Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, Stephanie Meyer does.

A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter, I was planning on making it longer, but I just wanted to get it out already. Please review, I would love to hear everyone's opinion on this. There is so much to the story, it will get so good within the next few chapters, I can't wait to finally introduce you know who. I am still looking for a beta reader, until I find one, my story will be roughly written, so please bear with me. Thank you for reading and enjoy!

My Dark Angel

Chapter 3

The Meadow

I was in a place I had never been before. It wasn't the same dark woods that had haunted my dreams; instead it was a place of beauty, a place of wonder. This new dream was a surprise to me, for it held nothing of the essence of a nightmare. All my fear had vanished and I was covered in awe. I looked around me; I was surrounded by a circle of tall trees of many different species. Inside the circle was a large area of wild flowers and moss which covered every inch of the open ground. Daisies, roses, lilies, honeysuckle, all kinds of wild flowers blossomed along the wide stretch of open grass. I was amazed at its beauty; I had never seen anything like it. The moon was shining brightly in the clearing, glistening around the stars in all its glory and magnificence. I could hear the owls cooing in the trees, and I could hear the beating hearts of animals nearby. There was a stream flowing close by and I could hear its steady pace as the water slowly flowed down its jagged paths. It was a meadow in which I stood. The most beautiful meadow I had ever seen and ever could have imagined.

The fragrance of my surroundings took control over me and I closed my eyes in complete satisfaction. There was a cool night breeze that blew through my hair and I lifted my head to inhale the sweet aroma. The emotions that swelled up inside me went overboard. I felt love, happiness, excitement, peace, and a million other emotions that could express any wonderful feeling a human being could ever have. If it was a good emotion, I was feeling it.

I never wanted to leave this place; I'd rather die than be forced to wake up. I wanted this to be my reality so badly. Every ounce of my body yearned for it to be true. But it wasn't. I opened my eyes as the soft breeze ended and lowered my head.

There he was. My dark angel.

He stood on the outskirts of the meadow, standing next to a tree in its deep shadow. He was dark and mystifying and a sudden urge to run to him waved through my body. I could still not see his face, but I could feel he was staring at me. He took a step closer to me, a spot that was still in shadow awaiting his movement. He moved with such grace, I couldn't help but be in awe of his agility. He walked a few more steps forward, still in the shadows of the trees surrounding us.

He stopped abruptly, his body facing me. He then gently reached down to the flowers and laid in them. His face was towards the sky, staring into the stars. I laid down where I stood, yards away from him and stared too. As we looked into the night, I could feel a wave of electricity between us. It was as if being in this meadow was bringing us together, our feelings for each other grew stronger and stronger as the moments went on.

The sky suddenly lit up, it was a meteor shower. Meteor after meteor flashed before our eyes in a beautiful symphony. They danced in a beautiful synchronization that only God himself could have created. The sound of my beating heart was racing, I could not look away. I so desperately wished to see his face, but he would not leave the shadows, and I would not dare to disturb his peace. If he wanted to be hidden, then I would allow it. I would do anything for him, at least in this dream I would. The night began to calm down and the stars were shining brighter than ever before. They blazed in the atmosphere as if they had been set on fire.

I found the strength to look at the stranger; his face was turned to mine, though I could only see the outline of him. I wished so very much to be able to look into his eyes. Why did he have to be hidden? Why did he have to be in the shadows?

He suddenly stood up from the ground and faced me, still as graceful as ever. I rose as well and mirrored his position. We were still yards away from each other, but I could feel his pull on me. I wanted to walk towards him with all my heart. I wished in all the world for him to be close to me. To feel his touch and to look into his mysterious eyes would be a joy I could not describe.

I began to take a step towards him when all of a sudden a loud noise erupted in my ears. I stopped in my tracks, looking around me to see what had disturbed the peace that I had finally found. There was nothing, nothing that I could see that had caused the obnoxious noise still echoing in my ears. I turned to look at him. The boy was gone. He had vanished from the meadow as I had looked about. Slowly the meadow disappeared as well, and the noise began to intensify.….

