Author's Note: I know that you guys are waiting on an update on 'Blessing in Disguise' but I've come in contact with a bit of 'Writer's Block' on that story and it's not coming along very well. Plus, I think that my publisher may be mad at me for taking so long and the fact that I've completely changed my story doesn't help. Anyways, I hope that you guys like this story and I know that it is a little sad at the beginning but I promise that it will get better from here! Plus, this is my first A/U fanfic so please don't be too brutal. Please enjoy and don't hate me!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All are human.
Prologue: A Single Word
"Bella."
A single word.
That was all it took to make the tears fall.
It had been hard enough when my mom had died but now...
With our father gone, it was going to be even harder on Emmett and me.
We had no one. I guess that was why my Aunt Heather was the one trying to get me to go to the funeral.
My dad had been the Police Chief to the great people of Forks, Washington but that hadn't been able to help him when he had drowned while fishing. Poor Billy hadn't been able to do anything but call 911.
"Bella, you have to get ready. The funeral's in less than an hour." I buried my head in my pillow again and tried to make sure she couldn't see the tears that were streaming down my face. I had to be strong. I had to. There was no other option. Emmett was already at the funeral parlor, greeting our family members. He had left hours ago. I, on the other hand, had yet to even get out of bed.
I felt the side of the bed sag beside me and I turned to face the wall.
There had to be a way to make the tears stop.
So, I thought of the last time my dad and I had been together. The way we had been watching some stupid baseball game, him laughing and me reading some book called 'Twilight' about vampiric love. I kept glancing over to see him taking another swig of his Budweiser and shaking my head. It had been just another night in the Swan residence. Too bad that it was the last night my father and I would spend together.
I felt a few last tears escape before I turned my head and Aunt Heather pushed a few strands of hair behind my ear. This was tough on her also. Charlie had been her only brother and now she was alone. I could see the bags under her eyes where she had been up late crying. I probably didn't look any different. I hadn't gotten very much sleep in the last three days.
"Aunt Heather," I said in a rather raspy voice, "I think that I can dress myself. Do you mind?" I kinda gestured towards the door and she smiled slightly before walking to the door. I sat in bed for a few more minutes before finally giving up and climbing out of the bed. I walked over my sorry excuse for a closet and pulled out the only black clothes I owned: A slimple black button up blouse and a pair of black dress pants with small pockets on the sides. I also grabbed my one and only pair of black dress shoes.
I really didn't want to go but then I would feel guilty for not paying my last respects to my father. I slowly got dressed and slid on my shoes. I pulled my hair back slightly and looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were big and puffy, red around the edges. I must look horrible to everyone else.
I stood just as Aunt Heather tapped on the door.
"Ready to go, Bella?" She peeked her head in as she asked. I nodded and walked over to the door, grabbing my jacket in the process. I switched out the light and closed the door. I made my way towards the stairs behind her, pausing at the door to Charlie's room. The bed was still messed up and there were fishing magazines strewn across the floor. The hamper was open and slightly over-flowing. I smiled as I remembered him asking me to do his laundry before he left that morning. I had told him that I would do it later. If everyone else had had their way, the room would be immaculate and there wouldn't be anything on the floor, the clothes would be washed, and the closet would be nice and tidy. I had stood guard for the first few hours when everyone had arrived but had fallen asleep. I woke up in my bed and assumed that either Emmett or Uncle Paul had carried me there. I had run straight to his room only to find it unscathed.
When I walked downstairs, I paused at the kitchen door to look at Charlie's chair. I could still see him sitting there, eating fried fish and drinking an orange soda. (WOOO! Go orange soda! Sorry, please excuse my randomness...) I smiled to myself again and went out to my truck. For once, it wasn't raining but it was still a bit chilly.
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The drive to the the funeral parlor had been quite silent. Aunt Heather had ridden with me while Uncle Paul had taken their car. I was glad that she had found Paul a few years ago and that she had someone to spend her life with now. But it still didn't help the fact that I was an orphan now. It didn't matter that I was almost 18 now and Emmett was 21. We were orphans and the only people we had were each other.
When Aunt Heather and I had arrived at the funeral parlor, everyone had stopped what they were doing and stared at me. I had stared right back and they hesitantly resumed their conversations. I had walked straight up to Emmett and he had opened his arms in the hug I had been expecting. Although he looked like a grizzly bear, he was actually a big teddy bear on the inside.
