Chapter Two

I didn't know what to think about the Cullens, when they would come into the cafeteria, but I hadn't thought I would be greeted with the sight that was in front of me. A sight that let me know there was a reason why Jessica was enthusiastic about the Cullens being here.

The first two Cullens that entered the cafeteria were a boy and girl, both of them shared the same striking golden hue for eyes. They both had so pale skin that it was borderline blue from how pale it was. The lighting in the cafeteria and the dreariness of the environment outside only made them look even more pale and ghost-like. They were both dressed in high end winter clothes–sweaters that probably were in the hundreds when it came to price (both had light gray hued sweaters), along with designer jeans and high-end boots.

The girl was extremely tall, she hovered over all the other girls that were in the cafeteria. Her high heeled black leather boots weren't helping it either, she seemed to embrace the fact that she was taller than the other girls. She had a beautiful figure. A figure of thick hips and breasts but a waist that thin, she could have a future as either a supermodel or one of the playboy bunnies. The only problem was she had such a cold, stone essence resonating from her anyone would think before even making comments that could be degrading or insulting.

"That's Rosalie Hale, the guy next to her is Emmett Cullen. They are foster siblings, and they are with each other, dating!"

The boy, no man, that was next to Rosalie Hale was only three inches taller than the girl and reminded me more of an undercover cop that had been placed in a high school to find out who was selling drugs to the students. One of his arms was wrapped around the girl's waist and the other one was stuffed into one of the pockets of his jeans. He had his lips turned upwards, a smirk dancing across his lips, as though he knew he was worth being stared at.

"Then there's Jasper Hale, Rosalie's twin, and Alice Cullen. She's Emmett's foster sibling. They are dating also!"

The next girl that came into the cafeteria was not even five feet, she was in the high four feet but obviously she was the shortest girl in the high school. She had obsidian hair that was chopped around her in a beautiful, artistic manner with all the pieces going everywhere in different directions. Her features were so soft and lightly pointed, her eyes were large and insect-like. Her eyes were the same brilliant golden hue as the rest of her siblings (in fact, I would notice how all the Cullens had golden eyes. They said that they had an eye condition, and they were adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife. Rosalie and Jasper were Mrs. Cullen's niece and nephew, she adopted them after her sister and her husband died).

The boy that came in next to her held one of her tiny hands in his larger hand. His hair was a canary blond and cascaded in curls around his thin and bony shoulder blades. He was less bulky than his foster brother, Emmett, though he still had the body of someone who worked out. His eyes were flickering everywhere, their hue was so dark it was almost impossible for one to tell if they were gold or black unless his eyes stopped moving around the place.

I went to turn around to look at my tray of food in front of me only for one last golden eyed member of the Cullen family to come striding into the cafeteria. He had beautiful auburn hued hair that fell in an artistic manner upon his head, a few pieces fell in front of one of his eyes and he shared the same bluish-white pale skin. He was the least bulky, but still quite lean, with a small side upwards smile upon his lips as though he knew something that was funny but no one else had heard the joke.

"What about him?" I couldn't help but quietly point out, hoping I wouldn't be saying something too loud to gain his attention.

Jessica perked up as she informed me, "oh, that's Edward Cullen. He's the only one not dating anyone...don't waste your time though. Apparently cute girls with awesome personalities aren't his type."

Jessica shot a fire-like glare towards Edward, evidence she must have been the 'cute girl with an awesome personality' that had asked him out. I knew what it was like though, and without hesitation I reached my hand out and put it on her arm.

"Trust me, I'm way ahead of you! Last time I was interested in a guy…" I stopped, realizing what I would have said if I had continued. Jessica craned her head to the side, waiting patiently for me to tell her what had happened when I had last been interested in someone because it didn't end up good.

I blushed and shook my head. "Um…let's just say that it didn't turn out well in the end."

I wrapped my hand around the locket, my fingers brushing against the engraving of the locket–a few tears threatening to rise within my tear ducts as I could feel my daughter's name underneath my fingers. I had barely pulled my hand away when a hand reached out and grabbed the locket so they could have a better look at what the locket had said.

My eyes widened as Mike Newton said, "who the hell is Avalyn? And why does it feel like there's something inside of this locket?"

I shoved him away from me, since his hand was still holding the locket only for the locket to come undone from the chain and go flying away from our table. My eyes widened once more in terror as I rushed over to the locket, hearing behind me from Mike, "what the hell is your problem? It's just a locket. Don't know why you're being dramatic."

