Chapter Two – Swan Song

Disclaimer – Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.


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Bella looked up from the coffee warming her chilled hands and smiled at the handsome man gaping at her. It had been a while since she'd felt that kind of admiration from an attractive guy, and she felt quite flattered, if a little puzzled. The look on his face sent a little jolt right down to her toes; she wasn't sure what to make of it.

He was quite a sight, actually. A little ruffled for 9:00 a.m. but had the prettiest eyes she'd seen in… well, probably ever. They were a clear green, with a darker rim and tiny flecks of gold, and they almost sparkled with an emotion she couldn't put her finger on. His face was strong, all angles and jaw line, and his hair was the most interesting shade; neither red nor brown, but almost a combination, with a little blond thrown in to give it some light.

As she looked at him, Bella watched his smile grow until it encompassed his entire face. And while it made him even more handsome than before, it gave her slight pause, for she couldn't think for a moment why this stranger would be so interested in her.

Before she could wonder for long, he spoke, his voice melodic and sweet to her ears.

"Hello." He spoke softly, as if afraid to say the word out loud.

It seemed as though he stood taller after that. "I'm Edward. Edward Cullen… You are absolutely stunning."

Bella felt the heat rise to her face and fought the urge to mumble and look away. She'd spent too many years mumbling and looking away. So, on this sunny Friday morning, she kept her head held high.

"Thank you. Actually, I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you, Edward."

"It's wonderful to meet you too, Bella. Please, join me?" Edward indicated the table where he'd been sitting. His coffee was nearly empty, and papers were spread out all over. He began to clear a spot at the table, nearly tipping over his coffee in the process.

Bella paused and considered the time. "I'm sorry, but I can't. Movers are on the way, and I can't be late."

"Movers?" Edward's head shot up, panic in his voice. "Are you moving in or moving out?" he asked in a calmer tone.

"Moving in," she assured him, as she watched the emotions fly across his face. "I just arrived this morning," she added with a hesitant smile.

"Oh, thank God!" Edward's relief was palpable, and Bella was confused why it would matter to this stranger if she were coming or going.

"Okay… It was really nice to meet you, Edward, but I have to run. I'm sure I'll see you around, right? It's a pretty small town." Bella hesitated, hoping for confirmation that she'd see him again before she turned to head toward the door. She was at once conflicted by the urge to learn all she could about this man, while also feeling the need to flee.

"The honor was mine, Bella." Edward voice was hesitant again for a moment. "You will definitely see me again."

With one last smile, Bella turned away from Edward and walked out into the sunshine of the North Carolina morning. The walk back to the beach house wasn't far, but she hurried anyway. She really didn't want to be late for the movers.

As she walked, she thought back over her conversation with Edward. What the hell was that? But she smiled, really smiled, for the first time in a long time; a simple "a cute guy thinks I'm pretty" kind of smile.

At that thought, a very girlish giggle erupted from her. Bella slapped a hand over her mouth and looked around to make sure no one was watching her go insane right there on the sidewalk. But it was really no use, the very girlish giggle had friends, and one by one they came out to play.

Bella walked the rest of the way home feeling lighter than she had in months, years maybe. The sun felt warm on her face, the bite of the salt in the air was tangy on her tongue. Flowers nestled in window boxes drew her eye to colorful homes, and the sounds of laughter, of children playing, of music and life were everywhere.

Yeah… this was the right decision after all. You were right. Charlie.

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Sometime after noon, Bella sat down on a box labeled "kitchen" and drank half a bottle of water.

The movers were bringing in the last of her things, and she faced a daunting afternoon of making the beach house her home. At least for the next year.

She finished off her water as she looked around at all the boxes and stuff. So much of the furniture from Washington wasn't appropriate for the beach house, but for now, it didn't matter. It was better to have some furniture than none, especially familiar furniture. Each piece held a memory; she couldn't get rid of anything.

Deciding to tackle the downstairs first, Bella moved to the back room she'd picked to be her office. This was one of her favorite rooms in the house. The French doors opened up to the deck, where she could see the beach. The doors and windows allowed for a more than adequate breeze to come through, and in the morning, the sun filled the room with warmth and light.

The movers had put her desk, chair, credenza and filing cabinets where she'd directed them to, but her laptop and printer were still packed away. She unpacked those first, although she had no internet or cable service to speak of, that would be coming Monday.

Going through boxes labeled "office", she found her favorite picture of Charlie. She took it out of the box, and lovingly cleaned off the glass. It was actually of the two of them, from the summer after graduation from UW. She could almost taste the fish fry and smell the smoke from the bonfire, as she and Charlie gathered with his best friend Billy, and his kids, plus half of the guys from the reservation.

