I was out like a light that night. Not a single dream entered my sleep, which I was thankful for. I even managed to wake up before my alarm went off, which never happens.

I heard Charlie scuffle around downstairs before the front door quietly closed and locked.

I wrapped myself up in my dressing gown and tiptoed to my window seat.

Charlie dropped into his cruiser, sipping a coffee. The silence was welcome. If this had have been my mom's house, she would've been banging on my door for me to find her something clean to wear.

I fired up my laptop, clicking on social media. I had a bunch of new friend requests from people I had met at school yesterday. I clicked accept on the last one when an idea hit me.

There he was. Edward Cullen.

In a relationship with Alice Cullen. That was a given. Born in Chicago. Interesting. Seventeen years old. Likes baseball.

I didn't know what I was expecting to find. His profile was private, but I'm sure he wouldn't have written a status about what happened yesterday.

Met the new girl today. Threatened her with my eyes.

I doubted it. I clicked on Alice's, hopeful she would leave hers open to the world so I could gain some insight into her strange family.

It was much of the same. Not even close to as many selfies as I thought she'd have.

I typed 'J' into her friends list looking for the most interesting Cullen. Or Hale, whatever he was.

I tapped my nail on the track pad, waiting for it to load.

The profile picture was of him and his brother, Emmett, in full hiking gear at the top of a mountain. His straight, white smile was beaming, looking much more content than he does at school.

I scrolled further. Born in Houston. Likes ice hockey.

My stomach dropped right into my slippers.

In a relationship.

I searched high and low for someone tagged under it, but there was no one.

I groaned loudly, dragging myself to the kitchen to make something sugary to cheer myself up.

&TL&

Coach let me sit out of gym yesterday until I got my kit. I wasn't so lucky today.

I hated jogging and Angela reassured me that we'd be doing a hell of a lot of it.

"Look on the bright side," she said, "you'll have thighs like mine." She tilted her tanned thigh, sticking out from her navy issued gym shorts.

"Great," I deadpanned, shoving her shoulder.

My calves were already burning after only doing three laps of the ten.

"Is it over yet?" I moaned.

Angela gave no reply, only the continuation of her song about the periodic table.

"How do you sing and keep your breath?" I puffed. The squeak of our sneakers fortunately drowning out the wheeze of my breaths.

She started to jog backwards. "I'm just really fit," she winked.

I rolled my eyes. "You're not that fit, sweetheart."

"10 bucks I'll beat you on the last lap," she challenged.

"You got it."

We were silent as the last lap approached. Little butterflies of an impending challenge fluttered gently in my stomach.

We glanced at each other, smirks glinting as we reached the start of the last lap.

"Ready… go!" she yelled.

We used one another as a launch pad, giggles bubbling out of us both. Angela almost pummeled a tiny junior to the floor, making our laughter raucous.

The end was in sight. In our haste, we both smashed in to each other, twisting our legs. I was being pushed at both sides as I ran, not realizing that it was actually my shoulders banging into innocent joggers.

The finish line was so close, but so was the floor. I yelped, my legs taking one last twist before they gave up, resulting in my face going straight for the ground.

What felt like a steel bar shot out and wrapped around my waist. Any air that was left in my body was knocked out harshly.

I was hanging over the bar, groaning with my arms swinging. I could vaguely see Angela doing a victory run, her arms in the air. Bitch.

"Is she OK?" she asked, when she got closer to me. She put her hands on her knees, coming down to my level.

"She's better than what she would've been," an unfamiliar, deep voice replied.

"Ow," I groaned.

The steel bar lifted me up to my full height. I wanted to drop back down again.

"You gonna be alright?" the deep voice asked.

I raised my eyes to the source. Jasper was looking down at me curiously.

I rubbed at my waist. That was his arm?

"Technically, you won," he smirked.

"No she didn't, Jasper. Don't be a flirt," Angela scolded, but she was grinning.

