The Second Secret
A Twilight Rewrite
Chapter 1: New Home
"Bella" my mom, René, said. You don't have to do this you know." I sighed.
"Actually mom I kind of want to go. Get a fresh start you know?" I'd always been a horrible liar but usually I didn't have to worry about people believing my stories. I could just make them believe my lies. But I hated using my powers on my mom. Something about it just seemed wrong. Seeing as how I didn't want to use my powers on my mom and I didn't want to confess what I was, leaving was my only choice. It's not like I hadn't tried to tell my mom the truth but I could never bring up the guts to actually say the words. Going up to your mom and saying "Mom? Just to tell you; I'm a witch" is not the easiest thing to do. I didn't want to leave Phoenix I loved it here: the heat, the sky and my mom. But I didn't want to continue worrying about Damon everyday.
"All right then. Call me when you get there okay? Say hi to Charlie for me."
"Okay mom." I gave her one last hug and boarded the plane. I had only brought my magic rules book, and my very favorite pieces of clothing. I could always zap in anything else I needed. While on the plane from Phoenix to Seattle I thought about the life waiting for me in Forks Washington. My Dad, Charlie Swan, was a policeman in Forks. I wouldn't have to be as careful with Charlie as I was with Rene. One good thing about Charlie: he doesn't hover.
Trying to make potions with René around is next to impossible. I thought about the time when she had found my magic book and wanted me to sell it. I had to pretend that I lost the book to get her off my back. But I wouldn't get careless. Not being able to tell my mom my deepest secret is really sad I know, but there was too much of a risk. I would not be able to stand it if my Mom looked at me the way my ex-boyfriend; Damon Smith had looked at me when I told him. I shoved the thought out of my mind and made myself a promise quietly in my seat. "I promise to never let anyone know my secret ever again," I whispered to myself.
When I finally got off the plain I was not surprised to see that it was raining.
" Suck it up Bella," I said to myself as I went and grabbed my bag. "It's the sun or your secret. Now witch is more important? Besides, you already said your goodbyes to the sun."
Charlie was waiting for me by his police cruiser. You have to get a car I thought to myself. I couldn't let my Dad drive me to high school everyday!I would have to remember to brew up a car potion when I got to Charlie's house. Charlie hugged me and took my bag from my arm to put in the trunk.
"It's good to see you Bell. I've missed you," he said with that boyish smile of his.
"Thanks Dad. I've missed you too," I said, as I stumbled around to the passenger side of the car like the clumsy person I was. He caught me before I hit the ground and steadied me.
"I see that you haven't changed much," he said. "How's Renee?"
"She's fine," I said as I let go of him and slid into the car. After putting my bag in the trunk we finally started the long drive to Forks. After a few minutes of silence Charlie said,
"I found a good car for you! Your going to love it, I know you will!"
"What kind of car?" I really didn't care. If I didn't like it I'd just tell Charlie that I'd keep looking.
"Do you remember Billy Black down from La Push? He's in a wheelchair now so he can't drive. So he offered to sell me his truck cheap."
"Truck?" It's a truck? My Dad didn't think that I would be driving a truck did he?
"Yeah. It's a Chevy that he bought in 1984. I think that it was actually from the late fifties at the earliest." He could not be serious. Early fifties? My Dad didn't know that much about me at all. I kept on topic to be polite.
"How cheap is cheap?"
"Well, honey I kind of bought it for you already as a homecoming gift."
I turned my head sideways and looked out the window to hide my expression. I hated gifts. I rarely needed to spend money on other people since I could just zap in basically anything I wanted. People could use their money on much more important things then me. If he had already bought it for me then I would hurt his feelings if I showed up one day with another car. Well damn. I looked strait ahead when I answered him.
"You didn't need to do that Dad." You really didn't need to I thought.
