I always thought I knew how my life was going to be. I had it all planned out. My sister's were going to get married, I was going to be in there weddings, then I was going to be the favorite Aunt to their kids. Eventually I would get married and have my own kids, but only after I had a couple of successful novels on the Best Sellers list. My parents were going to retire and be the most over spoiling grandparents on earth.

Yep, that's how my life was going to be.

But, that not what was happening. No, my life was not going the way I'd planned at all.

My name is Bella Swan. I'm 22 years old. I have two older sisters, Rosalie is 27 years old and Victoria is 30, well…she was. That's part of my life that isn't turning out the way I'd planned.

Things were going great until about a year ago. Victoria had been married for almost six years to James; they had two sons, four year old, Jacob and one year old, Seth. While Tori was pregnant with Seth, we started noticing James changing. We didn't know what was going on with him, but we knew things were starting to get rough for Tori. James didn't even get to the hospital until about an hour after Seth was born; he said he "couldn't" leave work. Complete lie, he worked at the local factory and we all knew he didn't work weekends. But, we let it go. Tori seemed fine with it and so, why should we mess it up for her.

James seemed to "work" over more and more over the next few months and Tori started staying at my parents' house with the kids. I was the only one still living at home, I was a Senior at the local college and to save money I lived at home. It wasn't bad really. We had a pool house that my dad and some of his friends converted into a small apartment for me. It looked like a small cottage now. It had a bedroom, living room/ kitchen combo and an office and bathroom. Small, but, perfect for me.

The main house had five bedrooms and four bathrooms, plenty of room for Tori and the boys. My mom of course loved that she was staying over more. None of us really asked her much about why she stayed and what was going on with James. We just…let it go.

Then, my mom started getting sick, at first the doctors thought it was just a cold, and then they thought it was bronchitis, then pneumonia. By then she was in the hospital and after a bunch of tests, they said my mom had Pulmonary Fibrosis. She was slowly losing lung capacity to fibroids, or tumor like things. There was really no cure, they told us.

So, by this time, Tori was staying full time, to "help" out around the house and stay with mom. Again, no one even questioned it. Tori was the oldest, most responsible, it just seemed natural for her to move in and help out. James would come around a few times a week and see her and the kids, he was never rude or mean, but he wasn't overly friendly.

I, of course was involved in my school and part time job and Rosalie lived about 30 minutes away, so she would only come on the weekends. Dad worked fulltime, he was the Police Chief and he also volunteered on the Fire Department two weekends a month.

Tori never complained, or said anything about James not being around, until Seth's 1st birthday party. It was six months ago. At first she didn't want to do anything big, because of all that was happening with mom, but mom told her that we would celebrate no matter what!

So, we had a party, with some of Tori and James' friends that had kids the ages of the boys. James, however never showed up for the party. Tori was mad, she never said it, but we knew she was.

Rose finally said what I guess we should have been asking all along. "What the hell is going on with you and James, Tori?"

"Nothing Rose, nothing." She said with a small shake of her head.

"That's bullsh…."

"Not now, Rose." Dad spoke up. He didn't get involved with our bickering often, but when he did we listened to him.

So, she had let it go. The party ended and Tori and Rose and I cleaned up outside, while mom and dad took the boys in for their bath.

"Ok, spill." Rose threw some trash into a bag and looked over at Tori.

"What?" Tori tried to look like she didn't know what Rose was talking about.

"Don't, What? me! You know what I mean!" Rose glared at Tori.

"I don't know, really, I don't know what happened. One day, I had a loving husband, a son and a baby on the way, and the next, I had this." She swung her arms out in front of her. "James started pulling away while I was pregnant with Seth, and now we barely talk. When I try to ask him about it, he says I'm crazy. He says I'm the one that has pulled away, by coming to stay with mom and help her out." She sat down in one of the patio chairs and looked at me.

"He thinks you should be the one taking care of mom, not me." She sighed and shook her head.

"Well, Tori, maybe I should help out more." I sat down across from her and tried to smile.

"No Bella, it wouldn't matter, he started drifting away before mom was even sick." She reached over and patted my arm.

"He's a jerk. Do you think he is cheating on you?" Rose sat down beside Tori and rubbed her back.

"I really don't know. Something is going on, that's for sure." Tori shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, I think it's time for me to visit my brother in law!" Rose smacked her hand on the table and stood up. "I can't believe you've kept this to yourself." She looked over at Tori.

"I didn't know what to say, Rose." Tori looked sad. I had never really noticed that she looked truly sad.

"It'll be ok, I promise." Rose bent over and hugged her.

"Yeah, it will be." I hugged her and Rose both.

They both laughed and we pulled apart and finished cleaning and went inside to play with the boys before they went to bed.

Things had seemed…not so bad..but not perfect at the time. So how was it that six months later I was sitting between Rose and my dad on my parent's sofa listening to my mom try to muffle her sobs as some stranger told us that my sister, Victoria, was dead?

It didn't make any sense at all.