I don't own Twilight.

I stayed in bed for exactly one week. I cooked until I ran out of food, and then I ordered in. Mostly Chinese food and pizza. I couldn't face getting up each day. I just had this overwhelming feeling of fear and I ended up just getting back into bed and hiding from the world.

I ended up ignoring all my phone calls. I couldn't talk to anyone about how I was feeling. Alice stopped by a couple of times, but I didn't let her in. I felt horrible about it, but I just couldn't open the door. I needed to get over this by myself. I didn't even know what I was feeling!

Mike ended up giving me a week off, so I didn't have to worry about getting up for that either. I mean, why bother getting up then? Rose phoned me a few times. I answered her calls once and told her that I'll phone her when I get the chance. I haven't called yet. I think she understood though, my need to be alone. I think she was going through the same thing. She's a stronger woman though for getting over it long enough to give me a call.

I suppose that you could call what I have a depression, but I know that it runs much deeper than that. I was traumatized. I was petrified of leaving my safe apartment. I didn't know what to do with myself. Seeing all those people killed in front of me was just horrible. I think that I had some sort of mental snap or something.

Jacob keeps coming by randomly. I don't let him in either. Especially since that whole thing with Charlie and the car. I told them that nothing happened between Ed and I, but they keep insisting.

To be honest, I was actually quite scared of leaving my apartment because I worried about James finding me. If he found me, I would have no one to protect me from him. Ed wasn't around, obviously, so who would do it?

I certainly didn't trust Jacob to get the job done. I actually didn't trust Jacob all that much. I know that his heart is in the right place, but he just doesn't know James. I observed James for hours on end, I think that I pretty much know all that he is thinking, and what is going on in his head. I also know that he isn't the losing type. He's going to come after me. I've become a game to him. He's also going to go after Ed. I mean, Ed did beat the crap out of him and stole all of his money.

So, finally, after a week, I dragged myself out of bed. I needed to go to work. I knew that Mr. Newton wouldn't be so lax with me for any longer. I had work to do and I intended to get it done. I refused to be scared all of my life. I needed to trust that the police would find James and everything would be done. I actually quite worried about Ed and them finding him. He was so kind to me. Maybe I had Stockholm syndrome.

I put little effort into what I would wear today. I picked a simple black pencil skirt and just put my hair up into a bun. I also just grabbed a dark blue blouse. I wasn't dressing to impress anybody today.

On my way out the door, I looked at my pair of heels resting by the door, but I opted for wearing black flats instead. I didn't have the energy to concentrate on walking today. I just wanted to get work done as quickly as possible. Before I left though, I put my bottle of pepper spray in my purse. I would be prepared if James decided to attack. I highly doubted that he would though.

I crept nervously out of my apartment door, locking it quietly behind me. I peered around the dimly lit hallway, before proceeding towards the elevator. I behaved like this the whole way to work. I guess I was just paranoid now. I even jumped at loud noises. Like the beeping of a car horn or construction work that was going on, on the side of the road.

By the time I reached the small office, I was extremely rattled.

I parked my car and headed into the elevator to the fifth floor. When I got there, I was met by silence. I peered around nervously. No one was in the office and half the lights were off. What was going on?

I walked over to my little cubicle. I was exactly how I left it. I sat down timidly on the chair, booting up my computer as I went.

After a few minutes, I just couldn't take it any longer. I stood up and headed over to Mike's office, which was in the back of the room. His light was on, so I expected him to be there.

I knocked on his door and Mike Newton opened it with a big smile, "Hi Ms. Swan. How are you feeling?"

I smiled back, only half assed though, "Fine. Umm, I was just wondering where everyone is."

Mike's smile broadened, "I've given everyone the day off, so that you're not overwhelmed by everyone on your first day back."

I was actually flattered that he cared, "Thank you Mr. Newton. I appreciate your concern."

He waved away my concerns, "Please, call me Mike."

"O-okay." I said nervously. I was starting to feel a little awkward. I knew this feeling. It always came to me when I knew something bad was going to happen. Well, maybe not bad exactly, but extremely unpleasant.

"Come in Bella. I've got a story that I would like you to work on for me." Mike said practically pushing me into his office and shutting the door softly behind me.

