Summary: Bella has lived in Forks her whole life with Charlie. In her childhood, her and Jacob were best friends. As they became teenagers, their friendship turned into romance. Bella is now 17, and her and Jacob have been dating for nearly two years. But several months into their relationship, Jacob became abusive. But one day, Edward Cullen and his family move into town. He finds her broken and scared and promises to be there in any way he can. But when things take a turn for the worst, Bella must survive through crushing circumstances.

This is a re-write of an old story of mine from an old account: s/5077706/1/bA_b_bSingle_b_bStar_b

Feel free to read if you want. The 'turn for the worst' hadn't been written yet, so no spoilers should be given away. I just loved this story so much, and after being away from it for a couple years (yikes!), I wanted to rewrite it.

I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

I ran as fast as my feet would carry me, aching to put as much distance between me and Jacob as was humanly possible. If I were thinking rationally, I would have reminded myself that running was probably not the best way to do it, but I wasn't. I just wanted an escape.

But my luck had to run out sometime. When I finally tripped, I didn't bother getting up. I was tired and scared, and I couldn't find it in me to continue. He won't find me, I told myself over and over again, struggling to keep my breathing even.

After several minutes, I finally sat up to examine my surroundings. I'd fallen right into the middle of a beautiful meadow. Huge trees towered above me, forming a near perfect circle around the clearing. Flowers of all colors poked up from between blades of tall, plush grass. A slight smile fell on my face. If I was going to hide anywhere, I was extremely happy it was here.

Finally able to relax, I closed my eyes, leaning back onto the grass. If only I could stay here forever, I thought, then sighed.

My thoughts turned to panic when I heard the grass around me move. Sitting straight up, I looked around the small clearing, wondering how Jake had possibly found me here, and so quickly. Tears began to form in my eyes as I thought of what punishment waited, lurking in the shadow of a tree.

"Hey, sorry I scared you," a voice called out to me. I looked toward the voice, seeing a figure slowly make his way toward me. "I didn't mean to, I swear." He smiled gently.

I just stared at him, curious and afraid.

His expressive—and beautiful—green eyes stared back at me innocently. His bonze hair lay in a tousled mess on top of his head, the wind moving strands here and there. It worked for him, I realized, unlike the carefully designed messy style so many guys tried to achieve. Slowly, the stranger made his way toward me.

"I'm Edward Cullen," he announced politely after a moment of silence. "And you are?"

"I'm Bella Swan," I said cautiously.

"I'm sorry again for scaring you. I can leave if you want me to." He began to take a step back, as if proving his ability to leave. I smiled a bit.

"No, it's fine. I just…you caught me off guard. I thought I was alone, and I thought you were…" I stopped there, not wanting to make a fool of myself, or give anything away.

He didn't push. Instead, he sat down about five feet away from me, smile still in place on his full lips.

"I haven't seen you around," I said conversationally. In Forks, it's hard not to know everyone. "How long have you lived here?"

Edward glanced at his watch. "About two and a half hours." Wow. New comers.

"And what brings you to Forks, Washington?" I asked, doing my best to hide my surprise. Despite my efforts, he noticed, chuckling slightly.

"My father's job. The hospital in town called us up, saying they needed some more help up here. He was more than happy to oblige, and my mom and I were more than happy to go on a bit of an adventure," he explained.

I laughed a bit. "Maybe one of these days, I'll meet your dad." Edward looked at me, confused. "I'm incredibly clumsy. Minor scrapes and bruises always, but the hospital staff knows me by now." I didn't bother telling him that the vast majority of my scrapes were not from my own inability to walk on a flat surface.

"I'd rather you not," he replied. "It's better if you stay safe." He smiled at me, larger than he had before. I smiled in return.

"One can only hope," I told him, sighing slightly.

There was a comfortable silence before he asked me, "And what brings you to a meadow in the middle of the forest?"

My smiled faded immediately, bringing to mind the reason I'd fled here in the first place. I'd been at Jake's house all day, cooking and cleaning for him and his father, Billy. While my distaste for Jacob grew steadily over the past year and a half, my love for Billy had never wavered; he was like a second father to me. I knew that if he were aware of the damage his son inflicted, he would help me. I just couldn't bring myself to jeopardize Billy's safety.

About 30 minutes ago, Jake had announced he needed to go to the store. Playing the loving boyfriend card, he held me in what appeared to me a caring embrace. But he squeezed me a bit too tight for it to be loving. I waited for Jake to be far enough down the road before I quickly gathered my belongings.

