To Catch a Dream: After moving to a new town, Bella Swan receives love letters in the post, addressed to the previous tenant of the home she now occupies. The letters, with no return address, are written so beautifully that Bella cannot help but be taken by the sweet words of the unknown.
Hi Everyone, this was my submission to the 2019 Babies at the Border Compilation. This is a WIP. I was not sure about posting this, but then thought, you know what, what the heck because it's posting day. Ive got some draft chapters to continue this, but I think I'll see how everyone feels about it! If by chance, ya'll love it and want some more, I might try to start updating regularly in the summer time after Boy in the Backyard and Behind the Screen finish up.
Thanks to Fran for beta'ing.
Chapter 1
961 Sonny Lane.
This was a street address Bella Swan had heard of before. In fact, she remembered it well, but for all the wrong reasons.
Years ago, before her family came to the United States from Ireland, 961 Sonny Lane was the setting of news articles that floated around the state like the plague. Nothing ever came of them; no more than a missing girl who left behind her belongings. The Daily Journal, a state-wide news report, said it was as if she had fallen off the face of the earth; vanished into thin air. This eruption of stories caused a panic in her mother as they began to plan their move only a few towns over.
It was said that the home had been empty; abandoned shortly after the 'incident.'
However, the house and property had been maintained in recent years by an unknown entity, and as Bella approached, she saw it was true.
The beautiful, navy blue, cape cod-style home built in the early 1900s was something from a vintage film. It stretched across a picture-perfect lawn, adorned at the borders with eye- catching flowers. Two white pillars stood on concrete stairs, supporting a large porch, complete with rocking chairs framing the perfectly inviting front door. It matched the rest of the neighborhood, creating an atmosphere of peace and serenity.
The walkway was warm and inviting, too, as if to lure you in, she thought. A smirk appeared on her face as she stared down at the scrambled handwriting on the yellow paper in her hand.
Bella loved scary stories of all kinds; she grew up with them. So, when the well-known home went up on the market only blocks away from the university, all the average buyers scurried away from the cheap price tag, still tarnished by its history.
That was when Bella jumped on it.
Just because she loved the horror in the stories, didn't mean she believed in them.
Being one in the same as the main characters in many frightening stories did that to you. And most of them, after being heard so often, became table chatter that members of her family would laugh over. Descending from a long line of witches, Bella knew better to believe in most. Of course, this was not something she advertised to others.
Witches of her kind were so few and far between that there were no significant rules, other than the obvious of not letting yourself be locked in a government facility. But her personal preference and meager knowledge of pop culture meant that between the light accent she held on to throughout her years in the states and any mention of magic, she was sure to be asked where her lightning scar and wand were. It was a silly idea, she thought, using a wooden stick when you could just use your hands. Or muttering words out loud. Spells, if you could call them that, weren't a thing spoken ... they were secret. How the norms complicated their profession so—it was really quite simple. One's magic matured with age.
The serene atmosphere of the neighborhood didn't last much longer as a large, uproarious red truck with large round fenders bolted around the corner. It seemed to be pushing its top speed, the tires shrieking loudly as it slammed to a stop in front of the mailbox next to Bella's new home. It was so close that Bella sucked in a gasp of breath, internally praying the car didn't hit the rear of her small, blue, VW Beetle.
The sudden halt of the vehicle caused Bella to jump as she moved up the driveway, attempting to get closer to her newly acquired house in an attempt to avoid confrontation with her new neighbors. This was as far as she could go as she was due to meet the person with the keys on the front porch in only a few minutes. She thought about trying to hide behind one of the chairs but decided against it when a chill ran down her spine. She took a seat on the stairs, not wanting to disturb the stillness of the white rockers. She decided this would be far enough away from the new neighbors ... they wouldn't approach her here— hopefully.
Bella expected news of this house finally gaining new ownership would be enough to get people strolling by to see just how odd this new owner was. To the quaint town of Forks, it was deemed a ghost house—and everyone was too afraid to disturb the pieces of the past.
Bella bit her lip as she peered over the side of the porch to see who was getting out of the enormous truck. She could see the two men in the front and passenger seat peering straight at her car, moving their eyes to suddenly stop on her.
She felt the familiar heat of a blush begin to creep up the corners of her face as they narrowed their eyes further between her beetle and her. Bella could feel the tension rising in her spine. The air was thick, but with what, she did not know.
Unwelcomeness? Confrontation? Were they going to approach her? As she held them in her sight, she held her breath.
She could possess all the magic in the world—but it didn't mean she was good about dealing with people. She hated unnecessary interaction just as much as the next person. Bella bit her lip as the two men continued to stare. The driver began to get out of the truck, moving slowly to the passenger door, his eyes never leaving her direction.
She returned it, attempting to hide her own peering eyes through the curtain of her long, brunette hair.
The man driving was tall and lanky, wearing dark jeans and a buttoned-up shirt. His wavy blonde hair was pulled messily into a small bun behind his ears. Bella imagined it would hit the top of his shoulders had he let it down. His nose was long and crooked—like he'd been in one too many fights. The bottom half of his face was covered in a light shadow. She glanced up to find his eyes a piercing blue still staring before turning to look over at the man he was aiding. He was older, but good looking at first glance, though she couldn't help but find something to be off about him.
After the man opened the door, he reached in the bed of the truck to pull out a folded contraption.
A wheelchair.
