Disclaimer: The characters as well as any other reference to the Twilight series belong to their respective owner, Stephenie Meyer. Everything else belongs to the author of this work, Forever 17/Foreverx17.

Chapter One: First Breath

BELLA

Stepping out of the airport in North Carolina, I lift my gaze to the sun and sigh with relief. I decide then that my decision to come here for the summer had been a good one. I needed an escape from the city. I've finished my final year of graduate school, gone through three different internships during that time, and had had more failed interviews than I care to count.

When my mother asked me to come down to California and spend the summer with her, I hesitated—and for good reason. I need a break from crazy. I need a break from constantly going. Being with my erratic, overly energetic mother does not fit into that category.

I see my father, Charlie, before he sees me. He's standing at the end of a long line of cars waiting to pick up their loved ones. He's holding his hand over his eyes to block out the sun and looking around swiftly. I smile because he's looking for me.

With lighter footsteps than I've had in months, I make my way over to him. He finally sees me when I'm a few feet away and he smiles, opening up his arms as I jump into them. My father and I are not overly affectionate people, but at times like these, when I haven't seen him in months and I've missed him so, I couldn't care less about sharing a hug with him in the middle of walking traffic.

"Bella," he breathes into my hair before releasing me and holding me at arm's length. "You look good, honey."

I smile. "Thank you, Dad."

"How was the flight?"

"Really good."

He raises a speculative eyebrow. "Really?"

I sigh and roll my eyes. "Okay, I may have white knuckled my arm rest like four or ten times, but it wasn't that bad. I'm not as nervous about flying as I used to be."

"That's good," he smiles as he puts his arm around my shoulders, subtly moving me over to grab one of the two large suitcases that are beside me. "You sure don't pack light do ya, kiddo?"

"Dad, I'm staying with you all summer. A girl needs her options."

His eyebrows shoot up, almost past his forehead. "Whoa! Since when do you care about having 'options?'"

"Since I don't wanna have to go shopping every time I realize I don't have a sweater if it gets chilly or a pair of shorts when it's hot as hell."

"Point taken," he chuckles. "Come on, let's go home."

…..

We're halfway home when Charlie breaks the comfortable silence in the jeep.

"So, uh, there's something else I wanted to tell you," he begins nervously. I glance over at him and furrow my eyebrows when I see he has one hand on the wheel while the other rubs his neck anxiously.

"Yea?" I press.

"We have…a bit of a houseguest."

"A houseguest?"

"Actually, an employee...of mine."

"Employee? Dad you just retired six months ago, don't tell me you got another job."

"No not exactly."

"Dad, spit it out."

"Alright, well…seeing as we only spent the summers at the beach house, it has a lot of renovating to do. The roof, the dry wall, you name it we need to fix it. I needed some help getting the place where I wanted it to be…and maintaining it so…I sort of hired this young man I met a couple months ago."

"You hired some random guy off the streets?" I ask incredulously.

"It sounds worse than it is." He pauses and takes a deep inhale. "So I see this guy every morning at the café I go to. He sits in the same booth, drinks a cup of coffee—no food. And he's always writing in this…journal. He's always really deep in thought…zoned out, whatever you want to call it. Even when the waitress tries to get him something to eat on the house, he refuses. He just drinks his coffee and writes."

"O-kay? Dad, I don't see where you're going with this."

"One night, I'm out at this bar with my friend Harry and we hear this commotion outside. So we go check it out and these two guys are fighting—a full on brawl outside. Blood everywhere, punches getting thrown. Everyone's watching like it's some kind of show so Harry and I split them up. One of them was the guy I kept seeing at the café. So I took him aside to calm him down and talk to him.

"Now, Bella, I don't want to air this guy's personal business, but he was just…really lost. In a bad place in his life. Well, apparently he's been in a bad place for a while. His parents died when he was a teenager."

"Oh," I breathe.

"He didn't have a steady job. He was on-call at some warehouse. So, I asked if he would be interested in helping fix up the house. I mean, it's too big for me to do on my own and you have no idea what they charge now for a simple sanding. So we made a deal and he agreed. A place to stay and a paycheck every week. Not a lot, but at least it's something."

I shake my head. "Dad, I just don't see your rationale for taking in some man you don't even know. I get it that you felt empathy for him, but you don't even know him. Why are you doing this?"

We pull up the long driveway to the house. Charlie parks the car and sighs before looking at me. "He just…reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age. My parents died when I was only thirteen. I had to live with my grandparents…I rebelled…I was angry. I guess I could relate to him." He pauses. "He's a really nice young man, Bella. I think you'll like him."

I sigh because the fact that my father could just invite a stranger to live in his house with him without any type of precedent is beyond me—and frankly it rattles me a bit.

I decide to push the uneasy feelings away for the time being as I hop out of the truck and go around to the bed to help my father grab my things. We make our way up to the porch and Charlie opens the door, letting me in first. I set my suitcase and carry-on in the foyer and Charlie puts my other suitcase next to them. I haven't been here for years and have been excited to see what it looks like now that my father has moved in permanently. Surprisingly, it looks the same and more importantly, it still feels like home.

"You hungry?" he asks me.

"Um, no not really. Thirsty."

He nods and I follow him into the kitchen. "Soda? Juice?"

"Water's good," I smile. "Thanks."

Charlie nods again and grabs a glass from one of the cupboards, filling it with ice and water before handing it to me. I thank him and take a sip.

"So…when do I get to meet this houseguest?" I ask hesitantly after a moment.

Charlie glances down at his watch. "Soon, I think. I just sent him out to get some primer. We've just started renovating the bathrooms. Yours is completely redone, by the way."

I raise my eyebrows. "Redone?"

"Yea. Edward re-painted it, even installed new shower doors. The other ones were rusty. I gotta say, the kid's good with his hands."

"Edward?"

"Oh yea," he says distractedly as he opens the fridge and grabs a beer. "That's his name. Edward."

I nod slowly, smacking my lips together. "Well, I look forward to meeting him."

He closes the fridge and takes the cap of his beer bottle off. He leans back against the counter to take a sip. "Trust me, Bells," my father starts, as if reading my thoughts. "You'll like him."

I let out a sigh and manage a convincing smile for my dad. "Don't worry, Dad, I trust you."