A/N: Okay, wow, so I made a new FF account. If you notice this story it's because it was first uploaded on my account 'The Girl Who Cried Werewolf.' I deleted both of my Twilight stories off of that account, though. I've been meaning to re-upload this ever since I deleted it, but obviously I never did. Also, I plan on rewriting everything after chapter 2 (or 3). Anyway, enjoy the story!
Sophia stepped onto the beach and immediately dug her toes into the sand. It was the last day of school which meant that she would be leaving for her hometown La Push, Washington tomorrow. She loved being in Beverly Beach, but La Push was where her heart was. After three years, Sophia figured it was time to go back to fix things with her parents, whom she left without a proper goodbye.
She looked down the beach to the group of people surrounding a growing fire and made her way toward them. Sophia hated to leave the people who have became friends to her, but her relationship with her parents is far more important.
She looked at the banner that was hanging loosely on two poles that said "Well miss you, Sophea!" and smiled. "I think the banner has a few misspellings and grammatical errors," Sophia said to her best friend Mackenzie.
"Yeah, well, that's what I get for leaving it to Max and Tyler." Mackenzie sighed and looks at someone across the beach. "Speaking of Tyler," she said wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Sophia turns to look behind her, smiling when she sees Tyler goofing off with a few other guys on the football team. Tyler had just graduated and would be going to the University of Florida in the fall. Sophia had just turned sixteen in April so she would only be going into her junior year, but she was crazy about Tyler and was determined to make things work with him.
He caught her eye and walked over to her. "Soph, wanna take a walk?" he asked. Tyler was the epitome of a stereotypical high school quarterback. Tall, muscular, and handsome. Sophia was surprised that he even looked her way at the school's first football game, but she was just happy he did. After the game he asked her out and a week later they became official.
"Yeah, sure," she said, looking at Mackenzie who silently told her to go on. They had walked in silence for a while. "So, what do you need?" Sophia shoved her hands into her jean short pockets.
"We need to talk."
Her breathing stopped for a fraction of a second. She knew what it meant when someone said "we need to talk" and it was never good. "Oh, really? About what?" Sophia also knew to never guess your punishment.
Tyler sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I think you know." Oh, shit. "Soph, you know I'm going to UF in the fall on a football scholarship and you're leaving tomorrow to go live on the other side of the country. I can't have something like that holding me down from playing my best," he says. They had stopped walking and Tyler was looking out at the waves and Sophia was looking up at him.
"What?" she asks so quietly that she wasn't even sure he heard her. Tyler Miller, the guy she was head over heels for, was breaking up with her. She honestly believed that they were going to last a lot longer than ten months.
"I'm breaking up with you," he said summing up everything he just told her. He looked down at her face and saw the tears welling up in her brown eyes. "Soph," he started but she raised a hand to cut him off.
"No, don't call me Soph. It's Sophia, now." She shook her head and let out a humorless laugh. "I can't believe that you're breaking up with me." She wanted to let those tears go, but she knew that people back at the party would be able to tell that she was crying. Any other person would lie about it but Sophia is the world's worst liar.
"Soph-... Sophia," he corrected himself. "It was bound to happen eventually. I mean, you are only going to be a junior in high school and I'm going to be a freshman in college. Do you know how bad the guys on the team would dog me about that? You moving just gave me the push I needed to finally end it."
Her heart basically stopped at that and anger coursed through her. "You said you didn't care about that," Sophia yelled. "You said that you didn't care how old I am!"
"I don't!" Tyler corrected her. "But the guys will. And if I make it big in college then so will the media and everyone else. I can't have my name ruined by a sixteen-year-old girl."
Her mouth opened and closed several times, making her look like a fish out of water. That stung. She really couldn't believe that he felt that way. "So that's what I'd be? A name ruiner? Tyler, since when did you care about what anyone thought about you? About us? It's only a two year age difference. It's not like you're some thirty year old guy."
"Yes, it is like I'm some thirty year old guy. You're in high school and I'm going to be in college. People are going to talk and it will destroy whatever career in football I'll have. And if you're going to be selfish and not take that in consideration, then maybe we shouldn't have even started dating at all."
Sophia scoffed. "Yeah, well maybe we shouldn't have," she said, no matter how much the words hurt her. "And this is my going away party, so I'm going to enjoy it. Feel free to leave whenever you want. And for the record, I hope you suck it up in football this season." She turned and walked back to the party, convincing herself to not let the tears go until she was in the comfort of her bedroom.
Sophia stopped at the terminal in JAX and turned to her uncle Marty. He had the La Push look- dark, tan skin, shoulder length dark brown hair that was graying, and dark brown eyes. She fixed the strap on her carry-on bag. Marty wasn't really one to express his emotions very well, be he would miss his niece Sophia. Before he could say goodbye his niece threw her arms around him.
"I'll miss you, Uncle Marty," she whispered to him. "You should really think about coming to La Push. I'm facing my fears of going back there, so you should, too." Sophia wasn't the only one to have a fall-out with her parents. Marty's was back before her older brother Jared had even been thought of. Marty and her father John were both in love with her mother Amanda. For three years they had fought over her, and eventually Amanda chose John. And with a broken heart, Marty left La Push and never looked back.
