Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all its characters

Chapter 2: Man with the bronze hair

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My head felt heavy, my arms, my legs. Everything just felt heavy.

I tried to flip my body over and make myself more comfortable when a weird, sharp pain pierced my torso. Ow, fuck. I clenched my teeth and rolled into my previous position, lying on my back. Won't be trying to do that again.

I felt like I was just abducted and dissected by a bunch of aliens. My sides were throbbing and my head was going right along with the rhythm to match. I must have gotten really drunk and fell down on the concrete or did something else last night that was really stupid.

Classic Bella

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The repetition racked throughout my body and forced me to keep time with it, the sound became almost deafening.

I opened my eyes slowly. The light immediately hit me like a crashing blow. It stung and I clenched my eyes tight in annoyance and rubbed the back of my palms against them. Having my eyes closed against the harsh light seemed like a nice idea. Maybe I'd just stay here and rest all today. My aching limbs and throbbing headache screamed yes at that idea.

I wondered what time it was. It couldn't be any more after noon.

Shit! Did I have work today? Jasper and Alice's wedding rehearsal was last night, on a Saturday, so today was a Sunday. I did have work on Sundays. Ugh

I'd have to call in late again.

Charlotte would surely have my ass on this one. I'd be lucky if she didn't fire me. Maybe I could call Benjamin and see if he'd take my shift because there is absolutely no way I'm going to be able to work today little alone get out of this bed.

I swatted around me looking for my phone on my bed. I probably fell asleep with it last night and didn't charge it. My hand got hold on something rough and textured while I was looking for my phone. It was couch material.

What the-

I noticed a red-colored flannel blanket covering the lower half of my body. I looked around to see myself lying flat against a long couch in some wooded-wall room.

Oh no. Where am I? Oh no, Oh no.

How drunk did I get last night? Please tell me I didn't sleep with some guy. Oh, please!

I tried to swing my legs off the couch but it was a failed attempt. A sharp pain jolted my body and I yelped. I reluctantly sunk back down into the couch, my body in too much in pain for anything else.

What am I doing here?

I began to panic, and nervously ringed my fingers through my matted hair. Whose house was I at? What if I made a fool of myself at Jasper's rehearsal; he'd never forgive me. It would be almost as bad as Jasper's 21st birthday when I got beyond wasted and Jasper was forced to carry me out of the club.

Well, this certainly would top that! What kind of shitty friend am I?

I don't remember much of anything last night besides getting dressed for the rehearsal and driving to Jasper's Aunt's home.

Yeah! I was driving through the forest. I remember it was miles and miles of just the same thing: trees, sky and gravel road. Yeah, that's right…

The air was cold and blew my hair up and around my face and I reached to get a hair tie from around my wrist.

Then the car swerved.

I was immediately hit with the vision: screeching of tires and the clunk of the pine tree's wood against the metal of a car, Visions smoke, dust, and flown leaves in the air, swirling around helplessly in my mind. I could almost smell the engine burning and the musky scent of the dirt.

The Crash

How could I forget the crash?

At the moment, I almost wished I was having a one-night drunken stand with some stranger I met at Jasper's wedding rehearsal. It would have been a hell of a lot better than here! Even if I knew where here exactly was.

I now was playing with my hair and tugging it so hard, it was painful. It was a really bad nervous habit I've had since before I can remember. Whenever I got stressed out or anxious, I always played with my hair.

A loud clunk sounded from the other side of the wooden-wall and I jumped. The clunk sounded again, louder this time and was shortly followed by another.

Clunk.

Clunk.

I pulled the blanket up further to cover the upper half of my body as well as the bottom half of my face. I probably looked like a frightened little girl, quivering under her blanket, afraid of the thunder. I was frightened though. I don't ever remember being this scared in my entire life!

That clunk could be the sound of an axe for all I knew. It could be the sound of an axe hitting a human body. I yelped again, like a scared little puppy and trembled beneath the thin wall of a shield.

I need to get out of here.

I once again tried to roll myself off the couch. I clenched my teeth together, and scrunched my eyes in pain as I slowly tried to push myself off the couch and run the hell away from here.

