Along the small home the floorboard creaked loudly, the sound of it made the man sitting along the couch shift slightly. "Cassie?" The words were soft and quiet, a giggle entered the air.

"Dad, you're supposed to be sleeping" the girl appeared from the small kitchen. Her hands wrapped around a small cup of coffee.

A beverage she loved deeply, her father spent most of his nights sleeping until his eyes popped out his skull. Aching to finally be open and awake.

On nights like this the man sat alone in the living room, thinking about his wife he buried last year. The emptiness in his chest never left, not even when Cassie tried to help him feel better.

It was always him and Cassie now, the duo never really speaking about what happened last year. The car crash itself didn't bother Cassie, but she remembered the pain it caused her arm.

It snapped and she spent six months in a stupid cast, watching it heal with time. "I couldn't sleep, don't you have school in the morning? You should be the one sleeping". She rolled her eyes as she walked forward, her bare feet echoing along the wooden floor.

"School starts in an hour, dad. You know I wake up early for coffee and breakfast". He looked at the clock above the television and his eyes widened.

"I didn't realize the time, I have work in three hours" he stood up off the couch. His bones cracked as he stretched "you need sleep dad, you won't be back home until late".

She didn't say anything else, she walked up the stairs disappearing from his sight, he sighed his fingers running along his thick brown hair.

He felt stuck, trapped within his own body and no matter how much he ached for an exit. His soul was trapped along the thickness of blood coating his flesh. A thick substance that didn't leave.

Cassie sat along her desk, her cup of coffee empty as she pushed needle after needle into her flesh. The blood seeped into her sleeve as she hummed.

She paused for a moment the distant sound of a car door slamming shut making her stand up. She looked outside her window seeing Charlie step out of his car, a girl beside him.

It must've been his daughter, the one he would mention every once and awhile. Cassie pushed her curtains closed, grabbing her bag off the small bed.

—

Forks, Washington had been Cassie's home since she was a little girl. So it wasn't surprising she knew every single person who stood along the land.

She often stuck her nose in book after book, her eyes boring into anyone who tried approaching her. She knew everything and everyone, no one had secrets around these parts.

She would find out sooner or later what someone was hiding. She sat along the cafeteria table, her feet dangling off the edge of a seat across her.

Her eyes glared at the new girl, her posture uncertain as she looked around. Cassie hummed slightly to herself as she stood up.

Pushing her headphones out of her ears letting them dangle along the edge of her shirt. She walked forward, her boots clacking with ease as she smiled.

"You must be Isabella Swan, Charlie's daughter" the girl tensed up as she turned slightly, her eyes locking with Cassie's. The girl looked so confident as she looked at her.

"Uh it's just Bella" Cassie grinned slightly as she reached her hand forward, her rings glistening in the light. Her fingers flexed with ease when Bella grabbed hold of them.

"Well just Bella, I'm Cassie Lockhart, we're neighbors actually, so I tend to be over a lot whenever my dad wants to watch football with Charlie, it's a rather messy sport".

She moved back letting out a soft breath "you can sit with me if you'd like, unless you're friends with Jessica and her goons".

Cassie sat back down on the hard plastic chair pushing her hair back as Bella sat across from her. Her hands held tightly onto a bottle of water, her eyes paused for a moment.

"Who are they?" The group itself was rather large; the way they walked was flawless. Cassie spent her entire time ignoring the group, ever since they moved into forks she felt drawn to them.

She could tell they held secrets, ones she was slowly unraveling day by day. "Those are Doctor Carlisle's foster kids, moved here like two years ago, they keep to themselves".

Cassie pushed her book open "those two are Rosalie and Emmett, although she's kinda mean I have her in history and she's an awful partner".

Cassie flipped her page watching as Bella looked at the group with curiosity. "Then there's Alice and Jasper, they don't talk much so I'd avoid them".

"Who's he?" the door pushed itself open with confidence and Cassie's loud scoff entered the atmosphere making Bella turn.

"That's Edward Cullen, total douchebag, don't even try talking with him, he's really rude".

It was as if the sound traveled along the air and slammed into Edwards ears. The boy kept walking but a light smirk rose on his lips.

Like he heard the way Cassie talked about him, she always talked loudly about him. She never hid away her thoughts about him either.

Cassie let out a breath as she leaned back her fingers aching as she flexed them slightly. "What class do you have after this?".

"Biology" Bella awkwardly leaned into the table while Cassie pushed her book close. The slam of it suddenly made Bella wince.

