Prologue and Chapter 1- Bella

Prologue

Bella

Everything was dark. I could hear cars driving past. Where was I? My head was so foggy, I couldn’t remember why I was outside. I was in the bushes, the floor was a little bit damp, even though it hadn’t rained in weeks. Why was I sleeping in a bush? I noticed a shooting pain in my legs, my face was starting to hurt too. I felt like I had been hit by a train. Ok, try to remember… I was with Nic. It was her cousin Georges birthday party at the local bar. I wasn’t a big drinker; I had only had three glasses. I’ve never been drunk before but this isn’t what I’m feeling is it? Why would people do this to themselves? I was aching all over now. I reached up and flinched as my hand brushed against my swollen cheek. What the hell happened? Nathan. I saw Nathan. Why does his name bring a sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach? God, I think I’m going to vomit. My brain feels like it is literally being crushed and forced through my forehead. I can feel a pain down there. Had I lost my virginity to Nathan outside in a bush? No. There is no way I would have had sex with a guy I barely know for my first time. I’ve been waiting for the right time and person to come along. Why can’t I remember what happened?

I tried to get up. Jesus the pain was everywhere! I heard a noise close to where I was. It sounded like glasses being thrown in a dumpster. I called out. “Is anyone there?” I waited for a few seconds, then I heard “hello?”

“I’m here, can you help me please? I can’t get out. I’m hurt.”

I heard footsteps rushing over towards me.

“Shit! What happened sweetheart?” The man was crouching down next to me.

“I don’t remember.”

Chapter One

Bella

8 hours earlier

I was sitting at my desk in work. I was a journalist in the features department at a local newspaper, The Herald. I had been there since I graduated college where I got my bachelor’s degree in journalism. I really liked it here, it was a small place to work, only 12 people who worked for our paper, we had a few freelancers too, but they didn’t come in the office. My desk was small, just big enough to fit my laptop on and a plant that my mom had bought me to liven my desk up. Our newspaper wasn’t as long as the New York Times, we didn’t usually have a lot to report on. And our paper was released weekly. We had a sportswriter, who followed all the local teams, we didn’t have a basketball team, we had a hockey team and a football team, that was about it. There wasn’t really a lot going on in our small town, Hollingbroke, North Carolina. Hollingbroke was near one of the larger towns, Greenville. I loved living here though, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I didn’t like the big cities; they were too crowded and busy. Hollingbroke had a total of 4,659 people.

 I was just finishing editing my most recent story ready to send off to print when my phone beeped. ‘Hey girl, its George’s birthday party tonight. Come back to mine straight after work and you can borrow on of my outfits.’ Nic. My best friend. We met in elementary school. After she caught a few girls pushing me around, a small, blonde haired, blue eyed girl with the face of an angel, came over. She grabbed one of the girls and punched her in the face! She warned them if they ever touched me again, then they would be dealing with her. “I’m Nicole, but you can call me Nic.” She said. “I’m going to be your friend.” Since then, she’s been my best friend. George is her cousin; I knew him quite well. We hung out a little bit at college. He was a year older than us, and we all went to the same college. ‘Sure thing, I’ll be leaving soon. I’m not wearing anything too short x’ I love that girl, but I cannot wear what she does.

