I am SO sorry...I know it has been FOREVER!! College work has been MAJOR and time is very limited at the moment. I lost my knack with this story but now I update again !

I do NOT own 'Twilight'.

*Bella*

Maureen was getting worse and it was harder having to sit with her this morning...I felt like she was truly slipping away and I wanted to call a doctor and have him say that there was something that I could do to save her but I knew that she would be angry with me if I had gone behind her back. Ellie wasn't here and I was spending as much time with MY family as I could without having Ellie sticking her oar in where it wasn't needed.

Fair enough I do not know much about living in my own house or paying my own way but I can still look after people...I ever rarely complain about having to do little jobs around the house because Maureen had been nice enough not to charge me rent so I had to give something back.

I took another flannel and soaked it through with cold water in my bathroom before going back to sit on Maureen's bed beside her and dabbing her head with it.

"I am sorry, Bella" she whispered underneath my hold on the flannel.

"What for?" I asked.

"I shouldn't be like this...Especially now that I have finally got you back in my life again."

"Maureen...You can't help it if you are ill...I just wish you would let me call a doctor for you."

"No..A little mistake of a doctor was the reason my husband died...I no longer have any trust for them."

"They might be able to do something."

"Why are you here and not out with Edward?"

"Because you are my family and you are more important...Besides Edward is away."

"I saw you kiss last night"

I stopped my hand on the flannel and took a deep breath in "spying on me, were you?" I asked ringing out the flannel in a bowl on Maureen's bedside table.

"No..It just didn't look like a friendly kiss."

"It was a present...Edward wanted me to kiss him for his birthday and I gave him one, that's it."

"He asked you to kiss him?"

"Maureen...Stop...You need to rest"

"Rest..Schemst...I want to see you happy, Bella."

"I will be happy if you tell me exactly what happened."

I sighed...There really was no way I was going to get out of this. "Fine we kissed."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"I gave you kissed...That is it."

"You don't seriously believe that he just wants to be your friend do you?"

"I'm in a different country...I do not speak the language and every time I am out I feel like a sore thumb...I do not know what to believe anymore."

"So where has he gone?"

"Out for the weekend...His birthday, you know?"

"That's a shame"

"It's no big deal...Besides someone needs to look after you."

"I do not want you spending the weekend looking after me."

"I want to" I ran my hand down her cheek and she smiled.

"Alright, where is she..The little inconvenience?!" Ellie barged through the bedroom and Maureen smiled at her.

"Hello Ellie"

"No what is the matter with you?" Ellie threw her coat down on the bedroom floor and stood on the opposite end of the bed to me, looking down at my cousin.

"I am just having a down day...Am I not allowed to be sick?"

"Not when you have yours truly here to look after you!"

"Bella is here"

"Two pairs of hands are better than one"

"This is true"

"Bella...Be a good girl and make your cousin and me a cup of tea." I frowned and looked down at Maureen..Who nodded once in assurance...I let go of her hand and went down the stairs to make the tea.

Once I made the teas...I put them down on Maureen's bedside table and Ellie pulled me to one side.

"Now I am here, you can go out with your boyfriend."

"Excuse me?"

"Maureen needs someone who can take care of her."

"I can do that"

"You're young, you should be going out and living life."

"Maureen is more important to me right now."

"Come outside with me a moment?"

My dislike for Ellie was getting more and more heightened as I stepped out on the landing, Ellie closed the door behind her. "Now, Bella..I realise you are family but considering your cousin's condition..A professional should be here as a carer."

"No offence, Ellie but you are her EX-carer and to be honest..She was the one who invited me here to live with her."

"It was a wise decision; however...You will feel pointless in this situation."

"Pointless I may be...A medical degree I may not have but I am here for my cousin all the same."

"Sweetie now may not be the time to be answering me back."

"I can do whatever I want."

"Why do you think your parents didn't want you anymore, you are useless."

"Maureen doesn't even like you..She just bears you, kind of like the way I do."

"Ooh and I am so upset that you don't like me...Unlike yourself, I don't have to prove to anyone that I am a nice person."

"How is coddling Maureen nice?!"

"I suggest you leave"

"I am not going anywhere" I stated.

"BELLA!" Maureen's voice boomed from inside of the bedroom door...I ran in with Ellie close behind me to find Maureen panting on the bed, sweat falling from her forehead.

