A/N I want to thank my pre reader Pyejammies for helping me out with this chapter. Also thanks to all of those who are reading this story. I kow there are many who read but don't review and I really appreciate that. Huge welcome and thank you to my new readers and those who have put me in their alerts! :) I have a few more notes at the end of the chapter so make sure to read em! Last week I saw the band that inspired this fic in concert. Blew my mind, once I have video up I'll link you to some upcoming songs ;) Onward and upward!

Watch/listen to this weeks song at www . youtube . com/watch?v=iCtpuQvydk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Instrumental version at www . youtube . com/watch?v=RspClditOdY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

SM owns Twilight. I just play with Surfward and his friends.

I will never know
Myself until I do this on my own
And I will never feel
Anything else until my wounds are healed

I will never be
Anything till I break away from me
I will break away
I'll find myself today

I wanna heal, I wanna feel
What I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain
I've felt so long
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)

I wanna heal, I wanna feel
Like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong

Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park, Meteora

Edward reached Bella as she slumped to the floor. Her sobs could be heard down the empty corridors of the otherwise quiet hospital. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to a nearby chair, placing her on his lap and letting her cry. There was nothing he could say to make things better so he did the only thing he could. He held her in his arms and stroked her hair until her sobs subsided and she was limp from the emotional exhaustion.

Her friends hovered around the couple, uncertain of what to do or say. Alice would occasionally run her hand through Bella's hair or squeeze Edward's shoulder in silent reassurance and support. Rose sat next to them, staring at her best friend, pain evident in her face at not being able to do anything to comfort her. She had seen Bella go through hell and back during the years they'd been friends. Bella had always pulled through and been strong, shrugging off the cruel words and physical abuse at the hands of her mother. Now, she realized with sadness that Bella was still under Renee's control, even when she hadn't spoken one word or laid a hand on her.

Rose knew better than anyone that Bella would not recover from this easily. When the time came and Renee passed away, Bella would be left behind to pick up the pieces of her life. She knew in her heart that, even though it was no one's fault but Renee's, Bella would blame herself for her death. She had always been the responsible, mature adult while her mother had been careless. Bella had learned to take care of herself at the young age of thirteen when her parents divorced due to Renee's extracurricular habits. Charlie hadn't taken their daughter with him; he'd left her behind like a discarded toy. He'd left her in the hands of a woman who could barely take care of herself, let a lone a young teenage girl.

As time passed, she'd learned how to disguise herself so as not to get hurt. It was bad enough the town knew her mother was an alcoholic that spent most of her time in a drunken stupor or stoned out of her mind. Bella had to act like it didn't matter, pretend that all the whispers at school and the laughs behind her back didn't hurt. She had to act like she didn't see the pity in people's eyes during the frequent occasions when she had to walk through the grocery store with a drunken Renee in tow. Those times where the worst, the times when the lady at the checkout counter would look at the bottles of hard liquor, the loaf of bread, milk carton and pack of cigarettes with sad eyes directed at Bella. Some of those times Bella would walk out with an invitation to dinner from one of the many people that knew her. It was a small town after all, and everyone in her block knew her life story, every student in her class knew about "poor Bella and her drunk mother."

Bella always refused the invitations saying that she was fine, her fridge was stocked at home and they were just picking up a few things. She refused to take anyone's pity or hand me downs. She was not "poor Bella." The poor girl that was abandoned by her father because her mother drove him away was no more. Bella had learned that not everyone who claims to want to help means good. Sometimes, people like to see you down and laugh at you before kicking you in the face. That had been the summer before her freshmen year in high school, the summer she met Rosalie Hale.

~oOo~

The group of girls sat outside the popular ice ream parlor. It was the first day of summer; school was out and the excitement of the year to come was palpable. They were going to be in high school No longer kids, they were going to be mature teenagers. Big school, big dreams. Most of the girls had known each other since elementary but as time passed, cliques formed and once childhood friends were traded in for friends with higher rank or power. Some girls stuck with their friends, while others, like Lauren Malloy, traded in for newer bands.

