A sense of nausea and the strange sensation of rolling to a sticky stop eventually woke me up, I opened my eyes, but I didn't take anything in except for perhaps colours, everything was horribly blurred and it was hard to tell when I was awake, and when I wasn't, my eyes kept drooping and closing again, only for me to force them open yet again for no real reason. My stomach lurched with the slow movement of the car, and I rolled over in the seat, bundling myself beneath Charlie's jacket to drift off again. My eyes snapped open as I heard the rumble of flimsy wheels on gravel and heavy boots crunching over the same gravel contentedly as though it were eating it. I peeked over the window ledge sleepily to see Charlie carrying my things, what little there were, into the house.
I groggily flung myself out of the car to help him, but the empty trunk of the car just growled at me before dropping shut. I stared at it for a few moments, bewildered, only realising I was shuddering from the bitter cold when my mind suddenly snapped out of the blankness it had been drowned in; but I made no attempt to move out of the cold like my instincts told me, I kind of just…stood there. Charlie trudged over, his face staring at me in what must have been apprehension.
"Your things are all inside" he inclined his head to the house, and I yawned with a sleepy smile, still not moving from my spot by the trunk of the cruiser, pitifully shaking in my thick raincoat that rustled around me, coughing as the rain pounded against it.
"C'mon Emma, let's get you inside, you look exhausted." I rubbed my eyes as Charlie drifted towards the house, looking back to me to check I was following. My legs dragged along the ground, letting me bow closer and closer down to the ground until I was close to just lying down on the front steps. The heat of the house hit me like a wall- it was welcome, so lovely and homely that it overwhelmed the painful prickling sensation in my fingers from suddenly being very cold to very hot and a drowsy smile crept onto my face. It even smelt homely, like cinnamon and freshly cooked fish, like Charlie. The dusty smell of clean washing rattled along with the hum of the washing machine somewhere in the kitchen, and I could smell flaking pieces of paint as I trudged upstairs after Charlie as Freddie wiggled around my feet, barking for attention, but I felt too weak to stroke him.
With a hopeful expression, Charlie opened the door that led to what would now be my room.
My own room.
"I tried to decorate it a bit before you got here…y'know, so it wasn't all white…" he offered gruffly as I blankly stared into the rather large room. I nodded, too tired to take anything In. Charlie gave a worried glance over to me, furry eyebrows furrowing.
"We can re-decorate it, if you want, together, make it more…modern." He offered quietly, pointing to the curtains and running a finger along the smooth skin of paint. I shook my head, which was beginning to sting and pulse with a shattering migraine, rubbing my eyes, where pain had begun to slash across.
"Charlie, it's great." I breathed out and I heard a relieved sigh. I smiled up to him, my eyes going blurry as they weakly smouldered against his bright one's; and a sad expression of realisation shuddered across his shadowed face. I half fell forward against him, my arms holding him in a tight hug.
"Thanks Uncle Charlie." He nodded, muttering ''it was nothing', and awkwardly, he ran a hand through my hair like he would when I was little, when I would shudder with laughter, and I'd look up at him and grin, eyes bright and dazzled by my uncle's smile and say brightly
'you're my best friend, Uncle Charlie.'
Through the pulsing agony beating like a frenzied heart in my eyes, I felt a small silvery flame burn over my cheek, dribbling off my chin as I let go of Charlie. I quickly wiped it away with my sleeve, sniffing, hiding my face with the shadow of my fringe.
"I uh, got something in my eye." I muttered and Charlie nodded, pretending to check his watch; he knew that the flames licking down my cheeks,(leaving them bruised beneath blackened charcoal) were because I was getting tired, and he knew I was eyeing up the bed longingly.
"I'm making tea at eight, do you want anything, or we could order pizza?" he asked softly and I felt myself desperately eyeing up the bed in my room, that was the only thing my eyes could properly focus on, it was like a beautiful oasis in the desert, my body's desperation for it was becoming an insatiable hunger, an irresistible burning in my mind.
"I think I'm going to have a nap, is that okay? I'm sorry for being awkward…I'll stay awake if you want me to eat, I don't mind." My whole body burnt when I said those words, my bones almost screeched in anguish and I felt my shoulders ache longingly to be pressed against the soft surface, my skin suddenly felt tight and as though it were about to be ripped off.
"No it's fine, you should sleep, and I'll wake you up later."
