Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight; it is exclusively Stephenie Meyer's.
Chapter 1: Settling
The sun breaks through the clouds allowing for a just few rays of sun to dance along the circular plane glass window. I press my hand against it saying a silent goodbye as we move closer to the town under a near-constant cover of clouds. The sun is just one of the few things I would miss. Movement from the right of me causes my attention to shift to the small girl huddled in her seat. Her brow is crunched in annoyance from the streaming light and a small laugh escapes my lips as I turn to shut the blind. When I look back at her she peeks out at me from her pillow that is now acting as a shield and I go to smooth out her hair while she greets me with a tired yawn.
"Still not a morning person I see," I say teasingly, trying to tame the mop on her head of jet black curls that seems to have turned into a bird's nest. Self-consciously I begin to smooth out my own hair knowing I am no different than my young three-year old daughter but it is of no use without a brush and soon I give up for the both of us.
"I got it from you, Mama," she says eyes closed with sleep still coating her voice as she tucks her head back down.
"I Know, I Know. But don't go back sleep, sweetie. We're going to land soon and I'm sure you don't your meeting with Grandpa for the first time since you were a baby to be while you were asleep. Now, do you?" She shakes her head no wildly, and I know she's wide awake now that I can fully see familiar big brown eyes.
Elizabeth was a perfect picture of a miniature me except for the black hair, which was his doing. For that, I was glad. I didn't know how I would handle it, if every day I had to look at her and be reminded of him. Yes, I know technically my little girl would always stand as a recollection but knowing I wasn't looking into his eyes made it just a little easier to sleep at night before the nightmares began. Although, now I knew now even that wouldn't help, now that we were moving to Forks.
"Mama," I hear, Elizabeth's calling snaps me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, Baby?" I ask. She huffs her little lips puckering into a pout.
"I said, do you think Grandpa will like me?" Her face is serious with worry etched in her eyes and I resist the need to roll my eyes. Three-year olds were so self-centered.
I smile a bright reassuring smile and kiss her cheek. Staying at eye level with her I say, "Honey, you've met Grandpa already. Only you don't remember because you were so small and just a baby. But when he first saw you back in Arizona, the look on his face said it all. I don't think he has loved anything more." Then I whisper in her ear, "Not even me!" I settle myself back in my chair and see her eyes go so wide I'm scared she might have gone into shock. My worry only descends when the biggest smile I have ever seen makes its way on to her face.
"Really?" She asks. I nod my head and she leans against me seemingly satisfied until I feel a drop of liquid against my skin. I leaned down so I can look at her, "Why are you crying, Sweetie?"
She let out a quivering hiccup and with trembling lips said, "I'm going to miss Grandma."
"Is that why you're so upset?" I ask.
"No," she says finally gaining control of her crying. Then she sighs heavily and I shake my head at my daughter who seems to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. "It's just that now that we're gone Grandma and Phil are going to be so lonely without us, what are they going to do for fun?" I winced at thinking of all the fun my mother and her husband were going to have now that there wasn't a teenager and a toddler at home with them.
"Well, Grandma is going to miss us but she has Phil and I'm sure there going to have way more fun than us now that there moving. Remember what we talked about before?"
"Yes," she says excitedly. "They're going to Flor… Flor… Florida! Right?"
Phil was being shipped to Florida and I knew it pained Mom to not go with him; after all she's done for me and Elizabeth I sacrificed myself to go to Forks with Dad, just so she could be happy. Of course, that meant I would be returning to my unmade mess as well.
"Exactly, besides I'm sure we can always talk to Grandma and send her e-mails, okay?"
