I grunted as I pulled at the bright violet bag from the rotating ones when I heard a squeal.

"There she is!" I whirled around, only to be practically tackled by a young woman. OMG. I pray to God that this is Emily. I mean seriously, wouldn't you? Being tackled by a random stranger is not a good thing. Behind her a dark, young man smiled sheepishly.

"Um, hello?" I laughed. "Are you Emily?"

"You got it! And that must mean you're Natalie!" When she pulled back, I tried not to scream. She had scars all along the right side of her face, even one at the edge of her mouth, pulling it down into a permanent grimace. To distract myself, I glanced down at my bag and around the airport. Only after I was sure I could look without acting rude did I smile at her. Ignoring the scars I could really see what a beautiful woman she was. Her dark skin color went well with her bright, brown eyes and brought out her long, black, hair.

"Yep." I didn't know what to say. The scars had caught me off guard. She took one of her long delicate fingers and brushed some of my black hair out of my face.

"Natalie, I want you to meet Sam Uley." She pointed at the man behind her. "Sam, this is Natalie Campbell, my distant niece." He nodded in return and held out a huge, dark hand. I gripped it, realizing how small and fragile my hand was compared to his. In my distraction, Sam yanked me forward into another hug. That's okay though. I like hugs.

"Uh, hello again?" I said, blushing uncontrollably. He was so warm. Or maybe I was cold? I felt Sam chuckle beneath me. "It's nice to meet you." I added as he released me. I looked between Emily and Sam, "All two-" I glanced at Sam's size again. "-and a half of you." Both Sam and Emily cracked a smile and laughed. These guys didn't seem too bad. Not bad at all in fact. Sam helped me grab the rest of my luggage, and then we were off to the closest exit.

The first thing I noticed was the cold biting at my cheeks and the nape of my neck. The three of us scurried quickly to Sam's ancient car. When I looked at it I could only sigh. Sam looked at me sympathetically. "Something wrong?" I shook my head and tried to put on a convincing smile.

"I just miss my babies. A Chevy Avalanche truck and a Mustang Convertible." Sam and Emily switched a surprised glance with each other. I grinned. "I know, you probably think that a girl like me would stay away from cars at all cost, but I worked with my step-cousins at the auto shop. I'm pretty good at cars." I shrugged and put on a cheesy smile.

They both shared a knowing yet sad glance and without another word, we were on our way to La Push. Few words were shared, besides Emily saying how great it was to have me, and how I would just love Forks and everyone in it. Sam asked a few basic car questions, but other than that, it was a comfortable silence.

My brain must have switched to Auto Pilot, because the next thing I knew, the car pulled to a stop. I glanced out the window as Sam opened his car door. I fumbled with the seatbelt for a minute and got out. I looked around, a habit of mine when I go somewhere new, before staring at the small house we parked in front of. It looked like a dollhouse. I was half way expecting Barbie to walk out of the front door. A hand clapped my shoulder. I tried not to jump and looked wildly over it. Sam lightly rubbed my shoulder in apology for scaring me, before pushing me forward towards the house.

"I know it's small, but it's sturdy; you should see the commotion running around it all the time." I grinned loosely.

"I'm not complaining. It's great, and I bet it gets a nice view..." On the roof. Sam grinned and opened the door for me. Emily took a hold of me then and led me around the house. It seemed so...planned out? Everything had it's own place and everything was cleaned as if it were waiting for a princess to arrive any minute.

"I hope you don't mind, but we changed the attic into your room, so the place is a little messy."

Messy? This? I bet she's talking about my future room, cause if this is messy, I don't want to know what clean is!

"That's fine, you really didn't have to do that; I could've done it..." Emily stopped her tour and looked at me waving her hands.

"No way! You are our guest. Once we get you settled in, then you can complain about not doing chores." I went to protest, but she confused me for a minute. Complain about not doing chores?

"Come, let's go see your new room!" She dragged me up the stairs to where Sam was waiting. The room was just like the house, small and dainty. The floors of the room were a freshly polished hardwood, and the walls were a freshly painted white. A queen-sized bed was against the western wall laying down the middle of the room. It was covered in blue and black converters and whatnot. The pillows on the bed where a mix of black, gold, and blue, contrasting yet blending in with the room. A large window was on the northern wall. On the right side of the bed a small desk was placed. On top of it was a tiny lamp. The eastern wall was a walk in closet, bare for now, with a dresser on the left side of the opening. I grinned as I walked into the room, spinning around so I could get a full view of it.

"The rest of your stuff from your Aunt Joanna should be here in a couple of weeks." I thought Emily would explode from happiness as she saw how much I adored the room. I whirled around and raced to her hugging her happily.

"I love it Emily! Thank you soo much!" She hugged me back. I felt the happiness radiating off of her, she must have been worried I wouldn't like it. I let her go and raced over to Sam doing the same thing. His unnatural body heat made me uncomfortable for a minute, but right now, I didn't care. After I let him go, I squealed and flopped on my bed, sighing happily. Taking that as a signal, they left me alone to unpack.

It took me awhile to take it all in. I was in another room of my distant relatives, again, and I actually liked it. It only took a few minutes to put my stuff away, then I was back on the bed, just relaxing. Something vibrated in the pocket of my jeans, which scared me for a minute. Then I remembered I had a cell phone. Aren't I smart? I took it out quickly, flipping it open with ease.

Hi Natalie! I miss you!

