Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!

Alrighty! Here's chapter two! I'm trying to update as fast as I can, considering my currently busy schedule as a college student. Haha. But, anyway, I am really proud of the feedback I have received for this fic so far! Made me want to write even more. Because, you know, reviews are the motivator! Lol. Nah, I just really am into this story and I have a lot of things planned for it. Reviews are just a plus - a plus that I really, really appreciate!

Let's see…I really don't have anything else to say about this…hm. Well, I just hope you enjoy this chapter! It might not be very long, but still, it's still a continuation of some sort!

Enjoy!

On the Streets of Italy
Chapter Two: Beginning Anew

The plane ride was quiet and satisfying. I had yet to remember the last time I was in such a calm, peaceful place, even with the turbulence of the flight. I remembered looking out the window with a satisfied smile on my face, my eyes sweet and sad, and watching the plane take off.

Up until we were actually in the air, I had a terrible feeling that Mike would somehow show up and barge on the plane, demanding I come home.

But once the plane was off the ground, soaring, I was able to let go of all my fears, my worries. I had done it. I had escaped with my life - something I didn't think I may have for a while longer if I stayed with him.

It may come off as a melodramatic way of putting things, but the way he looked at me, the way he hit me…it all made me fear for my life, though I would wish that the man I once loved wouldn't be so cruel as to take his partner's life from her.

I had fallen asleep about ten minutes into the flight and slept the whole ride there, which was surprising to other people, but not to me. I didn't even remember the last time I had slept so peacefully.

I was jarred awake when the plane started to slow on the runway. My heart immediately started to race within my chest. Hopefully, I'd at least survive the landing. It'd be painfully ironic if I died in the plane that was meant to take me away from my abusive relationship.

Luckily enough, the plane landed without a hitch and I grabbed my bag from the overhead compartment I had stored it in before takeoff. Sighing, I groaned as I slung it over my shoulder and made my way toward the exit of the plane. People bumped and shoved into me, but I hardly notice or cared. I was just glad that my escape had, so far, been successful.

It was nighttime already, and I realized that the plane ride to my new home must have taken longer than I thought, but then I wondered how it was nighttime here as well as in America. But I looked at my cell phone and saw that it was the next day…or night. And found myself confused even more. Jet lag. A killer in all continents.

I yawned, surprising since I had slept so long, and walked from the plane and into the airport.

My brown eyes searched for another pair that were similar to mine. I found them - the caramel orbs of Angela Weber met mine. Her brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and a few strands escaped it. She saw me just as soon as I saw her and she raised a hand and waved me over.

My eyes lit up at the familiar sight. I hadn't seen my cousin Angela in so long, and I was very happy to see her again. She hadn't changed in the time since high school. We were the same age, and we attended Forks High together. She knew Mike, and was shocked when I told her about his…issues. But she helped me nonetheless. Her and her long-time boyfriend, Ben Cheney, lived together in a spacious apartment in Italy. Her job as a photographer led her here, and Ben went along as well. I wasn't sure what he did for a living since he moved here.

"Bella!" Angela exclaimed, her soft voice kind and full of enthusiasm, "Did you have a nice flight?"

I walked forward a few more steps before I answered her, "Yeah, it was good. Slept the whole way here." I gave a chuckle at that, which she returned with a smile.

"Not surprising." Her caramel waves bounced as she giggled, happy to see me, I guessed, "It's a long flight."

I nodded, relishing seeing her again. She motioned at me to follow her to her car, where I found that Ben was waiting at the driver's seat, his hands poised on the wheel and some kind of music turned up all the way.

I quirked a brow at the choice of music as it blared at me through the open window. Angela laughed and said, "Italian rock, surprisingly."

"Intriguing." I muttered, climbing into the back seat.

"Hey, Bella," Ben chimed cheerfully. He and Angela really were two peas in a pod. "How's it going?"

I shut my door and tried to get comfortable, "Now? It's great."

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed as they remembered the situation that had arisen for me to seek their help. Angela looked back at me, her eyes full of compassion and caring, and she said, "I'm glad you came to us, Bella. You didn't deserve that."

Ben nodded as he pulled out of the parking lot, "Yeah, definitely."

It was quiet for a while after that.

Once we were on the road, Ben spoke up again, "Hey, what about that kid… Jacob? He's your best friend, right? Did you tell him?"

"He kind of already knew…" I trailed off, looking at the slightly fraying edges of the carpet beneath my feet, "Jake knows me better than I know myself sometimes, and he knew from the beginning. Actually, he encouraged me to come here."

"I'm surprised he didn't beat Mike's ass the second he found out." Ben said casually, turning onto a quaint little road that was lined with classically old houses and just beautiful scenery altogether.

