Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. We do own Brendon and Christian.

Chapter One

(Rachel's POV)

Rain. Freezing, cold, pouring rain. Ironically one of the most memorable moments of my life was watching the Welcome to La Push sign get further and further away in my rear view mirror, now the first invitation I received, was the same wooden Welcome to LA Push sign. Surprisingly I didn't feel the same amount of joy as I did the last time I saw it.

I can't believe I'm back. I remember vowing never to set foot in this town again and less than three years later I'm back. Who would have thought that my life would have turned out to be such a train wreck?

If it wasn't for the 18 years of living in La Push, which allowed me to memorise all the main roads, I would have driven around in circles. It's not that La Push is big and confusing, it's just that all the roads look like each other. Everything, and I mean everything, is green, brown or grey, even the houses. It was the icing on my already miserable moodwhen it started to rain. I angrily navigated myself to the Clearwater's residence through such a down pour.

I've been trying to contact Leah for weeks. First, it began after her father's death, which I only found out about four months after it happened, from Rebecca, who heard it from Billy, who obviously went to the funeral. But I digress, back to the main point; Leah's been avoiding me to the point where she downright refuses to receive my calls to her cell and home phone.

Heck I even heard her asking her brother to tell me she wasn't home, like I couldn't hear her screaming right next to the phone. I don't know the exact details, but from what Becca told me, Henry had a heart attack while he was at home. The worst thing was that Leah and Seth were supposedly both in the room when it happened.

The notorious Leah Clearwater, how I could kill you right now, for making me travel all the way down to this god forsaken town for the first time in threeyears.

Leah and I inherited our friendship from our mothers, as they're friendship began before our births. My mother Sarah Weston, the best woman in the world, and Sue Whitehorse went to same high school at the Makah Reservation.

They separated after senior as their career paths took them to different destinations. Sarah wanted to be a teacher, and in her freshman year at University of Washington she met my father, Billy Black. Four years later, married and pregnant with twins, she bumps into Sue at a tribal meeting. Turns out Sue married Billy's friend Harry Clearwater. Both women bonded over their mutual pregnancies and their friendship was passed down to me, my twin sister Rebecca, and Leah.

I pulled into their drive way, parking as close to the front door as possible. I didn't bother with lightly knocking on the door, knowing that they probably already know I'm here.

"I know your inside Leah, there's no point trying to hide it, I saw Seth peaking through the curtains!" I lied, yelling profusely.

Before I could kick down the door with my black heeled boots, the door opened up and Sue appeared in the doorway, at least what was left of the old Sue I knew so well and loved.

Sue's hair was slightly greying and she had it up in a bun. Whilst she was never large like Ma, she always had the extra pounds that all mother's get after having children, however, now she's barely even skin and bones. Her face was more drawn and tight; she had wrinkle lines in between her eye brows and at the edge of her lips and eyes. My heart instantly went out to her, her change in appearance erased all the easy-going feeling that used to ooze from her, instead it depicted the damage death can reap on a person.

She looked down at me with steely black eyes. "May I help you?" she asked in a clipped tone.

"Aunt Suzie, it's me . . . Rachel." I replied in a light tone.

Her jaw clenched. "I know who you are Rachel Sarah Black and I must say that you have some nerve showing your face around here."

Huh? My eyebrows furrowed and I readjusted my computer bag on my shoulder. "What are you talking about?" I asked, confused. "Look, if this is about not being there for Henry's funeral, I am sorry, but it wasn't my fault that I wasn't informed until four months after the incident!"

Sue's eyes seemed to falter but she shook her head and held herself firm. "Leah is not here and neither is Seth. They're both sick and Leah refuses to speak to you. She's upset that you weren't there when Sam dumped her."

My jaw dropped. Leah and Sam are no longer together? Since when and why wasn't I informed of this? My throat dried up as I pictured Lee Lee curled up on her bed, crying her eyes out with no one to comfort her. My stomach knotted up and I wanted to throw up. I began to sway and I gripped the strap of my bag firmly, hoping it will keep me from toppling over.

"No one told me." I mumbled, staring down at my suede boots, which were completely useless in a place like La Push.

