You & I Collide

Rachel

"Gone?" I repeated. "What do you mean, gone? I mean, what if she just went for a walk or something, or wanted to be alone and didn't let anyone know?"

"She would have told us," Alice replied, "and she wouldn't have been gone this long; she's been missing since this morning."

"This morning! Why didn't anyone tell me?!" I shrieked at her.

"We didn't want to worry you, Rachel," Emmett said soothingly.

"So...where do you think she would have gone to?" I asked. Meanwhile, my head was spinning. Was I really that much of a witch that I drove Rosalie out of the house?

Yes. Yes I was.

My stomach churned unpleasantly at the possibility that this might just be my fault.

"No one really knows," Carlisle cut in. "All we can hope is that she returns eventually...unharmed."

The next lurch my stomach gave had nothing to do with guilt.

Amun, a deadly member of the Volturi, was still out there. Still lurking somewhere deep in the forests of Forks and La Push. What if Rosalie came across him, and he attacked her? What if she was really in danger? I shivered. Emmett put an arm around me.

"It'll be okay, Rach," he murmured. "It'll all be okay."

If only I could believe him.

The next few days passed painfully slow, and I spent the majority of that time at the Cullen house. Of course, the wolf packs had been informed - despite Jacob's bitterness towards Rosalie, he still agreed to pass the orders and tell everyone to keep their eyes open if they see her.

The Cullen residence became a dreary sort of place, but somehow, hope still lingered. Everytime there was a knock at the door or any sound outside, everyone stiffened. And everytime it wasn't Rosalie, everyone sighed and resumed sitting around doing nothing but hoping she would come back home.

On the third day since her sudden departure, Emmett and I decided to take a walk down by the lake. He held my hand, which felt nice in spite of the chill of its touch.

"Emmett, please don't worry," I begged, catching the look of concern in his eye. But telling any of us not to worry would be like telling Sidney Crosby to stop playing hockey - pointless.

"I just...I keep thinking that...you're...I don't know, mad, I guess, that I...care. I mean, I care for you now, in that way, not her. But -"

"Emmett, how could I be mad? Rosalie is your sister, and you care for her in that way. I understand, and it would be awfully selfish if I didn't."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," he said, but his tone was still full of gloom. It bothered me, seeing him like this. Emmett was always so full of life, so high-spirited and happy...all the time. This mood was so not like him. Now he was just depressed, and full of sorrow.

Then again, we all were.