Secrets

Chapter One

"Jade!" Aunt Corinne called from the bottom of the stairs.

"What?" I yelled back as I sifted through one of many boxes of my things.

"I need to go to the shop.  Wanna come with?"

"No thanks," I answered without a second thought.  I pulled out a few half used notebooks and a pencil case.  It was enough for me to figure that the box held items from my desk.

"Are you sure?" I shrieked as Aunt Corinne was suddenly at my door.

"Aunt Cor!" I cried.  

"Sorry!" she said as she entered my room. "Are you sure you don't want to come? We can grab some hot cocoa at the cafe afterwards!"

"Yeah, I'm sure.  I still have a few boxes to go through. I want to get settled in before school next week."  A feeling of anxiety came over me. I was the new girl in a small town again. This time, I was on my own with my parents miles away and my brother... I took a deep breath in.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I replied, maybe a little took quickly.  Aunt Cor's green eyes were full of concern.

"I could make you fix you some tea before I leave." I smiled. Aunt Cor's specialty was tea.  She was a whiz at mixing certain kinds together to create some kind of remedy.  It was what she sold at her shop.

"No thank you. Actually I think I'll head out and maybe drive around. You know, get some fresh air."

She nodded her head. "Are you sure you'll be fine by yourself? Maybe you should come with-"

"Aunt Cor, go ahead! I'll be fine. I can get around on my own." I gave a smile as extra reassurance.  It seemed to work since she nodded her head.  After a quick hug, she made her way out my room. 

I stayed rooted as I listened for the front door to creak open then close. I listened for the locking of the door, which never happened.  I guess small towns don't believe in that. As soon as I heard her car start, I sat on my bed.  I sighed, looking around my new room. It certainly wasn't as big as my old room back home, but I didn't mind. I found it to be quite cozy. I eyed the remaining boxes waiting to be unpacked. After a few more minutes of staring blankly at my wall, I got up and resumed with settling in.

It only took me a few hours to settle in. I was able to unpack my belongings, dust everything down and put them in their new rightful places in my new room of my new home. How long would I be calling this home? I didn't know. I guess it depended on how long it would take my parents to find my brother. 

'That is, if they ever find him,' I shook the pessimistic thoughts away. 'Conor is still alive. They still haven't found his body.' 

Without a second thought, I grabbed the keys to my car. I descended the stairs two steps at a time. After locking the front door, I darted to my car and sped off as if trying to leave my thoughts behind.

. x . X . x .

After calming myself down, I realized that I didn't know where I was. I saw nothing but evergreens around me and an open yet deserted road in front of me. I began to panic. I pulled over to the side and decided that a quick U-turn would solve my problem. I double checked for incoming traffic, which seemed a bit silly, but better safe than sorry.

Driving down the road, I realized that none of the scenery looked familiar. Actually, it did look familiar because it was all the same, just trees everywhere. I drove ten more minutes down the road, still no sign of Forks or civilization for that matter. As I drove a few more miles down, I saw a little road branch off. I tried to recall if I took any turns, but came up with a blank. I made a last minute decision and swerved to catch the right turn. I instantly hit my brakes when I spotted a man standing in the middle of the road. He was tall, tan, and shirtless. He had black hair and a tattoo on his right arm. He started walking towards my car. Without thinking, I unbuckled my seatbelt and made a move to open my door.