Author's Note: Hello! Welcome to my very first fanfiction! I've been reading fanfiction for about ten years and finally decided to suck it up and write one, haha. I've tried before, but couldn't get past a few paragraphs before giving up. Sad face.

I feel really excited and confident about this story. This idea has been stuck in my head for almost a month now and I guess the only way to stop thinking about it is to write it! I'm in this one for the long run, so I hope you enjoy!

P.S. I don't have a beta for this fanfiction. I tried finding one in the beta section here on this site and it was really overwhelming. So I decided to just start posting my story and if anyone has beta'd before and feels like they might want to beta for me, well I wouldn't oppose the idea :)

WARNING: There are mentions of physical abuse in this story. I don't go into graphic detail.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

Chapter 1

Bella

In the backseat of a taxi is not where Bella Swan should have been on the day she turned 18. She should have been asleep in her bed resting up for a day filled with your standard 18th birthday activities; cake, presents, general celebration, buying a lottery ticket and cigarettes just because you can, maybe even going to a club for the first time. But those things wouldn't be happening. In the early hours of her 18th birthday, Bella got into a taxi cab and drove away from the house she grew up in, not even taking a backwards glance.

"Where to?" the gruff voice of the taxi driver startled her out of her thoughts. His eyes caught hers in the rear view mirror and she quickly averted her gaze out of the window.

"Airport." was her quiet reply.

Thankfully that was the extent of their conversation. She welcomed the silence and allowed her thoughts to drift once again.

The fresh bruise on her left side throbbed painfully and she couldn't help but think of the events in her life that lead to this moment.

Bella and Renee Swan lived in a little house on a quiet road in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. Renee was a single mother, having left Bella's father before she was born. Bella knew his name, and that he lived in Washington, and that he had no idea she existed. But that was okay with her because she had her mom. Their life was simple and easy. Renee was a painter and owned her own gallery in town. It wasn't much, but it payed the bills and kept food on the table. Bella fondly remembered the times when she would sit and watch her mom paint, how her curly brown hair trailed down her back and over her shoulders, the way her blue eyes squinted as she sat back and inspected her work, or the little wrinkle that formed in between her perfectly arched eyebrows when she was concentrating really hard. At seven, her mother was her world and her biggest role model. She could do no wrong...

Until she did.

When Bella was eight Renee met a man. She'd had boyfriends before, sure, but this one was different.

"He makes me so happy" she would say to Bella with a wide smile, a smile she always seemed to have after meeting Phil.

That was his name, Phil Dwyer. Phil was a handsome man around Renee's age with sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes. He had a nice smile that made the area around his eyes crinkle. He made her mom happy, so he was okay in Bella's book. He played baseball for a minor league team, a fact that Renee was completely enamored with. Bella remembered bragging to all of her friends in elementary school that "My mom's boyfriend is a professional athlete." It was ironic really, because Phil Dwyer was nothing to brag about.

He and Renee had been dating for about five months and things were good. Phil would buy Bella ice cream whenever she wanted and he let her play with his baseball and bat. He was charming, and funny, and her mom was completely in love with him. So when he proposed to her on their six month anniversary, naturally she said yes.

That was the day Bella realized that her mom was a human capable of making mistakes, because saying yes to Phil was the biggest mistake she could ever make.

As soon as they were married, which ended up being a small court house wedding a week after he proposed, Phil changed. He wasn't so nice anymore. He would get irrationally angry at every little thing and scream at them. If Renee tried to defend herself he would slap her across the face. It hurt Bella to see her mom with bruises and sad eyes. Bella was terrified of Phil even though he never got physical with her. At first, that is.

The first time Phil hit her was something Bella would never forget. She was laying on the living room floor coloring. She was using a bright blue marker to fill in Cinderella's dress, when her pen ran off the side of the page and onto the white rug. It left a vibrant blue streak, very easily noticeable. Panic welled in her chest as soon as it happened and she tried desperately to get the stain out with soap and water, but had no luck. Phil inevitably saw the mark later on that day and was livid. His face turned red and he balled up his fists as Bella cowered in pure fear. That first hit was the worst, probably because she wasn't used to the pain. He punched her right upper arm, leaving a large black and blue bruise that took weeks to fade. She was nine.

He always hit her in places that would be covered up by clothes.

The abuse never stopped. Verbal, physical, mental, and emotional abuse was all Bella knew from the time she was eight years old. Renee retreated within herself, drinking all the time and sleeping while leaving Bella to fend for herself. Phil eventually stopped bothering with Renee, he knew he couldn't get any kind of reaction out of someone that was always passed out. Bella loved her mother and always would deep down, but somewhere along the line she lost all respect for her. Her mother who was once so happy and full of life was gone, replaced instead by this empty shell of a human being who forgot all about the daughter she should have been protecting.

It was around the age of eleven when she decided that as soon as she turned 18 she was leaving. That was her light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how bad it got, no matter how much she hurt or how many bruises she had to hide, she would be free one day.

In the middle of her Senior year, Bella saw a brochure for the Chicago College of Music pinned to a bulletin board at her high school. She didn't even think twice before she ripped the brochure off of the board and stuffed it in her bag. Singing was Bella's passion. It was her escape from the Hell she lived and the idea of going to college to do what she loved most was very appealing. And she would be far away from Phil.

She worked for a full week getting the application, admission essay, and audition tape ready. With the help of her High School's chorus teacher, she was able to submit a decently recorded audition piece.

The day she got her acceptance letter she cried. She was going to get away from here. She was going to escape this madness.

Her guidance councilor helped her fill out financial aid paper work and guided her on how to go about applying for loans. She would be up to her neck in debt, but it would be worth it. And by some miracle she was able to do all of this while flying under Phil's radar. He and her mom had no idea that soon she would be gone out of their lives forever.

That's how Bella ended up in a taxi on the way to the airport to fly to Chicago. She was terrified, of course, not knowing what to expect. She was a nervous wreck.

The taxi pulled up at the terminal.

"That'll be $35"

Bella hastily handed the driver a wad of cash mumbling for him to keep the change and exited the vehicle. Duffle bag in hand, she headed into the airport.

It was only when she was 10,000 miles above the ground that Bella was finally able to somewhat relax. She was safe, for now. Phil couldn't get to her up here, and he had no idea where she was going.

Comforted by those thoughts, Bella fell into a dreamless sleep as the plane carried her closer and closer to her new beginning.

A/N: Reviews make me happy