Summary: Bella, the new teacher in Forks, has a dark past. She has just gotten out of a roller coaster relationship, and she isn't looking for anyone to fill the void that was left. Edward, tired of his sister's meddling, has sworn off dating. What happens when the two teachers across the hall from each other are attracted to one another in ways they can't deny? Will Edward be what Bella needs to heal? Or will her dark past take control of her life? AH, M for later chapters, deals with assault.

A/N: Why hello, my dears. This is my first fanfiction! I got the idea for this as I was sitting in class the other day watching a movie. Please tell me what you like, what you don't like, etc.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. SM owns everything. Lucky bitch. :]

He looked wildly at the door, not saying a word after hearing the knocking that interrupted his terrible and unthinkable actions.

"Bella! Bella, please, I'm sorry, okay? I just… I don't know what to say." My heart leapt to my throat. The man in front of me smiled wickedly.

"Oh, this will be so much fun," he said as he took his shirt off. I'm sure he wanted to give the wrong impression to my angel. "Now, are you going to say anything while I talk to him?" I shook my head quickly. "I don't believe you. I'm sorry for this," he said as the side of his hand hit my throat. It wasn't hard enough to hurt me, but enough to make my eyes water and leave me breathless. I couldn't make a sound, no matter how hard I tried. He walked away from me, opening the door.

"Who the hell are you?" my beautiful angel's voice asked.

"I'm James, Bella's boyfriend." My eyes widened in shock. Oh no. Oh no, oh no. Please don't believe him, Edward.

"Don't lie. You guys broke up. I've been seeing Bella for the past month."

"Yes, well. When you went and made her cry, she called me to her side. I guess she likes me more, huh?" I caught a glance of Edward's face in the crack of the door. His face remained stoic to the regular eye, but I saw the hurt on it.

"I suppose so," Edward said in a defeated tone. "Let me talk to her for a minute, just to apologize. Then, I'll never bother her or you again."

"I don't think that's possible. She's quite upset." I started getting my breath and voice back. I was testing it by humming a soft sound. I was please when one came through.

"Please, James."

"No, I don't think that can happen," he said as he started to close the door. I took a deep breath. "I'll tell her that you came by, and if she – " he was cut off by my loud scream, muffled by the sock. He spun around, flaring at me, and clearly forgetting that Edward was in the doorway. I heard his gasp, and then an angry growl as he saw me. He punched James in the chin and rushed toward me.

"Bella, Bella baby, I'm so sorry. I'll get you out of here and away from him, I promise. Please, please forgive me. I – " I screamed again as James came barreling toward us. He shoved Edward out of the way and started at me.

"You. Stupid. Bitch. You. Mess. Up. Everything," he said through clenched teeth while hitting me with each word. The last four words were accompanied with blows to my head, and I felt myself losing consciousness. There was a fight beside me, but I couldn't see anything. The edge of my vision began to blur. I heard someone hit the ground and groan. A figure stood over me, and I succumbed to the darkness, not having any fight in me anymore.

This is the prologue to my story. Please, tell me if you have any suggestions to make my writing better. I'm not going to be one of those pain in the ass writers who hold out chapters because there aren't any reviews. However, I do get busy with school sometimes, especially since it is my senior year.

Thank you very much for reading and reviewing (if you do). If you just read… well, still thank you! :]

This was edited and updated 7-6-10.