I trudged over to the bed, flopping onto it as Charlie walked out of the room, and I presume, almost instantly, I fell asleep again.
I woke up hungry. My hair, still damp, was clung to my face in matted waves, curling against my lips which had gathered the messy ends in their corners, the back of my head warm with the sweat and rain that had gathered there and been crushed against my pillow as I slept. Rolling over I peered through the blurry tears of sleep in my eyes to stare at the wall, telling myself I was going to get up, but I found myself just staring at the wall, thinking about the things I do if I got up. I noticed that the wall was painted a beautiful blue, like a subdued lullaby of a blue sky. The kind of blue sky that would nestle itself beside the sleepy grin of the sun's radiant face on summer days, accompanied by yellowing bone coloured clouds that smouldered heartily over the horizon of bruised countryside.
White skirting was snuggled beneath the blue walls, a thin wire running modestly along it, attached with tape, which brought a wry smile to my face; Charlie was good with DIY, but technology, not so much.
My eyes followed the wire, flying manically over the hills it created, following it, following it, until I had to lean up from the bed to see it lead to a beautiful old wooden desk; intricate designs of mahogany flowers scribbled perfectly over its sturdy thighs, up onto its trunk where an au courant office chair lazed between; I loved it, the desk was beautiful. I half forgot the ache in my shoulders that branched from the agony spindling up my spine as I leaned awkwardly up to stare at the amazing desk.
I finally threw myself from the bed, walking over to the desk to study it closer; lightly running my fingers over the slightly rough skin of the wall, as though my fingers had dipped into a bright pool of fallen sky, back still aching, hunger forgotten for a few precious moments.
I leant down, and traced the delicate face of the wooden drawer, noticing my laptop had neatly been placed there, the wire pressed neatly into its muzzle and I realised Charlie mustn't have Wi-Fi, but quite simply a dial up modem. Heaving myself up, fingers bruised from a few tiny splinters, I gazed around the room, my room, properly.
Precious glimmers of dusty light glowered from the wall where a thin line of fairy lights hung, glowing mistily above my bed, thrumming with a strange luminous heartbeat, and I couldn't help but wonder if Charlie had been the one to turn them on.
Beneath them lay my bed, just the right size, probably a bit bigger than needed; covers devastated into a mountain from where I must have kicked them in my sleep; Freddie was submerged in them somewhere- rumbling snores rattling the mountain of covers. I turned around again to walk towards the centre of the room; home-made book shelves and a beautiful ornate wardrobe stood solemnly against the other wall across from my bed, glowering at me from their empty bellies, licking their lips at my tiny suitcases that sat, trembling, beside them as they awaited their dissection.
I could feel a pleasant tickle on my feet, as though feathers had suddenly brushed against my toes in a sudden breeze. I glanced over to see droplets of incandescent bone coloured light seep groggily through my window, filtering through the beautiful black curtains, lined with a ironic blue sky colour, in streaks of marrow and unhealthy flakings of skin. I knew this was what Forks was like, that the sky was obtusely set on being so sallow, but I hadn't remembered it being this dull.
Still, the air was warm, well, musty (Charlie didn't use this room very much) and the carpet was soft beneath my toes where my sock had fallen off during my sleep. It was beautiful, the room. Everything glowed with newness, and the time Charlie had clearly put into making it so nice was clear too- I couldn't have been more grateful, Charlie was wonderful. I knew I should have looked properly the night before, but I had been so tired I couldn't have focused on anything.
I quickly scampered out of my room, following the sound of a gentle rumble of cheering and dull music flooding from the TV, the sizzle of bacon hissing menacingly as it spasmed on the frying pan; the smell wafting beautifully up the stairs to greet me. Charlie turned round at my loud entrance, giving me a grin and I leant over the banister, breathing in the tigerishly tasty scent that had filled the lungs of the house.
"Charlie-my room- it's beautiful! I love it!" He smiled awkwardly, embarrassed a little by my sudden enthusiasm, eyes snapping about beneath his hair trying to avoid my own to hide the way they crinkled in the corners, the way his pale face; paled by the lush green skin of Forks, lit up and bloomed into a bright red smile. He ran his hand over his neck as he replied
"Thanks, Emma." I grinned, hands clutching the banister as I watched the bacon scowl at me from behind him through the doorway to the kitchen.
"you want some breakfast?" He offered, pointing to the bacon and I nodded greedily, my stomach letting out an agonised whine. Charlie laughed heartily as I, embarrassed tried to slink back up the stairs, only making Charlie laugh harder.