Bella touched his smile through the glass. He was so damn happy. So happy and so proud. She sighed, an ache settling in her chest. I hope I'm doing the right thing, Dad.

She placed the picture back in its place of honor on her desk, where she could see it every day. And remember why she was here.

Finishing up her office, Bella decided to work her way into the kitchen if she wanted to eat anything for dinner. She'd stopped at the grocery store on her way in, just to get a couple things, but she couldn't eat without clean dishes, pots and pans. The kitchen needed a good scrubbing, too.

Her cell phone started to ring before she could actually take on that task. Grabbing an apple from the bag on the counter, she picked up her phone and walked toward the back of the house. She smiled when she saw Angela's name flash across the screen, and she hit the button to accept the call before it when to voicemail.

"Hey, Ang," she said warmly, happy to hear a familiar voice. "What's up?"

"Hey, Bella." Angela sounded relieved. "I guess you got there in one piece."

"Yup, I'm here, safe and sound."

"How was the trip? Did you get any sleep on the plane?" Angela wondered.

"No, not really. The flight was completely uneventful, thank God," Bella retorted, remembering her relief at being back on solid ground. "I wound up staying at that hotel by the airport."

"Did you get in late?" Angela was a worrier and Bella's best friend.

"Not too late, but you know how much I love to fly." Bella injected as much sarcasm as she could into that comment and was rewarded with a laugh from Angela. "I was just exhausted when I got here; all I wanted to do was sleep."

Angela sounded more at ease knowing her friend was safe. "So, what time did you get to the house this morning?"

"I had a taxi bring me over at the ass crack of dawn. I won't even mention how much he charged me to stop at the grocery store for ten minutes. The movers left a little while ago, and I'm just putting stuff away now." Bella took a quick bite out of her apple, realizing she'd missed lunch. "I'm just going to finish up the kitchen, and I'll head upstairs once it cools down a bit."

"That's great, Bella. Hold on a sec, okay?" Bella took another bite of her apple - Holy cow, I'm starving - as she listened to the muffled sounds of Angela talking on the phone. Seconds later, she smiled as she heard the voice of her boss and friend, not to mention Angela's boyfriend, Ben.

"Bella! How was the trip? Did your baby arrive safely?" Leave it to Ben to ask the important questions.

"Yes, Ben, my car arrived unharmed, unscratched, completely unscathed." Bella laughed despite herself.

"I still say you should have driven that car from Washington instead of having it put on a trailer, Bella… What's the point of having it if you're not going to drive it?" This was not a new argument. Ben tried for weeks to convince Bella to drive 46 hours from Washington to North Carolina in a convertible. She didn't consider this the most sensible thing to do. Men and cars...

"Ben! I was not driving a convertible across the damn country. With my luck, there'd be a hailstorm or a tornado or some shit like that. It was just safer to have the car brought out with the rest of my things."

She didn't mention that the mere thought of anything happening to that car made her stomach clench and her heart ache just a little. Charlie helped me pick it out, right down to the color. God, he would have loved that car…

Ben's chuckling brought Bella back from her thoughts, as she heard him say something about a local band she might be interested in reviewing for the blog. They bounced a couple of ideas back and forth, knowing there was no urgency. There was plenty of stock for the blog as it was, but it was never a bad idea to throw some stuff out there, if only to see what sounded interesting.

Bella chatted with Ben and Angela for a few minutes longer before getting back to arranging her kitchen. She dove into the cleaning with a new fervor, wanting to push the lingering sadness away. There was something about scrubbing a disgusting kitchen floor, or disinfecting a refrigerator that appeared to never have been cleaned - ever, that helped to ease the ache in her chest. Washing dishes and putting away groceries - these normal chores reminded her of where she was and why she was here.

I'm starting over, a fresh new day here.

With a clean kitchen and an aching back, Bella finally fixed herself some dinner. Deciding some fresh air would go well with dinner, she took her meal through her office and out to the back deck, where the rhythmic pounding of the surf beckoned her. She sat down for a few seconds and just absorbed; the sound of the crash of the waves upon the sand, the cries of the birds as they soared and dove and soared once more, the warm glow of the setting sun over her shoulder and the sharp tang of salt in the air. It was unfamiliar and yet oddly welcoming and comforting at the same time. I can be happy here.

A movement over her shoulder caught her eye, and she looked over to see a big guy walk out of the house next door. The houses were far enough apart that she couldn't quite make out his face but close enough to be heard if she chose to call over to him. She chose not to, of course, but when he glanced up in her direction, raised her hand in a friendly wave. She smiled as he returned the wave but didn't call over either. Seconds later, he disappeared back into the house.

