Chapter One: The Cold

Snow whirled around my head, blowing my hair up into the air. My loose pink blouse Alice had fitted me in swirled around, as if dancing in the cold. Hail was storming down from the sky, hitting my face and getting into my eyes. I didn't care. All I cared about was running.

I told you. I told you not to say anything.

Tears ran down my cheeks and turned to ice as they trickled off. I was practically blinded by the snow and my tears working together. The wind howled in my ears, almost covering the steady pit-pat, pit-pat of my bare feet hitting the cold stone steps, working my way up.

I told you. I told you you'd be sorry, Bella.

The pain of the cold and hail meant nothing to me. They couldn't hurt worse than what he had done to me. I could still feel the pain in my face, the snowflakes igniting fire as they touched the bruises on my arms and legs.

I told you. Why'd you have to go and tell, huh? Why?

He'd told me at church. I had been in a fight with him the day before about his drinking and abuse. He'd threatened me. He'd hit me. He'd left me. And then he came back and apologized, like he always did. But then…

"I'm sorry, Bella!" he pleaded, tears flowing over his face. He was being sincere, a first. "I didn't mean it. I'm having trouble, you know? I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough anymore, Jacob," I told him, fury painting everything red. "Sorry doesn't fix things. Sorry doesn't help me…or you. Sorry doesn't do anything but smear pity around. And I don't need you or your stupid apologies!"

"Bella…" he whispered. I turned around and looked at him. I saw the cute, little boy Jacob I'd first become friends with. He took the opportunity and kissed me. I'd been shocked, then kissed him back. My tongue was in his mouth when I pulled back and slapped him across the face. Then I fled.

A sob escaped me as I remembered. Now my outfit was in tatters, and I was freezing my butt off. Jake wasn't really sorry. He never was. I was just his doll, who could give him freaking blowjobs and sex when he wanted it. His little tattered doll, just waiting around for someone to break her out of his clutches. What was I expecting? A knight on a white horse?

I finally collapsed in a cold ball of tears. The snow was still swirling, the wind still blowing. But aside from that, everything else was still.

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AN: Please read and review!!! This is only my second story, so please let me know what I should do next. I'm running out of ideas. Updates today, tomorrow, or sometime this year.