Not an Angel Yet

My mother turned the heat up as we drove slowly down the icy road that would eventually lead to a small town in the state of Washington named Forks. It was December, and the fact that it always rained in Forks, didn’t make the winters there any better, but when my mother was offered a job here at the hospital after months of searching for a new job, she didn't even think about declining it for a minute. Anything was better than the job she used to have as a school nurse. Within a week of getting the job offer, our house was packed and we were on the road. I didn't really mind the move, not because I didn't like it in my hometown, but because I wanted change. I didn't want to be the same old Haydee Reynolds that nobody really noticed. Although, my mom and I tried our hardest to make me go as unnoticed as possible. I was never allowed to have sleepovers or go anywhere. My mom was too afraid of people finding out what I really am. You see, since I was a little girl, every year on my birthday I would get a new scar, and they were always on my back, and always right below and across from each other. This year, my eighteenth birthday, I would be getting my last scar. According to what I have been told, its the most painful... that scar would be the one that would complete my transformation, and give me my wings.

As I looked out the window, I saw my reflection on the glass. My hazel eyes looked very cloudy today, they normally did that when I was sad. My hair, its normal brownish color was flat, I hadn’t really done anything with it today after I showered. I looked through my reflection and I saw the welcome sign for Forks. As we drove past it, I saw several houses, a few stores including a diner and a gas station. There was also a police station. I began to ask myself why such a small and quiet place would need a police station when my mom pulled into a driveway. I looked at the house that was now in front of me. It wasn't small, but it also wasn't very big either. It was just the right size for two people. My mom put the car in park and pulled the key out of the ignition. She looked at me through the rearview mirror. "Well, here we are." She said to me. I forced a smile and got out of the car, carefully walking around the back of the car to get to the U-Haul hookup we rented.

As I tried to pull the door up, I heard my mother talking to someone. "Hello, I'm Helen Reynolds, and that is my daughter Haydee." She said, and I'm guessing that she motioned towards me. I looked up and saw my mom standing next to someone who I swear looked like God, if he had taken human form. He had blonde hair which was slicked back, normally that sort of hairstyle looked stupid, but he pulled it off very well. He also had beautiful eyes, they were a honey color. He smiled at my mother and introduced himself, "I'm Carlisle Cullen." My mom looked shocked, "You're my supervisor at the hospital?" She questioned. He nodded, "I heard you'd be coming today so I came by to welcome you to Forks and see if you needed any help getting settled in." My mom just stood there with her mouth hanging open like a fish. I sighed, "Actually, yeah, we do. There's a lot of heavy furniture that we can't even carry together." I told him with a slight chuckle. He smiled once again, "Well, my sons' are here, and they'll be glad to help." As he said that, three boys walked over beside him. “This is Edward, Emmett, and Jasper.” He introduced them, pointing at each one as he said their names. Edward had reddish brown hair and had honey gold eyes, just like Carlisle. He also had a sort of kindness about him, even though I had never talked to him, I knew that. Emmett was the biggest out of all of them, and not just in height, He was extremely muscular. He had dark brown hair, and had the honey gold eyes. By the way he held a cocky smile on his face; I could tell he was the obnoxious one of the bunch. Jasper had blonde hair, and his golden eyes looked very bright to me. He seemed to be the shy one, not that I had ever spent time with him, but it was just an aura I got from him. His skin was also white as snow. There was something about him that made me want to know more about him… He intrigued me. “Hey, I’m Haydee.” I said to all of them with a small smile. I received a chorus of hello’s and hey’s. “So, what do you need help with?” Edward asked. I pulled open the door to the U-Haul and they got to work pulling things out. “You can just put everything in the living room.” My mom called to them, and then continued to speak with Carlisle.

