I wasn't expecting my life to change so dramatically. It was sudden and unexpected not that anyone would expect something like that to happen. But I didn't want to dwell on it. The past is the past right? If you can't change it then I guess all I could do was focus on the future and try to move past it, but I had a feeling it was gonna take time. And a lot of it. Right now I was on my way to Forks, Washington with my 4 year old brother and sister. They were non-identical twins who were oblivious to the problems that were surrounding us. Of course they did notice something was wrong as they tried -with difficulty might I add- to get used to the absence of our parents. I swallowed thickly, realising the future they had once, had now been ripped away. I sniffed strongly and pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind and distracted myself with the scenery passing by. Holding my sketch book closer I tried to find an image of interest to capture, but the slight bumping of the cruiser made it difficult.

Uncle Charlie had picked us up from the airport as soon as we had arrived with a tight smile and grief in his eyes. There was little talk apart from the general welcome and distracting chit-chat that came to fill the silence as we got to the car. Annabelle and Adrian peered up curiously at him donned in his police uniform most likely wondering who this foreign man was. In the four years that had passed since their birth they hadn't once met Charlie seeing as we couldn't ever find a moment free but considering we were going to be living with him from now on it didn't matter.

"Welcome to Forks guys." Charlie muttered pulling me from my musings. I breathed in and glanced outside, watching a 'Welcome to Forks' sign pass by. I smiled as I noticed how much greenery there was, something we didn't really have in Chicago. Personally, I didn't think there was enough nature there although the numerous beaches accounted for that. Forks was definitely going to be different with the lack of sun and constant rain. The soft sounds of snoring made itself clear to our ears and I chuckled slightly as I saw the two twins sleeping soundly.

"I guess it's a good thing we're almost home!" Charlie laughed with amusement as he caught sight of the two in his mirror.

"Yeah, home." I muttered softly as we started to come up to a blue two story house that I would be getting used to. I got out of the cruiser and closed the passenger door carefully. Hoisting my bag up higher I opened the back door of the car, carefully unbuckling Adrian as not to wake him up. His warm breath tickled my neck as I placed his head on my shoulder so he could continue his slumber; once again closed the door. In the time I had taken to do that, Charlie had already taken hold of Annabelle and grabbed a bag from the trunk. I followed his steps as he guided me to the door of the house and unlocked it with ease. Walking in, I took notice of the pictures adorning the mantle of the fireplace as well as the walls. There were multiple pictures of a little girl with a sweetheart shaped face and doe brown eyes. With realisation I came to the conclusion that the girl was Bella, my cousin and Charlie's daughter. It was nice to see that although she didn't live with him, his love for her was still strong. Charlie nodded his head in the direction of the stairs, as he began to carry Annabelle up them, signalling me to follow him. I did as requested trying not to disturb Adrian as I walked up careful not to trip. I was led into a cream coloured room with two single beds at opposite ends of the room with a chest at the end of each. There was a chestnut brown wardrobe in the middle at the back and a chest of drawers next to a door that I assumed led to a small space for more clothes. Charlie placed Annabelle under the covers of her new bed as she stirred slightly, before falling into a deep slumber once more. I did the same with Adrian before dropping a brief kiss to his forehead while pulling up the deep blue covers of his duvet to ensure he remained warm.

"It isn't much but I hope it's enough for these two. I figured that they wouldn't need as much space as you but would probably still need quite a bit so-" Charlie began to ramble before I cut him off.

"Uncle Charlie, it's fine honestly, in fact it's perfect." I assured with a soft smile.

"Right. That's good." He replied with a nod shifting awkwardly. "Uh, I guess I'll show you your room now. You'll be sharing with Bella of course so you might not be used to the lack of space but there should be enough room. Unfortunately there's only one desk in there for work but there are two chest of drawers and a closet and wardrobe for you guys to separate your clothes." He informed me scratching his neck as he showed me the room I'd be sharing. For a room that would be shared by two teen girls it was quite spacious. There were another two beds, slightly bigger than the ones that the twins had, placed at opposite walls and a chest of drawers next to each that Charlie had mentioned. There was a closet near one bed and a wardrobe next to the other while a desk with a lamp and a shelf sat in the corner accompanied by a chair.

"This is perfect actually. More than enough. I'm sorry that you had to spend so much money on the three of us though..." I trailed off feeling guilt as I realised Charlie would've had to sort all this out for us before we arrived.