After a few minutes of meet and greets with relatives, it was time for what I had been dreading. Emmett had wrapped his huge arms around me and escorted me to the casket. I had slowly lowered my gaze to the corpse and had held in my sobs. I guess I had been shaking or something because when I felt something moving, Emmett had been standing stark still, rubbing his hands up and down my arms.
My father had looked so peaceful. It seemed as if he was only sleeping. His eyes had been sown shut and he had a smile permanently fixated on his face. One glimpse was all I could take. I turned my face into my brother's chest and let the silent tears escape from my body...
Now, I was at home, laying in bed, trying to forget the way everyone had been crying around his tombstone. The way my and my family's friends had been mourning together. The thought of it made me sick and I resisted running to the bathroom and letting my body do as it wished. I turned into my pillow and let the sobs overtake me.
I guess I fell asleep because the last thing I remember was me talking to this extremely attractive boy at Starbucks (For those who don't know what a Starbucks is, it's a very popular coffee shop chain here in the good ol' United States of America) and he was comforting me. I don't even know who this boy is but for some reason, his gorgeous green eyes drew me in...
"Bella.... Oh, Beeellllaaa.... Waaake uuuppp." I groaned at the sound of my brother's voice. That meant that I had overslept. I was usually up before he was. I rolled over and then was very cold. I shot straight up as I realized Emmett had pulled the covers off of me. I was in skimpy little boy shorts and a tank-top/sports bra combo. That couldn't have been very pleasant for him to see me in because he threw the blanket and sheets back on top of me. "Whoa, Bells. Next time warn a guy before he gets a peek at his baby sister, will ya?" I knew that he was just trying to lighten the mood so I played along.
"Certainly. Will do. Now, can you leave me alone? I'm trying to catch up on some much needed beauty sleep."
"Ain't that the truth..." I heard my idiot of a brother mutter before I threw a pillow at him
"Great. Thanks a lot, Emmett. Now I don't have anything to block out the light with." I rolled over and tried to bury my head in the covers. My attempts were halted when I felt a low sagging in my bed. "Emmett, get out of my bed. I'm trying to get some shut eye here." I swatted at him until I made contact. I felt a change in weight distribution as he did as I asked.
"Fine, but don't you want to see everybody off before they leave?" I sat up at his comment. I had completely forgotten that my relatives were leaving today. That meant that we could have our house back and that we didn't have to act as if everything was ok. "That's my girl," Emmett said before shutting my door and leaving me to get dressed. I practically jumped off of my bed and ran to my closet. There wasn't much left to choose from seeing as I already had all of my things packed up to leave next week. Now, Charlie wouldn't have to worry about a long goodbye at the airport.
That one thought alone made me remember why everyone was here in the first place. Why everyone had flown in from different parts of the country to little ol' Forks. I slowed in my movements and went to sit on my bed again. I had nothing to wear that was clean enough to be suitable to go out in public. I couldn't really go and ask Emmett for something to wear because his clothes would swallow me whole just before falling off.
So, I did something I never thought I would do again. I got up and went across the hall. I walked right into my father's room and turned on the light. I went to his closet and pulled out my favourite shirt of his. It was a gorgeous golden colour and I knew that it would bring out the slight hint of natural highlights in my otherwise bland hair. I glanced around the room one more time before going back to the doorway, turning off the light, and heading back across the hall to my room.
I slid the shirt off the hanger and pulled my own over my head. I unbuttoned the shirt slowly before sliding my arms in the sleeves. It still smelled like him. Like aftershave, beer, and fish. It was such an unappealing combination of smells but at that moment, thatcombination was the best scent in the world. I stood holding the collar to my nose for who knows how long before Emmett called from downstairs. I hurried to pull on some jeans and slipped on my 'I heart Jack' shoes. They had purple hearts on them but I didn't care. I was in a hurry and they were the first ones I saw. ( I really do have a pair of these and they are, like, my favourite shoes that I own. The Nightmare Before Christmas Rocks!)
