A/N: This story has no Beta. All spelling errors and mistakes are my own.

I knew saying goodbye to my friends was going to be hard. It made me not want to go. "

"I'm going to miss you so much!" Jessica sobbed into my shoulder.
"You can still text me." I laughed, hugging her.
She sniffed, "Yeah but it won't be the same. Who am I going to bitch to?"
I released her from my grasp and smiled sympathetically, "It's not forever, Jess. I'll be back before you know it."
Jessica wiped her eyes and smiled in return, "Call me as soon as you land, okay? And let me know how your dad gets on. And also, if you meet any hot guys…" She smirked, pulling me into another hug.
"I promise." I whispered.
I was going to miss her. No doubt about that. She had been my best friend ever since I arrived in Forks. How was I going to cope without her?
Mike stepped forward and smiled, "Safe trip, Bella." He pulled me to his chest and kissed the top of my head, "I'll look after Jess while you're gone."
"You better, you dick." I mumbled against his chest.
He chuckled, "I'm going to miss you."
"You better have a joint ready for me when I get home." I joked, pulling away.
Mike nodded, holding his hand over his chest, "I will. I give you my word."
I rolled my eyes, "You're such a dork."
I grabbed my bag from the floor and sighed, "I'll call when I get settled." I chewed on my bottom lip and met eyes with Jessica again, "Keep me updated on all the gossip."
Jessica nodded, her eyes filling up again, "I will." She croaked.
I closed the front door behind me and lifted my face to the cold rain. I would see them again. I was sure of it.

4am.
Time to leave.
"You got everything, Bells?" My dad threw a bag over his shoulder and smiled.
"Yep."
"Passport?"
"Yep."
"Okay. Let's go then."
I followed my dad out the door, glancing behind me once last time to the bare house I once lived in. I swallowed the lump in my throat and shut the door behind me. Shutting the door on my memories and old life.
"Check in is at six." My dad mumbled as he threw our suitcases and carry ons in the trunk of the cab.
I shut the car door and sighed, staring out at the dull sky.
Until we meet again, Forks.

Safe to say, the flight was horrendous. Stuck sitting in front of an annoying kid with ginger as fuck hair.
He kept peeking his head up and pulling my hair with his sticky fingers.
As soon as you land, dry shampoo your hair.
The kid's mother, of course saw nothing wrong with her reprobate's behaviour. She sat with her nose in a book the entire flight.
My dad mostly slept.
I wish I could've slept, that way I wouldn't have been resisting the urge to punch the kid's face in. Children, who would have them? Anyone could tell, I wasn't a maternal woman.

Thankfully the flight only took three hours. Otherwise, I would have been forced to give that mother a very important lecture on parenting.
I stood at the conveyer belt, waiting on my luggage. I was beginning to get annoyed at the people who forgot their manners on the plane. At least five people had accidentally bumped into me.
"Wanna get breakfast before heading off?" My dad asked, collecting his suitcase.
"Yeah, whatever." I mumbled.

We settled on one of the cafes in the airport.
My father ordered pancakes, whereas I settled on toast. I could feel the overwhelming heat of Arizona even in the airport. My stomach couldn't handle anything else. No one heard of air conditioning? I stared out of the window, not touching my food. The sun sat high in the clear blue sky. It was a refreshing yet frustrating change from the weather back in Forks. Frustrating because I would burn. Fuck my pale skin.
"It's about an hours drive to the new house." My dad said through his chewing, "I've rented a car, it should already be here."
I tore my toast apart and slumped in my seat, "Okay."
I had nothing else to say.

