I do what I can and I do what I do, and none of those things were writing Twilight.

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Take Me Away

I'm back.

The plane's gone, the next fight out of here is in 3 days (yes I checked), but other than that I was stuck between a rock and hard place. I sighed reassuring myself this was a good idea. It had to be a good idea. I hoped it was.

It wasn't that I didn't like Forks. The forest green though endless dragged beauty with it. The rain though surrounding gave that fresh smell of it the next day or once you got outside. If you were an outsider in the little town of Forks, the endless green and surrounding rain would mock you day in and day out except if you lived in a place that had the same problem. In the continental U.S.A, I have yet to see a place as wet as Forks, Washington.

I've lived in Forks most of my life from the day of my birth to the age of thirteen. I'll just leave that for now. More of that tale is for another time, place, and preferably a setting not close to others. Dramatic, yes, but blame my mom for that.

I sat on my suitcase waiting for my dad, Charlie, to come pick me up. He was late but he sent me a text (I won't even ask how he figured that out.) before when we were in a clear zone to use our cell phones that he might be a little late. I was ok with him being late, but I was worried. What could possibly be happening in Forks that was serious? Forks was one of those small towns that you look down at a map and wonder if it was there the last time you looked at it. Gossip traveled faster than the flu and life was nothing as simple as could be. Well at least our connotation of it. You couldn't go a day without knowing who was pregnant and whose dating who and who that same who was cheating on.

Can you tell I have a good experience with gossip?

I sighed putting my head in my hand listening to the cold truth the band that blasted through my ear bubs sang. Sitting on one of my suitcases, I shut my eyes just to rest them since I barely got any sleep last night. My mom said it wasn't good for my sleeping patterns to stay up late, but I couldn't help it. This day made me anxious and the closer it came, the more reluctant I was to come.

My mom: another person on my list of reasons not to go. My mom, Renee, wasn't the most responsible person, but she was the best mom a girl could ask for. She was never the mom that when I got a bad grade she would act like it's the end of the world, but she didn't tolerate it either. She would encourage me to try new things that she never got to do when she was my age. Hobbies never really stuck to her well changing one after another. She wasn't a commitment person. I've know that all my life.

Imagine my surprise when she says she's getting married. Again.

My dad and she got a divorce when I was 2 but finalized it when I was three. They were having problems already, so it didn't surprise many. My dad was a little hurt, but respected her decision and the divorce was not a messy one. The only problems they had involved me and who I was going to live with. Instead of mud-slinging at each other, they let me decide. My mom had no hard feelings on my choosing my dad since I was going to see her over breaks.

There wasn't any animosity after words; they were civil and nice towards each other. Even though we were not a family anymore, they made sure that I still got the family feel. Turns out that were better off as friends then married since they stopped fighting and actually got along.

"It was like the old days," my mom told me once, "without the pressures of marriage, we were just like we are now."

I gave up hope thinking they would get back together. If they were happy, then so was I.

Anyways, switch to Phil.

Phil was 4 years my mom's junior with a dream of becoming a professional baseball player. He was good for a rookie and he was signed on the Florida Marlins 6 months before. My mother was excited for him and I was too, but I didn't want to move to Florida. (Too sunny for my taste if you ask me) So, I decided to take spent some time with my dad until I graduated high school. My mom told me over and over again how I didn't have to do it.

But I knew I had to.

I have some demons in the quiet town of Forks and even though part of the reason for me going is to see my dad, the other part is to face them and when I leave for college, I don't have a cloud of what if's trailing above my head.

As I was daydreaming, a light tap came to my shoulders startling me back to reality. I quickly looked up at the person to see a warm smile and mischievous eyes.

"Seth!" I got up just as fast as he opened his arms and gave him a hug.

Seth was one of Sue's kids. Sue was Charlie's girlfriend for that last 2 years and Seth was her youngest from her earlier marriage. Seth's father, Harry, died from a heart attack when he was out fishing with another family friend, Billy Black. He died on the way to the hospital and Sue just crumbled. Thankfully, Charlie was there to help with all the arrangements and with all the difficulties that came with not having Harry around.

Soon enough, they started going out (very weird using that phrase with my father.) and they couldn't be happier. Seth has known Charlie since he was a toddler, so there was no awkwardness when it came to him. The only problem was Sue's eldest daughter, Leah, but that for another time.

Seth was 2 years younger than me, but was one foot taller than me, so he picked me up off the ground and held me tight against him. Seth had dark rich skin with black hair that he kept spiked with a smile on at all times. He was huge, but he wasn't overkilling the steroids though.

"Bella, I've missed you so much! If you plan to fall off the face of the earth, could you let me know in advance?" I rolled my eyes and told him to put me down. He laughed at me while he did and helped me with my luggage. I still kept in touch with my people in Forks; Seth was just being the overzealous dram queen he was destined to be.

"So, what's new with you Seth? Any girlfriends I should know about?" Seth gave me a look, but he had a smile on his face to show it wasn't a touchy subject.

"Please to do think a mere woman could tame this?" I raised my brows at him.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" I smirked at the look on his face as we got to the car. Wait, Charlie was supposed to pick me up. I started to panick about the many possibilities that could happen as I whipped around to Seth.

