02 | earth, rosalie hale

5.

Warning: mentions of death; a whole lot of baby stuff

THE Reedus girl was making her way to the Swan residence early on a weekday so that she could go pick Melody Forge, Bella's cousin, up and take her to school, since she didn't have a car of her own yet.

She parked in front of the house and stepped out of the car, knocking on the front door. Charlie's cruiser wasn't in the driveway, so she knew he was already at work. She'd gotten Melody's phone number from Charlie a few days before, and the girl had told her to arrive at the house a little earlier than when she usually left for school so that it would be easier for her.

The door opened, and it was Melody that stood there. Elexia hadn't actually met her yet and therefore, didn't know what the girl looked like. She was Bella's height. She had blonde hair that was a few shades darker than Elexia's, green eyes, and she was quite pretty. Her face had cuts on it from the accident, which made Elexia sad. She resembled Bella a lot, only her face was rounder and more warm than her cousin's. Her chosen outfit was a simple white long-sleeved dress that she paired with black sheer tights and black Doc Martens. The cast on her wrist was black, too.

"Hey, Melody," Elexia smiled, hugging the girl briefly. "Where's Bella?"

"She's taking the day off today, she doesn't feel well." Melody said, looking down at her feet nervously. "I'm a little scared."

Elexia took the Forge girl's hand and walked onto the walkway with her, towards her car. She was disappointed that Bella couldn't support her cousin on her first day of school. "Don't worry, I made sure we have some classes together. Forks High is super small, and it's still very early in the school year, we're only a month into school, I think. You'll get used to it right away."

As they got to the car, Melody froze up, her legs ceasing movement. Elexia turned and looked at her face, which looked far away. "What's wrong?"

"I get nervous. . . going in cars now," Melody whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. She was embarrassed. 

Elexia's face contorted into an expression of sadness, pulling the shorter girl into a hug. "I promise you, Forks is so small and quiet. The roads are usually empty, and if not, they're always calm. Everyone drives slow. If it still makes you nervous, we can even walk. I don't mind. Our legs will definitely burn, though,"

"No, it's okay," Melody pulled away from the hug to look at Elexia. "You can drive. Thank you, Lex."

"Alright. I'll go super slow, okay? It's a short drive. Stop me if you need a minute. Don't worry about being late." Elexia assured the girl, opening her passenger door for the honey blonde to get in.

The drive went smoothly, with the green-eyed girl only asking to stop once. Elexia was incredibly proud of Melody for making it through it, and she made sure to tell her that. She couldn't imagine how the girl felt, and she admired her strength. They walked into the front office with their arms locked as a form of comfort.

The lady at the desk– whose name Elexia could not remember for the life of her– smiled and went through all of the first-day-speech with Melody and handed her a map of the school and the slip for all of her teachers to sign.

The day went by quickly, for Elexia at least, and by the end of it, Melody was less tense. They met by Elexia's car in the parking lot, and although the girl had a few classes with her, she still figured she'd ask her how her day went.

"So, how was everything? Still overwhelmed?" Elexia asked softly as they climbed into the car to talk more privately. "Meet anyone?" 

"It was better than I thought." Melody told her. "It is a really small school, you weren't kidding. I only got lost once. I think I might join a club or something, once I settle in more. It was hard. . . not having my mom for encouragement. My mom was my rock for everything. . ." Tears picked Melody's eyes again.