Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

A Fresh Start

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 2:

BPOV

I have been in this hospital a week now. I had a cracked skull.
Hairline fracture. Enough to knock me out. Enough to give me
generalized Amnesia according to the doctor. Not psychological.
Physical. Meaning I may never get my memories back. If I did, they
would be disjointed and could take years to recover even a single
clear memory.

Detective Bronkowski told me that no matches had turned up for my fingerprints or photo but I would stay in the system. Apparently if anyone was looking for me they had not gone to the police yet.

Maybe I had no one. Bo says not to worry. Everyone has someone.
Bo has been here every day. He went home at night and was here
with breakfast for me at 9 AM every morning. I met his sister and
nephew. They seemed nice. We talked mostly abut him since I really didn’t know anything about me.

He was self employed. He worked from home. He said he was a
carpenter but mostly built custom furniture. His sister worked at a
convenience store 12 miles outside of Tyler at some place called
Hide a Way Lake. They lived together there in the house they grew
up in after their parents died in a car wreck last year. She had been
living with their parents and he moved in to take care of her and her son, even though Bo was 4 years younger.

Stephanie seemed like a generally happy person. She also seemed
like the type that would be a disaster if she didn’t have someone
around to tell her what to do. She was pretty though. Same dark
blonde hair as her brother. Thin build. Same green eyes.

Today I would be leaving. The hospital couldn’t justify keeping me
any longer. The police had no idea who I was. I had no ID, no way to pay hospital bills, no money and no place to live.

A social worker gave me the names and addresses of some
women’s shelters and homeless shelters. Guess I didn’t have much
choice.

“You ready to get out of here today?’ Bo asked, walking in at 9 AM
on the dot.

“Yeah, I suppose. I uh, have to kind of figure out which one of these I am going to.” I waived the brochures for my future residence options.

“What the hell are you talking about girl? Me and Steph got your
room all fixed up last night.”

“Bo, I can’t live with you.”

“What other options do you have? These places? They would eat
you alive there. Besides you ain’t got ID which means you can’t get a job. I need some help with the books. You can work for me for room and board and such. Steph can’t do books worth a shit. You can add and subtract right? You remember how?” He winked at me. I shot the finger at him.

“How do you know I’m not an axe murderer? I asked, raising an
eyebrow.

“You really wouldn’t remember if you were, so what difference does it make?”

“How do I know you aren’t an axe murderer?” I smiled at him.

“I suppose because if I wanted to kill you I would have done it when I found you passed out in the woods and wouldn’t have been buying you breakfast and sharing this crappy hospital lunch with you every day.”

“Bo, not that I am complaining but why have you done this? You
know nothing about me. I know nothing about me.”

“I found you. I’m gonna stick by you. It’s that simple. I wouldn’t be
much of a man to leave you here in a strange place not knowing
anyone with no money or means of supporting yourself. I got a job
opening. You need a place to live until you can figure out where you came from. Mutually beneficial. That’s it.”

“That’s it, huh?” Damn.

“Yep. That’s it. Now you comin home with me or you planning on
making soup a regular part of your diet?”

I took a deep breath. Stay in a homeless shelter or work for a
gorgeous guy who has seemed to take an interest in me. Hard
decision.

“Guess I am coming with you, boss.”

“None of that now. Hey, Steph picked you up some clothes last night. Shoes, under wear, shirts, jeans. That kind of stuff.”

“You didn’t have to do that Bo.”

“Yeah I kind of did. The clothes you had on weren’t exactly clean and I can’t have you stinkin up my house.”

“Thanks.” What else was there to say?

Bo POV

I had no idea what I was doing here. I knew nothing about this girl
except she had a beautiful smile and beautiful eyes and I couldn’t let her out of my life. Steph thought I was crazy. Maybe I was. But I
wanted adventure. I wanted her. I am a big believe in fate. I believe
fate brought me to her. There was nothing boring about her. We still hadn’t decided what to call her. So I cleverly avoided the use of a name in conversation. I used Hey you a few times and she didn’t seem to mind. I figured out that she was smart. Sarcastic. She laughed a lot. She wasn’t a babbler. She could carry on a
conversation but didn’t run away with one.