"Listen to the man," I wheezed, still struggling to hold myself up. "Thanks for catching me."

"You better hope I'm around next time," he said, pushing his hair back.

Next time? "That was a one off. It doesn't normally – I don't usually fall..."

Angela burst into giggles, her eyes turning into little slits.

"Sure," he replied, nodding like he believed me. He was walking backwards, making his hasty escape.

As soon as he was gone, Angela threw all of her weight onto me pretending to swoon. "Oh, save me Jasper!"

I shoved her shoulder. "Could you not? What's his arm made of anyway? Steel?" I held my ribs.

"Why don't you go ask him?" She had an evil squint to her eyes, nothing like her normal soft, almond shaped ones. "Jasper," she pretended to call, holding her hand up to the side of her mouth. "Bella wants a detailed assessment of your anatomy, can you do a show and tell? She's free after class!"

I went to push her again but she dodged me, giggling.

"Well, what about Ben? Have you seen any of his body parts?

The blush rose in her cheeks, her face morphing into an innocent, butter wouldn't melt. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I smirked. "So, uh, do you know Jasper well?"

Her eyes brightened slightly. "We sit next to each other in AP History. He's really good at it so I can just copy him."

Coach blew the whistle, creating sighs of relief echoing around the hall. I bit my lip as I watched Mike and Tyler argue by the basketball net. I debated telling Angela what I'd seen in drama class yesterday but after the whole Edward thing, I knew she wouldn't take me seriously.

I watched Jasper grab the pull up bars, momentarily fascinated by his biceps when I saw Alice roll her eyes. She yelled something at him, making his head fall back in a laugh.

I let Angela guide me back in to the changing rooms still not entirely sure how to get around without her. I stripped out of my Forks High issued gym kit and threw my normal clothes on to get out to the parking lot.

Waving goodbye to Angela, I hopped into my truck rolling down the windows to take in the piney scent. The clouds were thinning and I prayed for the sun to peek out.

I hung my arm out of the window as I drove, feeling the breeze run through my fingers. I could drive for hours here. The dense forest rose like a skyscraper making me feel like I was on another land. If my truck had more gas and I wasn't worried that Charlie would starve, I would drive straight to Lake Crescent and take the walk to Marymere Falls. Charlie used to take me there as a kid and it was always my favorite place.

I listened to the birds chirp. The leaves rustled and the branches creaked. Maybe I could delete my social media and go live with all of the forest animals.

My phone bleeped just as I pulled into the driveway. A text from Charlie.

Would you like dinner at the diner at around five?

I smirked at my phone. I take it he hadn't been to the grocery store yet. I'd have to do that tonight.

Sure. Meet you there.

I had an hour to clean my room up a bit. I also picked an outfit for tomorrow because I had so much to do tonight and my night time routine was long enough as it was.

I hopped back in to my truck looking a bit fresher. I'd had a quick body shower, leaving my hair in a top knot. I put on a huge hoody with a pair of workout leggings. I hoped Charlie wasn't expecting me to dress up.

I couldn't help but giggle when I thought about him struggle to have a new house guest. There wasn't anything malicious about it, just a hard working man spending his hours taking care of everyone but himself. Hopefully I could convince him to take some time out.

I relished in the comfort that my dad provided. His calming nature, not so different to my own, made the house that didn't feel like mine stretch quicker towards becoming a home. Phoenix never felt like that, just a bed and a roof. There was no privacy. I always felt like there was someone watching me. I could never shake that feeling.

The diner parking lot was packed full. My dad's cruiser had a special place at the front.

Mike was inside with his parents. He was frowning and playing with his food. God. Was he going to contaminate the whole town? Stay at home please.

I pulled my huge sleeves over my hands to keep the chill out. Also to block my hands from anything Mike might have touched. Charlie waved at me from the booth by the window.

"I got you a milkshake," he smirked under his mustache.

I looked at the big pink glass and raised my eyebrows.

"I haven't had one since I was about 9 but that actually looks amazing. Thanks." I giggled.

