All normal disclaimers apply.

Three days down, and six to go.

**Warning for a character death in this chapter, but not a character many of you would ever lose sleep over.**

The use of Bello - is NOT a typo or misspelling.

Chapter 3

Stalker POV

I hate that cunt Alice, she managed to get to her and inform her of the job. Now I will have no choice but to get into the school and set up some type of surveillance there. I can't have her there and not know what she is doing, and it will be entirely too tricky to get past the existing security at the school. Getting inside will be very easy for me; however, it will not be easy to watch her without being noticed. I'll have to be very careful.

I pace the small area where I watch her from, and glance up when a shadow catches my eye. I do a double take, and there is nothing there. My damn mind is playing tricks on me. The way I failed to stop her from getting that job at that stupid ass school is really fucking with my mojo. I will have to work harder to make sure she feels alone and away from others. Project – make her mine, just got revamped, she won't know what hit her.

BPOV

It takes us most of the morning and some of the early afternoon before we're done at the school.

We smile the entire way to The Coffee Shoppe, and as we walk in Angela sighs. I frown at her and then follow the direction of where she's staring. I see they are trained on Edward. He's sitting at a table, but looks stressed out. He slowly lifts his head up, as if he could feel us looking at him. I watch as his face becomes calmer, and he gives me a smile.

"Is everything okay?" I ask as I walk to him while we were looking at each other.

"I was worried since you weren't here when I arrived. You always work on Monday, all day long, in fact – Tuesday and Thursday just in the evenings – Friday mornings and Saturday or Sunday afternoons."

I swallow over the fact he knows my shift pattern so well. I must have a look of fear on my face because his pales a little.

"Sorry, Bello, I just remember things—like everything actually. It doesn't seem to matter if I want to or not, I do. It just gets stored up here," he says pointing to his head.

"Then I freak out when things change out of the blue, like when you put the coffee maker near the kitchen door, and the cups went from the second shelf to the third to make room for the soup bowls. I don't really deal with change that well, without warning," he says sadly.

"I'm sorry," I say not sure what else I could say.

"It's fine; really, it's just one of many of my hang ups that people find creepy. By the way, you look nice, but then again blue is such a nice color on you."

I look down blushing. "Thank you," I say in response and then sit down at his table. "Just so you know, I'll not be working here anymore, very soon. In fact, I'm putting in my two weeks' notice today." My heart skips a beat at how sad Edward looks.

"Well, I for one am going to miss you. You're one of my favorite servers this place has."

"You'll still see me when I go to Sam's house," I say, but he looks disgusted about something.

"You could do so much better than him, you shouldn't settle for second best."

"I'm not," I say, but I hear the doubt in my own voice.

Edward just hums again. "How old are you, Bello?"

"Twenty-one," I answer freely.

"How many boyfriends have you had?

"Four. You?"

"None," he chuckles.

My mouth falls open and he chuckles a little more.

"How many of them were in high school?" he asks.

"Three," I say with a sigh.

"And of them, how many before you were fifteen?"

"Two," I say easily.

He chuckles again and I find it a tad offensive. "Well, at least I've dated," I say feeling a little upset.

"So have I," he defends.

"But you said none?"

"You asked how many boyfriends I've had – that is none."

I roll my eyes knowing full well he knew what I was asking. "Fine. How many girlfriends have you had?"

"None." I look at him and see he's turning a bit pink with an obvious blush. "I've dated many girls, but never had a girlfriend. My cousin seems to think it is her obligation and responsibility to find me someone that will deal with me. I have dated close to twenty women. Only half of them were worth dating more than one time. The other ten made it through one date and I knew there was no way there was going to be a second. The most dates I've had with one girl are ten, and I think she just had this odd desire to know what odd thing I would do next."

I nod feeling sorry for him because he's quite witty once you get him talking.

"So, may I ask where you'll be working?"

"I'm taking a teaching position at the Sunflower school; it's a beautiful place and I'm sure it's a perfect fit for me."

"Yes, I know the place, my cousin Jasper—who's my best friend—his girlfriend, Alice, owns it. She had me paint some pictures and murals on some of the walls."

"That was you?" I ask stunned because the pictures and murals around the school really are amazing.

"Yes," Edward says like it was nothing.

"I'm in the Rainbow Room—the rainbow with the fairies around. It all looks so magical; I'm sure the environment will be perfect for my class."

I watch as a small blush appears on his face again. "I love the Rainbow Room; it was one of my favorite ones to work on."

"Bella?" I look up at Angela, who's now in her uniform, which suddenly reminds me that I'm at work.

"Oh, shoot, sorry Angela, I'll go get ready to work. Edward, I have to get changed, have you placed you order yet?" I ask looking at the empty table.

"No, but I ran out of time."

