THE JOURNEY from Portland, Maine to Forks, Washington was one that Eleanor Martin had been dreading ever since her parents made the decision three months ago. After riding in the backseat down from her cozy town next to the ocean to the biggest (and only) airport she'd ever seen; JFK International. Eleanor loved her small town, uninteresting as it might've been. It was predictable; safe, too. Something cancer didn't give her a lot of.
"Eleanor, you're so brave, honey." Susan, one of the girl's mothers said to her with her calloused hands cupping her daughter's face. "We're so proud of you."
"She knows that." Megan, Eleanor's other mother said with a comforting squeeze of Eleanor's shoulder. "Don't you, Ellie?"
Eleanor nodded. For a split second, she didn't feel very brave; instead, she wanted to get down on her knees and beg them to come with her. But she knew her mothers, and she knew that they would come; which she couldn't make them do. They already had so much on their plate, and enough bills to pay without finding a flight and place in Forks.
She took a half-second to look at her mother, Susan's laugh lines; her mama, Megan, had her typical reassuring smile and encouraging demeanour. They were so central to her sense of self, to her life- she'd never been without them for longer than a weekend before. Talk about 0 to 60, she thought to herself.
"I know." She said truthfully. A smile that barely reached the corner of her lips reflected back to her mothers.
"Tell Nanny we send our love." Susan said, pushing a piece of blonde hair back behind her ear with one hand and a tear off of her face with the other.
Eleanor nodded, a smile acting as a dam against the tears she knew would come on the plane "Of course."
Megan insisted "Call us if you need anything. Will's only a day-trip away, at-"
"UCLA. I know, Mama. I've got it, really." She said, the duty of reassurance on her end now.
"We know you do." Susan answered, casting a soft glance at her wife. The two women stepped forward, embracing their daughter tightly for a moment, before the final boarding call went out.
Then she got on the plane, and stared out the window until the biggest city in the United States became nothing more than a speck on the horizon.
The three hour plane ride that followed had left her with literally nothing but time; she was a first-time flier, and as such hadn't a clue that a second suitcase wasn't considered a carry-on. Eleanor settled further into her seat and did her best to block out the two college students in the seats next to her by turning her gaze out the window, and turning up the volume of her headphones.
Gradually, her thoughts drifted away from how bizarre the sky looked from her vantage point to how in the world she ended up here, en route to a town with an even smaller population than her own- which was quite an accomplishment. Her mother, Susan, had grown up there, and her parents still lived there; it was them who'd suggested the doctor in the first place.
Eleanor rubbed her arm subconsciously; once she landed in Seattle and sat through the drive to Forks with her grandmother (which she was admittedly looking forward to; Eleanor adored her grandmother), she'd be checked into the local hospital. An IV would go into her arm, she'd nod and smile politely, and pray to whatever God she believed in that the doctor wouldn't suggest chemo; one round was more than enough for her, as far as Eleanor was concerned.
She leaned her head against the plastic that lined the small window. She assumed she was somewhere in the Midwest now- maybe Kanas, Eleanor thought. She'd done a report on it once, before the doctors found the abnormal white blood cell count in her bloodstream and school reports took second place to hospital visits and cat-scans.
That was the primary reason she was even on this plane. A hospital with a highly regarded doctor in a town small enough that the school officials could probably cut her some slack for missing classes more than once a month.
Eleanor understood all that. Her hometown of just over 15,000 residents simply didn't have the doctors (or treatments) that she needed. What she didn't understand was why, of all places, did she have to move to Forks? Her beloved grandparents couldn't have lived in some place more interesting? New York would've been nice, as she'd thought to herself more times than she could count.
The plane began its descent before she could close her train of thought. Squinting through the rain, the airport seemed even drearier than it already was.
Her grandmother, Helen, was waiting at the gate. They hadn't met in a few years- with hospital bills for one child, and tuition at UCLA for another, her parents were tight on money as it was-, but Eleanor could pick her out in an instant. She had an eggshell blue raincoat on, paired with a clearly hastily combed-through mop of hair.
Helen Martin gave her granddaughter Eleanor's fifth hug of the day, whispering a soft word to her "I've been so excited for you to get here, Nellie."
"It's good to see you too, Nanny." Eleanor said in response, a genuine smile on her face. Her grandparents'd had that effect on her since she was a little girl. Her grandfather- whom her Nanna went on to explain was out hiking on the Reservation- was tied for Eleanor's favorite person, along with her Nanna.
The trip from baggage claim to the Subaru with the 'LUVLUCY' license plate went by rather smoothly. It took two trips, mostly because of the oxygen tank; and the fact that she packed every piece of clothing she owned. Most of the bags fit comfortably in the trunk, but a few required her Nanna's careful arrangement to fit in the backseat alongside the oxygen tank and tubing.
