CHAPTER 2:

MISSING

My eyes slowly opened to the early morning. Fog from last night's rain was visible through the window, casting a gray tone on the room. I was very comfortable in my soft bed, leaning against the granite figure which had not left my side. I had been awakening this way for a long time now, yet it never failed to enchant me. Edward moved slightly as he helped me sit up. Looking over at my alarm clock I could see that it was 6:37 in the morning. It was a Saturday and there was no doubt in my mind that Charlie had already left with a fishing buddy. "He left about an hour ago," Said Edward, as if he had read my mind. Although I was the one exception to Edward's talent, it seemed that lately he always knew what I was about to say, which move I was about to make, even what thought I was about to think.

I got out of the bed, shivering slightly at the cold air. "Here," said Edward, "Get back in the bed and warm up."

"No," I said, "I'm used to the cold…I like the cold now." Edward smiled.

I remembered when I first came to Forks to live with Charlie. I came a girl from sunny Phoenix, Arizona, where I lived with my mother Renee, who still seemed to be a teenager in so many ways. I hated Forks. It's way of being too green, the small size, the coldness, and the never ending rain. Now that Edward was here, I learned to love the cold.

I walked over to my dresser and pulled out jeans and a green t-shirt. Edward never took his eyes off me, fascinated at my morning routine, as he did not have one himself. When I got into the small bathroom, I took off my pajamas and hopped into the shower. The water was hot, awakening my muscles. There was no doubt in my mind that Edward still sat like a statue on my bed. I'd rather he'd join me, but attempts at anything more than intimate kissing had failed. I turned the knob to cold water, giving myself the pleasure of the next best thing, and I finished my shower in shivers. Bella Swan, admit it. You are sick. I thought to myself.