September 13th, over 18 years ago; the beginning of my existence. My first breaths were
taken here in Forks, as would my last ones. The events leading up to this moment seemed
mild enough…One year ago I moved back to Washington to live with my dad after my mom
remarried, and went with her new husband to pursue his career in Florida. I didn't like
Forks at all when I first moved here; it was too green—an alien country after living in
Phoenix for most of my life. But on my first day of school at Forks High I met him: the
bronze-haired, tall, graceful, body of a Greek god boy. My first glimpse of him was in the
cafeteria at lunch; then in biology I was ecstatic to find that he was the only one in class
without a lab partner. He dazzled me in every way, and during that first biology class I
blushed a lot. After discovering multiple things we had in common, we quickly
became more than friends, and introductions to our families were made.
My dad Charlie was never very touchy-feely even with me, but to say that he
wasn't overly fond of Edward would be an understatement. Edward's parents definitely
brought him up to be a gentleman though, and so he was always extremely polite to
everyone, even if they didn't deserve it. Charlie mostly tried to ignore us when we were
at the house, because he wasn't very happy if he had to talk directly to Edward, and he
tried to make me happy which he knew meant being civil to Edward. But Edward's
family welcomed me with open arms. One of his sisters immediately hugged me, and
then started talking rapidly to Edward.
"Oh, you are so right, Edward! She's beautiful, and she smells really good too!"
I blushed furiously, while beside me Edward hung his head and shook it sadly, but the
effect was ruined by the huge grin he was wearing.
"Alice, don't scare the poor girl." Carlisle, Edward's father, admonished his daughter.
"Sorry!" She said to me. "I'm just so excited! I'm going to go find Rose!"
All four feet, ten inches of her skipped off, and my jaw dropped at the sheer
gracefulness with which the whole Cullen family was apparently bestowed with. I myself
could not walk across a flat surface without tripping multiple times.
Edward's mother, Esme, gave me a tour of their 3-story Victorian mansion, which
of course with Carlisle being a doctor they could aptly afford. Along the way I met the
rest of Edward's siblings: Emmett is the big brother of the family. I thought he was
funny, while he thought I was funny. Rosalie is Emmett's wife, and despite her long
blonde locks, and obvious high maintenance personality, she surprised me by being an
auto-phile. I met her while on a tour of the Cullen garage in which we found her working
on Edward's Volvo. Jasper is Alice's husband, and Rosalie's twin. He looks more like a
brooding movie star than anyone should have a right to.
One reaction to our relationship did come as a shock though; at least to me. I
could tell the entire female percentage of Forks High was jealous that I was the one
Edward Cullen finally picked, and I knew that a few of the guys were jealous that
Edward got me, but the first person I met when I arrived at Forks High had an entirely
uncalled for, and irritating, habit of asking me out every chance he got. This happened to
be every time Edward was out of earshot, or during the last period when I had gym and
Edward had Spanish.
James jokingly nicknamed himself the "friendly stalker", but it creeped me out
when he would say it; especially since he only said it to me, and he only said it when
Edward wasn't around. I always held hands with Edward, even on the school grounds,
and sometimes I would see James shooting us dirty looks. If looks could kill, James
would be a murderer. But Edward would put his arm around me comfortingly when
James creeped me out too much.
A few months went by, and at the end of every school day, when Edward was
driving me home, I would sigh with relief that James hadn't asked me out again. He
hadn't even talked to me until it was almost time to graduate. I was rushing to lunch after
Spanish let out late, when James tapped me on the shoulder.
"Bella?" He asked, looking nervous.
"Yeah?" I sighed. Stupid! I thought, why would you think he'd given up?
"I'm sorry for acting like such an idiot lately." He was looking at a spot just over my left
shoulder. "About you and Edward I mean."
He handed me an envelope. "This is for you and Edward. It's just a little post-
graduation/early summer party I'm having. Nothing big or scary."