The clunking grew louder and more consistent. A loud smack sounded against the wooded-wall and I looked over to see a screen door open and a man standing in the doorway holding the door's handle.

My heart about stopped.

My breath caught in my throat and my mouth felt dry.

He was gorgeous.

His hair was a strange, and intriguing shade of red and brown mixed together to create a bronze, that can only be described as the color of a penny. It was messy and matted every which way on his head, and spotted with was looked like oil in some places. Sweat lined his forehead and the skin that wasn't covered by the thin grey, V-neck that clung around his stomach. He wore simple black shorts that surpassed his knees and a pair of red sneakers. The one thing that really got my attention though was his eyes.

His eyes.

The most beautiful shade of green I've ever seen. It wasn't quite as dark as the color of the pine tree leaves of the forest. It wasn't quite as light as the grass in the meadow.

The grass in the meadow…oh yes, I remember the meadow.

The grass in the meadow, running, the air, the fall…the voice

Him.

It was him.

I felt my breath hitch and my body automatically fell limp against the couch. Him, he saved me.

He still stood motionless in the doorway, his eyebrows slightly furrowed and his eyes trained on me. I just kept lying on the couch, still clinging onto the blanket for dear life. Like a complete idiot, with wide eyes challenging him to make the first move.

What was I supposed to say? You're beautiful but um I'm not sure if you're a crazed ax-murderer or not, so please don't kill me if you are?

He was the one to break the silence by letting his hand come off the handle which resulted in the door hitting the frame, causing me to jump. He chuckled and raised both his hands in front of him. "I come in peace," he said, his lips pressed tight together to hold back a laugh.

His voice was like rough velvet.

Smooth…but husky.

It sounded what I imagined a Greek god would sound like.

Damn it Bella, you don't know him, he could be dangerous!

I cocked my head to the side, in what I hoped looked like some sort of intimidating look and held my death grip on the blanket.

I was still a little of unsure of this guy. I wasn't going to let his looks draw me in. That would make a good plotline: Attractive ax-murderer lures woman in with good looks before he kills them.

Oh, hell no that wasn't happening

He stepped a little closer to me. His hands were still raised in front of his face like I was some sort of wild animal. I sunk further back into the couch, taking the blanket with me and shot him a look saying 'don't come any closer,' with my eyes. I think he got the point because he dropped his hands, and stood halfway across the room from me. He didn't try making any more moves to come closer towards me.

He still stared at me funny. He almost looked unsure, apprehensive.

He cleared his throat and looked out the window. "If anything I should be afraid of you," he laughed, scratching his head.

I cocked an eyebrow, questioningly, urging him to explain.

Why the hell is this buff, manly-looking forest man afraid of a 120 pound year old girl?

"Well, I'm just outside; you know working on my car when I hear this weird noise from across the forest, in the distance. It was like a-," he used his hands to make a circle-like gesture, "loud pow."

"I was listening to my radio too and my radio is pretty loud. I'm surprised I heard it over that. Well- anyway I decided not to go investigate and a few minutes later I hear a bunch of movement in the trees."

He rubbed his fingers through his hair. "Then I see this…woman, running through the forest towards my house." He avoided his eyes from me. "I was honestly scared. I've lived here by myself for years now and I've never seen anyone in these parts of the forest."

"I didn't know what you wanted or why you came here." He looked back at me now, his face with an expression I couldn't quite pinpoint.

"Then you… fell."

I felt my face redden and I looked towards the wall, trying to avoid my embarrassment. I don't know why I felt so embarrassed. He probably just thought I was some clumsy dork now.

He chuckled, probably noticing my embarrassment. "Hey, it's okay. I'm surprised you didn't fall sooner, wearing those things." He motioned to the corner of the room, where my black heels laid broken and clumped with mud and weeds on top of a pile of trash in the trashcan. "I took them off, I hope you don't mind."

That caused me to smile. This man really did seem sweet and caring.

Bella…, the more reasonable part of my brain, growled.

Maybe I was just always thinking the worst of people. I mean he went through the trouble to pick me up, carry me into his house and care for me, didn't he?

Oh, wow-really? You completely just trust this man after he's said a total of like ten words to you?