'Welcome to Phoenix, AZ.' the sign read.
I scrunched my nose up. I was already uncomfortably hot. The sun beat down on me and father as we drove down the highway from the airport.
"No turning back now." My dad grinned.
I rolled my eyes from behind my sunglasses, "You said that when we got on the plane." I couldn't help the distain in my voice. I didn't want to be here. That much was obvious. I stared out of the window, sighing to myself. This place was derelict. Just pure desert for miles.
"Maybe we can visit the Grand Canyon?" My dad seemed excited about this move. He was getting his hopes up about this new doctor. Fuck knows why. All doctors do the same thing.
"It's three hours away, Dad." I muttered sourly. I had no interest in ever going there. A bunch of red rocks and a river was not my idea of a good time.
"Cheer up, Bells." He exited the highway soon after.
Finally, civilisation.
"Wait until you see our new house, Bells. I'm sure you'll love it." He spoke so animatedly about everything in this place. You should have heard him on the plane when he wasn't sleeping. He was practically vibrating with excitement.
"I'm sure." I whispered. I'm sure I would absolutely loathe it.

I had forgotten how hot Arizona was. I was pretty sure I had sunburn already. Better get used to it.
"Look Bells, that's the house." My dad pointed towards a pale grey, two story house. There was a patio just off the front door where a small bench and a table sat empty. I frowned to myself, this wasn't what I was expecting. My dad unlocked the front door and stepped inside.
The entryway was huge. It led straight into the sitting area, which again, was huge.
"Three bedrooms and two bathrooms." My dad commented, looking around.
"Wh..what?" I spluttered. Was he kidding?
He grinned in response, "Go upstairs and pick out your room."
I rolled my eyes. I wasn't five. I started up the stairs, groaning inwardly as the stairs creaked underneath my feet.
The bedrooms were to the back of the house. I settled on the smallest of the three. I didn't need a big bedroom. As long as it was big enough for my bed and wardrobe, I didn't care. I could live with the colour of the walls for now. It wasn't that bad. Red. I could deal with red.
"Bells, the van is here!" My dad shouted from downstairs. The van with all our furniture. Furniture that we ordered two days before our move. Because the furniture we had back in Forks wasn't good enough.

Three hours later and my bedroom was starting to look like a bedroom. I had opened the window in the hopes of letting some air in, but my hopes were short lived. I flopped down onto my new bed and sighed. Edward hadn't returned my phone call or text me so I guess I had escaped humiliation for the time being. I couldn't even remember if I spoke to him or not. Did I leave a voicemail? Did I sob like a little bitch down the phone? What the fuck did I do?
I was to attend my new school in two days time. My father had arranged it all for me before we booked our plane tickets. I was dreading it.
Nobody enjoys being the new girl. I only had a year or so left of high school anyway, so I would just have to suck it up and get on with it. A year flies in when you're not paying attention.
I snorted at myself, yeah right.
The high school was only fifteen minutes away, close enough that I could walk. So that wasn't so bad. I sat up, deciding it was worth my while to unpack some more things downstairs.
My dad had popped out to the nearest supermarket to buy some groceries since we didn't have any. I stood in the kitchen looking around.
The units were white marble, extremely clean looking. The floor had white tiles, turning into wooden flooring as it reached the sitting area.
A lump formed in my throat. This house was far too big. Too big for just me, if anything was to happen to my dad. I couldn't live here by myself.
Get a room mate.
I scoffed at myself. I would need two room mates to keep this house going. I tore open the box containing pots and pans and began the monotonous task of putting them away in cupboards.
I sat the kettle and toaster down on the units, plugging them in. I smiled at my work. The kitchen was coming together quite nicely.
Thankfully, there wasn't much decorating to be done. And the parts that needed a lick of paint could wait until we were settled. French doors led out to the backyard. It was nice. The sun was beginning to set. Red sky at night. I smiled to myself and wandered into the sitting area. Surprisingly, there was no empty space. I sat down on the couch and began chewing on my lip.
The front door opened and my dad huffed, kicking the door closed with his foot.
I turned in my seat and watched him walk through to the kitchen.
"It's hot out there." He chuckled, setting the bags down on the kitchen island.
I nodded, "Yup." I eyed the bags suspiciously, "Did you buy healthy food?" I questioned.
He rolled his eyes, "Yes, Bella." He began unpacking, pulling out fruit and vegetables. I smiled. Good. He was learning.

