Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea's that deviate from Stephanie Meyer, L.J. Smith, and the creators of The Vampire Diaries original story lines.

A/N: I hope you enjoy this story and let me know what you think. I enjoy reading the reviews left even if I don't respond to them all. Also when leaving reviews all I ask are no flames. I encourage constructive criticism and of course all positive comments.

I know I currently have another story going and I plan on working on that one as well but I have so many ideas bouncing around my head and I really want to share my thoughts and stories. I may even post the first chapter or two of a couple others I'm working on.

Chapter 1

He left me. He left me in the woods. He promised he wouldn't leave me. They promised to be my family. Now what am I supposed to do?

I was told Sam Uley, from the reservation, found me, but I remember being found by a wolf who then changed into a man.

I've been sitting in my room for a week. It's been 7 days since He left me in the woods; 7 days since I've become numb; 7 days since I last spoke; 7 days since I last slept; and 7 days since I last ate.

I know my dad was getting worried. Even though he wasn't my biological dad he raised me and took me in when my adoptive mother, Renee, remarried. I hated to worry Charlie but I just couldn't find the will power within myself to do anything.

I didn't realize how worried he was until my twin showed up with her boyfriend. When I was 10 my parents told me I was adopted and I had a sibling out there who was also adopted. Apparently she was adopted first and we were split up. My mom helped me find her and we've kept in touch ever since. She is the only person I tell everything to and I did tell her about Him and his family. She also told me about her boyfriend and his brother. It would seem, while we lived on opposite sides of the country, our lives followed the same path, for the most part.

"B?" my twin said. I finally moved, more like shifted, so I could look at her. I hoped she would be able to pull me out of where ever I was. Maybe she could help me find my will, my reason for living. I still couldn't find a reason to talk. "Oh, honey, please say something."

"She moved?" I could hear the awe in Charlie's voice. "She hasn't moved a muscle since she was brought back to the house and we put her in that chair."

"How long has she been like this?" I heard my twin's boyfriend ask. He was a good guy or vampire actually. He cared about my twin. He took her opinion into consideration.

My boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, said he cared about me, but didn't give a damn about what I had to say. He and his sister manipulated me into doing what and being who they wanted. I hated it. I had been a very independent and opinionated person before I moved to Forks. With Him and his family I had become dependent and submissive. Now that He's gone I should be rejoicing. I should be thrilled I can be myself again. So why am I stuck?

"Bell?" my twin's boyfriend, Stefan, had moved to stand next to Elena, my twin. I was so lost in my own thoughts I had missed the conversation between the others. "You need to eat."

I still had no will, no reason in my body so I didn't answer. I knew my sister was going to be very worried and as much as I wanted to reassure her, I couldn't.

"Isabella," a sharp voice said behind Elena and her boyfriend. I couldn't stop myself from whipping around to see who had spoken. Nobody called me by my full name, expect one person. I hated my full name and as much as I fought the person who used it, I kind of liked it at the same time.

"Bella?" my dad breathed when he saw me move. I still hadn't verbally responded. I was staring at the person who had spoken.

"Come eat," the guy, Stefan's brother Damon, said and held out his hand for me. I stood up and took it.

As Damon led me downstairs, my dad, Elena, and Stefan just stared before following us down.

"What would you like?" Damon asked when we got to the kitchen.

"Soup," my voice was raspy sounding from not using it for a week. I could still feel the eyes of the others on my back. I was standing in the kitchen doorway. When Damon let go of my hand I stopped moving.

"Go sit down," Damon directed me. I have no idea why I was doing as he told me. I hated it when He did that, but with Damon I knew he wasn't telling me what to do because he wanted to control me. Damon was telling me what to do because he cared.

After I sat down, I saw Damon was making my soup. I thought my dad or Elena would have done that but instead they sat at the table with me, while Stefan went into the living room because the kitchen was so small. No one said much, but my dad was grinning. He must have been thrilled to see me out of my room and eating.

"Thank you," I murmured when Damon put the bowl of soup in front of me. While I was eating we heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," my dad said still smiling. "It's probably Sam and Jake. They come over about this time every day."

I just nodded and continued to eat.

"You look happy?" I heard a male voice I didn't recognize say to my dad. That must be Sam.

"Yeah, Bella is in the kitchen eating soup," my dad sounded like I had just won an Oscar or something.

"How'd you manage that?" Jake asked.

"Bella's sister and friends came and one of them started talking to her and got her to come down stairs to eat," my dad explained. You could tell he didn't know how Damon had done it, but didn't really care either.

