Alright everyone, here's the next chapter. So, school starts again and work continues so I might not have a lot of time on my hands to write but this story will continue. We're getting to the good part anyways :P So READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!!

Disclaimer = I don't own Twilight!!!

Chapter 3

Little talk

Bella's Point of View

Ouch. Every single bone in my body hurt even worse than yesterday. It was unbelievably painful to even walk today. My left leg was purple, indicating the snapped bones and feet marks on it. Obviously, it would be hard to go to school with this but I had to. There was no way that I could just stay home. The secretary would call Charlie, asking him why I'm not at school and then, he would come home and beat me until I fall into unconsciousness.

I would just have to suffer through the pain.

Trying to walk as best as possible towards the bathroom became a bother. Looking at my stomach, I gasped when my eyes fell up it and saw that it was completely purple. Not an inch of skin wasn't covered in deep bruises. Charlie had done a good job this time. What would happen now? It would be hard to cover all of my stomach with makeup. That would be a waste. And tape wouldn't help this time. It was already hard to breathe and I'd already gone through most of it that going to the pharmacy after school was a definite must. Sighing, I pulled down my pyjama top and limped to the bathroom, deciding to just wrap up my leg, put makeup on my face and try to hide as much skin as possible with a shirt and loose jeans.

Looking at my watch, I saw that it was already past eight. Great. I'd be late for school this morning. What excuse would I use today, and hopefully one that I hadn't used before? There was no way that I could walk to school, not with this horrible leg of mine. Maybe I could say that it was a definite case of car trouble. Yep, I'd go with that one. It seemed the most logical explanation for my tardiness.

Getting dressed took many tries. A few times, small whimpers and cries of pain would escape my lips while trying to pull on my shirt and jeans. Going downstairs, many loud cries of pain would escape when my left leg landed on one of the steps. Why did Charlie have to beat me? Did I do something wrong to him? Or was it just simply because I looked too much like my mother? She would have never approved of his behaviour.

And frankly, if this continued, I doubt that I would live very long.

Sighing, I grabbed a granola bar and a banana, walked out of the house and drove to school. But the time my truck pulled into the parking lot, it was already eight forty-three. Great… almost half an hour late. This'll be fun to explain. Limping to the secretary's office, I gave her my lame excuse and she actually believed me. A small smile crept onto my face the moment I was out of the main office while limping to class. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad.

But, then again, that was a horrible hope.

My life couldn't possibly get any better.

When arriving in English class, I handed my tardy slip to Mr. Berty, which he accepted rather frustratingly, and I limped to my seat in the back of the class next to Alice and Edward.

They both looked at me worriedly when I sat down. Looking at both of them, my face changed from normal to questioning. What? I mouthed to them and soon found a piece of paper being placed under my arm. Unfolding it, I saw one of the best calligraphy ever done.

Where were you this morning

Alice had written a worried message to me. Didn't she get the message yesterday that it's not wise to hang out with me? Grabbing a pen and taking a firm hold on the paper, I wrote back to her in a horrible scribble.

Car trouble. What'd I miss?

She didn't seem too convinced about my little excuse but she wrote back none the less.

You're limping worse than yesterday. Are you sure you're alright?

Damn it! Why did I have to limp so badly? I'd have to improve on my skills if anyone was to believe that I was alright. But… why did Alice care about me so much? I mean, she saw what happened with the plastic witches yesterday. It's not healthy for her to spend so much time with me. She'll get in trouble sooner or later and, if it was possible, I was going to avoid that. Coming up with another excuse, my hand wrote clumsily one more time on the note before handing it back to her:

Don't worry about me. It's nothing. Just a bad leg.

She looked at me sadly but didn't write anything back for a few minutes. When getting the note back, my mouth dropped.

I want to help you Bella. That's what friends do.

She wanted to be my friend? But why? She could find so many other people better for her than me. And opening up to Alice would be bad for me. If it happened, she wouldn't see me ever again. Literally. Charlie had told me eight years ago that if I told anyone, he would kill me and anyone who knew. That was not going to happen.

It took me forever to reply but the eight words that I wrote completely tore my heart in half. She was just trying to be friends with me.

I don't think that's such a good idea.

She looked so hurt when she read it that I could have cried right here and now if we weren't in the middle of class. But suddenly, the bell rang and everyone ran out of the classroom except for Alice, Edward and myself.

"Why can't we be friends?" Alice asked me in the most broken-up voice ever. Closing my eyes to avoid crying, my eyes turned towards her.

"I'm sorry Alice. I'm no good," I begged her, hoping she would understand as I limped away from them. Unfortunately, Alice ran up to me and tried to make me understand. What she didn't know was that she was the one who needed to understand.

"Bella, I don't get this. Why are you pushing everyone away? I'm just trying to be a good friend and help you but you don't want any help," She answered hurtfully—probably unaware of the hurt in her words—as she made me look at her. Why couldn't anyone just leave me alone…?

