Chapter 2: Getting Where I'm Going

I walked down the stairs of my house and out to my car. I shoved the key in the ignition and drove off down the road. I had no idea what I was doing, where I was going, nothing! All I knew was that I had to get out of there. I couldn't be a Swan anymore.

I drove to my bank and parked illegally out front. I rushed in and went up to the teller.

"Hi, can I help you?" She asked cheerfully.

"Yeah," I said handing her my check card, "I need to close my account."

The girl behind the counter typed a few things in to the computer and scanned my card. "Can I see your ID please?" She asked. I handed it to her and she looked it over for a few moments. "Okay Miss Swan, your account is closed and I am going to give you what the balance was." She said as the drawer flipped open. She counted out a few bills and then handed them over to me. "There's $547.41. Have a fantastic day, Miss Swan."

"Thank you." I said and went back to my car. $547.41, that was not a lot of money. The millions my family had was in another bank account and I wasn't eligible for the trust fund I got from my grandmother until I was 18. It didn't matter to me anymore, I no longer wanted to be a Swan.

I headed to the airport and parked my car a few blocks down the street, maybe this way when my parents get the police involved it will be a little bit harder for them to track where I went. I walked to the airport and walked to the ticket sales counter.

The man behind the counter looked at me. "Can I help you miss?"

"Hi, I need a one way ticket." I said.

The man looked at me for a few moments, what was his problem? "Miss, where to?" He finally asked.

Oh, duh! That was a good question, where did I want to go? I looked up at the large screen announcing what flights were on time, delayed, or cancelled, and said the first one that I saw. "New York."

The man smiled and typed something in on his computer. "Okay miss, one way ticket to New York City."

--------------------------------------

Before I knew it, I was stepping off of a bus and in to the heart of New York City. Typically when people think of New York City they think tall buildings, bright lights, swarms of people, and expensive shopping. However, none of these things greeted me when I stepped in to the damp street.

There were dark storm clouds for as far as the eye could see. Sheets of rain were coming down from the sky and drenching everything around in slick, cold rain. It was obvious that it wasn't going to be getting better any time soon.

I started walking down the sidewalk holding my bag over my head. I had been to New York before on a nice, bright, stereotypical day. It was completely different now. It seemed as if most of the population had just vacated the city.

Without any warning whatsoever I felt my bag be tugged out of my grasp and saw a man in a black jacket and dark jeans start running off down the sidewalk.

"Hey!" I yelled at him. Oh no, this was not going to happen to me. I started running down the sidewalk after the guy. I had a hard time keeping up with him, but somehow I managed to follow him for a few blocks before he steered in to an alley. I turned the corner in to the alley quickly and collided with something thick and solid. I fell back and hit the ground with a splash.

"Well, well, well." The guy said. "What have we here?" I looked up at him with an angry expression on my face.

"She chased you all the way here," another male voice said as he emerged from under a fire escape, "she must be a quick one."

"Give me back my bag." I said standing up and moving toward the first guy.

He smirked at me and let out a small chuckle. "Or what?" He tossed my bag off to the side.

"Just give me the damn thing back, it's all I have." I said trying to step around him, he simply took one step to his left and cut me off. That was just plain rude. I put both of my hands on his arm and tried to push him to the side. I failed miserably as he grabbed the backs of my arms and pinned me to his body while the other guy stepped in front of me.

"All you have?" He asked. "Well, you have more than we do, and we're greedy people." He put his hand on the side of my face and began to stroke my cheek. "Not only with money."

Out of nowhere, I spit in his face.

The man holding me let out another chuckle. "Wow, kitty's got claws."

The other man wiped the spit off of his face and moved his hand up and was about to hit me when -

"Let her go, man." A third voice, a velvety voice, said from our left. All of our heads snapped toward this new voice. He was walking from the street and in to the alley without any fear or hesitation.

The man in front of me looked back at me and grinned. "Why would we do that?" He asked. "We're just getting started here."

"Because I have what you want." He answered.

The man turned his attention back to the new arrival. "Are you trying to say that you're willing to hold out on us?" He asked, taking a menacing step toward him.

"No, that's not what I'm saying." He took a step forward, clearly not at all intimidated. "What I'm saying is that if you let her go, you're merchandise will be on the house."

The man looked hard at the new comer and raised his eyebrow. "For how long?"

"A month." He answered.

"That's a really good deal, man." The man holding on to me said.

The man stared at the one with the velvet voice for a for a few seconds and then made his way back over to me. He took my face in his hand and turned it, side to side, up and down.

"You know what I get is top of the line, you won't find anything better out here." The velvet voice said.

The man looked at me for another moment before snapping his fingers. The man holding me threw me forcefully against the wall, right next to my bag. I scurried to try and reach it, but the man got to it first. He took my chin between his thumb and first finger and looked me square in the eyes.

"She's all your's, Cullen." He said releasing my face and standing back up. The two men began walking out of the alley. "I'll be seeing you next week. Same time, same place." He called over his shoulder.

The one remaining man looked over at me. I was sitting in a puddle leaning against the wall breathing heavily with my eyes staring straight at my shoes. He made his way over to me as I tried to back even further in to the wall.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Who are you?" I asked in a panic.

"You need to calm down." He responded as he put his hands up in front of him, trying to signify that he meant no harm.

"Don't tell me to calm down, who the fuck are you?" I asked as tears began to stream out of my eyes.

"Aw, now you see," he said as he ran a hand through his disheveled bronze hair, "that's not how this is going to work. I did not just save your ass so you could get an attitude and be an unappreciative little bitch."

I stared at him in shock for a minute. Nobody had ever spoken like that to me, ever. I was usually the one in control of conversations and typically I'd be the one helping someone out of a tough situation using my resources and reputation. Now, this man had completely taken control, he had saved me. The tables had completely turned.

"Now, I ask you again, are you alright?" He asked.

"I… I think so." I said quietly. "You… you just saved my life. How did you…?"

"What's your name?" He asked, completely cutting me off.

"Bella." I answered. "Now, why did you…"

"Are you out here alone?" He asked.

Again, for some unknown reason, I answered him. "I ran away from home. Now can you please tell me…"

"So no one knows you're here, alone, in New York City?" He asked.

It was obvious at this point that there was no way that I was going to get a word in. I sighed. "No."

"Well, Bella," he said standing up, "let's get out of here."

"And go where?" I asked.

"That doesn't really matter." He answered slyly.

"Yes it does matter. I don't know you. How do I know I can trust you?" I asked.

"Well, let me put it this way," he said extending his hand out to me, "what other choice have you got?"

I looked at him for a minute. He was soaked to the bone and it seemed as if his clothes hadn't been washed in a while. His hand was kind of dirty, his bronze hair was a disheveled mess, and those green eyes of his were somewhat glassy, but somehow I just couldn't say no.

I took his hand.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now is when we get to the good parts. This story is going to pick up very quickly. Remember, Bella has been sheltered, protected, and cased in her entire life. We all know what happens when a good, sheltered girl gets in to the real world and is corrupted by sex, drugs, and rock n roll.

I don't know yet if the rest of the Cullen's will have a very big part in this. I know they will be in here in some parts, but I'm not promising to give them huge parts. This is going to be mainly centered around Edward and Bella.

Get excited.

It's going to be an awesome ride.