I stared forlornly at the plain door, and lifted my hand to ring the doorbell before letting it fall back down to my side. I had been standing on the doorstep for over four minutes, trying to work up the courage to ring the doorbell. It wasn't so much that I was afraid, just that ringing the doorbell would mark the official start of my hellish prison sentence in Forks, Washington, the place that I had been exiled to by my mother, who knew good and well how much I hated the place.

She sent me here because she wanted some "alone time" with her new husband, Phil. She didn't tell me this of course, but I figured it out pretty quickly after she gave me a load of crap about how she wanted me to spend a year or two with my dad, bonding. I glared balefully at the door, and considered checking my luggage. But then I remembered I had already done that at the airport, twice.

Alright, I told myself. No more procrastinating. Standing on this doorstep will solve none of your problems. Don't be a wimp. Ring the doorbell already!

I took a deep breath, got a good handle on my luggage, and rang the doorbell.

After the annoying chorus of dings and dongs were halfway through, the door was opened to reveal my dad, Charlie Swan, police chief of Forks, wearing a pair of beat-up jeans, work boots, and a gray fishing T-shirt that read, Kiss My Bass. What a welcoming party.

"Hey, Cattie!" He greeted me, smiling and pulling me into a hug, made uncomfortable by the luggage I was holding. I winced internally when he called me by his pet name for me, short for my real name Catrina. He helped me get my luggage and called up the stairs, "Bella! Come down! Catrina is here!" I turned my attention from Charlie as my older sister walked down the stairs.

She didn't look any different. Same brown hair, brown eyes, too-pale skin, and boring fashion taste. I didn't realize until this moment how much I had not missed my sister. One of the reasons I wanted so badly to stay in Phoenix was because she wasn't there.

"Hi, Catrina." Bella greeted me, with an awkward wave to go with it. Against my will, I felt a surge of pity. God, that girl had no self-confidence.

I gave her a short nod in return. "Hey."

Charlie clapped his hands together. "Okay, now onto the next issue. "Where you sleep!"

I groaned internally. In a house this small, my choices were extremely limited, and none of them appealed to me.

If Charlie noticed my inner brooding, he didn't say anything. "I was thinking that since you and Bella haven't seen each other in a while, you could sleep in her room."

Both me and Bella said "No!" quite sharply, and I couldn't help the small but smile a little. I was shocked my sister had enough emotion in her for the outburst. I always though she had the personality of drywall.

Bella winced and realized how rude that would probably sound to Charlie and said hurriedly, "Well I mean, my room is really small, and I don't think a bed and her stuff would fit. It's really cramped and stuff…" Her voice trailed off lamely. I rolled my eyes. God, my sister is a horrible liar. She couldn't lie about not brushing her teeth without blushing and stammering and looking down like she was doing now. I would rather her say she hated me and didn't want me anywhere near her room then have to watch this pathetic display.

I chimed in, trying to sound cheerful, "Really, Dad, it's okay. I don't mind sleeping on the pull out-"

But he shook his head and interrupted, "No no no. You can take my room. I'll still have to go in there every morning to get my things, but you'll be much more comfortable there then on the sofa."

I saw Bella sag in relief. Did I mention how much that girl pisses me off?

I switched my attention back to Charlie. "Thanks, Dad." I said with a semi-real smile. "I appreciate it."

He smiled back and offered to help me move my stuff up to my "new room". Bella said something about making some food. I told her I didn't want any, I already ate on the plane. Dad said he would be down in a minute.

After all my stuff had been moved up to my makeshift bedroom and I had thanked Charlie for helping me and said he hoped I would like it here and left, I sat down on the bed and stared at the moose print comforter.

It was then I realized this would never really feel like home to me. From the moose comforter to the pictures of fishing and Dad's fishing buddies on the walls to the tacky log-cabiniey furniture, everything about this room felt alien to me. And since it was Charlie's room, not mine, I probably wouldn't be able to put up my own posters or pictures or try to find a rainbow-polka-dot comforter that was like the one at home.

That had always been my problem with Forks. It had never felt like home to me. I didn't even want to think about tomorrow when I would have to go to Forks High School and get looked at like I was a freak. I suddenly felt a surge of hate for Forks for being so horrible, Bella for being so dull, Phil for being the reason my mother sent me here, my mother Renee for sending me here, and my dad for allowing my mother to send me here. I got ready for bed and curled up under the comforters, unable to sleep. I considered listening to my iPod, but I didn't think it would help. Welcome to Forks, I thought glumly.