Disclaimer: These characters belong to Stephanie Meyers

Rough Around the Edges

What do you do when a man shakes up what you thought was your perfect world? Bella thinks she's close to her happily ever after...But what will happen when she meets someone who is homeless, estranged from his family, without love for so long...yet he knows in his heart what he feels for her is real.

Chapter 1

Edward

"Are you okay over there son?" I hear the husky voice of my longtime friend. I bundle up with more covers and nod to him curtly.

"Never better Carlisle", I say with sarcasm, my words come out choppy through shuttering teeth. It's fucking cold and the shelter is full so Carlisle and I are forced to sleep under the bridge again.

"This is your fault, you know that right."

I roll my eyes. He's not trying to make me feel bad; he's just tired of this happening.

"Thanks, Carlisle. I feel shitty enough without you pointing that out, "I reply looking over in time to catch him shrugging.

"Feeling any better,"He asks as he comes over and feels my forehead with the back of his hand. I nod, but he checks my neck too. "Burning up again. "He mutters.

He says I'm hot, but I feel cold as hell. This is the second day that I've been sick, but I refuse to go to the hospital. Carlisle holds his hand out in a fist.

"Take these," He urges me to lift my hand so I concede as he drop in two pills. He then hands me a bottle of water and gives me a pointed look urging me to take the pills.

I don't ask how he got them because it would get me nowhere. Carlisle always went out of his way to take care of me. I feel more like his son than his friend, given our age difference.

The pills lull me to sleep instantly washing away the night and bringing about another day.

A new day.

I get to see her again.

She keeps me going. She keeps me holding onto the dream that one day Carlisle and I will be out of this shit hole. She gives me so much inspiration and yet...I don't even know her name.

The past two nights I missed out on chances to be in the warm environment of the homeless shelter just to see her. I had to see her so her beauty could inspire peace of mind, and most importantly, give me hope. I desperately wanted to love and be loved.

Just thinking about her makes me smile. Her beauty caused my heart to beat out of my chest. I have to hold my hand there every time I see her.

Carlisle always waits for me at our usual spot, and he didn't want to leave me hanging so he waited and waited, even though he knew where I would be. He always knows. Yet he never rushed me, and he never left me. Even when I came down with the flu, he took care of me like a son.

"Edward wake up. They put out the bread," Carlisle said and I heard it through my sleep. Carlisle and I chose this particular spot because it covered us in case it rained and also because this bakery throws out bread that they deem expired.

They do it pretty much every morning. Sometimes I eat and sometimes I don't. However, this morning I ate out of necessity. I needed food because I was drained and this would give me the much-needed energy to brave the long walk to see her.

Today I would speak to her. That brought a smile to my face and pep in my step.

Carlisle and I ate the bread and when I finish I instantly felt ready to begin my day.

"I'm going to talk to her today,"I tell Carlisle once I'm done eating.

He nods but frowns and I catch it. Eagerly I ask if that's the wrong thing to do.

"No, I'm not saying that it's a bad idea I just...," He trails off.

"Spill it old man," I push for his advice.

"Do what makes you happy son," He braces an arm on my shoulder and smiles a smile that I have no choice but to return.

I remember when I first met Carlisle almost three years ago. He was in a diner with his last couple of dollars from his past life. The life that he said he doesn't regret leaving.

His wife was killed, and it shook his world. He was no longer able to function in society. He didn't even set up the arrangement for her funeral, leaving it to his wife's siblings. He said that he couldn't bear to see her like that, cold and lifeless.

He took his car and drove, leaving his dead wife, his job, his possessions and all of his troubled family behind.

He ended up in Seattle trying to flee the feeling of guilt. He blamed himself for her death saying that he should have protected her. He beat himself up about it for years until he found me. We had something in common. He sensed our familiar spirit. We both held a tremendous amount of guilt.

My story had been just as bad as his except I had nowhere to run. I'd killed my stepfather at the young age of thirteen. I'd like to say that it was an accident, but it wasn't. I had watched him beat my mother for years, but he never laid a hand on me or his son Emmett, who was fifteen and quite big for his age. He wouldn't hit a man, but he thought that it was okay to beat the most important woman in my life.

I couldn't continue to sit back and watch him beat her. Emmett didn't want to go against his father so he usually just stayed in his room and tried to block out his stepmother's cries. I couldn't. Hearing my mother beg him to stop and plead with him angered me but it riled him up even more.

One day I had enough. His dinner was cold because he'd been in his study working all night. He told me to go in my room, and I knew what was about to happen when my mother winced. She knew what was coming and she was bracing herself.