After we unpacked the groceries, I started on dinner while my dad unpacked books and ornaments.
"We're meeting this Dr. Cullen tomorrow." My dad called from the sitting room.
I sighed, "Yeah, I know."
My stomach churned. Please don't be who I think it is. Phoenix is a big place.

My leg shook uncontrollably as my dad and I sat in the waiting room.
"Calm down, kiddo." My dad glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
"Sorry." I couldn't help it. It was natural to be nervous. New state, new school, new fucking doctor.
"This is ridiculous. We've been sitting here for almost half an hour!" I growled, leaning back in my seat.
My dad sighed, "It's a busy hospital."
I narrowed my eyes at the cream coloured wall, this was taking far too long.
A nurse wearing green smocks walked by, smiling at us in passing. I chewed on my bottom lip. My anxiety was starting to get the better of me.
"Mr. Swan?"
I snapped my eyes up to see a middle aged man with hair close to white smiling widely at us. He put me at ease immediately.
My dad stood, "Yes." He shook the man's hand.
"I'm Dr. Cullen." He smiled again, "Please, come into my office." He gestured toward a door just passed the waiting room and followed us in.
"Take a seat." He said as he sat across from us, opening my dad's file.
My eyes wandered around the room, searching for something to put my anxiety to rest.
"Now, I trust you have many questions. They will be addressed. Firstly, I would like to thank you for choosing to continue your treatment here in Arizona."
My eyes glued to his face, studying his features. His jaw was strong and square. His eyes the most brilliant shade of green. His left hand held a fountain pen, he played with it between his fingers as he studied the paperwork in front him. My eyes wandered to the desk, scanning for any sign of confirmation.
So what if it is who you think it is? Does it really fucking matter? Yes. Yes it did.
My breathing hitched as I spotted what I was looking for. A picture. Two boys holding baseball bats, grinning widely, cheeks flushed. One of them looked extremely familiar. This isn't happening, it's just your imagination. You're tired and stressed out.
Dr. Cullen noticed my staring and cleared his throat, "My sons." He commented, nodding toward the picture, "Emmett and Edward."
My heart rate quickened. Well, guess your luck just ran out, Swan.
I tried to smile but it must of looked like a grimace as Dr. Cullen gave me a weird look and turned his attention back to my father.
"There are risks, like every other surgery. We will have to keep you here overnight before hand and possibly a few days afterward." He explained, "Now, I see here that it has spread to your pancreas. Have you experienced any sickness or pain?"
My dad shrugged, "A little pain, nothing too drastic." I glared at him. Guess I was last to know.
Dr. Cullen nodded, "That's to be expected. Ideally, I would like to schedule you for surgery as soon as possible but with your recent scans, I would suggest some Chemotherapy beforehand."
My father nodded, "Whatever you say, doc."
So Dr. Cullen was Edward's father? Fucking peachy. Just what I needed.
What about our deal? My hands grasped the arm rests, my nails digging into the soft leather.
What if I saw him again? I scoffed inwardly, doubtful.
But...what if?

I stared at the Poptart on my plate, I wasn't remotely hungry.
"You all set for school tomorrow?" My dad asked, washing the dishes.
I tore my eyes from my plate and sighed, "I guess so."
"I called ahead and let the principal know you'll be attending tomorrow." He smiled and emptied the water from the sink.
"Okay. Thanks."
I watched as my dad opened one of the cupboards, taking out painkillers.
"Are you in pain?" My eyebrows knitted together.
"Only a little." He smiled and kissed the top of my head, "I'm going to get an early night, kid. I'll see you tomorrow before school." I watched him climb the stairs until he was out of sight.
I was dreading tomorrow.
You're going to go, and you're going to put on a brave face and get the fuck over it.
I scowled at myself. Hopefully, everyone will leave me alone. I wasn't planning on making friends. I just wanted to attend, maintain my grades. That's it.
No friends. What a great plan, Swan.
I dropped my poptart in the bin and sighed. No friends means not getting attached, which means no tears when I was ready to move back to Washington.

It seemed like a solid plan to me.