"It's okay...It's okay" I soothed picking up a dry flannel from her bedside drawer and wiping her forehead with it.

"Use a cold one" Ellie said as she held Maureen's hand tightly in one of her own. I groaned..I was in no mood to keep arguing with her. I ran out of the room and into the nearest bathroom soaking the flannel under the cold tap and ringing it out before running back into the room.

"Give me that!" Ellie snatched the material from my hand...I held in a roar from my stomach.

I kept my hand in Maureen's feeling helpless as Ellie worked on her, her pained eyes were staring into mine.

There was truly nothing I could do but make silly attempts to comfort her.

"Bella...I feel lightheaded"

I gripped Maureen's hand tighter "it's ok, just breathe in and out...Nice and slowly.

"For goodness sake, I'll do it...Bella you get a glass of water."

"Excuse me?" I turned to Ellie

"Have YOU had medical training...I don't think so. Water!" Ellie pushed me out of the way and I had nothing to do but to fill out the demand given...Suddenly I felt hopeless and in that hopelessness I needed to see Edward again. NO...I must not think like that!

I sprinted to the kitchen grabbing a pint glass and filled it up with Maureen's filter water and ran back up the stairs watching the water in the glass as I went to make sure it stayed within the confinements of the glass.

Maureen was having a panic attack as I walked in, Ellie had her hands around her shoulders and I almost dropped the glass with the look of agony coming from Maureen's face. How can someone so lovely be so much in pain and there was nothing that I could do to stop it. I put the glass down on Maureen's bedside table.

"Right...I need to call a doctor, Bella stay here with her."

"No, Ellie...Maureen said she didn't want a doctor."

"Would you rather her die?"

"She's dying?"

"She is certainly deteriorating by the second...Stay here!"

"You know you may have been in my cousin's life longer than me, but that does not give you the right to order me around."

"You're her family...Where the hell have you been when she has needed you..Or whether she has just needed a friendly face to say hello to...Who has been here when she has had nobody..ME!"

"How dare you!"

"I don't have time for this...If you love Maureen at all you will stay with her."

Ellie released Maureen gently back onto the bed...Stormed past me and out of the room....I fought the temptation to run after her, or at least push her down the stairs in that moment...Who the hell does she think she is?!

How could my cousin have put up with her for so long...I suppose this is what happens when people are cursed with a nice and forgiving nature.

"Bella" Maureen choked out my name and I grabbed her hand brushing away her hair from her forehead.

"I'm here" I soothed her as her breathing deteriorated slowly.

"Thank you for being here with me" Maureen said quietly...I bit down on my lip, she didn't sound good at all.

"You invited me" I replied

"I know....Thank....Thank you for accepting the offer." Maureen's eyes were closing, I started to panic my stomach clenching tightly.

"No...Keep your eyes open, Maureen....Stay here, the doctor is coming."

"No doctor....I need to sleep."

"Maureen...Not right now, focus on my voice...Keep your eyes on me."

"Bella...Be with Edward....Experience love."

Those were Maureen's last words as she closed her eyes, her body turning completely still underneath me...I moved my hands to her shoulders and shook her gently to try and get her to wake up again....Tears were filling up my eyes as the reality hit me...I grabbed her wrist and checked for a pulse.

There was nothing.

I sunk to the floor releasing my cousin from my hold and covered my mouth with my hands to let out a sob from my stomach...How was this happening?!

I moved to France because my parents had wanted me to...The only security blanket I had was my cousin and now she was gone. How the hell was I going to cope, I have no money and what was going to happen to all of her belongings?

Jesus, everything had just crumbled down on me.

*~Edward~*

(Afternoon)

"You know for a guy who is celebrating a birthday you look like you should be attending a funeral!" I moaned at Jacob's remark.

"Where is Paul, shouldn't you be annoying him?" I teased...Jacob laughed.

"He is probably having some fun with a stranger...You would know all about that wouldn't you. Edward?"

"What are you talking about?"

"A certain English girl by the name of Bella Swan, she is a great girl you know...For someone who is living in a strange country."

"Heeeyy fellas!" Paul came over then, his alcohol clearly taking over his body and his voice.

