Disclaimer: I do not own twilight
Chapter 3
The cafeteria was a fair sized place, it was just the right size for a school as small as ours. All around the room were a bunch of round tables with chairs and all the walls were framed with large steel and glass. Almost unbreakable glass too. On the left side was the lunch line, which was beginning to fill up. I ignored the line and went straight to the salad table, where I went every day. Charlie never gave me lunch money, and I couldn't get it myself.
Besides, I never did like the school food. I went to the salad bar and picked up a tray, putting a salad and an apple on it, while grabbing my water bottle out of my bag. I made my way outside to go eat my lunch under a tree, in my usual spot. I ate my salad speedily and then took my time on my apple, watching the other students eat and joke and talk.
My attention soon became turned towards the new kids, or at least I assumed that's who they were. I saw Rosalie Hale sitting with them and guessed they were the Hales and the Cullens. I didn't really care, but I watched them anyway, like I did with Rosalie. Just so I knew what they looked like, how they dress, everything I might need, just in case. As I watched them, I could hear them talking, and quickly learned their names.
"Oh my god Emmett don't touch my hair! " A little pixie like girl said to one of the boys sitting next to her. He had been messing with her short, spiky black hair. The boy Emmett was very big and muscular, easily seen as a body builder and probably the strongest guy in the state. He had dark, curly hair and a big smile. His skin, like Rosalie's, was pale like mine. Emmett was a lot taller than the little pixie girl, and he seemed to be the happiest of the bunch.
He had broad cheekbones and a pumped up body. He was wearing a white T-shirt that made him look even more muscular and fit, and dark blue jeans. He was wearing white sneakers and a white hat with some writing a designs on it, though I wasn't sure what they were. He had dark brown eyes and I could tell he would be an easy person for anybody to get along with. The perfect big brother.
"Sorry Alice, would it be better if I messed up Jasper's hair? " Emmett asked still smiling and began messing with a honey colored haired boy. The pixie like girl Alice looked kind of frustrated with Emmett, but laughed anyways. She had very short, spiky black hair and a very small, petite frame. Very pixie-like. She seemed to be an energetic little person with a happy aura surrounding her and couldn't seem to stop bouncing from excitement.
She had a very excited and kind looking face, with dark blue eyes. She also seemed to be very fashionable. She was wearing a white shirt on bottom with a dark gray half vest over the top of it. The vest had a V-neck cut on the vest and at the bottom of the vest was a small cut part that looked really nice. The vest had a few buttons to hold it together and it looked really good on Alice. She was also wearing a short black skirt that was for the most part plain and some white leggings that went to the top of her ankles. She was wearing black ballet flats and around her neck was a necklace with a stone hanging on the end.
The stone looked very smooth and rounded out and was a deep green color. She was wearing some silver eye-shadow, eye liner, and mascara and had some clear lip gloss on.
"Emmett! Cut it out! " The boy named Jasper said to Emmett, leaning away from him as Emmett tried to mess with his hair again. Jasper was a tough looking boy. He had wiry muscles on him, and looked strong, but was nothing compared to Emmett's bulky form. His hair was honey-colored and he had baby blue eyes that sparkled a bit. He had a face that showed stability and at the moment amusement. He was laughing with Emmett and the girls joined in. I smiled at the scene. Jasper had a nice build to him and was wearing a long sleeved dark green shirt. It looked nice on him. He was wearing some dark blue jeans and tennis shoes. He was sitting next to Alice. Alice was sitting next to Emmett, and on Emmett's other side was Rosalie.
On the other side of Rosalie was another boy. He had a wiry build like Jasper's, but looked slightly stronger than the honey-haired boy. His hair was an untidy bronze and he had a very kind and carefree smile. He had beautiful green eyes and a breathtaking crooked smile. He had a nice build, just like the others, and looked like a person of determination. He was wearing a light gray T-shirt that really helped show his muscles and fit him perfectly.
He wore dark blue jeans like the other boys and tennis shoes. Altogether a very nice looking family. Apparently they all lived together, the Cullen's and the Hale's. The Hale's were adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, and were also together with the Cullen children. As I watched them I figured out which family was which for the most part. Rosalie and Emmett were kissing for a while, so I gathered that Emmett was a Cullen. Alice was leaning onto Jasper's chest and he was talking with her and kissing the top of her head. I knew that one of them was a Cullen and the other was a Hale. I had no idea which family the bronze haired boy belonged to.
