Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just play with them. This story is rated M, and is not suitable for younger readers. Story contains violence, coarse language and sexual "situations". Please do not read if any of these things offends you.

Note: [Beta'ed by: adt216]

Chapter 28 – "Backbone"

Isabella Swan POV

We didn't talk much after that. We were both trying to grasp the situation we now found ourselves in. Edward had brought my hand to his lap and he traced my fingers with his own; it was kind of weird, but I let him. I had a feeling that he needed it in order to come to terms with everything. He stopped tracing my fingers and put his palm against mine for a moment, before letting our fingers braid together, joining our hands in a sweet embrace. He frowned a little as he stared down at our joined hands.

"Having fun?" I asked him gently. He glanced at me and chuckled, his frown fading.

"Not particularly," he replied with a lazy smirk. He looked into my eyes and cocked his head to the side. "You have golden flecks in your eyes," he noted, almost sounding amazed. I looked away as I felt my cheeks blush.

"Yeah… my mom used to call me star Eyes when I was little. She always said I had all the universe's stars in my eyes… they're only visible in certain light… just like stars," I mumbled, embarrassed. He frowned at the mention of my mom, but he didn't say anything. For that I was grateful. "So… school tomorrow," I said, breaking the somewhat uncomfortable silence.

He groaned and leaned his head back against the wall. "Fuck, don't remind me," he muttered.

I bit my lip and looked away. I tried to pull my hand back, but he kept it in a steady grip. I looked up and saw that he was staring at me; his eyes were filled with so much sadness. I didn't try to remove my hand from his again. I had a feeling he needed it.

"Are you going back tomorrow?" he asked and I nodded. "Can you do me a favor?"

"That depends on the favor," I replied hesitantly. He chuckled before his face grew somber.

"Can you please just…" he trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing. "Can you please just humor Emmett and Alice tomorrow and let them do their shit?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, now feeling slightly on edge.

"They want to fucking protect you, alright?" he snapped, almost sounding angry about the whole thing. I didn't blame him; he probably still held a grudge against his friends for abandoning him.

"Why-" I began, but he cut me off.

"I told you, I have your goddamn back, but I can't have your back at school… or in public at all, really." He looked pained when he said the last part, and I didn't understand it at first.

"But-" I tried again, but he didn't let me finish this time either.

"I made a fucking promise. I have your back, but I can't help you at school or in public. Because we both know that we're both screwed if anyone finds out, alright? But I do have your back, and this is my way to do that. Okay? Let Emmett be your damn bodyguard, and humor Alice by listening to her crap, is that too much to ask for?" he said, sounding aggravated. I guess he really meant it when he said he had my back. It wasn't just words with no meaning. He really did mean it.

But even though he sounded sincere, there was still a part in the back of my mind that kept nagging at me to not trust him. He's Edward Cullen. Why would he of all people care about me?

"Edward," I protested, but he just shook his head.

"Just fucking do it, alright?" he sighed exasperatedly. I quirked an eyebrow at him and his tone, and he just looked back. "Trust me, Sparrow, you will need someone at school now. You can't go around undetected anymore. Tanya will fucking kill you."

"I'm not afraid of her," I said, my voice betraying me by cracking.

"Of course you're not," he said, rolling his eyes. "But that bitch is fucking crazy, alright? A fucking psychopath. Everybody probably knows that I had to change schools because of you. You won't be safe there anymore."

"You really think people care? You really do think highly of yourself," I replied dryly.

He snorted. "I don't think anything. I just know how these fucking people work. Alright? Maybe I'm not the only one who has been living in a damn bubble, if you don't even know what role I played in that damn school. I was fucking it, okay? And Tanya is fucking obsessed with me, and she will probably try to avenge me by going after you."

"It's just high school, Edward, it's not a movie about some crazy avenger," I sighed.

"Just high school? C'mon, Sparrow… it's not just high school. Were you not there when she knocked you unconscious? Because I was, and it was fucking brutal. So don't you dare say this was nothing, because it fucking was. Tanya is a crazy bitch who I made the mistake of stringing along for too goddamn long. This is on me, and the only way I can fucking protect you from her is to have Emmett by your side. Alright? You think you can do that for me?"

I gave him a tired look and he gave me an innocent smile.

"Is it just me, or are you demanding quite a lot?" I asked with a light snort.

"Demanding? Fuck you! I'm only trying to keep you safe. What the hell is so wrong with that?" he asked.