Being the new kid on the block, even after 3 years, Bella was taken in by the uncool kids crowd. Angela was the first to welcome her and show her the ropes around school and the popular hang out spots. The small town they lived in didn't accommodate for different locations between the cool and uncool groups. Instead, there was an unspoken agreement that as long as the "unwanted" didn't cross over to the "elite," there would be no problems. Bella knew not to try and befriend the social elite that constituted Lauren's group, which is why the invitation held out to her that warm summer morning came to her by surprise.

The group of girls was joking around and laughing. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Bella was on her way to meet Angla and a few other girls at the pier, which is why she was walking by just as Lauren was raving about the pool party she was having at her house the next day.

"Hey, Bella!"

"Umm, hey, Lauren."

"Listen, my parents are letting me have a pool party tomorrow. They think it'd be a good idea to interact with some of the kids I'll be going to school with next year."

Bella opened her mouth to speak but Lauren didn't notice and continued.

"Anyway, you wanna come? I know we don't really hang out with the same group of friends or anything, but you seem pretty cool. You're welcome to come if you want."

Lauren gave Bella a smile.

"Umm, okay. Sure, I guess."

"Cool! Everyone's bringing snacks. I know your mom doesn't have a lot of money so don't worry about bringing anything."

"Oh, no, it's not like that. I can bring something."

"Oh, okay then. Why don't you bring some drinks," Laruen flashed her friends a brief smile, "we'll have some there already but can always go for more. You know how the boys can be. It's going to be so much fun! Well, see you later!" She gave Bella a wave and bounced back to her friends.

Bella hung out with her friends for most of the day before making the trek back home. She had to see what Renee had been up to, if she had even bothered to get out of her room. She was in a good mood until she got home and noticed the mess in the living room. Renee had been up but only long enough to break some empty glass bottles against the wall. She wandered over to the kitchen and inspected the work that lay ahead of her.

After cleaning up the glass that littered the floor in various rooms throughout the house, Bella grabbed the list she'd made earlier in the day and went grocery shopping. The only good thing Charlie had done for her was provide her with a means of survival. Granted, he probably didn't think his daughter would use her savings as food and clothes money. He'd opened up an account for her at the age of 10 and started putting $50 dollars in for her every month. Now, Bella withdrew some of the money on a weekly basis to pay for food on the occasions Renee was too drunk to remember there was nothing to eat at home. Maybe she could survive on alcohol, but her daughter could not.

As she made her way through the aisles, Bella couldn't stop Angela's words of warning from repeating in her head. "Lauren was not to be trusted. She was up to no good." Bella didn't think anything could go wrong. After all, Lauren's parents were going to be there and they had probably been the ones who told her to invite her. Lauren was just trying to please her parents, nothing more. Bella wasn't a threat so there was no reason to be on Lauren's list. Bella would soon discover Lauren didn't need a reason to do the things she did.

Sunday morning brought the prospect of a new beginning for Bella. For years she'd been part of the group of outcasts in her middle school and with this new development, things were looking bright for her high school experience. At noon she quickly got dressed in a pair of tan shorts and white tank, forgoing a bathing suit since she didn't plan on actually getting in the pool. She lathered herself with sun block and grabbed the bag full of sodas off the kitchen counter before walking the few blocks to Laurens house.

The party was in full swing when she arrived and walked in through the open front door. Everyone was out back either swimming in the pool or laying around on the lawn chairs. Music was playing in the background, some girl was droning on about her baby hitting her one more time. Bella walked out with her bags in hand and spotted Lauren at the end of the pool chatting wither usual crowd of friends and another girl she'd never seen before. Her parents were nowhere in sight. As Bella approached them, she could make out their conversation and overheard one of the girls questioning why she had even been invited. Lauren only replied that "Bella was bringing the drinks, that's why," before turning and greeting the brow eyed girl with a smile.

"Bella! Glad you could make it!"

"Hey, Lauren. Where are your parents? I thought they were going to be here."

"They aren't here, the figured that since it was daytime and we're just going to be hanging out here they didn't need to watch over us." Some of her friends snickered and she shot them a dirty look.

