(A/N: Hello! Welcome to my new story! This story will be entirely in Bella's POV until/unless I choose otherwise. Rated M for language and eventually lemons.)

I was sitting in the den, watching my mother Renée prepare to go to her boyfriend Phil's house. They had been dating for about two years now.

"Bella, are you sure that you will be fine here all by yourself?" she queried, putting on her lipstick.

I smiled. "Of course. I'm nearly eighteen. You know that I can take care of myself," I added.

"Yes, I know, honey. But I still don't want you to feel all alone. I can really stay if you want me to. I have been spending rather a lot of time with Phil lately..."

"That's not true. And don't worry about me. I'll be okay here. Go on and enjoy your time with Phil. Tell him that I said hi."

She exhaled deeply. "Well, call me if you need me or if there is an emergency. I will be home before you know it."

"All right."

Once Mom had finished with her make-up, she grabbed her purse. Then we hugged and kissed each other before saying good-bye and "I love you." I heard her car zooming away a minute later.

I looked to see if there were any good shows or movies on TV. Finding nothing, I went upstairs to my bedroom.

The picture of my father Charlie was the first thing that I noticed when I opened the door. He and Mom had been divorced since I was three months old. Mom hated living in the town that he lived in, Forks, Washington, and wanted to move back to California. She wanted Charlie to join us, but he said no.

Despite his refusal, Mom left anyway and took me with her. We lived in Downey, California until my grandmother Marie died when I was eight. Then we moved to Phoenix, Arizona and have been here ever since.

I only visited Charlie for three weeks every August. I wished that I could see him more often, but I wasn't able to. He and I had a nice times together when he wasn't working. (He was the Chief of Police in Forks.) At least I could call him whenever I pleased. I missed him. Luckily, I will be seeing him in two months.

Sighing tiredly, I laid down. One of my novels, Lord of The Rings, was next to me. I opened it and started to lose myself in it's pages.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up to the late afternoon sun beaming through my window. I must have fallen asleep without realizing it. The house was quiet; Mom was obviously still at her boyfriend's.

I rested for a while longer until I felt hungry. I climbed out of bed after stretching my arms and went downstairs to get something to eat.

Because there was plenty of last night's ziti and vegetable medley in the refrigerator, I decided to warm that up. I fixed my plate and returned to my bedroom afterwards.

I went online to see if I had any emails. Turns out that Charlie had sent me one.

Hey kiddo,

How are you and Renée? I know that you must be enjoying the beginning of your summer vacation. Renée mailed a copy of your report card to me last week, and I'm very proud of you for maintaining your excellent grades. Not much has been happening here in Forks, so there isn't much to talk about. I have been spending time with Billy and Harry, though. We have been going hunting and fishing when I'm not on duty.

I miss you, and I can't wait to see you in August. Say hello to Renée for me. Call me when you have the chance. I love you!

Dad

With a smile, I clicked the reply icon and began to type.

Hi Dad (I was not allowed to call him Charlie when I spoke to him),

I am fine, and so is Mom. She's not here right now...she had left to visit Phil earlier and I have no idea when she will be back. Yes, she is still crazy and half out of her mind at times LOL, but we are still having fun together. We had gone to a carnival last Friday.

My summer vacation is going great so far. I haven't really done anything except read, watch TV, hang out on my laptop, and sleeping late lol. Mom is thinking about going to a California beach for a week sometime in July. I know that we'll have fun. I've been working so hard in school (hence my excellent grades) that I need some relaxation. I'm glad to hear that you are still spending time with Billy and Harry. Tell them that I said hi.

I also miss you and am aching to see you. I don't even know if I can wait until August for my visit. I promise to call during the week. I love you too, Dad!

Bella

Once the message was sent, I ate my food while surfing the internet.

I got bored after a few hours and shut off the computer. I washed my plate before heading to the den to see the 11 o'clock news. There had been two fires, but no one had been killed today. I was happy about that.

Mom still hadn't returned when I had gone to bed around one, but I wasn't concerned about it. She often spent the night with Phil. She didn't call, but that wasn't strange either. I knew that she would call or text me when she was on her way home. If she didn't forget to, that is. She nearly always did.

With that in mind, I turned off my lamp and went to sleep.

XXX

I had breakfast alone the next morning. To my astonishment, I had gotten up earlier than I usually would have on a summer day.

Checking my phone and the house's answering machine, I noticed that Mom still didn't contact me. I began to have a feeling that something may have been wrong, but I dismissed it. I was probably just over-worrying.

For the next couple of hours, I read The Lord of The Rings in the den. The anxiety that I had experienced at breakfast grew little by little. I tried to ignore it, but I was unable to.

I saw that the 12 o'clock news was about to come on when the house phone rang. I answered it quickly.

"Hello?" I said, turning on the TV.

"Hi Bella," Phil greeted. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay. How are you?" I returned.

"Pretty good. I just wanted to know if Renée made it back? She left nearly an hour ago, but hasn't called. She usually does as soon as she gets home."

Now, I was confused. The drive to his place was only about ten minutes, fifteen if traffic was held up. Why wasn't Mom here yet? Had she gone somewhere?

Frowning in worry, I responded, "No, she hasn't come back. I really don't know where she could be. She never called or texted me either. Neither of us spoke since yesterday..."

"First up is breaking news!" a female news anchor declared on TV. "A car collision at the intersection of El Leo and El Gato around 11:06 has taken a life. Witnesses say that a white Honda ran the red light and crashed into the driver's side a dark-blue Pontiac before speeding away. The driver of the Pontiac, identified as 36-year-old Renée Swan, was pronounced dead at the scene..."

The phone slipped out of my hand. All I could do was gape at the TV screen numbly.

Mom...my mom...

My mother was...dead.

(A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! Did I begin the story okay? Tell me what your opinions are, and no flames please.)