Phosphenes |j.hale

02

(Mirror, and room)

Summer had gotten her old room in the house, and wasted no time in taking her bags and boxes out of the cruiser and into the house. She decided that it was best to attempt to leave Bella and Charlie together to try to loosen the tension between them to. That car ride was one of the worst things she'd ever experienced in her life.

In stature, her old room was very small, considering the fact that it used to be one of Charlie's walk in closets, however, she didn't really care. This room was her own. It was something that was given distinctly to her, and no one else's alone.

In fact, Charlie even promised Summer when she was still living with her mother that he had a room waiting for her whenever she was allowed to come down and visit him.

Considering the fact that there was an empty mattress and mantle in the room, she decided to get to work. There was nothing better than unpacking your room in one day, in fact, for her, considering the fact that Charlie was the only one that purchased miscellaneous things for her, there was nothing really to unpack but her clothes.

While she was unfolding, and folding items to place in her closet, there was a knock at the door frame. Glancing up, she saw Charlie, who had a few boxes in his arms.

"I'm not good at this stuff," he mutters, as he gently sets the box on the mantle, and advances deeper into the room. Summer smiles, and drops a shirt.

"Uncle Charlie, I hope you know that I love this room," she grins, her smile so big that it replicated the Chesire cats. Charlie returns this smile, and sits on the edge of the bed.

"In all serious Bug, we need to talk about your mom." He glances at Summer, who's smile had dropped as soon as he'd said that, and immediately felt guilty. Summer was his sunshine. Bella would always be his heart, and his soul, but Summer was his sunshine.

He often remembers her walking around his old and rickety house in a diaper , with oversized cowboy boots, mimicking Rawhide, which was their favorite thing to watch together. Even when she was a child, he knew that Summer's mother, Autumn, did not want to be bothered with her daughter, but rather drugs instead. It hurt him to leave her, but he knew that he had to get a place together for them to move in.

There was something that he had to tell her. But considering the fact that she was already happy right now, he refused to hurt her feelings.

"We can talk about it later though," he quickly recovers. "Bella didn't really want my help to unpack," he rambles on, his gruff voice projecting around the small room.  "But, that means I can give you everything that I got you right now rather than later on tonight."

Summer was confused; she had already seen the box, but there was more? Of course Charlie would get her more things- he loved her, but what else could there be?

❦ ❦ ❦

There was a lot more.

Charlie, Sue, Billy Black, and his daughter Rebecca has each chipped in to get the things to decorate Summer's room. When he had first told them about Summer many of years ago, they had started collecting tiny things to pitch into the project. They had helped him turn the walk in closet into a bed room, and they had helped buy all the furniture in it.

By the time the both of them had finished putting the entire room together, Summer was speechless. So speechless to the point that she'd crumpled to the middle of the floor in tears.

Charlie, who had just finished plugging in the last string fairy lights, stood up from his crouched position in front of the mirror, and gently leaned it back against the wall. It was a really humongous mirror- Rebecca's idea of course, and it took up an entire wall, but it was very gorgeous- and expensive.

Glancing in the mirror, he saw Summer, who was sitting in the middle of the floor crying her eyes out.

"Hey, Hey Hey," he immediately rushed to her side, and rubbed her back softly, as he picked up one of her clean socks to wipe her eyes with. "I dunno what's wrong with ya' Bug unless you stop crying," he says, as he picked up another sock to wipe her eyes with.

Quickly recovering as she notices Charlie using random socks to wipe her tears, Summer lets out a silent chuckle. "I love you a lot Uncle Charlie," she says, and let's out a shaky sigh. She had felt overwhelmed by the room, and modesty, and the simple fact that others had chipped into his project to help her out.

Charlie kisses the crown of her platinum blonde head. "I love you too bug."

For the first time in a while, Summer had felt loved- not only by the stars and the moon, but by somebody who'd had kept their promise to her.