THE SOUND OF SILENCE

She sat quietly in the airport terminal, her hands twined together, letting her fingers brush over the hearing aids she had cupped in her palms. She wore them through the security check, but as soon as she found her seat, she thought was suitable for her, she took them out and submerged herself into the silence that was around her.

Dead silence, she loved it.

She might not have been born in complete silence, hence her being able to speak and have a voice, but she discovered she was embracing it more than she should. More than she would have thought she should.

She brought her brown almond shaped eyes up from the small hearing aids, she had gotten here in Phoenix before she would move up to Forks, Washington to be with her dad. She wasn't going to travel the country with her mom, Renee, and her new stepdad, Phil. She wasn't too into gaining a relationship with the man, though it meant a lot more to her than she would admit when he had offered her to come along as he and Renee would travel for his minor league baseball team.

Her eyes landed on her simple leather banded watch, where they widened before she hurriedly put her hearing aids on, knowing it was almost time for her to board the plane. Next to her, Renee mumbled, "I wish you wouldn't take them out. They're expensive, Bella. We don't have the money to buy you new ones if you lose them."

Bella frowned at her mom. While she had long, dark brown hair that fell in waves to armpits and pallid skin, her mom had short lighter brown hair that brushed her shoulder blades and tan skin. Her mom had lighter hued brown eyes and she was taller than Bella. She dressed better than Bella, more stylish, and conversed with people more than Bella did.

"Yeah well, I didn't ask to get Meningitis either," Bella spat back, anger lighting in her eyes.

She had breathed a sigh of relief at the knowledge Phil would take care of Renee now.

She didn't want to imagine what it would have been like to have become deaf when it was just her and Renee. She'd probably still be at the airport, ready to head up to see her dad, Charlie, so she could feel as though she had a chance out there in the world without feeling guilt. Charlie loved her, and he would welcome her with open arms. They had bonded more over the phone and through emails since she had become deaf, so yes, it was a good thing Renee had Phil now.

Renee's mouth fell open, not accustomed to Bella having a backbone. Bella on the other hand rejoiced inside herself. She wasn't going to let people be disrespectful to her anymore. She had done so much stuff for this woman, for her mother, for the longest time. She reminded herself of Matilda, of having to raise herself basically but she also had to raise Renee on the other hand. Renee was the child, while Bella was the one cooking and paying the house bills as soon as she was old enough to learn those skills.

"Now boarding, Flight 823, from Phoenix, Arizona to Seattle, Washington."

Grabbing her things once she wiped away the angry tears that were falling, Bella turned around and stalked forward before handing her plane information to the stewardess. Behind her Renee started to call her name but Bella dismissed her. She went through the tunnel to the plane, entered, and left Renee behind her for good this time.

It was a blessing how the person who sat down next to her was more interested in listening to an audio reading of one of his favorite books. He only let his eyes land on her for a moment, to see who he was going to be stuck with for an hour, before he closed his eyes and leant back. Bella let her eyes flicker away from the man in return and peered out the window, happy she had been given the window seat after all.

The last time Bella saw her dad, Charlie, it was shortly after she had woken from her Meningitis surgery six months ago. She woke, not being able to hear anything at all, only to see her more favorable parent sitting on the side of her bed. His black hair was thinner than the last time she had seen him, winkles were more prominent on his pallid features, but he still had his trusty mustache upon his upper lip. He still had his little on the larger sized ears, and his chief-of-police leather jacket on even though he was states away from Forks.

He had offered for her to come and stay with him, but Renee denied him. It had not been the first time she had denied Charlie from having Bella stay with him for a few months. It was the first time; Bella would have automatically said yes but she knew it would have been feeble. Renee was the one who had told him over her dead body, especially when Bella came home from Forks one summer with a broken leg because she had gone hiking with Charlie, her godfather, Billy Black, and his kids—Jacob, Rebecca, and Rachel.

She smiled as she thought of her family friends.

