Our Breaking Point // edward cullen

1

OUR MOTHER DROVE US TO THE AIRPORT WITH THE windows rolled down. it was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue, i was wearing my favorite shirt—sleeveless, blue, with my hometown name on it and my number and last name on the back. our mother ran away from bella and i's old house when were only a few months old. it was this town me and bella had been compelled to spend a month every summer until bella and i were fourteen. that was the year we put our foot down; these past three summers, my dad, charlie, vacationed with me in california for two weeks instead.
it was to Forks that i now exiled myself, and action tgat i took with great horror. i destested Forks. i loved Phoenix. i loved the sun and the blistering heat. i loved the vigorous, sprawling city.

"bella, emma. you don't have to do this." mom said before we got on the plane.

my mom looks like me, except she has short hair and laugh lines. i felt a spasm of panic as i stared at her wide, childlike eyes. how could i leave my loving, erratic, hare-brained mother to fend for herself? of course she had phil now, so the bulls would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still...

"i want to go." bella lied. i could tell she has always been a bad liar but she had been saying this lie frequently so it sounded almost convincing.

"yeah, same. i want to go as well. plus i think it's a good way to get away from the house." i smiled at her trying to calm her nerves so she wasn't so nervous about us.

"tell charlie i said hi." mom told us.

"we will."

"i'll see you soon, my darlings." she insisted. "you can come home whenever you want— i'll come right back as soon as you need me." she said. it sounded like she didn't want us to leave. But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.
    
  "don't worry about us." i urged "it'll be great. i love you mom." bella said. "i love you as well." i said hugging her.
  
  she hugged us tightly for a minute, and then we got on the plane, and then she was gone. it's a four hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks.

Flying doesn't bother bella; it bothers me a little thought not much. the hour in the car with dad and bella was a little, awkward. i could feel the tension as soon as we stepped out of the airport.
    
charlie had been fairly nice about the whole thing. he seemed genuinely pleased that me and bella were coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. he'd already gotten me and bella registered for high school and was going to help me get a car. i don't know if bella would get one. i think she is though.
   
but it was sure to be awkward with dad. neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and i didn't know what there was to say regardless. i knew he was more than a little confused by me and bella's decision—like my mother before me. i hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.
    
when i landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. i didn't see it as an omen—just unavoidable. i'd already said my goodbyes to the sun. Bella and I both had.
    
Charlie was waiting for us with the cruiser. this we were expecting, too. Dad is police chief to the good people of forks. my primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that i refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. nothing slows down traffic like a cop.
   
dad gave us an awkward, one armed hug when we got off of the plane.

    "it's good to see you ems. you too bells." he said smiling. "you haven't changed much bells. ems you have. how's renée?" dad asked