What I remember most about my parents is they always used to fight a lot. My mom hated Forks. It rained all the time and everyone in town was always gossiping about her. She was a real source of entertainment for them. She'd wanted to leave for as long as I could remember, I guess even before I was born. Sometimes I wonder if I was the reason she got stuck there. But she had nowhere else to go and my dad wouldn't leave. His whole life was in Forks. He and his sister Molly were seventh generation and the Swan family had always lived at 1022 Sycamore Drive. He was Chief of Police. He knew everybody.
It was a school night. I remember because I had a homework assignment due the next day that I hadn't finished. I was scared sick. I got into bed earlier than usual cause I figured a good night's sleep was the best I could do for myself. My dad was still watching TV. The house was pretty small so when they started yelling at each other, it wasn't hard to hear. In fact, it was hard not to. I know my dad was stressed about a bear going round killing hikers and my mom was probably reeling from the latest rumors. But I didn't know exactly what they were yelling about. That kind of sucks. Even though it was a fight, it was the last time I heard their voices.
I must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I knew, I was waking up to the feeling of someone watching me. My back was to the door. There was no sound, no real reason to believe someone was standing there but I could feel they were. I told myself it wasn't real, it was just in my head. But I couldn't bring myself to roll over and see for sure. I just told myself to close my eyes and go back to sleep. Everything would be OK if I shut my eyes and went to sleep.
I woke up to daylight streaming in through the window. That was a pretty rare thing. I take after my mom in that I love hot weather. At that moment I'd completely forgotten about the dream I had and the sunshine put me in a really good mood. I thought it was a sign that it wouldn't be all that bad with the teacher. I was usually a good student, they'd probably let me off this once. I got up and went to the bathroom.
I remember thinking it was weird that no one knocked on the door. There was always a queue for the bathroom. But I got to brush my teeth in peace. I took that as another good sign.
When I crossed the hall to go back to my room, the house was really quiet. That was unusual, too. It started bugging me as I got dressed. This horrible feeling started creeping over me.
"Mom?" I called out from my room.
I opened the door.
"Mom?"
No answer.
Reaching the bottom of the staircase, I noticed a glare from the living room. The TV was still on. But it was on mute so it was just people talking and staring at me without making any sound. I turned and walked toward the kitchen.
My parents were sat at the dining table for breakfast. They each had a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice and a plate of toast to share. They didn't move or say anything when I walked in. They just stared at each other in horror.
They'd been propped up in their chairs. They were bone-white and the autopsy would later reveal they were completely drained of blood. I couldn't remember picking up the phone but I was already talking to 911 when I noticed there was a place at the table laid out for me.