A/N: Well, I got three reviews and a couple follows, so I hope this chapter will earn me some more followers, and I hope to get some more reviews to tell me how I'm doing. Reviews inspire me to write more, meaning more information, more chapters, more story faster. So if you really want to know what is going to happen to these characters, tell me how you really feel, good or bad. Oh and I plan to put a lot of my own personal writing in here, just like with the poem last chapter. Please do not steal my poetry, especially without my permission.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters, Stephenie Meyer does. Also, the song 'This Is A Call' belongs to Thousand Foot Krutch. The poem at the bottom belongs solely to me, so please do not steal or reproduce it.

This is A Call

She fooled all of her friends into thinking she's so strong,

but she still sleeps with her light on,

and she acts like

It's all right on, as she smiles again

and her mother lies there sick with cancer,

and her friends don't understand her,

she's a question without answers,

who feels like falling apart.

She knows, she's so much more than worthless,

but she needs to find her purpose,

she wonders what she did to deserve this and...

She's calling out to you, this is a call; this is a call out,

'Cause every-time I fall down, I reach out to you,

and I'm losing all control now, and my hazard signs are all out,

I'm asking you, to show me what this life is all about.

Chapter 2 - Wake-Up Call

Bella's POV

"Miss Swan?"

"BELLA?!"

"Huh? What?"

"The principal just called. There's a family emergency. You need to head to the hospital right now."

No. No. NO! This is it, isn't it? Great! Now I'm crying at school. No more facade. Everyone is going to know we've been lying all along.

I ran out the door as fast as possible, leaving everything behind.

The next thing I know, I'm flying through the hospital doors, searching for my dad. When I find him, he's hunched over, crying. That's not good.

"D-d-d-ad?" I couldn't get the words out. My dad just grabbed me and we cried together. NO! Not good at all!

"Dad? Is mom...?"

"S-s-s-she's gone, sweetie."

"NOOO!"

"SHIT!" I flew up out of my bed, drenched in sweat and tears. Just a dream. It was just a dream. The same dream...

"Oh, thank God!" I am sick of this dream. I should know it's not real by now, but for some reason it gets more real as time goes on.

I looked over at my alarm clock. Of course I only have 20 minutes before I have to be up. Fuck! Maybe I should just start setting my alarm 30 minutes sooner so I won't have to deal with the dream in the first place. You would think I would learn my lesson after 10 months of this.

Time to get ready and face the world, Bella. I jumped into the shower and got ready for the day. The shower always helped me calm down quickly after those dreams. Relaxed my muscles. Helped me put my facade back up.

After I got dressed, I went out to greet my father for breakfast.

"You okay, Bells?" Great! He had to of heard my wake-up call.

"Yeah, dad. Just a dream. Sorry."

"Yeah. You know I should probably wash your mouth out with soap, but I don't really feel like it today." He always threatened with the soap. Doesn't really help there is always a sarcastic undertone to the threat.

"Oh no, Dad! Not the soap!" We are a family full of sarcasm. We did anything to earn a laugh around here.

"Don't worry, Bells. You've got nothin' on Em." Emmett probably has a worse mouth than even Rose, so being around it so much, there are times that words just slip out without my knowledge. Dad hated how much Emmett swore. Em always blamed it on his teammates being a bad influence in the locker room, but I knew better. If anyone was a bad influence in the locker room, it was him. Always trying to show off. "So, what are your plans for today?"

"Oh, um, I told mom I'm hanging out with Alice after school. Just working on homework and what-not. We haven't had a lot of time to hangout outside of school lately." More like I haven't really made time. God, I'm a horrible friend.

"Sounds good. So you won't be home for dinner?"

"Probably not. I think Alice and I will just order a pizza or something. Is that okay?" I really feel silly asking for permission. They never used to mind me going out with Alice and staying with her for dinner and sometimes even sleepovers during the week. But now I feel like I should always be home, always be close to mom in case something were to happen.

"That's fine. I think I might take your mom out, if she's feeling up to it. Yesterday was a good day, so I hope today will be, too." Mom's mood swings have been pretty hard on my dad. Dr. Cullen says that the treatments might be causing my mother to become pre-menopausal. When mom goes off on dad for no reason, he feels so lost. He usually tries to encourage her to work in her studio when she gets like that, to do her own type of venting, throw some clay around, but sometimes she just wants to yell. I hope he can take her out today. They haven't been able to go on a date for a long time.

"That sounds like a perfect idea, dad. She needs to get out of the house, sometimes."

"Alright, Bells. I'm off to work now, so I can get off earlier. You be good, and tell Alice I said 'hi'." He grabbed his jacket and gun belt.