Jacob was two years younger than her, so he was in his freshman year of high school now. Rebecca and Rachel, who were in their freshman years of college. Both were away from the Reservation, having decided to go their own ways when they were old enough to. Partly because their mother, Sarah Black, had died years ago in a car wreck, and that wrecked the twin sisters completely, shattering them to the bone.

Billy Black on the other hand was quite a bit older than Charlie, and due to having a severe case of diabetes ended up in a wheelchair. His health deteriorated when he had lost his wife. He didn't eat or exercise as much as he used to. Sarah made amazing food, she died, so what was the point of eating something that his wife didn't make? Sarah took him hiking and made him do awkward yoga poses, what was the point of doing them without her?

Seattle was on the edge of a rain storm when the plane landed. Bella wrapped her coat around her tightly, it wasn't that thick, but it would have to do. She was wearing a toboggan—a simple gray one, without any decorations on them. One of Charlie's old sweatshirts he had forgotten one time when she used to go up to Forks, swallowed her whole but it smelt like him. He smoked Atsiniki Cigars, which were Native Indian cigars, and ones Billy would always gift him whenever it would be Charlie's birthday or Christmas. A simple pair of worn out boots she had found at a Salvation Army Thrift Store in downtown Phoenix finished off her look.

She boarded a small plane next, one that would take her down to Port Angeles. Thankfully, the rain storm had already passed over. The city had that distinct earthy scent, which always lingered after a rain storm. It wasn't her favorite smell but there were worse smells out there for Bella to know. Still, she would look forward to seeing Charlie than looking out at a town she hadn't been to in years.

"Bella? Bella!"

Bella glanced around the crowded airstrip, her eyes landing on Charlie not too long after. She smiled brilliantly when she saw him before she rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him. He chuckled as he held her softly in his arms, savoring the feeling of his daughter once more. His heart swelled with warmth, as he quietly sent a thanks to God (he looked up when he did this), for Bella to have the strength and courage to leave Renee and Phil (though no offense to Phil, he was a decent guy, decent stepdad), so she could stay her last two years of high school with him.

Charlie helped pick up her bags as they went through the small airport that was provided for Port Angeles, before they came across the parking lot. Bella smiled as her eyes fell onto the police cruiser her dad always had since she could remember. She got into the passenger seat as he put her luggage into the trunk and shut it behind him. It was muffled, not that loud, well maybe it wasn't that loud because her hearing would never be one hundred percent, but it was enough that let her know this was really happening. She was really going to live with Charlie again!

Bella leant against the leather seat and peered out at the scenery around her as Charlie drove away from the city and in the direction of where their town was, her birth town. There wasn't any music playing, though the police scanner was on. That was a given, with his field of work, but he also knew the only music she listened to anymore was classical. She always did prefer for the lighter, airy music than the loud and abrasive music from before she became deaf.

Though the drive from Port Angeles to Forks was an hour, it almost felt as though it went by both too fast and too slow. The sign appeared, only a few thousand townsfolk. Nothing that was too significant but enough where she didn't feel as though she was going to be forgotten or thrown aside.

That wasn't to say she wanted all the attention, she just wanted to be acknowledged so people would know she was there. She wasn't going to be ignored because people hated having to repeat themselves or they used the disability as an excuse to stop being friends with her.

Claims of Bella being the one who had changed too much, wasn't the same, would always hit her. She was the one they couldn't talk to anymore because she always got tired of conversations too soon. It wasn't even a whole year since she lost her hearing and they thought it was rude if she was overwhelmed with having hearing aids (sometimes she'd forget to charge them, and they'd go out on her!). So yes, it was always Bella's fault, not theirs.

"Bells?"

Tears began to rise in her tear ducts at hearing the loving nickname her dad bestowed her with. She turned to look at him, her hands shaky but she reached her hands up and wiped away them. He frowned, his eyes scanning her before he added, "are you okay?"

"Sometimes, I am and sometimes I am not. I'm still adjusting to all of this," Bella admitted, as she waved her hands around her as though to let him know she didn't know how to properly explain this. He understood and didn't add to it, Renee would have pestered her, to define what it was that she was going through. This was why she liked Charlie better.

