Finding Home Again-Chapter 1

Starting Over

A young girl lets out a deep sigh as the plane finally touches down at its destination in Tacoma, Washington. She rubbed the condensation off the window and glanced out, her eyes squinted from the rain that fell in a steady drizzle. She had to admit, the landscape of Washington was very beautiful but it was not home. The mountains' peaks were topped with snow; the trees were dense, growing into a canopy of green. The gray clouds hung low as far as the eye could see. Yep, definitely not home.

Sure, at home there were mountains and rain but that was masked out by sandy beaches and the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The sun always beamed bright.

The girl gathered her luggage and exited the plane with the other passengers. She stopped near the bottom of the stairs and began to search for someone in the waiting crowd. Around her, people called happily to their friends and family members. Only being a mere 5'4", she stood on her tiptoes, scanning the crowd for the familiar face of her aunt…the characteristics that had shown in her mother…

She shook her head, scolding herself. Don't you dare think about it! Forks is your home now.

"Lilliana! Hey, Lilliana!"

The girl spun around to my name and waved to the lady. "Hi, Aunt Helena."

Helena Bouras took a moment to look over her niece. Though her hood was pulled up from the oncoming rain, Helena could clearly see the pain and beat look in her eyes. She gripped her carry-ons tightly but her posture was drained. Helena held her arms out, "Well don't just stand there, come give your aunt a hug!"

Oops. I guess I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Lilliana Nicolette Garvin, South Carolina born and raised. I was born on February 7, 1995 to high school sweethearts, Nathan and Maria Garvin. I inherited my dad's curly, dark-brown hair and my mom's emerald green eyes. My grandparents were Greek and Belgian.

Why am I so far away from home? The Iraqi War.

I trudged over and hugged her tight. I let all the emotions I had that day. Grief. Longing. Forlorn. Nervousness. She squeezed me back before picking up a bag and leading the way out to her car into the foggy, late March weather. We climbed in and she sped off through the city and onto the highway.

"Don't worry, Lil. You are going to love it here. I promise." She rubbed my arm.

I cleared my throat. "Thanks for taking me in, Aunt Helena."

She smiled. "It's nothing, sweetie. I would have taken you in; even it hadn't been in the Will."

I nodded and stared out the window at the passing scenery of Washington as Helena switched the radio on. It was a several hours drive to Forks where she lived and with all the travelling I had done that day, I found my eyes drooping to the music and comfort of my aunt's car.

I awoke to Helena's gentle nudge and smile. "Welcome home, Lilliana."

Yeah right. This place was not my home. I leant my forehead on the window and looked at the small town of Forks. A few people walked on the sidewalk and there was a diner a block down. We stopped at the stop sign and I gasped in surprise when Helena rolled down her window at a passing man in a police uniform.

"Look, it's Chief Swan! Hey, Charlie!"

The man, now identified as Chief Charlie Swan, smiled and waved in greeting. "Hey, Helena! How's it going? Is this Lilliana, your niece?"

Helena nodded patting my arm. "This is her. Lils, this Charlie, the Chief of Police. Say, Charlie, do you think Bella would be up to giving Lils a ride to school tomorrow?"

He sighed, frowning. "Edward Cullen takes her. Sorry."

Helena waved it off. "That's fine. I'll ask Angela Weber. See ya, Charlie!"

"Take care, Helena. Lilliana."

We continued on to the house. Once there, we carried and deposited the bags in my new room. Helena went back downstairs as I gathered my things and unpacked. Sadly, all of my furniture from back home could not be shipped here—to expensive. This also meant that my parents' belongings had been distributed between family members. Grandma and Grandpa got the majority of everything.

I gently placed my mother's necklace, my father's watch and a pair of his shirts in the nightstand next to my bed. They had left me with these possessions on the eve they had been deported. Actually, not the shirt; I had grabbed those after my dad was gone and I was terrified that I would forget his smell. My first memory was the scent of peppermint that defined my dad. What I would give to be able to smell that again.

I walked over to the window and looked out. The tiny backyard stopped where the forest began. I found myself wondering how long it went on for before it reached the ocean. I grabbed my jacket, iPod, and shoes. I banged down the stairs.

"Going somewhere, honey?" Aunt Helena glanced up from her book on the sofa.

"Is it okay if I go explore the woods for a bit? I promise not to wander too far." I asked.

She thought for a minute before nodding. "Fine. But, if you are not back in an hour, I will call the Chief. There's a trail near the house for hikers."

"Okay!" I called, already running out the back door.

Once in the shelter of the trees, I turned my music to the favorite Carrie Underwood album. About five minutes in, I decided that this place was actually kind of beautiful in its own unique way. Sure it didn't have the sunny, country feeling that South Carolina did, but it did have the intoxicating nature feel. I was positive that I would be seeing some gorgeous rainbows in the future.

