Chapter One
Flights
Elizabeth Carlyle Cullen

Grandma drove us to the airport in absolute silence. The windows were rolled up tightly, the air rushing by outside created a soft vacuuming noise as the car barreled down the highway. Her eyes darted over to look at me every so often, usually making sure my seatbelt was still tight or that I was sitting up straight in case the airbag deployed.

Grandpa Charlie says that Grandma Ren didn't used to be so strict. He swears that she used to be a wild and free-spirited person, that is, until they lost my mother.

I have never known my grandmother to be anything but overprotective and overly-cautious. Growing up under her ever watchful gaze was certainly a trying thing at times. Still, I understand the desperation she has to keep me safe. I'm all she has left of her only daughter, physically speaking anyway.

After getting the car parked at the airport, my few bags out from the trunk, and escorting me to the passenger departure area safely, Grandma finally took a moment to breathe.

"You don't have to do this, you know." She grinned at me, a genuine smile that hinted at her previous days of joy.

"I love Forks!" I swore to her. "Grandpa Charlie and all of my friends will be so disappointed if I don't go for the summer like I always do."

"I know, I know." She sniffed, tears starting to brim her eyes. "It just seems like it was only yesterday that I was here with your mother, sending her away to Forks," she said, sniffling. "You're the same age she was."

"I know it's scary for you to let me go." I assured her. "But I'll be fine! What could possibly happen to me in the town my grandfather is the chief of police in?"

"A broken arm?"

"I was seven, Grands" I muttered. "I was growing into my height, give me a break!"

"Okay, okay." She giggled softly at me. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" She reiterated.

"I'll be fine, Grandma." I said squeezing her hand tightly. "I'm seventeen now, remember? I'm a big girl that can look after herself. I'll only be gone for the summer." I flashed her my best smile.

Grandma chuckled, "Your mother was thinking the exact opposite when I dropped her off here. You're positive that you'll be okay?"

"Grandma," I said, steadying my expression before looking deeply into her eyes. "I'll be fine. I promise. I'll be sure to call you when I get there. But, I really need to get going, or I'll miss the flight."

"Alright then, come here, you." she sighed in defeat as she pulled me into a warm embrace. "I love you, Elizabeth."

"I love you too, Grands." I promised her, hating that this moment was feeling like a real goodbye.

"Off you go now! Don't be late!" She said, pulling away quickly and ushering me towards the gate.

Miraculously, I managed to get through all of the necessary security searches and bag checks and actually make it on the plane with time to spare. I would land in Seattle first before taking another short flight to Port Angeles. Grandpa was sure to be waiting excitedly for my arrival. And who was I kidding? I couldn't wait to get to Forks either! So many people to catch up with, friends to see, and places to explore. I may have grown up in Florida a majority of my life, but Forks has always felt like home to me.

The vacant seats next to mine filled while I anxiously watched cargo crews taxi about the runway. I turned to offer the mother and daughter pair a polite smile as they took their seats, a pang of jealously stabbing my insides at their close relationship.

The pair looked very, very, similar in appearance. The mother had obviously passed down her flaming red hair, freckles, and clear blue eyes to her daughter. She had created a gorgeous look-a-like.

"Hello!" The very small girl greeted me bravely, climbing into the middle seat next to me as if we had been long-time friends. "My name is Eloise, what is yours?"

I looked to her mother, who gave me a small encouraging nod of approval, before looking back down at her. "My name is Elizabeth." I introduced myself. "It's very nice to meet you, Eloise."

"We're in an airplane, 'Lizbeth!" She screeched in excitement.

"We are." I agreed, laughing in spite of myself. "Have you ever been on an airplane before?"

"Nope!" Eloise laughed with me, not realizing I was laughing at her expense.

"Well, when we start to go up, it gets really fast and your ears might feel funny. So, when that happens, put your fingers in your ears and blow air out of your nose super fast, like this." I showed her how to pop her ears, making an absolute fool out of myself in order to earn a proper laugh from the tiny girl.

"Oh! How nice! Can you thank Elizabeth for showing you her special trick, Ellie?" Her mother smiled sweetly at me.

"Thanks, 'Lizbeth!" Eloise clapped happily as her mother buckled her in tightly.

"You're very good with kids. Do you have any nieces or nephews?" Eloise's mom asked me as her daughter began to flip through a little picture book.

"Oh, no, I'm an only child." I shook my head. "I just have a lot of experience babysitting. Children like me."

"Obviously!" She agreed laughingly with me.

