Surprise! I'm back with another chapter. I wasn't happy with the way I left chapter one, looking back it felt kind of rushed but it was more to set the tone.

I'm thinking I'll be posting at least once a week. I have a chunk of the story already written but I have to go back and edit each chapter as I upload, which is why I'm not setting up a posting schedule. Thanks for reading!

All characters from Vampire Diaries belong to L.J. Smith as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

Chapter 2

I woke up the next day feeling highly disoriented. My body was killing me and my stomach was burning with hunger. What time is it?... Wait a minute, what day is it? Lucky for me my phone was on my night stand and fully charged.

I checked the time and date and realized it was already Thursday, May 18th. How was it 2 p.m. already? I guess all that crying took longer than I thought, I must have fallen asleep deep into the night. I put my phone back on my nightstand realizing there was a sandwich wrapped in a napkin, a few snacks, a couple of water bottles, a cup of orange juice and my pain medication with a list of times I needed to take it. There was also a note tucked underneath my sandwich. I pulled it out to read.

Hey Bella, I stopped by before going to school this morning. You were sleeping so peacefully I decided not to wake you. I've set you up for the rest of the day, hopefully you don't need anything else. I'll be back after school. Angie x

I was so grateful to have her back in my life. She deserved a better friend than me but I was thankful she gave me a chance to try again. I promised myself I wouldn't let her down this time.

Charlie decided that since she would be in and out of the house all the time, especially while he was at work, he would entrust her with a key to our house... He must have been really desperate for help.

I grabbed the TV remote that was next to my sandwich and turned it on looking for something to watch while I ate. Oooooo Friends! I can always depend on them to get lost in for hours upon hours. My only aspiration in life right now was to be more like Phoebe. Carefree and open minded. Even after all the tragedy she went through she still found happiness in everything that she did. Granted, she was a made up character and obviously not real but still, it was inspiration nonetheless. Hours later, I heard a knock on my door and a head popped through the small opening of the door.

"Hey Bella! How are you feeling today?"

Ok she's chipper and happy to see me, I like that. "Oh nothing, just watching some Friends. It's like the medicine for everything, you know?"

"Definitely, that's gotten me through some tough times. I'm surprised you watch that. Not many teenagers do, kind of a bit too early for our time. My cousin visited last summer; she's a bit older than me. She said her plan for the summer was to enlighten my mind, starting with Friends, so she sat me down to watch it with her and it was pretty great."

"Same" I replied "Except it wasn't a cousin, I only have one cousin and her name is Caroline who is seventeen like me. Well her mom is my dad's cousin, so she's my second cousin?... I don't know, I've never learned how that family tree thing works. Anyways, she lives in West Virginia and I talk to her constantly. Actually, I haven't called her in a while come to think of it..." I frowned. Seriously, when was the last time I actually talked to Caroline and Jeremy? I called her initially when I came to Forks, to tell her my new living situation. She was so surprised I was willingly living in Forks and not by force. She knew how much I hated this place, rain and snow sucks. The only thing that made it better was Edward… and that's when it hit me. I hadn't called her or Jeremy in months, because of Edward. Ugh, I was a real idiot, how the hell could I begin to make it up to them? They lived so far away!

Jeremy on the other hand isn't related to me at all but every summer I visited Mystic Falls to see my grandmother we were attached at the hip. He is only a year younger than me but I considered him my honorary brother, the sibling I always wished I had. Jeremy on the other hand already had a sister, Elena, but he's never been able to get along with her. She was always embarrassed about hanging out with her "little brother" and preferred to hang out with friends her own age. She didn't know what she was missing and I absolutely disliked her; she was selfish, immature and rude especially to her family. Jeremy and I communicated mostly through text and the occasional video call just to remember what we looked like. Edward always wanted my attention, so he complained when I would text Jeremy and he would complain when Caroline called. I neglected them and I was officially the worst cousin/sister ever.

Angela sat quietly, waiting for me to finish my thought. She must have realized I was thinking about Edward and how he had managed to also isolate me from the only other people I considered family besides Renee and Charlie. I hate that jerk.

