The Intruders - Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Bella POV

Of course I was up early and completely ready to go; I was just waiting on Edward to arrive. Today was the first day of school after the summer break. I fell back into the comfort of my plush bedding and waited for him.

The summer had been an incredible one. I don’t ever remember being this happy in life. Edward and I are always together, and my love for him grows more and more everyday. Things were much better between us since all the drama that had occurred with James. I was glad James was gone and was no longer a threat to us.

I had seen a lot of the Cullens over the summer, but I had to admit I was pretty excited to get back to school and see all my human friends. When I heard the front door open and close I sat up, startled.

“Edward? Is that you?” I called out, as I walked towards the stairs.

“Yes Bella, it’s me. I can’t believe your father doesn’t lock the door when he leaves. He is the police for god sakes.”

I grabbed my things and giggled down the stairs. Last night was the first night in a while that Edward didn’t watch me sleep; he had to hunt in preparation for school. It surprised me how much I could miss his mesmerizing voice in just a short time.

I missed the last step coming down the stairs and he caught me, as usual. He laughed at me. “Bella, please be more careful. I can’t always be around to catch you; one day you really are going to injure yourself.” He smiled at me as his right hand found its way through my hair.

I reached up and kissed him with more force than I normally would. Knowing he wasn’t hungry, I thought I could get away with it this morning. “I missed you,” I said, as I pulled away, still short of breath from our fiery kiss.

He was speechless for a moment.

“Sorry,” I said, thinking I hadn’t been careful enough. He always warned me about that. I stepped around him and headed towards the door.

“Don’t apologize Bella. That made for quite a good start to my morning, it just took me by surprise is all.” He flashed that crooked grin of his, which sent my heart soaring to some alternate galaxy.

We headed out the door and Edward made sure to lock it. “Can we take my truck? Please!” I begged enthusiastically as we headed down the sidewalk towards the driveway. It seemed like I had only driven my truck a few times over the entire summer. I was always with Edward and he always insisted on driving. He even took me to work and picked me up the two nights of the week I worked at the Newton’s store.

“Bella, we’re already late,” he replied, as he held his car door open for me. I sighed and fell into the Volvo. He was right. We were running late, and he would certainly get us there faster than I would. We were on our way in no time at all.

“Alice says there is going to be a new kid at school, so you won’t be the fresh meat anymore.”

I turned to look at Edward. “Really?? Is it a guy or girl?”

“A guy. She said he seems strange.”

“Hm.” I looked out the window at the blurs of green and brown sweeping past me from the forrest. “Where is he from?” I asked.

“She isn’t sure. All she saw was a strange boy sitting alone at lunch.”

“That’s sad Edward. We should be nice to him.”

Edward laughed. “You’re nice to everyone Bella. Maybe you would like him to be your lab partner in chemistry?”

I glared at him and hit him playfully on the arm. “Not funny,” I said. “I still can’t believe we managed to get almost all of our classes together.”

Edward glanced at me with his sad face, his bottom lip protruding out farther than the top. “Except the first one. I’ve already taken Algebra II, twice. They wouldn’t let me take it again.”

I laughed. “I know, it’s just one class though. At least we get it over with early!” I felt his cold hand cover mine. I smiled contently, glancing out the window and noting that we had arrived at school. He was holding my door open almost immediately. Kids were rushing into the school building all around us. I stopped momentarily to say hi to my friends and I lost Edward in the small crowd. He was cordial to my friends, but it was just easier for him not to be too close. They liked to ask him questions about his unusual family. If only they knew the truth. I kept scanning the parking lot for the new kid, but I never saw him.

When the tardy bell finally rang, we all ran into the building. My first class was Algebra II, and as I separated from my friends, I was a little disappointed that the only person in the small class I was really close with was Jessica. There were two seats left near the back and we sat next to each other. I glanced at the awkward boy beside me and then cast a look at Jessica. “Is that the new kid?” I whispered.

“Yes, so weird!” She mouthed back to me with wide eyes as the teacher started talking.

As Ms. Harding began her first day rant, I tuned her out and observed the strange person next me. He was definitely human. He had an amazing bronze tan and short golden blonde hair. It wasn’t that he dressed strange necessarily, or that he had some deformity, it was the lost and terrified look in his eyes that made him unnerving. It was like he had been scared by something and his face never returned to normal.

I learned during roll call that his name was Anthony Anderson. As Ms. Harding began assigning our books to us, the entire class erupted in chatter. This was my opportunity. “Hey, where you from?” I asked casually.

He didn’t turn his head to answer me, he just cut his eyes sharply in my direction. “Texas,” he replied.

“Wow, that’s cool. I’m from Arizona, moved here last year. It’s really different here. You’ll definitely lose that tan you have,” I laughed, trying to lighten his mood.

