Meetings

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight, except my own

What if Charlie had been divorced not once, but twice? What if Bella knew she had a sister, but had never met her? What if Bella's sister knew about her, but never met her either? What would happen if they met, but didn't know it? How would they react when they meet for the supposed first time?

Prologue

I sat on the plane, earbuds in my ears and music blasting from my iPod. Watching the stewardess approach me, I turned the volume down and took one earbud out. The woman, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, pushed the concession cart down the aisle toward me. She stopped beside my seat and looked down at me with pale grey eyes.

"Can I get you something to drink?" she questioned. I looked at her and smiled politely; after all, I'd been raised to be a polite young lady. "A glass of water, please." I answered. I watched as she grabbed a glass and picked up the pitcher in front of her. She poured my drink and set it on the try that was folded down in front of me. She smiled politely and then began pushing the cart again.

I put the earbud back in my ear and turned the volume up once more. Turning my attention back to what I'd been doing previously, I typed away on my laptop that was sitting on top of the folded down tray. I was emailing my mother, telling her that I'd be landing in Port Angeles in less than two hours. I'd left New Orleans last night at six o'clock and it was already going on noon, according to my watch. A part of me was excited to be going to Forks; but another part of me was dreading it. I was excited because I hadn't seen my father, Charlie, in nearly two years; I had been away in France as part of a student exchange program. And I was dreading it because Forks wasn't known for its sunshine factor; instead it was gloomier than anything.

My mother and I had been living in New Orleans since I was two years old. She and dad had divorced after three years of being married; and dad had moved to Forks after the divorce. Mom had remarried when I was eight. I knew that dad had been upset after they separated, but to help him through the transition, I started spending two weeks there every summer. Of course I wasn't the only one visiting him during the summer; my older sister by three years, Bella, visited him every summer two weeks before I was supposed to. It was funny to me that I knew about Bella, but I had never really met her; not even when I went to Charlie's for summer vacation. Maybe she still visited him every summer, and maybe I'd be able to meet her for the first time. One could only hope…

After what seemed like forever, the pilot announced that we were arriving in Port Angeles International Airport. As we landed on the tarmac and passengers began unfastening their belts, I began to feel giddy. I hoped that my father had received my phone calls, letting him know when to pick me up. I grabbed my messenger bag from around my feet, and got out of my seat. I followed the passengers in a single line down the aisle and soon I was standing inside the airport building. Glancing at my cell phone, I realized that I had a voicemail waiting for me. I called my voicemail, putting in my passcode and listening.

"Cristalyn, its dad. Listen, I'll be a couple minutes late getting to the airport. But I swear I'll be there to get you. Wait outside for me and if anyone approaches you, go inside and look out the window for me." I laughed quietly at the message he left and then erased it. I pocketed my phone in my right rear jean pocket and looked around.

I saw an escalator going down and I began walking toward it. I watched as a group of six teenagers walked in front of me, laughing and joking about something. They were all very beautiful as I caught a couple of their facial features. They began to slow their walk as they joked and talked.

"I think Esme will be glad to have us all home. We've been gone for a good couple of weeks." A boy with dark, curly hair and a giant build that would make any body-builder jealous, commented. The others nodded their heads in agreement and made their way to the escalator in front of us. As I kept a good distance behind them, someone knocked into me, making my bag slip off of my shoulder and me fall to the ground.

I turned my attention to the person who ran into me, and who was currently trying to grab my bag and run off with it. "Hey! Let go of my bag!" I exclaimed. The man who had a grip on my bag continued to play tug of war with me to get me to let go. The group of six stopped walking and turned to see what was happening behind them. As I continued to try and wrestle my bag from the man, the three males of the group came over. The massive sized one clamped his glove-covered hand on the man's wrist. The man looked at him.

"Don't you know it's not nice to purse snatch?" he asked, giving a good squeeze to the man's wrist. The man let out an agonized cry and released my bag strap. The other two males helped me to my feet, and I noticed they were all wearing gloves. Security came over to us moments later, asking if there was a problem. The three females came over to us and all six told the security guards what had happened. The man was immediately dragged off, while the cops were being called. They all looked at me as I pushed a large strand of my auburn hair behind my ear and readjusted my bag over my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" the teen with honey-blonde hair asked in a southern drawl, as the others looked me over. I nodded my head.

The blonde femme fatale who moved to stand beside the bear of a male sighed quite audibly. "We should leave. Esme and Carlisle are expecting us back at any moment." She told them. They all agreed with her immediately. They seemed to ignore the fact that I was standing with them as they began a quiet conversation.

I pulled out my cell phone and looked at the time. Nearly ten minutes had passed since the previous incident. "Thank you very much." I bowed, part of my Asian stepfather's upbringing. It got their attention and they all turned to look at me. "I've got to be going myself; my father is waiting for me. But thank you very much once again!" I bowed again and turned and made a mad dash for the escalator. I felt their eyes on me as I descended toward the first floor. Once I got onto the first floor, I saw a familiar police uniform coming toward me.

"Dad!" I ran like crazy toward him, catching his attention. He opened his arms and I ran right into them. "I missed you so much! Sorry about you coming inside, I just got caught up for a moment."

He smiled at me and shrugged his shoulder. "No big deal," he spoke. "As soon as I walked in, some of the security guards asked me if I could bring some guy to the police station. Apparently he tried mugging someone, and got caught in the process."

"That's why I was caught up! It was me that the guy tried mugging! He tried to take off with my bag right here!" he shook his head and chuckled. He led me to luggage retrieval to get my luggage. As we were exiting the airport, I saw the same six teenagers who had helped me heading to luggage retrieval. I smiled and followed my father outside and to his police cruiser. After my bags were safe inside the trunk, we rode to Forks and to the police station. Charlie dropped the guy off inside, briefly explaining what had happened and then we left.

