Summary - Whitney has always been the odd girl out. She's never really cared much about her looks or having friends, besides the four she's known since childhood. But, when she finds herself falling for the oh-so perfect guy, will she unlock secrets that were never meant ro be opened?
Set - During the movie. (No Kate.)

Author's Note - This is my first shot at a Covenant and this is the first story I have shown to anybody who isn't one of my friends or an English teacher, feedback would be nice. If you have any questions about the story so far, all you have to do is ask and I'll answer them.
:D

Prologue – Why'd You Have To Go?

I sat at my computer desk staring at the black computer screen. I felt confused, alone, and scared, but no matter what I did, said, or thought, the two most inevitable realities were still staring at me in the face. Caleb and I had our first 'couple' fight, and my mom's lung cancer just got a hell of a lot worse.

I felt a stinging sensation come from my eyes and I knew that there was no point in trying to fight it. My teenage life was crashing down around me and I couldn't reach out to anybody; my pride made sure of that. I let the tears go and brought my knees up to my chest hugging them. I cried unwillingly them loosing myself in my own painful thoughts.

"Whitney?" My mother's frail voice echoed through my room.

I hurriedly brushed the released tears from my soaked cheeks before turning in the chair to face her. Her form made me want to burst out into tears again. Her once brown colored hair was gone leaving her bald, her green eyes had grown black circles around them taking all light out of them, and her flesh was sickly pale. I had to hug myself tighter just to keep myself collected in front of her.

"What are you doing out of bed?" I started in my little rant. "You know that the doctor will put you in the hospital." I sighed getting up from my chair and leading her to my bed, sitting down beside her.

"I knew something was wrong."

"Nothing is wrong." I lied.

"My baby doesn't cry over nothing, I can't even remember the last time she cried in fact." The more she said the more condensation collected. "Oh sweetheart, what's wrong?" She asked hugging me.

"Everything is so wrong!" I yelled. "You are supposed to get better, not worse. You're supposed to watch me graduate and squeal at my prom. You are supposed to be in the room when I have my first baby and when I get married. Caleb is supposed to understand what I am going through!" I screamed the last sentence.

"I'll still be there for all those things, Whitney. And how is Caleb supposed to know what you're going through? His mother is still alive." Her tone caught my off guard; she rarely got as upset as she was now.

"He's at least supposed to care." I mumbled under my breath, think she wouldn't catch it.

"Whitney Gore!" Her voice cracked. "You know how much that young man cares about you. You know how much all four of those boys care about you. If they didn't they would've shut you out a long time ago."

I sighed and looked down at my shaking hands. She was tight, of course. She always was.

"I am going to go to the store, okay?" I stood up. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Who's the parent here." She stated with a much needed laugh.

I laughed along with her before walking out of my room and down the carpeted steps. I grabbed my jacket and wallet off the table next to the door and left. The October wind blew restlessly around me, nipping at my cheeks and ears sending chills throughout my body.

It took me no less then twenty minutes to get to the store, things would be so much better if I had a driver's license. I walked through the store with a cart dumping things in it that I knew mom liked to snack on. A few minutes after getting in the store my phone started to vibrate. I picked it up and looked at who it was. iCaleb/i. I groaned to myself and hit the off button.

Sure, what mom made sense to me but he didn't have to be such an asshole about me not wanting to spend time with him right now. He was wrong anyways. I don't just spend time with her; I spend a lot of time with him and the guys, too. And even if I did spend more time with her, why should it matter! She's dying.

I mentally shuddered at the thought of her corpse getting lowered into a grave. Tears brimmed my eyes before I quickly willed them to leave. I couldn't loose it here, in a store, people would come over and ask if everything is all right, and I hated when people asked if I was okay, because I'm far from it.

I pushed my mind to remember the earliest memory of her, and just her. I was around two years old and we were out at a park having a picnic, my dad was gone by that time; he left us a couple months after my second my birthday. I was chasing the ducks and geese around trying to let one of them let me touch them, my mom was watching me carefully a smile brightened up her face.

"Whitney, why don't you leave those birds along and come over her to eat."

"Not hungry mommy." I whined in disapproval. "Pet the birdies!"

"Sweetie, they don't want to be petted. Birds like that aren't pets." She made sense of everything.

