**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight, sadly. The great Stephenie Meyer does**

A/N: OH MY DAMN! I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO UPDATE! SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY! For future reference, I'm going to try to update once a week. 'Kay? Sound good? I think it does. I'm just soooo busy with middle school and shit;; gots lots of homework, peoples!

Chapter 4... Age 9

"Bella?!" Jasper's eyes grew huge as he walked into our 3rd grade class room and took in the purple and black cast that was plastered on my left wrist.

"Hmmm?" I asked, not looking up from my book. My teacher told me that I was reading at a 6th grade level, and that, I was extremely proud of.

"Bella, what happened to your arm?!" Jasper asked, worried about me again; his eyes focused intently on my wrist, horror on his face.

I laughed at his anxiousness.

"Oh, you know me," I snorted, "I fall down a lot."

"How." he whispered.

"Well, um, I was walking down the driveway and my dad was hurrying me and I slipped on the ice. It hurt. a lot. And then Jessica Stanley was walking by with Loren, and they laughed at me." I told him; my face grew into more of a pout by the end of my explanation.

Something I said must have bothered because he was giving Jessica a full on death glare.

Jessica didn't seem to notice; she was far too engrossed in gossiping with Lauren.

Jasper's hands balled up in tight fists; tendons sticking out of his pale skin and his hands were shaking.

"Jasper…" I said as I stood up and put a hand on Jasper's shoulder; he seemed to relax at my touch though his hands were still shaking, at least they weren't in fists anymore and he wasn't giving Jessica the "I-want-to-kill-you-tonight-at-midnight" look anymore. "Calm down."

Jasper closed his eyes and took one deep breath.

"Okay," he said as he opened his eyes to the world, "I'm calm."

But I could tell that he was lying. That he still wanted to rip Jessica to shreds. I could tell by the hardness of his eyes and the look on his face; his expression gave his soothing voice away as fraud. To say it in the slightest, Jasper was angry.

I looked Jasper straight in the eyes and almost drown once more in his midnight orbs .

"No, you're not. don't lie to me Jasper. You fail at it. I always know when you lie." I murmured.

Jasper's eyes hardened even more. They went from partially liquid to stone in a split second. I went from drowning in the midnight to being frozen stiff, caught in the water from my waste down just like that.

"I am." he insisted.

"Jasper, jeeze, no you're not. I know you. Now. Calm down!" I muttered.

Jasper just sighed.

Sometimes I wished that Jasper didn't have such a temper…

XxXxXxX

"Bella!" Alice called.

I whipped my head around in the crowded hallway, looking for where the voice of my best friend came from.

And then I saw her.

Alice Hale was easily a head shorter than everyone in the entire school. She was even shorter than some of the first graders. Her black hair was cut short and styled in a careful awry of carelessness and spikes. Pixie-like.

She stood on her tip-toes so she could see around people and flailed her arms around in the air obnoxiously to be sure that I saw her.

I rolled my eyes at her.

"What, Alice?" I asked as I made my way over towards her.

"You're coming home with me today." she told me matter-o-factly.

I giggled.

"Is that so?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah. Mrs. Masen told me before I went to my locker. She said that you were to come home with me; that my mom and yours said that you had to. And I was like 'okay'" Alice chirped.

"Oh.. Okay then. I won-" I was cut off mid sentence when I tripped over someone's roller backpack.

Alice just doubled over laughing; not bothering to help me up.

"Who put this here?!" I shouted to no one in particular.

This only made Alice laugh harder.

I grumbled under my breath about her falling over a backpack for her to see how much she liked it as I got up from the floor.

"Jeeze, Bella, watch where you're walking. One day, you and your clumsiness are going to get killed because you don't watch where you walk. And on that day, I am going to say these exact words: I told you so." Alice laughed.

I just rolled my eyes and walked out the school doors; Alice tried to hurry to keep up with me.

Once out of the school, I headed straight for the willow tree in the front where the Hales and Cullens usually waited to get picked up from school; Alice was right on my trail.

While we waited for her sister and for the Cullens to arrive by us we talked about how I sent Mike Newton home because while playing baseball in gym, I let go of the bat and it flew straight for his head. Alice laughed so hard when I told her. She said that one day I'm going to end up killing him, which is pretty likely seeing as I hate Mike Newton's guts.

"Bella's coming home with us today!" Alice squealed with excitement when Rosalie, Jasper, Emmet, and Edward finally made it over to the willow tree in front of the school.

Edward shrugged like he didn't care. Emmet did a happy dance. Rosalie made a face and rolled her eyes. And Jasper's eyes lit up with fireworks.

"Jeeze, Alice, settle down. It's not that big of a deal." Rosalie sneered.

I fought back the urge to punch her in the face for that.

"Come on kids!" Esme screamed from her car across the street; she had been waiting for us to notice her presence there for awhile.

There wasn't much room in a silver Volvo for six children so we had to double buckle.

Rosalie sat up front with Esme, of course. I double buckled with Jasper, Alice with Edward. Emmet got his own seat because he was just so huge.

Alice and I giggled the whole car ride to the Cullen's house.

I couldn't help but notice the shockwave sensation that tingled across my skin when my arm touched Jasper's in the slightest…

Alice and I practically fell out of the car when the car doors were opened by Esme, causing even more giggles in response.

