First thing I need to do is warn all of the people who read this that there will be lemons, violence, cursing, and adult situations during the course of this story. If you are under 18, go read something else.

Second, this is my first fan fiction so feel free to review, but remember that every first time author usually makes really big mistakes.

Third, I own no copyrighted material!

Update September 19 2010—This story is finally being beta'd by the darling whyuh. Thank you so much for undertaking such a daunting task! :-)

Part 1

Goodbye Sunshine, Hello Hell.

(Bella's POV)

As my sister, Carlie, punches, prods, and squishes the last of her bags into the taxi's overburdened trunk and slams the hood down I say my goodbyes to the sun, sand, and beauty that was Phoenix. This had been a nice home in comparison to some of the horrific cities our family had been forced to endure with Phil's never-ending quest for a concrete professional baseball contract, and all it took was one drunk driver to screw it all up.

Phil's my dad. My Mom is, was, Renee. It hurts to think of them in the past tense. It makes me angry at the jerk who took them away. They had done nothing wrong! In fact, they had been on their way home from a rare date-night when an idiot with too much money, too much liquor, and too little common sense hit their car head on. The doctors assured my twin and me that they had felt no pain, no suffering. "Instantaneous" he had said. The funeral was closed-casket. Carlie had fainted after getting sick behind a tree during the service at the cemetery. The creep at fault didn't even spend a day in jail. Tears welled up in my eyes for what feels like the 1000th time today. My tear ducts are, unfortunately, hardwired to my temper, meaning, if I get mad, I cry. I get sad, I cry. It's embarrassing.

"Bella, are you ready to go?" Carlie's voice breaks my reverie "Uncle Charlie's going to be worried if we miss our flight."

I turn to my sister, whose mahogany hair was disappearing into the car. "Yeah, he'll be calling in the cavalry if we're even a few minutes late." I swallow back the tears again, taking one last good look around, and climb into the taxi.

Carlie and I don't talk much as we sit in our economy class seats during the flight...well, not out loud at least. The conversation in our minds isn't very pleasant at the moment either.

Carlie's pale hand threatens to break mine. *We're going to die, I just know it Bells!* my sister's thoughts echo through my mind for the hundredth time since take off.

I roll my eyes. *We're not going to die Nessie, it's just a little turbulence* I think back to her as soothingly as I can, using the nickname Gran used to call her; Nessie, Gran's own little Loch Ness Monster.

I chuckle quietly and Carlie's eyes shift towards me, trying to give me her "death stare" while wondering what's so funny, but too scared to pull it off right. I snap my shield around my mind nice and tight before she could intrude.

I have always been able to block my younger twin from seeing my mind but never fully able to keep her thoughts out of my head, especially when we were touching...it was a real pain in the ass sometimes. Like last fall, when she was shamelessly following her latest crush around but was too afraid to even walk on the same side of the hall with him and not be holding my hand...Ugh! "We're seventeen Carlie, grow up and go talk to him!" I had practically shrieked it at her. But she couldn't even put two words together around that boy. I had to hide the pity I had had for her. I just couldn't understand these emotional roller coasters she was always on over stupid, hormonal teenage boys.

Boys always tried to get my sister's attention, and she was loyal to those she attached herself to...until the next crush came along...then the nonstop buzzing began anew. I never drew the attention of the boys. I didn't carry the aura of mystery and uber girlishness about me like Carlie did. It doesn't bother me too much. Carlie drew boys to her like a bug-zapper draws insects. Bzzzzzzzzz...ZAP!

Another one bites the dust! A second chuckle escapes and another half terrified, half furious glare gets thrown at me. Geez Nessie!

Sometimes I wished I could find her batteries and remove them for 5 minutes, just to get some peace and quiet in my own head! Sometimes. But I knew I could never do that to her, our mental bond was too strong, too ingrained. Not to mention Carlie would lose her mind if she had to talk out loud to me ALL the time. She preferred to 'show' me her thoughts on things, for lack of a better explanation.

We never told anyone about our special connection.

Ever.

It was our secret.

Something only twins could do.

Besides, whoever we told would probably just get us matching padded rooms to spend the rest of our natural lives in.

Oh, joy!

Our matching chocolate eyes battle for a few moments before another wave of turbulence makes Carlie squeezes her eyes shut again while doing her best to pulverize my hand. *We're going to die, I just know it Bella,* she continues to whimper every time the plane vibrates even the most minutely.

I reach into my jacket pocket with my free hand and turn on my iPod, trying to tune out my sister's visions of mass carnage as the plane plummeted to the ground...

Hhmm, Muse...works for me. My mind wanders a bit as my sister's thoughts become mere background noise.

How did my life turn down this road? I was always the serious girl of the Swan Clan. My mother and sister had an annoying tendency of being hare-brained and forgetful. Dad was the All-State Baseball player with the body and looks of a professional athlete, just not the skill of one. We moved around a lot when we were little. Hah! Little. We had been preparing to move yet again, Jacksonville Florida this time, when the accident happened. Instead of sunny Jacksonville with miles and miles of tantalizing beaches, we were moving in with our uncle, Charlie, Phil's brother.

Uncle Charlie..Ugh...I loved him dearly, but he was the Chief of Police in the backwater town he and my dad grew up in - Forks, Washington. Dad had escaped but Charlie never did. Dad hadn't had a very good relationship with his brother. He and Mom never talked about it much, but I could always see in their eyes that there was more to the story than Mom and Dad hated Forks and just had to run away.

I remember asking my Gran just once about what happened.

"Well Bells," Gran said, using the nickname she'd had for me since the day my sister and I were brought home from the hospital, "a very long time ago, your Mom was with Charlie. They were very young and stupid, like teenagers are. Charlie was content to live the quiet life, even as a teen, and your Mom wasn't. Phil shared the same enthusiasm for life as Renee..." Gran had shaken her head sadly, "I think you know how the rest went, now off to bed with you."

She never said another word about it. I could understand why. Brother against brother, all for the same woman's love. Just the thought of it made my skin crawl. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, trying to rid myself of the goose bumps that had sprouted.