"Safe? Are you kidding me? Two weeks ago you wouldn't even bat an eye at my damn safety, and now it's suddenly your only concern? What the hell are you smoking?"

He looked oddly hurt by my words, but he quickly covered it up with an emotionless mask.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing, alright? I'm just trying to fucking survive. And this is how I'm doing it. I don't fucking know why the hell I need you alive, all I know is that I do. Your safety is my fucking concern because things changed and now we both have to live with that damn change, alright?" His voice began to crack, and his breathing became shallow. He dragged his free hand through his hair, and his other hand gripped mine more tightly. I swallowed thickly and the voice in the back of my mind quieted. This was Edward. He wasn't playing me. This was him in his most naked form. I had to trust him. He wanted me safe, because things had changed. It didn't matter how much I hated change, especially in people, but maybe this was one of those better changes. Maybe having Edward change wasn't such a bad thing.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "For putting you through this."

He shot his eyes to me, and if looks could kill, he would have killed me right then and there.

And made him a killer, how ironic…

"What the fuck are you apologizing for? None of this shit is your fault," he growled.

"But it is-"

"I hit a patch of black ice, how the hell is that your fault?" he spat.

"I refused to get out of the way!" I spat back. I was irritated now because he never let me finish a damn sentence. "I had all the time in the world to jump out of the way. I even thought about it. But I didn't, because I wanted to die, and you gave me an easy out!"

All the blood rushed from his face as if someone had pulled a plug. As the color left his face, I felt the irritation leave my body. Damnit, this was not how I had planned this to go. Hell, I hadn't even planned it at all. I never thought I was going to admit that to anybody, and now that I had admitted it to the only person that was by my side, he would leave. He had no reason to look out for me anymore. He had no fault in this, and no guilt he had to carry. This was all on me, and he would realize that and not give a crap about me anymore. He would have no reason to care anymore.

"Are you… are you fucking serious?" he said slowly, his voice shaking. I couldn't tell by his tone whether or not he wanted it to be a lie, so I had no other choice but to nod and confirm it as the truth.

"Yeah, I am," I confirmed quietly. "I almost made you a killer by my own choice. This mess is all on me." He gaped openly at me now and his mouth opened and closed like a fish on dry land. I would have laughed if the situation had allowed it. But it didn't.

"You… you could have gotten out of the way… but you stayed put because you wanted to die," he echoed mostly to himself; all the anger from before was gone. "You could… but you didn't… you stayed where you were… you could have jumped… but you didn't…"

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice cracking at the simple words. He turned his head slowly to me and I was afraid of what I would find when looking into his eyes. Anger? Frustration? Disgust? His mouth was twitching and I didn't know if that was a good thing. But then I finally looked up and saw his eyes.

It was a good thing.

"It wasn't my fucking fault," he said, breathlessly. I smiled crookedly and shook my head softly.

"No, it wasn't… and I'm sorry… this is all on me… people should hate me. People should blame me. People should turn their backs on me," I whispered. He looked at me in silence for so long that I had to look away. His intense gaze grew uncomfortable rather quickly.

"Is it wrong for me to be relieved by that shit?" he asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"No. Definitely not." I smiled softly, trying to pull my hand back again. But once again I was met with resistance. He narrowed his eyes at me and pursed his lips.

"Are you fucking lying to me?" he asked, now sounding suspicious.

"What? Of course not!"

"So you're not trying to con me into believing some shit just so you can get rid of me?"

I looked at him confused. "What do you mean 'get rid of you'?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes at me.

"Did you say that shit just so I would go away? You think I'm here just because I feel guilty about what happened?"

"No!"

He looked at me for a long time, before a tired and sad smile graced his features. He sighed deeply and shook his head softly. I could see in his eyes that he had chosen to believe it, and I was surprised that he didn't show any signs of wanting to leave. He stayed sitting, as comfortable as ever. My confession hadn't scared him off at all.

"I guess it makes fucking sense if you did," he agreed finally. "You wanted to die… Hell, you still do … you almost died tonight…and I can't fucking blame you… Your mom fucking cut you."

I was momentarily speechless, and I didn't know if it was because of what he said or the way he said it. I had yet to get used to him being nice to me, let alone talking to me like I was an equal and not just the Goose. Even after hearing that I was responsible for ruining his life, he still didn't sound as if he hated me. He didn't yell at me, telling me that I was a waste of space or that I should have died for putting him through all this. Instead his tone suggested that he didn't trivialize the thing with my mom or my suicidal thoughts, unlike the way everybody else had trivialized my supposed suicide attempt. Edward didn't trivialize me or my experiences at all. While I didn't understand it, I sure did appreciate it.

