The Stories of Leah Clearwater - (Book One)

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

This story is dedicated in the memory of my mother 7/28/1951 - 09/13/2010. She encouraged me to pursue my dreams. She was the first one to read this story. I write in her memory.

My life was like, any other teenage girls life; well at least I thought so. I just assumed the media had us girls all figured out. They seemed to hit the marker with me. What I saw on television was fairly close to how I lived.

A young girl who came from a small town nobody ever heard of. I was a freshman at the Quileute Tribal School. I had long black hair with copper skin and beautiful brown eyes. Okay I'm stretching it now. I was a typical teenage girl - I was interested in boys but what girl didn't take notice of boys?

I had imagined what my wedding dress would look like; I had my entire wedding planned out. I had my famous crushes that I fantasized about. I listened to the Top 40 songs on the radio. I had my teen girl magazine with all the gossip. I enjoyed shopping, and fashion. I looked forward to my proms. I already had dresses picked out for those in my mind. I day dreamed about my date for prom. I had a plan already established. What young girl doesn't plan their future this way?

So I'm going to provide you some insight on my family. I come from a very loving home. I have two amazing parents and a little brother. Seth is younger than me, by a few years. I would always joke about him being a pain in the butt. Honestly though Seth and I have a great relationship. We're extremely close, and I don't think anything can change that.

So now some background on my parents - Harry, and Sue Clearwater. They are the parents who ALWAYS, offer to listen to your problems. It's a nice gesture, but I also need my privacy. They couldn't fix everything for me, if there was a problem, sometimes I just had to deal with it. My mom is always in the kitchen when she's home it seems. She'll offer to make you something to eat if you're hungry. When she's not in there, she is a nurse at the local hospital. Her younger brother - Lucas is laid back and easy going. He's a carpenter. My mom says I look a lot like him.

Now more about my dad, he works with his older brother Michael. My uncle Michael owns a garage in Forks, which is the next town over. My dad has worked with him since he was a teenager. I love my dad; he's was so easy going and has a great sense of humor. I can't remember a day when he wasn't smiling. I was extremely close with my family. My Aunt Elizabeth, who was my dad's younger sister, is a jewelry maker. She made such pretty necklaces, rings and earrings. She would sell her jewelry to shops all around Washington. My cousin Emily and I WERE like sisters, utterly inseparable.

I grew up on the Quileute Reservation, in a small town called - La Push. Everyone knew everyone, which was somewhat obnoxious. Secrets were hard to keep, especially with your family around all the time. Everyone knew everything about everyone. The good thing was, we were a tight knit community. I loved living here, and couldn't imagine growing up anywhere else.

The ocean was right across the street from our house. I would spend hours at a time down there. On many occasions, either my dad, or brother had to come get me when dinner was ready. I had a tendency to lose track of time while I was down there, listening to the waves or simply watching the world turn.

So I know you're wondering - "Does she have a boyfriend?" Well yes I do but firstly I need to give you some background on him, my - Sam Uley. You see Sam grew up with his mother Allison. His dad, Joshua Uley took off when he was young. Allison raised Sam by herself. He didn't have it very easy not having a male role model. He was a year ahead of me in school. Sam and I were the same age too. We'd known each other our whole lives.

Now getting back to what I was saying. He was at the top of my list, for reasons why I loved La Push. We attended school together. I always had a crush on him. He'd catch me staring at him and chuckle. I would turn red out of embarrassment. We would talk from time to time in passing. We never really hung out. Once we entered high school, that's when our relationship changed. Sam was a sophomore, I was a freshman. We constantly bumped into each other at school; I was too shy to say anything. He'd just smile and say, "Hi Lee-Lee." Those just made me blush even more. My friends would laugh, "Oh Leah's crushing on Sam Uley." He'd hear them of course, because they'd say it extra loud in order that Sam heard them, he would turn and grin.