Okay. Here's a new story that I've got. So, please R&R. Pretty, pretty, PRETTY please?

Ashley POV


I looked down the street at my cousin's house. Could I really do this to her? Force myself on her? With a sigh, I forced my feet to move. I had nowhere else to go. I'd driven from Los Angeles to Forks, Washington. My parents probably hadn't even realized I was gone. With their drinking, well, it was hard for them to realize anything.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

There was a long minute, and I momentarily wondered whether or not Bella still lived here. Then the door opened slowly.

Bella was different than I remembered. True, she was way, way older than me, and the last time I'd seen her, I'd been eight. But she was pale now, and she looked thinner. When I'd last seen her, she hadn't really smiled much, but she still smiled a little bit.

But she looked like she hadn't smiled in a long time. Her eyes were blank as they passed over my face. "Yes?" she asked quietly.

Her appearance had rendered me speechless. Bella's eyebrows dipped, and she frowned a little bit. She backed up to shut the door.

I lurched forward, grabbing the door. "Wait. Bella, it's me. It's Ashley," I whispered.

She looked at me closely. Her smile looked forced and tense. "Hi, Ashley. Are your parents here?"

I held back a flinch. "No, um -" Might as well tell her. "They kicked me out. I was hoping I could live here?"

She stared at me. "Why did they kick you out?"

I shrugged. "You got me. I figured I could live here. I mean, if it's okay with you," I amended. No matter how confident I seemed, I still didn't want to force myself on her. I didn't want her to feel obligated to take me in.

My cousin looked me over one more time. "Of course you can live here."

I smiled and hugged her fiercely. "Thank you so much, Bella. I can't tell you how much this means to me."

She just smiled. She looked really tired to me. As we walked through her house, I couldn't help but notice that there weren't any pictures.

"You don't have a boyfriend?" I asked, glancing around.

Bella put her hand on the wall and leaned against it, her eyes closed. Her breathing was shallow, and, if possible, she looked even paler.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she gasped, pushing off the wall. "No, I don't have a -" She cut off, starting to sob violently.

My eyes widened. While I was blonde and blue-eyed, I wasn't a sentimental, sensitive person. People made that assumption about me. The way I looked dictated my nature. By nature, I was a strong, fiery girl. If you got in my face, I'd get back in yours twice as bad.

But an emotional breakdown from my cousin? Not my strong point.

"Bella? Do you need anything?" I asked awkwardly.

She shook her head. "Your room will be right down that hall," she whispered. "I'm sorry about this, Ashley." She stopped talking, breaking into sobs again.

"No, it's, um -" What did one say when their adult cousin bursts into tears at the mention of a boyfriend? "Fine. Don't worry about it," I said quickly.

I ran out of the house to my car, grabbing my bags. I was hesitant to go back inside Bella's house. If she was going to be randomly breaking down all the time, then it would be awkward between the both of us. I didn't cry often. My childhood had made me too strong for that.

But when I came back, Bella was gone. Presumably in her room, crying over whatever it was that was messing with her. Sure enough, when I went in the room that Bella had pointed out, I could hear her crying on the other side of the room.

Oh my God. If she was going to do this all the time, I'd be insane by the time school started. Which was only in a month.

I made my rounds around the house, finding the places I could sit and think quietly without hearing Bella. It wasn't that I didn't love her. No, that wasn't it. But all the crying was extremely depressing.

"Bella? I'm sorry about bringing that up." She had to stop crying. If she didn't stop, I was going to cry, too.

"It's okay," I heard her whisper from the other side of her door.

"Do you - want to... talk about it?" I asked. I wasn't very good at being sensitive to people's feelings, but I was a good listener.

Her door swung open. "I guess I have to," she sighed. She motioned for me to follow her to the kitchen table. We sat across from each other.

She sighed deeply. "When I was eighteen, my first boyfriend -" Her breathing hitched, but she visibly pulled herself together. "- my first and only love, really, broke up with me."

My teeth automatically gritted. What an asshole! I had to go find him. I had to make him pay for hurting my cousin so badly that she hadn't even tried to date again. "Jerk," I muttered.

"No, no." She sighed. "It was for my own good."

"How can it be for your own good if this is what you're like now?" I asked in disbelief. Immediately, I could see tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's okay, Ashley."

After our little conversation a silent agreement had been made. I wouldn't ask anything else about this SOAB boyfriend, and she wouldn't burst into tears when I was around.

Within a month, we'd gotten everything I needed for school - clothes, supplies, the works. Tomorrow was the first day of school, and I was looking forward to it - which was strange for me. I normally loathed education.

I guess it was the chance, the opportunity to start over, that excited me. Regardless of whether or not I was ready, I was going to school. In Forks. This would be an adventure.

Okay. I know that was really boring, but the next chapter is where things start to get dramatic. And you know me. I'm all about the drama. I have big things planned for this one, so stick around to see what happens!

Please review! Puh-leeeeeeaassssse?? Pretty, pretty, pretty, please??? I know it's so hard. It takes, you know, an entire minute out of your lives, but it's worth it. I promise. :D

~Jessica