Chapter Two

A/N: So I managed to get chapter 7 written, so I figured I could spare another update. I am overwhelmed at the response to this story so far. I wanted to let you know a few things:

Yes, the chapters are going to stay this short.

Once things get moving, they are going to go fast.

I have chapter 7 finished and am working on 8 right now. If I manage to get to 10 done I will start posting bi-weekly (Wednesday and Saturday). So as of now expect another chapter on Saturday.

Please let me know what you thing about this chapter. It is not my favorite but things needed to be set in motion. At least you will get another one soon!

Isabella held the broom loosely in her hands as the wind blew her hair around her face. She opened her arms to the warm summer breeze, loving the way it pushed and pulled at her too-big dress. When her little girl clothes became too small years ago, it broke her heart and she had to sort through her mother's long neglected dresser in search of something to wear. She made due with pinned dresses and rope-belted pants, but it was only recently that she had started to fill out her mother's clothing. Isabella could barely remember what her mother looked like anymore, only able to see her face in the pictures that hung on the walls. If she took the time to count the hash marks on the calendar, she would find that she had now been on her own longer than she had been with her mother. She was twenty one years old, and still achingly alone.

The life she was leading was a busy one. She woke with the sun each morning and headed to the outhouse to take care of her morning needs. Her only source of water was a deep creek that ran behind the cottage. She walked through the brush and trees to fill a pail that would last her the day. Wood needed to be chopped for use in the fireplace and the ancient wood-burning stove that sat in the kitchen. Once that was done she would find something light to eat, whether it be apples if the trees were producing or sweet potatoes from her garden. The rest of her day was spent tending to her garden, mending and cleaning her meager wardrobe and checking her traps to see if she had captured any animals. These things needed to be done in rain or snow, but some days Isabella wished she could spend her time lying in the warm sun and reading her mother's books. She would imagine herself in the fairytale world portrayed in her favorite stories. Isabella could not believe that the things described in those books actually existed, but in her dreams they did. There must have been something that drove her mother into the woods, and that was the only reason Isabella resisted thinking about what might lay outside her little cottage.

**()*()**

Edward Cullen sighed as he looked over his match letters once again. He had busted his ass over the past few years to get through his undergrad and medical school and he finally could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The problem was, he was not sure he wanted to head towards that light anymore. Since he entered Kindergarten it had been work…work…work. He tested off of the charts early on and was bumped ahead in second grade and again his sophomore year of high school. He graduated from high school at just 16 and managed to get his undergraduate degree in chemistry in three years. Medical school proved to be more difficult than he had imagined, but he made it through and now held in his hand match letters to three of the most prestigious teaching hospitals in the country. His parents were overjoyed, as well as his brother and sister. The problem was…Edward was lost.

Growing up, all Edward wanted to be was a doctor. He wanted to help people like his father did. When he was younger, he watched his father deliver babies and help comfort the dying. He wanted nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps. Now, with his dream within reach, all he could think about was what he had given up to get there.

Edward did not have a normal childhood. He was smarter than everyone around him and it always made him feel alone. Even when he went to Dartmouth he was still lonely because no one seemed to understand him. He did not participate in the usual college experiences since he was always studying, only losing his virginity due to the overwhelming attention from one of his teaching assistants. His older brother had stayed near their Seattle home and attended the University of Washington. Whenever he saw him, Emmett was constantly trying to get his brother out of his shell, to no avail. As much as he felt he was missing something, Edward was content with his life, until those letters came in the mail.

Sick of staring at the blurry words, Edward plopped down on his childhood bed. He had returned home after he finished med school since he was not quite sure where he would start his residency. His parents had welcomed him in with open arms. Emmett was out on his own now, having started his own Landscape Design company in Seattle and their younger sister Alice was still in school in LA at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. The house seemed empty without any kids, and Carlisle and Esme were more than happy to have their middle child home for a while.

Edward closed his eyes and relaxed, trying to clear his mind of the overwhelming thoughts that were constantly racing through his brain. As he drifted into sleep, he could almost smell the dirt and trees that signaled he was heading into his favorite dream.

"Alice, please slow down. We are going the wrong way and if we don't get back to Emmett before Mom and Dad wake up we are going to be dead." Edward shouted as he watched the back of his sister's dress disappear through the thick trees.

"Come on Edward, we never do anything fun. Just think of this as an adventure!" Alice yelled as she plunged deeper into the Washington wilderness. They were spending the last weekend of August in their cabin that lay far off the beaten path on the shore of Baker Lake. The siblings were now even further from civilization, having run off from their bossy big brother while taking a walk. Edward finally caught up to his sister and pushed ahead, hoping that by some miracle they had gotten turned back around and were heading towards the cabin. He could see a clearing up ahead and something pulled deep within his gut, urging him forward. 

"Edward, you're right, we really do need to find Emmett. He is going to be in so much trouble when Mom finds out we got lost." Alice said nervously as she pulled on Edward's arm, but he did not acknowledge her. He tugged out of Alice's hold as he walked towards their discovery. The cottage was well cared for, with a broom propped up against the wall and what looked to be a well tended garden behind it. 

"ALICE! EDWARD?" Emmett yelled from a distance, but the sound barely got through to Edward.

"That's Emmett. Come on Edward, if we make it back to him before Mom finds out maybe we can still stop for ice cream before we have to head back." Alice chirped as she once again tried to yank on his arm to get his attention. She finally released him and started back towards where Emmett's voice had originated. Edward found himself unable to move from the spot. He knew someone was living in the cottage and somehow he knew it was important for him to find out whom. He looked around, but found no one. Giving up, he turned around to head back to his family, but a sound from high in the trees above him made him spin around. There, ten feet off the ground, perched on a branch sat a young girl. Her brown hair was tied back in a tail, the ends curling to the middle of her back. Her hands gripped the tree tightly and her dress was dirty and ragged. His eyes followed the pale line of her throat to her face and he found his breath lodged in his chest. Her full lips were parted as her breath escaped her in terrified pants. Her small nose was centered perfectly between two overly-large deep brown eyes. Her lashes brushed her cheekbones as she blinked rapidly. He could almost feel her terror from where he stood. He wanted to go to her, to hold her and tell her she had nothing to fear, but looking around the meadow at her home he understood that he could do none of those things. If his parents learned of what he had found, she would be taken. He hated having to leave her there alone, but knew it was the only thing he could do. Walking back into the forest, he felt like he was leaving a part of his soul behind. As he reached the edge of the meadow, he heard her call to him.

"Come back to me."

Edward woke up panting with sweat dripping from his forehead. Everything in the dream had been so vivid. He remembered that trip to the cabin perfectly, it was the summer before he started college. From that day on he had that dream every night, but this time it was different. She had never spoken to him before. Before he could convince himself otherwise, he jumped off his bed and grabbed his cell phone. He had some calls to make.

A/N: So? What do you think?

A rec for you all:

Fly With me, Little Bird by Nathyette

A lonely, broken Bella

A tormented Edward who only wants to make things right

Throw in some nasty James and Laurent

Makes for one hell of a fic