Chapter 4

Bella woke up to a cold and rainy day, not that it was anything unusual for Forks. She sighed as she rolled out of bed and stood up in her room and tried to force herself to fully wake up. She thought about the dream she had just woken up from. She couldn't remember any specifics but she knew that it was very pleasant and left a warm feeling in her gut. All she could recall was laying on a beach somewhere sunny. She was laying next to someone but she couldn't see them because their very skin was sparkling as though it were made of diamonds. She shook her head and walked over to her closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt which she threw on her bed as she changed into a clean pair of panties and a clean bra. As she finished getting dressed, she heard her mother moving about in the kitchen and before long she smelled coffee brewing. It was the only luxury that either of them indulged in or could afford. They could barely afford to keep gas in the car her mother used to get to and from work. Even though Bella knew there was nothing she or her mother could do to improve their situation she still resented the rest of the kids in her school for what they had. She wished they could all spend one day in her or her mother's shoes, maybe then they wouldn't be so mean to her.

Once she was dressed she walked out of her room and into the kitchen to see her mom sipping from a coffee cup and reading one her worn paperback mystery novels. She had to get them second hand but it was one of the few pleasures she took in life. Bella couldn't blame her, they gave her an escape from their depressing reality for a little bit and Bella would never fault her mother for wanting an escape. Her mother looked up and smiled, she loved her daughter dearly and it broke her heart that she couldn't provide better for her. But she knew that Bella didn't blame her. Bella's mom got pregnant with Bella in the middle of her junior year of high school and when Bella's father skipped town she couldn't go back. Bella never blamed her mother for their situation, her father was a different story. She had never met her father but she hated him more than she hated every mean kid that she went to school with. Because of him, her mother had never been able to finish high school and wasn't able to fulfill her dream of going to college. He was the reason they had to struggle like they did and she hoped wherever he was he lay awake at night thinking about the mistake he made by leaving a pregnant 17 year old in a town like this.

"Good morning sweetie. How'd you sleep?" Her mother was looking up from her book and taking a sip of coffee. Bella loved seeing her mother like this. She didn't look worried about bills or the way her daughter was treated. For a moment it was almost as if they were just like the other families in this town. That moment didn't last long, however, when the lights suddenly went off. Bella sighed because she knew that she forgot to pay the electricity bill last night. If Rosalie hadn't bought their groceries the night before then they wouldn't have had electricity but because of her kindness they would be able to pay it today and get it turned back on. Her mother looked up and sighed again. It was always one thing or another with them. They never got a reprieve and it was starting to take its toll on her.

"I slept fine mom. At least we'll be able to pay the bill today. Just don't forget to do that today on your way to work." Bella went opened one of the cupboards and pulled out a bag of off brand cereal and poured herself a bowl. They couldn't afford milk so they had to eat it dry but it wasn't so bad. She had even grown to like the taste of the off brand cereals but it was still another reminder that they were poor and struggling just to make ends meet. They didn't have a TV or a computer because they couldn't afford cable but they made do with their books. Bella looked at the clock and almost fainted. She had woken up late and only had 30 minutes to make the hour long walk to school. She was going to be late, again. At least the school gave her a pass for being late. They knew her situation and couldn't really blame her for being late when she had to walk an hour just to get to school. She looked out the window and saw that it was raining and hung her head. She just couldn't catch a break. She got up from the table and put her bowl and spoon in the sink. She hugged her mom from behind and grabbed her bag from beside the door. "I love you mom. Have a good day at work!"

"I love you too, sweetie. Don't let those kids get to you. You're so much better than them." Bella just nodded her head and put her hood up as she stepped outside. She was going to be soaked by the time she made it to school but maybe she could see about changing in the gym before going to her first class. Just as she stepped out onto the road to begin her walk a red BMW pulled up next to her and the passenger window rolled down.

"Looks like you could use a ride. Hop in!" Bella stood there for a minute, bewildered about how Rosalie had pulled up exactly when she started walking to school. She shook her head and opened the car door and sat down in the passenger seat. It seemed Rosalie had a habit of showing up at just the right time but Bella wasn't going to complain. She really hadn't been happy about having to walk in the rain.

"Thank you, Rosalie. I don't know how I'm going to be able to pay you back for this and for yesterday." Bella blushed as she looked down at her hands in her lap. She hated feeling like a charity case but for some reason she felt like Rosalie wasn't doing this out of pity for her. She somehow felt that Rosalie was genuinely being nice to her and she didn't know how to handle that, she had never had anyone be nice to her out of anything other than pity.

"It's no problem at all, Bella and if you'll let me I'd like to pick you up from school every day. I don't like the fact that you have to walk because it's way too far for you to walk. Especially in this weather." Rosalie looked over at Bella and noticed that there were some holes in her jacket. She would never allow her mate to walk to school in this weather. She was painfully aware of how frail humans are and wouldn't let her mate put herself in danger. As Rosalie began to pull away from the curb she noticed that there weren't any lights on in Bella's trailer. That was another thing that worried her. If Bella and her mom couldn't afford to pay their bills that meant they had to do without sometimes. Rosalie had to find a way to help Bella and her mom out without them thinking it was charity. She would have to ask Alice what the best way to do it would be.

"You really don't have to do that, Rosalie. You've already done way too much for me. I can't make you go out of your way to come pick me up every morning. I'm sure you could use that time to sleep in." Bella blushed at the thought of Rosalie picking her up from her trailer every day and possibly finding out that they went without electricity or running water for days sometimes. She couldn't let Rosalie find out how poor she really was. If Rosalie did find out, Bella was sure she would begin to treat her the same as everyone else in the school did.