We ascended then, Eloise and I popped our ears together as we reached cruising altitude, and I happily settled in for my flight to Washington. I put in my headphones and hit play, letting soothing piano melodies fill my head and soothe my growing nerves.

Eloise had drifted off an hour into our flight, and her mother had fallen asleep not long after her. They were snuggled up together, despite the awkward airplane armrest between them, and seemed to be quite content. It was a very sweet sight, seeing mother and daughter blissfuly happy together, and yet I couldn't help but feel jealous every time I peaked at them from the corner of my eyes.

My mother's name was Isabella Marie Swan, more affectionately known as Bella. Apparently, we only share a few similarities. We have the same heart-shaped face, pointed chin, and full lips. We also have the same eye shape, wide and doe-like, however, the color differs. She had beautiful chocolate-brown eyes while mine are green. Not the more typical soft greens and bright emeralds, more of a peridot green. Smoky green with a strange splattering of gold around my iris.

I have my fathers eyes.

At the age of seventeen, my mother decided to go and live with her father, my Grandpa Charlie, in her hometown of Forks, Washington. While in high school in Forks, my mother met my father, Edward Cullen, and fell in love fast. They were together for almost a year, but for some unknown reason, my father left Forks with his family unexpectedly. In turn, leaving my mother heartbroken and, much to her surprise, pregnant with me. My mother moved back to Jacksonville with Grandma, and Grandma helped her through the whole pregnancy. My mom was only eighteen, Grandma had my mother at the same age, and so there was a great support system in that shared experience.

Unexpectedly, a few short weeks after my mother's high school graduation, she received a check in the mail for a large sum of money. It was issued as a scholarship award with no requirements as to how to spend the money. For some unknown reason, my mother had a very large aversion to spending it, but the checks haven't stop coming. Twice a year we receive an unmarked piece of mail with a check inside worth a small fortune.

I was born about a month early, on April 17th. My mother named me Elizabeth Carlyle Cullen. Grandma said that Carlisle was Edwards' adoptive father and that my Mom had a great deal of respect for him. Through more of my extensive research I found that I might also be named after my fathers' biological mother, though there isn't a lot about her on the internet to find.

Grandma swears that my mother always had a very strange way of knowing things she shouldn't know. Not necessarily predicting the future, but she had a good way of sensing what was coming. For example, she had a feeling that I would look very much like my father and act very much like my paternal grandfather, so she named me after my fathers family. Of course, she was right, and I have turned out to be very different from my mother's family.

After my birth, my mother began to get increasingly more and more paranoid. She was convinced that someone was hunting her down and was terrified that I would be hurt too. Grandma Ren tried to convince her that she would be okay, that it was just postpartum depression telling her that she was in danger.

However, my mom went on a walk one evening and she never came back. The police said there was no sign of her body anywhere. They filed her under "Missing Persons" quickly, but after a few years of searching they had no choice but to declare her dead. Grandma wished there was a way to tell my father, and his whole family, but there was no way of contacting them.

In her paranoia, my mother drafted a will in which she left joint custody of me to Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Ren. With my custody, they each got half of my mothers accumulated wealth. My mother wanted them both to be important in my life, and she definitely ensured that by leaving me partly to both grandparents.

Even though every fact says otherwise, I still feel as if my mother is alive somewhere. I am positive that she still exist on this earth somewhere in some fashion. She may not be the same Bella she once was, the trauma of losing my father and the postpartum depression may have altered her forever, but I'm still hopeful she'll return one day.

As for my father, my grandparents don't believe that he even knows I exist. Grandpa Charlie tried for years to contact my other grandfather, but after no success he eventually decided to give up. I don't even know what my father or his family looks like! No one has any pictures of them. Nothing online, no yearbook photos, not even an article in the newspaper.

Both of my grandparents tell me how much I look like my fathers family, frequently. They say that I have my fathers angular features along with his same strange bronze-colored hair. Grandma says that I have some of the same unusual qualities that he did, like my walk for example. Supposedly, we have the same unusually graceful stride, almost like a dance. My strangely tall height also seems to have come from my father, as I'm an even six feet tall and my mother was no more than five foot six.

I'm hoping to find out more about him or his family during my stay in Forks this summer. The Cullen Project hit a very real and very hard dead end this last summer.

The music playing from my headphones suddenly shifted into Clair de Lune, and I unsuccessfully resisted the lull of sleep. I eased into a peaceful rest, with hours still left in the flight to waist, but my sleep was quickly disturbed by a pressing dream.

I've had strange dreams my entire life, but never before had a dream felt so real.

Sitting in the passenger's seat of an old truck, I could smell the undeniable scents of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint as I took in my surroundings. The engine was roaring noisily as the antique radio played some bad eighties music.

