Hey guys, I guess I'm back with hopefully, a better story than my last. I know I have kind of given up on my other one but I promise that, even if I don't update for aaaaaaages, I am determined to start and finish this without any doubt, but honestly to do that, I will need your help so please make me see my mistakes or the highlights by tell me and reading this. I would be forever grateful :)

Bella is brutally abused by her adoptive parents, who just happen to have red eyes, never eat at home and don't like the sunlight. With no knowledge of the supernatural world with vampires, she is forced to believe that no one wanted her so they took her in, convincing her that they were the best she could have, and that they only go easy on her. She feels nothing but fear or anger in her life. Can the strange, golden eyed boy, Edward help her or just make everything ten times worse.

EPOV.

It was misty and quite cold, yet children with their parents were still in the park. Teenagers hanging on the swings. Dog walkers, though the sign on the gate proved that no dogs were allowed in the playground.

I would usually go straight home after hunting, but today I decided to enjoy this day while it lasted. Even if it was a horrible day.

My eyes flickered back to the teenagers on swings. They looked about my (human) age. I recognized Mike Newton and his friends, along with Jessica Stanley and a group of giggling girls. They all went to my school.

Though there was one girl, who didn't seem at all like Jessica Stanley or her friends; she just stayed hidden underneath the curtain of long, chestnut hair. This girl didn't look like she wanted to be noticed.

She was, from what I could tell, quite slim. She wore a cheap watch around her wrist and constantly kept checking it every few minutes. After a few glances at her watch she rose from the swing. "Erm, I have to go guys. See you at school."

"Bye, Bella!" They all said, before continuing their various conversations.

So her name was Bella. That's a nice name, I guess. Bella rushed away, a little bit too quickly, as she tripped. I stood up and went over the help her, completely oblivious to my actions.

That was when it hit me. The sweetest and strongest scent I had ever come across. It burned my nostrils.

I still wanted to help her though, and if you asked me why, I wouldn't have a specific answer. I guess I just had a feeling she needed help. I held my breath and carried on walking towards her.

Once I got to her, I held a hand out to help her up. "Are you okay?" I asked. She flickered her eyes up at me and quickly looked down again, but took my hand. Pulling her up, my skin felt as though it's was on fire. It was strange yet comforting, if that makes any sense at all.

Bella still looked down. "Yeah, thanks", she murmured. My ingenious answer was a mere nod. I suddenly wished I just left her to get up on her own, as the burn in my throat was almost unbearable. "I'm Bella Swan", she held out her hand.

"Edward Cullen", I said as I shook her hand. She flinched slightly when she touched my cold skin.

"Yeah, I've seen you around school. You're in my Biology class, I think", she smiled, slightly. Why had I never noticed her scent?

I smiled, though the smile was just a mask, a cover. I was too occupied by the scars on her hands and wrists.

"What happened to your hands?" I asked. She frowned, looking down. Her eyes instantly widened.

"I tripped", she said quickly, then scurried out of the park.

I convinced myself I wasn't going to speak to her again. I wasn't going to put her at risk like I just did. Though something told me she didn't get those scars because she tripped.

BPOV

I kept my face hidden the whole way home. I was late and I didn't want another beating tonight.

You see, I am abused by my parents. I was adopted by James and Victoria so they aren't my real parents or anything.
I don't know why they hurt me. Whenever I asked, I would get a slap and they would say: 'because you are a bad girl, and bad girls need to be punished.'

We have just moved to Forks. We never go to sunny places. They say sunny places are more crowded and they don't like the sun. Who doesn't like the sun? It's warm and light.

They are strange people.

I opened the door and they were there waiting for me. Arms crossed and their feet tapping impatiently on the wooden floor. "You're late", James said bluntly. His face showed no hint of anger. In fact, no emotion at all. Maybe tonight will be okay.

Ha, don't fool yourself, Bella. You know all too well that it will not be okay!

"I'm sorry", I whispered.

"Whatever, just go make us dinner", Victoria said, just as bored as James.