I smiled sadly and looked away from him. He sighed again and squeezed my hand in both of his.

"That's so fucked up, you know that? And nobody knows?" he asked and I shook my head. "But… but… I don't fucking get it. How can people not know? What about your dad?"

"He wasn't home," I sighed. "And when it all came down to it, and Mom realized she had cut too deep and that I was bleeding out, she made it look like I had tried to kill myself… and that was the story my dad chose to believe." He didn't look at me with an incredulous look, which I had expected him too. Instead he just nodded in understanding.

"You didn't try to convince him otherwise either, huh," he stated more than asked.

"I was in shock. It took a while for me to even understand what had happened, and when I finally got my senses together, I just couldn't get it out… and the few times I have tried, Dad has just shut me down, telling me that she tried to help me…"

"So that's what you guys were talking about at the hospital?"

"When you hid in the closet? Yeah… pretty much…"

He frowned for a bit then his eyes lit up with anger. I first thought the anger was directed at me, but the words that escaped him proved me wrong.

"When you had that spat with that punk at the grocery store, you said something about being left for dead… I thought it was just a figure of fucking speech or some shit… but you were fucking serious, weren't you? He was there; that's why you hate him so much!" He barely took a breath between sentences, everything coming out in a jumble. I looked away, but not quickly enough. He caught the confirmation in my eyes. He took a deep labored breath, breathing out slowly as he slumped where he sat. It was as if everything had left him with the air he exhaled.

"Fuck me backwards," he said.

"I'd rather not," I joked half-heartedly.

"No fucking wonder you are such an easy target at school. Why you don't defend yourself and why do you let people treat you like crap? You… Fuck me!" He sounded so amazed at the fact, and I couldn't do anything but shrug again.

"Still, I'd rather not," I said again. He quirked an eyebrow at me with an amused tint in his ever so serious eyes.

"You're not as weird as I thought you were, well, yeah, you're fucking weird as all shit, but not in the way I thought. I figured you were just some loser girl that had no fucking friends because you were too weird… but fuck, there is so much more going on with you," he said, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, and I thought you were just a shallow guy who spent all his time banging random girls in the janitor's closet, or drinking his ass off with his cool buddies," I snorted quietly, and he scoffed.

"Trust me, you're not the only one thinking that about me," he said, dragging his free hand through his hair again. "I can't blame people though. I've never given anyone any fucking reason to have any other opinion about me. And up until the accident, that was pretty much all there was to me anyway."

"You're saying there's more to you now?" I asked, trying to sound teasing and not condescending.

He tilted his head to me and half-shrugged. "You tell me. I don't fucking know."

I didn't respond to that, because I wasn't entirely sure yet. Or maybe I was sure, I just didn't want to tell him that. Not yet. He smiled crookedly at my silence and squeezed my hand again.

"It's okay, I don't expect anything," he said with a sigh. "But I should probably go now."

"Yeah, you should," I mumbled.

"But before I go, I think there is something I need to do," he said, gripping my chin to make me look at him. His gaze was intense and I felt my breath hitch. He smirked and I stopped breathing altogether. What the hell was he doing? "You have a pen?"

I blinked. I blinked again. Wait… what?

"A pen?" I echoed confused.

He chuckled and nodded towards my cast. "You don't want that shit there, and neither do I. So mind if I draw something over it?" he asked.

"You would do that?" I asked surprised and he rolled his eyes, as he let go of my chin.

"Duh," was his answer. "So, you have a pen or what?"

"Yeah, there should be a few pens on the table in the living room if my mother hasn't removed them," I replied. He swiftly left the bed and walked over to the door. He quietly removed the chair before walking out.

He returned a few moments later with a few colored pens in his hand. "Found 'em."

I smiled weakly as he closed the door behind him again, before walking to sit back down on the bed. He looked at the cast for a moment, probably contemplating what to draw, and then he picked up a black pen, removing the cap with his teeth.

I watched him as he drew, but I wasn't looking at what he drew. I just watched his face as he worked. He looked so serious and focused, and every once in a while he sighed and frowned.

I lost track of time, but finally he leaned back and put the pens aside.

"Done," he said, sounding fairly pleased with himself.

I smiled at his expression, before looking down on the cast. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or to punch him in the face. I decided to laugh, because it was funny… sort of.

"You think you're funny, huh," I teased.

