Darkness Will Come to Light [1]

XXIII. Moving Forward

The dark-tinted windows of the Mercedes turned the ombre sunset into dark streaks across the sky as Mel leaned her head against the cool glass of the moving car. Carlisle Cullen drove his car off the paved highway and onto a long serpentine dirt road. At the end of the driveway was a green meadow with a timeless, graceful house at the center. The car stopped in front of a set of glass doors with intricate designs.

Mel was in awe.

After taking in the appearance of her new house, Mel noticed a petite lady with wavy caramel hair waiting on the wide front porch. A warm smile broke out on her heart-shaped face as she walked down the wooden steps to the Mercedes.

Mel unbuckled her seatbelt. Carlisle greeted the woman softly with a kiss and then turned to open Mel's door.

"Melaina, this is my wife, Esme," Dr. Cullen introduced.

Mel gave a small wave and shyly whispered, "Hi."

"Hi, it's so nice to finally meet you," Esme said kindly.

Carlisle grabbed Mel's lone bag while Esme helped her out of Carlisle's Mercedes. Her ribs were still sore and breathing, much less walking, made her body ache. She followed the young couple inside. The wooden mansion was large and bright with walls of glass that looked out over the river. Mel took it all in with wide eyes.

Right off the bat, Melaina got the vibe that the Cullen house was too pristine and seemingly unlived in. The contrast to Mel's house was staggering. There were no broken bottles, but most importantly: no Jeremy Jackson.

From the windowed walls to seven other people living in the home, Mel sensed there would be an inevitable lack of privacy.

Mel followed Carlisle around like a lost puppy as he gave her the grand tour of the house. The ground level consisted mostly of an open living room. Off to the side was a bathroom and Esme's art studio. An open kitchen and large dining room spanned across the second floor, and further up the winding stairs was the hall of bedrooms. On the left was Carlisle and Esme's room, Mel's new room, and the library. On the right side of the steps, Rosalie and Emmett's room was first, and then Carlisle's office, Alice and Jasper's room, and Edward's room at the end of the hall.

"Would you like something to eat? Esme plans on picking up food that you like tomorrow, but I'm sure we have some things around for you to eat tonight."

"No, I'm okay. Thank you," Mel said quietly. "I'd like to lie down, if that's alright."

"Of course. You must be exhausted and overwhelmed with everything happening so fast." Carlisle dropped her off by her bedroom door saying, "I'll let you get settled. We'll talk in the morning."

Mel nodded. Her light eyes glanced at the elegant room that now belonged to her. The bedroom was as open and ornate as the rest of the rooms in the Cullens' mansion. The smooth violet walls were as bare as the Sahara, but Mel had a folder of sketches and photos to tape around her room when she got the chance.

"Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything. The kids are out, Esme's in her studio, and I will be in my office right down the hall." Then he was gone. Mel let out a whoosh of air that she didn't realize she was holding.

The spacious room was set up like a master bedroom with a mirrored closet door on the far left and an attached bathroom beside it. The furniture was simple dark oak that contrasted nicely with the pale violet walls and light oak flooring. The grand metal-framed bed between the two bay windows was queen-sized with a mound of fluffy pillows at the head and an equally monstrous pile of blankets stacked on the other end. A soft rectangular carpet spread from the wall with her bed outwards past the bed frame by a few feet. A wooden chest was nestled into the carpet at the foot of the bed; someone had draped a set of pajamas along the dark wooden surface.

On the opposite side from a bare desk and her mirrored door, a wall-to-wall bookshelf sat tucked back in the wall under the arched ceiling. The shelves were empty, but Mel could imagine filling all of the space with her collection of books and trinkets. She lifted her eyes. At the center of her peaked ceiling, there was a fan with petal-shaped blades. Two silver chains hung from the bright white light in the middle of the fan.

Walking across the thick carpet across her floor, Mel brushed her fingers along the dark oak furniture. Her wandering eyes caught sight of a picture frame on her new nightstand. She picked it up and read the words:

"If you can't fly, then run.
If you can't run, then walk.
If you can't walk, then crawl,
But whatever you do,
You have to keep moving forward."

Melaina recognized the beautiful quote by Martin Luther King Jr., her favorite historical figure. She wondered who chose the quote as she set it back down by her queen-sized bed. Behind the frame, there was a three-level lamp glowing dimly.

She turned and faced her room with a slow exhale. It made her feel so small; she wanted to crowd the room with her things so it felt more like her personal space.

Mel felt exhaustion wash over her body. She grabbed the pajamas from on the chest before opening the second door in her new room. In the connected bathroom, Mel found the necessities to take a shower before bed. She momentarily snooped around the cabinets and drawers for a razor. Mel supposed it wasn't so much "snooping" when the place was hers now. Still, she didn't find a razor to shave with, or any sharp object for that matter. These people were thorough.

Mel tried not the let it get to her. She would have to buy one at the store when she could get there. She refused to have fuzzy bear legs because her foster parents were overly-cautious.

With that in mind, she undressed and stepped into the shower. It took a few minutes for Mel to figure out how to turn on that particular shower and then to make it the right temperature. Finally satisfied with the heat pouring out of the shower head, Mel began to wash.

Melaina didn't have to hold back her tears now that she was alone in the shower. A sob escaped her lips as everything came crashing down on her at once. Each one of her three parents through the years had suddenly disappeared from her life. Only one had loved her, but in the end, they had all left. She scrubbed the tears off her face with cucumber melon scented soap.

The warm spray soothed her sore ribs and body. The heat and her tears made her sleepy. Since she wasn't able to shave, her shower was quick. She reached out of the frosty glass door for a thick cyan towel that was hanging on the rack.

She stepped out to dry her body and expertly wrapped her dripping hair in the towel like a turban. Slipping on the silky pink pajama top and pants, Mel wished that she could wear her usual bed attire of a tank top and fuzzy pants. She knew that she really shouldn't complain in her position. She had a roof over her head and clothes on her back. Carlisle had told her that she could retrieve her things from her old house as soon as it was possible. Mel longed for her wolf pillowcases and her iPod. It would be nice to have her phone back too; she wondered what Savannah was thinking about her disappearance...

A new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste sat on a shelf on the granite counter top, so Mel could brush her teeth. She unwound her turban and ran a brush through her still-wet hair. Back in her bedroom, she climbed into the enormous bed. She sighed as she relaxed against the bed that had to be made of marshmallows.

She set her glasses near the frame on the nightstand and was asleep before her hair had fully dried.