"Oh, well, I brought some drinks like you asked. Where should I put them?"

"Here, I'll take them." Lauren exchanged looks with the girl Bella didn't recognize and walked towards the kitchen.

Upon opening the bag, Lauren's friendly demeanor changed. "Bella, did you bring anything else besides sodas?"

"Umm, no, was I supposed to?" Bella tried to recall the conversation they'd had the day before but could not remember Lauren mentioning anything else besides drinks.

"Yes, Isabella." Lauren said in a condescending tone. "You were supposed to bring the drinks," she emphasized.

Understanding dawned on Bella. Drinks. Lauren had wanted her to bring alcohol.

"You mean alcohol? Like beer and stuff?"

"Yes, Isabella." Lauren's smile was forced.

"Aren't we kind of young to be drinking? I mean, your parents would find out."

"I told you not to invite her Lauren," the unknown girl chirped.

"Shut up, Heidi. How was I supposed to know she'd be too stupid to understand that the only reason I asked her to come was to bring us liquor?"

Bella felt her cheeks warm and tears begin to pool in her eyes but she willed them back, not wanting to let these girls see her cry. Just then a tall bond girl approached the trio.

"Everything okay here?" she asked Lauren.

"Yeah, everything's fine, we were just showing Bella where to put her drinks."

"Okay, well, now that it's done, why don't you show your guest to were the actual party is at Lauren?"

Lauren looked livid but put on her fake smile and motioned for Bella to follow her towards where the rest of the group was horsing around.

"You can change in the restroom right through that door." She pointed in the direction of the house.

"Oh, umm, I didn't bring a bathing suit."

"Oh!" Lauren eyed her cousin Heidi before continuing, "Doesn't matter, you don't have to get in the pool. Food's over there and you can just grab a seat anywhere you want."

Time passed without incident. Bella spent most of it texting Angela and Jacob, telling them about the party and how uneventful it really was. She was so engrossed on her phone that she didn't notice the group of girls starting to surround her, Lauren in the lead.

"So, Isabella," Bella hated being called that. It was what her mother called her when she was in the middle of a hate filled rant. She preferred going by Bella, and Lauren knew this well.

"I was just filling in my cousin, Heidi, on your family life style. Such a shame your dad moved on to better things. We were all wondering why you didn't go with him when he left. I mean, he did offer, right?"

Bella was in shock, no one around town that knew her ever mentioned her father. It was a taboo subject. She had no idea how Lauren even knew of the circumstances that led to his departure, let alone that he'd never asked Bella to go with him.

"Such a pity, really. I mean, who wants to live with a drunken mother? Isn't it embarrassing having to clean up after her and always having to pick her up off the floor? I can't even remember the number of times mom has talked about seeing drunk Renee crawling out of her car to your door in the mornings? You think she's coming back from her drug dealer friends? Or just coming back from a really bad fuck?"

The girls around her laughed and Bella tried to fight back the tears threatening to spill over.

"Such a shame, Isabella. We could have been friends. No, not really. I mean, I only asked you here for one reason and you couldn't even do that? Should have known that someone being raised by the town whore wouldn't be all that smart."

At this, Bella got up and pushed her way through the group that had surrounded her like vultures trying to make her escape. She was almost free before she felt a hard shove from behind, throwing her face first into the crowded swimming pool. Once she was able to resurface she made her way to the edge of the pool and tried to pull herself out as murmurs and chatter began buzzing in her ears. That's when she remembered she didn't have a swimsuit on and her soaked white tank was clinging to her body revealing her small breasts. Her simple white bra did little to protect her from the many pairs of eyes that were zoned in on her and her face flushed in shame.

"Oh, Isabella, how clumsy of me. I forgot you didn't bring a swimsuit." Heidi said in mock apology. "Ooops."

The group of girls began to laugh at her, but stopped as the tall blonde from earlier stepped out into the pool area.

"What's with all the noise? What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Rose. Bella just fell into the pool She's kind of clumsy like that," replied Lauren.

