Midnight

One Glance

I stepped off the plane; the airport was cold and crowded but, surprisingly enough it was bustling. I figured that either the entire town was here to great me or this was common stop where people crossed over to different planes. My mother smiled as she softly hugged me. 

"My plane will be boarding soon, you could come with me Belle" She said. I pulled my cropped teddy over the top of my sun dress giving her an awkward half smile. 

"I'll be fine Momma." She studied my face for a moment before sighing and pulling out her phone

"Take a selfie with me." She said and pulled me into her. I forcefully smiled at the camera and took a moment to memorize her face. She was the opposite of me impossibly pale, flawless hair, and bright eyed. She was ethereal. I already missed her and the sunny beaches of Clearwater but, I had to leave so that she could live her life with Phillipa. Mom had always wanted to travel the world and now as a model dating a decently popular actress; she could do that and, I had no right to hold her back. No matter how dull and drab Eagle Lake was with its endless forests and noisy people. 

"Say Hi to Charles for me" She said tucking away her phone in her back pocket. 

"Okay" I whispered; mouth dry.

"I'll message you everyday and fly you out to visit during the breaks, okay?" She hugged me again. 

"Stop worrying about me Momma; worry about missing your flight and, your girlfriend instead. Okay?" Shaking her head at my words; she turned around and began walking away. 

"Oh! and Momma..." I called out watching her turn her head back tears in her eyes. 

"...I love you" It was hard to hold back my tears but, I did as she tilted her head smiling and mouthed it back. I watched her retreating figure as she disappeared into the crowd.  Then, I spun on my heels; wheeling my bag behind me. It was a 10 minute walk to the exit that shadowed in comparison to the hours I would have to endure in the car with Charles. 

Charles was so enthusiastic about me coming to stay that I felt guilty. He seemed so happy to have me back there since I stopped visiting at 7 and he had stop visiting us at 13. He spoke excitedly about teaching me to fish and helping me with my school work. I had never had the same connection with Charles that I had with my mom; we could both be stubborn and selfish and, that led us to butting heads often. He seemed apprehensive about my stay since I had made it clear that I preferred the Clearwater way of life as opposed to the Eagle Lake way. 

The outside air was crisp and way colder than I was used to but, the autumn color of the leaves were awe-inspiring. Admittedly, I had never been here in the fall before. Charles stepped out of his beat up pick up truck; looking at him was as if time had stood still since the moment I left. The truck was still the same scraped up shiny black that I remembered and Charles- well he hadn't changed at all except for a few more bags under his eyes and a different shirt. Funnily enough; Charles was a doctor but, you'd never know it. With his rugged look and tough exterior most people thought he was a lumberjack or something. 

Rubbing my sweaty palms against my ripped jeans I firmly shook Charles' outstretched hand. 

"You've gotten awful tall !" He exclaimed looking me up and down. 

"My how time has flown, you look so different Belle. Good to know Rena has taken proper care of you" I smiled at his words- different how? Different good? Different bad? Taking a deep breath I thought about choosing my words; calling him Charles to his face was disrespectful and would hurt his feelings. What could I say in response to what he said to be honest! Finally I breathed out and said. 

"Thanks dad! Oh and yeah, Mom says hi by the way." I put my two bags in the back of the truck. 

"Has my other clothes arrived?" I asked Charles and he released a simple yeah while starting the truck. Once we settled in and were on our way Charles began speaking again.