I was five years old when my dad told me why I didn't have a mom. He said she left when I was three months old and that she took my sister, Bella, with her. He said that mom thought it would be best if I stayed in Forks with him but no amount of sugar coating could cover up that I was the twin my mother didn't want. Not long after he told me I had a twin, she started to visit Forks every summer for a month and I would go to Phoenix for the next month. Since we were practically identical, we would play tricks on dad, pretending to be each other. After we got a little older, dad started taking us the reservation and introduced us to Rachel, Rebecca and Jacob Black, who were the kids of his best friend Billy Black.
Like our mom, eventually Bella got sick of being in Forks and threw a tantrum that ensured that she wouldn't have to visit anymore. Instead, the three of us went to California. I guess she didn't like the cold. To get back at her, I decided I didn't have to go to hot and sweaty Phoenix if she didn't have to come here. After that, we drifted apart, I loved Forks, the snow, the trees and the quiet, but she wanted nothing to do with it. We even stopped looking alike, to me at least. Sure we both still had brown hair and brown eyes, but her nose was more slender than mine and my face was slightly rounder. With Bella gone, I started to hang out with Jacob more and more. Even though he was a few years younger than me, we had a lot in common. We both loved old cars and action movies and we also like being outside. Dad was thrilled that I like being down at the res so much, even though it was sometimes difficult for me to get there. So when I turned 16, Jake and I fixed up Billy's old Chevy truck and my dad bought it.
Since the car radio was busted beyond repair, I drove to school in silence, unless I was giving my rather chatty friend Kaitlyn a ride. But since I wasn't today, the only noise was the rain pelting the window.
"Vee!" Kaitlyn shrieked as I got out of the truck, into the pouring rain.
"Hey Kate." I greeted half-heartedly. As she rambled on, I pretended to listen, but instead my focus was on the cars entering the parking lot. I rolled my eyes as the family got out of their expensive cars and began to strut toward the school. The Cullens moved to Forks two years ago and they never talk to anybody. Dr. Cullen was actually really nice when we had met when he treated my broken arm from falling out of a tree last summer. It was a mystery to me how someone as kind as him could have such stuck up children. As they walked, more like floated up the stairs, I couldn't help but notice how one of the boys turned and looked at me before following his siblings inside.
"Earth to Veronica?" Kaitlyn groaned. "You're not listening to a word I say, are you?"
"Not really, no." I laughed, slinging my backpack over my shoulder.
"Too busy checking out the perfects?" She joked and I snorted at her stupid nickname for the Cullens.
"Nobody's perfect Kaitlyn." I sighed. "Not even the Cullens."
"Whatever. There's something up with them and you know it."
"Yeah… they're a bunch of rich kids who think that no one's here is good enough to speak to." I looked around at my fellow students, most were either making out or wrestling each other. "I don't really blame them." The two of us walked toward the school, using our coats as umbrellas. The first few periods were as boring as ever, but I couldn't help but notice one of the Cullens, Alice I think, kept staring at me. I waved awkwardly at her and to my surprise, she smiled and waved back.
During lunch was even weirder. It was just Kate and me since our other friend Ben had strep throat. It felt like someone was watching me, and it wasn't that creep Mike Newton either. It was Alice. She didn't look at me with hostility or anything like that. She just seemed genuinely curious.
"Is it just me, or are the Cullens acting strangely social today?" I wondered out loud. Kate shook her head.
"They seem just as snobbish today as they were yesterday to me." She took a bite out of her apple. The blonde boy, Jasper, grabbed Alice's hand and she turned her attention to him. Kate gagged. "God, that's disgusting. No one around here is good enough so they resort to dating each other."
"They're adopted Sam, it's not like they're actually related."
"Still." She took another bite. "It's weird." I gave one last glance to their table before picking up my books and going to class.
"And she was just staring at me like I was some mystery for her to solve." I said, taking a drink of my soda.
"Or like you were something to eat." Jacob teased. I punched his arm. "Ow! What was that for."
"That was for bringing up that legend you're always going on about." I laughed. "The Cold Ones." I added in a terrible impression of his voice."
"Don't diss Quileute legends. It's a part of our history." Jacob gasped, pretending to be offended. We clinked our Sprite cans together stared down at the beach, our legs hanging over the side of the cliff above the roaring waves. My phone buzzed and I looked down at a text from my dad and groaned.
"Gotta head home early, says dad says he has something he needs to tell me." I stood up, Jake following. We walked back to his house where my truck was parked.
"Tell Charlie hi for me." Jake yelled as I backed out of the drive way.
"Will do!" I replied, shouting out of the car window. "Oh, and don't forget, you promised to help me fix the radio!"