I grabbed my messenger bag out of the backseat and followed Edward and Emmett inside as they carried a large desk. Once I was in the house, I noticed how beautiful it was. It looked as if it had been around for a hundred years, it had that antique touch. I knew better, though. The Cullen’s left shortly after they helped us get all of the furniture in to the appropriate rooms. At that point, my mom and I began to unpack all of our boxes, and make our new house feel more like our old one. We continued to do this for the next week, until one Monday, my mom decided it was time for me to go to school.
As we walked up the steps to Forks High School, my mom whispered to me, “Are you ready for this?” She asked. I nodded, “As ready as I’ll ever be.” We walked into the school and directly into the office, ignoring the whispers that arose as we walked in. My mom and I got me registered and I was given my schedule and a map of the school. My mom’s last words to me before she left me were ‘be careful’. All I could do was nod.

I was a senior this year, and I had a total of five classes, plus lunch, gym, and a study hall. My first class was physics. I walked into the room, only to be embarrassed, class had already started. “May I help you?” The teacher asked. “Um, I’m Haydee Reynolds..?” I said, as if it was a question. “Ah!” He said and walked over to me. “I’m Mr. White, welcome to physics. You can sit right over there, next to Bella.” He told me and pointed to a girl with dark brown hair, extremely pale skin and golden eyes that looked oddly familiar. I walked over to her slowly and sat down at the table next to her. She looked at me and smiled. “Hello, my name is Isabella Whitlock, but I prefer Bella.” I smiled back. “I’m Haydee Reynolds.” I told her. “Ah, yes. My father came to your house about a week ago with Edward,
Emmett and Jasper, right?” She asked. I nodded, “If you’re talking about Carlisle Cullen, then yes. My mom works for him at the hospital.” I said. She nodded, “I’m one of Carlisle’s many adopted children. I’m the only one who didn’t come with any siblings though.” She explained. “How many kids did he adopt?” I chuckled a bit. “Well, there’s Edward, Renesmee, Alice, and Emmett who have all taken Carlisle’s last name, then there’s Rosalie and Jasper Hale, who are twins, and then there’s me.” She said, and I swear her voice sounded almost like singing. “Wow, that’s a lot.” I said, shocked. “Yes it is,” She agreed, “Carlisle is lucky we all manage to get along so well.” She said and laughed a bit. I smiled. “So, can I see your schedule?” She asked me and I nodded, handing it to her. “Hmm…” She said as she looked at it. “Well, you obviously have physics with me… You also have English and American History with me… You have lunch with all of us, and you have last period study hall with Jasper and I.” She said and handed my schedule back to me. “You’re welcome to sit with us at lunch if you’d like.” She added. “Thanks.” I replied, making a mental note of that.

Bella and I chatted through the rest of class, just about random things, when the bell rang. “Well, I’ll see you in lunch okay, Haydee?” She asked. I nodded, “Okay, see ya.” I said and headed towards my calculus class.

I felt like I flew through calculus, gym, and government because before I knew it, I was heading towards the lunchroom. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous for this. I was never good with large amounts of people in one room, especially when it was a small room with teenagers in it. I got in the lunch line and just decided to get water; I really didn’t feel like eating right now. After I paid for my water, I descended into the jungle of kids. I kept walking through them, being bumped and almost knocked down along the way, until I reached Bella’s table. She was sitting with the three boys I recognized, and three girls I did not. Edward whispered something to Bella and her head snapped up in my direction. “Haydee!” She exclaimed and smiled. I smiled back a bit, I’m sure it looked more like a grimace. I really didn’t want to be with all of these teenagers right now, they were like animals, unlike Bella’s family, who seemed a bit more mature than everyone else did. “Come. Sit with us.” She said and motioned towards a chair that was across from her and next to a girl with long blonde hair and looked like a life-size Barbie, except more perfect, if that was possible. I did as she requested and felt even more nervous. “Everyone, this is Haydee, the one I told you about a bit ago.” She introduced me. “I’m Rosalie.” The Barbie said to me. I smiled. “I’m Renesmee.” a girl with reddish brown, curly hair who could have been Edward’s twin said to me and waved. I waved back. “And, I’m Alice.” The last girl I didn’t know, who had short spiky black hair and looked like a pixie said. “Hello.” I said with a smile. “Well, now that introductions are over, how is your day going so far?” Edward asked me. I frowned a bit, “Its going okay, I suppose… I just feel lost is all… But I have my next two classes with Bella, so I think I’ll be okay.” I said and smiled in Bella’s direction. Her returning smile was almost blinding. “That’s good.” he said and kissed Bella on the cheek. So they’re a thing… that’s kind of cute. I thought to myself. “Is everyone being nice to you?” Emmett asked me, leaning around Rosalie. “Yeah, except for this one kid… But I’m sure he’s like that to everyone.” I said quickly, not wanting to cause any trouble. “Who?” Edward, Emmett, and Bella said at the same time. “Um, I think his name is Shawn… Shawn Stevens?” I responded. Bella’s eyes narrowed. “He was like that to Bella and Rose as well.” Edward told me. “I’ll take care of it.” Emmett promised, as he smiled. I nodded, but inside I didn’t think that he was just going to talk to him.

