A/N: I have had a tough run :( I am vacationing in a very expensive hotel with very crappy Internet reception. So, I was lucky to get that last chapter up. Gr! Anyways, this chapter is descriptive, but in my opinion, not too boring. PLEASE READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THINGS LATER! Some parts of this chapter are vital, even though they might not seem important. Trust me, I'm the author! Enjoy
Bella:
Having recovered from my near mental breakdown from last night, I was dressed and ready to go grocery shopping. I had taken a shower in my new bathroom, and that was an interesting experience. Don't get me wrong, it was very luxuriating. But when it took over ten minutes to figure out how to work the fancy and complicated faucet and ended up spraying myself in the face with icy cold water when it finally turned on, it took away some of the relaxation.
This house was fully furnished, but it had no food whatsoever. All I had eaten in the past 24 hours were a small pack of peanuts on the plane and a disgusting and greasy snack wrap from McDonald's.
Needless to say, I was starving for some real food.
Walking outside into the misty rain was slightly depressing. What did I expect in Forks? Sunlight? I knew it was going to rain practically everyday, but I still couldn't explain what constantly had me down. I didn't even think about my episode last night. I couldn't imagine what my depression would turn into if I thought about it too much.
I hopped into my rented Mazda and drove down my new mile-long driveway. It was hard to believe that this house was mine. All mine. I could never imagine myself in a house this magnificent and beautiful. I have no idea what had drawn me to it other than its unimaginable beauty. Plain and average Bella Swan, meet gigantic, million-dollar house, I thought to myself, wallowing in the dark humor.
The drive to the Thriftway didn't take long at all. But I was slightly uncomfortable at the store. Did people in Forks have no manners? Almost everyone that I passed by would stop in the aisles and stare at me. I would look back, but they would never avert their gazes. Surely they knew I was feeling uncomfortable by my expression. I was my mother's open book and my face should have clued them in on my discomfort at once. I didn't like the attention.
After throwing the more important foods into a cart: eggs, milk, etc., I rushed over to the cashier with my head down, trying not to attract attention to myself. But of course, as I was trying not to attract the attention, I just made things worse. I lost my footing and sent the grocery cart flying into a pyramid of cans. Everyone turned to stare from the racket. What was wrong with these people? Did everyone in Forks have some sort of unnatural grace and found me just plain embarrassing? I knew I was so clumsy that I was almost disabled, but wasn't this just a bit too harsh?
Getting up, I avoided everyone's looks. I pretended like nothing had ever happened as I retrieved my cart from under the pile of cans. I cringed away from the sound of a can slowly rolling down an aisle nearby.
The store clerk, whose name badge said Jason, stared at me with an unfathomable expression. I ran my hand through my hair as an uncomfortable gesture. His blue eyes were wide with what seemed like shock and he still didn't look away from me. The cashier didn't get the picture either.
I unloaded my cart quickly, in a hurry to get out of this place. Jason just stood there for a moment, shook his head - coming back down to reality - and began bagging my items. I paid him for everything and rushed out of the door, leaving the cart in front of the counter, not bothering to put it back.
I took a deep breath as I was finally released from everyone's gazes. I felt a shiver go through me, the aftermath of everyone's looks. They weren't unfriendly, but they weren't very welcoming either. But both ways, it was sort of creepy.
I loaded the bags into the trunk and hopped into the car once more. I drove faster than necessary, in a hurry to be in the safety of my own home.
I had been going so fast, I didn't see the turn hidden behind the trees and the motorcycle that was coming out of it. I gasped, swerving out of the way, narrowly missing the person. The guy didn't notice my successful attempt at dodging him; I watched in my side mirrors as the man flew past me on his motorcycle, going even faster than I was. He didn't even turn to glare at me or yell an insult, and for that I was surprised. If it had happened to me, I would have been furious.
I had never had any interest in riding a motorcycle. For some odd and unknown reason, being smeared on the side of the highway didn't appeal to me.
Since the little incident with the man and his bike, I was a little jittery. My thumbs bounced up and down against the top of the steering wheel, and I slowed down. Playing it safe.
As I pulled into the driveway, I still hadn't calmed down. I was fighting my anxiety. It was like a caffeine overload; I couldn't sit still and I felt extremely anxious.
Shaking my head, I got out of the car. But a little flicker of light glinted in the corner of my eye. I turned around, curious. Something was shining under a small pile of leaves by the side of the house. I sifted through the pile and found what I was looking for.
A crystal heart.
I cocked my head to the side. How did this get here? Something this delicate belonging in a jewelry store. Not hidden in the dirt. I looked up at the open window, that no doubt led to the third floor bedroom. No one would throw this out of a window, would they? It surely didn't go very far.
I held it between my fingers, wiping all of the dirt off, making it perfectly clean. Millions of facets were cut into the tiny heart-shaped charm. And even in the subdued light from the sun behind the clouds, it sparkled.
"I thought it was a good representation. It's hard and cold. And it throws rainbows in the sunlight."
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring his voice as it echoed through my ears. This time, I did not think of the word 'insanity'. It was a moot point by now. I was hearing voices all the time. And, as much as I didn't like to admit it, I was beginning to look forward to them.
I could care less that I was beginning to get wet from the rain. It's speed was picking up, and it wouldn't be long until I was drenched. But, it was the least of my worries.