I perused the menu with the red and white straw in my mouth. The clouds had mostly dispersed leaving a beautiful orange sky filtering through the trees. The sun beat into the diner making everyone look golden despite their lack of a suntan.

When my chicken tenders and chunky fries came out my dad had already ran through the past five years of his life. It was fascinating hearing about the freaks you get in small towns and all the people he'd had to arrest. I'm not sure if he was allowed to tell me some of the details he gave but I didn't mind.

Charlie asked me about Renee and Phil. I was less than enthusiastic about the subject and he could tell. Talking about them was exhausting.

An hour and a half later I was patting my stomach. Charlie covered his mouth to conceal a burp and dug into his wallet to pull out a few notes.

The sun was straddling the horizon. The glow of it warming my soul.

"We need to go grocery shopping," I reminded him. "I'm going to go now to get it over with."

Charlie popped his wallet into his back pocket and we stood to leave. "Could you come back to the house first? Billy and Jake are coming over to watch the game. Maybe you could take Jake with you."

I shifted my eyes from side to side. "Who?"

Charlie rolled his. "You're driving Billy's old truck so try not to forget him to his face. I got a hell of a deal on it, too."

I held back a smile. I knew exactly who he was talking about. I just didn't want to have to hang with them.

There was a beat up Volkswagen at the house when we got back. I felt the dread of having to socialize bubble up.

A huge Native American guy leaned against the car. He had a black t-shirt on, his biceps bulging out of it. I rolled my eyes at the way his crossed arms pushed his muscles out further. He was standing next to an older man in a wheelchair.

Charlie hopped out of his cruiser and ruffled the older guys long hair. I thought he only did that to me. I trudged over to them and waved hello.

"Bella, you remember Billy and Jacob Black?"

"Sure, nice too see you again," I smiled.

Billy eyed me suspiciously, his weather worn skin crinkling. "The truck going OK?"

"Truck's great. Um, thanks."

The young one, Jacob, looked about twenty five but I knew he was younger than me. I crinkled my brow in confusion.

"You and Jacob used to play together when you were kids," Charlie prompted.

I nodded my head. Up close he was at least 6'5, dark skin and short dark hair. All of that was OK, except for the sour look on his face.

"What do they put in the water here? Aren't you like fourteen?"

"I'm almost sixteen," he deadpanned.

"OK then." I looked at Charlie, he was taking beers off of Billy, clinking them together. "Do you mind if I go get the groceries now, dad?"

"Made any friends yet?" Billy asked suddenly.

I saw Jacob stiffen from the corner of my eye.

"Um, I have. My best friend Angela lives here so I met her friends."

"Angela… what's her surname?" Billy pressed.

"It's Weber," Charlie said, looking slightly frustrated. The answer seemed to satisfy Billy.

"Do you know her?" I asked Jacob.

He shook his head, after taking a few sniffs which left a disgusted look on his face. "Nope. I don't know many people who go to Forks High."

"OK, then," I said again, slowly. These people were freaks.

"Go ahead, Bella. Have you got enough money? I could always go tomorrow if you want to watch the game?"

I smirked at him. "See you in an hour."

I kept my eyes downcast, feeling like a traitor to the small town but I went straight to the superstore. It was surprisingly busy for a Monday evening. I grabbed everything that would get us through the rest of the week. I even spotted Alice Cullen looking at the stationary. Tyler was there with his mom picking out his packed lunch for the next day.

I didn't feel as guilty for not shopping local.

The clouds must have yearned for the sun because they came back looking for it. It was already pouring by the time I'd finished my shop.

I jogged to the truck praying my paper bags hadn't ripped and cranked the heat up. My receipt was sticking out so I stuffed it into my purse.

Jacob was in the kitchen grabbing Billy and Charlie beers when I got back. I dumped the bags on the table.

"You want me to help you put those away?" Jacob asked, with an almost sheepish grin.

I narrowed my eyes. "Sure."