"Well, now you know and . . . you're just a little bit too late. Goodbye Rachel." Sue said in a frosty tone before closing the door in my face.

A clap of thunder rumbled over head and the sky seemed to burst open again and it started to pour buckets of water. I slowly walked to my car, in a bit of a daze. My hard edge demeanour was deflated as I soaked in the facts that Sue had delivered to me.

Too late? I was too late? I, Rachel Black, valedictorian and high honour roll A + student, was, for the first time in my entire existence, late!

My clothes were drenched and I had no heat emitting from my car as I turned the engine on. I backed out robotically and started back the way I came. I wanted to go home. I wanted to get out of La Push now more than ever, and then images of going home to see Christian reminded me that this was no longer a possibility, ever.

Christian Cornelius Courtland was a man to be taken seriously. He liked everything to be inorder and presentable, including me. I can remember when I first saw him and immediately wanted to jump his bones. Christian was older and more sophisticated than most of the men I've dated and I loved that. He was sweet at first to me and even bought me some really nice things. Then, something happened in our relationship that made me begin to question him. Christian started asking where I was at night and whom I was with. I gave him straight forward answers with a little Rachel Black attitude thrown in but his reply would be swift and malice. He soon asked me to marry him and I accepted thinking it was just a phase he was going through.

The wedding was small, very small actually. It was only Christian, the priest, and I at the reception. Our honeymoon was somewhere in the Virgin Islands in a vast expensive house. He treated me like a goddess in ever way, but when it came to my friends he wanted me to steer clear of them. By doing so, Christian had me drop out of college and work as his secretary at his big business corporation. One night, I went out and partied hard. When I came back in the morning he was there, waiting for me. He asked where I had been and I told him with my friends. His reaction was a hard and swift slap across the face. I remember it hurting so much that it knocked the hangover right out of me. After that it only got worse.

Christian would be mad that I had left but the secret reason of me being in this God forsaken place was because of him. His hot temper and nightly beatings were just too much for me to handle. I had to get away and all those months of strategically planning was not going to waste.

I pulled my black Mustang over to the side of the road I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. It was futile though, as I have never quite been able ease the panic and claustrophobia that I felt anytime I thought of him.

Brendon! That was the solution, call BB, he'll have all the answers. BB, short for Brendon Baldwyn and my personal favourite nickname, Bren-bear, was born and bred in La Push but lived in New York City and Seattle. He was my all time best friend at college and sometimes cuddle-let's make out to forget out about our fucked up lives buddy when we both were stressed out. Last time I checked he was hiding in the dense forest of The Reservation, nursing a very bad breakup with his ex-boyfriend.

I dug around in my Louie computer bag for my phone. Not my normal phone, which was the latest blackberry, but a cheap Nokia. I didn't want Christian to be able to track me down, so months before I planned my escape I bought a cell under a different name, Brendon's actually, and placed some money away to buy a second hand mustang, again under a B.B's name. I hatched a plan that I was going to Helena, Montana for a work assignment. The trip was only supposed to last for less than a day, as that reassured him I would be home before dinner. As expected he watched my whole departure including me entering the plane, waving goodbye. Little did he know five minutes before the plane took off I faked a massive seizure, which I had researched and practiced beforehand. I was escorted off the plane, had a miraculous recovery, and then fled to my parked Mustang like Satan was on my heels. Although I do have to admit Satanic is a pretty accurate description of Christian's response to arriving at his 'little mansion' finding me missing along with all the clothes I bought with my savings.

I quickly pulled my cell out and dialled Brendon's number. My hands were shaking as the cold started to seep into my bones.

"Hello?" a male groggy voice picked up.

I clutched the phone to my ear. "Bren-bear?"

"Ra-boo, is that you?"

B.B absolutely hates the little nickname I created for him; yet surprisingly I'm the one that can get away with calling him that. In retaliation to my 'atrocious choice of a noun' as he called it, he came up with Ra-boo. In my honest opinion I think the name would be more fitted for a tropical disease or a witch doctor in Brazil. Yet I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of my disapproval, so I just suck it up, and keep repeating Bren-bear as often as possible.