"Alice, that's—" Edward tried to speak up but I interrupted him.

"It's alright Edward. She has every right to be angry with me. But Alice, you need to understand that hanging out with me isn't good, for both of you," I answered, leaving them both standing there speechless. They needed a good life, without me in it. But frankly, all I did want was a friend.

Edward's Point of View

"I'm only trying to help her. Have you seen her limping? She looks hurt beyond measure," Alice whispered to herself, her expression saddening with every passing second that Bella ignored us.

"Maybe she doesn't want any help. It feels like she just wants to be—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence! Haven't you seen the hurt in her eyes? It looks like it... it goes a while back. I'm not going to stop Edward," Alice promised me before walking away and trying to catch up to Bella, who had disappeared in the crowd of kids.

Alice and I hadn't spoken one word to one another since English. We'd gone through our second period and Lunch without speaking. All I tried to do was find Bella and get through to her to speak to Alice. Walking out of the cafeteria, I went towards the lockers and didn't find Bella anywhere. I checked outside the school and found nothing. In the parking lot, my eyes finally detected a small girl with mahogany hair in a large and old truck. That was Bella. She was eating a sandwich all alone in her truck.

Did she really want to be excluded from everyone? And why?

"Bella…" I whispered to myself while approaching her car. She noticed my sudden change and panicked, dropping her sandwich probably on her lap and trying to open her door.

I'd already pried the passenger door and entered her car. "Relax Bella, I'm not here to hurt you," I assured her but she didn't seem to relax. Although, she did close her door. That was some progress.

"I'm not afraid of getting hurt," I heard her mumble to herself as she bowed her head and grabbed her sandwich once more. Why did she feel so isolated?

"Then what are you afraid of?"

She turned her head towards me, shocked at my sudden question and spat back: "That's none of your business!" Pulling back at her sudden sharpness, she composed herself and bowed her head once again. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't worry about it."

"Why are you here?" She asked me sadly. My heart sank at the sadness and pain in her voice but… she needed help.

"Alice tried to talk to you after English and you kind of blew her off. I just wanted to know if you were alright," I answered, hoping it would lighten her mood. Wait a second, back up. Why the hell did I want to get attached to her? She didn't want to have friends, let alone someone to talk to. "Are you?"

"Why do you care?" She asked, once again breaking my heart at her sadness.

"Frankly, I don't know. But something tells me you need to talk to someone. You know, my sister really wants to be your friend, or at least get to talk to you."

"It's better if I stay away from everyone."

"And why's that?" And suddenly, some kids passed by, noticed me in Bella's truck and laughed before walking away. Bella pointed her finger at the kids and suddenly, realization hit me. "Oh, it's because of everyone else. Well, what if I told you I didn't care?" And frankly, that was the truth, in some way. It didn't really matter what people thought of me, but I also wanted to be accepted by people.

"You should. It's really bad luck to be hanging out with someone like me. And it's not healthy," Bella answered as she turned her chocolate eyes on me and frowned. What was she hiding?

"Well, Alice doesn't seem to really care."

"She might not, but I do."

"Try giving her a chance. You might start to like my baby sister," I insisted and saw Bella snort. Is it just me or Bella didn't want anything to do with anything or anyone? Which only brought on a feeling of… wanting to help her. All thoughts of wanting nothing to do with Bella were just erased from my head and replaced with longing and protectiveness.

"Please Edward, if you know what's good for you and your family, you shouldn't even be seen near me," Bella whispered.

"Is that a threat?" I asked shocked.

"No, it's a warning." She turned the full force of her brown eyes on me, which made me melt and feel hurt at the same time. Looking deep into her eyes, I could feel all the hurt and suffering she has gone through during who knows how long. "Please take it into consideration."

"And what if I told you I won't?" Somehow, my attitude had changed when looking into those dark brown eyes. It made me want to disobey all of these stupid warnings and protect this girl from anything and anyone. "What would you do if I didn't stay away? Bella, my sister and I only want to help you."

"I don't need your help," She muttered.

"Apparently, you do. Now, how about we get out of this rusty old car and go to class?" I offered and she looked at me undetermined. "Come on, you can't stay in this car all day long. And you obviously can't skip class. Now that's not healthy." She chuckled slightly at my little joke and opened her car door. Bella exited her car extremely slowly and gasped out in pain when she landed on the floor. "Are you alright?!" I asked while getting out.

Rushing to her, she started limping towards the school. I stopped her and tried to assess the damage. "Don't worry Edward, I just turned my ankle a little and it still hurts." When she saw that I didn't buy it, Bella limped towards the school and stopped when she noticed once more that I didn't follow her. "Come on, we're going to be late for class if you just stand there."

Even though I didn't buy her lame excuse, my feet started leading me towards the school and I walked up to her as we both went to our different classes.

Alice's Point of View

Bella had entered the Psychology classroom and limped to sit next to me. "Hi Bella," I greeted with the best smile I could muster at the moment.

