I opened my eyes with a start, I should've know better than to sleep, sleep just bought nightmares. I felt the plane go through some turbulence and the captain tell everyone that we were crossing the equator. The turbulence didn't bother me I had flown with my parents enough times to not be worried about it. I looked at the empty seat next to me and was glad that they hadn't insisted on me being escorted, as it was I had to have an escort at the airport for my connecting flights. I was rather annoyed at that, I have been flying before i know how to go from one gate to the next. But the stupid adults said that since I was only 16 and going to be in a different country that I had to. They think I would get lost or maybe run away, I wouldn't do that, I know it would be useless. Yes I was going to live with my uncle and cousin, I hadn't looked at the photos or letter they had given me, I just didn't care. My parents were dead and I was being sent away from my home in Australia to live with my only living relatives that I hadn't seen since I was 5, and to top it all off they lived in a place called Forks, Washington. America, yep that was where I was being sent, and I was adamant that I was getting out of there as soon as I could. Under any other circumstances I would jump at the idea of going there, but after what I had lived through the last couple of months, I just wanted to curl up and die.
I ended up falling asleep again and woke to a stewardess shaking me.
"Are you alright?" she asked looking worried. I looked around to see that just about everyone was looking at me, and I nodded and blushed. How I hated that blush, she looked at me for a couple of seconds and I forced a smile and she got the hint. I touched her arm to get her attention as she turned away and made the sign for a drink, at least that sign was universally know even by people who can talk and hear.
"Do you want a soda?" she asked and I nodded, she smiled and walked away. I relaxed back in my chair relieved that she didn't go on about the fact that I didn't speak, maybe the social workers had done some good for once and warned them that I don't speak. It's not that I can't speak, it's just that I don't. I haven't spoken a word since that night 2 months ago and I don't plan on changing that at all. It wasn't like I had spoken much before hand anyway, I was too shy for that and I had only spoken to my parents, my nanny Joan and my bff Ashley. That was another reason that I was upset about moving, it meant leaving my only friend behind, but I guess we still had email and face book to talk that is if I even have the internet at my unlce's house. I hope so, Ash and I have never gone a day without seeing each other or talking whenever either of us had gone on holidays without the other. We had been friends since we were babies and often would go with the other person's family whenever they went away, we even called the parents mum and dad. They had been the ones that had taken me in for the couple of days when my parents had died and I was eventually let out of hospital. But my parents had left a will stating that they wanted me to live with my uncle, my only living relative, so I had no choice. They had told me that if they could they would take me in, they considered me a second daughter, but since they couldn't that I was welcome to come and visit as much as I wanted as long as it was alright with my uncle. They had sat me down last night and told me that they knew I was upset about this and that I should behave and be respectfull to my uncle and cousin. I frowned at them and that's when they pulled the 'it's what your parents wanted' card on me and I couldn't do anything then. I loved my parents dearly and they felt the same about me, they gave me everything I ever wanted and they definitely had the money for it. But despite all the advantages I had and could've taken advantage of, I was a grounded person and never asked for anything. Well not much I did ask for my laptop so I could sit on my bed and chat to Ash, but I wasn't a spoilt brat like you would expect when you lived in my circumstances. I wonder what my cousin thinks I'm like, probably thinking I'm a spoilt rich kid, since that's what everyone else expects. I didn't know much about her except that she was a couple of months older than me and was an only child, I guess I should have a look at the pictures and letter before I get to Port Angeles. At least then I would know who I was looking for at the airport.
The seat belt sign came on and I sat up in my seat and did mine up as the stewardesses came around and checked that everyone had done the same. I was one of the first considering I was sitting up the front, another joy of being an unaccompanied minor. The same stewardess as before checked my seat belt and informed me that I would be the first off the plane when we landed, information I already knew from my previous stops, at least this would be the last stop. I had already gone from Sydney to Brisbane to Los Angeles and was about to land in Seattle and from the I would fly to Port Angeles where my uncle would pick me up and we would drive to Forks. The drive was the thing I feared I am terrified of getting in cars since the accident. But my uncle was a policeman so I guess it shouldn't be too bad, it's not like we would get into a high speed chase. But yet I was still extremely nervous about it, and the fact that I had no idea who they were and whether they would want to chat. Essentially I was moving in with strangers, but my parents had believed that family was the most important thing, and that was the reason I was to live with them.