I sighed as we pulled into the driveway and looked at the house; it still looked the same. I got out of the passenger side and followed Charlie inside and upstairs. Bella and I had to share a room since we both spent summers here, and it looked like the room hadn't been used in quite some time. I set my messenger bag on the desk near the door as dad set my things on the bed. I smiled at the look of the room, and then remembered the un-used look it had.

Turning to Charlie, I asked him the question: "So, did Bella already visit you this summer?" he turned and looked at me as if I'd sprouted a new head. After a couple of moments, he laughed.

"Lyn, Bella hasn't stayed the night over here in almost three years." He answered honestly. I knew I had a bewildered look on my face, because he continued his explanation. "Bella got married about three years ago. She comes and visits from time to time, but she never stays the night. She's got a family now, you know."

I wondered how I had not kept in touch with him when all of this was going on. So my sister was married and had a family now. Huh. So much for wanting to meet her; she probably had kids, and they probably took up most of her time now. Oh well, I guess I'd have to endure. After a couple of minutes, Charlie turned and walked out of the room. I looked around, and then my gaze settled on my suitcases. I walked over to them and began to pull the clothes and toiletries out of them. I put the clothes away in the dresser that was against the other wall and opened the closet, which had empty hangers. I hung my casual clothes up and walked to the desk, pulling my laptop out of my bag and setting it up.

I used my wireless access card and surfed the internet for a while and then shut the top of my computer. I got to my feet and walked downstairs, looking for my dad. I found him settled in front of the giant flatscreen TV with an old man in a wheelchair. The floorboards creaked as I stood in the doorway of the living room, making them both turn and look. Dad smiled as I stood there, and the old man nodded at me politely. I waved in greeting and turned to Charlie, who stood up and walked over to me.

"Cristalyn, you remember Billy Black. Right?" I nodded and shook hands with Billy.

"Of course. I remember Jacob, too." I spoke. "Is he here, too?" I asked, looking around the living room.

Charlie and Billy shared an odd look and then looked back at me. "No. He's hanging around with a different crowd these days." Billy spoke, making dad snort. "I think he should be paying me a visit sometime soon. I'll tell him that you're looking for him." he and dad chuckled over that one.

I cringed. "Please, don't do that. He shoved me into a mud puddle when we were little, and he obviously dislikes me for some strange reason. He never told me why he doesn't at least try to be friends with me." I shrugged my shoulders in passing.

"We're just gonna be watching the game tonight, Lyn. Hope you don't mind." I shook my head and turned around, walking into the kitchen. I walked over to the fridge and opened it up; apparently he'd made sure to do groceries before I arrived. I grabbed the cold cuts, bread, and mayo and walked to the counter. I assembled the sandwiches, making some for dad and Billy. I grabbed a bag of chips from the cupboard and put some on my plate and then the rest in a bowl. I carried the bowl and the plate of sandwiches out to the two men, who thanked me gratuitously.

I entered the kitchen, grabbing my plate and a can of Sprite from the counter near the fridge. I walked back upstairs to my bedroom, shutting my door behind me with a silent click. I set my food on the desk and began to sit down. I ate in silence, looking out my window into the darkness. After I was finished eating I took my dishes down to the kitchen, grabbing the plate and bowl from the living room, and going into the kitchen and washing those dishes.

I entered the bathroom and brushed my teeth and went into my room, changing into my PJs. I got into bed, thinking of the people that had helped me in the airport. I remembered that they'd all been wearing gloves; it hadn't been that cold that they needed them. It was definitely very odd, but as I lay there thinking of them, I fell quickly to sleep.

My first week in Forks seemed to pass by quickly. Billy hadn't been joking when he'd said that he'd tell his son that I was looking for him. Jacob had come over the next day, and picked on me. He'd told me that he hoped I didn't last a week in Forks and then turned and left.

Ever since the summer when I was eight and Charlie took me with him to go fishing, Jacob Black and I had never gotten along. We had stayed on the rocks near the river where Charlie, Billy, and Harry Clearwater had fished. The conversation had started off politely enough, talking about kid things; school, friends, favorite cartoons. But somehow, something I said must have offended him or something; because he pushed me face first into a mud puddle we'd been making together. He'd said something about liking Bella better than me and then run off to look at tadpoles in a tiny pool; and I had cried.

I shook myself from that memory as I continued to fold the clothes I'd gotten out of the dryer. Since dad was at work, I was making myself usual around the house once more. Since I'd woken up this morning I'd made breakfast, done dishes, washed clothes (both mine and his), cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, and tidied up the living room. It seemed like I was forcing myself to keep busy, that way I wouldn't get bored so soon. The phone began ringing and I set the folded shirt I was holding in the laundry basket. I made my way into the kitchen and picked up the phone on the wall.

"Swan residence." I answered. I heard an exaltation of breath and waited.

A purely feminine voice spoke to me. "Is Charlie there?"

"I'm sorry. He's at work right now. Can I take a message?" I grabbed the pad and pen that I'd set on the counter.

The person on the other line cleared their throat. "Um… sure you can. But first… did Charlie hire someone to take care of his house while he's gone?"

"Actually no, he didn't." I laughed. I held the pen at the ready. "What can I put down as the message?"

The person on the other line laughed, too. "Um… Just tell him that Bella called, please. Thank you, goodbye." I scribbled the note down on the pad and hung up the phone. Well, my sister was trying to contact dad; so that had to be a good sign. Maybe she wanted to come visit. I set the pad down on the counter and capped the pen, setting it on top of the pad. I returned to the living room to finish folding clothes, and to occupy myself until Charlie got home.

Thank you for reading. This is my first Twilight fic. Please let me know what you think of this fanfic and if I should keep going with it. Reviews are welcome!