Important! While this is based on my life and the events that have taken place involving me, this is a Fanfiction and there will be fiction in the story. Enjoy!

Last time:

We arrive at my front door and he grabs my hand just before I can go into my house.

"Isabella, can I please be your friend?" His eyes are glassy and innocent and I feel myself nodding before I can think it through properly. "Really?" His eyes light up and a wide smile crosses his face. I find myself smiling with him.

"Yeah, I guess so," I whisper. He pulls me in for a hug and I let him, putting my hands back around him awkwardly.

"Thank you." His voice washes over me like honey and I can feel gooseflesh erupt on my skin. "You should go in." I nod and pull back from him, breathing in one last breath of his scent. "I hope your parents work it out." I shrug. I had completely forgotten about that, to be honest.

"Bye, Edward." I turn and open the door, glancing back at him before I go in.

"Goodnight, Isabella."

Chapter sixteen.

Now:

"So, you and Edward are friends now?" Alice asks, sliding her tray on to the table as we sit down. I nod and throw my bag onto the chair next to me before digging out my bottle of water.

"Yeah. Well, I said we could try to be friends and he seemed okay with it." I shrug.

"But I thought you weren't interested in being his friend?" Alice pouts and I can tell she doesn't like it.

"I wasn't, but he was there and he was being sweet to me, Mary. It's not everyday people are nice to me," I admit, gently putting my hand on hers across the table. "I'm not like you, Mary. I have to grasp at the nice things in life." Like a leech, I add silently. A fat, ugly leech.

She just sighs and eats her lunch silently, occasionally glancing at me across the table. I eat my lunch, as well, keeping my eyes on the table. Today hasn't been all that great. I woke up and left before Renee was out of bed. I just couldn't deal with seeing her so sad again so soon.

When I got in last night, Charlie wasn't there, but Renee was curled up on the couch, tears running down her face as she slept. It hurt my whole being seeing her like that. I woke her up and told her to go up to bed. When she did, I cleaned up the mess in the living room and kitchen before going to bed myself.

I couldn't fall asleep quickly enough; my mind racing with everything that happened during the day. Waking up at the Cullen's', going home and having Renee tell me they are getting a divorce, running away after yelling at Charlie, Edward talking to me then taking me to the diner, me agreeing to be his friend after that amazing hug. In the space of twenty-four hours, my life has changed forever.

I know I should probably call home and see how Renee is doing. Her heart is breaking and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I want to comfort her, but I just don't know how to. I know she wants Charlie to say he doesn't want the divorce anymore and that he wants to work the marriage out, but I just can't see that happening. I wish it would happen, but I just know it won't.

I haven't told Alice that Charlie and Renee may be getting a divorce. She sees Charlie and Renee, as well as her own parents, as being that fairytale couple that stays together forever; just like I did. It would hurt her just like it hurts me. I know she would feel the pain that I always feel, and Alice is too good for that. She doesn't deserve that pain.

Something I have been thinking about is: who will move out the house if they do split? They each own half of it, so who would move out? Would they stay in Forks? Who would I live with? Would I have to go between the two houses like every other child with divorced parents?

I never thought I would have one of 'those' families.

"Room for two more?" I look up to see Edward and Jasper standing just behind Alice. She giggles and pulls out the chair next to her, letting Jasper sit down. I smile at them both and Edward takes the seat next to me after I move my bag to the floor by my feet.

"Is everything okay now?" Edward whispers to me and I look over, seeing the concern on his face. I shrug, but I don't say anything more.

"I think we should do another movie weekend soon! The last one was so fun and I had a really great time and I know everyone else did too! What do you think, Isabella?" Alice takes a deep breath and shows me her pearly whites. Edward and Jasper laugh and shake their heads at her.

"I don't know, Alice." And I don't; I can't really go anywhere if I'm needed at home and I know that Renee is going to be needing me a lot more now - especially now.

"What do you mean?" she pouts, her eyes going wide and glassy. I look away from her and out the window we are sitting next to.

"I have stuff going on. Give me a date and I'll let you know if I can come," I sigh, knowing I won't get out of this. If I don't go to her movie night, I know she will make me go shopping with her. It's like detention if you miss an 'Alice' event.

