Prologue/ Intro: Ioma

My name was Ioma Elizabeth Ulley. This is the story about the greatest love I have ever found, and how my life, and name, changed because of it.

Chapter 1: From the start…

"Hi Uncle Sam," I exclaim while climbing out of the car. I'm staying with my uncle for the summer. He lives in a small Native American reservation in Washington, La Push, which is very close to a small town called Forks. I'm thirteen years old, and I am traveling from another small town: Tecumseh, Oklahoma. You may be wondering why a thirteen year old girl is randomly going to live with her uncle, who lives half a country away. Well, it is NOT because I am a "problem child" whose parents need some sort of reprieve from because they are going insane; no, I'm staying with Sam because I was really bored and needed a place to stay while my parents are away on a "couple's vacation." I could have gone with them, but I thought they'd like to have some, much deserved, time alone; which they are highly enjoying, as I've heard from them earlier today.

My uncle's girlfriend, Leah, came to fetch me from the airport this morning. I like Leah, but I don't feel like she is "the one" for Sam. They know how I feel, and I respect that their relationship isn't going to change because of it. We all get along well, so it was obvious that this would be the perfect place for me to stay over the summer.

As I get out of the car, I'm enveloped in one of my uncle's giant bear hugs. I immediately notice how feverish he feels; I choose not to say anything, thankful for the warmth. It's freaking cold in Washington… Well, compared to where I'm from it is; I'm kind of a sissy when it comes to the cold, or the hot, any extreme temperatures really. Wow, I'm a diva…

"Hi Ili," Sam chuckles out, as I gasp for air after being released from his lung-crushing hug. Ili is my nick-name, and I'm not sure how it came about.

"How ya' doin'?" I ask.

"I'm good." He responds. "How are you?"

"Great, now that I'm finally able to not be sitting."

He smiles. "Go ahead and grab your things, and we can move them into your room."

"Alrighty." I head back to the car to get my bags. I have two duffel bags, and a larger suitcase full of stuff I thought I might need while here; mostly clothes. Don't judge! The weather is different in Washington than it is in Oklahoma, and I don't know exactly what I'll be doing every day; I want to be prepared for anything. I'm having a little trouble getting my bags out of the trunk and backseat and to the front of the car. Ok, I may have gone a bit overboard….but it's better safe than sorry, right? Sam notices my struggle and laughs while grabbing both of my duffle bags, leaving me with the easy-to-roll suitcase and feeling like a wimp.

It was then that I noticed how muscular Sam has become. I mean, as long as I've known my uncle, which is practically my entire life, he's never been a small dude, but now he's HUGE. Not just muscular either, he's grown a good six inches since I had been here a couple months ago. Now I'm beginning to wonder what has been going on with my uncle's body. Could his feverish temperature have something to do with it? I mean, I have never heard of a sickness making you stronger and taller, but what do I know? I'm only thirteen. Well, I'm not going to worry about it. Sam's a big boy, both figuratively and literally, and he can take care of himself.

I was thinking about this while following Sam and Leah into Sam's moderate-sized home, up the stairs, and toward the back of the house where the small but comfortable room where I will be staying is. Now I have set my things down at the end of the bed.

"How do you like it?" Sam asked with a curious excitement in his eyes and a pushy edge to his voice.

"Sam, give her some time to take it all in." Leah interjects with a smirk.

"Sorry, I'm just anxious," is Sam's sheepish reply.

"It's alright," I chuckle, "I like the room a lot, thank you." I smile.

Leah smiles back, "Glad you like it." She says as Sam grins at me. "Would you like to unpack your bags now?"

"Yes I would." I turn to my luggage; my bags look like the zippers might pop from being so full. I grimace, "it might take a while."

"That's ok; I'll start dinner while you unpack." Sam says.

"I'm going home, I will see you two later." Leah says, waving goodbye.

"Bye Leah!" I say as Sam walks Leah out.

I begin unpacking. I guess now is as good of a time as any to really introduce myself. My name is Ioma Elizabeth Ulley. As I said before, Samuel Ulley is my uncle. He is my dad's brother. My dad is Daniel Ulley; he and his wife have been happily married for seven years and are absolutely great people; they have raised me very well. I used to have siblings. When I was seven, my nine and ten-year-old brothers died in a car accident. My mother and us children were in the car, and a drunk driver hit us on the right side, near the back of the vehicle, where my brothers and I were sitting. I would have been killed too if my brothers hadn't pushed me into the floor right before the vehicles made impact with each other.

The younger brother's name was Samuel; we called him Sammy. Daniel Jr. was the older brother, and we called him Dee. I loved them both very much and we were very close. When they died I became a whole new person. I changed for the better; I used to be a major brat. My brothers were selfless, but they got frustrated easily. They were funny, but ornery little boogers, and everyone loved them tremendously. My father and I became closer, despite the loss of two of our dear family members. The accident happened a little over six years ago, and even though our hearts still hurt like crazy sometimes, it isn't a constant roaring pain as it once was.

I'm half Quileute Native American. My dad is full Quileute; my mother is like the average American, a mix of nationalities. My dad is ten years older than his only brother, whom everyone calls Sam. It's quite an age gap, but when those two men are together, they act like twelve year olds; it quite hilarious at times. My dad and mother are both thirty-two years old; my step-mom, who I just call "Mom," is thirty years old.

I'm finally done unpacking! Hallelujah! I was afraid that I wouldn't get done tonight, whew!