"Why yes, I do think that," he replied with a smug smirk.

I looked back at the drawing and rolled my eyes.

It was a bird. And not just any bird, it was an owl. Somehow he had managed to use the form of the rings to use as its eyes, and it looked totally fine. The words that Jacob had drawn were now hidden in the feathers of the owl. It was as if Jacob never happened.

"Why an owl?" I asked him. "I can understand penguin… or turkey… or goose… but why an owl?"

He smiled a genuine smile at me. "Because owls are night creatures, and we always meet at night, right?" I couldn't help but smile at his analogy. It fitted so well, and I was moved by the fact that he had put some kind of symbolism into the drawing. It wasn't just some meaningless cover-up; this had a meaning. This was us.

"Thank you," I whispered and he chuckled softly.

"Don't mention it," he replied, as he stood up from the bed. "See ya tomorrow?"

I shrugged and nodded. "I guess?"

He nodded too, before turning around and walking over to the door to leave. He put his hand on the doorknob but turned back to look at me before opening.

"Please, promise me you'll let Emmett and Alice do their shit tomorrow, alright? And don't let that fucking bitch get to you," he said, almost pleadingly. I sighed deeply and rolled my eyes.

"Fine," I agreed and I could see him visibly relax.

"Thanks, Sparrow," he smiled softly. "Sweet dreams."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I muttered, and he chuckled quietly as he left the room and closed the door behind him. I stared at the closed door for a moment before getting under the covers, and turning off the lights. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

I woke up the next morning because Dad was knocking on the door, telling me to get up. I left the comfort of my bed to get ready for school. Mom was still sleeping when Dad drove me to school, and I was happy I didn't have to deal with her crap the first thing in the morning. It was enough that I was stressing out over school. I was beyond nervous. I didn't know what to expect. What if Edward was wrong? What if Emmett and Alice were done with me? What if they didn't want to protect me anymore, especially after how I had treated them the last time?

Dad pulled up in the school parking lot; he hadn't spoken a word to me since we got in the car. He sighed and looked over at me.

"Will you be okay, kiddo?" he asked with a soft smile. I nodded.

"I'll be fine," I mumbled in response, as I opened the door and climbed out. I grabbed my crutches and steadied myself on them as I turned to look back at my dad. "Eh, Dad? Can you do me a favor?" He raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't nod or shake his head. I sighed. "Can you please remove the nails from the window? I like to sleep with the window cracked open a bit. The room is so small and it gets too hot during the night." The lie rolled off my lips easily. I didn't even need to think about it. Dad cleared his throat and scratched the scruff on his cheek.

"I'll see what your mom says," he mumbled. I glared at him and huffed in annoyance.

"Her opinion is more important than me getting a good night's sleep, huh?" I muttered.

He opened his mouth to respond, but I didn't wait around long enough to hear it. I slammed the door shut and wobbled away. I wasn't surprised that he didn't step out of the car to stop me; he just drove off.

I kept my eyes on the ground as I made my way towards the steps, and I ignored all the looks and whispers that were thrown my way.

"Hey Bella!" Both relief and dread washed through my body at the sound. I slowly looked up and met Emmett's gaze. The was walking towards me with a big grin on his face. "Nice to see ya up on your legs again. How ya feelin'?"

"I'm… good," I replied, forcing a smile for his benefit.

"Happy to hear it. C'mon, lemme walk you to your locker," he said.

To say that people were staring at us, as we walked together, was the understatement of the century. People whispered, pointed and gaped at us like we were on a freaking exhibit at the zoo or something. While it bugged me, it didn't even seem to register Emmett. He was just grinning as he walked down the hall with me by his side. Emmett was weird.

We reached my locker, and I expected him to leave me after that. But instead he leaned casually against the locker next to mine; his grin never leaving his face.

"So… eh… how was your trip?" I asked awkwardly. He looked confused for a moment before grinning even wider. I noticed then that he had a light tan on his face, and I could make out where his snow goggles had been. It was pretty adorable for a big guy like Emmett to have a stupid tan like that.

"It was great," he replied, before going into a detailed rant about everything they had done. I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, and I felt myself relax slightly. Emmett was such an open person, and I found it almost impossible to not be comfortable around him. Maybe Edward had it right after all, maybe it was worth it to humor Emmett by letting him do his thing?

Emmett was in the middle of telling me about someone breaking their leg, when Alice showed up.

