Sleeping Dogs

Chapter 1: Early Birds

Chapter One:
Early Bird Gets the Worm

Although she tried for years to be an early riser like her father, Caroline could never do it without the assistance of an alarm clock with no fewer than seven alarms set every five minutes. By the third alarm at 7:15 she was finally ready to roll out of bed.

Caroline slipped on a pair of leggings and a long sleeved shirt with an old logo from her high school track team. She ran her fingers through her black hair and pulled the ends up to her face. The split ends she was greeted with didn't do much to lift her spirits, she was going to need a haircut soon. Sue would already be at work and she could hear Charlie in his room snoring so she decided to take a quick run before showering and preparing herself for the day. Sue had planned a dinner for her tonight on the rez and she was going to need all of the time preparing she could get.

She grabbed her iPod and was untangling the headphones when she turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs and nearly ran into someone.

"I'm sorry," the girl said awkwardly in a breathy voice. "I didn't mean to come so early but I wanted to make breakfast for dad before he got up. I'm Bella. You must be Caroline." She gave her a thin-lipped smile. She was beautiful, Caroline couldn't help but notice. Plain brown, hair and plain brown eyes but she had good bone structure. She didn't inherit much from Charlie when it came to looks.

Caroline nodded and plastered a smile on her face. Easier than she thought it would be. Time heals all wounds, and she's had a month to practice her smiles. "That is my name." She agreed. "Do you make him breakfast often? Maybe I need to get more accustomed to seeing you?"

"Now that Sue has moved in, no." Bella bit her lip. "But I try to stop by, ever since I got married..." She trailed off but Caroline could guess where this was going. Ever since she had married young and didn't even pursue college in order to stay with a boyfriend - now husband - that Charlie wasn't a fan of, their relationship had been on the outs. Sue had given her a little rundown to prepare her, but from what Sue said, Bella never came over. She wondered if she was doing it because she was here? Maybe a weird peace treaty since Caroline was now sleeping in her old room and Sue and Charlie were in a serious relationship.

"I'm Edward." Caroline jumped, pulled from her thoughts abruptly. She whirled around to face a tall, equally pale man.

Caroline couldn't help but size them both up. They were both attractive, there was no denying that. Both incredibly pale, almost translucent but she attributed that to the rainy weather of Washington. That reminded her, she forgot to check the weather before she decided to run.

Edward reached out his hand to her, "I'm sorry we had to meet under such circumstances." When she took it she noted his cool skin. Winter was just ending but Spring in Forks was never too warm, at least so early in the year so she decided to forgive him for it, but she wasn't as willing to forgive him for bringing up the circumstances. "But the weather today is nice, we'll be sure to save some breakfast for you after your run." He motioned to her outfit.

A gentleman, she decided, but a little awkward. He moved to stand somewhat behind Bella, like a shadow. A little possessive, Caroline added to her mental note. "Thank you, I can't promise I'll be quick. I want to meander a bit this morning, try to find a nice route." She smiled again.

Bella and Edward returned her smile while heading towards the small kitchen, walking in tandem. Creepy, Caroline thought. "There are some paths through the forest that will be nice once it warms up. But there have been some animal attacks so I would stick with the roads for now," Bella added.

Caroline tied her long, black hair into a ponytail. "I'll keep that in mind."

As she shut the door of the house she let out a long sigh. Small talk with them wasn't the worst, but she wasn't sure she had the energy to do it all day. Charlie mentioned to her last night that more of the Cullen family would be coming over for lunch, and his pained expression when he had said it didn't get her hopes up. They seemed to think they needed to introduce themselves to her since her relationship with Bella was now on the borderline of being cousins. Caroline couldn't help but hope they forgot to come, but Emily had once told her over the phone that their only friends were themselves and if two of them were already here, the others likely weren't far behind.