So here we are already on Chapter 4, it doesn't seem like we've been posting for two weeks now. We're glad that the majority of you are loving this, and we want to say thank you for the story love and the recs this is getting.


Chimera – Chapter 4

BPOV – still previous to chapter 1

"Bella!"

I turn seeing Edward running my way. The last two weeks he has joined me in the last twenty minutes of my run.

"What're your plans for this beautiful Saturday?" he asks with a lopsided grin and wink.

I shrug a little. "I'm not sure. Jessica and Lauren want me to go with them to this party, but I'm still a little unsure about it. I also still need to get a job, and I have to attend church tomorrow."

He chuckles a little shaking his head. "What kind of job are you looking for?"

I turn and look at him. "Anything legal that pays money. My dad and mom are kind of disappointed that I haven't gotten one yet." I look down feeling a little ashamed that I've only been here two weeks and I've already disappointed them.

"I'm sure they're not really disappointed, but I know that my sister gave her notice to Starbucks last week, so they'll be looking."

I stop and look at him. "Really?" I ask fighting the urge to run back to my dorm to get washed and dressed to get there immediately.

Edward shakes his head and laughs. "Get going, Bella, and we'll talk on Monday."

I wave running all the way back to my dorm. I take a quick shower, put on some of my best church clothes, and walk the ten minutes to Starbucks.

"Hello," I say in my best business voice when I get to the counter, "is the manager available?"

The girl behind the counter nods, then walks away to an older man and talks to him, pointing at me. "Hello, I'm James, the manager. How can I help you?"

"Hello, James, I'm Bella," I say shaking his proffered hand. "I'm looking for a job, and was told that you may have an opening available to start soon?"

"Do you have a resume?" I nod and hand it to him with a smile.

"Soup kitchen, bingo club, church nursery, these are all volunteer-type jobs, right?"

"Yes, Sir, that's right," I say trying hard not to show my natural shyness.

"Have you done any work where you were paid?"

I bite my lip and shake my head at him. "No, Sir, not yet."

"Are you a student?"

"Yes, Sir, I just started at UW."

"How old are you?"

"I turned eighteen today," I say proudly.

He looks me up and down a few times.

"Okay; I'll let you try it for the next eight weeks, and then we'll take it from there."

"Thank you, Sir, I won't let you down," I grin at him with a smile.

"Can you start tomorrow at three in the afternoon?"

"Yes, Sir, I can."

"Okay, bring your Washington State identification card or drivers license, Social Security card, class schedule, and your college identification so that I can work out your shifts."

I grin at him nodding happily. "Thank you," I squeal out throwing my arm around him. It takes my brain a few seconds to catch up to what I have done. I pull back to put a grin on my face. He seems to be chuckling and shaking his head, so I know I haven't overstepped my mark. "Thank you," I say again.

He gives me a nod but steps away from me. "See you tomorrow."

As soon as I'm out of the coffee shop, I jump up down as I spin around.

"Hey, Bella," I gulp when I hear Jessica's voice, and turn to see that Lauren is standing beside her, both looking at me.

"I just got my first job!" I blurt out excitedly, pointing at Starbucks.

"Well done, Bella, now there's yet another reason for you to come out with us tonight," Jessica says as they take turns hugging me.

I frown shaking my head a little, still feeling unsure about that. It doesn't help that I am always looking over my shoulders, just waiting for my dad to jump out at me.

"Come on, Bella, you turned eighteen today, it's time to live a little." I groan seeing they both have that puppy-dog look.

"Okay, fine," I say knowing that they are just going to keep after me until I say yes.

"Yay!" they cheer together, before high-fiving each other.

"But, I need to go and get some things done now," I say with a plea and I am relieved when they nod and agree.

"Bye, Bella," They sing out together.

I wave at them and head back to the dorm, give our room a quick clean as well as making Jessica's and Lauren's beds.

