Chapter one: If only I knew

This is an entry for the competition but I do want others to read it too and review. This story is set in New Moon when Edward leaves but it has many twists and is original compared to the other stories about the same topic (I mean come on, what are the odds of Bella having twins or triplets) Edward has only left two weeks ago in this story (to fit in with the storyline) and Charlie forced Bella to go to the movies with Ben and Angela to try and break her out of her cationic state. Therefore she is not good friends with Jacob but knows him. Here we go….

20th/19th November update: I just re-read the whole story and was horrified when I discovered all the spelling and grammatical errors plus the oddly phrased paragraphs so I've decided to edit the whole story. Don't worry if you loved the original and want nothing to be changed because nothing will be. I'm just fixing all the errors that I made and substituting some words and sentences with preferable ones. I hope everyone prefers the edited version so here it is:

Bella's POV

I knew that something was seriously wrong and had no idea what. I believed that I had caught the stomach flu off Ben and Angela when I began to throw up on everything in sight and felt nauseous every second of the day except that some things didn't fit. Like the fact that I was always famished and longed for eggs for any meal of the day. Charlie was evidently getting sick of eggs and gave an exasperated look every time I served them, which was pretty much every night. I also had weird sleeping patterns and odd dreams which were vivid and indistinct. Instead of waking up in the middle of night screaming which I would usually have in normal circumstances, from the pain of what I had lost. I somehow ended up crying, staining the sheets with my tears and becoming overly emotional. My abnormal behaviour had taken my mind off certain but forbidden topics which by my own personal rules, I was not allowed to breach. No matter how much I wanted to see or think about them, I had drilled into my brain that they were inaccessible. His beautiful golden topaz eyes were one of the things I yearned to see once more but would never see again. I should have learned to appreciate them when I had the chance but selfishly took it all for granted. This brought on more bizarre tears alerting Charlie to my obvious pain and suffering. He hated him for what he did to me and would hate him even further if I told him what he and I shared on the midnight that announced my eighteenth birthday. I remember his reluctance to try something that he had never encountered before but now I suspected that it was fear of doing such a thing with someone he didn't love instead of the one he was destined to be with who clearly wasn't me. He seemed happy enough when we did it but perhaps I misinterpreted it for remorse now that I knew that all the love he had for me was a pretence. I was clearly just a distraction, nothing more than something to amuse himself with until he got bored and moved on. It was hard to believe that Alice, tiny and cheerful or Esme, motherly and sweet would be in on such a cruel plan but then again, I didn't expect him to do such a thing either. They were all very good actors; I had to give them that.

It was on Monday morning when I was just about to grudgingly drive to school in my ancient truck, that I realised what was wrong with me. Charlie had taken the day off work because he had caught the stomach flu. I knew that he definitely did not have the same problem as me and up that very second he didn't know that it was true. As usual I was pondering over my cereal while Charlie tried to make conversation before he gasped and made his accurate accusations. I remember jumping up as he gasped in shock and horror.

"How could you not have told me" He had screamed, knocking over my bowl which clattered to the floor and miraculously stayed intact despite the impact.

"Told you what?" I had mumbled unresponsively without looking up.

"The stomach doesn't begin to show for months which would have to mean it was conceived months ago. You only knew him for eight months before he deserted you and yet you still went all the way. How could you ruin your whole future? It was bright and right ahead of you but then you had to be careless and now it's all gone" Charlie ranted, his face turning slightly purple in his rage.

"What are you talking about?" I had shouted back at him. How unbelievably ignorant I was that day. If I had just payed the teeniest bit of attention to my appearance or perhaps even just glanced at the mirror then I possibly would still be on good terms which Charlie.

"Look at your frikin stomach for answers," He had boomed, his hands clenched into tight fists before attempting to calm himself down by sinking back into the chair he had previously occupied. I remember feeling anxious that his chair would snap from the pressure Charlie was exerting on the armrests and then gasping as I followed his words. Impossibly I saw a small bump in the centre of my stomach which was unmistakably unnatural and inhuman. I had placed my hand over the bump in my curiosity, quickly redrawing it in shock as I realised how rock hard and cold it felt. It was then that I realised that I was pregnant and the pregnancy was in no way normal.