"Hey, I stopped by your house, but your mom said you had already left for school. I thought we had a deal," she said, pouting. I raised an eyebrow in question, not understanding what she was talking about, and she rolled her eyes. "We agreed we would drive to school together, remember? Since you can't drive?"

"Oh… yeah… I didn't think you… I mean… I forgot?" I stammered.

She waved it away casually with her hand. "Don't worry about it, but wait for me tomorrow, alright?"

"Yeah… sure," I replied, gnawing on my lip. While I had accepted that I could be comfortable around Emmett, I had yet to decide what I really thought about Alice. Even though she had been the one to save me from choking, I still hadn't decided if I liked her. There was something about her that I simply couldn't grasp. Or maybe her overly enthusiastic nature was more than I could handle?

My morning classes passed without much incident. Alice sat with me during the one we had together, and while the rest of the class was getting acquainted with the new teacher in gym, I went to the library to catch up on some homework.

I had to do an assignment for my English lit class that the rest of the class had already done the previous week. Halfway through I realized I had to find two books for reference, and I awkwardly moved through the aisles of the library in search of them. The sound of my crutches echoed in the silence, and it made me cringe every time. Libraries were supposed to be quiet places, and here I was being as graceless and soundless as an elephant in a china store.

I finally found the books I was looking for, but I couldn't do anything but stare at them in frustration.

I couldn't grab them from the shelf, because the shelf was too high up. Damnit.

"Are you practicing your telepathic powers, or do you want some help with that?"

I turned my head with a sigh and smiled crookedly at Jasper, who was looking at me with a lazy smirk of his own.

"If it isn't too much to ask," I said.

"No problem," he replied and took a step closer. "So, which one do you need?"

"Those two," I said, pointing.

Even though Jasper was easily five inches taller than me, he still had to stand up on his toes to reach the books. I guess I wouldn't have been able to grab them myself even if my leg had been well. Good thing he was there to help.

"Here ya go," he said, handing me the books, but stopping in mid-movement when he realized both my hands were busy clutching the crutches. He chuckled. "I guess I can carry them to your table."

I smiled softly at him and turned around to wobble back to my table.

"Thanks," I said, as he put them down next to my homework. I sat down and grabbed one of the books, ready to continue with the assignment. But Jasper was still standing next to me and I looked up at him with a confused smile. "Eh… what?"

He chuckled again and scratched his neck awkwardly. I guess the chuckling was a nervous tic of his. He didn't look comfortable at all. He threw a look over his shoulder, to make sure nobody saw us talking. I guess just because his girlfriend had taken me under her wing, so to speak, didn't mean he was okay with it. Jasper wasn't going to pretend he was my friend just because that was the right thing to do.

The guy was no hypocrite, and I respected him for it.

"What?" I asked again.

"Damnit," he muttered and took a step closer to me. He squatted down beside me and looked me sternly in the eyes. I almost got the feeling that he was angry with me, but when he gently touched my arm, I realized that was not the case. "Watch your back, alright? Lauren and Tanya are on the warpath."

I chuckled without thinking; he sounded so much like Edward. They really believed that Tanya was out to get me. Jasper gave me a funny look and I quickly collected myself.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to laugh, but you're not the first one to warn me about that… and I can't help but be a little skeptical… they've always been on the warpath as far as I'm concerned, so I don't see what the difference is now," I replied honestly.

"The difference is that Tanya is addicted to Edward's dick, and since he's not here to give it to her, she's getting aggravated. She's going to lash out at someone… and that someone is you, I'm afraid," he warned with a tired sigh. He squeezed my arm a little and I looked down on it automatically, as did he. Something changed in his eyes right then, and I wondered what he was thinking.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked suspiciously and he looked up from my arm.

"People like Tanya have too much damn power, that's why I'm telling you this," he replied as he stood back up. "Keep your head up, Swan. Don't let that bitch get to you."

I watched him go before turning back to my assignment.

"I wasn't planning on it," I mumbled to myself.

Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. I made it to my locker and stuffed my books inside. I hadn't thought much of what to do during lunch hour, so I decided to go back to the old music room. But of course, I never even got the chance to leave my locker before Alice popped up out of nowhere.

"You're sitting with us today, right?" It sounded more like a demand than it was a question. I smiled weakly in response, resisting the urge to say no. But as I thought about it, Edward's voice echoed in my mind. Just humor them…

I didn't have much of a choice in the matter, so I let Alice drag me off towards the cafeteria.

