Ever since my mom died, I had a hard time being me. It was a terrible accident, and that's all I ever heard of it. I remembered my mother in a coffin, and every time I thought of that, it made me harder and colder. Even looking at my dad, and remembering how close he and my mom were, made me want to hate everything more. I couldn't believe I lost the one person in my life who actually saw the real me. No one ever thought of me as pretty, or smart, or gentle, except for my mom. She knew the real me.

I always loved working on cars; that's what set me apart in life. I was really good at it too, and it was sort of my "creative outlet". I never really liked to do anything else (except for horsing around with the guys at my dad's football practice). Cars were so complicated, and I loved messing with them. I think that's what kept me sane after my mom's death.

My dad decided that we needed to get out of Louisiana (my birth place) to keep both of our happiness intact. He thought that if we weren't in Shreveport anymore, that, somehow, I would forget about my mom's death and move on. No offense, but moving to a small Indian reserve in the middle of nowhere wouldn't make me ever forget my mom's death, and everything that happened to me.

But we moved down to La Push anyways. It wasn't like I could stop it, but I wished I could with all my heart. My dad said La Push was wonderful and it would be just like my home in Shreveport, but I knew it wouldn't. School started as soon as we got there, and my dad had a coaching job. He invited me to come along, and I was too upset to leave him. Even though my dad reminded me of my mom, he was also my support system.

My dad thought he could buy me over with a car that I could mess with and fix. It almost worked; he didn't need to buy me over, but making us move to La Push was a pretty big thing.

Before school started, I started working on the car. I woke up at five in the morning to be at school at eight, because I really wanted to work on the car. I was so excited to have a new car, especially since it was a Ford. I loved Fords.

So I decided to tag along with my dad. La Push high school was nothing like the one in Shreveport. My first day was filled with talking to nobody. Then I realized I needed human contact to stay sane. That's why I went to my dad's first football practice.

I wore a pair of faded jeans with a white tank top under a black jacket, a pair of black converse, and my brown, highlighted hair into a ponytail with my bangs sweeping over my grey eyes.

The boys in La Push were extremely hot, which, in my opinion, wasn't everything, but it was a big factor. I watched from the sidelines as the boys practiced.

When the boys went to go get water, I ran up to my dad. He smiled at me and took me in his arms.

"Boys," my dad announced. "This is Ana, my daughter."
One of the boys laughed. "So this is the girl that's been watching our butts for the past hour."

"Yeah, I was totally staring at all of your asses." I smiled. "You wish."

"Play nice, Ana," my dad laughed. "I got to go turn in your paperwork. You guys are dismissed."
They all ran for their stuff except for the guy who was laughing at me. He came closer. I leaned on the fence by where the guys were practicing.

"Hey." He held out his hand. "I'm Embry."

"Hey." I took his hand. "Ana."

"I noticed." He leaned on the fence as well. "So, what are you and your dad doing back here?"
"Back here?" I asked. "I never lived down here before."

"Well, your dad did, and he said he'd never come back."

"My mom died." I looked into the distance, across the football field and to the mountains. "That's why he moved us down here."

"Oh." I'm sure he felt like an idiot. "I'm sorry."

"It's cool."

"What have you been doing down here?" Embry asked.

"Working on this car my dad bought me," I mused. "It seems like the only fun thing to do around here."

"That's awesome," he laughed. "I love working on cars."
"Really?" I asked. "That's so cool."

"Yeah, what kind of car do you have?"

"Just an old Ford."

"We could totally work on that together," he said. "If you want to, I mean."
"That'd be awesome." I looked at him with soft eyes. "If you want to."

"I'd like that."

"Cool. So when do you want work on it?"

"Well, my parents don't really like me to go out during school nights, but I can come over this weekend."

"Okay."
"My parents are probably expecting me home soon, so I'll catch you later at school?"
"Yeah."

"Bye, Ana."

"Bye."

Man, this boy was cool.

My dad came back from turning in paperwork to take me home. I followed him out to the parking lot and got into his car. The ride home was silent. We always had things to talk about, but, since my mom was gone, things changed.

