Phosphorescence-

Chapter 1: It Couldn't Be Worse

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN TWILIGHT! There, I said it, now don't sue me!

AN: Hiye. :) Thanks for taking the time to read. It means a lot. Reina's full name is pronounced Alereina (Ala-r-ee-n-uh) and Leinda is pronounced Leinda (Lee-in-duh). I pick weird names I know. :p Well enjoy.

"Miss, we're here," sighed a deep foreign voice. My eyes fluttered open to two milky brown eyes. My vision was blurred and I shut them again. I wondered how long I'd been out and who the deep voiced stranger was that was talking to me. I heard some more muffled words.

"What?" I asked puzzled, opening my eyes yet again waiting for them to adjust to the light. My eyes finally adjusted and instead of the handsome, deep voiced stranger I'd hoped to see, my eyes met with a chubby man in maybe his mid forties with slicked back black hair and thick glasses.

"It's $23.00," he replied. Then it hit me and I remembered my purpose for being here. I was in a taxi, driving to the only family I had left in this world, my great aunt Leinda. With this, the bad memories also flooded back to my mind. I cringed. I wished I didn't remember that part. My mind flooded back to that awful after noon.

"Alereina, you'll be back by four won't you? I want you to help me pick out the flower arrangements," mother asked, her warm brown eyes staring down into my soul.

"Mom, it's Reina," I groaned.

"Alereina is the name I gave you. It is what I will call you. Will you be back?" she asked again.

"Yea Mom," I said as I walked out the door to meet up with my friends.

I arrived back thirty-three minutes after four. Mom was going to kill me for being late. The door was wide open, which was not unusual because our house lacked air conditioning and we needed some kind of ventilation in this hot California weather. I walked in.

"Mom, I'm sorry I'm late. It was-" my words were caught in my throat when I turned that corner into the kitchen and saw the mangled body of my mother laying on the tiled floor. At first I was in shock. And I was too surprised to even cry. "Mom?" I questioned quietly. I looked into her brown eyes. No longer were they warm, no longer did they hold that sparkle that only Mom's had. They were now lifeless and dull. I did not cry then, I sobbed.

"Dad!" I screamed running into the living room, "Mom's-" My lips were again silenced. For the same fate my mom had faced my dad had also. Only his was much worse. His arm was ripped from his torso and pieces were missing from his legs. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. I fell to the ground staring at him and sobbed and choked. Then as I looked at his body again and puked.

My parents were cremated the following Tuesday, since they had no insurance to pay for a memorial and thrown into the ocean. I assumed that would be what they would have wanted, but I ever had asked. The house was left to the bank since my parents had no will either. Everything was taken care of, except where their 16 year old daughter would go. My only family alive was Leinda Michelle Peather in Forks, Washington, my grandmother on my father's sides sister and she was called the next day and agreed to let me move in with her. I had never met her before so I knew nothing about her, but she was my only option right?

"Miss? That's twenty-three dollars," the man said again slower probably writing me off as crazy.

"Sorry," I replied softly fumbling through my bag looking for my wallet. I pulled out twenty-five wrinkled bills and placed them in his plump hands. I didn't think two dollars was a generous enough tip. That was confirmed when I saw the look on his face. But my parents just died, karma could pity me right? I opened the door and grabbed my purse and the small duffle I had packed and exited from the taxi.

I looked towards the house. A leafless tree sat in the front yard surrounded by weeded grass and some untrimmed bushes. Not the most welcoming house, but like I said, it was my only choice. I climbed up the creaky wood stairs and knocked on the door. The house was painted white, it was chipped though and the windows looked like they were once a baby blue, but most of that paint was faded by now. It was a two story with two windows up above and the style was very bungalow/cottage and although it may have been very cute when it was built, now it just looked old and not very sturdy. I prayed an earthquake wouldn't strike and collapse my only refuge.

"Aunt Leinda!" I yelled, "It's me, Reina."

"Reina? Who are you?" She asked opening the door slightly as far as the locking chain would reach, popping one blue eye, the same eyes as my father and me, out.