Instead of going in my room, I went back into the dining room and peeked around the corner. I heard my mother's cries along with his slaps that connected with her face. I couldn't stand to listen anymore. I couldn't stand to see him beat the living shit out of my mother any longer.

I pushed off the wall and lunged at him. My mother pleaded for me to stop and she cried harder which fueled my anger. This was his fault. Her constant tears were his fault.

Pushing him back and away from my mother onto the counter near the kitchen sink. I stared into his eyes as he gripped my upper arms to pry me away from him. I was so filled with anger I made a quick decision to end his life and inevitably end my mother's suffering.

I grabbed a knife off the counter and stabbed him. I then released him, coming to terms with what I had just done. With wide eyes, I backed away from him and glanced at my mom. She screamed an agonizing scream as she crawled over to him and applied pressure to his wound.

I still remember the look on her face when she looked at me. It haunts me. She looked at me how I'd seen her look at him so many times.

She was scared.

Of me.

I remember looking at my hands and thinking that I was no better than him. I ran out the front door at full speed and disappeared.

I was angry that she was trying to help him after what he had done. I was mad at myself for what I had done.

I haven't seen my family since, choosing to continue to keep my distance and live with my guilt.

"I say go for it," Carlisle brings me out of my trance. I shake my head looking over at him.

"I am," I say as I stand and smooth down my jeans hoping that I look and smell presentable. "I'll try to be on time tonight," I tell him and he snorts but nods as he continues to eat. I salute him and fix my shirt as I begin to walk towards the corner where I usually see her.

She's always impeccably dressed with her brown hair flowing in lazy waves down her back. Her big brown eyes seem to reach deep down into my soul every time she glances at me, and I like to think that the smile she always gives me is reserved for only me.

Today was no different. I see her walking across the street towards me with purposeful strides. I'm left standing there with my mouth wide open gawking at her.

She passes me, staring down at her phone as she walks into the cafe. I mentally slap myself. I missed my chance.

But then I remember that she has to leave the cafe. I can try then.

I clear my throat and straighten myself, casually standing by the door. I see a man smoking a cigarette outside of the cafe and think it's a way to waste some time. I ask him for one and he gives it to me, offering to light it as well.

I stand there smoking the cigarette, waiting patiently. I start to lose my nerve and think about trying again tomorrow when suddenly, she steps out of the cafe with a coffee cup in one hand and her phone in the other.

I watch her, losing my nerve as I always do when I see her face. I stare at her, looking her up and down, mesmerized.

She looks around and then smiles as a short, raven-haired woman waves at her. The woman was beautiful as well, but she couldn't hold a candle to my girl.

"Bella,"The girl says as she continues to wave and I continue to stare.

Her name is Bella. How fitting.

I turn slightly, trying not to make it so obvious that I'm eavesdropping on the strangers.

They walk with their arms intertwined back into the coffee shop and I turn, looking into the window at her. She laughs and smiles so carefree and my heart swells.

And then her friend catches me. She catches me staring and raises an eyebrow before turning her attention back to Bella.

I just have to see her one more time and then I'll leave. I look again and the raven-haired girl is staring at me with her arms crossed, and a knowing smile on her face.

I drop the cigarette in the nearby can and begin to walk away. Had the raven-haired girl thought that I wanted her attention? That wasn't the case. Not that she wasn't good looking; it's just that I was solely interested in her friend.

I noted that she came to this cafe multiple times a day and frequently walked down this street. So I always waited here hoping to be noticed. Hoping to be seen.

I make it back to Carlisle after absentmindedly roaming around town for hours. I felt kind of like a coward.

I told Carlisle about my uneventful day and he gave encouraging words. He urged me to try again saying I won't know until I try.

How accurate

The next day I wait and wait and she doesn't show. With both hands in my pockets, I kick rocks around on the sidewalk idly, as I think about her.

Then I begin to torture myself with endless possibilities. She saw me watching her and she's scared, that's why she hasn't shown. I basically stalked this woman, so why wouldn't she be afraid of me?

I kick more rocks as thoughts swirl around in my brain. Anger, frustration and confusion consume me. I would never have a chance with someone so beautiful, so high class, so much better than me.

"Hi," I'm startled out of my daze by a woman's voice and I kick a rock in that direction. "Ouch! Fuck, that hurt", The rock must have hit her foot.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Are you okay", I squat down to look at her foot. I examine her without touching her before looking back up. I stand slowly, recognizing her as the woman from yesterday.

