COLD WATER

five.           we're not asking

▬ CORI SAT ON THE FLOOR, her hair pulled up into a ponytail and her pajamas hanging loose on her small frame. In front of her sat a shoebox full of pictures, pictures she had taken off of her walls months ago and despite having taken them down she couldn't bring herself to throw them away. So in the shoebox they sat untouched, until now.

She smiled at a picture of her on Travis' back as they trekked through the woods, Cori had wanted to start hiking but got tired on the way back. She moved the photo and a small chuckle left her lips at the picture of her and Emmett playing video games, her hand was in front of his face trying to distract him and his hand was wrapped around her wrist to move her hand and bus eyes were on her. The next picture was probably her favorite, she wore a smile as she stood on Emmett's toes, they were dancing around the Cullens' living room, and the look on his face, she couldn't even describe it. It was the same way he looked at her just a few hours before, only there was a sadness in his eyes as he said his goodbyes.

She wiped her cheeks and put the pictures back before closing the box and sliding it under her bed. They were leaving and she knew that one way or another, she'd have to get over him eventually.

She hadn't even pushed herself off the floor when her door was thrown open and Charlie rushed up the small set of stairs that lead up to her room, his breathing was labored and his eyes wild as he glanced around the room in a frenzy. "Where's Bella?" He asked, out of breath.

"I thought she was in her room." She told him, pushing herself to feet as her eyebrows creased. "Her truck was in the driveway when Noah dropped me off."

"She's not here. I've checked everywhere. She's just..." He shook his head, dragging his hand down his face and Cori moved towards him, wrapping her arms around him. He let out a small sigh as he wrapped his arms around her, his eyes closed for a moment as he tried to steady his breathing.

"We'll find her."

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▬ CORI STOOD NEXT TO HER DAD as he leaned over the hood of his police cruiser, his eyes scanning the map he had laid out. Billy Black and Harry Clearwater were on either side of them, the latter on a computer. The yard was filled with people who had volunteered to help locate the missing Swan, including Carter and Noah, as well as most of the football team.

"She couldn't have gone far." Cori looked over the map despite not really knowing how to read it, she let out a huff, all the lines and numbers were giving her a headache from hell. She shook her head and stepped away from the car, getting a small reassuring squeeze on her hand from Billy before she walked over towards the group of teenagers that stood on the side of the house.

"Any idea why she would take off into the woods?" Carter asked once the girl stopped at his side, her hand finding his as she wrapped her other arm around his forearm.

"No, she doesn't-" She stopped, her eyes going wide. "Oh, God." She mumbled, her voice quiet but the entire football team had their eyes on her. "The Cullens. They left town. Maybe when Edward came to say goodbye she just..." She trailed off, squeezing her eyes closed as she took a small breath. "She's completely irrational when it comes to Edward."

"Is there anywhere in the woods she would go?" Noah asked, trying to at least narrow down the search area.

"No, she hates the woods. She has no sense of direction, gets lost easily." She mumbled, leaning her head against Carter's bicep. She really wished Paul would answer his phone or that Rachel would text her back. Neither had been answering her since she found out that Bella was most likely lost and she wasn't sure why.

"Okay, so, we'll split up. We'll take this side and head out this way." He pointed to the woods out towards his right. "And Matt can take the rest of the guys out that way." He pointed out behind the house. "Stay in groups, keep your phones on and be careful."

"I'll let Charlie know we're headed out." Carter turned, keeping Cori with him as they started towards the Chief of Police. "Chief." Charlie turned to face the boy. "We're gonna start a search party, the guys and I are gonna split up and try to cover as much ground as possible."

"No, I can't ask you to do that." He shook his head. "I can't have you kids out there, you could get hurt."

"All do respect, we're not asking."

"Carter." Cori tugged on his hand.

"We'll have our phones and we'll stay in touch."

Charlie just looked at the boy for a moment before his dark eyes moved down to his daughter, she clung to the boy like she needed him to keep her standing. He had seen them together, the boy having spent most of the summer at their house, and he knew just how much Carter cared for Cori. He let out a small sigh. "Okay."

"We'll be back within the hour." Carter told him, getting a nod and the two turned, only to stop when they saw a shirtless man carrying Bella out of the woods.

"Charlie!" Jacob called out and the Chief turned, relief washing over his face before he took off towards them, taking Bella from the man's arms. Cori made her way towards him, her hand falling from Carter's.

"Hey, Cori."

"Thank you, Sam." She mumbled wrapping her arms around him and he patted her back. She knew that if he found her, he was out in the woods as a wolf and that probably meant that Paul was also out in the woods and that simple fact made her regret sending Paul a very colorful, very angry text message.

"Always." He hummed and she gave him a smile as she pulled back and turned away from him. She made her way back over to Carter, her hand finding his again.

"Thank you, all of you." The girl told the group of teenage boys that leaned against the side of the house, it was clear that most of them were half asleep. "I really appreciate that you're all willing to help find my sister."

"Bridges didn't give us much of a choice." Matt mumbled, getting a few chuckles from the other boys. "Threatened us with suicide sprints if we didn't."

Cori giggled a little as she looked up at Noah, who just shrugged. "Still, thank you."

"Anytime, Swan." Matt nodded as he pushed himself off of the house and the girl smiled. "Well, I'm gonna go home." He started, patting Cori's shoulder as he left and the rest of the team dispersed as did the rest of the people that had come over to help and Cori made sure to thank everyone before they all left.

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▬ "CAN YOU STAY?" Cori asked as she sat on the window seat, her blue eyes on Carter as he squatted down in front of her bookshelf, his eyes scanning the shelves.

"Everything okay?" He looked over at her, pushing her copy of The Great Gatsby back into its place.

"Yeah." She nodded, giving him a small smile. "A lot has happened today, is all."

He pushed himself up, his head tilted to the side a little. "Other than Bella getting lost?" She nodded her head, turning to look out the window once again. "Okay, talk." He sat next to her, nudging her leg a little with his hand.

"Emmett came by the shop today." She told him, her fingers toying with the throw pillow in her arms.

"How'd that go?"

"He came to say goodbye." She mumbled. "And I thought I was over him, or getting there at least but when he told me they were leaving my chest hurt."

"Oh, Sweetheart." He mumbled, moving closer to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "It's okay not to be over him. It's normal." She leaned against him. "And it's gonna take time. You had your heart broken, you can't just get over it."

"I don't want to feel like this." She sniffled, trying to keep from crying.

"Can I help?" He asked, his voice quiet as he rubbed her back.

"This kinda helps." She mumbled and he chuckled, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. "So, can you stay?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Now, you go get ready for bed, it's late." He nudged her a little and she groaned as she pushed herself up. "Cori." She turned to face him. "You won't feel like this forever. I promise." She gave him a smile before making her way over to him and kissing his cheek.

"Thanks, Carter." She hummed before she turned and made her way over to her dresser to get her pajamas. 

⚘‎ nova speaks┆1k reads!!! that's completely insane to me!! thank you all so much for reading this series and for all the comments!! this series is my baby, it has a special place in my heart and probably always will!!