вυмp ιn тнe nιgнт

ONE

staring out the window of the graves family van, jasmine watched as the trees grew taller and more fit for rainy weather. raindrops pelted softly on the window, sliding down almost in slow motion as the vehicle drove into the small town they all dreaded moving to.

"i still don't understand why we have to move here. it's not like you and marcus couldn't sustain the family back home!" her younger brother, alex, exclaims in indignation. while all five of the children had been quite vocal about their opinions with the sudden move, alex had shown the most disdain for it out of all of them. maria and marcus graves most likely assumed it was because he liked the thrill of living among supernatural creatures, but jasmine knew her brother best.

he didn't want to lose another home after the first.

all the kids in their family had come from pretty bad beginnings, aside from cecilia and olive. they all knew each other's stories, understood the pain they carried with them from their pasts. but the five of them would never take back what happened, seeing as they adored the family they were all a part of.

maria sighs from the front seat, her exhaustion from the subject easily picked up on by the children. "alex, we've been over this already. it's what your father and i think is best for the family, for you guys. end of discussion."

"but-!" the boy goes to protest, but jasmine places a hand on his arm in reassurance. he looks back at her, fury blazing in his dark eyes, but they soften as they see the look on his sister's face. huffing, the boy falls back in his seat, crossing his arms and resting his head on her shoulder, pouting.

maria catches her eye in the rear view mirror, sending her a thankful smile, but it drops when jasmine looks away.

a horn honks from in front them, causing little olive to wake up from her nap and rub at her tired eyes. "are we there yet?" she asks in a mumble, voice low in her just woken up state.

the woman at the wheel smiles at her youngest adoptive child, saying, "mhm. welcome to forks, washington, kids. it doesn't look like much, but i'm sure we can make the most of it."

luckily for maria, the only other one of the kids who would've openly scoffed at her words that wasn't alex was currently in a different car, not wanting to drive with their mother for the trip. instead, cecilia had joined jackson in driving the truck he and jasmine shared together, not wanting to sit in a car with their father either.

none of them did. they all knew how bad he got when he put his playlists on, and none of them wanted to deal with that.

the gloomy little town was not appealing to the graves children, no matter how much some of them tried. olive had wanted it to be a sunny day, hoping that would make everyone's moods better when they got there, but it seemed like her wish was ignored. jasmine could feel her own mood dimming as they drove by house after house, basically exploring the town they were now forced to call "home".

they follow marcus in his truck to the destination of their new house, and jasmine has to suppress a groan when they pull up in the driveway. she knew her little brother and sister in the car behind theirs were already picking apart the house and focusing on the bad parts, because she was trying her hardest not to overanalyze like she did with everything else.

"we're here, kids!" maria says joyfully, but her smile strains when she stops the van and catches eyes with alex. the woman just sighs softly once more and works on helping her tired youngest out of her seat. marcus was already waiting with a wide grin at the front door, but he jogged over and swept olive up in his arms, causing the little girl to giggle loudly as he spins the both of them around. maria looks back at the other two sitting in the backseat, her smile dimming as she notices the solemn looks on their faces, before she turns back to her husband and youngest child.