Chapter one, phone calls.

Bella's point of view.

Since the day I was born, I was destined for the worst. I was born into a family of four, making me the fifth. There was Charlie, my father, Renee, my mother, and Jasper and Emmett, my older brothers. Everybody in my family were so kind and loving, except Charlie. When Emmett left for college, the worst part of my life began. Emmett was the person Charlie was most proud of, not really caring about the rest of us. So, when he left, the old Charlie did too. He drank a lot more, and the verbal abuse started. I was 14 at this point, and Jasper only 16. My self esteem was knocked down completely, and I only had Jasper to turn too. My mother still loved me, but she was always too busy arguing with Charlie to talk. Just after the first visit of Emmett at Christmas, was when it got worse. That was when he started fighting properly with Renee. She tried to put up a fight, but was too weak, so normally got hurt pretty bad. After a year of fighting, it ended in the worst possible way. Charlie killed my mom. Once he no longer had Renee to spit at, he went to us. Over the past two years it had gotten worse and worse. I only had two people to keep me going, my brothers. Emmett had no clue about what was really going on. I said I was clumsy, Jasper said he got into fights and Charlie said Renee was murdered by a robber.

I glanced at the clock across the room and saw it would not be long until Charlie came home. I scrubbed vigorously at the dishes in the sink, needing them washed for tonight. Jasper was busy cleaning the living room of the beer cans and trash from Charlie. He naturally blamed us for the state of the house, so we had to clean it. I pulled the plug from the sink and grabbed a tea-towel. I placed it next to the wet plates and stopped to rest for a second. I leant my elbows on the counter and looked out of the window that was over the sink. A pair of footsteps walked in, but I didn't move to look at Jasper.

"You alright?" He asked, grabbing my wrist gently and turning me to look at him. I nodded my head, looking at him.

"Yeah, just nervous. He normally gets stressed from work." I admitted glumly, frowning. He pursed his lips, taking my hands in his. Before he could say anything, the phone rung across the room.

"I'll get it." I said, running over to the phone.

"Hello, Swan residents." I said as cheerfully as I could manage. Jasper smirked at me from across the room and I scowled at him.

"BELLA!" Came the bellowing voice of my other brother through the phone. I winced, pulling the phone away from my ear.

"Jesus, Emmett, I've gone deaf now!" I said whilst laughing. "What's up?" I asked. Jasper was smiling from across the room, hearing who it was.

"Guess what?!" He asked exitedly, like a child on Christmas.

"What, Emmett?" I asked with heavy sarcasm.

"I'm coming to stay!" He shouted in my ear, making me wince again. When I was sure I wasn't deaf, I put the phone back to my ear.

"That's great! When are you getting here?" I asked, grinning from ear to ear. "Tomorrow, that okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's great!"

"Well, I gotta go. Say hi to Jazz and Dad for me, okay?"

"Okay, bye."

"Byeee!" I heard the end dial on the other end of the phone and placed it back in its stand.

Jasper walked over to me, looking confused.

"What was all that about?" He asked, gesturing to the phone. I smirked again.

"Emmett's coming to stay. He gets here tomorrow!" I said exitedly, practically jumping on the spot. Jasper's smile grew bigger as I spoke. He pulled me into a hug and I rested my head on his chest, breathing in his lovely scent. He hugged me back tightly, then turned around.

"Cmon', we gotta get this cleaned up." He said, gesturing to the sink. We spent the next ten minutes drying the plates together, having a great time with each other. That is, until Charlie's cruiser pulled up outside the house.

I felt my chest tighten a little and I froze. Jasper pulled my face, gently, to look at him, and he smiled.

"It's okay, calm down." He spoke calmly. Something dawned on me, and it only made me panic more.

"I didn't make dinner." I managed to gasp out, looking towards the door in time for it to open, and for Charlie to storm inside.

"Bella, look at me." Whispered Jasper. I looked up at him and he forced a smile.

"Calm down, it's going to be okay." He whispered before walking out to see Charlie. I was stood there for minutes, unsure of what to do. I was drawn out of my worries by a very angry looking Charlie walking in and standing right in front of me.

I was leaning my back against the counter, so I was trapped. He put his hands each side of me on the counter, trapping me fully.

"H..hi dad." I managed to whisper.

"Cut the crap Bella! Where's dinner?" He asked, leaning in closer so I could feel his breath on my face. I tried to shrink back, but I couldn't go any further. I didn't answer straight away, so he grabbed my hair and pulled me towards him.

"I asked you a question, Isabella!" He shouted at me.

"I..I'm sorry, I forgot." I whispered. I saw his hand raise before I felt it. The force of the blow to my cheek knocked me to the floor. I looked up and he left the room, then the house, mumbling something about eating with Billy. I closed my eyes again and leaned my head back on the floor, closing my eyes. I heard footsteps walk in, but I didn't move to look at Jasper.

"Bella?" He asked, kneeling next to me and holding my hand.

"Bella, open your eyes, please." He begged, shaking my shoulders a little. I opened my eyes and looked up at Jasper, sitting up. I immediately winced as the movement hurt my head.

"Hey, easy. Stay there." He said, trying to stay calm. I looked closer and gasped, seeing Jasper. His lip was swollen and bleeding, and he had a black eye.

"Jasper." I whispered. "Your face. What...how..." He shook his head, putting his finger to my lips gently to stop me from talking.

"It's nothing, I'm more worried about you." He spoke softly, helping me sit up. I leant my back against the cupboard behind me. He looked at my face then checked me over, making sure I wasn't hurt anywhere else.

"I'm fine, Jazz." I demanded, swatting his hands away. He frowned at me, but didn't carry on. He stood up, then helped me to my feet.

"Go put something cold on your cheek while I sort this out." He said, gesturing to his face. I nodded my head, but hugged him tightly before I went. He hugged me back, leaning his chin on the top of my head and rubbing my back. He pulled away, smiled, and went to clean himself up. I went to the freezer and got some ice, put it in a plastic bag, and held it to my face. While I waited for Jasper to finish cleaning himself up, I went to sit in the living room. I closed my eyes, planning just to wait, but fell asleep.

"Bella?" Somebody called my name, shaking my shoulders gently. I fluttered my eyes open and Jasper was standing in front of me, looking a little better but still in bad shape.

"Yeah?" I mumbled sleepily, rubbing my eyes and yawning. Jasper chuckled a little, helming me sit up.

"C'mon, bed." He said, taking my hand and pulling me to stand up. I just nodded my head, still quite tired. We got to the top of the staircase and I turned to look at Jasper.

"Does Charlie know about Emmet?" I asked quietly, looking at his bedroom door, afraid he was home.

"Bella, he's not home. I think he does, if not I'll tell him in the morning. Emmet might call him." He gave me a small, reassuring smile. "Night Bella."

"Night." I mumbled back, going into my room. I pulled on one of Jasper's old t-shirts, and some boy shorts. I climbed into bed and slowly but surely fell asleep.

So that was chapter one. I've had that idea on my mind for a while, so I thought I'd post it and see how it goes. I do know this is a serious topic, so I want everybody to know I'm taking this seriously. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. So, what did you think? Reviews and suggestions are much appreciated. Thank you for reading!

-Bambie.