I ran past them and into the kitchen. Our house was very dark. There was no window apart from in James' and Victoria's bedroom, which I was never allowed to enter.
I didn't really know how to cook, but I knew how to use an oven. I just grabbed the ready-made pizzas and shoved them into the already hot oven. I was starving but I'm never allowed to eat anything, only every Friday. But I was lucky if they offered me even a crumb of bread.

The oven beeped. I opened the door and grabbed the pizza's feeling the sting of the heat on my fingers. Yep, they don't even let me use oven gloves, or anything to stop the burn. I watched the new scars form. Welcome to the collection. Whilst placing my hands in cold water, James and Victoria walked in. I quickly turn around, hearing the plate smash on the hard, stone floor.

"What is this?" Victoria screeched, holding the pizza taking a long sniff. I was trembling on the spot. Terrified.

The negative voice in my head spoke again. See, this is obviously not okay. You knew what was going to happen before you even opened the door.

"P-pizza, Ma'am", I stuttered. Her lips curled into a frightening snarl, and she was holding me against the wall by my neck in an instant.

"You pathetic little girl! That is not food!" she screeched. Her crimson eyes turning black. I never understood why that happened, but it freaked the hell out me. Maybe they had strange colour-changing contacts. I have no idea what they make these days to be honest.

"Throw it away, and I will know if you have taken a mere nibble at that poor excuse for food, so don't. James and I shall go out to eat. Again," she sneered as she stormed out of the room.

I inhaled one shaky breath. Could life get any worse? Growing curious, I grabbed the slice of pizza and sniffed it; it didn't smell bad, and it looked okay. This was beginning to get a little weird. My food never looked bad.

I slid down the wall, still taking deep breaths, and cried.

I know crying never fixes anything but it seems to be the only solution I can think of right now.

I couldn't sleep that night. James and Victoria still hadn't come home, and i couldn't get that boy, Edward out of my head. He reminded me of James and Victoria in a way. Thankfully he seems a lot nicer than them. A lot nicer! But he's very handsome, just like James and Victoria. Extremely pale.

Maybe he doesn't go out a lot, like them. Maybe it's some kind of life style. I don't really pay attention to what Victoria and James do, half the time; I just do as I'm told.

"You better be asleep, little girl", I heard Victoria sing as she opened the front door. I quickly turned away from the door and curled into a tight ball, falling into a dreamless sleep.

•••

I walked to school the next day. Like I always do. I was wearing an old shirt and jeans. The usual really. The rain didn't surprise me; I was beginning to get bored of it.

By the time I was at school I was drenched, which caused a few stares.

I was new to Forks High two weeks ago. It is a small school. There was nothing of it really; everyone knew everyone, everything in every room, every book in the library. Even though I was new to this school and everyone knew me or at least knew my name. And I knew all of theirs. Like over there for example- that's Ben Cheney; I know my friend, Angela likes him. I even knew Edward Cullen's name before he introduced himself to me yesterday at the park, and that his adoptive siblings were called Emmett and Alice Cullen and Rosalie and Jasper Hale.

So I knew almost everyone's name after being there a few weeks! If that doesn't tell you how small this school is, I don't know what does.

When I arrived at school, I spotted the group of people I eat lunch with. They greeted me with a smile and a 'Hey Bella!'

I was slightly out of breath from the long walk up the hill, and sadly that didn't fail to catch Mike Newton's attention.

"Don't you own a ride, Bella?" He asked me. This simple question got everyone curious.

"Er… I can't afford to buy a car. My parents don't even own one. I guess they are a bit too expensive these days you know…" I lied, hoping they bought it. Of course my parents could afford a car, but they just refused to buy me one.

The bell rang before anyone could say anything anyway, and we all dawdled towards the small building. As I was walking inside, I caught a glimpse of none other than Edward Cullen, who was standing by his shiny Volvo, which was parked next to a jeep. I think the jeep belonged to Emmett.

How can they afford such nice cars?

I do wish James and Victoria would buy me a car, just to save me from walking to school every day; but for that to happen would be a miracle.