"Not true," a male voice came from besides Rose, "Heidi shoved her in on purpose."

Lauren glared at Mike, who just stared back at her in defiance.

"Is that so? Hmm, well, then I'm afraid party is over kids. Off you go. Back to your mommies and daddies." Rose walked towards the radio and turned it off.

"Rose, mom said we could stay out here as long as we wanted," objected Lauren.

"True, but your mom's not here and she gave me authority to pull the plug if things got out of hand. Babysitting a bunch of 14 year olds isn't my idea of fun so party's over. Call your rides and get on home children."

"We're not babies, Rosalie."

Rose turned and glared at Lauren. "You're right, you're not babies. You're spoiled infants who have nothing better to do but torment a nice girl like Bella. What did she do to you? Comment on your bad tan or point out those pimples popping out on your flatchested body?"

Rose moved to Bella and wrapped her in a towel before walking her into the house. "I'm getting her some dry clothes and when I come back you'd better have things cleaned up Lauren. That goes for you too Heidi."

Rose took Bella up the stairs and led her into a nearby room. She riffled through some drawers and handed the sopping wet girl a dry shirt and some shorts. She made an odd noise at one point before shoving a plastic bag into her shorts pocket. Bella ducked into the restroom where she changed out of her wet clothes and wrung them out on the sink before putting them into the small messenger bag Mike had handed to her before Rose walked her indoors.

When they ascended the stairs Heidi looked like she was about to throw a fit and was shooting daggers at Bella and Rose. Apparently, Bella was wearing her favorite shirt, which had handprints of her favorite boy band on the front along with monograms of their autographs.

"That's. My. Shirt."

"Oh, really?" Rose looked at her before mimicking her earlier reply. "Ooops."

"I'm taking the girl home, you'd better have the mess cleaned up outside when I get back in 10 minutes."

"Mom's not going to be happy when I tell her what you did Rosalie," Lauren threatened.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be okay with it. She'll understand. Especially after I show her what I found in your dresser drawer, Lauren. I think you're too young to be playing with this little girl."

She pulled out the plastic bag from her shorts and waved it in front of the teenagers. Horror and shock showed on their faces as the baggie of weed they had spent their birthday money on was dangled before their eyes.

"I'll just tell mom it's yours. She'll believe me and never let you in our house again."

Rose leveled her gaze at the two girls before smirking.

"Look at my face. Does it look like I give a fuck?"

With that, she walked out the door with Bella in tow. The short ride home was silent as Bella looked out the window and thought over the events that had transpired. She should have listened to the warnings of her friends who told her Lauren was up to no good, but her kind spirit chose to believe there was good in everyone. She had hoped…but it had been a mistake.

As they pulled up to her driveway, Bella was puzzled at how this girl knew where she lived and was about to ask but thought better of it. She looked towards her house where she could see Renee through the living room widow throwing things around. Her body sagged in defeat and she exhaled a shaky breath before opening the car door.

"Hey, Bella."

Bella was startled but turned to face Rose. "Yeah?"

"Don't sweat it, girls like that are too stupid to know their little antics won't get them anywhere. Sure they're popular in school, but eventually they have to go out into the real world where there are bigger and meaner people than them. They'll get what's coming to them eventually."

"Umm, thanks." She fidgeted awkwardly.

"Besides, school will be here before you know it and it'll be a whole different ball game," she grinned.

Bella groaned at the reminder of having to deal with Lauren and her clan of drones for four more years. High school was going to suck.

"Hey," Rose winked, "Don't sweat it, Bella. I'm Rosalie Hale and I'm your guardian angel." She extended a friendly had to the surprised 14 year old.

"You probably don't know this, but I'll be a junior next year. Lauren and her little posse of misfits may have run things in middle school but in high school, I'm queen bee. If she messes with you she'll have to deal with the upperclassmen raining down their rage on her."

Her smile was wide and friendly but Bella hesitated, she'd been fooled once already, could she trust this beautiful blonde Amazon extending her friendship to a dowdy girl like herself?

