A/N

Greetings everyone! This is my first venture at writing a fic. Not my first vebnure writing. My first venture in letting people read my stories. I want to thank my wonderful beta c. anna cullen for taking me on and agreeing to work with me. Of course, any typos or errors are mine alone. This entire story is mapped out in my head so chapters will come regularly unless otherwise noted. The whole thing was inspired by one song which I will share with you later on in the story. If you get a chance, take a listen to the quoted song on here because it will set the mood of what's to come. Twilight and it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyeer but this little peice belongs to me. Be kind and I can't wait to see what you think! xoxo

God save us everyone

Will we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns

For the sins of our hand

Sins of our tongue

Sins of our father

The sins of our young

-The Requiem by Linkin Park

She took a deep breath as she looked around her room, hat was left of it. It had once been a place of solace but after last night… She shook her head. She didn't want to relive last night. The petite brunette had grown accustom to being the adult one. Last night had been her birthday. At eighteen, she had her life ahead of her. Graduation had come and gone without "incidents" as she had called them for a while now. Shrug it off. That's what she was told by her friends. She's crazy. Don't pay attention. Easier said than done. The red puffy eyes that looked back at her from the dresser mirror in front of her had been that way for many nights, many years. Grabbing the hair tie from the dresser, she quickly pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and returned to her task.

Two small suitcases lay at the foot of the bed with most of her clothes and precious belongings. Ironically enough, the photographs she once thought of as a source of comfort remained sitting on her nightstand. Those people weren't a source of comfort any longer. They hadn't been for years, but she had convinced herself that things could get better. The relationship with her father was strained at best, and her mother…she shuddered. You'll never amount to anything. You're such a disappointment. I can't believe I wasted my time on you. The words echoed in her head on a loop. She was used to them. That was until last night. It was her birthday for God's sake! Images popped in and out of her mind as she gathered her books in her knapsack and started getting dressed.

~OOO~

"Why are you celebrating? It's just one more year marking your failures." Her mother had staggered over to where she sat amongst her friends. They all looked away embarrassed for her and gave her knowing looks and small hand squeezes. "It's not like you're going anywhere. And you," she directed her words at the boy sitting next to the brunette." What do you see in this small mousy thing? You could be with anyone, like that blond sitting at the other table." She motioned drunkenly across the room. "Now THAT is a looker. I swear this lazy girl isn't worth it," she said, turning to look at the young birthday girl.

~OOO~

You don't have to take it you know. His words rang in her head now. It can be different. Stumbling amongst the pile of discarded papers, the young girl made her way to her closet and pulled out her favorite black hoodie. Turning to walk back out into the room, she caught her reflection in the mirror that hung from her closet door just as she pulled her arms through the sleeves. The bright purple bruises were there, marking the space where each of her mother's fingers had been. The scratch marks had left a trail where her fingernails had dug into the girl's pale white ski

~OOO~

"Don't walk away from me. I'm talking to you. You think you're too good for your own family? Just because you got a scholarship to some fancy college? If I even let you go that is." She tried to walk away but the stinging pain of something biting into her arm stopped her. Her mother was now gripping her arms with such force that it brought tears to the girl's eyes. The screaming and berating continued until strong arms freed her from the claws that dug at her skin as she was pulled away. The girl almost got away, but not before a heavy hand slapped her across the face.

~OOO~

Big brown eyes moved slowly over her skin until she brought them up to face herself once again. The swelling in her cheek had gone down, thanks to the ice he'd applied the previous night as she cried herself to sleep. It doesn't have to be this way. You deserve better. Let me help you. I love you.

Pulling a sheet of paper from her notebook she quickly scribbled a note.

I love you but I can't live like this any longer. Someday I hope you'll understand -B

Closing the door behind her softly, she made her way down the flight of stairs with luggage in tow. Her mother wouldn't hear her. She was probably passed out on the floor of her room and wouldn't awaken until noon. Glancing at the clock, she made her way to the front door and paused to glance at the text message she had received an hour earlier.

I'll be back at 8. I love you. I always will

She smiled to herself and slowly opened the door to find him standing there, looking out at the street. He turned and smiled. No words were needed as he leaned down to pick up her suitcases in one hand and kissed her softly on the lips. Taking her small hand in his free one, he gave it a soft squeeze and nodded. She smiled back and looking into his green eyes knew that it would be OK. She had her whole life ahead of her. a bright future. She was not alone.

