It was warm and cozy inside, as usual. I always came here whenever I had the opportunity. Unlike the Cullens house, it reminded me a little more of my home back in Kansas. It was always such a difference, going from here to the Cullens and back here again. The atmostphere and the people were as different as day and night. Though, both awesome in their own way.

"Uncle Billy!" I shouted, spotting him in his wheelchair in the corner and jumping in his lap.

"Lanie! Glad you were able to stop by!" He greeted, putting his arm around me. "How are you liking your new home, huh?"

"Well, . . I . . . uh . . ." I didn't know what to say to that. I really didn't feel like rehashing the whole story. Although, I knew he was going to find out soon enough. But how can I tell him without mentioning Edward or any of the Cullens?

He stared down at me with a fatherly concern trying to figure out the reason for my obvious hesitation. I bit my lower lip and looked up at him with my big green eyes, still silent. It was then that he noticed my bandaged fingers. Taking them in his hands tenderly, he eyed them for a moment and then went back to me.

"It's a good thing Bella dropped you off now, 'cause it really started pouring hard out there." Jacob said, coming inside, closing the front door and shaking the rain water of his hair.

"What did I miss?' he asked, after seeing his father's and my facial stand-off. He looked questioningly back and forth at our expressions waiting for an answer.

"I don't know yet." Uncle Billy replied, not taking his eyes off me. "But I'm about to find out."

"Sheesh, Lanie!" Jacob seemed to exclaimed extra loudly. "What happened to your hands!"

I let a out a big sigh I didn't realize I was holding and broke down and disclosed the whole story. I told them everything, leaving out the all the points that involved any of the Cullens, of course.

"Frank Bennett is not a good man." Uncle Billy stated gruffly. "He has lived around these parts for many years. There has been many rumors of him . . none of them good. I am not surprised at all that this has happened to you while in his 'care'. I only wish I had known who you were being sent to before now."

"Man, I could just . . . " Jacob began to theaten.

"But you you wont." Uncle Billy interrupted his son. "Leave it to the people who are responsible for that."

"But I am responsible for her." He argued. "At least for now."

"Jacob," His father warned. "Don't you have some homework to do?"

"Whatever." Jacob resigned, walking out of the room.

I jumped off Uncle Billy's lap, turned around to smile at him and and ran to follow Jacob into his room.

"Too bad you have homework." I said, disappointed. I had hoped we could spend some time together.

"Homework? What do you mean?" he mockingly acted surprised. I gave him a sceptical, you-know-what-I'm-talking-about look.

"Oh. . . that." he said, pretending to finally understand. "Well, this IS my school station, I guess."

"School station?"

"Yeah! Ya see, buses stop at bus stations, trains stop at train stations so what do you think I'm gonna do at a school station?" he asked with a coy grin.

I had to laugh at that. "I think I'm going to borrow that one for my parents later."

"Be my guest." He said, jokingly bowing his head.

"Hey, wanna see the boat I made you?" He asked, proudly, after a moment.

"Wow! You made it already!"

"Yeah." he said with a shrug. "Nothing else to do around here."

"Well, it's stopped raining." I announced. "Let's go."

We both walked outside to the shed beside his house and he brought me over to a corner where a tarp was protecting a large piece of carpentry. Pulling back the covering, he reveiled and small, wooden half raft/half dingy. It was roughly put together, not professional at all, but I could tell that it took alot of time for him to make.

I stood there for a moment, staring at his handiwork, not saying anything. Not because I didn't have anything to say, but because I had so much and to say and I was trying to find the best way to say it.

"You're welcome!" he finally broke the silence, laughing.

"It's perfect." I managed to get out.

"It's a rough draft of what I would have wanted to build you." he said "But it'll do, I guess."

Him making that remark about the boat made us both suddenly remember the true reason he had made it. We stood there in a sad silence for a minute, staring at nothing imparticular.

I had never given much thought to when I would die. I mean, what child has? But I had always envisioned myself being old . . . very old. I certainly never expected my parents to be present at my own funeral. They were too good for that. Too good to have to witness the death of their own child. It's only been 'til very recently that I've realized what perfect parents they really were. I've been doing a lot of that lately. Realizing how perfect and beautiful everything is.

It's amazing how much you can appreciate life when you're about to lose yours. I've always heard the saying, "Live like you were dying." I totally get that now. It's just too bad that I don't get much of a opportunity to take that literally. I mean, what could I do now? If I were an adult, I could go do something exciting right now and live life to the fullest. But I'm just a kid stuck in Forks, Washington. Even if I did have the resources, where am I going to go?