When we got there, we found Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie in line already. We stepped up to them and I tried to ignore the look that Rosalie was giving me. She didn't need to speak up about what she thought about my presence, her disgust was evident in her eyes.

Alice helped me out by putting our food on the same tray and carrying it to the table If I thought people had been staring at me this morning, when I had walked with Emmett, it was nothing compared to what they were doing now when I was actually sitting with them. As if I belonged there.

Alice and Emmett pretended like there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. Jasper looked down at his plate, frowning and slumping in his seat; he didn't look comfortable with the new attention. Rosalie was pissed. She kept shooting irritated looks at Emmett, but he kept ignoring them. This, of course, didn't please her at all. She sighed deeply and shook her head.

"I don't understand what she's doing here it's like we're in the goddamn zoo by the looks people are giving us. It's humiliating," Rosalie complained, when she could no longer contain herself.

"Rose, c'mon," Emmett sighed, giving her a pointed look.

"What? What's she to me?" she snorted.

"She's my friend, as well as Emmett's," Alice said with a calm voice, while putting her hand over mine on the table. "And our friends are your friends, right? So that's what she's to you. She's your friend."

Rosalie gave Alice the deadliest of glares.

"The Goose is not my friend, thank you very much. Besides, she might be contagious, and from what I hear, bird flu's a bitch," Rosalie replied with a snarky tone.

Yeah, and so are you…

Silence fell over the table, and I looked up for my food just to find everybody looking at me. I realized then that I had spoken my words aloud.

"Excuse me?" Rosalie looked shocked beyond belief, as if nobody had ever stood up against her before. I saw Emmett fighting a smile beside her, and from the corner of my eye, I could see that Alice didn't even try to fight hers.

"I'm sorry?" I croaked, hating myself for making it sound like a question.

"Fuck you, Goose," Rosalie spat, as she stood up from the table and walked away with her head held high. We all watched her go, and the others surprised me by not calling after her.

When the cafeteria door had closed behind her, we all turned back to the table.

"That was fun," Emmett said cheerily. "I guess I'm not getting any lovin' tonight."

"God, I'm sorry," I said weakly. "I didn't think-"

"Don't apologize," Alice said, patting my hand on the table. "She does this all the time. Edward is usually the one to give her grief for being such a bitch, and I guess she wasn't expecting someone to take his place." She looked over at Emmett and smirked. "Besides, Emmett can live without a little lovin' for a while…"

"Thank God," Jasper sighed. "Maybe a brother could get some sleep for once."

"Shut up! Like you're not loud when you're banging Brandon?" Emmett said, slapping Jasper jokingly in the back of his head. "Sometimes I need to bang Rose so much harder just to have her override the sound of your lovemaking."

The rest of lunch continued in the same fashion, having to listen to Emmett and Jasper bicker about who had it worse. They were such guys, and I didn't know whether to envy them for their casual outlook on sex, or to be disgusted. It was as if sex wasn't a big deal to them at all, they didn't worry about being pure…

I guess the explanation to that was simple; they had no reason to be. They had no reason to be pure because they didn't have crazy people in their life. Crazy people who thought they belonged with someone and that you needed to stay pure because the legends said so.

Legends, yeah, what a load of crap…

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and we all parted ways and went to our separate classes. It was once again time for me to enter biology. I wondered how much was done on the project. Had Mike and Lauren finished it already? Turns out, they had not.

I sat down by the table they occupied in the back of the classroom. Mike was concentrating – at least I assumed that was what he was doing, since he had his tongue out a little as he bit down on it, and his eyes were narrowed as he stared down on the paper in front of him. He was busy gluing poorly cut hearts on a big sheet of paper. I guess they had to be glued on perfectly, or else Lauren would through a hissy fit.

"You think you're cool now, huh… just because they talk to you doesn't mean you're anyone special, ya know," Lauren said to me as I sat down. Her voice held so much venom and disgust.

"I don't think anything," I replied calmly, trying not to let her get to me.

"You're such a loser," she said, condescendingly, and threw her hair over her shoulder, probably thinking she looked good, but it only made her look like a sad parody of a shampoo commercial.

"So… what do you need me to do?" I asked with a sigh.

"You can finish cutting these out," Mike said, pushing a pair of scissors and a pile of paper my way. I picked up a sheet and wrinkled my nose. These were the most poorly drawn stars and hearts I had ever seen. Had they gotten a kindergartener to draw them or something?

I didn't voice these thoughts aloud since there was nothing I would gain by doing it. So I just shut up and cut the stupid hearts and stars. Lauren kept shooting glares at me whenever she wasn't busy texting. It was easy to ignore her, though. Looks were always easy to ignore.