I came to his house looking for help and all I did in return was give him trouble for it. I sighed and released my death grip on the blanket. "I don't really like those shoes anyway," I said.

Bella! You crazy son of a bi-

I waved off all reason .

His eyes visibly widened and he played with his hands. "Yeah," he laughed, a wide smile spreading across his face. He was probably surprised I answered him. I was too.

"The million dollar question… what are you doing here In the middle of the woods." He asked, playing with his hands and avoiding my eyes now. His demeanor seemed nervous and child-like while other times he seemed confident and sure of himself. This man seemed like a complicated character.

"My car…hit a tree." I answered. Damn, that sounded stupid.

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Your car hit a tree."

I nodded, feeling like the world's biggest idiot.

He laughed and walked over towards the window. "How did you manage to do that? Those trees are like 20 feet away from the road on either side."

"I-um-I'm not entirely sure."

Wow, i just keep sounding more and more like a complete loser. "I mean it just kind of- happened."

He nodded, "Pothole," he said. He kept his eyes trained on the window, only occasionally sending me a questioning glance from the corner of his eye.

Why does he keep looking at me like that?

"Pothole?" I asked, confused.

He nodded again, "Yeah big hole in the road right over there." He pointed beyond the trees to the road that wasn't visible. "Impossible to see at night, It's not like there's much of a point to fix it though being as no one lives in a 20 mile radius from here." He laughed, turning his attention fully back to me.

"So you came for help?"

I nodded.

He played with his hair again. Maybe he had a similar habit to me: playing and pulling at his hair when he felt nervous.

I wish his fingers were replaced with mine. I imagined his hair to be smooth, soft but feel a little clumped due to the oil. I would wash his hair with shampoo slowly, scratching his scalp, loving the feel of his hair slipping between my fingers, his small moans and sighs of appreciation.

Wait.

What?

What the hell is wrong with you!

First, you're completely terrified for your life in front of this man and now you want to have shampoo sex with his hair?

"I'm not much of a help." He sighed, breaking me from my inner thoughts.

"I have no phone and my car is completely wrecked right now. I tried to start it up to go into town the other day and the engine practically blew up. I was out yesterday working on it and I'm still working on it now."

That's why you have oil all over your hair.

Visions of washing his hair flooded my mind again. No Bella, bad!

But- wait… did he just say he had no phone and/or no transportation?

"Wait, how long until your car is fixed? Does no one come and visit you? Can they help me get into town? I need too-"

"Whoa, hold up," he laughed, throwing up his hands. "No one really comes to visit me honestly. I kind of moved out into the middle of the woods too avoid company at all costs."

His eyes darted around and he returned to his shy, distant exterior. His hands found their way into the pockets of his black shorts and he silently rocked back and forth. "I came out here to get rid of the constant yelling, the constant bickering, and predictable common thoughts. I just came out here to be free of thoughts in general. I am left with my mind alone here."

I wasn't quite sure what he meant. Did he feel I was intruding on him? I was just an annoying person that he didn't want 'soiling' his perfect delusional universe here in the middle of the woods where he was the only man who existed.

I felt my face burn in embarrassment once again and I looked away. I've never felt so much of a burden as I did right now. Some part of my brain was angry with this man.

I didn't choose to get into a freak accident in the middle of the Washington forest!

If he didn't want me here he should have just left me outside to die.

I scoffed and tried to get up again. I was just going to go to my car, grab my backpack and hitchhike my way to Forks at this point. I would of done it too- if it weren't for the searing pain that spread throughout my body holding me back.

I heard the clank of something against the wood and I looked down to see him running towards me, hands extended. "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa." He said, grabbing me around the shoulders with one arm and around the torso with the other. He laid be back onto the bed and frowned at me.

It reminded me of my father, Charlie, when I was still in high school, my junior year and living at his house. One time I got caught drinking outside with my friends Michael and Eric and he came home early and found out. He completely flipped out and gave me the whole 'You're the police chief's daughter' lecture. His look of disappointment was still clear as day in my mind: the furrowed brow, tight lips, angry eyes and even his moustache had an angry flair to it.

