Chapter 2

When Jenna woke up she was startled to see that the sun hadn't gone down yet. She felt as if it had been hours when it had been mere minutes. She was still cradled in Bella's arms who was rocking side to side slowly and for a minute she wondered what had happened. Then it came crushing back to her.

Her choosing to go see Bella instead of going to her sister's to spend her vacation there.
Them fooling around at the beach having fun..
Talking about an early dinner and then...
THE phone call. Liz Forbes calling her to tell her about the ... The accident.

Feeling bile rising in her throat Jenna pushed Bella away and crawled to the bathroom to puke. She felt hands pull her wet hair back and then help her cup her hands and clear her mouth with water. Bella's voice came filtered as if she was far away.

"Jen sweetie, I want you to get up and get dressed. Can you do that?"

Jenna nodded numbed. She felt cold and shivery. She took Bella's hands and stood and Bella's hands waited for her to steady herself before letting go and just like that the rose colored towel clad Bella left the room. As if automated Jenna pulled a pair of jeans and a tank top and put it on, only remembering underwear at the last minute. She blinked at Bella who was suddenly there again and who picked the phone from the floor before Barkley could claim it as his new chew toy.

Then Jenna closed her eyes again.

- - - Memories of a Past and a Future - - -

Bella sighed biting back a shiver of her own. Jenna's zombie state hit a little too close to home and the brunette refused to stand still and let it catch up. Instead she went to Jenna's bag, removed the dog that was exploring it and made sure everything was still inside before zipping it up. Then she took Jenna's brush from the table and set out to brush her friend's hair out and then braid it, like she had done with her own. Once that was done, she returned to her own room, packed and carried both their bags to the garage and her car where Jenna's work issued rolling suitcase was forgotten.

"Feel like going on a road trip?"

She asked the dog following her like a duckling, who replied with a series of barks and twirled around.

"I'll take that as a yes. Come on fella"

She said with a sad smile and made a trip to the kitchen to get his food and collapsible bowls before putting his road duds on him. Then, and only then, did she reach for the wall mounted phone to place a call to her mother.

"Give her my love and sympathies baby. If the boys win, they'll stick around for a bit more but I'll be home as soon as possible for you two. Oh and take the emergency credit card, it's all on us, you hear? I love you both."

Renee was crying when the call ended and the zombie state was nearing. Bella had to blink a few times to avoid crying herself. Renee, Bella's mother, had liked Jenna as soon as she set eyes on her. Bella often joked that Renee had picked the wrong baby at the nursery because she and Jenna were that much alike!

"Now the hard part."

Bella said aloud and returned to Jenna's room. Her friend had opened her eyes but didn't look any more alert than before. She didn't put up any fight when Bella took her hand to guide her to the kitchen and opened her mouth, chewed and swallowed when instructed until the buttered toast was finished. She didn't say a word when Bella locked the house, set the alarm and led her and Barkley to the garage. She looked out of the window, eyes glassy unseeing and with tears falling down her cheeks as Bella drove. Only When Bella gently took her hand in hers and they drove past the city limits, she turned to look at her.

"Where..?"

Her voice was hoarse. Bella pulled to the side of the road and reached for a bottle of water she had stashed in the back next to the dog's crate and urged her to drink.

"Mystic Falls. A cop lady called and said she needed you to go there and officially identify the bodies so the kids won't have to. And to tell the kids too."

Jenna let out a strangled sound that had Barkley cower back at the other end of his crate. Bella's hold on Jenna's hand tightened as she continued.

"So we're moving our vacation from Jacksonville there."

Jenna blinked at the tone of finality in her friend's voice and kept staring at her when she put the car back on the road and started driving.

"What about your mom and the house and the motormouth dog?"
"I called mom, you have her condolences by the way, and she said it's just fine to close the house down, take the dog with us and they'll be back soon. She also gave me free use of her credit card and wished us a safe trip""Don't you mean Phil's credit card?"

Jenna's tone was dry. Bella snorted, glad she could pull Jenna away from her morbid thoughts even for a little while

"Yeah yeah. I told him when they married, he's mom's keeper now."

She turned the truth in a joke and turned the GPS on. Despite their long friendship, Jenna had never invited Bella to her hometown which, according to the pebble-chewing GPS dude was just over three hours away from her mother's home in Florida.

The trip west went by fairly fast thanks to the wide open and empty highway and Jenna spent it staring out of the window at the passing scenery. Not that any was visible since dusk had fallen just as they left Jacksonville. In his crate, Barkley was silent, seemingly being affected by the general gloomy mood. When Bella yawned and took the final turn that would take them away from the highway and to Mystic Falls, Jenna seemed to return to the world. Just in time for Bella to turn off Pebble-Man too.

"Hey"

Jenna's voice was soft. Bella gave her a smile

"Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Crap"

"Think you can give me directions from now on? If I have to listen to Pebble-Man's voice anymore I might just hunt him down and kill him"

Jenna's light brown brows furred together

"Pebble who?"

Bella pointed at the GPS mounted on the dash of her car and imitated the voice of someone who had stuffed his mouth with pebbles and trying to speak around them.

"Yikes"
"Yep"

Jenna took another sip of the now warm bottle of water and sat up a little straighter to look around.

"Keep going straight and you'll reach the falls. Go around them and you'll find a bridge. Take it"
"I was wondering about the name"

Jenna's lips quirked a little

"Ask the mayor's wife about it and Carol will talk your ear to the ground about the town."

Crossing the bridge had them both shivering. It was long, scarily empty and dark except for a place where a police issued gas lamp was placed and for the first time since she left her father's hometown for college, Bella felt eyes on her.

She didn't like it one bit.

A/N: Yeah... Mystic Falls is moving. Goodbye Virginia, hello Florida. It's still shrouded in trees and feeling isolated from the rest of the world, so don't worry about any stray vampires, they won't go kaboom as soon as they move to town. Enjoy!