Before he walked out, I replied, "Will do, dad. Aly misses you, by the way. She always asks how her favorite second dad is." This made me a little sad. I hated not being able to tell Alice what was going on and why my family didn't want her over here anymore. I know it hurts her since my family practically adopted her as their own when we were kids, just like her's did for me. Our parents never really became more than acquaintances, but Aly and I felt like we were a part of each others families.

"Tell Aly I miss her, too. Oh and I heard a 'congratulations' is in order for getting into her first choice college?" This is too small of a town!

"Oh, yeah. I'll tell her. Bye, daddy. Love you!"

"Love you, too. Bye, baby girl."

At that, my dad left for work, and now I have about 30 more minutes to kill before leaving for school. What to do? What to do?

I decided to go check on mom. I did this most mornings. I snuck into her room and went to lay down on my dad's side of the bed. I knew the movement would wake her up, and she didn't usually mind. She would roll over to face me and we would grab onto each other and just hug for a few minutes. No words needed.

When we let go, I would always tell her, "I love you, mom," and just hold onto her hands.

She would then say, "I love you, too, Peanut." Peanut has been my mom's nickname for me since I was in her womb.

Next, she would kiss me on the forehead, and tell me, "Have a good day."

"I will, mom. I'll see you later." Then, I kiss her on the cheek and we would both roll out of bed, so she could see me out to the door.

This was our usual morning routine. It was my way of knowing that while I was at school, I would have a good last memory of my mom if something were to happen. Our last words would be filled with love.

When I got to school, I told Alice that my father said 'hi' and 'congratulations'. Then I proceeded to tell her all about how Emmett agreed to be Designated Driver and he was going to try to invite some of his teammates, but no promises. I also told her how Rose and I talked and she invited all of us to head back over to Rose's after the party. She almost blew my eardrums out with her squeal. Alice wants Rose and I to be friends again so bad, so she thinks this is going to do it. I don't think she even remembers why we stopped being friends in the first place. Alice knew I liked Edward, but I don't think she knew how much.

Edward is Rosalie's next-door neighbor, so of course they always saw each other and it made sense that him and Rose would date. That didn't mean I had to like it. Edward is gorgeous. Always has been. He was always nice to me in Elementary school, too. One of the only guys that didn't think I had cooties. Once we got to Middle school, though, he was rarely in any of my classes, so we didn't talk as much anymore, except when I went over to Rose's to hang out. She had this huge tree house out back, with a swing set and slides. Edward would come over when he saw us hanging out. That's when Rose started to like him and eventually asked him out, which he agreed to. I stopped talking to both of them after that.

The last time I even said more than two words to Edward was a few months ago. He was visiting his dad at work, at the hospital... He wondered why I was there. Asked me if I was alright. I had to make up some ridiculous lie about spraining my wrist rollerblading. I wore a wrist brace for two weeks after that, just to make the whole thing look real.

Another lie to cover up our secret.

But, back to today, I decided that if it makes Alice happy, I would really try with Rose. The whole thing was so long ago, and we've all matured. So when I found Rose later, I told her that we all agreed to go back to her place after the party. Her squeal could have almost beat Alice's. God, what is it with these girls? She gave me a big hug, which I returned, uncomfortably, but I tried to not let that show.

After school, I followed Alice in my truck over to her place. We ordered the pizza right away, popped some popcorn, and got the basement set up for our movie night. Although this was for school, the movie wasn't that bad, so we were able to really enjoy it.

Once the pizza arrived, we sat down and pressed play.

"So do really think Em will be able to get any of his friends to come?" Alice was not going to give this up.

"I don't know, Al. He said he'd try, but are these guys really going to want to come to a high school party when they could go to a college party?"

"You're right." Now she sounded sad. Shit!

Alright, what can I say to fix this? "Hey, but it's Emmett. He'll find a way to persuade a couple of them at least." I hope that works.

We just sat and watched the movie for awhile without talking. The CG in this is actually pretty cool. I'm glad we weren't watching the 1999 version. Compared to this, those special effects sucked!

Buzz Buzz

I looked at my phone to see who it was. A text from Emmett. I am really hoping for good news.

"Jazz is in. So are Paul and Jared. They're suckers for the youngin's. You sure Rose can handle us all?"

Oh, Thank you, Lord! "Emmett, I love you! You have no idea how happy Aly will be. And maybe it won't be so bad for you with a couple friends."

I had a goofy smile now. Alice is going to love this.

"Hey, who are you talking to? We already missed this movie once. Pay attention!"

