Finally got the chance to write more of this story :D
I DO NOT own any of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight characters, settings, etc.!
*6 years later*
Another rainy day in Forks, Washington was not a surprise. It was more of a surprise for it to be nice out. I got out of bed, woken by the sunshine peaking in through the clouds. It was drizzling, like usual. I had to be in school in an hour; plenty of time to get dressed, eat, and brush my teeth and hair. I walked down the hallway, past Edward's room. The rest of the Cullen kids--Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie--were all in college now, leaving Edward and I alone. We didn't get along much; we only talked every so often. I was not adopted by the Cullen's--I just didn't have anywhere else to live once I was taken away from home, so Esme and Carlisle decided to let me stay here, much to Edward's dismay. I didn't know why it bothered him to have me living here, but I tried being nice to him, anyway. He hadn't done anything to me; only my dad had.
I wasn't allowed to talk to my mom since I left. She was probably going to therapy every week or so, talking about her problems having to do with her ex-husband. I, also, was forced into joining a group to talk about those kinds of things--they were trying to make sure I wasn't still hurt by it. I was, and always would be, but I didn't feel the need for a counselor.
I had heard from Esme and Carlisle talking some days in the kitchen that, in fact, my father--like I said before, once the chief of police--was in jail, most likely for life. It comforted me, knowing he was there, rather than out somewhere in the world. After all, I was the main reason he was caught.
Ring. Ring. Come on, hurry up, I thought while holding the phone. I was calling 911, but it seemed they were busy today. My father was in the next room, and I heard my mom crying. I decided now was the time to call the police, while he wasn't watching my every move. It was like he was the tiger, stalking his prey--waiting for me to slip up, so he could pounce.
"911, what is your emergency?" the friendly voice finally asked. I told her, and she told me they were right on their way. I sighed in relief, but then my dad came into the room, and he saw the phone in my hand.
"You little…you didn't!" he yelled.
I looked at him with a blank face; I couldn't celebrate yet. He could kill me right there and then.
His face turned red. He turned to look for my mom, and then grabbed her. She was sobbing, tears leaving marks on her face. They stood in front of me, and my dad had a knife next to my mom, by her heart.
"Wrong move, kid." He said.
"Freeze!" an authoritative voice commanded. My dad, startled, dropped the knife and turned, hands in the air. They moved toward him, cuffing him in hand cuffs and hurrying him out of the house.
"I'll get you, you little brat!" I heard him shouting from outside. I ran to my mom and jumped into her arms, crying.
"Mom, is he going to get me?" I'd asked later that day.
"Of course not, Bella." She'd promised. "I won't let him. Ever."
I'd smiled and then went to sleep without having nightmares like I used to when he was here.
I poured a bowl of cereal as that memory invaded my mind. I'd spilt some milk on accident, not paying attention.
Don't cry over spilt milk, people always said. I wiped it up and then sat at the elaborate kitchen counter to eat breakfast in the silent house. After living here for 6 years, I was comfortable talking to everyone, including the people living in college now. Emmett and I were actually great friends, as well as Alice and I. Jasper was too quiet to want to get to know me, and Rosalie had hated me since the first time she saw me, for whatever reason. And Edward…I just hadn't found a way to get to know him yet.
Edward came trudging down the stairs, half awake. He looked at me with his green eyes, but then turned away and walked into the kitchen.
"Hi," I said after a minute of silence.
"Hi." He replied.
"How did you sleep? Any dreams?"
"No."
"Oh. I had a dream. Want to know what it was about?"
"Not really."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Just trying to make conversation."
"We're talking right now."
"Yeah, because you have to."
"No, I don't have to. I could just not respond."
I thought about that. It was true. I smiled. "Do you have a problem with me or something?"
He didn't respond this time.
"Fine, then." I said. "I guess you can go to school by yourself."
"Guess so."
I realized he was the one with the car, and I wasn't. I'd have to wait for him in order to get to school.
"Um, can I have a ride to school?" I asked.
"I suppose."
"Thanks."