"I can't make any promises, Soph," Uncle Marty whispered back. "I know," she replied. "But you can try."
"Flight 1347 to Dallas Fort Worth Airport is now boarding. Flight 1347 to Dallas Fort Worth Airport is now boarding. Thank you."
"That's me," Sophia said. "I'll call you when I get there." Marty nodded and Sophia gave him one last hug before she left into the terminal. He thought about her words, and how maybe he should swallow his pride and go back to La Push. No, he thought, I can't do it.
Sophia had only been on the plane for 10 minutes and was already wishing that the window would open so she could jump out. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the kid behind her kicked kicked her chair again. She didn't even know that kids actually did that; Sophia thought it was only in the movies. And to make things worse, she had a married couple who were obviously still in their honeymoon stage seated beside her. At first she couldn't wait to get on the plane to sort out her thoughts and think about what she was going to say to her mom and dad. Now, she couldn't wait to get to Dallas so she could get on the other plane to Seattle.
Sophia tried to remember the reason she decided to go back to La Push. Yes, she loved it there. And yes, the sunny weather of Florida was getting old and she missed the rain lulling her to sleep. But her parents were the two people she dreaded seeing. They never did agree on anything and when Sophia was entering her teenage years and her temper got even worse. So finally she said, "I'm finished," and packed up and left for Florida to live with Uncle Marty.
She huffed a sigh and thought about how much she would miss her uncle Marty. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him, sometimes. After leaving La Push he stayed single for three years. He traveled a lot and never really stayed in one place. He was in Denver when he met his late wife, Tammy. She was a waitress at some little family-owned restaurant. They married after just six months of knowing each other, and that's when they moved to Beverly Beach. Marty said that falling in love with her was the easiest thing he had ever done, and Sophia knew why. Tammy was possibly the nicest person she had met. At first Marty didn't want to keep her brother's child, but she was more than willing to take Sophia in. Even though Tammy had just started chemotherapy and the last thing she needed was a temperamental thirteen year old, she insisted that Sophia come to stay with her. Tammy had these beautiful green eyes that sparkled even when she wasn't smiling, and before chemo, she had waist-long blonde hair. Even when she did start losing her hair, Marty didn't care at all. He still looked at her with so much love. Sophia just wished that a man would someday look at her like that.
When the cancer took Tammy's life, she had never seen Marty so devastated. Tammy was the one person who helped Marty get over Sophia's mom. At first she thought that Marty was going to send her back to La Push, but he surprised her when her said she could stay. He claimed that it was because that's what Tammy would have wanted, but Sophia knew it was because Marty had grown a soft spot for his niece.
"This is your captain speaking, we will be landing in Dallas in a moment. I ask that you please put your trays in the upright position and put all carry-ons in the overhead compartment and fasten your seat belts. Thank you, have a nice day."
Buckling her seatbelt, she noticed that the kicking had finally stopped. Kick. She spoke too soon. Sophia was dreading the plane ride to Sea-Tac, but at least it gave her more time to think about what to say to her parents. She wished that her brother Jared would come pick her up, but he claimed that he had work to do. She hadn't seen him since she left, but she always made sure to keep in touch with him. Their calls had gotten less frequent, but he said that he was busy with work and his girlfriend, Kim.
Sophia bit her lip as the plane bounced as it hit the runway. She just hoped the ride to Seattle would seem longer than this one.
The plane ride to Seattle was shorter than the one to Dallas. Sophia ended up falling asleep while thinking about her parents. Thankfully, there were no little boys kicking the back of her chair or married couples acting like hormonal teenagers. She grabbed her bag and made her way out of the plane. Going to baggage claim and grabbing her bags, she looked around for her parents. Spotting them near the entrance, Sophia realized how much they hadn't changed. Besides a few extra grey hairs, they looked exactly like they had when she left.
Sophia walked over toward them and stopped in front of them. She realized how much she was like parents- her father especially. They all had the same dark eyes and hair and russet skin just like any other Quillete, but Sophia just had that carefree aura to her that made her like her father.
They were silent for a while, and not the good kind. Without thinking Sophia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around both of her parents. Now she realized how much she missed them. "I'm glad to be back with you guys," Sophia says once she steps back.
"We missed you, too, baby girl," Amanda said. Though they hadn't changed, their daughter had. She had grown a few inches and had filled her tall body out. John and Jared would definitely be fighting off the rez boys with a stick. Sophia had went from looking like a girl to looking like a woman in just three years. "You look beautiful."
Sophia's cheeks darkened. "Thanks, Mom." John picked up her luggage and they walked out to the truck. "So, is Jared going to be home?" she questioned.
"No," John's gruff voice answered. "He'll be at the beach helping set up your welcome home bonfire."
Sophia almost grimaced but managed to hide it. The last bonfire she was at in Florida, Tyler broke up with her. Hopefully this one would turn out better, she prayed silently.