"I don't mind Bella. I want you to be happy here." Well now that was going to be even more impossible. I hated Forks. It was always raining and cold. And having people laugh at me because I'm driving around in a rusty old pick-up truck that my Dad bought me would not make me any happier. I glanced sideways at Charlie. "That's really nice Dad, Thanks." He looked at me and by the pained look in his eye and by what I was sensing from his mind, I could tell that he didn't believe me. I sighed. I never tried using my powers on Renee because I thought it was unfair to manipulate my own mother but using my powers on Charlie didn't bug me as much as it did Renee. So I looked at Charlie, square in the eye and pushed with my mind, wrapping my thought around his head:
Believe me.
I willed him to believe me. Charlie's head snapped forward and he smiled.
"I knew you'd love it," he said. I looked out my window to hide my smile. My spells almost always worked now that I had been practicing for a few years. I leaned my head against the back of the seat and tried to seem asleep so that Charlie wouldn't keep talking.
We arrived at the house late in the evening. The first thing I saw was a rusty old truck sitting in the driveway. It looked like something from a drag racing show.
"Billy's son Jacob redid the engine for you, so it runs great! Here's the key." I forced a bright smile while I took the key from him.
"Thanks Dad. I really love it!" Charlie smiled a big, pleased smile.
"I knew you'd love it," he said cheerfully. I hadn't meant to make him this cheerful. Maybe I overdid it. Maybe I should work on my spells a bit more.
After thanking Charlie some more, I grabbed my bag and headed into the small white house. It was just like I had remembered it: The small kitchen that lead to the living room with the big flat screen TV for Charlie to watch football games. I went up the stairs and turned right to find the bathroom, the only bathroom. I closed the door and looked at the small space. I pointed my finger at the counter and thought about all of the bathroom necessities I wanted. A golden thread shot out of my finger and took the shape of toothbrushes and toothpaste and hairbrushes. I also pointed at the cupboard and it flew open to revile some of Charlie's things. There was some extra space on the sides so I pointed at the cupboard and thought of nail polish. The little golden thread came out from my fingerand there were suddenly dozens of colors of nail polish in the back of the cabinet.
"There," I said to myself. I walked across the hall into my old bedroom and took a look around. It was just like it was in the summerwhen I had been here for a week. The small purple bed and the green walls were not what I would call my favorite color scheme but I decided that I would leave one room the same, for Charlie's sake. But there was one thing that had to be done I pointed at my closet and thought of some really cute halter-tops and name brand pants. As always, my closet was suddenly filled with awesome clothes. I went over to the large mirror sitting on top of my desk and took a good look at the witch that was staring back at me. Maybe I wouldn't feel so worried about school tomorrow if I looked like a normal girl from Phoenix. But I wasn't tall, tan and sporty, I was different then other girls and people usually noticed. I tried to hide the strange things about me but some times it was difficult. My skin was paler then most people, and I was a little over average height. I lifted up my shirt to reveal the six-pack that didn't fit my figure very well. I put down my shirt and turned sideways to look at my super-natural bicep that gave me so much strength. It must be twice the size of a normal seventeen-year-old girl. But I was far from normal and I had to accept the fact that being able to do magic comes with some life changes. I turned to my front and at last looked at my face. I had brownish-red hair that had been growing very long and thick since I had started casting spells. There were honey brown eyes that were in just the right spot on my head and stood out pretty well. That was one good thing that had happened to me when I had become a witch: my appearance had changed making me look prettier. I looked at the necklace that hung around my neck. A red rose with a small red jewel in the center. I had never removed the necklace in all my life because it was the best source of protection a witch had. My eyes drifted to my forehead, it looked completely normal, so I took my hand and wiped it across my forehead, which removed the foundation that I had applied this morning, to complete the look. I stared at the freakish looking tattoo that rested in the center. The symbol of witches: two circles, one inside the other, with a triangle intertwined with the inner circle. It looked like something from another planet: alien, and it didn't help to know that there was another marking exactly the same on my wrists and ankles. I pulled my lips back to reveal my set of ultra white teeth. Looking at my reflection I found it hard to believe that I was still half human.
