1. A New Start

In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks existed under a near-constant cover of clouds.

It rained on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with my twin sister and I when I was only a few months old.

And it was this town that my sister and I were coming back to, nearly four years after we'd stopped the summer visits to dad. It wasn't that I disliked Forks, it was more like Bella--my twin--had a deep-rooted dislike of the small town. Thus, I was greatly surprised when she chose to follow me here.

I liked Phoenix--the sun, the glaring heat and the lively city, however, I loved Forks, with all its somber moods.

"Girls," Renée--my mom--called out to us as we prepared to board the plane. "You don't have to do this."

In the family, I was said to look most like my mom. I'd inherited her lushious, dark brown hair--even though she kept hers chin-length and mine was waist-length--it did come from her side of the family. She'd also gifted me with light green eyes, a few gold specs thrown in, identical to her mother, my late maternal grandmother.

I threw a glance at Bella, who was clad in her favorite shirt--a sleeveless, white eyelet lace. Bella and I only shared our height and pale, smooth skin.

Otherwise, she was the exact copy of our dad--tawny, beautiful, shoulder-length brown hair with the same dark brown pupils as dad.

"I want to go." Bella lied, the slight panic evident in her eyes.

I turned to mom, taking in her laugh lines and sad eyes. Mom was loving, slightly erratic and harebrained but I could not have asked for a better mother. The presence of her new husband, Phil, calmed the small panic that had began to build in my chest at the idea of leaving her alone. With him at her side, the bills would get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car and most importantly, love and security in her heart.

"Tell Charlie I said hi." Mom sighed, giving up.

"We will."

"I'll see you soon." Mom took our hands in hers. "You can come home whenever you want--I'll come right back as soon as you need me."

Deep in her gaze, I could see the sacrifice it would cost her to be separated from Phil. Usually, I would have called her out on her little white lie, but I gave her peace for today--after all, she was losing two daughters at once... kinda.

"Don't worry about us." I instead reassured her. "It'll be great."

"I love you, mom." Bella squeezed the words out as our mother was holding her tight.

When mom hugged me, I held just as tight, saying goodbye to this life.--It was time for some new adventure, a new beginning and I may be only seventeen, but my heart, no--my very soul-- craved for this change.

'Goddbye, Phoenix." I whispered in my heart. 'It's time for a new beginning.'