Chapter one: The party

Author's note: I think it speaks for itself that I don't own Twilight. I'm not planning on using the entire original plot of anything post twilight either, I'm starting off with the Cullen's leaving at the beginning of New Moon but even that is going to be different from the original version. Bear with me, I'm going to try to upload more regularly but I can't make any promises. Thanks!

Six years earlier

She realised later that her body had been aching in different places as she sat on the cold wooden floor surrounded by glass shards. Some of them were imbedded in her arm, others in the back of her thighs and calves due to her eventually landing on her behind when she couldn't find the right way to land. Those were the only ones she had noticed straight away in the heat of the moment. It had been hard for her to focus on the pain once the panic and terror had set in. She had been about to ask what was happening, her hand against her bloody arm, her chest heaving when her hands starting shaking and a shiver crept over her, starting at the back of her neck before making its way over her entire body.

The living room had been eerily quiet. No laughing, no stumbling, no talking, no creaking of the floorboards, no moving, no blinking, nothing. It only took her a fraction of a second to raise her head and see the scene in front of her. All seven vampires in front of her had frozen like characters in a paused video game, they had never looked more like marble statues to her before. In the years that would slowly follow, Bella would often dream about them like this. Like statues standing in the back of her dreams and nightmares, always watching her, always making her chest ache as she longed for them to fill the absence they had left.

The only thing she had been able to hear was her own quick-paced breathing, she could feel her heartbeat thumping away harshly in her chest. It felt like it had split into several rough pieces and moved to different places in her body, she felt like her body was throbbing painfully with fear and adrenaline.

She hadn't realised in that moment that her chest and hand had been hurting as well. It wouldn't be until later, when she was all alone in her bed with bandages over even the tiniest of cuts that she realised they were hurting too but in a different way.

"Would you prefer to lay down?" Carlisle had murmured after he had tried to ease the tension between her and his family. She hadn't realised she had closed her eyes, so she opened them at once, frowning at his question.

He chuckled at her confused expression, "You have a tendency to faint when there's blood, Bella." He said quietly as he looked at the several blood soaked tissues and gauze in the metal bowl next to him. "Oh," she said, her throat feeling dry like sandpaper, "I think I'm okay."

"Really?" He asked quizzically, stopping his movements on her leg for a few seconds to look at her. "When did that change?" He asked as he returned back to cleaning the small cuts on the back of her calf.

"I don't know." She said with a frown, trying to think back of the last time blood made her uneasy. "I guess that the last time I was surrounded by my own blood I was in so much I didn't have time to think about it." He nodded sadly at her reply.

"Quite understandable."

Her chest felt tender and almost raw, it was the exact spot were Edward had placed his hand to push her away from the dangerous situation unfolding in front of her. Whilst her hand had tried to break her fall when her body had slammed against the hardwood floor and now felt stiff and uncomfortable as she tried to close the buttons of her new pyjama blouse. She had only managed to close three, she sighed and placed her hands on the counter in front of her. Her eyes were staring at the painful spot on her chest, there was a deep, dark blue bruise that neither Edward nor Carlisle knew about.

"It's none of their business." She murmured to herself as she struggled to close the rest of her buttons.

"Bella?" Edward whispered outside the door.

"Get back into my room!" She whispered back in a rush, "What if Charlie hears you?" She wasn't sure if he had listened to her until she opened the door to leave the bathroom, the door of her bedroom was closed. She braced herself before going in, trying to keep a straight back as she walked in.

"Edward?" She asked once she was safely situated in her bed, buried beneath warm blankets. A single drop of water made its way down the side of the glass he had placed on her night table as he slowly turned around to look at her with a pained and tense expression. When he didn't say anything she continued, "Are you coming over tomorrow?"

He sighed and looked down at his shoes, they weren't as shiny as they had been at the beginning of the evening. There were a few dark brown scratches on them. She remembered how Jasper had struggled in his arms after the ten very tense and painful seconds of complete and utter silence. She remembered how they had nearly toppled over each other in a mess of arms and legs as he tried to keep him away from her before Emmett and Carlisle eventually joined in to drag him away.

His brows furrowed as he moved his head into her direction, but his eyes didn't meet hers. They landed somewhere on her cheek instead, making her frown.

"I think it's best if you rest tomorrow, Bella."

"But-"

"You heard what Carlisle said," he started firmly, his voice sounded rough almost like he had a sore throat or had just woken up from a long nap. "You need your rest, so I won't be coming over tomorrow."

She bit her lip and glared at him, "What about the day after tomorrow?"

He looked at her forehead this time and attempted a half smile which didn't reach his eyes before nodding at her and quickly turning around towards her window.

She relaxed slightly, sinking further into the fluffy pillows behind her. "Bye." She sighed as she watched him climb out carefully.

He looked up, meeting her eyes this time. His eyes were as dark as the night sky behind him, his eyes were intense, his jaw clenched. "Bye, Bella. Sweet dreams."

