slowtown ↠ alice cullen

01 | miss it still

Eliza hating moving with her whole heart and going to Forks, Washington was no exception. The stark contrast from LA made her stomach squirm and she had refused to speak the whole drive there.

The town seemed nice and all, but it was too quiet and had the population of her neighborhood. Her old neighborhood now.

Still not speaking to her uncle, Eliza turned up the heater and her headphones. He gave her a smile that was shot down by her glare. This move would not be easy for her, and he knew it.

The two had been surrounded by green for the past few hours and Eliza was sure if they kept going for another hour, they would be in Canada. Now that she thought about it, it was highly possible.

Not knowing when they would arrive, Eliza adjusted her pillow against the window and drifted off to sleep.

To what felt like ten seconds, Eliza was woken up by her uncle. The bright smile on his face signaled their arrival to the house. Peering through the window, the blonde stared at the house.

It was a lot bigger than their old apartment, that was for sure. But it still wasn't quite home, and she wasn't sure if it ever would be. The dark green paint was chipped in some places, and if it weren't for the windows Eliza was sure it would blend into the forest behind it.

Bringing the boxes inside was tedious, but she was glad all of their furniture had been sent early. Once everything was inside, she shut the truck bed shut and locked it.

Her uncle was already cooking dinner, and Eliza decided to start unpacking. Once she saw her bed, every other thought was discarded as she plopped onto the mattress. Only planning to take a quick nap, she closed her eyes.

"Eliza, dinner's ready," Grant called from the kitchen, waking her from her groggy state.

"I'm coming." With eyes half open, she made her way down, only to trip on the last few steps. Landing on her side, Eliza groaned in pain. Popping his head out the kitchen, Grant gave his niece a disapproving look.

"Did you really just fall down the stairs?" Accepting her grumbling as a yes, he finished wiping down the counter.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, no need to worry about me," she huffed out, crossing her arms as she sat at the table.

"Just eat your food." The pair were silent as they ate, except for Eliza's obnoxious foot-tapping.

"Could you quit it," her uncle asked, looking up from his food.

"I'm sorry, it's not like i'm doing it on purpose." Forcefully holding down her leg, it took every muscle to not keep bouncing it. With a groan she shot up from her seat, placing her dish in the dishwasher and heading up to her room.

Boxes were still everywhere due to her procrastination, but it now gave her something to do.

Searching for her clothes box first—which was difficult since none of the names corresponded with what was in them—Eliza hung her shirts in her closet, and put everything else into her dresser. Looking for clothes in the morning was not ideal.

The next item on her mental list was to find her bathroom essentials, which she found in one of the smaller cardboard boxes. She made a happy sound as she realized she had her own bathroom.

"Hallelujah, baby," Eliza said, finally having enough space for all of her stuff. Sharing a bathroom with her uncle was uncomfortable and she thought she could get used to this.

A sharp knock startled her from looking at her reflection and with a blush, she opened the door.

"Just checking on you," he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's fine, I was just being narcissistic," she said offhandedly, earning a smack to the forehead. "Hey!"

"Anyway, can you please promise me to not end up in a holding cell anytime soon."

Grant unfortunately knew of her nightly hobby, which sucked. Having a police officer uncle could only get you out of trouble so many times.

"I pro...pr...prom..promise not to get caught." Sending him a cheeky grin, she shut the door, wondering what she would wear for school.

☆

No matter how many times she would change her alarm, it would always get on her nerves. The morning version of herself did not like any sound she picked the night before, and Eliza was slowly starting to accept she never would.

Putting her hair into a high ponytail, Eliza put on a little makeup and brushed her teeth. Semi-satisfying with her appearance, Eliza went to her closet, lazily looking through her clothes. Pulling out a striped crop top and jean jacket, she got ready.

Jogging down the stairs, Eliza read the note her uncle had left her. Sticking it onto the fridge, she poured out the rest of the coffee he had left. Her boots thumped against the linoleum flooring as she put away her cup and grabbed her backpack.

"Holy fuck it's cold," Eliza said as she opened the door. The icy air bit at her exposed skin as she hurried to her car. California weather hardly went lower than sixty degrees and Eliza was not liking it. Her current wardrobe would not keep her warm at all in this state.

Starting her car, she pulled out of the long driveway and headed to where she assumed the school was.