Envy and Evelyn || The Twilight Saga

Chapter One: Homecoming

January 17, 2005.

Two hours and thirty-five minutes. That's how long it takes to fly from Phoenix to Seattle. That's how long I'd be alone with my thoughts, my music, and my half-sister.

Mom was dropping us off at the gate, teary-eyed as she gave her goodbyes to Bella, kissing her head and making sure to tell her to call every night. She embraced her one last time, then turned to me.

Mom smiled a nervous smile. "Be good to Charlie, okay, Evelyn? It's so good of him to take you in."

My jaw ticked. Another one of her not-so-subtle reminders that Charlie wasn't my dad, no matter how much I wished he was. "Yeah. It is."

Charlie may have told me the truth a long time ago, but he never stopped acting like my father. As far as I was concerned, he was. So, when Mom asked him if Bella could move in rather than being on the road with her and Phil, he made sure to let her know that he would take both of his daughters, thank you very much.

I smiled tightly at my mom. "Have fun on the road." I gave Phil a fist bump. "Phil."

He simply gave me one of those frat-guy nods. "Take care, Ev."

"Will do."

Bella and I boarded the plane together. To my chagrin, Bella ended up with the window seat, and I was in between her and a stranger, who put on his headphones and settled in for a nap. I could respect it.

I nestled in my own seat, throwing in my earbuds. I pressed play on my iPod and relaxed, a Maroon 5 song setting the track for my trip to Seattle.

Bella had worn an eyelet-lace blouse, much too thin for the freezing rain we'd meet in Forks. She'd sulked around the house all week about having to leave Phoenix. Mom, of course, didn't notice. You could tell by her choice of wardrobe that she wasn't ready to let go of the home we'd made in Phoenix.

In truth, there were some things I'd miss about it. I hadn't minded the desert sun that had given me tans even in the winter. I'd miss the few friends I had at school. I'd miss having my own bedroom in our little house.

But there were so many more things I loved about Forks. In a way, I didn't feel like I was leaving. I felt like I was coming home.

Dad met us in Seattle. I wrapped him in a hug, and he and Bella greeted each other awkwardly. We rode in the squad car for the additional three-hour drive to Forks. I could hardly sit still, every nerve in my body excited to meet the gray skies and evergreen forests once again. Most of all, I was excited to head to the ocean and see Jacob. Then, that feeling got overtaken with a wave of nausea and panic.

Jacob Black was my best friend, and my favorite part of Forks. He knew everything about me. He was the only one that did, besides Bella. He was the first person I told about how Charlie wasn't really my father, the one who held me as I cried over it.

Jacob was the best person in the world. He really was. He was a person filled with so much joy and sunshine that you couldn't help but love him. Dad and Billy always teased us about growing up and falling in love, but it wasn't like that with Jacob. There wasn't anything romantic there. Or, well, there hadn't been.

Things changed a bit this summer.

As I stared out the window on the way to Forks, the memory flooded my mind without my consent.

"So, you leave tomorrow?" Jacob was skipping rocks across the ocean, and I watched as they flew under the soft waves, my bare feet covered in sand.

I was wearing a pair of denim shorts and a tank top, along with one of his flannels, because the day had gotten too cold as the sun started to set over the gray water. "Flight's at nine."

He sighed. "That sucks. Bad."

"Tell me about it," I replied, watching as another rock bounced five times before succumbing to the water. "Have to go home, see my mom... tell her all about my summer. Answer all of her annoying questions."

Jacob turned to me, his eyes as black as night, skin even darker than normal from all the sun we'd gotten as I dragged him everywhere from La Push to Seattle. He was perpetually sunkissed. "Wish you didn't have to go."

"Me too," I replied.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I mean... I really wish you didn't have to go."

He dropped the rocks in his hand and took a step towards me, until I could smell the salt on his skin, see the flecks of sand in his glossy black hair. He ghosted one of his huge hands across mine.

"Jake..." I whispered, fumbling for any sort of words, wracking my brain for answers. Did I want this? How long had he? Why was he doing this now, of all times?

Jacob's hand lightly caressed up my arm, until he reached my jaw. He pressed his warm hand to my cheek, his breath fanning gently over my face. "Evie..."

For so long, I'd wished for absolutely nothing to change between me and him. Even then, I didn't want a thing to change. But something in me, the part of me that was keen on destruction, pushed me forward into his arms.

He kissed me, and it wasn't like any kisses I'd ever had before. It was different. It fundamentally changed everything. My heart was fluttering like a hummingbird as I wrapped my arms around his neck, into his hair. He gripped at my waist, rough and soft at the same time, pulling at my clothes.

I was the one to pull away. "I have to go."

"Wait, Evie–"

"I have to go, Jake," I said, tears in my eyes. I was a ghost in my own body, ruining something that should have been beautiful. Tearing him apart– tearing me apart. "I'm sorry."

He looked so hurt on that beach– so confused, staring down at me with wide, shiny dark eyes, his eyebrows pulled together. I could practically hear his heart breaking, and practically feel mine breaking.

I should've stayed and talked it out with him. But I walked off that beach and left him alone.

It's my biggest regret.

I shook the memory out of my mind, wrapping my jacket tighter around me as I caught the sign that read Welcome to Forks.