8

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO," screamed Bella as she scrambled out of my bed.

I sat up and looked at her. She was crouched down on the floor in the corner of my room like she didn't know where she was or how she got here. Her eyes were wide as they darted around the room frantically. She looked at me and narrowed her eyes as Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett, and Esme came running in.

"Hey, it's ok, Bell," whispered Carlisle, slowly going over to her. He knelt down in front of her and grabbed her hands in his. Bella was looking around the room again like she was looking for something, or maybe someone. "Look at me. You're ok."

"They aren't here?" asked Bella, barely speaking above a whisper.

"No, they aren't here," whispered Carlisle. Bella nodded her head and let him pull her to her feet.

"I need to go run," muttered Bella. Her hands were shaking slightly.

"Bella, we need to talk about what happened yesterday," said Carlisle.

"I need to go run," said Bella, forcefully. "I'll come right back, I promise."

"Bell…" trialed off Carlisle.

"Car, let her go," said Jasper. He looked over at me. "You have to go with her, though."

"Ok," I said.

"I don't need a babysitter," snapped Bella.

"Seeing as though you ran off like a…"trailed off Jasper. "Apparently, you do. Either he goes with you or you don't run today."

"Fine," muttered Bella, looking over at me. "Don't slow me down."

"I won't," I said.

"Come on, Bella," said Esme. "I'm sure I have some clothes you can run in."

Bella just nodded as she followed Esme out of the room. Carlisle glared at me before he turned and stormed out of the room. Jasper and Emmett both rolled their eyes as they walked out of my room. I wasn't sure what had just happened, or who Bella was looking for, but all I would do is just go with it for now. I quickly changed into a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and my tennis shoes.

I walked out into the living room and found Bella bouncing in her toes. She was wearing a pair of Esme's sweatpants and a long sleeve t-shirt that was a little bit too big for her. It looked like she was also wearing a pair of Esme's tennis shoes. Bella looked over at me for a moment before she turned and headed to the door.

I followed her outside and down the stairs. Bella didn't even look back at me before she took off running. I sighed inwardly and ran after her. I watched her from the corner of my eye as we ran. She almost seemed to be muttering something to herself but I wasn't sure what she was saying. She would clench and unclench her fists over and over like she was trying to stay loose, or preparing to fight. We ran a couple miles through town before Bella stopped and looked back at me. She seemed to be struggling with what to say.

"What did I say last night after we got to the gym?" asked Bella.

"What?" I asked.

"What did I tell you?" she asked. She almost had a look of panic on her face.

"Nothing really," I said. "You took me to some cliffs and asked me if I had ever thought about jumping."

"Oh," she whispered, biting her lip. "Anything else?"

"You kind of admitted that you've thought about…killing yourself," I said, quietly. Bella closed her eyes and turned away. "Did you mean it?"

"Yes," whispered Bella. She turned back to me. There was so much pain in her eyes. "But you can't tell them. Please, don't tell them?"

"Bella, what…why do you want to die?" I asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Bella. "Please, just don't tell them. They will…"

"They will what?" I asked. "Send you away?"

"What…how…" she stammered.

"You told me last night when we got to my place that they wanted to send you away. Send you where?" I asked.

"I can't…" she trailed off. "Look, I don't…Just drop it, ok?"

"You know you can trust me," I said.

"I don't know that," said Bella, sitting down on the curb. I went over and sat down next to her. "Everything is so fucked up right now."

"So I gathered," I sighed. "Carlisle doesn't like me."

"Carlisle doesn't like anyone," said Bella, looking at me. "Don't take it personally. He's just trying to keep me safe."

"I get that," I said.

"Thank you for what you did for me last night," whispered Bella, looking down at her feet. "I haven't slept that good in a really long time."

"But this morning…" I trialed off.

"I woke up in a strange place next to someone I barely know," said Bella, looking up at me. "I freaked out a little. I do that sometimes."

"I guess I get that," I muttered.

"It's not personal," she said.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"No, I mean it, Edward. It's not personal. I just don't let many people in but…" Bella looked away from me.

"But what?" I asked.

"I don't have friends, Edward," whispered Bella. "I haven't in a long time."

"I don't either," I said. "Except for you."

"Me?" she asked, looking back at me. "But I don't like you."

"Yet, here you are talking to me," I smiled.

"Yeah," she smiled back, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'll understand if you don't want to be my friend, Bella," I said, shaking my head. "It's just that when you've moved around as much as I have, you learn pretty quickly not to get attached to anyone. I guess I just though that maybe you and I could be friends."

"I want that, Edward," said Bella. "But you saw what happened with Lauren yesterday. Being friends with the crazy girl isn't going to help your reputation."

"Do I look like I care about my reputation?" I asked. "And you're not crazy."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Bella. "I admitted to having suicidal thoughts."

"Point made, but now that you have me as a friend, you won't need to kill yourself," I smirked.

"Oh, is that it works?" asked Bella with a real smiled. "All I needed is a friend and all my problems just go away."