Damn, I opened my eyes. It was my alarm clock.

I woke up panting. My heart was still racing from the dream. I quickly reached over to my alarm clock and hit the snooze button; the last thing I wanted to do was wake up Charlie and Renee.

I stayed lying in my bed and looked at the ceiling. I began to think about the dream. The dark angel and the meadow, so beautiful in the night, vanishing without a goodbye. I wondered how it would sound to hear him say his goodbyes. I could only imagine his voice to be the sound of an angel, so beautiful it could make anyone cry. How I wished to go back there and hear him, see him, touch him. But I couldn't.

Suddenly a wave of guilt rushed through my body. Jacob. Oh Jacob, why was I doing this to him? I cannot allow him to suffer because I am becoming insane and falling in love with my dreams.

The realization of the pain I was in had resurfaced. I love Jacob, and I am tearing our relationship apart with these dreams. My dark angel does not exist and I am only setting myself up for disaster and disappointment. I am setting Jacob up for heartbreak. He would be crushed if I chose the insane route and told him I loved a dream more than I loved him. I wouldn't allow myself to do that. I would never want to ruin what Jacob and I have, especially for a silly dream, a beautiful dream, the most amazing dream I have ever had. Stop! I protested within myself. I need to stop this. I can't keep thinking this way.

Jacob is my life, no one else; especially not some made up boy whose face I have never even seen before. I will not give up Jacob. I love him too much…. But I love my dark Angel too. Stop! Why am I doing this to myself? I am willingly torturing myself. This is masochistic. This is insane. What is wrong with me?

I needed to clear my head, but every time I tried, I thought of him. There was no solution. There was no way out. No matter what I tried to do, someone was going to get hurt. Whether it would be me who hurts from losing someone or something I love, or whether it be Jacob who loses the Bella he loves. I cannot do it. I cannot deal with this.

One cannot exist without the other. And with that said, I see only one possible solution. Jacob will be the love of my day, and my dark angel with be the love of my night. If I can't let either one of them go, then I am not going to force them to go. They will co-exist like the Sun and the Moon. One cannot exist without the other, without the sun there would be no day and without the moon there would be no night. I have made my choice, and I will not choose otherwise.

Right as I decided that, I felt a sort of power overflowing in my body. I had found a resolution, and I was proud of myself. The feeling made me feel triumphant, like I could take on anything today.

With that said, I stood out of my bed and marched to my dresser to get ready for school. Today will be a good day. I knew it would, I could do anything.

I finished getting ready in top speed. I was downstairs in no time and still had a good whole hour to make a quick breakfast for Charlie and Renee. I decided to go with scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast. It was quick, sufficient, and delicious, and would certainly make Charlie happy.

I grabbed the egg carton out of the fridge and cracked 8 eggs into a pan. Charlie was a hungry eater, usually I would put 10 eggs in for just the three of us, but I decided to cut it down today. Charlie shouldn't eat too much; he needed to stay in tip top shape to be the Chief of police, and if eating a little less would help, then I'd do it. Either way, I was making plenty of sausage and toast for him. He couldn't go hungry even if he tried.

As I got the food going and popped some bread into the toaster, I quickly started brewing some coffee. The aroma of the kitchen was growing and my stomach began to growl at the delicious smells. I didn't eat much last night, just the occasional bits and pieces of snacks during my homework crunch. I was so tired that I didn't care to eat; I just wanted to sleep in my warm cozy bed.

I was flipping the sausage in the pan when I heard someone walking down the stairs.

"Hmmm…breakfast again Bells? I'm getting lucky." Charlie walked in with another smile on his face, he was already dressed for work, ready to go at any minute. He looked at the stove top and inhaled the warm scent of sausage and eggs. He really loved my cooking and it was certainly apparent in his smile.

