A/N: Any and all things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer

Episode 2 – What's in a Name?

The big brown eyes belonged to a girl. I couldn't believe my eyes. She was pushing herself against the back of the closet, hugging her knees close to her chest. Her big brown eyes were staring at me, full of fear. She was dirty. Her long brown hair was sticking in her face. Her feet were almost black from the dirty, and her big toe was bleeding. She must have hurt herself while running. No doubt that was the cry I heard minutes ago. She was so small, little and thin. She must be seventeen years-old, not a day older than that. And those eyes. Big brown eyes staring at me. Full of tears. Full of fear.

I know these eyes

Don't be crazy Edward. This girl is scared. She is scared of me. Is she alone?

"Hi" – I said, softly, trying not to scare her more.

She didn't answer, off course. I wasn't expecting her too. Who was this girl? Did she live here? How long has she been here? Where were her parents? Was she alone? Was she hurt beyond the bloody toe? So many questions were floating in my head. Where do I start?

"Are you hurt?" – I asked, pointing at her toe. Again she didn't answer. A single tear escaped from her eyes. She sniffed, trying to fight back more tears.

"I won't hurt you. I just want to help you" – I said taking a step back. I'll make you a deal: I will sit on that chair" – I pointed at the armchair by the bed and continued – "and wait for you to come out of the closet, Ok?"

She didn't answer, but it seemed like she understood because she glanced quickly at the chair then back at me.

I walked away from her and sat slowly on the armchair, praying it wouldn't break it.

"I hope I don't break it. My friend just told me I'm fat" – I said. I heard a soft laugh; it was so low I almost didn't hear it.

I sat. The chair didn't break, so I relaxed. It creaked loudly but it didn't break. And I waited. I waited from her to come out of the closet praying that Jasper wouldn't come up upstairs and frighten the girl even more.

Ten minutes must have passed when I heard the soft creak of the closet. She was moving. I saw it when she put her right foot and the floor and then the left. Her left toe was still bleeding and it must have hurt because she supported all her weight on her right foot as she stood up. She limped slowly to the bed and sat on the opposite side from where I was standing. Ok, what to do now?

"I have another deal for you" – I said. She looked at me curiously. Her eyes still held fear in them. "I want to take a look of that injured toe. Can I do that?"

She didn't answer

"So here is my deal. If I sit on my hands, like this" – I moved my hands slowly and sat on them, showing the action to her – "If I keep my hands like this, would you show it to me?"

She just stared at me, confused. It was a lousy deal, I knew. There was nothing keeping me from moving my hands. I wouldn't though. My plan was set; I would gain her trust before I asked my questions.

Five minutes passed. My hands were starting to go numb and I was wondering what Jasper was doing. He seemed in a hurry to get out, but hadn't made any move to rush me. Did he find someone too? Was he hurt?

She moved. She slowly moved closer to me and put her left foot on the bed, giving me a view of her toe.

I smiled and looked at the injured toe. It wasn't so bad. The cut wasn't too big, it didn't look too deep, but if she didn't take care of it could get infected.

"I think you will survive" – I said, trying to be funny. She didn't laugh, instead, she looked at me and her eyes were filled with tears again.

I'm an idiot

"No. No. I was joking. Just joking. It's a small cut. But you have to take care of it" – I tried to make things better. "Do you have someone to help you?"

She looked at me and then the toe. And then she shook her head. She didn't have anyone. She was alone. In that case, where was Jasper? What was he doing?

Focus, Edward!

Ok, so the girl. She was alone. God my hands are numb.

"Are you alone?" – I asked. She nodded.

"Do you live here?" – I tried; she didn't answer for a while and then shook her head. She looked so fragile. She was alone. How could that be?

"I can help you" – I tried to assure her, but apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, because she jumped off the bed and walked to the closet again, shutting the door.

I finally released my hands. I couldn't feel them, so I started to open and close the hands to get the blood to circulate again. The girl was back in the closet and I was back to square one. I couldn't leave now. I can't leave her alone. This young girl is alone, she is scared and she is hurt. Not greatly injured, but that small cut could get infected. I couldn't leave her. Those big brown eyes. They are so familiar…

Jasper chose this moment to walk back in the bedroom

"Dude, what are you doing?" – He asked. "I want to go. Kate just called and I'm having dinner with her. So can we go now?"

So that's what he was doing. Talking to Kate on the phone. Kate is Jasper's girlfriend. She is… bearable. She's not so bad herself, but her cousin, Tanya, is a bitch. A clingy bitch. I slept with her one time, eight months ago and she is still trying to get some more.

