Disclaimer - All characters, etc. belong to Stephenie Meyer. I do not own Twilight, or anything for that matter.
Chapter 2 - Fresh Start
BPOV
The flight was uneventful and before long, I was sitting in the front seat of Charlie's police cruiser, headed for home. Charlie had the bare minimum of details. He knew that I had broken up with my boyfriend, and that I needed a change of scenery, but that was really about it. We didn't have the kind of close relationship where I could tell him everything, and frankly, it would have been way too much information for him to handle. I knew from overhearing a telephone conversation he'd had with Renee that he was concerned that this was just a temporary fix for me, that I'd get here, quickly get bored of life in small town Forks, and want to go back to Phoenix. I knew how much he wanted me here, and how much it would break his heart for that to happen. Given the lack of detail I was willing to share with him, there was really nothing I could say to him to convince him that I was genuine in my desire to be here, and that it was not just a band-aid I was placing on the wound of my broken heart. I had resolved myself to show him my pleasure of living with him and my happiness to be here, since I couldn't tell him. I had already planned some of his favorite meals to cook.
We had some light small talk in the car, and then we settled into a comfortable silence. That's one of the things I loved about Charlie. He rarely pushed, and he didn't feel the need to talk just for conversations sake. He was simple, and to me, that was like heaven. We pulled up and I got out of the cruiser and just stood there smiling at the house. It wasn't huge or spectacular, but it was home. It was a place where James did not fit in my memory, or in my life, and I couldn't have been happier to be here. Charlie grabbed my bags and took them up to my room for me. I stepped in and took a deep breath, relishing the scent of my new surroundings. I had many fond childhood memories of spending summers with Charlie here, but since I had gotten to be a teenager I hadn't been back. I cringed at the thought of how that must have hurt Charlie. That was all water under the bridge though, and I would try my best to make it up to him. I got upstairs and opened my bedroom door to a huge surprise. Charlie had it repainted and I was now the owner of a new matching bedroom suite, complete with desk and vanity. I felt guilty, knowing that Charlie was doing whatever he could to make me feel happy and comfortable here enough to stay. Since he wasn't the emotional type, this was what he came up with.
"Dad!! You shouldn't have!" I said, shocked at the difference of the room from my childhood.
"Do you like it?" Charlie asked me, worriedly.
"I absolutely love it! You're the best!" I gave him a big hug and a peck on the cheek.
Charlie blushed. "The saleslady said if you don't like the color, we can change it for you. I wasn't sure what your favorite color or style was, but I wanted it to be surprise, so I didn't ask. Figured you'd know something was up if your old dad started asking you decorating questions."
I think that was the most I had heard Charlie say at one time. "It's perfect. Really. And, Dad?" I looked over at him flashing him my sweetest smile. "Thank you."
Charlie left and went downstairs mumbling about something he had to take care of, and I unzipped my duffel bag getting ready to unpack. He really had outdone himself with the redecorating of my room. Gone was the bed with the squeaky mattress springs and mismatched second hand furniture. Now I had a room that any teenaged girl would be pleased with. Instead of a twin bed, I now had a full sized sleigh bed, in a rich dark cherry wood finish. The bedspread pattern had chocolate brown, some turquoise and some delicate gold threads running through it. The worn faded curtains had been replaced with new ones that echoed the pattern on the bedding. The wooden floor was now covered with a plush area rug that coordinated with everything else. I had a good-sized dresser in the same wood as the bed, a vanity with a little stool, and a desk, complete with modem for my laptop. A great lamp sat on the desk, giving me a good space to do school work. There was also a small bookcase. Charlie knew I was an avid reader and I thought it was very sweet of him to give me a place for my beloved books. The walls were painted a soothing coffee with cream color and there were framed photographs hung on the wall, some of me with Charlie, some of me with Renee, along with some funky artwork. He had to have gotten help with this. Charlie's idea of interior decorating left something to be desired. I finished putting away my things and headed downstairs to start working on dinner.
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During dinner, Charlie seemed unusually quiet, even for him. He just seemed like he was in a generally foul mood. I hoped I hadn't done anything inadvertently to upset him. I couldn't take the tension anymore, so I just came right out and asked him.
"Ch-Dad, is something wrong?" I inquired. "I mean, you didn't go and take a disliking to steak and potatoes since I saw you last, did you?" I threw in there, to try to break the mood.
Charlie gave a big sigh. "No, Bells. Dinner is wonderful. You keep cooking meals like this and I'm going to get spoiled!" I remembered that Charlie didn't cook and lived off of microwave dinners and the diner when I was away. "It's just..." another sigh, "well...I had a kind of a surprise for you, a welcome home present as it were, and I was hoping it would be here by now, but it got a little held up." He looked up at me sheepishly before stuffing another bite of steak in his mouth.