The older man sitting in the passenger seat was angry. And he kept staring, furrowing his graying brows. He looked like an older, meaner version of who Bella assumed was his son. Bella rolled her eyes down the man's body, stopping at his neck. He was dressed nice, church clothes Bella determined, with the time and the day of the week, but the clothes didn't little to pull her eyes on the marred skin surrounding his neck at the top of his collar.
She knew enough about fire to know what its marked looked like after touching human skin.
She sucked in a breath. If she got that good a look from a distance, she didn't want to see it closer.
The younger man lifted his father from the cab, setting him gently into the wheelchair he unfolded.
"Do you not see the No Trespassing signs?" The old man bellowed from across the yard, his stare searing. He looked angrier than before, and his son jumped slightly from the hardness of his tone.
Bella stared, unsure of what to say, eyes peering around the front yard to find this 'No Trespassing' sign he was referring to. Of course, she wasn't trespassing, she owned the damn house, but apparently, the neighbors had not been notified.
"Damn, kid. Scram! Leave! Get off the property! What are you waiting for?" The old man bellowed, his arms coming down on the wheel brakes of his chair, causing his son to halt in their path toward their house.
Bella stood, shocked at the man's further outburst. Her eyes widened as she came down the stairs, leaving the bag she was clutching to her side on the step.
The old man turned, knocking his son's arms from the back with the quickened pace.
"What are you, some frilly reporter looking for a new story? Do you get off on young girls going missing so you can finally have something to report back to your leeches? Get off the fucking property!"
"Um, I'm not trespassing. It's my prop—" Bella started to say, raising her thin arms in front of her face, stopping once she hit the sidewalk by her mailbox.
"You gotta be real' crazy in the head for me to believe that child —" The man rolled towards her, his expression growing grimmer with each turn of the wheels.
Bella could feel the heat rising in her arm—a natural, controllable defense of her kind. She pulled it behind her back in an attempt to conceal the shaking. She bit her lip but kept a straight face, looking directly into the man's eyes.
His rant was cut off by the opening of the door to the front of the neighbor's house. A man, taller, but similar in build to the young blonde man ran down the steps to see what the ruckus was.
"What is going on out here? Uncle Marcus?" This new man was seething…and smoldering. Bella was glad she was biting her lip to keep her poker face steady, or she'd be scrambling to pick her jaw up off the ground. The man was angry, but the fire in his green eyes made the heat turn up in places Bella didn't know could get hotter. Her eyes widened when he looked between his uncle and her, messy auburn hair falling into his eyes. It was hard not to rake hers over this man, who, not to sound like an odd witch, looked like an angel. She didn't believe in any of that, but if someone like him was waiting for her at the pearly gates, she'd attend church every Sunday.
"Uh…" was all she could get out. Her eyes widened as the man stared at her expectantly.
She did notice he seemed to linger on her longer than the others.
Can't let that go unnoticed.
"This bi- "the old man started but was cut off by the red-haired man.
"Enough with the yelling, Uncle Marcus. Jasper?"
"The usual, Edward. This reporter or whatever is loitering on the old Brandon property and won't leave. Dad saw her when we pulled up from church, and he's pissed." The blonde man, now known as Jasper, answered, reaching to pull the handles of 'cranky jerk,' now known as Marcus's chair back so he couldn't reach out in attempt to attack. Bella has only known the man for a few minutes, but she didn't put it past him.
She shook out her fist behind her back to ward off the final feeling of her defense magic.
Edward's eyes narrowed but widened as he looked at the sleek, square watch on his wrist. The device dinged with a reminder that caught the handsome man's attention for a second.
"First off, I am not a reporter, I'm- "
"Bella?" Edward finished, green eyes widening as he looked embarrassed as he finished reading the reminder on his watch, "shit."
"Uh yeah…"
In the midst of the ruckus, Bella failed to notice the sleek, red, Denali Realty car pulling around her beetle into the driveway. The sound of a door slamming caught the attention of everyone. A tall, statuesque woman with hair pinned back tightly, stepped out, smiling at everyone with a grin whose wattage could challenge the sun. She was dressed in a pantsuit that matched her flashy car; eyes wide.
"What's going on? Edward, did you give Bella here her keys?"
Edward recovered quickly, "Sorry, Tan. I was just getting there; Mom needed some help this morning." He reached into the pocket of his dark brown jacket to toss a set of keys to Bella.
Tanya smiled at the other two men, greeting them, "what perfect timing, too. Excited to see what your mom cooked up for Sunday brunch, Edward. Bella, we're all set! Come along, and we will go let you inside, and you can start unpacking."
"Edward, are you and Miss Priss here going to do something about this woman?" Marcus yelled from the top of the driveway, not catching the tail end of the conversation. Tanya frowned, catching on to what was occurring.
"Edward, why don't you and Jasper take him inside? I know what he's trying to do."
"I apologize for my uncle's behavior, Bella. I should have been out here earlier if I knew you had arrived. I was helping my mother, your neighbor, with something inside. He's not used to the idea of someone living here. It's been vacant for so long—those keys there should be everything you need—front door, back door, attic, and shed in the back." Edward smiled a crooked grin in Bella's direction as he hastily gave the explanation. He began to turn away, "We're on the porch out back, Tanya, whenever you're done." He touched the woman's back before turning his attention to his uncle and cousin at the top of the driveway.
Bella watched as he started talking to his uncle, who, in turn, gave Bella a glare that could rival the devil.
"So, are you ready to go inside?" Tanya's smile was back, full wattage beaming into Bella's confused eyes.
AN: Let me know what you think and if you want me to continue!
Happy Reading!
Sarah