Chapter Text
I'd never really given thought to how I would die. It was something that hung at the edge of my thoughts like a long-forgotten memory. I imagined slipping away whilst I slept or at an old age surrounded by my family.
I never had a reason to believe that it would be because of love.
It was my reflection that I was drawn to in the endless hall of mirrors. I would never give him the satisfaction of acknowledging his presence, even at my end.
Surely it was a good way for me to die, in the place of someone I loved. Surely that ought to mean something in the great scheme of things, but now, after all that had happened, I had no right to expect any sort of miracle.
I stared into my own eyes as I heard the hunter move towards me.
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My mother had always been a devoted woman, doing her best to support me throughout my entire life, and it hurt to leave the city I had called home for so many years. I knew, that although of my reluctance to leave her, and her reluctance to let me go, that it would be better for her in the long run.
It was seventy-eight degrees in Phoenix, Arizona. I had on a white t-shirt, with lace panels along the sleeves, and I was pale despite the near-constant heat of the city. My friends had always teased that I was part vampire, and after seventeen years of never-tanning I was almost inclined to believe them.
"You don't have to go." My mother said, making conversation for almost the first time since she had ushered me into the car earlier that morning. She, out of the kindness of her heart, was driving me to the airport so I could take a flight to Forks, Washington.
"I do, mom." I said, trying to sound like I wasn't completely lying, "It's fine."
Forks, Washington, was not high on the list of my favourite places in the entire world. Having been brought up in a city that averaged 87 degrees and bright sun all year round, the almost-constant gloom and non-stop rain that frequented Forks was not something I loved. But, it had to be done, and I was going to make the most of it.
I got the feeling that my mother wasn't happy that I was leaving. She was almost completely silent as I got my bags out of the trunk of the car.
"Thank you for driving me." I said, awkwardly. I'd never been verbose, instead rather fond of just letting others take the lead. "I'll call you as soon as I get into Forks."
My mother looked at me then, and I before I could do anything about it she rushed over to me and crushed me in her arms. I uncomfortably put my bags down and patted her on the back. "It's fine." I said, trying my hardest to be reassuring and being very bad at it.
"My darling Bella, all grown up." My mom sniffed, and with a jolt of horror I realised she was crying. I didn't realise my departure would affect her quite so much.
"It's only a year, mom. I'll be back before you know it." I patted her back and wondered when I had become the strong one in the family.
After many more hugs and what passed as a checklist of things to remember, 'Say hi to Charlie for me!' 'I will, mom!', and the like, I finally was able to pass through security and board the plane.
As I gazed out the window and saw the earth fall away from beneath me, I pondered the situation I had found myself in.
My mother, Renee, had always been the strong one in our family. She had tried her hardest to give me a proper childhood, but fortune had fallen quite far from our tree and we had never been especially wealthy. We weren't dirt poor, but we had always had issues with money. It simply had gotten too much for my father, Charlie, and after being offered a job as the Sheriff in Forks, he had left when I was seven.
My mother, now single, and raising her child, had tried her hardest on her single wage and made my childhood one to remember. It was just after I had turned sixteen when she had found a partner, a nice man named Jim, who was in an amateur baseball league, and just before my seventeenth birthday they had decided to move in together. Our two bedroom house, being far too small for two adults and one nearly-adult, was what had lead me to the situation I found myself in. I was leaving to give them space. I was leaving to make my mom happy. After a lifetime of support from her I owed her this much. Forks wasn't an ideal place to go, but my father was nice enough and at least I wouldn't be paying rent.
I sighed, and suddenly being uncomfortably confronted with the sight of my own face reflected by the plane window - brown eyes, dark brown hair, far too pale for my own good - I decided I needed something to take my mind off what my new life would bring.