((Hola!! I wasn't sure if I wanted to ever post some of this story, so I decided to post this tonight as a trial run. However many hits it gets determines if it will be continued or not. --runner))

((And for those of you who don't know me, I refer to myself as --runner at the end of notes. I also usually use two parenthesis when I make a comment on something. Also, as mentioned on my profile AND on my other story Who are You? (I am good at advertising, aren't I?) asterisk means a change in point of view. --runner))

((And while I am bothering you with tedious information (props to you if you read this) I would like to get out there that this is a new character, which means I own it. Ha! I own something!!! !) --runner))

Universal Disclaimer: I can only dream of owning the entire Twilight empire.

I sighed, quietly shutting the door to my bedroom and rifling through my closet in search of my duffel bag. I chucked it onto my bed afterwards, and then started pulling shirts off their hangers. Folding them neatly and gently placing them into my duffel bag, I leaned my head against the door, trying to see if I could still hear my mother ranting on and on, or if she had given up already.

"Money! Wasted! Thousands up thousands of dollars straight out of the bank and into the dirt! You are in such big trouble! Did you even pause to think about the economy and your family?! No! I didn't think so!"

She continued but I didn't get close enough to decipher her words, nor did I want to. A sickly feeling went through my stomach as I pulled the cell phone out of my pocket and stared at the gleaming silver for a moment before slowly opening it with a shaking hand. I quickly typed in the memorized number, slowly bringing it up to my ear.

"Hello?" A deep male voice answered. I immediately recognized it as Uncle Sam, or just Sam, as I called him.

"Hey Sam. It's…it's Thea. Um, can I speak with…Emily?"

"What's wrong Thea?"

I winced, my voice much sound scared. "Nothing. Can I just talk to Emily? Please?"

It was silent for a moment. "Sure," he finally said. I only heard air as he handed the phone off. Emily was never far from Sam.

"Thea?"

"Yeah?" I whispered.

"Are you okay?" Her voice sounded guarded.

"Physically," I whispered back.

"What happened to mentally and emotionally?"

"Not so good, Emily. Um, this is kind of weird to talk about over the phone, and I totally understand if you don't want me to, because it'd be sensible to not want a sixteen year old-"

"What's going on?" I heard her ask, interrupting me. She knew that I could go on for a while when I got nervous.

"Can I…you know what? Never mind. I'll find somebody else. Sorry if I interrupted anything. Good-"

She interrupted me again. "Ask me, Thea."

I sighed, sitting heavily on my bed. I wasn't any braver to speak above a whisper. "Is it okay if I stay with you guys for a few days?"

It was silent on the other side. "Why?" She finally asked.

"Like I said, I'll just ask somebody else. Nice talking to you." I was about to hang up the phone when I heard her call my name. "What?" I asked, my voice back to the shaky whisper.

"You can stay, of course you can, Thea. We'll talk when you get here." She hung up the phone then, apparently not taking no for an answer. I sighed, shutting the phone and continuing my packing. After listening at the door to ensure that my mom had moved her rambling to the kitchen, I quietly unlocked the door and headed across the hall to the bathroom, grabbing only what was essential. I sneaked back to my room, silently shutting and relocking the door. I stuffed it all into the duffel bag, and hoisted the heavy item over my shoulder. I put it down by the window, turning back around to make sure that I wasn't missing anything. I was pretty sure that it would take my mom about three or four days to cool off and then I would be able to happily survive in the house. I sighed, not seeing anything that I would desperately miss or need at Emily's house. I went over to the window, wincing as it screeched in protest. There weren't many days in Portland where you can just leave your window open. I threw my duffel bag out onto the fire escape first, and then followed with extremely uncatwomanlike grace. I dusted my jeans off, and then hurried down the stairs, knowing that people were probably labeling me as a teenage runaway.

I groaned as I started down the street. It was a long drive from here to the tiny La Push reservation, and I wasn't about to call and ask the pregnant Emily or the seemingly always busy Sam to come and pick me up all the way down in Portland. I would just have to walk as much as I could, hitchhike, and maybe catch a ride with a few taxis. I had stuffed my wallet into my bag earlier, and I could probably get around a bit with four hundred dollars. I had been saving up for a car, but it seemed useless now.

I stuffed my hand in my pockets, staring at all the unusual stores that lined the busy streets. It was dangerously near winter, and everybody could tell that it was going to be a cold one, especially if fall felt like this.

I jumped a little when I felt my cell phone vibrating in my jean pocket. I fished it out, glancing at the ID before opening it. Why was Emily calling me again?

"Hello?"

"I'm so sorry Thea!" She wailed. I panicked for a moment, thinking that she had gotten suspicious and decided to call my mother on me. I tried to think up an explanation in my head, but was coming up blank. "I left you without a ride here!" I breathed a long sigh of relief, mentally smacking myself for not staying calm. If I was going to tell half-truths, things that are carefully constructed to not be a lie, but not exactly the entire truth, I needed to stay calm, cool, and collected.

"It's fine Ems. I'll find a way to get there. Might be a while, but I'll get there." I didn't want her to be worried about me, especially when her emotions might be running a bit wild with the pregnancy.

"No! I'll send…" She paused, probably deciding on which of Sam's massive friends could come and pick me up. "Embry to come get you."

I ran the name through my memory bank, trying to match it with a face. The name was definitely memorable, but there was no face that showed up along with it.

"Really, Emily. It's fine. I'll survive. I'm a big girl," I tried to inject a playful tone in my face, but it came out flat.

"No, he's already out the door. Just stay around in the city and he'll be there."

"But Aunt Emily! Its like a four hour drive!" I complained. ((Just a very bad guess on my part. I don't know the actual distance between La Push and Portland))

"Don't worry," she stressed. I felt like I should be saying that to her. "Just hang around the city and he'll find you."

I bit my lip, trying to find a reasonable objection. "But he doesn't know what I look like or how to find me."

She let out a short laugh. "Don't worry Thea. That wont be a problem. See you soon." She hung up on me. I stared disbelievingly at the phone, various thoughts running through my head without much comprehension on my part.

I sighed then, looking up at the tall buildings that reflected the cloudy sky in their windows. How was I going to kill a four-hour time break?

((Big thank you to all who read! --runner))