Once I'm finished, I sit on my bed reading the book that Jessica gave me. My cell alarm rings and I place the book down. As I turn off my alarm, I know that it's time for me to call home.

"You're a minute late in calling, Isabella," my father answers in greeting.

"I'm sorry, Sir, my cell must be a little slow today?" I question, and frown as I was sure I set my alarm to go off a few minutes before I needed to call.

He hums a little but thankfully drops it. "Have you enjoyed your birthday?" my mom asks and I nod, not that she can see.

"Yes, I have had a nice day."

"Well, you can open the gift we put in your bag now."

I move off my bed pulling the box out from underneath it.

I slowly open the box to see the long, black skirt and plain, white shirt. There's also a silver charm cross on a silver necklace. I close my eyes and softly caress the necklace.

"Thank you," I say and clear my throat a little knowing that my father doesn't like crying.

"You have won it back, just don't lose it this time," my father says harshly.

I nod remembering how they took my other cross away from me, after the whole Jacob thing went down. The thought still hurts me even now a year later.

"I've found a job," I say after a few minutes.

"Where?" my father barks out right away.

"At Starbucks; it's close to my dorm."

"It will do for now," my father mutters clearly unhappy with my choice of jobs. "Have you found a church yet?"

"Yes, Sir, the one you told me about. I've been attending services there each week."

"Have you told them that you will help out?"

"No, Sir, not yet."

"God helps those who help others, Isabella, remember that."

"I know, Sir, just—"

"Just what, Isabella? If you have time to run, you have time to volunteer at the church."

"I will speak with them tomorrow morning, Sir."

"Make sure you do. Be sure to call on Monday at seventeen hundred sharp this time."

"Love you, baby," my mom says as the line disconnects.

My hand goes to my chest as I get the same odd feeling of being unable to breathe which has troubled me from time to time. It has been really bad this past year.

I take some deep breaths closing my eyes, as I send a silent prayer to God to help me. When I feel calmer, I look at my cross, holding it close to my chest. I find it so odd that this small symbol can bring me so much peace, but I assume that it's because I know deep down that God will love me despite my misgivings.

I put it on, and right away, I feel more 'whole' than I have in a while. As my stomach growls, I walk out of my room heading to the cafeteria for something to eat.

I sit close to the back of the large room, eating alone. I watch the rest of the new students talk and laugh. One of the groups looks my way but carries on talking before laughing. I drop my eyes from them quickly. I know that is bigheaded to believe that I would be their choice of topics to speak about, but that voice in my head is the one that seems to point out small things. Things like they look at me before laughing, which makes my thoughts seem that much more correct. Feeling lonely and uncomfortable, I stop eating and dump my leftovers in the garbage before walking out of the dining room.

By the time I get back to my dorm room, Jessica and Lauren are going through their clothes trying to find something to wear for the party tonight.

"Have you picked something out yet?"

I shrug grabbing my black jeans and a Batman T-shirt, and show the outfit to them.

"Do you have any skinny jeans?" Lauren asks.

I look at her and shake my head as my inner monologue snorts and reminds me that I'm not allowed to own skinny jeans; I'm not even allowed to wear a denim skirt.

"My mom would never buy them. It took me almost a year to get her to buy this for me," I say holding up my Batman T-shirt and jeans.

"Oh, girl, we have got to get you some new clothes."

I drop my head a little feeling embarrassed about my clothes, even my words sound as if I was still a little girl.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, and those are fine for tonight. However, you need some fun stuff to wear, too," Lauren says as she rubs my arm.

I take a deep breath heading off to the shower to get washed. It takes me only a short time to get dressed, so I sit and wait for both Lauren and Jessica to get done.

"Do you mind if I put a little lip gloss on you?" Jessica asks holding it out.

I shrug and she walks over to me.

Once she's done, she moves her hand slowly around to the back of my hair, pulling my hair down from the bun in which I had it. She shakes it a little and smiles at me.