"Maybe it wouldn't seem so bad if I could die of something else." I admitted to Jacob. "Cancer sure does seem to be an awfully boring way to go."

"Boring?" he repeated with a laugh, surprised at my words.

"Well, yeah." I confirmed. "There's, like, so many different ways this could happen."

"Like, what did you have in mind, exactly." he asked, cock-eyed, waiting for my response.

"Oh, I don't know." I thought out loud. "A shark attack, inside a barrel going down Niagara Falls, sailing into the Bermuda Triangle. The possibilities are endless."

That made us both laugh. That's what I liked about Jacob. He was one of the only people I could comfortably talk with about this whole thing with and not have it end up feeling weird or depressing for either one of us.

Unlike the Cullens, for example; although I loved them dearly. The few times this was brought up, they always seemed to get extremely heartbroken and it made me feel pitiful. They didn't mean to, of course. But I think it's because they felt it unfair for me to have die so young when they got to keep on living.

"'Sup, Jake?" A guy's voice in the entrance broke through our laughter.

"What's so funny?" Another one made me look up. Two teen-age guys, obviously from the Quiluete tribe, traipsed towards us.

"Hey!" Jacob called to them.

"Who's this?" The shorter one gestured to me.

"Lanie Kent." Jacob told him. "You remember her, . . . Clark's baby sister."

"Oh. That's right!" he said to Jacob. Then turned to me, "You sure have grown up since the last time saw you. How're doin'?"

"I'm alright." I lied to avoid awkwardness. "You're Quil, right?" He smiled at me and nodded.

"I'm Embry." The other one introduced himself.

"Hi!" I greeted him with a smile.

Then he said to Jacob. "Hey, we came to play on your XBOX."

"Uh, sure. Thanks for asking." Jacob joked.

"You don't mind, do you?" Quil asked him, eyeballing me.

"Not at all. In fact, we'll play with you." He volunteered, putting the tarp back over the craft.

"Sounds good to me!" Embry agreed.

"Probably a good idea. Someone has to lose." Quil said with a wink.

"Did someone just hear a bell?" I asked them both, teasing.

They looked at each other and then at me in a confused manner.

"Because you both are about to get schooled!" I said smugly, sticking my nose in the air, and walking past them.

They both laughed at my attempt at trash talk and followed me back inside.

UnfortunateIy, due to the bulkiness of the cast-like wraps on my hands, I had to resign myself to watching the three of them play as I was unable to work the controllers . I was content enough, though, just playing around with them and rooting for whoever I felt like was going to win at the moment.

I must've fallen asleep (as I am famous for doing) during one of the games, because a loud thunder crash woke me up and I was laying in Jacob's bed. It frightened me a little, but I stayed put. That is until another one came, this time much louder and accompanied by lightening. I could still hear the boys in the living room not far from me, so I jumped up and ran for them.

"What's the matter Lanie?" Embry poked fun at me. "Afraid of a little thunder storm?"

"Oh, no! Of course, not!" I exclaimed, dramatically. "I just wanted to make sure that YOU weren't."

They snickered at that, but I ran to go sit down next to Jacob. Where, at this point, I felt the safest.

"Bella! You're here, thank God!" Jacob had urgently called her the next morning to tell her to come back there and quick.

"Why?" She asked, walking up to him. "What's wrong?"

"It's Lanie." He told her, his eyes filled with worry. "She's started to . . . to . . . she's not herself."

"What do you mean, exactly?" She asked him, heading past him for the house.

"She's fine now. " He said, grabbing her arm."She's inside with Dad."

"What happened?"

"She woke up in the middle of the night last night and she didn't know where she was."

"That's not a big deal. Lot's of people wake up in a new place and don't remember right away . . . ."

"For two hours! We had to sit there with her for two solid hours and calm her down long enough to convince her we didn't kidnap her or something."

"You mean she didn't even recognize you!"

"Not right away."

"That means it's already starting." Bella concluded sadly after a moment. He nodded in agreement. "It wont be long now and she wont remember anyone or anything."


What do you think? Should I continue with the story? Click REVIEW and let me know! =D
BTW, a very special 'Thank You' to A.J. Acarlet, Delectable Sweetness, Immortal Roxtar, & Everyday I'm Shuffiling for all your positive reviews and devotedness throughout this story!