EPOV

I knew it was wrong, and I knew that to outsiders it was already beginning to look like I was starting to pave the road to seduction but while I couldn't deny an interest in Bella, what intrigued me most about her was her contradiction. Her sadness radiated out of her and each look in her eyes was a little bit of heartbreak. Empathy, an emotion that I pride myself on wholeheartedly has never been so far pushed to its limits. But that wasn't it, I knew - as reading people is another skill I am pleased to have honed, that Bella was not just sadness. There was passion there. Passion and a light so bright that whatever had caused her descent into the fragile creature she was now, nothing could extinguish it.

A characteristic I was not so proud of was my apparent ability to reduce her to tears in mere seconds. I think Bella's rawness was what had me, a grown man of twenty seven years, making catastrophic career decisions. I shouldn't have allowed myself to take her home - and I certainly shouldn't be planning to pick her up again the tomorrow morning. Yet here I am. Her rawness was captivating, and refreshing. Most kids with issues these days either hide behind bravado and popularity allowing their problems to make them bullies or they wallow in their pity, wearing their pain as a badge of honour that they must show at all times. Bella just seemed to accept her lot quietly without struggle or exaggeration and it was admirable almost as much as it was tragic.

After dropping her off I drove in circles for a while just allowing myself time to decompress. Was it just her story I wished to uncover? There was no doubt that there was a porcelain beauty to my student, a sensitive charm that must be obvious even to those as oblivious to delicacy as her peers - and of course I had noticed. Her large brown eyes, her long voluminous curls and the way her skin seemed so soft.. She would never be the bleach blonde on the front cover of a magazine but she would have been a muse for a renaissance master.

I drove straight home for a lonely dinner for one, numbing my incessant thoughts with beer and a novel that spoke of a young woman at the mercy of the world. The uncomfortable similarities meant that I did not sleep well.

The next morning I woke bleary eyed and exhausted, my alarm glaring a menacing red numbers that the teenage me would cringe at. But I had at least a little motivation this morning, and I had to get there early enough so I wouldn't miss her and I want to slap myself for not just telling her to be expect me. While i'd like to argue it was so as not to give her a chance to argue there was a small, arrogant part of me that wanted her to see me as a knight in shining armour.

I drove to Bella's hoping she hadn't left even earlier than yesterday, which was probably likely as she wouldn't want to be late again. I put my foot down in hopes of catching her before she left and after missing a turning finally found myself parked in front of the monstrosity of a truck that had hindered Bella in the first place. I got out, glared at it as I walked past and knocked on the door. I waited.. and waited. I heard nothing inside until a great cacophony of crashing announced itself all at once. The door swung open, and Bella looked shocked and then panicked and then relieved. I hadn't seen this many emotions on her face in such quick succession before and I laughed.

Then I looked more closely, and chuckled harder. She had clearly overslept and tried to get herself ready in a rush - her hair was dishevelled to an extreme and the buttons on her plaid shirt were all fastened into the wrong holes leaving a gaping hole of fabric just over her bellybutton. I laughed and averted my eyes back up to her face.

"In a rush, were we?" I chuckled.

"Yeah, I overslept.." she offered hesitantly. "Why are you here?"

"To take you to school. I assume your truck is still bust".

"Thank you so much, you didn't have to" she whispered quickly.

"Wouldn't want to miss you in class again today, you seem to be the only student that listens to a word I'm saying - I'd get disheartened without you!"

She blushed, and kicked at the floor. "I'll just finish getting ready, do you want to..?"

"I'll wait in the car, no rush", I shrugged, cursing at myself for saying too much. Again. With a resolve to be more guarded I slumped into my seat.

Exactly six minutes later she was sat in the passenger seat of my Volvo, smelling like freesia shampoo.

"Charlie is bringing home the part I need for my truck tonight, so you won't have to do this anymore. But thank you."

I nodded once, with a straight expression - unwilling to admit to myself that I was disappointed. I wasn't stupid though, and well aware that it was for the best that I distance myself from Bella Swan starting now.

I apologise so profusely for the hiatus, this story will not be abandoned. Bella wants to share her story, however unwilling she is to share right now. Thank you for reading. Sincerely x