The heart glistened under the raindrops that sprinkled on the surface of it. Even though it was clearly made of pure crystal, it looked very fragile. Like one wrong movement of my finger could send it shattering into a million tiny pieces. I cradled it against my chest, another inexplicable action of mine.
I walked into the house, forgetting about the bags of groceries in the trunk of the car. I hopped up the stairs, careful not to trip and fall, and stepped into my bedroom. I set the small charm on the top of my dresser. It shined in the light of the room.
I sighed, crossing my arms across my chest. What was it doing out there anyway?
I snorted and rolled my eyes. Well, why did Claire de Lune make me cry yesterday? Why did I nearly have a mental breakdown in the middle of the night? And why did everyone feel the need to stare at me since I had gotten here? These were the questions that would keep me up at night.
Literally.
I unloaded all of the groceries in a daze. Wondering, of course, why Forks had increased my odd dreams and added the whole hearing voices scenario. I knew that I was weird, but not so much as to nearly be driven crazy by my own mental flaws. Last night, if things had gotten any worse, I most likely would have checked myself in to an insane asylum.
I shuddered at the thought of me in the corner of a dark and padded cell. That couldn't be my future. I was waiting for something bigger and better.
The phone rang interrupting my thoughts. I sighed, frustrated. I glared at the ringing phone and shook my head.
"It's probably no one," I muttered, remembering last night's incident. I had answered, but no one had replied to me.
Annoyed by the sound of the obnoxious phone, I walked out of the kitchen. And then, on this weird impulse, I lunged at the phone, answering it at the last minute.
"Hello?" I breathed, shocked by what I had just done. But whoever had called had already hung up.
"Damn it," I muttered, even more aggravated than I was before. I took a deep breath. It was probably just another wrong number, I thought. It's nothing to get yourself so worked up over. It was no one.
What if it was Renee? I bit my lip, deliberating. If I called her and it wasn't her who had called me, then she would be even more worried about me than she already was. I didn't know if I could handle that much concern from her. If it really was Renee, then she would call back.
I ended my thoughts there, refusing to think of the phone again . . .
I plopped down on the couch, stuffed after eating an overly large dinner. I made the best of my grocery shopping earlier today. The clock over the TV read 6:30, and I was surprised that this day had flown by so quickly.
Forks really did have it's ups and downs. One of the downs here, was that I was lonely. Thinking of the word 'lonely' sent that hole that had opened in my chest last night into a wild throbbing spree. I gasped, and wrapped my arms around my torso, trying to gain control of my suddenly erratic breathing. I was alone. Gasp. It wasn't the usual yearning for someone close to me, like Renee or Phil. It seemed so much more than that. But I couldn't explain it. The emptiness – gasp – was close to unbearable, and I had only been here for two days.
I allowed my eyelids to droop. Sleeping on this couch wasn't too bad. It was actually quite comfortable. It wasn't long before I was pulled into one of my dreams.
This dream didn't have just one person in it. It had five. I was in . . . a cafeteria? I was farthest away from the five people; they were sitting at a table all by themselves, looking away from each other. They all shared the same dream-like and expressions. I wondered what they were daydreaming about.
I couldn't see them too clearly, it was like I was looking at them through rough water or a rippled glass frame. But I could make out most of their features.
They were all extremely pale, and they illuminated the cafeteria. I couldn't explain why they were so isolated. Did they prefer being alone like that? Or did they try to fit in and people just didn't accept them? Or both? I felt myself being drawn to them, interested in them. Because the five of them were, in fact, very interesting.
One of them had dark curls. He was very large, muscular, and brawny, but I wasn't scared or intimidated by him. My immediate impression of him was playful.
The boy next to him was not as large as he was. He had light hair; honey blond. He looked more calm and at ease than any of them. More calm than I had ever been in my entire life.
And there were two girls. Complete opposites. One was tall, statuesque, and absolutely, heartbreakingly beautiful. Something about her made me want to stay away from her. It was like I knew that we could never get along well. The other was short, tiny, and pixie-like. She seemed very friendly. A girl that I could easily be friends with.
Finally, I reached the last of the five. His hair was a strange shade of bronze. He was staring straight ahead, away from everyone else in the cafeteria. Even though the dream wasn't clear, I knew he was beautiful. Perfect. I felt an urge to run over to him and run my fingers against his cheek. But I didn't move.
He looked so thoughtful, and I didn't want to interrupt whatever he was thinking about so intently. What was he thinking about?
I wanted to know his thoughts more than anyone else's. There was something about him . . . I couldn't explain what, but then again, what was there in my life that I was able to explain? He was the boy that had been haunting my dreams all this time, but I felt different when I looked at him this time. I knew him in this dream. I knew that whole table he was sitting with.
I knew their names.
And then, with a movement so swift that it startled me, he turned to look directly at me.
Before I could decipher his expression, I was awake.
A/N: I apologize for the cliffy my trusty reviewers. But I had to end it here. It was getting too long. Sorry! I'm going to ask again: Please read this whole chapter, a lot of this will come into play later on in the story and it's important that you all know what's going on. I don't want anyone to get anymore confused. I know a lot of you are already confused because I am being so incredibly cryptic with this fanfic, but I hope some of you have figured it out by now. Review!