"No, but at least you won't be alone anymore," I said, standing up. "Now, we had better get back before Carlisle thinks I've dragged you to Tijuana and sold you for drugs or something."

"Oh, Pretty Boy, haven't you heard the latest rumor about me?" laughed Bella. "I'm Forks' resident drug dealer."

"Heard that one," I said, rolling my eyes. "Some people will believe anything."

"Yeah, they will," muttered Bella. She shook her head slightly. "Let's go."

Bella took off running again so I followed her. As we ran back to my apartment, I caught her looking back at me several times like she wasn't sure I was really here or something. We ran up the backstairs and into mine and Esme's apartment. Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, and Esme were all sitting in an awkward silence.

"Nice run?" asked Emmett.

"Yeah," muttered Bella.

"Both of you sit down," ordered Carlisle. Bella and I pulled a couple of chairs from the kitchen table over and sat down. "We have to talk about what happened yesterday."

"It's not a big deal," said Bella.

"Bella, another student threw a coke in your face," said Esme, leaning up from her seat on the couch. "That is a huge deal. Now, I need to know what happened before I pull her little ass to my office and chew it out. Is she going to tell me that you provoked her?"

"She might tell you that I called her a whore the other day," mumbled Bella. Emmett snorted as he tried to squash his laugher. Jasper was clearly biting the inside of his cheek while Carlisle just say there looking indifferent.

"Ok, why did you call her a whore?" asked Esme.

"Cause she is one?" asked Bella.

"Bella," warned Carlisle.

"Fine, I kind of ran into her in the hallway pushing her into Edward. She called me a freak, I called her a whore. Then yesterday, she decided to throw a coke in my face. I would have beat her nasty, STD, ass but pretty boy here-"

"My name is Edward, not pretty boy," I smirked looking at her. "But thanks for saying I'm pretty."

"Keep that shit up and we won't be friends, Opie." Bella rolled her eyes and looked back at everyone. Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper were staring at her with their mouths wide open while Esme was staring at me with a cocked eyebrow.

"What?" we said at the same time.

"You two are friends?" they all asked.

"Yes," we answered.

"Ok, so Eddie here-"

"EDWARD, not Eddie," I snapped, interrupting Emmett. He rolled his eyes.

"So EDWARD here stopped you from beating that bitches ass," said Emmett.

"Yes," muttered Bella.

"Why would you do that?" asked Carlisle, turning to me. "She threw a coke in her face and you didn't let her beat her ass?"

"I didn't want her to get into trouble," I sighed.

"Hmm," snorted Carlisle, looking back at Bella. "So where were you all day since you didn't go to class?"

"We just hung out down at first beach," shrugged Bella.

"Look, Bella, I know you were upset about Miss Mallory throwing the drink on you but you cannot leave school whenever you feel like it. Now, I will be handling Miss Mallory-"

"Don't," said Bella. "Just let it go. She's not worth it and I will get my revenge on her but all you're going to do is make things worse."

"Bella, it's my job to make the school a safe place for all of you," said Esme.

"It's high school," scoffed Bella.

"So?"

"Esme, do you remember high school?" I asked. "I mean I know it was forever ago," Esme flipped me off, "but it probably hasn't changed much since you were there."

"Look, let's move on," said Carlisle, before Esme could say anything. "Where did you go after you left the gym last night?"

"Back to first beach," lied Bella.

"Try again, we went there," said Jasper.

"It doesn't matter where we went, ok," muttered Bella, uncomfortably. "We were safe. We talked and it got cold so Edward brought me here…it's not a big deal, ok?"

"Bella-"

"Carlisle, please don't?" whispered Bella. I could see the tears building up in her eyes. "Please? I can't go back that place again. Please don't give up on me."

"Bella, you have to deal with…" trailed off Carlisle, looking from her to me and back to her. "We'll talk about it later, ok?"

"Ok," whispered Bella.

"I expect both of you to be ready to work your asses off this afternoon after missing your training yesterday," said Carlisle, standing up. "If this happens again, I beat both your asses. Am I clear?"

"Yes," we both muttered.

"Ok," said Carlisle. "Bella, you don't have time to run back to the gym to change for school so I guess you will have to wear what you wore yesterday."

"She can borrow something of mine," smiled Esme. Bella looked at me with a look of pure horror on her face.

"She can borrow one of my shirts," I said quickly. Esme rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I get it. My clothes aren't hip enough," she grumbled. "Hurry up and get ready for school."

Bella and I quickly stood up and went into my room. I pulled out my Who t-shirt and tossed it to her. She smiled and nodded before she turned and went out to Esme's room to get dressed. I guess that means she is a fan of The Who. I went into the bathroom and quickly cleaned up before I pulled on my jeans and a black graphic tee with a flaming guitar on it. I pulled on my chunks and went back out to the living room. Bella was wearing her jeans from yesterday and her long sleeve shirt but she had my shirt over it.

"You want to ride with me?" she asked.

"Sure," I said.

"I don't think so," smirked Carlisle. Bella and I both looked over at him. "You are grounded from your bike for the next few days. You can ride with Esme and Edward to school."

"Fucking kill me now," groaned Bella.