He didn’t even look at me. He stared at his desk and fidgeted with his pencil. “So, what brought you to Forks?” I asked.

He turned to look at me now, his eyes saddened me terribly. I don’t know why, but they looked like they were filled with terror and uncertainty. However, that didn’t stop me from noticing their beautiful and unique shade of dark blue.

“I...” He hesitated. His eyes darted around the room, as if he were searching for an answer. “My dad and brother died and my mom needed a change.”

He didn’t wait for my response, he turned his head away from me. I could tell he didn’t want to talk about it and our conversation was over. My heart ached for him and his mom. During Ms. Harding’s lecture I passed Jessica a note, letting her in on the news about the new kid. We nearly got in trouble for passing the note. I was so glad Ms. Harding didn’t take the folded piece of paper, only giving us a warning this time.

I wanted to know how his brother and father were killed. I wondered if he was even telling the truth, but based on the look in his eyes, he had to have been honest. I hoped Edward and I would have a class with him. I wanted Edward to read his mind and tell me what was going on in it. I couldn’t understand why I was so fascinated by this boy. I think it’s because I wanted to know how his mom felt, having lost a child. Charlie would lose me one day if I had my way, and I would also lose him. I wonder what that feels like.

The bell ringing shook me from my thoughts. I noticed Anthony was the last one to stand from his seat. He looked as if he hardly had the will to go on. That’s what I would look like without Edward. The thought surprised me. I shook it from my head quickly and walked out of the room. I headed to chemistry to find the beautiful vampire I so greatly desired to die for.

I entered the classroom, bouncing happily down the isle to the last lab table on the left side of the room where Edward eagerly waited for me. He slid his books from my side of the table back to his side. He was saving my seat. I laughed internally at the gesture. As if any other human would sit next to him.

I sat down on the wooden lab stool. Edward leaned over and placed a delicate kiss on my cheek. It was against school policy to “touch classmates inappropriately.” Edward and I learned of that policy the hard way last year when we got in trouble for sneaking a kiss outside my locker. We were told kissing on the lips was “inappropriate” at school. I smiled, glancing quickly around the room before I grabbed Edward’s face and kissed him on the lips. I sucked his cold and firm bottom lip between mine before letting him free of my grasp. As he pulled back from me our eyes met. Sometimes it felt like we were the only two people in the world.

“Bella! What are you doing? You are going to get us in trouble!” Edward whispered his reprimand. The scent of him filled me and I instantly wished we were alone, in my bed.

“The teacher’s not here yet,” I responded, grinning up at him and batting my eyelashes.

Edward laughed and shook his head. “Bella Swan, you’re becoming quite the rebel.”

I started to laugh, but nearly fell off my stool when I heard a loud thud in front of me. I quickly glanced up in the direction of the noise. It was him. Anthony. He had dropped his Algebra book loudly on the lab table in front of me and Edward. He eyes were fixed on Edward. If I didn’t know any better I’d say he recognized Edward. I had to do something to break their staring contest.

“Hey Anthony!” I tried to sound cheerful, ignoring whatever silent exchange was going on between him and Edward.

Anthony looked at me, his eyes heavy with confusion. “Why are you sitting with him?” He finally said, disgusted.

The question took me by surprise and I could feel Edward tense next to me. I reached for his hand on the lab table. “He’s my boyfriend,” I answered, with conviction. Anthony continued to stare back and forth between me and Edward. He finally turned his back to us, taking the seat directly in front of us. I immediately looked to Edward for answers.

He shook his head, a confused look on his face. “I don’t know,” he said.

The teacher entered the room and shushed us all. I sighed heavily and wished at that moment that Edward could hear my thoughts.

While the teacher was dredging on about pointless information, I tried to pass a note to an obviously distressed Edward. He didn’t even look at it before pushing it hastily back to my side of the table. He scoffed, annoyed with my attempt to interfere with his deep train of thought. His behavior caught me off guard and began to upset me. I felt heat rushing to my cheeks. Whenever he was mad or upset with me about something, it felt like someone stole all the oxygen from around me. I sank into myself and paid attention to the teacher instead of Edward, as his behavior would only continue to upset me.

The bell rang over an hour later. I was the first one out of my seat and out the door. It was lunch time. I was mad at Edward for shutting me out, but I knew I‘d still have to sit with him, Alice and Jasper at lunch. I paid close attention to the steps below me as I descended into the cafeteria. Alice was already at our table smiling brightly at me.

“Hey,” I said, as I sat down next to her.

“Hey Bella! How has class been so far? Where is Edward?”

I glanced towards the door to see if he had come in yet, but there was no sign of him. I looked down to avoid her gaze. “I don’t know.”

Alice immediately picked up on my solemn mood. I glanced up at her, seeing an all too familiar face. She was searching for Edward in her mind.

“He’s coming. He is not happy. What happened Bella?”

