Chapter I

The first thing I heard in the morning was Bandit's bark. Who needs a rooster or an alarm clock when you had him? I knew I didn't need anything or anybody else. My boxer dog wakes me up every day at 6:30 a.m., and I'm ready to go. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom while scratching my rear and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

After taking a cold shower, I went straight to the kitchen to make some coffee and get Bandit's food. As I opened the cabinets, I noticed we were running out of food, which means it was time to hit the road and go to town to do some grocery shopping.

"C'mon, Bandit, we're going out," I yelled as I grabbed my coat and keys and headed to the door. Soon enough, Bandit came running, so we stepped out, and I locked the house.

He ran to my huge black truck and left for town. The only time we went to town was when it was absolutely necessary. Have I already said that I really don't like people? Well, I don't. Call me bitter, anti-social, whatever the hell you want, but it's better off this way; for me and for them.

Finally, we arrived. I parked my truck and got out, but left Bandit inside, the window slightly cracked for him. Honestly, I just wanted to get it over with, get away from the stares and the whispers. You see, I have a little reputation in this town. Everyone here seems to think I'm a dangerous freak, the crazy loner who lives all by himself in the woods. It's like I walk around with a sign that screams "Stay the fuck away". Ask me if I give a flying fuck.

I quickly grabbed the things I needed and went to the cash register. Okay, the stares were really starting to bug me. A young blonde girl was picking at her fingernails and gave me a large smile when she saw me.

"Good morning, Mr. Masen. How are you today?" she asked with an annoying high-pitched voice.

"Good," I replied in a cold tone.

Her smile faltered and she looked uneasy. I smirked. Yeah, you should know better than trying to make small talk with me.

I didn't look at her again as I got my bags and returned to the car. Bandit stared barking loudly once he spotted me.

"Easy, boy," I said as I started the car and headed back home.

Sometimes I wished I weren't this lonely. Not that I'm complaining about my life or anything; I'm not one to nag or whine over my solitude. I enjoyed it actually. But when you stop to think about the fact you have no one to talk to besides your dog, well...it's kinda depressing.

So I sat by my small dinner table in the kitchen and ate lunch by myself. Again.

I looked out the window and noticed the overcast sky outside. It was a lot darker than it should have been. I raised an eyebrow and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. 12:37 p.m. Huh. Looks like a storm is coming.

After I finished eating, I got up, washed the dishes and went to close all the windows. I could smell the rain in the air outside.

I decided to relax a little on the sofa and turned on the TV. No good movies were on, so I settled for the local news channel. There was a story on about a string of murders occurring in the Olympic Peninsula, and they haven't found the perpetrator yet.

These weren't your typical murders where someone was shot or stabbed or strangled to death; no, according to the news anchor, the guy's entrails were fully exposed. Victims were found shattered and ripped apart, with blood everywhere. It was violent.

I caught myself staring wide-eyed at the screen in front of me. I shook my head and switched the channel. Sometimes ignorance is bliss...

I wasn't even paying attention to the TV anymore. My eyelids started to feel heavy; it always happened whenever I was in front of a television set.

It seemed like hours had passed until I heard Bandit barking outside. But it wasn't a happy or excited bark. It was murderous, with growls in between. And it sounded really far away. What the hell was going on? Is someone around here?

I jumped right off the couch and grabbed my rifle - just in case - and went to check outside.

Bandit was about twenty feet away from the house, barking and growling like crazy into the woods. Saying that that was a creepy sight was an understatement, considering the way the trees would swayed with the wind and the scary hissing sound it would made, not to mention the clouds had completely covered the sky making it eerily dark.

"Bandit!" I shouted and whistled, but it was like he didn't even hear me. I was really not comfortable with the situation. Something was off. And I didn't like it.

I looked down at my watch. 1:53 p.m. I marched toward Bandit and pulled him back by his collar. He whimpered a little, but showed no resistance. Once we were inside the house, I locked the doors too. Enough of the barking for today.

After a while, it started to rain. It was more like the sky was pouring rain. The noise of the water hitting against the window panes was really loud, like it was raining stones. I couldn't see anything out the window because of the rain and lack of lights.

I realized I still hadn't dropped my rifle. It was pressed firmly against my chest, and I had no intention of letting it go. I sat back against the couch with my rifle still in hand and Bandit lying by my feet on the rug. He seemed alarmed by something. But, so did I.

The house would have been extremely silent if it hadn't been for the deafening sound of the storm outside. I hadn't move a muscle and neither had Bandit. For some reason, I just kept staring at the wall clock, watching the seconds tick by and wondering what the fuck was going on. I could feel that this wasn't just another simple storm.