The next had gone by at a snail's pace to Bella. Knowing Edward wasn't going to come over didn't stop her from texting him, but he didn't reply. She was huffing so much that even Charlie had asked if everything was okay.

"Did something else happen at the party?" He asked with a serious expression on his face.

"What," she started, "no, of course not."

"Are you sure?"

"Dad-"

"Because I seem to remember you very firmly telling your lover boy and best friend that you didn't want a party."

She just looked at him with confusion on her face.

"Don't look at me like that Bells," he said, "if you don't want to do something then you don't have to do it and I don't want anyone forcing you into something that you don't want."

"Dad," she started softly, touched by the sentiment of his words, "I know I wasn't into the whole birthday party plan, but nothing happened."

He raised his brows as he looked at the bandages on her arm.

"Besides from me being ridiculously clumsy and tripping over my own feet."

He snorted and turned the volume of the television up. "You're going to have to learn to watch your step Bells." He murmured, "Before you break something, again."

She wanted to smile, but couldn't bring herself to as she checked her cell phone yet again. No messages from Edward. She unlocked it and started a new message.

To Alice: Is everything okay over there? I hope Jasper's alright.

She couldn't make herself go to sleep later that night, she continued tossing and turning until it was nearly four in the morning. She had to plug in her phone since she kept checking it so much, making the battery run down quicker. Grabbing it with another annoyed sigh she opened it to check again, knowing there wasn't going to be any new messages. She had texted Edward and Alice almost a dozen times over the course of the day. She had even ended up sending messages to the rest of the family, including Rosalie. But still nothing.

"Where are you off to on this fine Sunday morning?" Charlie jokingly said as Bella rushed down the stairs much earlier then usual. Her phone was clenched tightly in her hand and her eyes were slightly wider than usual which made him frown, "Are you okay, Bells?"

It took her a few seconds to realise how she looked, she tried to relax her shoulders and attempted a nonchalant smile. "I'm fine." She started, "I just wasn't that tired going to bed yesterday so I guess that's why I'm up earlier today."

She was about to grab her coat when Charlie raised from his chair, "Hold your horses for a damn minute," he said with a bigger frown, "you haven't even had breakfast yet."

"I'm not hungry."

"Well, you can't just show up at their house this early Bella."

"How do you know where I'm going?"

He just raised his brows as a response. "I'm not an idiot, Bella."

"They're expecting me." She blurted out, "Alice has a whole girly day planned."

"Really?" Charlie said cynically. She just nodded in reply. He sighed and waved her off, "Well, have fun then, I guess."

Bella smiled, grabbed her coat and keys and rushed outside.

She didn't know what to think as she sat frozen in her car in front of their big house. Several things rushed through her mind at once. Her fingers were gripping the steering wheel in front of her tightly, her fingers turning white. Her jaw was clenched, making her jaw feel weird and her eyes still darted to her phone laying on the passenger's seat next to her. When she had woken up after her brief interlude of sleep, she instantly tasted the air of dread that lingered in the air. Like she knew something was wrong before even checking the phone. No messages, no missed calls. She felt like a fool every time she checked the damned little thing, but she couldn't stop herself from doing so.

She felt like her brain was being tossed around as her big truck sped over the rough pathway that lead to their house, she clenched her hands tighter along the wheel to make sure she wouldn't drift off the tracks. She came to an abrupt stop once she saw the house. The usually very inviting and warm house looked cold and empty even the trees surrounding it looked like all life had been sucked out of them. The candles and balloons which had decorated the pathway to the house were gone just like the flowers and plants which usually stood in their fancy pots closer to the front door. The elegant welcome mat that used to be right in front of the front door wasn't there either. Bella remembered the day Esme had been scolding Emmett and Jasper for the mud that had been coating their shoes as they ran back into the house.

"What-" She said to herself, not being able to finish her sentence as the rest of her words stocked in her throat. She turned of the car and swung open the door before rushing towards the cold looking house.

Peering through the window she saw nothing. No people, no furniture, no television, no PlayStation, no pictures, no cosy throw pillows, no elegant beige couch, no fascinating art on the walls, nothing. She didn't notice her hands were shaking until she placed one of them on the door knob in front of her, she was surprised when it opened. The big house that usually made her feel right at home, was now empty and void of everything that made her feel at home. Her small and hesitant steps echoed through the massive open and empty space.

There were no marks of life anywhere, no scratches of moved furniture, no smudges on the pristine white walls. It was like she showed up at a new-build project. She could almost hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears, her stocking and shaky breath felt painful and sharp in her chest and throat.

It took her a few minutes before she realised she heard something, but it only took her five more seconds to realise she had been chanting 'no no no no' under her breath all along. Salty tears filled her eyes, the suddenness of it made them sting.

She clenched her eyes shut and balled her hands into fists next to her body, almost placing her chin against her chest as she tried to not loose her mind right there and then. Her fingers ached in protest at the tightness of her grip.

"I don't understand what's happening." She gasped out as tears escaped her closed eyes and created hot lines on her warm cheeks.

"We're leaving, Bella." Edward's voice croaked behind her.