After Dawn Broke

Chapter Five: Missing

The wind rushing past my face startled me. I must have fallen asleep while watching the sunset. I didn't know what time it was, but it was dark out. It could have been nine o'clock at night, or it could have been three o'clock in the morning. The landscape was flying by as if I was riding in a car, except that I wasn't. I was in someone's arms. I glanced up to see the person's face. It was Grandpa.

(Where are we?) I asked him through my thoughts.

(You fell asleep in the meadow, so I'm bringing you back to my house,) he answered.

His house? He and Grandma live in a stone cottage in the woods not too far from the Cullen house. I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

(I thought you would like to visit. Bella and Elizabeth are already there,) he explained without looking me in the eyes.

I did want to visit, and it probably was closer, but I had school in the morning. Why wouldn't I go to my house? I began my attempt to decipher the situation, but it still did not make sense. Then I remembered that Grandpa hadn't looked me in the eyes. I knew him well enough to know that wasn't a coincidence; he was hiding something.

Grandpa sighed and looked at me. "No one has heard from your parents since your dad got that phone call."

That's right. The phone call. I had forgotten all about it. I silently started to cry, and Grandpa looked like he would too, if he could.

(Grandpa?) I was still recovering from my horrible sobs, so I thought it to him.

"Yes, sweetie?" he said out loud while carefully touching my chin and angling it to where I was looking straight at him.

I tried to sound as persuasive as possible. (I need some answers... I understand if you don't want to tell me, but I need to know.)

"You have every right to know," he responded as we heard something rush by. We had been standing by the trailhead for a while now.

"Bella?" Grandpa called as he looked up.

"Yes, love?" she said as she came gracefully floating down from the canopy of trees above us. She walked up to us and kissed both of us on the cheek. "What are you two doing out here so late? I got worried."

"I was showing Taylor our meadow, and she fell asleep watching the sunset," Grandpa apologized while gawking at her. They still looked like a newly-wed couple, straight out of high school. Madly in love.

Then he hesitated and looked down at me, "I was just about to explain our situation to her." The reminder wiped the smiles off of our faces.

"Oh," Grandma sighed.

I looked at them expectantly. "What do you want to know first?" Grandpa said as he brought us to sit on some mossy rocks nearby.

Grandma Bella took off her thin rain coat and set it on the rocks so we wouldn't ruin our clothes. She beckoned for me to sit on her lap, so I carefully jumped out of Grandpa's arms and went to her. She was hard as stone, so it wasn't the most comfortable position, but it was the best for now.

I started to think about the decision I was about to make. What did I want to know? I guessed I should be more knowledgeable about the person who made the phone call, so I asked them about her. "She said she was his sister, but I didn't know my dad had any sisters," I mumbled out loud just for Grandma's benefit.

She spoke up first. "He actually had two. They were twins named Rachel and Rebecca. Rachel was imprinted on by one of your dad's acquaintances, Paul Lahote. Rebecca moved to Hawaii and got married to a surfer named Solomon Finau," she fell silent after telling me that.

So it was true, and not only did he have a sister, but he had two. I tried my best to remain calm while I let it sink in. My dad did have a sister, and not just one. He had two sisters. Then I remembered something my dad said on the phone. He told his sister that he thought she was dead. Grandpa caught on to what I was thinking and took his time to choose his words carefully.

"Rebecca didn't know about vampires or shape-shifters, so we had to keep a safe distance. It wasn't really a problem though because she lived in Hawaii with her husband," he continued slowly, "When Alice invited them to Renesmee and Jacob's wedding, they got on a plane to Seattle as soon as they could.... but the plane never arrived."

I was horror struck. My aunt that I never got to meet had died in a plane crash on the way to my parent's wedding.

"No one knows for sure what happened because the plane was never found. No one ever brings it up. We all tried to forget for Jacob's sake. After all, weddings are supposed to be a happy time."

I started to realize how hard that must have been for my dad. Just when he was about to get married, his sister passed away on the ride to come celebrate with him. I already knew that his parents, my grandparents, had died years before that. His mom, Sarah, died in a car crash when he was young. His dad, Billy, died of natural causes.

"I shouldn't have let him go. I should have followed him," Grandpa insisted in frustration.

"It's not your fault," Grandma argued soothingly while rubbing his back.

I was still having a hard time processing it all. "What if we never hear from them again?" I cried out. I turned my head and started to cry into Grandma's blue shirt. I was shaking out of control as I soaked her shirt with my tears.

"We will," she insisted, but I think she was just trying to convince herself.

I drifted off to sleep while weeping in her arms.