вυмp ιn тнe nιgнт

SEVENTEEN

bella didn't show up to school for the next couple of days, but jasmine tried not to think about it. the other girl had fallen into a depressive state, and she wouldn't talk to anyone about what had happened in the woods. all she'd said was that edward had left her, and while the graves girl didn't want to take those words too seriously, she had already jumped to the conclusion that edward had left the girl alone in the woods.

so, she's been going to visit bella after school everyday since. when bella did come to school, she didn't talk to anyone, she didn't look at anyone, and she reacted badly to anyone who brought up the cullens in front of her. especially if they mentioned edward.

hailey and jessica were fed up with her behavior by the end of the month. they understood that the girl had likely been full on in love with her boyfriend, but they figured she was overreacting a bit about the situation. the cullens had never planned on staying in forks for too long, everyone knew that, but it seemed like bella had either completely forgotten that information or chose to disregard it entirely. either way, they didn't bother talking to the girl much unless they had to, not liking the state she was in and how it was affecting both charlie and jasmine.

angela, mike, and eric tried to be sympathetic for two months after the whole incident happened. they tried to include a practically comatose bella in conversations, in class, in lunch, or anything. but the more they tried, the more they realized that bella didn't want to get better, because her boyfriend had left her and she was depressed. angela understood that, but even she couldn't take the mistreatment from the girl anymore.

jasmine lasted the longest out of them all. she went over almost everyday after school to try and help charlie however she could while dealing with his daughter. she gave bella the tea to stop the nightmares, but the girl just stopped taking it and ended up subjecting her father to her screams throughout the night. it was horrible, and jasmine had even stayed over quite a few times to try and help him deal with it all.

she helped bella through the day when she could. she made sure the swan girl ate, she made sure she drank enough, she made sure she went to the bathroom. hell, she even made sure the other girl did her own homework if it could distract her from her pain for a bit.

but after three months, jasmine couldn't take much more of it.

she was laying in bella's bed, her head on one of the pillows while the shorter girl had her head on her stomach, staring up at the ceiling with a blankness that broke her heart. she'd been trying, really, she had, to help bella out of her state, but nothing helped.

bella swan didn't want to get better. and so, she wouldn't.

"bella, i can't keep doing this. i'm your friend, and i care about you a lot, but this isn't just hurting you anymore. you're hurting charlie, you're hurting jacob, and you're hurting me. i want to say that i'll be here for you, but i can't... i can't do this anymore. i hate seeing you like this, but i can't fucking help you if you won't let me. so... this is the last day i'm coming over. because i'm done. i have my own problems too, and i... i need to get back on with my life and deal with them. so, until you decide you're ready to get better, truly, i won't be coming back."

as the girl said goodbye to charlie, the man's understanding but sad look on his face almost breaking her while she left, she couldn't help the hole swelling up in her. climbing into her truck, she drove off, and once she was far enough away for no one to come across her on a familiar dirt road, she pressed her head into the wheel and let out a sob.

because hailey had gone missing, and wasn't talking to her. she wasn't talking to any of them, actually, and it was basically the same thing that had happened to paul only a couple months prior, days before bella had gotten stuck in her rut. paul was skipping school and wasn't talking to her, hailey was missing and doing the same, jacob was only talking to her to ask about how bella was doing, and her relationship with rosa had been steadily declining since she'd first mentioned what was happening to bella.