Relieved, Bella returned to her dinner. As much as it would be nice to have someone to talk to, at that moment it was just too much, and she just needed some time to acclimate. She fought against the loneliness, trying not to let it take over. Sometimes it's just so overwhelming.

Not wanting to get too caught up in her thoughts, Bella finished her dinner and returned to the kitchen. The house had cooled down significantly with the setting sun, so she headed upstairs to get started on her bedroom.

At the top of the stairs, she moved past the first bedroom, leaving the door firmly closed. She moved on to the master bedroom and surveyed her new space, satisfied that the movers had placed her furniture where she'd directed. She unpacked her clothes, absently hanging things up and putting things in drawers without much thought.

Once her bed was made and bathroom necessities unpacked and put away, she reached for the small box labeled 'bedroom'. It figured that the first thing she'd see would be Charlie's smiling face, glowing and young, from her parents' wedding picture. Bella touched her father's face; his beaming smile, his laughing eyes, his bristly mustache. And there, youthful and radiant, was Renee, smiling up at her new husband. Bella traced her mother's smile, wondering when that smile began to fade. They looked so happy then.

The next picture that she pulled out the box was from much later; an older, but even more radiant Renee with her second husband, Phil. They'd been married for 11 years now, and appeared to be happily matched. Perhaps the second time's the charm...

The last picture that sat on her nightstand was of the three of them. Mother, father and child, a moment captured from her youth. Before the separation and divorce tore her family apart, before her mother decided to follow the call of her heart to a new town and leave a grieving husband and a confused, angry daughter.

Bella caught the tear as it ran down her cheek. Her father told her once, a very long time ago, "Your mother is who she is, Bells. Nothing you do will ever change her, all you can do is change the way you react to her." Bella spent years trying to accept that although her mother may never be the kind of mother Bella wanted, she was the only mother Renee knew how to be. She wasn't sure that she'd ever fully accept it. She just wished that Renee's happiness didn't have to come at the expense of her dad's. Or her own.

She tucked this last picture between the other two and decided to get ready for bed. After washing her face and taking out her contacts, she put her hair up in a messy bun and slid her glasses onto her nose. Grabbing the book she planned to review on the blog, she tucked into bed and settled in for a bit.

Half an hour later, Bella had only managed to read the same paragraph eight or nine times. Giving up, she put the book down, and walked to the French doors that led to the deck off her bedroom.

The clear night showcased an enormous moon, and millions of stars twinkled and danced all around it. For just that moment, Bella felt a sense of peace that she hadn't felt in months, if not years. She took a deep breath of the salty night air, felt the breeze play with the loose hairs around her face and smiled up at the stars.

You were right, Dad. This place is perfect.

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"SON OF A BITCH!" Bella screeched from the garage as a pile of rakes and other useless gardening equipment fell to the ground. "There has got to be a hose around here somewhere!"

Surprising herself, Bella slept great Friday night and woke actually feeling refreshed for the first time in ages. After a quick breakfast and shower, she decided to take advantage of the relatively early hour and wash her car. It had gotten pretty dusty while it sat in Washington and then in the trailer while she prepared for the move.

Stubbing her toe on a wheelbarrow in the garage, she screeched again, hopping around and cursing under her breath. The hopping was effective, however, because on her third hop she saw the hose coiled up against the back wall of the garage.

Picking her away around the array of gardening equipment splayed all over the garage floor, she grabbed the hose and went outside to connect it. She realized she was only likely to cause more damage to herself if she didn't, so she cleaned up the mess on the floor and put everything back in its proper place.

Armed with her bucket, her special car-washing sponge and her soap, she went to work cleaning her baby. The work itself was cathartic, stretching muscles that for months hadn't been stretched, her body absorbing sunshine it hadn't enjoyed in far too long. As she removed weeks of dust and dirt, she revealed the car of her dreams; her impractical, gas-guzzling, muscle car.

Its shiny exterior alone made her smile, the soft, white top in perfect condition, all the little details that just made it the perfect car. For a sunny location, that is. It was certainly not the perfect car for rainy Washington. That pretty, soft, white top never even got to come down.

Such a shame he never got to see it.

"OH MY GOD, is that a '67 Camaro SS?"

Bella nearly jumped out of her skin at the shriek that came from her neighbor's driveway while she'd been lost in her thoughts. She knocked over the bucket of soapy water and managed to soak herself as well as the car as she righted everything.

Pushing her wet hair away from her face, she turned toward the voice and was shocked to see it belonged to a beautiful blonde woman. Must be the big guy's wife.

"Um, yes?" Bella laughed; the look of reverence on the woman's face was apparent from halfway across the yard. She apparently knew her cars, so the question was obviously rhetorical.