"Sam, Jake, this is Bella's sister Elena and her friend Damon," my dad introduced everybody. "Elena's boyfriend, Stefan, is in the living room."

"I'll just go see what he's up to," my sister smiled at me and left the kitchen. I knew she was doing it to give me some space since Sam and Jake had arrived. My dad followed her out after giving me one last smile.

Our kitchen was tiny and both Jake and Sam were huge. It made sense for only a few of us to be in the room at one time.

"Hey Bells," Jake said and took the seat next to me my sister had just vacated. "Good to see you up."

I still wasn't talking. I knew I had to answer Damon earlier but I couldn't find it in me to make small talk with Jake.

"Hi, Bella," Sam said when I didn't respond to Jake. "Emily will be very happy when I tell her you are up and about. She was worried about you."

I looked at Sam and remembered watching him change from a wolf into a man a week ago.

"You are not human," I spoke directly to Sam. I have no idea why I said that. Logically I knew I was not supposed to draw attention to the supernatural world. I learned that lesson from my ex and his family, but since my dad had left the room, I knew the others were part of the supernatural world. Jake would never have hung around Sam unless he too was a wolf and of course Damon was a vampire. Not the same as my ex and his family, but still a vampire.

"Excuse me?" Sam sputtered. Damon just smirked and his one eyebrow rose in a question.

"You are a wolf," I clarified. I then turned to Jake and said, "You are too."

"Uh," Jake nervously chuckled. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"You and Sam are shape shifters who change into wolves," I continued. I think I was doing this in a way to warn Damon. "I've heard your tribal legends for years. I saw Sam change from a wolf to a man when he found me. Don't deny what I know to be true."

"This isn't really the place to talk about it," Sam spoke up but he was glancing at Damon to see how he was reacting.

"Don't worry about me," Damon said. I turned and gave him a small smile. I knew he could take care of himself. He was a traditional vampire while my ex and his family were a breed of vampires called the Cold Ones.

"And why not?" Jake asked. He was getting and angry. I could see it in his eyes.

"Jake, please," I begged him. I didn't want them to fight.

"What?" Jake turned and started yelling at me. "You just blurted out our secret after Sam saved you. You forced us to acknowledge it as truth in front of someone we don't know." He was pissed and as he yelled at me, I started shrinking back.

"Back off," Damon demanded of Jake. "She just started talking today. Be happy she said anything."

"Why did it have to be our secret," Jake started whining. I still stayed back away from Jake.

"Damon is right," Sam said to Jake. "We should be happy she spoke at all. Every day we've been here over the past week, she didn't even move to acknowledge we had walked into her room. Today she is not only out of her room, but eating and speaking."

"Fine," Jake was calming down. "Why don't we see what everyone else is up to?"

Jake and Sam both headed towards the living room, but I stayed in my seat. I had turned to look out the window when Jake got angry. I couldn't deal with his anger. It was one more thing for me to worry about. I didn't mean to make Jake angry, just like I didn't mean to do whatever I did to push Him and his family away.

"Isabella," Damon said when he got to the kitchen doorway and saw I still wasn't moving. Again I turned to look at him. He held his hand out in a gesture asking me to go with him. I slowly got up and took his hand just as I had done earlier in my room.

"She hates being called that, ya know," Jake told Damon as we walked into the living room.

"I know," Damon smirked. He knew alright. I'm sure that's why he was calling me my full name. He was trying to get a rise out of me.

"Why don't we get out of the house for a bit," Elena suggested. She had already introduced Stefan to Sam and Jake before Damon and I made our way into the living room.

"We could go to First Beach," Jake suggested.

"Isabella?" Damon prompted when I just stood there.

"Sure," I said.

"Let's go," Jake was excited and getting ready to drag me out the door but was stopped because I hadn't let go of Damon's hand and Damon wasn't moving.

"Isabella, why don't you go shower first," Damon suggested. I'm sure I stunk. I can't believe he didn't make me do that before feeding me.

"Ok," I nodded but didn't move yet, instead I spoke to my sister. "Elena would you help me pick out an outfit?"

"Of course," my sister was grinning when I asked for her help. I couldn't do it myself because most of my clothes were ones that His sister had bought me. Hopefully she would be able to find something in my closet while I showered that wouldn't bring back too many memories.

We walked up stairs while leaving the boys down stairs. I grabbed my stuff and went in the bathroom. I stood under the shower for at least 20 minutes. The hot water felt so good. I finally got out, dried off and wrapped a towel around me. When I walked into my room I saw Elena was still digging through my closet.

"Where are all your clothes?" I heard her muffled question.

"I don't know," I answered her.

