Uhhm, I don't think the A.N.s are really necessary up here for a while, so see any comments and such from me at the bottom. Enjoy chapter 3!

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and LJ Smith owns Vampire Diaries, and JezebelWhitlock owns the first Nine chapters. ^_^

Chapter 3:

Bella

After leaving Forks, I just drove. I didn't know where I was going, nor did I know when I would ever stop.

Anger coursed through me for hours. I was still angry with Edward and I wanted to kill him when I had the chance. He is responsible for the death of Charlie. I didn't even get to say goodbye. Would it hurt this much if I got to say goodbye before Victoria killed him?

No, probably not, I thought. It would have hurt so much more.

I could picture the terror on Charlie's face as he realized that he couldn't get away. I could picture how his eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly as Victoria sunk her teeth into his neck. I could picture his eyes pleading for me to get away.

STOP!

Torturing myself with these images isn't going to bring Charlie back. It's only going to upset me more than I already am. I should have stayed away from Edward like he said. I should have run away when I learned what he was. I should have…

No point going over what I should have done. It's not going to change anything. Charlie will still be dead and Victoria will still be out there.

I lost track of how long I've been driving. I lost track of which state I was in. I caught sight of a welcome sign. I was just passing in to Kansas. I guess driving without stopping for food or sleep would do that.

At the thought of food, my stomach growled painfully.

With a sigh, I pulled off the highway and looked for somewhere to eat. There was a small diner about five minutes from the highway. I should be able to get some food and then head out.

Unfortunately, my body protested. After hours upon hours of sitting in the car, I was desperate to stretch my legs and get a little bit of sleep.

"What can I get you sugar?" the waitress asked.

"Peppermint tea, please. And a club sandwich,"

She wrote it down and headed towards the counter to give my order. I sat, staring out the window as my fingers tapped against the table.

I needed something to occupy my mind. This wasn't working and it was driving me crazy. I thought leaving Forks would help. But nothing is.

I don't know what would.

Stefan

I followed Bonnie's advice. I knew she was right. Just because Elena chose to stay with Damon, doesn't mean I have to stay and wallow.

Besides, I was desperate to feed. It was dangerous to go this long without feeding.

I headed out and looked for the forest. I refused to feed from humans.

I inhaled and followed the scent of white tailed deer. The ache started in my gums as my fangs extended. I sank my fangs into the deer's neck and greedily sucked the warm blood.

While I prefer feeding from animals, feeding from humans makes vampires much stronger. But there are always issues with that.

Rain started falling, hard. I looked up at the sky, surprised. I hadn't even realized it was cloudy. Maybe Bonnie is right. Too many things have been passing me by. Weather included.

I caught scent of a fox and headed in that direction.

I was nearly done with the fox when I heard something loud. I was closer to the highway than I was to the town so there must have been a crash.

I ran in the direction when I saw it. A black Mercedes had flipped over and the smell of fresh blood reached me. I could feel my fangs extend but I focused on the human. I walked slowly towards the car, keeping my bloodlust in check. I threw open the door, with more power than necessary and looked inside.

A woman was there, her eyes closed. Blood was falling down the side of her face from a cut near her hairline. I pulled her out gently when I smelled more blood. This time it was her leg.

I needed to get her out of the rain and away from the car.

I needed to take her to the boarding house.

XxX

Laying her on the bed, I changed her out of her wet clothes—keeping my eyes away from the places I wasn't supposed to see—and cleaned the areas that needed to be cleaned.

Her bags were sitting in the corner of the room, waiting for her. I changed her into my old pair of sweatpants and one of my button-down shirts.

When I got a good look at her, I noticed she had to be seventeen or eighteen. I pushed back the mahogany hair as I dabbed the cut on her head.

She moaned in her sleep and whispered something. I didn't catch it. I was too busy trying not to lick up the blood from her face, as disgusting as that sounds.

Bonnie would be able to help her, I thought.

The girl started moaning. She was whispering things in her sleep. "Please, come back."

I couldn't help but wondering who she was crying out to. Who did she want to come back?

"Daddy!" she gasped. "I'm sorry."

She curled in on herself as the tears fell from her eyes. I wasn't sure whether or not I should wake her. Is this something that happens periodically? Should I be worried?

Turns out, I didn't need to answer that. The girl in the bed woke, gasping and whimpering. She looked around before seeing me. She moved quickly away, her back pressed into the headboard.

I held up my hands in a submissive manner. No use scaring the girl. "I'm not going to hurt you." I said.

She swallowed and winced. "Will you please wait here? I'll get you some water."

She looked at me warily before nodding her head once. I left the room and went to the kitchen to get her some water. When I got back, she was still in the same position I left her in.

"You don't have to be afraid." I said gently.

"Who are you?" she whispered, her voice cracking.

"My name is Stefan Salvatore." I said. "I'm sorry if I frightened you."

"Where am I? How did I get here?"

"You're safe." I promised. "You're at my house. I brought you here. I found your car flipped over and brought you here."

"My car?" she asked.

"It's... well, it's totalled. I'm sorry."

She nodded. "It wasn't even mine anyway." She said under her breath.

I wondered what she meant but I knew I wasn't supposed to know anything.

"Where am I?" She asked again.

I understood what she was asking. "Mystic Falls." She looked at me blankly. I smiled gently. "You're in Virginia."

"Oh."

