Chapter 1

The crash of the waves, the sand under your feet, the sun beating on your skin. Well,

sometimes. Not today. Today the sun wasn't out, only the clouds were out today. I also wouldn't say it was very warm. Mid-January, even in Southern California it wasn't very warm.

I still walked bare foot in the sand, as always. I wore my long, white, silk skirt along with my thin black blouse. My pin straight hair all thrown up in a bun with small pink flowers stuck everywhere in it. For me this wasn't necessarily dressed up, these were the outfits I wore every day. My father was a banker, he brought much money to our family for my mother, brother, and I. I can not tell you how much my mother loved spending all of that money, and she spent most of it on me.

Every week was the same, every day, every hour. Wake up at 7:30am, then our private teacher would come for my brother and I and teach from 8-12. At 12:30, we would meet my father at a restaurant for lunch and then return to finish our schooling for the day from 2:30-4. Afterwards, my brother and I would have free time from 4-5:30 while my mother prepared dinner. 5:30-6:30 my mother, my brother and I would have dinner, then we would all be in the living room and watch TV until my father came home at 7. He would then eat dinner and we would have family time in our living room from 7:30-8, which was mostly silence and my father telling us about his troubles for today. After that my brother and I would do homework for an hour. At 9 my brother and I usually had free time until 10 and then we would be sent to bed. That was how our days went from Monday to Friday.

Saturday was usually a free day for my brother while my mother took me to spend my fathers paycheck from that week, and that consisted of the salon, dress stores, jewelry stores, shoe stores, and so on. Then Sundays were church in the morning from 7-11, and afterwards we would do activities like golfing or horse back riding as a family of four with a lot of my father's friends.

I did't know my father very well, he was barley around. When he was around he only complained and when he was with his friends he would frankly act like a big jerk. Normally I wouldn't say things like that about my father though. He was a tall man' about 6"2, he had short black hair with dark, almost black eyes. My mother was a sweet woman, she was small, delicate, maybe only and inch taller than me. She was entirely skin and bones with short, light brown hair that cut off at her shoulders. She had the most beautiful gray eyes with hints of green around the pupil. She always complained about how she looked, and how she wished she could be more beautiful for my father. That's why she always wanted me so dressed up. She wanted me to be beautiful for whatever man I was married too, of course she thought I would be married to a rich and successful banker or lawyer. My brother on the other hand was ignored a lot. My mother wanted him to be independent. His name was Nicholas, my mother insisted that we call him his full name, but when we were alone I called him Nick, that's what he preferred. He was tall' about 6"0, he was catching up to my fathers height. Nick was quite muscular, he had short black hair like my father, now with brown highlights that my mother had put in his hair. I liked them, they made him more different than my father. I didn't want Nick to turn out like my father, he had more potential than that. Nick had green eyes, and I'm not sure where he got them, a grandparent that I never met I suppose.

My name is Isabella Isabella Amelia Swan. I'm not too fond of my name so I go by Bella, it is less proper and sounds more casual when people talk to me. I am 5"4, not very tall. I have my fathers pitch black hair like my brother. I didn't let my mother touch mine though, I did not want any other color in it. I got my mothers gray eyes, but mine were plain with no other color so I didn't find them even remotely as beautiful as my mothers. I was also thin like my mother, she let us eat no junk food so that made my figure easy to keep. I have fairly tan skin, not dark, but enough to give my skin color, which I was perfectly fine with.

The beach was silent today, there were few birds. They all ran when I came near them, and then there were smaller birds that would quickly run from the water when it rushed up on the shore that always made me giggle. In the distance I could see a couple walking in the other direction of me, laughing as they came down the beach. They were my age most likely, 17, young and in love. Something I always wanted. I just smiled at them and they smiled back as they passed me.

I walked back home after a little while longer of walking, realizing that it was almost time to go home fore dinner.