The town was smaller than she remembered though. There was a Thriftway, which would end up being where she would get the groceries. She knew Charlie had known how Renee made Bella do all the chores, even on things she herself could do instead of her daughter. He assured her as they passed by it, he would help her make dinners, at least three times a week in order to let her know she didn't have to make their meals all by herself.

"Uh, there's one thing you should know though, Bells," Charlie spoke up a moment later, as they went towards the neighborhoods that were scattered around the town. The police scanner was quiet, there weren't any crimes that were demanding his attention.

Bella waited patiently, and he sighed once again as he had his head go down in shame. "The house still doesn't look too good. I cleaned it up some, got it power washed at least. I even fixed your bedroom a little bit, it's probably far from your—"

Bella reached over and put her hand on her father's hand, making him look up. They were outside of their neighborhood, and there weren't any cars that were passing by. It was quiet here, unlike in Phoenix, where there was noise everywhere. She would get endless headaches from the sudden volume which would hit her hearing aids. Sometimes the static would hit, and she'd end up getting migraines. She'd have to take breaks from her hearing aids but even then, they wouldn't need to be too long or else she would find herself back at the beginning again.

"I don't care, Dad, I'm just happy I'm not in Phoenix anymore," Bella confessed, while Charlie brought his head up from its shameful position. He frowned, digesting what she had said, before he drove the cruiser through the entrance of the neighborhood.

A small, two-bedroom (one bath) house, two stories, from the early years of Charlie's marriage to Renee appeared not too long into driving down the main strip of the neighborhood. There was a small front porch, with wooden porch boards the same color as the paneling of the house, white. A oak porch swing was at the left end of the porch, with some pillows Bella faintly remembered Grandma Swan had before she had died. The outdoor light scones that were on either side of the oak front door needed to be replaced, they were on the edge of falling into awkward positions. A welcome mat was in front of the front door, just another one you'd find at a Dollar General.

Her eyes went away from the house when Charlie cleared his throat, gaining her attention again. "I got you a present, a homecoming present. If you look at the front yard, you'll see Billy Black's old red truck. He can't drive anymore, and you needed a car so…"

Bella's eyes went away from the aging face of her dad to the truck that was indeed parked in front of the house. She didn't know how old the truck was, though it must have been made in the early 60's or the late 70's. Billy had bought the truck in 1984. It was his truck he would take whenever they would go fishing, or whenever he managed to have Jake convince Bella to come camping with them at their usual camping spot.

The truck was a faded red hue, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbus cab. The leather seating was worn out in some places, though it was in decent condition. There wasn't an air conditioner in the truck, so that wasn't something she was thrilled about but she did have a truck now! She did have a driver's license, but Renee never bought her a car, claimed since they lived in a city there was no reason why she should have one. (Charlie was the one who had taught her how to drive, in another one of Billy's old trucks from the past)

There was a faint mustiness throughout the house when she entered through the front door. There were a good bit of the windows cracked open, to ventilate the air. The furniture was still the same. The same old brown leather couch, with a matching recliner and ottoman. The fireplace had the grate closed, and an antique chest that had been in the family for a few decades had the television propped up on it. A floor lamp in between the recliner and the antique chest. Old but lovingly used curtains were parted open for the windows that were cracked open. The fireplace mantel had every single one of her school pictures up there for the whole world to see, along with the hospital picture of Renee holding her after having just given birth to her.

The kitchen was on the smaller side, where the walls were dark wood panels. There were white linoleum floors, with a half attempt of being mopped ( Bella would obviously have to go back and get the spots Charlie hadn't gotten), along with bright yellow cabinets. Renee had wanted there to be something bright and cheerful in this room, but it was only an eye sour, hopefully Bella could finally convince Charlie to replace them since they needed to be repainted anyway. A square oak table held three unmatching chairs, along with her baby high chair in the corner of the room, a depressing reminder how Charlie was still living in the past.