I nod not really getting why he must come and go at set times.

"Thank you for keeping me company."

Before I can say a word he's up and walking off.

"You two looked rather friendly," Angela says sounding like she's accusing me of something.

"He's really nice, Angela, he just needed a friend."

She rolls her eyes. "You would make friends with Jack the Ripper or Ted Bundy, Bella. Hell, he could say he's a vampire and you'd still be like, I'll be your friend."

"You're being silly now, Angela," I defend.

"I know, just be careful, I don't get a good vibe from him."

"I will," I say and she hugs me. "If you give him a chance—"

Angela pulls back and glares at me, and I give her my sad face. "Oh, damn it, Swan, you and those sad eyes. Fine – for you I'll give him a chance."

I clap my hands and smile.

We're well into our shift when Jessica comes through the door looking panicked.

"I can't get a hold of Lauren, have you seen her?" I shake my head at her.

"I don't have my cell anymore, Angela?" I say questioningly turning to my co-worker and friend.

"She hasn't called me," Angela says checking her cell.

"When was the last time you saw her?" I ask.

"I haven't heard from her since before she went out for her morning run, she hasn't come home all day!"

I swallow and nod. "Okay, let's go and trace her route."

I write a Sorry We're Closed note and put it on the door, knowing that we'll have to explain to my boss later.

I quickly drive not finding Lauren anywhere. We are on our route back to Jessica and Lauren's apartment when I see the flashing lights up ahead. My heart sinks with a feeling of dread, and I pull over as my eyes land on Jasper and Emmett from the police station earlier.

"I'm going to talk to them. They're the detectives I spoke to this morning. I'm sure this has nothing to do with Lauren," I say looking at Angela and Jessica who both look pale.

I walk to Jasper and Emmett, and they both look my way. "Hi Bella, what brings you over here?" Emmett says as he waves off a uniformed patrolman who was about to ask me to leave.

"Hi, this is silly and I know I should just go to the station, but I saw you and figured I'd just stop. My friend is missing. She went out for her morning run but hasn't returned all day. Do either of you know if there has been any accidents?" I ask trying to keep calm as they share a look between them.

"Can you tell us what she looks like?"

"She's about five-foot-five, slim and petite, with the same brown hair as me, only she has some high and lowlights in hers. Her eyes are brown, but a little lighter than mine.

Jasper guides me over to the side of the lane. "I am sorry to do this, Bella, but there's a huge chance the girl we just found is your friend; do you think you could identify her?"

I draw in a breath and nod. Jasper and Emmett take me to where the county coroner's van is sitting. Jasper talks to a guy and he walks to the back of the van. He opens the door and reaches in pulling out a tray-like shelf. I can see the black body bag on the shelf-like surface and my stomach turns. Emmett nods at the guy and he unzips it. Emmett stays close on one side and Jasper puts his arm around me from the other side. Being closely held between the two men the guy pulls the top open to show the victim's face.

I feel my legs go weak as I can see the look of horror and fear on my dead friend's face. My eyes are drawn to the slash marks on the front of her neck and chest. It's Lauren – she's dead. My stomach starts to turn and I leap back, turning just in time to throw up.

"Bella, is that your friend Lauren?"

I can only nod at Jasper's question as my eyes well with tears.

"We're going to need to talk to you and your friends again."

"I thought he went after working girls, she's not a working girl."

Jasper doesn't say anything. He helps me to walk back to where my vehicle is parked. I'm met with Angela and Jessica who both are sobbing the second they see me.

"No, she can't be," Jessica says wrapping her arms around me.

The next few hours just seem to float by. First, my dad calls me and says he'll come back, but I tell him not to as we will be heading home soon, anyway. It's not like there's much he can do, except sadly break the news to my friend's parents, who he knows all too well.

"Bella!" I hear Sam yell as I get out of my car at home after leaving the station a few minutes ago. As soon as I see him, I leap into his arms.

"Bella?" he says more softly this time.

"Lauren's dead," I sob out.

"What?"

"She's dead," I say again and I feel him pick me up and he carries me up the stairs.

Once we're all inside, he gets started making us something light to eat. We tell him what happened. I then have to tell him about why I don't have my cell anymore. Of course he was angry because I didn't tell him right away.

"I didn't think about it until after the person called me again. We went right to the station this morning. Then we had to sort out our new job, go to work, and then this happened," I sob out. I really don't like him being angry with me over this.

"I'm sorry, baby. I can't protect you if I don't know what's happening."

"I'm sorry," I sob again.

"Get your stuff, baby, and I'll take you home."

"What?" I ask unsure of what he's talking about.

"You said you'd spend the week with me, remember?"

"But I can't leave my girls – they need me."

"I need you, too, baby." There's a hint of harshness in his voice that makes me pull back a little.