"Please, Aaliyah, I had more than enough money saved up. I only ever had to buy for myself so I'm glad that I have others to share that with." Charlie said rubbing my shoulder with hesitation. Feeling at ease with him I gave him a hug before retracting quickly and turning to pick the bed with the pale yellow sheets. I heard a deep breath from Charlie before he spoke, "I'll go bring the rest of the bags up." His heavy footsteps faded away as I unzipped my bag and emptied it onto the bed. I placed the framed pictures I had carefully wrapped on my drawers angling them to my desires then resumed with taking my things out. I put my laptop on the corner of the desk seeing as there was no other suitable place and hoped that Bella wouldn't see it as me claiming the desk. I heard a thud behind me and jumped slightly, panic rising in me. Turning around I noticed it was Charlie with multiple bags in his hands.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He apologised.

"No worries." I smiled as I tried controlling my heartbeat.

"Okay, um I'm gonna have to get going in a few minutes to pick Bella up in time, I just wanted you to get settled in before she arrived. You'll be okay by yourself right?" He asked furrowing his brows knowing that the last time I was alone with just my parents it hadn't ended well.

"Yeah, I'll be fine!" I beamed the lie slipping through my lips with ease.

"You sure?" He asked with worry. I was happy knowing that Charlie cared about my feelings and it made me feel better knowing he cared about my safety and that he wouldn't leave me alone if I was at any risk.

"Absolutely." I replied with more honesty this time.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in a few then. You have my number if you need anything and if you get hungry there's food in the kitchen. Make yourself at home." He told me with warmth as he started to head out to pick up Bella.

"Will do." I said moving the bags around to check which ones were mine and which ones belonged to the twins. As the front door closed I sighed.

"I wonder when this will start feeling like home." I whispered as I tried finding comfort in the new environment I was in. Forks seemed nice enough but it would take time to get used to it. I decided to distract myself unpacking and putting the bags away before I became too lazy. I walked into Adrian and Annabelle's room with their bags and laid them down to unzip them. Time passed quickly as I finished putting their clothes away in a neat and ordered fashion along with their toys which found their place in the two chests. As I moved back into my shared room, I glanced through the window and saw that the cruiser was back. A familiar girl with brown tresses of hair got out of the car and timidly looked around while Charlie grabbed her bags. They looked just as awkward as I had felt earlier when I arrived. I moved away from the window towards my bed and started to unpack my things realising that the two would be up here soon. And true enough, within a moment, the two were standing in the bedroom doorway. There was an awkward silence as Bella and I analysed each other before she gave me a brief smile which I returned. Charlie cleared his throat unnecessarily before starting,

"Bella you remember Aaliyah right? She's gonna be staying with us from now on. Her little brother and sister are in the room down that hall across from mine." He mentioned scratching his neck again. I noticed this was a sign of his awkwardness.

"Yeah, of course I remember! I haven't seen you in a while. It'll be nice to have someone to know in this town now." She spoke shyly.

"Yeah, hopefully we can get to know each other a bit better before school tomorrow." I smiled at her. Bella and I were close once but we had drifted apart over the few years that had passed without seeing each other.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone." Charlie stated bluntly before exiting the room.

"So, I'm guessing this bed is mine?" She asked walking over to her purple covered bed.

"Unless you want this one? I hope you don't mind that I took this one." I spoke quickly hoping she wasn't irritated.

"No of course not! This bed's fine and I like purple so I guess that's cool." She spoke reassuring me.

"Oh, okay that's good. Oh, um I put my laptop on the desk over there. There wasn't really any space anywhere else." I mentioned.

"That's fine." She said placing the cactus I had only just noticed on the shelf. It was a strange thing to have but I ignored it easily not judging her. She looked around taking in the room and saw the closet and wardrobe in the room as well as the two drawers.

"Do you mind sharing the closet and wardrobe or do you want your own space?" She asked nervously.

"No, I don't mind, I mean this is your room too!" I answered nonchalantly. We began packing our clothes away making small talk about ourselves. I told her about the twins and soon enough we were done with unpacking and were just having friendly conversation. I could feel the bond we once had coming back and smiled hoping that this time it stayed.

"Hey, um. I'm sorry about what happened. You didn't deserve it. None of you did." She spoke as our conversation changed. Memories appeared and the pain I had felt brought fresh tears to my green eyes.

