THE DAYS IN THE FOLLOWING WEEKS CONTINUED MORE OR LESS THE SAME WAY.

In the morning, Anna walked to Bella's house to go to school. It didn't take her more than ten minutes, their houses were a few blocks away from each other. The conversations with her cousin didn't vary much. Anna would greet and ask how she was doing, and Bella would lie saying she was fine. The rest of the ride they would be in silence.

At school, her classmates had stopped seeing her as a new shiny thing and now even exchanged a few words with her. They were okay, well enough to comment on the weather or the amount of homework the teachers had left for the weekend.

Then she would have lunch with Bella.

Anna knew that by now she could sit and have lunch with her classmates. Some had even invited her. But surprisingly, even to for her, she found herself enjoying the quiet lunches with her cousin. It had become almost a routine, and besides, she supposed that Charlie would like to know that his daughter wasn't spending too much time alone.

At first, Anna thought that Bella didn't care whether she had her company or not. To her, her presence went unnoticed by the older girl, who didn't even look up when she sat at the table.

That's what she had been thinking until one day she was delayed for several minutes while organizing the start of a project with her assigned partner, who, by the way, was completely lost about what they had to do. Those were the days when Anna missed Julia the most.

So she arrived at the cafeteria later than usual, with the previous irritation her new partner had caused her still lingering. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she almost jumped in her seat when she heard Bella's voice.

"I thought you weren't coming," she commented quietly. Anna stood there for a few seconds, trying to figure out if she hadn't imagined it. But no, it was real. Bella had spoken to her, and right now she was watching her, waiting for a response.

"Yeah... Uhm... I got held up for a few minutes talking to someone, we have a project to start and she's a little lost," she said trying to sound casual, as if the fact that her cousin talking to her... No, the fact that her cousin was waiting for her and noticed her absence didn't surprise her.

Bella didn't respond. But that was enough to make Anna smile for the rest of the day.

In the afternoons, she was completely alone since Darlene would arrive a little later than dinnertime. So Anna divided her time between homework, cooking for herself and her mother, and searching for job advertisements.

That had been a little difficult, because she didn't have any experience other than babysitting. And besides the fact that she didn't know many people yet, Forks wasn't much of a town either.

But she remained hopeful.

And fortunately for her, hope came in the form of an old family friend, one weekend when Darlene dragged her to the Quileute reservation a few kilometers away from Forks to socialize.

Billy Black had been her father's friend for a long time. Anna remembered little about him. It was embarrassing to realize that all her memories were overshadowed by her son, Jacob.

Billy, who was now confined to a wheelchair due to his disability, had long, lustrous black hair that cascaded down his back. The few white grays interspersed in his hair were visible only if you looked closely. There was something about him that radiated wisdom, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. His piercing eyes, surrounded by some wrinkles, seemed to hold an unfathomable depth of knowledge.

"Anna, your mother told me you're looking for a job," the man said, capturing her full attention. She nodded vigorously. "Well you see... My sister Connie owns a gift shop. It's not too big, but tourists love those things you know... And recently she was looking for someone who could be there during the evenings."

"Really?" Anna interrupted unable to help but smile big. Suddenly, coming to the reservation had been a wonderful plan.

The man smiled gently. "I'll give you her number."

Billy promised to give good references of her to his sister, and in return, Anna promised him that if Connie hired her, she would make him a special dinner. After all, she had become an excellent cook from all those years of cooking for her mother and herself.

"The situation isn't getting any better. Charlie told me he's planning to send her to Jacksonville," Anna had just come out of the bathroom when she heard her mother's voice.

"'It'll be two months soon," Billy spoke. "She'll get better. She needs time."

"Hmm..." Darlene muttered, uncertain. "I don't know. I think it would be best for her to leave here, forget everything," she added.

Of course, Anna considered it was to be expected that her mother would support that option, after all, it was what she herself did years ago when they moved to Seattle.

"Charlie says she's still waiting for the boy," her mother continued. "I still can't believe it... That he left her in the woods like that," she made a sound of disgust. "I hope he never comes back."

Billy laughed, a bitter, wry laugh. "I assure you, we're all hoping for the same."