“I don’t know,” I responded.

“Bella!” Alice insisted.

I sighed. “I don’t know what his problem is. The new kid looked at him like he was crazy. Ever since then he has just completely shut me out.”

“Hm. I have a hard time reading that kid. His future is entirely boring consisting only of a sad existence,” said Alice.

“That’s horrible. He told me his father and brother were killed recently. He acted like he recognized Edward.”

“Oh?” Alice looked more concerned now.

I looked up to see Edward coming down the stairs into the cafeteria with a scowl on his face. “I’m going to get something to eat,” I said quietly. I did not want to participate in the awkward silence I was sure would follow when Edward joined us.

Edward startled me, coming up behind me while I was meandering along the salad bar. I inhaled sharply and he gently brushed my hair from my face, letting it fall behind my shoulder. I could feel the chill of his lips against my ear when he whispered, “I’m sorry Bella.” I shrugged him away. “We’ll talk about it later,” I said, continuing down the salad bar. He followed behind me. I turned to face him. “I think I’m going to sit with Jessica and Eric today.”

His face looked hurt, and while I never intended to hurt him, I wanted him to know what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a hurtful gesture. I knew we would stay up late talking about this later; we were not capable of staying mad at each other. I had a sinking feeling things were about to change and I wanted to maintain any sense of normalcy I could. I didn’t want to know what this new student meant to me. I didn’t want to know how he was connected to Edward. I had been through too much last year; I just wanted everything to stay exactly as it was.

I turned away from Edward and headed over to the crowded table I hadn’t sat at until I first came to Forks. Everyone was excited to have me, but of course the obvious question of why wasn’t I sitting with Edward came entirely too soon. I told them I wanted to catch up. I had been with Edward all summer. Fortunately they believed me. I was almost excited when Eric asked me if I could work for him tonight. He really wanted to take Jessica out, as they hadn’t seen each other in a week. Jessica and her family had been on vacation.

I occasionally glanced over to the diminished Cullen table. It wasn’t quite the same without Rosalie and Emmett. Edward sulked. Alice gave me an evil look. Jasper smiled. I loved that guy! I smiled back and returned to the conversations taking place at my table. I don’t know why Alice was so perturbed. Surely she could see everything would be fine.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Anthony was not in anymore of my classes. I sat next to Edward in both classes as it was the correct thing to do, but I shushed him when he tried to talk to me. “Not now,” I said. I didn’t want to talk about it when so many of my human friends were sitting nearby. It felt good to stand up to Edward, instead of giving in to him all the time. I absolutely hate when he shuts me out like he did earlier. I just wanted him to understand how it felt.

The final bell rang and I headed out to the parking lot with Jessica and Angela. Edward was a short distance ahead of us. I told them goodbye and ran towards Edward’s silver Volvo. He was standing next to it, holding the passenger door open for me. It was pouring rain in Forks today, which was nothing unusual, but I had forgotten my umbrella.

I stood momentarily under the cover of Edward’s umbrella. It was as close as I had been too him since chemistry. “Sorry I’m all wet.” I said, hesitating to get into his polished car.

He nearly laughed. “I don’t care Bella. Get in, before you freeze.”

I unintentionally cracked a smile and slid into the warmth of his car. I dreaded the upcoming conversation as he headed towards the exit of the parking lot. I agreed to work for Eric and the store was in the opposite direction of my house. “Um, actually, I’m working tonight,” I said as he got closer to the school’s exit.

He looked at me quickly. “You never work on Mondays.”

“I know, but Mike asked me to work for him, so he could spend time with Jessica. She just got back in town you know?”

Edward looked deflated and he silently made the turn in the direction of the store. We were there in just a few minutes and he parked his car in a vacant parking space. I knew this meant he wanted to talk, otherwise he would’ve dropped me off right at the door as usual.

“Why did you agree to this? I wanted to spend time with you.” He looked at me with a saddened look on his face and I instantly felt guilty for acting the way I had all day.

“Well, you didn’t seem to want anything to do with me in chemistry, so I told him I would.”

He sighed and reached for my hand. I’m never quite prepared for how cold his touch is and his skin on mine sent a shiver through my hand and up my arm. “Bella, I said I was sorry. I wanted to talk to you about it at lunch, but you didn’t want to sit with me,” he said defeated.

I took a deep breath and squeezed his hand in mine. “I’m sorry. I’m going to be late. Will you take me to the door?” He didn’t speak. He backed out of the parking space and drove up to the covered entrance of the store. I looked at him, noticing the pain on his face, and I couldn’t stand it. I suddenly wished I hadn’t agreed to work. I cupped his face in my hands and quickly brushed my lips to his. “We’ll talk about it tonight okay?” He shook his head, still in my hands. “Stop pouting Edward. I love you.”

