BPOV
When I was 6 and my parents were still in the middle of their ugly custody battle, which my dad inevitably lost, A young couple moved into the house next to us. My mother, Renee, had relied on the kindness of strangers a little too much and would often leave me with the neighbours. I usually had a note pinned to my overalls when I was sent there, notes that I usually threw in the trash before walking up the front steps to James and Victoria's beautiful house where I had my own room and my own things. Renee would often come to pick me up well after midnight and it would be a battle just to get me awake enough to walk back over to our much smaller house. Then hours later we would start back up again and I would be sent back over. I remember shouting at my mother to just let me live with them since they were more my parents than she was. Renee cried and told me to go to my "room" which was a small pantry just off the kitchen. Surprisingly it had a window and every morning I'd wake up to a small note and an apple, which I knew had come from Victoria's apple tree.
Growing up I had realized that my mother as trying her best and I started to resist her less and started helping with things like groceries and yard work. I still had gone to James and Victoria's for lunch or when I needed help with my school work.
I found it odd that whenever Charlie came to visit we'd go over for a few hours for dinner and they'd talk as if they were old friends.
It wasn't till a couple years ago when I was 15 and driving in a car with a boy that my mother warned me about, drinking a liquid that my dad forbade me from drinking, when we crashed into a tree. The boy, whose name i barely remember, had lived with minor injuries. He was knocked out when I pushed us out of the car, but my leg was bleeding and I could tell that I was losing a lot of blood. I quietly whispered a goodbye to my parents when I felt pressure on my leg and heard the faint sound of Victoria's voice singing me to sleep.
I woke up in their house on the coffee table. James was stitching up my leg and murmuring about the boy I was with, threatening to drain him and leave him at the side of the road.
After that we were inseparable. While my mother was off with her new fiance, a small time baseball player, I spent a considerable amount of time with James and Victoria who eventually broke down and told me that they were vampires, but only after I badgered them non stop. They told me all about their world and their laws. It intrigued me and that's when my dad remarried and brought Sue down to Florida to meet us. She was skeptical of their general attitude, but let them in graciously with open arms.
It was all so fast the I didn't think that there were more vampires, let alone whole covens.
"Do you think Charlie knew they were vampires?" I asked, breaking the long silence between Victoria and I.
"Honestly?" I nodded. "He knew everything." I laughed.
"Should we head back?" I asked, looking a the sky that was slowly turning various shades of purple and pink.
"probably. I bet Sue is worried sick." Victoria said, standing up and stretching her legs out. She pulled me up and we headed back towards the house.
"There's the famous daughter of our beloved Chief of police." A beautiful, pale blonde man said. He had a doctors bag and a small notepad with some of my medical history scribbled on it in neat handwriting.
"Bella, this is Doctor Cullen" Sue introduced warily.
"Oh no need for formalities, Carlisle is just fine." He said with a twinkling smile.
"Okay, Hello Doctor Carlisle." I murmured. Searching behind him for the man from earlier, the alleged "God of War"
"I understand you had a bit of a fainting spell?" Doctor Cullen asked, shining a little light in my eyes. I swatted him away.
"I didn't consent to this!" I shouted, Victoria was quick to my right, James at my right.
"Okay, no worries. I apologize." The doctor said with a grin. I blindly reached for Victoria's hand.
"She's fine. I checked her out myself." Victoria said, pulling me closer.
"I understand, I wasn't sure." The doctor said, putting away his papers. "I guess you know of our kind." He said in a quieter tone. I nodded and he let out a breath.
"She's grown up with us." James said.
"I can see that. I'm sorry if my son, Jasper, gave you a fright."
"It wasn't him." I said quickly, defending a man I barely knew. I wasn't sure what else to say so I walked away.
"Bells! Come join us!" Jacob called, waving me over tot he fire pit. "We got some drinks and some stories, Dad said he'll tell us about the wolf Charlie almost caught with his bare hands."
"Coming!" I smiled, heading towards the dwindling group of people seated around the fire.