We got home, and I offered to make dinner, but my dad said that he would make it. We were all alone in the house.

"Honey!" my dad called from the kitchen. "Why don't you go down to the shore? I'm sure you'll love it down there!"

"'Kay, Dad!"

I grabbed my coat and walked out of the house. The coast wasn't too far away. I shoved my hands in my pockets and watched the forest as I walked. Everything around me was alive, literally.

For some reason, ever since I was little, I could always hear animals. It was a special gift of mine. I didn't know how I could, or why I could, but I did, and it was sort of amazing.

I heard animals all around me; their thoughts rang in my ears. I was so used to most animal thoughts that I ignored most of them. I only really listened if the animal thoughts were really loud, which meant they were really close.

The coast was a ten-minute walk from our house. I got there, and there was no one there. I sat down on the rocky shore and played with the rocks.

"Qwil!" a little girl screeched. "Pwetty wock!"
"Yes, darling," a male voice answered. "Very pretty."

I looked over to my right, and there were two people: a little girl that had to be at least three, and a boy, who had to be at least sixteen, though he looked older.

"Hey!" the boy called Quil called. He grabbed the little girl, sat her on his shoulders, and jogged towards me. I smiled. "You're Coach Hatcher's daughter, right?"

"Yeah, I am. And you're Quil?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

I smiled up at the little girl. "This one was shouting it on the top of her lunges."
He took the little girl off his shoulders and set her down on the rocks. "Claire, say hi to Ana."
"Hewwo," Claire put her hands behind her nervously.

"Hey sweety," I greeted, holding out my hand. "It's very nice to meet you."

She took my index finger in her little hand and shook it up and down. I smiled sweetly.

"Are you two related?"
"No," Quil replied. "I'm watching her for Allison Jackson, Emily Uley's sister."
"Oh, Sam Uley's wife?" I asked. "Dad told me about them."

"Cool."

Claire tugged on Quil's pants. He squatted to her level.

"Yes darling?" he asked.

"Tell Ana she's pwetty," Claire whispered.

I smiled. "Aw, she's so cute."
"Thanks." He picked her up and turned her upside down. "She's a little monster."
Claire had a giggle fit. I chuckled as well; Quil was laughing too.

"Well." Quil put Claire down. "Can we sit with you?"

"Of course you can."

"This one's giving me a run for my money," Quil told me. "And, look, here comes her favorite person."

"MOMMY!" Claire squealed, running to the young, American Indian woman. She was exceptionally beautiful, so I imagined her sister would be too.

"Hello princess." Allison took Claire in her arms, picked her up, and hitched Claire on her hip. "Did uncle Quil take good care of you?"
She nodded.

"And you are?" Allison asked, looking at me.

"Oh, I'm Ana Hatcher," I told her. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Allison adjusted Claire on her hip. "Well, I'm taking Claire back to Emily's. We'll see you later, Quil, Ana."

I waved, and so did Quil, as they walked away. I leaned back on the palms of my hands and looked at the ocean.

"So, do you like La Push so far?" Quil asked.

"It's only been a day," I reminded him with a little chuckle.

"Doesn't mean you can't like it."
"Well, it's alright. I haven't met too many friends yet."
"You will," he assured me.

"Good." I got up. "Well, my dad's probably wondering where I am."

"Okay." He got up. "Tell the coach I say 'hey'."
I got up as well. "I will."

Quil came over and hugged me. I smiled and hugged him back. Usually, it was awkward when I hugged guys, but Quil was nice to hug.

I walked off. The walk home was just as lively as the walk to the shore. I could hear everything around me, and it was calming.

When I got home, my dad was done with dinner. I started setting the table.

"How was the beach?" he asked as I took cups out of a box that we had. Did I mention that everything was pretty much still in boxes?
"It was good," I replied. "Quil says hi."

"Oh, Ateara?" he laughed. "Good kid."

"Yeah, he was babysitting."

"That's nice. These kids like to help out when they can."
After dinner, I went upstairs. I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't, so I pulled out my copy of The Last Song and started reading.