I bolted downstairs and met Emmett at the door. "It's 'bout time." He was holding the keys to his motorcycle that he and Jacob had rebuilt together and I grabbed my keys and jacket off of the end table in the living room. In the process, I knocked the remote off and the t.v. turned on. There was a game on and we both stilled in our movements. This was the Championship game Charlie had been talking about for the last two weeks. I felt my knees wobble a bit before slowly falling, as if suspended in time, before feeling a pair of arms around me.
"Bella? Are you ok?"
"Dad? Is that you?" I had to be hearing things. There was no way...
"No, Bells. It's Em. Are you ok?" I could hear the concern in his voice and wanted to stand, to show him how strong I could be, but I couldn't find my knees. It was as if I was only a head and torso. I didn't know what had just happened but I had a feeling that I should have been leaving to go somewhere. That I was needed elsewhere. But at that moment, all I could think of was that boy from my dream. With his slightly tousled bronze hair, pale skin, and enchanting green eyes....
"Yeah, Em. I'm fine." I managed to get out those two short sentences with a raspy breath. He helped me stand up and I leaned against the wall. He pulled away for a moment to study my face and I tried to make my face a mask.
"Bella, are you sure that you can do this? That you can say good-bye to everyone again?" I could hear the concern in his voice and when I looked up, I could see it in his eyes. He really didn't know if I could handle this. I was going away to college next week and he was still worried about his baby sister.
"Yeah, Em. I'm sure. I can do this." I pushed myself off of the wall and made my way to the door. Of course, when I opened the door it was raining. There was no way the good weather could last for more than a day or two in this dreary ol' town.
I made my way to my rust bucket of a truck and Emmett did the same to his motorcycle. He followed me to the airport and I was kinda in a haze the whole time. I still couldn't get the image out of my head of that green-eyed boy. I had had dreams in the past of things and then a few days or quite possibly the next day it would happen. My mom used to tell me that it was a sign of the devil. That I was going to Hell if I didn't keep myself in check. Unfortunately, when I was in an accident a few years ago, it didn't happen as often as it used to, if ever. (This is really something from my life. I used to do it almost every night but I was in a car wreck in the fourth grade that messed with my memory and all that jazz.) Maybe this was a sign. Maybe I was going to meet this boy at some point in the future.
I really didn't know but I was determined to find out. There was something more to this boy than met the eye. Something that he didn't let just anyone see in himself. There had to be. I pondered these thoughts all the way to Port Angeles. Emmett pulled up beside me at the airport and had to tap on the window just to get my attention. I must have really been out of it.
We walked into the airport and made our way to the gate where most of out family was departing. Maybe I would see them again soon. Wait a minute. Is that really what I wanted? To have to deal with all of the pity looks from my so called loved ones? Maybe after a while... but not anytime soon.
We said our good byes and Emmett and I made our way to the little cafe at the other end of the airport.
That was when I heard his name for the first time. I turned the moment I heard it. I don't know why I did, but I did it. It was just a murmur, a whisper in the wind. I don't even know if someone said it or if I just imagined it. But it was enough to draw my attention. I don't even know how I knew the name, how I knew it belonged to him, how I knew that I needed to remember the name forever. Edward.
Just one word made the tears want to fall. I wanted to cry. At a time like this, when my world shoud be falling apart, I was worried about a boy. But I couldn't help wanting to meet him,
"Bells, are you ok?" I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked back at the barely touched banana nut muffin in front of me. My apple juice looked just as lonely.
"Yeah, Emmett. I'm ok." At least, I thought I was. I was such a mess.
Additional Author's Note: I'm sorry if I write ol' instead of old a lot. But I'm from Tennessee and it's just something that I'm used to saying. I hope that it didn't disappoint any of you but know that it will get better later on. All stories need a little back story and I still left out a bunch of stuff but that stuff will come out later and help the plot develop. If you haven't yet, you guys need to got see the movie! I saw it twice and I can't wait for the DVD to come out. go to my profile and find my MySpace link 'cuz, I'm going to be posting a blog and pictures about it sometime soon! (Let me just say this - over 200 ppl, 10 degree weather, and a 2 and 1/2 hour wait!) I'm going to post at least the next chapter today so that it will start looking a bit better. Bella still has to meet Edward and the others so you know that there is a lot in store for this story. I'm not sure what exactly but I think that it will come along after a while.