"Edward Cullen, stop daydreaming and pay attention to your amazing twin sister! "Alice fake-scolded. The bronze haired boy, Edward, laughed. I smiled as I watched them. So, Edward, Alice, and Emmett were the Cullens, and Rosalie and Jasper were the Hales. It made sense now. I finished my apple and just sat by my tree, watching everyone. When the bell rang, signaling us to go back inside, I headed for science.
Mister Harris handed me a sheet of paper when I walked in the door and I went to my seat in the back. I copied down the assignments and opened my book to work on them. I also had to take notes like everyone else in this class. During the class I paid strict attention and took all my notes and did all the work for the week and finished before the class was over.
When the bell rang releasing us to the final period, I walked to gym. As I was changing, I noticed that Alice and Emmett Cullen had this class with me too. Gym passed by like any other day, and soon I was off to my locker for my skateboard. I grabbed my board out, closed my locker, and set off towards work. As I was boarding to work, I thought back to the new kids. They seemed nice enough, but that wouldn't last. I knew it wouldn't, just give it a couple days. I boarded to work, the Newton's Sports Store, and put my stuff away and grabbed my vest, getting ready for my shift.
Newton's Sporting Goods Store was one of the few places in this tiny little town that had an available job. You didn't earn a whole lot of money, but at least it was something. Mike Newton was one of the guys I went to school with, a real school player. He's probably slept with almost every girl in the school, and he doesn't give a damn about the laws or anything. He's also one of the main people that constantly bug me.
Him and his buddies Tyler, Ben, and Eric usually shove me into lockers or closets or something and lock me in there. It doesn't bother me that much, I just make sure I'm home on time to cook dinner for Charlie. Otherwise I'd be dead. Mike's mom owns the store, and if you took one look at her you wouldn't think sporting goods store' you'd think 'Nail Salon' or maybe 'Macy's'.
Mrs. Newton had deep, blonde hair that went just past her shoulders. She usually had it up in her stylish bun. She was wearing red lipstick, some foundation, and even more makeup that made her look beautiful. Mrs. Newton was wearing her usual stylish attire, with a white shirt that only went to her bellybutton. She had a white tank underneath of it and was wearing white pants and red heels. She had perfectly manicured nails and never got a scratch on them. Not exactly the type of person you expect to be showing you where the fishing rods were.
When my shift ended an hour later I stowed away my vest under the counter and made my way out the door. Before I left, Mrs. Newton came up to me.
"Bella, here's your paycheck from last week, I'm sorry its so late. " Mrs. Newton said kindly, handing me the envelope. She was always such a nice woman, always being kind to me because of how respectful she saw me as. I smiled and said a quiet 'thanks' to her before opening the envelope and pulling out the money from my paycheck. There seemed to be a little more money than usual in here, and I unfolded it and counted it all. Mrs. Newton had given me an extra thirty dollars. Wow. I lifted my head to look up at her in surprise, and she just smiled warmly at me.
"Bella, you always do such an amazing job around here. You keep everything clean, you help all the customers. I hardly have anything to do anymore. " She laughed. "I figured you deserved a little extra for all your hard work. "I was smiling by the time she had finished. I thanked her and headed off on my skateboard to the supermarket and Wal-mart. I went to Wal-mart first. I restocked all my medical supplies and added a little extra thanks to Mrs. Newton's kind donation. after I had all that I needed in my bag, I headed off towards the Supermarket. I didn't need to stay here for long, I just needed to grab something to eat. We were out of fruit and yogurt at home, and that was all I really ate.
I went to the fruit section and grabbed a bag, I put in seven red apples, four green apples, and a couple of pears. I closed the bag and got another one. In that one I put two oranges, a few peaches, three yellow apples, and a few more green apples until the bag was full. I closed it and walked back to the produce department to grab a bunch of yogurt. I grabbed about fifteen yogurt cups and made my way up front to check out.
After I had all my food in one bag, I tied it to my backpack and made my way home. I should get there with enough time to make Charlie's dinner and clean the house. I sighed in relief. Nothing was worse than being late. I pulled up into the driveway and jumped off my skateboard, putting it into the bush by the side of the road where no one would be able to see it or find it unless they knew it was there.
I untied my bag off food from my back and ran upstairs to my room. I pulled out all my medical supplies and fit them in its drawer. I then stocked my mini fridge with all my food and closed it. I had gotten the mini fridge at a garage sale I was passing, and the woman standing there was kind enough that she gave it to me for free, since nobody else would buy it.
I felt forever in her debt, but she said it was no problem, that they'd been wanting to get rid of that old thing for the past couple years. I've had it since that day, and its sat in my closet, keeping my food cold and undiscovered and safe. The little thing never made a sound, even when it was being opened it was silent. After I put my bag on top of my mini fridge I closed the closet door and went downstairs to start Charlie's dinner.