"Sweetheart, where have you been?" Jacob cooed wrapping his arm around his partner and resting his head on Paul's chest.

"Seeing as this night is not going to be as fun as planned...I just got us tickets back to France...There is a stripper club there."

"Oh 'beau lace'...I have heard of that one." Jacob replied.

"Come on, Edward...Maybe if you're lucky you will run into Bella again."

Paul took my hand and Jacob's.

I was not going to protest against their sudden decision...Anything to with Bella, I was there in a heartbeat.

*~Bella~*

(Afternoon)

"What do you think you're doing?!"

I had come out of Maureen's room after letting out all my emotion about losing her...The doctor had been and gone, as his services were no longer required to try and attempt to keep my cousin alive. Walking across the landing into my own bedroom – I found Ellie rummaging through my things, my suitcase open on my bed and with various items of clothing and my wash things in there already. Ellie turned to face me, a pile of my clothes from my drawer in her arms.

"Ahh there you are...Just saving you a job."

"Job? Why on earth are you packing my things?"

"That is usually what people do when they leave a house."

"What the hell!" I paced to my suitcase and took a load of my stuff out of it and held it in my hands "I am not going anywhere"

"It appears that this would suggest otherwise." Ellie pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and held it up for me to see. "Your cousin was so sweet...She left all of her belongings and her house, to me!"

"What...Where and HOW did you get that?"

"Maureen told me a lot of things, Bella..More than you will ever know. This is what I was expecting...Being family and all....However bitterness is not a nice quality in someone so young."

"How the hell did you manage to pull this one off?!"

"Me...How do you think that I had anything to do with this?"

"Don't act the innocent...You persuaded her to get all of this, didn't you?"

"So what if I did...There is nothing that you can do about it, is there?"

"You're not going to get away with this" Ellie grabbed the things from my hands and put them into my suitcase slamming the lid down and walking out of the room...I followed her down the stairs.

"You have your precious new boyfriend; maybe you can go and stay with him."

"This is my family's house."

"By law...It's mine" Ellie flung the front door open.

"Get out!"

Ellie threw me out of the front door by my arm...I stumbled and fell onto the ground my face hitting the cold stone ground outside Maureen's house..I sobbed as the trail of blood moved from my cheek to my mouth.

"Where the hell am I supposed to go?" I choked out...I tried to lift myself up with my hands but failed.

"I don't care, this house is mine now...Maureen put me in her will and you get NOTHING. Bon voyage!" My suitcase as well as my shoes flew out of the door and narrowly missed me as it too landed on the hard floor. The front door slammed and I sobbed quietly.

Now...I was homeless, it didn't take long for Ellie to snoop around my cousin's house for a will and then send me packing....What was I going to do now?!

I struggled to get up...The blood from my face pouring onto the floor...Ignoring my dripping of bodily fluids, I placed each of my feet into my shoes and picked my suitcase up by the handle. How did I know that all of my stuff was packed? There was no going back now...I would never be allowed in that house again.

I stumbled out of the gate and intentionally left it open...Using my sleeve to wipe away the blood on my face as I kept my gaze down at the stony ground....The streets of France no longer looked as welcoming now there was no home for me.

I walked to the fountain, which had slowly become my favourite place and sat down on the spot where Edward and I first sat together when we met. I put my head in my hands and sobbed the sound of the water behind me drowning my own sound out.

"Bonjour mademoiselle" After about five minutes I lifted my head up to see a man with pale skin and blonde hair looking down at me...His face concerned.

"Êtes-vous bien?" he said...I bit down on my lip.

"Sorry...I don't speak French." I answered...The man smiled.

"I was asking if you were well." He said in a strong French accent.

"Oh..No not really." I replied.

"My name is Carlisle...I own a bar round the corner...Come with me and I will get you a drink."

"Oh that's okay, I am fine here."

"It will be getting cold soon....Come on, let me help you."

"Um..I don't know."

"You can trust me little one." He replied...I stood up.

"Okay...Thank you."

He picked up my suitcase and walked away from me across the square.

Sure this may sound crazy and look like a stupid thing to do...Right now, anywhere was better than outside..I followed him on his heels around the corner into a quiet area of the town.

We approached a dark building and he opened the door for me, I nodded in thanks and stepped inside the warmness of the building surrounding me and soothing my cold aching limbs.

