Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended. The contents of this story is the due to the creativity and imagination of TheGirlNtheYellowShoes.

Giving thanks where thanks is Due: Thank you to my beta's Brooke and Donna (girlwhoreads) for all their hard work on this story. Without you two, my story would be mediocre at best!

Summary:

Bella Swan leaves her life as a ballet prodigy in England behind to return to her father and sister in America, who are struggling to cope with a family divorce. Hiding her own demons, she puts her personal wants and needs aside for her family in their moment of need. But external forces are working against her; Translation: her secret demon's won't stay buried for long and the unavoidable Edward Cullen is bound to make her life miserable throughout her ordeal. Can she keep her own problems wrapped up long enough to keep her family entact? Or will this new life force her to face her own problems head on?

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

"Um, miss, we're here," the cab driver said turning around in his seat. I snapped out of my daze and fumbled for my wallet, jet lag well set in. I was wondering if I was making the right decision in coming back to America, but deciding it was too late to turn back now.

"Right, ummmm... here."I tossed him $80 "Keep the change."

I got out and stood there, vaguely aware as he set my luggage next to me and drove off. I stared at the two-story stone washed brick house in front of me, the white shutters well aged and smoke rising from the chimney. It was welcoming and that scared me.

After the longest five minutes of my life I took a breath in, choking on the unexpected cold air - will have to remind myself not to do that again - I grabbed my bags and headed for the front door.

I carefully made my way up the icy drive way, as I contemplated how I got to this point in my life. A place where my own desires no longer mattered above the needs of my family, whether they liked to admit those needs or not.

Since I was 12 my family had taken a back seat to my career: I left the country to attend ballet school in Russia, and then went on to graduate and join one of the most prestigious companies in the world. Things change, I guess...

Perhaps it was because nothing like this had ever happened before (think white picket fence or pleasantville) or perhaps I just wasn't the typical self-absorbed 22 year old. I'd like to think the incident that happened two and half years ago had aged me beyond my years, but then again my grandmother repeatedly told me when I was barely a teen that I acted like a middle aged woman.

In the past, Jasmine or Dad would get over disappointments and move on after a few days; so, I never worried much. I'd give them a 24 (for my sister) to 72 ( for my dad) hour period and then used a calling card to call home and see how things were. But this... icy drive way, this sunless town... this new home wasn't a disappointment, it was life altering proof of internal disaster to me and me alone. No one else would understand; because to the outside world, we were just another family going through a divorce.

It had come to be much more than a disappointment. Mom had up and left us in June of this year for her "bright and young" intern after telling Dad of all his failures in life. We had no clue where she was. All we knew was she walked in and said, "I don't want you anymore, I want a divorce," and never looked back.

Not only did she not want my father , she clearly didn't want my sister and me staked claim to the house and the Range Rover and told him "everything else is yours". My father was devastated. And my sister, only 17, with raging hormones didn't know how to put her own feelings aside to care for my father. I was the older, "mature" one... I would have to do the damage control. Meaning I had to leave my life in England behind.

After getting my luggage up the front steps, I claimed defeat and decided they could sit there on the front porch for a while until I was ready to tackle the next set of stairs up to my 'new' room. The front door was surprisingly unlocked and as I closed the door behind me, I stood there to take in the surroundings.

My dad had moved himself and my sister back to his hometown three weeks after I'd left for England in August. After living in a city of 100,000+, Forks, a town of about 3,000 people, was bound to leave my little sister a bit stir crazy, but my father found solace here.

After Grans died, he inherited the house. Mom had begged him to sell it, but he had refused. Now I was guessing he was glad he hadn't listened to her. I wanted to hate my mother for her decision, but she'd always been irrational and flighty and my father had married her knowing that.

The foyer was bare accept for a long wood table with a mirror hanging over it and a crystal vase of flowers on it, when I'd come here as a child Grandma always had fresh flowers in the foyer. She said it was the first thing people saw, so it made a good impression on the care of the home and those who lived there. I tried to ignore the fact that the flowers were wilted and dried out.

I looked at myself in the mirror: my long brown curls were now in tangles and the circles under my brown eyes complimented the mascara smudges. I looked a mess. As I took a step, the wood creeked so I looked down and followed the cherry wood floor panels through the door in front of me that led to the kitchen. I could hear wood crackle in the fireplace in the back living room that's connected to the kitchen. When I rounded the corner my dad was sitting at the kitchen table with his morning paper in hand and a coffee in front of him. He had bags under is eyes and his shirt was wrinkled I could tell he was trying to concentrate really hard on reading.

"Dad?" I said and he jumped, dropping his paper and knocking coffee onto it.