I sat down on a chair in front of his desk. He took the other chair opposite me instead of sitting behind his desk.

We sat there for a few moments before Mr. Newton started, "So, I'm aware of what you went through at the bank about a week ago and I understand that you refused to do any interviews."

I nodded shakily, not understanding where this was going. "I want you to write an article about your experience in the bank. It can be however long you want and it will be front cover news."

I just stared at Mr. Newton, shocked, before I spoke again, "Mr. Newton, there's a reason that I don't wish to share what happened to me and I ask you to respect my privacy." I said quickly. I just couldn't write about what happened. It was too personal.

Mr. Newton's face frowned, "I told you to call me Mike, and you do like having a job, don't you?"

I frowned this time; I wasn't going to fall for that one again. I was Mr. Newton's best writer, and he knew it! I just shook my head again. Mr. Newton began talking again, "I even gave you a week off for you to recover so that you could write this story! And now you won't do it?"

"I never agreed to write it!" I contorted.

"You don't get a choice as to what you're writing! It's always been like that!" Mr. Newton roared, rising from his seat a little bit. I shrank back. Memories from the bank came flooding back. Maybe I did need that therapy Carlisle was talking about.

Mr. Newton, seeing my fearful expression sat down a little bit, wiping the anger from his face. I knew that he was going to try a new angle to get me to write for him.

Mr. Newton's hand met my thigh. My knee jerked. "Mr. Newton!" I complained, grabbing his wrist, trying to push it away from me. He wouldn't budge.

"Please Bella. I could give you something in return." Mr. Newton said, hand going higher.

"Stop!" I said horrified. I didn't know that Mike was like this. I always thought that he was a good man, if not a dick at times.

Mr. Newton got out of his chair and latched his lips onto my neck this time . . . in the exact spot where James had his lips. I freaked out, needless to say. I clawed at his face and hit him anywhere I could. I grasped a hand around for my purse, but I couldn't find it. I must've left it at my cubicle. So much for the pepper spray.

Mr. Newton jerked back in surprise and I took this opportunity to push him off me and run for the office door. I'm glad that I wore flats today. I couldn't imagine running around in heels.

I pulled the door open and slammed it in his face. Mr. Newton was after me, I think with a worried expression on his face, but it was partly contorted by anger. I rushed off to my cubicle and grabbed my stuff quickly. I ended up leaving a lot of my personal belongings behind, like photos and note books. They weren't worth that much, but they held a lot of sentimental value. I couldn't stop though, Mr. Newton was barreling down the hallway. I ran towards the stairs, too scared to wait for the elevator. I knew he would catch me if I did wait.

I raced down the stairs, clutching my things to my chest. I made a mad dash for my truck dropping all of my things in order to unlock it. I could see Mike running out of the building now. I quickly threw all my belongings into the car and slammed the door behind me, locking it, just as Mr. Newton began pounding on it. I just stared at him wide eyed. I couldn't hear what he was saying. I didn't want to hear what he was saying. I put my car into first and drove off back to my apartment building, which I refused to leave, under any circumstances.

One month later . . .

And I didn't leave the house. I stayed in my apartment, ordering food in. I did get up though, I cleaned often and I even had Alice and Rose over. I had them over once before they started asking questions that I just couldn't answer. Mostly about my job though. Mr. Newton phoned a few times, but I ignored him. I couldn't talk to him now.

I think that Alice and Rosalie knew that something was up, but I wouldn't dare tell them. I didn't want any more police digging through my life. I was living quite comfortably in my little apartment. I didn't have any job deadlines and I certainly didn't have to worry about running into James somewhere since I didn't have anywhere to go.

By the time the owner came to collect my rent, I didn't have anything to give him. I was spending all of my money on take out food. I think that the land lord pitied me a bit. He said that he will give me one extra month, then I will need to pay next months rent and half of the rent that I couldn't pay. I thanked him heartily.

So here I sit, at my kitchen table, looking through the newspaper that I think Sam, the land lord delivered to my door. I think that he noticed that I haven't been leaving the apartment. I think that he also noticed the state at which I came home last month, after the whole Mike situation.

I was flipping through the newspaper, looking for jobs that I could apply to. I needed a fresh start. I needed to do something new. After flipping through the ad section a few times I saw that there were quite a few secretary jobs that were needed. I knew that it wasn't the best job, but I figured that if I went with a big company that I could get paid a pretty penny. Anything is better than what I was getting paid before.

