A Week and a Half Later
"Jasper, Jasper wake up now!!!" Alice shouted as she stumbled through the dark kitchen of their new house, tripping over a pile of boxes that stood by the staircase.
"What's wrong?" Jasper asked, hurrying out of the bedroom while trying to pull his t-shirt over his head.
"It's Bella, she's missing!" Alice breathed as she leaned heavily on the staircase banner, her cell phone sill clutched tightly in her hands.
"Missing? What do you mean she's missing?" He asked as a wave of panic rushing over him.
"I mean Rosalie got up in the middle of the night to check on Bella and found a note in her room. She packed what she could and left." Alice sniffled as she sat down on the bottom step. "I'm so worried about her."
"Did it say where she went? Has anybody tried to call her?" Jasper asked quickly, taking a seat next to his wife.
"No, it just said she had to go and that everything is going to be fine." Alice mumbled, hanging her head in defeat. "I tried to call her and Rosalie tried a few times. Wherever she is she either doesn't have signal or she turned her phone off."
"We have to find her." Jasper said, standing up quickly.
"Where are you going to go Jasper? No one has the slightest clue as to where to start, and frankly this state yet alone this country are a little too big to just go off and walk around."
"We can't just sit here Alice, it's already driving me nuts."
"Okay, how about we get ready and get over to Emmett's? We might be able to think better if we have four heads going in on this." Alice sighed and stood up, starting up the stairs before her arm was grabbed by Jasper's warm hand.
"We should tell Edward."
Alice frowned as she looked down at her husband. " I am not going to waist my time on my brother's stupidity. We can bother him after I know my best friend is Okay."
"He should know Alice. He could be one more person to help with all of this."
"I'm not calling him right now Jasper." Alice turned to face her husband as she headed up the stairs. "I have enough to deal with."
Jasper only nodded as Alice continued up the stairs, knowing that his strong headed wife had made up her mind and there was no getting around that. He sighed as he made his way into the kitchen, deciding that the white t-shirt and grey sweatpants he was wearing would suffice for the evening's events. He pulled his cell phone off of the charger that rested on the kitchen counter, staring down at it. His fingers glided over the keyboard quickly, deciding he needed to convey his message before he changed his mind.
"Who are you texting?" Alice asked as she entered the kitchen, sitting down at the table so she could slip her sneakers on.
"Just letting Emmett know we're coming." He said, quickly shutting his phone.
"This is so maddening." Alice shook her head as she gathered her phone and car keys off of the table. "Why wouldn't she come to me and tell me something was wrong?"
"She hasn't really been herself since she found out about the baby Alice." Jasper said, pulling his wife into a strong hug. "Ever since she started hanging out with Jake again everything seemed a little odd."
"If he took her somewhere I swear I will…"
"Let's find her first, then you can seek revenge okay?" He whispered as she squeezed her tight.
"Alright, I guess I can go along with it." Alice smiled as she looked up at Jasper. "As long as you promise I get a swing at him if we find out that he had anything to do with this."
"You have my word." He said, kissing her forehead. "Now let's go."
The drive to Emmett's house was quick and quiet, no words being exchanged between the two as they minds remained occupied by other things.
"Well, looks like we have a full house." Alice said as she searched for a place to park Jasper's large car.
Rosalie and Emmett's cars were blocked into the driveway by Charlie's police cruiser and Carlisle's black Mercedes.
"What is Carlisle doing here?" Jasper asked once they settled the car along the street.
"Word travels fast." Alice shrugged. "Emmett or Rosalie probably called. As outlandish as it may sound, she could have gone to Edward."
One could only hope. Jasper thought as they hurried up the driveway and into the bustling house.
"Any luck?" Alice asked as she walked into the kitchen of Emmett's household.
"Not a word from her, no idea where she went." Emmett said from the kitchen table. "So no, we have had absolutely no luck."
"Emmett, there is no need for that attitude right now. You know damn well that that isn't going to help anything." Charlie said, his tired leaning heavily on the kitchen counter.
"Sorry, I just can't sit here while everyone walks in circles." He said, slamming his fist down on the table.
"Em, we're going to find her." Rosalie said, reaching out to rub his broad shoulder.
"Has anyone checked with Jacob or Edward?" Alice asked, ignoring Emmett's loud outburst.
"I checked with Jacob's father, nothing from Jacob." Charlie paused as everyone in the room perked up. "That doesn't mean anything though. Billy and Jacob haven't spoken much since Jacob moved out."
"Great." Emmett mumbled. "What about Cullen?"
"I asked Edward if he's seen or heard from Bella, he says he hasn't." Carlisle said quietly.