You should drop by sometime.

By the way, where are you now?

Last time I checked you where at

your Aunt Joanna's place in San

Fran. Soooo what's up?

Are there any cute guys?

I wish there were cute guys here.

You'd better text back soon, or I'll

call and freak out on you!

I couldn't help but smile. That would be Pat for you. Her name is really Patricia, but she's just like me when it comes to being a tomboy...to an extent. She's hard-core boyfriend person and she doesn't like cars the way I do, but she's definately not a preppy princess either. I didn't want her to call, so I texted a reply as fast as I could.

Chill Pat, I'm fine. I miss you too.

I'm in Washington, so dropping

by is kinda impossible unless

I take out a week of being here.

Nothing's really up, I'm just

finishing unloading my stuff.

I'm on an Indian res. It seems

cool. No, I haven't seen any guys

yet, so don't even think about

trying to set me up. I already

told you I don't date until I no

I'm staying more than two

months. What about Brandon?

I thought you and him where

going strong.

I pressed send and closed the phone, sighing comfortably. Everything I said in that was true. I couldn't drop by her place, since she was in Montana. She was one of the good friends I made at my stay there, when I lived with my aunt Nancy and uncle Rick. I stayed there for a grant total of six months, then my uncle divorced my aunt, and she couldn't keep me. That's when I was going out with a guy named Taylor. We were going strong too. When we had to break up, we both where in tears, and we broke up the day I had to leave...with one last kiss. I think I still love him, which is part of the reason I don't date. Another is because all the guys I meet are immature and hate the fact that I know more about cars then they do, and I'm strong too. I mean, sure a couple are hot, but come on. Sam's good looking, but I'm not about to date my uncle. Eww. Creepy. Incest. The phone vibrated again.

Oh come on! Why not? Don't

you think you'll be there for

long? And Brandon was soo

last week. I'm single now.

Is it Taylor again? I told you to

get over him.

That aggravated me a bit.

I texted faster this time, and a little harsher than normal.

I don't know how long I'll be

here. Sometimes things spring

up. You know, like Nancy and

Rick splitting? I'd still be there

if it wasn't for that fact, and

Taylor and I would still be together.

And it's not just Taylor. Look,

just because I don't have a bf

every other day doesn't mean

anything.

I growled and closed the phone angrily. I'm still touchy when it comes to Taylor. We loved each other, and I don't know how far it would've gone. Why does she think I need a boyfriend anyway? I'm perfectly fine without one. The phone vibrated again.

How can you be so sure?

For a minute I wanted to scream in anger, but that sentence, that one simple sentence sent chills down my spine. What if it didn't work out between us? What if something else came up, or worse...What if he just got tired of me? I didn't reply back. Instead, I felt the urge to go down stairs and walk around a bit. I put the phone on the desk beside my bed and stretched before making my way to the door. I tried to compose a natural face as I descended the stairs. I didn't want Sam or Emily to know something was wrong. It didn't work.

As soon as I passed through the kitchen, Emily caught sight of me. She put the dish she was working on down and asked worried, "Are you okay?"

I managed to grin, even though it was only for a second. "Just tired. I'm going to get some fresh air." She nodded, unconvinced. A haunted look was in her eyes, but I was desperate to get out of the house, so I didn't ask what was wrong.

"Okay, just be careful." I nodded, not really hearing and quickly made for the exit.

Once outside, I made my way over to the forest. The musty smells made me relax, made me feel at home. I just wandered. I didn't see a trail when I entered, and I didn't see one now. I walked as far as my rage and sadness compelled me forward. Tears burned at the backs of my eyes. How could she say that? How can you be so sure? What does she know? I shook my head. Taking a deep breath in through my nose, I slowed a bit. My heart was hammering, but part of me egged me on, to go farther. My more sensible side took over. I looked all around me, taking in the smallest detail. I had to mark the trial somehow, or I'd get lost. Well, more lost than I already was. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I already broke a lot of rules just being out here.

1)I'm without a 'buddy'

2)I don't have any way of communicating to someone else

3)I don't have a flashlight and it was darkening

4)I'm off the trail, if there was a trail to start with

5)I don't have a map and I'm in unknown territory

So basically I'm screwed. I took a deep breath again, and looked for somewhere to sit down and collect my thoughts. A fallen tree was just a few feet to the right from where I was, so I decided to claim that as my stool. I made my way over to it. I just sat on it, and it was actually dry. Sighing unhappily, I looked up, staring at the canopy above me. I stayed there for as long as I could. It wasn't raining, but I could tell it was getting dark. I stood up and made my way back to where I started, looking at my special place sadly. I started to head the direction I came from.

I a couple steps from where I started when I got a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt like someone, or more like something was watching me. My heart started to race. Whatever it was, I feared it. It was unnatural. I sped up every couple of steps, until I was racing through the forest. The strange thing was, no matter how fast I was running, I didn't trip or even have anything smack my face. I kept running. Whatever was watching me before kept silent pace with me, and I often found myself checking over my shoulder, scanning the forest behind me to see what it was, but each time, I found nothing. Something sparked in front of me. I just about screamed when I realized it was a break in between the trees. I pushed myself faster until I pushed past the last of the forest. I turned around stumbling backwards, scanning the trees. But nothing was there, and the feeling started to melt. An involuntary shiver ran down my spine. I tried to get my breathing under control as I headed back to Sam's and Emily's.