Getting back to Forks really felt like coming back home. Bella took in her surroundings, realizing that while she might feel like she was experiencing the sights for the first time since she was young, she was really just coming home, and that was a comforting thought.
They finally pulled into the drive and the quaint white house came into view and it immediately brought a sense of peace into Bella's mind, it really did feel like home. Bella unsuccessfully tried to get out of the car on the own, sighing loudly when she couldn't maneuver into a position where she could stand up. Charlie hurried over, laughing when he saw Bella in a position no one should be able to be in trying to get out of the car, and helped her up into the house. Charlie helped Bella onto the couch and helped get her leg in a comfortable position before he started around the house getting her suitcase back up to her room.
Bella took this opportunity to really look around the living room and try to bring some of those elusive memories back up to the surface. She stared at the TV willing even just a small memory of her watching a Mariners game with her dad come up, but much to her frustration, nothing came. There had to be something that would trigger her memories to come back.
I came back to Forks, please, please let my memories come back. Bella pleaded to whatever force would hear her. She ached to remember the missing pieces of her life. She desperately wanted to remember even the tiny things like what she would cook for Charlie. Anything would be better than not remembering.
Suddenly, the pain in her chest grew even more in that moment, causing her to clutch at her chest and gasp for chose that moment to come back down stairs, and when he saw Bella clutching at her chest, he ran over and quickly knelt down by the couch.
"Bella?" Charlie questioned, "Are you okay? What's wrong with your chest?" His hands were fluttering over her, not quite sure if he should touch her, pry her hands away from her chest, or call 911.
Bella tried to smooth her face into something other than a grimace and finally managed to get out, "I'm okay. I'm okay." Praying that her chest would stop hurting quickly so she would stop worrying Charlie, which was the last thing she wanted to do. But this pain was like nothing else she had ever felt before. It was worse than when she almost had to move to Jacksonville, and she thought that was the worst pain she was ever going to feel.
It took a few minutes for the pain to finally subside to the point where she could breathe normally again. Charlie was still awkwardly hovering, his hands still over her body, waiting for Bella to show that she wasn't in as much pain anymore. She gave Charlie a soft smile. "I'm sorry Ch-dad, the pain is just sometimes worse than I'm prepared for. I'm okay now." She looked around, her eyes finally landing on the thirteen stairs that stood behind her and her bed. She slowly looked back at Charlie, who had finally gotten up from his knees and was making his way over to the recliner in the corner, eyes warily watching Bella, just waiting for the pain to come back. Completely prepared to call 911.
Bella closed her eyes, making sure that the pain was still manageable, before she spoke. "Um, I really want to go to bed," she mumbled, eyes moving to the stairs, hoping Charlie would follow her train of thought. His eyes followed Bella's and sighed before helping her up off the couch.
What followed was some extremely careful maneuvering that Bella was extremely surprised she was able to achieve without breaking another leg or breaking Charlie in the process. Their stairwell wasn't quite big enough for two adults to stand side by side, so Bella hobbled, with the help of the rail, up the stairs. Charlie walked behind her, staying two stairs behind at all times, just to catch her in-case she fell. Luckily, they made it up without incident, and Bella was able to curl up in her bed after just a few minutes of attempting to get into pj's before giving up and just sleeping in a large shirt.
Bella looked around her room once she finally got settled in her bed, purple comforter pulled up over her bare legs. Everything was different from what she remembered as a kid, to the bed she was currently sitting on, the deep purple comforter, the computer sitting on the desk in the corner, and the fairy lights going around the room. The only familiar thing was the rocking chair that sat in the corner of her room, placed perfectly so that when you sat in it you could watch the front yard from the window. Even though that was the only familiar piece of furniture in her room, she just couldn't help but feel like this is where she had been her whole life. Everything was just so comfortable, nothing like her various moves with Renee. Each time she and Renee had moved it seemed like she didn't fit in. Even though Bella would make sure that the house was completely decorated, and that her room especially was put together the way it was in each house they moved to, she never felt completely at peace as she did in her father's tiny home. She gazed out the window, and her chest tingled with pain once again, not anything major, but still enough that her hand found its way up to where the pain was coming from. She couldn't shake the feeling that even though everything seemed great, there was one piece of her life missing.
Charlie knocked softly on her door, which broke her out of her reverie and she just as softly, told him to come in. He eased the door open and made his way over and sat at the end of her bed, placing his hand on her cast covered foot, gently rubbing it up and down. They sat like that for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company, not needing words to express how both of them were feeling. This was the one thing that Bella really loved about her father, while he was a man of few words, he really knew how to make sure she knew she was loved unconditionally. His actions while at the hospital, making sure she was well settled now that they were back in Forks. The small gestures he made while they were on the plane headed to Port Angeles, asking multiple times if her head and leg were doing okay. It was those little things that made her love him even more, and made her even more confident in her choice to come back to Forks.
Charlie cleared his throat, breaking Bella out of her reverie, she smiled up at him as he started to speak. "Bells," His voice broke. "I am so grateful you are okay. You gave us a huge scare…" His voice broke again, filled with emotion.
Bella quickly sat up a little more, reaching over and placing her hand over his on her foot, showing him that she understood, unable to find words herself.
"Just please don't do anything like that again. Don't make any risky decisions, I know you are almost 18, but please, I love you too much for you to leave me this soon," Charlie finally got out what he wanted to say, quickly looking down as a few tears escaped his eyes.
"Dad," Bella started, struggling to find words to adequately express how much she appreciated him. "I really don't say this enough, but I love you so much. Just thank you for being there for me when I needed it. I know I can't remember what we did when I first got here, but I hope we can make new memories." Bella kept her hand on his hand the whole time, hoping that if her words weren't enough, her actions would hopefully express what she meant.
Charlie looked up, and smiled. He took his hand out from under hers, and patted it softly, before getting up off her bed and heading to the door. "Good night Bells," Charlie said as he slowly closed her door.
"Good night Dad," Bella smiled as she eased back down into her covers, but she still had trouble falling asleep, so she just stared out the window, waiting for her to finally feel tired enough to slip into sleep.
While she stared out the window, something felt off. Slowly crawling back out of bed, she narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what it could be. Bella slowly ran her hand along the window pane, the cracked white paint scratching her hand. Without thinking, she reached out and slowly unlocked the window and raised the pane so she could feel the breeze coming through. Once the window was open, Bella felt finally at peace. Even though nothing was familiar, the window being open just seemed…right.
Letting her hand linger just for a few moments longer, she slowly made her way over to her bed and sank into her bed, a smile on her face as she fell asleep, dreams filled of laughter, and mysterious golden eyes.