I’m also pretty sure she likes my chest and biceps. Damn right, she
did.

I wheeled her out of the hospital, dressed in the clothes I brought
her. Steph pulled up into the pick up area and she hopped up, ready to get the hell out of here. Apparently the hospital wrote off her bills since they didn’t even know who to charge it too. We arrived home and I gave her the tour. It wasn’t a large house by any means but it had 4 bedrooms, so it would work. Steph slept in our parent’s old room. I took the smallest room since I didn’t need much except a bed and a closet.

“How’s the head feeling?” Steph asked as soon as I brought her out
of her room.

“It’s feeling better.” She whispered. Suddenly she seemed shy again. Probably nerves. If I was in her position, I would be freaking out. She seems to be taking the whole thing rather well.

“Why don’t you relax and discover some more shows you like. I’m
gonna get the grill ready. You need some good steaks after a week
of that hospital crap.”

“Okay. Actually do you have any books? I kind of feel like reading.”

“Sure. What kind do you like?” I asked. This was good.

She seemed to think very hard about this.

“I have no idea.” She frowned.

“Hey, no worries. I got all kinds of Harlequin romances in my closet. Come with me.” Stephanie told her, smiling. Steph didn’t have a lot of friends. Mostly because she was a bitch. So maybe she was as excited to have the mystery woman here as well.

“And you can think about a name.”

“What?” my mystery woman asked.

“A name sweetie. We can’t keep callin you sweetie or hey you.”
Stephanie explained. I’m glad she brought it up.

“I think we should call you Hermione.” Hunter offered.

“Who is Hermione?” She asked him.

“Uh, Harry Potter? You’ve never read Harry Potter? Even Uncle Bo
has read Harry Potter.”

“Hunter, shut up.” I glared at him. Little shit.

“Hunter I don’t know if I have ever read Harry Potter. If you have the book, maybe I could read it?”

“Why do you talk funny?” Hunter asked, I’m sure making her more
uncomfortable.

“Hunter! Steph can’t you shut him up or take him to play in the road or something?”

“I didn’t know I was speaking funny, Hunter.” she smiled.

“You say everything real proper like.”

“Maybe it would be good for you to help your grammar Hunter. Now go outside with your Uncle Bo and get some steaks on the grill. Me and hey you are going to discuss names.” Steph replied.

I guess that was my cue to leave. I winked at the mystery woman
and got rewarded by a smile. Good enough to get me through
dinner.

BPOV

“Thank you for, you know, letting me stay here Stephanie.” I told her when Bo walked out with Hunter.

“Well you are welcome but it wouldn’t really matter what I thought on the matter. Bo decided you was his the moment he found you on the ground. He may not realize it yet but he probably does.”

“What do you mean, I am his?” Things were going well. I hoped this wasn’t some white slave sex ring or something.

“I just mean he was taken with you. My brother’s a good lookin guy
right?”

No point in denying it. She was understating how damn hot he was. I just nodded my head in agreement.

“Not that there is a lot of choice around here but damn near every
available girl and a few who aren’t so available have been after him for a while. A bunch of girls in Tyler have been trying to tie him down since the boy turned 16. He dated here and there but never stuck with one. Kept telling Mom and Dad that he would know when he met the one. I always thought he was full of shit. Course I went off and married the first guy I let between my legs and look how that turned out. He’s a violent drunk and I’m a single mother. He’s in prison now. Got caught selling crystal meth. But one day he will get out and I will have to deal with him again. I suppose I should have followed his lead. He always was the smarter one of the two of us.”

“He seems pretty…” ripped, hot, would love to see him in a shower… “smart.”

“Yeah, I bet that’s what he seems like to you.” Steph winked at me.

“Look at that blush. You do that a lot?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe.”

