Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All recognizable characters belong to SM.

Story Summary: No one could have predicted that Coventry, the place that her mother ran away from at 18, would lead Bella to Edward and her very own Happily Ever After.

Coventry:

A Bella and Edward Story Part 1

Blinking away tears, Bella tried to focus on the road. She had been operating on autopilot for days. Since the incident, she had been driving towards the only hope she felt she had left. She vaguely remembered stopping to eat, sleep and get gas. For the most part she had driven straight towards her destination.

She burst into tears of joy and relief when she saw the sign,

'Welcome to Coventry.

She drove down the main street and parked in front of the local police station. She was surprised to see that the building was modern and clean. Renee had always made Coventry sound as though the place was in shambles. Bella was glad that she hadn't believed her.

The officers behind the desk were busy working and hadn't noticed her walk in.

One of the officers had a unique shade of bronze hair and stood about six feet tall. The other officer was about the same height with blonde hair. Bella cleared her throat to make her presence known. They finally looked up and Bella's attention was immediately drawn to the lovely green eyes of the bronze-haired officer. When they noticed her standing there they seemed shocked and immediately responded to her obviously distressed and battered appearance

"How may I assist you?" the blond-haired officer asked.

She looked up at him and said, "Please, I need to find Mr. Carlisle Cullen. He's my only hope." That was all she managed to get out before she fainted.

The bronze-haired officer reacted quickly, rounded the desk and gathered the young lady in his arms.

"Jasper, please help me get her next door," he requested.

The blond-haired officer came and held the door open while the other officer carried her through to the Clinic.

Mrs. Esme Cullen, the nurse at the Clinic, was just showing another patient out and rushed to Edward's side.

"Good Heavens, Edward! Bring her straight through while I go get Carlisle," Esme instructed the officer carrying Bella's limp form.

Edward wasted no time. He put the young lady on the bed and waited for Carlisle to see to her. While he was waiting impatiently for Carlisle to see her, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful the young woman was despite her battered appearance. She had a heart shaped face, long brown hair and a curvy figure. He hoped that she was going to be alright.

Esme and Carlisle came in followed by Jasper who was filling them in on what had happened.

Just as he finished speaking, the young lady started coming to. Carlisle addressed her,

"Good Morning, my name is Dr Carlisle Cullen. This is my wife Esme, my son Edward and this is Jasper Whitlock."

Bella looked up at Carlisle. Silent tears started streaming down her face. She closed her eyes and said,

"Thank you God."

She opened her eyes and smiled at him shyly.

"Dr Cullen, my name is Isabella Swan but I prefer to be called Bella. We've never met but you were friends with my mother, Renee Higgins." Esme and Carlisle gasped in surprise.

Jasper and Edward just exchanged puzzled looks and shrugged.

"Yes, of course. How is Renee? Is she with you? What brought you here? How did you end up in this state?" Carlisle rapidly fired questions at her.

The smile fell off of Bella's face. "Sir, that's a long story. Do you have time right now or am I taking you away from your patients?"

Carlisle looked down on her kindly. "Bella, please call me Carlisle. We don't stand on ceremony around here. I have no patients scheduled for the rest of the day. Please take your time." Esme had stepped away from the room for a moment and came back in with a glass of water for Bella. She accepted it happily.

Taking a deep breath she began her story.

"As you know, my mom left Coventry when she was 18 years old. She wanted to visit the "outside world". Carlisle and Esme nodded their heads.

"She was so happy to be free to explore and experiment. She met my dad, Charlie Swan, only two weeks later. They had a wonderful summer together and Renee was ready to move on when she found out she was pregnant. My dad was thrilled and asked her to marry him. Renee was furious. She said that if she wanted to settle down and get married, she would have stayed in Coventry in the first place. My dad begged her to have me and said that he would raise me with the help of his parents. He couldn't bear the thought of her terminating my life. She finally agreed but only if he would give her money for her pain and suffering. He was appalled but agreed. He didn't have much in savings because he had just started his new job as a police officer. He loved me before I was born and would have done anything to protect me."

Bella took a moment to compose herself. Esme wrapped her arms around the young girl. Bella leaned into her. It had been some time since she had felt a loving embrace.

"Renee left right after I was born. I was raised by my dad and my grandparents.

My grandmother, Marie minded me while my dad was at work. My grandmother taught me to cook, to sew and to garden. I always helped around the house. She made all the household chores fun.

My grandfather, Charlie Senior, taught me to play the piano, fish and let me assist him while he fixed things around the house. He always said that I was a good helper." Bella smiled wistfully at the memory. "He and my Grandmother also taught me about God and church. They even signed me up to join the local youth group at church and the choir."

"My dad tried his best to be there for me but with his job, it was difficult. He was the best."

He always made sure to make our time together special. He would read me stories and play with me. ."

