Bella unpacked the rest of her clothes. She was glad she had a closet, or else nothing would fit. After putting her clothing into the proper place, she headed back outside to the garage to retrieve her last few boxes. She passed another bedroom on the way. The door was cracked enough so that she could still see the blue paint that had always been there. She remembered the night that she stared at that damn blue paint for so long; it instantly brought back the pain. Tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill over. She slammed her eyes shut, hoping for them to go away. She slowly and cautiously opened her eyes after what seemed like forever.

"Bella!" Her mother called. Louder, closer, this time. "Bella!" She was right near the door. "Oh, Bella!" She was surprised to see her daughter even in the room. She wrapped her arms around her, both of them remembering what had happened that night. That family night.

He was still living at home, though he was well over 18. He was 21, but it was normal, since they were living in small town. The college was literally only a few blocks away, and his mother said he was always welcome to live at home, as well as Bella. It was family night; they had just rented a movie that Derek had persuaded them to get. He'd wanted to see it, but he was so busy studying for exams that he never had any time to go see it with his friends. It was going to be a surprise, since his favorite actor was the lead. His mother had suspected that he'd already seen it, though, and told him that it would be okay to go out with his friends. The school year was coming to a close, and he had med school the falling fall. He declined, his family was who he wanted to be with. I'm never breaking family night. He joked, though he must have meant it. By the time they had started the movie, it was nearly midnight. Charlie had gotten home from work late and they didn't want to start without him. The opening credits began, when he got a text from his best friend's girlfriend, Ashley Vaun. He was drunk, and she had asked Derek to come and take him home. Eric Lafferty was always the type to have to have his smarter best friend be the responsible one. Renee promised to not watch the movie until her son's return, but he protested, saying that by the time he'd get home they could have finished the movie. Renee agreed, though she re-paused it shortly after Derek left.

It was rainy that night. A big thunderstorm had just occurred, leaving the streets damp. Derek drove quickly over to the Vaun's house. He found Eric eventually, passed out in the kitchen. He managed to get him into the passenger's seat of his new car that he'd finally bought after the long years of saving every penny he could get his hands on. The sky was getting darker; the storm was returning, and Derek thought that a tornado was going to hit. The clouds were so dark and gray that he wanted to get Eric home as soon as possible. He generously hit the accelerator, speeding up the hill. He neared Eric's street, but stopped at a stop light. A truck driver from another street at the intersection didn't stop, as he was supposed to, when Derek pulled out to turn the corner. The thunder was loud, masking the truck's noises. The driver ran Derek off of the road and into a tree. The most damaged part of the car was the right side, though the impact had reached the driver's side just as much as it had the passenger's.

Back at home, the Swans waited patiently for Derek to return home. The words "The Departed" were still displayed on the screen. They never watched the movie, even after they were sure Derek would never come home.

"Maybe he stayed over Eric's so his parents won't go too hard on him." Renee suggested.

"Probably. We have nothing to worry about." Charlie said.

They had decided to watch the movie the next day, so Derek could as well. Charlie and Bella headed up to bed, but Renee stayed awake downstairs, just incase if Derek came home in the middle of the night. She fell asleep on the couch after finally deciding that he most likely wouldn't come home past 4 am. She was woken up by Bella's soft crying. On the 8 o'clock morning news was the story about her son. His mustang was visible from the shot of the accident, through the trees. Bella's crying got louder, but then soon stopped. "It can't be true." She tried to convince herself. "It just can't."

They cried together. "It's okay, just cry." Renee told Bella. "Cry your heart out." She whispered into her ear.

Bella sighed. It had been three years. Three damn years. She should be over this by now…or not. She pushed past her mother, out of the room, and returned to her own room, not even caring about her boxes that would be left outside, in the rain, just like her brother…

Okay, sorry it's short, but I really need to goto bed. I have somewhere to go tomorrow. It's 3 am, and I have to get up at 8.

Please Review!