Rain softly pattered against the glass windows that framed the front of the building; soft thunder claps as if reassuring the rain that it is there. The halls echoed with the silence from the early morning. The white walls gleaming against the lightly colored tile floors, the smell of the cleaning supplies pushed its way into the lungs of the few souls who dared to wake at this horrifying hour. A lonely bench sat near a set of elevators with the reflective surface showed the face of a teenage girl who sat on the bench next to a woman dressed in suit that squeezed against the woman's insides as if they were pieces of playdough in a kindergartener's hand.
The teen slouched as if begging for the ground to swallow them whole. Her arms crossed against her chest tightly, her hands clutching onto her studded jacket in desperation. Her dark hair fell in front of her face while her head leaned on the elevator for support. Her feet nudging her small bag filled with journals, and things to keep her entertained during long trips. Her heart ached as she attempted to glance at the woman next to her but the clicking of the women's heels made her hesitate.
"Where is he?" The woman snapped, her heels continuing to click louder and louder. "He was supposed to pick you up an hour ago. You have a flight to get to." The girl slid farther in her seat, burying her face into the elevator frame. Her face flushed a deep scarlet as she scowled and muttered under her breath, "You rushed here three hours early and made us wait outside until they opened this morning."
The woman glanced at the teen, something akin to guilt flashed in her eyes before turning forward once more the emotion hidden once more. "Gwen." The woman began, "You know why I can't take you in."
"Because you don't have time, mom never wanted me to be in your care, you don't have enough room, you don't make enough, excetra, excetra, excetra." Gwen slid farther away from the woman next to her as she spoke her scowl deepening.
The woman turned sharply her blonde hair slightly out of her perfect bun. "I don't need attitude from you, young lady." Her piercing blue eyes narrowed as the teen looked up at the adult with raised eyebrows. "You are not the only one hurting! I'm trying to do what's best for you and you think it is okay to make me feel bad! If your mother was here right now-"
"But she's not." The teen snarled, her eyes becoming a pair of weapons as if she could kill a person simply by looking at them. "She's not here, dad's not here, my brothers aren't here and you are sending me across the country because you can't stand the sight of me!" Gwen's hands curled into fist as she stood up. Her back facing the older woman and her hair fell in front of her eyes, hiding them from view.
She took several breaths attempting to calm herself. The air whistling through her lungs like they would through a straw. "You should go." Gwen whispered to her aunt, but her expression told her she shouted. "You have better things to do, right? Work that you talk so much about. You aren't here to try and keep me so just go."
She knelt down to grab hold of the bad that sat lifeless on the ground. Her combat boots squeaked as she started to take several steps forward.
"You didn't just lose a mother that day." Her aunt stood up, tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to explain once more. "I lost a sister." The blonde turned around sharply and begun to walk to the door and return to her car, not looking back at the sea-green eyes that stared at her back wondering what her mother would do if she saw her sister like this.
"Why does that explain you abandoning me?" Gwen begged to the empty space that once held a woman she once respected. "Why does that mean you can leave me?" A stray tear travelled down the pale skin of her face, resting on her chin before falling to the unforgiving ground below.
"It doesn't." A voice called out to her causing her to jump and face the figure who watched the scene before him play out as if it were some soap opera.
"W-when did you…?" Gwen began looking back and forth rapidly, her hair dancing as it tried to keep up with her thoughts that ran a race before her.
"I got here when she told you that you 'knew why she couldn't take you in'." The figure stepped forward making him more visible to her blurred vision. His eyes rolling around in a way that would make a person dizzy by following them. "None of which is a real answer that the state would then remove a child from the home." He brought a dark hand up to his head and gave the teen a sheepish smile. His chocolate eyes slowly lost the playful look as he attempted to act more sophisticated. "However her attitude is worrying. It appears that she is more focused on herself, than to her emotionally wounded niece. It makes it even more worrying that she knows that you witnessed what happened first hand and she thinks her grief is somehow greater than yours."
Gwen turned to face him but her eyes ran around, thinking that looking at anything else is better than looking the man who saw her cry in the eye. "So it is best that I leave?"
The man nodded slowly as if he was in front of a startled doe who hadn't begun to run away. "It's unfortunate but yes. You would only be hurt even more if you stayed." Gwen slouched in defeat as the man stepped forward and handed her a small slip of white paper.
"What is this?" Gwyn questioned softly, squinting down at the small black lettering that flitted across the front.
"It's my information card." He smiled softly, stepping back to give the teen space to breath her own air. "I thought you might like to actually know who I am before we talk of your options."
Gwyn gave a watery chuckle as she looked up into his eyes briefly showing the man her soul for a single moment before covering those windows with the curtains from her mask of strength. "Gwyn." She kept her eyes on his card as she attempted to introduce herself to the man meant to help her. "Most people call me Ether, because my last name is-"
"Etheridge." He nodded before tilting his head to the side, "My name's Daryl, but most people call me Darry. I'm the social worker assigned to work with you but you probably already knew that." He shrugged his shoulders and swayed from one foot to the other. Darry turned slightly looking at the flickering lights of the signs. "You want to get something to eat before we start talking."