"Come with me, please?"

I followed Carlisle into a set of double doors and into a bar decorated red and oozing warmness and friendliness..I gained a few smiles in my direction as I walked through. A young girl approached us with a tray in her hand.

"Hello, Carlisle" she greeted the man in front of me.

"Lucy...Could you please get this little one a drink whilst I put her suitcase in the back."

"Of course...Come with me" she said to me taking my hand and leading me over to the bar...I sat down on a stool as she opened the flap of the bar and walked through it putting the tray down and leaning over the bar in front of me.

"What would you like to drink?"

"Oh, um" I stammered...This all felt a little too strange for my liking.

"Something strong, you look like you have been through the wars." She answered my question and started rummaging through one of the fridges...I took the opportunity to look around behind me.

There were no tables or seats in the area...Just a massive...Well what looked like a catwalk..What was this place? A nightclub or something?

I snapped the questions out of my mind and focused on the people gathered in a far corner who had smiled at me as I walked in...They had the same colours on as Lucy and it seemed clear that they were also staff members...There was a tapping sound and I flipped my head to find a half pint glass with a small amount of clear liquid in the bottom and a small bottle of orange juice next to it. I reached into my pocket..I am sure I had some change somewhere.

"Oh no need to do that, pumpkin...It's on the house."

"Oh..Thank you" I said shooting her a smile.

"So why is a pretty English girl like you doing in France?"

"I live here...Well that is, I used to."

"Used to?"

"It's a long story...Do you mind my asking, what is this place exactly?"

"It's a nightclub"

"Why is there a catwalk?"

"That is needed for our nightly events"

"Ahh..Performers?"

"Yes..In a way" I poured the orange juice from the bottle into the glass and took a swig, the burn trailing down my throat slowly and numbing me for a second.

"It's good stuff, vodka." Lucy remarked and I placed the glass back down. "So what is your name?"

"Bella"

"That's a nice name, Bella"

"Thank you"

"I am Lucy"

"How long have you worked here?"

"About a year now"

"Do you like it?"

"It pays the rent money...I can't complain very much after that."

"Everything alright ladies?" Carlisle's voice boomed through the restaurant...I watched him walk over to us..He wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Everything is fine, Carlisle"

"Good...Listen, Bella...Do you have a job?"

"A job?"

"You know...Employment?"

"No...At least not yet."

"Fantastique...How would you feel about working here?"

"Here?"

"Yes...It is a nice place, I run it along with these beautiful people and we would be pleased to have a new addition to our little family."

"I am afraid I would have to think about it."

"Of course, of course...Lucy would you take Bella out the back and get some cream for her face."

"Sure" Lucy answered lifting the countertop and closing it again as she took my hand.

"I will look after your drink" Carlisle said as I followed Lucy into a door...A door that said 'staff only' on the top.

"Sit down for me, Bella" Lucy said closing the door behind us and letting go of my hand..She paced in her heels to a cabinet and pulled out a tube of cream as I sat down on the small sofa in the middle of the room.

"If I had to work here, what would it entail?"

"Just bar work and lots of smiles" Lucy answered walking over and sitting on the footstool in front of me and lifting a white wipe up to my face. "I am sorry, this might hurt a little."

As soon as the wipe made contact with my face, I flinched the pain flowing through my entire cheek underneath the surface of my skin...Lucy was gentle as she swirled the wipe around where my cut was using her fingers.

After about five minutes, she took the wipe off of my face "I am just going to put a little bit of cream on here and you will be good to go."

I nodded "so is there a reason why you aren't French?" Lucy smiled.

"I am English, like you..Born and bred however I wanted to travel but being here..I am content with the amount of money I earn and the living this provides me."

"That's good."

"Thank you" Lucy finished putting the small amount of cream on my face and stood up, putting the various things back into the cabinet.

"I have no money, so...I am kind of desperate. But I would like to take up Carlisle's offer." I stammered, feeling a little good about the idea that I may have money in my pocket soon enough.

"That's great....Come with me and we will go back to Carlisle and get you sorted."

I walked out of the room with Lucy.

I had a job.

Bar work and smiles...That didn't seem to hard...Does it?

WOW...Bella's life changes and runs FAST!! (This is intentional)

Thanks for reading!

.S.

X x x