A/N: I don't own Twilight and I won't say it again, okay! Please r&r!

Chapter 1

Rumors

I heard all the whispers, the rumors, caught my classmates talking about it when they thought I wasn't looking. Mostly I ignored it, it was just the usual, and only more noticeable now because of the long cut that went from my left shoulder, down my arm, to the back of my hand. I couldn't hide it, because it was a nice summer day, too warm for a sweatshirt. The rumors had been going around since my first day here, when I was six. According to everyone at Forks High, I'm a crazy, suicidal girl, a cutter.

They are so off, it's laughable, but I rarely laugh, or even smile. Not since that fateful spring day that changed my life forever.

Flashback:

I got off the bus and walked inside.

"Momma, I'm home!" I yelled. There was no answer. I searched the house, but she wasn't there. I returned to the kitchen. There on the counter was a note, that said:

Bells-

I'm going for a walk. I'll be back soon.

-Mom

Now, I couldn't read the best, but I could read enough to understand. I sat down and did my homework (A/N: you get homework early now), then waited. Finally I began to get anxious. It had been forever (only an hour as I later learned, but I was six) and momma still wasn't back. I paced back and forth by the front door, waiting, worrying. Would she ever come back? Then a door pulled up the driveway.

Knock, knock.

I opened the door. I had been taught to never open the door to strangers, but I thought it must be momma, no one else ever stopped by. I didn't register the fact that she'd have a key.

The person standing in the doorway was definitely not momma. It was a huge (compared to me) man dressed in a uniform.

"Hello, are you Ms. Isabella Swan?" he asked. I nodded and said,

"Bella." He smiled lightly.

"Well, Bella, I have some bad news," he began, then took a deep breath, "Y-You're mother, s-she died."

"D-Died?" I asked, not understanding at first.

"Yeah, honey, she's not coming home. You're gonna have to come with me, okay?" He said softly. I understood death, but I couldn't comprehend what the man (a police officer) was telling me. Momma couldn't be dead.

: End of Flashback

I had frozen with shock. I didn't cry at her funeral, because it hadn't sunk in yet. It didn't until I was told I'd be moving to live with my father, Charlie, and uncle, Phil in Forks, Washington; that I couldn't go home. Then everything went by in a blur. I was numb, and walked around in a daze. Charlie and Phil woke me up the night I moved in.

My mother was always kind and loving. She was childish herself, and sometimes it seemed like our roles were reversed. I had always taken care of her, as she had me. When I moved to Forks, the lifestyle and upbringing I found came as quite a shock.

Flashback begins:

When we walked through the front door of my new home, I saw the kind smiles on the faces of my new guardians melt away.

"Now, Isabella. In order for you to live under our roof, there're gonna be a few rules." Charlie began.

"Yeah," interrupted Phil, "First and foremost, NO crying."

"Also," Charlie continued, "never bring up your mother, no friends coming over, or you going anywhere. You come home, and you stay home. When you're old enough, I expect a decent dinner each night. If we call you, come."

"Yeah," Phil agreed, "you potty trained?" I nodded meekly, thinking, "Of course I'm potty trained, I'm six!"

"Good," Charlie sighed, "now, go to your room. It's upstairs, first room on the left. Your stuff is already there." I quickly went up and found my room. It was just that, a room. My stuff was in boxes thrown on the floor. A small bed stood in the corner, and there was a tiny closet, but that was it. I had one window, but it wouldn't open. The room was filthy. I searched through the boxes until I found it, a small picture of me and momma, two days before she died. I sat staring at it for a while, and then I heard Phil yelling to me.

"Isabella Marie Swan! Get down here right now, you disobedient, ungrateful little girl! Charlie's cooking." he yelled. I sighed, and then went downstairs, the picture still in my hand.

"What's this?" Phil sneered, grabbing it. He glanced at the picture, then grabbed my arm and dragged me to the kitchen. Charlie was sitting at the table, watching TV while "dinner" burned. Phil dropped the picture on the able in front of him. Charlie looked down at it, then back at me, his eyes filled with pure hatred. He was so mad, he couldn't speak. Instead, he picked up the frame, and whipped it at my stomach. I heard the loud snap before I felt it, but then I did, and I screamed in pain. That only made Charlie and Phil even angrier.

: End of Flashback

That day I received my first of many sets of broken bones, cuts, and bruises. Turns out, despite being well-respected by everyone in Forks, Charlie being the Chief of Police, and Phil being the school gym teacher, they're drunks and druggies.

Luckily, I do have one escape from my guardians. I spend every weekend at the Quileute reservation, with the Blacks. My best friend Jacob discovered my secret when I was ten, and now the whole tribe knows. Jacob's father, Billy Black, with the entire tribe, threatened Charlie and Phil, and my guardians had no choice but to let me spend my weekends there. Every Friday, Jake picks me up from school, and we head over to the res. Monday morning, he drops me off at school again.

The Quileutes are the only ones who truly care about me. They are also the only one's who spend money on me. I hate it, but they do it anyway. At the Blacks, I have my own bedroom, bathroom, and wardrobe. They also bought me a cell phone, which I only use for emergencies, taught me how to drive and gave me an old truck, which stays on the res. all week. With the Quileutes, I actually feel like I fit in. The res. is my true home and the Quileutes are my true family. Everyone acts like I'm one of them, like I belong there.

