Chapter 1: Quitting and Late Night Calls

Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight.

Ms. Swan.

The loud bell rang which meant the horrid school year was over. Wednesday, May 27th, was the day I looked forward to all year long. All of the kids stumbled out of their seats, rushing for the door as if I was actually going to lock them in. I wanted to run down the hallway, as well. This school year had been the worst. My students were awful, the principal was a huge jerk, and Seth was trying to find anything to get himself into trouble. Not to mention that on top of all that, I found my boyfriend of three years in bed with another man a few weeks prior. It was pretty sad; at twenty six years old, I wondered if my life could get any worse.

There was no way I could stay in Arizona any longer. I loved my job. Well, I did love my job until we got a new principal who loved to find things wrong with all of the teachers. My job was the only thing keeping me in this god forsaken town. It was going to be hard to go back to Forks because my parents wouldn't be there, but I knew it's what I had to do. I was going to call Alice and ask for her help as soon as I got home.

"Hey," Seth said as he walked into my classroom. "I'm sorry about earlier, Bell."

My dear brother was caught with a slutty girl in the boy's bathroom during lunch, and I had to be called out of my classroom by my jerk of a boss to deal with the situation. He was hanging out with the wrong crowd and I had to get him away from this place. Our parents would be so disappointed in me if they knew I was allowing this kind of crap to happen.

"You're seventeen years old, Seth. You know better," I said as I gathered up my things to leave. I had a ton of stuff to pack and still needed to put in my resignation, but I would do that later.

"I know, and I'm sorry…"

"We need to have a talk about things… let's go out for dinner tonight." I needed to tell him that I had decided we were moving back home. Seth hadn't been back home since our parents died - neither of us had. They were killed in a car accident on their way home from one of Seth's junior high football games, and no matter what I said to him, he would always blame himself. We both went to counseling after the accident and it seemed to be helping him get over the guilt, but lately he had been rebelling. That was typical behavior for a teenager, but I wanted my parents to be proud of the way I was raising him and I couldn't allow him to do it anymore. Seth had been living with me for close to four years, and during that time I had to grow up a lot. When he came to live with me, I had just graduated from college and had started my first teaching job, so raising a teenager wasn't something I was prepared for.

We left the school and ate at a restaurant close to our house. I hardly spoke during dinner, though Seth tried to start a conversation several times. I didn't know how to tell him about my abrupt decision and I was afraid he would be upset that we were going back to Forks.

"Bella, I'm sorry… please don't be mad at me," Seth said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"It's okay, I know you're sorry and I'm not mad. I just… I made a decision today. We're moving back to Washington." Seth opened his mouth to say something, but I kept going. "I hate my job because Principal Boyd is an asshole, and Alice said that Forks has an opening for an English teacher. I know it will probably be hard to go back home, and I'll get a different house if we need to, but this is the best thing for us right now."

My parents' house was still vacant. I couldn't let go of it. It had been empty until Alice rented it out to her cousin for a while until he moved a few months ago. Since then it had been empty. I didn't know if Seth could handle living there; hell, I didn't even know if I could handle living there, but anything was better than here.

"I want to go back to Forks. I hate living here," Seth said quietly, looking away from me.

"Good… because I want us to move as soon as possible. I'm going to call Alice and Jasper tonight to talk to them about the job there and find out what I need to do. I hope I'll get it, but if I don't then we're still moving. We have mom and dad's life insurance in savings, so we'll live off of that until I find a job."

Seth chuckled. "You'll get it. You know Mrs. Cope will hire you in a second… favorite student every year…."

Later that night I decided to call Alice as I got the urge to start packing a few things. This was a rushed decision, but I just wanted to go back home. My friends were there and I needed them more than I had admitted in the past.

"Hey, sweetie!" Alice answered, picking up on the very first ring.

"Hey, Al… I know you're probably busy, but I have a quick question. Can you ask Jasper if that opening for the English teacher is still available?"

I had to hold the phone away from my ear as she screamed loudly. "Does this mean… oh my god, Bella. Are you moving home?!"

"I hope I am… but I need a job," I chuckled as she continued to bounce up and down. While I couldn't see her, I knew she was giddy with excitement.