“This is pretty freaky huh?”

“Yeah. It’s strange. I keep wondering what happened. Where I am
from. What was I doing there? How did I get there? Why didn’t I have anything on me?”

“Well look at it this way. You may not have a past anymore but
maybe your past sucked. I mean something bad happened for you to wind up in the woods with you skull cracked. Maybe you get a fresh start now. God knows I wish sometimes I could have one.”

“Yeah. I mean, if I didn’t have Bo… and you, to help me through this I would be so fucked.”

“I know you mean Bo. It’s alright. I’ll be glad to help you out anyway I can, but honestly I would have called the police and watched them take you to the hospital and that would have been it.”

I nodded my head. That’s what most people would do.

“You got lucky with Bo. Or maybe all that fate crap he is always
talking about is true. Either way, just relax. Now much else you can do now. So what do you want to be called?”

What did I want to be called? How does someone name
themselves?

“I have no idea.”

“If I said, what is your name, what’s the first name that pops into your head?”

“Marianne.” I replied without thinking of it. Had I read that name in a book before? It seemed like I had.

“That’s a mouthful. How about Mary?”

I guess it was. “Sounds good Steph.”

“You like beer?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Let’s find out.”

“That’s my girl. Can’t grill without cold beer. Why don’t you go visit with Bo and I will bring us a couple.

Dinner went nice. Bo could really grill a steak. I made baked
potatoes. I knew how to cook. The doctor told me I would retain skills I had in the past. Only the memories would be gone. Other than cooking though I didn’t feel a single damn skill. That was disturbing. Guess I may have not had a lot going on. That could change though. Stephanie was right. This could be a fresh start. I can’t do anything about the past so I may as well embrace the future.

I woke up the next morning and made coffee. Steph was dropping
Hunter off at school and then heading to work herself.

“Bo is out in the back shed working. He can show you where his
invoices and order forms are. I’m damn glad you are going to be
doing that. I hate that crap. Have a nice day.”

“What time did Bo get up?” I asked her as she was leaving.

“Same time as every day. An hour before sun up. Later Mary.”
I walked out the back carrying a cup of coffee for him. It was 8 AM
but already in the eighties according to the thermometer on the back porch.

I heard a power tool of some sort being operated in the shed. I
opened the door and my heart stopped.

He was wearing blue jeans, boots and safety goggles. Nothing else.
He was ripped. He had abs. I mean he had really cut abs. His chest
was bulging. His biceps had that little vein that goes over the top of them, pushing out like there was no room. He was running a belt sander over what looked like a carved bench.

He must have heard me. He stopped the sander and turned around
smiling. He was covered in a light glean of sweat and sawdust.

“Good morning Ma’am. Or should I say Mary?”

“Uh, either works.” I mumbled, trying not to stare at him. “I, uhm,
brought you some coffee.”

“Thanks.” He walked over and grabbed the cup from my hand.

“I wasn’t sure how you liked it.” Keep looking at the ground. Don’t
stare.

“Black is perfect. You can look at me, you know? I don’t bite much.”

I looked up and tried to focus on his eyes. Those beautiful green
eyes.

“So, what are you doing?”

“Makin a bench for a guys back porch.”

“This is what you do every day?”

“Most of the time.”

“You uh… sand furniture without a shirt on?” Damn it! Now he was smirking.

“Yeah. I hope that doesn’t bother you. I only wear a shirt when it gets cool. I don’t just sand. I hammer, chisel and saw sometimes too. Carry lumber. It can get pretty hot.”

“Yes it can.” I whispered.

“Come on. This desk over here is where you will be working. It’s far
enough away that you can ask me questions but you won’t be
bothered by the saw dust.”

Oh hell no. I’m supposed to do books while being in the same room with him doing that?

He showed me the receipts, the balance book. The order coming in
from online. Orders locally. Seemed pretty simple. I looked at the
rest of the shed.

“Hey, is that a weight machine?” I asked, spotting it in the corner.

