All caricatures belong to Stephen Myers, I just like to play with them.

Chapter 1

When Bella was a child, she lived with her mother. If she had to pick one word to describe her mother it would be childlike. It's not that she thought her mother was immature. More like too carefree to be an adult. This characteristic made Renee flighty, curious, adventurous, clingy, overdramatic, whimsical, and a bit nomadic.

Renee who looked nothing like her daughter, with her curled dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes treated Bella more like her friend than her child. They moved from city to city chasing every one of Renee's whims. Too often her mom would be so focused on what she wanted, she forgot to account for what they needed. This forced Bella to take on the responsibility of an adult before she was even a preteen.

She spent two weeks every summer with her father until she was ten years old. Charlie, who she looked exactly like, with his milk chocolate brown eyes and his red-brown hair, was a shy, awkward man that had no idea what to do with her. He tried to find age-appropriate activities for her but she never seemed interested. She was so different every year. Both being timid they barely got used to each other before their time together was up.

Always being the new kid in school. Never really settling down anywhere. Bella had no real friends. Well, she had her mother who often told Bella that she was her best friend. Bella loved her mom, she really did. But frequently felt stifled by her. Then she had her books. She cherished them. She adored them so much that she took up writing little stories herself.

Being around people made her feel awkward and out of place. Like she didn't fit. She hated it. But her books and stories, with them she had an escape from reality. She could go anywhere, to any time, and could be anyone. Her books taught her about life, about love, about family, no matter how skewed fantasy and reality might be.

She wanted that life. The one with the big family and lots of friends were you never felt out of place. That romance where you both loved so passionately, so completely, that it overwhelmed your senses. This is what she yearned for.

The summer before Bella started high school her mother got remarried. Her husband (who was way too young for her, yet more mature) was a minor league baseball player looking for a new team. This meant he had to travel. A lot.

He was going to travel around to negotiate a new contract with other minor league teams. He wanted to bring Renee with him so they could celebrate their marriage.

He was a decent man who loved and respected both of them. However, he could see that Bella had no social skills. She was polite and kind but shrank into herself around other people. She had no idea how to relate to others. Especially those closest to her age.

He told his new wife (who was enthusiastic about traveling with him) that he believed it would be best if Bella remained in one place. Appalled by the idea of staying still Renee insisted that Bella loved to travel. She told him it would break her heart. That not traveling with him would make her feel unwanted.

He expressed that as much as he loved his stepdaughter she was a teenager now and needed to be established in one place. She needed stability for her next stage of life as she entered High School.

Renee changed tactics. She declared that since Bella was a teenager now she can stay on her own. After all, what kind of wife would she be if she did not support her husband?

Phil Renee's husband pointed out that though Bella was responsible and very well behaved she was just 14. He believed it was illegal to leave her home alone for more than a day.

Desperate now. Starting to feel stuck, claustrophobic, like if she stood still she would suffocate. Renee started grabbing for straws.

"Charlie!" She shouted. "Bella can go stay with her father." This would solve everything. The man still lived in his childhood home. You can't get more settled than that. "No, no." She backtracked. "He won't want to. He's too busy. There's his job, his hobbies, and his friends. That's why Bella doesn't visit with him. He never has time for her. That won't change. He's too busy for her to visit then he definitely won't want her living with him." She was rambling.

"Let me take care of Charlie." He encouraged her.

Phil thought this was a great idea. Charlie was responsible, he had a stable job and home. Phil was certain if he was asked, Charlie would allow Bella to come and reside with him. The girl needed this. She needed someone to take care of her. Phil loved his wife, but she was selfish and childish. Her daughter deserved more. Maybe living with her father would be good for her. It would certainly be better than the way she has been living.

Phil planned it out so that Bella would have enough time to get settled in before having to start school. He took charge of things, even calling Charlie to make the arrangements for Bella moving in with him. Charlie was over the moon with the idea of Bella living with him now. Phil was relieved to hear this. He figured Renee exaggerated Charlie's unwillingness to take care of his daughter. Phil knew moving to a permanent home for the first time in her life then starting high school could be overwhelming. He wanted to give her as much space between the two events as he could.

Bella was baffled. She couldn't understand why the woman that told her she would die without her by her side for one more day the last time she came back from her fathers was suddenly eager to ship her off to his house. A man she had not seen in four years.

Phil took the blame, "look kid I don't want to drag you along everywhere. You'll get bored. Besides, I think this will be good for you. Get to know your father a little bit. Make a friend. Make a lot of friends. Maybe you will find something that interests you outside of those books." He smiled encouragingly at her.

"Doubt it." She mumbled. But she prepared herself physically and mentally to leave.

Renee enjoyed the preparations of getting her daughter ready to move. She especially enjoyed their shopping trips. They bought clothes for cold weather, a new suitcase set, a couple of decorations for Bella's new room and a couple of books and things to carry on the airplane. The last night in her house Bella was all packed and ready to go.

Physically she was set. Mentally not so much. From what she could remember of the visits with her father it was always awkward. Her plan was to bury herself in books while she resided with him. She remembered him being a quiet man. She was sure he would leave her alone to get lost in her own little worlds.

She took a deep breath and looked around her room. This was the place she had stayed the longest out of her whole life that she could remember. She was here for thirteen months and even this was not consistent. Renee and herself would be gone for weeks when they would, "go on their adventures." She wasn't sure she knew what home actually felt like. If it takes, starting tomorrow she will live in the same place for the next four years.

thank you for reading