Bella's POV.
A cactus. A cactus was all her mother's memory left behind. A tiny momentum for all the years she had been with Bella and soon disappeared. It's not as if those years were the greatest to the clumsy brunette, but they were hours, days, simple moments with her scatterbrained mother. And a moment was more than she had now. It was time to say goodbye Arizona, and Hello Forks, Washington; this was not something she was completely excited about, but as she began to sit and wait for the car that would soon arrive, she realized she truly felt nothing. Like always. She was numb.
"Isabella, dear!" A womans' voice called and brought Bella back from her reverie. She looked up to view a woman in a black suit with black pumps to match, her hair was a beautiful blonde and her eyes, ice blue. She waved Bella over, and she picked up her bag and her lonely old cactus she would know now as 'Renee'. She slid her bag over her shoulder and carried one in hand with the other as she weighed the cactus and walked away from the home she once knew. She wouldn't look back, she promised herself. That house held nothing but indefinite and terrifying memories. Would the ghosts of them keep the new owners awake at night? Would their daughter wake up and realize the sudden anxiety, fear, and pain just as Bella had nearly every single week for years..? "Don't", her brain begged of her. "Don't do this to yourself." Bella took a deep breath and walked over to Susan, the woman from Social Services who would escort her to the airport where she would fly away. Miles and miles. States away. High above, she would soar. The idea of this soothed her, so many times she wished she could fly away, yet her thoughts-he-would not let her. Held her within his tight grip and would not allow her to breathe. She suffocated within his palm.
The car ride was still, quiet most of the way. And the charcoal bruquette would have had it no other way, she was comfortable in silence. Her ipod would usually take the pain and slip the comfort, but she saved that for the plane. The nauseating smell of the inside of the plane was horrendous, Bella noted, as she sat in her seat near the window. The view would most definitely, be extremely pleasant, however she feared the noise and the smell her nostrils would not allow her to get used to.
The plane ride was alright to boot, her ipod had kept her company perfectly, and her nose was absent about the smell that was upon the plane around her. The view was amazing, undoubtedly, and she closed her eyes when the plane was in the sky. Thinking to herself 'fly. fly away. it's alright to soar. run. run away. no one can hurt you anymore." She squeezed her wrist tightly and winced from the pain. Happier and happier as the moments went by.
*~*
She wondered how to address him, if she would call him Charlie, would his feelings be hurt? But would father be the right label? 'More like absent father who never came... Stop it!' her mind halted in absolute anger. "There is no one to blame but yourself. No one to blame but yourself. No one to blame." Her hand balled into a fist in fury as she mentally slapper herself for thinking anyone else was to blame. It was her fault, of course it was. Her fault she was so weak and human. Her fault she didn't fight back harder. Her fault that her mother was dead. "What's your fault?" A gruff voice greeted her, she gasped shortly and flinched at the sound of it. "Oh.. Sorry." He muttered and patted her hand awkwardly, she felt the same thing as his skin touched hers. Not only awkwardness but fear and the sheer feeling of being completely uncomfortable. She didn't want him to touch her, it was extremely weird to her. Comfort wasn't something she usually received, especially from her absent father, Charlie Swan. He was the Chief in Forks. Forks, Washington which was already making an impression on Bella. It was dark, cloudy, there weren't very many people there, which meant that everyone possibly knew everyone else. A feeling which displeased her-everyone would know she was arriving. The daughter of Police Chief Swan. How commendable, she thought sarcastically.
They arrived at their two story house, shortly. It was simple, quaint, Bella enjoyed that very much. As she got out of the car, she fingered her cactus, careful not to hurt herself too much, but aware enough of the shrill throbbing in her fingers it created. It soothed her for a reason she had not realized yet. Pain was her soothing hero. Her dark knight, as it created terrible pain and splattered blood upon her holy, ivory skin. "Well, here it all is." Her father spoke again as they walked inside of the house and up the stairs. "This.. Is your room." He pointed to a room at the end of the hall and she walked towards it. There were small, child-like pictures and decorations around the room. She pondered on the idea of asking whether he had another child or not, but his voice interrupted that thought, as usual. "Do you remember these? You drew them." he laughed shortly, and she stared, wide-eyed and shook her head. I drew these? I was here before? "No... No, I don't." She looked over to Charlie, whom had a look of disappointment and sadness upon his face. "I mean-I-I don't remember most of my childhood. It's all jumbled in here." She laughed, awkwardly and pointed to her head. "R-Renee once said that I jumped into a pool in the nude! I don't remember that either." She laughed again, and stopped quickly. Oh God, Bella. Really? A nude memory? That's great! She looked over to Charlie for her quick recovery. He only smiled and shook his head. "Jacob and his father, Billy Black are coming over in a bit. I have a surprise for you. So unpack and come down when you feel you're done or tired." He left her bags on the floor and turned away from her. She sighed and sat down on the bed, this was her new home. For now, at least. She was already 17, one more year and she could leave if she wanted, go anywhere in the world if she had just the right amount of money... Start new. Or maybe this was her new start? Her time to make new memories. She feared most of them to be found in her room, where she would do nothing but read or sleep. There was no television to be found in her isolated heaven. Charlie didn't seem like the hovering type.