Her face visibly brightened at this and as much as her seatbelt would allow she turned to hug me tightly and I soaked into her embrace before turning to see out the window and realized the tarmac was right below us. The wheels began touch down and Elizabeth grabbed my hand in hers with a tighten hold. I squeezed her hand signaling everything was okay. The ding of the seatbelt sign alerted us it was okay to go and I unbuckled myself first, going into the aisle to grab both our carry-on from the overhead compartment. With my purse and Elizabeth's colorful Disney Princess's book bag in hand I unbuckled her and grasp a tight hold of her hand. I began to make my way slowly down the narrow aisle hearing the huffs of impatient passengers behind me. The small planes aisle was half the size of the plane we had taken for our four hour flight out from Arizona to Seattle. Still, I continued taking careful steps so I wouldn't fall and topple down on top of my baby girl. Finally we stepped off the plane and into the brightly lit Port Angeles airport. Through the glass windows I can see the sun has gone and only darken clouds shelter us. Finding baggage claim wasn't hard I had it memorized from being shipped between mom and dad from childhood till sixteen.
Before we head out I gather our parkas from the suitcase and put it on each of us.
It had been three years since I last seen my father and I knew the stay was sure going to be awkward but having Elizabeth would help. I knew my decision had left him confused knowing my huge distaste for Forks itself, and then even more for the person who lived not too far from it.
Charlie's was waiting for us next to a black Toyota just outside the doors. "Hi, Dad," I say as I walk closer to him. I made it a point not to call him Charlie to his face. I slipped once, and the look on his face after that made me extra careful when I was around him. He leaned down and gave me an awkward one armed hug and kissed Elizabeth at the same time, causing her to giggle, probably from his mustache tickling her cheek. He leans back against the car as he says, "How's my favorite girl?" He looks at me giving me a pointed look. "Sorry, Bell's but she's more adorable than any other kid born in this world. Even you. Kiddo." I roll my eyes and set Elizabeth down while I pass him our luggage that effortlessly fits into the trunk. We didn't bring much with us. Most of our clothes were meant for the heat, so I would have to find a place to get us some warmer outfits.
"I didn't know you got a new car Dad," I say as I get Elizabeth settled into the back and into her car seat.
"I didn't get a new car Bells, this is for you," he announces shyly. "I wanted you to have a way of getting around and not have to rely on me all the time." I couldn't help but stare at Charlie, this was one of the nicest things he had ever done for me. Once I regained my ability to speak, I simply said what came to mind. "Wow Dad, I love it! Thanks!"
"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed.
I hopped in the passenger seat as Charlie got in and began to drive we exchanged a few comments about Mom and the weather before he began. Elizabeth was already knocked out, still sleep deprived from our early flight out this morning.
"You know Bells, I'm happy you came. It's been too long. Two years since I've seen my grandbaby. But, I just wanted you to know no one has seen him since that night. And if he's smart he'll let it stay that way."
I shook my head numbly and allowed for the new information to sink in. I was glad he wasn't around; although I knew I had to face my fears someday I was hoping it wasn't today or any day soon for that matter. With moving to Forks, I already had so much more on my plate. I was beginning my senior year, at nineteen. I just wanted high school to be over with but thanks to my unexpected pregnancy and the nightmare of my last visit to forks my sophomore year ended up being repeated twice. Also, I had to come to terms with starting Elizabeth into pre-school now since Mom wasn't here to watch her.
Eventually, we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small two-bedroom house that he bought for Mom in the earlier days of their marriage. It didn't take long for me to get settled but I saw Charlie had made a few changes to my old bedroom. It was larger but still familiar, it housed the same dresser and desk with the hand me down computer I had since I was twelve, only now it seemed to make room for a larger bed and space to withhold both Elizabeth and I.
Gently, I placed Elizabeth down on the center of the bed and kissed her forehead. My hand instinctively brushed along the side of her face. I turned to see Charlie at the doorway, a light smile on his face.
"I like it," I say gesturing to the room. "Thanks."
"I'm glad you do. And I'm glad your home Bells," he says before making his way down the stairs. The great thing about Charlie, he doesn't hover. He leaves me to unpack but instead I curl up next to my daughter and finally allow myself to cry.
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