"It's okay, it's not your fault. No-one could've helped so don't apologise." I whispered looking down as I tried to hold back the salty streams.

"I didn't mean to make you cry. I won't bring it up again. I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed rubbing my arm gently.

"Bells, honestly it's fine. Besides, I'd rather get the emotions out now instead of at school." I tried to joke failing terribly. She laughed lightly anyway.

"Oh God, we wouldn't want the town to start gossiping about that would we?" She added making me laugh.

"No, they've got enough ammo with the four of us here!" I laughed as my tears stopped and the memories dissolved.

"Speaking of which, how old are the other two? I haven't met them yet." Bella said as her brown eyes sparked with curiosity.

"They're four years old. They're called Adrian and Annabelle, Adrian's older by 19 minutes." I smiled thinking of them.

"Wow. You know I've never really been around kids before..."She trailed off wringing her hands awkwardly. I rolled my eyes at her nerves.

"You'll be fine. They're very good kids and I'm not just saying that 'cause I'm their big sister." I told her putting my hands in the air laughing.

"That's good!" She smiled. Suddenly a loud beep came from outside. I gave Bella a questioning look as we both wandered over to the window to see Charlie and two others with him.

"Do you know who they are?" She asked as we made our way down.

"Not sure, they look familiar though." I replied trying to recall where I had seen them.

"Hey you two! You guys remember Billy and Jacob right?" Charlie asked as we both walked out tentatively.

"Right, of course!" Bella replied as we looked between the man restrained to his wheelchair and The younger boy beside him with long flowing locks of black hair.

"Wow, you girls have sure grown up since I last saw you!" Billy exclaimed with a smile.

Bella and I exchanged awkward smiles as we received the compliment.

"And thank God you're here now! He wouldn't stop talking about all of you!" He teased as Charlie blushed looking down. The two of them began 'play-fighting' with each other as the boy- Jacob- approached us with an embarrassed grin on his face.

"Hey, I'm Jacob." He smiled boyishly at Bella.

"I remember you! We used make mud pies together when we were younger!" I interjected as I realised where the feeling of familiarity stemmed from. My defensive stance relaxed as I realised we were too once close friends.

"That's right, Aaliyah isn't it?" He asked with a friendly grin.

"Yep and this is Isabella or as she prefers, Bella." I mentioned including the aforementioned girl in the conversation.

"Are they always like this?" Bella asked sheepishly, gesturing towards the older men still goofing around, as a dusty pink blush covered her cheeks.

"Most of the time, it's getting worse with old age!" Jacob joked shaking his head.

"So what do you think?" Charlie asked walking up to a rusty orange coloured truck that was parked in the driveway.

"About the truck?" Bella queried wearily, eyes gleaming with hidden excitement.

"Well, yeah, it's your homecoming present... I bought it off of Billy here." Charlie revealed with yet another wave of awkwardness overcoming him.

"I-I love it! Thanks Ch- Dad!" Bella exclaimed running her hands over her new car. I smiled at the cover up as she gave her father the first real smile I'd seen since she had arrived.

"And, I managed to pull a few tricks and get you this Aaliyah." Charlie said bringing us around the truck. My eyes widened and I began to stammer not quite sure what to say. So instead I launched myself at my uncle and gave him the strongest hug I could.

"I can't believe it! How did you get my car sent here?" I asked, still shocked, running my hand over my red Mazda.

"It doesn't matter, but at least now you have something from home and there should be a few items arriving over the next couple of weeks from your house too." Charlie mentioned waving off my question.

I smiled inwards as I thanked Charlie again for his kindness making him blush again. I figured that he'd keep doing that for a while.

I returned to the other side of Bella's Chevy only to see her accidentally hit Jacob with her door. Her offhand apology brought me to laughter as Jacob made his way to the passenger seat in slight pain. You could tell that even though he'd only met her a few minutes ago, he had already fallen for her. I came up to her window, joining in on their conversation, when Jacob had admitted he went to school on the Rez.

"Oh, right. That's too bad. Aaliyah and I would've loved to know someone else who actually went to that school."

"Yeah, but maybe we can still hang out outside of school. And at least we have each other at school Bells." I reminded her, hoping to lift her spirits.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." she smiled.

