The Twilight Twenty-Five

thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #23

Main Character/Pairing: Bella

Rating: M

Word Count: 1440

Friends Forever

At Five

It's the end of summer and a little chilly but my throat feels completely dry. That, however, is probably because we've been running around for what seems like years. We being I and Alice.

Alice is my best friend - if best friends are people with whom we make Lego towers and share crayons and lunch and spend all of our time, well, almost.

Mrs Cullen, Alice's mom is the sweetest woman I've known or probably the second sweetest, the first being my mom. She took us out for hot chocolate earlier today and then brought us to the park.

It is almost dark by the time she drives to my home. Alice and I sit in the backseat and sing "I'm broken" along with that person inside the radio. We ask Mrs Cullen if they have fractured their leg but she simply shakes her head, smiles in the front seat and looks at us or at the mirror us as if "I'm broken" is something we don't understand. I look at Alice and see her shrug and continue singing, we laugh and tickle each other. I know, we are going to be friends forever.

At Ten

Its the end of summer and the world outside seems to have bathed in orange soda. There's not even a hint of blue in the skies, its all pink and orange, every bit of it.

Alice and Rose are downstairs getting some food from my mom while I sit in my newly done bedroom and stare out of the window. I can see Rose's house right across the street. Its sort of comforting to have a classmate live so close considering it takes almost thirty minutes to go over to Alice's place. She's been added to my list of best friends so its Rose and Alice from now on.

"It feels so good to look around and see what a pretty room we've created"

I can hear Alice talking to Rose as they get back into the room.

We talk about our life. Rose tells us about her soccer game and her mom who's agreed on getting her a new bed and table set for the room she has moved into. Its down the hall and she's ecstatic on finally not having to share a room with her brother.

Alice mentions that a cousin of hers is moving to the town with his family. Her uncle is probably going to be the doctor associated with our school since Mr Fitzgerald is not really around anymore.

We have the radio on in the background and somewhere between our talks, we get up and dance like crazy people. The radio blares "I'm broken" and even when we don't really understand it, we haven't been this whole ever. Rose scored a goal at her first soccer game, Alice won the science fair, I've landed my first job as a babysitter and the three of us are going to be friends forever.

At Thirteen

Its the end of summer and the brown leaves of a large oak tree right outside my house make crunching noises under my feet as I stomp all over them. The scene makes me feel gloomy, leaves littering the pavement and streets, dull days and breezy warm evenings. It's nowhere beautiful and serene and every other word my mom has used in her description.

I have the cordless in my hand, pressed close to my ear as I'm waiting for Alice to pick up the phone and Rose to come over. I can't help but feel a little irritated at both of them. Alice finally picks up and rattles excitedly about tonight's plans. Her exuberance makes me wonder if she's even been to school today but then I remind myself that she has some sort of hyperactivity disorder. She hangs up and Rose still hasn't made it out of her house. I assume its her parents, they've been arguing a lot lately.

I make my way inside my house and see my mom looking out of the window and fixing my lunch. I know she's expecting Dad to come home any minute although somewhere she knows that he isn't going to be here anytime soon. He's been working a lot lately and the count of how many nights he isn't home has finally exceeded the number of fingers I have.

Its dark outside as we are driven to the movies. We sing "I'm broken" as loud as we can to drown the sound of parents arguing in the front seat. We are meeting two boys we like at the cinema. Rose hasn't come with us. She had her first kiss last Tuesday. It's some guy called Royce. Alice and I don't really like him but Rose seems happy hence we, too, are happy for her. After all, we are going to be friends forever.

At Fifteen

It's the end of summer and although its been barely a week of school after the break, my life seems beyond miserable.

I'm sitting alone on a Saturday night and the song comes along. Out of habit, I whisper the words "I'm broken", perhaps, really listening to the lyrics. For the first time, I understand each word that blares out of the radio.

Its been a week since my parents broke up. My dad hasn't been home since then. I can hear my mom's supressed sobs from her bedroom right across the hall. Yes, it is that silent, so silent that a pin could fall anywhere in the house and sound like a grenade.

I haven't talked to Alice for a week now, she lost herself to a boy who found a new girl. Edward, her cousin who is now in my biology class and is also a friend, seems worried about her. He suspects that she's gotten herself into drugs and all that's wrong, her company included. I'm worried about her.

Rose hasn't eaten for three days. She hasn't come out of her room either. It has something to do with Royce. She tried to tell me something right before her withdrawal phase but it seemed as if she was choking on the words. He has perhaps given her the explanation of why storms are named after people, perhaps destroyed her in every way possible.

I try calling Rose but she doesn't return my call. Its obvious that Alice won't either. We were going to be friends forever.

At Eighteen

Its the end of summer and I've finished the first year of college. My life seems to be finally getting together.

I'm dating Edward and he's the most precious person in my life. I moved in with him a few months ago. He makes me fight all the odds and do better everyday, no matter what I'm doing. He's attending a medical school and I truly believe that he's going to be an amazing doctor, given to his compassion and generosity.

My mom still lives in the same house and seems to be doing fine. She's opened up her own bakery and enjoys doing what she had always wanted to do. Also, she doesn't fail to call me every weekend and visit me a few times with her pot roasts and lasagnes. She's met Phil, a baseball coach who makes her happy and has moved in with her. I met him on Thanksgiving and he seems to be kind, a bit hyperactive, but great. As for my dad, neither have I spoken to him in three years, nor do I really want to.

I haven't talked to Alice in two years but she seems to be getting better. The last time we met was at Edward's place. It was Christmas and Alice had just started her rehab and therapy sessions. We didn't really speak much but she hugged me, a bit too tight given her size and apologized. She also said something that sounded like "I'll come home soon" before dashing out of the door. I really hope she is going to be the Alice I knew, soon.

Rose's smile is back and I've heard that she's doing really well in her pre med school. I met her mom when she came to visit the tenants at their house across the street from mine.

Its Friday and my class got over early. As I drive to our apartment to surprise Edward with his favourite sandwiches for lunch, that song comes on the radio. I sing along, "I'm broken", understanding each word but rejoicing in being whole. My grades our good, my family is happy and so am I, with Edward, everything seems better. Rose, Alice and I aren't friends anymore. Life got in our way. But years ago, we were going to be friends forever.