Long Distance - Seth Clearwater

Chapter 2

                Chapter 2

I head off of the plane after a long and uneventful flight with a sore neck and sleep in my eyes. The first thing I do is go to the bathroom and try and freshen up in front of the mirror by brushing back my long brown hair into something less of the knotted main it's turned itself into and dap a small bit of lip balm onto my lips. I am completely drained of all energy, and my lifeless brown eyes prove it so I try and dress them up with a bit of mascara. I look a bit better, but all that will truly help is a good dinner a goodnights' sleep.

The time is eight-forty-five pm when I finally track down my luggage and head past security to meet my uncle. He's standing past a coffee shop with a smile on his face and dressed in a pair of roughed-up jeans and a plain hoodie. His dark brown hair had begun to grey at the edges and he had shallow-set wrinkles around his eyes and a few by his mouth, which was covered in scruff. His smile widened when I returned it with my own toothy grin. Any nerves that I had were instantly diminished when I saw his caring green gaze, the same my father had; somehow I felt at home and at ease despite never really meeting him before.

"Hi, Nora," he says and cautiously opens his arms, "it's great to finally see you!"

I step into his grasp and let him hug me as I do my best to hug back with my arms full of m luggage and coat. "Hey, Uncle Ben! I'm so happy to be here now,"

"You must be exhausted, c'mon let's go get some food and go home," he says and takes one of my bags. "Oh, and please just call me Ben. "Uncle" makes me feel old," he says which makes me giggle.

"Sorry, Ben," I say with a small laugh, which is followed by a yawn. Ben helps me and leads me down the escalator and finally into his waiting car in the parking lot. It's cool outside and a light mist has begun to fall, which makes my wavy hair frizz up more than normal, but it's comforting to be here. It's so much calmer than the hustle of New York; there is barely any traffic on the roads and everyone seems more warm and inviting. Forks, Washington may be a wet town, but it is still a great place to be nonetheless.

We drive for a while, going through the denseness of the city. The sun has begun to set, which casts long shadows on the trees and creates a warm, golden glow that coats the town. There always seemed to be a constant gloom about this town whenever I researched it back home, but now actually being here a sense of joy filled me; it just seemed to be nothing like the websites had told me. I could deal with a little rain here and there, but the sunsets that I would be able to see over the ocean would make everything worth it.

"Don't get too used to the sun," Ben told me, breaking me from my daydream. "It's rare it comes out, and I live on the coast just outside the reservation, so weather is even rainier and gloomy,"

"Oh," I say, somewhat disappointed and hoping that everything I had read about the town wasn't true. "So where exactly do you live?"

"Just outside of a reservation called La Push. I live right on a cliff; you can see the ocean from the living room window, and you'll be able to see it from your bedroom window too. On the days that we do get the sun, you will see amazing views as far as the eye can see out your window and every night you'll fall asleep to the sound of the sea. It's very relaxing, you'll love it."

I smile; maybe this won't be so bad, I tell myself.

Ben pulls into a small diner and opens the door for me as I walk in. The restaurant has a cute charm to it; it is painted a light cream, with plants spread out in the room either in corners or draped along walls and small fairy lights hangs down from the ceiling. It's dimly lit, but the diner is very cozy. Ben walks me to a table and tells me that he's going to the washroom and to order whatever I'd like. So when the waitress comes, I order a drink and ask for a few minutes to look at the menu. I'm not really sure what to order as I study the menu and I'm just about to turn to the pasta section when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and see a tall young man with very tanned skin and dark hair. He grins at me and shakes my hand.

"Hey gorgeous, you new here?"

I nod, "Yeah I'm staying with my uncle for a while,"

He grins, "well, I came over to tell you because my friend is too chicken," he gestures to a table in the back of the room where a group of 4 other boys sit, laughing manically. "But he thinks you're really hot." He points and I follow his hand to the younger looking boy in the middle of the table, the other boys are jostling him around and laughing louder and louder. My face turns bright red and I'm nearly speechless.

"Uh, thanks..." I reply and return back to the menu. The boy laughs, to which I look up to him again.

"We're having a party tonight, if you wanna come you can, I'm sure you and he would enjoy yourselves," he says with a wink.

"Yeah no thanks, I'm kinda tired I just got off the plane and I just want to go to bed."

"Aw come on! Have a fun night,"

"No, really. I'm exhausted,"

Just as he's about to say something else, Ben returns with a confused look.

"Nora? Do you know this boy, is he bothering you?" Ben asks with a raised eyebrow and an unimpressed look.

I shake my head, "No I don't, and no, he wasn't. He just invited me to a party,"

"Well she can't go; my niece is exhausted so if you'll excuse us we'd like to eat and then go home." Ben says with a tough voice. The boy rolls his eyes but backs off.

"Really, Ben, he wasn't bothering me,"

"I trust you, Nora. Just don't trust people from here so easily; you can never be too careful."