An hour later, I pulled up outside Nic’s house. I opened the door and walked through calling out to Nic. “I’m here!” “In my room!” Nic called. I walked through the lounge and kitchen and opened her bedroom door. “Hey!” she came at me with her arms open, pulling me into a hug. Nic still had her blonde hair and blue eyes, but she was taller now, she was 5,8, compared to my 5,3. She had a slim waist, and I was jealous of her boobs and ass. I was pretty average looking, my hair was an auburn color, which made me stand out. If I had brown or blonde hair, I wouldn’t have stood out in the crowd. I had dark blue eyes. I was average, average height, average weight, I didn’t have curves, I was plain. She was curvy but managed to stay slim at the same time. A lot of boys liked her in high school, they ignored me, but I was happy with that. I didn’t want to have the attention that Nic liked. Her bedroom was just like her, full of color, full of personality. She loved fashion, she loved her clothes and shoes. She had an amazing collection in her closet. We wore the same size dress, but because she was taller than me, I couldn’t borrow her jeans. I walked over to her bed and sat down. Her bed was so comfortable, with the large grey comforter draped over it. Plush cushions at the head of her bed. Her room was gorgeous. “Ok, so I’ve found you the perfect dress, are you ready?” “Yeah ok…” I said nervously. “Ta daaaaa!” Wow. This dress was beautiful. It was a navy dress almost the same color as my eyes. It had a low-cut neckline and went down to just above my knees. Nic had found some gorgeous nude heels to wear with it, and a cute little shoulder bag. Even though it was early February, and still technically winter, I should have been wearing a sweater dress and pantyhose. “I love it!” I exclaimed excitedly as I grabbed it off her and walked into the bathroom to change. Nic had no shame at all and was quite happy getting changed in front of anyone. I was far too reserved though and felt very shy undressing in front of anyone. Half an hour later, we were in a cab going to the bar. I’d never been to this bar before. I wasn’t a big drinker. My roommate in college had alcohol poisoning once and it scared me. I never wanted to be that ill! So, whenever we went out, I had a few drinks and then switched to either soft drinks or water for the rest of the night. We pulled up to a small bar about half a mile away. I opened the cab door and could hear the rock music blasting straight away. I looked up at the small building, it had big double doors. Nic linked her arm through mine and we confidently walked in. “This looks amazing!” She yelled as we got to the bar. She was right, it looked fantastic. The bar ran across the whole length of one wall, every type of alcohol you could think, lining the walls. Whisky, Vodka, Gin, even Sherry. The dance floor was right in the middle, chairs and tables surrounding it. The place was packed. There were lights everywhere, fairy lights running right across the bar, giving it a cozy feel. The music was coming from a jukebox, not a DJ, which somehow, fit the theme of the club. “What are you drinking?” “Just a white wine please.” We got our drinks; she paid the barman and we walked over to where the party was. “George!” “Hey!!! Thanks so much for coming!” George shouted to us over the loud music. “Happy Birthday George!” I shouted, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thanks Bella! I’m so glad you could come out!” Nic and George started dancing with some more of George’s friends. I walked over to the table and took a seat in one of the chairs. I drank my glass of wine and went to get another one. On my way back, Nic grabbed me and pulled me to dance with them. I danced with them for a little while until my feet started to hurt. I wasn’t used to wearing heels. I felt somebody looking at me, I could feel their eyes staring at my back. I turned, and glanced around the bar, catching the eye of a guy I hadn’t seen in a while. Nathan. I had known Nathan for a few years. Not very well though. I had had a crush on him back in the day. He was still really good looking. He was about 6 feet tall, with light blonde hair with big brown eyes. You could see he was ripped under his shirt, despite him being slim. “Hey is that Nathan?” Nic asked looking to where I was looking. “He hasn’t been seen in a while. I wonder where he’s been hiding. He’s got his eye on you though! You should go talk to him!” I didn’t tell anyone that I had been crushing on him since I was sixteen.

“No, I can’t.”

“Oh, come on, you’re both clearly interested in each other. You should go for it! Oh, shush! He’s coming over”

“Hi Nathan! Not seen you in a while, where have you been hiding?” Nic asked shamelessly.

“Hi, yeah I moved away last year. Just came back for my mom’s birthday. Heard about the bar opening and thought I’d check it out. I’m glad I did.” He was staring at me as he said it. I felt myself flush. He smirked. “Can I buy you a drink Bella?” he asked. “She’s drinking Pinot Grigio. I’ll leave you guys to it!” and with a quick wink in my direction, Nic left to go back to the group dancing in the middle of the dance floor.