𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 [𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔]

•02•

Soft humming filled the kitchen of the swan residence, the air filled with the pleasant smell of freshly baked cookies. Nora continued to hum along to the song on the radio, bending down to take the final batch out of the oven. She smiled as she looked at her creation-milk and white chocolate chip, her dad's favorite.

Loosely covering them with a sheet of tin foil she left them to cool; moving to wash all the equipment she'd used in the sink, rolling up the sleeves of her black scoop neck dress. She stared out the window watching distractedly as the cool wind rustled the leaves on the tree's. The beauty of Forks was lost on her today, her thoughts were on the last couple of weeks and how great they'd been.

It had been hard at first, that day she'd arrived especially. Having to talk about the party, the horrible incident fate had placed upon her, it had been more difficult then she'd anticipated. She thought she was over it. It had been months since it happened and she deluded herself into thinking that it hardly affected her anymore, that it was just a distant memory.

That night after her long talk with Bella, they had gone down and had dinner, the atmosphere thick with unanswered questions. It was shockingly her dad who'd taken it upon himself to bring it up. Bella and Charlie had waited and listened intently when she began to explain what had happened.

Halfway through it became clear to her she was very much not over it. Of course it was silly to pretend like it was some sort of vivid nightmare but it had been easier to disconnect herself from it; particularly when she was isolated, alone. No one asked her questions and she didn't have to think about it. Nonetheless, her family deserved to know the whole story and by the end of her sorrowful tale she was on the verge of a breakdown all over again.

Her dad and Bella, she truly realized that night how lucky she was to have them. They'd been so understanding and supportive that it had almost shocked her. It's not that they weren't like that anyway but they both had problems with expressing their feelings and emotions. It felt so good to be surrounded by people who truly loved and cared for her; she had felt like slapping herself at how anxious and worried she'd been to come home.

They hadn't spoken about it since then-it was unnecessary to. The proverbial weight of her trauma was lifted from her shoulders and it was such a relief to be able to feel like she was living again. She still had moments, nightmares and unwanted memories still haunted her, but slowly she was getting better.