"Honey what happened?" Elena stopped digging in my closet and moved to sit next to me on the bed.

"She replaced all my clothes," I couldn't look my sister in the eye so I was staring at the floor. "She said I didn't have any sense of style. She dragged me to the mall and made me try on so many outfits. It happened damn near every weekend. Every time I tried to say no, she would pout and claim I must not love her enough. I would give in and eventually I stopped saying no."

"Oh, Sis," Elena moved to give me a hug. She didn't push me for more information. "You stay here just a minute. You can borrow some of my clothes and then we'll get you some that you like."

"Thank you," I returned the hug.

"Stefan," Elena hollered down stairs. "Bring up my bag, please."

"Here ya go," I heard Stefan outside of my room.

"Thanks!" Elena responded before shutting the door in his face. She then turned back to me and pulled out the clothes she had brought with. "Pick out whatever you want."

I looked at her things before grabbing a pair of shorts and a purple tank top. She took one look at me and nodded her approval. We then headed downstairs. I knew Elena wore clothes a little more revealing than I normally did, but anything was better than the clothes His sister bought for me.

"Damn," Jake was looking at both Elena and myself as we walked downstairs. We had both pulled our hair up in a ponytail since we would be outside. "You really are twins!"

Both Elena and I chuckled at Jake. Elena walked over to Stefan while I walked over to Damon. I saw a look of hurt flash across Jake's face when I didn't approach him, but choose to ignore it.

"Bells you should ride with me and Sam," Jake said as we all walked outside. "Your sister and friends can follow in their car."

I wanted to tell Jake no and that I would ride with Damon, but I couldn't. Instead of responding I just stood there. I knew everyone was waiting for me to respond but I couldn't.

"Isabella," Damon said my name again. "Who would you like to ride with?"

"You," I answered him. With that he led me to his rental car. Stefan and Elena had already climbed into the back of the black mustang. Damon held the passenger door open for me as I climbed in.

After Damon got in the car, I saw Jake looking at me while he climbed into Sam's car. He looked hurt again and again I didn't have enough will inside myself to care. Damon followed Sam. It only took about 15 minutes before we got to the beach. Damon came around the car and opened the door for me. He again held out his hand when I didn't get out right away.

"Bells!" I heard a guy call out as we walked up. When we got closer I realized it was Quil. I had met both Embry and Quil when I used to hang out with Jake, before He took over my life.

Before I knew what was happening I was being picked up, hugged and spun around. I realized it was Embry, but I still froze. Somewhere in my mind I knew it wasn't a big deal. Embry was a friend and he was giving me a hug, but another part of my brain was screaming that this wasn't right. He had a problem with the guys on the reservation. I realize now that it was because they are shape shifters who turn into wolves.

"Put her down," Damon growled. He had noticed instantly when my body froze. I have no idea why he has been so helpful and protective of me today. Normally, Damon was an ass. He always gave me a hard time. Even today when he called me by my full name it didn't seem like he was trying to be hurtful.

"Who the hell are you?" Quil had moved next to Embry. Embry had set me down, but still kept his grip on me.

"Damon," I said as an answer to Quil and Embry, but also to get his attention. He looked at me waiting for me to continue talking. "He is Damon, my friend. That is my sister Elena and her boyfriend, Stefan. You both are just like Sam and Jake. Who else has changed?" I wasn't planning on saying the last bit. I was noticing how difficult it was to speak so my sentences seemed very choppy to me.

"Bells!" Jake was getting mad at me again. I knew this time it was because Elena and Stefan were there and they hadn't been in the kitchen before. "What the hell?"

Instead of answering Jake I moved back to Damon. I felt safe with him. I knew I was safe with Jake and his friends, but something about Damon made me feel truly safe.

"Why don't we head down to the beach," Quil suggested. I was glad for the change of subject. "The rest of the guys are waiting for us down there."

"Sounds good," Elena said. We all started following Quil to the group of boys on the beach. They were all huge, as big as Sam, Jake, Embry, and Quil. I realized then this must be the pack.

"Is the entire pack here?" I turned and asked Embry.

"Yes," he answered me.

"Who told the leech lover about us?" one of the boys on the beach demanded as he walked up. "Jake couldn't you keep your mouth shut?"

"Paul," Sam reprimanded the guy.

While Paul was making his asinine comments, Damon had pulled me closer. I don't think the boys realized that Damon and Stefan were vampires.

"Why don't you run back to your leech's?" Paul ignored Sam. Paul didn't know I had two of them with me. I didn't plan on sharing that bit of information.