A figure of red caught my eye. I stole a startled gasp as it seemed to blur as it moved. Toward me. Immediately, my instincts took control and I began to run in the opposite direction. A terrifying realization swam over me as the only sounds I heard where my own footsteps on the undergrowth. Why the hell was this…thing not making any noise?

I let out a scream as I collided into a tree. On the verge of tears, I slowly raised my head. It wasn't an animal. It was a girl. A girl with scarlet eyes as red as her hair. I stifled a gasp as her skin seemed to have a glow in the dim sunlight. Her snarl was cut off by a ferocious roar. In a fraction of a second, she was gone as eight huge, and I mean HUGE, wolves came lumbering past.

Holy crap!

In a second, I was back on my feet and sprinting back to the house. The tears finally broke loose when I heard a howl in the distance.

"God Almighty! Lilliana, what happened?!" Aunt Helena gaped as I slammed the door, locked the door, and closed all the blinds.

I whispered, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you…"

She gently grabbed my arm and led me upstairs. "Why don't you just go to bed? You look pale as anything!"

With that, she turned off the lights and shut the door. I changed into a t-shirt and shorts before hesitantly walking over to the window. I shivered; the trees had a dark, menacing impression now that I knew what they contained. I lied in bed and held my dad's shirt to my chest, letting sleep overtake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FHA~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Lillana! Hurry up! Angela is here to take you to school!" Aunt Helena yelled up the stairs as I hastily grabbed my backpack.

I checked one last time in the mirror and deemed myself acceptable. Jeans, blue cardigan, and knee-high boots. My hair was as curly as ever and I had long since tried to tame it.

I ran downstairs and met Aunt Helena on the porch. She smiled and gestured to a gray Honda that sat parked in the driveway.

"Our neighbor Angela Weber has been kind enough to agree to take you to school till we can get you a car. She's a senior and the sweet as a pea. Go on, honey."

I nodded and opened up the car door. I climbed in and a tall, brown-haired girl with a kind face smiled at me.

"Ready to go?" With my nod, she pulled out of the driveway and headed into town. "I'm Angela Weber if Helena hasn't told you. She said that you're from South Carolina?"

"Yeah." I whispered, starting to feel nervous. We had only been driving for several minutes and had already turned into the school.

"Maybe since you're a junior, we might have some classes together. I don't know if you were in AP in Carolina…" She trailed off, searching for a parking spot.

"I was." I confirmed as she turned off the engine.

We climbed out the car and followed the crowd of students towards the building. Some glanced back at me before turning to whisper to a friend.

"You'll need to go to the office to get your schedule. Do you want me to show you were it is?" Angela asked.

I shook my head and we stopped at the edge of the steps. "I think I can manage. Thanks for driving me, Angela."

She waved it off with her hand. "If we don't have any classes together, I'll see you at lunch, okay? Good luck, Lilliana!"

With one last kind smile from her, we parted ways. I found the office easily and walked up to the secretary.

"Hi. I'm Lilliana Garvin, I'm new…" I trailed off as she jumped up, smiling.

"Oh! Ms. Garvin! Here is your schedule…come back if you have any problems. Welcome to Forks High."

I nodded and left, studying my schedule. AP Biology, AP US History, English 3, Lunch, Pre-Calculus, French 3, and Gym. Right where I had left off at home.

I slowly made my way to Room 109, hiding my face from new, curious classmates. It's like they have nothing better to do. I opened the door to Room 109 and walked to the teacher sitting at his desk in the front of the room. He smiled at me in greeting and introduced himself. I sighed as he handed me a book and pointed me to a seat. The class stared unabashedly at me as I sat down and I knew it was going to be a long day.

When lunch finally came, I made my way to the cafeteria along with everyone else. I bought a salad and water and swept my eyes across the area. I made eye contact with a few people; some gave me a kind smile. However, not seeing Angela, I sat at an empty table by the window, playing with my salad.

"Hey, Lilliana!" The chairs around the table scraped against the linoleum as Angela sat down with a boy and a girl.

The dark brown-haired girl smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Lilliana. I'm Bella Swan and this is Ben Cheney, Ang's boyfriend."

The boy did not look up from his comic book at the introduction. I waved, taking a sip of water. "Hey. Lilliana Garvin and I have no objection to you calling me anything besides it."

Bella grinned. "You have such a pretty name, though! My real name is Isabella. So, how has your first day been?"

I shrugged but didn't have time to reply as my body froze when two more people joined us. People probably weren't the right terminology though. They looked a lot like that girl from the woods…

"Lilliana, this is my boyfriend and his sister, Edward and Alice Cullen."

I found myself frowning as Alice gave me a scared look and Edward glanced at her, sighing.

"Disappears…" Alice whispered much to our shock and confusion.

What in the world?