"I'm glad… that you decided to go back to the bonfire." Bella says, walking beside me as we walked up to the front door. "It was better than staying in the house tonight... I can't believe you like those hotdogs."

I smiled looking at my feet as we walked with my hands stuffed in my light jacket, snorting breathily, I looked up to the front door opening and the spill of voices. Mom was rushing out of the house with bags and Dad was following her, pleading with her.

He grabbed her arm as she dropped bags onto the grass next to the door with a single low step into the house, "Renee, please don't go. You promised you were staying for good. We need you."

"I have to go, Charlie. You guys don't need me, you two are perfectly fine without me. I can't stay here anymore; I can't be stuck here anymore."

"Stuck? What do you mean stuck? We have a sixteen-year-old kid, Renee! She needs both of us."

"Bella needed the both of us! She's not here. Celeste doesn't need me, you don't need me."

"Yes, we do! Don't do this!"

"I don't want to be here! I don't need you!" Mom snaps at him, physically hurting Dad with her words, "I don't need Celeste! I can't be stuck here anymore! I should've left with Bella when I had the chance."

I felt my heart shatter in my chest, I looked down at my feet as tears brimmed in my eyes. I looked up to Mom grabbing her bags from the ground and Dad was unreadable, but I can feel the intensity of his emotions shifting his aura. I tossed her keys next to the bag she was picking up next and she jerked upright, and her blue eyes widened when she seen and heard me speak.

"Don't come back the next time you miss us. You don't need us; we'll make sure we don't need you anymore." I remarked

"Celeste… come with me." Mom says, her tone of voice was different.

"Come with you?! You just you didn't need me!" I retreated into the house shaking my head with tears streaming down my face.

I watched her leave from my bedroom window. I heard the front door slam closed and Dad rummaging around in the living room and kitchen through the thin walls of the house. I stayed in my room for the rest of the night and Dad checked in once, he wasn't in the best shape to talk and went to bed early. I turned on the ancient computer and waited it to power up, I held onto my fleeting patience as I waited and authored an email to Alice about the last several months, Jacob and the boys along with everything at home. I then authored emails to Jacob, Quil, and Embry, I sent them the same email (without details of Edward or my dreams) about everything at home and I wished they were still around.

I was up for house picking and chewing at my nails and the skin around my nails, I couldn't relax. I even tried a short shower before midnight, which worked for fifteen minutes to relax me. I tried to read during that time but then I was shifting all over my room and went back to chewing on my poor fingertips. I ended up cleaning the kitchen and the living room, Dad had a field day with his pack of caned alcoholic beverages and the leftovers from yesterday's dinner. His loud snoring echoed down the hallway here and there when I was wiping things down and sweeping.

He may be very low-maintenance and private, he was simple and easy to get to know just through his actions. He helps with dishes, he brings food home when mom is stressed and he didn't even know she was, he was definitely embarrassing sometimes but I love him anyway. He helps with cleaning here and there, Dad tries his hardest to fold laundry but after countless teachings, successful, it always ended up in a ball, no matter what piece of clothing it was. It was funny sometimes to watch the vein in his forehead bulge when he read the paper. Or the sudden snort and following snorts after a rant, about whatever just made him bright red like a cherry, when he read the comic section. He watched different sports every day, every season, and had a team for everyone in each various game.

Dad loved to hike and to hunt over fishing any day. Whenever Mom would cave into camping over the years in different states over down by the lake, he would take us hiking. Renee would always be miserable before the trip but after she would be happy and content with the views Charlie would find. The best hiking trip we went on was in Oregon in a small town near a lake and had been in early October, I forget where it is, but we came out through the woods on a cliff over it with—I'm guessing it had been around—2 or 3 in the afternoon because we had gotten back to our camp site a little after dark. The golden low hanging sun, the light blue sky mixing into amber and pale pink hues—a pale pink like a pale rose—the calm water floating around below the twenty-foot cliff, and the forest and plain of uneven fields. The white toped mountains in the distance were surreal, beautiful, it was beautiful. The water was a green/brown, blue color, reflecting the foliage and the bule of the sky and the sun, fishing water more than swimming water, the forest was colorful with hues of the fall season impacting the environment. I had a different view of the equinox there in Oregon. Bella loved it too and always denied that she liked to hike but I knew she did, she never threw a fit like Renee would.

It was a different kind of wholesome memory that was forever burned into the crevices of my retention depository. We spent the next four days—hiking to the lake and spending time there for a little while picnicking, fishing, or conversing by the water or hiking through the fields—of the week in Oregon before going to a larger city for the last week of vacation. In the city that's where they spent the money they had saved up for this, subsequent, vacation. We stayed in a motel and did tourist things with food and shopping or checking stores and little events going on around the city.