I quickly made up my resume. I've made a few before so I knew exactly what I should write down. Unfortunately, I couldn't put any references down. I was pretty sure that Mr. Newton wouldn't be a good reference to me and I wanted nothing to do with him and his shitty newspaper.

I wrote down a few addresses and company names and I dressed in my best business attire. When I came towards the front door, I paused. I could feel the nerves coming on. I could feel the shakes coming on. I hitched my purse higher on my shoulder and took a deep breath. I could do this. I needed to do this, and I will. With that, I pushed all doubt from my mind and opened the door, taking a step out. Everything was fine. See, I was making progress. I walked confidently to the elevators.

Once the rusty elevators shut I closed my eyes to the fluorescent lights that were flickering. I took a deep breath and told myself to calm down.

I suppose that I could've called Charlie. I was in financial trouble and he once told me to phone him if I was ever in trouble. I just couldn't do it now. I needed to show him that I could get through this on my own. He obviously thought that I was a child and was too incompetent to do anything on my own. I would prove to him that I could do it. I would do it and nothing would stop me.

Another option would be to call Alice or Rosalie and tell them what's going on and maybe ask them for help, but I couldn't do that either. I couldn't ask them for something like that.

After the fourth interview, I was seriously deflated. I was asked every single time if I had a reference, and I said no. I put down on my resume though that I had a previous job at a newspaper and since I didn't have a reference from that, they assumed that I got fired and that I was a crappy worker.

My spirits were low and I was seriously starting to doubt that I would ever find a job.

I made my way to Mason enterprise. They were in need of a secretary, and I wasn't sure that they would hire me either. I mean, I have no references, I was pretty young and I had no experience as a secretary before. I know that it involves lots of work. I needed this job though. This was the last place on the list and if I didn't get this job, I was screwed.

I parked my car and rushed into the office. It was actually quite big. I went up to the receptionist and asked, "I'm here for an interview for Mason enterprise.

The girl looked up and nodded her head in a bored manner, "26th floor. Knock before you go into Mr. Mason's office." She ordered.

I nodded nervously, clutching my purse in one hand and my resume in the other. I seriously felt small compared to all of this.

I pressed the right floor in the elevator and stood awkwardly with the other people that were going up. I was the only one getting off on floor 26 though, which heightened my nerves. I was just running purely on adrenaline now.

After the elevator shut behind me, I looked around. People were bustling around everywhere and there was a lot of chatter. I looked around, but I wasn't sure where to go. One man was running by and I said, "Excuse me!"

He turned quickly to me and he got some weird smile on his face, "Why hello there. And who might you be?" He asked.

"Bella," I responded quickly, then regretted it.

He smiled wider, "I'm Felix."

I nodded, "Um, I was wondering where Mr. Mason's office was?"

Felix's smile dropped a little bit, "Are you a lady friend of his?" He questioned.

I frowned a bit not knowing what he meant, "I'm here for the secretary job, if that's what you meant." I responded.

"Ohhh! Yes, right this way." He said leading me through all the cubicles to the back.

We stopped in front of a huge mahogany door. Felix opened it for me and said, "Have fun."

I gave him a weak smile before stepping further into the room. "Sit." The man at the desk said.

I sat down quietly on the huge chairs that made me feel like a midget. I couldn't see Mr. Mason very well since he was looking down and he was obscured by shadows. "Name."

"Um, Isabella Swan. But I go by Bella." Mr. Mason's head snapped up, startled.

"Bella?" He asked.

I nodded, a faint blush working its way up my cheeks. This guy was gorgeous! He had copper hair and perfect features that were sharp and very masculine. He had stubble growing across his cheeks. The thing that really stood out to me though was his green eyes. I recognized this guy from somewhere.

The next thing he did, really confused me. Mr. Mason lunged across the table, grabbing one of those name plate things, like the one I hit Ed with and he threw it under his desk. He also, put his hand on his nose and mouth.

"Is something wrong?" I asked panicked.

Mr. Mason paused for a minute, before lowering his hand, coughing awkwardly, "Everything's alright."

"Good." I said.

