On the surface, Katie Swan appears to be an average girl. She's pretty, athletic, and abnormally intuitive. But when her parents are suddenly murdered, she is sent to Forks, WA to live with her uncle Charlie and his shy daughter Bella.
Soon, Katie l...
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KATIE'S POV February 14th
I dreaded my birthday.
Not because it's February 14th— no, I actually enjoy sharing my birthday with another holiday. Everyone seems to forget it's my birthday, or mix my gift with a Valentine. That's the best part. I've never really enjoyed all of the attention.
These past few weeks, I've dreaded my birthday because I used to celebrate it with my parents.
They loved my birthday. Only child privileges, after all. My mom would go all out, putting up banners and presents and all sorts of balloons. My dad would always wake up early and make pancakes, although he absolutely sucked at cooking. As soon as he left the room, I'd use the rest of the batter and make myself pancakes that were actually edible. He definitely noticed, but didn't care, especially when I replaced the pancakes he was eating.
My mom told me, once, that it was her favorite day in the universe. Because it was the day I was brought into her life.
Needless to say, I couldn't get out of bed this morning.
Charlie left me alone. Bella did, too. She did call me, however, and let me know that Mike still wanted to go see that movie. I would have protested, but I had already convinced Angela, Ben, Bella, Jacob, and a bunch of others to come with so that it was less awkward. And they had tried so hard to plan something for my birthday, but everything else I had refused. So I was stuck going.
I spent the day re-reading mom's faded Little Women and staring at the ceiling. I had thought this many times before, but now it felt extremely true— I deserved to be the one who was dead, not my parents. Me with my freakish abilities that I can't tell anyone about. With my selfish heart and inability to help those around me.
The longer I thought about it, the more dejected I felt. Suddenly, a realization became clear. I'm cursed. And I have been for a long, long time.
With the party nearing, I threw on a plain outfit and started strumming my guitar to ease the pit in my stomach. I hadn't had too much time to play lately. I went to a go-to favorite, a slow, wistful ballad version of the upbeat "The One I Want" from Green Day. My voice slowly warmed up throughout the song, and I realized it was the first time I'd sung in months.
Sitting in my room last night Staring at the mirror I couldn't find a reason why I couldn't be near her 'Cause you are the one that started To make me feel this way And every night I'm thinking About the words you'd say, and Pictures going through my mind When we're together All these long and sleepless nights Will I ever get better? 'Cause you are the one that started To make me feel this way And every night I'm thinking About the words you say 'Cause you are the one that I want 'Cause you are the one that I want