The wooden stairs were a comforting groan as she went up them, she smiled faintly. There were times when Jacob and the twins would come spend the night here and they would try to sneak down and watch late night movies. Charlie would always know because one of them would end up hitting the step that groaned more than the others. He'd let them have about ten more minutes of what they would try to sneakily watch before ushering them upstairs to bed again.

Bella passed by the tiny bathroom, which would only fit one person at a time, and into the open doorway of her childhood bedroom, which faced the west. The same light blue walls, peaked ceiling, and yellowed lace curtains welcomed her. A second-hand computer, which was on an old writer's desk, had the modem stapled on the floor to the closest phone jack. Her rocking chair from her baby days was in the corner of the room. A oak bedframe had a simple full-sized mattress, with a lavender bed set on it—all the same color. Her favorite shade of purple.

Charlie ushered her to the bed, and he sat down while he pulled a alarm clock from the nightstand next to the bed. He tied it to one of the bedposts before he asked her the usual time she would get up in the morning. Setting the alarm for the appropriate time he grinned at her as he explained, "I was at the store when I came across these. I knew it could help you wake up. Store clerk said they can pack a punch when it comes to the alarm volume. Hopefully the vibrations will wake you up."

Bella smiled at him as he peered at her with hopefulness. She hugged him sideways, before whispering, "what did I do to get such a wonderful dad like you? Renee wouldn't have thought of something like this for me. Phil was the one who woke me up, and even then, it would be on the lucky mornings he didn't have to get to the stadium too early."

Bella's only saving grace for her grades was the tutor the high school had hired, ended up coming and picking her up for school on time, since she would end up forgetting a good amount of time about getting up at the appropriate time. She never tried to become friends with Debra, she was a kind woman, but she wasn't someone Bella was aiming to become best friends with. She was doing her job, and Bella would always be grateful for that, but that was about it. She was her carpool ride and always made sure before they would leave the school to head to Bella's house that she had gotten all her assignments and turned in what she needed to turn in.

Charlie was grabbing his keys when Bella came downstairs later, which in return made her frown. He gave her an assuring smile. "I'm going up to the Lodge to pick up our meals. I made sure to tell Tommy up there before I came to pick you up today, to reserve us our usual."

Nodding her head, Bella frowned as she looked at everything around her. She felt alienated. She had been here before, and she would be here for some time to come. Yet there was a part of her which was different now. There was this innocence crumbled, destroyed like her eardrums had been from the infection. She had to lose her hearing to earn the courage to fight back for herself. She wasn't going to be helpless without her hearing, she would become stronger because of it.

Lying down onto the couch, Bella picked up the remote and turned on the television, frowning as she heard there were strange deaths happening around the uppermost north west states. There weren't many details they could disclose to the public, only how the victims had similarities of animal attacks even in cities instead of towns like Forks. Bella didn't know what to think about this, she didn't want to imagine what was killing all these people in her state but also the ones that boarded hers.

Charlie came back from the Lodge, and was putting their food down onto some plates, dumping them from their to-go containers, when Bella entered and sat down at one of the chairs once she had gotten the utensils and them some cups of soda. He frowned when he saw the deep expression upon her features at what she had heard on the news. It wasn't until he was sitting her plate down in front of her that she jumped a little bit, still forgetting how she would go off in her daydreams more since the failed attempt of an ear surgery.

"What's on your mind?"

Charlie picked up his steak knife and his fork before he began to chop his steak, while inwardly congratulating Tommy on having the meals done right before he came to pick them up, as he waited for what his daughter would tell him was on her mind. Bella took a big bite of her burger before she sat it down, wiped her mouth with the napkin provided by her, along with a long sip of her soda before she sat it back down on the table.

"There's been some animal attacks here in Washington and around our state borders," Bella finally said, earning a stiff nod from Charlie. "Have any of them happened here?"