I wiped my face furiously, refusing to cry over this. I'm so tired of crying, I'm so tired of feeling in general. I sat down on the couch and sunk into the cushions; I crossed my arms over my torso. I sat there for a while managing to get my reeling mind to quiet down. Forcing myself not to think anything was difficult when I always managed to find myself thinking of Jacob, heavily. I tried twice as hard to get my mind to quieten, I didn't want to think or feel anything about anything, especially Jacob Black. He was gone, Embry was gone, Quil was gone, and I had to keep that in mind. What would come out of thinking about them only to miss people from my past. They weren't going to be in my future, they didn't want to be.

So, what is the point of thinking about them? They were so willing to forget about me like I never existed… I could do the same. I was fine without them before, I will be fine now. I fell asleep like that on the couch.

I woke up to the phone ringing off the hook. I snatched it off the receiver of the wood paneled wall in the kitchen, "Hello?" I asked groggily annoyed.

The other line crackled and cracked before her voice came over the line, "Celeste?"

"Bella?" I asked, wiping my eyes, and looked around at the electricity flickering around the rooms, "Can you stop that? I know it's you Bella, what?"

"Celeste…" She echoed with static, and the line disconnected. I looked at the phone and the receiver with my eyebrows furrowing. Did she really just hang up on me? I hung up the phone, picked it back up when it started ringing immediately startling me. All I heard was rough static and crackling.

"No… mo…re sitting…we… alone. Get …ready." Her voice distant, and muffled; static interrupted her words and cut off the connection halfway through and reconnected again,. "This…" Static and shuffling, "is… purpose." Then the line went completely dead.

I looked at the phone and looked around at the soft flicker of the electricity. Bella's hazy form spawned at the entrance of the narrow hallway across the kitchen with the kitchen table from in Forks, and living room.

I hung up the phone and she was gone when I turned back around. I went back to my room and got ready per say. Was I really an idiot or did I just want to deny everything and continue living in ignorance? If I was going to do that then I should've left with mom, but I didn't. I couldn't leave with her when she didn't even notice I was there until she said what she said. I couldn't leave with someone like that, and I would single myself out once he catches onto where I went. I had to stay here. There was something I had to do but I couldn't do it if I left.

She pointed to a grey V-neck long sleeve shirt, I sighed in defeat as I considered it and took it off the hanger, I pulled my black tee with Metallica on it and swapped it for the long sleeve. I looked over my pair of green camo cargo pants and pulled on a pair of thick long socks, I snatched my cassette recorder, and I brought my cassette player for the bus rides. I emptied my backpack, I left my wallet on my end table, I wasn't going to attempt getting that lost, my dad would need it, I left evidence around in my room for him hidden in places he would look. Just in case, I left the computer on before I left, and, wrote everything I could of Edward and everything that has been happening, as simplified and straightforward as I could be. During the last couple of weeks, I found Bella's book about the Quileute Legends, everything began to make sense, and I have been in a state of denial, I was going completely insane over… everything. That's why Sam said it was safer I didn't know, their legends, all of the little hints, the bizarre changes, I understood why I felt so stupid. The book was in my face every day and I never gave a second glance until Bella had spawned in the chair next to my bookcase, her leg was crossed over the other her foot had angled in the direction of the spine of the book. She was surprised when I pulled it from the bottom shelf of the three shelved structure. When I looked at the cover of the book, I smacked my palm against my forehead.

"I'm an idiot. Look, look," I showed her the cover.

"Finally." She sighed once she skimmed the cover.

I scoffed, "Whatever."

She had left pieces of paper with notes and thoughts in between the pages, she was mostly focused on the vampire part of them, I had spent most nights reading and leaving my own notes in between the pages; I put the book in my pants drawer in my dresser. Dad would find that odd that left it there, he would search the contents and then he would find out, he would find the others. I had my journal pages around about the disappearances and knowing what took them, they just disappeared into thin air, Bella disappeared when Edward did, and things have gotten worse since they both disappeared. It wasn't a coincidence.

At the end of the day, my father needed information, he deserved to know. He didn't deserve to have everything ripped from him without an explanation, a way to cope with it through the connections he was already making. At the end of the day, if I didn't survive, he needed to survive at all costs.