"Hey, Bell… I stole the phone away from her before you lost your hearing," Jasper laughed, "but yes, the job is still there… waiting for you. Want me to tell Mrs. Cope that you're interested? We still have another week of school left."

Jasper and Alice had been married for a little over a year now and he didn't want to take her away from her family, so he took a job at Forks High as the History teacher. Even though I wasn't around Jasper very much, I considered him a very good friend. He and Alice had been taking care of things back at home for me with my parents' house, and they even flew out to Arizona last Christmas to spend the holiday with me and Seth. He was like an older brother.

"Okay, that sounds great. Thanks Jasper," I said with a big smile on my face. I felt so much better now. I was going home.

"Anytime Bell… let us know if you need anything. I can help you two move as soon as school is over."

"Thanks, but we'll manage just fine and I still have so much I need to take care of before we move." I didn't want him to go through all the trouble of coming all the way to Arizona. I could hear Alice talking to someone in the background, squealing again. "Who is she talking to?"

"Rose…" Jasper sighed, laughing loudly.

I met Rose a few years ago when Emmett introduced us over one of the holidays. Rose and Emmett, Alice's older brother, met in college and married soon after. When I first met her I thought she was going to be one of those stuck up, model types. Rose was probably one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. After getting to know her, she quickly became one of my best friends even with the distance that separated us. Rose, Alice, and I would usually call each other on three-way every other night just to talk about whatever. I complained about my stupid boyfriend and they complained about Emmett and Jasper's annoying habits.

"Great, I'm sure I'll be getting a call from her soon…" I groaned, knowing Rose would play the 'why didn't you tell me first' game. "Tell Alice I'll call her later tonight or tomorrow. And thanks for everything, Jasper."

"You're welcome. Make sure you answer tomorrow… I'm sure Mrs. Cope will be calling you as soon as I talk with her."

As soon as I hung up the phone, I received a call from Rose. Emmett was the one squealing in the background this time. I grew up with Emmett. He was always protecting me and Alice constantly, whether it be from falling off of bikes, to dating jerks that he didn't like in high school. He was more than thrilled for me to come back home. Plus, Emmett was so good with Seth; he really looked up to him.

Seth and I were close to the entire Cullen family. My father and Carlisle Cullen were best friends growing up. They both married their high school sweethearts, who were also friends, and after college they all moved back to Forks. My dad was the chief of police, while Carlisle was the chief doctor over at the emergency room in Forks. Carlisle was on-call when my parents were brought in from their accident. Esme, his wife, told me that he worked on them until the other doctors and nurses had to pull him away. Carlisle was the one that called to give me the bad news. He knew I couldn't handle hearing it from anyone else. The Cullen's were the closest family I had left besides Seth. They took care of Seth until I got to Forks.

I needed to go back home.

The next day I received a call from my old high school principal, Mrs. Cope. She was practically screaming for joy over the phone as I explained my situation. I had a phone interview with her and a couple of members from administration before I was officially offered the job, pending the necessary paperwork. I had to contact the state of Washington to get my temporary teaching license and fill out additional paperwork.

I contacted the school I was working for in Phoenix to inform them of my decision. I had to submit my resignation in writing, so it was pretty simple. I wasn't under a contract, as we had to renew our contracts at the end of every school year, which was a relief.

I planned to move at the end of June because we still had a lot of things to take care of in Arizona. I needed to contact my landlord about breaking my lease agreement, which wasn't up for another six months. I also needed to sell a lot of our possessions that didn't need to go to Forks. Seth was ready to move the very day I told him my decision. He had a lot of friends back in Forks and I knew he was glad he'd be getting back to them. Seth also told me that he might play football since many of his friends were on the team. When I spoke to Alice and Jasper that afternoon, I explained everything that I'd gotten done and also asked Jasper what I needed to do to get Seth involved with the football team. Luckily, Alice's cousin, Edward, was the football coach, so she gave me his phone number to contact him about the football team.

I was reluctant to call her cousin, considering all the things I'd heard about him. He was a big shot pro-football player that got hurt and couldn't play anymore, so Jasper and Alice helped him get a job coaching. He was probably one of those cocky jock assholes that thinks he's God's gift to women.

I dialed the number and sighed, waiting for him to pick up.

Coach Masen.

