Biting and Scratching

Home

At seventy-five degrees mum decided to drive with the windows down, and as if a parting gift Phoenix's skies were having a perfect day, cloudless and a wonderful blue...

Isabella and I sat in the back seat as we drove to the airport, our way to move in with our dad; Charlie.
Mum decided we were to be in our Sunday best, so there we were; Bella in a sleeveless, white eyelet lace shirt and pair of shorts that contrasted perfectly with her dark, chocolate hair and beautiful brown eyes. I was wearing a thin black sweater and baby blue singlet, along with a pair of thigh-high black shorts.

Bella and I were moving to Forks, Washington, from Arizona, a drastic change.

I loved Forks, and cold, the rain, the trees and all things nature, I was practically jumping in my seat as we drove, my blonde ponytail jumping around me. It was obvious how excited I was.
Bella... she said a thousand and one times she was only moving to "look after her baby sister".

Bella hated the cold, she loved the heat of Arizona and was undoubtedly going to miss it.
She hadn't been to Forks since she was fourteen when she put her foot down and declared that if Dad wanted to spend any time with her that he would have to come up to California.
He did, a week per summer, and I came to Forks for another week until last year, when everyone had a meeting without me and decided that it was for the best that a fourteen-year-old wasn't wandering around an airport by herself.


"Bella, Juliet dear, you don't have to do this." It was a new chant mum adopted after I announced that I would rather move to dad's than go on her fiancé's baseball thing.
Putting the car in park, she turned on Bella and I, "really, you don't have to go..." Mum looked like Bella, dark, gorgeous hair, except short, and wonderful, caring dark brown eyes.
I took more after dad's mum, glowing green eyes and wavy white coloured white hair that came to my lowest rib.

I looked at Bella, the question would be to her since I had been more than firm in my choice.
Bella stared at our mother with wide, child-like eyes, silently wondering how she could abandon our childish mother, our overbearing, erratic, harebrained mother. She would be leaving her with Phil though, and she knew that our father knew less than nothing about cooking, and I could manage to overcook water.
"I want to go." Bella promised, I don't think mum could tell she was lying, but I could always read her tell.
"Tell Charlie I said hi," Mum made us promise, which we did, giving her solid, tight hugs while tears were exchanged, and we boarded the plane.

And she was gone.


After sitting on a plane next to my sleeping sister for about four hours, I was eager to get off of our flight in Seattle, and get on another to Port Angeles, before driving for an hour to finally get to the home I haven't seen in a year, Forks.


Dad was happy to see us, even though he didn't really show it, he wasn't the best with his emotions.
Dad had already registered us in high school, and as a surprise to Bella, had gotten her a car.
Living with the two of them was sure to be awkward though, neither of them was exactly what you would call... Verbal, they didn't know how to express themselves and tended to stay fairly quiet. I was loud and bubbly more often than not.


Landing in Port Angeles we were greeted by the welcome and expected sight; the rain.
Charlie greeted us by his police cruiser. The same one that held many childish memories of ringing the siren as we rode down the main street, the laughter of the locals calling back.
Dropping my bags on the ground I raced towards Dad with a happy yell, jumping on him when I got close enough. Dad laughed and spun me around as Bella stood awkwardly near my abandoned bags; yeah, I was always the Daddy's girl, while Bells always preferred Mum.
"It's good to see you Bells" Dad smiled as he wrapped an arm around Bella while still firmly hugging me close to his chest. "You haven't changed much, how's Renee?"
"Mum's fine, she said to say hi!" I giggled, smiling up at him.
I could still see that Bella was still struggling, still feeling slightly awkward in his awkward hug.

We could only bring a few bags with us... Arizona clothes weren't exactly Forks compatible, so Dad said that we could go shopping during the weekend, after the first week of school.
Desperately grasping at things to say, Dad broke his surprise; "I've found a good car for you, really cheap," he declared, sounding pleased with himself as Bella sat in the front with him, while I was placed in the back. Sitting behind bars felt weird.
"What kind of car?" Bella asked suspiciously.
"Well, it's a truck, a Chevy!" I exclaimed from the back, excited about finally seeing the car. I loved cars, and sitting in a car with that sound was the best feeling in the world.
"Where did you find it?" Suspicion was now gone from Bella's voice, and was replaced with genuine curiosity.
"Do you remember Billy Black? He used to go fishing with us?" Dad questioned as he glanced to Bella and me, before returning his attention to the road.
"Yes!" I replied immediately, while Bells replied the opposite.
"Well, he's in a wheelchair now, so he can't drive anymore, and offered me his truck cheap." I gasped at this, two years ago he was mucking around with me, throwing me into the water at La Push beach, teaching me how to fish, now he was in a wheelchair? How'd that happen?
"What happened?" I inquired, cutting off whatever Bella was about to say.
"Got into a hunting accident, someone accidentally shot him in the spin, thought he was a deer." It was clear that this was uncomfortable to talk about, so I didn't ask any more questions.
I gazed out of the window, admiring the pretty woods and flourishing wildlife that I had been missing. Everything was a beautiful green here, the moss, the trees, the grass, I loved it.

