Disclaimer: Characters not mine, plotline is.
Huge thank you to Lala for being the best beta and dealing with my poor grammar.

At Summer's End

Chapter 1

I closed my book and set it down on the small table next to the lounge chair. The sun was beating down on me in delicious waves, my ivory skin finally getting some UV rays. I switched my iPod music from alternative to a more soothing jazz, settling back in my chair and adjusting my sunglasses.

I was enjoying my first full day of summer. The day before had been rainy, which isn't something unheard of in Washington state. Seattle was where I hailed from…but please don't let your first reaction be Space Needle. It's just so…touristy.

Anyways, I was fresh out of high school (graduation was only two days prior). I was planning on staying around through June and July before hightailing it to Chicago for college in August. Northwestern to be exact.

So what is a young eighteen year old girl up to for her first summer as an adult?

Absolutely nothing.

I'm what you would call a bookworm. Nothing exciting ever happens to me. I have lived a pretty structured life for the past eighteen years. Maybe that comes from being my father's daughter. He was a sheriff for the Seattle Police Department. His job leads him to live with a certain mind-set, and it must have rubbed off on me. It's not like I want to be like this. The only exciting things in my life were my best friends, Rosalie and Alice.

Now those girls are what I would love to be like. Alice was carefree and the life of any party. Rosalie was…well…beautiful beyond belief and had no trouble landing the object of her eye. The closest I came to a boyfriend was Mike Newton in junior year. He reminded me of a retriever…sweet and loyal. Not very exciting.

I was a bit thankful that I was moving across the country since Charlie had decided to drop the news that he was taking a position as Police Chief of some small, logging town on the coast. I think he said the town was called Forks. Even the name was a bore. I just couldn't believe he was leaving his sheriff position after so many years; the guys down at the station were like family.

He wouldn't be going alone though. Rosalie was soon to be my step-sister, even though I had considered her practically my sister since elementary school. Her dad passed away when we were fourteen, leaving only her and her mother. My dad and I kind of stepped in as a surrogate family, offering support wherever we could. Four years later, Mrs. Hale was going to become Mrs. Swan in the fall. I was happy that Diane and Charlie were able to find love out of something so sad.

My mom had left when I was only two. I don't keep in touch with her very often, only hearing from her every other year or so. Last I heard she was shacking up with some young guy in Florida. Good…let her stay on the opposite coast.

So, as Rosalie, Alice and I set out on our own adventures (Rose to Los Angeles, Alice to NYC and myself to Chicago), Charlie and Diane would make their way to Forks.

I turned over onto my stomach, not wanting one side to fry more than the other. I was interrupted by my phone buzzing next to me.

Rose.

"Hey," I answered.

"Bella? Where are you?"

"Um…out by the pool."

"Oh good. Alice and I have a question to ask you. Don't move." She hung up before I could reply. Don't move? Where the hell was I going to rush off to?

I sat back up in a sitting position, switching off my music. I grasped the towel that was under me and wrapped it around my lower half.

It wasn't long before I heard clicking coming from inside; Alice and Rosalie in their ever present high heels.

"Belllllaa!" Alice sang.

"Alliiii!" I mimicked.

"Hush bitches. Time to get down to business." Rosalie was definitely the businesswoman of our little trio.

They both sat down on the lounge with me, staring at me intently.

"Bella…" Alice said in a tone I knew too well.

"What do you want?"

"What is your ideal summer like?" Rosalie asked.

"Umm…I don't know. Not being stuck around here the whole time I guess."

Alice immediately began clapping her hands. "Good. Because I just got an excellent offer!"

"And?" I prompted.

"You know how daddy has that lake house just outside of Portland? Well he offered to let us use it for the summer as a graduation gift! Pack your bags ladies…we are going on a road trip."

"That huge house all to ourselves?" I muttered, staring dreamily off into the distance. I imagine swimming in the calm lake, sun tanning to my hearts content, cute guys…and I immediately decided that I wanted to break away from the Old Bella. Time to get New Bella acquainted with the real world.

"So what do you say Bell?" Rosalie asked.

"I say we do it!" They both looked a little shocked at my outburst…but I couldn't contain it.

"Excellent. Now we just have to clear it with Charlie." Rosalie looked at me with wary eyes, unsure of how my father was going to react.

"Leave him to me. And maybe if we use the fact that he knows some of the guys in uniform down there then he probably can't protest too much."

-oo-

Later that night I found Charlie lounging on the leather couch in the game room or 'man room'. He was staring intently at whatever was on ESPN, a Vitamin R resting limply in his hand.

"Hey dad, can I talk to you?"

He turned from the television, nodding silently.

"Okay. You know how hard I worked in high school to get the grades that I did…and I never really did anything for me? Well Alice, Rose and I had a conversation today about what we wanted to do for the summer…" I trailed off.

He raised his eyebrow. "What did you decide on?"

"Um...well…Alice's dad offered up his vacation home in Portland for the summer. It is a graduation gift for the three of us. Would you be alright with us going?"

"You girls alone?"

"Well yeah. Who else would we bring?"

"I don't know Bells…"

"Please! I am a good person...let me be young for once." I gritted my teeth, trying to maintain my verbal filter.

He sighed deeply, throwing his head back and staring at the ceiling. "I suppose I can let some of my buddies down there know that you will be around and to keep an eye on you. You promise you'll behave?"

"Dad…I'm eighteen years old! Let me act like the adult that I want to be."

His eyes narrowed and his faced turned a bit red. "Don't talk to me like that, especially if you are trying to get me to agree to something. I'm not saying I don't trust you girls, it's the other people that will be around that I don't trust."

"You know how responsible we are. I'm not going to go sleep with the first guy that smiles at me."

Charlie didn't say anything for a long moment; his eyes were tight and his lips were pulled into an even tighter line. "I need to think about it."

I couldn't help the small growl of frustration that escaped my throat. He glared at me again and I knew that I needed to back down.

Turning away from him, I swiftly left the room and headed upstairs to my room. Aggravation was the primary feeling…I did not appreciate the control he had over me, even if I was going to be living halfway across the country in a matter of weeks.

I spent the next hour working on my laundry and playing angry music. Suddenly I heard my dad yell for me. I tried not to get too excited as I rushed down the steps and came to an abrupt halt on the bottom step. Charlie had his arms crossed, looking like the epitome of a police officer.

"Okay. You guys can go. You will call me every other night, if you plan to head into Portland you will let me know, my friends will make occasional visits to make sure you are okay and you are to not do drugs! If you can adhere to these rules, then yes, you may go."

I squealed and leaped at him. He was a bit shocked at my open affection since the most we did was grunt and give one-armed hugs to show it.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I kissed him on the cheek and ran upstairs, hollering for Rose and Alice as I went.

They both rushed into my bedroom, already dressed in their pajamas.

"Well ladies. You better get your bags packed…we're going to Portland!" I said happily.

A/N: I've been really nervous about posting this which is the usual case with my new fics. I'd love to know what you thought about it! Thanks for reading.