"Jake and Paul… break it up right now!" I yelled. Jake was one of the best tacklers I had, but he continued to get into fights and just do anything to piss me off. If it wasn't for his dad being such good friends with my uncle, I would've kicked him off the team already. I had to put up with his bullshit every day during my athletics period.

Jake laughed and shook his head. Cocky little bastard. "Sorry Coach…"

I walked onto the field, pinching the bridge of my nose. "The next time you do something like that, you're off the team. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, everyone run your two laps and then we're done for the day." I was exhausted and just wanted to go home. I started walking back towards the school because I still had a detention period that I had to monitor.

I got into teaching after my football career ended. I was the star quarterback that was expected to do great things until I hurt my shoulder, ending any dreams I had. As a rookie, I led my team to the playoffs two years in a row, but didn't succeed in getting to the Super Bowl. My name was splayed across newspapers and websites: Edward Masen, Patriot Quarterback – Career ending injury. I fucking hated hearing and seeing that. As hard as I had worked, none of it mattered when I couldn't get my throwing arm back in shape.

For a little over a year, I moped. I hated everything around me. Life was nothing without football. That was until Jasper talked me into coaching football or something similar to that. I already had my degree in Biology, with a minor in Physical Education, so I had to go back to school to get my teaching certificate. Once I got that, Jasper hooked me up with a job at the school he was teaching at and the rest is history. So here I am, twenty eight years old, living the life of a forty year old; however, I do enjoy leading a simple life even if it's not too exciting.

My detention period flew by as I graded papers and eavesdropped, listening in on the latest gossip. Ah, teen drama was hilarious.

The move to Forks was shocking to say the least. I lived in Chicago throughout my childhood, only visiting my aunt and uncle during family trips in the summertime. My mom grew up in Forks with her sister, my aunt Esme, and moved to Chicago to be with my father after she met him in college. My mom inherited a large plot of land on the outskirts of Forks, which was where I ended up having my home built. Forks was a very small town; one of those towns where everyone knows your business. I had nothing to hide, as my business had already been put out there for the public.

Some days I wanted to quit. The kids that I taught could be little fuckers at times, but at least I was around something that I loved the most – football.

Lauren and I met through my uncle. Actually, my uncle Carlisle would never have introduced me to her, but Lauren pushed her way into my life somehow. My aunt and mom always had someone different in mind for me – like gossiping teenagers when it came to my now non-existent love life. Lauren is a nurse in the emergency room, so when I went to visit Carlisle one day, Lauren "made her move" and asked me out. She was excited to be dating someone famous, though my celebrity status had disappeared to most people when they realized I wasn't able to play anymore.

I sort of enjoyed going out with her at first, just because I missed having the company of a woman. Lauren wasn't bad looking at all, though she wore way too much make up and tried too hard to impress people.

My regrets of ever dating Lauren were interrupted when Jasper walked into my classroom just as detention ended. He taught History in the classroom next door to me. Jasper was inviting me to a barbeque that he and Alice, my cousin, were having that weekend. He also informed me that Alice's best friend was going to call me about her brother joining the football team. Jasper said they were moving here and she was going to fill the English teacher position. I wondered what the back story was; why was she making all of the calls about her brother? I didn't ask, waving it off because I really had a lot of shit to deal with.

"Hi, Eddie!" Lauren squealed, causing my stomach to churn.

I broke away from my conversation with Jasper, turning towards the doorway of my classroom. Lauren was dressed in a skin tight red dress that make her look so fucking cheap, ready to go out to dinner that night. I wished that she wouldn't come into my workplace dressed like a whore, but she never listened to me.

"Hey," I said, completely annoyed with her already. For weeks I had been trying to find an easy, smooth way to break things off with her, but she never gave me a chance to. It was like she was a mind reader or something and would always start crying or come up with some fucking crisis as soon as I wanted to "talk" to her.

"Hello, Lauren," Jasper said politely. He turned back to me, smirking like the little bitch that he was. "See you later, Eddie… make sure you check on the hotel arrangements."

Jasper, Emmett, and I were going on a guy's vacation. Rose and Alice always left them to go to some spa or some shit like that, so we planned to go to Vegas for the weekend after school was done for the year; we were also celebrating my twenty-ninth birthday that was coming up later that month. I just couldn't wait to get away from Lauren.