"Your grandfather bought a truck that'll rust out in two months from O. Q. - Mr. Atera, do you remember him?-" without waiting for Eleanor's reply, Nanna pressed on. "But I don't want you killing any potential friends on your first day, so I figured this old thing would be a better option."
"I- wow, thank you." Eleanor said, taking a second to look around the car that was newly hers.
The conversation flowed nicely after that, topics from where her high school was (and how to work the car's GPS), that then went to what classes she liked and what ones she didn't, and ended with where the hospital was, and that they'd be checking in with her doctor- Dr. Cullen, the girl's grandmother said with a certain awe in her tone- once they dropped her bags off at the house.
The conversation took a quiet lull after that, and Eleanor took the opportunity to examine the scenery around her. It seemed that every inch that she could see was green, save for the roadway in front of them: which still had tint of green that filtered down through the trees that lined it.
Not much longer, the pair arrived at 75 Nelson Street, just over a mile away from the hospital that would be her life source. The house that Eleanor's Nanna and Papa inhabited gave away no hint of the melancholy that was sure to have with having a dying granddaughter under their roof. The faded blue shutters over a yellow clapboard frame gave the old house a cheery, sunny tone that showed its contrast excellently- both to the cloudy grey sky above, and the dying girl in front of it.
With a carefully arranged jenga-puzzle of bags in her arms and on her shoulder (all with her oxygen tank trailing behind her), Eleanor managed to make it up the stairs in one trip.
Her bedroom at the top of the narrow stairwell had a dormer window, with a bed (crafted by her grandfather, she assumed), built into it. The same white stool she'd needed to get into the bed as a child was in the same spot it had been for the past seventeen years. Built in shelves replaced the need for a dresser, but a small closet was positioned adjacent to the bedroom's door. A couch with a color to compliment the room's color was also in the room, complete with a coffee table that faced a bookshelf (with a spot cleared for her relatively small television).
There was a bathroom across the hall that was literally the size of a shoe-closet. But, it was hers and hers alone, and so Eleanor was grateful.
In the time it took her grandmother to sit down for the six o'clock newscast, Eleanor began unpacking. It was rather pleasant to be alone with her thoughts, to let her encouraging smile drop; a load off of her shoulders to watch the rain drip off the roof and past her window, and to have a minute to breath.
But a minute only lasts for sixty seconds; after that, Eleanor began to unpack her suitcase, and organise her new bedroom. Folding the jeans and hanging the dresses, putting the nicer sweaters on hangers and others into a larger drawer above her pajama drawer, she dwindled away at the mountain of clothes in her bags.
Once that was handled, Eleanor sat on her bed for a moment. Not quite thinking (but certainly not not thinking), the homesickness began to set in. She was fairly certain mothers would've gotten home by now, and that they were sitting at the family's oval-shaped kitchen table with their dinner. Chicken Noodle Soup, Eleanor guessed; it was her Mama, Megan's, favorite.
"Nellie, you're going to be late, love." Her Nanna called up the stairs, jingling the keys for good measure.
Eleanor took a deep breath, casting a fleeting glance at her reflection in the mirror. She made a mental note to put on blush before school the next morning; she looked whiter than a sheet.
Shaking her head, she headed down the stairs. The grandmother and granddaughter headed into the white Subaru parked in the driveway; the short drive to the hospital was quiet, with only the passing direction being spoken to Eleanor, who was seated in the driver's seat.
They arrived to the hospital in just a few minutes, and once Eleanor had pulled into a parking spot, the two women headed inside.
While the elder Martin walked inside without hesitation, the younger one paused; this hospital was much smaller than what she was used to. Where were was the separate emergency room, the sign pointing toward the maternity wing?
She couldn't doddle outside for more than a second without her Nanna noticing, so she briskly walked inside with arms folded across her chest.
The lobby was lit in standard hospital fashion- the lights that fit in next to pop-in ceiling tiles gave the room it's bright appearance, and was warmer than she'd expected. It was an average size room. There was a check-in desk several feet in front of her, where her grandmother was chatting with the blonde-haired woman behind the desk.
Catching the eye of the desk clerk, the woman smiled sympathetically at the teen. "You must be Eleanor, then" she said.
Eleanor stepped forward, hesitant smile on her face. "That's me," She confirmed, and saw the softening in the clerk's eyes as she examined her unhealthily skinny frame. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt, she thought. Daughter of the flighty lesbian, come home at last.
She handed a few papers to Eleanor's grandmother, after exchanging a few more pleasantries. She smiled at the cancer-ridden girl, and told her that Dr. Cullen would be with her shortly.
Shortly was an understatement. Not even thirty seconds after she'd sat down in the plastic waiting chair, a door opened that led to the exam rooms.
"Eleanor?" The red-haired nurse asked, glancing up from her clipboard into the scarcely filled waiting room.