I nodded, a little stiffly, and he gave me a timid smile.
"Well, thanks for the invite. I gotta go to lunch, Edward will get worried if I'm too late."
Before he could say anything else I ran like the devil until I arrived at the lunch table in
the cafeteria, and sat in my regular seat.
Edward looked at me inquiringly, but I waved him off as I tried to regulate my breathing.
I held the envelope in both my hands, and finally made out the illegible scrawl. Ok, so it's
to both of us, that's nice, I thought. Edward leaned over to read it with me as I pulled the
card out. Inside it was the invitation to the party: the date, time, etc.
I looked up at Edward. "What do you think?"
"I think he finally realized that I'm not going to leave you just because he's persistent."
I smiled, and Edward answered with my favorite grin before kissing the top of my head.
Graduation came and went, and before I knew it it was time for James' party.
After buttoning my jeans I reached for my favorite shirt: dark blue, sleeveless, with eyelet
lace. I pulled my long, straight, dark brown hair into a loose ponytail, and then grabbed a
jacket as I headed downstairs. Forks was still cold and rainy, even in the summer.
"I'm going dad." I peeked into the living room where Charlie was watching sports.
"Ok Bells, have fun, but don't stay out too late."
"Ok."
A faint knock came from the direction of the front door, and I opened it to find Edward.
"Ready to go?" He asked me.
"Yep."
He took my hand, and opened the door for me like always when we got to the Volvo. We
drove in comfortable silence to James' house which was on the outskirts of Forks in a
heavily wooded area. As soon as we knocked on the front door James opened it, and was
obviously happy to see us both there.
"Hey guys! Thanks for coming."
"Uh, yeah. I'm sure it'll be loads of fun."
Edward noticed the lack of enthusiasm in my voice, and he squeezed my hand gently.
"Well, come in and make yourselves at home!" James said, smiling widely.
We mingled with a few people before I noticed that I didn't really know anybody
here. None of the people I usually hung out with at school were invited apparently.
"Hey, you guys thirsty?" James suddenly appeared at my side.
Edward and I nodded, and the two cups James was holding were handed to us. We sipped
our drinks in silence for a while, and then Edward made a weird face.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling ok?" I asked in concern.
"I feel strange." He said. "I think I need some fresh air."
"You don't look so great. Maybe we should just go home."
James pushed his way through the crowd of people to where we were sitting.
"Did I hear you guys say you were going home? But the party just started!"
"Edward's feeling a little under the weather." I informed him.
"Do you both have to leave?" He looked depressed at the thought.
"We came together, and I should probably drive him home."
"I saw Angela and Ben over there just a second ago, so if you wanted to stay a little
longer Bella you could probably catch a ride back home with them."
"I'll be fine Bella. Go have fun with Angela. I know you probably want to spend some
girl time with her."
"Are you sure?" I asked, and he nodded. "Ok, but expect my call in a few minutes."
Edward got to his feet, and lurched out the front door. I watched him close the door
before I turned to James.
"I just saw Angela with Ben over here."
I walked after him as he led the way through the crowd, but I didn't see my best girl
friend or her boyfriend anywhere.
"I think I saw her go through here." He said.
I was beginning to feel uneasy as we went through a door. Thinking it was
another living area, I was confused when we were suddenly in an office. Someone had
started music outside, and I could hear the cheers of the crowd. It was dark with only the
moonlight streaming through a window to give any light. My vision started to get hazy.
This is weird, I thought as James pushed me aside and I heard the lock click on the door.
"You have no idea how long I've been planning this." He said.
I opened my mouth to ask him what he was talking about, but suddenly his lips were on
mine, and I felt myself fall backwards onto the floor. Now my back hurt, my vision
was getting dark around the edges, and James' hands were getting way too friendly.
"No. Stop." I mumbled.