Without hesitation I turned around from running towards the fallen locket to look at Mike. I looked at the boy in front of me, who had nothing as traumatizing as what had happened to me. He didn't get a girl pregnant and then found out that said girlfriend had a miscarriage. Not a small miscarriage either, it was big enough and large enough and terrifying enough to remain etched into my mind in all hours of the day and night (even when I would sleep).

"It's not just a locket, it has my daughter's remains in it, asshole!"

Silence came and spread throughout the cafeteria, making everyone pause at what they had heard. Mike's face became much paler than before, and some of the teenagers around me brought their hands up to cover their mouths. Others were giving me pitiful looks, full of sorrow, at the fact that I had just said I carried around my dead daughter's remains in a locket.

I turned around only to see the female blonde twin sister, Rosalie, standing with the locket in her hands. She was staring down at the locket with tears that were glistening in her tear ducts. I reached her, nervously, not knowing how to feel about this girl holding the locket. Yet I could tell there was nothing about her that worried me. She kept her hands folded out towards me, her palms towards me so I could grab the silver locket.

"Thank you," I mumbled, as I finally took the locket and stuck it in an inner pocket of the satchel of my purse, knowing I would need to buy a new chain for the locket.

"What was her name? If you don't mind me asking."

"Avalyn, her name was Avalyn."

Rosalie gave me a brilliant smile, beautiful, and welcoming. She was letting me know that my feelings were valid, and she also thought the name I had chosen for my daughter was beautiful. She said as much, before I turned around and went back to the table. I sat down and pushed the tray of food away from me, obviously not going to attempt to eat from it anymore.

Mike went to open his mouth, as though he was going to apologize for what he had just done, but in the end knew there was nothing he could say which would justify what he had done. Instead, he picked up the bottle of water next to his own tray of food and began to toy with the lid of the water bottle, being someone who couldn't keep his hands idle by his side. He was just like me when it came to that at least, we always had to have a part of our body–hands or feet moving when we were sitting somewhere or standing still.

Lunch ended before long, and I headed towards the next class of the day. It happened to be Biology and I shared the class with Mike. I could tell that he would not talk to me for a while, since he knew that he had done something that was inexcusable. He had thrown the cremated remains locket I had across the cafeteria without meaning to but he still had done so. It still would have been wrong of him to do that even if I didn't have her remains in the locket.

Mr. Banner was an average looking man with dark hair and light blue eyes. He was quite thin and tall, and he was welcoming to me. He signed the slip of paper without hesitation but when he told me that I was supposed to sit next to Edward Cullen I couldn't help but stiffen. I hadn't even thought that any of the Cullens would share a class with me.

I turned around from looking at Mr. Banner, noting how Edward Cullen had stiffened where he was sitting at the lab table with an intensity that I hadn't expected. I almost fidgeted as I looked at those golden eyes, which seemed to have grown darker when he looked at me.

I moved towards him, nonetheless, knowing that I needed to get to my stool without standing there awkwardly anymore. I already had gained his attention, the last thing I needed was to make him think even more of whatever he was thinking. It wasn't good, I could tell, but I had to admit I didn't want to find out what he was thinking about me.

Reaching the lab table that had been assigned to me, I sat down quietly at the table and put my backpack near the front of the table so that it was out of the way. Mr. Banner came over and wordlessly handed me my biology textbook, giving me an assuring smile as though to tell me that I shouldn't worry about anything. Including being the lab partner to Edward Cullen (Apparently, he was an excellent student but didn't talk unless he was asked something by the teacher).

The entire time I was in that classroom I made myself not look at Edward. Instead, I focused on how Mr. Banner was talking about Cellular Anatomy, thankfully it was something that I had just gone over back in Phoenix. I still paid attention to it more than I should, because I didn't want to turn and look at Edward. He made me feel weird, and I already had enough self-esteem problems as it was. Add the way that Edward was, and it only made things worse.

When class ended, Edward was the first one out of the classroom. He had moved so quickly it was almost as though he hadn't been sitting in the classroom with me and the rest of my classmates for the last hour. I honestly didn't know how to feel about it, because it was kind of creepy to be honest. No one moved that fast, and even if it did it would be obvious that they were doing this because they didn't want to be in the presence of the person they were sitting next to.

Almost everyone I passed by on the way to my last class of the day, Gym, were staring at me. Some of them had pity in their eyes and behavior, allowing me to know they were remembering how I had brought up the fact that I had lost my baby girl. I didn't want them looking at me like this, I didn't want their pity. It wouldn't bring my precious Avalyn back.

