𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭-𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬² | 𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 ✓

𝐈

The ride from the airport was quiet, mostly because Tobias had his headphones on and for once wasn't blasting music. Meloria didn't mind it too much back home though because they had similar music tastes.

They had fought a lot before making the move; he was mad because he had to leave his friends, and she just wanted to move them to Forks as soon as possible. Tobias was a good kid but he was too much like his mother sometimes. Both stubborn and hardheaded for their own good.

She can't remember the last time she was in Forks, her parents had moved out of the small town when she was two so she remembers little to nothing. They kept the house for almost thirty-three years in hopes that she would want to live in it one day and their hopes and prayers were granted. Here she was, thirty-three, with her fifteen-year-old son, moving into their old house.

It wasn't a grand mansion but it wasn't super tiny either. It was a cute two-story home with enough room for both of them.

They both loved the rain, loved the gloomy fog that covered the forest linings. If it weren't for his blue eyes, she would've guessed that she made Tobias all on her own but those eyes were just a constant reminder of who his father was.

She shook her head not wanting to remember him. It made her want to cry every time his face showed up in her mind.

She parked in the driveway soon, the drive not being as long as she expected but with the streets being so empty, she couldn't help but speed through most of them.

She tapped his knee lightly to get his attention. "Grab your things and put them upstairs in your room and then come back and help me with the rest, okay?" She said getting nothing but a nod from him before he put his headphones back on. She sighed, hoping that by tonight he wouldn't be so mad at her.

She opened the trunk of her car sighing again as she realized just how many boxes she had to move inside and unpack. Thankfully, all of the big stuff was moved into the house two days ago.

***

"Hey, mom, have you seen my CD player?" Tobias questioned as he ran downstairs, looking through every box he came across. "You might have left it in the car. Remember you wanted to keep it separate from everything so it wouldn't break." She says as she unpacks plates and cups for the kitchen.

Her parents left barely anything in the house after they left, they took all their belongings and moved them to their house in Arizona. She never understood why Arizona but she never cared enough to ask.

"I found it!" He said with a smile as he walked back into the house with it in his hands. She smiled, "See, I told you. Are you almost done unpacking?"-" Almost, I should be done soon though." He said as he walked upstairs.

They had spent all day unpacking so most of the house was pretty much done. There was just the kitchen and their rooms, well mostly just her room.

She looked at the time to realize that it was a bit past seven and if she was already hungry then Tobias was probably too. They had no groceries yet so she couldn't cook and she didn't feel like going grocery shopping and cooking tonight.

She stood at the foot of the stairs before calling up for Tobias so they could go out and find somewhere to eat.

"Why don't you just cook?" He asked as he stood just above the bottom of the stairs. "Cause I'm tired. Now, come on cause I'm also starving." He shrugged before following her out the door and into the car.

***

After driving for a while in town they found a diner with a few people inside. Considering how late it was, it was mostly just people barely getting off work.

They walked in and took a seat in front of some windows near the door.

"Woah, new faces, what could I get you?" The waitress said, getting the attention of some of the other customers.

"Um, can we both get burgers with fries, and can he get extra bacon on his?" Meloria ordered, having only looked at the menu for a minute before she came up to them. "Anything to drink?" She asked. "Can I get a chocolate milkshake?" Tobias answered before his mother could order him water.

The waitress laughed lightly at his enthusiasm for the milkshake. "Sure thing sweetheart, how bout you, mom?"-"I'll just get water, thanks." She said with a smile. "no problem, I'll have those out for you guys in a sec." She said nicely before going behind the counter.

"A chocolate milkshake? Really?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow making him shrug. "What can I say? I'm a man of taste," he said earning a laugh from her.

"So, I heard you're new in town?" An older man asked as he walked up to their table. He was wearing a police uniform. "Yeah, just moved in today," Meloria said nicely, not wanting to seem too rude. "I'm Charlie Swan, police chief, it's nice to see new faces around here. We rarely ever get any." He said with a laugh making the two chuckle along with him.

"I'm Meloria Leaf and this is my son Tobias. It's nice to meet you, chief Swan." She said taking his outstretched hand to shake. "Please, just call me Charlie, we're all friends here." She nodded, accepting his request. "By the way Charlie, where's the nearest high school?" She questioned, he stood there and thought for a second, his daughters had been out of school for almost twenty years now so he hadn't been back around those routes in a while.

"Further up the street should be Forks high school, it's a great school, my daughters went there." He said with a smile. "How old are your daughters?" She questioned for conversation. Charlie seemed like a genuinely nice man.

"Probably your age. Bella just celebrated her birthday a month ago." He said with a smile. "And your other daughter?"-"Lucine, she passed away when she was eighteen. They were twins." He said as his face faltered a bit. Even after all these years Meloria could tell it still affected him. "Oh, I'm sorry Charlie, I didn't know." He shook his head with a sad smile.

"It's okay, there's no way of you knowing. Besides that, have you found a job in town yet?" She shook her head. "No, I was gonna start looking tomorrow. I'm a teacher so that's why I was asking you for the nearest high school for both me and my son." She said looking over at Tobias who had his headphones on again.

"I think one of the teachers retired last year so they might still be looking to hire. I suggest you head over there tomorrow and see. While you're there you could get him sighed up." She nodded. "Yeah, I might do that. Thanks, Charlie." She shrugged. "No problem, it's my job to help the people of this town." He said with a smile before leaving the diner.