The plane landed and the seatbelt sign went off so I stood up and grabbed my coat and backpack and went with the airport staff to my connecting flight. I was lucky in a way, I didn't have to wait around for my connecting flights, the longest wait had only been 15 minutes in Brisbane.
Seated on the plane again I asked for a coffee, I didn't want to fall asleep again not that I was worried about it, the sleep I had gotten on my previous flight had probably been the most I slept in months. I had been lucky and the steward on this flight knew sign language. I don't know much, just enough to get my basic needs across, and since I practically live off coffee it is a sign I know off by heart, well that and thank you and sorry. The plane took off and the steward bought me my coffee as soon as he was able to, I thanked him and got out my sign language book. Ashley had bought it for me when I was in hospital and she saw I wouldn't talk anymore, she had also bought herself one and we had slowly began learning. Before I left I decided that I should buy one each for my uncle and cousin since I had to live with them now, it was only polite to find a way to talk without having to have pen and paper. Though I didn't use sign language to hold a conversation, what was the use of not talking if I was to just turn around and do it in a different way. So for the rest of my flight I studied my book and just before we were to descend I put the book away and got out the envelope that had the photos and letter in it.
I looked at the photo of my uncle and I could see a bit of my mother in him, but not too much and I was grateful for that. At least I wouldn't be having breakdowns every time I looked at him. My mother had blonde hair and blue eyes, two traits I had taken from her and the pale skin, living in Australia I should be tanned but instead I was extremely pale. My cousin looked a fair bit like me but with brown hair and eyes, you could definitely see we were related, her skin tone was even the same as me if not a tad darker. I opened the letter to see it was from her, Isabella her name was and she said her dad's name was Charlie, she said a little bit about herself. She had only just moved in with her father a couple of months ago and was starting to like it there, she said her father wasn't home much, something I was grateful for. If he wasn't home then he wouldn't be hovering over me pestering me to talk, something that Ashley's nanny had done. She liked reading, something I did aswell, but she liked classics whereas I liked fantasy. As I read the letter it was plain to see that her and I should get along well, we were both shy and quiet and liked time alone. She said that I would have my own room but it was only small and that we all had to share the same bathroom, oh well you can't have it all, at least I would have my own room to hide in.
The seatbelt sign came on and I started feeling very nervous and sad. All I could think about was the fact that this was it, I was about to not only get in a car with strangers, but it was final. I would no longer call Australia my home, my home with my parents no longer existed. So as I exited the plane I was feeling extremely down, I never cried though, I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn't cry over my parents. The steward that had been on the plane was the one who went with me when we got off, I guess they felt that since I could communicate with him it would be best for me. We came out of the terminal and I just followed the steward who I guessed had known where to meet my uncle. He put his hand on my arm and I automatically pulled away and took a step back, he looked at me startled and I signed sorry to him.
"No problems." he said and gestured in front of him. I looked up and saw my cousin standing a couple of metres in front of us. My uncle wasn't with her, instead there was a man who looked to be 28 at the eldest, he was pale and had blonde hair. There was also a teenage boy who was slightly taller than my cousin, pale with shoulder-length brown hair. They were both inhumanly handsome, but I didn't care I wasn't here to make friends. My curiosity got the better of me and I made the sign for uncle, something I learnt on the flight thinking I should probably know it. To my surprise it was the blonde haired man who answered me and not the steward.
"Chief Swan was called away on an animal attack so I said I would come in his place." he said.
"Hello Allysa I'm Isabella, just call me Bella and this is my boyfriend Daniel and his father Carlisle." Bella said extending her hand. I shook her hand and smiled, Daniel offered his hand and I looked at it for a couple of seconds before he dropped it. I signed sorry biting my lip, I knew it was impolite but I couldn't bring myself to have any contact with him.
"Dr Cullen we need you to sign some forms to say that you picked her up. If you would just come with me." the steward said. I looked at Daniel's father and groaned inwarldy, great a doctor.
