Chapter 1: New Home

Catarina's POV

The car pulled to a stop in front of a small house in the rainy, dreary town of Forks, Washington. A sense of dread filled me as I looked at the house. Since my mother died, this is where I was supposed to live… With a father and a sister that I had never met… I looked over at the social worker as she prepared to get out. We hadn't spoken much at all on the flight from Tennessee. She seemed unsure of what to say to me. I guess I couldn't blame her.

"Could you do me a favor?" I asked and she paused before she opened her door.

"What would that be?" She asked.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't tell them about what happened to my mom and about me running away and all that. I don't want to start my life here with everyone giving me pity. I have to live here now and I would like a clean start." I rushed out.

She gave me a calculating glance. "I would normally say that it is protocol to tell your guardian at least… but I guess you've been through enough… I won't say anything. I will tell him that you will tell him when you are ready. From there it will be your decision what to tell them. I would suggest that you tell the truth, though. You are going to need support from your family to get through this."

"They aren't my family. I've never even met them, and I can handle myself. I'm fine," I ground out. "But thank you; it will make it easier for me here." 'Anything to make all this a little less miserable. I didn't need anyone looking down at me with pity.' I got out and started to get my bags out of the trunk. The front porch light came on and the door opened. My heart sped up and I braced myself. 'Come on, you can do this.' I walked up to the porch and an older man walked out; my father, I presumed.

"Catarina…" he said awkwardly. "Hey… Can I help you get your bags?"

"Uh… sure…" I handed him some of my bags and the social worker came up behind me with the rest. There wasn't much.

"Chief Swan, I take it?" The social worker extended her hand to my father. 'Oh, yeah, he's a cop. Great…'

"Uh… yes… please, both of you come in." He held the door open and we entered the house. It was small but cozy. It looked kind of like a bachelor pad, but that was okay with me.

"Come on upstairs; I cleared out the office for your room." Charlie led us up the stairs to a simple room that looked freshly painted with a queen-sized bed, dresser and desk. "It's not much but we can go shopping for some stuff to decorate and such."

"No, it's great, thanks." I put my bags down and looked around.

"Catarina, why don't you get settled in and freshen up. Chief Swan, if you would come downstairs, I have some forms I need you to sign." The social worker led him downstairs and I was alone in my new room.

I took my long, red hair out of my bun and took my sweatshirt off and threw it on the bed. I took a few minutes to put my stuff away. It didn't take very long. By the time I was putting the finishing touches on my room, Charlie came back upstairs. He sat on my bed next to me. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn't know how to say it.

"I… I don't know how to say this, but… I wish that I had known about you before. I feel like I've missed so much. Had I known, I would have been a part of your life before now…" He stuttered out while putting his arm around me.

"Dad…" 'God it felt weird to say that…' "It's okay, really. I know mom didn't tell you about me."

"I'm so sorry about your mom. Maybe we could find something to go do together, spend some time getting to know each other. Bella is excited to meet you. She's out with her boyfriend right now. I thought maybe you would like the chance to get settled in. We didn't want to ambush you." I could tell he was a man of few words and talking this much was probably not the norm. I wondered what my sister was like. "She should be back soon; her curfew is coming up. She normally cooks, since I don't cook well, and since she wasn't here I thought we could order some pizza. What kind would you like?"

"Pepperoni is fine. Which bathroom do I use?" All I had left to unpack was my toiletries.

"Okay, and your bathroom is right through here." He led me to one of the two closed doors in my room. It opened into my own private bathroom. Well at least I wouldn't have to share. "I'll let you get cleaned up and I'll go order dinner." He went back downstairs.

"Thanks." I put the rest of my things away and heard more voices downstairs talking to my dad.

"Is she here yet?" a girl's voice asked. 'Must be Bella.'

"Yes, she's upstairs getting cleaned up. I went ahead and ordered some pizza for us." He replied.

"I'll see you later, Bella," a guy said. 'And that must be the boyfriend.'

"Bye, Edward." I heard the front door open and shut again. A few seconds later there was a knock on my door.

"Come in." A girl a little older than me came in. Right away I could see we looked similar. We both had long, wavy hair, a thin build and similar facial features. Our biggest differences were that I had had red hair while hers was brown, my eyes were green to her brown, I was tan and she was pale as a ghost, and my boobs were bigger.

She gave a small smile and stuck her hand out. "I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you."

I took her hand and said, "I'm Cat, nice to meet you, too."

Her expression softened a little. "I'm sorry about your mom."

"Thanks." She was almost as awkward as dad.

"I know all this must be overwhelming for you right now so if you need anything just let me know. I'll show you around town so you can get a feel for everything. School is going to start in about a month and I'll introduce you to everyone there and later you can meet Edward, my boyfriend. Dad told me your mom was Quileute, so I thought maybe tomorrow while I'm showing you around we could visit the reservation. They are having a bonfire tomorrow night and you could meet everyone there."

"Sounds great." We both headed downstairs to eat. It was weird to be sitting at the table with a family. After I was finished eating I yawned. It was after midnight central time even though it was only ten here. Add to that traveling all day and the emotional stress, to say I was exhausted was an understatement.

"Cat, why don't you go get some rest. You must be tired after the flight and the time difference." Dad looked at me with concern.

"Okay. I guess I'll see you guys in the morning." I headed upstairs and got a shower and laid down. Between the noises of rain and my racing thoughts, it was hard to get to sleep. After what felt like hours, I finally passed out.

AN: Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think! I do not own Twilight or any of its characters, sadly…