Edward had a silver Volvo, one of those really fancy cars that you usually only saw on TV, unless you were lucky enough to see one, be in one, or ever buy one. Getting into his car every day was always cool, since I loved his car. I never told him that, though. He'd probably like me even less. He drove down the damp road, and we both sat silent. I reached my hand out to turn on the radio.
"Please don't." He said.
"Why?"
"I don't want you to."
"Why not?"
"Just stop asking, okay?"
I sat back in my seat, crossing my arms. "Okay, okay. Sorry, Mr. Silence."
I didn't see him, but I knew he rolled his eyes.
The car pulled up to the Forks High School, where kids walked around the parking lot, not caring as cars drove insanely fast in front of them. Some smoked, some screamed, some jumped on top of cars. I sighed and got out of the car, as well as Edward did.
I didn't talk to many people in school, ever since leaving home and when my dad started drinking. I couldn't invite anyone to my house or go to anyone's house, so my ten-year-old friends didn't think that was cool. I didn't mind them not talking to me; I had to figure out how I was going to get my dad to leave. Now that he was gone, I was trying to make more friends.
There was this one kid-Mike Newton-who was always talking to me. He was nice and everything, but he could be a pain in the ass. Sometimes people like to be alone, to walk alone, to not talk. But, he didn't seem to get that. He'd follow me around the halls, talking about whatever came to his mind first. That was another reason why I didn't talk to many people--what if they were all like Mike Newton?
Edward and I walked through the parking lot, the girls smiling at Edward. They couldn't believe the fact we lived together; and they couldn't believe we weren't together. I mean, the guy didn't even like me; we just lived in the same house. Calm down, people. So, as the girls giggled at him and the guys tried to look cooler than him--which I didn't know if that was possible, with his hair being perfect and his smile perfect for his face--while I just walked next to him, unnoticed. I was invisible. But, I didn't mind it much, since they may be a Mike Newton. I always reminded myself that.
Speaking of, I thought as Mike Newton came closer to me. I could never just call Mike Newton Mike--it was weird.
"Hey, Bells." He said, smiling weirdly.
Edward looked at Mike Newton awkwardly and then stepped away.
"Yeah, um, I'm gonna go." He said, smiling somewhat as he walked away.
"Bye," I called over my shoulder. I turned back to this kid standing in front of me. "Hi?"
"You want to walk to Calculus together? Okay! Let's go." He took my arm and we started walking through the halls. I stared in front of me, but he just looked at me as he talked on and on about his pet fish who apparently got the chicken pox--however that was possible--and how he had to carry "Fishy's" bowl with him all the way to the vet across town. Honestly, I didn't give a shit, because, first of all, fish couldn't get chicken pox!
"So, it turns out I was feeding him the wrong kind of food." He finished his story, finally. "Crazy, huh?"
"Yeah, sure." I answered, glancing at him and then in front of me, into the classroom. My teacher looked at us and glared.
"You two are late. Why?" he asked.
Everyone else stood silent. Come on people, just talk to each other!
"I was just telling Bella how my fish had the chicken pox." Mike Newton said.
Why the hell did he just say that?!
The teacher stood more upright, clearing his throat. "Oh, um, well, go take your seats…" He eyed both of us strangely. I speed-walked over to my desk, sliding down and covering my face in embarrassment once I was sitting.
The people sitting at their desks around me laughed quietly. The teacher cleared his throat, probably trying to forget what an idiot I looked like, and then began the lesson on some formula I didn't understand.
Someone tapped my shoulder from behind me. I turned, and it was Mike Newton, smiling.
"Sorry I made you late for class," he whispered.
I rolled my eyes and turned back around to copy the notes on the board. I needed all the help in school I could get. I hated being there, so I hated learned, and--as a result--didn't do well on tests.
Lunch came eventually, and my stomach growled, ordering me to go right to the line without stopping at our table first. I got pizza and water, and then sat at the table.
"Hi, Bella." My friend Angela said to me as I sat. Angela Weber was the photographer of our group of friends--she loved taking pictures any chance she could. Her brown hair was always tied back and her glasses were always on. I'd never seen her without them.
"Hey," I replied, watching as Eric and Tyler fought over something. Eric Yorkie was very smart and very into the news of the school. He knew pretty much anything about anyone…well, anything put in the school newspapers. Tyler Crowley and he always fought over ridiculous things.