6:46 p.m.

The rain was still pouring outside. It was ridiculous to sit here like a fucking statue and wait for it to stop, or wait for something to happen. I went to the kitchen to make dinner, but I didn't even make it to the door before all the lights went out. Great. Now it was dark inside the house, too.

I blindly reached for the cabinet in the far corner, opened it and grabbed a couple of candles and some matches. I put one on the kitchen table and kept holding the another one. Bandit was frantic, running from side to side with his tongue hanging out, except this time he was quiet.

Suddenly the rain came to an end. It just...stopped. A little while later, the power was back again. I went over to the window and looked outside; it was still very dark, but at least it wasn't raining anymore.

Bandit ran to the back door, the one that faced the thicker woods and began scratching at it furiously with his paws. I went to him and opened the door, thinking it wasn't a big deal to let him go outside for a while. Besides that, I didn't want to have to fix any damage he would do.

Instead of running outside, Bandit rushed further into the house whimpering, with his tail between his legs. I furrowed my brows and looked outside. I had to narrow my eyes so I could see something in the dark; there was nothing but trees. What the fuck is wrong with that crazy dog?

I shut the door and turned around. Not two steps later, someone knocked. What the...

Where did I put the rifle? I look around searching for it, and there was another knock on the door. Bandit was nowhere to be found. I turned around and slowly opened the door...

What I saw wasn't what I expected, not at all. To be honest, I didn't even know what I expected.

The most beautiful girl in the world was standing in front of me, dressed in a soaked, small white dress. She had a slender figure, long dark hair and really pale skin.

She looked at me with lost brown eyes, eyes that held pure loneliness and despair. And then she bit her lower lip.

All I could do was stare at those full lips like a total moron. They looked so incredibly soft. She looked down and shifted from one bare foot to another, hugging herself.

I cleared my throat. "May I help you, Miss?"

"Please," she whispered, shivering a little.

"Are you lost? Do you need to use the phone or something?"

She shook her head. "Please, don't leave me out here." She looked up at me and I was a goner. Although I didn't know who the girl was, didn't know where she came from, didn't even know her name, I wouldn't leave her outside all alone in the dark.

"Well, um...Okay, come on inside. You must be freezing." I stepped aside and let her in. She gave me a tiny smile but it was enough to make my head spin for a moment.

Once she was inside, I closed and locked the door. "So, what's your name, Miss?"

She was looking around the house when she answered in her sweet, child-like voice, "I'm Bella." She turned to face me and her eyes met mine. "You?"

"Edward." I smiled.

Her eyes glazed over for a brief moment, and she bit her lip again. I wish she would stop doing that; it was driving me crazy.

"You can sit down here," I said, pointing to the couch. "And I'll go make something for you to eat."

"No! I mean...You don't have to, really. Thank you," she said shyly, then looked down.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she smiled timidly again, "I'm not really hungry."

"Okay, then."

I walked past her to the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was some leftover steak from last night, so I would just put it in the microwave.

I turned around, and Bella was right there; we almost bumped into each other. She was probably peeking over my shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" I asked her again before I ate it all.

"No, I'm fine," she answered in a small voice.

"Suit yourself." I grumbled and went back to my dinner.

Bella was standing in the middle of the kitchen, just watching me while I put the steak in the microwave, grabbed some juice from the fridge, and sat down at the dinner table and ate.

"Are you just gonna stand there?"

She fidgeted for a moment then timidly made her way to the table and sat down in front of me. I arched an eyebrow and continued eating.

"So, why are you here?"

"Huh?" She looked like she was lost in thought.

"How did you get here?" I asked, keeping my eyes on her.

"I...uh...I don't know, really. I was wandering down the road and ended up here."

I took a deep breath. "Well, I can take you back to the road tomorrow morning. And give you some money if you need. It's too dark outside to go anywhere right now."

She looked up at me with big panicked eyes. "No. No, no, no, please don't make me go back." She reached for my hand across the table. "Please Mr. Edward, let me stay..." she begged.

I took a good look at her. If there was anything in this world close to perfection, it was this girl. She looked very young, around 17 or 18, and had a heart-shaped face with lovely brown eyes. Now that it was drying, I could see she had long, wavy mahogany hair.

Bella surely was an exquisite creature, but I couldn't do what she was asking of me. There was no way she was staying here longer than tomorrow. I'd let her stay for the night, 'cause I'm not that cold-hearted, but she'd definitely have to go.

I pulled my hand away from hers. She looked lost. "We'll talk about that later, okay?" I tried to smile.

"Okay," she breathed, looking a little more relieved.

What have I gotten myself into? I thought to myself.

Sorry it took so long... but here you go!

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