"Yes, ma'am!" I did a little salute and continued with, "Sorry, Al. It was just Em."

"Oh, well, then that's okay, as long as you are still paying attention."

Buzz Buzz

"Still can't drink because of you, but yeah, it won't be so bad."

"Hey. That's what the after-party is for. Thanks again, bro!"

Buzz Buzz

"Yeah, yeah. Love ya, sis."

Should I tell Alice now, or later? I decided to wait till the end of the movie, at least. I've already seen it back when it first came out and I've read the story, so it's not like I would miss much. It has just been awhile, so I needed a refresher. Alice, on the other hand, hates to read anything but fashion magazines and those dumb Twilight books. Oh and the smut people write using the characters in Twilight. I also know she never saw this movie because Emmett was the one who dragged me along. Alice passed on this wonderful opportunity to hang with Rose instead. Em and his buddies were hell bent on seeing a half-naked Angelina Jolie, even if it was CG. Too bad it wasn't even her body they used. I laughed when I found that out on IMDb. When I told Em, he was so pissed.

The credits started to roll, so I went to gather my things. I wanted to get back home before it got too late, so I could say goodnight to my mom.

"Hey, what's the rush? It's only 7:30." She started to give me the puppy eyes.

Ugh! "Sorry, Al. I told my parents I would be home right after the movie. It's still a school night." Worse excuse ever. I used to spend the night all the time, even on school nights. Um...what could I say? Another lie to placate my friend. "My mom's heading to an Art Workshop tomorrow and... I want to be able to say goodbye before she was gone for the weekend." It could be believable. My mom was a teacher. She used to take long weekend trips all the time for her job. She could still be doing professional development workshops, couldn't she? Oh well.

"Oh, okay. See you tomorrow, Bells."

Well, what better time to break the news... "Oh, hey. I almost forgot. Em just told me that he got a couple of the guys to agree to come down with him." Just let it stew for a minute.

"Which one's?" She looked at me funny. I think she's remembering my goofy smile during the movie.

"Um...I forgot their names. Hold on. Let me check." I pulled out my phone to just mess with her. "He said that Paul and Jared didn't mind hanging out with us youngin's." I'm starting to feel bad now.

"Is that it? Just the two?" Oh. Alice lost her sparkle at that.

Okay. Okay. Stop being mean. "Oh, and Jasper said he'd co-"

"AHHHHHHH! REALLY!?" And I thought my eardrums were blown earlier... Fuck, that was loud!

"Shit, Aly! Could you be any louder? I don't think they heard you in China." I just had to roll my eyes at her excitement. I'm glad that I can still make my friend happy. "Yeah, that's why Em text me earlier. Just making sure that Rose won't mind us all over."

"Oh, she won't mind, as long as your brother is there." Alice froze. "Oops. I shouldn't have said that."

"Rose is after my brother? Really? Fuck! No wonder she's trying to be buddy-buddy." That pissed me off. I thought Rose and I were trying to really make amends for the past. She was just using me all along.

"No, Bells. Don't look at it that way. She really does want to be your friend again. She's been saying it for years. But yeah, she's had a thing for Em since Freshman year. She was always jealous that I got to hang out with you guys all the time."

"Well, boo fucking hoo. I'm glad she got a taste of the jealousy bug. Serves the bitch right." Shit. This isn't me. I'm not this bitchy person. Well, I am in private...not ever in front of anyone else, and especially not in front of Alice. I decided to pretend to blow it off. It really isn't that big of a deal. I took a deep breath, rolled my eyes, and said, "Whatever. It'll be fine. I'll still try at this friendship thing if she really wants it. Just let Rose know that Emmett's kind of seeing someone right now. Him and Heidi have been casually dating for months." Of course it wasn't serious. Em didn't want to get attached to anyone right now, not with Mom the way she is.

"She's not planning on throwing herself at him, B. Just wants to hang out. Show him she's not a little girl anymore. Shit like that. But she's more concerned on being your friend again, I promise. She hates that we aren't the Three Musketeers anymore."

"Like I said, I don't really care. If Rose really isn't just trying to be my friend because she wants my brother, she can try proving it. How about you tell her you and I will be over right after school on Friday to get ready for the party before Em comes to pick us up?"

"That sounds perfect!"

"Alright, Al. I really have to go. I'll see you tomorrow."

We walked upstairs, and Alice walked me out. "See ya, B!"

"Mom. Dad. I'm home." I yelled out as I walked through the door.

"In here, Bells," I heard my mom's voice say, coming from the living room. I rounded the corner and saw my mom sitting on the couch by herself. "Dad's in the shower. I was about to head to bed. Just waiting on you."