He mustered a small grin and kissed the inside of my palm. “I’ll pick you up at 8:00.”

I smiled. “Okay, I’ll see you then.”



Work was uneventful as usual and a cloud of guilt hung over me all night for making Edward feel so bad. It was nearly 8:30 when I got home and my usual routine of running upstairs to bed didn’t go as planned. Charlie had lots of questions about how my first day as a Senior was. I finally got away from Charlie, saying I had homework to do before bed.

“Sorry I took so long.” I said to Edward, as I closed my bedroom door behind me.

Edward smiled as he sat on my bed, leaning up against the headboard. “I’ve got all the time in the world.”

I laughed momentarily while scurrying about the room, putting my pajamas on, until I realized, again, that I didn’t have all the time in the world.

I sighed and got in bed, getting under the covers and curling up next to him. I was more tired than I had anticipated. It had been a long day. If Edward hadn’t of started talking to me, I believe I would’ve been asleep in a matter of seconds.

“I’m really sorry about the way I acted earlier Bella. I was frustrated with that guy; I can’t hear him.”

I sat up quickly, looking at Edward. “You can’t hear his thoughts?”

Edward shook his head. “I mean, I can hear him, but I can’t understand him. His thoughts are like Alice’s mind when she doesn’t want me to hear her.”

“He was singing?” I asked.

“Singing, counting, reciting the alphabet and the periodic table over and over. But it wasn’t because he thought I could hear him, it was like he was trying to block out his own train of thought. It was as if he didn’t want to remember something. It was very strange. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Well he told me that his dad and brother passed away. That’s why him and his mom came here, to start over,” I said.

“I don’t know Bella. Something is not right about him. The way he looked at me...”

I finished his sentence. “...like he recognized you.”

“Yes, I don’t understand it. He is obviously human.” Edward hung his head in his hands, frustrated.

“Well maybe I can talk to him tomorrow during first period and see what I can find out.”

Edward glanced at me quickly. “No Bella, just stay away from him until I can figure out what his deal is.”

I yawned. “Okay. I’m tired; I need to sleep.” I didn’t want to start an argument. I reached up and gently brushed my lips against his, wishing he had the strength to allow it to turn into so much more. His hand gently cupped my face. “Goodnight Bella.”

I hated intentionally lying to Edward, but I wanted to know what was up with Anthony, and I would find out. I didn’t want to upset or worry him, so it was just best that I obliged him for right now.




The following day in Algebra class Anthony showed up late and sat across the room from me in the only available seat. I had no chance to try to talk to him. His demeanor hadn’t changed and it further fueled my obsession to find out more about him. I decided I’d go about it a little differently.

Edward walked me to my truck after our last class. I threw my bag across to the passenger seat and turned around to face Edward. “I guess I’ll see you at 8:30?” He asked.

I had to work, and I had driven my truck today. Edward was riding with Alice and Jasper for a change. “Um, how about 9:30?” I asked. “Charlie and I are supposed to do some father-daughter bonding.” I laughed. “I haven’t spent time with him in a while.”

Edward smiled. “Okay, 9:30 it is.” His lips gently brushed mine and lingered for a moment. “I love you Bella, be careful.”

“I’ll see you tonight.” I smiled, got in my truck and headed to work.




The night was slow and I got home a little before 8:30. Charlie was watching ESPN on the flat screen in the living room. “Hey dad!” I yelled from the kitchen.

“Hey Bells. How was work?”

“It was good. I’ll be right back, I’m going to take my bag up to my room.” I ran up the stairs and threw my bag on my bed. I wanted to make sure Edward wasn’t lurking in my bedroom. I didn’t want him to overhear my chat with Charlie.

I went back downstairs and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Charlie. “What’s going on dad?”

“Just watching the highlights. You still liking your classes?”

“Yea dad, they’re good. Have you eaten?”

“Yea, I made a hungry man meal.”

I laughed. “You can’t be eating that crap all the time. It’s not good for you.”

“Oh it’s fine. I only do it when you’re not here.”

I felt bad for not being around more than I was. “So dad, have you met the new people in town? The Anderson's?”

“Anderson's? I don’t think so. One of my deputies was talking about some new people moving into the house next to him a few days ago.”

“Just a boy and his mom?”

“I thought he said it was two women and a boy. Thought it was strange. He said he doesn’t see one of the women very much. Why do you ask? Do you go to school with the kid?”

“Yea, he’s kind of strange.”

“How so?”

“Well, he looks really sad, or scared or something. He keeps to himself. He told me his dad and brother were killed and they moved here for a change.”

“Hm. That sounds like it may be an interesting story. I’ll have to look into that.”

“Yea you should. Let me know what you find out okay?”

Charlie shook his head and went back to watching the TV. I sat with him for a while before heading upstairs to work on my homework before Edward arrived.