Twilight: Murder At First Sight

The Call

It was late when I got home. The beach was just what I needed to clear my head a little bit. I had a better idea of what I would do next.

I needed to stay away from Jessica and Mike. It will just cause more problems. I wasn't planning to push Angela anymore. She proved where she stood with me.

It would probably be best not to interact with Edward as much. It would be bad if people found out I knew the whole time, stayed friends with him, and didn't say anything.

I would just return to solitude. Nothing new, really. But my life has been thrown off course since the Cullens came to town. It needed to get back on track.

For some reason, spending time at the beach motivated me to look at my future. I wanted to apply to college and study biology. It was one of the few subjects at school that I truly enjoyed.

At the beginning of the year, Mr. Banner talked about some of the finest science colleges in the country. One of them was in Alaska. I laughed to myself, thinking that would be my ideal choice. The most isolated and far away from home.

I walked through the kitchen door to see Renee holding an empty liquor bottle at the table. Once the door closed behind me, the bottle was thrown against the wall two feet from my head.

Renee stood rigid, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed. I was taken aback by the force of her anger.

"How dare you come home this late! You're just like your piece of shit father!" Renee screamed.

The only thing I could think of was to run upstairs to my room. I knew I couldn't talk her down from this. This was the first time she'd thrown something at me. I sprinted up the stairs and locked my bedroom door behind me.

A minute later, I heard Renee thumping up the stairs. She was yelling, but I couldn't make out anything she was saying.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

She slammed her fists against my door.

"Bella! Bella! Open the fucking door! Bella!"

I shook my head as if Renee could see it. I fell back onto my bed and fumbled to get my phone out of my pocket.

I called Charlie. It only rang once before he answered.

"Bella, what happened at school? They suspended you?" He asked in a stern voice.

"D-dad, come home. Please." I begged as tears streamed down my face.

"Bells, what's wrong?" I could hear his deep concern.

My only response was to hold the phone up to my door. Renee was still screaming and hitting the door. After a few seconds, I put the phone back up to my ear.

"S-she threw a bottle at me." I cried. My knees folded up to my chest as I trembled on my bed.

"Are you hurt? Did she hit you?" Charlie asked.

"N-no, she missed." I used my phone to hit the side of my head. Part of me wished she hit me.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming home. I'll be there soon. Stay in your room. Keep your door locked." Charlie hung up.

I shuddered and waited. Eventually, Renee gave up, and I heard her slump down the stairs. I hoped she'd trip and break her neck.

A few minutes later, I could hear Renee screaming again, this time at Charlie.

"For God's sake Renee, you could have killed her!"

"I didn't do anything to her! She's fine! But she doesn't respect me anymore! It's your fault!"

"My fault? Who would respect an abusive alcoholic woman who tries to kill her own daughter?"

"I didn't fucking kill her!"

"You could have! Don't you care what you did?"

"I said I didn't fucking do anything!"

I heard them struggle.

"Don't fucking touch me!"

"Don't make me call for back-up!"

Renee cackled. "Go ahead! You know how many of your deputies I've fucked?"

"Get out! Get the fuck out! Go to one of your fucks and stay with him! Don't you ever come back!"

"I wish I never met you! And I wish I never had that bitch of a daughter! We'd all be better off!"

I squeezed my phone tight and smacked it against my forehead several times until I heard the door slam shut.

It sounded like Renee was trying to break through the kitchen door. Her screams were muffled now. If Charlie wasn't intending to call it in, the neighbors definitely would. It had never been this severe before.

Soon, I heard Charlie running up the stairs. He knocked on my door.

"Bella, it's just me. She's gone."

I ran to the door and opened it. Charlie's face and eyes were red. He quickly wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm so sorry Bells. I should have done something sooner. I'm sorry." He whispered into my hair.

I couldn't remember the last time Charlie hugged me. And if Renee hugged me, she was drunk.

"I know. I know, dad." I whispered and hugged him back.

He started crying when he heard me call him dad again. It broke my heart. I caused all the pain in this family. If I was never born, they would have been happier.

Charlie soon had to get back downstairs and meet with the deputies who were called to the house. Our neighbors called the police station like I thought they would. I told Charlie not to worry about me and I would sleep. Though I really didn't think I could.

I could feel my heart pounding and my head buzzing. I tried to take a deep breath, but it was difficult. Suddenly, I heard something hit my window.

I hesitated to check it out. But my curiosity got the better of me. I slowly walked up to my window and pulled back the black curtain. It was dark, but the light from the downstairs windows helped me see.

Someone was standing there. I squinted and cupped my hands around my eyes as I pressed against the window. It was Edward. He waved for me to come down.

This was fate. The universe must have finally heard my prayers. After the worst day of my life, he came for me. Death.