"A welcome home present?" I asked, quite a bit shocked. "Dad, you re-did my bedroom for me, and it's wonderful. In fact, it's more than I could have asked for. Really. I don't need anything else." I began to feel guilty hoping that Charlie didn't feel obligated to shower me with material goods to get me to stay. Believe it or not, I was determined to make this work, no matter the cost.
"Oh, Bells. I know you didn't ask for anything, but, well, I just want this to feel like home to you."
"It is home to me, Dad. And not because of anything you put in it. It's home because you're here." My voice broke a bit on that last part, because it was true. Charlie would never know just how much I needed to be here.
"Aw, Bella." He just sat there, fork in mid-air, not sure what to say. We rarely had emotional moments like this, and I'm not sure he knew what to do. He eventually cleared his throat and said, "Well, I may as well tell you what it was. I guess it will still be a surprise. Do you remember Billy Black?"
Billy Black was my dad's closest friend. He was Indian, and lived on the reservation in La Push. When I was a child, we'd go fishing with him and spend time with his family, having cookouts and just hanging around together. "Of course I remember Billy. How's he doing?"
"Well," Charlie began, "He's doing okay, uses a wheelchair now, but he's still just as ornery as ever." He let out a chuckle. "Anyway, he has an old truck that he isn't driving anymore and, well, I figured you'd need some transportation out here, you know? Pretty sure it would mortify any teenager being seen getting out of your father's cruiser every day for school. You know, kill your chances at a social life or some such."
I thought about the social life I left behind. Maybe if I had been seen getting out of a police car I wouldn't have ended up in this mess. I didn't have the heart to tell Charlie that I didn't have many plans of having any kind of social life here in Forks.
"Dad, don't tell me that you bought it for me?" I said in disbelief. The one material possession I was sad to leave behind was my car back in Phoenix. I enjoyed the freedom I had to drive wherever I wanted to and to not depend on other people for a ride. I thought I would be sacrificing that freedom here. The thought of having my own way to get around here was thrilling.
"Well, don't go getting too excited on me. It's not much, to be honest, it's pretty old, but it runs well. Jacob, you know, Billy's boy, he works on cars and he tuned it up and said it's all set for you. I was expecting them to drop it off earlier, but they haven't showed up yet," Charlie said, explaining his sour mood.
"It's no big deal, Dad. It'll get here when it gets here. And don't worry, it's still a huge surprise!" By that time, we were done eating, and so I started to clean up the dishes. Charlie stood there waiting to see if I wanted help, but I shooed him away and watched him walk into the living room and sit down and turn the television on. Wow. I hadn't even been here a whole day and I already felt like a new person. I had a new room, a new-to-me truck on the way, and I could see myself beginning to like it here. I felt like a ton of weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Perhaps this change wouldn't be as tough as I thought it would.
As I was drying the dishes and putting them away, I heard a low rumble outside of the house. Wondering what it was, I peeked out the curtains. It was my new wheels!
"Bells, they're here!" Charlie exclaimed. I felt like a kid on Christmas day going out to see the truck.
The truck was old, somewhat rusted, and quite a bit loud, but it had character and I liked it. I threw my arms around Charlie and gave him a huge hug. He just patted my back stiffly, not sure what to make of my affection.
"Bella, you remember Jacob, right?" he asked me.
"Hmmm," I thought, digging back to memories tucked away long ago. I looked up and saw a very good-looking boy, muscles bulging underneath his shirt, long, silky black hair tied back in a ponytail. I remembered him, but not like this! "Yeah, of course I remember. We used to play together as kids, right?"
Jacob looked at me and smiled, flashing the most perfect set of teeth I think I had ever seen. "Yep, that's me!" He led me to the truck giving me some information about it and how to take care of it while Charlie and Billy started talking about how the fish were biting and planning some fishing trip.
I stole a glance at Jacob as he ran strong hands over the fender in an almost loving fashion. I thought about those hands and how good they would feel… Ugh! I really had to stop that. Despite my determination to remain celibate, I was still a teenage girl, and I still had hormones. Those hormones were screaming out to me at this very moment. I had to mentally chide myself to knock it off. I had no intentions of going there, so there was no reason for my mind to either.
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Later that night, as I lay in my bed, I thought about my new life. I could definitely see myself being happy here. It shouldn't be too hard to get into a comfortable routine. If nothing else, I was pretty adaptable. I was looking forward to quiet nights and what I hoped would be lack of stress. I was a little worried about starting in a new school. I had never had problems making new friends before, but in a small town like Forks, I was afraid that since most of the kids grew up here, they'd already have their social circles and I'd end up being treated like an outsider. But then again, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. I knew I didn't want anything to do with guys, but I hadn't given much thought to what it would be like without at least one good friend to confide in. Of course, there really wasn't anyone I would ever trust to confide in regarding my current situation and the reason I moved here. I made a mental note to do my best to put the past behind me, turned over and pulled the covers up and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow was a new day, and I hoped to be well rested enough to deal with whatever it brought me.
