Chapter 1

disclaimer: all characters belong to stephanie meyer
hope you enjoy :)

He had left her, a month ago today.

Yes, exactly a month prior to this very day she had been dumped, stranded in the middle of the woods by her first love.

Some Romeo he was.

Bella thought back to that moment. She remembered how she had watched him turn his back on her and how she stood there, numbly rooted to her spot. She had swayed for a moment, then collapsed to the ground in a weakened haze, lying there until time and consciousness blurred together. She remembered, too, the warm bronze arms that picked her up her lifeless frame hours later, and how they carried her to safety. Away from the woods, and most importantly, away from the memory.

Even after that, Bella couldn't talk to anyone and tell them how much it hurt. How it was as if someone had flipped her entire world upside down, then attempted to straighten it out again. But there would always be that one area that remained permanently scarred from the change.

Some mornings when she managed to get up, she sat by her window, eyes dull and downcast, but searching. Always searching. Always waiting. Charlie didn't exactly know how to help his daughter so he comforted her in ways he could best. It was the little things— tucking her in, or rushing to her side after another nightmare left her screaming uncontrollably in the middle of the night. Each day he reheated untouched plates countless times until his daughter picked at the food with a fork. He did it all in hopes that one day it would get better. And one day, it did.

Because Edward would never come back.

This realization dawned on Bella the 19th of November as she watched the autumn leaves fall down like pieces into place. After all these days, she could still picture how his golden irises glistened whenever she was near. It had truly been a matter of life or death each moment she was around him. But the thought that she would never have to see that amber glint again somehow comforted her. She was home, and she was safe.

Bella might be okay now, or at least somewhat stable, but she wasn't fine. At all.

So, Charlie sought to change that.

When Bella had first arrived in Forks, she was initially shocked at the vibrant energy that surrounded around each member of the Black family. Rachel and Rebecca had completed their visit to the town and left by now, so by the time Bella and Charlie visited again it was just Billy and his son. But Bella had enjoyed going to the reservation when she was younger. Spending time with Jacob, energetic and playful as he was, had always boosted her mood back then.

She tried to remind herself of that as she sat in the passenger seat of her truck next to Charlie one Sunday evening, only there because Charlie insisted she tag along while he discussed some matters with Billy.

"It'll be good for you to get out of the house for once," he had said, and she supposed that was true.

They pulled into the driveway sooner than she would've liked, and just before they got out of the truck, Bella risked a glance in the rear view mirror. She looked just as pale as she normally did, perhaps even more so. Gaunt eyes stared back at her and she grimaced internally at her sallow cheeks and dark rings. She hadn't bothered to do anything about that situation, and it hadn't mattered until now—she hadn't gone over to anyone's house in weeks; neither had she talked to anyone apart from her father. She was frequently absent from school and she knew her friends there—if Bella could even call them that— wondered what happened, but they never bothered to come over, or even call.

Jacob greeted them with a bright smile as he ran up to the truck, and Bella managed a smile back as he opened the side door for her. She climbed out of the truck, stepping back to take a good look at him. He had grown several inches taller since last she had seen him. His baby face had slimmed a bit too, and a sculpted jawline was already peeking through, showing the first signs of manhood. Jet black hair cascaded down to nearly his waist in inky folds, and his glowing brown eyes looked at her with such intense admiration she was almost taken aback.

"Hi, Bells," he grinned.

Bella had always liked that nickname, and hearing it again after these few months gave her unexplainable comfort. She decided she would enjoy this visit.

Once in the house, Charlie waved the two of them off as he sat down to talk with Billy at the kitchen table, and they made their way to the living room. Jacob slumped onto the couch while Bella looked around the room. It was small yet cozy, with wooden decorations and funky little ornaments hanging on the dark walls. A coffee-stained wooden table sat in the middle of the room, and a stone fireplace to her right held a pile of grey ashes, remnants of the crackling fire that had once been there.

Bella walked over to the narrow ledge displaying several picture frames above the fireplace. Curious, she picked up an open photo album, and discovered a page neatly flattened out where someone had clearly abandoned it right after looking at it.

"Is this you?" Bella turned to Jacob with the yearbook portrait in her hands, suppressing a smile. A clearly uncomfortable six year old with ruffled hair posed in front of the camera with smears of grime streaked across his cheeks, which were stretched to reveal an awkward smile as wide as a piano.

Jacob jumped up from his position on the sofa, snatching it from her hands and flipping through the album until the picture was successfully drowned within the fluttering white pages of other happy memories.

"Maybe," he said, but not before Billy let out a roar of laughter from his spot beside Charlie in the doorway.

"He was six years old," he informed Bella, rolling in. "Just tried out for the tee-ball team that day."

Bella turned to Jacob, a grin crossing her face. "Did you get in?"

"Third times the charm, I guess," he mumbled, his scarlet face toward the ground.

Billy chuckled yet again, and even Charlie had to bite back a laugh.

He had joined the team the year before she visited Forks for the very first time, he told her later as they sat by the fireplace together. A blazing fire smoldered next to them, its flickering light illuminating the room in a soft glow.

"Tee-ball team was crappy, though," sulked Jacob, pulling at a loose string from the carpet and watching as a tiny patch unraveled. "My front tooth got knocked out the first day."

That explained the toothy gap in the child's grin. "I didn't know you had glasses," Bella told him, recalling the wide-eyed youngster in the picture.

"Only for about a couple months. But I'll never live that down," he sighed.

Bella scooted a tiny bit closer to him, noticing how his silky hair shimmered in the radiance of the fire. "I like hearing stories about your past. Tell me more."

So he did. He told her about his mother, his sisters, and his fifth birthday party where Mrs. Clearwater's water broke and she delivered Seth on the floor of their house.

Bella jerked her head up, making sure she heard correctly for that part. "Really?"

Jacob smiled. "Kidding. Just checking to see if you're still listening."

She was now. "It worked."

By the time Charlie and Bella left the Black's house, the dusk had already turned into a frigid purplish night, but Bella was glad to step out into the fresh air. Glowing fireflies flitted through the sky like stars sprinkled across an empty canvas as they walked down the driveway towards the truck, and for the first time in a long time, Bella felt happy.

thanks for reading! pls leave a review, it would help me lots.
side note: i like to drop taylor swift song references in my writing, so special shoutout to anyone who recognizes the all too well lyrics lol