Third Person's Point of View
Bella's fingertips made ripples in the clear pond water, absently tracing patterns into the shallow pool. The gentle sound of deer grazing nearby reached her ears and she smiled, unfolding her legs and coming to a stand.
Gliding into a run her hands skimmed her sides as she approached without a sound. They remained oblivious as she grew nearer, tails twitching leisurely as she peered through a gap in some bushes. Two does and a buck; the velvet remains of the males winter coat in shreds hanging from his mighty antlers.
Shifting slightly she lowered her shoulders in preparation to pounce, feeling exceedingly cat-like as she did so. The buck moved directly in front of the bush she had ducked behind, and her opportunity was evident.
Dark red veins rose from the skin under her darkening eyes. Her gums started to ache uncomfortably, and she opened her mouth just enough for her fangs to protrude. She ran her tongue over them in anticipation, shifting forward.
Pushing off the ground with her heels she landed on his hide, fingers digging into his ribs as she reached for his neck. His struggles were useless as she knocked him to the ground and snapped his neck, unaware of the fleeing does. Sinking her teeth into his neck she took greedy gulps of his blood, cringing at the rusty tinge to his blood.
Humans were much better tasting, but since meeting the Cullen's she'd begrudgingly given up on feeding from them. She winced at the thought of the family of vampires. Frowning, she stood up, abandoning the body where it lay.
Charlie would be back soon, and she didn't feel any need to worry him further than she already had in the past few days. Since Edward had left her alone in the forest, she had slowly but surely risen from the grief his absence had initially caused.
She was sick of pretending to be something she wasn't, ironic since that had been the excuse he'd used for leaving. To everybody here, her name was Isabella Marie Swan. An everyday human girl who had returned to her home town to giver her mother and step father some space.
But it was a lie, a lie that had consumed her life.
Reaching the edge of the forest she stopped running and crossed the street to the house, slipping the spare key from under the potted geraniums. The kitchen and living room were empty and quiet, dishes from this mornings breakfast abandoned on the counter.
Bella slipped upstairs and into the bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Mahogany brown hair hung limp to her shoulders, her skin seemed waxy, and her eyes were a dull dishwater brown.
Touching a lock of hair she frowned, unhappy with the image in the mirror. The person who stared back from the mirror was no longer the one she wanted to see. Bella looked down at her hand, fingering the ring she wore on her pointer finger. Silver with a pale green gem it sparkled in the weak fluorescent lighting. As she pulled it from her hand, the image in the mirror rippled.
Her hair lengthened and straightened until it reached her waist, morphing to a glossy shade of brown so dark it was nearly black. Her pale - practically albino - skin darkened until it reached the shade she'd been born with. And her eyes, so dull and unfamiliar, blurred away until they were blue and bright.
Her true reflection stared back at her.
The story of this unusual change traced back two years ago, when she'd met a sweet newly-engaged woman in a diner in Arizona. Her name was Renee Swan, soon to be Renee Dwyer. Something about the outspoken vivid woman reminded her of her own mother.
It wasn't necessarily right, but she longed for a family after so many years alone. The only family she had left, her two brothers, had been hung up on the same girl for so long it seemed as if it would go on forever. They spent all their time and energy hating each other, fighting over a girl neither of them had seen in years. Neither Damon nor Stefan knew where she was; she hadn't seen them since the day Katherine and all the other vampires in Mystic Falls had been set ablaze in the church.
She only knew they were alive thanks to a witch named Emily Bennett, the same witch who'd so generously given her the ring that allowed her to change her face.
Desperate for someone to love her she'd compelled Renee to believe she was her daughter. And when she'd grown tired of Phoenix she'd traveled to her "father", in Forks, Washington. So began her life as Isabella Swan, and now it was time to end it.
"Bella?" she grimaced, Charlie was home.
"Be down in a second!" she called, sulkily slipping the ring back onto her finger. Walking from the bathroom and into her adjoining bedroom she dropped down onto her hands and knees, pulling a brown leather tote from under the bed.
"Bella!" Charlie called again.
"Hold on!"
She pulled open her dresser drawer and selected a few pairs of jeans, tops, and underwear, stuffing them haphazardly into the bag. From her nightstand she grabbed a hidden wallet and phone, sliding them into the outer pocket for easy access.
Satisfied for now, she jogged down the stairs, finding her father in the kitchen. Charlie turned from the window over the sink to face her, hands shoved in his pockets.
"What were you doing in your room? Heard thumping…" he trailed off.
She blushed like Bella Swan would, lowering her gaze. "I was just, gathering a few things." she muttered, fidgeting slightly.
"Gathering for what, exactly?" She looked into his eyes, tightly squinted, his jaw locked hard, hands coming out to clench around the counter top behind him.
"I was packing. To leave."
"What?" he stuttered.
Bella shook her head, lowering herself into one of the rickety kitchen chairs. "I need to get out of this town." She whispered, looking up at him solemnly.
"No." He caught her eyes determinedly, face set hard once again. "I'm not going to let you run away from this. You can't go just because of that stupid boy." His heart rate was speeding up. Bella stood, taking his wrist firmly in her hand.
"What are you…?" he murmured, his sentence cut off as she grabbed his face and forced him to look into her eyes.
"Charles Swan, your daughter Isabella loves you very much. But she can't stay here." her voice dropped, and a tear rolled unbidden down her cheek. He may not have been her real father, but he was a good man, and he didn't deserve to spend his life sad.
"You're sad she's leaving, but you know it's for the best. You'll miss her, but you won't worry, and you won't try and look for her." He gazed at her blankly, nodding his head in understanding. "Now go up to bed, you've had a long day and just want to sleep."
She watched Charlie leave the room with a heavy heart, waiting until his door shut to go back into her room. She zipped the bag shut and pulled off her ring, pushing it deep into the pocket of her jeans. Slipping into some boots she gathered up her bag and stared at the bedroom for a moment.
It was the same room in which she had realized she was in love with Edward Cullen.
It was the same room in which she had realized she didn't belong in Forks any longer.
And it was the same room in which she had realized that it was time for her to go home.
Sparing the quaint little area one last glance she leaped from the window and ran.