Esme sighed and helped us up.

"Play nice, kids." she warned before walking into the giant white house that I had spent so much of my childhood at.

"Ohkey dokey!" Alice sang.

Emmet snickered at her and started walking across the yard to the Hale's house with Rosalie and Edward on his tail.

"Emmet! Where do you think you are going?!" Alice screamed.

"Over to your place with Rose and Edward!" Emmet snorted like his destination was the most obvious thing in the world.

"OHHHHHHHH! Can we come with you?" Alice asked Rose; wanting her older sister's approval.

Rose rolled her eyes and made a face.

"Uhh, no. this is big kids only. Sorry, kid." Rose said in a tone that said itself that she wasn't the least bit; she looked over to Edward for approval. Edward just nodded, as did his twin brother.

Alice's face fell.

"Alice," Edward piped in for the first time, "Next time you can hang with us, 'kay? Scouts honor."

Alice squealed in delight and gave him a big bear hug before dancing back over to Jasper and I.

"What do you guys wanna do?" she asked innocently as she watched Rose, Edward, and Emmet cross the yards.

I laughed at her. She was so ecstatic.

"I dunno." Jasper murmured; his sapphire eyes trained on the earth beneath his feet. He looked up, his face plastered with confusion when I didn't say anything.

"Fine! Then since neither of you fools knows what to play, we're playing House!" Alice sang; smirking slightly.

"Oh no no no!" I half screamed. I hated house, and Alice knew this. Oh, believe me, she knew this. I had put up a number of fits to keep from her nagging me to play House all the time. I hated house. And when I say hated, I mean hated. I downright loathed it. I hated it more than when Alice and Rosalie played Bella Barbie with me. And that's a lot.

Alice and Jasper laughed at me.

"Calm down, Bella! Fine, we wont play House. Just don't have a fit!" Alice snorted.

"Swing set?" Jasper suggested calmly; the peacemaker he was.

I nodded enthusiastically.

"Ugh; fine." Alice muttered. She wasn't too thrilled with that.

Jasper and I laughed at her.

XxXxXxX

"Um, Bella, your father is here, honey. He's waiting in the driveway in his car…" Esme told me; her normally happy face was painted in sadness. Something was wrong. I could tell by the look on her face.

"'Kay." I sang; secretly wondering what her problem was as I hopped off the swing that Jasper had been pushing me on. "Bye, Jasper!"

Jasper's face fell.

"Bye, Bella." he whispered.

I smiled as I pulled him in for a big bear hug.

I loved this boy; he was the brother I never had.

Jasper murmured something too low for me to hear as his arms snaked around my waste; I didn't bother to figure out what it was, Jasper wasn't one to repeat himself.

I pulled away and I could swear I saw Jasper's face pull into a frown for a nanosecond. I pushed my thoughts away and skipped over to hug Alice goodbye. I told her a quick goodbye before walking away from my friends.

"Come on, Bella! Get in this car sometime today!" my dad yelled from the window of his police cruiser.

"I'm trying! I can only go so fast without tripping!" I screamed to him.

Everyone laughed at me; I felt my face turn bright red.

I nodded and walked self-consciously across the Cullen's yard and towards my father's car.

I wondered for half a second where my mom's bright red Chevy truck was and why she wasn't picking me up. But I shoved the thought away; afraid of the answer.

Eventually, I made it to the car.

Once I was inside it, my dad took off. He shot out of the driveway faster than I'd ever seen him drive before and It made me wonder what was making the police chief speed…

"Bells," my dad began once we were parked in the driveway of our own house.

"Hmm?" I murmured; my thoughts where bouncing crazy in my head with questions.

I looked out onto the driveway before us; where was my mom's truck? It was always parked there when I got home from school. Where was she?

"Daddy, where's mommy?" I asked; my curiosity getting the better of me.

My dad hesitated.

"Well, um, Bells, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Charlie told me; his voice cracking with each word. "Bella, baby, mommy's not with us anymore."

No!

This couldn't be happening.

He had to be kidding.

This had to all be some cruel joke.

"wha-what d-do y-you m-mean?" I stuttered as tears fell down my already blotchy cheeks; I already knew the answer though.

"Well, your mother was in a terrible car crash on her way to the store, and, well, we need to face the facts that she's in a better place than us." my father said; his own tears glistened in his brown eyes.

And that's when my father became known as Charlie to me.

Tears poured down my face.

This could not be happening.

I fumbled to get the car door open; my vision blurred with tears.

"Bella, don't you dare get out of this car." Charlie warned me.

I didn't listen.

I flew the car door open and ran as fast as I could.

I ran away. Away to a place where I didn't even know of.

I ran into the trees and kept on running.

Away from Charlie. Away from home. Away from all my problems. Away from my memories. Away from Alice. From Emmet. From Rosalie. From Edward. From Carlisle. From Esme. Away from Jasper…

A/N: I tried to type this as fast as i could, peoples.

ooohhhh cliffy. Iknow, I'm such a bitch.

Reviews make me typer faster than fast :D

so REVIEW! 'Kay?

please?

Playlist: Bring Me The Horizon, The Blackout, The Hand Me Down Kids, Nickasaur!, Brokencyde, Forever The Sickest Kids, A Rocket To The Moon & Disco Curtis.