As she came closer, Bella got a better look at her new neighbor. She was gorgeous; tall and blonde with blue eyes and a flawless face. But it was the expression on her face that made Bella feel welcomed. A mix of awe, envy and open friendliness was written there, plain as day. And it was that sense of welcome that eased another level of anxiety in Bella's mind. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to make friends after all.

"Hi, I'm Rose. Well, Rosalie, but everyone just calls me Rose." She shook Bella's hand without even noticing the water, her eyes darting from Bella to the car and back.

"I'm Bella, nice to meet you."

"I'm dying, where did you get this car?" She paused, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Okay, wow, gotta remember my manners… You must have moved in yesterday? There was no one here Thursday and then last night Emmett said he saw you on the deck."

"Emmett? Is that your husband? Big guy, dark hair?" Bella continued when Rose nodded, "Yup, he waved hello last night. I moved in yesterday morning."

"Yeah? That was fast. You need any help? Emmett's pretty handy with moving furniture. It's too bad the landlord didn't mention a new tenant; we could have helped you out, cleaned up or something. You know, welcomed you to the neighborhood."

A little more anxiety eased from Bella's mind at the kindness in Rose's words. "That's really nice of you, but it's okay, the movers took care of just about everything. All I have to do now is unpack a million boxes and make the house a home."

"Well, that just doesn't seem right. You still need to be welcomed to the neighborhood. Where did you move from, anyway?"

Bella laughed, Rose wasn't one to mince words. "This really tiny town a couple hours outside of Seattle.

"What's that about Seattle?" From next door, Rose's husband came over to investigate where his wife had disappeared to. "Holy shit, is that a '67 Camaro?"

Bella laughed even harder at his reaction, feeling lighter than she had in ages. "Yup. SS, Bolero Red, Parchment vinyl interior. Lovingly restored by a friend in Washington. Hi, I'm Bella."

"I'm Emmett." He shook her hand, dragging his eyes away from the car. "That is a beautiful car. Did you drive from Washington? That's a lot of mileage to put on a classic…"

"No, I put her on a trailer and she came with the movers, there was no way I was driving across the country in a convertible." Bella was impressed; at least Emmett had some sense about her baby.

"Smart, smart," he said absently, running his hand over the soft top of the car. Bella could almost see his eyes glazing over.

"Em, what do you think about cooking up a couple steaks tonight and having Bella over?" Rose looked over at Bella. "We'll open some wine, hang out? You don't have plans, do you?"

Bella was surprised to find herself agreeing to it. "Nope, no plans. What can I bring?"

"Nothing, just come over around four or so." Rose looked at Emmett and apparently a thought crossed her mind. "Would you mind if I called a couple other friends? Everyone's nice - I think you'll like them."

"Um, yeah, okay. That… that sounds fine." Some of her anxiety started to creep back in. The look on her face must have alerted Rose to it, though, because she was quick to reassure her.

"Just one friend? Would that be okay?" Rose looked hopeful.

"Sure, one is fine. But really, what can I bring?"

"Not a thing! We're welcoming you to the neighborhood. You just bring you!"

"Okay, sounds good. I'll come over around four."

"Great, I'm going to head to the store before it gets too crowded. I'll see you later."

"See ya later, Bella!" Emmett called as they walked back over to their house.

Bella sighed. A fresh new start, a fresh new start, a fresh new start.

With that thought repeating her head, she finished washing and drying her car and headed inside to shower and clean herself up. And promised herself that she would try and let go of the past and start her new life. Tonight.

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At a quarter after four, Bella walked across the yard to Rose and Emmett's house. Although Rose was insistent that she didn't need to bring anything, she decided to pick up a bottle of wine to go with the steaks and some pastries for desert. Her mom might not have been the best role model, but Renee and Charlie had instilled a set of values and basic manners into their daughter that were hard to squelch.

She paused at the front door; brushing her hands down the sundress that she hoped was casual enough for dinner. Geez, calm down, it's just steak with the neighbors. It is not a life-altering moment.

Bella took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Counting to ten, she managed to calm herself down when she heard footsteps coming toward the door.

And then her heart began to race all over again when the door opened to reveal an unexpected yet familiar smile.

"Hello, Bella."

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A/N - Hi and thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed meeting Bella!

I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, tweeted and retweeted chapter one last week. The response was amazing, and I was blown away.

Ridiculous thanks to Katie (tanglingshadows) and Jen (JenGreen03) who pre-read and are a constant source of support, as well as Kathie (Katmom) who pimped chapter one on twitter all week long! You are a rock star! And QR - ILY, with or without meds.

One last thing - please click that button and leave a little review, telling me what you thought of the chapter; the feedback is very helpful.

Thanks!