Gwyn nodded quickly before striding forward slowly, her black bag slung over her shoulder carelessly. The lights of food counters and small convenience shops began to flicker on as the two walked aimlessly to find a place that interested them. Out of the corner of her eye, Gwyn spotted a small coffee stand with bright lights that gave a feeling of warmth rather than the fluorescent lights that blinded her before. Darry raised an eyebrow as he caught her entranced gaze. "You want to go there?"
Gwyn looked up at him with wide eyes as she spluttered out a reply. "I-I-I, well, I was just.."
Darry chuckled as he made his way over to the coffee shop. "Do you want coffee, or something to eat, how about a muffin, or maybe a bagel?" He rambled on as he quickly read through the menu.
Gwyn slowed as she followed him, her eyes gazing at him like a deer in headlights. "We-well, we don't have to… I don't really eat much, I mean, well."
"Two muffins, and a medium coffee with cream no sugar, and-" Darry eyed the girl who continued to stare at him with wide eyes. "A medium hot chocolate."
"How did you?" She muttered sitting down in one of the few empty tables that surround the coffee stand.
"You don't seem like the type to drink coffee." He shrugged taking the seat across from the young girl. A small smile crept up her face as her eyes slowly raised to look at the man once more.
"You're right." She chuckled, "Don't like it, it's too bitter, no matter what I do." Gwyn leaned back, slowly relaxing into the chair and slightly opening her heart to the stranger before her.
"You think that you will try it again?" He asked leaning back as well making the teen feel more at ease at the man's relaxed position.
"Maybe," She shrugged easily. "Everyone falls into the trap that is caffeine. I'm just holding out for as long as I can."
Darry chuckled gently before turning serious for a moment. "How's school? I know that you haven't attended since the… but what was it like before?"
She leaned to the left slowly, her eyes turned down in thought. "It was… good, I guess. I mean I wasn't bullied much, my grades were good, I didn't have many friends but it was… good?" She scratched her head trying to find the words but she couldn't find the words.
Darry nodded as he thought deeply, "What about classes? Which were your favorite?"
"Oh the generic questions now!" Gwyn laughed covering her mouth with a single hand as if the laugh will escape and tell others that she had a heart. "My classes were hard, but I liked them. Music was my favorite, but I really liked the Philosophy and Psychology classes."
"Really?" The dark man questioned with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. The dark man questioned with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. "Why?"
Gwyn's eyes glowed as she thought back to the lessons and words spoken that reached to her heart in hopes to show her something not seen before. "They… they spoke to me in ways that other classes had hoped to but were never able to. It opened my eyes, even just a little."
"What did your parents think…" Darry begun but his eyes widened as he realized what line he had just crossed. Gwyn's eyes grew cold and dark as he attempted to backtrack. "Oh..god. I'm sorry."
"No." She started, trying to stay calm, "I… it's okay." Gwyn bit her lip as her eyes glazed over attempting to hold back the tears. "My dad, he would have liked my ambitions. Maybe, I'm not really sure. He died when I was young. My mom, she was always so proud of me. I think that it scared her, how passionate I was about this but…" She swallowed down a lump of tears that refused to go away. "But she was happy that I was doing what I loved."
Gwyn smirked softly as her gaze was drawn to the pouring rain of the outdoors. "Zach, my little brother." She paused briefly before continuing with a renewed determination, "He was scared that he was never going to see me again. He thought that I would disappear like our older brothers did when dad died. They abandoned us and Zachie… I guess he was scared that I would do the same."
"But you wouldn't." Darry stated rather than asked, her eyes telling him the answer anyway. "You cared for him to much to do that." Gwyn brought her eyes back to the man's as one of the coffee shop workers came forward and placed down their drinks and food. A quick, "You seemed to be a bit busy…" as their explanation.
"You care a lot about family." Darry stated reaching a hand to grab one of the muffins that now laid innocently on the table.
Gwyn nodded also reaching forward for her hot chocolate, her green eyes glowing with hunger.
With her approval, Darry reached into his pocket and unfolded a slip of paper. "This is a possible answer." He pushed the paper forward for her to go over herself. She grabbed it as if it were a the holy grail, with tenderness and caution as if it would break with a simple touch. Her eyes ran back and forth on the paper trying to grasp what has just been given to her.
"You will be given your own home," He started leaning back and massaging his temples, "But you will be watch by the chief of police and his daughter. The state will give you a check for necessities every month, and you will be enrolled into the school. You have the mountains, the forest, a beach, and a small city with shopping options but you will have to report to the police station every once in awhile."
Darry sighed and looked at the girl with the most seriousness that he had shown all day. "This is your chance for a new start but it is your choice. I can get you on a plane today to your new home or you can stay here. The choice is ultimately yours, but you have to make it."
Gwyn's hands shook as the tears began to fall freely, an indescribable feeling wrapping its hand around her heart as she tried to grasp what has been given to her with frayed fingertips. She raised her head looking at the man offering this clean slate to her and saw no malice in his eyes, and for the first time since the accident, she felt safe.
She took a deep breath in as she whispered her answer.
Tell me what you guys think of the story. I think that I did pretty well, but I'm always up for constructive critisim. I do not own any characters or the actual story of Twilight. The characters will come in soon but I think you get where we are going.