She gave her childhood home one last glance and softly closed the door behind her. Maybe someday in the future she'd return under better circumstances. The silver Volvo was parked on the driveway, and she climbed in the passenger seat as Edward put her suitcases in the trunk.

The drive to his apartment was a quiet one as she thought about her decision to move in with him. They were still so young; too young to be taking such a big step but she hadn't seen any other way out. She knew he wouldn't pressure her into moving their relationship any further than where they were at at the moment, and, most importantly, she felt safe. He made her feel safe. She could feel his eyes on her every time he look at her from the corner of his eyes but was glad he didn't ask what she was thinking. She wasn't sure she could explain it to herself, let alone him. He must have sensed her trepidation because she suddenly felt his warm hand envelop her's in a gesture of reassurance. Or maybe it was the fact that she had been chewing on her bottom lip, as was her habit when she was stressed or nervous. She met his gaze and was greeted with a look of love and understanding that made her chest ache. How she had ever managed to catch his attention, let alone earn his love, she still didn't understand or believe. She didn't want to think about what would happen if he ever knew her whole story so she forced herself to focus on the present. He was here with her now. Edward wanted her now. That was all that mattered.

The Volvo slowly eased into the parking space behind the apartment building, and they made their way to the second floor. It wasn't a fancy apartment, and if she was being honest it was barely big enough to house on person. It consisted of a small living room that blended into the kitchen area. There really was no space for a dining room, but the countertop worked just fine as a desk or table. There were papers strewn about everywhere, but this was a common occurrence, as Edward was not known for his organizational skills. Then again, what twenty year old is? She turned to look out the window that faced the street below. She watched people milling about in the popular downtown area of the small town he lived in. It was just another day for them. Just a normal Saturday morning but for her it was the beginning of…what? She hadn't thought that far. She didn't know what would happen that summer. Strong arms circled her waist, and she let herself be pulled into a backwards hug. She leaned into his sculpted chest and closed her eyes as he nuzzled her neck and whispered, "Welcome home, Bella."

EPOV

Are you insane? What the hell are you thinking? You're not ready for this! I argued internally. Well I can't very well just leave her to her fate. I care far too much for her to just let it keep happening.Next time it would be worse and God only knew what that woman was capable of. I'd never witnessed something like that firsthad, and had been horrified to see it unfold before my eyes. Sure my parents argued, but they'd never turned to violence. They had never lifted a finger to any of their children. I had heard stories about what Rene was like. I'd always thought my friends were exaggerating, and Bella had never really talked about her home life with me. Sure she'd said that things at home were strained, and her mom was sometimes mean to her, but she'd never said anything about being physically abused. I didn't know what was worse; her being beaten down physically or emotionally. I'd seen her red eyes more and more often lately, but Bella had shrugged it off as being tired. "Lack of sleep," she'd said. I leaned down and kissed the sleeping form on the bed and made my way out of the house. Images of the previous night played in my head with every step I took towards the front door.

~OOO~

The music was blasting in the background as their group of friends huddled in the small table near the presents. She didn't want a party, but we'd surprised her anyway. Her face was radiant as she chatted away, enjoying herself for once. She was gesturing wildly as she described the school she'd been accepted to and all of its merits. The campus was beautiful from what she'd seen online, and the town was a college student's dream. There was a commotion from the house, followed by her mother bursting through the back door to the back patio. It was easy to tell she'd had a few drinks. She was swaying slightly as she fumbled her way towards our table.

"Why are you celebrating? It's just one more year marking your failures." Her mother had tottered over to where they sat. They all looked away embarrassed for Bella and gave her knowing looks and small hand squeezes. "It's not like you're going anywhere. And you, what do you see in this small mousy thing? You could be with anyone like that blond sitting at the other table" she motioned drunkenly across the room to Lauren Malloy. I still had no idea who'd invited Lauren since we all knew she was jealous of Bella and did nothing to disguise her contempt of her. She looked our way and smirked at the remark Renee had made. "Now THAT is a looker. I swear this lazy girl isn't worth it," she said turning to look at her daughter, who was shielding her face with her hair. "Hey, let's go grab fresh drinks. You guys want anything?" I asked our friends, pulling Bella to stand walking away with her. I wasn't going to let anything ruin her night.