Turning to give a parting smile to Nanna, Eleanor stood up. "Hi," she walked over towards the nurse, and followed her down the hall.
After the measurements of height and weight were taken and standard health questions asked (Was your blood cell count effected by the plane ride? Any cold symptoms?), the nurse left her with a hospital gown to put on and bid Eleanor goodbye.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. After she called for them to come in, Eleanor caught her first glimpse of her new doctor.
He looked young, almost too young to be a doctor. His hair was practically a bleached blond (she wondered briefly if he did actually bleach it, but decided against asking), and his skin was pale as pale could be; but maybe that came with living in the rainiest place in the continental United States.
"It's nice to meet you, Eleanor." Dr. Cullen said in an uncannily friendly tone. "How are you feeling?" He asked, taking his seat in the swivelling chair positioned in front of a laptop.
"Fine," Eleanor replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I didn't feel light-headed on the plane, which is a good sign."
He nodded, typing for a few seconds before continuing his questioning. "That's good, then. Any concerns?" The doctor asked, an expression of genuine concern on his face; it was refreshing.
"Aside from school tomorrow, no." She said, laughing weakly. It was a poor attempt at dodging his question, and she knew it. Truthfully, she had too many concerns to count: school was one of them, but it was definitely minor compared to others. How long do I have, Dr. Cullen? she longed to ask. How long until I explode like a ticking time bomb?
He nodded, seeming to understand her anxiousness. "It's a good school, I'm sure you'll do fine. My wife and I send our children there."
"That's good." She said, before quickly correcting herself. "It'll be nice to know someone, I mean."
"I'll tell them to keep an eye out for you." He said, smiling in an encouraging manner. She liked this doctor, she decided.
A few moments of polite conversation about what treatments she had tried (and which out of those had actually worked), the two came up with a game plan for the course of her treatment; chemo was a strong no on her end, but it was the only long-term course of action.
For now though, she'd come in twice a week for monitoring, and under go a blood transfusions about once a month.
The doctor led Eleanor back out to the lobby. While he informed her grandmother of the treatment plan, Eleanor waved goodbye to Dr. Cullen and headed outside to wait in the car; she wasn't sure she wanted to see her grandmother's face when she found out her granddaughter wasn't going to outlive this.
The drive home was relatively silent. Eleanor let her grandmother drive home, and they were both hushed as they exited the vehicle.
Luckily for the Martin women, Papa was waiting in the living room.
"Ellie!" He grinned, swooping her into his arms in a tight hug.
Her mood instantly brightened, ten-fold. His familiar red and black checkered flannel was comforting, and the fact that he was wearing the same cologne he had when she was a child only boosted her mood further.
She pulled back, a smile on her face. "Where've you been, Papa? Forgot I was coming?" Eleanor teased.
"No, no!" He shook his head, grinning despite the feigned expression of hurt on his face. "You know how important my fishing trips are."
She laughed, and nodded her head. "I know." He laughed as well, and the conversation continued.
When the inevitable question of "How was did the Doctor's visit go?" occurred, Eleanor looked visibly uncomfortable.
That very well answered the question for him.
A few awkward exchanges later, Eleanor smiled weakly. "I think I'll head to bed, Papa." She kissed his cheek, then kissed her Nanna's, and the headed up the stairs.
Eleanor grabbed her bag of necessities that she'd left on her bed earlier that day, and headed for the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her skin was a shade darker than ivory, but still rather pale; her eyes had several layers of bags beneath them, ones that she knew would take at least half-an-hour to cover up the next morning.
Facing herself in the mirror, she attempted to think about the new school in a positive way. At the very least, at least she sort of knew someone. Dr. Cullen seemed nice enough, so maybe his kids were too.
Most people were either too scared to befriend a dying girl, or the exact opposite. Though she didn't like pity, Eleanor much preferred it over having no interaction at all.
But that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was tomorrow, and making the best out of however long she'd be here.
Eleanor slept surprisingly well that night. The rain hitting the tin roof was a comforting sound, and the time-change had finally caught up to her.
A thick fog blanketed the town outside her window when she woke up. She got dressed quickly; a pair of jeans, white t-shirt, and an old pair of hiking boots.
Breakfast with her grandparents proved an almost uncannily casual event, considering the news they'd received last night. Eleanor was grateful they didn't bring it up, and so neither did she. They ate comfortably around the stampeding hoard of elephants in the room.
After receiving multiple well-wishes and hugs from both Nanna and Papa, she headed out and onto the highway in the white Subaru. It was warm (once she turned the heating on), and protected her from the light drizzle outside.
The drive to the school was shorter than she would've hoped. The school was divided into several small buildings, and she pulled the car into a spot in front of the largest one. Though school started in barely twenty minutes, the parking lot still looked fairly empty; she had to remind herself that this town had half the population of her own, so it's school must've been minuscule.