"So he knows?" Alice asked as her brown eyes grew wide.
"He doesn't know anything about this." Esme sighed, leaning against Carlisle as he wrapped his arms around her. "We didn't say a word to him, not about the baby or about her being missing."
"So the baby's out of the bag too?" Jasper asked, receiving a smack on the shoulder from Alice.
"We had to tell them Jasper, we didn't know if Bella was going to be in any danger traveling in her condition." Rosalie said calmly, her hands rubbing her swollen belly.
"I know it isn't out place to tell him, but he needs to know. He has the right to."
"And she has the right to tell him." Carlisle said firmly. "What is going on between them is their business and we have no right to interfere. Our job right now is simply to find Bella and bring her home."
"What happens if she doesn't want to come home?" Alice said, her voice shaking in fear.
The room fell silent, not one person in the room was able to respond with any sort of words of wisdom. No one had thought of that. No one wanted to believe it either.
"Well, I guess what Jasper said was true."
Everyone in the room turned suddenly as a deep voice broke through the silence.
Edward stood in the doorway to the kitchen, his body soaked form the rain that had begun to fall outside.
"Edward, how did you…?" Alice said, her efforts to stand up were stopped by Jaspers hand.
"I intervened." Jasper paused as everyone turned to face him. "I had to, I'm sorry."
"Has anybody heard anything?" Edward asked, rubbing at his red eyes.
"No son, nothing yet." Carlisle said as he held Esme close. "She's not picking up her phone."
"Terrific." Edward muttered and quickly walked out of the room and into Emmett's office, shutting the door behind him before he pulled out his cell phone.
"Come on Bella, please pick up." He pleaded as he listened to the monotonous ringing in his ear.
The phone continued to ring, the monotonous tone repeating itself over and over. Finally and to his dismay, her voice mail picked up.
Well at least she turned her phone on. He thought, a faint glint of hope rushing through him.
A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he listened to Bella's sweet voice picked up, which was interrupted by a loud and irritating beep.
"Bella, I don't know exactly what I am doing here…but don't hang up OK? Please don't hang up, just let me talk about get it all out. I just want to know that you're ok, that everywhere you are you are safe. I'm not sure why you did what you did but honestly I'm not here to judge. I'm just worried about you. I know that i haven't been the greatest around you recently, and I cant apologize enough for that. I know what's going on Bella. It doesn't matter that you didn't tell me or that I found out this way. I just want you to come home please…we miss you. I miss you. There is nothing more that I could ask for besides having you back. Call me please, if anything. I wont even pick up if you'd be more comfortable leaving a message. Just please...call…"
Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it. He cursed himself as the answering machine disconnected, saying there was no more room to record the message. He gripped the phone in his hand tightly as he slammed his fist on Emmett's desktop, defeat causing his body to drop heavily against the chair.
What in the hell were you expected you idiot? She hasn't talked to anyone else, why in the hell would she talk to someone who she thinks cheated on her.
"Edward, are you OK?" Alice asked quietly, poking her head through a small slit in the door. "I heard a noise."
"I'm fine." He mumbled, keeping his eyes closed as his head fell against the chair back.
"No you're not." She quickly shut the door behind her and took a seat on the edge of Emmett's desk.
"I tried to call her." He chuckled sadly. "Like an idiot I called her and was expecting her to pick up the phone."
"Was it on?" Alice asked, looking at her brother from some form of hope.
"I got her voicemail."
"Well that's a good sign." Alice breathed. "Hopefully she'll listen to it."
"I don't think hearing me first out of everyone else that could have called her would help at all."
"Edward, stop doubting yourself OK? Honestly, I think she still loves you. I think that her being away from you because she felt that she had to changed her, she's trying to believe that what she is doing is right and honestly it is just making her miserable."
"So what does that mean Alice? What am I supposed to do about that?"
"Go to her Edward. Find out where she is and go to her."
"You know I can't do that. She's trying to bring normalcy to her life and I do not have the right to interfere with that."
"Sure you do! You were going to ask her to marry you for Christ sake!"
"I was going to Alice. Was being the key word."
"You're an idiot Edward, you know that?" Alice sighed as she stood up. "You throw in the towel so easily, yet you will do nothing to fight for the one that you love. What kind of sense does that make?"
"It's not that easy Alice, you don't know…"
"I know I don't know everything Edward, I am not going to sit here and think otherwise. Honestly though, I think you're being stupid and I think that you to re-evaluate what you're doing before it's too late. I was going to try to help you out with all of this but honestly, if you don't believe that this can work then there is no point in trying to help you."