"Where're you going, Bells?" Billy asked, a smile on his wide, kind face. "I was looking forward to your quesadillas."

I smiled in return, genuinely now that his son was gone. "I'm sure I'll be back later, and I'll make some just for you." I wished I wouldn't be returning to his house, though I knew I'd be forced back by threats looming over my head.

Then, I raced out the door and into my ancient Chevy, pushing it as fast as it would possibly go, leaving La Push behind me, searching for a safe haven.

But instead of telling a stranger all of that, I simply said, "I needed an escape for a while."

"An escape from what?" Edward asked, curiosity and concern obvious in his emerald eyes.

A response was forming in my head when my cell phone rang. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing there was a better way to escape. "That," I said under my breath, pulling my phone out of my pocket. As expected, it was Jake.

I took a deep breath before answering.

"Hello?"

"Where in the hell are you?" he growled at me. "I get back home and my dad says you've just up and left? Bella, I thought we'd had this discussion before." His anger was evident over the phone. I could imagine the anger in his eyes.

"We did," was all I could manage to squeak out. Edward looked at me, concern winning in his expression over his previous curiosity.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," he chanted. "I thought you'd learned your lesson early on. I thought I had taught you well, but maybe you need to be reminded." He laughed a sickening laugh. "Will you ever learn, Bella?"

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"You'd better be," he told me, anger tainting his tone once again. "I'll give you some time to think about your stupid mistake, Bella. You have two hours to be back at this house. You hear me?"

"Yes," I whispered again.

"I said did you hear me?" he screamed.

"Yes, Jacob, I heard you," I said into the phone. I knew he could hear the fear in my tone.

"Good." His voice went flat. "I'll see you soon." And with that, the line went dead.

I sat, frozen for a moment, before my phone fell out of my hand. Putting my head into my hands, I let the tears—tears of anger, of sadness, of fear—flow steadily.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and jumped slightly, not looking up.

"Bella," Edward said, his voice strained, and filled with concern. I couldn't understand why he was so worried about a stranger, someone he'd just met. "Who was that?"

"My boyfriend," was all I could squeak out, disgusted that Jacob held that title in my life.

"I hope you aren't angry that I overheard, but…what did he mean when he said you'd needed some reminding of something you'd done?" I could tell that he already knew.

I lifted my head out of my palms, wiping away tears with the heel of my hand. I looked him in the eyes, hoping he could understand that which I couldn't bring myself to say.

Edward gathered me into his arms, as if holding the pieces of a broken vase together. I began to sob harder.

"Why do you care about it?" I asked him, hoping the question wouldn't offend. "You just met me, why are you so concerned about me?"

"Because nobody deserves to be hurt, Bella," he told me. "You seem to me to be a wonderful person, and he must be a monster for hurting you. Hell, anyone who wants to hurt another human being—physically or emotionally—is a monster. No one deserves it, I can tell you that for sure." I looked up at him, trying to smile.

He released me then, and we each stood up. I wiped some tears away again, laughing slightly.

"I wish that you could have met me under better circumstances," I told him, and it was true. Though it had only been briefly, I enjoyed his presence, and hoped I could see him again.

"As do I. But hopefully there will be more occasions for such." He smiled at me, regret in his eyes. "I want to help, Bella," he told me. "I can take you to the police if you want to file a report, or the hospital. My father could help. There are so many people you could go to, and I'd be more than happy to go with you."

"No!" I screamed. He looked at me, concern once again clouding his eyes. "I can't," I whispered. "I can't risk the lives of anyone I care about." Several tears found their way down my cheek again. "I can't let him hurt anyone else."

Edward sighed in frustration. Leaning down, he picked up the cell phone I had forgotten on the forest floor. Before returning it to me, though, he fiddled with the phone for a minute.

"I put my number in there," he told me. "If you ever need anything, Bella, do not hesitate to call me."

"I won't," I promised him, holding out a pinky. He smiled a little, though it didn't reach his eyes. He took my pinky in his, and we shook on it. I sighed. "I need to go. I want to see my dad before…" I didn't finish. Edward nodded.

"I should go help finish unloading boxes." He hesitantly took a step away from me, toward the direction he'd come from. "Don't forget to call if you need anything."

"I won't. I promise."

He gave me one last lingering look of concern before walking into the woods.

I took a moment to collect myself, then began my trek back through the woods.

So? What do you think? I'd love to hear some constructive criticism.

-Erin