Disclaimer!: do not own the twilight characters, books, movies etc...
Chapter 2 –
'' I'll start'' Esme said, as she flipped to the first page of Twilight.
Preface
I'd never given much thought to how I would die – though I'd had reason enough in the last few months – but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.
I starred without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter and he looked pleasantly back at me. Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble even. That aught to count for something.
I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, its not unreasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.
The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me.
''no no no, please tell me I don't kill an innocent girl! Edward brokenly whispered into the deadening silence of the Cullen residence.
''take a moment son, the letter said to wait until the books are finished, don't make any rash decisions yet'' Carlisle quietly reassured his distressed eldest son.
''yeah Edward, don't worry too much you have the best control here minus pops over there, I'm sure this is something else'' chimed in Emmett.
''can I read next then'' Alice called out , whilst sending Edward an encourage smile. Esme passed over the book and Alice started reading the first chapter.
One – First sight
My mother drove me to The Airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue.
''sounds beautiful'' sighed Esme, wistfully.
I was wearing my favourite – sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.
''NO, omg that's just ….. no, a parka, that girl needs a serious wardrobe update , we're going shopping when she gets here'' ranted Alice.
'' Alice dear, Isabella is human she needs the park for warmth, I'm sure she didn't mean to offend your fashion tastes'' Esme quietly interjected, smiling.
In the Olympic Peninsula of the northwest Washington state, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead.
It was to Forks that I now exiled myself – an action that I took with great horror. I detested forks.
''why's she coming here then!'' rose moaned out
''''rose, be nice'' Emmett pleaded, glancing at Edwards overly protective and pissed look.
I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city. "Bella," my mom said to me - the last of a thousand times - before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."
My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, hare-brained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still...
''Bella sounds like the mom'' laughed Emmett smiling widely. Edward chuckled, looking amused by this.
"I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.
"Tell Charlie I said hi."
"I will."
"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want -I'll come right back as soon as you need me."
But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise. "Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom. "She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone.
'' poor Bella, she sounds so sad, I hope things get better'' Esme says, hopeful.
It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.
Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car.
'' that's so sweet of Charlie'' Esme said kindly, smiling at the thought. I wonder why she worried about the journey with her father Esme though with concern, catching Edwards attention, who secretly wondered this him self.
But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision - like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.
When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen- just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun. Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.
''damn right, lil sis '' Emmett joked, laughing loudly.
''definitely not wrong there'' agreed jasper with an eye-roll.
Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.
''she fell over nothing, excellent, she'll definitely need a vampire in shining armour '' Emmett guffawed, fist bumping with jasper.
'' Isabella's most likely gonna spent a lot of time in the hospital if she's this clumsy'' Carlisle adds, warm heartedly.
"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me "You haven't changed much.
How's Renée?''
"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face. I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.
''NO, Shopping trip needed – NOW !, no way is my new sister living with so little clothing'' screeched Alice, the tiny pixie already planning in her head. Edward and jasper, looked at each other in horror, from the emotions and thoughts pouring of her.
"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.
"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car."
''perceptive'' Edward murmured in half irritation, half curious
"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."
"Where did you find it?"
"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.
"No."
"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted. That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory. "He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."
"What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask. "Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine - it's only a few years old, really."
''it wont work... '' sang Alice smirking, knowing that Bella wouldn't be so easily deterred.
I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?" "He bought it in 1984, I think."
"Did he buy it new?"
Internally Edward groaned, how was he supposed to keep this inquisitive and stubborn girl from the vampire secret it was impossible.
"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties - or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.
"Ch - Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic.. , Really Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore''. The thing, I thought to myself...
''as what!'' Rosalie demanded, in thoroughly repulsed manner
it had possibilities - as a nickname, at the very least. "How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on. "Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression.
Wow. Free. "You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."
"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.
''wow that's some really awkward convo there'' commented Emmett.
'' its sweet how alike they are, you can clearly see how much they both care about one another'' , Esme said reprimanding Emmett softly.
"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with me. And I never looked a free truck in the mouth - or engine. "Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks. We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for Conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.
It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves.
It was too green - an alien planet.
''alien... planet... hahahaha, no aliens here just vamps lil sis, Emmett chuckles, laughing out loud.
Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage.
Those were the only kind of days their marriage had - the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new - well, new to me - truck. It was a faded red colour, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise, I loved it.
''NO WAY '' exclaimed the Cullen teens in collective unison. Disbelief evident on their faces.
''ugh what is wrong with this human, that things only a bit younger than me!'' Rosalie cried in horror, at her car choices.
''of course, she loves the truck'' Edward breathes, surprised.
I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged -the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.
"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!"
Now my horrific day tomorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser. "I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly ,embarrassed again.
It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window -these were all a part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a second hand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner.
'' sounds like Charlie missed Bella, its sweet that he kept everything the same, the room sound lovely and comfortable'' says Esme as she smiles.
There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.
'' ugh that's just wrong, sharing a bathroom with your father!'' shudders Alice.
''god I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy! complains Rosalie, feeling a small measure of sympathy for Bella, much to her and Edwards surprise.
Lifting an eyebrow at rose Edward mused humorously as rose's stubbornness surrounding Bella, while remarking a the fondness he feels, realising with mild surprise, happiness and intrigue, that he was already starting to like Bella swan.
One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover. He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape. I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning.
''oh Bella, i hope you feel better soon, Esme sighs softly, feeling sad for the sweet girl, only kind thoughts for displaced girl.
Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven - now fifty-eight - students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All of the kids here had grown up together - their grandparents had been toddlers together.
''trust me bells, you wouldn't want to have grown up here, teens here are spiteful'' assured Emmett
''two words Em, Lauren and Jessica'' added jasper.
I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak. Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this tomy advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan, sporty, blond - a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps - all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun.
Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself - and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close.
''Oh Edward she sounds lovely'' whispers Esme smiling at Edward. Thinking Edward agree's to that and adds stunning to the list of compliments, being though from the family.
When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy.
My skin could be pretty - it was very clear, almost translucent-looking- but it all depended on colour. I had no colour here. Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?
'' don't worry bells, you've got us !'' yells Emmett excitedly.
'' okay , who's reading next!? '' says Esme , holding out the book. jasper who had been sitting next to Alice keeping her calm in the face of the clothes scandal; at least in her mind, offers to read next. Flipping to the correct page, jasper starts.
To be continued