Tides.pdf

Tides

lambcullen

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5332788/1/Tides

Bella's inheritance - an old house once owned by Granddad Aro. However, she

is surprised to find an unexpected house guest living there. He knows her, but

who the hell is he?

Chapter 1 Decisions

BPOV

The last time I'd been here, I was seven years old. A little girl with big ideas.

Those big ideas had become a weight around my neck and had eventually

made me drown. This house was my lifeline. It had rescued me when I needed

it the most. My mother said I was running away and all marriages needed to

be worked at. That's when I'd dropped the bombshell. How could I work on a

marriage when I was the wrong sex for my husband? I lacked a certain

appendage to make him happy. Mother had gaped like a freaking goldfish, and

I'd left, runaway, whatever, to start my new life.

My job wasn't a problem. I was a writer and as long as I had pen, paper and

internet access, I was fine. Yes, I still used pen and paper. It always seemed to

flow better when I actually wrote with something, as opposed to typing it. So,

my location didn't matter for my work. I had nothing to keep me in Seattle. My

friends had been Tyler's friends, and they had taken sides in the divorce. None

of them had been on my side. Even though I was the one that had been lied to

and cheated on, I was the one that now had to be avoided. It would have been

comical, if it wasn't so tragic. It's something you read about in advice columns,

and not something I had imagined when I had donned the white meringue and

said 'I do' in front of two hundred guests. Nor was finding said husband on his

knees in front of the local bar owner.

That was behind me now. I refused to be brought down anymore by something

I couldn't change, so I shook my head of the memories, and took in the old

rundown house. It needed a complete remodel, but I would use the money

from my divorce settlement to pay for it. I was going to make this a fresh

start.

New life.

New Bella.

Granddad Aro had died eight months ago, but there had been legal problems

with his estate, and only now was the house officially mine. That had pissed

Mom off too, but she hadn't seen her father in at least fifteen years. I rolled

my eyes, because that was another story entirely. I didn't hide my excitement

from her when it had been signed over to me. She had walked out on my

happy dance wittering about the fact that it should have been given to her. I'd

brushed off her tantrum, I was used to them. The house and land were now

mine.

I was excited, if not a little apprehensive about living on my own. I didn't even

know if I would like it here, but it was perfect for me right now. The isolation

was what I needed to fix my fucked up life. I'd always lived in the city, so La

Push was like the middle of nowhere to me. From where I stood I could see the

beach as it stretched along the boundary to my land. Calling it mine still made

me giddy.

I'd missed this house; the eerie silence that always surrounded it. All you could

hear was the tide as it came to meet the shore, and the rustle of the wind in

the trees. I walked slowly towards the beach, and slipped off my chucks. I

wanted to feel the sand as it seeped between my toes. It had been so long.

The wind whipped harshly across the shore, causing my hair to slip from its

barrette and fly around my face. I shivered and rubbed my arms. I'd been

warm in my truck and had taken my hoodie off. I was now freezing in a thin

cotton t-shirt. I hadn't even been thinking of the cold. The water had beckoned

me. I inhaled the salty sea air, as I looked out across the beach. It was

deserted, and I instinctively checked my watch. It was very early morning, just

after seven, so the emptiness didn't surprise me. I had been driving through

the night, eager to get here. It already felt like home, and I hadn't even

stepped into the house.

I knew I had to get the electricity hooked back up, and I only had my cell,

which was patchy here, but I could deal with cold showers for a couple of days.

I had called the electricity company before I left and knew they would be here

on Monday. The telephone company had said Wednesday. I had gas, so could

boil water to wash and clean the house. I just wondered what kind of stove

Granddad had owned. I was prepared to have to replace everything.

I sighed and turned, intending to return to my car and unpack my belongings,

but was stopped by a huge golden haired dog. It bounded towards me wagging

its tail, and kicking wet sand in my direction. I braced myself for impact, but it

stopped in front of me and sat down, panting. It looked friendly enough, so I

tentatively moved my hand to stroke his head.

"Hey, boy. You out here alone?"

Great, isolation was getting to me already. I was talking to a dog and

expecting it to answer. I tickled its ears and began to walk away, but it

followed me.

Hey, Swan, five minutes in a new place and you already have a friend!

I brushed the sand from the soles of my feet, as I reached the edge of the

beach at the start of my garden. I held onto the crumbling wooden fence, so

as not to fall on my face and put my shoes back on. The dog never left my

side. I tried to shoo him away, waving my arms frantically, but he sat and

stared like I was crazy. So now I was trying to ignore him, hoping he would get

bored and find his owner, or run back home.

I hissed in pain as my arm swiped a thorny bush. I rubbed the slightly torn

skin, and hoped I'd brought some antiseptic with me. The garden was

completely overgrown with weeds and thorns. I would need to landscape the

garden too. I started to feel a little overwhelmed. There was so much to do

outside the house I was now dreading what awaited me on the inside of it.

Maybe I had bitten off much more than I could chew? Pushing the thought

aside I pulled the door to my truck open, grabbed my purse and rummaged for

the front door keys. The damn dog was sat on the porch when I started to walk

up the steps. There was no way I was adding a pet to my list of things that

pissed mother off. I needed to look after myself, and he needed to go home.