"Come by next week and I'll have the parts!" His form grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared in the trees. The drive home from the rez was one of my favorites. The deep forests on one side and the beach on the other. It was calming to simply drive and not have to worry about anything for a half hour. When I got home however and saw my dad waiting for me on the porch, worry settled in.
"Dad, what's wrong?" I asked, slamming the car door.
"Nothing, nothing's wrong." He mumbled, standing up and crushing me in a hug.
"Woah," I gasped. My dad wasn't really a touchy feely person, so hugs were a rare occurrence. "What did you need to tell me." I wondered once I pulled away.
"Renee and Phil are moving away from Phoenix." He started.
"Okay?" What did this have to do with us?
"Well, Bella wanted to be able to settle down for high school."
"I still don't understand."
"She's moving to Forks to live with us." He grinned, but I just stood there, staring open mouthed at him. "You two are finally going to get to spend some time together."
"That's great, dad." I lied. It wasn't that I didn't love my sister, I did. But it had always just been me and my dad. No sister or mother, just us. Now it would be me, dad...and her. The two of us went inside and I cooked up some soup for dinner.
After dinner I helped dad move another bed into my room that I would start sharing with Bella. Once we figured out how to make two beds fit in the room, dad went downstairs to watch tv and I practiced my guitar. I had started playing when I was a fifth grader and since then I couldn't stop, same thing with art. Whenever I had some free time, I was strumming away on guitar or sketching the woods outside my window. Before long, my fingers were numb and red from playing, so I decided to call it a night.
The trees all looked the same. Every twist and turn I took only led me to the same spot. The leaves under my feet crackled under my feet and I held my sweatshirt over my head to keep the rain out of my face.
"Veronica!" Someone shouted. I followed the sound of their voice until something white rushed past me and I froze. I tried to see through the pitch blackness of the night, but it was impossible with the pouring rain. "Veronica help me!" I stepped forward, but a freezing hand grabbed my wrist. My breath quickened and I fought, but their grip was too strong.
"No need to be afraid." They whispered, their lips grazing my ear. "This won't hurt at all." Something sharp dug into my neck and I screamed.
I woke up with someone shaking my shoulders. I looked up at my dad and sighed with relief.
"You' better get up or you'll be late to school." He said, stepping away from my bed. "I'm picking up Bella at the airport today, so we'll probably be back by the time you get home." He started to leave but stopped. "Oh, and Veronica."
"Yes dad." I yawned.
"You're going to have to share the truck." He left and I fell back on the bed with a groan. Sharing my room I could deal with, but I would not share my truck. I got dress and quickly grabbed an apple for breakfast before heading out the door. Since Kaitlyn only got to drive her mom's Honda every other day, I picked her up at her house and gave her a ride. She was talking about some boy she was talking to when I interrupted her.
"Do you remember my sister Bella?" I asked abruptly.
"You have a sister?" She exclaimed.
"Yeah, she lives with my mom. Or she lived with my mom. She's moving to Forks."
"Oh my god, that's great!" Kate beamed. "When is she moving here?"
"My dad's picking her up today, actually. Anyway, I'm going to have to give her rides to school too, so it'll be a little cramped. And my dad said that I had to sh-" just saying it made me sick, "share the truck." Kate gasped.
"No. Whatever will you do?" She mocked. I punched her arm. "It's just a truck Vee, a rather crappy one at that."
"Well I guess if it's so bad, you won't be wanting rides anymore. Have fun walking twelve blocks in the snow." I joked as the small snowflakes turned into clumps.
"No no, I think this car has grown on me." She shivered at the idea of walking in this weather and looking through her purse for her phone. I carefully pulled into the parking lot, other cars going too fast and skidding on the icy road.. Of course the stupid silver volvo pulled into a parking spot with ease. Edward got out of the car and sent me an inquisitive look.
"What do they want." I thought.
"What do who want?" Kate asked, looking up from her search. She looked at Edward. "Oh… maybe he likes you. He is the only one in their little cult that doesn't date his siblings."
"How did you-" I was cut off my hands slamming on the window. We both screamed. "Ben!" I shrieked. He laughed uncontrollably as I got out of the truck.
"Aw, you guys are the jumpiest people I know." I smacked the back of his head.
"Not funny!" Kate huffed, hitting him as well. He wiped off the snow sticking to his glasses.
"I thought you had strep." I said as we walked into the school.
"Apparently my mom over reacted… shocker." He shook off the white flecks from his coat and put it in his locker. "I just had a bad cough." He glanced over my shoulder. "Don't look now, but your boyfriend is on his way over here." I turned around and saw Mike waltzing towards us and I ran in the other direction, running right into something big and hard. My books fell out of my hands but were swooped up in an instant. I looked up and found black eyes.
Hey everyone! I'm really excited to share this story with you and I really hope you like it! Not really one for an author's note, so just leave reviews and let me know what you think and if you want to see more.