"Okay, we're ready now, let's go," Lauren says and we walk out.

It takes only a few minutes to get to the frat house that's hosting the party.

"Only drink what you get yourself," Jessica says into my ear and I nod at her. "Oh, and let us know if you're going to a room or leaving."

I nod, but frown when she turns from me. Why the hell would I go to one of these guy's rooms?

All too soon, I've been left alone, and Jessica and Lauren are up dancing quite sexually with two guys. I can't even say it's because of the booze, because they've only had a few sips. I wish I could just let go, and not have to be so in control of every little thing in my life.

That's probably the reason I enjoyed the foreplay with Jacob. When he made me come, it felt like I was floating. The sex part was too rough; most of the time it just hurt. I never came during sex. Jacob told me that I was lucky that he took the time to make me come beforehand. But in truth, it was only a couple of times that he made me see 'God' as he put it.

I chuckle a little shaking my head at the memories. As soon as he came, he was done and dusted, and walked away with a wave of his hand. I should've known then, that something wasn't right. A boyfriend that doesn't take you anywhere, who you only had alone time with three times a month, really? I don't know why I was so surprised that he was seeing other people. I know that if he hadn't made me feel so free for thirty seconds before having sex, I wouldn't have done it again after the first time.

"Hi," I hear a voice from behind me.

I turn looking at the guy who just spoke.

"I'm Benjamin, are you okay? You look lonely."

I nod at him and he chuckles.

"I'm meeting my girlfriend and she's a little late, if you want, I could sit with you until she shows up. Or I could walk you home?"

I swallow pulling back a little. He holds his hands up.

"Sorry, you don't look like you're having a good time. I just thought maybe this wasn't your scene."

I nod at him. "I'm trying new things," I shrug and he grins a little.

"Do you want a drink?"

"Are there any cans of Coke?"

He nods and then motions his head a little to the side. I follow him to the kitchen, seeing a stockpile of different things to drink.

"You sure you don't want a beer or some jungle juice?" I shake my head.

"No – my friend Jessica gave me some blue type of liquor a few weeks back, I only had half a glass and I felt a little out of it. She laughed saying I was a one drink wonder when it came to alcohol."

Benjamin laughs and smiles a little.

"Bella, be careful, there are a lot of guys that would misuse that information. Anyway, here's your can of Coke, unopened, as you can see. Enjoy your drink. Oh, hey, my girl just got here, you can join us if you'd like?"

I shake my head not wanting to play the third wheel.

"Okay; well, enjoy yourself."

He waves at me walking away. I follow him with my eyes and watch as he walks to a girl with red hair and crossed arms.

I open the can and move to a corner of the room. There's a small voice at the back of my head telling me just to let go; drink and have a good time. However, there's a louder voice—my father's voice—telling me that's not what good girls do.

"Hey, Bella," Lauren says handing me a drink.

"What's this?" I ask.

"Peach schnapps and lemonade."

I hold the glass to my nose and it smells sweet but not a strong sweet smell.

"Drink up and come dance with me. That whore, Jessica, is dirty dancing with some boy."

I close my eyes and down the drink. I place my half can of Coke down and follow Lauren to the dance floor.

Lauren spins me around and I feel my body starting to have a warm buzzy feeling.

"That's it, Bella," Jessica says handing me another drink.

"Peach schnapps," she says and I down it in one drink.

"Bella, those are pretty strong for you, take it easy, okay?"

I nod at her and start to jump around the room as I dance.

I keep dancing, feeling so free. I giggle falling to the sofa.

"Hi, sweet girl, you want to dance with me?"

I look to the voice and just giggle because he looks weird.

I feel him take hold of my hand pulling me up to my feet.

"Come on, I'll make this a night to remember."

"HEY, raper," Lauren yells as Jessica pulls me toward her. "Fuck off!"

"Watch what you say, I'm not a rapist," the guy hisses like a snake making me giggle again.