"It'll be ready in about twenty minutes- that okay?" He called up to me, watching as I finally slunk my way to the top of the stairs, my stomach rumbling wildly, despite the amount I ate the previous day; 'several bags of emergency food' and two service station meals which probably would have kept most people full for probably a week.
"Yeah, I'll just have a shower." I called back, dashing to my room.
I stared into my room for several moments, trying to grip the frayed thread of normality that was dangling before me- everything was new and weird and odd, and the more I did normal things, like unpacking and taking a shower, the more new and weird and odd it seemed; which didn't make sense, really. It was staying in a hotel; you do things like you would at home, to make you feel normal, homely- but there's always something there, in the back of your mind, telling you this isn't where you're supposed to be.
I finally moved again, broken from my thoughts, scooped up some clothes from one of my still unpacked suitcase and ran into the shower. It was nice to feel the warm slithers of water burning over my grubby skin, carving gorges through the dirt and sweat that had gathered there throughout the very long trip to Forks, predominately in that horribly cramped rent-a-car. I could hear my stomach rumbling violently, but I was too relaxed by the fresh, renewed sense of cleanliness to dash out of the shower, even if the sizzling scent of the bacon was beginning to mix with the sweet smell of warm water in the air.
As I ran out of the shower, throwing on my most comfortable clothes I had picked up from the suitcase, I caught a flash of myself in the mirror, and my sudden dizzying pace crashed to a halt.
I stared back at the girl, slumped in too-big clothes, with dripping hair that glistened prettily with pearls of sweet warm water; darkened beneath the paste of water and dissolved shampoo to a murky hardened-mud colour.
She had pale skin, like an old book with dog-eared pages- a well loved book though, with no pink dashes of inky spots to blemish the pages. Yet, there were thin creases, scars, which ran along parts of the yellowing page of her skin, but the book was too interesting to focus on the creases and after a while the creases were easy to ignore.
Her eyes were usually a light blue, heavily dusted with an equally light grey; but they resided darkly in the shadows at the moment, not as bright as they usually were; the light dampened by the rain of Forks.
When her hair dried it would fall into loose waves, probably- it was as unpredictable as when Forks would see the grinning elusive face of the sun, and lighten to its softer chocolate brown, dashed with streaks of blondish brown, almost bronze near the top when the sun hit it; which would probably mean they would soon become as elusive and mythical as the sun itself in the damp little town.
She was a little heavier, bigger than most other girls- around 155 pounds. Not that it bothered her much, in all honesty, it didn't bother her nor she did care at all. The baggy, soft blanket of clothes that she was snuggled beneath comfortably hid away any insecurity she might have had about it anyway.
I stared back at myself for a few more seconds before shaking my wet hair about like a excited dog; tiny pearls of grumbling water- heaved unpleasantly from their resting place into the tenderised, sweet air, plummeting down to the ground before I dashed away, towel thrown around my head, charging down the stairs, dropping to a graceful jump at the end, swinging round the banister into the dining room, where Charlie greeted me with smile.
"Breakfast is on the table." He said before sitting down with a clatter of knives of forks. I swept into my seat, comfortably nestling myself between the wooden seat and the delicious scent of bacon.
"I thought we could get you some clothes, you didn't seem to bring many..." Charlie began but trailed off as he dropped into his seat, hungrily jabbing the bacon with his fork. I looked up, mouth full of food, smiling.
"Are you sure? I'lll use my own money...thanks Charlie." I replied with a gulp of bacon and he shook his head, dark eyes shimmering thankfully.
"No, no- I'll buy them. My present." He explained softly and I frowned like a child playfully.
"You bought me a truck, I don't need another present Charlie- that's more than enough!" I protested, pointing my fork at him accusingly. He burst into soft chuckles, and I grinned.
"Well, alright- you can pay for the gas- how about that?" he asked, knowing I wouldn't want him spending loads of money on me.
"Compromise, eh?" I considered playfully before smiling. He grinned back, full of relief.
"Deal." I concluded, scooping up some more food.
AN: (Thank you so much for the reviews! They mean so so so much to me, and to be favourite followed within two days- you guys are brilliant! Thank you so so much!)
AN2: ((I know this chapter is REALLY BORING, I'm just trying to establish interactions between Charlie and Emma and set up their relationship a bit better. I promise, they get more interesting! Promise guys! ^^))