"Will you three be alright for a couple of minutes?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.
"We'll be fine." Bella said politely. Carlisle nodded and went with the steward to a desk that was next to the terminal.
I walked over to the seats and Daniel went to get my luggage for me, I didn't mind at all, it ment that he wouldn't be near me. Bella sat next to me and thankfully stayed quiet, the last thing I needed was for her to try and have a conversation with me. Carlisle returned first and sat down on my other side, Daniel returned after a couple of minutes and I had a quick look to make sure he had my suitcases before we headed out of the airport.
As we reached the parking lot I started panicking, I knew I had to get into a car and I was terrified. By the time we reached their car I was shaking. I had stopped a couple of metres away from it and couldn't make myself move any closer if I wanted to and I definitely didn't want to.
"Maybe we should have bought the..." Bella said but paused when a big jeep pulled into the spot next to their car. "jeep." she finished with a laugh.
Two people got out of the jeep, a girl who was about my height, that is short, with short black spiky hair and a guy who was taller with blonde hair.
"I couldn't wait to meet you Alyssa." the girl said coming and standing infront of me. I looked at her puzzled.
"Sorry for my daughters manners." Dr Cullen said. "This is my daughter Alice."
I nodded and turned back to her forcing a smile, she stood between me and the car and it distracted me for a couple of seconds.
"And this is Jasper." she said pulling the blonde guys hand so he was standing next to her. I immediately took a step back from him, it had become a reflex action by now. The only males that I could be near were doctors or policemen. I saw him throw a glance at Dr Cullen so quick that I nearly missed it before smiling at me.
"Hello Allysa, nice to meet you." he said gently. I nodded and smiled suddenly feeling at ease.
"So I thought the Carlisle could .." Alice began and I immediately got confused, why did she call her dad by his first name. I made the sign for dad with a confused expression on my face, forgetting that not everyone knows sign language in my confusion.
"They are all adopted by me and my wife. We don't insist that they call us mum and dad, unless they want to." Carlisle said answering my question. I nodded my head to say I understood and then my heart went out in sympathy to them, none of them had their parents either. I felt tears appear in my eyes and I quickly turned away and stopped them before anyone could notice.
"So like I was saying," Alice continued as if nothing happened and I turned my attention back to her. "Carlisle can go in his car and us kids can go in the jeep. Ok." She didn't give anyone a chance to object, she just grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the jeep. She opened the back door and Jasper helped her climb up, he turned to me and held his hand out to help me. I stood there frozen my mind spinning. I took a step back to think about what I should do, I looked between the two cars, and quickly decided that the massive jeep would be the best to drive in. If there happened to be any sort of accident then it would definitely come out on top. That decision was easy to make, the hard one was getting in the thing without touching Daniel or Jasper. I stood there looking at him while he waited patiently for me, I glanced at Bella who was also waiting and then at Dr Cullen. He must have noticed and walked over to me, he stopped right next to me and whispered in my ear.
"Would you prefer if I helped you?"
I nodded slightly and he turned to Jasper.
"It's alright Jasper, I will help her and Bella into the jeep, You just get in." he said loud enough for them to hear. Jasper nodded and both he and Daniel got into the front seats of the car, Jasper in the drivers seat. I turned to Carlisle and signed thank you before turning and stepping over to the car, with a deep breath I nodded and Carlisle helped me up into the backseat before helping Bella. I sat in the middle and quickly put my seat belt on, I noticed that none of the others besides Bella had put there's on and I turned to Alice and pointed to her seat belt. I was nervous enough without the thought of them not being safe.
"Guys Allysa would like us to put our belts on." she said putting her seatbelt on. I smiled at her and signed thankyou and to my surprise she signed your welcome back to me. I heard Jasper chuckle from the front seat and I blushed.
"Jazz be nice." Bella said.
"Sorry Alyssa." Jasper said and I just shrugged, it didn't matter.
"So how was your flight?" Alice asked and I turned to her and shrugged. I made the sign for tired and she smiled at me. I quickly lent back on the chair closing my eyes and pretending to go to sleep.