Chapter 1: Rules and Silence

BPOV

Today was the day. The day i was finally moving to Forks, Washington. My mom, Renee, kept telling me it was so i could get closer to my father before i graduate highschool even though I'm only a junior and she was sending me off in the middle of the year. I knew the real reason though. It was most likely she was sick of the silence and sulking around. Sure I didn't talk, but I had my reasons. If you didn't talk, no one can hold anything against you, you can't lie, and you don't have to tell the aweful truth. You don't have to make commitments or promises you can't keep, and you sure as heck won't get close to anyone. That's exactly what i needed. I couldn't get close to anyone. Renee was also tired of getting me to speak and asking why I never talked anymore--literally not the in-a-phase-where-you-don't-talk-to-your-mother way--and she was probably tired of trying to hide the disappointment on her face whenever i'd avoid a hug or a kiss on the cheek. Emphasis on tried. I could see it hurt her, but every time i touched a human flash backs of...that memory...would come flooding my brain forcing me to relive every moment of it.

That was over a year ago.

You're probably thinking, how can someone go a whole year without talking or touching anyone? Trust me, its hard. Occasionally you'd bump someone on the bus or someone pushes past you, but those didn't bother me as much as contact you could avoid. Sure my mom tried sending me to therapy, but since I never talked, there was nothing to work on so the therapists would drop my case and call me "hopeless" right in front of me.

So my mom shipped me off to the dreary Forks, Washington. I walked off the small plane and saw a slightly overwight older-looking man called "dad" waving at me and calling my name.

"Bella! It's so great to see you!" Luckily Charlie wasn't into the whole "hugging" thing which is going to make it so easy to live with him. I just stared at him with my emotionless eyes and blank expression. "Well, its been some years, you've grown up into a nice young woman!" he smiled timidly. I just stared at him. Finally giving up on small talk, we started walking and he led me over to his cruiser. Oh joy. I get to ride around town in a cop car.

As we made our way to the house i noticed an old red rustic truck sitting in the driveway.

"Oh, I forgot to mention I got you a car!" He said this hoping for some big reaction but i just glanced at it. I mean don't get me wrong, I was so thankful for it i just wanted to run to it and take it for a drive, but I was so use to the expressionless facade I kept up so i just got out of the car and walked over to it. I turned back around and saw Charlie getting my bags out of the car. I slowly walked back over--only because I didn't want to trip over my own two feet, not because I didn't want to take my stuff which I was just fine doing--and helped him. He led me up to my room and left me there to my thoughts.

My room was the same as it has always been. Blue walls, yellow curtains, a rocking chair from when I was a baby still sitting by the window. The only real changes that were made was the crib was exchanged for a twin bed. I put down my things and started unpacking. It didn't take long, considering I didn't pack much and laid on the bed. I was exhausted from the couple hours in the plane and the hour in the car so I drifted into an uneasy sleep.

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I awoke with a start panting and dripping in cold sweat. The same nightmare over and over. I tried to push the last of the vivid images of him and that night out of my head. I looked at my clock and noticed it was 6:30 am. Today was Monday, my first day at Forks High with a whopping 300 kids in all four grades. I had twice as many kids in one grade back in Pheonix. But, less people meant less crowded hall ways and more chances to avoid unnecissary contact. I quickly took a shower and went downstairs and noticed Charlie had already left for work. At 7:30 I decided to head out so I could get there a little early to memorize my classes.

I almost missed the school. The only thing actually indicating it was a high school was the "Welcome to Forks High" sign. With a sigh I pulled up to a building labeled Front Office. I laughed to myself at that. Way to state the obvious, does this mean they have a Back Office? Going a year without talking has left me to entertain myself so I fine the strangest things funny.

I entered the small building and was hit with warm, dry air, as opposed to the wet, cold air outside. I walked up to the front desk.

"May I help you?" a cheery woman with red curly hair asked. I just looked at her. After seconds of her just staring blankly at me I sighed and pulled out the notepad I always carried with me--I only used it on occasions such as this--and wrote Bella Swan a.k.a. "new girl" on it trying to be sarcastic. Her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. "Oh I'm so sorry I should have known! Here, you must get this signed by all your teachers and bring it back to me at the end of the day," she said handing me a pink slip. She looked at me expecting a thank you I'm sure but I just turned around and walked right back outside. This was going to be an interesting day.

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