But something that wasn't easy to ignore was what happened later.

I had to stay after my last class; my teacher wanted to talk to me about my grade. When I finally got out, the halls were almost empty, and only a few roaming students were left. I made it to my locker and was just about to pick up my bag when I was suddenly pushed forward. I lost grip of one of my crutches and it clattered to the ground.

"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

I turned around slowly and found Tanya fuming at me. She looked absolutely livid, her eyes wide and furious. Lauren was standing a few feet away, arms crossed over her chest and with a pleased expression gracing her features. A small smirk was gracing her lips; she was clearly enjoying this.

"What?" I asked, trying to ignore the pain that was radiating through my leg from the sudden push, as I tried to focus on the crazy girl in front of me instead.

"You waltz back here, acting all high and mighty, sitting with the cool kids and pretend like you're their friend or something. You're so fucking delusional! They hate you for having Edward expelled. And Edward hates you too! He wishes you were dead! He hates you for putting him through all this, and I don't blame him. What did he ever do to you anyway? Why are you such a loser bitch?" she continued her furious rampage, her voice reminding me of nails on a chalkboard.

I didn't know what I was supposed to say, and that seemed to anger her, because she pushed me again. The edge of my locker door pressed into my back, and it hurt almost as much as my leg. I groaned at the added pain, and I tried to breathe through it.

I'm not going to pass out, I'm not going to pass out, I'm not going to pass out…

Not again.

"Don't let that fucking bitch get to you…"

I smiled inwardly as I heard Edward's voice echo in my mind. I took a deep breath and tried to push the pain aside. Instead of being consumed by it, I let another feeling wash through me instead. A feeling I hadn't let myself feel in a long time – at least not like this…

Anger.

"What the hell! Stop that!" I snapped. Tanya narrowed her eyes at me and took a step closer. Her face was just inches from mine, and I got a close-up view of her skin. Her pores looked disgusting up close.

"Why don't you just all do us a favor and go kill yourself!" Tanya spat. "It's your fault Edward has to stay away, all because your stupid dad is the chief of fucking police! Why didn't you change schools instead? Nobody wants you here anyway." She took a deep breath to collect herself, before taking a few steps back and smoothing out her hair. She gave me a smug smile and laughed. "You're such a joke," she said with a menacing voice. "Thinking that they actually want to be your friend. But you know what? They laugh at you behind your back. Edward told me all about it; they're just messing with you. They want nothing to do with you. You're so gullible."

I swallowed thickly and tried my best to ignore her words. But it was nearly impossible. She was voicing the fears I had held ever since Edward first visited me. I had promised myself, and Edward, to trust him. Edward didn't lie. You couldn't fake the pain in the eyes. You just couldn't. Edward wouldn't…

"Whe-when did he tell you this?" I stammered and her smirk grew.

"Last night, before he made love to me for hours," she said smugly.

"Hours?" I echoed and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, he can't get enough of me."

"Last night?" I said, wanting to clarify. Something was off about her story…

"What kind of sicko are you? You want to know what positions we did it in too? Geez, he came over to my house at ten," she said, holding up all ten fingers, "then he snuck out at four this morning," now she was only holding up four fingers to make her point, "but not before rocking my world. Is that enough for you?" she explained, and Lauren was beaming by her side - as if she thought that the event made her cooler by association. Tanya tilted her head to Lauren and rolled her eyes, and Lauren did the same, as if she was saying, 'yeah, I know, she's such a loser.'

But I didn't mind that, because Tanya's story made the knot in my stomach dissolve, and I felt myself relax. She was lying. Edward didn't visit her…

"You're such a loser," Tanya said. "The sooner you realize that the better."

I didn't even think as I gripped my locker door for support before hitting her leg with my crutch as hard as I could. She cried out before falling to the floor, breaking the high heel of her shoe in the process.

"I may be a loser, but at least I'm not a liar," I replied calmly.

"You're such a crazy bitch!" Lauren yelled. "We're so going to report this!"

Someone cleared his throat, and the three of us all turned towards the sound. Jasper was standing there, his eyebrow quirked and his head tilted slightly to the side. His smirk suggested he was amused by the situation, but the look in his eyes told a whole other story.

"Hello, ladies, what's going on here?" he asked, with his lazy southern drawl more prominent than usual. It was as if he was enhancing it on purpose.