I continued chasing the birds around, I rarely listened to my mom at that age, terrible twos and all. I was so caught up in my own determination that I didn't know that she was standing right behind me. She swept me up in loving arms and I yelped in surprise, squirming restlessly trying to get out of her gasp; she only laughed.

"Let. Me. Down!" I yelled as she carried me over to the blanket that was set out with snacks and sandwiches.

"No, it is time for lunch." She placed me down on the blanket and handed me some carrots. I made a face at them and pushed them away. "You need to eat all of your lunch or you aren't going to go back by those birds."

"Fine," I hollered at her defeat, shoving that orange thing in my mouth.

I came out of my thoughts as I reached into the freezer grabbing some Superman ice-cream. I wish that things could go back to being that simple, but they couldn't, and they wouldn't. I groaned as my cell phone started to go off again. I reached in my pocket, not even caring to check who was calling; I already knew who it was.

"Leave me along Caleb! I don't feel like talking to you right now." I yelled into the phone earning people to glance at me and give me rude looks.

"Excuse me Miss. Gore, this is Dr. Eisenhower. There has been an accident with your mother."

Everything went blank after that. I dropped my phone and the gallon of ice-cream that had been still dangling in my hand. My heart felt like someone had a tight grip on it and I wasn't afraid to let them fall this time.

Something was wrong with my mother.

I ran out of the store, not caring about the ice-cream all over the floor or the abandoned cell phone. I ran as fast as my long legs could carry me to the hospital about fifteen blocks away. When I got there I was out of breath and the sweat mixed with the rain that had started to fall, matted most of my hair to my scalp.

"I'm looking for Mrs. Gore; Dr. Eisenhower called and said there was an accident." I rushed out the words to the nurse behind the counter.

"She's on the third floor, room three-fifteen." She said just as rushed, like she knew what was happening. Maybe she did, I really didn't care.

I ran to the elevators, pushing the button with such force my finger cracked, but I didn't care. I moved around impatiently waiting for it to arrive at my floor. When it finally did I pushed the people out of the elevator and pushed the number three.

I brought my head into my hands letting the silent tears fall down my flushed face. My breathing hadn't calmed down, and I doubt it would for the rest of the night. I rocked my body back and forth hoping that this was just a nightmare and I would wake up at any moment.

I think a lot of people wish that in situations like these. But I wasn't dreaming. And my mom was really lying in a hospital bed.

I rushed out of the elevator when it dinged and ran down the halls looking for three-fifteen. When I found it, I wish I hadn't. She was hooked up to machines, her heartbeat was faint and they were feeding her oxygen.

"Whitney?" My mom's soft, hoarse voice came to me.

"Yeah mom, it's me." I choked out. "I told you to stay in my room."

"I'm almost as stubborn as you." She laughed.

"It isn't funny!" I yelled at her. "This is serious, this is really, really serious. You're dying."

She motioned for me to come lay next to her and I did. I climbed onto the bed and rested my head on her chest and her hand went into my hair.

"We knew this was going to happen sooner or later."

"I just wish it was later."

"Me too, baby, me too."

The faint sound of her heart beating gave me hope. She was strong, she could make it through. But I knew somewhere deep down inside of me that I was just bull-shitting myself. By the end of the night, my mom would be dead.

"I love you, mommy." The endearment I hadn't used in about seven years slipped through my lips.

"I love you, too, baby."

For the next thirty minutes I listened to her heart. Every time it beat, it was a little slower. Tears were falling freely and I was sobbing so loud you could've heard me from the second floor. I didn't want her to go, not ever.

But at the end of those thirty minutes, her heart stopped beating and so did mine, if only for a second. But her beat never started back up. I shuddered and removed her hand from my hair and sat up. I didn't want to leave; I didn't ever want to leave. But the doctors would come in and take her away in a few minutes.

My heart tore every step I took away from her. When I got to the door I looked one more time at her motionless form. She looked like she was sleeping, like she was in no more pain and that thought made me believe that she was better off dead.

I walked out into the bright light, my eyes squinting and bloodshot. When my eyes focused my four angels were in front of me. I ran into Caleb and wrapped my arms around his neck tight and cried into his chest until I couldn't cry anymore. I could three other pairs of arms around me a few minutes later and I knew that everything, somehow, was going to be fine.

I am going to try something and see if this helps get reviews and such:
Comment and I will send you a quote from the next chapter; and I'll make sure it is a good one and I will try not to send the same one more then once.

--WhitneyXO