His face now faded into the man before me: the piercing green eyes, bronze-colored hair, porcelain white skin and strong, taunt jaw-line. Their features were so different yet they still held the same emotion.

Wait, I barely knew this man and he was criticizing me like a little puppy?

I felt my anger begin to spark up again and the wall I had let him pass slowly begin to be built up brick by brick again.

"What the hell are you trying to do? Just- Just…lay down, please!" he pleaded, pulling up the pillow behind me further for me to lay on it.

One minute this man is shy and …isolated, the next he is completely protective and dominating. I was completely scared and almost wildly intrigued at the same time.

"Just try to rest for a while and don't move. I gave you a few pain killers a while ago so it you should start to feel better, if you stop moving that is."

He gave me pills?

Shit, I must have been really out of it. I don't remember any of that. "What happened to me," I asked, gesturing towards my body. Once he finished fixing my pillow and pulling up my blanket, he backed away, almost as if trying not to upset me with his close proximity. He coughed. "You-um, you fell…as you know and I couldn't see your injuries in the dark so I didn't get a good look until I was inside. "You had a few minor scrapes and cuts on your arms and legs …but then I saw the blood begin to spread on your dress." He coughed again and his eyes raced around the room. "I lifted up your dress to…you know- inspect the damage and I saw a good size gash on your side. "I stitched it right up; it wasn't even really that big. Good thing I went to medical school and I have medical supplies on hand, right?" He chuckled nervously.

This was too much to process.

Did he just say he gave me stiches?

He unclothed me?

I looked down and noticed I was wearing a large, black t-shirt with white font that said "The Rolling Stones" on it. It was covered in like five different colors of paint and had a weird, earthy smell to it.

"I threw your dress away too. It was too tight and constricted against your stitches and plus it was covered in blood and pretty much ruined."

He saw me in my bra and underwear!

I tried to remember what I put on the day before. Oh god no… please tell me I wasn't wearing my nerdy Pokémon underwear, ugh, the ones with Pikachu all over the front and back.

For the millionth time that day, I felt my face burn from embarrassment.

"You fainted you know," he said. "I thought you hit your head but there weren't any visible injuries."

I couldn't really remember much of last night. It all seemed like a weird whited-out haze. All I remember is the cold air biting at my skin as I dodged the trees as I ran and the faint light in the distance which I was running too. I also remember bits and pieces of the crash. I remember the impact and the horrible sounds the car made as it scraped against the tree.

I didn't remember much of the fall itself though. I must of seen blood somewhere and freaked out. I was pretty squeamish; I always have been. The sight of blood made me feel sick to my stomach and there were a few select times that it actually caused me to faint.

At this point, there was probably no way to look like a bigger loser in front of this man. I was a clumsy stranger who hit her car into a tree 20-feet away from the road, fell and fainted in front of his house and had to have him carry me in, got blood all over my clothes and had to wear his shirt, was wearing Pikachu underwear, and worst of all I was intruding into his little world that he 'created 'for himself.

He wanted to be left alone, that's why he chose to live in the middle of the Washington Forest with no civilization for miles on either end.

Why would he choose to live here though? Was he anti-social or just one of those nomads looking for a world outside of itself, a bigger purpose?

Maybe he just enjoyed the quiet and the peace that came along with it?

It was quiet here…, maybe too quiet.

The sounds of leaves and the small twinkling of the stream against the rocks outside the window were the only sounds. After a while the silence would feel deafening.

I wonder if he ever felt lonely or sad, If he felt alone against the world out here.

I knew the feeling.

Sometimes, even if you were in a big room, full of people, you felt alone. Maybe that's why he came out here, to escape the pressure of trying to blend, fit with people.

I was always known as the weird Arizona girl when I first moved here. I would walk the crowded hallways and hear the foreign voices and all I wanted was to be in some far out place alone by myself. My mother and her new boyfriend, Phil, sent me to live with my father, here in Washington, so they could travel around the country to support his minor-league baseball career. My mother wasn't really one for commitments so it was nice to see her attached to one man and not having 'casual relationships'.