"Alereina Bray. Your nephew Daniel's daughter," I answered.

"Oh! Daniel's kid," she answered, slamming the door and then reopening it fully. I saw her then. It was hard to call her a little old lady. She was a bit taller then I and was a portly woman with gray curls coming down to her ears and a wrinkled face. She wore a flowered dress under a magenta fuzzy robe with two worn yellow slippers and held a gray fur ball in her arms, "Come in, come in."

"How are you dear?" she asked, it was kind of an awkward question to ask. How was I supposed to be after my parent's death?

"Ok," I lied. She bent over to set the fur ball down. It appeared to be a cat. Great. I was allergic to cats.

"Good, good," She smiled, "Come here. See your room." She made her way up the stairs, putting her hands on her knees as she did. She turned the corner and passed a room I assumed was hers and then another door. "This is the bathroom. I have my own bathroom, so it is all yours. And this…" she paused turning into another room, "is your room." I walked in and saw it. It was bare. Only a dresser and a bed with purple sheets, a few white pillows and a blue down blanket sat in it.

"It's not much… I figured you could decorate it how you'd like it," she mumbled tightening her robe.

"It's fine. Thank you." I replied.

"Ok, tell me if you need anything," she said leaving the room quickly. She didn't dottle around with small talk. I liked that.

I thought about my room back in California, when I was forced to leave.

It had always been small and cramped, not that I minded. But for some reason, with all the furniture removed and all my belongings boarded up into cardboard boxes, it looked even smaller.

The paint on the walls was chipped, the carpet—rolled up against one wall now—was stained. And to make matters worse, we hadn't had air conditioning for a while either. I'm pretty sure that for most people, summer + California's desert weather+ ZERO AIR CONDITIONING does not equal any level of comfort.

I sighed. It was right now that I was beginning to realize just how wonderful sweating in a tiny room could be.

I wobbled over to the bed and sat my things down. This would be my life for the next 4 or 5 years. My walls finally crumbled and I burst into tears falling onto the bed and silently crying until I fell asleep.

I woke up to the sound of garbage truck outside my window. Friday, I guessed, was garbage day, I'd keep note of that so I wouldn't be so rudely awakened again. Wait! Was it morning? I looked down at my watch. It sure was. I had slept from roughly 6 pm to 9 am. That was fifteen hours! I could have blamed jetlag, but I was sure there was no time change between sunny California and it's northern cousin dreary Washington. I was just tired. I managed to get up and load the dresser with the little clothes I had brought. I set the few other things I had brought, including an iPod, book, and a picture of my family; and set them on top of the dresser. This room seemed to make me even sadder, maybe that was because me and the room were alike. We were both empty and alone.

I grabbed some clothing and tip-toed towards the bathroom. I could hear my new legal guardian snoring loudly from her room. I giggled. I was glad my room was far from that uproar. I stepped into the bathroom. There were rugs everywhere, one on the floor, one around the toilet, and one on the toilet seat. I didn't know that had toilet rugs, only in an old ladies house. I climbed into the foreign shower and saw that luckily there was soap and shampoo available. I grasped the shampoo and saw the label Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo. That's great. I took note to by normal shampoo later. Fumbling with the hot and cold switched, I finally got the water to a comfortable temperature after being frozen out by cold water for near two minutes.

I got out and shivered in the cold air. Didn't this place have a heater? If it didn't I was sure to freeze to death in the winter if it was this cold in the spring. I slipped on my clothes after drying off. Apparently I would need a jacket. I also had no blow dryer. Wow. I never knew how much I took for granted until they were gone. I let my hair air dry and decided to read a bit. I settled down in my room and read for a long time. It was a scary novel by Edgar Allan Poe. I could read his books forever. I didn't know how long it had been since I had started reading, but my hair was fully dry. I decided I might explore this new house. I ventured outside my room.

The house made eerie creaks when I walked and sometimes even when I didn't. If I were younger I might have called it haunted. But I wasn't younger. I climbed down the stairs and saw Leinda thumbing through a book.

