First Blood | Ed. Cullen & B. Swan

Chapter 1

Simon's hand found his hair as he approached the door of the house in front of him. He pushed his dark hair away from his face as he stopped, assessing his questionable actions before he decided there was no going back. He reached out, softly rapping his knuckles against the wooden door.

His aura remained collected as the door opened, but shock caressed his face as he found the absurd gap of height between Charlie and himself. If Simon were to guess, the older male had to be at least 6 feet tall. Simon was clearly shorter, barely reaching 5'9" himself. It would be safe to say that he wasn't very pleased with the observation. He ignored the thought, though, pushing it aside as he held out his hand with a faint grin.

"Hi, you must be Chief Swan, right? I'm Simon Levy. Esme Cullen is my aunt. She asked me to come and look after their house before they moved. I just wanted to come and introduce myself since I'm new to town. Is Isabella here? They talked about her a lot and I heard that she was close to my age, so I thought it might be nice to meet her."

Charlie seemed to tense as Simon told him who he was related to. His displeasure was obvious, but he reached his hand out and shook Simon's in turn.

"I would say that it was nice to meet you, but considering that Cullen boy left her in the middle of the woods, I can't say I'm enjoying any of this. Don't cause trouble, and don't come near my daughter again," Charlie spoke firmly, moving to close the door.

"I'm sorry, he did what?" His dark eyes seemed to fade to black as he processed the information Charlie had just given him. "He left her?"

Charlie paused before the door closed as he heard Simon's polite tone turn brash. The anger in his voice must have surprised the officer because he guardedly opened the door.

"You didn't know about that, did you?" He asked, his warm brown eyes meeting black.

Simon took a steady breath to regain his composure. He closed his dark eyes, opening them once more after a moment. "No, I'm afraid I didn't. I've only talk to my aunt. She never mentioned it. I arrived yesterday, so I haven't heard of any of this." He ran his hand through his hair before letting it drop back down by his side. "Is your daughter okay? Did she get sick? I can't imagine being stuck out in the cold like that."

"She's...fine," Charlie seemed to hesitate before he stepped aside and held the door wider. "Go ahead and head on up. I can't promise she'll want to talk to you, though. Her room is up the stairs, the last door on the left."

Simon nodded his head in appreciation as he stepped inside, sending Charlie a small smile before he made his way up the stairs. He followed the directions given to him, though he slowed as he approached the closed door. Hesitation seemed to seep into his body without a cause. He didn't know why, but he now found himself nervous about approaching the brunette woman. He raised his hand, however, and knocked.

Faint shuffling came from inside the room before the door opened a crack.

"Dad, I said I didn't want–," She cut herself off as she finally looked up, her eyes widening in surprise when she realized it wasn't Charlie standing in front of her. Her face flushed as she bowed her head, her hair falling to curtain the embarrassment that adorned her face. "I'm sorry, do I know...," She trailed off, remaining silent for a few seconds before her expression lit up with recognition. She quickly peeked out into the hallway, and upon not seeing her father, she grabbed Simon's wrist and tugged him into her room as she closed the door. She leaned back against it after turning around to face the male brunet.

"You were the one who was there, weren't you? You stopped me from turning?" She asked meekly, her blotchy blush brightening her youthful expression.

Simon cleared his throat as he shifted his stance, crossing his arms over his chest. "I didn't—I mean, yeah, that was me. It wasn't for—never mind. Edward owes me now. He would have killed you if he had done it himself." He knew he was lying. To himself, and to her. He didn't do it to get under Edward's skin. He chalked it up to curiosity, but even he knew that was turning out to be a lie. He didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to grow fond of Bella.

That was the whole reason why he was here, wasn't it?

Esme had never called him. She had stopped talking to him several years ago. She never asked him to come to watch over their house. If any of them knew he was there, especially around Bella, he knew they might potentially kill him. They didn't trust him anymore. They never really did.

Even still; he couldn't stop himself. He had tried to stay away. After he had left the ballet studio in Phoenix, he found himself heading to Texas. The sun was a giveaway, but he enjoyed the feeling of it on his skin. It made him feel alive. Though, as he was traveling, he found himself in the town of Jacksonville, Florida.

At the time, Renee had still been in the hospital with Bella, but Simon hadn't cared. He found where she lived, and he checked up on Phil. He stayed around for a few weeks as Renee returned, but he left shortly after that.

He intended to never return, but somehow, he ended up back in the small town of Forks. He was just going to stop by, he told himself. Just long enough to check up on Bella from afar, but he took his advantage when he realized the Cullens had left. He hadn't known the reason for it at the time, so he decided to enjoy the freedom while it lasted.

"What are you doing here?" She blurted out before she quickly continued, "Did he send you? Did he have a message for me?"

Simon faintly shook his head as he walked around her room, taking in the details. "They don't know that I'm here. I'm pretty sure dear Eddie would kill me if he knew I was talking to you, actually," He spoke as he pulled a book from her bookshelf. He flipped it over, briefly reading the back of it before returning it to its designated spot on the shelf.

He glanced back over at Bella, watching as the girl seemed confused with what to say.

"I don't—What's your name? How do you know the Cullens?" She finally asked as she bit her lip, looking up at the male through her eyelashes.

His eyes instantly flickered down to her lips with the movement and he inhaled sharply. He caught himself quickly, forcing himself to look away. He found himself glancing in the mirror, watching as the black of his eyes seemed to grow more intense.

He cleared his throat after a minute, forcing himself to look back at the short woman. "My name is Simon. Simon Levy. Esme is my sister. I used to live with them, a long time ago. Our claim was always that I was her nephew since I look younger than she does."

Bella moved to sit down on her bed, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I never knew she had any siblings," She spoke softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Simon grimaced, looking briefly down at himself before looking back to her. "Yes, well, I don't think I'm someone they like to bring up. I'm kind of like their little family secret."

His gaze snapped over to the window as he heard a loud truck pull up outside, and he was moving before she could respond.

"Goodbye, Isabella. You'll know where to find me if you need me."

With that, he disappeared from the house, ignoring the curious looks he got from a man in a wheelchair and the teenage boy that pushed him along.