Finding My Place | Jasper Hale

Homecoming

        Kira stared straight ahead, refusing to look out the window at the view of the clouds, and the ground getting further away. Her fear of heights and planes had only been one reason that she had not made the trip back to Forks in over three years though. Right before Kira had left for her first year, she and Charlie Swan had gotten into an argument. Bella had tried to convince him to take her to California instead of coming to Forks, and Charlie had agreed, despite knowing that Kira would be unable to make the flight due to her fear. Kira had refused to answer any of their calls since, and after a while they had stopped trying. After the first year, Kira had made a point to block all of Charlie and Bella's numbers, and spend each summer with her school friends rather than returning to Forks.

        This would be Kira's first time back in Forks, and if you asked her, she would tell you without hesitation that it was not what she wanted. She had made that quite clear to Charlie, but with Bella also moving in with him, her mother travelling with Phil, and her school being closed for the next few months due to an infestation, Kira had not been given another option. She was to be sent back to Forks to move in with Charlie and Bella, while attending the local high school.

        Kira had not been on a plane since her initial trip to school three years ago, and she was very unamused by this flight. She was scared out of her wits, an nothing any of the flight attends could say could get her to calm down. As soon as the plane touched down and the doors were open, Kira made a point to be the first one off and grabbing her luggage.

        Kira made her way outside of the airport, and spotted Charlie, but instead of saying anything, she just brushed past him to put her bags in the trunk of his cop car. Kira hated riding in Charlie's car, but it didn't seem like she had an option in this situation. As she climbed into the passenger seat and Charlie climbed into the driver's side, Kira began to feel even more uncomfortable. Enclosed spaces were fine. Enclosed spaces with Charlie were a totally different story. Anyone miles away could feel the awkwardness radiating off of the car between the two.

        A few times throughout the drive, Charlie had tried to say something, but every time Kira either ignored , or gave a small gesture to show that she didn't want him to speak. As soon as their car pulled up at the familiar house, Kira saw Bella open the door and come wait outside for her. Kira opened up her car door and grabbed her bags from the trunk, before walking past Charlie and Bella, and into the house to her room.

        Since Kira had last been here, Charlie had built an extension onto the house so that Bella and Kira could each have their own rooms. When they were younger, the sisters had shared a room, but since they had grown older, their mother had taken Bella to Phoenix, while Kira had decided to stay with Charlie.

        Kira dropped all of her bags on the floor of her room, before moving to lay on her bed. Charlie hadn't changed anything since she had last been here, and Kira was thankful that he hadn't been going through her stuff. As Kira was laying on her bed thinking, it seemed that she had fallen into a quiet sleep, only to be woken a couple hours later by Charlie.

        "Kira, we're going out to dinner," Charlie said. "I know you don't want to go, but you need to eat." He said after Kira didn't move.

        She heaved a sigh, before glancing over at Charlie and nodding her head, allowing him to see that he understood and could leave. Kira quickly cleaned up before heading downstairs to meet Charlie and Bella, before heading off to dinner.

        Dinner was awkward to say the least. About halfway through, some of Bella's school friends that she had made in the first couple days of being there, saw her eating in the diner with us through the window and had decided to come in and say hi. Bella had introduced me to them and then they left, but they all seemed really loud and outgoing, whereas I could be that way, but only in a familiar situation, with familiar people. I didn't feel nearly comfortable enough to be that outgoing with anyone in Forks yet though, even though I had known Charlie and Bella my whole life, it felt like I was just meeting them for the first time.

        As soon as we left the diner and returned home, I ran up to my room, once again ignoring Bella and Charlie. I went over and sat down at my computer so that I could message my friends at school to tell them all about my first day in Forks. They were the only ones that I truly felt I could behave like myself around, and they seemed to understand my whole situation, and my side of things better than anyone. I missed them so much, and I fell asleep that night well into early morning talking to them.