"Hi, Jazz!" Lauren squealed, earning a groan from Jasper. He hated that nickname and everyone avoided using that name for him except Lauren. I don't know what it was about skanky girls calling him that, but for some reason they did. Jasper and I grew up together in Chicago and ended up going to USC together when I got a scholarship to play football there. His very first girlfriend in college called him Jazz. He never spoke to her again.

"Bye, Jazzy!" I said as Jasper turned to flip me off. I chuckled and grabbed my things, preparing to leave for dinner with Lauren. She hooked her arm in mine and walked proudly down the hall with me. A few lingering students stared as we walked by. The males stared at her mediocre body and the females rolled their eyes at her barely there clothes.

Lauren and I went out to dinner in Port Angeles and the entire way she kept hinting that she wanted to spend the night at my place. She knew I never brought women back to my house. Even when we were having sex, which was months ago, we never did it at my place. We stopped having sex months ago because she started talking about kids and starting a fucking family. If I was being honest, I wanted all of that, but I never wanted it with her. Which was exactly why I needed to end this relationship, or whatever it was, quickly. She wasn't what I was looking for. Hell, I didn't even know what I was looking for or what was missing, but hoped someday I would find whatever it was.

After I dropped her off at her car that was still parked at the school, I went home and began making Vegas arrangements. The trip could not come soon enough.

I took my dog out for a run and got back just before it started raining. The rainfall was constant in Washington. At first I loved it, but every single day is a little much.

"Herkie…" I yelled out the back door so my dog would get inside. He loved playing in the rain. His name is actually Hercules, but I call him Herkie for short. My niece named him when I adopted him a little over a year ago. I missed my family back in Chicago, but I needed to distance myself from them. My mother tried to baby me as much as possible and my father wanted me to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. I felt pressured there, which was a very big reason for my cross-country move. I was still very close to my sister, Kate, mainly because of my niece. I adored my niece, Abigail or Abby for short.

I had to dry Herkie off as he played out in the rain a little too much. He was soaked and starting to stink. Once I was done, I heard my phone ringing. It was an out of town number so I figured it must be Alice's friend.

"Hello?" I answered breathlessly from chasing my dog everywhere.

"Hi… um… is this Edward? Edward Masen?" A shy, sweet voice asked.

"Yes, it is. Can I help you?"

"This is Bella. Bella Swan. Alice gave me your number. I'm calling about my brother, Seth. We're moving there and… you know what, it's so late. I'm very sorry that I called this late. I didn't even realize how late it was. I'll just call back at another-"

"No, no… it's fine. Really." I probably sounded like a dick before, but I'm so used to prank calls or tabloid assholes calling me about my non-existent football career. "Sorry… I was just chasing down my dog," I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, okay. Well, anyway… Seth will be a senior at Forks High when school starts in a few months and he wants to play football, so I was wondering if he could try out or whatever you guys do… to be on the team."

I chuckled at her lack of football knowledge. Did she not realize that I coached football at a school that was a fourth of the size of my high school in Chicago? "He doesn't need to try out… I mean, we're always in need of players. Are you in Forks yet or-"

"No, we're not there yet. I'm going to be the new English teacher there next year… so we'll be there sometime this summer. Probably in July."

"Okay, well… why don't you call me when you get to town and I'll meet with Seth to go over a few things. Sound good?"

I honestly wanted to meet Bella. Her voice was so beautiful and soft; I wondered what she looked like.

"That sounds great," Bella sighed. "Well, thank you very much and, again, I'm sorry I called so late."

"It's fine, really. Have a good night," I said politely. If she was a friend of Alice and Jasper's, then I knew she must be a good person.

"Thanks again… and you have a good night, too."

Bella Swan. There was just something about her, but I didn't know what it was. One thing was for sure, I was looking forward to July.

*reposting due to requests. I'll post the complete story as soon as possible, and once I'm finished with this one, I'll post the other stories as well (FFY and SSN). I'm still not finished with UtSM and don't know when I'll be able to work on it. My life has been crazy the past few years and I apologize that I have not finished UtSM, but I just haven't felt like writing or had the time. I never intended to be one of those people who couldn't finish out stories... but I'm trying to get back into writing, so I hope to work on it soon.

Thanks for reading!