While all vampires are dangerous, the danger in the cold ones stems from the fact that when they bite a human the human will either turn or die, depending on whether the vampire drains the human completely or not. The traditional vampires like Damon and Stefan, could drink from a human and not kill them. They also had more powers than the cold ones did. Some cold ones had gifts, He could read minds, and his one sister could see the future, and his one brother was an empath. Those were just extra gifts though. Traditional vampires had powers, lots of powers, and it wasn't hit or miss, they all had the powers. Some of them were stronger due to their age or the age of their sire, but they all had the same powers, more or less. I did learn that traditional vampires could block any gift a cold one has so the gift wouldn't work on the traditional vampire.

"Back off," Stefan said while moving to stand on my other side, Elena stood just behind me.

"Who are you?" one of the other boys asked. He had moved to flank Paul.

"We are friends of Bella's," Stefan tried to be civil. Damon on the other hand was glaring at every one.

"Paul, Jared, back off now," Sam ordered. Something must have gotten through to them because they both stopped and their bodies relaxed a bit.

After that we all just hung out. Paul stayed as far from me as he could while the rest of the pack would chat between playing in the water. I can honestly say I had fun while there. I didn't talk much, but didn't freeze up every time someone said something to me either.

When the sun started setting, some of the boys gathered some wood and built a bonfire. We sat around the fire telling stories and jokes. I continued to stay close to Damon throughout the day and night. I must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I knew Damon was carrying me into my house.

"It's ok, baby girl," Damon murmured as he carried me upstairs and into my room. "Go back to sleep."

"Mmmmkay..." I muttered. I buried my head back into his chest and felt more than heard his chuckle.

I don't remember anything after that. I don't know how long I was sleeping for, but the reason I hadn't slept for a week was my fear of my nightmares. Every time I closed my eyes I would see Him walking away from me and his family would follow. I didn't want to sleep, but with Damon I had felt safe.

I woke up screaming. Elena was staying in my room and the boys were bunking in the living room. My sister of course woke up right after I started screaming and my dad came running as well. They tried to get me to calm down but I just scooted away from them. I hated my nightmare. Deep down I didn't want Him back, but I had been sucked in so deeply that I didn't know any other way of life.

I don't know how long I was crying and screaming for before Damon and Stefan came up stairs.

"I don't know how to help her," Elena said. I assume she was talking with Stefan. I know she had moved a bit farther away from me when they came up.

"We'll think of something," I heard Stefan reassure her.

I didn't know how they could help me either. All I knew is someone needed to pull me out from where He put me.

"Isabella," Damon said softly as he approached me and sat where Elena was sitting earlier. My dad was still sitting on my other side, but wasn't reaching for me any longer. I had stopped screaming, but didn't respond to him.

"Isabella," Damon said again. This time he reached out to me and touched my arm. He pulled me into a hug when I didn't flinch or pull away and I grabbed on. "It's alright, baby girl." He continued to hold me and stroke my hair. I was calming down quite a bit. At some point my father left the room. I assume it was his way of saying it was ok for Damon to stay. I'm sure everyone knew he wouldn't take advantage of me.

"I'm sorry," I muttered.

"No need to be sorry baby girl," Damon murmured as he maneuvered us so we were lying down. "Go back to sleep."

"Will you stay?" I couldn't resist asking. I knew if I fell back to sleep, I would have the nightmare again. I didn't want to relive that anymore.

"As long as you want me to," Damon said before gently kissing my forehead. I had no idea where this side of him was coming from. He was typically a jerk. He always loved to give me a hard time. Granted I used to give it back just as much as I got. Now if he acted that way, I'm not sure how I would react. I'm just grateful he's here.

If I was being honest with myself, I've always had a slight crush on Damon. I first met him when I was 16. I was visiting Elena and the brothers were in town. It was the same summer Elena met Stefan. Damon was such a dick to both of us, but there was something about him that drew me to him. Over the course of the summer we became friends. We have kept in touch over the past couple years. He knew I had run into some vampires when I first moved to Forks. He gave me a crash course in what to expect, but then I found out the vampires in Forks were cold ones and weren't like him. Damon had warned me about cold ones and if I ever ran into one, to call him right away.

I never called him when I learned I was dating a cold one. I think by the time I knew, He had sucked me in enough and convinced me I couldn't tell anyone. I wanted to tell Damon. I knew Damon would keep me safe, but something kept me from telling him.

I fell back asleep being held by Damon knowing I was safe. For the rest of the night I didn't have any more nightmares. I did have a dream about dancing with Damon. It was a good dream.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the beginning. Again, I look forward to reading any thoughts and comments you may have!