I don't like shopping, I never have really. We don't really have the money to buy nice clothing and shoes, and nothing I like fits me anyway. I see all the girls at school in fitting tops and skinny jeans and I'm always stuck in my tracksuit and baggy tops. I want to be fashionable to some degree, but I just can't

"Yeah, like she has 'stuff' to do!" comes a nasally voice from behind me. "She doesn't have life, fat bitch." I swallow hard and turn to see Lauren and Jessica standing there.

"What do you want?" Edward sneers at them both as he turns to look at them.

"We were just coming to see what you three are doing with the whale," Lauren states, eyeing me in distaste.

"She's not a fucking whale, you dicks!" Edward all but screams and stands up, glaring at them both. The room goes silent and I can see teachers creeping in from outside, surveying the room for any damage. "Why do you always have to put her down? Why does everyone always have to put her down?" He looks around the room and I can see people looking at the floor, avoiding Edward's accusing eyes. "Isabella is the most genuinely nice person in this whole fucking school and you all make her feel like shit!" he yells.

"Edward, please sit down," I whimper, trying to swallow the lump forming in my throat.

"No, I won't sit down!" He runs his hand through his hair and breathes out sharply through his nose. "Maybe you should all get to know someone before you judge them."

"Shut up, Edward! What the hell has happened to you recently?" A loud voice booms and I look over to see Emmett stand up from his table, glaring evilly at Edward. I haven't seen Emmett in a while and I gasp when I see him. His normally happy face is angry and his eyes are both black and swollen. There is a cut on his bottom lip going down towards his chin and a yellow bruise on his left cheek. I guess the guys really did a number on him.

"You shut up, dickhead!" Edward yells, pointing his finger at him. I see Emmett walk around the table and come towards us, his hands balled into fists and his whole body tense.

"You do realize that Isabella will never be skinny, right? If you're hoping for a quick fuck, she will probably eat you." He smirks and stops just in front of Edward. I try not to take what he says to heart, but it still hurts. I can see Edward shaking and I know he wants to add more damage to Emmett's face.

"You need to back off," Edward growls and I stand slowly.

"Edward, please leave it. I'm not worth it," I whisper the last part to myself, but both guys hear it.

"No, you're not worth it, Isabella. You're the reason Charlie is divorcing Mom. Did you know that?" Emmett spits out and two things happen at once.

Alice gasps from behind me and I can hear the pain in it. She's already hurting, just like I am right now. The second thing is the amount of pain that surges through my body at his declaration. A pained cry leaves my lips and I clutch my chest. It feels like someone is stabbing me in the heart over and over.

The pain spreads through my body and I feel like I need to sit down. I swallow hard and blink back the tears. Why would he say something like that? Surely, it's not my fault. How can it be my fault? I haven't done anything to make them fall out of love. At least, I don't think I have.

"Yeah, Isabella. Charlie doesn't want your fat ass anymore, so he's leaving Mom. He's sick of the sight of you, just like everyone else." I clench my eyes tightly shut when Edward starts yelling at Emmett. I try not to listen, and everything seems to go fuzzy.

Maybe Emmett is right - I'm a waste of space. I take up room that someone else could have. I eat food that people all over the world needs. It's not like I have many friends; Alice, Jasper, and now, Edward. If I went away, they would get over it. They wouldn't miss me too much. I'm just an inconvenience; a huge inconvenience.

I push past Edward and Emmett and head for the doors, not stopping when Alice's pained voice calls my name. It's entirely my fault. Of course, Charlie wouldn't want to be stuck with me anymore. He wanted a son to play football with and his wife to be there when he got home, and he got me with them both. He didn't want a daughter to protect. He didn't want me.

I slowly walk home through the woods. No-one will see me here from the roads, but I can see the roads in case I need to run away from a murderer or something. Yeah, a murderer in Forks. I nearly roll my eyes at the thought. Nothing ever happens in Forks.

I get home eventually and go straight to my room, not even bothering to see if Renee is in. She is supposed to be at work, but I don't know if she would be going in anytime soon. A broken heart is all it takes to mess up a whole life. People all over the world know that. Everyone has their heart broken at least once in a life time.

I lay under my covers for a few hours, my mind blank. I refuse to think about anything. I don't want to think about all the hurt and disgust I cause people. I don't want to think about anything that hurts because I have had enough.