I shook my head, trying to focus back on what I was saying. "Anyways, one of my friends back in Phoenix had one of those cool hip moms who sometimes liked to hang out with us. She sat us down to watch Friends one night and said it was the best entertainment anyone could ask for. We actually didn't mind, she really was fun to be around and she was right. Friends is the best entertainment. I watch the reruns all the time."

"Ok so let's watch one episode and then I can help you take a bath and change. Then I can cook something for us to eat, sounds good?" Angie asked, smiling fondly at me.

"Awesome, you are the best Ang!" I smiled and blew her a kiss. She laughed and shook her head. As soon as we turned to watch the TV my phone pinged with a text from Charlie.

"Oh hey, my dad said he's going to pick up dinner so you don't have to cook. He's asking what you want. I think I'm getting a Salad."

"Cranberry Walnut Salad?" she asked.

"Oh, great idea! I love that salad. You want to share some fries or do you want your own? Oooo and ice cream so we can dip our fries into…"

She stayed quiet for a beat, long enough for me to wonder why she hadn't answered yet. So I turned .my head in her direction to see what was up. She was looking at me with such wonder on her face. "Bella? Are you my soul sister?"

I chuckled but it drowned out after a beat, I was kind of confused about how that question came about. That is until I figured out she was referring to my food question. I guess we have similar taste palates. "Definitely. We should get matching bracelets to make it official."

"OK, I'll work on that... We can share the fries by the way."

I didn't know if she was serious or not, I was joking about the bracelets but if she did make me one I'd probably wear it. We continued to finish an episode on Friends and she helped me up to take my bath and get ready for bed. By the time we were done Charlie came home and found us watching tv. He brought the food and surprised me when he pulled the rocking chair from the corner of my bedroom. Bringing it closer to my bed to sit down and start eating with us. I'm not going to lie, it's kind of bizarre watching him sit there when the only other person/vampire to previously occupy that space was Edward. Remind me to get rid of that thing.

He of course ordered a double stacked burger and fries, he passed us our salads and laughed as he handed us our order of fries.

"Girls, you do know there's no point in eating a salad when you're also eating greasy fries and dipping them in ice cream. If you're watching your figures, that's not the way to do it."

We both turned around to stare at him. He was joking right?

Silence…

Ok he wasn't. "Uh, Charlie. A cranberry walnut salad is simply delicious, it has nothing to do with watching our figures. Adding fries and ice cream to that just takes it to a whole other level."

"Mr. Swan, are you calling us fat?" Angela asked.

We both looked at him and he shifted uncomfortably, until he finally spluttered "O-of c-course not girls… I would never say that..."

We stared at him for as long as we were able to but couldn't keep it together any longer. Ang and I started laughing uncontrollably, it was the funniest thing watching Charlie's cheeks turn a nice shade of pink. I always wondered where I got that from, now I know. I laughed so hard my ribs started to suddenly protest and I wrapped my good arm around my midsection. "Owwww…, that really hurt but it was so worth it!"

My dad chuckled and shook his head and started eating his food. We had a simple conversation after that and enjoyed our time together. When we were done Ang grabbed her bag and exclaimed, "Oh before I forget! I grabbed your assignments for today."

She went into her bag and took out a stack of papers. "Oh great," I groaned. "I'm injured and I still have to keep doing school work."

"Relax Bella, we have a few weeks left of school and you know the last week or so before summer break teachers give up on work and stop giving us assignments."

Charlie decided to pipe in, "At least you don't have to physically attend and you get to relax at home."

"Charlie, healing from severe injuries is not relaxing. Aw man! Even my summer break is ruined. I won't recover by the time break starts." I complained. This was totally going to suck, I guess there wouldn't be a visit to Mystic Falls this summer.

"Told you the recovery was going to be punishment enough." I restrained myself from making a comment. As much as I hated my current situation he was right. This is my fault and my subsequent punishment, I should have never trusted Edward and his family. I only had myself to blame and to be honest, I got off lucky. I was dealing with vampires, I could have easily been killed or gotten injured far worse than I actually was. I wasn't even going to suffer any permanent damage… I got off more than lucky. I must have an angel watching over me or something.

Charlie cleared his throat and got up then, picking up the trash from our used food containers. "Come on Angela, I'll walk you outside. Do you need a ride home?"