Edward stared at me; he didn't even smile. Did I do something wrong? I can't have, all I said to him yesterday was: 'I'm Bella Swan', 'you're in my Biology' and 'I tripped.' I can't have done something wrong.

I carried on walking, it wasn't like I was going to talk to him again, or that I cared. Right?

The day dragged on, and surprisingly, I just wanted to go home. James and Victoria always go out on weekdays, so I doubt they will be home. I only had two more classes until the school day finished: Biology and Gym.

I shuffled along to Biology, and as soon as I entered the room I was ambushed by Jessica. "Oh, Bella! Have you heard? The teacher has given us assigned seats, so we can't sit next to each other anymore… Unless we are sat next to each other anyway, I hope so!"

Mr Banner strolled into the classroom with a huge grin plastered on his face. "Okay everyone, I have given you all new seats, just to see how it will turn out, so it might not be permanent. So could you all please stand over in the corner of the room and wait for your name to be called out." We all nodded and scurried over to the corner of the classroom.

"Okay so, Miss Stanley and Mr Newton could you sit here, please. Miss Weber and Mr Yorkie over there, please," Angela rolled her eyes; she told me Eric was very talkative and quite distracting, I shot her a sympathetic look. The sympathy instantly died when I heard my name. "Miss Swan and Mr Cullen, could you sit there."

I saw him gulp as he made his way over to our desk. I swear he glared at the chair before sitting in it. Did he really dislike me?

Unlike him, I sat in my seat without hesitation. Honestly, I don't smell bad or anything, do I?

Just to confirm I sniffed my hair, strawberries… My breath smelt fine too…

Oh well, this is his problem, not mine.

The lesson carried on as usual, though Edward wouldn't stop glaring at me. Soon it got so uncomfortable that I completely forgot what we were learning about. I needed to say something to him. Confront him and demand what his problem was.

But as you might have guessed, I didn't do that at all. I never got the chance because the bell rang.

Gym was… Gym. Difficult, tiring and pointless. Let's just say, thankfully, I came out in one piece, but it felt as though my brain was bouncing around my skull in a million pieces. I'm just grateful it's over.

Exhausted, I walked out of the parking lot, beginning my very long walk home. The pavement disappeared under my feet slowly and the trees wouldn't stop rustling. You would have thought I would have gotten used to the rain and the wind, but that seemed impossible. Every now and then I heard cars zoom past me. But I never looked up long enough to realise the silver Volvo purring as it slowly drove next to me.

"Do you want a ride?" Edward's velvet voice asked. I frowned; his mood swings were confusing me!

"Oh so you're talking to me again?" I joked, but that didn't mean I wasn't curious.

"I'm sorry about that. I had a disagreement with my sister at lunch, so I guess I was too annoyed to talk to anyone", he apologised, looking genuinely sorry. But for all I know, it could just be a mask. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question. Do you want a ride?"

I thought about it. What if James and Victoria are home? This would probably cause another beating. Maybe he could drop me off down the road from my house… Yeah I'll go with that.

"Sure", I mumbled, shivering slightly from the wind.

"Hurry up and get in before you freeze", he said, urgently. I quickened and opened the door to the passenger seat. I instantly felt warmer. "Don't you own a coat? You're going to get sick if you just wear these long-sleeved shirts every day."

I shrugged. Truthfully, I didn't own a coat. But do you think James a Victoria would give me the money to buy one. At least they bought be clothes at all.

"Erm, I probably do somewhere. I might have lost it in the move…" I stalled. There was an awkward silence after that.

I was about to try and make conversation somehow, but then I remembered I had to get out earlier. "Turn left and drop me off there. I can walk the rest."

He turned the indicator on the show he was turning left. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. The car stopped at the corner off the road.

"Thank you, Edward. I don't know if I was going to be able to make it, I'm so tired!" I laughed, and so did he.

"Anytime, Bella", he smiled. He has an amazing smile…

I waved weakly, getting out of the car.

I wasn't sure what Edward's problem was today. But for some reason I hope I don't see that Edward again.