I was making him some Fish Fry, Charlie's favorite. I hadn't made it in about a week or so now. Fish Fry took a while to make so while I was making it I was cleaning up the kitchen, making it spotless. After I cleaned the kitchen I cleaned the living room and the front hallway, picking up Charlie's messes. I moved all the laundry along and was almost finished with the Fish Fry when I glanced up at the clock. Charlie would be here in ten minutes, plenty of time for me to finish and set up his dinner and disappear from his sight. I finished Charlie's dinner and set it on the table with a cold beer.
I then scurried upstairs as I heard Charlie's cruiser pull into the driveway. He slammed the cruiser door and I could hear the crunch of his boots as his feet made its way to the front door. I listened to him open the door and stayed as silent as a mouse with a cat nearby, which was exactly the case right now. He took off his boots, shrugged out of his jacket, and hung up his gun belt. I sighed quietly in relief. The gun was put up. When he began eating his dinner, I could hear the satisfied groans and sounds from him getting up to get a third helping of Fish Fry. He also got another beer. I always tried to make everything as good as I could in the house, then I'm less likely to get beaten that night. I'm hoping that's the case for tonight, after what happened last night.
I opened my closet door and sat down in front of my medical kit and unwrapped my bandages. It was a miracle no one saw me in school today, no one beat me up or shut me away. I was perfect with that. Nothing pleased me more than the possibility of wiggling out of a beating and not having any problems at school. And all in the same day! That made this a good day. I looked over my wounds.
My legs were covered in bruises, and I had an unusually large black bruise on my leg from where Charlie stepped on my. I had purple and black blotches all over my stomach, but I could tell that my broken ribs were healing nicely. I already knew how to set any broken bone in my body and how to deal with it so it would heal nicely while I skateboarded and went to school. My arms had some bruises but they were all purple or blue, no black ones there. The scars had skinned over nicely, and needed no more healing. They would just sit that way the rest of my life. No one ever saw my arms anyway, so it wouldn't make a difference.
The scar on my back was the same as my arms, permanent, but at least sealed over healthily. They just looked bad, though they weren't infected or still healing. I always was a quick healer when it came to scars.
Bruises on the other hand took days, even weeks for me to get rid of. It looked like some of these would take at least a week and a half to get rid of, plus the fact that they wouldn't go away for a while thanks to Charlie always making them worse. The one on my stomach wasn't getting infected but it still hurt, and it looked like it had bled a little more today. I re-wrapped my stomach and got in my pajamas. The arms and back were healed enough they didn't need it.
My wardrobe was sadly small. I had only four pairs of jeans and four shirts, plus two spaghetti strap tank tops. I also had one thin jacket and two pairs of dirty white tennis shoes with only three pairs of socks. All my shirts were long sleeved and would probably look nice on me, except of how horrible Charlie makes me look. I suppose I would be beautiful, if I didn't have a bruised and scarred body.
I had healthy hair. My pale skin looked nice with my milk chocolate brown eyes and wavy brown hair. But I was never seen as beautiful, or lovely or nice looking even. I didn't even look plain anymore, I looked horrible. I was considered the ugliest girl in the school and was always beaten up and picked on. I took it all in silence; I'd had way worse than them. Everyone called me a bitch, or a slut. Said I looked like a dead animal. I didn't care though. The more invisible I became, the better.
I knew it was early, but if I went to bed early, maybe Charlie would leave me alone. I used to talk in my sleep, but that stopped when I was six, after being beaten by Charlie for a year. It just went away. I would sleep talk, even now, but I don't. Because of Charlie. So I sleep in silence while he snores the house down. I don't care. When he's asleep he can't hurt me. I went to sleep and knew that god was blessing me, because this would be my second night in a row with a dreamless, refreshing sleep. Charlie didn't come in to beat me last night; he had enough beer that he passed out in his room.
When I awoke in the morning I hopped up and set out my clothes . I unwrapped my bandages and took an amazingly hot shower that felt great on my skin. After I got out I rewrapped my stomach and got dressed. Today I was wearing one of my four identical blue jeans and a pair of my dirty white tennis shoes. I was also wearing my soft blue long sleeved shirt. It looked nice with my skin and it was nice and soft, very airy too. It was my favorite shirt. I put on my dark blue plain jacket over it and grabbed a yogurt out of my mini-fridge.
I walked quietly down the steps and grabbed a spoon, eating my yogurt in peace and silence. After I finished I washed and dried the spoon in the sink and threw away the yogurt cup.