He made shushing noises as he pushed my shirt up, and greedily ran his hands
over my skin. I tried to protest again, but I couldn't form the words. My head was
throbbing, but my clouded mind finally caught up with his actions when I realized just
how much skin contact was going on. I gathered in a breath to scream, but his hand
covered my mouth. With his left hand he grabbed both of my wrists and held them high
above my head. My legs were already pinned by his body weight, and I started to cry. I
couldn't do anything else. Nobody was coming to help me.
How I wished that I had gone with Edward when he left. I cried harder when I
thought of him; he would never want to touch me again. I already felt dirty, and unclean
as my body protested in ways my words could not. The pain crashed into me over and
over in waves of every kind of torment.
Aware of everything James was doing now, I shut myself down. I wouldn't think
about it. He wouldn't get any response out of me; I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. So
in my mind I floated away. I imagined that I had left with Edward, and that his sickness
had all been an act so we could leave early. The only sounds I could hear were the sounds
of the Volvo as we raced back to my house. Then I was jolted back to reality as James
roughly gripped my chin.
"Well I hope you enjoyed it. I know I did." I could hear the smugness in his voice. He
brutally punched me in the jaw, and I saw stars. I felt him release me and heard him walk
back to the door. He unlocked it, and before he left he said one last thing to me.
"He'll never want you again." He said confidently, and then everything went black.
That was over 3 months ago, and no one had seen him since. Charlie was the chief
of police, and he had every person on the force looking for James, but to no avail. So here
I sat in my room, waiting for justice, hoping to be healed of the pain. James was wrong,
Edward still wanted me, but I couldn't bear to let anyone touch me again. It happened
months ago, but it was still fresh in my mind. After I came to, I found a phone and called
Edward's sister, Alice. We had become close friends, and I knew that she would take care
of me. I didn't want to face Edward so soon after it happened; I knew I wouldn't be able
to handle it. Edward blamed himself for what happened to me; he thought it was his fault
since he left me, even though his sickness and my wooziness had all been planned by
James, but I knew it was my fault. It was always my fault; everything I did was wrong,
and now it was hurting other people. The only solution I could think of to end the pain,
and the suffering of everyone else, was to end my life. I wouldn't cause anyone any more
pain, and I would be free; I would be clean again. The scars from James' attack, both
mental and physical, would always be with me, and I wasn't sure if I could handle it.
When Alice brought me home that night I had showered for over 3 hours. I
scrubbed at my skin until it was raw, but it wasn't until the water started to turn red with
my blood that I realized what I was doing.
I shuddered at the reminder as I sat on my bed in my most comfortable pair of
sweats, and combed my hair with shaking hands. My insides ached at the vivid memory.
"Bella?" I heard Edward's voice, muffled by my bedroom door. "Can I come in?"
"Sure."
Edward, the boy who still loved me against all odds, entered my room, and pulled
the old rocking chair by my window over to my bed so he could sit near me, but still far
enough away that I wouldn't freak out.
"They found James." He gazed into my eyes, gauging my reactions, my emotions.
"Where? What happened?" I asked as I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
"It looks like he committed suicide. Pieces of his car washed up on First Beach."
"He…killed himself by driving off the cliff?" My voice felt raw, and scratchy.
"Yes." He gave me a grim smile. "Some justice was served, even if he deserved much
worse for every thing he put you through."
"I'm just glad it's over. We never have to worry about him again."
Finally tears of happiness spilled over my cheeks, and I smiled. I hadn't been able
to be truly happy for months, everything had been tainted by James. But now he was
gone, and I could live my life again.
As I rested my hand on Edward's, I resolved to never again let him see me cry
over anything James had done. Thanks to James' cowardice, or guilt, or maybe someone
else's fury at what he had done to me, I wasn't screaming in silence any more.
Mwhuahaha. I was able to convince my teacher to give me another page, so I am very happy, yup yup. I think it really helped the development of Bella's character more. You know the drill, R&R, critique, whatever. I really want to make this an awesome short story, so any help is greatly appreciated!