Taking the schedule that had been mailed to her the day before, she took a deep breath. How difficult could it be? It was, after all, the start of the year for everyone. It wasn't as if she was moving in the middle of the year- her mothers weren't that cruel.
Eleanor took a deep breath, and opened the car door. She followed the crowd in, and entered a building marked with a bold 'three' above its entrance.
The classroom itself was quite small. Those in the front of the classroom had been hanging their jackets on several pegs surrounding the door frame, and Eleanor followed suit. There was a seating chart drawn out on the whiteboard; and, to her surprise, it was arranged in alphabetical order by first name.
E, okay. Somewhere towards the front. She thought to herself, glancing back at the board. Third row back, window seat. Eleanor noted, before finally finding her seat.
The boy in the seat next to her was the most intimidating person she'd ever seen. He looked heavily interested in the syllabus, so it was with a surprise that she met his eyes when he looked up.
She sat down, somewhat timidly, as he flashed a grin at her.
"Eleanor, right?" He asked, in a way that made her fairly certain he already knew the answer.
Eleanor nodded, laughing nervously. "Word travels fast around here, huh?" She fiddled with the pen on her desk.
"Not that fast," the burly boy shook his head, a hint of a laugh coming out of his lips. "I'm Emmett. Car- Dr. Cullen's foster son."
"Oh," She said lamely, her eyes widening in recognition. "Right."
"Right." He chucked. Emmett opened his mouth to speak again, but the teacher's introduction cut off whatever words he was about to say.
The rest of the class passed without event, as did the rest of her morning. Eleanor left English with Emmett (the alliteration was not lost on her part) to go to US History, and then Trigonometry.
Then came the forty minutes she'd been dreading all day; lunch. She'd barely spoken to anyone outside of Emmett, and even that could hardly be called a conversation.
So, relief came cascading over her when she saw Emmett's hand shoot up, waving her over to the table he was sat at with four others she assumed were his foster-siblings.
"Thank you, thanks." Eleanor stumbled through her words breathlessly, tugging her oxygen tank closer to the table as she sat in the only empty seat: one between Emmett and a shorter girl, with equally as pale skin and hair cropped in a pixie cut. "I think you just saved my life."
Emmett shrugged his shoulders. "We had an empty seat." He said, a small grin adorning his features. "I don't suppose Carlisle told you the rest of their names, did he?"
Puzzled- first by his phrasing (who talked like that anymore?), and secondly, though only momentarily, by the name Carlisle: she quickly realised it was Dr. Cullen, Eleanor shook her head.
"I figured." He nodded over to the stunningly gorgeous blonde next to him. Her platinum blonde hair and perfectly coordinated outfit made Eleanor feel about as big as an ant.
"I'm Rosalie. It's nice to meet you, Eleanor." She said, exchanging a gentle smile. "Carlisle says you flew in from New York."
"Yeah," Eleanor confirmed. "The city was really...big."
Rosalie nodded, putting forth a good effort to somewhat veil the extent of her interests. "Have you ever been to Rochester, then?"
"My mom's from there, actually. We go once or twice a year." She answered quickly, eager to have a topic of discussion with the first female who'd acknowledged her existence since she'd been here.
"I'm Alice," the next one, the pixie-haired girl interjected. "I can tell we're going to be great friends."
"That's really...sweet," Eleanor said finally, to the chuckles of the others at the table. "Thanks."
The introductions continued around the table in a similar manner. Eleanor was introduced to a boy named Jasper, a tall blonde who wore a permanent grimace; Edward followed, who seemed insightful, to say the least.
As it turned out, she had her next class with Rosalie. During the course of her Biology course, Eleanor discovered that Rosalie and Emmett were very much a pair (as were Alice and Jasper). It wasn't exactly surprising, as both pairs acted like couples, just odd. But it wasn't any of her business, so she just nodded and smiled.
And later that day, as Eleanor walked out to her car and waved goodbye to her new found safety net, she couldn't help but think that maybe this school wouldn't be too miserable after all.
BEFORE YOU GO :
hey there! i hoped you enjoyed the first chapter of petrichor, and the first chapter of what will be the eleanor martin saga. you'll get to know all of the characters i created better in later chapters, but hopefully this one gave you a pretty good idea on the basis of their personalities.
i know how rushed the ending is, believe me. i'm sure i'll end up tweaking it at some point, but i was just too eager to get this story up and ruining to let it sit in my drafts for another day. thanks for understanding!
chapter two will have her first detailed interaction with the cullen kids (and maybe esme? would she be able to go to the hospital?), and some more fluff with nanna and papa! comments (both positive & constructively critical) are more than welcome, and feel free to message me with any questions you have.
ONE LAST THING :
are the visual aides a thing i should keep up for future chapters, or would you prefer to use your own imagination for how these things should look? let me know below! ps: can you spot the line i quoted (word for word), from twilight's first chapter?