"Oh! You scared me. I forgot you were here," she exclaimed turning her book over and resting it on the table, "Hungry?"

Forgot? Gee, I felt special. "No thanks." I tried to fake a smile. I was pretty sure I succeeded because she went back to reading her book.

"Do you know of any places I could go around here to get things like," I paused, "like shampoo."

"There's a grocery store about two blocks down. That might have what you're looking for," she said not glancing away from her book.

"Alright then," I mumbled placing my weight on one leg and letting the other bend back a bit.

"Oh, I assume you need some money," she said pulling out a flowered purse and thumbing through a few bills before pulling out a twenty and handing it to me. I felt bad taking this ladies money, even if she was my legal guardian. Getting a job was now first on my list of to-dos.

I slipped on my only pair of shoes, black converse and jogged lightly out the door and jumped partly down the stairs. Apparently the fifteen hours of sleep I got left me with a lot of energy to drain. I walked faster then normal down the sidewalk and had the house far behind me in a few minutes.

Ah finally, I came across the store. My great aunts directions weren't very good. It was actually four blocks away and had a few confusing twists and turns, but I had found it and that was all that mattered. I headed towards the door and was relieved to see the hair aisle right in front of me, what I failed to see was the person I bumped into while speed walking toward the door. I fell to the floor in front of him. I looked up to see a handsome face of a possibly 20 year old male and two deep dark eyes staring into mine, looking confused, relieved and amazed all at once.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled getting up and blushing heavily. He didn't answer. So I looked down and walked around him.

He looked back at me moving away. I probably looked like a fool to him. Great. My first impression on the person I met here was clumsy and foolish. I sighed. I guess that was what I was; I just didn't want to be.

Moving down the hair aisle I felt self-conscious. Was he still looking at me? It was hard to concentrate on the different types of shampoo when I the only thing going through my mind was if I was still being stared at. I ran my fingers across a few shampoo labels hoping to look like I wasn't even thinking of him. I picked out one at random and turned like I was about to walk away with it only to find that he was gone. All my paranoia wasted.

The shampoo I had picked out seemed just fine so I grabbed its counterpart, conditioner and walked down aisle in search of the cash registers but I was stopped mid-aisle when a shiny blue blow dryer caught my eye. I picked it up in its case and examined it. They were on sale and I did need to bring a bit of normality back into my life. I decided to buy it. I would pay her back for it, I would.

I reached the cash registers or should I say cash register. There was only one. I guess things were a bit different in small towns. I set the items down on the counter clumsily knocking over a rack of lip balm.

"I'm sorry!" I squeaked bending down picking them off the floor and stacking them neatly back.

"That's quite alright. If you can set stuff back up as quickly and as neatly as you did there, knock all the items of the selves. It would look better," the clerk smiled.

I giggled just a bit and stood up. He scanned the items.

"Are you new around here? I haven't seen you before," he asked placing the conditioner in a bag.

"Um, yeah I am. I just moved in with my great aunt Leinda," I said hoping to make a better impression on this person then I made on the first.

"Oh, Leinda. Yes. Say, are you looking for a job? Cause I need a stocker. My old one came across a bit of misfortune," he said this time looking down at what he was bagging, trying to decide rather to put the blow dryer in the bag with the shampoo and conditioner or in a separate bag.

This was just what I needed. "Yes I am!" I said with just a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Well, if you can make it Monday, May 2nd, then I'd be happy to train you," he offered. Wow, people here were nice, nothing like California.

"What time?" I questioned.

"Well, I suppose you have school. So how 'bout three?"

"Sounds good." I hadn't even thought about school. I had been on spring break when it happened. I would have to enroll in a school here.

"And your name is?" he inquired handing me a plastic bag. I guess he had decided to go with one.

"Reina."

"I'm Robert."

"Erm, thanks," I picked up that bag was almost about to walk away, "See you then." I smiled.