"Why didn't Charlie pick me up? Is he alright?" My dad would be dedicated to a case even it was a small one. I didn't get my stubbornness from my mother I can tell you that. Seth could see I was freaking out and held my shoulders with his hands that are probably bigger then my face.

"Bells, he's fine. He just didn't want to leave you at the airport bored, so he called me up to come get you." I relaxed and smile sheepishly at him. A year ago we had a scare with Charlie helping out some policemen in Seattle with a man that was raping and killing women. He didn't have any shame in killing the policemen that got in his way either. We were all a mess and Sue nearly fainted when he was admitted to the hospital.

I was Arizona when it happened, so I was calling like a crazy person to find out what the hell happened to my dad, but it was ok. He was nearly shot, but jumped out of the way in time. It grazed his shoulder though, so he had to get that cleaned up. It was torture waiting in the place-where-you-put-people-so-that-there-are-witnesses-when-they-try-to-kill-for-information-room. They really should shorten the name.

"I know Seth but after last year, I don't know what to think anymore." He smiled knowingly and got into the driver's side of the car. I crossed my arms and stared him down through the window.

"Do you have a license, sir?" Seth waved the plastic card in from of my face and told me to get in. There was no way on this gas loving earth was I getting in the car with an unlicensed person regardless of family. Something had to stick when Charlie was raising me! That and he couldn't cook for his life.

I sighed (I seemed to be doing that a lot recently.) and got into the car and we drove in silence with the radio up. Seth was a hip/hop and rap guy and there wasn't a song he didn't know the lyrics to, so the silence wasn't really silence.

We past the scenery of tress, trees, trees, but we were close to the reservation to where the whole gang lived. There were two high schools in the town of Forks, La Push High and Forks High. The kids that lived on the reservation went to La Push High and the ones that didn't usually went to Forks High. The schools were closely knitted together especially the students.

I looked at the house as we pulled up with alert. The house was quiet, too quiet actually. You could usually hear the game on or Sue talking on the phone or Seth's friends raiding snacks in the fridge.

I turned back around to Seth to see him look sheepishly at me. I narrowed my eyes at him, What was he hiding from me and why is it so bad that he couldn't just tell me in advance?

"Seth," I warned as calmly as my voice could carry, "what the hell is going on?" He winced slightly. I breathed through my noses thinking it was probably something like a welcoming party lead by my stepmother. Since I was eight, I could sniff out a party faster than drugs to a crack hound. I decided to give Sur a little credit. She knew how I despised parties with an undying hatred. It couldn't be that bad, right?

I stepped out of the car and walked slowly up to the house eyeing it with suspicion. What kind of utter doom was I walking into? Balloons, cake, and that wasn't even the worst part. The annoying "my have you grown!" and "oh, you are too gorgeous."

Well, if I was going into hell, I might as well have some awesome theme music. That is the Swan way of course.

Seth opened the door slowly and flicked on the lights and everyone jumped out.

"SURPRISE! WELCOME HOME BELLA!"

Kill me now. No seriously get a knife, come back, and kill me with it. No you know what get a gun that way it quick and I don't see it coming. A sigh came for the twenty-seventh time today as Sue made her way to me and hugged the life out of me. Even though she wasn't my biological mom, she was a close second in my book. I owned her my life for taking care of Charlie while I was away and I've never seen him happier then when he is with Sue.

"Bella! Goodness you look amazing! I've going to have to have the boys keep a sharp eye out for you." Sue winked playfully. Another thing that makes Charlie and Sue compatible is the fact that they were both very overprotective of me. It got overbearing sometimes, but it was understandable. But I was stronger than I was back then. At least I hope so.

Seth snickered behind his mother's back and I gave him the stink eye in return for not warning me in advance. He shrugged his shoulders and high fived a friend that was next to him leaving me with the bottomless questions that Sue had for me.

She lead me over to the dining room where everyone was mingling and conversing about the past events of (you guessed it) me.

I tried to listen to Sue talk about anything and everything while I was gone, but a conversation struck me still and frozen.

"Wow, Bella looks really different form when we were in junior high."

"I know right! Wait, why did she move again?"

"Chris, sometimes I worry about you. Remember how Edward, Tanya, and their friends picked on her a lot?"

"Of course, everyone knew that."

"Well apparently something big happened between them that made Bella move."

"Really, well what was it?"

"No one knows but that's why they don't come to La Push that much. Bella was like their sister or something."

"Oh my god."

"What, what's wrong?"

"I asked Edward before if he was coming to the party with Tanya and them."

"Seriously? What did he say? Does he know it's for Bella?"

"He said he'd be here that he couldn't miss a good party, but I don't think he knows it's for Bella."

"Oh crap! Well that'll be interesting."

He was coming. With the rest of them. Sue must have known I stopped listening to her and caught the last of the conversation because she looked ready to kill. I could hear her yelling for the boys to guard the door.

"Hello everyone."

They were too late so it seemed. The gang was here. I didn't need to turn around to see who it was. The voice I've heard every day of my young life that haunted me for years was by the door with the rest of them.

Nowhere to turn, nowhere to hide. My fist clenched as I tried to block them out, to repress the memories like I've done for the last 5 years.

I'm back . . . but with a price.

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