Help Me, Before I Fall

So far, Bella had been in my first and second hours. I sat by her in both of them. I had a free period, that I spent in the library, curled up in a chair, reading Responding to Child Abuse: A Handbook. It was a book I found while I was looking for A Child Called “It” a few days ago, in a book store. It was about, well… exactly that.. responding to child abuse. I wasn’t exactly thinking of telling anyone what Steve does to me, but in case I ever did… I would know what to do. This period I had French II, it was a class for seniors but… I was ahead. Before you go ‘Oh she’s such a geek’ note this: When you are abused, you will do anything possible to stay away from that person… even if it means staying at school and getting ahead in certain subjects. I walked into my class and the teacher smiled at me.

“Bonjour Mlle James, je suis Mme Davis. C'est un honneur de voir que vous avez décidé a rejoint notre école. Soyez bienvenus au français II. Je suis sûr que vous aurez beaucoup d'amusement ici ... ce n'est pas votre classe typique. Je m'assure que nous nous amusons toujours . Donnez-moi un moment pour vous trouver une place.” She smiled at me.

“Merci Mme Davis. Je suis sûr que j'aurai des charges d'amusement dans votre classe, même si vous n'avez pas essayé de le faire l'amusement. J'aimais toujours la classe française, thats pourquoi j'ai décidé de progresser.” I smiled back at her, however I did lie as to why I got ahead. She seemed surprised at my fluent french.

“Ah, ici nous allons. Vous pouvez vous asseoir à côté de M. Cullen. Emmett ... vous pourrait rasie votre main et permettre à Hailey ici de savoir où vous êtes ?” A young man, that looked like he should be in college instead of High School. He was pale, very buff, he seemed kinda tall, but I couldn’t tell.. maybe around 6’1”. His eyes were a captivating shade of butterscotch. I walked over to him and he smiled at me.. but seemed to be a little tense. I sat down, and he scooted as far left as he could. I was confused but let it go. The lesson went quickly, and as the bell rang Emmett shot up and was out of the class before I put my pencil down. I shook my head and got my stuff together, then got up and left the room. I had lunch next, with Bella.

“Hailey!! Wait up!!” I looked back and saw Eric, running towards me. I stopped and waited for him. “Thank you.” He smiled as he caught up to me. “Hey.” We started walking towards

“Hey Eric. What’s up?” I asked, forcing a small smile.

“Nothing. Hey, do you wanna sit with me at lunch?”

“Sorry Eric. I’m sitting with Bella.”

“But… Bella sits with the Cullen’s.”

“She invited me… said she thought I’d get along with them great.”

“Oh… well, be warned… the Cullen’s only talk to Bella.. so don’t be offended if they don’t talk to you.”

“Cullen…. Oh… I think I’ve met one of them… Emmett.”

“Yea… What class?”

“French II. He shot up like a lightning bolt when the bell rang and rushed out of the class.” I shook my head “You’d think he was on fire of something.”

“Hailey!!” I heard Bella call, I waved at her and she ran over to me. “Hey Eric. Hailey… come one. Alice can’t WAIT to meet you. .” She smiled pulling me into the café and away from Eric. I smiled at her… I think I could become good friends with Bella. I can tell she’s very trustworthy. She stopped at a table filled with 3 pale people, all resembling each other. “Guys, This is Hailey. Hailey, This is Jasper, Alice, and Edward.”

“It’s nice to meet you all.”I said, quietly.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”Edward and Jasper nodded politely. Alice however stood up and hugged me.

“I know we are going to be amazing friends… just like Bella and I.” She smiled. I was shocked at how blunt she was but I smiled… maybe she could become a friend too. Lord knows I need friends. “You can sit by me.” She smiled and led me over to the free seat beside her.

“Where’s Emmett?” Bella asked, and at that moment he walked into the cafeteria. “Never mind.” He walked over to us and sat next to Jasper. “Emmett this is Hailey.” Bella smiled. He looked up suddenly, and stared at me. I noticed that his eyes were about, 5 shades lighter then before… they a golden color now.. whereas 10 minutes ago, they were nearing black.

“We’ve met.” He said, shortly before launching into a conversation with Jasper.

“Emmett-“ Bella cut Edward off.

“Edward, remember how you acted at first? Let him be.” Alice said, with a scolding tone “Besides, Rosalie didn’t leave that long ago… he’s still hurt.”

“Who’s Rosalie?” I asked. I noticed Emmett go rigid as soon as I said Rosalie.

“It’s none of your business.” He hissed “Why don’t you go bother some other family.” He glared at me then shot out of his seat and stormed out of the cafeteria.

“I- uhm- I-“ To say I was shocked by his outburst was an understatement. To be honest… he actually scared me.

“Hailey… I’m so sorry.. I didn’t think he would react that way.” Alice started. “He’s still upset about her.. Jazz, Ed… cold you please go after him? I’ll explain Rose to Hailey.” They nodded and got up, walking out the door Emmett just stormed out of. “Hailey? Are you okay?”

“I…. He… What did I do?” I asked

“Absolutely nothing. He’s just a bit sore about Rose…”

“Who is she?”

“Rosalie was one of our sisters. She and Emmett were dating for the past few years.. we always thought they were soul mates, but a few weeks ago, Rose found a new guy, and she just up and left.. she was 18, so she could. Emmett was devastated… only recently did he get over her but.. I guess hearing her name is still sore.”

“He didn’t flip when you said it.” I said, not believing her story entirely.

“He knows me.. but he doesn’t know you… So it might have been a bit worse to hear you say her name.”

“Oh… well could you tell him I’m sorry? Oh, and tell him that with the exception of class… I’ll leave you guys alone.” It seemed that Bella and Alice didn’t like that, because almost immediately they replied.

“No!!” They exclaimed.

“He’s just a bit upset, but I know that you two will become close… I can tell. So you can’t just never talk to him or anything…”

“Sorry.” I said, walking away. I’m not doing this, I can’t. I have to leave them alone, I won’t be able to take any more heartbreak, and that’s all that friends bring… heartbreak.