Chapter 1 -
A/N
I keep telling myself I shouldn't begin writing these fics I know I won't be able to keep up with without losing valuable sleep, yet here I am. LOL.
As always, SM owns everything, I just play around with it.
Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Prologue
10 years ago – Seattle
I don't know why I agreed to this in the first place. She's just a kid, what's wrong with them?
"Cullen, are you going to to watch her or not? The little bitch keeps trying to scream". He's peaking out from the half open door and I can hear her muffled cries in the background.
I though deeply. If I watch her, I can keep her safe. I know what they're planning. I know where this is headed. I need to keep her safe.
"Yes" I look him dead in the eye. "I will, I'll shut her up".
I shoot him my best smirk.
He nods and motions for me to come in.
I step inside and look at the fragile, small body lying on the floor who looks at me with pleading, tear filled eyes.
I look down at her, trying to hide my own emotions.
"Hello, Isabella."
Present time – Panama City, Panama
EPOV
My usual alarm at 5:55 jolts me awake, reminding me of my daily 6:00 a.m. briefing with my boss. I love my job, I'm good at it. But it hates me, I think.
My phone rings at 6:00 a.m., like it always does and I let it ring 2 times so that fucker doesn't think he owns me. He does.
"Hello, Mr. Swan."
"Edward." He's like that. Cold and bitter. His words are like him, strict and rigid, never budging or showing any sign of interest in anything but the job.
"She's fine. One of her classes was delayed yesterday, but we phoned the teacher and she was able to prove she was in a traffic jam near the roundabout at the mall. As always, no parties, no friends, no social outings, no driving by herself, no dates."
I purposely hide what I found a couple days ago, something I have to discuss with her as soon as I figure out how to.
"Good. Keep it up, Edward."
I hate that I have to. I've seen her every day since that day and she's visibly lost her light, her shine, her happiness. She's kept away from anything remotely similar to a normal life. Away from her family, her home, everything. And it's my fault, because it's my job to do that. To keep her way from harm's way. Away from everything.
I stretch and make my way to my drawer, where I pull out my workout shorts and put on my sneakers. I wash my teeth, as well as my face and as always, there's huge bags under my eyes. I can't sleep five out of seven nights, the stress is too much sometimes. I'm always wondering what I can do to make her feel better, make her not hate me as much. Maybe even maker her like me. But I remember that that's not my job, mine is to keep her safe. Always.
That keeps me up as well. I can't sleep wondering if she's sound asleep or halfway across the globe in a container. Those thoughts usually make me get up and go check on her and I do so freely. I have the key to her room after all.
That reminds me…
I make my way to her room, turning the key on the lock and peek inside. Chestnut hair spread across the pillow and pale skin shines through the barely there light. She's sleeping. She's safe. A sigh of relief escapes my lips and I'm back on my way.
As I get to the home gym, I chose a playlist for my thirty minute daily sprint and hop on the treadmill.
When I'm done, I pull off my sweaty shirt and lounge around, knowing she won't be up for at least another hour and look at the news. Gang violence, drug cartels, and corrupt politician, nothing new. One news, though catches my eye and I make a mental note to look it up and dig further later, that could be an issue.
I'm making my way back to my room when I notice Bella's door is open. I peek inside and as thought, she's not there. Where is she? I look around and wonder why she's up so early, she doesn't have anywhere to go after all.
"Edward?"
I spin around at the familiar voice and there she is.
"Bella, are you okay?"
She looks down as she bites her lip. She's always done that. She's nervous.
"Bella, is there something wrong?"
She shakes her head, still looking down.
I step forward and tilt her head upwards, forcing her to look at me. I can't miss the gasp that escapes her lips. She's always like this when I'm too close to her and I don't quite know what that look in her eyes is. Fear? Annoyance? Lust?
"Bella, I am not going to ask you this again. What's the matter? You're acting weird. I feel something's off and if you don't tell me, I will be forced to tell your dad and we both know-"
"No! Don't. Please." Okay then.
"So tell me, Isabella" She knows I pull out the Isabella thing when I'm angry or impatient, When I'm scolding her.
"I have a date. A breakfast date."
"Isabella, dates aren't allowed. You know that." I already knew about the date. I check her internet history once a week, making sure she isn't going on some random, sketchy places, talking to strangers and giving them personal info.
Few days ago, I caught her logging on to a facebook with a name that clearly wasn't hers and false info everywhere. She was talking to some guy named John. I could tell form his messages he was probably some 25 year old douche trying to get an easy lay, not a date.
"I know, it's just I like him. And I really want to."
"And I can understand that, but it's not allowed."
"And I can understand that, but I want to." The look in her eyes change and she's defying me. Us. Everyone who's dedicated to protecting her.
She's been doing this for a while lately, I don't know if it's the age or what, but she's been angry at us lately. Like she's finally realized there's more to life than what we've let her see.
She's been watching more Netflix lately, maybe seeing other people act freely has made her want the same thing. Mental note: Block Netflix on her Smart TV.
"Okay. I'll call your father, explain the situation to him, how about that? Hello Mr. Swan, this is Edward, yes I'm fine, how about you? That's great. Yeah. Bella wants to go out on a date with some random guy from the internet. The reason? She wants to."
"How do you know it's a guy form the internet?"
"I check up on your browser history. I know what you do online. I thought you knew."
"What?" She shrieks. Guess she didn't know…
"Edward, what the hell? You people have no boundaries. What if I'm searching private matters online?"
"I'm the only one with access, Bella. I don't go around printing your history and laughing about it over drinks with the other guys. If you look for a private matter, I overlook it and leave it at that. The last thing I want is other people knowing that stuff."
She still looks pissed.
"Bella, I do it to protect you. All I ever do is to protect you, not make you angry. Please understand that and cancel the date."
She sighs and I can tell in her eyes she's accepting defeat. I hate that look in her eyes.
"Okay. I'll let him know I won't make it and delete that account and never get back on. I'm sorry."
With that she turns and heads to her room, head down and shoulders slumped. After I hear the quiet click of her door, I go to my room and hop in the shower.
A/N
Short, but we're just getting started ;)
Reviewers get to eat popcorn while watching Edward sprint on a treadmill.