None of them happened here, so he was able to say no. She knew the truth though, even if some of the deaths happened here, Bella knew he wouldn't be able to tell her anything. He wasn't someone who was going to give out confidential information about deaths to his daughter just because she was curious about them. He didn't want to worry her anyway, she and the town had enough to worry about to begin with, and he didn't need to add these strange happenstances onto the list.

Still, Bella couldn't get that news report out of her mind for the rest of the night. She tried to school her features though it was pointless. She had never been good at having a poker face, people could read her easily. It only made things more complicated with her and people, no one liked how she had an open book personality. It only made them more aggravated at her, because she would show when she wasn't over something, and they were tired of arguing with her about it. She'd give in, because Renee taught her to give in, and how there was no shame in giving in.

Charlie though, he was the opposite of Renee. He knew when he needed to have that poker face, when to shut off his feelings. He tried to help his daughter with her openness, though not too much, but in the end, it only showed how gentle and kind his daughter was. She had a bleeding heart, a heart full of gold, and there were assholes out there who wanted to break that into two. So, he was protective, and made sure she would know he was always there for her.

When dinner was over, Charlie went into the living room to watch one of his favorite sitcoms, but Bella merely went into the living room and kissed him on the cheek before she went upstairs. She pulled her hearing aids out to take a shower, since they were not waterproof, and closed her eyes. She imagined she was in her own apartment, away from all of this, maybe she would be in college and was in one of the dorm showers. Yes. That would be nice. She'd be away from all of this.

Yet when she opened her eyes after she washed herself all she saw was the familiar tiled shower/tub that had been installed when the house had been built. She slumped and closed her eyes before she leant forward. She let her forehead touch the cool shower tile before she got out of the shower/tub. She dried herself off and brushed her teeth, checked to open any whiteheads and blackheads, put some medicated cream over them, and got into a pair of her comfy pajamas.

Grabbing her hearing aids at the last minute, Bella entered her bedroom and sat her hearing aids onto the nightstand next to her. She leant back down into bed and peered up at the ceiling. There was enough moonlight outside to highlight the branches of the tree outside her window onto the ceiling above her. She craned her head to the side, remembering how when she was younger, she was terrified of the oak tree when it would do this at night. Now it just reminded her of happier times, when she could be around her friends from the Reservation and Sarah Black. Those summer nights that were so much easier before she started middle school and the real world without Mrs. Black, her godmother, hit her in the face. She lost her real mother long ago.

Yet, downstairs, Charlie was watching whatever cliché and cheesy sitcom he was always faithful on watching each week. He had been the one sitting on the hospital bed when she woke, with the doctor looming at the end of the bed. He had been the one who was there when she first put her hearing aids in and could hear him, she couldn't hear crystal clear, but it was better than not hearing anything at all. She wouldn't regain her complete hearing ever again. He was there when she learnt this and he was there for her when she needed him—whenever she would call him or send him emails, begging him to gain custody of her again, even though the courts wouldn't even think of doing that.

Yes, Bella knew she was where she was meant to be right now. The sound of silence that welcomed her with open arms felt warmer and more comfortable here in Forks than it ever did down in Phoenix.

author's note: I am currently researching things about hearing aids, and about being deaf. I am trying to keep this as realistic as possible. I also am researching all kind of thing about Native Indians to make it realistic too (cue the simple adding of the cigars) . I'm not going to make up things about either the disability or the wonderful Native Indian cultures. Just know it's not a Jacob/Bella ship, unless it's a friendship (ignore that pun). It's actually going to be a Jasper/Bella ship. If you read my Eventide story, I realized I didn't like how that one turned out but I am planning on having her become a vampire in this fanfiction and you can experience her as a vampire in it. Oh and Charlie is a pure, loving father (nothing like how he was in Eclipse with the will not be named scene between Bella and Jacob). Jacob will be the pure and happy cinnamon roll he was in Twilight through this whole fanfiction.

I hope you will enjoy this fanfiction.

Welcome to Lavender Vibrations. I hope your reading will be satisfying.

-Emmy

of course Twilight doesn't belong to me