I am working on this story as a fun little project over winter break. With that being said, I am not editing or rereading this as I post it so please excuse any grammatical errors or inconsistencies. I hope you enjoy it and please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Chapter 1

I played the piano softly as the rain gently beat against my window. I was in my small bedroom in our two bedroom apartment that I shared with my mother. After graduating early as a junior from high school, I was taking the year off, only working a small part time job before deciding what I wanted to do with my life.

My mother has always been very supportive of me. When my father passed away when I was seven, she immediately got a full time job, went to night classes at the local night college before earning a degree to be a real estate agent. She has been supporting me ever since, being my best friend through our grief over my dad.

As I played the piano, I think back to the faint memories I have of him. He would always say I was a carbon copy of my mom, petite, pale skin with think chestnut hair that cascaded down my back and soft blue eyes. Yet the one thing that I shared with my father was a love of music. I remember listening to him play piano at night and I would crawl on the bench with him and demand he teach me. We would play simple duets while my mom would cook dinner, listening to our little shows. Life was simple and joyful.

I stopped playing when I head the faint jingle of keys in the front door. I turn around to see my mother enter the apartment, shopping bags in hand with her large purse draped over her thin shoulders. She had sunglasses perked up on top of her head which held back her short, bobbed hair from her face.

Immediately standing up, I assist her with groceries.

"How was your day, Mom?"

Letting out a big breath of air, she huffed. "You wouldn't believe the clients that I had to deal with today, Annalise. It was a newlywed couple who had this big dream house and nothing I showed them seemed to be good enough. In one house the windows were too small, one house didn't have the backyard they were hoping for, and the last house didn't 'feel right'."

I laugh as she continued. I knew my mom loved her job, and she did too. We both knew that she would gladly go through this whole day all over again in a heart beat.

"Well, how was your day?" She asked after her little story was finished.

"Nothing much." I shrugged. "Mike from work said I could go home early, so I've been home learning a new piece for the last few hours."

I worked part time at the local post office sorting mail in our small town of Sisters, Oregon. It wasn't much, but I enjoyed the simple work and my managers were always nice and generous.

"Let me guess," my mom says grinning. "You've mastered whatever piece you've been working on."

I smile. "You know me so well. It's a lullaby from Bach, want me to play it for you?"

"You know I do, dear. You play and I'll get dinner started."

As my mother set off to busy herself in the kitchen, I went back to the well worn seat next to our old piano and I take a breath before placing my fingers lightly on the keys. In an instance, the sweet lullaby filled with room. I close my eyes as I let my fingers weave their way through the song, picking up on where they need to go at the right time.

A half hour later, my mother and I were sitting down at the table eating the pasta she found at the grocery store.

"Annalise," my mother said, after finishing her portion. "I forgot to tell you, but your Uncle Charlie called me this afternoon."

I frowned as I tried to recall my Uncle Charlie. He was my dad's brother, living out somewhere in Washington. He was divorced with a daughter, but I believe she lived with her mom in Arizona except for summers. When my dad had just passed away, we would go visit Charlie and his daughter, Bella I think, for the summers. But that was a long time ago.

"What did he want?"

She stood up as she began to clear our plates. "Well, he was actually asking about you?"

"Really?" I couldn't hide my confusion.

"Apparently his daughter, Bella, has been living with him for the last year but she recently went through a bad break up and is hopelessly depressed. He said she's been moping for months and he was wondering if you would come down and stay with them for a little while to try and make her feel better."

I was instantly saddened at the news of Bella. That must be horrible, and I could imagine how awkward it must be for them as Charlie was never really the sentimental type.

"I don't know," I started. "I mean, I have work here and Bella has school there so I don't know how much help I could be. And with work…"

My mom cut me off. "I think it would be good for you." She went on after she caught my attention. "Here's a chance for you to rekindle your relationship with your cousin and get out of this apartment. Work will understand, dear. And it will be cool to get a new experience. Charlie's invited you to come live with them for the rest of the spring and the summer. Maybe you can even get a job down there in your free time."
I was surprised at my mom's eagerness. Normally she wanted me close by her.
"Well, what about you?"

She gave a light laugh. 'Don't worry about me, dear. I can manage on my own here and maybe it will force me to get out with some of my friends. I just hate the thought of you mopped up here in the apartment. You're young, you should be off having adventures."

I give a small smile. "I'm only seventeen, mom. I still have plenty of time for adventures. But if you think it's a good idea, maybe a trip to Charlie's isn't a bad idea. I'll have to call my boss though and tell him I'm taking a sudden leave of absence. Hopefully they'll still have my position there when I come back."