"I'm fine. It just hit my foot, no worries", She waves it off. She then points at me with squinted eyes. "You like my friend." It wasn't a question.

I look away nervously, embarrassed from being caught. I rub the back of my neck trying to think of how to explain.

"Was it that obvious," I ask her and she chuckles.

"To me, yes. To her, no. I've seen you looking at her before, though", She tells me and I try to think back to all of the times that I've looked for Bella. I can't recall ever seeing this person. "Why don't you just talk to her? She won't bite", she laughs and I just stand there unsure why she's telling me this. "I'm Alice by the way," She holds her hand out to me to shake.

"Edward,"I say as I shake her hand. When I release her, I place both of my hands in my pockets and rock back on my heels looking around her to see if Bella is nearby. I catch her eyes in time to see her rolling them with a smile.

"She's out of town right now. But I knew you would be here. You're always here." She looks me over with scrutiny.

"I live nearby," I answer her quickly, pointing down the street.

"Ahh," She says. "Nothing to do with you trying to catch a glimpse of my friend," She asks with a raised eyebrow. She caught me again. "Hey, come have coffee with me. I hate sitting alone."

I nod but don't move towards the door. She catches my hesitation and looks at me quizzically.

"I'm a stranger. Why would you want to-", I question her but she interrupts me.

"Stop talking." She grabs my arm pulling me into the cafe and into the line. "As many times as I've seen you standing outside this place, I've never seen you inside. Do you drink coffee", She asks.

I do, but I don't have the money to pay for it. I nod at her letting her know that I do. "Would you like a cup?" She asks and I don't speak. She senses my hesitation again. "On me of course," She says sweetly. Why is she nice to a complete stranger? I'm not used to this.

I tell her thanks and she looks away, but I catch the pleased smile on her face. She strikes me as the kind of girl that is used to getting her way all of the time.

"I'll order for us. Can you grab a table", She asks and I nod and shove my hands in my pockets walking over to an empty table in the corner. I stare out the window feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Here," She puts the coffee in front of me. "I hope you like it,"She says and I thank her again.

We sit in silence, mostly with her staring at me with a smile on her face. "Your friend...", I start to ask and she gives me an encouraging smile. I clear my throat trying to think of how to ask my question. "...Bella", She nods still holding onto that smile. She brings the coffee cup to her lips taking a drink. "Is she joining us."

"No silly. I told you that she was out of town", She answers quickly. I remember her saying that, but I can't think of any reason why she would be so nice to a stranger.

I look down at my cup of coffee, slightly disappointed. "Why are you so nice to me? You don't know me. I could be a murderer." I tell her and my nostrils flare when I think about the fact that I technically am one.

"You're not," She says simply. I furrow my eyebrows at her. "I'm an excellent judge of character." She nods and then looks me over. "You just look like a guy that fell on hard times."

I hate to tell her my impression of her as I stare at her name-brand purse and designer outfit.

The old me, the teenage me, the version of me that would do anything to make it on the streets would have snatched her purse by now and bought cigarettes and whatever Carlisle might need.

Carlisle used to be disappointed in me for my poor decisions.

"Thank you for this again,"I tell her and she shrugs.

"I dragged you in here. It's the least that I can do." She says pleased with herself. "So you said that you live around here?" She looks between my eyes. Something about the way she looks at me tells me that she's probing. Like she knows something already. "House? Apartment"

I clear my throat feeling antsy as I squirm in my seat. I hate explaining my situation to people. Either they give me sympathy or they judge me harshly as if to say there's no excuse for my situation. I equally hated both reactions.

"I'm in between places right now," I tell her and she looks down at her cup. It's the truth. I'm in between living under a bridge and living in the homeless shelter.

"Ummm", she sips her drink. "Well, Bella likes well-groomed guys," She says and I glance down at my appearance then back into her eyes.

I sit there speechless. "I…I" I try to explain, but her laughter cuts me off.

"It's okay Edward." She says then she touches my hair and I freeze. "We can get you a much-needed haircut and shave."

I frown, confused by her words. Then she pushes my hair out of my face completely. "You're actually quite handsome behind all of this hair." She rests her head on her arm staring at me, studying my face.

"I'm sorry. Did I miss something", I ask her confused as to what's going on.

She sighs. "My friend, Bella, is a good person. A kind-hearted person." She sighs. "And she's in love with a jerk."

My heart drops and my ears begin to ring. Suddenly it's hard to breathe. "They are engaged, "She tells me and I close my eyes trying to remember her face, attempting to remember if I saw a ring on her finger.

