A/N: Welcome to chapter one of When You Came Home.
This fic is a bit of an experiment for me, which I need your help with. I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new things. I need you, as a reader, to let me know what you really think. Anything. Anything at all. Love it, hate it, couldn't give a damn for it- I want it all.
But first, a few ground rules.
1. This fic will contain short chapters - It is NOT, I repeat NOT, a drabble fic in anyway, but chapters will be petite. And that's not going to change. Unless I try more experimenting ;)
2. I'm playing with simple present - This could be incredibly dull. Let me know if it gets too much.
3. This is for my own indulgence - I'm trying to improve my writing, nothing else.
So, let's get started! I really do hope you enjoy WYCH :)
When You Came Home
Chapter One
It has been thirteen weeks, four days, eight hours and thirty-six minutes since Edward disappeared.
One night he was here, the next he was gone. I pull my heavy bag onto my shoulder and sigh out loud. It wasn't right. He should be here.
This was the second time Edward had left me, and this time I had been tipped over the edge. I wouldn't leave the house. I wouldn't leave my room. I wouldn't leave the bed where I had last seen him lying next to me with a serene smile on his face.
Charlie had finally put his foot down, and I was being carted back off to Phoenix.
"You ready?" Charlie grumbles as he emerges from the house. I nod, and he rolls his eyes. "Get in then."
I open the squad car's door and swing my bag inside. The rest of my luggage is in the boot. Charlie had to buy me a new suitcase, as I have a few more clothes since when I had arrived. I blame Alice for that.
My mind wanders to her face. I had tried to keep my leaving secret, but of course she found out. She couldn't fight it though- to the rest of the world she was just a teenager like me.
It was odd this time that the Cullen's were still here. Last time when he left, he took his family with him. This time he seemed to have just run off by himself, leaving us all behind.
I sigh once more as Charlie climbs into the driver's seat next to me. He pauses and glances at my face.
"You know I'll miss you, right, Bells?" he asks.
"I'll miss you too, Dad," I reply, with no inflection at all. I continue staring out of the windscreen. He couldn't win me over now. Sending me away had been a step too far.
He coughs awkwardly before switching on the engine and putting the car in drive. We pull away from the house, and I take one last chance to gaze up at the window of my bedroom. How many times had he climbed through there? Too many to count.
I dip my head as I realise he'll never visit me there again.
I keep my gaze averted as Charlie speeds away down the road. I don't want to watch the trees fly past us- it feels too much like goodbye.
We turn onto the main road, and my cell phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out roughly to check the caller I.D and see Alice's number. I divert it. I can call her from Phoenix.
We drive in complete silence. I keep my eyes fixed on the dashboard, and I notice Charlie glancing sideways at me every so often.
"You can come back for holidays," he offers after a while. I think for a moment. I didn't want to come back once I'd left. There would be too many wounds left unhealed. I couldn't say this to Charlie though. I sigh softly and turn my head to him.
"That'd be nice."
He smiles, as though he actually looks forward to his shell of a daughter returning to him one day. I fight back my scoff. If he thinks a simple trip to Arizona will make me forget Edward, he is very, very wrong.
We lapse back into silence. I don't like it when there's nothing to listen to- it gives me more time to think. And I've thought a lot in the past ninety-five days. All about him.
I focus instead on the sound of air whooshing around the car and the purr of the engine. It's more the clunk of the engine in the cruiser.
We turn off of the main road onto the street towards the airport. It's such a tiny airport- it only takes me to PortAngeles –then I have to catch another plane to Phoenix.
I glance up momentarily to see a Porsche speeding down the road towards us. I smile as I remember the time Edward bought one similar for Alice. She had been afraid he would take it back when I hadn't behaved myself.
As I watch it approach, I realise it is Alice's car. I sit up a little straighter in my seat, wondering if she will see me.
"Bella?" Charlie asks as he clocks my suddenly change in demur. I fix my eyes on the speeding car and become convinced it is her inside. Charlie follows my gaze and scowls. "That car is going way too fast."
I ignore him.
He sighs, deciding as he is not on duty he will let it drop. He turns the steering wheel slightly though to make sure the cruiser is well out of the way. A crash at this speed would be fatal. For the two of us at least- Alice would walk away unscathed.
Maybe it wasn't her. Surely, the real Alice would have recognised the cruiser as Charlie's by now. She knew it well enough.
Just then, the Porsche swerves across the road, and I think for one horrible moment, that the driver has lost control. It swings round the side, and Charlie curses in shock. I fly forward in my seat as he slams on the brakes, and I grab hold of the door.
We rock to a halt quite suddenly, with the yellow car sideways across the road in front of us. Charlie is staring at the steering wheel in wonderment. I don't pause. I undo the seat belt faster than I ever thought possible and leap out the car.
Of course, Alice is already out and running towards me. She grabs my hands in hers a little too hard, and I wince. I am about to complain, but what she says next makes me forget everything else.
"It's Edward," she breathes. "We found him."
A/N: Let me know what you think. I know there's not much to judge right now, but I'm hoping to update again soon. Updates will probably be erratic but often. So you never know when I might pop up in your alerts ;)
Thanks for reading!
