A/N: This is a re-post of the original story. My super-awesome fantastic beta read it over and edited it for me, now it's less painful. HURRAY!
Disclaimer -sadly I do not own
Chapter One: Another Bruise
BPOV
As I waited at the bus stop, I couldn't help but feel miserable. My shoes were wet; soaked through, actually. Just another benefit of living in the rainiest town in America.
The bus pulled up and I swiftly put my $1.75 in the change slot before shuffling to the nearest seat. My shoes sloshed as I groaned and sat down on the hard chair. It was almost too tempting to take off my shoes right there and dump out the water that pooled by my toes. Instead, I took out my iPod, leaned my head against the window and watched as the expanse of green forest blurred past me in a rush.
Everything was so different here in Forks. Back home in Phoenix it was always sunny and warm, even though I could never get a tan. I really only burned. Still, I missed the dry, brown desserts that lined the highways and the palm trees that swayed in front of my school. Home.
When Charlie hinted to my mom, Renee, that he wanted me to stay with him for a while, she nearly had a stroke. I detested Forks. So did she. It was common knowledge in our home that visits between me and Charlie only happened each summer somewhere warm, on vacation so I wouldn't have to endure the weather or anything else Forks could come up with.
But alas, I set aside my strong feelings for Forks so that Renee could spend some time with Phil, her new husband. They had only been married a few months and I really did enjoy Phil; he was a nice man who could provide for my mother, and support her sporadic decisions to take numerous classes of yoga, French, karate, and even singing lessons. She always liked to try new things. I remembered the moment I decided to tell her I wanted to go live with Charlie, even though I didn't.
"Mom, I wanted to talk with you about something…do you have a minute?" I said while pushing around the Special K in my bowl rather then really eating it. I was too nervous to eat.
"Yeah! Sure, I guess I do." She glanced at her watch for a moment. "Cooking class starts in 45 minutes though, do you want to come?" She asked quickly and happily as always; she was usually a cheerful person. Unfortunately, I was about to ruin it, or at least I was pretty sure I was.
"Uh, no I've got some homework to do, but I just wanted to tell you that.." I glanced up at her, then back down, not able to keep eye contact for the next blow. " I think it would be a good idea if I lived with Charlie for a while..." I tried to sound convincing, but my voice failed me, wavering on my fathers name.
"WHAT?" Oh no… This is what I had feared. Renee would never willingly let me go, I would have to convince her that this was for the best. "I need to sit down," she added quietly.
--
Four months.
Four months of convincing my mother that I wouldn't be gone long, and that I needed to experience different things and spend time with my father. Most of all, I needed to convince her that Forks really wasn't that bad. Finally, she gave in. I almost gave up – but I won the fight in the end.
I had to promise to call at least three times a week and answer all emails – no questions asked. I would try to comply to her demands, because I really would miss her.
Charlie was thrilled and welcomed me in with open arms. I guess he really missed me. When I got settled in he told me that he had enrolled me in Forks High School. I wasn't surprised, obviously. I had to go, but that didn't mean I wouldn't dread every minute of it. I just hated the thought of being the "new girl" in a town of only 3000 people, half of which were high school students.
And all of that is what lead me to the bus stop the day before school started. I needed to figure out how long it took to get to school on the bus and what stop I had to get off at so that I at least looked like I knew something about Forks. Which I actually didn't.
The bus stopped without warning, brakes screeching, causing me to be lurched out of my seat into the one in front of me. I, Bella Swan, have no co-ordination whatsoever. When I put my hands out to grab the bar beside me, I missed and flailed like an idiot. My shoulder hit the seat with a very audible thud, and then I bounced back into my seat, a little frazzled, and with a new bruise. Joy.
I looked up to see who the maniac driver had stopped for, and was disappointed that it wasn't Brad Pitt or Jude Law, but a girl with a purple raincoat on. She looked to be about my age; she had glasses and a messenger bag that was decorated with beads. Luckily she had on proper footwear – boots. She silently walked past me, giving me an odd glance while walking to the back of the bus and pulling out a granola bar. I felt like I was on display; it wasn't comforting.
Nobody else got on the bus. The twenty three minute long bus ride was quiet and less violent then the beginning. The bus stopped in a couple places that I remembered visiting as a child, like the grocery store and the bank, but other than that it only stopped in residential areas.
When the bus stopped in front of Forks high school, I didn't get out – I only needed to look. After all, I was still dry and my shoes weren't soaked yet. No need to change that. So I stayed in the comfort of the warm, dimly lit vehicle, and rode home.
When I got off of the bus onto the squishy grass, my shoes retaliated, filling up with water. I said a quick thanks to the bus driver and began the short walk home. It was pretty depressing to realize that the highlight of my day was taking the bus to look at my new school.
When I got home, I stepped in the doorway out of the light drizzle that seemed to never end and gratefully took off my shoes. I opened the door and put them on the porch to hopefully drain out, then peeled off my wet socks and headed up to my room. Charlie wouldn't be home for a while, which meant I didn't have to cook dinner yet, so I turned on my laptop to email my mom.
Hey mom.
Went to look at the school today, it looks nice. I've decided I need to get some new shoes, and fast. It's raining. I miss you! I'll call you soon.
Love,
Bella
That email sounded pretty pathetic, but it was the best I could do at the moment.
With nothing much to do, I headed downstairs to prepare a meal. I didn't have to, but Charlie could not cook. I wondered how he had survived the last 17 years on his own. I started to boil the noodles for the chicken alfredo I was craving and stared out into Charlie's back yard. It was green and wet. Just like everything else here.
By the time Charlie came home, dinner was ready and we ate in silence. Charlie and I were similar in the way; we didn't need to talk much. When he finished eating, he complimented me on my cooking and then headed in the direction of the living room to turn on the TV and watch whatever game was on. After I did the dishes and went upstairs, I lay on my bed trying to imagine things going well tomorrow. It was harder than I thought. I internally kicked myself for being so negative; this was for Renee. Just two years like this and then it would be over.
I got up to put on some pyjamas. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt from SeaWorld, combed through my unruly hair, brushed my teeth, set the alarm on my bedside table for 7:00am and went to bed pretty early. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.
--
Despite my efforts, I tossed and turned all night. The sound of the raindrops was not like a lullaby at all to me; it kept me awake more than anything. I hated the rain. I got up stiff and sore from lack of sleep, and hopped in the shower.
I let the warm water run over me, soothing the knots in my back, and turned the water even hotter so that the shower would steam up and clear my head. I showered until, unfortunately, the water ran cold and reluctantly got out to walk to my room down the hall.
I went in and got dressed without really looking, I wasn't one of those girls who lay their outfit for the first day of school out the night before. I wasn't into the fashion stuff. I brushed my still unforgiving hair and tried to reason with the waves, but they wouldn't disappear. Frustrated, I gave up and brushed my teeth, put on light eye makeup so I didn't look so scary and, just for a moment, examined my right shoulder.
The purple bruise that was starting to form wasn't hideous. I'd had much worse; it was only the size of a small fist and could be easily hidden by a sweater or jacket.
I hurried down stairs and ate a banana for breakfast. I quickly made myself a sandwich and grabbed a juice box for lunch.
With my backpack on I headed out the door to grab my shoes that were still on the porch. They were relatively dry, but still when I slipped in my foot, a barley audible "squish" sounded. Great. I trudged to the bus stop preparing myself for the next twenty three minutes. At least it wasn't raining, right?