I jog down the stairs, well I attempt jogging anyways. I trip coming off the last step; every now and then I am a total klutz. I find my way to the kitchen and see that Sam has ordered Chinese, and is putting it on plates… I guess he is trying to make it look like he cooked it himself. He probably doesn't think I will notice that no pans were dirty. I just shake my head.

Oh dear uncle…

"Hey Uncle," I call out, startling Sam. He looks up and hides the container from the restaurant that was currently in his hand behind his back.

"Hi Ili, how long you been there?" He asks somewhat nervously. I cock my eyebrow, giving him this "I know what you're doing" look.

"Long enough to know that it wasn't your kitchen where the food was cooked, and it was not you who cooked it either." I chuckle.

"Oh, well…yeah." He replies with a sheepish look on his face.

I just laugh and walk into the kitchen, sit down at the table and grab me a plate full of food. I'm really hungry; I haven't eaten since before my flight this morning. As I dig into my food, I look over at Sam and see eh he's already eaten over half of his plate of food. I'm only a few bites in, and he had even more than I did! And he is still shoveling it into his mouth like he is trying to catch it.

"Jeeze Sam, it's not gonna run away from you!" I say and then giggle as he looks up from his plate at me, food hanging out of his mouth. I smile and hand him a napkin as he slurps up more food. He nods his head and grins, eating at a calmer pace now. After we finish eating we clean up the kitchen, then head into the living room. We sit down on the couch and start catching up on each other's life.

"So how's your dad and Elaine?" Sam asks me.

Elaine is my step-mother. She is not one of those stereotypical "evil step-mothers." She is actually very kind. I wish Elaine had been my actual mother most of the time. I mean I love my mother, Carla, but she is crazy, idiotic, and makes horrible decisions.

"They're doing well. So far they are really enjoying their little get-away." I smile at the thought of them.

They had been married for about a year before Dee and Sammy died. I really believe that if it weren't for Elaine, my dad wouldn't have made it. She gave my dad the strength to fight against my mother for custody of me. Elaine is such a wonderful woman. She is kind, funny, and beautiful; she is perfect for my dad. Just seeing them together warms my heart. They have led me to believe in true love. I know that sounds really cheesy, but it's the truth. I love my parents very much. I'm so glad my dad was able to find a woman like Elaine; a woman that will love him deeply, and that he can love so deeply.

"What about your mother; have you heard from her lately?"

"Oh yes, a couple days ago she made her weekly guilty-insult-call." I reply, rolling my eyes.

"She's still doing that? After all these years?" He asks, looking shocked.

"Yeah, they seem to get worse the older I get. It's like she thinks 'oh you're a teenager now, time to take it up a notch.'"

"I can't believe that! You shouldn't have to deal with Carla's bull-"

"It's not so hard to go through now though. Now that I'm a teenager, I'm professional at ignoring." I interject once I notice that Sam is starting to get angry. I mean really angry; he was shaking. It was crazy. Right as I make the joke, he immediately calms down though.

"Ha ha, I guess you're right." He chuckles, somewhat strained.

"Yeah, so don't worry too much. It's not like she's ever gonna come around."

After a short pause, "Hey, do you remember Billy Black," Sam asks me.

"Yeah, he's Jacob's dad, and his daughter's name is Rachael." I answer.

"Yep, well, you're going to have to go over to his house for a little while tomorrow."

"Why, tired of me already?"

"No! No, I just have to work. I'm sorry. It's just tomorrow, then I'm off for the weekend!"

"It's alright. I'll be fine hanging over there for a bit." I assure him.

"Ok, I'm glad you're good with it." Sam sighs in relief.

"Just don't forget about me." I joke. Sam just smiles.

"I'm gonna get some sleep now. Who knew sittin' on a plane could make you this tired?" I say while stretching and yawning.

"Alright," he chuckles a little, "Goodnight."

"You too."

I walk to my room, and I flip on the light. It is a very plain room. There is a desk, a dresser, a bed, a small couch, and the closet is on the same wall that the bedroom door is on. The bed is on the left side of the room, as is the dresser; the love-seat sofa and the desk are on the right. There are two windows. One is right above the desk on the right wall of the room; the other is on the wall opposite/across from the closet and bedroom door.

As I get changed into my pajamas, I start to remember all I can about Jacob Black. Whenever my family and I would visit in the past, Jacob and I always hung-out. We have always gotten along pretty well. We met at his mother's funeral when we were six. After the funeral, I walked down to First Beach. It wasn't too far of a walk since La Push is close to the coast. I was climbing some rocks and I had slipped. I had twisted my ankle and bloodied my hands and knees. Jacob had walked past the rocks just as I fell. He helped me walk back to my uncle's house. My family and I thanked him for helping me. The next day he came over with his father, Billy Black, to check on me and offer some tribal home-remedies to help with the pain. We gladly accepted and invited them to stay for dinner. Ever since then Jacob and I have been friends. When we were about eight, we met a new friend. Her name was Isabella Swan. She was the daughter of the Fork's Police Chief, Charlie Swan. She would visit over the summer like me. Her parents were divorced, so she visited her dad during that time. We all hung out and had fun. Then after a couple years, Bella (as she liked to be called) stopped visiting. It was kind of sad for me; I was a bit closer to her than Jacob was.

Jacob and I have had a lot of fun together in the past, and I hope that won't change this year. I mean, everyone knows how preteen boys sometimes get towards girls. I don't really think Jacob is affected by that stuff; he hasn't been in the past, but who knows? I'll find out tomorrow.