A tap on my window makes fear shoot through my whole body. What is that? I sit up slowly, my eyes glued to the window. I'm nearly three stories of the ground, what could possibly be tapping my window? The tap sounds again and I swing my legs off the bed and shakily make my way to the window.

Throwing the curtains open, I look out into the darkness, but I can't see anything.

"Isabella?" I jump when someone whispers my name and I look into the tree to see Edward sitting there, a backpack over his shoulder and a cigarette in his hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hiss, looking down and seeing the drop from the tree. When I look back up, he shrugs at me and takes the backpack off his shoulder.

"Here." He tosses it to me and I just catch it. Next, he throws his cigarette butt onto the ground in front of the tree and tries to climb in the window. My heart speeds up and I start to panic. What if he falls? How would I explain all of this to Renee if she finds out?

My worries stop when he is safely in my room, standing in front of me and smiling widely. I take in a deep breath and try to calm my hammering heart.

"What on earth are you doing here?" I whisper. Even I can hear the slight fright in my voice.

"Alice was annoying me, so…" he trails off.

"So you thought you would come and annoy me?" I ask, my voice louder than it probably should be.

"Yeah." He smirks and walks over to his bag that I have put on my bed. He sits on the bed next to it and opens it up.

"What is in that bag?" I walk over and stand just close enough so I can see.

"My cigarettes, my wallet, my keys, an extra pair of pants and some more socks. Umm, there's a tooth brush in there, too, and some other stuff." He shrugs and closes the bag back up.

"Why do you have it?"

"Just in case I need it." He shrugs. I nod and look down at the floor.

What is Edward Cullen doing in my bedroom? I don't think he has ever been in here before. A thought comes to mind and I quickly scan the room, hoping I don't see anything embarrassing anywhere. When I don't, I relax slightly. A chuckle brings me out of my scan and I look to see Edward watching me, a wide smile on his face.

"Are you going to sit down?" He moves his bag to the floor and pats the space next to him. I however, go over to my desk and sit on the chair there, pulling at my shirt sleeves.

"Why are you really here, Edward?" I whisper, worried that someone could hear us if we are too loud.

"I wanted to come and see if you were okay. Alice said you weren't answering your cell." He tries to make me meet his eyes, but I refuse to. "Are you okay?" I shrug. No, I'm not. "Don't worry about Emmett, he's a lying prick."

"He's my brother, Edward," I sigh and pull at my ponytail. "No matter what he does to me or anyone else, I love him. I hate him, but I love him." I groan and try to think of a good way to put it. "You wouldn't understand," I finally state and look up at him.

"I do understand," he says sympathetically. "If Alice killed someone, I would still love her."

"Not that she ever would. She would be too worried about getting blood on her outfit." I smile and he throws his head back, a loud laugh spilling from his lips. I jump up and run over to him, putting my hand over his mouth. He stops laughing and I freeze. Slowly, I back away from him, my eyes wide.

Neither of us says anything, but I can't hear anything from downstairs, so I know he hasn't been heard. I want to breathe out in relief, but I don't. I can't believe I just did that. Why did I have to touch Edward?

"Sorry," I squeak. "It's just, you were loud and Renee and Charlie and..." He holds his hand up and I stop talking. I can feel the blood in my face, making me light up like a Christmas tree.

"It's okay, Isabella." He smiles and pats the space next to him again. I slowly walk over and sit, leaving as much room between us as possible. "Isabella?" I shiver as my name rolls off of his tongue.

"Yeah?" I look down at my lap, playing with my fingers.

"Can I call you by a nickname?" I laugh quietly at the randomness of his question.

"What?" I choke out, taking in a deep breath.

"You know, a nickname. Jasper gets to call you 'Iz' and I want to call you something." He shrugs, but I can hear something in his voice.

"Sure, as long as it isn't 'fat-ass' or something," I try to joke, but he just glares at the floor.

"How about, Bella?" His eyes meet mine and I think about it.

"No," I huff. He looks confused and hurt by my rejection. "It means beautiful in Italian," I explain, hoping he will catch on.

"Bella it is, then." He smirks and I roll my eyes.

Thank you all for reading.

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Thanks for reading.

Twi-girl09

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