"Oh, really, so why is it you're hovering over a girl who's clearly drunk? It's guys like you who give good guys a bad, fucking name, now piss off."

"Time to go home, Bella," Jessica says.

"But, I want to dance some more," I say swinging my arms, and somehow land on my ass.

"How many did she have?" I hear Lauren mutter.

"Three glasses that each had a half shot of peach schnapps in them," Jessica sings out.

"We need to watch this young one more when we're out, Jess," Lauren says pulling me up, and she looks like an angel.

"You're so pretty," I say squeezing her face.

"Fuck ... she's drunker than we thought," Jessica chuckles as they walk with me.

I feel the cold air hit me and I start to feel sick.

Lauren holds my hair as Jessica rubs my back as I puke in the bushes.

"I don't feel so good," I say in a childlike voice.

"Oh, baby doll, you'll be fine, let's get you home."

It doesn't take us too long to get home, and Jessica and Lauren help me get washed and changed for bed.

"Here," Jessica says handing me painkillers and water.

"Drink it all before sleeping," she says sounding like my mom.

"Okay," I say weakly.

I hear my cell buzz, but it's so loud it makes me groan. I open my eyes and wince as the light blinds me. I fumble until my hand lands on my cell and I pick up. Peeking through one eye, I switch it off and groan again.

Closing my eyes taking some deep breaths it feels like no time has passed when my alarm goes off again, and this time I push myself to get out of bed. I pick up my sunglasses and put them on making my way to the bathroom to get washed and dressed for my run.

"Hey," Edward says making me jump around covering my ears, glancing up to only see him smirking at me.

"Shh," for some reason it comes out like hiss. He raises one of his eyebrows as he tilts his head.

"Rough night?"

"I went out with Jessica and Lauren last night," I mumble and wish he would quiet down. There is an odd texture in my mouth; it feels fuzzy and dry.

Edward's hand slowly comes up to my face and removes my sunglasses, making me wince closing my eyes as the light hits them.

My pain seems to only make Edward chuckle, which lets me know he's a heartless pig. "Come on, Bella," he says putting my glasses back over my eyes. His hand slowly trails down my arm, making me bite back a moan, and when his hand meets my own, he links our fingers together.

"I need to run," I am able to say feeling weirded out by how his touch makes me feel.

"You've got a hangover; you need to be cured before you start your job."

It's not until Edward is helping me into his car that I realize we have moved from where we were standing.

"So, tell me about your night?"

I shrug and try to think back. "I remember drinking, dancing, and being sick."

"Did you have a good time?"

I think back and smile. "I think I did."

Edward chuckles as he speaks to me again "But, was it worth the hangover?"

"I'm not sure. Ask me again when I no longer feel like I want to die."

Edward chuckles some more, and I conclude that he is in fact a heartless pig as he appears to get enjoyment from my pain. As I glare at him, he winks at me. "That's all part of the fun."

Edward's car stops and I frown as we seem to be outside of an apartment building.

"My place is here."

I swallow worrying. I have never been alone in a house with a MAN before, and if my parents found out...

"Bella?" Edward says looking at me with worry.

"My parents will be mad if I'm alone in your apartment with you," As the words tumble out of my mouth, I am looking around to see if anyone is watching me.

Even if you don't see anyone doesn't mean no one is watching you. Father has caught you loads of time before, even when we felt safe.

"Bella."

I turn looking at Edward to see he is kneeling at the car door.

"I was just going to make you breakfast; if you want, we can go to a café instead?"

I take a deep breath shaking my head. "No, it's okay."

"Come on, Bella you can trust him, and you know it," my inner voice who's desperate to be free chants inside my head.

Edward leads me into his apartment heading straight for the kitchen.

"The best cure for a hangover is greasy, yummy food, and lots of it."

I sit at the table watching as Edward seems to cook up a storm as my stomach rumbles with the smell of the pancakes, eggs and bacon.