My mom finished putting the plates in the dishwasher. "I wouldn't doubt it, dear. Those people absolutely love you."

I laughed at her comment.

Four short days later, I found myself on a quick plane ride to Forks, Washington. The weather was muggy out but not much different from the dreary weather back home. I had grown to love the cold and rain, it calmed me.

Charlie's police cruiser was waiting for me, causing my to laugh. I had forgotten Charlie's work. Secretly, I had always wanted to ride in a police car, I'm just glad I was sitting in the front and not the back.

"Thank you for coming, Annalise. I was running out of ideas to help Bella, I even threatened to send her to her mother's, yet she's very stubborn. Yet she's absolutely miserable, you can just see it in her eyes. This boyfriend of hers, Edward, promised her the world and then he leaves her stranded in the woods with hardly a goodbye causing her enormous amounts of pain for the next several months. I finally just started getting her out of the house."

My eyebrows pull together in worry at the sound of Bella. It was clear how much Charlie cared for her, and he was desperate to help her. Hopefully I could be a comfort to Bella.

The rest of the car ride was quiet, not unpleasantly so because I was use to silence, so I rather enjoyed looking out of the window at the budding green landscape covered in a thin mist.

When we arrived at the small house, Charlie helped me carry my two suitcases up to Bella's room. Charlie had moved an extra cot into the room which took most of the extra space but I didn't mind. I hoped Bella didn't mind me sharing her room.

Apparently, my cousin was down in an area called La Push visiting a friend. This was the friend Charlie told me about that was also helping draw Bella out of her shell. He said I might recognize him, Jacob Black, as we use to hang out when I visited Bella and Charlie when I was younger.

Since Bella wasn't back yet, and it was getting closer to dinnertime, I had Charlie show me where all the basic cooking supplies were and I began to make dinner.

I heard the door open right as I was setting the fajitas down on the table and I look up to see Bella. I instantly noticed the dark circles under her eyes and her pale and thin frame. Charlie was right when he said she wasn't doing well. I went over to give her a hug and I noticed how her thin frame easily fit into my petite arms which caused me to inwardly frown. I was always the same size as Bella.

"It's so good to see you again, Bella." I told her. "I hope you don't mind me sharing a room with you."

She gave a half smile. "No, I don't mind. Thank you for making dinner, it smells amazing."

I grin. "Thanks, my mom usually insists on cooking at home so it's fun to make a dish every once in awhile."

Dinner was rather silent, with Charlie making some small talk here and there. The only conversation Bella chimed in on was asking about a local gang from La Push. She was worried about her friend, Jacob, as she said they have been watching him. Charlie was quite to dismiss it, saying the group she was talking about wasn't a gang at all, but I could sense her fear and frustration.

After we all finished, Charlie insisted on cleaning the dishes and wanted us to go upstairs to spend some quality time together. I politely thanked him and followed Bella upstairs to her room.

She helped me place my clothes in a dresser and hang the few fancy clothes I owned without many words. Afterwards, we sat in silence for a few moments.

"I know you probably aren't all that thrilled to have me here. It's okay, you know, to share your feelings. I promise I won't be hurt."

She frowned. "I'm not mad that you're here, Annalise. I just wish you were here under different circumstances. I know Charlie probably called your mom and told you both how sad I was and then she and Charlie roped you into coming down here, and now you're here as a distraction to try and make me feel better."

I laughed, which seemed to surprise her.

"You probably got Charlie's stance right, but I'm not here as a distraction. When my mom told me that you had gone through a breakup, the only thing I wanted to do was comfort you. I can empathize with bad breakups, I've had one before. I can't pretend to understand what happened between you two, but I wanted you to know that I supported you."

I saw her shoulders visibly relax which sent a warm feeling in my heart. I left my cot and sat next to her on her bed.

"I also have some selfish reasons for coming. My mom was right when she said I was wasting my life back in Oregon. I wasn't really doing anything and maybe I was waiting for an opportunity to come along to get out and do something for a change. So I thought it'd be nice to at least go out and do something with someone I'm comfortable with and my same age, I mean you're only a couple months older than me."

My words seemed to comfort her and she gave me a hug.

"Thanks for coming. I'm glad you weren't forced here or came just to pity me."
I laughed. "I would never. It's nice to get to see you again, we use to be really close when we were younger. Maybe we can be again."

She smiled, a genuine smile which gave some color to her hollow cheeks. "Maybe so. How about tomorrow since it's a Saturday I can bring you down to La Push and introduce you to Jacob." She suddenly grinned. "If you can keep a secret from Charlie, I can show you what I've been working on for the last couple weeks."

I laugh. "I can't wait."

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