Once we made it to our new home, Bella and I discovered that he still lived in the small three-bedroom house that he'd bought with mum in their earlier years, and out front of the familiar house was a familiar truck, Billy's- Well I guess Bella's truck now.
The rusty red had faded over the years and I could see Bella's surprise. Even from behind her, I could see that she loved it.
"Wow Dad, I love it, thanks!" Was Bella's surprised accepting of the truck.
"I'm glad you like it" Dad gruffly replied, a slight blush appearing as he let me out of the back of the police car, helping me out as the drop was too high for me to get down solo.

It only took us one trip to get all of our stuff upstairs, but quite a while longer for us to get it all set in.
My room was still the same, green walls, black bedding, wood furniture. A brand new laptop was waiting on my desk as a welcoming gift, and I loved it, the software had already been loaded and it was ready for use. With a large smile spread across my face, I raced down the stairs and gave dad a massive hug.
I was happy to be back in Forks, I belonged here and unlike my sister, I was looking forward to tomorrow, my first day of high school.



I slept fantastically that night, better than I had in a very long time, with rain hitting my window and the trees rustling with the breeze acting as a lullaby.



A fog had clouded my window when I woke up in the morning to get ready for school, so while I could hear Bells in the shower, no doubt using up all the hot water, I drew smiley facing on my window, giggling to myself all the while.
When I finally heard my sister leave the bathroom, I raced in there, barely beating Charlie to the hot water before dressing in fluffy boots, red skinny jeans, a black sweater, and a black hoodie over top.

Breakfast was kinda awkward, and the only words exchanged were when Dad wished us a good day at school, before he left for the station.

After a while, we finished eating and Bells hurried me out the door, not wanting to be late on the first day. It was raining as we left the house, well, really it was just drizzling, and I could practically feel the sigh of relief that Bells emitted once we discovered that the truck was toasty and dry. I smiled, it still smelled like tobacco, gas, and peppermint.
The loud roar of the awakening engine reminded me faintly of the dragons from fairy tales Billy used to tell me, my favourite were the ones about shifters though. They were so real, half the time he had me half-convinced they were real.

"So Bells, looking forward to school?" I questioned as she gave up finding a working radio station.
"Honestly? No, not really, I mean, what if no one likes me, I'm not so good at making friends..." Bells grumbled, trying to focus on the slippery road ahead.
I laughed, "People like you Bells, I bet you this months chores that before the days over you'll have made at least one friend." Bella just shook her head with a grin at my confidence.
Her grin made me feel less like I was throwing my sister to the wolves but without the worry for Bella, I now knew how scared I felt.
Going to a new school was one thing... but this was my first ever high school experience, what if I sat at the wrong table or broke some high school rule Bella failed to tell me, what then?

Bells found Forks Highschool fairly easily—though we didn't really expect it to be much of a challenge, Forks was a pretty small town, the type of small where everyone knew everything, about everyone. I liked that about it though, it meant that you could always connect with people, that there were rarely any secrets, that you always had a friend.
Forks Highschool was so unlike Bella's back in Arizona, there was no institution-y type feel, there was no chain liked fence or metal detectors, it felt safe, secure, but I could tell that Bella was a little thrown off by the trust... I'm sure she'll get used to it.
Bells parked in a completely empty parking lot when we entered the school limits, and we followed the small stone path that lead to a rather small office.

A large, red-haired woman wearing glasses and a purple t-shirt greeted us with an almost confused expression; "Can I help you?
"Isabella and Juliet Swan," Bells spoke for the both of us, taking the mature older sister approach as awareness sparked in the woman's eyes.
"Of course," she commented as she passed us our schedules, and a map each. Several sheets were passed over to us, one for each teacher to sign, which we were to bring to her at the end of the day. At the end of her instruction course, she gifted us with a bright and genuine smile, wishing us both a great day and a lovely stay at Forks.
Smiling back just as nicely, I guided Bella back to the truck, stepping confidently over the puddles in my boots, while Bells struggled with each step.
As we arrived back at the truck, other students began to arrive. I recognised some from previous stays and parties that were thrown. Bella moved the truck to the student lot while I studied the map, chewing on my lip nervously at the small campus. If I managed to get lost here, I must be a dunce.
I glanced over to Bells, about to ask her if she was ready, but was greeted by the sight of her hurriedly trying to memorise the map, she obviously wasn't ready...

"Bells, it'll be fine. You won't get lost, you won't trip, and I promise, no one's going to bite you. We Swan women are strong, confident, and smart. You'll make tons of friends and if you do get lost, just ask, people will be happy to help!" I hugged her as best I could over the gear stick, and gracefully exited the car. The stares immediately threw me off... maybe Bella should stay in the car.