"Hey everyone, want to read a book a found in America?" Carmina asked.
"No," Squalo muttered, looking up at her as she held the book up in the air.
"Why not? It'll be fun!" Carmina whined.
"I'm up for it!" Lussuria said.
"Why not? Nothing else exciting is happening right now," Bel said.
"Sempai, are you sure you can read?" Fran asked, making Carmina glare at him and Bel throw his knives, which stuck in Fran's frog hat.
"I'm sure I can read," Carmina said. Fran just nodded and Carmina looked at Levi.
"Only if the Boss wants to read it as well," Levi said.
"I don't give a damn."
"Well, looks like your opinion has been trampled Squalo. I'm reading it!" Carmina said, sitting down on Xanxus' lap and opening the book.
"Only the first chapter though darling. It's 12 am and we've all had a long day," Lussuria said. Carmina nodded.
She cleared her throat and began.
I never thought about how I would die.
"I'm pretty sure I'm already thinking about dying right now," Squalo said.
"Shut it. I haven't even gotten past the first sentence and you're already pissing me off," Carmina said.
"And I'm supposed to care?"
Carmina just sighed and kept reading.
Though I'd had reason enough in the last few months- but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.
"She's already dying?" Carmina asked.
"How is this an entire novel if she's already dying?" Lussuria asked.
"Maybe it's not the main character?" Carmina asked.
"Just keep reading!" Squalo said.
"Okay!" Carmina said.
I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.
Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved.
Xanxus placed his arm around Carmina as she paused for a second. She blinked, then continued.
Noble, even. That ought to count for something.
I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now. But, as terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision.
"You should regret it if you're dying," Fran said.
"Everyone shut up! I'm not even past the first page yet!" Carmina yelled.
"Whatever, just hurry up," Squalo said.
When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end. The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me.
"Sounds like a certain sadist prince I know," Carmina said, glancing at Bel as she turned the page. Bel just laughed and she sighed.
My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue.
"We need to go to Phoenix one day," Carmina noted and everyone nodded in agreement.
I was wearing my favorite shirt- sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.
"Who the fuck carries a parka?" Squalo asked.
"This person obviously," Carmina said. Squalo just rolled his eyes and Carmina snuggled deeper into Xanxus' chest before continuing.
In the Olympic Peninsula of the northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds.
Everyone paused momentarily to stare out the window, where the rain pelted against the window.
It rains on this inconsequential-
"I bet you don't even know what that word means," Squalo said.
"And you do?" Carmina shot back. Squalo gulped and looked away, making Carmina smile.
Town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and it's gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen.
"Every summer, that's got to be harsh. I mean, the humidity probably ruined their hair!" Lussuria butt in. He looked at Carmina.
"Don't ever go there darling. Your hair is too precious!" he said. Carmina just looked at Lussuria, then slowly turned her attention back to the book.
That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead. It was to Forks I now exiled myself- an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.
"Why the fuck is she going then?" Xanxus butt in.
"Don't ask me like I've actually read the story before," Carmina said. Xanxus glared at her before closing his eyes.
"Don't sleep."
"I'm not sleeping, just keep reading."
Carmina just sighed and looked back at the book.
I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.
"The city sucks," Carmina and Bel said simultaneously. They looked at each other and high fived.
"I thought you liked the city Carmina," Lussuria said.
"I like towns, not cities. Cities are too crowded," Carmina said.
"Ah," Lussuria said before ushering her to continue.
"Bella," my mom said to me-
"So, it's a girl?" Levi said.
"Oh, I don't know it sounds like a guy to me," Carmina said sarcastically. Levi just glared at her and she threw one of Xanxus' guns at his head. He wasn't able to dodge it. It hit him hard and Carmina just looked at the book again.
The last of a thousand times- before I got on the place. "You don't have to do this."
My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines.
Everyone looked at Carmina.
"Are you saying I have laugh lines!?"
That made everyone look in different directions.
I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would be paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she was lost, but still…
"Damn, can this lady do anything on her own?" Carmina asked.
"Doesn't sound like it," Squalo said," Reminds me of you."
"Excuse me?"
