Quinn O'Connell was the pretty girl in pink, the homecoming queen and all-around straight-A student. Most people saw her as uptight, narcissistic but most importantly... They saw her as a control freak with her perfect blonde hair and patronising sm...
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WARNING: SENSITIVE SCENES THROUGHOUT, PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION.
"It all started in the beginning, Edward, my life was screwed from the start. My mom, Elizabeth O'Connell met a boy in High School, Richard Edmunds...and they had me. My mother became a trainee doctor because, then, she at least had her life on track. There was no need for a babysitter because he was a complete lowlife, he did nothing with his life. He did nothing... And then left. It's hard to say when the difference occurred, one day he just snapped and dropped me next door with the neighbour. I haven't seen him since that day. And from then on, it was just me and my mom, Edward. She'd grown to expect everyone to eventually leave her, Richard unknowingly began a chain that would end in disaster for everyone involved.
My mother loved me, I know she did, but in the end... She grew to love him too. Jensen Hargreaves, wealthy mayor, given the title even though nobody ever understood why. For a while, he was everything she wanted, everything she needed. He made her feel young, took her on dates... he gave her time. Elizabeth had been forced to grow up too fast when she had a kid right out of college. And so, she'd missed so much. He filled the space.
It didn't take her long to fall in love and they got married, shortly after, he began to show his true colours. Jensen Hargreaves is a sadist, Edward... He gets off on punishing women, on hearing them scream and my mom could accept that small, screwed up part of him because she loved him. He did what he did to her but she loved him anyway... It was when she saw the others that she broke. She grew to not be able to take it anymore. By the time she realised he was a sadist and decided to do what she did... She was already crazy.
I was fifteen when my mom snapped. She took the womanly way out. She tried to poison him. It's been said throughout all of history that poison is a woman's weapon, I don't remember what it was that she tried to poison him with, the chemical. But she failed because he knew, and instead of poisoning him... She poisoned me. Clearly, I'm still here... My mom might've been a doctor but she was no scientist. She got the measurements wrong anyway, but she managed to save me. I don't remember much of what happened after, because, for a week, I was in a coma. They said that I tried to kill myself. That was the official story, that I was depressed because my dad left. My own mother claimed to everyone that I was suicidal. Jensen didn't trust her after that and everything only got a hundred times worse for her. Eventually, it grew too much for her.
Chief Charlie Swan found her body, Edward. My mom killed herself, threw herself off of a cliff at La Push, her body washed up and one of the rez boys found it and tipped off Charlie. Rumour has it, Charlie is friends with one of them. I'm not sure but I was called to identify her, my own deceased and decaying mother. It was her alright. I didn't know what my fate was then, but Charlie was amazing. When you're grieving, and you're so young, having someone there... An adult, to help you through it is one of the most important things... I guess that's why I saved Isabella because a long time ago... Charlie saved me.
Jensen Hargreaves had already signed the adoption papers by then, I didn't realise it. Because, then, to me, he was just my step-dad... I didn't particularly like him but I didn't know how screwed up he was. It didn't take him long to take advantage of a fifteen-year-old girl." she sighed and that was when she cut off her storytime. Edward deserved to know the story, considering all that he had done for her. The thing that terrified Quinn most about Edward, was how quickly she had grown to trust him.
"Quinn. You didn't deserve any of the things that happened to you, okay? Your dad leaving was not your fault. Your mother's abandonment issues were not your fault. Her falling in love with Jensen Hargreaves wasn't your fault, neither was him doing the things that he did to her or the things that he did to the others, it's not your fault that you were poisoned, it was not your fault that your mom killed herself. It wasn't your fault that he took advantage of you over and over and over again for years. You couldn't have done anything Quinn... You were just a kid. And now, now you're safe because I for one am never going to let anything bad happen to you ever again. You have my word. And I can guarantee that my family feel the same way, Quinn. Here we are." she glanced out through the car window, a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders and before her was the most beautiful house she had ever seen.
It was a huge stone and wood construction with large, open windows and beautiful designs. The Cullen house was everything that the Hargreaves Hell House had not been, The Cullen house was a sanctuary, a place she knew she could be safe for the very first time. The sun was slowly rising now and despite having not slept, Quinn O'Connell was more awake than ever before because she knew, this was a new start. Both she and Edward had a thousand questions for one another but now, they had time. He was by her car door in a second and she jumped slightly before smiling, a bright and genuine smile. Opening the door for her, Edward held out his hand and was pleasantly surprised when she dropped hers into his instantly. She truly trusted him and it warmed his heart.
"They can't wait to meet you properly Quinn," he promised. "This is a place where we can be ourselves and I promise you, you can be yourself here too. You're safe." Quinn O'Connell acted on instinct when she threw her arms around him, holding him tightly with the desire to just break out and sob. He hugged her back just as furiously. She was family now.
"Come now Edward, don't hog our new sister." a voice called and Quinn froze before turning, hiding slightly behind Edward as she stared at the new arrival. The girl was short, spiky disarray of inky black hair across her head, eyes a brilliant sparkling gold and elated grin despite the situation. Alice Cullen was a true ray of sunshine.