Billy and Sam didn't tell me anything and neither did the others. I got all the information on my own, with my procrastination throughout the past several months. I got the information by myself. He's a wolf, their spirit warriors, shapeshifters. Makes sense why Billy and Sam. Procrastination against the truth because of what would lay in the trees if I just followed the memorized images of my dreams, dreams that Bella also participated in. It changed over time, got more detailed. It was chilling crisp numbness around the surface of the back of my neck, the disturbed chilling feeling that everything was going to be worse… in real life when I finally venture into the forest.

Bella looked at me from peeking a glance at my late page hidden in a pair of my sneakers. She raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"A sneaker?"

"He'll go berserk if I go missing."

"But a sneaker?"

"Yes."

I pulled on my boots and stuffed my five-dollar bill into the pocket of my pants and pulled my parka on. I wrote Dad a note, -Went looking for Bella in Forks. I'm wearing my grey shirt, green cargo pants and my parka. I'll be back before dark.

I had a strong unsettling feeling in my chest protesting to my note. I don't think I was going to be back before dark.

Dad was over at the Blacks today, he announced when he spoke to Billy at the store earlier last week, and they started bonding through their love of sports. I made no attempt to join him. It would be a great chance to confront Billy but at the same time, it wasn't, I wasn't going to risk my dad losing a new friend. I walked to the bus stop and waited for the bus that making rounds in La Push and bringing people back to Forks. I didn't have to wait long; I handed the driver my money and they gave me change for a ticket.

I settled in the back of the bus for the next twenty minutes to Forks. Bella sat beside me, quiet and looking out the windows, I pulled my player out of my backpack.

Once I was off the bus, I made my way to my childhood home.

The forest was a lot more inviting today than the forest was in my dreams at the beginning of hike through the trees and uneven ground along the path with Bella walking ahead of me or appearing ahead at about an equal ten yards ahead—standing beside some trees or shrubbery—as the next two hours passed. Clouds began to cover the sky, and I could smell the moisture of impending rain in the breezes turning into long gusts of wind, chilling the air. I unzipped up my parka and pulled out my flashlight and hoodie and pulled it on and threw pulled my parka back on, the clouds threatened with rain and I wasn't going to take my chances on getting sick.

I had until five pm to get back to town to catch the last bus of the day home, I didn't have that much time left. I looked around me when Bella disappeared from sight. The sky was dark with the rain coming down, the air turning icy and the earth is squishy under my boots. I swallowed my anxiety and solidified myself to get this done, I am determined to find something, so I don't come back empty handed. I would be grounded… the forest is eerie and my instincts kicking in to keep me alive and safe. I shouldn't be afraid of the woods, I use to be in these woods for hours when I was a child, I still remember the forest like the back of my hand. There had been nothing terrifying with this forest until now.

I turned in a circle looking for Bella. I turned back around to her yellow parka in the distance, all the way back in the direction we came. I looked up at the sky and around as I considered following her home or continuing to search. She was in the direction of home behind me, and I was looking back towards the direction I was going. I had a bad feeling to keep going, Bella wasn't going in that direction so that meant to go home but we had to be close.

And then I stopped. Why was she so far away? Chills ran down my spine and my heart jumped into my throat. I decided not to take that chance of risking of my life just yet. It's definitely time to turn back home now, she was far away for a reason. I should run. I turned back around and then my heart stopped in my throat.

The red fire curls spilled around her head like a mane, wind whipped. My flashlight spilled light all over her torso and illuminating her face, like light reflecting of the marble color of her flesh. My stomach dropped out of my ass.

Before my mouth could fully open to speak she grabbed me and rush of her speed had me black out from the way she held me. I saw bits and pieces; my ears registered a few things. The whipping of wind past my ears, the jerks of my body with the echo of snarls. Inhuman all around. And then I was flying forward and I really a shriek with my eyes snapping open to the feeling of open air. No ground beneath me, everything slowed down

Lightning coursed through the sky at different angles, brightening the hurricane darkened Earth. My heart jumped into my throat and ears hearing the rippling echoing sound of snarls and the heavy rain flinging from the sky. I was turning in a vertical circle but steadying out forward. And then I seen it. The lightning striking the wet forest, the treetops below me.

The certain death below me. Impaled with the swinging treetops and/or falling to my death and hitting those thick tree branches. Those were the top two certainties I knew.

And then I was falling. This was the end of my life with gravity of the earth pulling me harshly back to the surface level. I wished I were anywhere but here but I here instead of anywhere else. The jerk of descending in mid-air was something I didn't want to experience ever in my life. I should have run the moment I seen Bella in the distance in the direction of home, those two minutes of consideration had depended on my life, and I was too stupid to realize it.