"I'm going to pick you up from school, got it? It's way too cold for you to be walking anyway. Now, on to other topics. What's your favorite band?" Rosalie was trying very hard to keep her possessiveness in check around Bella but she was making it extremely difficult but she was determined to remain normal in front of her mate until the time came to tell her the truth. But she would cross that bridge when she came to it. She could only hope that by then Bella would have fallen in love with her and wouldn't be too scared to continue to be with her. They pulled up to the school then, the crowd of kids hanging around under the walkway all stared at the red sports car as it pulled in to the parking lot and parked next to the silver Volvo they had discovered was the new kids' car.

The staring got even worse as Rosalie and Bella stepped out of the car. The kids assumed that the car must belong to one of the Cullen's but they didn't suspect that Bella would also be in the car. Among the kids staring was Lauren Mallory and she was seething. She was going to make that bitch Rosalie pay for embarrassing her and Bella would be put back in her place today as well. She turned and strutted into the school while Rosalie and Bella walked up to the doors. Someone in the crowd made the mistake of throwing an empty water bottle at Bella but somehow Rosalie caught it before it could hit her.

"Who threw this?" She was visibly seething with anger and her eyes had turned pitch black again. She crushed the bottle in her hand and tried to pick out who it was with her eyes. She finally found him, he was shaking and trying to edge his way behind his friend in an attempt to escape Rosalie's wrath. "You." Rosalie pointed towards him and the crowd parted so that there was no one between them. Mike Newton began to try and stutter out a response as Rosalie stalked towards him but he clamped his mouth shut as she came to stand directly in front of him. "If I ever see you throw anything at her again, or harass her in any way, I will kill you. Got it?" Mike nodded his head as fast as he could, for some reason he felt like if he angered Rosalie anymore his life would actually be in danger and no amount of amusement at Bella's expense was worth that much to him. "That goes for the rest of you as well. If I see or hear anyone making fun of Bella, they'll have to deal with me." With that, Rosalie walked back to Bella and grabbed her hand as she walked towards the doors. Bella was dumbstruck, still staring at Rosalie as they made their way to their first period English class.

"Rosalie…what was that?" Bella glanced back at where the other students were still standing and staring after them. What no one, other than Rosalie, had noticed was that Mike had wet himself while standing in front of Rosalie. She chuckled to herself thinking about the fear that had been radiating off of him. She wanted to kill him right then and there but that would have just created too many problems. She shook her head to get the idea of killing that weasel out of her mind. If she continued to think about that she wasn't sure she would be able to stop herself from going back and crushing his skull.

"I hate how these kids treat you and I'm not going to let them continue to abuse you like that. If I see anyone treating you like that, especially that girl from yesterday. I'll make sure they don't do it again." Rosalie noticed the moment Bella slipped her hand from her grasp and stopped to turn and look at her. Bella was staring down at her shoes and looked like she might cry at any moment.

"I don't need you to do this out of pity. I'm used to it now because it's been like this for as long as I can remember. I can handle it, I promise." Rosalie walked up to Bella and enveloped her in a tight hug. Bella breathed in Rosalie's scent and shuddered. Rosalie's scent calmed her down and made her feel safe. She didn't know what was happening to her but it wasn't like she could control it. She slipped her arms around Rosalie's waist and hugged her closer.

"I'm not doing this out of pity, Bella. I'm doing it because I care about you. Now let's get to class before we're late." Rosalie grabbed Bella's hand again and started to walk towards their class. As they walked in to the room the entire class looked up at them and as soon as Rosalie met their eyes they all looked down. No one wanted to get on her bad side after the show she put on with Mike. Mike was sitting in his desk and he tensed up as they passed him and did everything he could to avoid Rosalie's glare.

"Alright class, today we're going to be working in partners on a project that will be due in a few weeks. I'm going to start handing out the directions for it now. I want you to…" Rosalie began to tune out Ms. Banks after that. This was the perfect opportunity for her to get to know Bella better and start building a bond with her. Rosalie glanced over at Bella and caught her looking back. Bella blushed and looked down, embarrassed at being caught.

"You'll be my partner, won't you?" Rosalie made sure to throw in as much charm as she possessed and batted her eyelashes. Bella just nodded, dumbstruck. Rosalie flashed her most dazzling smile at her. In her head she was planning on how to convince Bella to come over to her house to work on this project, though she didn't think Bella would object too much. "Great! How about we hang out at my house tonight and get started on it? My mom will make us dinner and we may be able to get this thing knocked out way before it's due. That sound good to you?" Once again Bella just nodded. Rosalie's beast purred at the thought of having her mate at her house, in her room. She could barely keep the dirty thoughts from taking over her mind. Just as she was about to give in to her beast and claim her mate the bell rang, releasing them from class. "Will you sit with me and my family at lunch today?" Rosalie wanted Bella to meet and get comfortable with her siblings and tonight she would meet her parents.

"Is that really a good idea? Will they like me?" Rosalie could hear Bella's nervousness and it made her want to do nothing but give her a hug. Rosalie just chuckled and shook her head.

"Trust me, they'll love you. I'll be at your class to walk you there. See ya!" And with that Rosalie took off down the hall, leaving Bella to stare after her. She just shook her head and walked to her next class.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter was split in two because I don't want to make any of these go more than 5k and this was shaping up to be about 7. So I'll hopefully have the next chapter finished and up before the end of the weekend but don't hold me to anything. Stay frosty, friends!