We sat there just looking at each other. Before I cleared my throat, "Um, so about that job?" I asked.

"Oh, yes. Sorry." He mumbled, "Do you have a resume?"

I nodded, handing it over to him. He skimmed through it and asked, "No references?"

I sighed, knowing that this was coming, "None sir."

"But you worked at a newspaper?" He asked, to which I nodded.

"May I ask what the cause of your resignation was?" Mr. Mason asked.

I shook my head this time, "I'm sorry, but you may not ask."

A frown graced Mr. Mason's lips, "Were you fired?" He asked.

"No."

"Did you quit?" He asked.

"More or less."

"I can't hire you unless you have any references. Do you have anyone that I could call as a reference?" He asked, desperate now.

I shook my head.

"What if I phoned the newspaper that you worked at?" Mr. Mason asked picking up the phone.

Panic gripped me and I shouted, "NO!"

Mr. Mason dropped the phone like it was on fire. "I'm sorry." I mumbled, "It's just that I quit a month ago. My boss was acting . . . unprofessionally and I didn't appreciate it. Now, I really need this job, and I highly doubt that he would be a good reference for me."

Mr. Mason looked furious and he clasped his hands together staring intently at me, "What do you mean by unprofessional?" He demanded.

"He was umm . . . making advances. I told him to stop, but he wouldn't, so I got out of there." I said vaguely explaining.

Mr. Mason looked concerned, "Didn't you contact the police?" He asked.

I shook my head, "It's fine. It's over."

Mr. Mason shook his head, "The police should be contacted."

I refused again, "Don't worry about it. It's over and done with. It was nothing. Please let it go." I didn't even know why he was so concerned. I was a completely stranger.

Mr. Mason sat there for a little bit, thinking maybe, then said, "You're hired. I like you. You're honest. I need someone like you around."

I stared at him in disbelief, "You're hiring me?" I squeaked out.

"Yes." He said slowly.

Tears sprang to my eyes. I couldn't believe this was happening! Finally I was getting a break! Mr. Mason, seeing my tears, seemed to get the wrong idea, "Is everything alright? Are you alright? Should I call a doctor? I'm sorry. What did I do wrong?"

I shook my head at his worried pleas, "I'm just so . . . happy! I'm sorry I'm over reacting, but I've just had a hard couple of months and I've been to so many interviews and . . . I'm just so glad that someone's giving me a chance!"

Mr. Mason smiled guiltily at me, though I don't know why, "I'm glad to have you with me."

I took a deep breath and decided to act professional for once, "I don't have much experience in this area, though I think that I could figure it all out pretty quickly. I'm a fast learner. And I was wondering which cubicle I would be working in, they all seem to be taken."

Mr. Mason stared blankly at me. Confusion swept over me once again, "Um, Ms. Swan, what do you think your job here will be exactly?"

"Erm, aren't I a secretary?" I asked.

Mr. Mason slammed his hand down on his desk, "Those fucks! I told them that I needed a personal assistant, not a secretary!"

I jumped in surprise of his loud noise. Tears sprang to my eyes once again. Great! Just when I thought that I was getting a break something like this has to happen. I'm probably not even qualified to be a personal assistant. He'll probably get somebody else now.

I jumped up, partly from fear of the noise and embarrassment. I rushed from the room and headed towards the elevators. Once again, I was running. I never should've left the apartment!

I hopped back into my truck and made my way back home, tears running down my face the entire time. I wish this whole bank thing hadn't of happened. I get frightened at the stupidest little things. Mr. Mason's hand slamming on the desk was nothing! I bet that I totally lost the job now! He would never want to hire a crying unstable girl!

I was now just going to wait until Sam kicked me out. I was done. I couldn't do this anymore. I just wanted to curl up in bed and block the whole world out. Maybe I would do just that.

So there's chapter 8! Sorry it took a while to update. I was away for some second or third cousins wedding. It was fun. It was like a whole family reunion, but I'm glad to be back. I missed writing on fanfiction.

So in this chapter Bella meets . . . (drum roll please) . . . Edward! I was so happy to have him in the story! Don't worry though, Edward and Bella will be reunited soon again.

So please REVIEW! It only takes 15 seconds. Not even. So please do it! Thanks!

REVIEW PLEASE!

~greeneyes-99 (Nat)