Discover Twilight

chapter ii

I've become increasingly aware that I'm an afterthought. 

Typically, I accept it as a normalcy considering I've practically grown up at the hospital for most of my life and because there's always someone who requires the attention more than I. Which I've never really minded.

Not that it particularly matters but in this instance, but picking up your teenage niece from the airport should take precedence to whatever his excuse may be. Fighting with my surplus of bags that contain what's left of my life, the slow escalator descends to the ground floor of the crowded airport. In front of me, a young mother was struggling to keep a hold on her bouncing toddler and she tripped over her carry on, dropping her child in the process. Instinctually I dropped my bags and dove forward to save the falling child from connecting it's soft head with the hard cement floor as a police officer does the same to the mother. The blonde toddler giggles in my arms, smiling up at me as I hold her tightly waiting for her Mom to recover from her spill. She smiles brushing herself off, "Thank you Officer...Swan." He nods at her as she turns her attention to me, "And thank you for catching my little girl." I nod smiling, reluctantly returning the child to the mother.

I look at Officer Swan, a tall man with dark brown hair and a graying mustache to match, amused by his look of confusion, "Hello Officer Swan. Long time no see." 

He visibly gulps, examining me. I have grown up a lot since he saw me last, I've become a young woman but the change wouldn't have been so drastic if he and I hadn't had a falling out a half a dozen years ago. Collecting my belongings from the ground, I turn on my heel and walk in the direction of the parking lot. "Dakota. Sorry I was late. It's good seeing you, you're all grown up now," Charlie pants as he takes longer strides to keep up with me.

 The parking lot was full of Nissans and little Hondas so Charlie's police cruiser stuck out like a sore thumb. My suitcase and bags squirmed while being piled into the trunk, like me they didn't want to be going back to Forks. The drive was long, silent and overwhelmingly awkward which basically sums up Charlie Swan as well: silent and overwhelmingly awkward. Charlie clearly wanted to talk to me about something but chickened out everytime I looked sideways in his direction. WELCOME TO FORKS, WASHINGTON. POPULATION: 3121. Correction, Population 3122. Charlie passes the diner he used to take Mom and I all those years ago because he can't cook anything aside from fried eggs and bacon before turning onto the road I used to love. Emphasis on used to. His two story home sits in the middle of the left side of the road, in front of the white washed home now sits a faded red 1963 Chevy Pickup and a little black Volvo.

"Bella's prom is tonight and her boyfriend's sister is here helping her get ready," Charlie explains, seeing me purse my lips at the Volvo. 

Curtly nodding my head in his direction, I try to get out of the car only to be stopped my Charlie's callused hand wrapping around my wrist. "Dakota, listen I'm really sorry about everything. This isn't fair to you but just know, your mom explained to me what happened 6 years ago and I feel really stupid about that whole situation," Charlie apologizes without letting go of my wrist. 

I smile at him, knowing that I more than likely resemble a dog baring its teeth at an aggressor, before snarling, "Let go of me." He quickly obliges to my command, watching me roll my wrist out. Taking the biggest breath possible, I inhale before responding to his apology, "It's whatever. I know it's not fair, I can take care of myself and her but instead she sends me here. To you. And as far as the last time you saw me, it's cool you didn't know because I didn't tell you, so we're cool." We get out of the car and he leads me back into the house I used to love. 

"Kota!!! You're here!" Bella yells excitedly, hobbling down the stairs in a boot cast and a royal blue prom dress, crashing into me with a hug. Affection was never either of our strong suits so this is odd.

I laugh uncomfortably, pulling away to examine my older cousin, noticing a crescent moon scar on her wrist that almost resembles a bite mark, "So it seems. How's the foot, Klutz? Trip over a shoelace lately or did they finally switch you back to Velcro?" 

My family members both laugh at my joke when a small pixie-like girl with unnatural golden eyes and inhuman beauty skips down the stairs and right to me. She smiles at me with curiosity shining in her honey colored eyes, suddenly flashing to confusion like she hadn't seen my arrival coming, and extends a hand in my direction, "You must be Dakota. I'm Alice." Her hand was ice cold, colder than what a typical person's hand would be. 

"Hey Alice. Actually it's just Kota," I respond slowly, snapping myself out of my confused thought process. 

"Oh I should have figured as much. I'm sorry about that, I'll remember that from here on out. Oh Edward's here," her voice chimes like a bell at the sudden rapping on the front door. A man with bronze hair and the same unnatural beauty as his sister appears on the front porch, his smile becoming wider when his golden eyes find Bella. 

"Hello Chief Swan," Edward's harmonic voice fills the room. 

These two Cullen kids are peculiar; both uphold a standard of beauty that would make the most gorgeous model jealous, unnatural golden eyes much like a nocturnal predator, and Alice was colder than a deep freezer. If I were less curious on their peculiarities, I probably start mentally comparing myself to them and become self conscious but something about the pair made me apprehensive. It was Bella's giggle to break my layered daze of the Cullen siblings, only to notice that Edward was looking at me with a deeply confused expression, probably confused on why I was among present company.  Clearing my throat, I extend a hand to him, "Oh forgive my manners, I'm Kota, Bella's cousin." He, like his sister, felt as if he slept in a freezer when he took my hand.

The trio left the house to head to their Prom but as they closed the door behind themselves I heard Edward whisper to them in a low voice, "Why didn't I hear her? Alice, did you see anything?"

Not quite comprehending what he meant by that, I furrow my brows but the only one left in the house was my inherently awkward uncle. He silently takes my suitcase and a duffel before leading me up the stairs to my old bedroom. The small bedroom has a bay window on the wall opposite the door and adjacent to that was the wall that's mostly a glass pane covered by a black curtain. The walls aren't baby blue anymore but black, like a chalkboard, and the bedding is now emerald green with paisley designs. "You like green right?" He asks placing the bags on the bed, straightening the comforter. 

I snort nodding, admiring a wolf painting that Billy Black gave me when I was a little girl, "Yes. Green's great. Thanks." 

He smiles, happy with himself that he chose the right color, and leaves me to unpack and get settled in. Zipping the suitcase, that noise fills the quiet room. I sit thinking of how my mom would be trying to unpack for me so she wouldn't have to leave me alone. She was like Bella's mom, Renee, in that she loved to hover and talk endlessly about whatever she could think of. I probably should call her...

The line rings and rings and rings... until I reach her voicemail. "Has llegado al teléfono de Tala. Deja un mensaje. And if you don't understand Spanish, leave me a message and Kota or I will get back to you." Not anymore, she'll be the only one answering her voicemail now. I remember her recording that, she did not like that everytime she recorded the Spanish she sounded like a gringo. To be fair she's not Hispanic but we both know Spanish, that's the perks of living in Florida I guess.

"Hey Mama, just wanted to let you know I made it to Forks safely. Love you, call me when you get the chance," I hang up tossing my phone on the bed. Books, pictures and clothes fill my suitcase but I lack the motivation to unpack so I just lay on my bed beside it, wishing that someone was here to help me. Until the screech of brakes sound outside.

Grabbing a hoodie from the top of my duffel, I hurry down the stairs to see who's out front. Charlie left the door open when he went out so I close it behind me, pulling the hoodie over my curly blonde hair.