"Yeah, you are getting lucky, I should probably never cook again for a couple years just to balance out your good fortune," I smirked at him and he gave me a happy snicker. Charlie went and filled a mug up with coffee while I finished the cooking.

The food was done and I turned all the burners to a simmer to keep them warm. "Alright breakfast is ready," I said, and Charlie lit up. I grabbed him a plate and dished him out a good size portion of sausage, eggs, and toast.

Charlie sat down at the table and awaited his meal. I placed it in front of him as he groaned with happiness. "Sweet Jesus this looks good!" As he said those words, he dug in and shoved mouthful upon mouthfuls of food into his face.

I smiled and grabbed my own plate of food. I began to eat when Renee walked downstairs. "Breakfast again Bella? You are spoiling us." She said happily as she walked over to the kitchen and kissed me on the forehead. She grabbed herself a plate and joined us.

"This is delicious Bella," Renee said as she placed some egg into her mouth. I couldn't agree more. This breakfast tasted amazingly good. Whether it was because I was a good cook, or I was just starving to eat, I didn't care, it was absolutely wonderful.

We didn't have much of a conversation at the table this morning, everyone was enjoying the food too much to stop and talk. I didn't mind, I enjoyed the silence and usually Charlie did too. Renee on the other hand was difficult at times to shut up, but today was no problem. The happiness that transcended through the room was amazing. I truly felt at ease; my stress over that past day had been relieved. I had found out a solution. I could only hope that it would work to my advantage and not tear me down to the deepest pits of regret. If this plan were to blow up in my face, I would not know what to do. I would think of something later, but now I would soak up this happy image and bask in it as long as my thoughts would allow.

Charlie finished eating first; he cleaned his plate off, said his goodbyes and then headed to work. Renee kept eating while I got up and washed the dishes.

"So Bella…did you sleep well last night?" My back stiffened at her words and I forced myself to not look at her face.

"uh….yeah actually. I slept very well," I said hesitantly, I might as well tell what truth I could. I didn't want to lie to Renee, but I couldn't tell her every possible detail of what was going on. She would think I was crazy, falling in love with an imaginary boy that was making me question my love for Jacob. I finally found a solution, and I couldn't stand to have her input on it, making me less sure of myself. I knew she would make my resolution sound stupid, she'd make me question my feelings and have to choose. That's what she always did. There was no best of both worlds for her, either pick something or don't pick it at all. But like I said, I am too selfish. I might as well take both while I can, hoping that no one will get hurt in the process. All I can do is hope.

"That's good, I'm glad to hear that. You seem like you've cleared your mind of a lot of things, things that were troubling you?" Renee squeezed out that last sentence as a question, trying to dig out any information she could from me. I wasn't going to budge though, at least not today. I wasn't going to fall for her dirty tricks that made me subconsciously tell her everything going on in my brain. She loved when I told her my issues; to her, picking through my thoughts was like a game, a challenge. She wanted to win it and be conqueror of Bella's mind, but no one could do that. It was impossible. I always believed that I thought unlike everyone else, like I was different, wired differently in the head. I thought I was on a different wavelength than everybody else. For my mom to decipher my thoughts and feelings would be a miracle. It would be a job even God would find difficult to do. I was different, I was odd.

"Yeah, I guess. I've had a lot on my mind lately," I fell for it; she was slowly entering my mind. I had to stop and keep her out. She would try her very best to budge through the wall I had built in my head. She would try with all her power, but I wasn't going to break. I would not allow it.

"What's been going on?" Renee asked trying to sound very considerate and warm. I permitted myself the chance to look at her, which I soon regretted.

Her face was in a sad expression. She was trying to play the puppy dog eyes. The eyes that longed for someone to love them, she tried to play that innocent card, but I wasn't going to fly for that one. I knew Renee too well. I knew her tricks. If I didn't comply on the puppy eyes, I would have to face her begging.

Sure enough I was right. She saw that I wasn't going to speak, so she began to beg. "Please Bella, tell me what's been on your mind. I am your mother, I want to help you through whatever it is that you are struggling with. You can trust me. Please."

