Edward

I had dozed off with Bella and when I woke, she was gone.

My heart raced. I flew from the room searching for her.

I exploded into the front parlor; I had heard voices and hoped she was there.

She was not.

Alice sat scowling across from Victoria.

"Where's Bella? Have you seen her?" I asked panicking.

Alice looked up at me worried. "She left a little while ago." Alice looked sad and I glanced over at a smiling Victoria.

She stood and ran her hand down my arm and I jerked away from her.

"It's alright, Edward. The little surrogate did her job, now she's gone." I was burning with anger. "It's time you were with someone in your class, dear."

I resisted shoving her across the room and ran out the front door. I was surprised when my phone rang.

It was Ben Cheney and my heart broke. "Edward?"

I struggled to answer him. "Yeah?"

"Hey, um, look, I know this is a bad time for you right now. I'm so sorry things didn't work out with Bella."

I fought the urge to throw my phone across the yard.

"Um, the good news is, she's giving you custody until she gets settled. Um, she was wondering if it was okay for her to spend her weekend visitations at your place. She knows it's asking a lot."

"Yes!" I would see her on the weekend.

"Right, then I'll pass on that you'll allow her to stay with you. Look, Edward, I don't know what the hell happened but she was a fucking mess. She couldn't stop crying and shaking, mate. I think she's close to a nervous breakdown or something. I shouldn't be telling you this as your lawyer, but as your friend, she loves you, mate, she wouldn't hurt so much if she didn't, and she wouldn't leave the kids with you so willingly. Do you still love her? Was this your doing?"

"No, this wasn't my doing!" I defended. "Fuck, maybe, I don't know. But I do love her, I need her, Ben, I need her back. Do you have her address where she's staying? I need to find her."

"She didn't give me one and it's not required since she'll be visiting at your home with the children."

"Fuck, can you find her, track her down?"

"Um, well, your dad uses a guy named Demetri; I can give you his number. If anyone can find her it's him. But Edward, you don't need to. She'll come to you in a couple of weeks."

"A couple?"

"Yes, every other is standard I told her."

"NO! No, she should be here more. Tell her she can have more; tell her that she can have as much as she wants," I started to cry, "Tell her to come home."

"I'm sorry, mate; I'll let her know you're flexible."

Flexible nothing, I was desperate.

I tried to keep it together around my children. I was spending more time with the both of them.

Elizabeth was not taking her mother's absence well and had taken to sleeping next to me. I also frequently had little Anthony with us as well. Bella had been breast feeding and he wasn't taking to a bottle well at all and not being able to snuggle at night with his mother had him restless.

They both seemed to sleep better in my bed; otherwise they would wake several times a night.

It broke my heart when my daughter asked when her mom would be coming home. I was just glad she had set a time up with Ben already so I could give my daughter an answer.

It still didn't ease any of our pain. I still didn't know what I would tell my daughter if I couldn't convince Bella to stay.

I knew she would not understand that her mother left because she was upset with me, not her, and I wondered if I was making the right choice in keeping the children from her, but I couldn't just let her disappear again with them.

The next time she ran, she just might be untraceable.

Jasper

I kissed Alice goodbye and she pouted up at me.

"We'll fix this, Bunny, I promise. I'll take care of her; she just needs some time, some space." I carefully brushed my knuckles on her cheek. "She's my sister; I've looked out for her and taken care of her for years, baby. She can be extremely unstable sometimes. I think whatever happened to her before Rose found her messed her up badly and she's running, hiding from something she hasn't remembered yet. Between that and what I suspect is hormonal issues from her pregnancy, she's struggling to keep her head above water and treading the only way she can. I'll help her through this as well."

Alice couldn't stop her tears but nodded her head yes. I knew she was horribly upset because she was so quiet.

It worried me so I kissed her again. "We'll get through this, baby, you'll see."

She clung to me for a moment longer and then we heard them calling for my flight to start boarding.

"Time to go, Bunny. I'll see you again soon, I promise." At that she cracked a little smile.

I kissed her lips again and then hopped on the plane to fly home to New York. I settled in for the long flight, thoughts of my sister keeping me preoccupied all the way back to the states.

When I arrived home, I peeked into the dark room and took in the form balled up on the bed.

I turned back to my house keeper. "How long has she been sleeping?"

"Two days, Sir, she only wakes to take another pill. She refuses to eat anything, only taking a cup of tea to swallow her pill. I thought of hiding them from her but I thought it best to be your decision."

I nodded in agreement and walked into the darkened room. I turned on the lamp next to the bed and climbed up next to Bella.

She didn't move.

I gently brushed her hair back from her face. Her eyes were very red and swollen from crying and I wondered why she forced herself into such pain.

I knew Edward wanted her back and I didn't understand why she didn't just go.

She was obviously miserable.

Again, the thought that she was still running from something crossed my mind.

I took the bottle of sleeping pills and slipped them in my pocket. I would have to regulate them if she was going to get through this. I leaned over and kissed her temple softly.

She groaned Edward's name and I frowned at her.

Why was she torturing herself?

I sat up when my housekeeper came in asking if we needed anything. "Do you know when she took her last pill?" I asked her.

"I think it was about seven hours ago, Sir."

I decided it was long enough to try and wake her. "Go ahead and get dinner ready, we'll be taking it in this room."

I heard the door close behind her and climbed back up on the bed. I watched Bella stir a little as I ran my fingers through her hair.

"Are you awake yet?" I asked.

She blinked her bleary eyes at me and then pulled herself into my arms. I held her quietly for a moment as I felt her body quivering. I knew she was trying not to cry and failing horribly.

"Mary, why are you hiding?" I asked hoping for some answers so I could get to work fixing things.

She just buried her face in my chest and sobbed.