So it was from those turn of events that I was standing in front of the Cullens' vast mansion. Charlie had rushed me out of the door of my home, insisting that he needed time and then slammed the door vigorously in my stunned face. It was equivalent to a slap in the face for me and I knew that I could never go back and face his justifiable wrath even if I had nowhere to go. Suddenly an idea popped into my head and I knew exactly where to go and here I was. Just the sight of the Cullens' large house had brought me to tears as I remembered how many long months ago I had believed that this place would someday be my home. And now my silent wish had ironically come true but was missing the most vital piece. Him. I raced up the porch steps, willing myself not to look up and let my entire memories of the place and of him flood from where they were most skilfully hidden by my subconscious. The first thing I saw when I entered the house and looked up was the grand piano which he had played my lullaby on. The melodic tone agonizingly filled my head, sending me sprawling me to the floor in pain and loss. My already developing stomach had prevented me from burying my face into the white carpet so instead I lied on my back, covering my face as if it would somehow erase all my pain. My hand then slid down to my stomach and I laid it there, somehow feeling comforted that I wasn't totally alone and that not everyone had deserted me. Then impossibly I felt a small nudge and knew that despite everything, I would never be alone again.

Edward's POV (This is happening right after Bella's POV)

I stared broodingly at the trees knowing that Victoria had escaped again. I knew that it was pointless and hazardous but there was still that miniscule chance that Victoria might decide to drop in Forks and I wasn't going to leave her unprotected. Even if she didn't know that she was being protected by me and I could never speak to her ever again, I would always be protecting her, no matter how small the issue. It was for her sake that I had left and my pain was to be borne without complaint. As long as she was safe then I could bear any type of pain, no matter how agonizing it was. No matter how much I longed to return and knew I never could because if I did then it would ruin everything and the happy and fulfilled life I had envisioned for her would be overtaken by a greedy monster like me. She deserved to live a full and uninterrupted human life and I would keep my promise to her about not returning regardless of my own pain. I sunk to the leafy floor of the forest as I contemplated living an eternity without her. At this rate I didn't think that I could bear it but I had to, for her.

I perceived a buzzing sound signalling from my pocket and I knew at once that someone was trying to contact me. I considered not answering it in fear that it would be news which would ruin me but the expression on Alice's face the last time I failed to answer her call back when we were in Alaska, sent me rummaging hastily through my pocket for my silver phone. There was a time before her, when I would have been horrified to have such an out-dated phone in my possession but nothing mattered anymore so I failed to care. If the caller was Rosalie then I would ignore the call as if I couldn't hear it but if it was another person in my family then I would answer it in case they needed me which was highly unlikely. Since the minute that I had left, I was useless and to ask for my help was foolish. Once I had retrieved my back-up phone, I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Alice trying to contact me. I flipped the cover of my phone up lightly and said hello dully into the phone.

"Edward, you have to come back to Forks!" Alice shouted at me urgently before I could hang up.

"Alice, I can't. I can't intrude into her life again. Its better this way" I cried out desolately.

"Bella's blurred right out of my sight but irritating flashes of her keep coming up." Alice informed me nervously as I winced at the mere mention of her name. She's alive in all of my visions that are clear but something strange is going on"

"I'm going to ruin everything" I moaned, leaning my head against one of the nearby trees dejectedly.

"If you go back to her then it will benefit the both of you and I don't need a vision to tell me that, that is any case. In the few clear visions I have had, her face… well it looks as bad as yours. She's suffering and nothing will ease her anguish unless you return to her. It seems that neither of you can live without the other" Alice concluded her mini speech with ragged emotion and I knew that if crying was possible for vampires then she would be bawling her eyes out. But if it was possible then I would have drowned from my own tears by now so such a conversation would be impossible.

"Fine, I'll go back but I'm going to keep myself out of her view of sight. Maybe this can be solved without ruining my plan for her happiness" I said to Alice despondently.

"Didn't you listen to a word I just said? She is NOT happy and trust me; she never will be without you. Neither will you for that matter" Alice growled angrily. I couldn't stand to hear any more about her so I slammed the flip phone down, accidently snapping it off its hinges. I threw the worthless object aside and began to run towards the only place I could call home. The only place which would provide me with her. Forks.

November 20th/19th AN: I'd really appreciate it if you would review (or PM if it doesn't allow you because of multiple reviewing) to tell me whether this version of the chapter was preferable or the old version. I've only updated this chapter so far but the others will be edited soon.

Original AN: What did you think of it? This is not the end of course and updates will be regular because the competition ends in a month. Like I said, I do want people to read and review this story regardless of it being entered in a competition so REVIEW! And if The Lion And The Lamb Forever is reading this chapter then I hope that this story seems eligible enough for the competition so far (I am only up to chapter one as you can see so it is not ready for submission yet)

Thanks for reading and remember to review!