I chuckled at that, remembering Jacob's face when he found out. Angry and desperate and loving. "He wanted to, trust me. But I told him not to."

"Huh." Ben gave a strange sound in his throat before saying, "Well, now that you're gone, you think he might do it anyway?"

I blinked and I felt my heard speed up, "Uh…I'm going to need to make a long-distance call when we get to your place. If you don't mind, that is."

That caused both Ben and Angela to burst into a fit of laughter, and I found myself following suit. It was refreshing to be able to laugh in such a carefree manner, like I had nothing at all that was wrong in my life, like my worst problem was figuring out what to wear in the morning. It was a freeing sound, something that made my own personal euphoria increase in magnitude.

I hadn't noticed that my ribs were panging painfully until the laughter had ceased. I sucked in a breath through my teeth and grabbed the afflicted area with a slender hand.

"Damn…" I cursed under my breath, "Can't believe this."

"What's wrong?" Angela's voice was concerned.

"Nothing," I winced as I said this, and automatically grabbed my ribs again. The painkillers had long since worn off and now I was just feeling the full results of the damage that had been done.

"Bella…" Angela scolded, looking at me with accusing eyes, a strange look for her considering her sweet nature, "We need to know if anything is bothering you. Especially since everything that has happened. If you are feeling uncomfortable or anything like that…"

I sighed, knowing she was right. "My ribs…"

Angela looked from me to Ben in the span of a second, "Ben, let's take her to the hospital."

"No, don't inconvenience yourself - "

"You haven't changed," Angela said amusedly as Ben backed up in some person's driveway before turning back around - to the direction of the doctor's office, I supposed. I could hear the wheels turning on the gravel beneath the car. "No matter how much you protest, we're taking you to the hospital. It's for your own good. If your ribs are broken, they could puncture something and make it worse…"

Angela put up a good point, so I relented underneath the gaze of her light brown eyes. "Okay, take me to the hospital." I dragged out, like a defeated child.

"Good. We would have anyway. But at least you're willing."

I laughed at that as we turned onto a more illustrious street. It looked expensive and I was immediately humbled in the presence of all the shiny buildings and the people walking around in what looked like designer fashions. The streets were beautiful, and I couldn't stop staring at anything around me. Despite the pain in my injury-ridden body, I wanted to absorb as much of this as I could right now.

It seemed like only a few minutes until Ben was parked and Angela was helping me out of the backseat like I had some kind of debilitating disease. I told her I could walk by myself, but she didn't listen. Her thin arms only wrapped tighter around me.

The hospital wasn't busy as far as I could tell. It looked big and high class - too much so for me, and I suddenly felt very uncomfortable, as if the situation in front of me was any kind of comfort to begin with.

"Can you get someone to see my friend right now? It's pretty urgent…" Angela said, unleashing her kind gaze upon the receptionist.

I held up my shirt and showed her the bruising, at which Ben, Angela, and the receptionist all gasped.

The receptionist looked at my hideously bruised torso and scribbled something down on a piece of paper before looking at us once more, "Yes," Her Italian accent was prominent and attractive, but she spoke the English language like she knew it proficiently, "Just fill out these forms."

Oh, yeah, the dreaded hospital form. There was one routine that didn't change, no matter where I moved. Ugh.

The occasional patient looked my way as I was led to one of the rather uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. I guessed it was obvious by the way Angela helped me along and the way that I was limping that I had had a rough time. That was to say the least, but I tried to ignore the eyes I felt on me.

We filled out the form in silence. Well, Angela did, anyway. She knew me well enough to fill out everything accurately. Or at least moderately accurately. I didn't think it mattered since - hopefully, without any clumsy antics of my own - I wouldn't be back here any time soon.

After about twenty minutes of filling Angela in on whatever she was missing on the form, she rose from the seat beside me and strode over, her walk lithe and graceful - a stark contrast to my lumbering, clumsy gait. Strange how we could be related, but she was so different from me in that aspect.

She sat back down, sighing, and ran a thin hand through my hair. I groaned at the pressure and realized there was a tender spot on my head where Mike had grabbed my hair in one of his more violent outbursts. Angela noticed this and moved the strands of my mahogany hair out of the way. I heard her inhale sharply as she studied the area, "God, Bella…"

I knew she saw the bruising area, as well as a scrape or two. It wasn't uncommon for Mike to throw me against the wall or on the floor when he was in a "spirited" mood. I looked down at my hands, ashamed, and Angela stroked her warm hands across the scrapes.

"You're gonna be okay, Bella," Angela said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders, "Trust me."