Edward continued to ask me questions, as well as everyone else, except Jasper and Alice. They were having their own conversation. This didn’t stop until the bell rang, saying that we all had to go to our next class. “Walk you to English?” Bella asked. I nodded; I wasn’t walking alone again if I didn’t have to.

In English, we were getting books for a research project. The book I got, I had read before, and the same thing happened to Bella so we just talked for the rest of the hour. “Can I ask something without you getting offended?” I asked kindly. She nodded, “Of course.” I took a deep breath. “Are you and Edward together?” I stammered. She laughed, “Yes. Even though we live together, Carlisle doesn’t mind because we’re not really related.” She explained. “Ah, I see. Is there anyone else in your family who is like that?” I asked. “Yes, Emmett and Rose are together and so are Alice and Jasper.” She told me. I don’t know why, by my heard dropped a bit. What the… That was the weirdest thing ever. I didn’t even know him. I pushed what I had just felt aside. “You okay?” She asked, genuine concern on her pale face. I nodded, “Yeah, just a little lightheaded from not eating.” I told her and forced a smile. She frowned a bit. “Do you need to go to the nurse?” She asked me. I shook my head, “No, only one more class to go. I can make it.” I answered. She nodded, though the look on her face didn’t really look like she was certain that she believed me.
English seemed to go by pretty quick, with Bella and I talking and laughing, it didn’t really feel like school until the bell that told us to go to last period rang. “Hey Bella?” I asked. “Yes?” She replied. “Is Jasper always so… shy?” I inquired. She shrugged, “He doesn’t normally talk to anyone who isn’t family, but I’m sure he’ll warm up to you eventually.” She told me with an encouraging smile. I nodded as we walked into the library, which is where our study hall was.

We sat down at one of the tables towards the back, not wanting our teacher to hear our chatter too much and tell us to separate, considering that’s all we would be doing this period. I was just about to ask Bella more about Jasper when a stack of books were placed on our table. I looked up only to see Jasper, himself, standing there. “Hello Bella, Haydee.” He said and nodded at us as he said our names and then sat back down. “Hey.” I said softly and got out a notebook, feeling like a kid who was caught right before they stuck their hand in the cookie jar. Bella and Jasper began talking about something and I just kind of tuned them out, doodling in my notebook. I began to think about Jasper. I never noticed how much he interested me until now. I wanted to know everything about him, his favorite color, favorite book, favorite movie, everything. I didn’t notice anyone was talking to me until someone said my name clearly, “Haydee?” Jasper asked, suppressing a laugh. I looked up with a blush, “Huh?” I asked. He laughed lightly, “I asked when your birthday was.” He told me. “Oh, it’s February 20th.” I said. Bella clapped her hands, “We should throw you a party!” She said excitedly. I felt a lump in the back of my throat. “I-I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” I said. Bella’s expression fell into one of sadness. “Why not?” She asked, concerned. “Well, I-I… I’m just not a birthday person.” I said. “Bella was like that too for the past couple years, but she’s used to it now.” Jasper told me. “So you’re having a party.” Bella said happily. I felt like my stomach was going to come up my throat. I couldn’t talk so I just nodded.

Luckily, the subject of my party changed to the English project that was due in January.