Title: Prelude to Living
Disclaimer - All characters, etc. belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do not own Twilight, or anything for that matter.
Description - Bella Swan moves to Forks, WA to live with her father, so her mother can pursue work and travel abroad. Bella, an introvert, is surprised to find herself with an instant friend, Alice. Little does she know, Alice's intentions are to pair her up with her sullen brother, Edward. Bella slowly realizes that her life is now truly beginning.
Author's Note - This is my first ever Fanfic. I welcome constructive criticism, but please, be gentle!
Chapter 1 - New Beginnings
"It is no longer I, but another whose life is just beginning." - Samuel Beckett
BPOV
As I watched the rain come down, I huddled down in the front seat of Charlie's police cruiser, wondering if I had made a big mistake. Living in Forks was definitely not my ideal living situation, but I could hardly see how things could have turned out differently. Over the past year, my mom, Renee, had several job offers to work overseas. Each time, she'd come home and tell me she turned it down, citing that it was more important for me to finish out my last 2 years of high school in the same place, and that traveling around different countries was no way of life for a teenaged girl. She would tell me that it was no big deal, but, knowing her as well as I did, I could see the sadness behind her eyes, and hear the tinge of disappointment in her voice.
After the last rejected offer, I decided it was time for me to do some thinking. As long as I was being honest with myself, it's not like I was the pinnacle of popularity in my Phoenix high school. On the contrary, I was pretty much a loner. I didn't have a large group of friends, I didn't have a boyfriend, and really, I didn't even have someone I considered a BFF, with whom I could share my innermost thoughts. Let's face it, it's not like I would be leaving anything or anyone important behind, if I decided to move. I had spent so much of my life trying to keep up with Renee, entertaining her habit of flitting from activity to activity, and frankly, it was getting a little exhausting. I decided moving to Forks, WA to live with my dad, Charlie, would actually be pretty relaxing.
I can still see her face when I told her about my decision. She tried to sound concerned and worried, but there was no hiding her excitement as her eyes lit up with the thought of all the opportunities that awaited her. "Bella, are you absolutely sure this is what you want to do?" she asked me. It wasn't hard to convince her. After all, I was more the adult in the relationship than she was.
I wasn't very nervous about living with Charlie, even though it had been several years since I regularly visited him. We had a comfortable relationship, and he was easy to be around. Unlike Renee, Charlie didn't feel the need to constantly prattle on about every detail of his day. I found the silence refreshing. After some small talk, we settled down into an agreeable silence, and it wasn't long before I felt my eyelids drooping. The rain spattering on the windshield served as a lullaby and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.
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"Time to wake up, Bells. We're home!" Charlie said as he gently shook me awake. I yawned and rubbed my eyes. The house looked much the same as the last time I had seen it, other than a fresh coat of paint. I climbed out of the cruiser, and reached up and stretched. I got a face full of the wet mist that was coming down from the sky. Note to self: remember to use my hood.
Charlie helped me with my duffel bag and took it up the stairs to my childhood room. I almost groaned out loud when I remembered that we'd be sharing the one bathroom of the house. Again, not my ideal, but, I'd live with it. Charlie pushed open the door to my room and I stepped inside and was taken back to days gone by. The bed and dresser stood in the same place they always had, but there was now a desk in the corner, where my old toybox used to be. The curtains were the same old ones I had always had, now faded and worn with age. On the walls hung childish drawings I had tacked up long ago, and a framed picture of Renee and myself, dating back to when I was about 5. I remember she had given it to me to hang in my room during one of my summer visitations, so that I wouldn't get home sick. Looking back, I think she was more worried that I'd forget her.
"How does it look, Bells?" Charlie asked me, pointing to the new silver and plum bedspread on the bed. "I'm not up on the latest decorating trends, but when I saw it, I thought of you."
"It's find Ch--Dad. And thanks for the desk," I replied, reminding myself that it was probably not a good idea to keep calling him Charlie.
"I figured you'd need it for your school work. I hope it's okay." Charlie stood there ringing his hands, and it touched me how nervous he seemed to feel, hoping I'd find my new surroundings comfortable and adequate.
"It's great, Dad, really," I reassured him. I hoped that as we settled into an easy routine, he'd stop acting as if I were going to run back to Phoenix over something as trivial as furniture.
"Okay," Charlie stammered. "I'm going to go down and call for a pizza while you unpack and get settled in."
After Charlie left my room, I sat down on my bed and closed my eyes. Even though I have always felt wise beyond my years, I couldn't help but feel the pangs of loneliness. Lonely for what, I don't know. Back in Phoenix, I was always escaping to my room claiming school work when Renee wasn't dragging me to some class or activity that she felt was "essential to being a well-rounded child." I gave a big sigh, decided my feelings were a natural reaction to a big change of scenery and began to unpack my clothes into my tiny closet and old dresser. When I was done, I sat my laptop on my new desk, and shot off a quick email to Renee to let her know that I had arrived safely and was already settling in. I was surprised when Charlie called up to let me know that the pizza was here. Oh yeah, that's right, Forks is a tiny town, where when they tell you your delivery will be in 30 minutes or less, they really mean it. I closed the laptop and went down to eat, thankful that I knew Charlie wouldn't be pressed for conversation, and I could eat with the silence of my own thoughts.
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After dinner was over and the dishes were all cleaned up and put away, I gave Charlie a peck on the cheek and told him I was heading up to bed. He just said, "Goodnight, Bells!" eyes still glued to some sporting event on the television. Mostly I just wanted to be alone, but I truly was tired and decided to try to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, Charlie was taking me to La Push to the reservation to pick up my new-to-me truck that he had bought me as a welcome home present.
I grabbed my pajamas and went into the bathroom to attend to my nightly routine of washing my face, brushing my teeth and pulling my hair back into a loose ponytail. I inwardly groaned at the thought of sharing a bathroom with Charlie, but I told myself it could be worse. I heard the TV in the background downstairs and smiled knowing that Charlie's routine would hardly change now that I was back in Forks. He was predictable, and after the barrage of Renee trying to fill her life with meaningless things to mask her disappointment of not traveling abroad, I decided predictable was a good thing.
I opened the window a crack just to get some fresh air, and turned off the lights and settled into my bed trying to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. I laid there for quite some time, re-adjusting my position, throwing the covers off, pulling them back up again and feeling overall pretty restless despite my jet lag. While it was my room, it didn't feel right. This bed was softer than the one I had slept on in Phoenix. The shadows fell across my room in an unfamiliar pattern. The sounds of the house weren't at all what I was used to. I scolded myself, realizing I was acting like a child. I popped my iPod earbuds in my ears, turned over to face the wall, and finally was able to drift off into a fitful slumber.