"Bella, you need to go shopping at the mall with us after school." Jessica Stanley, another friend, told me. She was very girly, very into the whole shopping with Angela and I thing. I was dragged many weekends to shop.
Edward never sat with me, though. I'd offered many times for him to join us, but he preferred to sit alone at another table across the room. It bothered me that he wouldn't even sit at the same table as me, but I couldn't force him. Maybe one day he'd decide to sit with us.
I never considered Edward as a brother, more of as an acquaintance. We were not siblings, anyway, so I didn't have the pressure of trying to act sisterly toward him, whatever that meant.
"No, thanks." I said, taking a bite of pizza.
"Please, Bella?" she asked. "Angela's coming, too!"
"Nah, I'm going to stay home this weekend."
She pouted. "Fine."
Angela gave me a look that said, "Don't make me go shopping with her alone!" I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"You guys will be fine without me."
"So you don't want to go to the movies with us, either?" Eric asked. He and Tyler's argument had just ended.
"Huh?" I asked.
"We were all going to go." Angela said. "I'm going with Eric, Jessica and Tyler aren't going together, but Tyler offered to pay for her ticket,"--she smiled-- "and…um…Mike wanted to know if you wanted to go with him."
I slowly turned to Mike Newton, who was smiling at me.
"What do you say, Bella?" he asked.
"Um…" I trailed off. "How about this: I'll go, but just as friends with all of you?"
I heard Mike Newton mutter a curse. He looked back up at me. "All right, then."
"What movie are we seeing?"
They all shrugged.
"Not sure," Angela said. "Whatever's out."
"Okay. I'll have to see if Carlisle and Esme will let me go. Tomorrow?"
"Yeah, at seven."
"Okay."
I walked into the house, putting my back pack down. Edward came in behind me, doing the same. I went into the kitchen where Esme was, and he went up to his room.
We had such deep conversations, you know?
Esme was cooking in the kitchen. She looked at me and smiled. "Happy Friday," she said cheerfully as she sliced something and added it to a pot of boiling water. It smelt like almost-cooked food already. Esme liked to cook early.
I smiled at her. "Thanks," I said. "Do you mind if I go to the movies with some friends tomorrow?"
"When?"
"Seven."
She thought. "That sounds okay. Which friends?"
"Angela, Jessica, Tyler, and Eric."
"Okay, Bella."
I went into the living room and collapsed on the couch, switching the TV on. After school I usually needed to relax for awhile. Bad memories came from school, even by the simplest things. Like, seeing a ruler would remind me of my dad threatening to beat the crap out of me with a ruler.
Nothing was on besides the news, so I just left that on. A story about some shoplifter in another town was told as I drifted off to sleep.
"Dinner, everyone!" Esme called from the kitchen. I jolted awake, and then shut the TV off and went into the dining room, yawning. I took my seat between Esme and Edward. Carlisle always sat across from me.
We all settled down with our dinner. Esme looked up at me while cutting a piece of meat. "So how was your day, Bella?"
"Same as usual." I answered.
"Did you get that Calculus paper back yet?"
"Yeah. I got a 70."
She looked at me disappointedly. "You told me you'd try more."
"I am trying. As much as I can."
"All right, Bella." She turned to Edward. "Edward? How was your day?"
"Fine, I guess." He replied.
"How about your History paper you were telling me about?" Carlisle asked.
"100."
Every time.
"Good." Carlisle nodded.
We were silent then, until the phone rang from the kitchen. I offered to get up and answer it.
"Hello?" I asked.
There was rustling in the background--like wind. Someone breathed heavily into the phone, as if they'd just run a mile.
"Esme?" They asked.
"No, this is Bella."
Dial tone.
I hung the phone up, figuring maybe they didn't think they had the right number, even though it was right. I went back into the dining room, standing by the door way.
"Who was that?" Esme asked.
"Someone looking for you, but they hung up."
"That's strange."
"Yeah. I'll be upstairs if you need me."
I spent the night watching TV and text messaging some friends. Overall it was a boring night, but I didn't mind. I was too tired to go out.
Please read and review! Thanks!