"You didn't have to do that, Mom. If you're tired, you should have just went to bed."

"It's fine, Peanut. I wanted to talk to you before bed. How was the movie, how's Alice?"

"It was good. She's good. Aly and I were thinking about staying the night at Rose's Friday night." I specifically didn't full out ask this time to see what she would say.

"So Rose really is trying to be friends again, isn't she? I don't know what happened to you two back in middle school, but you really shouldn't hold a grudge for so long. You should have some fun with the girls. It'll be good for you to get out of this house for a little while."

"Oh, Mom. You know I love spending time with you. It's my favorite thing in the world." I gave her a big hug to reiterate my statement. I want to spend as much time with her. Not missing one second I can with her.

"Baby, I know you can't love hanging around me and your dad all the time. You're just a kid. Be a kid. Hang out with you're friends. Have a life." How can I have a life if I don't know if you will, too?

"So you don't mind me staying over Rose's Friday?" I thought I wasn't asking. God, I'm pathetic. Maybe I was always looking for a way out. A way to stay with mom.

"Yes. You can stay at Rose's Friday night. Why don't you see if you can stay all weekend?"

"Are you and Dad trying to get rid of me?" I tried to joke...I thought it would be a joke. Only I was the only one laughing.

Mom, on the other hand, looked very serious just now. "Well, yes, actually." What? "Bella, this is what I need to talk to you about. In two weeks, we find out if I'm in remission or not. The doctor said I was looking pretty good last time I went in, but I have been feeling a little funny lately." Wait! What? Please nothing be wrong! I think my mom saw something in my face during that last little bit because she quickly said, "OH no! Baby. That's not what I meant. I'm fine. I just need to tell you something. I know this whole situation hasn't been easy. And I love that you've been around so much. I love my baby girl more than anything. You know that right?"

All I could do was nod. I had no idea where this was going.

My mom continued, "Bella, what I'm trying to say is that I need you to stop putting your life on hold for me. We don't know what is going to happen to me. But you have so much to live for right now. You're 18 years old! You're about to graduate high school. I know I have been selfish wanting to keep you to myself and I know you are too afraid to be apart from me for too long, but this needs to stop." Tears were starting to fall from her face, which brought on my own water works.

"Mom, what's going on? Why are you crying?" This is scaring me.

"Baby, your dad found your admissions application to San Francisco State University a couple weeks ago." Oh no! She thinks I want to leave her.

"Mom, I never sent it in. I don't want to leave home. I'm going to Peninsula. I told you that! I can't leave you yet. You guys need me here."

"No, Peanut. Here's the thing, we don't need you here. I survived once and I will survive again. And I know you didn't send in the application, but... you're dad did. He got it in right before the deadline. He wanted to make sure you had the option. Baby, y-you... you got in."

What? I got in?! No. I can't leave my mom right now. Not until I know the cancer is gone forever. "I got in?" I said in almost a whisper.

"Bella, listen to me. You are going to San Francisco with Alice in the fall. No if's, and's, or but's. I love you, baby, but staying around here, suffering, I can't let you live like this anymore. I will be fine. I promise you. When your acceptance letter came yesterday, it was like a slap in the face; a call out. It woke me up and reminded me that I really need to be a mom right now, and not hold my daughter back from living the life she should have. Well, it wasn't just the letter. Your father also had a pretty big talk with me at dinner tonight. He wanted me to explain to you that whether I'm here or not, it doesn't matter. You need to start living for yourself, not me."

"M-m-om. I can't leave you. Not yet. Maybe in two years, after I get my Associates. Then maybe I'll go to San Francisco to finish up. But I can't leave in the fall. I need to know you'll be okay." I threw my head down into my hands and started pulling on my hair. I could feel my chest closing up. I've only ever felt like this once before. Almost a year ago...when we found out the cancer came back. I think they said it was a panic attack.

"Bella, breathe. Deep breaths. In. Out. Calm down, sweetie. Look at me." I slowly brought my eyes back up to look at my mother. Her eyes were still full of tears. I can't leave her. I can't hurt her. Not now. "Baby. I love you. You. Are. Not. putting your life on hold for me. No more. You are going to start with going out with your friends this weekend. Then, you are going to start registration with SFSU. You won't be alone out there. You will have Alice. We will video chat every night, if it makes you feel better, but You. Are. Going. I am done being selfish. You are going to go to a good college. You are going to major in something you love. You are going to live your life, now, not mine."

I can't believe that they are telling me to go. I don't know what to do... "Mom, can I just sleep on it, please? I really don't want to leave you, but please don't force me out if I don't want to go."

