Disclaimer: Of course, I own nothing but my own words. The characters belong to Ms. Meyer and a very small number of the words do, too.
1949
The girl took another small sip of her steaming tea, filled with sugar and milk. How long would they let her stay here sipping tea? She could not afford to buy another cup and she did not want to leave the warm diner, far warmer than the tiny apartment she had rented for the next six months. She missed the warmth of her home. She had grown up in Phoenix, a city she had imagined to be large until arriving on the East Coast. This diner was nothing like any place she had been in Phoenix and the stuffy warmth—with underlying smells of humans and food—was nothing like the dry heat of the house she had lived in as a child. She had never been to a diner at all until she was 17 years old. That thought would lead in bad directions, though, so the girl pushed her mind off in another direction.
There was another reason the girl wanted to stay in the diner. It was a public place. There were at least 30 people in it, plus the staff, and with three people working here, even if every customer left, she would not be alone. The girl wanted to be alone only when she was asleep. She needed to be alone in her sleep because of the nightmares. Otherwise, she might consider sleeping with men just to avoid ever being alone. No, she wouldn't do that. One man alone in a bedroom would not protect her like 2 women and a man in a diner would. One man alone in a bedroom would be quickly murdered in order to get at her. Three people in a diner would be left alone. Whenever it got to the time when Bella was caught, she hoped that she took no one with her.
Today in particular was a bad day for the girl to be anywhere alone. It was early Spring in Philadelphia, which sounded as though it ought to be lovely, but really it was still cold and rather rainy. Rain or even just overcast skies were dangerous for the girl. The rain, though, was alternating with patches of sun, and perhaps Bella could leave the diner and go to a public library, or maybe the train station, during one of those patches of sunlight—if they asked her to leave. Most tables were filled and she had already eaten soup and then extended her time by ordering the tea which she really couldn't afford.
The girl wrapped her gloved hands around the tea cup for warmth as she wished again that she could find a small town to live in. A very small town, as small as Forks. Not smaller, though. A town with 5-10 businesses so Bella would never need to leave it again. That way, it would be pure random chance that would make anyone find her. She might live her whole like safely in a small town. She would never be sure, but the chances seemed so much higher.
The girl felt that part of the reason she was still alive was that she had taken a lift from a family in Seattle over three years ago and just left them when they drove through a small town in Nebraska. She'd stayed there for 2 years until her money started running out. Then she'd traveled to Chicago to find work, then New York, and now Philadelphia. She had chosen those places because she had to rely on free transportation as much as possible. She had stolen a train ticket to get from Chicago to New York, but she'd paid for the bus ticket from New York to Philadelphia. After all, Philadelphia was only a few hours from New York City.
Cities were probably more dangerous than small towns. The girl had to travel to many different neighborhoods in the cities she had tried to live in since a place to live was never to be found in the same location as the jobs. But cities were the only place an unconnected woman could get work right now. With all of the men coming back from war a few years ago, there were fewer jobs for women than there had been and few jobs for anyone in small towns. So cities were the only place Bella could live. Not that she'd found a job yet in Philadelphia.
The girl jolted her cup again as the bell on the door rang. She did this every time someone walked in or out. She thought the waitress had noticed and that perhaps that was why no one was saying anything about her needing to leave soon, what with ordering the cheapest things she could. The girl had learned over the last 3 (it was 3 and a half, not 3!) that some women knew when other women were on the run. She'd talked to some herself. They never shared what had happened to them or asked her what happened to her, but they always offered whatever assistance they had available. Apparently, she had the same look those women do, a hunted look. Of course, they all assumed she was on the run from a man, not a woman. The girl wondered what they would say if she ever told them just who was hunting her. Maybe the waitress recognized the look, or the fear Bella felt every time a new person walked in.
"Ma'am, may I join you?" A slow and hesitant Southern voice brought Bella from her reverie. "There aren't any free tables."
The girl jerked her head up to stare at the man and felt fear, relief, and resignation swirling around inside of her, together but not quite mixing. His eyes were reddish, but black and bruised looking.
It took the girl a moment to answer. "Yes, of course. I don't have any choice, do I?"
The man looked at her, as if he were trying to figure out a puzzle. He looked as if he were trying to decide what to say as he put his hat on the table and sat down.
The girl knew this was it. Victoria's friends had finally found her and this man would stay with her until she left, taking her off to the woods or some abandoned place to torture and kill her. Well, she could try to make a scene, but it looked like no one else would have to die with her so long as she did what this man said. At least she had saved her family and had a few more years than she would have had if she had stayed in Forks. Three, almost four more years of life. Her life might be over, but so was the delay of the inevitable-and the dread.
She looked the man directly in his red eyes. "You've kept me waiting a long time."