A/N: All names and characters;unless original,belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just like to play with them a bit. Thanks so much to my awesome beta mommybrook, and having patience. This is my first chapter. So be kind!

"Come on, Bella. Pick up the phone, and call them. Just call them," I said quietly to myself.

It had been a month since I had spoken with my parents. For most, that doesn't seem like that long of a time, but for my parents and I, it was definitely a stretch. As much as I love my folks, they definitely don't leave much breathing room. As far back as I can remember, Charlie and Renee have always been hovering, and down my throat for something. It just got worse as I grew up. At the end of the day, I knew they loved me. Regardless of how many times they have made me want to rip out my hair, I continue to keep in touch with them. After all, they are my parents and only want what's best for me. At least that was what I thought, anyway.

"Fuck!" I said simply out of frustration at the sound of my phone ringing. Swearing wasn't something I liked to do often, but I had a tendency to use a few choice colorful words when I was in a mood.

I let out a groan as I reached my arm out to press the speaker phone button.

"Hell...fuck!!"

My supposed enthusiastic greeting interrupted by another one of my un-lady like curse words, and a loud thud to the floor.

"Bella?? What the hell is wrong with you? Are you alright?" A familiar voice sounded.

Laughing as I settle myself up against the night stand, resting the back of my head against the hard wood, looking over at my phone.

"Come on, Rose. Don't sit there and act all concerned, and act as if you don't know that I just fell out of my bed" I said, trying to sound serious.

"Bella, you are something else. Really. One of these days I am going to come over and find you dead. Smothered from your own comforter. Cause of death? The ability to be like a cat; unable to fight their way out of a paper bag."

Rolling my eyes, trying to keep myself from glaring at the phone. I knew Rose was joking. I could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

Rosalie Hale was my best friend. I have known her for as long as I can remember. Like me, she has always had to sit and listen to the wrath of Charlie and Renee. Rose's parents died in a freak car accident when she was younger. Up until she turned 17 she lived with who she refers to as "relatives". She was never very close with them. Rose spent most of her time at my house growing up anyway. We were inseparable.

"BELLA!!" The sound of Rose's irritated voice interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah, Rose. I'm still here. So, what's up? Any reason in particular you called?" I responded in a monotonous tone.

"Yes. Don't act like I don't know you, Bella Swan. I know that you have been locked up in your apartment for the past month. Looking back and forth from the mirror to your phone, debating on calling your parents."

I knew right off the bat that this was not going to be a conversation I liked. One thing I hated more than anything was anyone, even Rose, telling me how I should spend my time or my life. I knew that is what she was leading up to.

"Rose, please don't give me the self-help speech today, alright? It really isn't what I need." I responded back to her, the tone of my voice slightly colder than I had intended.

"Bella, listen to me. I am just going to say this once. It has been a month since you and Edward split, alright? It's time to pull up your big girl pants, and get back out into the real world. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Edward is a jerk, anyway."

"I don't want to talk about this now; I can't anyway. I need to get to work," I responded.

I knew I was completely avoiding the subject. Talking about Edward was not something I liked to do. He was the reason I had kept myself locked up in my apartment. He was the reason I was not speaking to my parents. Other than going to work, I did nothing. Work. Home. Work. Home. That was my life.

"Fine. I am stopping by the bar tonight. We will be talking whether you like it or not. I love you and I will see you in a few hours, Bells."

I heard the line go dead before I even had a chance to respond. "Shit..." I muttered quietly to myself as I stood up from the floor. It's not that I didn't want to see Rose…I did. I love seeing her. It's just that I wasn't ready to deal with anything that had the name 'Edward Cullen' in the same sentence.

Edward Cullen was my high school boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend now. We had been together for seven years. Edward was your text book example of the perfect boyfriend. At least he was to the unsuspecting eye, and to your parents. His bronze hair, always splayed out in a perfect mess. His intense green eyes that made you weak in the knees. Everything about him was just perfect, during our entire relationship, we were so happy. I was the envy of every girl in town.

I couldn't help but feel an awful tug in my chest as I climbed into the shower. I knew this was something that I needed to deal with eventually, I just couldn't find it in myself to do it; not now. Not yet. Edward Cullen had been the most important person in my life for the seven years we were together. I remember the first day that I met him.

"Dammit! Just open!!" I shouted out to my locker. I knew that there were probably people staring at me, but I really couldn't care less. It's been a shit week, and nothing is working out for me.

"Open!!" I banged on my locker one more time, letting out a sigh of relief as it finally opened for me. That's when I heard him for the first time.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Isabella Swan. Do you happen to know where I could find her?" The velvety smooth voice rang clear through my head.