"Here you go, Bella," Edward smirks, putting the plate down in front of me. I watch him as he gets his own and joins me. "Bon appetite," he grins and I feel my heart flutter.

I clear my throat and take a bite of the pancake with a hum, because it tastes so good.

"This is so yummy," I say pointing at it with my fork.

Edward hums winking in agreement with me.

~*Chimera*~

After eating breakfast with Edward, I go back to my dorm and get ready for my first day at work. I arrive on time, and James spends the best part of two hours completing the paperwork and showing me around.

He hands me my shift schedule for the week, showing that my work hours are mainly on Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday, I arrive a little early which seems to have pleased James due to another worker calling in sick. He quietly shows me how everything works, before leaving me alone, saying that he will be back within the hour.

I hear the ring of the bell and look up to see Edward walking in, which makes me smile. We are only able to chat a little as the place quietly fills up with customers.

The entire time I am alone I get a constant flow of customers, but oddly Edward is the only one that seems to come back. By his fourth drop in, I make his coffee without asking what he wants.

I feel a little sad when my shift ends, and even with Edward being in so often, I never really got the chance to talk let alone thank him for taking care of me this morning.

Feeling wiped out by the time I get back to my dorm room, I kick my shoes off and lie on my bed on top of my covers. My text message dings, making me smile in hopes that it's Edward.

"You never called home!" My mind reminds me a little late. I sit up and try to stop the panic that is taking over me, as my breath shallows and I feel as if someone is choking me. "I am dead; he's going to flip out on me. There's no getting out of this, you had better just call." Hitting on my home number, I close my eyes.

"Isabella, what time do you call this?" My father's harsh voice shouts in greeting.

"I'm sor—" I start to say, but he cuts me off rather short.

"I'm starting to think that your mother was right, and you're incapable of living on your own!"

"I was at work; it was busy and it made the time go past so quickly! I didn't have time to call you."

My father laughs, but not in a way that could ever be perceived as humorous. It's more like the way that makes my heart start to beat a lot faster because this laugh means I'm in a lot more trouble than what I first thought.

"So it has nothing to do with you being drunk last night and dancing around like a slut?"

I go to open my mouth but he carries on speaking, the harshness in his voice stops my mouth. "Then you were with that man, in his house alone!"

I close my eyes to hold back my tears.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"He's a friend; he was just trying to help me, nothing happened."

"Just a friend? A guy like him doesn't help good girls. All a guy like him wants is easy sex, is that what those roommates of yours are showing you?"

"They're nice to me," I plead with him. "Please, Sir, I know they are nice; they are watching after me. I just wanted to see what it was like to go to a party."

My father is quiet for few seconds and then lets out an odd sounding chuckle, that has me pulling my eyebrows together because I have no idea what it means. "Since you clearly don't think you need us, then that's it, your mother and I are done!"

I swallow a shaky breath, unsure of what he means. "Wh ... at?"

"We are done. From now on you can choose what you wear, what music you listen to, your friends, and all of your mistakes will be on your own head," he yells. "All your mother and I are guilty of is trying to keep you safe. Safe from all the evil in the world and from making the same mistakes that we made! But maybe we've been keeping you too close, and it's time for you to see what you are capable of doing on your own. If you fail, then you will move back here and stop all of these stupid noises about going to college."

Unable to stop myself, I start to cry, "Dad."

"Isabella, take this as a chance to prove to us that you are the good girl we brought up to be."

I pull the cell from my ear as I hear the echo from him slamming his phone down. I let out a breath rubbing my chest, blinking my eyes before looking up. "Please, help me, please, God, help me make them proud of me."

This is the same prayer I've prayed every night since I was thirteen; so far it has gone without being answered.


A/N: So, we know she is a light weight, but at least the girls kept her safe. What do you think of Jess and Lauren now? How do you suppose things will go, now that her father says him and her mother, are done, they are setting her free. How do you suppose things will go? And how do you think her father is finding out everything she does?