My mother was a floater as I liked to call her. Her mind was always wandering into distinct places and different situations. She never liked to stay in the same place for long. It made her feel bored and trapped and that was no way to live life, she used to say. Life is about making yourself happy against all costs and if you aren't happy… cut yourself off from all the negative things bringing you down.

That's just what she did. One day she left my father and moved us down to Phoenix, Arizona. Charlie's nice it's just he can also be described as very simple, complete opposite of Renee. He always wears the same type of clothes, flannel over shirts. He goes down to Frank's barbershop every Wednesday and gets the same tapered-sided haircut and goes to eat at the same diner downtown every single night for dinner.

Living with him was nice. It was… simple. I would make him dinner sometimes and we would talk about the police station and about school and then I'd go upstairs to go to sleep. It continued in a circular pattern for my last two years of high school until I graduated and moved out into my apartment with my best friend, Jasper.

I lived with Jasper for about a year until he started dating his now fiancée, Alice. Jasper was the first person I ever talked to when I moved and we've been best friends ever since. He moved out about a year later to live with Alice, leaving me alone to an empty apartment.

I hated the feeling of being alone now. I wonder how this man must feel to constantly be alone, to not even hear the sound of a car honking down the street or have a casual conversation with anyone even if it's for a few moments.

Did I even know this man's name?

As if to read my mind, the man spoke. "You know, we got off on an awfully weird foot," he chuckled which made my stomach do some weird flip.

He stepped closer and extended his hand to me. "Hello, I'm Edward."

Edward.

The bronze-haired man is Edward. I saw a flash of pictures go through mine: the eyes, face, small specs of oil in hair, that earthy smell, the tight shirt that clung to his body and rippled over his stomach. It all had a label

Edward.

"Bell-Isabella," I stuttered, tentatively reaching my hand out to shake his.

He eyes me curiously again. He still looked almost afraid of me. I wanted to come out and ask him why? Had I come across as hard and intimidating to him?

He then smiled a small, polite smile, "nice to meet you Isabella."

"Bella"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I-um, like to be called Bella."

His smile widened, exposing his perfectly whitened teeth. "Nice to meet you Bella," he breathed, a little louder than a whisper.

The way his name fell from my lips sounded like he's known me for years. He sounded like a best friend I've known since I was a young child or a lover who held me and whispered my name into my ear. It felt safe. It felt… familiar.

I wanted nothing more than for him to say it again.

I shook my head to get myself out of the haze. "Thank you for saving me." I said, staring into his eyes as he came closer to bend down on one knee in front of me.

He stood kneeled before me. Silence filled the room.

I felt my heart beat in my throat.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I swore I heard the sound echo off the walls of the cabin.

His bright green eyes bore into mine, desperately seeking for something. He looked so sad at that moment that I just wanted to fall on top of him and hold him on the wooden floor and hold him til he felt alright.

I wanted to make him feel okay again.

I was angry at this man, scared of him, but I couldn't help but…care for him? Feel something for him.

It was terrifying.

His tentative hand slowly reached up to touch my cheek. His touch burned into my skin and I could of cried at the sensation. I felt reborn, renewed. I wanted more of his touch. I craved it, like a man lost in the desert without water. I wanted all of my skin to burn

I wanted to know it would be alright. I wanted him to make me feel okay again too. I forgot what it felt like, if I even felt it before.

His hand stroked my searing skin softly, like a whisper.

"You're different Bella. I just- You're so hard to read." He said quietly, matching his gentle touch.

His face looked pained with tight eyes and a clenched jaw. I wanted nothing more to kiss his insecurity about whatever he was thinking away, to make it never return again.

His touch moved south to trace the faint scratches on my arm.

"I feel very protective of you," He whispered.

I brought my hand to caress his cheek as he had done to me earlier. His eyelids fluttered close and he let out a shaky breath. I thought a heard a small moan. Which one of us it came from, I wasn't sure.

I felt fuel being thrown into my fire. My body and mind were being slowly being consumed by something bigger than me, bigger than Edward, bigger than I've ever known. I was being swallowed whole, drowning in it.

I caught sight of his green eyes and knew. His look said it all.

He was drowning along with me...and he was terrified