"Hey Alice," She muttered while trying to keep her gaze at the front of the class.

"Look, about what happened after English, I didn't mean to say—" But I was interrupted when Mrs. Laul started speaking to the class and my eyes had to divert from Bella to the front of the class.

"Alright class, today we're going to speak about the…" But after she started speaking, something small and papery was pushed against my skin. Looking at it then to Bella, she jerked her chin towards the note.

Unfolding it, I started reading Bella's somewhat bad writing.

Don't worry about it Alice. You were right. I am trying to push you away and for good reason.

Still dumbfounded by what she wrote, it took me a few minutes just to write back.

And what good reason might that be?

Bella seemed to hesitate at first but wrote a very short that shook me to my very core.

Something you don't want to get stuck in.

Looking over at Bella, she seemed to have a sympathetic face plastered on her small face. What did she mean by that small sentence? A small idea popped into my head but… would it upset Mom and Dad? I mean, it's last minute notice. But I still wrote it down.

Bella, how about you have dinner at my house tonight? I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem with anyone. And it'd be fun. Edward would be thrilled and frankly, it would make me happy. Please?

Bella read the note and her face literally dropped. What was wrong with having dinner with someone? Better question was: has anyone ever asked her? It seemed like Bella never had any friends. Suddenly, Bella's hands clenched into fists and started shaking. Was she angry with my offer?

But she still replied back.

I don't know about that… I have to be home right away.

So this was about her parents. They would be worried.

Don't worry. I'll call my mom and she'll call your parents.

She stared at me after reading my last reply and a smile crept on her face before she replied back shakily.

Thanks for the offer but I don't think my dad will approve.

With a large smile of my own, I replied back happily.

Just trust me Bella. Everything will work out fine.

Somehow, she seemed to lighten up at my response. She smiled at me before writing back. In my heart, I knew that it was the right thing to do to invite Bella over tonight.

Are you sure it's fine with your parents?

A large smile crept onto my face at her 'almost' answer. She was going to say yes! And I had to get Mom's permission. That was the only small factor in all of this. I nodded my head at her—even though I wasn't sure myself if it was alright—and she replied once again.

Alright then, I'll be there.

"Oh thank you Bella!" I screamed, flinging my arms across her neck and she winced slightly. Was something wrong with her neck too?

Someone cleared their throat and Bella and I both looked in front to find Mrs. Laul looked at us, demanding an answer. "Care to share with us, Mrs. Cullen?" Mrs. Laul asked me while I unwound my arms from around Bella's neck.

"Um… Bella just explained something to me and I was grateful for that. I'm sorry," was my lame excuse but it seemed like Mrs. Laul bought it.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again," The teacher responded before continuing her lesson.

Bella and I didn't continue our conversation but it showed that she was happy to come over tonight. It seemed like she needed one night to herself. When we got out of class, she told me that she would see me tonight and then, I was face to face with Edward.

"What's got you smiling like crazy?" He asked me while we went to our lockers.

"Nothing. I just invited Bella over for dinner tonight and she accepted. Now, I've just got to call Mom and—"

"What?! Why would you do that? Did you ever stop to think that she never wanted to be invited to anything?!" He practically screamed at me.

"What's the matter with you? It's like you want to avoid her."

"No, it's not that… I—I just…" He was speechless. Ha! I'd made my brother speechless. Victory! He sighed before saying: "Fine Alice, call Mom now before you go to class. I'll see you after school." And then, he walked off to Biology.

This was perfect. And I still had about five minutes to call Mom and ask for her permission. Dialling my mother's cell phone number, Mom picked up on the fourth ring. "Hey Alice, what's the matter?" Mom asked worriedly. Usually, I never called during school hours but it's better than having to wait after school.

"Nothing's wrong. I was just wondering if I could invite someone to dinner tonight. Is it alright with you?" I asked her hopefully.

"Sure, is it that special friend of yours that you were trying to talk to yesterday?" Mom asked, obviously knowing who I was talking about.

"Yes, it is. Do you mind?" I asked, almost crossing my fingers and hoping she would say yes.

"Sure honey, tell her to come by six. Does her parents know about this?"

"No, that's why I was wondering if you could call Bella's dad and ask him for me. I have to go to class in a few minutes. Would you mind doing that for me?" But frankly, it would be a long shot. Bella had never told me about her father or even her mother. How would Mom figure this out?

"Don't worry honey. I'll figure this out. What's your friend's last name?"

"Swan, if that helps."

"I'll do some digging and text you when I know anything. Now, you better hang up and go to class, young lady. And you better not be late," Mom answered, her motherly tone kicking in. It made me chuckle to hear her this way.

"Alright Mom, I'll talk to you later." And with that, I hung up and went to class with a large smile on my face.

Tonight would go well, hopefully.

So what did you think? Any better? Please REVIEW!!!!

Bellacullenswan17

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