Ocean Eyes

Comfort

The trails of La Push were Ryder's favorite place on the reservation. They spanned through out the thick, lush greenery from the rolling beaches. In the two months she'd been in La Push, Ryder had walked almost all of them.

Her favorite was a small, isolated path through the depths of the woods. It was only accessible if you crossed the Quillayute River and she had long ago found a fallen tree she would scale. The first time she had taken it, she had fallen in love with a singular spot. It was a small Burrow under the branches of a tall willow, an isolated clearing of grass and beautiful white wild flowers.

Ryder sat with her back against the Willows trunk, her head pressed onto the smooth bark. The comforting sounds of Snow Patrol played from her old iPod, filling the clearing with the music of her childhood. In her lap sat a thick sketchbook, her personal and secret volume.

It was everything she loved. Ryder sketched her family, trees, the flowers that littered the ground below her. It reminded her of what made her happy.

So she didn't understand why Paul Lahotes smiling face was in the pages.

She couldn't get his chocolate eyes out of her mind. Ryder drew his face from memory, the strong jaw, the casual smirk. It was as detailed as a photograph and she hated that she remembered every feature so well.

It was as if she was going against every promise she made to herself.

Ignore Paul.

Be there for her siblings.

Take care of her mom.

A drop of water fell onto the coarse paper of her drawing pad. Ryder looked around in confusion, not expecting it to rain today. It took her a while to realize that the tear was her own. She brushed a finger delicately under her eyes, frowning at the moisture that she felt. She didn't want to cry, to be weak

"Mom, please just calm down!" Ryder pleaded with Caroline. Her mother was digging through the closet, throwing things every which way. She was hysteric, her bony hands shaking as she searched.

"Shut up!" Caroline growled angrily, rounding on her daughter. Her normally somber face was red with rage, her teeth gritted in anger. She was going through one of her episodes, an extremely violent one. "Where did you put them?!! I know it was you!"

"I didn't touch anything, mom! There aren't any in the house, you made sure of that!" Carolines hands twitched. Her head was swimming, every fiber in her body aching for a fix. The girl in front of her, her daughter, had obviously stolen all of her drugs. She had probably given them to the police!

"Stop lying, you useless bitch!" Caroline flew forward, her hands grabbing at Ryder's shirt. The frail woman slammed her against the wall. Ryder didn't fight it, looking at her mother with sad eyes. "Tell me where they are! I need them!"

"No you don't, mom." Tears choked Ryder as she stared into her mothers hysterical eyes. "You don't."

"This... this is your fault!" Caroline brought her hand crashing against Ryder's face, the smack sounding loud throughout the room.

"Ryder!" Sue tried the locked door again, to no avail. "Come on Ryder, let us help you! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Sue." Ryder gritted her teeth, ignoring the sting of her cheek. Caroline was going through a relapse. This wasn't her mother and she had to remember that. "Take the kids outside, okay, I can handle thi-"