from him and stood by Jasper.

Edward stopped in his tracks.

"De-dead?" Edward whispered.

Alice tilted her head as if to dare him to challenge her.

"You're wrong," he said in obvious denial, "This time, you've lost it."

Alice's face broke into outrage.

"How dare you say that!" she yelled. "You can go and kill yourself for all I care," she snarled. She took Jasper hand, and led him toward the road.

Within minutes, the two sped away, leaving Edward standing in the snow, alone.

ONE YEAR LATER: MYSTERY STILL REMAINS

March 15th

FORKS, WA —When Isabella "Bella" Swan left her home early one morning about a year ago, she was headed to school.

She never showed and nobody seemed to care.

Reportedly depressed for several months, the 18-year-old wasn't reported missing for several days after she vanished, and her father, head of the local police department was in denial.

There are no new leads or evidence, but a friend and local tribe member Jacob Black, has re-energized the investigation, hoping to solve Forks only remaining cold case. And Chief Swan hopes the efforts stir some memories.

"Even if she was only here for a few years, this is my daughter, she had a life. She existed and then the next day she wasn't there," said Swan's father Chief Charlie Swan, 38.

"I will not forget her," said friend Jacob Black, 17, of La Push, WA., just west of Forks. "I hate to imagine she's in a shallow grave somewhere or on a morgue table as a Jane Doe and no one is looking for her."

The investigation has always had its obstacles - not one successful lead, an unsuccessful search, and the biggest storm seen in this part of Washington in a century.

Isabella Swan disappeared last March. She was 18 and had recently moved from her mother's home in Phoenix, AZ to stay with her Father here in Forks. She was within months of completing her final year of high school.

Police said she was last seen that morning by her father, who says she was getting ready for school when he left for work that morning.

She never made it.

Officers and local residents searched her residence and scoured the areas where she was known to hang out, but no credible tips came in, police said.

"This would have never happened if she had never met that Cullen boy," Chief Swan said. "When he left, she just lost the will to live."

Over the last year, investigators have been attempting to make contact with former friends and family members.

"We're following up on any leads ... hoping we find new witnesses who do remember something," she said.

"Any time you have a missing person like this, it is concerning. We have an obligation to exhaust all of our efforts for the family and for the case. Something happened to this young lady and we're going to exhaust all possible efforts we have available until there is nothing more we can do."

Chief Swan said he's hoping for closure.

"We are still ... seeking a missing person. Maybe she's under another name, maybe she hit her head and became a different person - we don't know."