"Thanks Mr. Swan but I brought my car." She pulled her backpack over her shoulder and started walking toward the stairs. At the last second she turned around to shout "Bye Bella!"

"Later Ang, love you soul sister!" I yelled back.

Charlie smiled at the both of us as he walked away with her and began to correct her. "We talked about it this morning Angela, you can call me Charlie. No need for formalities when I know you'll be here almost every day."

I smiled as I heard their voices fade away as they went further down the stairs. I'll forever be thankful for Ang, I'd have to find a way to make it up to her somehow.

A few minutes later Charlie came back into my room asking me if I needed anything. When I declined he said he was going downstairs to watch a game but told me to holler at him if I needed anything later. Before he walked out of my bedroom, he turned around and walked back towards me. Leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead, "I love you kiddo."

My heart melted, Charlie rarely said that to me. I looked up to him and said, "I love you too dad." He smiled, a genuine smile, one I also rarely saw and headed downstairs to watch his game.

I smiled as he left; he really was a great dad. I just never gave him a chance to show me.

It was time to take my next dosage of pills. Grabbing the precise amount I popped them into my mouth and unscrewed the top of my water bottle and drank it down along with some pills. Hopefully this will make me drowsy enough to fall asleep quickly without enough time to think about Edward. Oh, too late. I lay down as best as I could, covering myself with my comforter and snuggling into it. It was hard to move around with the cast on my leg and an injured arm but I managed to find a comfortable enough spot to help me drift off to sleep.

I thought about all the terrible choices I have made as I waited for sleep to overtake me. How could I have neglected my father, Caroline, Jeremy and all of my friends I had made in Forks? How had I allowed Edward to have so much power over me? So many emotions and thoughts swirling in my head and I had no idea what to focus on first. I knew I was hurting, I knew that Edward broke my heart, it was still painful but somehow that paled in comparison to the pure unfiltered anger I had towards him. He manipulated me, he used me, he molded me into a version of the perfect partner he wanted. Disregarding who I was and what I had to offer him by simply being me. Everything I thought was real was a lie.

He never loved me; I think that might be the part that hurt me the most. Ok, the worst part was obviously his intent to murder me after I woke up in the hospital. But still, it was painful to think he never loved me when I had completely devoted myself to him. I loved him with every part of my being and he never returned my feelings. This was going to be painful to get over, he was my first love after all.

Sure I had dated other guys back in Phoenix but they were just boys and they never turned into serious relationships. I never allowed myself to grow feelings for them because what was the point?... Living with my mom was difficult, we moved from place to place constantly whenever she became bored with the town. I never got a chance to settle down, form roots and build meaningful relationships with anyone. Not that I even had the time to, I was always busy taking care of my mom. I was the one who cooked, cleaned, did the laundry, balanced her checkbook and made sure we had enough money to pay for our bills. I taught myself how to do all of these things on my own, Renee knew nothing. She always thought things just worked out for her somehow, how could she never realize I was the one making sure things worked out? It certainly wasn't magic.

I was used to being the grown up between my mother and I, she always said I was born 35 and continued to become more middle aged every year. How could I not be with a mother like her?! It wasn't a choice; I had to mature if I wanted to keep us alive!

So when Renee found Phil, I knew he'd be my way out. Even though he was younger than her he instinctively knew he'd have to take care of her and with his minor league baseball career it wouldn't be hard. He could take care of her and keep her entertained while moving around, playing in different cities around the country. He was perfect for her. For once in my life, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I hadn't realized how much she was holding me back until Phil arrived in our lives.

I suddenly found myself with a lot of spare time in my hands. Phil took care of the bills, he hired a woman to come clean the house twice a week. All I really had to do was cook dinner, and sometimes I didn't even have to do that. They were constantly invited to his teammates BBQ's or attending parties, which I was never invited to, especially during the weekend. They forgot I even existed, not that I really minded; not having Renee around to worry about lowered my stress levels completely. She was too much to handle most of the time, I was glad it wasn't my job to entertain her anymore.

As soon as I left for Forks I cut off all communication with her, not like it mattered though, she never bothered to contact me either.