We started unpacking in silence. I threw the receipts on the table and turned to put the frozen stuff away as soon as possible.

"Sorry I was rude before," Jake started. I didn't turn from my crouch at the freezer. "I thought I saw someone I didn't like just before you arrived. It wasn't a reflection on you."

My face crumpled together in confusion. What a pathetic excuse. "Don't worry about it, Jacob," I said offhandedly, my back still to him.

"Jake!" A gruffly yell came from the living room. "Where's the beer?"

I heard Jacob sigh and two bottles clink together.

I took this as my chance to tidy up the rest of the groceries and head upstairs. I was sorting out the receipts, the long one from the superstore, the coupon for money off and the diner receipt.

Wait, how did I get the diner receipt? I didn't remember lifting it. I unfolded it but it separated itself from another piece of paper. It was a yellow sticky note. I read the hand written black ink:

I know you saw.

If you tell anyone, it will be the last thing you ever see

I stood in confusion staring at the note.

"Are you OK, Bella?" Jacob asked.

I lifted my head in surprise. "Did you look at these?" I asked suspiciously.

He frowned. "No. What are they?"

"The receipts," I stated. "Did you touch them?"

He shook his head. "I only unpacked the stuff in the bags. Is there something wrong?"

I stared back down at the note. I bit my lip, shaking my head slowly. "Nothing's wrong." I plastered a smile on my face. I walked to the living room and kissed Charlie on the cheek wishing him goodnight.

I went through my night time routine. It wasn't until I was laying in bed that the thought came into my head.

Edward Cullen.

&TL&

The next morning I text Angela telling her we needed to talk.

When I reached her in the parking lot she was looking concerned. Then again, I was storming towards her with a determined look on my face. It was like a slow motion movie scene in my head.

"Is everything OK?" she asked.

I tip-toed up to whisper. "Edward Cullen is threatening me."

Angela looked at me for a long moment before bursting into giggles.

"I'm being serious, Angela." I handed her the note.

She scanned her eyes over it, pushing her glasses up higher.

"I'm going to message him on social media," I threatened.

Angela went pale. "No, no, no. You can't do that. This isn't from Edward."

I tilted my head. "How do you know that?

"More like how do you know that it is him."

I swallowed my frustration. Of course she didn't believe me. She didn't see the death glare he gave me two days ago.

I held my hair back off of my face, the wind was blowing it in too many directions. "Who else would threaten me?"

She shrugged, "Who else have you pissed off?"

I growled. "Nobody! He was furious with me on my first day. I didn't imagine it. He wasn't in school yesterday. He's clearly in hiding."

She bit her lip. "It is strange that he wasn't in school. He only misses days when his whole family are off too."

"He's psychotic," I scoffed.

She rolled her eyes. "Let's not jump to conclusions." I glared at her. "But let's not push it aside either," she amended. "So strange."

I glared at the note. Did he think he could scare me?

He can't be in his right mind threatening the police chief's daughter. He's gonna get it, the little shit.

Ang and I walked arm in arm up to the school passing the Cullens car on the way. A sign of solidarity.

Jasper was holding a football and when I passed he stopped to watch me. I stared him out as Emmett whispered something to him, making him smile wide. Oh, they don't know what's coming for their brother.

Alice popped her head out of the car to get a good look too.

Look at them all. Making it so obvious. They're all in on it.

"Edward isn't in again today," I said to Angela at lunch.

She nodded and put her finger to her lips, eyeing Jessica.

Jessica's ears perked up like a little puppy. "Did someone say Edward?"

I shook my head.

"Has anyone noticed he's been off the past two days?"

"He must have the cold." Angela shrugged, trying to act indifferent.

I text Angela: We need a plan. This is too weird.

My phone bleeped and I tried to be sneaky about it, Jessica didn't need to know we were texting each other.

I agree. It's starting to feel weird to me as well.

I felt the bubble of camaraderie in my stomach. We were going to nail him.