Xanxus' other gun was launched at Squalo. Luckily, he dodged it. Carmina glanced at Levi and laughed at the large bump the gun had made on his head.
"Y-You look so stupid!" Carmina gasped.
"Just read!" Levi said.
But Carmina continued to laugh. For 5 minutes. She gasped for breath and looked at the book again, clearing her throat.
"I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.
"Tell Charlie I said hi."
"I will."
"This book is boring," Bel said.
"I never knew that princes complained," Carmina said.
"That's all they do," Fran said.
Stab.
"Shut it Froggy," Bel said," But I think this story would be a ton more interesting if you were naked."
"Fuck no. My eyes only, trash," Xanxus said, tightening his hold on Carmina. She just giggled and looked at the book again.
"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want- I'll come right back as soon as you need me."
But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.
"Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."
"Awww," Carmina said, making everyone look at her.
"What?" she asked.
"Just keep fucking reading," Squalo said.
She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and 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 the Forks.
"All this talk about flying is making my stomach hurt ," Carmina muttered.
"Keep. Fucking. Reading," Squalo said," I actually want to go to sleep tonight."
Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.
"Why? Is her dad a child molester or something?" Carmina asked. Carmina's eyes flashed towards Lussuria for a second before she shuddered and continued.
Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He's already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car.
"Lucky, I didn't get a car until I was 21," Carmina said.
"You got your license taken away because you hi-jacked a car. I'm pretty sure with something like that on your records, you weren't going to get a car until you got it back," Squalo said.
"I only hi-jacked I because I didn't have a car. A certain someone wouldn't allow me to get one," Carmina said, glancing at Xanxus before looking back at the book.
But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. 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 my decision- like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.
"Disown the bitch," Carmina said, making everyone look at her like she was crazy.
"You want them to disown her because she doesn't like a certain place?" Squalo asked.
Carmina just nodded.
"…Please don't become a parent."
"Hey!"
"Keep reading," Xanxus said. Carmina growled before doing what she was told.
When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it was an omen- just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun.
"Saying goodbye to an inanimate object? This chick's got issues," Fran said. Everyone agreed and Squalo shivered.
"Are you cold darling? I'll keep you warm~," Lussuria said.
"NO!" Squalo yelled. Carmina just giggled and yawned.
Charlie was waiting for me in the cruiser. This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan 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 light on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.
"I thought cops could speed through traffic, not slow it down," Carmina said.
"The author fucked it up," Squalo said. Everyone agreed and Carmina went on.
Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane. "It's good to see you Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me.
"Who the fuck stumbles off of a plane?" Carmina asked.
"This chick obviously," Levi said. Carmina glared at him and reach for Xanxus' gun. Which wasn't there.
"Squalo, hand me that gun," Carmina said. He just sighed and gave her the gun. She threw it, hitting Levi in the eye. Everyone burst out in laughter and no onein the room could breathe.
"I can't believe that you hit him in the eye. That was amazing," Bel said, trying to catch his breath.
"I know right!" Carmina said. After everything calmed down, Carmina began reading again.
"You haven't changed much. How's Renee?"
"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.
"Harsh life right there," Fran said.
I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruier.
"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.
"Announced? Don't you mean he told her?" Carmina asked.
"Does it really matter?" Squalo asked.
"Of course it does! An announcement is like when you tell someone you're pregnant," Lussuria said.
"That's not what I meant, but okay," Carmina said, yawning again.
"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car."
"Well, it's truck actually, a Chevy-"
Carmina passed out.
"Did she really just..? Squalo trailed off.
"Well, that's it for tonight I guess. Everyone seems to be tired anyways. Good night darlings," Lussuria said, getting up and walking away.
One by one, they all left, until it was Squalo, Xanxus, and a sleeping Carmina.
"Damn woman, making us listen to this boring as novel and then falling asleep while reading it," Squalo murmured.
"Shut it trash, I'm trying to sleep," Xanxus said.
"Whatever, I'm going to bed," Squalo said. Xanxus just grunted and Squalo walked up the stairs. He got in bed and sighed. Then it hit him.
"Since when does Carmina read!?"
I hope you enjoy this story! Please review and tell me if I should continue! Read my other stories as well! Ciao! :)