"Why?" She whispered, "No offense, but I don't want your pity."

Rose barked out a laugh and shook her head.

"There's something about you kid. And I mean that in the best way possible. I've seen you around town and I know the gossip flying around about your mom. You're stronger than you think, Bella. You don't see yourself clearly. You just need a little help bringing out your inner bitch and I'm the one for the job. Trust me when I say, freshmen year will be life changing for you. Leave it to me, Bella, you'll see."

Rose gave her a wink before driving off and leaving Bella gaping after her. She kept those words saved in her mind.

I'm Rosalie Hale and I'm your guardian angel.

~oOo~

The day wore on and Edward was eventually able to convince Bella to leave the hospital for the night. She needed to get some sleep and that would be close to impossible in the hospital. There was nothing that could be done for Renee now. All they could do was wait. Jacob promised to contact Bella if there were any changes. His father, Billy Black, was close to Dr. Peterson and they had allowed him to obtain information when she was not present. He had acted like a father to her after Charlie's departure and her friendship with his son, Jacob, made her part of their family.

The drive home was silent. Bella stared out the window and tears would silently run down her cheeks from time to time. Edward felt useless; he didn't know what to do or say to get her to stop crying. He wanted to see the light back in her eyes. See her face break out into that smile that filled her with life.

As they walked up the stairs of his apartment building, the fight from the night before seemed childish. So much had happened in the past 24-hours that Edward felt ashamed to even think about the way he had reacted earlier. All Bella wanted was to feel some control in her life. She wanted to show him that she could carry her weight. She didn't need to though. He was willing to do anything for her. He wanted to protect her and take care of her.

They entered the apartment in comfortable silence and headed to the bedroom. Edward excused himself to change in the bathroom and when he emerged in flannel pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt he was surprised to see Bella sitting on the bed where he'd left her, staring at the wall.

He wasn't certain of what her reaction would be, but took a chance and moved towards her. Kneeling down in front of her he untied her shoelaces and removed her shoes one at a time, followed by her socks. He reached for her arms and unzipped her hoodie, removing it slowly off her shoulders and from her arms. Keeping his eyes trained on hers, he traced a path down her sides to her waist, giving her a gentle squeeze, hoping to convey his intentions. He traced her hips to the front of her waist and undid the button on her jeans. Bella's breath hitched and her heart began to race. She looked back into his green eyes and nodded slowly in assent that she was okay with what he intended to do. Edward slowly unzipped her jeans, keeping their eyes locked as she rose from the bed and leaned on his shoulders while he peeled the denim down her legs.

Stepping out of her jeans, Bella stood in front of him in nothing but her white t-shirt and panties. She felt a warm blush creep up to her face and bit her lip in embarrassment. Edward rose from his position on the floor to stand before her and wrapped her in his arms. Moving them both towards the bed, he pulled the comforter down and let her climb inside before going around to the other side and getting in. He didn't hesitate to reach over and pull her towards him, bringing her body flush with his own. He ran one hand through her hair as the other held her tightly to his chest. Bella's initial tension dissolved and she allowed herself to melt into his warmth, burying her face in his neck. They lay like that for a while, quiet breathing and legs entwined. Two bodies wrapped into one. Eventually the soft, rhythmic sounds of Bella's heavy breathing alerted Edward to her being asleep and he allowed himself to close his eyes.

They didn't know what the week would bring, but as long as they where together, they could survive it. Edward kissed the top of her head and the last thing that was heard in the quiet room was a whispered, "I love you, Bella. You are my life now. I'll do anything to make you smile again."

A/N Just a rec for now. My beta c. anna. cullen has been quite sick so go show her and Prickward some love by reading her story I Know Those Eyes www . fanfiction . net/s/5762812/1/I_Know_Those_Eyes

Also, I'll be tweeting some pics of the places I've mentioned during the past chapters, they are real places so if you want to see them head over to my twitter www . twitter . com/eternaalba

Lastly, I would love to know how all of you new readers and currents readers came to hear of this little peice of fiction and, what song would you put with this chapter? Please review! Mwa!