Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did, I would be at a luxury mansion greeting the Queen of England and eating expensive Bulgarian chocolates and not writing fanfic.
Story inspired by Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne (up till chapter 4, that is)
Let's talk this over
It's not like we're dead
Was it something I did
Was it something you said
Don't leave me hanging
10 years ago
"I'm going to the Cullens'!" I yelled, grabbing my jacket and closing the door with my foot in one movement.
"'Kay!" Renée called, her voice muffled by the closed door. I padded barefoot across the street and into the three-mile-long path they called their driveway.
Esme opened the door frowning. "How many times have I told you to wear your shoes when you come, Bella?" she said severely. "You'll get your feet cut!"
"That'll be new," I laughed, slipping in and wiping my feet on the doormat just inside. I could hear Emmett shouting and the screech of imaginary race cars-apparently he was winning Jasper.
"Bella!" Alice squealed, running down the steps. I raised my hands in front of me instinctually.
"No, no, no. I did not come here to play dress up, Ali. I came because Edward said you wanted to plan a campout in the yard," I explained, my hands still in front of me in a defensive pose.
Alice moaned in very real disappointment. I grinned. "You'll get over it," I promised. She muttered something very similar to "that's what you think".
As if on cue, Edward came running from the kitchen, his arms full of empty boxes. Alice and I stared at him.
"Esme, where do you want to put these stuff?" he asked, grinning at me as a greeting. The Cullens didn't call their parents 'Mom' or 'Dad'; they called them by their names since they were adopted at birth.
"Just dump them out front," Esme replied, going into the kitchen. She groaned when she saw how empty the fridge was.
"Bella! Come here!" Emmett shouted.
"Em, you're supposed to be helping with the discussion," Edward reminded him, coming in from the front door.
"That's why Bella's here," Emmett explained. He handed me a controller. "Win this for me and I'll split my earnings. AND I'll participate in the discussion," he tacked on grudgingly.
I shook my head. Why Emmett wanted to play video games when he would ultimately lose was beyond me. But then, maybe all older kids were like that. Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper were a year older. Alice and Edward were my age, seven.
I fiddled with the controller, quickly tapping in some cheat codes, and overtook Jasper in the racing game within seconds and won the entire race in another fifteen seconds. Jasper grumbled, handing Emmett a tenner. Emmett pulled out a five dollar bill from his pocket and gave it to me.
"Thanks!" I said, beaming. Emmett laughed.
"Can we get to work NOW?" Edward asked impatiently. He never had a tolerance for video games. Any game that involved the TV and pesky controllers, for that matter.
"Fine, fine," Emmett muttered, turning off the TV and game console. We gathered around the table, Rosalie smiling at me.
"Campout," Edward announced pompously. I elbowed him.
"Cut out the fancy speeches."
"Okay. When should we have it?"
"Tomorrow!"
"Activities?"
"Kayaking!" That was Emmett, obviously.
"Em, you can't kayak in the backyard," Rosalie pointed out.
"There's always the brook, though…"
"EMMETT!" several voices shouted at the same time.
"FINE! Hiking?"
"That's better," Jasper allowed.
Later in the day…
"Bye, Edward! Em, Ali, Jazz and Rose!"
"See 'ya, Bells!"
I beamed at that. I liked it when Edward called me Bells. That way I felt like I really was his best friend, rather than his buddy like Emmett was to him.
I walked back, squirming in the flip-flops Esme had forced me to wear. I felt horribly enclosed when I was wearing shoes. I always loved to go barefoot. I didn't want to disappoint Esme, though, so I relented.
"Bella, come here."
I didn't like the sound of that. Renée's voice was clear, casual. Almost too casual.
I ran to the front room. Renée and Charlie were sitting on the sofa, a too large space between them. Renée looked…relieved. Wait. Was Charlie crying?
What was going on?
"We're moving," Renée said, her tone pleased and triumphant. She always hated rainy Forks. Said she preferred sunshine.
I stood there, gob smacked. "WHAT?!"
"You heard me. We're moving," she said, irritation shining through her carefully composed tone.
"Why?"
"Dad and I…we're breaking up," she mumbled. Good. She was ashamed.
"Okay," I said slowly. "So why must I move?"
"Because I have custody of you. Now get to it. Start packing. We're moving out tonight," she ordered snappily.
