FINALLY figured out how to work this story! I did some character rearranging, and like I said before, a LOT is going to be different. Anyone wanna guess what I've changed?

As always, your input is greatly appreciated!


Chapter 4

The rest of the week went by uneventfully, save a couple more animal corpses in the forest. I'd come across them dumped into the ditch during afternoon walks, all with those same marks on their necks, blood staining the fur surrounding them. I was honestly tempted to think it was some sort of rampaging monkey, but what monkey could take down a deer? …Actually, I could probably think of a few. Maybe it was a monkey. It'd be better than the crazy blood-drinker, anyway.

I hadn't seen that boy around either, and I was honestly glad for that too – even off the chance that we'd met before and he'd recognized me, that look he'd given me had freaked me out. It was like he'd been trying to stare into my soul, so he could figure out how to rip it apart. Dramatic, maybe, but I wasn't the one staring at strangers in windows.

It was Saturday, and for once the sun was shining down, not a cloud in the sky. I gave Dad a kiss on the cheek as I moved about the house.

"Where are you off to?" He didn't move from the table, but smiled between bites of bacon.

"Exploring," I pulled my purse on and went to the door. "I'll be back after lunch, okay?"

"Be careful," he answered, not looking up.

"I will!"


Exploring ended up turning into a visit to the Forks Mall – a relatively small shopping center, but thankfully not a very full one. No doubt everybody was out enjoying the sun – and I planned to head out too, as soon as I familiarized myself with the place.

Besides, I remembered the mall had this one shop with the best sandwich cookies. How could I pass up that?

I eventually paused my search for snacks to take a lunch break with a big meatball sandwich, and was about halfway through when somebody sat next to me on the bench.

"I haven't seen you here." I looked up from my sandwich at him, and he snorted. "You have some tomato sauce…" he gestured to the corner of his mouth. I grabbed a napkin and wiped where he'd pointed. "There you go."

"Thanks." I glanced at the napkin – the stain was about the size of a quarter. How long had that been there? "And yeah, I just moved here. Moved back, really."

"Ah." He looked so familiar… "By the way, I apologize if I startled you the other day. I'm not used to not recognizing people."

"What are you talking about?" Then it clicked. "Oh, you're that guy I saw at the waffle house! Do you always try to make friends by staring at them really intensely?"

That made him laugh. "No, not usually. Yours was a special case."

"I'm flattered." I could feel myself smiling – he was much less creepy up close and talking. "So what's your name, stranger?"

"Edward." He pushed some hair out of his face – he looked like he'd need a haircut soon.

"Edward what?"

"Only Edward." He shrugged. "You're the police chief's daughter."

"Actually, I'm his secretary." He looked confused, and I laughed. "I'm kidding. Yeah, he's my dad." I held a hand out. "My name's Sunny."

"Nice to meet you, Sunny." He shook it very briefly – had he been holding ice? His hand was cold. I saw a water bottle sitting next to him. Ah, that explained it. "So what brought you to Forks all of a sudden?" He let go of my hand.

"Oh, family stuff." I shrugged, half-smiling. "Mom wanted to travel this summer, I hadn't seen my dad in a while. Seemed like a good time to visit before school, you know?"

"That makes sense." He nodded, then glanced at his watch. "I actually have to meet somebody in a few minutes, but I just wanted to introduce myself. Hope you don't mind."

"Oh, not at all!" He smiled – he had black eyes, dark circles underneath, now that I got a good look at him. "It was nice meeting you, Edward. Glad to know I didn't just randomly piss off some guy in a window." That made him laugh.

"I'll see you around here, then?" I nodded, and he got up, walking off towards one of the stores. First new friend in Forks, I thought to myself, and returned to my sandwich. The rest of the mall proved to have nothing too exciting, although there was an antique store across the street – I'd have to take a look later.

The walk back home was quiet, but an unusual quiet. While it hadn't been that noisy when I first left, it felt different somehow, like things were afraid to make noise. I tried my best to ignore it, and just focus on getting home. I couldn't help sighing in relief when the house came into view, but as I got closer, I could see something on the mailbox a sheet of paper, barely shifting in the breeze.


Okay, so maybe laughing when I found the warning note wasn't the appropriate response to make.

It was taped to the mailbox, written in smudged Sharpie on a paper towel. "STAY AWAY FROM THE CULLENS" was printed in blocky writing, surrounded by large blotches of ink that could have been botched attempts.

I nearly barked with laughter when I read it. It felt so campy! Even if it had looked more dignified, I couldn't take it seriously. All capitals, no explanation? Really?

I crumpled the note up and shoved it into my pocket – I'd show Doctor Carlisle later. I sure didn't know who had beef with his family, but maybe he would.

"Was there any mail?"

"Yeah, just some envelopes." Dad looked up from his soup when I set them on the table. Stay away from the Cullens? I nearly laughed again. I'd known the doctor since I was a kid, he was one of the most trusted men in Forks. I unfolded the paper again, shaking my head at it.

"Hey Dad?" I asked, crumpling it again, "How's Dr. Cullen been?"

"Hm?" I heard him swallow some soup. "Pretty good, from what I can tell. I think his son just started dating that girl from the car garage. You remember Rosalie?"

"Rose is still here?" I dropped the paper. Rose! I hadn't seen her since we were kids, but we'd been good friends. "I'll have to say hi!"

"Day's still young," Dad shrugged, "you can head over there now." I nodded and grabbed my purse, and grabbed the paper as an afterthought.

"I'll call you when I'm heading back, okay?" Another affirmative grunt, and I was out the door.

The note hadn't said anything about people dating Cullens, had it?