"Learn from your past, live in the present and embrace your future."
•••••••••
Mom was driving my sister Bella and I to the airport, the windows rolled down in her car as I watched the familiar scenery for the last time.
It was quite sunny, unfortunately for me, but I had mastered the art of blending in with a ridiculously oversized grey hoodie over my jeans and t-shirt because hey, this girl had to do the absolute most these past few months in order not to turn into a disco ball in front of the family.
If you're a little confused, allow me to introduce myself for a bit.
The name's Annabelle -Annie- Swan, 17 years old—well, physically that age now and forever ever since that freak accident a few months back.
See, I'm a vampire.
I see you shaking your head in disbelief, thinking I've actually gone mad but I swear it's the truth, nothing but the truth here.
A few months back, when I had just turned 17, I went on a girls' trip I'd planned since forever with some of my friends and like the direction-challenged girl that I was, I became lost on my way back. As I was wandering around, not in the least freaked out because you know, even when lost, I was one of those people who believed all roads lead to Rome, I came across a peculiar scene in a dark alley.
Before I tell you about this scene, I need to tell you a little secret : I believed in the supernatural. Not because I'd seen a vampire or a werewolf or those mythical creatures we hear about in books, but because I've had strange things happening to me from as far as I could remember.
I had "visions".
And I put the quotations marks because I didn't just have visions, I knew things, I could just feel sometimes. I'd always had visions and moments where I would just know what would happen next.
So in that alley, I knew I was going to die. But even though I knew that little fact, I didn't panic, I didn't run, I didn't cry for help or any of the sort, I remained calm.
I didn't lose my senses when I watched the two men fight as if in slow motion; didn't lose it when one of the men turned his golden eyes on my person, rushed at me at an inhuman speed and bit my thigh. I still didn't lose it when the other man who had beautiful red eyes acted on the golden eyes' distraction and killed him, dismembering him and throwing him into a small fire he'd started.
I first regained the use of my voice after watching the golden eyes burn—I screamed bloody murder for three days straight at the pain that invaded my body, pain like I'd never felt before, pain like I never wanted to feel again. My mind though, stayed as calm as ever, panic nowhere near it as I knew I was born for this moment; that my rebirth was a given, human life begone.
When I woke up from that agony, the red eyed man was still around.
I could see he was a man of few words but he made an effort to explain to me my new life, the new world that'd been opened to my eyes. His name was Alistair, and by the time he was gone, I had a feeling I'd see him again in the future.
If you want details on what I'd become, think Dracula meets highlighters in the sun and you'd be pretty much set— I'd became a vampire.
I first fed on a balding man who had just beaten his wife to death.
Now, don't go making me a Heroine; I'm not a good samaritan, in all honesty, my thrist just led me to him.
I've fed regularly since then and I could feel I wasn't a normal newborn vampire.
For one, even with my diet of human blood, my eyes were the golden eyes of the man who bit me instead of the fiery red Alistair told me they should be. I didn't know why and I didn't ask why, but pity, I would have loved to display those baby reds.
Anyways, these golden eyes were eerily close to what my human eyes looked like that shocking for my entourage.
Furthermore, I adapted fairly quickly to the whole "I'm a vampire" lifestyle. There was no search to get my human life back or talk about my soul because quite frankly I didn't care and I freaking loved being a vampire. Blood fortunately didn't get me mad, and I think since I fed quite often —with a good balance between directly to the source and IV blood bags—, I didn't feel the need to slaughter my family or friends.
Besides, with how clumsy my twin sister Bella was and how often she cut herself, I had plenty of experience to tell me I could control myself.
My gift also amplified, I saw a lot more, knew a lot more and was glad for it.
Now that you know a lot more about yours truly, let's go back to the story.
Bella —my annoying twin—was sitting in the front of the car, her expression one of a kicked puppy when she'd been the one who wholeheartedly agreed to the idea of moving to Forks with dad when I proposed it a few weeks back.
Though twins, Bella and I differed greatly from one another.
Bella appeared a timid, white lotus wallflower while I was more of a bright, smart-mouthed plumeria —you know, those majestic flowers.
On the physical plane, the only thing we seemed to share was our pale skin— mine vampire pale while hers was just... pale. Beautiful, but nonetheless unusually pale for someone who lived in a sunny state. Bella's hair was dark brown and flowed in gentle waves past her shoulders and she donned pretty brown eyes inherited from our dad. As for me, my hair was a light brown and I kept it in its natural wavy and the length at the small of my back—I liked my hair very long. My eyes were now a golden hue but even as a human they were of such a color, if only darker.
As far personality went, Bella was the introvert, the shy one with strangers but a real brat with the family. I was the extrovert, the one who made friends easily and who loved the outdoors. I was also painfully honest, didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing. And if you couldn't tell already, my sister and I didn't quite get along.
Bella's continuous sighs brought me back into the car, in time to see our mom glance at her for the hundredth time.
"Bella, you don't have to do this." Mom said. "The both of you don't."
I rolled my eyes in the back as I continued to stare at the scenery. It wasn't without saying that Renee-our mom- and I didn't get along that much. The both of us were too headstrong and she could never get me like dad did. For her, I was too impulsive, too wild and uncontrollable, which was ironic in itself because she was the flightiest person I knew.
I'll admit there was a bit of resentment in my tone; if she'd actually waited until Bella and I were old enough to chose which parent to stay with, maybe a lot of things would be different but oh well.
Besides, she favored Bella a hell of a lot but I stopped caring about that like 4 years ago.
"I want to go." Bella lied through her teeth, acting as though it was some kind of chore to go live with our dad.
My sister dearest got on my nerves as she always played the 'mature' card because I was always out, you know, enjoying life, and she never wanted to step out of her comfort zone. At the end of the day though, the one who remembered to pay the bills, do the groceries, cook and take care of the house was me while little miss sunshine Bella re-enacted a teen drama, spending her days writing, writing and writing in her journal about how hard her days were —pretty ironic since she didn't do anything besides exist.
The moment things between Phil and mom became serious, I grabbed onto that excuse and proposed to live with my dad, seeing as I actually was fond of dad. Bella somehow thought she was a martyr and "sacrificed" herself by coming with me and allowing mom and Phil the ability to move around for his baseball games.
Sigh, this family was so over the place.
••••••••
"Girls, tell Charlie I said hi." Mom told us as we were at the airport, a few minutes before our flight.
My petty self wanted to ask 'for what?' as if I was my dad, I would need at least another decade before I wanted to deal with her disappearing act but knowing my dad wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in their marriage, I plastered a disinterested smile on my face. "Sure, mom."
All she got from me was a brief hug while Bella clung onto her for dear life, before we finally got into that plane.
••••••••
Needless to say, I wasn't prepared for the adventures following that four-hour flight to Forks.
Even 'The All-knowing' as I jokingly called myself couldn't be prepared for the wildest ride of my immortal life.
