Dawn

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. I was wearing my favorite shirt — sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.

In the Olympic Peninsula of 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 strange, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only three years old. It was in this town that I'd “vacationed” for a month every summer my entire life, save for the last, because I had summer school.

It was to Forks - my second home - that I now returned...permanently - an action that I took with slight irritation. Although, I do feel guilty about that irritation. You see, the reason behind my moving, is my stepfather. Well, to be precise, his new job. Phil just got promoted from the minor league to the major league - the “big time” as he likes to call it. Don’t misunderstand me, I love the guy. He and my mother, Renee, have been dating for 4 years now and I have, personally, benefited greatly from it - and not just because of the killer presents he gives. When Phil came into my life, I was 13, and my mom, 29. They met at Arizona State, where my mom worked as a college art professor.

Phil was the 24 year old senior, (he got held back in high school because he didn’t meet his attendance record after he tore his ACL while playing football, ironically) hot-shot ball player that everyone knew was going to get drafted immediately. Unfortunately, he got Flexor Tendonitis - I can’t really remember what the injury is but basically, his elbow was fucked up for a while. It pushed him down from a contender for the number 1 draft pick, all the way to the minor league. He’s spent the past five years slogging his butt off so he can play in the “big time” and his chance has finally come. For the Giants. In San Jose.

It’s not ideal, having to move in your senior year of high school. New city, new classes, new friends...which is why my mother offered to stay put with me in Phoenix until I graduated. But I just couldn’t do that to her. She’d already sacrificed the past two years for me by staying with me and not travelling around the country with Phil while he made his way up the minor league teams. Plus, after Phil formally asked me for my blessing to marry her 3 months ago, I just couldn’t make her stay.

He, my mother and I discussed at length my choices in schooling and what environment they wanted for me to finish school in...we all agreed that going to high school in Forks was a much better option than California. At least I vaguely knew people my own age in Forks. And apparently, everyone knew me because of my dad, Charlie. Despite my worry that all the rain and the snow would only further prove an obstacle to my coordination - as opposed to the blistering California sun and her warm summer breeze - I decided that Forks was the way to go. After all, I would be going to college in a year, and I could pick any city I wanted.

"Bella," my mom said to me before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."

I looked back at my mom, her shoulder-length auburn hair waving in the wind. Her usual laugh lines were crinkled with worry. I felt a spasm of fear as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my wild, forgetful, loving mother to fend for herself? It’s always been me and her...she’s honestly like a best friend. Of course she’s had Phil for quite awhile now, in which time she has calmed down significantly. Phil has brought a constant to her life that’s grounded her and allowed her to slow down...relax. She was always so worried there wouldn’t be food on the table between the rent and our bills - I mean, she had to be. She was a single mom at a surprisingly low paying job (TEACHERS DESERVE THE HIGHEST FUCKING SALARY YA’LL).

"Yes, I do, mom. Relax, we talked about this already. I’m going to be fine," I promised.
She paused, talking in my words before reiterating, "Okay, but remember that you can come home whenever you want. If the rain gets too gloomy or if people are still talking about Charlie and I...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. 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. For all my concerns about the town, the one thing I was ecstatic about was living with Charlie. Who, for his part, was really happy about me moving too. While I love my relationship with my mother, sometimes, a girl just needs a parent. Charlie and I were physically a lot more similar than my mother and I. For starters, my silky, chestnut brown hair and sea green eyes were all his. On top of that, my clumsiness and all-round lack of coordination were his too - something I was little less happy about.

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 spotted me as I walked out baggage claim and jogged over, pulling me into a tight hug. “Hey, Bells. I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too, dad,” I whispered back. And I really meant it.

He grabbed my luggage from me, noting that we’d have to do a lot of winter shopping, and lead me out to the car park. Immediately, I was reminded of my primary motivation to buy a car, despite the scarcity of my funds. I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Charlie - or Chief Swan as he is better known to good people of Forks - is a cop. We made small talk as we drove out the car park.

"How's Renée? I didn’t get a chance to really talk to her when she called to confirm your enrollment at Forks High last week. I was in the middle of a case."

"Mom's fine. She’s been planning out To Do Lists of a bunch of things she wants to try now that she won’t be teaching at ASU. It’s so long, even Phil was looking nervous,” I chuckled. It got a laugh out of him too. “Actually, she’s probably going to be a lot better soon...Phil came to me a couple months ago to ask my permission..he’s gonna propose!" I squealed.

