Author's Note:

First off, you guys rock! Thank you for the reviews! They really helped give me a push so I could get something up. I am in the process of writing the next chapter, I promise to make it a lot more interesting. I feel this one is ok, but had I not gotten hit with a category five shitstorm these past couple of days, it would have been better. I was originally going to just make Bella less of a spineless wimp but now she's gonna be a full on badass. I think my writing reflects my mood. Oh well. Be sure to tell me what you think, I'm learning to live off your remarks. :)

Disclaimer:

Twilight and all its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. I am in no way shape or form making any sort of profit from this. All original characters are MINE! Grr!

Chapter 1

Some months earlier...

"So this is it huh? I'm surprised it's still in such good shape." I nod my head towards the house my father left me after his death. I was the next of kin, and with no siblings, it automatically fell to me. "Yeah, your father's friends on the reservation took care of it until you were old enough to look after it yourself." Vic said after another inhale from his cigarette.

"Who, Billy Black?" I ask. "I'm surprised you remember, you've been gone a while," he replies. "Yeah, 12 years is a long time," I say quietly. "I used to play with his son Jacob when we were little. I'll have to make sure to go over there and say thank you. Maybe I'll hang out for a while too. It will give me something to do since there's not much here," I chuckle. "You know," he says with a contemplative air, "you could always stay in Phoenix and work for me. We could always use someone with your skills," he said with a smirk.

"Nah Vic." I smirked in return. "I appreciate the offer, but I think I should lay low for a while and live a normal life. Though, if I ever get a little bored in this tiny ass town, I'll be sure to call you first." I grinned. "Whatever you say chica, I'm here if you need me. The movers should be finished shortly; everything you wanted is set up already for you. I made sure that I handled your personal equipment, since I'm sure you would beat someone if anything happened to your babies. I also left you a few presents from me and the guys, to get you off to a good start. Be sure to check the garage when you get time." He winked at me when I raised my eyebrow in response.

"Presents? You know I hate surprises Victor. What did you do?" I ask in a stern voice. "Hey, hey!" He says as he backs away with his hands up. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad! I promise, the boys learned that surprising you does not end well," he said with a grimace. Yeah, I don't do well with surprises, especially badly planned ones. Some mutual acquaintances of ours, since after the incident I refuse to call them friends, decided that they would throw a party for my 17th birthday several months ago. A surprise party. But they didn't know a place they could have it where I wouldn't get suspicious. So they decided that they would break into my house and set up everything while I was away and spring the trap on me when I got home. What they didn't count on, was that I built an advanced security network into my place to protect my things from idiots like them who tried to get into my apartment without my permission. When I received a remote transmission about the break in on my phone and saw that there were four intruders in my home, I unleashed hell.

I remotely sealed all the doors and windows, and then proceeded to vent the place with sleeping gas. I wanted them alive so that I could find out what they wanted. In their confusion as to what was happening, the one who was poking around my computer setup stumbled and fell onto said computers and brought all my monitors, hard drives, and other very expensive devices down with him. When I hurried back from my training and discovered that my equipment worth thousands had been destroyed, I quite frankly, went ape shit. I had to repaint and put in new carpet to get rid of the persistent blood stains. I practice mixed martial arts during most of my free time, and I had a lot of free time back then. I didn't kill any of those fools that day, but I beat them within inches of their lives.

Needless to say, they don't come within a mile radius of me anymore because I'm still likely to snap on them. I'm a little better now since they reimbursed me for everything they broke, it took a while since they had to wait to heal and hospital bills to pay and all, and that's not my fucking problem, but I was more forgiving because of Vic. They were some of his childhood pals and he had agreed to grovel for forgiveness for them.

I took a deep breath and relaxed a little, reducing the crease that had formed on my forehead from my severe frown. He let out a deep breath as well. "It's just a good luck with school gift. You're gonna be a junior in high school and these are your formative years after all. You need to make sure you enjoy yourself. We're just making sure you have a good start." He says with a wicked smile. "So just accept it and be happy. You're all in order with the school as well. Class starts in a few days on Monday, so you have time to get settled and look around. Need anything else from me before I go?"

"Nah man, you did good. I owe you a favor for this. Make sure you use it wisely." "A favor from the infamous Bella Muerte? I am honored!" He said before breaking out into his trademark barking laughter. I rolled my eyes as he got himself under control. "But in all seriousness," he gasped, "I know what it means for you to say you owe me one Bella. I won't make you regret that trust." He smiles shyly at me. I offer one in return. I know he would like more than that, but Vic's just not my type. He's handsome alright; at 6' 1" with light brown skin from his Puerto Rican heritage, deep chocolate brown eyes, stylishly cut hair, and a body to die for, he's pretty much perfect. Well, except for one thing. He was born with the wrong equipment. He understands, but I know he secretly hopes that I'll play for his team. It's really too bad, if I was interested in men, I'd be all over that shit. Oh well, the heart wants what wants right? Though, if I'm truthful with myself, I don't think with my heart, but with something a lot lower.

"I know you won't Vic, you've proven to be a good friend." I say trying to distract myself from the urge to call a few old "friends" that I really shouldn't. "I'll keep in touch. I expect you to do the same," I say as I pull him into a hug. "You got it Bella baby, you know I will," he says as he hugs me back. "Now get outta here and go make sure no one has killed themselves yet'" I say as I push him off me. I'm not good with too much affection, it seems like a weakness to me. It lets people know that you care about something. And when people know what you care about, they have something to hold against you.

"Alright, alright. I'm going ok?" He chuckles at my sudden change of mood. I watch him as he gets back into his 2010 Mustang convertible. That thing is beautiful. All black, with silver and white swirls accenting the sides. It had black heated leather seats with white trim, tinted windows, a sound system that rattles other cars, and a few illegal things under the hood to make it a serious contender for the street races Vic liked to participate in when he was in the mood. I'm pretty sure that if I could get away with it, I would spend quite a bit of time just rubbing myself against it like a dog in heat. I loved a well-built vehicle. One of the ways to guarantee you had my attention was to talk car. It's such a turn on.

"You take care of yourself out here ok?" Vic says in a subdued voice, effectively ceasing my eye fucking of his car. "Same to you Vic," I say as I give him a small smile. He nods and closes his door. After I watch him drive off, I turn back to the house. "Well let's see what we have to work with," I say to myself as I walk towards my new home.