Disclaimer: I don't own the characters etc etc, just a love to tinker with them!
A different beginning
Part 3 – MixedPOV – Chapter 1 – CPOV
As we made our way thru the dark forest we took care to make some noises as soon as we heard the music coming from Bella's house. When the trees thinned out before the river I could see the brown haired young girl twirling like a dervish to the loud music. When we landed after jumping the river I saw her still and then sink to the floor and curl up with her arms around her raised knees. She was facing in our direction but resting her forehead on her knees so I couldn't see her eyes. There was a patio on the river side of the house and as we approached it I heard her voice clearly over the music.
"The patio door is unlocked, please come in" she said and reached for the remote to turn off the music.
I opened the door and we all entered the sparsely furnished living room. The scents of paint, wallpaper paste and sawdust was strong but it was no doubt that her own scent was the sweet floral so typical of vampires. I stood a few moments regarding the small form before me. She was probably no more than 5'4" and I felt my 6'2" to be too menacing as she seemed positively terrified. A quick glance at Jasper and then Edward confirmed my suspicion as Edward nodded slightly. Kneeling slowly before her I introduced myself as reassuringly as I possibly could.
"Good evening, Bella. I am Carlisle and I am the father of this family. We come in peace to welcome you to Forks."
"Umm… Thanks… I'm Bella, as you already know. I have no family…" she replied without looking up. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you but I had no idea anyone like me lived here when I choose to move here. I have met a few others before, in Texas and New Mexico, but I didn't like them and moved back north instead were I have never met anyone before…"
My heart went out to this poor, lonely, girl sitting before me. I was momentarily distracted by the fact that she didn't call us vampires and wondered if it was because she didn't like it, or if she didn't even know that's what we are. And she still refused to look at us so I had no idea of what she would think of our dietary choice, or what she had indeed chosen herself.
"Bella, why won't you look at us?" I asked softly.
"Umm… No thanks, I had such a nice image of umm… Edward that I don't want to spoil…" she replied hesitantly and curled up further.
"Nice?" Edward exclaimed. "I killed you! Took your life from you! Destroyed it! I saw your expression, you looked so angry and betrayed when I left, it has haunted me ever since. You are right to hate me…"
I knew my son well enough to know how much this must have bothered him thru the years. We all felt betrayed in one way or another that our lives had been altered beyond repair by our transformations. But Bella's reply stunned me deeply; just as I'm sure the others felt too.
"Destroyed? Hate? No! You gave me life! Yes I felt angry and betrayed at first when you left because I wanted to die. You have no idea what my life was like and how much I have enjoyed myself since. If you had stayed I could have told you… I spent so many years looking for you before I came to the conclusion that you were an angel sent to save me and not meant to be found. I don't know what, why or how you did it, but I could never ever hate you for it! I just thought you hated me for not being able to live your kind of life…"
I looked into my family's stunned faces as Bella's word sunk in. She must have learnt enough about vampires to know that our family's golden eyes meant we didn't hunt humans. I turned back to face her again and gently asked her to tell us everything. With a sigh she complied.