"Bella! Billy and Jacob are here!" Charlie called for her, and she looked outside the window to see an exquisite orange truck sitting outside and a man in a wheelchair along with a boy with long hair in a beanie. She skipped downstairs, nearly falling down them as her shoe lace caught beneath her other foot. She quickly tied it and went down the driveway to meet them. They were both tan, odd how that was since Forks was never sunny, she guessed they were possibly another origin than she. "Hey. Do you remember me?" The long haired boy walked up to her. "We used to make mud pies together here by my place." Bella blinked, slowly, trying to remember that memory, but it wasn't in her mind anymore. "No.. Uh.. I'm sorry. My mind is out the window right now, new place, new school and all." She laughed slowly, and he nodded in understanding, shaking her hand and letting it go. He was kind to her, she liked that, maybe they'd hang out in school together. He was a year or two younger than her, she could tell, but young kids were fun too. It would be nice to know someone rather than be a total stranger to school. "I'm going to guess you don't remember me either. I'm Billy Black, Miss Swan." He smiled at her, and she shook his hand as well. "Oh. It's great to meet you. Or rather re-meet you." She chuckled and he smiled at her as well. Kind people, she had thought. After, Billy and Charlie got to talking and messing around, leaving Jacob and Bella to themselves. "So, you like this truck?" He asked and smiled cheekily at her, smug ass, she thought rudely. "Oh yeah. It's beautiful. I love it. Watch out, I amy steal it from you." She laughed and smiled. "No need." He replied, still smiling. She had a questioning look upon her face. "This is yours. Charlie just bought it off me." Bella was in awe, a car? For her? "Yeah. This is yours. Think of it as a welcome home present." He smiled and tapped the truck's side. "Oh my god! This car is so amazing, holy crow!" She nearly squealed as Jacob offered to teach her how to drive stick. She opened the door and clumsily hit him in the knee, she swore at herself and quickly apologized to him nearly a thousand times before they entered the cab. There he told her exactly what to do, and that he had also went to school on the reservation. "Oh man, that's a bummer. It would have been nice to know someone at school..." She bit down on her lower lip and sighed.
It was her first night in Forks, and it was the most frightening. She lie in bed, watching her door in the darkness. She had locked her door, but was afraid of what would happen once she closed her eyes, she watched for what seemed like hours even though they could have very much been only minutes, she was trembling and sweating. Panting and terrified of someone opening that door and coming for her. She began to cry as she thought about those nights when Phil, her stepfather, had come in and done those things to her. How he had taken everything that she was. Shattered her into a million pieces, and there was no one to put her back and make her whole, erase the painful things that happened. No one to erase his hands caressing her legs, or his lips upon her neck, his body writhing against hers as he had entered her so many times and she had sobbed for so long, for so many hours. He took everything that she was. Her soul, her joy, her ability to wake up and feel okay as the sun shone down on her. He took everything. Everything. And she was nothing now. She was nothing. She stopped her cries and sat up in bed, she knew what she had to do. She knew how to punish herself for allowing those things to happen to her so many times. She threw her blankets off and turned on the light, fishing a razor out of her bag. Tears she could not stop streamed down her face and she put the razor to her skin, allowing it to bite her time and time again. Her dark knight come to rip patterns within her satin and ivory skin, come to make it's presence known, and allow her to know that it came to damage her and that only this dark knight could hurt her. In those moments when the Dark Knight spilt blood, she felt invincible. The only thing that could hurt her was within her grasp. Nothing could touch her. Not even Phil.
She awoke, the sting of fresh cuts upon her skin. It was her first day of school now, the first day the Chief's long lost daughter would walk within the halls of Forks High. She dreaded this day more than any other.