Let's face it, I was resentful. She never allowed me to be a kid, to enjoy being reckless without any responsibilities. She was a terrible mother. She only used me because I was around, much like Edward did it seemed. He used me for his own entertainment, a gullible little human to entertain his boring existence.

My mind was spinning out of control. I realized how much he controlled every aspect of my life.

He didn't let me have friends.

When I got here I became friends with Angela, Jessica, Mike, Ben, Eric and Tyler. When Edward confessed that he could read minds, that night in Port Angeles, he used it against me. He would tell me he could read my friends' minds and that I shouldn't be friends with them. That I was too good to hang out with children full of filth in their minds. Mostly talking about Mike and how he had vile thoughts about me and only wanted to sleep with the new girl to gain more popularity. That Jessica wasn't really my friend but only using me to gain popularity and attention from Mike. That hurt, I thought I had made good friends. They were so welcoming when I first arrived and I knew my friends weren't perfect, Mike was always flirty but I knew I could handle him, his flirty behavior was part of his personality. Jessica did come off as vapid but every once in a while she would show how much she really cared about the people around her. She just didn't let everyone see that side of her. I was ashamed to have let Edward manipulate my perception of them. No one is perfect, everyone has their faults but they are good people.

After he had alienated me from my friends he managed to alienate me from my father as well. Edward monopolized all of my time. He was always home with me when Charlie was at work and when Charlie was there he'd invite me to go over to his house and hang out with his family. I'm using the term "hang out with his family" very loosely.

The first time I arrived at Cullen's home I was given ground rules. I wasn't allowed to be alone with anyone but him or Alice, because in a house full of vampires they were the only ones with complete control over their bloodlust. Alice always wanted to play with my hair and paint my nails. I wouldn't have minded so much if her favorite color wasn't bubble gum pink. What kind of sane person wears pink?! She was always so bubbly, it was both annoying and endearing at the same time. On some days it was more annoying than endearing, but out of all the siblings she was closest to Edward. She really wanted to be my friend and that meant something to me.

Sometimes I was able to annoy him enough to let me hang out with the rest of his family. I was able to get to know Emmett and we'd play video games together, he was impressed I knew how to play so well. Especially for a "human girl with slow reflexes," as he liked to put it. Rosalie hated me from the start, she would ignore me the entire time I was there and she never even looked in my direction. I was surprised she allowed Emmett to play with me, she was a bitch plain and simple. Jasper wasn't allowed to talk to me since he was the newest member of the family to convert to their "vegetarian" lifestyle. He couldn't be trusted and therefore I rarely saw him at their home. Once in a while he would walk into the room and sit on the chair closest to the door which was conveniently the furthest away from me. He would sit there watching Emmett and I play, never once saying a word but it would never be for long. Alice would find a reason for him to leave and do something for her. I always wondered if anyone in their family even talked to him, well other than Alice. Esme would cook for me when I was over, saying that was the one thing she missed from being human. We'd make small talk while I ate and she was always so kind. When Carlisle would get home from the hospital and I happened to still be there, he would always greet me first. He was always polite but in truth I was never able to form any type of bond with him. Not like I did with Alice, Emmett and even Esme. I wondered now if he knew all along that his first creation was just using me for his entertainment, that I would eventually disappear from his existence so why bother trying to get to know his son's human pet… it would certainly explain a lot.

Edward really was horrible for me. He dimmed my light. He took everything I was and molded me into his perfect partner, or more correctly, his idea of it. The worst part is I let him. I was so fascinated by the fact that supernatural beings really existed and that one chose to include me into his world that I didn't stop to think about what he was doing to me.

I was stupid. Plain and simple but I guess after acting so mature my entire life I never realized I would be immature and inexperienced in the love department. I was still the starry eyed teenage girl fascinated by her first boyfriend. He only chose to show me his physical beauty and perfection, but he never let me see the real him or more correctly the true monster that lied just beneath the surface. Luckily for me he tired very quickly of his human pet and I was free once again. I've learned my lesson; I would never let any boy or man change me ever again. I'll fight to come back to the person I once was and fight for the relationships I had lost with my friends and family. Tomorrow will bring a new day and I will live every day as if it were my last.

I suddenly felt very optimistic about my future…