Written in the Stars

Chapter One

It was cold outside and frost made the walkway slick outside of Charlie's house. Bella eyed it cautiously before sighing and simply heading back inside, it wasn't the battle she was going to choose today. Instead she settled for doing her laundry, the mindless chore of picking up her clothes and putting them in the machine let her stew in her thoughts. Charlie had been called in earlier in the day but Bella had left the TV on, finding it strangely impossible to do anything without the garbled drone of voices in the background, even with the dull ache in her head. She had played it over in her mind, each time she couldn't tell if it felt more like a fantasy or a nightmare; was she really still ready to give up an entire life to an immortal who left so easily? Simultaneously, the idea of never seeing Edward's angelic face again made the hole in her chest burn and she stumbled against the wall in a vain attempt to maintain her composure. She just wanted the pain to go away.

The phone began to ring impatiently downstairs, the quick metallic clatter caused a wave of anxiety to sweep over her; each step down the stairs made her feel as if she were dipping her toes into quicksand, threatening to swallow her up if she wasn't careful enough.

"Hello?" Her heartbeat didn't slow as she brought the cold plastic up to her ear.

"Bella! How are you?" Jake's voice was cheerful and warm, the anxiety ebbed and Bella let out a breath, cursing herself mentally for her foolishness.

"Hey Jake, I'm... fine." She nodded to herself clutching the phone tight, in all honesty, she wasn't fine at all. Her entire body still ached and she was still healing from the concussion she had received from the accident. But it was the depression too, she hadn't stopped having the nightmares once she got back from the hospital, they were just very different now.

The woods were light, a cool breeze blew through the pine boughs but everything was silent. She felt the cold prick at her skin through the thin sleeves of her jacket and she started to move forward in order to keep warm. A worn trail stretched out ahead of her, eventually branching off into three separate trails. The first seemed darker, through the trees she could see the outline of a tall cliff face, and when she took a step towards it she could swear she heard the pounding of ocean waves and smell the salty sea air wafting up on the breeze. She stepped back and looked at the second trail, this one went straight on ahead, it looked very much like the path she had just been traveling. However, it felt empty, as if the trees were just props for a play, plastic and frail; Bella worried if she touched one of them, it would crumble unforgivingly in her hands. Looking down the third path, the trees were much denser but she saw a bright light shining through the branches that felt welcoming and warm. She turned her body towards the light and started forward, an intense feeling of unease washed over her though as the branches began to close in around her. The further she made it through the trees, the denser the branches became until she could no longer move.

The dream wasn't particularly scary but it came to her over and over again, each time causing her to wake in a cold sweat, panic coursing through her veins. Dark bags were starting to form under her eyes and she felt utterly exhausted. Truthfully she just hadn't wanted Jake seeing her like this.

"Sure you are." He scoffed, poking fun at her stubbornness, "your dad called my dad, told him you were moping again, you know, he's worried about you." Bella rolled her eyes, of course Charlie had told Billy about her reemergence into the land of the living.

"No really Jake, I'll be OK." She sighed, she hated doing this, she wished she had someone to talk to, someone she didn't have to keep all the extra parts a secret from. She missed Alice. The hole started to throb again and she doubled over, clutching the phone so tightly so that her knuckles turned ghostly white.

"Is Charlie home?" Charlie had been upset with Jake ever since the accident; she had been grounded from going over to his place without her dad 'until further notice'.

"No, he got called in earlier today, I'm trying to pick up around the house." She tried to sound casual but even she could tell Jake wasn't buying the strained tone. He clucked his tongue at her.

"I'll be over shortly." He hung up the phone before she had the chance to object. Bella didn't have the energy to argue with him anyways, plus the idea of not being alone right now was actually rather comforting. Hanging up the phone she took a deep breath and willed herself upright, she started scrubbing the counters while she waited, the warm, sudsy water feeling good against her cool fingers.

Things were going to be a lot different now, as a part of the agreement to allow her to stay in Forks, she had to see a therapist once a week. It wasn't anything surprising, Renee hadn't wanted her to stay, she wanted to take her back to Jacksonville but Charlie had fought for her to stay. She really hadn't expected that last part, but she was glad she didn't have to leave, there was a strange sense of comfort here that she had never found in Arizona, she found a real home with Charlie; he may have been clueless at times, but she never doubted how fiercely he loved her. The kitchen was spotless when she finally heard the crunch of gravel announcing Jake's arrival, he let himself in, smiling as he caught sight of her in the kitchen.

"You look like crap." He joked as he wrapped his arms around her. Everything about his embrace felt right to her. She didn't realize how much she had missed his hugs, his warmth, his scent, she hadn't yet processed how much her dream memories had made her miss him.

"Yeah, it happens to the best of us." She jabbed him playfully in the side. They stayed like that for a minute, she relished in his warmth and almost felt as if she could fall asleep right then and there, she found it truly amazing how exhausting coming out of a coma could be as she yawned.

"Have you gotten any sleep since you got home?" He leaned back taking her by the shoulders and looking her up and down, "seriously, you look like a zombie Bella." He led her into the living room and they both collapsed onto the couch. As he began to scroll through the channels on TV, she could already start to feel her eyelids getting heavy; she felt his arm drape around her shoulders comfortably as the world started to fade out around her and she drifted off into her first peaceful sleep in months.