"Uh..yeah. Well, you found her," I responded to the voice, I kept my eyes to the floor, not wanting to ruin the amazing image I had stuck in my head. There was no way such a perfect voice could be matched with such a perfect face.

"Oh, hey. My name is Edward Cullen. I'm new here, and Mrs....." I was smiling down to the floor. I knew he was ruffling through his papers, trying to remember the Principle's name.

"Mrs. Saunders," I said, finishing his sentence for him. My eyes still fixated on the floor.

Then that was it, I was done for. The sound of his laughter somehow filled my body with courage. I swear my heart skipped a beat when my eyes finally met his. "He must think I am such an idiot," I groaned inwardly to myself.

"Jesus!"

My thoughts quickly rushing out of my mind as I felt the cold water hit my skin. That was one thing I hated about my apartment, the hot water never lasted nearly long enough. I definitely love to take long showers, and that was a near impossible thing here. What could I do? I bartend full time at lowly club in Brooklyn. There was no way I could afford something half decent. Most of the time I was ashamed to even bring anyone back here. I've collected nice things over the years, but my apartment really was nothing special. It was plain, just like me.

I was fortunate enough to live on one of the quieter streets in Brooklyn. Well, as quiet as you can get for this city. The sounds of police cruisers and fire trucks don't sound constantly. On a quiet night, you can definitely hear them in the distance. The sounds always make me incredibly nervous. If you stepped foot into my apartment, you wouldn't be in awe. My walls were a boring off-white. They were bare, for the most part, with the exception of a few photos of Rose and I hung on the walls. I didn't have a TV. It was never something I was really interested in. I liked watching movies occasionally, when I had someone to watch them with.

The most comforting thing in the world to me, was curling up on my couch with a good book. One thing you would notice an abundance of, is lamps. The natural light that shines through my windows is almost slim to none. That's what happens when you live in an apartment complex that is attached to complex, after complex. My view was a big, brick wall. None of those things bothered me, this was home.

I grabbed a towel off of the rack before climbing out of the shower. I wrapped the towel tightly around my shoulders, trying to get rid of the goosebumps that had formed on my skin. I nearly tripped over my own two feet trying to run back to my bedroom to dive under the covers. I always felt like such an idiot every time I did this. It never failed. Every time I got out of the shower, I always ran back to my bed. I really couldn't tell you why, just a bad habit that always ended in me having to throw my sheets in the dryer. It's just something that has always made me feel better.

"Shoot!" I let out an exasperated sigh when I saw the time.

"Time to put on your game face, Bella. Time to get to work."

I climbed out of my bed and went to my closet. The one thing I loved about my job, is I really didn't have to pretend to be someone that I didn't want to be. If I wanted to dress up, wear a bunch of make-up, I could. Hell, if I wanted to wear torn up jeans and a t-shirt, I could.

"Yes, this will do perfectly."

I grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans from my closet before stepping up on the milk crate I had set up to reach the top shelf, taking down a white tank top with thick straps. It wasn't that I hated my height, but I definitely wouldn't mind being a bit taller.

I went to turn on the radio, hoping that some music would get me more in the mood to work tonight. I slipped into my jeans and my tank top before walking back into the washroom to run a brush through my hair. I really wasn't concerned about appearances tonight. It's Tuesday night, it's probably just going to be dead, and a complete waste of my time. I knew that Rosalie would get on my case if I didn't look at least half presentable. I really didn't care. Not tonight.

I tossed my hair up into a quick ponytail, tightening it as I pulled. Glancing into the mirror, I shook my head at the sight. I was so plain looking, really nothing spectacular at all. My hair was long and brown, not too thick. I couldn't really do much with it. It was either a bad hair day, or a horrible hair day. Most, of course, being horrible; at least in my opinion. My eyes were a dark chocolate brown. Some would consider them nice, mysterious even; if it wasn't for the fact that they were constantly surrounded by dark circles. I had always had issues sleeping, and it showed under my eyes. I had tried every trick in the book of Rosalie Hale's Beauty 101, and I still could not get rid of them. Oh well. It is what it is. I wasn't one of those girls that needed to be complimented on her looks every two minutes, anyhow. I was a pretty confident girl, I knew my strengths and I definitely knew my weaknesses, and I was okay with that.

I glanced over to the clock and seen that it was reading 8:15pm. I knew if I had any chance of making it to work on time, I needed to leave.

I grabbed my bag and cell phone off of my night stand before locking my door, and heading down to the streets. The air was crisp, and I regretted at that moment not taking a sweater. I've lived in New York for four years now. You would think by this point I would have gotten used to the chilly weather in May.