“Yeah. I like to work out.”

No shit.

“You lift weights you think?” He smiled.

“I don’t know. I doubt it considering I have no muscle tone. But I think

I would like to start. Can you show me?”

“Damn straight. We start tonight.”

“Great.” I replied. I was starting fresh. Maybe I couldn’t remember
who I was but I could figure out who I wanted to be and make myself that way.

“Hey, you think you have ever gone hunting?” Bo asked, surprising
the hell out of me.

“I don’t know. It seems like if I had I would know guns and I don’t
know guns. I don’t think I have.”

“Great. I can show you how to use guns. I tell you what. Screw the
invoices for a while. Write down all the things you think you want to learn. Whatever I can’t teach you, we will learn together.”

“Why Bo?”

“What do you mean why? It will be fun.”

“I mean why bother, I guess?”

“The way I figure it, you got an opportunity to do whatever you want. Be whatever you want. Hell we may as well have fun with it.”

“No. Why is a guy like you who is hot and has all this going for him, taking me in?”

“You think I’m hot, huh?” Damn it!

“Uh, maybe. I mean you aren’t disgusting to look at.”

He laughed. Look him in the fucking eyes!

“Alright, I really didn’t want to bring this up so soon. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. But since you want to know my
motivations so bad I will tell you. First time I rolled you over do you know what I saw?” He was touching my cheek. Now if my legs can stop shaking this would be a nice moment.

“What did you see?” I whispered.

“You, with dirt on your face. So I brushed the dirt off your face and
you opened your eyes and I was kind of trapped. I don’t know how or why but we, Mary, we were meant to meet. I can’t imagine not having you around. If that freaks you out I am sorry but you wanted to know.”

Okay. How to process that information.

“You think we were meant to be?”

“Yeah. I know fate isn’t a popular concept but I believe in it. So yeah. I think we were meant to be. At least to meet. The rest is up to us not to fuck up I suppose. But I don’t want to let you go. I don’t know how long it’s gonna be before your memories come back. The doctor said they will probably never come back. But if they do and you go back to your old life, I want to spend as much time in this new life as you will let me. I want to have fun with you, Mary. I’m a fun guy. You should give me a chance.”

I stared at him. I couldn’t help it. I would say that is the sweetest
thing anyone has ever said to me, but I can’t know if that is true. But it has to be up there.

“Okay.” I finally replied.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll get that list started, boss.” I smiled and he winked at me.

“Good. Now I got to get back to work. You go make your desk the
way you want it and I will get back to making the product.”

He turned around and I looked at his ass. He suddenly turned
around again, raising an eyebrow.

“Were you checking me out?”

“No. As if.” I had to laugh. He caught me.

“It’s all right. I like your ass too.”

Damn.

Jacob POV

“They aren’t leaving?”

“Doesn’t appear that way Sam.”

“Then they really don’t know where she is.” Sam concluded.

“Doesn’t seem like it.” I sighed. I really had thought they had hidden Bella. I was scared they were changing her somewhere into a vampire. But this… now I was almost hoping that was the case.

“They wouldn’t have driven her truck to Indiana just to burn it along with her things.” Paul put in.

“Yes they would. Make it look like a kidnapping, maybe a murder.
Bella Swan is never found.” I told him. It was my working theory.
Until recently.

“Except they are all here. Have been since she went missing.” Sam
said, mirroring my thoughts.

“You think Bella was running from Victoria?” Quil asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “She never did before.”

“Then it has to be something else.” Sam whispered, in deep thought.

“Maybe Victoria got her.” Leah offered.

“Then why would the bitch still be hanging around? Trying to get
close to Bella’s house?”

Nobody had an answer.

Finally Sam spoke.

“Look, we know she left with Alice Cullen to go stop Edward from
killing himself or something. Apparently they went to Italy. According to Charlie she came back three days later, being carried by Edward Cullen. She went to bed and when Charlie woke up the next morning she was gone. All indications that she left willingly. Clothes and purse gone. Truck gone. I would bet at some point that night Edward Cullen slipped into her room, probably like he used to and they talked. He said something to make her run. She wouldn’t have left Charlie otherwise.”