After talking to Billy and Jacob for a while longer, they eventually left and so Charlie, Bella and I headed inside. I began to feel a bit hungry after not eating since we left Chicago and I knew that the twins would be even hungrier so I grabbed Bella and we both headed upstairs to wake the twins. I opened the door and noticed Adrian already starting wake up, Annabelle on the other hand was still snoring away. I laughed slightly walking over to Adrian as he sat with his mussed blonde hair sticking in multiple directions.

"Hiya handsome!" I greeted him as I kneeled down to pick him up. He reached out his small arms and wrapped them around my neck loosely as I rose up with him.

"You hungry?" I asked gently as he blinked away his tiredness.

"Yeah." He muttered before setting his eyes on Bella. She was lingering in the doorway not quite sure what to do with herself.

"Adrian, this is Bella." I introduced to him as his little eyes analysed her.

"Bella?" He asked practicing the foreign name.

"We're gonna be staying with her and Uncle Charlie." I said as she cautiously walked over to meet him.

"Uh, hi." she greeted awkwardly. Adrian stretched out his hands signalling her to take him from my hands.

"Oh uh, I don't want to drop him!" She spoke immediately.

I laughed at the thought of her being scared to hold a four year old. "You won't you'll be fine."

I gently leaned towards her as she slowly pulled him onto her hip with a carefulness I never knew the clumsy girl had. Adrian nestled his head into her neck as he acquainted himself with her. Leaving him in her arms, I went to rouse Annabelle from her slumber.

"Annabelle? Honey, it's time to eat." I spoke softly in her ear. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as I disturbed her sleep.

"C'mon Annie, wake up." I encouraged her shaking her shoulders slightly. Her eyes fluttered open as a yawn escaped her mouth. She stretched her arms before sitting up and facing me.

"I'm hungry."

"I know. Come downstairs and I'll make you and Adrian some food okay?" I asked as she got out of bed.

"Okay." She obliged grabbing hold of my outstretched hand. Bella led the way taking extra care climbing down the stairs and stopped in the kitchen as she placed Adrian on the ground.

"Where are we?" He asked not recognising his surroundings.

"This is our new home."

"Why?" Annabelle asked. I froze as they both waited for a reply. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't expecting them to be alert enough to ask questions like this.

"Um, you're here because me and my dad wanted you to stay. We felt lonely on our own so you'll be staying with us now." Bella interjected with a swift lie.

"Oh. But where's our mommy and daddy?" Adrian asked. I felt my throat tighten. What are we supposed to tell them? They're too young to know that their parents are dead.

"Aaliyah?" Annabelle pushed. I knelt down to their level pulling them close.

"Um, mommy and daddy had to go away. They'll be gone for a very long time but they miss us very much and they know we miss them too. They love us all a lot and they didn't want to go but they had to, but we'll see them again." I said honestly yet remaining vague about the details.

"They didn't say goodbye though." Annabelle muttered.

"No, they thought it would've made us sad that they were leaving." I lied yet at the same time I knew that they wouldn't understand the truth until they were much older. The silence filled the room until Bella cleared her throat.

"So what do you guys wanna eat?" She asked distracting them from the conversation. They began telling her all about they're favourite foods and what they usually had. I sat at the counter thinking about our parents. I hadn't had a chance to properly grieve in everything that had happened and I wouldn't be able to unless I wanted to alert the twins that something was wrong. Every now and then I cried a little but it was only a little and definitely not enough to help me move on. But I didn't want to think about all those problems right now and I had to stay strong. After eating, the twins retired back to their beds, along with Bella and I, who had decided that the jet-lag was finally getting to us. We changed into our pajamas and the four of us brushed our teeth. The twins fell asleep almost instantly while Bella and I both felt the nerves of fitting into a new school.

"Okay, promise me you'll sit with me at lunch!" I asked her seriously.

"Only if you promise me the same!" She fired back equally nervous.

"Deal."

"Do you think we'll be in any classes together?" She asked with hope evident in her voice.

"Maybe. I took all the available classes that looked good. I took English, Government, Calculus/Trig., Chemistry, Spanish and then there was Gym which was apparently compulsory." I told her slightly grumbling over gym. It wasn't that I was bad at it but I hated being assessed on how good I was by others.

"I'm literally taking all the same classes except I have Biology instead of Chemistry!" Bella enthused with a bright smile at the thought of sharing the majority of our classes.

"That's great. Hopefully we'll be in each other's classes then."

"Yeah, hopefully. Well, I'm feeling exhausted and we have to get up early. Night."

"Night." I replied as I settled into bed letting my brain relax for the first time all day.