As she drove up and into the driveway of the high school and parked, her cab backfired, and she cursed at herself again. Feeling completely mortified and embarrassed, hoping no one was looking. As she open her eyes since she clenched them shut, her wish had gone unheard and students were staring and laughing. She got out of the cab and slammed the door, loudly. "Nice truck." A boy commented, rudely and laughed. "Yeah, thanks." She only wished she could send crude signs and words towards him, if only she was capable of those types of things.
The day went by almost too quickly. It was lunch now. more stares and silent conversations going on, along with the boys turning her way to get a pleasant view of the 'new meat' as she heard Mike Welch describe her as. As disgusting as that was, she chose to ignore it, pretend she never heard him say a word. She sat down next to the girl who was the kindest to her, Angela Webber, she had not said a bad thing about her, or even a whisper as she had come. Not that she knew of, at least. But Angela didn't seem the type. She sat and ate her piece of celery as conversation went on and on around her, she chose to remain completely silent. Friends weren't top on her list while she was here. "Oh my gosh.. Edward Cullen is staring at our table." Jessica Stanley nearly squealed. 'Who?' Bella wanted to ask, but instead, took a look of her own at this infamour Edward Cullen that Jessica was so excited by. But Jessica was wrong. He wasn't just staring at their table, he was staring right at her. Their eyes locked for a fraction of a second as she took him into view and blushed fiercely as she looked away. He seemed to be frighteningly beautiful, and bizarre. There was something new about him, something she hadn't seen, she knew that quite well. She allowed another look towards him and yet another glance was taken from him, she pretended to be looking the other way, out the window and not towards him. He had lovely reddish-bronze hair and his skin was pale, his eyes a light onyx. He was... Dazzling.
The bell then rang quickly, her next class was Biology. Eric and Tyler, more admirers offered to escort her there, she only said yes due to the fact she had no idea where the class room was. She walked into the class room and saw the boy there again, walking in front of the fan, she closed her eyes for a second as the breeze rolled through her long locks and down her spine. She opened her eyes to realize the boy whom had come to be known as Edward covering his nose. 'What the...', she could not place why he would do that to her. She handed her teacher her slip and he sent her to sit by no other than Edward freaking Cullen. She sighed angrily as she sat down next to this boy. She smelled her hair, and then her own skin, forgetting the flesh on her skin was marked by the Dark Knight only nights before. New, fresh cuts. She gasped in horror as she caught Edward Cullen staring wide eyed at her wrist. Oh God.. No.. Fuck! She cursed at herself and hid her hand quickly, staring at him like he was the devil in flesh and had come to only mock her. Anger and fear shot through her. She raised her hand and waved it so the teacher would notice her presence. She had to get out, had to run away. "M-Mr. Barnett. I think I need to see the nurse. I-I f-feel very sick." She studdered and panted through her sentence, needing a quick getaway from all of this. He nodded and allowed her to go to the nurses. All she really did, was immediately run to her car and get the hell out of Forks High School.
Oh God, will he tell anyone? What will he do? Will he run after me? Will he let people know what he saw? Why oh god why did I have to smell myself, how stupid of me! How stupid of Edward Stupid Cullen for-she fought with herself like a child and allowed an angered groan to immerse from her. She keyed her truck and immediately went home.
*~*
Second day of school, second day to see Edward Cullen. Second day to make a fool of herself, but this time she was ready. She couldn't run away forever. She waited for lunch to come and she knew exactly what she would do.
She walked straight towards Edward's table. With only an apple in hand, she noticed several other completely dazzling creatures sitting next to him, she wondered why she had not noticed them before, but then again, Edward Cullen had all of her attention the last day. She took a deep breath and approached him. Panicking as she thought he may have told Mr. Barnett, or possibly the other teenagers sitting at the table. "C-can we talk? I mean it's.. It's really important." She swallowed and watched as he gave her a short nod and she turned away from him, leading him outside the lunch room and towards a secluded area. "I know what you saw yesterday.. And chances are they are exactly what you think they are.. You didn't tell anyone, did you? No one knows, no one can know, so I am begging you not to tell a soul! Please.. Just pretend they aren't there. There are things you don't understand and possibly won't but... I need you to understand that I am terrified of anyone knowing." She took a large deep breath and looked up at him for the first time, laying a hand on her arm where the dark knight had danced across her skin so many times. "No one needs to know about this." She sighed and shook her head, waiting for anything he would say.