I left to use the restroom, and when I returned I found Bella, standing in the middle of the patio. The party had come to a screeching halt while everyone started at the confrontation playing out. Renee was gripping Bella's arms with such force that tears where streaming down her face. She cried in silence while trying to wrestle herself free. The screaming and berating continued and I went to help Bella release herself from her mother's death grip. I was about to pull her beside me when Renee's hand whipped out and, to my horror, slapped Bella across the face. There was an audible gasp from everyone around me, and a small whimper from the girl I now held in my arms. "Alice! Get Bella upstairs." I asked my sister. "Party's over. Please, go home.' I told the crowd, but no one seemed to want to move. They were waiting for more. "NOW!" I yelled as I ran inside and up the stairs. I wasn't ready for what I saw. Bella lay curled in fetal position on her bed, sobbing silently as Alice tried to comfort her. My sister turned to me with despair in her eyes, and I nodded to let her know I'd take it from here.

~OOO~

I pulled up to the store parking lot and sat in my car for a while. It was a little before 6 am so the place wasn't open yet. I was exhausted. I had barely slept. I had spent a good part of the night comforting Bella and applying ice to her cheek, so it wouldn't swell up. I was finally able to convince her to come and stay with me for a while. She needed to get out of that house. It wasn't healthy for her to continue the vicious circle she'd been in with her mother for God knows how long. That was something I needed to talk about with her, once things calmed down. She'd finally fallen asleep in my arms at 2 in the morning, resting her head on my chest. Her small hand clutched my shirt at my waist. I held her for a while to make sure she wouldn't wake, and then I'd made my way downstairs and out to the back patio.

I must have been lost in thought but was brought out of it by the sound of shopping carts being pushed by my car. I realized I must have been lost in thought for a while. The clock on my dashboard read 6:30, which meant I had less than two hours to buy what I needed and get things ready for Bella to move into my apartment. God. Bella's moving in with me. I sighed and climbed out of my car and heading into the store.

Forty minutes later, I was back in the car with bags full of bed linens and other girly "essentials," as Alice called them. She wasn't happy about me waking her so early in the day, but when I explained it was for Bella she was more willing to help me. The girl at the checkout line had given me funny looks when she saw the purple (or lavender, as Alice claimed it was called) bed sheets and the fluffy shower thing: poof…loofa? Alice said it was one of those two. Whatever it was for, I had no clue, but my sister had insisted I get one. along with some other items for Bella. I drove the few miles back to my apartment and headed into the building. I ran up the stairs to tidy up what I could and drop off the Bella items in the bedroom and bathroom. I only had a few minutes to shower and change if I was going to make it in time to pick her up from that hellhole she lived in.

I stood on her doorstep for about five minutes before the door opened. Her eyes were still red and her face had a visible hand print on it, but thankfully it wasn't swollen. I took her suitcases in one hand, making sure to leave the other free to hold her hand, and kissed her softly on the lips before we made our way to the car.

The drive was quiet, and I could tell she was nervous. If she kept biting her lip like that, it would bleed so I took her hand in mine and held it the remainder of the drive. I wanted to reassure her in any way I could, but I knew she wasn't ready to talk yet. I had to be patient. We pulled up to my small apartment building and headed up the stairs. I was glad I didn't live in a noisy town, but my friends always teased me for living in the "old Folks Community" as they liked to call it. It was a quiet but beautiful town, full of old Spanish colonial style houses. The downtown area where I had been lucky enough to find my one bedroom apartment was always busy but never noisy. Even at night when the local students turned out to visit the restaurants and bar, things never got out of hand. I rarely visited those places, opting for the small bookstore and café down by the beach. My father had always said I had an old soul, and that I was wise beyond my years. That wasn't the case earlier this morning when I had bumped into a drunken Renee as I left Bella's house… I shouldn't have said those things.

I made my way into the bedroom while Bella stayed behind looking out the window. I wish I knew what she was thinking; how she felt about this, us moving in together. We'd only known each other for nine months and had only said our "I love you's" a month earlier. I still remembered the look on her face and how the blush had crept up to her cheeks as she looked down and whispered it back to me. I smiled at the memory and looked around one last time to make sure everything was in its place. Taking a deep breath, I walked back out to where she still stood, looking out the window at the town below us. I hugged her to me, smelling her soft brown hair and whispering in her ear "Welcome home, Bella." Her breath caught and her shoulders tensed at my words. Did I say something wrong?I turned her in my arms so she faced me. Lookeing into her eyes, I trying to read what she was thinking. She smiled shyly at me and bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked as I pulled her lip free with my thumb. I slowly ran it back and forth across her mouth soothingly while my other arm wrapped around her small waist.

"Nothing, I'm just…a little nervous." She fidgeted and looked down, covering her face wither hair.