"Sneaking around?" a voice behind her whispered making her jump on the spot. Anna turned around as quietly as possible meeting Jacob.

Jacob Black was... Well, the first word that came to the girl's mind was beautiful. He had the same hair as Billy, only he wore it tied back in a low ponytail. His eyes were dark as the night, and his smile was genuinely cheerful and infectious.

And he was tall, very tall. He almost made Anna feel jealous. How could it be that all her childhood friends had gained so much height? Was she the only one who hadn't even grown an inch since she was thirtheen?

"No! Well... Maybe," she admitted in a whisper, feeling her cheeks burning. She didn't know if it was because of the embarrassment of being caught eavesdropping or because of the closeness of the boy who was now smiling mischievously at her.

"If you want to know about the idiot who dumped Bella, you can ask me," the boy told her, heading for the kitchen. Anna frowned but hurried to follow him.

"So you knew him?"

"Mm... He was one of the Cullens."

"One of?" she repeated, confused.

"Yeah. You know Dr. Cullen had your mother's job before, right?" she nodded. "Okay so, Edward is Dr. Cullen's adopted son... Along with his four other siblings. I believe they're around the same age."

"Dr. Cullen adopted five kids?" Anna repeated, surprised. Jacob nodded.

The adoption topic clearly wasn't the surprise there. She even considered that option for her future... When she was around... Forty years old, let's say. It was the fact that, according to what her mother knew form the nurses at the hospital, Dr. Cullen couldn't have been more than in his twenties. So it was a little strange to see someone so young with so many teenage children.

Finally, she pursed her lips. "It's... Weird."

"It's creepy."

"Yeah, it's creepy."

Anna met Jacob's eyes and they both laughed. Right there, she decided that she loved the sound of his laughter.

When the moment passed, Anna furrowed her brow once again. "So what happened? Did they break up because the family decided to move or did they move because they broke up?"

Jacob shrugged. "I don't know much. It's not like Bella keeps in touch with me." She didn't miss the hurt tone in his voice.

The question couldn't help but escape her lips. "You guys were friends?"

"Something like that," he seemed hesitant to continue but his need to talk about it seemed to win out. "She's been kind of distant these past few months because of... You know," he rolled his eyes.

"The idiot who dumped her?" she repeated the same phrase he had earlier.

"Exactly. You learn fast," Jacob smiled. "Anyway, I was thinking of inviting her to a bonfire next weekend," he bit his lip. "It will be at the beach. Maybe it would do her good, right?"

Anna couldn't discern if Jacob sought her opinion as a girl or as Bella's cousin. She felt like laughing because regardless of the reason, her response would still be negative. Unless Bella had a sudden existential revelation that made her want to go out more, she would turn him down.

But she couldn't tell him that.

"Sure. A change of scenery always comes in handy."

Jacob smiled, pleased with her response. Then as if he had forgotten something, he shaped his mouth into a perfect 'o' before saying "Of course you are invited too, if you want to go."

Anna smiled. It was sweet, though it didn't hold the same enthusiasm as Bella's invitation. "Thank you. I will think about it."

Actually, Anna was certain that she hated the beach too much to go. The way the sand would get into every inch of her clothing felt like a curse, and on top of that, she only had unpleasant memories of the place.

But those were too many explanations to give.

She let the Cullen subject go for the rest of her visit. But questions kept piling up in her mind. Maybe it was because once her mind found a topic, she would fixate on it for a while. Or maybe it was to understand the nature of her cousin's condition. To help Charlie a little. In any case, that night she found herself typing into her computer a name.

Edward Cullen.

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Not even of the Cullen name in general.

She pursed her lips into a thin line as she looked at the results on the screen, starting to feel frustrated. And she didn't understand that emotion either. What did she expect to find? News? Contact information? Criminal records? And in any case, what would she do with that information?

She shook her head. Although she wished to know what had happened, she had to remind herself that it wasn't her place to snoop like that. Her cousin probably wouldn't like it.

She turned everything off and lay down on the bed, trying to convince herself that Edward Cullen had probably been just an idiot, as she had believed all along.

Still, that night she couldn't help but dream of Isabella's empty eyes.