It was clear to everyone that Bella loved her father and her grandparents. They smiled as they listened to her tell her story but they were filled with dread because they knew that her story couldn't end well. Not if she showed up looking the way that she did.

"When I was six, I asked my dad about my mom." Bella continued. "That is when I first heard about Coventry. Renee had told my dad all about her life here. He said she made it sound awful but he also told me that he thinks that she wasn't being entirely truthful.

When I was fifteen, my Grandparents and my dad let me have a sleepover at my friend's home so they could go do Christmas shopping. That night, on their way home, they hit some black ice and crashed. There were no survivors.

I stayed with the Pastor's family until social services could locate Renee. It turned out not to be too difficult once she heard that I had been left everything. She showed up at the funeral and was weeping and carrying on. It was so distasteful. Everyone saw right through her act. From that moment onwards she was Renee to me not mom.

She moved into my grandparent's home when she found out that she couldn't sell it or touch any of the money that was being held in trust for me. The Swan's were very smart. They knew that if anything happened to them that Renee would show up looking for money. They set up the trust so that Renee would have to account for every penny that she spent. All approval for funds had to be submitted to the lawyer, Mr. Jay Jenks. He was a family friend of the Swans for many years and he took his job to protect me seriously. He made home visits frequently and spontaneously to ensure that my living arrangements were up to the Swan standards. He also granted Renee a small allowance monthly for her own needs provided no overnight guest were allowed under the same roof as me. The neighbours' all assured him in front of Renee that they would keep an eye out for that sort of thing. Renee was livid but she made do since she didn't have to work, now that she was a stay at home mom. I did all the cooking, yard work, house work and paid all of the bills. I didn't complain because that would just infuriate her. Thankfully, Renee was gone most of the time. According to her, she had a life to live and it wasn't her "fault that the Swans' had gotten themselves killed".

The only time that we interacted was when she was criticizing me. My clothes were too plain and too conservative. She liked to dress very provocatively and couldn't understand why I didn't. She told me that I would have fit in nicely in Coventry, since I was such a bore. She would come home drunk and tell me stories about her childhood friend and neighbour, Carlisle Cullen. The years passed. I read more of my favorite classics and experienced the world around me. I felt so out of place and I started to long for a life in Coventry, it sounded almost magical to me.

Two weeks ago, I celebrated my 18th birthday. My birthday fell on a Sunday so I really wasn't planning anything and I really didn't feel up to celebrating since it was the first birthday since I lost my family. The Pastor surprised me when he announced to the congregation that after the service we would be having tea and cake to celebrate my birthday. It seemed that my friends from youth group, Mr. Jenks, the Pastor and his wife as well as a few friends of the Swans wanted to be sure I had a special day and to know that I wasn't alone or forgotten.

I was having a lovely time until Renee showed up drunk and started badgering me about dating. She kept asking me how I planned to land a man if I didn't make myself look more appealing. I was absolutely humiliated. I drove her home and she passed out from her drunkenness.

I was never interested in dating. I had enough on my plate with school, tending to the house, church, choir and youth group. I didn't see the point in giving someone a false impression. To me the only reason to start seeing someone is if you're intending on the outcome being marriage. I never found someone in my hometown that I felt that way about. I also had the old fashioned view, on saving myself for my husband, which most of my peers didn't share." Bella blushed furiously when she realized what she just said but she averted her eyes and continued.

"This week I came home from youth group to find that Renee had set me up on a blind date with a boy from school. I didn't want to go but thought it would be rude to turn him down since he was already there. We went to dinner at the local Wendy's Restaurant and then he suggested we go for a walk in the park. We came to a bench and took a seat to rest and talk. That is when he tried to kiss me. I was repulsed and moved away from him. He was angry at my rejection and decided that he would try to take what wasn't his to have."

Bella started to rock back and forth in an attempt to calm herself. Her story was almost over; she just had to finish getting it out. Esme rocked Bella gently until she was ready to continue. The men were trying to maintain a calm expression but inside they were livid that anyone could subject this young woman to that kind of treatment. Everything about her screamed pure and decent.

"I screamed for help. Thankfully, some people for the local church happened to be walking their dog and came to my rescue. They called the police and stayed with us until they arrived.

Renee was seething when she was dragged away from her drink at the local pub in order to come and get me. She screamed that I was a frigid ice princess in front of everyone at the police station. She then informed us all that I was a huge disappointment and that she should have had the abortion that she wanted so she wouldn't have been stuck with me. She flew into a rage and started hitting me. The police officers, who were all friends of my dad, arrested her on the spot.

I was taken to the hospital to have my injuries looked at. They decided to let me go home with a neighbour who assured them that I would be safe. When I got home, I tried to sleep but my mind just wouldn't shut itself off and let me rest. I decided that I didn't want to be there in the morning. I packed my things and left a note that I would be in touch and then I started driving to the only hope that I had left."

Bella looked at Carlisle with pleading eyes. "Please, let me stay. Please, I beg you."