The blue sky that she had known so well was gone and the familiar gray, cloudy, sky made its presence known. The air was muggy and the ground was wet, meaning it probably had rained. She sighed, tightening her hold on the steering wheel, as she entered Forks once more after so long. Her body was torn between an unpleasant, stabbing, sensation and a spark of rejoice.
"Bella." Called Alice from the passenger seat of the car, noticing her cousin had faded out for a moment. She had that long distant look in her eye that she got when she became pensive. Bella turned to look at her and tossed her a soft smile.
"Sorry, I just spaced." She replied and turned her eyes back on the road, but Alice wasn't convinced. She had a hunch that it had to do with this place; after all, Bella hadn't been here in a long time.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Al," Bella flickered her eyes to her. "I have to come."
"Not that." Alice argued, rolling her eyes. "I meant, are you okay to drive? You keep spacing out and I don't want to end up on the eleven o'clock news."
"Your dad wouldn't be too happy." Bella's lips twitched as she remembered her uncle Arnold, or rather—Aro—as he preferred to be called. He said it gave him the authority he didn't have with his real name. Alice reminded Bella of Aro a lot, with their pale skin and dark, raven, hair. However, she had gotten her sweet, soft, features from her mother. "I'm okay." Bella insisted.
She saw as the roads became less cluttered meaning she was getting closer to the town. There was never any traffic here because the population of this place was minimal. There was a loud thudding sound on her windshield and she noticed it had started to rain.
So typical. She thought ruefully as she turned on the windshield wipers to help clear her vision. The road she was on led her to two destinations that she often recurred in her younger years. The two she had known how to get to with any form of transportation. At the end of the road, she turned right instead of left, slicing the connection she formed in her mind. She was being silly and stupid and she blamed the air for making her brain overthink.
She glanced over to see her cousin twirling her white iPhone in her hand like a ravaged woman, a pout on her lips and a crease between her brows.
"James?" Bella questioned as nonchalantly as she could so she wouldn't start the moping waterworks. Alice's frown deepened slightly and she stopped twirling her phone, plucking it into her oversized tote bag.
"Nothing." She replied simply without further information. Although, Bella didn't need it. She knew that Alice was heartbroken over her breakup with her boyfriend of two years, James. They had been a wonderful couple, he always took care of her and showed as much attention as possible and she would always beam with happiness.
That happiness waned when James suddenly changed towards her. Bella saw it unfold like a sad tragedy in front of her. One day she came back with swollen, red, eyes and a trembling lip. Bella didn't need to ask, she merely grabbed her cousin and pulled her into a tight hug, trying to give her some sort of solace. Alice had always been there for Bella so she was more than happy to be there for her when she really needed it. That was about a month ago, but Alice still held onto the hope that he might return for her.
Bella knew that Alice needed a moment, so she turned her face back to the road and hummed along to the music that was playing on the radio at that moment. It had a catchy tune and she needed some sort of distraction for what was to come. She couldn't deny Esme anything and although every bone in her body screamed not to give in, her heart immediately agreed. She was returning to the place where she was the most popular yet the biggest loser. The problem was, she didn't know what she was re-summoning.