I nodded my head. That was the key wasn’t it? What would make
Bella run? The only thing I could think of is that her being here would place people in danger. Probably Charlie.

“So let’s ask him.” Seth spoke up. He was so quiet I almost forgot he was there.

“Ask who Seth?”

“Let’s ask Edward Cullen what was said. Maybe he will just tell us.”

“The Cullens won’t tell us anything.” I looked at Seth. Was he
serious?

Leah came to her brother’s defense. “It’s not a bad idea, Jake.”

Sam spoke up. “They are right, Jake. It can’t hurt to try. Let me call
Carlisle. We will meet them in the clearing in an hour.”

Fuck. I was going to have to look at that fucker again. I didn’t want to look at him unless I was seeing his head in my jaws. I would do it though. For Bella.

Edward POV

“What do they want? It could be a trap Carlisle.”

“I don’t think so Edward. Sam didn’t sound angry. He just sounded… really tired.”

“I think only I should go Carlisle. It’s me they want, if they are going to attack. All of us going is too dangerous.”

“Hell no Edward. I plan to make sure you live a very long life.” Emmett said, growling at me slightly. He blamed me. They all did. I couldn’t fault them for that. It was my fault. She came to Italy to save me. To be with me. To be with me forever. What did I do? I turned her down. I deserve whatever I have coming to me. Emmett believes that is a long life without her.

“We all go, Edward.” Esme said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

An hour later we were in a clearing at the treaty line. The entire pack was there. Sam and Jake were human. The reset were wolves. I read their minds and didn’t see any aggressive thoughts.

Sam was the one who spoke.

“What happened?”

Carlisle and I looked at each other confused.

“What do you mean, what happened?”

Sam and Jake looked at me. I heard their questions.

“That’s private.” I replied.

“No it isn’t. We love Bella. We protected her. Jake held her together
when you all abandoned her. She went off to save your life. She
came back and left in the middle of the night without you. We have a right to know what happened.”

I looked at my family. They looked at me and nodded. I suppose they did have a right to know.

“I thought Bella was dead. Jake you remember when I called. You
told me Charlie was at the funeral I assumed it was hers. I went to
Italy to a coven of ancient vampires intent on talking them into killing me. Bella saved me. We were both taken to the leaders. The
enforcers of the vampire law. They agreed to let us live provided
Bella would be changed into a vampire. We returned. Bella asked
me when it would happen. I told her it wouldn’t. She was furious. She felt I was placing her life and Charlie’s lives in danger. She didn’t believe I could protect her and Charlie. She kicked me out and I went home. The next morning Charlie arrived with the news she was gone. I ran to her room and found a note under her bed to me. She had marked it with her blood so I would find it. The note said she never wanted to see me again. She had gone to protect Charlie. That’s it. That is all I know.”

The wolves said nothing for a few minutes. Finally Jacob looked at
me.

“Why didn’t you just do it? Why didn’t you change her?”

I dropped my head to look at the ground.

“I didn’t want this for her Jacob. It’s why I left her in the first place.”

They couldn’t argue. I guess this flew in the face of their theory that we took her. I was surprised to see some of them had thoughts that they actually hoped we had. It was better than the alternative.

“So if you don’t have her… she is really gone.” Sam whispered,
looking at the sky. I saw tears welling up in his eyes. I had no idea
how close he had become to her. Jake was holding back tears.

“Yes.” I whispered. I heard Esme sob behind me. Jasper was
cringing. From his own emotions or ours or the wolves, I couldn’t tell. I suppose it was everyone’s emotions. No one said a word. Vampires and wolves, standing around a clearing torn up over a human girl. Only Bella could bring out that kind of emotion in people.

Sam seemed to compose himself first.

“Okay. Let’s talk about Victoria.”