I hoped it would get the job. It would be a hell of walk though and they pay probably wouldn't be that great. But a job was a job. I couldn't just mooch off my aunt forever.

Outside it the sun was setting, it was pretty, but at the same time it meant it would be getting dark. The last thing I needed was to be walking in the dark alone with a picture of my parent's mangled in the back of mind. I walked just a bit faster in the direction I came.

I walked by several buildings, Al's Hardware, Dandy Dry-Cleaning, all with little glowing open signs. That made me a bit more comfortable knowing that if I screamed at least someone would hear. Every time I looked at the sun, it seemed to move more substantially out of view. I couldn't keep walking fast. The energy from the 15 hours of sleep was officially drained.

That building! I swore I had seen it before. I guess I could admit now, I was lost. But, not to panic, I could always ask someone in the store for directions. I turned to open the door and found it locked. I looked to the sky, the sun was gone and all that remained a moon and vast array of stars. The only lighting I had was the street lights.

How late was it? I kept walking hoping to find something familiar to lead me home. I didn't find anything. I wonder if Leinda was searching for me, or if she forget I was ever there. Somehow the second option seemed more likely. There was a large bang as something hit the floor. I jumped and looked to see my conditioner rolling off the sidewalk. The bag had broken and all the contents had spilled out. He should have gone with separate bags.

I caught my conditioner before it landing the gutter water and bent to pick up the rest. I guess I would have to hold them from here. I managed to fit both of the bottles into my jacket pockets. It may have looked silly, but it was much easier to have both my hands to carry the blow dryer.

I continued walking faster hoping to find an open store or someone to help me. There was no one though, not a soul. Except me. It was so quiet too. The only noises came from the light patter of my shoes on the cement, the wind in the trees and ever so often when I listened real closely I could hear my soft breathing. Some might call it eerie, but it really wasn't. It was calming and the breeze made me feel alive, though it sent goose bumps down my bare arms. It was weird that I could feel so calm, being so cold and so lost in this unfamiliar city.

I stopped on a corner and looked up at a street sign.

"Merchants Rd." it read. That sounded familiar. I finally might be getting-

I was stopped mid-thought when I was shoved backwards by something I could barely even catch a glimpse of. It was like a blur. The kind you'd see in picture if you moved while taking it. Only it wasn't a picture, just a very fast moving thing. My heart seemed to skip from its causal thump to a fast pounding in my chest. I could hear it in my ears.

Thump..Thump..Tha..Thump.

Just then a giant reddish-brown almost bear looking creature jumped out of the trees outlining the sidewalk. I couldn't see it well either. It must have been a bear, a very fast moving bear. Just what kind of animals did they have in the strange place? I would have thought my aunt might have warned me if there were some superfast giant bear beasts running around in the woods.

Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump…

My heart rate continued to quicken.

Then the giant bear dragged something away in its teeth. It was a girl, beautiful and pale, writhing around in the giant's toothy grasp. Was this monster going to eat her? Eat a human? My aunt would have defiantly have warned me about this, had she known.

I had two options, save the girl from being eaten or run as fast as my legs could take me away from this horrid city. No screams would come from my mouth as much as I wanted them too. Just as the beast was about to drag her into the dark forest and I ran forward.

"Stop!" I yelled and ran up to them hoping to save the girl from this terrible fate. As I got close the creature looked down at me. It was no bear, it was just a very large wolf. And its gaze was way more focused then any wild animals should've been. But girl in his arms was thrashing around now reaching her arms to toward me. I then saw her.

She was gorgeous, with pale skin and a heart shaped face. But, her eyes were not normal they were black and her look was much more ferocious then the beast carrying her. She let out a growl and reached her white arms towards me.

I stumbled backwards tripping over a tree root and fell to the ground.

Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Tha-Tha Thump!

My heart was pounding in my ears. The wild girl in the creature's mouth was getting closer to me. I just stared wide eyed at them. And then in an instant, the wolf turned and sprinted off, the girl still in his grasp leaving me all alone sitting there, the breeze in my hair and on my skin. Somehow it seemed much less calming now.