I waited for her to gather her thoughts. "I'm Bella."

"It's nice to meet you Bella."

Her stomach growled and I hid a smile as she blushed in embarrassment. "Would you like me to get you something to eat?"

"No thanks."

I frowned at her. She really was a little thin. "Are you sure?"

"I'm not feeling too well."

I knew she was lying as means of saying no to the food but she did look a little pale. "I can make you some soup."

She pursed her lips. "You're not going to stop until I say yes, are you?"

"Uh,"

"Alright. I suppose I could use some food." She looked down at the clothes. "Did you...?"

"Yes. You were wet and I didn't want you to get sick." She was blushing again. "Don't worry. I didn't see anything."

Bella nodded her head. "Would it be all right if I cleaned up a bit?"

"Go ahead." I said. "The bathroom's through there." I pointed to the door across the room and, with a small smile; she took her bags and headed into the bathroom.

I went to the kitchen and began the process of making soup.

Bella

Waking up in a stranger's room, wearing his clothes was very alarming.

I appreciated what he did, even if I was embarrassed. His clothes were actually very comfortable. It felt nice to be taken care of, than caring for someone else. As much as I loved Charlie—

It killed me to use the past tense. All the while I was on the road; I forced myself to forget that Charlie was dead. Now that I had time to sleep and actually think, it finally hit me. Charlie is never coming back. He's never going to look in my room to see me sleep. He's never going to smile or talk about fishing.

I wish I had spent more time with him.

I stepped into the bathroom, immediately catching my reflection in the mirror. I grimaced. I looked awful. My eyes were puffy and red, there was blood in my hair, and I looked like a drowned rat. Stefan had cleaned the cut and tended to it, thankfully.

My leg was in pain. It was burning and stiff. I knew I must have gotten hurt there as well when the car flipped over.

I stripped out of the clothes and stepped into the shower. Unfortunately I had to use Stefan's things but I figured it wouldn't matter. I needed a shower. I probably smelled as bad as I looked. I gingerly washed my leg in his body wash and used the shampoo to wash my hair. The soap burned where it touched the cut but I ignored the pain.

I must have scrubbed my body harder than necessary because when I got out of the shower, I was red. I pulled out a pair of lacy boy shorts and a matching blue bra before pulling on the sweatpants I was originally wearing. I wasn't in the mood to dress up. I took out a blue tank top from my bag and pulled it on before brushing the tangles from my hair and heading out of the bathroom.

Stefan wasn't back. I looked around the room for the first time. It was actually pretty nice. It reminded me of Carlisle's study with the amount of books he had. I was tempted to go and check them out but decided against it. I didn't want to pry.

"Bella?" Stefan came into the room. "I thought you would like to eat downstairs." He said.

I nodded and walked over to him. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. Thanks." I smiled.

I knew he was curious as to why I was still in his sweatpants but he never asked and I never said anything. I looked around as we headed towards the kitchen. This place was huge. I was pretty sure it was the same, if not bigger, than the Cullen house. "Do you live here alone?" I asked.

He nodded. "My uncle died and left this place for us."

"Us?"

"My brother, Damon. He comes and visits every now and again." I wondered if there was something else he was hiding. His jaw tightened a little before he relaxed.

"I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"You're uncle." I said. "I lost my dad recently so I know how you feel."

"My uncle died in a rather unconventional way." I looked at him curiously. "He was mauled by a bear."

I cringed. My thoughts immediately went to Emmett. He was almost killed by a bear before Rosalie found him.

"That's awful." He nodded and sighed.

"How did you father die?"

I fought back the urge to cry. "He died in a fire." I whispered. "It started in the walls and no one knew until it was too late. I was with a friend of mine when it happened." It was the only thing I could come up with on the spot. Charlie told me a story once, about a house fire that happened in Forks before I moved there. It was huge and three people were killed because they couldn't get out in time.

There was silence until I felt a strong arm wrap around my shoulder and pulled me into a gentle hug. "I'm sorry." Should I be alarmed that some stranger is hugging me?

I ignored it and leaned into him. It felt nice to have someone holding me again. I didn't realize how much I missed physical contact.

I nodded my head. I wish I could tell him the truth. I wish I could tell him that a vampire killed my father because she had a vendetta against me.

I obviously couldn't tell him that without seeming crazy. And who knows. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and the Cullens will be in Forks and Charlie will still be alive.

I doubt it but I can't help bit wish.

Jasper

My family was gone. Everything was lost.

All I felt was pain. Bella was dead and it was my fault. Because of what I did on her birthday, we left and Bella died. I would never be able to forgive myself.

I didn't know where to go. Carlisle suggested I go stay with Peter and Charlotte but I didn't want them to see me like this. I didn't want to go crawling to them when something goes wrong with the family.

My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hello?"

"You'd better be coming, Jazz."

"Peter?"

"Who else would call you, motherfucker?"

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't surprised that Peter knew I was kicked out of the family. He just knows shit.

"You guys still in New Orleans?"

"Yes sir."

"I'll be there when I can."

"Good. Charlotte can't wait to see you." He paused. "And Jasper?"

"What?"

"Don't believe everything the Cullens say."

"What does that mean?"

I never got an answer because he hung up.

Great.

There is Chapter 3! I probably wont get the next few up until tomorrow, making it three a day.

Once again, please review! ^_^

~Cori