I fought inside myself to resist her pleading. You can do this, don't tell her anything…..tell her, she will help you…..no, you can't, she will think you are crazy….she's my mother….

I kept arguing with myself until I finally came to the conclusion of what I was going to say. "Mom, I do trust you, but trust me right now. I will tell you everything when the time comes, but please, please just let me figure this out on my own."

Renee was surprised at those words, but her face quickly slid into an expression of understanding. "Ok honey, I understand. Take your time."

Relief washed over me and I was glad she stopped playing the twenty questions game. I wasn't ready to tell my mother. I wasn't ready to tell anyone. This would be my little secret; no one would ever know about my dark angel. If anyone knew, they would think of me as a crazy woman and send me to the closest institution in Washington. I couldn't afford that, my life depended on it. Did I want to keep secrets from Renee? Of course not, but this was a secret that could not be bartered with, no matter how much I wanted to give in to her begging. I had to be strong; I had to resist.

I finished the dishes and was almost all too willing to leave the house. I wanted to breathe in the fresh air, smell the wet moss that surrounded the outside, and take in the scent of clean, freshly poured rain. I was glad to leave the house; I was glad to see Jacob.

I grabbed my backpack and yelled out the door, nearly running to my car, "Bye mom, love you!"

I heard her goodbyes being called after me as I jumped into my truck and turned on the engine. It roared and thrummed as I pressed on the gas pedal and backed out of the driveway. I pulled forward onto the road and sped to school.

I can't wait to see Jacob, I kept thinking to myself. I can now be with him and not feel guilty. Yes, I was basically cheating on him with my dreams, but in my insane brain it was ok. I accepted the fact that I could not live without either one, so the guilt left completely when I realized I couldn't let either one of them go. I knew that I loved Jacob, and I accepted that I was falling in love with the mysterious boy. If I wanted to be happy and not hurt anyone, including myself, then I had to keep both of them. For the sake of Jake's feelings and for mine, I had to keep them. I wouldn't force myself to make a decision that would hurt me beyond repair or destroy the love between me and Jacob. I accepted my resolution; therefore I would do whatever I could to be happy about it. If losing guilt were to suffice this decision, then let it be. I cannot be happy if I am guilty, and if I am guilty and unhappy, Jacob would be as well. It is better to embrace the joy then to ruin everything that we have created for ourselves out of love.

I pulled into the parking lot and saw Jacob already waiting for me by his Rabbit. My face lit up with joy, as did his. I parked right next to him, turned off the truck's engine, and nearly threw myself out of the truck and into his warm arms.

"Bella! What has gotten into you?" He said with a loud chuckle.

"Jake! I am so glad to see you! I love you so much!" I closed my eyes and smiled, placing my head on his shoulder and resting in complete peace.

"And I love you Bells, I am so glad to see you too," he was still laughing. He pulled my face to his and gave me a soft loving kiss. It felt to good tasting his lips on mine. The sweetness of his breath and the warmth of his tongue felt absolutely wonderful. I couldn't remember the last time I had wanted a kiss from him so badly. The kiss intensified and my heart began to pound. Jacob broke his face free from mine, breathing for air. My breathing was unsteady like his, trying to control my pace and my heart rate. I looked into Jake's dark brown eyes and smiled. He looked into my chocolate brown eyes and matched my emotions. I was finally happy again since the stressful day yesterday. We were happy, and that's all I could ever ask for.

Today was a new beginning. I could feel it; a new chapter in my life. I had two worlds now; the world with Jacob where I was safe and warm and loved, and the world with my dark angel where I was happy, at peace, and in beauty. Both worlds I loved, both worlds I would keep. No matter what would happen, I would always have them both.

My worlds, I smiled as I was wrapped in Jacob's arms. My worlds.

sooo...what did you think? I hope you enjoyed it! Remember to review! And find me a beta reader! Thank you!