"You can stay over if you want, but I'm staying here," I say and I hear him sigh.

"I'll need to go and get my stuff. I'll be back soon."

I walk behind him to the door, which he opens and walks out without saying anything else. I roll my eyes and go to the sofa and sit with my friends pulling them in for a hug.

"She can't be dead, you have to be mistaken," Jess cries.

"I wish I was, Jess," I say kissing her head.

"Come on, why don't we go to my room and lie down?" Jessica nods and we all get washed and changed for bed.

As we lie down in my bed, we are silent, but there is an overwhelming feeling of love in the room.

I'm aware of Sam coming into my room a little later. I hear him let out a small huff before walking back out again. I let out my own sigh, but chose to stay with my girls. They have been here for me through everything and he knows that they are important to me.

The days seem to pass in a blur. Angela and I went to talk to our boss the next day, and due to the reasons, it was agreed that we didn't need to do our two weeks' notice. Once we were done talking with them, we headed back to our hometown, Forks.

We all broke down as we arrived in town. The hardest thing was when we went to see Lauren's mom and dad. They were like another set of parents to us girls, at least like an aunt and uncle.

I hear a noise like something hitting my window, and I move to it jumping back when I see Sam sitting on the branch of the tree. I slide the window open and he jumps in.

"Something wrong with the door?" I ask, and he chuckles moving to me. He starts to kiss me, and things heat up as he lays me back on the bed.

"Sam, Charlie's only in the next room," I say pushing on him a little.

"Bella, you're leaving me with blue balls here."

"I know and I'm sorry, but honestly, I'm just not in the mood."

"You never seem to be in the mood. I'm actually starting to wonder what the hell we are doing."

"Sam," I say in a huff not wanting him to leave me.

"I got you this," he says handing me a wrapped box.

I sit up and slowly open it seeing it's a new cell phone. "Thanks," I say with what sounds like frustration.

He sighs and rolls his eyes as he gets up. "Can we at least spend some time together, tomorrow?"

I nod at him knowing he's still mad at me.

"I'll pick you up at twelve, and it'll be just the two of us, yeah?"

Again I nod and he moves to the window and goes out. I sigh out in frustration and lie back down on my bed. Sleep doesn't come easy, and Sam acting this way is not helping either.

The next morning I am showered and up early. Sam arrives right when he said he would and drives us to Port Angeles.

"So, I was thinking we'd go to La Bella Italia, is that okay with you, Bella?" He poses it as a question, and even though I'd rather not go there, I agree. I know if I say no he'll just be in a bad mood and act moody, so I suck it up.

He lucks out finding a parking spot right out front. After parking, he leads me into the restaurant.

"Table for two," he says to the hostess, sounding more friendly and nicer than he has so far today.

She winks and gives him a smile, before picking up two menus.

"This way, Sir," she purrs and walks in front of us swinging her hips.

"Um, excuse us, ma'am, you'll have to wait to be seated. Go on back out front and I'll seat you when I get the chance," she says to me, when she realized I was following behind Sam. She has such a fake smile, I want to claw out her eyes.

"Now, Sir, can I ask who will be joining you?"

This here is the reason I hate these places.

"Oh ... she is," Sam says chuckling like this is some big joke.

The hostess looks at me and runs her eyes up and down me. "Well, you're just a little thing aren't you?"

I nod and sit down after pulling out my own chair, since Sam is too busy to assist me. I glare at Sam who seems to be enjoying this.

"Your waitress will be right out to provide you with excellent service, Sir."

Sam just grins at me and I roll my eyes looking away from him. As I look around, my eyes fall on Edward, sitting across the room. I wonder what he's doing here of all places, and who the person is sitting across from him.

"Hi, I'm Jane, and I'll be you server today."

I turn recognizing the voice. Sure enough it's the hostess standing at our table, now wearing a little black apron.

I turn my head looking to the front, and I see that there is now a man working as the host. I roll my eyes again, and sit here quietly looking at the menu while Jane and Sam laugh and joke together. After I figure out what I'd like to eat, I place my menu on the table.

"About time you put that down and joined us," Sam says off handedly to me. He turns to Jane and turns on his fifty thousand watt smile. "Jane, dear, we'll be having the Italian butter braised strip, with the grilled vegetables and loaded twice baked potato. We want the steaks medium-rare, and we'll both have the salad with the house spiced dressing. You can bring her water, and I'll have a frosty mug of your tap ale."

I turn to him frowning; I really hate it when he orders for me like I'm some child.

"No, he can have that. I'll be having the wild mushroom stroganoff, cottage cheese and a coke, please"

The waitress looks to Sam who lets out a huff and after a minute of glaring at me, he gives her a nod and she walks away.

"I don't get why you always feel the desire to embarrass me like that."