"I have that class. If you need a partner I'm down, no one ever sits with me, they think I'll kill them". Cassie grabbed her bag pressing her fingers together for a moment as her eyes locked with Edwards she sneered at him.

"I'll see you in biology class Bella" Cassie stood up storming out of the cafeteria. Her boots loudly smacked into the cement as she walked outside.

She pushed her hood over her head, the light drops of rain hitting her. She enjoyed the rain, the way it would melt away into her skin whenever it hit her.

The feeling made her not feel so stuck all the time, she leaned into her car for a moment. Her hands grabbing a notebook out of her bag.

She had it for years, but now it was filled with page after page of secrets. And all of it was the Cullens, she felt so close to figuring it out.

However, whenever she got close, she just felt stuck all over again. It was annoying for her but she knew hopefully one day she'd figure it out.

Her eyes lingered on the pages, she huffed when the bell rang, it was loud. She put her notebook away and walked away from her car, letting herself enter the school building.

Edward Cullen hunched over his desk, his fingers gripping his nose harshly, his eyes were wide and gaping out of his skull.

This was the first thing Cassie noticed when she walked into Biology class, Bella Swan sat beside him. Sniffing her hair and frowning deeply.

Cassie scoffed to herself as she walked past the table letting herself sit behind the duo. The class was silent, Edwards fingernails digging into the table. The screech of the wood beneath his fingernails was a soft hum to his ears.

He knew only he could hear the loudness of it, the way he sat the coldness of the chair digging into his back. The nagging of Cassie Lockharts thoughts jabbing away into his skull over and over

If he could, he'd kill her, rip into her flesh until nothing was left but an empty vessel. But then it'd mean everyone else would perish as well.

His family wouldn't be happy with that, so he felt his fingers into the table. The wood snapping with each movement he made, his body burned.

Bella let out a scoff at the sight of him, his posture so stiff and unwell. It was like a rabid animal sat beside her. She couldn't wait to leave the class.

Cassie pushed her notebook open, her fingers wrapping around the safety of her pencil. Every word sang loudly into the page.

Edward Cullen, was freaking out she could see it, and she knew only she could see it. She kept her mind clear and silent, part of her scared he was listening. He always had a way with his words.

Like he had driven a straw into her brain and sucked out any thought she said silently. So she would hum annoying songs over and over.

Her pencil scraped along the paper with ease as she watched the back of his head. The bell rang and Cassie watched the way he ran out of the class.

His bag nearly ripping open, his fingernails hidden away into his pocket. She scoffed as she slammed her notebook closed, the pages torn and filled with secrets she had hoped he didn't see.

She stood up watching as Bella left the room with a sigh. Cassie walked out her eyes burning into the back of Edwards skull as he entered the office.

—

"Sweetheart, I'm home" his voice echoed off the walls loudly. Cassie pushed her back into her chair, the wood digging into her flesh making her huff.

Blood ran down the tips of her fingers as she pushed the dull end of a razor into her flesh. She dug and dug until she felt her soul awaken.

The sting felt arousing as she smiled softly, "sweetheart?" she heard the creak of wood. She stood up pulling her sleeve downwards.

Her body pressed into her door "you should be sleeping dad, you have an early morning at work". He laughed, his hand gripping the doorknob.

"I figured we'd order dinner first, how about some of your favorite pizza" she blinked her body aching as she locked her door.

"Yeah, that actually sounds nice.. I'm just gonna shower real quick before it gets here". She heard him walk away, his boots loud making her pause.

Blood dripped onto the floor, it was a loudness that only Edward Cullen could hear. His eyes watched as Cassie moved away from her door.

The blood dripped again, and Cassie walked into her bathroom pushing the door closed. With the click of the door Edward pushed the window open.

His hands ached as he grabbed the notebook off the desk. Every page was neat and held perfect writing, he turned the page looking at every detail.

Cold skin, noticed the other day when I accidentally touched Edwards hand in gym class.

His eyes change color a lot, I swear he's wearing eye contacts or something.

Never around when the sun's out, maybe he's like super emo, I hope he is and I'm just crazy.

He seems really sad today.....

Freaked out in class today, he didn't seem well... I kinda feel bad for him, hope he's alright.

Edward ripped the page, pushing it into his back pocket. He sighed before jumping out the window. If there was one thing he knew, he had to make sure Cassie didn't figure out what he was.