"Fine. Let's go" – I said. I had to change my plans. I would take Jasper back to London, buy some food and some medicine and then come back here to take care of the girl. I should remember to get some flashlights too. I bet this house has no electricity.

I was expecting him to step out first, leaving me alone with the girl that was currently locked in the closet. I had to tell her I was coming back. But instead, he just stood there, waiting for me to leave.

"Can I have a minute alone?" – I said. He is going to think I'm crazy

"For what?" – He asked, confused. God, must he know everything? For what? Why did I want to be alone? To talk to the girl in the closet! Only I couldn't tell him that. I had my doubts if he would believe if I told him there was a girl in there. And if he did believe he would want to see her and that would probably scare her.

"I want to say goodbye to the rabbits" – That it was. The best I could do. And now it's official: my best friend thinks I'm a lunatic.

And sure enough, Jasper looked at me like I was growing a second head, but he didn't press further. He told me a confused 'alright' and left. As soon as he did, I turned back to the closet and whispered without opening the door

"I'm going to leave now. But I will come back in a while to take care of you. Will you wait for me here?" – I asked. I knew that would be no answer, but I asked anyway.

"I wish I knew if you heard me" – I said, more to myself than to her, but she heard it. I knew because next thing I know, she answered

"I'll wait" – That was all she said. Her voice was soft and low, almost a whisper, but it make me smile.

I vowed to be back as fast as I could. Somehow the though of leaving this girl alone for a long period of time make me hurt. She obviously needed help and I was going to help her.

I made it back to London in record time. Forty-five minutes after leaving the old house, I parked outside Jasper's apartment, said goodbye to him without getting out of the car and turned down his offer to have dinner with him, Kate and the insistent Tanya. Honestly I had better things to do. The desire to help the girl and the curiosity to know who she was were dominating my mind and I couldn't think of anything else. Jasper recommended that I get some rest because I obviously had a hard time. No doubt he would think that after the 'I want to say goodbye to the rabbits' incident. I hadn't told him about the girl. I would eventually, but first I had to figure out what to do with her. And before I could do that I had to know who she was and how she got to the house.

I stopped at a drug store and picked out some gauze, antiseptic and sticking plaster. I knew I was exaggerating, but at the moment I didn't care. Next, I tried to figure out what to get for her to eat. My first though was McDonald's but after thinking it better I decided against it. The food there is full of chemicals and the girl probably hadn't eaten in a while. A Big Mac would give her gastritis. It had to be something light but consistent. I decided to stop at a supermarket, instead of a fast food restaurant.

I picked up some apples, bread, ham, cheese, milk, water and a chocolate bar. I would make her a sandwich and the chocolate would help her get energy.

Now, I needed plates and a glass for her to drink the milk. So I ended going to my apartment to get the kitchen utensils. Since I was in my apartment, I figure it was better to make the sandwiches there, than having to prepare them in that filthy place.

Before I left, I also got a pillow and a couple of blankets. So in retrospect, it was a good thing I went to my apartment.

By the time I got back to the house it was 6pm. It wasn't dark yet, so I was thankful for that. After a small peep talk, I got out of the car and made my way to the house, carrying two bags, one with the food and one with the pillow, blankets and flashlights. I went straight for the second floor and to the bedroom where I found her. The rabbit family was still there. Everything was the same, but the closet door was opened and there was no one inside.

Did she leave? Maybe she got tired of waiting. I knew I should have been faster. Idiot. I hoped she was ok. Could someone else have found her? No. Certainly not. This is a private property. No one would come here.

She came here.

I started to panic, thinking someone had taken her and maybe hurt her when I heard footsteps. They were coming from the stairs. She was here. She was still here. I waited, watching the door. A few seconds passed before I saw her on the doorway. When she saw me, she froze, gasping. As if she didn't expect me to be back yet. Has she doubted my words?

The girl standing next to me was small and thin. Too thin. She was shorter than me, but still, quite tall. She was wearing back jeans shorts, a very dirty grey blouse and a blue scarf around her neck. I hadn't noticed the scarf before. She was barefoot. Her left toe was no longer bleeding. I stared at her as she stared back at me. She didn't move and I don't even think she blinked. I looked her from head to toe once again and smiled. She was dirty and way too thin, but this girl was pretty. Her big brown eyes left me breathless. Mainly because they had depth in them but also because of the sense of familiarity that washed through me when I looked at them.

We stood there, looking at each other for at least five minutes. I couldn't be sure because I got lost in her eyes and also because I'm an idiot and didn't realize that she had walked back and was pushing her body against the wall. I knew then that I had to make the first move. She was still here but she wasn't any less scared than she was before.

