Dusk

#1

Bella

Mom drove us to the airport in tense silence as I looked at the bright, cloudless blue sky of Phoenix. I could hear her fingers tapping against the wheel, growling under her breath.  Sucking up the little courage I had, I tried to make conversation.

"Mom--"

"I don't want to hear it." Pursing my lips, I looked down at my hands. I sighed quietly as tears came to my eyes, but I held them in. I cried enough last night because of the words she said.

Renee pulled up to the airport and jerked the car to a stop. "Get out." Following her instructions, I pulled my backpack over my shoulder and got the other bag from the back seat. The moment I closed the door, mom drove off without another look.

Keeping my head down I walked into the building, taking me one step closer to Forks.

####

I saw Charlie standing by the doors looking around for me. Once he saw me, the small smile that was on his face slowly disappeared. I pulled him into a hug, actually feeling peace with myself when he hugged me back. Charlie and I were always closer than I was with Renee; I always tried to visit him whenever I could.

"You're okay now," he said, rubbing my back. "Let's go home." Charlie guided me to his cruiser, a car that gave us more than a few glances. "So I got a car for you," he said, trying to cheer me up. I appreciated the gesture.

"Oh? What kind is it?"

"Well, it's more of a truck--it's a Chevy. Do you remember Billy Black from La Push?"

I smiled softly at the name. "Yeah, I remember. Why?"

"He gave it to me. Billy got into an accident a few years back and ended up in a wheelchair. Think of it as a welcome home present."

Home. "Thank you, dad." I still had many questions about the thing, but I'll leave it alone for now.

I looked out the windows, the outside of them wet with rain, and stared at the alien planet. Everything was green here; too green. The trunks and the branches of trees were covered with moss, the ground blanketed with ferns. Even though the same color was everywhere you looked, I would grow to love both the colors and the rainy state.

Eventually we made it home. Charlie still lived in the small two bedroom house that I grew up in. Sighing at the painfully pleasant memories, something red caught my eye; it was a big, rusty red truck that sat in the drive-way. I loved it. Sure it wasn't new, but it was to me.

"Dad, it's awesome." I saw him smiling from the corner of my eyes.

"Glad you like it."

Charlie helped with the two duffle bags I had upstairs to my room. My bedroom faced over the front yard. The only changes Charlie made to my childhood room was switching my crib to a bed and adding a desk as I grew up. There was nothing on it but a laptop with a bow on it.

"Another small present," he mumbled, setting down the bags. "I'll leave you to unpack." One of the best things about Charlie: he doesn't hover. He gave me a kiss on the forehead and went on his way.

####

I didn't sleep well last night. While the constant noise of the wind and rain was soothing, I couldn't get my head to shut up.  It was only hours before I had to wake up when I got my mind to shut up and go to sleep.

Charlie reminded me of the directions to get to school and wished me good luck before going to work; or as Renee would say, his second family. I left soon after he did. The inside of the truck was clean but still smelled like gasoline, tobacco and peppermint. At least the radio worked, something I wasn't expecting,

Finding the school wasn't difficult; like many things here, it was just off the highway. The big sign that said, "Forks High School" also helped.  

I wasn't the only one here. There was a few cars in the lot, some students handing by their car but quickly turned to mine when they heard me coming. Thankfully there were cars that were older than mine. Back in Arizona, it wasn't common to see a new Porsche or Mercedes. The nicest car here was a silver Volvo that stood out.  I quickly turned off the truck and walked to the first building, already memorized the map I was given. 

My first class was forgettable. I only got a reading list from the teacher and I groaned quietly to myself. I already read all the books on the list. When the bell rang, I was stopped by a short brunette with blue eyes. The girl was cute.

"I'm Jessica Stanley. You're Isabella Swan, right."

"Bella, actually." I gave her a smile and watched as her face turned pink.

"Do you need any help finding your next class?"

Why not. "Sure." I handed her my schedule and walked next to her.

"I'm going to the same building. Follow me."

While Jessica was cute, she was a bit too perky. And talkative. But I could see us becoming okay friends. She gave me a wave when we got to my class. The rest of my morning when by quickly. Only one teacher so far made me introduce myself, making my mood sour for that class. Because of the small school, I recognized almost all of the faces in my classes and around the halls. This one guy, Mike, sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish and invited me to sit with him at lunch.  We sat at a table with some of his friends, one of them was Jessica, and he introduced me to them. I didn't remember all of their names.

Everyone else engaged in conversations while my eyes looked at the tables. Most of them were staring at the one I was sitting at...besides one.

There was five of them. Three boys and two girls. One of the boys was big--his dark skin stretched over his muscles, with dark curly hair. Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, with his honey blond hair tied in a bun. The last was lanky with untidy red hair. He looked more boyish than the other who looked more like students rather than teachers.

One of the girls was Asian, and she was tiny with pixie like features. Her hair was deep black and cut short. She was quiet adorable, actually.

When I looked at the last girl, my breath got caught in my throat. Even with her blonde hair in a pony tail, I could tell it was still long. She had her arms crossed over her chest, staring at the table, her face pulled into a natural scowl. The girl was beautiful.

I was still looking at her when she lazily made eye contact with me, making me look at my tray that still had food on it.  I rubbed my hand over my face and sighed quietly.

Wow.

__________________________

Thoughts on La La Land? Here's mine:

It's not worth it. Better go watch The Greatest Showman cause that soundtrack is fire.

Bye!