"TAXI!!" I hollered out while raising my hand, grabbing the attention of the familiar yellow car on the street. I silently thanked the person up above for not making me stand out here and freeze for fifteen minutes before I successfully hailed a cab.

I climbed into the cab after watching the driver try to squeeze himself in between the two cars at the curb. People who did things the difficult way usually tend to annoy me. It would have been easier for me to just walk out into the street. Oh well. Time is wasting.

"18th and King, please?" I gave the Driver the address of the Back Alley. That was the name of the bar I worked at.

I continued to stare out of the window, watching the cookie-cutter apartment buildings flash by. Brooklyn had history, and heart. Everything just looked so similar here.

I could feel my eyelids getting heavy, something about the motion of a vehicle was always something that soothed me. I let the darkness over come me, and felt myself slip into a light sleep.

"Bella, Bella, Bella. My beautiful Bella…." Edward's voice was so soothing.

"Edward, I can't move to New York. I'm sorry, I can't do it. I can't leave my parents, and what about Rosalie? I can't leave her here by herself!!"

I was infuriated with him. I couldn't believe he was asking me to give up everything I had built here in Forks. "I can't do it, I just won't do it!"

"Bella…" Edward took my hands in his, and placed gentle kisses on my palms before he looked into my eyes.

"You told me that you would do anything for me, go anywhere I would go, support me with any decision I were to make. Are you telling me that you are taking that statement back now?"

I felt a huge lump rise in my throat as Edward's words flowed effortlessly from his mouth. He knew how to stick me between a rock and a hard place, he was good at it. He knew how to get what he wanted, when he wanted it.

"No, You're right, baby. I did say that, I'm sorry.. Make the plans. I will speak with my parents right away…"

I felt my eyelids flutter open as the car came to a halt. I tossed the cab driver a couple of bills.

"Keep the change" I said as I climbed out of the car. I couldn't help but sigh as I looked up at the old ragged sign that read 'The Back Alley", I was just thankful that it's Tuesday, and always really quiet on Tuesday's. I decided to walk around the back, and head in through the door to the kitchen. I wanted to skip as much meaningless chatter as I possibly could.

I quickly ran inside the back door, desperate to get out of the cold. I remembered to keep my eyes focused on the floor so I didn't trip and fall. The last time that had happened, it was not a very good time. James, our head cook was not happy with me at all. I could at least understand why, I knocked over all of the ingredients he had just spent three hours preparing.

James is a sweet guy. He is really easy to talk to, but he comes off as really intimidating. It's just the way he carries himself, with that sort of confidence that makes you want to crawl back into your hole. Once you get to know him, he really is a great guy. A great friend too, which is probably more than I can say for myself.

I could feel my shoes sticking to the floor as I made my way to the front of the house. I hated the feel of last night's dried liquor below my feet. It was disgusting, and I was absolutely refusing to mop the floors tonight. The new girl we hired, Alice, was supposed to be taking care of that. I had come to the conclusion that she was pretty much good for nothing. Well, she was great eye candy. The men loved her. When it came to her actually doing anything productive, good luck.

I rolled my eyes before I put on a fake smile when I reached the bar.

"Hey Alice" I said to her, smiling.

Alice turned around so quickly, I barely had a chance to see her. It was just a blur.

"Bella!!!" She wrapped her arms tightly around me, almost cutting off my circulation with her bear hug.

"Wow...okay, Alice. Need to breathe here." I removed Alice's hands from around me, and walked behind the bar where I was in safe distance of her vibrations. One thing I forgot to mention, Alice was incredibly energetic. I don't know where she gets her energy from, but I don't understand how she isn't some spokesperson for Red Bull by now.

I opened up the bar fridges one by one, and clipped the keys back to my jeans. There were definitely some random curse words flowing through my mind when I realized there were no lemons or limes cut for the night. Tonight was not the night for annoyances.

I kept my eyes focused on the floor, trying desperately to bite my tongue. Why am I so cranky tonight? I shook my head before calling out to the Pixie like girl that was dancing in the middle of the empty dance floor, when she should be working.

"Alice. Can you please get some garnishes ready for tonight? I know we aren't going to get busy, but we will still need them."

I couldn't help the small smile that formed on my lips when I seen her prancing over to the bar. She did have a certain kind of energy that was contagious. If you were capable of forgetting everything else going on in your life, she could really make you smile.

"Anything for you Bella-Bee!!" Alice responded to me with a giggle.

I laughed as she ran back to the other end of the bar and settled herself in to finishing up the garnishes for tonight. I checked over the coolers once more to make sure that they were stocked. At least that was done.