"Yeah…" I replied, looking at her soft brown eyes and then over to Ben, who was staring at the two of us with slight wonder. I guess he was curious as to what Angela had seen, but I wasn't planning on actually voicing each and every account of how I got my bruises and scars. It hurt to even remind myself of that, let alone recount it to other people.

I sighed as I leaned back against the cushioned seat of the rather uncomfortable blue plastic chair. It was strange, but though I knew it should be uncomfortable, it wasn't. I guessed everything was considered comfortable since I have been through what some people call "hell." I'd called it that too, once. Now I was away from it, while others never managed to have the blind luck that I did.

I groaned as the hard cushions pressed awkwardly against a bruise I had sustained on my lower back. I had totally forgotten about that one. Ugh. It is a sad state to be in when you can't even account for all your injuries.

I don't know how long I sat there, with Angela's fingers gently rubbing by scalp and tangling through my terrible plane-hair. But, sooner rather than later, a stunningly beautiful nurse came out of the door that led from the waiting room to the rows of examination rooms.

Her hair was caramel brown and fell in soft waves down her back. Her skin was the palest I had ever seen, even whiter than mine, and I was considered albino by most people. She wore the usual white garb of a nurse, which looked almost as light as her skin color. Her eyes were the most mesmerizing thing, however. They were a deep golden color, topaz even. They looked at me with kindness that I felt I didn't deserve. Strange, I wondered how I could feel that way by just a look.

"Miss Swan?"

Good. Angela was observant enough to not list me as "Mrs. Newton." I immediately felt a swell of independence by not being called with the wretched surname.

I stood up, and immediately stumbled. Angela and Ben both lurched forward to keep me from tumbling over. Ben latched onto one of my arms, while Angela's slim fingers clasped around my other arm.

"Are you alright?" The nurse asked. I realized she had gotten closer to me now, and wondered how she had done so. There was hardly anyone else in the room. Everyone else had been taken back to the other rooms to get checked on, and there was only a few slim few left in the waiting room, most of which were fast asleep. I looked at the clock and gaped. One in the morning?

"Y-Yes," I stuttered over my words, looking at the impossibly beautiful woman in front of me. She was even more gorgeous up close. Possibly the prettiest woman I had ever seen. She even smelled pretty, if that made any sense.

"Okay, good," She gave me a smile and I was stunned at the sheer magnificence of it.

"I'm Nurse Cullen, but you can call me Esme. Come with me please, sweetheart."

I blinked, now realizing her voice sounded like the tinkling of bells, delicate and unforced in my ears. "Okay, er…Esme." I trailed off, beginning to feel slightly unsure about this, as well as using her first name so casually when . But the panging in my ribs started up again and I winced.

"Now let's see about your ribs." She glanced subtly at the chart in her hands - my chart, I assumed.

She led me back into the hallway where many different rooms branched off. Angela and Ben decided to wait in the waiting room for me, because they knew the woman - Esme, I reminded myself - had enough grace for the both of us. Even the way she walked was captivating.

Esme led me into a room where I waited for a little while. She asked me a few more questions, which I awkwardly answered. Then, with a smile, she left the door after saying that a Dr. Cullen would see me soon.

Before she even left the room, a man - a breathtakingly beautiful man, to say the least - appeared in the doorframe beside her. His blonde hair framed a pale, painfully handsome face, and his eyes were the same golden color as Esme's topaz depths. He was tall, and I could see his strong chest strain against the white coat he wore. He was also pale, and unnaturally graceful, with the slight hints of dark circles underneath his eyes, which I now noticed on Esme as well.

He leaned down to brush his lips against Esme's in a quick goodbye gesture. I watched with barely held breath. The scene was so tender and sweet that I felt my stomach suddenly twist with want. I hadn't realized how much I missed that feeling - the feeling of being loved unconditionally. If I had even felt that before…

Esme left the room soundlessly as Dr. Cullen came in just as silently. He appraised me with his attractive eyes and I found myself lost in them. I was stunned silent for a moment as he looked at the chart and then at me before saying, "Well, hello, Miss Swan. Welcome to Italy. I'm Dr. Cullen."

"N-Nice to meet you." Oh yeah, that's it. Stumble over your words in front of the only hot doctor you have ever met!

"And you." He said, looking at me with curious eyes. "Now, what exactly is the problem?"

I reached down and fingered the hemline of my shirt with shaking digits. "Uh…" I contemplated lifting my shirt up for a moment and then did so, "This…"

His eyes didn't register shock like my friends had. They just looked at my tortured ribs before he came forward and pressed his hand to them. I winced, partly from the painful pressure his large hand created, but partly because his hands were deathly cold. But the cold felt extremely good to my burning ribs, so I didn't speak of it.