"I. Want. To. Stay. Here," I said, emphasizing each word. Renée's eyebrows snapped together in confusion, obviously wondering why I would prefer to stay in this little town. She didn't get it, did she?
"Why?" she asked.
"Because the Cullens live here! My BEST FRIEND lives here! You can't force me to pack up and leave without ample warning!" I shrieked.
"You are moving, young lady. Tonight. In two hours, to be exact. Phil's going to pick us up, so you had better jump to it."
"Who's Phil?" I demanded.
I saw her expression, like she'd said too much. I saw Charlie's tears and upset expression. I felt my irritation, my anger. My hurt. I knew whose fault this was.
"You are the worst mother I have ever had," I said shakily. My composure was cracking. Thank god I wasn't crying, not yet at least. I wouldn't show any sign of weakness.
Renée was, though. Only in the wrong way.
She got up and stormed to me. "Isabella Marie Swan, you are moving, do you get it? You are not going to stay here in Forks. I am going to make sure you go to Phoenix, Arizona, by tonight, so you had better not make this unpleasant."
"Too late," I yelled. "It already is!"
I ran out of the door, not taking anything, and sprinted out into the cold night wearing only a t-shirt and shorts. It was raining-the cool splats of water splashing onto my face, mingling with the tears that were pouring down.
I heard the frantic shouts of Charlie, and angry hoots of Renée. I didn't care. I knew I had to get back to them sometime, but I needed to get out first. If I had to move, I wasn't doing it without a goodbye.
My feet found the well-worn path easily, automatically. I was going to miss this-the casual, easy running and conversing.
I pounded on the door desperately. I heard Emmett cussing, Jasper laughing with Alice, Edward hooting and Rosalie giggling. I heard Carlisle's amused chuckles as he went to get the door. I smelt the warm fragrance wafting out.
I stared up at the huge house, pale and glistening in the impending storm. This was my home, the place where I had felt comfortable at. Where I had no pretenses.
"Who is it?" Carlisle called from behind the door as he swung it open. His eyes widened as he took in my appearance-from my damp clothes to my bedraggled hair and the tears still gushing out of my eyes. I tried to say something, but it wouldn't come out of my chattering teeth. Shivers were rocking my whole body.
"EDWARD! ESME! PEOPLE!" he bellowed, pulling me out of the pour. "What happened, Bella?"
They must've heard the urgency in his voice, as everyone reached me in record time. They froze when they saw me.
"Bella! What happened?"
"What's wrong, Bella?"
"Oh, Bella, why?"
"What's going on?"
"Carlisle, what happened?"
"BELLA!"
I stood there, the shivers slowing and disappearing altogether as I basked in the warmth. Finally I could spit the words out.
"We're moving."
(I was going to stop there, but I thought, what the heck, so here you have two chapters in one! Aren't I great?)
There was total silence in the house for a second, something very unusual for the Cullen household.
"Good luck, Bella," Esme whispered then, hugging me tightly. Carlisle nodded.
"We'll miss you," he murmured. I nodded at him, swallowing back tears. Then they left the room, to give me some space with my best friends.
"Why? Why're you doing this?" Alice yelled. The fury in her voice was surprising. I blinked, taken aback.
"It wasn't my choice, Ali!" I whispered.
"You could've told her! Thrown a fit or something! But no! You wanted to leave, didn't you?"
"No-Ali-listen-"
"Don't call me that," she said coldly, then turned and left the room.
"She's right, Bella. If you really cared about us, you wouldn't be leaving. You would've put up a fight," Emmett muttered, following Alice.
"You don't care about us, do you?" Jasper asked hardly, leaving. Rosalie threw a scornful glance my way.
"You're not a true friend," she said harshly.
"Em-Jazz-Rose!" I yelled, my voice trembling. What was wrong with my world? Why were my best friends turning on me when I needed them?
Only Edward was left. He was frozen, not moving. I turned my watery gaze to him.
"Are you going to leave me, too?" I asked, tears building up in my voice.
"They're right. All of them," he said baldly, flames in the back of his eyes. I shuddered at his coolness. Before he could say anything to hurt me, I threw myself at him, hugging him tightly and blinking back hot tears.
Then I turned and fled the house that was once my home.
I know! I'm so sorry about the Cullens abandoning Bella! I was crying while I wrote this! Honest! But I swear the next chapter's going to be better. Pinkie finger promise.
Paranoia'splash