"Hi. I came back" – I said, as softly as I could.

Idiot. She knows you're back. She can see you… God, I have no idea how to talk to her…

Enough talking…it was time to do what I came here to do.

"I'm going to put something on the bed for you to see" – I said, as I turned my back to her and put the two bags I was carrying on the floor, next to the armchair. I picked up one bag and turned back to look her as I put the gauze, antiseptic and sticking plaster on the bed. Then I dropped the bag on the floor and reached for the water bottle on the other bag resting it next to the other things. I wanted to make sure the cut was clean before I did anything.

The difficult part would be her letting me touch her. The way she kept her distant from me, gave me an indication that she wouldn't be comfortable with me it. Maybe she could do it herself if I explained to her.

"I'm going to sit on my chair" – I said, pointing at the old armchair – "Can you sit on the bed like before and let me see your toe?"

She nodded. I sat on the chair, leaving my hands at my side. After a couple of minutes, she moved away from the wall and sat on the bed, showing me her injured toe.

"I don't think you want me to touch you, right?" – I asked.

Hearing the simple suggestion that I might touch her, she stood up and walked back to the closet, but I spoke before she could hide inside

"I won't touch you" – I promised. She stopped. "If you don't want to I won't touch you. I promise" – I said, with the kindest voice I could.

She turned back and sat on the bed again, but this time, she didn't show me her toe, she hugged her knees close to her chest and looked at me.

"You are going to have to help me, ok?" – I asked. She nodded "Ok. You see the bottle of water there?" – she looked at the water then back at me and nodded. "I want you to open and put some water on your hands, then rub them together" – I was trying to explain as clearly as I could. I knew she wasn't a child, but I didn't know how else to treat her. This was working, so I decided to keep it up.

She reached for the bottle of water and tried to opened, but couldn't. She was weaker then I though she would be. After trying a few times, she put the bottle back in the bed and shook her head.

"Can I do it?" – I asked. She looked at me and nodded. Her eyes filled with tears. Was she upset because she couldn't open the bottle? I couldn't bear the sight of it.

"No woman can open these bottles. They make it that way so that women have to keep the men around" – I joked. She laughed softly. It worked. The tears wore gone.

I opened the bottle and offered back to her. She just looked at me without moving. I knew she didn't to touch me or come near me, but I couldn't put the bottle back on the bed opened. It would spill.

"Show me your hands" – I said. She did as she was told. I poured the water in her hand and she rubbed them together. The water was being spilled on the bed but at that moment I didn't care. When her hands were clean I instructed her to show me her injured foot. She did so and I poured water in it. She got the message and rubbed it softly until it was clean. Next, I told her to get the gauze and the antiseptic. I didn't need to tell her what to do anymore. She quickly spayed the antiseptic on the cut and the covered with the gauze, securing the curative with the sticking plaster.

Once she was done, she showed me her foot.

"Good girl. You were great. I didn't even have to tell you what to do" – I said. She didn't smile but her eyes sparked.

"I have something else for you" – I said, reaching for the second bag. The room was getting darker, so I put out the flashlight, tuned it on and pointed to the ceiling, illuminating the room a little. Then, I reached for the food. I took out the sandwiches, the milk and the glass. I kept the chocolate hidden for now.

Her eyes went wide when she saw the food and I criticized myself for not feeding her sooner. I put the Tupperware with the sandwiches on the bed and motion her to get one. She did, taking a bite, faster than I could blink. She was hungry. Poor thing. She took another bite and then moaned. When you're really hungry the simplest sandwich can feel like a fucking Thanksgiving turkey.

As she ate I opened the milk cartoon and poured her a glass. I extended my hand with the glass for her. She hesitated but reached for the glass. Her small hands held the glass farther away from my hands as she could. Our skins didn't touch as she took the glass away and drank all the milk all at once, returning to her sandwich. I ate my sandwich while I watched her eat. She mostly kept her eyes closed, but occasionally looked at me. Her eyes no longer held fear.

After we ate and put everything away I though it was time to talk. I knew I would be making most of the talk, but I had to start somewhere.

"My name is Edward" – I told her

She just looked at me with a serious expression. She knew what I wanted. I wanted to know her name. Still she didn't respond.

I don't give up so fast

"What is your name? Do you know?" – I asked. It had just occurred to me that maybe she didn't know her name. That would be sad.

"I know my name" – she said, angry at the assumption that she didn't.

"What is it?" – I insisted

"Isabella"

That simple name, said in such a kind, low voice, almost a whisper, made my whole world spin. Her name. It couldn't be. The name, the eyes… Could it be true? Could this girl be her?

Should I keep going?

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