I never got that far. I was always too focused on her beautiful face, and her angelic presence. I exhale loudly through my nose out of frustration and heartbreak.

"I know that look," She says to me sadly. "You love her without even knowing her."

I nod.

"This asshole will ruin her life, but she's seemingly stuck on him. He doesn't treat her well either", she tells me and I grip the table. My anger taking over me.

"Why are you telling me this," I ask her through gritted teeth.

"Because I see how you look at her. You adore her." She gives my hand a sympathetic squeeze.

"You don't think that I'm a creep?"

I patiently wait for her answer. "No, I don't. I think that you would be a breath of fresh air for her. God knows that no man has ever stood out in the cold just to get a glance of her."

"I was going to talk to her yesterday,"I confess. Thinking back on how furious I was at myself for chickening out.

"I'm glad you didn't," She tells me and I furrow my eyebrows at her. Isn't that what she wants me to do. "You're a little rough around the edges," She plucks at my shirt and I flinch away quickly. "Sorry", she moves her hand. "Let me know when and if I get too friendly. Sometimes I forget." She laughs at herself. "Do we have a deal?"

"Deal?" I ask her again still confused. I thought this was her way of telling me to back off because Bella's engaged.

She sighs heavily exasperatedly. "Haven't you been listening?" I nod and she rolls her eyes. "I just need you to sweep her off her feet, which shouldn't be hard because I can tell that you absolutely adore her," she blinks.

"What do you get out of this,"I question. How can I trust her? And why does she trust me?

She shrugs. "The satisfaction of knowing that my friend isn't marrying a complete douche. You, with your looks, coupled with the very raw feelings that you must have for her should rattle her enough to make her question her love for him", She explains.

"And if it doesn't work,"I ask her after a long pause as I sit and begin to try to process her words.

"It will work,"She tells me.

"What if it doesn't,"I ask again and she smiles and pats my hand.

"If you love her, you won't give up. That's the point of picking someone with actual feelings for her. I was going to go to an escort or a dating service, second-guessing my plans because I figured these guys would break her heart if she actually fell for them...but you? You won't break her heart", She tells me and I nod understanding. This is what I want right? A chance. Alice could give me that chance. I definitely won't have a chance if she gets married.

I close my eyes thinking hard about the possibility of this blowing up in my face...then I think out loud with a shrug. "What do I have to lose."

A big smile graces her face and she stands quickly hugging my shoulders. I freeze; not used to affection especially not from strangers.

"Will you agree to a makeover?" She asks with a raised eyebrow and a hand on her hip.

"Will it hurt?"I ask and she laughs a full throaty laugh as if she was not expecting a question like that.

"You and I are going to be great friends Edward, "She tells me through her laughter and I smile slightly.

We leave the cafe shortly after Alice's laughing fit with plans to meet the next day to start what she deemed as 'training' and I inwardly freak out when she says that she'll need to see where I live.

That night Carlisle is surprised that I make it in time. "Don't look so surprised old man,"I tell him and he laughs patting me on my back as we walk to the shelter.

I don't tell Carlisle what happened because I'm afraid of what he'll say. I think he'll try to talk me out of it.

Carlisle and I do talk about a few things. He tells me that he was approached by a private investigator and that he had some choice words for the guy.

"Then he gives me this,"Carlisle holds up a letter. "My brothers are looking for me."

I shrug. "You should be flattered. At least someone is looking for you." I left my home almost twelve years ago and haven't seen or heard from my family since.

Carlisle pats my back sympathetically but moves his hand quickly when I brush it off. I'm not trying to be rude; I just really hate sympathy and pity.

"Who's to say that your mother hasn't looked for you everyday son, "He says and I nod."I'm glad that you feel better," and I nod again.

"I feel a lot better thank you,"I tell him as we finish our dinner. I go to bed thinking about the 'deal' that Alice and I have.

I'm starting to think I'll be better off waiting until I see her in front of the cafe and attempt to talk to her myself, but then Alice's words ring in my ears. She likes well-groomed men. Reminds me that I'm homeless and unkempt.

This is my way in. My only opportunity with her. My chance at love.

All thanks to the spectacular beta skills of Frannie Walsh! You are a life saver :)

Please join my Facebook group [Twilightsavedme]

Thank you all for reading. To avoid confusion, I must tell you that this is a re-write of my story Rugged. Only a few things will be different in the beginning, but as the chapters are posted, more of the plot will be noticeable different. Thanks again. Drop a review if you can. :)