I opened the mesh screen, noting the huge hole in the top half, and slid my

key into the lock. The door creaked as I pushed it, sending chills down my

spine. I had to remind myself that I was not Neve Campbell, and this was not

another Scream movie. The place smelt stale, but not like what I would have

expected after eight months of desertion. It smelled of beer and a faint

cooking smell. I stepped warily inside and was greeted with a complete

bombsite. Someone had been living here other than my Granddad. Cigarette

butts littered the over flowing ashtrays, beer cans lay scattered around the

room, along with old newspapers and magazines. My heart began to pound as

I surveyed the mess. I was both angry and pissed off. It looked like whoever

had been here gave no care to the fact that it wasn't their home and just

dropped rubbish wherever they pleased. I had expected layers of dust and

sheets over the furniture, but the sheets had been discarded, and someone

had definitely cleaned the counters and surfaces. I groaned and picked up the

nearest newspaper, checking the date on the top. It was dated two weeks ago,

so I hunted around, checking the dates on all the others ones. The most recent

one I could find was only four days ago. The dog barked outside, making me

jump almost out of my skin and drop the papers. They scattered across the

already messy floor. My eyes settled on a magazine poking out from the couch

cushions. I pulled it from its resting place and giggled.

Porn.

Whoever had been sleeping here enjoyed naked woman with big tits.

Nice!

I wouldn't even consider sitting on the threadbare couch now. I assumed,

given the state of my house, he wouldn't have wiped up the end product of his

porn perusal. Ergh!

I absently chucked it into the empty trash can. Oh, yes, the fucking thing was

empty, and started to pick up random bits of rubbish, throwing them into it

also. When I realized I was making no dent in the pit, I decided to go and

check out the rest of the house. I was anxious to see what more destruction

greeted me. I sidestepped the discarded fast food containers and beer bottles

and made my way into the small kitchen. It was better than I had imagined,

but then my houseguest appeared to like take-out rather than cooking. The

sink was full of dirty plates and the counter covered in mouldy tea bags and

coffee grains. I made a mental note that there was no refrigerator. That was

something I needed to purchase almost immediately. I'd never lived without

one before, and it seemed odd that Granddad never had one.

It stank in here and there was more evidence of his alcohol and nicotine

addiction. Groaning, I made my way back through the living area and up the

small stairs to check out the only bedroom and the bathroom.

I was startled, to say the least, when I cautiously opened the bathroom door. I

had expected mould, scum and general grossness, but it was pristine. So the

'guest' had some level of cleanliness. I took note again, of the lack of shower.

It only held a small bath, a sink and the toilet. I could fit a shower in over the

bath. There was a beautifully large window in the room. I could imagine

lounging in a warm bubble bath with some wine and looking out onto the

beach.

I smiled, apart from my unexpected visitor, I loved this place. I could imagine

it with my things and in my style. Simple and feminine, nobody else's garbage

to ruin it all. I snorted and turned to check out the last room. I was, again,

worried about the state I would find it in, but it couldn't be as bad as the living

room. At least that's what I kept telling myself, as I pushed the door open.

I was so very wrong.

A naked man lay in the crumpled bed. My bed. He was fast asleep, and lay on

his front.

Clothes were scattered around the floor and a single white sheet hung from the

bed. The bed where the man slept.

Did I mention he was naked?

I gasped, but he didn't move. I couldn't stop my perusal of his body. He was

stunning, and certainly not what I would have imagined from someone living

the way he was doing. I scanned upwards from his feet to his toned calves, up

over his thighs and his cute white ass. At that point I checked he was still

unconscious before going back to my appreciation of his body. His skin was

lightly tanned and I could make out a tattoo on his right shoulder. It looked like

script of some kind, but I wasn't close enough to decipher it. His arm was

underneath his face, using it as a pillow.

I studied his face. Even crumpled from sleep he was extremely handsome, with

his chiselled jaw and cheekbones. His hair was in a state of disarray, but the

color stunned me. It was an intense bronze, with red and gold highlights. My

fingers itched to run through it, and I balled my hands into fists.

The thought of touching a perfect stranger in such a way disturbed me. I'd

obviously gone without sex too damn long. Not that sex with Tyler had been

satisfying anyway, most of the time I finished myself off after he left the bed to

clean up. Why was I thinking about this? I had a naked man; a naked stranger

in my bed!

I must have made some sort of noise because he snorted and turned over in

the bed. He lay on his back scrubbing his face with his hands. I gasped and

clutched my hand to my mouth. He was sporting the largest erection I had

ever laid eyes on. I felt a flush stain my cheeks as I continued to stare and my

temperature rose exponentially. Sweat formed on my brow, but I still could not

tear my gaze from it. It was incredible.

"Like what you see?" Came a gravely voice from further up the erection.

Shit, I'd woken him up, and he'd caught me checking out his dick. Could it get

any worse?

I realized it could when he climbed from the bed and stood before me,

oblivious to his lack of attire, or his arousal. His intense green eyes assessed

me, doing the exact same thing with my body as I had done to him just

moments earlier. He worked his way from my chucks up to my face and then

he moved his gaze back to my chest.

"You don't seem to be wearing a bra," he stated in a very matter of fact way,

still taking in my erect nipples.

I glared at him. What the hell? He was in my house, trashing my rooms and

sleeping naked in my bed. Yet he called me out for my lack of underwear?

"Don't you have anything to say, Bella?" he asked.

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