I do not know whether there are gods, but there ought to be.
Diogenes

"Have a good day at school" mom said giving me my coat.

She stared at me for a moment, her eyes scanning my face as she played with my hair. I was used to it by now. I understood what she was doing. Searching. Looking for something to connect me with her or her husband. I didn't have her naturally red hair or her grey eyes. I didn't have dad's black hair or honey colored eyes. I didn't have anything from them.

It was weird to her, because she gave birth to me, but she couldn't connect me to her biologically. I heard people talking, sometimes relatives when they visited on Christmas. They tried to comment as a joke but you could see that they really did think it. Bella is adopted. I started wondering if they were right since I was nine. I even asked mom and dad, but they said it's not true and impossible. They showed me pictures of me newborn in the hospital, videos of mom giving birth. So how could I be so outcast in my own family?

I gave her a weak smile, pecked her cheek and ran out of the house. I walked to school alone, some of my neighbors and colleagues passed through me but never walked with me or asked me to join them. Just glancing at me and continuing walking. Another thing I was used to, not having friends. People did talk to me, but it's normally when they want something from me. It's like they are intimidated by me. Which is ridiculous since there's nothing intimidating in me, I'm just plain, silly Bella. I never did something to intimidate someone. Of course, not everyone was like that, there was Jimmy. He was sweet, shy, at first intimidated, but now I feel like he's dazzled for lack of better word. I don't get it. I'm not dazzling or anything.

I continued with my classes without being bothered by anyone, not even the teachers. They stopped asking me questions after my first semester here. I answered all questions correctly, sometimes even correcting them and had perfect grades. I continued with my drawings, not really understanding why I drew paradisiacal beaches, and old, ruined constructions. Temples, the word echoes in my head. I smiled finally recognizing what I was drawing. Parthenon. A Greek temple. I looked back at my other drawings and realized hey all looked like Greek constructions. When the final bell rang, I got my stuff and went to meet Jimmy in the parking lot. He was close to his truck, talking to his friends. They said goodbye as soon as they saw me approaching, clearly avoiding me. I sighed and smiled at Jimmy. He smiled back, kissed me softly, and took the bag from me, though it wasn't heavy.

"How was you day?" I asked.

"Good. The coach is complaining about the last game, still" he shrugged. "Yours?"

"Boring"

"Can I fix that?" he smirked while wrapping his arms around me.

"Maybe" I grinned.

"Do you wanna come to my house? Mom is out…"

"Sure" I said.

He drove while telling me about his day, about his friends' jokes, his lunch, his practice, his teachers screwing with him… I smiled and laughed, wishing I had any of that. When we got to his house, it was empty. He turned on the TV, and grabbed us coke, and some Cheetos. We sat in the couch hugged, watching Simpsons. Tension filled the air. He kissed the side of my neck, but I kept my eyes on the screen. He kept kissing lower; until he pushed my top's strap down my shoulder and continued his trail of kissed. I turned my head to meet his lust darkened eyes. He kissed me hard and moved so we could get closer to each other. Shirts were taken off and thrown across the room. He fought with my bra's clasp, but once he got it off, he attacked my body with his hands and lips. He pushed me so we were lying down, with him on top of me. We were kissing and everything was alright, until he grinded his jeans clad erection against my thigh. I tensed but he continued attacking my neck.

"Jimmy, stop" I said quietly.

I really didn't think it was the moment or place to do this.

"Come on, baby. Relax" he tried to convince me.

"No, Jimmy, stop!" he didn't stop kissing my shoulders. I went to push him off. I heard a crack and suddenly he screamed and went flying across the room.

I got up, alarmed and ran to help him. He just laid there. Still, unmoving. His shoulders had angry red marks like he had been burned.

"Jimmy, are you okay?" I asked crouching next to him. He didn't answer or moved, at all. "Jimmy? Jimmy! Come on, this isn't funny!"

He wasn't breathing. I went to touch him but I felt like a shock come down my arm, to my hand and fingers, and his skin turned red where I touched, his hair standing up. Like I had electrocuted him. My eyes got wide and I covered my mouth, but it didn't hold the sobs back. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I ran around putting my shirt back on, and getting my stuff, before running out of the house. I had killed Jimmy. I was a murderer. I was a monster. I ran from his house to the woods that surrounded the neighborhood. I ran, dodging trees and tripping in branches. I ran without seeing anything because of my tears. I was a fugitive. I had to run away. Sun went down and I kept running in the dark. I tripped and fell face first on the ground. I had strength to move I just didn't want to, so I curled in a ball on the ground and cried. I don't know how long I was there. There was rain, sun, night, light. I think I was there a day then. Sun was rising. My tears had dried sometime ago but I kept laying there.