"That bitch attacked Tanya without any reason at all; she's fucking crazy," Lauren said. She was trying to sound upset, at the same time as she batted her long, fake eyelashes at Jasper, probably bouncing on the inside at the fact that he was even speaking to her.

"Yeah?" Jasper said, his smirk slightly strained and his eyes narrowing just a little.

"Fuck, she ruined my shoe! These are 300 dollars a pair, you bitch!" Tanya shrieked from the floor.

"I'm sure you can afford it," Jasper sighed and stepped up to me and picked up the crutch that I had dropped. "The chief is waiting outside for you. Alice asked me to find you," he then said with a soft voice to me.

"Thanks," I said quietly. I grabbed my bag from my locker and threw it over my shoulder, before kicking the locker shut with my foot. Tanya was still sitting on the floor, fuming over her damn shoe. Lauren gaped at me as I walked away with Jasper.

When we were out of earshot, Jasper glanced at me, his eyes no longer held the cold from before.

"You okay? I didn't catch all of it," he said softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. She just pushed me around a little… nothing she hasn't done before, at least I didn't pass out this time," I sighed, and I winced a little when my bag bounced against the sore part of my back. He chuckled at my words, but it didn't sound like the nervous one from before.

"I liked the part where you hit her with your crutch. That bitch had it coming," he said, as we reached the main entrance, and he held the door open for me.

"I guess even the Goose has a boiling point," I replied quietly.

"It was about goddamn time too, if you ask me," he agreed.

We walked towards the parking lot, and I immediately spotted the cruiser in the almost empty parking lot. Before we reached it, Jasper grabbed my arm and stopped me. I turned to him in surprise and he was back to looking awkward and uncomfortable.

"Tanya is full of shit, you know that right? I heard she said we were just messing with you, I know you have no damn reason to trust me on this, but I promise you, Alice and Emmett aren't messing with you."

"I guess only time will tell," I replied with a light shrug.

He sighed and gripped my arm tighter, and his gaze made me uncomfortable. His thumb stroked the inside of my wrist, close to the deepest of my scars. I wondered if he could feel it through the fabric.

Did he know it was there?

He gave me a look, and I was sure he was trying to tell me something by it. He didn't voice whatever it was he wanted to say aloud, so I couldn't be sure. I wasn't a mind reader.

He let go of my arm and put his hands in his jacket pockets instead.

"Alice means well, so does Emmett. They're not bad people. People assume we're all bad people just because people have decided we're popular," he sighed.

"I feel so sorry for you," I replied sarcastically.

He groaned and shook his head. "Don't even pretend you were offended by that. What I mean is that just because Edward can be a real douche sometimes doesn't mean we're all like him. Yeah, he's our friend, but Alice and Emmett are the non-douchiest people you'll ever meet, trust me on that."

"I should go," I replied instead, and he nodded. I made my way down to the cruiser and climbed inside. Dad glanced at me before turning the key in the ignition.

"Is that the boy?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"The boy. The boy that visited you. The boy Billy heard."

I gaped at him and I couldn't stop the nervous laugh that followed.

"Jasper? God, NO! He's Alice's boyfriend and we're not even friends," I explained quickly.

"Tell me, Bella, was there really a boy in your room that night?"

I glanced at him, surprised that he was even asking, but also surprised by the doubt in his voice. He was genuinely asking me, like he doubted it himself. I didn't know whether to punch him or hug him for that fact. Punch him, because he didn't think I could ever have a boy in my room, and hug him for the fact that he hadn't let himself be totally blindsided by Billy and my mom.

"No, it wasn't… I was probably just talking in my sleep, you know I do that a lot… and maybe the meds are making me talk more than usual," I lied and Dad nodded.

"Yeah, you always were a talker," he agreed with a soft smile.

We made the rest of the drive in silence. When we come home and found the house empty, I turned to Dad and asked him where Mom was. He got a weird look in his eyes and muttered something about her spending the night in La Push.

I knew that nothing good could come from her spending any more time there than necessary, but I tried to find comfort in the fact that I at least would get a break from her now. I got to feed myself that evening; I didn't have to endure another force-feeding from her. That was always a good thing. But no matter how grateful I was for a night off from her crazy ass, I had a gut feeling that this was only the beginning of something worse. Her being gone, spending time in La Push, was not good. The way Dad kept glancing out the window, and stiffening every time he heard a car approach, was another sign of that.

When I entered the small guest room that evening, I definitely knew something was wrong.

Dad had removed the nails from the window.