"Ah," He said, looking at my ribs before prodding a bit more with his hand. I just winced and inhaled through my teeth, but it wasn't an extreme pain. Not like when I had broken my ankle when I was thirteen, but like a sharp stabbing of pain. I hoped they weren't broken.

He nodded to himself before scribbling something down on his file, "How did the injury happen, Miss Swan?"

My heart faltered beating for a moment at his question. He gave me a curious look, as if he could hear it all the way from his position, "My…" I figured there was nothing to lose now, "husband."

His eyes turned from friendly to compassionate in one second, "Are you away from him now?"

"Yes," I said, wondering why he was so concerned, "I…actually just flew here yesterday. From America. Told him I'd send him divorce papers, but didn't tell him where I was going."

"Good." He said, and his voice, though musical, sounded dangerous. Strange.

He seemed to notice that I noticed that subtle change in his voice, for he elaborated, "My wife, Esme," I nodded, showing him I knew who he was talking about, "was abused by her ex-husband. It's a sore subject for me."

"Oh…" I said, looking at him with wondering eyes.

"But," His voice was suddenly light again, and it held a lilt of kindness that was growing by the second. "I am glad to say that your ribs aren't broken. You've just had them bruised pretty good. I'll wrap them up for you and give you some medication to take once a day so they will heal faster."

I blinked, taken aback by his information, "Thank you." I told him gratefully, thankful that they weren't broken, at least.

"It's my job." He said lightly, kindly. And I realized that this man had to be one of the kindest men I had ever met, though I had just known him for a few seconds.

I smiled, and this time it was without pain.

He walked to the cabinet behind me and opened it. Funny, he smelled like that same smell radiating off of him. Sweet. Almost too sweet, but very pleasant. Like the sweetest cotton candy except…off.

I felt my eyebrows crease together as he retrieved the bandages from the cabinet. He looked at me, gave me a smile that left me breathless, and asked me to lift up my shirt. I felt myself blush as I did so, and was sure it could reach all the way down to my stomach if I kept it up. The thought was a humorous one, but I'm sure it could happen. Stranger things have indeed happened.

His cold hands wrapped the gauze around me, carefully, expertly, as if he had been doing this for longer than he had lived - he looked to be no older than early twenties. My heart was hammering away in my chest.

"There you go, Miss Swan."

I looked at him with a thankful smile, which he returned. Mine seemed to not have the same effect that his did on me.

"Now, let me get you these painkillers and you will be ready to go." He said before turning on heel so gracefully, I felt like I had just seen the most graceful of figure skaters do a twirl. But he was even more graceful than the most graceful of skaters.

I idly wondered what kind of medicine they were taking - Dr. Cullen and Esme - they seemed too good to be true. Beautiful, kind, and…well, perfect.

I wondered if they had any sons my age…

Shaking my head - which wasn't a great idea come to think of it, for it began to throb painfully - I gazed with interest out of the door where Dr. Cullen had gone. I wondered about his icy touch, his tinkling voice, the graceful gait…

I wasn't able to finish those thoughts, for he was back in an instant.

"Now, Miss Swan," He said, smiling gently, fatherly, "take these. Two a day until they are all gone. Then come back and see me." He shook the bottle of pills slightly, and I heard the familiar rattling sound from within the plastic. "Don't get those bandages wet. Have someone help you bathe, and when you come back to see me, I'll take them off."

"Got it." I replied, smiling as he handed the pills to me. This guy was one doctor I actually liked. And not for his looks, either. He seemed genuinely nice. And, though he was incredibly handsome, I couldn't even imagine seeing myself with him. He and Esme were perfect for each other, I could tell just by that one scene of affection they displayed before he evaluated me. They just…fit.

Dr. Cullen shook my hand gently, smiling, and I shuddered at the deathly cool of his hand. He seemed to notice, and he took his hand from mine. He smiled and said, "Nice to have met you, Miss Swan."

"Same here." And do you have any sons that would be my age? Right…no, he can't possibly have any sons that would be my age. He's barely twenty himself! Stupid, Bella.

He walked out of the door before I could say anything else, but not without smiling at me first.

Wow, he was attractive.

At least my past abuse hadn't made me totally immune to realizing a good looking man when I see one.

I sighed, lifting myself from the examination table and walking out the door…

Where I came into contact with a cement wall - or, rather, someone's very hard chest.

End Chapter Two.

Oh, I wonder who she ran into! Lol sense the sarcasm. Well, that's where chapter two leaves off. I really hope you enjoyed it! I can't believe I got another chapter written for this story already.

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! I also hope you review - shameless, I know. Haha, but they really help me to get to writing.

Okay! So, thank you so much for reading and the reviews for chapter one. I really appreciate it all!

Thanks!