"I'd never force you to do anything, sweetheart. But this is what is best for you. I really want you to think this through. But this weekend is not up for discussion. I want you to leave for school Friday morning and I do not want to see your face until Sunday afternoon at the earliest." This made us both laugh a little. I know she's just being a mom and trying to do what's best for me.

"Alright, mom. I love you. I'm going to head to bed. I'll... see you in the morning?" I wasn't sure if she wanted me to continue with our morning routine anymore.

"Of course. I'm looking forward to my morning snuggle with my baby girl. Just because your father and I think you should go to San Francisco does not mean that we love you any less. You just need to stop hiding at home so much."

"I understand. Goodnight, momma."

"Goodnight, baby girl. I love you."

"Love you, too"

I walked away to my bedroom. After writing last night, I really had the urge to do it again. I grabbed my laptop and signed into my LiveJournal. I was about to open a new entry when I noticed I had a comment on my post from last night. That's odd. None of my friends use their LJ anymore. They only use their Facebook and Twitters. I opened up my entry and saw that the commenter was Anonymous. Of course.

It said:

Anonymous

Most people lie. You're not the first.

The "invisible man" you speak of doesn't manipulate people into doing things. They just do them. Not everyone you meet is deceitful. Some are loving, caring, honest people. I can't say that I am one, but they are out there. Closer than you think.

You are surrounded by people who love you, though. People who know that you lie to them and hide things from them, but love you the same. I know you are hiding and you're not alone. I know when I see a fellow "actor", as you put it.

But you are not lost to the world. You just lost the trust of it. Eventually, though... I hope that you learn to trust the world once again. I hope we all can.

You just need to know that you are loved. If you remember anything, remember that.

Who the hell does this person think they are? They don't know me or my situation. How do they know I am hiding? A fellow 'actor'? What is that suppose to mean? Of course they're Anonymous, just to show how much they are hiding, too. UGH! Should I respond?

Here. Let's try this:

SilencedThought

Dear Anonymous

You obviously love to hide, or you wouldn't have signed this Anonymous. I don't know why you think you know my life's story, but you don't.

And this post was just a poem. A story. Fiction. Creative writing. Whatever you want to call it.

So thanks for you're input, but it was not needed.

That should work. Keep the walls up, Bella.

Alright, now I can work on something new. This Anonymous person knows I'm hiding something, but they don't know what and I won't give them the satisfaction of knowing the pain of my life. Maybe mom was right. I need a life outside of this house. The only people I really talk to anymore are Emmett and Alice. I've never even dated anyone. Yup! 17 year old virgin, right here. Wow! I really don't have a life. Well, the only person I've ever even wanted to date was Edward. Other than Em, he was the only guy I had any connection with. But that's over. He doesn't even look at me anymore. Why would he? He's 'Mr. Perfect', top jock, Captain and star pitcher on the baseball team, Homecoming King, and extremely smart, too. He's in the top 5 of our class. Maybe I should write about my lack-there-of romantic life. That will definitely throw this person off.

Here we go:

A Child's Crush

Former love still on your mind. Remembering all the good times you had. You find yourself crying all the time. Moving on never helps. Everywhere you go, everything you do, reminds you of your love for them. Reminds you how happy you were in their arms.

Hold on to the one you are with and kiss them before you lose them forever. This was just a child's crush. Have fun, but do not fall in love. A broken heart now will kill you.

Poem by Bella Swan

I wonder what Anonymous will think of this. I read and reread my last two posts. Damn! When did I become so Emo? Oh, right... I really didn't think I was that bad, but even looking back at some of the lyrics I've posted in the past month or so. Just, Wow! Mom was right. Maybe this was my wake-up call, too. Maybe my facade wasn't as impenetrable as I thought. If anyone read anything that I have up here, they definitely would know that my smile I put on everyday was fake. Obviously someone is reading my stuff. They probably know more about what I'm feeling than my best friend.

Ugh! Holding in all this anger and sadness has really taken a toll on me. Maybe I should stop pretending. I don't have to tell anyone what's going on with my mom, but I don't have to pretend I'm happy all the time. Maybe I should really work on getting a life in the next 4 months, before my high school experience is completely over. Well, the party on Friday is a great way to start. And now I have something to celebrate, too... Going to San Francisco with my best friend in the fall.

A/N: So maybe we'll start the next Chapter with Edward and hear his story. I'm not much for outlining, so this story is just being made up as I go. Just trying to follow the song for the most part. Like a broken record, Please Please Please review. Good, bad, ugly. Give me something. Thanks!