smitten [s. clearwater]

move with the tide

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-CHAPTER ONE: MOVE WITH THE TIDE-

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Delilah Albright was born in Port Angeles, but Forks was the only place she could ever call home because it was the only place she ever knew as home. Growing up in a rundown house that, over the years, got renovated were the best memories Delilah had. And growing up in her almost crumbling house, she didn't have very many friends. She was close to Angela Weber, the minister's daughter who lived down the street from her, but other than that, Delilah had no friends. Angela and Jillian, Delilah's mother, we're the only ones who signed her cast when she broke her arm and Angela sat with her at lunch while everything moved in the cafeteria around them, like they weren't even worth the space they were taking up.

Jillian and Delilah often found themselves at La Push beach. For Jillian, it was a good escape from the judgment that followed her around in Forks. Ever since Renee Swan took off with Isabella, they tended to frown upon young mothers in the small town and as fate held it, Jillian was a mere sixteen years old when she gave birth to her daughter. For Delilah, it was a happy place, though this was hardly ever represented by the presence of the sun or physical brightness. She played soccer in the sand and searched for shells, though all she tended to find was driftwood.

One particular trip, she was walking along the sand and searching for shells. When she bent over to pick what she thought was a shell up out of the sand, the water licked at her ankles and she lost her balance. Jillian was too far away, talking to a mother from the reservation. A boy, the same age as Delilah helped her up and gave her his sweatshirt.

"Are you okay?" He'd asked, pulling her out of the sand.

She wiped her backside off and gratefully took the sweatshirt he offered. Who knew ten-year-olds could be so chivalrous? "Yeah, I think so."

"I'm Seth. Who are you?" He looked at her expectantly. "Sorry, that sounded kind of mean."

Delilah shook her head. "I'm Delilah... Dee works, too." She pointed over to where her mom was sitting on their picnic blanket. "That's my mom over there."

"No. That's my mom." Seth pointed at the same spot where a woman with copper skin much like his own was sitting.

Delilah giggled. "My mom is the white lady next to her. The one that's almost glowing."

Seth laughed with her. "Now that you point it out, it's a lot easier to notice."

"C'mon," Delilah said, pulling him to where their mothers sat in the sand. She came to a complete stop in front of Jillian, who in the slight streaks of sunlight, was glowing.

"Hey hon," she greeted. "Did you find any shells?"

"Just a friend. He pulled me out of the water before I died."

The other woman's face twisted into a look of motherly abject horror. Jillian just laughed it off. "It's not to worry, Sue. She's dramatic." She gave Delilah a once over. "From the looks of it, she just fell on her butt. Who's your friend, DeeDee?"

"This is Seth."

He pointed at Sue. "That's my mom."

"Your mom is an angel, kid."

In the six years that passed from the day on the beach when Delilah went from one friend her age, to two, a lot had happened. To begin, she made friends with some of Seth's friends. She was especially close to two boys, Embry and Quil, though no one matched her in cleverness or understood her jokes so well as Seth did. She also transferred out of Forks High School at the tender young age of fourteen to attend a private school in Port Angeles.