"Bella?" he was staring at me as if he was seeing a ghost. "What on earth are you doing here? We... we weren't expecting you for a visit until after Christmas." He tried not to let the smile spread across his face, but I knew it was there as he got up to hug me.

"I... I decided it was time to come home," I said hesitantly and pulled away to gauge his reaction.

"What do you mean?" he said staring at me confused.

"I missed you and Jasmine too much. It seems the older I get the more of a homebody I become." I forced a grin and there was a long pause. He didn't buy it. I rolled my eyes, "I left the ballet company Dad." I paused again to take in the look on his face and make sure he wasn't having a heart attack, his face showed a mix of shock and pain, "You and Jasmine need me right now, this is where I need to be and I can't be there knowing I should be here." I was going to have to work on this sudden, constant defeat thing. It must be the jet lag.

He was baffled. "Isabella, I'm fine. Your sister is fine."

"Dad, you just moved her across the United States. I'm sure she is fine - for you - but that can't be fun when your family is falling apart and you have no friends." I said in Jasmine's defense, "Besides... look at you... why aren't you at work? Not to mention, when have you ever worn a wrinkled shirt? Lets face it; being back in Forks helps a little, but you are..." I caught a glimpse of the bread on the counter; it was covered in green mold. I picked it up, trying not to make a face, "not... okay." I looked at him and now he was the one staring at me in defeat.

"I'm trying, Bells, but I don't want you to give up on everything you've worked so hard for just because... " He sighed in exasperation "I can't cook and your sister has to go to a new school for the first time in her life."

"I'm not..." I paused again trying to decide how to phrase things and decided to throw myself in for a good measure."I need this too... I will stay for a little while, see how things go, When you two are on your feet and I'm feeling confident I'm ready to dance again, I'll decide what to do from there. Seattle has a great ballet company, you know? And I won't be far from home... so maybe I'll look into that. However, you and Jas are more important than my dreams, Dad. You're all I've got," I said, tossing the bread in the trash. He conceded that was true as he finished dabbing his paper dry from the coffee spill.

"Well, I guess... I mean, that means we need to talk about getting you enrolled in school near here then... for the time being... that is." He looked up and his eyes roamed the room and the view of the hallway. "Where are you bags?"

"Front porch. I had to battle them all the way to the front door. What's with the snow? I thought it rained here most of the time." I looked in the fridge to make a mental note of food I'd need to pick up later on. The sight and cleanliness of the mostly unused fridge was pathetic.

"Cold front. I'll help you get them inside. How are your online classes going?" He asked starting for the door. I was now in my second year of University for an Art History degree with a minor in French and Italian studies. It was particularly hard to take a full load of classes and dance 40 hours a week. So, I had gone part time up until this semester. What possessed me to take a full load when my personal life was falling apart was beyond my comprehension.

"Good, I guess. I'm passing." I continued to check the kitchen for anymore overgrown fungus that my obviously oblivious family might accidentally digest.

"Bella..."

I chuckled. "Dad, I'm just struggling with one class, the others are fine. I'll work on it."

He stuck his head back through the kitchen door to meet my eyes once more and when I saw the look on his face I realize exact how terrified he truly was of everyone in his life just up and leaving him like my mother had.

"Bella, if... if you decide to stay, maybe we should go to Seattle one day to check out the university for next semester. I'll talk to a friend, see if I can get some strings pulled." He fidgeted. "But only if you decided to stay."

I stared at him in shock. He thought I'd want to leave him. I silently cursed my mother to the bottom of Hades, eternally. Now, I seemed to be able to channel the right kind of anger towards her.

"Wait. Dad," I sighed, peering at him from behind a cabinet door (I was going to have to pick up cooking utensils, too). "If I'm going to live here... I'm going to need a car; I'm an adult and I can't depend on you to take me everywhere." I had hoped my statement made it clear I didn't plan on going anywhere for the time being.

"Oh... right. I guess we do need to look into that," he said, starting out the door again with a smile on his face.

Dad helped me get my bags inside and up to my room. I tried to remind myself of what rooms were what because it had been years since I'd been in this house. I remembered upstairs there was a master bedroom and three others, with a shared bathroom in the hall. Jasmine and I would have to share a bathroom, which wasn't that bad; at least it wasn't a bedroom. When he opened the door to what I assumed was my new room, I was flabbergasted.

"Jasmine said it would help her if it seemed like you were here all the time," he tried to explain, "So I stayed up one night and put your bed set together and bought you new linen's the next day."

I wandered into the room and my bags fell to the floor.

"Wow, Dad." I looked at my bed, noting that it now had throw pillows. "Thanks."

It was the same bed set I'd had in Newport News, a Crackle teal painted wood bed frame, queen size, with two matching side tables, a tall dresser and a pink crackled desk. I'd gotten it for my 12th birthday right before I'd moved away to attend ballet school in Russia.

