The next day, the Cullen kids weren't at school. They weren't there for the next several days, and if I'm being completely honest, I wouldn't have noticed except that everyone else was talking about it.
Two days later, when we got home from school, I watched Bella take off into the woods after Cullen. I figured she'd be back in a few minutes, so I headed inside to get my homework done.
My homework took me a few hours to do, so I expected Bella to be sitting downstairs on the couch watching some dumb TV show when I finished. She wasn't there or in her room or anywhere in the house.
“Bells,” I called, walking out behind the house. She didn't answer, and Cullen hadn't come in a car so there was no way of telling if they were still together.
I tried calling her cell phone several times, but she didn't answer. Unfortunately, she is 18 so we have to let her go where she pleases. I decided to call Dad anyway, and he dropped everything to come home. He skidded to a stop in front of the house, and immediately, he was setting up a command center for the search teams he was getting.
“What're we going to do?” I asked.
“You're going to sit here and wait for Billy and Jake. One of my girls is missing, I'm not risking another,” Dad said. I hopped up onto the trunk of the cruiser and sat there, texting Jake as his dad drove them down to our house.
“Hey, beautiful,” Jake said, standing in front of me.
“I shouldn't have let her go,” I said.
“You had no way of knowing that this is what Cullen planned,” Jake said, holding me comfortingly.
“Billy,” a deep male voice said, snapping both Jake and I’s attention to the male. There was a group of three of them, all from the reservation, and all shirtless even though it's October. I quickly recognized them as Sam, Jared, and Paul.
“Charlie, these guys know the area like the backs of their hands,” Billy said. I leaned into Jake's touch, shivering from the cold fall air.
“Here,” Jake said, shrugging out of his zip up sweatshirt and wrapping it around me like a blanket.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Don't worry Aimes. If anyone can find Bella, it's these guys,” Jake said. I nodded in response but didn't say much.
The sun was starting to go down when the guys took off into the woods. About another hour passed as more people showed up. They congregated around the cruiser, offering to help however they could, but Dad didn't let them do anything. He said it was getting dark and no one should be out looking for a missing person at night in the woods.
“I'm going to try the Cullen's place again,” Dad said.
“Didn't you hear? They left town,” Billy said.
“Good riddance,” Harry Clearwater said.
“Don't worry Charlie, they'll find her,” Billy said.
“Charlie,” Jake said, gaining my attention as well. Sam Uley was carrying Bella out of the woods. Dad ran over and took her from him immediately. Sam nodded, sharing a look with Billy that I didn't understand. Sam looked at Jake, as if Jake was the next on his hit list.
The next several months dragged on as Bella fell into a really bad depression. I tried everything I could, but nothing worked. I gave up on trying to help her since she obviously didn't want my help.
One day, she finally went out with Jessica Stanley. I was sitting at home by myself when my phone started ringing. The number was Bella's, but when I picked it up, Jessica was the one that began talking.
“Your sister is trying to get herself killed. I swear,” Jessica said.
“What're you talking about?” I asked.
“She got onto the back of some random dudes motorcycle,” she said.
“Jessica, I can't help you. She hates me and doesn't talk to me,” I said.
“Allie, help me,” she said.
“Jessica, I can't,” I said. She hung up on me, and I rolled my eyes, knowing Bella would be home tonight.