"No idiot it's the Russian mafia, of course it's me!" I snapped.

Brendon yawned. "Whose phone are you using? And what are you doing calling me at 10:30 at night?"

I bit my lower lip. I didn't want to tell him that I wasn't at home, driving around aimlessly because then he would go on one of his tirades about how unsafe it was and I could get killed. Yet if I told him I was out of Seattle he would jump to conclusions, I never kept Christian's violent side of him a secret from Brendon.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" he asked more urgently. "Is it him," He said referring to Christian, "I swear I'll kill him this time!"

"I'm in La Push." I quickly confessed opting to tell the truth as I rested my head against the freezing window. "I came down to see Leah but she wasn't there and now I don't have a place to stay."

There was an awkward silence that seemed to go on forever. I am not exaggerating when I say that I am a fantastic liar. Lying was just as easy as breathing, it's basically instinctual. I remember all the fellas from high school and college couldn't tell if I was faking it or actually enjoying myself when we were together. Yet, for some reason when it came to B.B I have always struggled. I think it's connected to the fact that we've both been brutally honest with each other since day one. So when it comes to lying to him, I am completely transparent.

He knows I'm lying. Fuck, I bet he knows that I know that he knows I'm lying.

"And your dad's house is out of the question?"Brendon suggested, forgiving me for the time being. It was his way of giving me space, knowing that I would confess sooner or later.

I snorted with disgust. "Hell to the no! You know how Billy and I don't get along. That's like a volcano waiting to erupt."

There was a lengthy pause before he gave a heavy sigh. "You can always stay at my house? I mean, you'd have to sleep with me... yeah... no.... Wait... yeah... wait! I mean not like in the physical tense but in the actual tense of going to bed." He said spastically.

I chuckled, "Just tell me what street you live on and I'll be there in fifteen."

Funny enough, even though La Push is ridiculously small, B.B and I did not grow up together, we weren't even friends, or friends of friends. Brendon was one of the very few people that actually stayed hidden from society on the reservation. Whilst we knew of each other it wasn't till we became next door neighbours in college and eventually roommates that we became close. B.B. was one of my friends that Christian would not want me to see. In fact, Christian and Brendon hated each other to no end.

"Sunny Court Lane," he mumbled.

I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of street being called sunny in the Washington Peninsula, where seeing the sun itself was a rarity.

"Yeah, I know, it's lame, anyway, I'll stand outside so you'll know which house it is."

"Okay, bye Bren-bear!"

"Bye Ra-boo, drive safely!" he said quickly as I closed my phone.

I let out a great big sneeze and accidentally hit my head on the steering wheel.

"Son of a bitch!" I hissed, rubbing my forehead. I winced as I felt the bump beginning to grow, taking the shape of a goose egg. Throwing the stick shift into reverse and heading back down the road, I shouted "Fuck La Push!"

In a grizzling fifteen minutes, I pulled into Brendon's driveway. The rain had died down to a slight mist as I stumbled out of the car. My black heels got caught on the cobblestone causing me to fall. My hair stuck to my face and my shirt clung to my chest.

I felt a pair of solid arms pull me up from the ground and in for a hug. "Hey Ra-boo, I've missed you!" Brendon whispered in my ear. "You're all wet!"

I smirked as I pulled back. "And not because you made me either."

In the dark I could see Brendon blush slightly. He was pretty tall with a model face and firm biceps that I missed squeezing at night. He was wearing a loose pink shirt with moose printed pyjama pants.

I gave him a sneaky smile and pecked him on the cheek. "Just kidding BB, you know I love you like a fat kid loves cake." I purred.

Brendon's hands began to circle down to my ass and he firmly grasped it. I let out a slow moan and grounded my pelvis against his. His breathing was hot and needy as his lips trailed down my neck and he pressed me against the car.

He gritted out, "Fuck Rachel, I'm about to explode and all you've done is touch me."

I hoped all over him and wrapped my legs around his waist. "I need you Brendon," I groaned, kissing him full on. "He's been mean to me and I just want it to go away. I want him to go away."

Brendon held me tightly as he walked up to his house, whispering sweet nothings in my ear that turned me on even more.

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