The new cream comforter matched the walls and the cream curtains hanging from the window, and the pastel throw pillows were a perfect contrast against the colors of the bed set.

After an awkward silence, he left me to get ready and I pondered over what it must have been like to see my dad wander into a store like Crate & Barrel and pick out throw pillows, Then I laughed like I hadn't laughed in months.

After I'd freshened up, Dad dropped me off at Forks High School and gave me Jasmine's spare car key so I could use her car to run errands. Once I was done, I decided to go back by the school to try to catch her in between classes so she didn't think someone had jacked her car.

I stopped at a coffee shop to get a venti tea to feed my caffeine addiction and calm my nerves. It gave me prep time; I knew I couldn't conceal my disappointment of being home as easily around her. She'd see right through my facade if I wasn't careful. After all, I'd just walked away from my dream company and possibly just given up the chance at numerous principal role offers next spring. It was all starting to sink in, what my actions would cost me personally and professionally, but this wasn't about me. As much as it hurt to be forced to walk away from something I loved so much, I love my family more and I refused to be selfish in a time when I needed to be selfless. Jasmine looked up to me, so I needed to put on a brave face for my sometimes irrational, all the time emotional little sister.

When I finally got to the school, I parked in visitor parking. I spotted Jas talking with two boys by the breezeway. She looked tired, but still cute in her skinny jeans and purple sweater with her long ash blonde hair and blue eyes. A stark contrast to my dark brown hair and chocolate eyes. Then again, that explained us in so many ways. Most noticeably, besides physical features, my sister had always been the clown and outgoing and I had always been the serious one and slightly more reserved. She hadn't really had any ambition to be a dancer (quitting after 4 years). Over the past three years she'd decided she wanted to be a marine biologist and, being in high school, she'd planned her courses around that. Dad had been happy she'd found something to focus on. Mom just worried about what she wore, when her next hair cut was and what guy she liked. I guess we should have seen the signs. I got out of the car and headed in their direction.

"Belllla?" came a shriek when I was halfway across what I assumed would be grass in the summer time. I smiled and waved. She ran at me and practically knocked me over in a bear hug meant for a two ton elephant. (I'd love to see a bear hug an elephant, boy would that be a sight).

"Hey Jas," I laughed.

"What are you doing here?" She was in shock. I looked at her and shook my head, while trying to break free from her grasp.

"Do you not remember leaving me a long winded voicemail about Dad being depressed and you hating Forks?" I asked quizzically.

"Yeah, but you've never ran home when I've left you dramatic messages before." She looked concerned so I smiled.

"Well this is a little different situation, Jasmine," I said, walking towards a bench to get off the ice-snow mix; she followed at my side. "I just wanted to stop by and let you know I had your car so you didn't think it was stolen by the Sasquatch," I joked.

"So how long are you staying?" The concern growing in her voice as some sort of realization started to set in.

I leaned against the side of the worn wood. "Until things are better." I crossed my arms and avoided looking at my feet, opting instead to focus on her earrings.

"But what about ballet?" I could hear the panic in her voice as she took a step towards me. It had begun to snow lightly. To my left I could see two figures staring our way but I didn't turn to look.

"Look... Jasmine, I'm a good dancer, yes, and I can get into any company I want, but I only have one family and right now what they need is more important than my need to dance." I looked straight at her and kept my mask up to the last strand of hair on my head. She gasped.

"Bella, you can't do this. That's your life; you'll be miserable here. I never meant for you to leave England. I just thought you'd call and talk to Dad and pep him up a little... You - " I waved her off.

"Stop."

"But - "

"No." I stopped her again as the school bell rang out. "Jasmine, I need to be here. I WANT to be here. My mom is gone, too, you know. We need to do this together. That's all there is to it. Discussion closed. Now go to class before you're late." Her eyes brimmed over with tears as she looked at me with a guilty face. I gave her a small smile and pulled her in for a hug, "It's going to be ok, Jas I'm not giving it up forever. I didn't close the doors on that part of my life, I just... have to visit some other areas for a little while. I promise, I will go back, full force, when I know you and Dad are okay and when I know I'm okay to leave you two."

"I'm so sorry, Bella," she said, not letting me go.

"Don't be, I'm not," I whispered so my voice didn't crack. I looked up to meet eyes with the now three people standing at the end of the building, that's when I realized who they were. Dr. Carlisle Cullen was looking over his shoulder as a very shocked looking Alice and Edward Cullen peered around him. I immediately looked away. I backed away from Jasmine as I felt tears begin to form.

"Get to class, I'll be here when you get out," I said and turned immediately to head back towards the car as the tears finally started to break the brim and flow down my face.