One disagreement I've had with the Blacks is about payment for hospital visits. I've been to the hospital so many times, the entire staff knows me. My injuries make me clumsy, so I fall a lot in school. The Blacks wanted to pay, for the school couldn't and Charlie and Phil wouldn't, but we finally came to an agreement. They found me a job, with good pay for few hours, and I could pay myself. I work Monday through Thursday, from the end of school, at 2:45, until 5:00, when I rush home to make dinner. As long as dinner is on time, at exactly 6:00, Charlie and Phil allow me to go to work.

I follow the rules of the house, which is another reason I have few friends. With no going out, except to the Blacks and to work, and no one coming over, people think I don't like them, although usually, I don't. The guys are friendly at first, but too friendly. The girls absolutely despise me, except for Angela.

Angela Weber is my one and only school friend. I don't trust any of my classmates enough to keep my secret, and I have never felt the need to tell anyone. I'd rather they thought I was crazy than know the truth, because I don't want pity and sympathy. Ang (short for Angela, duh) has stuck with me. She trusts me, so she doesn't believe the rumors. She is curious about the truth, but respects that I don't want to say. She is used to my frequent mood swings, and helps me ignore everyone else. Every Saturday, she comes up to the res. and we watch a movie. Once in a while, a bunch of students will come up to La Push to hike and surf. When they do, I stay with the Quileutes and Ang, where there are no hateful stares and whispers.

It was Monday morning, and I was walking to my locker. Not even first period, and already my day was horrid. When I got to my locker, I found Angela waiting for me.

"Hey, Ang," I said, "How was your weekend?"

"It was great!" she squealed, "Ben asked me out!" She had had a crush on Ben Cheney for as long as I've known her. He didn't care for me, but was polite. He trusted Ang, and she trusted me. It was obvious that they liked each other, but they had both been too shy to say anything.

"That's great!" I said, truly happy for her. We had the same exact schedule except two classes, so she babbled on about her date with Ben all the way to first period. When we sat down, she stopped, seeming to remember something.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Bella, we get a bunch of new students today." She said. Great. I thought. More people to hate me. But I acted interested.

"Really? Who?" I asked. She smiled.

"Dr. Cullen and his family." She said, "They just moved here from Alaska. The doctor is well-recommended there, and is working at the hospital."

"How many kids does he have?" I asked.

"There are six of them, but…" she began to reply, but was interrupted by the bell. Our history teacher, Mr. Smith, began the lesson.

The day seemed to last forever, yet still go by in a blur. I didn't pay attention in class; mostly I just watched the clock. Finally it was time for lunch. After that, I only had biology and gym, the two classes I don't have with Ang. As we got our lunch, all eyes on us as usual, and sat down at our table, as far away from everyone as possible, I heard the school slut, Lauren Mallory, whisper loudly,

"I don't know why Angela even bothers to sit with that suicidal lunatic. Do you see that cut on her arm? That can't have been an accident. She's such a freak! Speaking of freaks, did you see the Cullens? They're so… wow. I can't believe they're siblings, and together! Isn't that like, illegal or something? Oh, but did you see Edward?" she sighed, faking a swoon. I rolled my eyes.

All of a sudden, all eyes left me and looked towards the doors. I turned and looked. There, walking into the cafeteria, were the six Cullens. They walked with such grace, even people who weren't as uncoordinated as me, or at least, as I seemed to be, would be jealous. It was like they were gliding, or dancing. If that wasn't enough to put a dent in your self-esteem, they were inhumanly and breathtakingly beautiful, even the guys. They walked in pairs, like couples. First there was a huge guy with curly, dark hair, obviously a weight lifter, with a tall, model-like girl with wavy, golden blonde hair. Then came a tall, lean, muscular guy, honey blonde, with a short, thin, pixie-like girl with deep black, pointy hair. Finally there was a boyish, lanky, less bulky guy, with messy, bronze hair, with a pretty, strawberry blond. They were the only one's not holding hands, and the girl looked clingy, like Lauren.

"Those are the Cullens, right?" I asked Ang.

"Yeah," she said, "The strawberry blond is Tanya Denali. The other two blonds are twins, Jasper and Rosalie Hale. Emmett is with Rosalie, Alice is with Jasper, and Edward is with Tanya. Besides the Hales, none of them are related. Except for Tanya, they were all adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. Tanya is Dr. Cullen's niece from Alaska." The Cullens each grabbed a tray of food, and sat down at a table in an empty corner. Despite being more people to hate me, to believe the rumors, I was thankful they were there, at least for today. It gave people a topic of gossip and stares other than me. I sighed in relief.

"What is it Bella?" Ang asked.

"Nothing, it's just kind of nice to not be the object of everyone's stares for once." I said, and she laughed. The bell rang, and I headed off to biology. The one good thing about biology, even though Ang wasn't there, was that I got my own table. No one wanted to sit with me but Ang, but I liked not having to sit next to someone. I was the first one there, so I doodled on the cover of my notebook until I heard people enter the room. Everyone sat down, and right before the bell rang, Edward Cullen hurried in. He walked to the teacher's desk and got a slip signed. Mr. Parker then sent Edward to the only available seat, the one next to me. So much for having my own table. I sighed. I wonder how much he's already been told about me. With Lauren here, he's probably heard everything there is to hear. I sighed again.

A/N:Please review! Chapte 2 will be up ASAP!