The rain was gently pattering on the roof of the house, filling the air with that fresh smell of wet earth. Charlie Swan leaned against the kitchen counter, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. He looked out the window: the patrol car was there, waiting, but he wasn't ready to leave yet.

He sighed, running a hand through his mustache.

“Another sleepless night...I shouldn't worry so much. Bella's an adult, she's got her life...but I can't help it. Something about all this doesn't add up.”

He took a sip of coffee, feeling the heat go down his throat. His thoughts were piling up in his head: the disappearances in the woods and Bella's vague excuses.

“They're not telling me everything...I know when they're hiding something from me. But if I push her too hard, she'll shut down.”

He rested the cup on the table and rubbed her face. His cop instinct told him there was a pattern, something bigger than he could see. But his instinct as a father....

“I just want her to be okay. I don't care about the rest.”

The rain was still falling, and Charlie, with a final sigh, put on his jacket. It was time to face another day in Forks, with its silences, its mysteries, and the feeling that he was slowly losing his daughter. He grabbed his keys, stepped out onto the porch and climbed into the squad car. Work awaited him.