"Hey." I moved her hair behind her ear and tilted her chin up to me with my index finger. "There's nothing to be nervous about. I promise not to make you do my laundry or clean up my mess. Although, I'm sure after two days of being here you'll want to pick up my papers." I chuckled.

"Hmm, that's probably why you asked me to stay over. You need someone to pick up behind you." She grinned.

"You caught me. I said to myself Cullen, once she turns eighteen, you can drag her to your man cave and make her your slave," I joked, but the color had left her face.

Stupid stupid stupid bringing up her birthday. Why don't you just tear up more open wounds while you're at it, genius?

"I'm sorry, Bella, I didn't mean…"

"It's OK. You don't need to apologize. I just…just need to process things." She sighed pulling away from me.

I was having none of that. I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to me, crushing her against my body and holding her tightly.

"We'll figure things out. Don't worry. I know it's a lot of change to take in all at once, and you're going through a lot at the moment. Please trust me though. I won't let anyone hurt you any more. You're safe here," I murmured into her hair as I placed soft kisses on it and rubbed her back with my hand.

She gave in to my embrace. Snaking her arms around my waist, she rested her cheek to my chest while taking small deep breaths.

"I do trust you, Edward. You're about the only person I do trust right now. I just..I'm spent. I feel numb. I always imagined leaving home under better circumstances. Having my mom hug me goodbye as I left for college or something. It's just hard to accept that nothing like that will ever happen," she whispered into my shirt as she played with the seam.

I didn't know what to say to that, so I just held her for a while, rubbing her back and telling her it would be OK. I didn't know if it would, but I hoped to God I was right. She deserved some happiness after what she'd been through. After a while, our stomachs started rumbling from hunger, so I led her to the kitchen to make her some breakfast. I was no chef, but I could cook a mean scrambled egg and my pancakes were not that bad either. They were edible. She laughed when I placed a plate before her with Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes and whipped cream. Oh how I loved that laugh. It made my chest ache and my stomach tighten at the lightness of it. It was like music; carefree and relaxed. It lit up her face and made her eyes shine. It was one of the many things I loved about her. She was young, but she was also an old soul like me. That's what had attracted me to her. She wasn't vapid like most of the girls I knew. Bella had depth. There was a lot going on in her head, and after last night, I had a glimpse of why she was the way she was, why she seemed so grown up. She was the adult in the relationship with her mother. She'd told me that numerous times, but it hadn't sunk in until last night.

We spent most of the day in my apartment, our apartment now. She read a bit while I watched T.V. From time to time, I'd catch her looking out the window, lost in thought, or I'd catch her staring at me. At these times, she would just blush and look back at her book. She'd read maybe two pages the entire time, not being able to focus on it for long. Not that I was watching her, but if she'd asked me the score of the game I was watching, I wouldn't have known. It got dark, and then it was time to face the elephant in the room., the one shaped in the form of two suitcases. I sighed and turned to face her on the couch.

"It's getting late. We should probably get some sleep and get you settled in. Not in that order, of course," I said, nervously running my hand through my hair.

"Oh, yeah, you're right." She bit her lip and shifted her eyes from the suitcases to the bedroom to me.

We had never slept together, except for last night, and that didn't really count since we were fully clothed. I hadn't pushed her limits of not wanting to move our relationship forward. I knew it wasn't something she had felt ready to do yet, and I had no problem with waiting until she was. Getting off the couch, I picked up her suitcases and headed to the bedroom with Bella in tow. I set her things down by the bed and showed her the space I'd made for her things in my closet and dresser.

"I'm going to go change in the bathroom, and give you some privacy to do the same."

I grabbed my pajama and headed to the bedroom as fast as I could, closing the door behind me. You can do this. No big deal, Cullen. You're a big boy. I stripped of my clothes and put on my flannel pajama bottoms, realizing that in my haste I'd forgotten to grab a t-shirt. Great. I glanced at my watch and figured 5 minutes was long enough to let Bella change, so I opened up the door slowly. Bella stood at the foot of the bed in the shortest pair of shorts I had ever seen. I don't even think they qualified as shorts they were barely covering her butt. Not that I was staring or anything. She paired the "shorts" with a t-shirt that almost covered said "shorts," giving the illusion that she was going without bottoms. I raked my gaze up her legs to her torso and finally saw her face. Bella was blushing furiously, her mouth shaped into an O as she started at my bare chest. Thank God my flannel bottoms were loose or she was bound to pass out at the obvious effect she was having on me. Things were about to get interesting.