"I was not in the mood for a huge lunch like that, and you should at least ask me what I want, you know?"

"Oh grow up, men are meant to order for their dates. Besides, you're just heated because that extremely desirable and gorgeous woman was flirting with me."

"So you knew what she was doing, and instead of telling her you're not interested, you play into it for more?" I ask hurt.

"Why shouldn't I enjoy it, at least I'm getting attention from someone. Plus, it's harmless fun; it's not like I am going to fuck her right here on the table in front of you. Although I'm sure that no one would blame me if I did, after all, it's going on FIVE weeks without sex from my ... girlfriend," he sneers the last word.

I stand up and glare at him before heading off to the ladies room.

I trip falling into someone. "We've got to stop meeting in the hallways for the bathrooms."

I smile when I hear Edward's voice. "Hi," I say and he gives me a sad smile.

"I'm deeply sorry to have heard about your friend."

I nod biting my lip not wanting to cry again.

"Was she from around here?"

I shake my head, but then nod, too. "Yes and no, we're not from here, but an hour's drive from here. We're all from Forks."

Edward nods and then gets a strange look on his face. "Are you here alone?"

"No, Angela and Jessica came to Forks with me. She was friends with them, too." Then it clicks on me, he's meaning here, as in the restaurant. "No, Sam's here with me," I say dully.

"Problems?" Edward asks, but there's a hint of worry in his voice.

"Some, I'm just tired I guess."

Edward rubs my arm a little and I'm about to cry. "I better go," I say pointing to the ladies restroom door.

"At least you remembered where you were going this time."

I chuckle and go to open the door only for a woman to come out. I move out of her way and look back over to Edward. I frown seeing the woman talking to him. She looks over her shoulder at me and starts to shake her head before walking away quickly. I watch Edward rub his face and then follow after her.

I spend some time in the ladies room trying to relax. I walk back out only to find the hostess—come waitress—Jane, is now sitting in my chair.

I clear my throat when I get to my table and she still sits there for at least two minutes. Right before I move to yank her out of my chair, she looks up and gives me a smirk. "Oh, look, Sammy, it's the little bit." She stands up and fixing her skirt, which was hiked up very high. "Call me sometime, big boy," she says with a wink at Sam before walking away.

I sit down and look at my meal and push it back in disgust.

"That is costing me money – you need to eat that shit, you ordered it."

I look up at Sam to tell him off and he clasps hold of my hand in my lap in anger.

"Don't embarrass me anymore than what you already have." He tightens his grip making it somewhat painful. "And, don't you fucking cry – you're an adult, act like one for once."

I swallow and nod. I have only seen Sam this mad once before. It was right after we started dating and the girls took me out for lunch, and I didn't call him first.

The rest of lunch goes by quietly and Sam again makes small talk with the waitress while ignoring me. Without saying anything to me he drives me home. I open the door and get out and shut it, but he rolls down the window.

"I'll see you tomorrow for the funeral. Make sure you're wearing something that is at least acceptable." With that he drives away and I walk inside my childhood home. I give everyone a small smile and head up to my room and cry.

"Bella," my dad yells and I slowly walk down the stairs.

"Yeah?" I answer back from the bottom.

"I may not have been too keen on your boyfriend in the beginning, but I must admit he's growing on me with this."

I frown at him and he points to the table where I see a large bouquet of flowers. I walk over to the table and smell them. I smile a little picking up the card and the envelope. Then I notice the very neat penmanship and the name on the card, Bello.

I sigh knowing this isn't from Sam, it's from Edward. As I open the card I wonder how he knew where my father lived.

Bello, there is not much someone can say that will fill the hole this loss has left you with, but I will try.

Life is like a box of chocolates.

I stop reading and chuckle, shaking my head and rolling my eyes.

If you laughed after that last line, I'm glad you did, but sad I missed it. However, if you didn't find it funny, then know I'm a writer not a comedian.

I just wanted to remind you that you're loved and your friend was loved greatly. She will be missed, but never forgotten. Life sadly moves on. It's okay to laugh and smile. From what I saw of you and your friends on your girls' night out, was not only your love for each other, but the love for life you all share.

I didn't know Lauren, but she did seem like a wonderful woman. I'm absolutely sure she's now one of God's beautiful angels.

I will leave you with this.

Those we love and lose are always connected by heartstrings into infinity.

That was by Terri Guillemots. I only borrowed those words to share with you, I didn't steal them.

You creepy customer,

Edward~

I shake my head and chuckle. I pick the flowers up grateful they are already in a vase and take them to my room along with the card. I sit them both down on my bedside table and bend again to smell the fragrant blooms.

A/N: So Sam is an ass-bag, that much is clear. Lauren was killed by the killer, and Edward - the creepy customer - knows where her father lives. Things are certainly interesting, what are your thoughts?