Disclaimer:

All characters and known situations belong to their respective owners. Everything else came from my own mind- scary place that it is sometimes. In no way shape or form have I made or intended to make a profit from this story…. All rights still belong to Stephenie… though it's a shame she never did anything more with the wolves… ah well.. There's always fan fiction J

Author's Note:

There is a trigger warning here. In NO way do I condone child abuse or neglect. This unfortunately does happen in RL and I really feel that if more people were made aware of it, then it would end. Sometimes all you really need is a helping hand.

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Prologue

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Pain.

Fear.

Loneliness.

Heartache.

Hopelessness.

Betrayal.

Isabella Swan felt all of that and more on a daily basis. She was only just 17 and her mother had yet again neglected her birthday. Instead her mother told her in no uncertain terms that she would be gone for most of the day, out with a new boyfriend. Renee had demanded that by the time she came home with said boy toy that the house was to be spotless, dinner was to be ready to eat and Bella herself was to be scarce.

It was her life.

But it was going to be her last year at home. She'd be graduating this year and she'd finally be free to turn her back on the hell she'd known. Unbeknownst to her mother, Bella had been saving every last dime of her paychecks for the last three years. Working as a waitress left her some amazing tip money once she got the hang of it. She was only grateful that they were willing to work with her while she was in school. Bella wasn't even sure if Renee knew she had a job. In her defense, someone had to learn to pay the bills. There were too many times when Bella had gone without power, or water or heat as a young girl.

No more.

She sighed and wiped the fog from the bathroom mirror, staring at herself wrapped in nothing but a fluffy towel. She had the body of a woman with curves in all the right places, ample breasts and a nice round bottom to even the picture out. She'd always hated that the most. She may have looked like a woman, but she felt like a small child still. She was pale- even by Arizona standards (which made hiding bruises hard)- and her hair was wavy and gorgeous. It was her eyes though, that drew people in. Deep, soulful, chocolate brown eyes that captured the attention of almost every person she'd ever met- except her mother.

It was funny. The age old saying that eyes were the window to a person's soul… no one could see hers. She kept herself guarded, hid the bruises and cuts and never let anyone see the pain she felt. She'd told a teacher once and once alone when she was in elementary school. Just after her father had passed away. Her mother had been drinking heavily and had backhanded her so hard that a bruise formed on her cheek hours later.

When CPS had come to investigate, Renee told them that her little Bella was overly clumsy and was lashing out due to the loss of her father. It was the same way over the years. If Bella had letters sent home, Renee made an excuse, and after the officials were gone, Bella would be beaten black and blue all over again.

So she learned to hide it. She became an amazing actress and told people in school who asked- IF they asked- that it was fine. The answers were mechanical, but now that she was a teenager, without her openly admitting something was wrong, they didn't know for sure. Were all teenagers that clumsy or was it just her? How could one girl gain a new bruise or four almost daily?

The front door slamming let Bella know her mother and the new toy boy were home. She closed her eyes, inhaled and let it out slowly. When she heard her mother's door shut and the muffled giggles that followed, she made her way to her own room.

Her sanctuary.

The walls were bare, the bed was a mattress on the floor and dresser consisted of an old book case, but this was Bella's safe place. Nothing could touch her in here. She slipped under her old, worn blanket and closed her eyes. The tension slowly left her body as she sunk into the world of her dreams.

How little she knew, that her world was going to be turned upside down in a matter of hours.