“For real? That’s great news! He’s perfect for...sensible but adventurous too,” he tapered off.

“Aww, come on, Dad. There has to be someone who’s caught your eye. It’s been seven years since...Sophie,” I shuddered out the name.

“Ugh, she was...”

“A psycho,” I finished for him. “So…?”

His arms tensed a little around the steering wheel and his cheeks suddenly tinted pink. He scoffed unnaturally loud and nervously chuckled out a vehement, “no.” I think he saw my raised eyebrow outh the corner of his eye, but I didn’t push further on the subject and he looked grateful for that. Besides, I told myself, I would figure out soon enough considering the population of this town was like 1000 people. Changing the subject I enquired about Harry Clearwater and Billy Black, my father’s two best friends from when he was a child.

Charlie actually grew up in La Push, a little reservation bordering Forks, inhabited by the Native American, Quilliette tribe. You see, his parents had him a lot later than usual - they were forty - and from my father tells me, he was an accident. His parents never really wanted children, they were content roadtripping and travelling around the world. When Charlie was two, they left him behind with my great-grandmother to go on a quick vacation. One car crash later and poor Charlie was left orphaned. The Swan family wasn't originally Native American but a few of Charlie’s ancestors, namely his grandmother's sister, had married into the tribe. His grandmother, Janette Peters, had married into the Swan family but was already a widow by the time Charlie came along, so she raised him alone on the reservation alongside her sister, where he befriended Harry and Billy.

“Harry’s doing good. Sue’s trying to get him off the fish fry because his blood pressure is just getting worse with all the junk.”

“You know, you really should too, Dad.”

“Relax, Bells. I’m healthy as a horse. Anyways, Harry and Sue have been a little on edge lately. They’re being all hush hush about it but there’s something weird going on on the rez, and from the looks of it, it might have to do with Leah’s boyfriend.”

“Leah’s still here?” I asked, excited. “Did she not go to college?”

“Harry said something about taking a gap year or two to figure some stuff out.”

“Awesome, it’ll be nice to have one friendly face around here.”

“Oh, you’ll have Rebecca & Jacob too. Rachel’s leaving for Washington State soon but you’ll probably meet her too before she’s off to college. I know Jacobs a little younger than you but he’s matured quite a bit since your last visit. Actually, he helped a ton with your ‘Welcome Home’ present!”

“My what?” I exclaimed, suddenly nervous as to what my father may have thought a good idea for a present would be.

"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced as we drove into Forks.

"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car."

"Well, it's a truck actually, the Chevy. You, Becca, Rachel, Jake, Leah and Seth used to make mud pies in the back of the pickup, remember? Now that Billy can't drive anymore, he offered it as a present for you."

"Really?! But wait, that truck is like ancient and I don’t know anything about cars. I won’t be able to fix it if anything goes wrong, and I can’t afford a mechanic…"

"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. Plus, Jake is basically a mechanic with how many cars and bikes he’s been fixing on the rez.
The thing, I thought to myself… it had possibilities — as a nickname, at the very least. "Thanks, Dad. You’re the best!" I blushed, reaching across to hug him.

"I just want you to be happy here," Charlie replied, blushing too.

Charlie wasn't entirely comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud, another Swan thing I inherited. We stared out the windows in silence for the rest of the ride. 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.

I was out of the cruiser the second we got home. Right there, sitting in the driveway, just outside our front door, was THE THING! She was magnificent. Never in my life had I seen something so beautiful as she. My heart clenched and I, myself, was surprised at the magnitude of my reaction to this car. I hadn’t batted an eyelid at any other car before in my life, not even the high end sports cars, yet here I was. My feelings must have been showing on my face because my Dad started laughing at me.

“Wow, Bells, you really like the truck, huh?”

I couldn’t find it in myself to muster up a response. I just stood and stared while Charlie unloaded my suitcases and strolled them into the house. He yelled at me to close the door when I came in and unpack a little before dinner. A nice bath and one half of a suitcase later, Charlie called me down for our favourite tradition. Breakfast for Dinner! Needless to say, I passed out real early that night. Whether it was the jet lag or the bacon, we’ll never know.