I ended up sharing the last class of the day with Mike, Jessica, and Lauren. Lauren didn't show any emotion towards me when I entered the gymnasium. Though I had barely entered the gymnasium when Jessica rushed over to me and hugged me tightly. There was enough of a hug that I almost squeaked from it, having not expected the strength of her hug. She pulled away from me a moment later, the sadness in her eyes almost made me even more speechless.

"I'm so sorry you lost your daughter, Bella. I can't imagine what you are going through. If anyone gives you any trouble then just tell me and I'll kick their ass," Jessica exclaimed, making me blink some from the passion that came from her.

I hadn't expected that kind of response from anyone in this school but then again Jessica wasn't like anyone else I had known before. I merely gave her a small smile though the smile didn't appear in my brown eyes. I didn't want her to tell me she would kick the person's ass for saying anything mean to me, because I had just met her.

Coach Clapp signed my slip of paper before asking me what my size was so he could reserve a gym uniform for me to wear tomorrow. For today I would be able to sit on the bleachers and merely watch my classmates play soccer on the basketball court. I didn't pay attention to them though, finding no reason to do so.

Once my last class of the day was over, I quickly left the gymnasium so that I wouldn't be in the presence of Jessica again. She obviously wanted nothing more than to be my best friend, and to be my protector but the truth was unless someone experienced a miscarriage like me they wouldn't understand what I had been going through. They'd not understand, especially in this high school, until they would become pregnant themselves and lose their baby before it was born.

I shivered from the cold wind that was blustery, hating the cold even more. I missed the warmth and sunshine in Phoenix. I knew I needed to get away from the toxicity that was there from Renee, despite the fact that I would be away from Phil. He had become a father to me, something I hadn't expected, but ended up appreciating in the end.

I had opened the front office door, only to find Edward Cullen standing in front of the front office counter, conversing with Mrs. Cope. I listened intently, my heart becoming tightened when I had learnt he didn't want to share the same class with me anymore. I couldn't help but wonder if he didn't want to share the class with me because he had heard about me losing Avalyn.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cullen but I can't do anything. You'll be still in the same class," Mrs. Cope apologized, her features and voice soft.

Edward took a sharp breath, enough for me to know he wasn't pleased with how he didn't get to change his class for another period. He stiffened some a moment later and turned his head, his eyes landing on me standing there awkwardly near the front office door. There was almost a flicker of sadness that appeared in his golden eyes but maybe I was imagining things. It was gone before I could really think even more about it, making me even more confused with the whole situation.

He went past me without hesitation, the front office door opened and shut behind him. It wasn't loud but it was almost as though he was slamming the door behind him as though he was slapping me across the face. He didn't want me to be his lab partner, and it was enough for me to both be angered but also depressed with this knowledge.

I went forward a moment later and handed the slip of paper to Mrs. Cope. I didn't pay attention to her as she asked me how my day had gone, though in the end I responded to her anyway. I tried to keep a poker face but I had always been someone who was an open book. I could never keep a straight face, but Mrs. Cope didn't comment on it. She knew that it would be inappropriate if she asked me even more, which I was grateful for.

The moment I got into my truck; I began to bawl uncontrollably. I didn't want to come back to this high school. I had hoped I could keep the whole miscarriage thing a secret from the student population but that didn't happen. All because Mike Newton was a noisy asshole, who decided he would pull my locket off strong enough to send the locket flying across the cafeteria.

At least Rosalie Hale had been kind enough to pick up the locket before handing it back to me. She had no judgment on her face, instead the way she looked at me I could tell that she experienced a significant loss herself. I didn't know what it was, but it was enough for me to know that she understood my pain and was letting me know silently that if I ever wanted to talk to her, she was there for me.

It was the best thing that had happened to me today, despite the way she had ended up speaking to me for the very first time.

Eventually there were no more tears that could fall and I sniffled some before I pulled out of the high school and went towards Charlie's house. The whole time I didn't play any music on the radio, and even if I tried to it would be pointless. The radio was a piece of crap and wouldn't be able to pick up a good signal in the end. It would only make me even more emotional.

Pulling up to Charlie's house, I got out of the truck and shut it behind me before going up the front porch. I opened the front door before entering and shutting it behind me, making sure to lock it. I had enough intelligence to know to lock it behind me even though I was now living in a small town instead of a busy populated city.

