FOREVER

Forever

I'd never been a fan of flying. It was always too cramped, too impersonal. I felt like an inconvenience to everyone, to the stewards, the other passengers, the plane. It made me feel dead... like I was flying into my own limbo. All of us a bunch of dead drones, tolerating one another for the sake of the hope that the plane wouldn't crash. It was quite depressing. But, it got the job done. It got me to my destination faster. My destination just happened to be Forks, Washington. Never heard of it? Unsurprising. There's nothing to hear about Forks. It's the typical town you read about in crappy clearance novels. Little population, minimal crime, nosey neighbors, the whole thing. It bored me just thinking about it. But, nevertheless, it was where I was going. And that's why I was on this plane. Forks was the home of my father, Charlie. My parents had been divorced for years and while she decided to move to sunny Phoenix afterwards, my father couldn't bear to part with the town he fell in love. When they parted, I went to live with my mother in Arizona. And we lived happily together for years. Then she met her husband, Phil. Long story short, she wanted to travel with him. And I'd taken enough of her time. So, for my dear mother, I moved to the aforesaid Forks. And here I am.

The plane landed rather smoothly. I looked out the window and saw nothing but grey skies and rain droplets. I sighed. I didn't think I would miss the sun so soon. Charlie was waiting for me at the baggage claim and I couldn't help but smile when I saw him. He looked just like I remembered. Dark moustache that was actually graying a little, stern expression but kind eyes. It was...comforting, to say the least, in this foreign place. I'd been to Forks before, but it was years ago. I hardly remembered it. He smiled back at me awkwardly before we embraced in a one armed hug.

"Hey, Bells, how ya' doing?" he asked gruffly before letting me go.

"I'm good. How've you been?" I answered as we headed over to the spinning conveyor belt.

"Oh, you know, solving crimes, dishing speeding tickets." He pointed to his police badge and I shook my head lightheartedly. He then coughed a bit loudly and there was no more conversation. I was fine with that. Charlie was never much of a talker. Neither was I, so it all worked out rather well. Because Forks was rather small, I actually landed in Port Angeles and there was still a little ways of a drive to go. As Charlie drove slowly and carefully down the rain soaked highways, I watched the images around me flash by. It was so bleak, negative, depressing. For a brief moment I wondered what the suicide rates were here. Not that I'd ever attempt anything so stupid.

After what seemed too long a time, Charlie's cruiser finally pulled into the driveway. I looked up at the old two-story and smiled softly. It hadn't changed a bit. It was just too bad that I had. After Charlie helped carry my bags up the stairs, he told me once more how happy he was that I was here and retreated downstairs. I was thankful for that. I definitely needed some alone time. Alone time to figure out what the hell I was thinking when I decided to move down here. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. It was eight o'clock. One more hour and I could at least attempt to go to bed. I growled quietly and sat down on the ill used mattress. Well, at least it was something new. It may not be good, but it was something new. It was a fresh start from the lackluster life I'd been living. Who knew, maybe this town would be great. Or, maybe it would be a town of nosy cousin fuckers, French pardoned. I glanced over at the clock again. It had been a whole 3 minutes. Deciding it was good enough I changed and climbed into bed. Tomorrow was my official start of school and I didn't want to have rings under my eyes. I may not have been a fashionista but I wasn't completely hopeless to the point that I didn't care what I looked like. The sooner tomorrow came, the sooner it would be over so I closed my eyes and tried to drift off.

0-0-0-0-0

A light knock jolted me from my slumber. I was always an uneasy sleeper, so bolting upright in bed didn't surprise me anymore. The door creaked open as I looked over and Charlie's balding head peered through it. He looked nervous at first, but apparently after seeing I was fully clothed, he pushed the door open further and stood in the doorway. The light from behind him stung my eyes and I winced as I gazed upon him. He smiled awkwardly and kicked the doorframe.