Shockingly, my mother, Bella, was the one driving the decrepit old truck. She looked so nervous that she may throw up as she carefully maneuvered the massive vehicle.

After driving only a short distance, mom pulled the car off onto a smaller road. Looking out the window, I saw a large sign that read "Forks High" in big fading letters. The small grouping of buildings didn't look like a high school at all, but rather a collection of houses. Mom parked in front of the first building, the sign declaring it to be the main office.

When she got out of the truck, so did I in an effort to not lose her. After taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and we stepped into the small warm waiting area. Inside, it was brightly lit, despite the usual grey cloudiness of Forks. The office space was small. Only a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, and a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and more brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses.

The red-haired woman looked up, "Can I help you?" She asked politely.

"I'm Isabella Swan," my mother informed her and the lady's eyes lit up instantly with awareness.

"Of course," she said, digging through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found what she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show my mom.

She went through Mom's classes for her, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave her a slip to have each teacher sign, which she was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at her and hoped that she would like it here in Forks. Mom smiled back, though I could tell she was thinking the opposite.

"Hey! Hey!" My eyes flew open as Eloise's hands and voice jarred me from my dream.

I pulled out my ear buds before turning towards her, "What is it?" I asked gently, still fighting to calm my heart down.

"Did you hear dat? They just said that we're gonna land soon! You gotta put you seatbelt back on!"

"Okay, okay, I'm putting it on. See? All better now." I assured her, securing my seatbelt tightly. Eloise beamed up at me before starting to talk with her mother about where they were meeting her father.

After landing in Seattle, I had to pee, really bad. I only had a little window of time before my next flight to Port Angeles, so, after using the lady's room, I had to run to the boarding station.

In my hurried state of mind, I accidentally ran straight into a tall man and fell backwards right onto my but. There goes whatever grace I thought I had. Before I could even collect my bearings enough to stand, the man quickly pulled me up onto my feet. His cold hands supporting me by my elbows until I found my balance.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" The man asked me quickly.

He was very tall, a few inches taller than me, and looked very young despite his eyes seeming very wise. His pale blond hair and mesmerizing hazel golden eyes stunned me momentarily, before I realized that he had asked me a question.

"Yes, I'm okay. I'm sorry, it was really my fault for not being careful. But, thank you." I said sincerely.

The man was staring at me strangely, as if he recognized me from somewhere, or, as if he were seeing a ghost.

"Are you alright?" I asked the man hesitantly.

"I'm sorry," he shook his head "you just look very much like someone I know."

"Really?" I questioned him, halfway tempted to ask this complete stranger if he was at all familiar with the surname Cullen.

"Ready to go, dear? We'll miss our flight." A woman asked the man, taking his hand in hers. She had the same deathly pale skin and strange eyes, but her hair was caramel colored and beautifully wavy. I glanced down at their hands and noticed their matching wedding bands. "Oh, hello." She greeted me kindly, looking just as shocked to see me as her husband.

"Hello." I greeted her. "Well, I'll let you both get to your flight. Sorry for running into you, again." I apologized before stepping around them and hurrying to my own flight.

My flight to Port Angeles was a very quick one, just an hour. From my seat, I couldn't see if the couple I had met were on my same flight or not, though I kept having a nagging feeling that someone was looking at me. I spent the entire flight thinking about the strange dream I had on the previous flight. It was all so real, too real to not have been true. 

Maybe I should take this as a sign. My determination to find out the secret of my fathers family and my mothers disappearance is coming to a head. Maybe now is the time to really give this research project everything I've got and not stop until I have answers.

After a smooth landing, I grabbed my rain jacket from my carryon bag before excitedly rushing to baggage claim. As soon as I reached the baggage claim, I noticed three people staring at me from across the small collection area. It was the same man and his wife, looking at me with skeptical but inquisitive eyes, and standing close by them was a supermodel-like woman with a scowl on her face.

I was about to march over to them and ask what the stares were about, but I caught sight of Grandpa Charlie from over their shoulders and couldn't contain my excitement.

"Grandpa Charlie!" I waved, startling the three staring people.

I grabbed my luggage and took off towards my grandfather, passing the trio with little more than a glance in their direction, and excitedly rushed to hug him tightly.

"Oh, that's my girl!" He cheered, swinging me in a circle before putting me back down on my feet. "Look at you! Just as gorgeous as ever! Let's get home, hmm?"

"Yes!" I agreed happily, allowing him to take my luggage and show me out to his cruiser, ready to welcome Forks.