Going upstairs I curled up on my bed and wrapped one of the blankets that was sitting on my bed now around me. I laid down on my side and peered at my secondhand computer, thinking about emailing Phil. I knew Renee would end up finding the email before he could be able to read it, and she'd delete it without his knowledge. It would only be even more of a slap in the face for me, to know how she felt about me once more.

I hadn't even known I had been lying on my bed for a long time until I could hear the sound of Charlie's cruiser pulling into the gravel driveway. I didn't attempt to pull myself off the bed, knowing there was no point in doing so. He would end up coming upstairs when he would not get an answer from me.

In fact, it didn't take even more than a few minutes before he came into the bedroom and noticed me curled up on the bed pathetically. He rushed forward and sat down onto the bed before he leant over and laid down next to me.

He pulled me into his arms and without thinking I began to sob once more, the pain that came rolling off of me made there be tears that were rising up in his tear ducts also. He was in pain because I was in pain, which ended up making me sob even harder.

"I hate seeing you like this, Bella. Tell me what's wrong? Did someone do something to you today? Do I need to kill them and make it look like a freak accident?"

I took a shaky breath before everything came pouring out of me without my realization. He almost tightened his arms around me protectively when he had learnt about the incident that happened in the cafeteria. Annoyance appeared when he had learnt how Edward had treated me during Biology and how he didn't want to share the same class with me.

Eventually I was finished with all that came from me, and I had barely stopped talking when Charlie informed me, I would be staying home from school tomorrow. I had been through enough today to last a whole school semester, the last thing he needed was for me to feel even more stressed.

"I'll order some pizza tonight; I'll make sure it will have all your favorite toppings. But for now, I have a phone call to make," Charlie said, before he pulled himself off of the bed and went out of the bedroom. He had already gone down the stairs when I realized who he was going to call.

I had barely gotten to the bottom of the stairs when I was welcomed with Charlie talking to Mrs. Newton. My mouth fell open as the anger that emitted from Charlie made me both want to cower away but also hug him.

He soon had Mike on the other end of the phone, and I knew Mike would be scarred for the rest of his life. He was being chewed out by the chief-of-police for throwing his deceased grand-daughter's locket remains across the cafeteria because he didn't know boundaries and had no respect towards others. He didn't think before he acted, which ended up costing him his reputation in the end.

Charlie hung up the home phone and slammed it down again, only to turn around and notice me standing at the bottom of the stairs with horror upon my face. "You weren't supposed to see that."

"I love you, Dad, but…" I didn't know what to say, though it didn't surprise me when Charlie told me he didn't regret making the phone call.

We didn't mention Avalyn or what had happened earlier in the day, when we were sitting at the kitchen table later that night. Instead, as I was eating a piece of pizza Charlie cleared his throat. He gained my attention without needing to ask me to.

"I invited Billy and Jacob over this weekend. I hope you don't mind. They were excited to hear about you moving up here. They wanted to see you as soon as possible."

My mind went to Billy and Jacob. My godfather along with my godbrother. They were Natives at the La Push Reservation. Jacob was two years younger than me, and Billy had been like a second father to me since I could remember. I also had two godsisters that were a year older than me, Rachel and Rebecca, though they both were living away from the reservation (Rachel was on scholarship to Washington State while Rebecca was married to a Samoan surfer in Hawaii).

"That's fine, Dad. It will be nice to see them. It's been a while since I've seen them."

It was true.

The last time I had seen the Blacks it had been when I was thirteen. A year before Charlie and I stayed a week in California every summer. I had heard about them through Charlie when I would be staying in California with him, but now I would be face-to-face with my extended family. So, it would be nice to catch up with them.

Relief flooded across Charlie's face, allowing me to know that he was happy I had accepted this without hesitation. He knew that it would be awkward a little bit for me with the whole Avalyn thing, but they were family, and they would understand. They already knew about the miscarriage since September so it wasn't as though they would find out about it when they would come this weekend.

"Thank you for letting me stay home tomorrow," I quietly whispered a moment later, enough for Charlie to reach his hand across the table to give my hand a squeeze in assurance.

While I was without a mother, and my stepfather was stolen away from me because of her, I could always count on my father. It honestly was the only reason why I would stay here and not move back to Phoenix.

No matter what would happen when I would be here, he would be there for me.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: here's the latest chapter of 'Through Hell and Highwater'. I hope you like the latest chapter. Give it up for Rosalie, she knows what it's like to lose a child in a way. She never got the chance to be a mother. Bella still was a mother even though Avalyn never was born. As is anyone who loses their baby, in the womb, you are still a mother.

anyway, Twilight doesn't belong to me.

-Emmy