"How are you doing tonight, Sweets?" I felt familiar arms wrap around my shoulders. I didn't need to look up to see who it was. I knew automatically, it was Demetri.

Demetri's father, Aro, owned the bar. He usually spent most of his time in Italy, where his family is from. Occasionally he will grace us with his presence.

"Hey, Dem. What's up?" I turned around, responding to him.

"Not too much, Bells! I thought you would need some additional help tonight, considering the Bachelor party that was booked in for this evening. We will probably be pretty busy."

I looked at him, awestruck. "Dem! You have got to be kidding me? Why the hell wouldn't you tell me that? You could have given me a call to let me know. I am so not in the mood to deal with this tonight!!" The aggravation in my voice was very evident.

"Okay, look. Calm down, Bells. It's not an issue at all. I am going to work bar tonight, okay? Just take the orders from them, and bring them the drinks."

I grabbed the apron and notepad from the top of the bar, trying hard to not smack Demetri for his accusatory tone.

"Dem, I know how to serve. Thank you for the brief tutorial, however, I don't need it."

I turned my eyes to look at him as I tied the apron around my waist, and tightened my pony tail.

I could hear people starting to file into the bar as my eyes flashed to the clock on the wall, indicating it was after 10:00PM. I glanced down to the end of the bar where Alice was sitting, giving me a sympathetic look.

"Great, they look like frat boys. Just what I need." I muttered softly to myself before I made my way over to the table to take their first drink orders.

I swear I must have stood there in front of them for a good twenty minutes before they actually pulled their heads out of their asses and acknowledged me standing there. I would have stood there all night before speaking to them.

I hated serving! Most of the time the customers made me feel like a complete idiot. The ones that didn't know me, anyway. I prefer to stick to bartending, but I know when Dem is in, he runs the bar. I was really hoping that they would make it easy for me. Order a few pitchers of beer instead of individual drink orders. That made it more of a hassle.

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to focus on the orders that were being yelled out. Writing them down on my notepad as I hear them.

"Ten shots of Jack Daniels, Five pitchers of Domestic. Got it." I looked up, and flashed them a quick smile before walking back to the bar. I slapped the piece of paper down on the bar for Demetri.

"Why do I have a feeling that tonight is going to be the death of me, Dem?" I rested my hand on my arm, bent over the bar as I watched him scurry about, pouring the shots and filling up the pitchers.

"Don't worry about it, Bells. Don't let people get to you. You know you have a tendency to do it when you are in a mood, which I can clearly tell that you are."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just hurry up, Dem. Let me get these drinks to those clowns over there so I can go have a cigarette." I stood, backing away from the bar, waiting for my trays to be filled so I can bring them to the guests of the night.

I gave Dem a quick nod as he filled up the tray, and slid it over to me. "Keep your head up, Bells."

I rolled my eyes before taking the two trays into my hands. Thankful for my upper arm strength. If I didn't have any, these trays would have definitely ended up on the floor by now. After so long of carrying trays though, you get used to it, you build up some muscle. I kept my eyes on the trays as I walked slowly back over to the three table that were joined together, trying to ignore the ignorant conversations these, men, if that is what you wanted to call them, were discussing.

I set the trays down at the end of the table, sliding them into the middle. Ignoring the bills that were set out on the table.

"Don't worry, I will start you a tab." I quickly walked away from the table, back to the bar. I knew I wasn't making a very great impression tonight. My tips were probably going to suck, but that didn't really bother me much. I knew Rosalie would be here soon, that was just hanging over my head. The big black cloud. I needed a cigarette.

"Be back in ten, Dem!" I called out to him as I made my way to my bag. I knew it was cold outside, but I didn't care. I grabbed my Camels and my lighter and eased my way through the few people that were starting to file into the bar.

I walked outside, the cool, crisp, New York air hitting me instantly. I made sure to walk at least five feet from the main entrance. I didn't need Demetri getting on my case tonight. I had enough people to deal with.

The smooth taste of the Camel cigarette placed between my lips was calming me, instantly. I tried to stay away from smoking as much as possible; there were just certain times I couldn't stay away from it. I knew I needed to do what I needed to do to keep myself calm before Rosalie arrived.

I felt the irritation in me grow as I was flicking my lighter. Nothing but sparks coming from the flint. I pressed down, and put it up to my ear, hoping to hear the familiar hiss that notified you there was still some fluid left. I heard nothing. I decided to keep trying, desperate to inhale the smooth flavor. That's when it happened.

I seen the familiar light of fire, followed by the most incredible, sexy, Southern voice I had ever heard.

"Here, why don't you let me help you with that…Sugar."

So what do you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Leave me some reviews, and you might found out who the voice belongs to next......it may not be who you think it is. *winks*