"Bella?"

I closed my eyes and got ready for the officer that searched for me to pull me off the ground and take me to jail. Could I touch him? Could he touch me? What if what happened to Jimmy happened again?

"Bella?" someone said closer, sounding relieved. I didn't recognize the voice. I felt warm, big hands on me and then I was being picked up. I whimpered. "Shh. It's okay, you're safe" he whispered.

I was too tired to ask who he was, where he was taking me or why. I fell asleep in his arms.

"She's okay" I heard him say.

I woke up but didn't open my eyes. I could hear people around me, whispering, murmuring, gasping.

"What happened?" a voice asked, a woman.

"I don't know" my hero said.

"Who's she?" someone asked.

I groaned and heard him sigh in relief.

"We're almost home. Hold on" he whispered.

I opened my eyes and stared at his unknown but familiar face. He had brown hair, brown eyes. It kinda reminded me of someone… He smiled weakly at me and I looked around, a lot of beautiful people were around. They opened path as he carried me. I closed my eyes again, too tired of looking at the shocked faces. I felt something hard under me and his arms left. I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. It was high, and… golden, with marble and glass. It was so light and expensive looking.

"Oh! Bella!" a desperate voice said.

I felt warm little hands on me, first my hands, then shoulders, then my cheeks. Her face appeared above me. She had brown hair and brown eyes. A lovely face that made her not a child, but not someone old. She was in her twenties. She must be related to my hero.

"Oh, darling, sweetie. Are you okay? What hurts! Call help!" she said desperately.

"She'll be fine, dear" a man said but I couldn't see him.

"How can you be so calm?" she snapped.

"Because I see she's fine, just needs to rest" he answered.

"Oh, Bella, sweetie, please, say something" the woman begged.

"Something" I said jokingly and smiled.

Two chuckled came from somewhere close. "Yeah, that's the family humorist" I heard my hero say teasingly.

The woman smiled at me, her worry dissipating. Her eyes filled with tears and I sat up to hug her when they started to fall.

"Please, don't cry" I said as she hugged me back tightly. "What's wrong? What can I do?"

"She pulled back, wiped her tears and cupped my face in her hands.

"Nothing. You being here, safe, it's enough" she said.

I smiled at her and she hugged me. I hugged her too, but realized she was wearing a really fancy white dress and I… muddy clothes.

"Where am I?" I asked looking around over her shoulder.

She pulled back and glanced at someone behind me. I looked behind me and a man with blond hair, blue eyes, tall lean and wearing nice, expensive dress clothes, smiled at me.

"Home" he said helping me up from the floor.

I looked around. The room was almost entirely of marble, with a lot of gold. There was large glass windows that faced a beautiful garden. There was a huge staircase, that divided in two, parting to opposite ways, like those of Disney's princess' stories. It was a palace. Then I stared at the three people in front of me. All perfect. I scanned the face of the couple, smiling at me, almost in…adoration. Somehow, they seemed familiar. I put all together. Their words, acts, smiles, looks…

"Home" I repeated his answer and my eyes got wide. "You're my parents, aren't you? My biological, real parents!"

"Yes" the woman said with tears fighting to spill.

The man smiled at me with hesitation as if he was afraid I would run away. I did the opposite. I threw myself in his arms that immediately wrapped around me tightly. I let the tears fall and buried my face in his chest. Relieved, happy, disbelieving… complete. I pulled back, wiped my tears with his fingers carefully and kissed my forehead. I hugged her again, quickly, and turned to my hero.

"I'm Emmett" he said with a grin.

"Emmett… who?" I asked

"I'm your cousin, and I live here"

I hugged him and he chuckled, wrapping an arm around me and ruffling my hair.

"Thank you" I said.

"For what?" he asked confused.

"Bringing me home" I smiled.

"Family is for that stuff, right?" he shrugged and I smiled, "But you owe me one"

I turned to my parents and they smiled back.

"You can call me Esme. And him, Carlisle" she said.

"It's so nice to meet you" I whispered.

"Maybe you should rest first, we can answer your questions later" Carlisle said.

"Can you just answer one you didn't exactly answer?" I asked.

"Sure"

"Where am I?" I asked looking around in awe.

My eyes locked in the sight of the paradisiacal garden. If I focused I could see in the distance, the sea. It was perfect. I looked back at them and they seemed apprehensive.

"So?" I pressed.

"Bella… You're in Mount Olympus" Carlisle said carefully.