"Who are you?" I said to the beautiful, freakish looking girl. "Do you like being inhumanly beautiful or do you wish you were normal?" I shrugged. I didn't even know the answer to that question. I decided that I better start unpacking so I went over to my closet and sat down. I was in the middle of trying do decide how to organize my clothes when I heard a faint scratching sound. I turned from my closet and looked around for the source of the sound. There was nothing out of ordinary in my room except my suitcase. My suitcase.
"Oh," I said suddenly remembering what else I had put in my suitcase. How could I have been so stupid? I threw myself at the bag and got it onto my bed.
"I'm so sorry Nala," I said as my clumsy fingers fumbled with the zippers.
"I totally forgot you were in here!" I get through with the last zipper and am about to open the top when it flies open it self and a black ball of fur leaps out of it onto the bed.
Finally,
I here the cat's voice in my head.
Do you know how it feels to be trapped in that tiny little square all day?
The black cat the size of a small dog says and arches it's back.
"No, I don't, because when I phase I'm to big to fit into a suitcase." It was true. All witches were able to phase into one animal that fitted their personality. I could phase into a black panther with glowing yellow eyes and large muscles in my shoulders and arms just like when I was human.
"Nala, it would be easier to stretch if you would phase into human form."
"Yeah your right," she said aloud. I watched as the cat quickly started to grow in size, loose hair and straiten up into a standing position until there was a beautiful girl with the same symbol in the center of her forehead as me. Nala had blond hair that went just past her shoulders and beautiful hazel eyes that could make anyone tell the truth. She was thin and a little bit shorter then me, and she had a purple necklace that matched mine swinging around her neck.
She was my best friend. Nala stretched out on my bed.
"Not a very big room is it?" I looked at her without emotion.
"It's only meant for one person, Nala" I said. "It was my mothers room and it may not be a top hotel but it will do." Nala got up and put a hand on my shoulder.
"I know how much you want to tell your mom about this, but it's to risky. You and I know better then anyone about the risks of telling people our secret." That was defiantly true.
Nala had told her mom she was a witch the same night that I told my boyfriend (now ex-boyfriend) Damon. Nala's mom had thrown herself off the balcony. Damon had decided that I was evil and tried to kill me. That's how Nala and I met. Both of us had been running through the forest when we bumped into each other phased into our animal forms and ran off together. Nala didn't have any parents after that night because her dad had left long ago, so I told her that she could hide in my room if she needed a place to stay. So that was how we became best friends. We told each other everything and never lied.
"I know Nala, but I hate lying to people all the time."
"We have powers that kids our age would kill to have, that doesn't come without a price." She gave me a hug and said, "I'm going for a run. Cat style. You in?" I shook my head.
"I have to finish unpacking and then I should try to get some sleep. I'm starting a new school tomorrow, and I want to be up early to go for a run with you, so don't run so much that you won't want to run tomorrow. I'll leave the window open so that you can get back in later." Nala smiled.
"Okay," she said. She walked over to the window slid it open and took a headfirst dive down to the ground. To any normal person it would look insane but I knew what would happen. I walked over to the window just in time to see her shrink into a black cat, touch the ground softly and disappear into the forest behind the house.
I turn around and point my finger at the center of the room. Dozens of small lit, tea candles appear on the dresser, desk and bedside table. Candles were a huge part of witch life. They were good for seeing things and casting spells so I always had lots of them around. One candle was bigger then all the others and it was on a shelf in a corner of the room. Above it hung a large painting of the witch goddess: Venus. I finish sorting through my closet and change into a pink nightgown by pointing at myself. I walk over to my bed and pull the covers up to my chin. The next morning I was going to be the new girl at Forks high school, and the kids would either think that I was a freak or that I was amazing and beautiful. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.
