Chapter Two - Who You Gonna Call?
Disclaimer - I don't own anything Twilight related, that all belongs to one Stephanie Meyer.
Authors Note - Thanks to everyone for the favourites and follows, and to FourHorses for the review! Hope you all enjoy this next chapter!
If there's something strange
In your neighborhood
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
If there's something weird
And it don't look good
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!
Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr.
"Clara!"
I groaned, rolling over, burying my head deeper into the puffy pillow. I couldn't remember the last time I had my mother waking me up with her insistent shouting, but I certainly didn't miss it.
"Clara Miller!" The door to my bedroom flew open, as I covered my head with the pillow, hoping against all odds that I would disappear.
"Clara. It's time to get up! Addy is expecting you in an hour."
I stayed as still as I could, as though that would make me invisible. I heard my mom's frustrated huff and her stomping footsteps as her short legs carried her across the room.
"No!" I whined as a fight began between the two of us, each of us grasping an end of my comfort puff.
"Honestly, and you tell me you're a grown woman!" My mom made a noise of success as she held her prize in the air. "Now, go and get a shower, smelly. Knowing you, you'll probably be late as it is, so please do try and make a good impression."
I huffed as the pillow hit my chest, my mouth falling into a pout. "But I don't wanna go to work!" I knew I sounded like a child, but continued moping regardless.
My mom rolled her eyes in amusement, choosing to ignore my words. 'And when you get home later, you better unpack your stuff young lady." She wrinkled her nose at the unopened boxes that cluttered my room from the night before, my suitcase open, clothes laying in a mess. "Messy home-"
"Messy mind. Yes I know, I know." I grumbled, finishing her sentence. "Stop bullying me. Your only child has been here for less than twenty-four hours and already you're looking rid of me!"
My mom moved to the window, opening the curtains. I hissed at the light that shone in, "Ah! It burns!"
"Okay, Dracula. I've got to head to work, but I'll be home this evening, we can order pizza!"
I sat up, looking at her, slightly more awake than before. I cocked an eyebrow, "What kind of pizza."
"I'll leave that up to you, sweetheart. We can have a movie night."
I grinned, "Excellent." I began to run through all of the DVDs that I had brought with me, planning the whole night.
"I already regret suggesting it." She smiled at me warmly. "I still can't believe you're here. I'm so happy you decided to come to Forks, Clara."
I returned her smile, "Me too, mom."
"There's pancakes in the kitchen for you. Make sure you eat something before you leave. I'll see you later."
I threw my legs over the side of the bed as she left the room. "I love you!" I shouted and giggled as she hollered a reply.
I definitely spent too long in the shower, but it was hard not to. My favourite thing after a long journey was the shower waiting with open arms to envelop me in a hot, stress-relieving hug. The bed in my mom's spare room, well now my room, was much more comfortable than the one I had shared with Nick. I had slept like a baby. Already things were looking up for me.
After the incredibly long hugs and kisses following my arrival last night, my mom and I began the dull job of unpacking my car and moving everything up to my room. I lost count of the number of times I walked up and down those stairs but it was enough for me to curse them as I danced down them this morning, earphones in, volume on my iPod up far too loud. My mom always warned me I'd be deaf before I was thirty if I wasn't careful.
I pilled a plate full of my mom's freshly baked pancakes, drowning them in far too much syrup. I checked the watch on my wrist, shoving a forkful into my mouth. 07:45 Am. I was thankful my new place of work was less than ten minutes from the house, otherwise, I'd be so fired before I even started.
Finishing the last of my fluffy delights, I pulled out my earphones and hurried to pull on my shoes. Double-checking I had my new set of house keys, I locked the front door, jumped down from the porch and into my car. I had noticed the two cars across the road were already missing from the drive, the two residences having already started their day.
While we had been unpacking my car last night, a dark-haired, moustached man had exited the house and walked over to join us. My mother instantly smiled in greeting, clearly, it was someone she knew.
Charlie Swan was an awkward man in a lot of ways, often standing with his hands on his hips, feet shifting as though he felt out of place. There was a warmth about him though, and it made me smile to see my mom chat away to him so casually. Perhaps she wasn't as alone as I had thought.
Charlie offered to help with my things, which I was quick to accept. Anything to lessen the amount of times I had to walk those damned stairs. In no time we had everything in the house, and I celebrated with my mom's stash of hot chocolate. I made two more mugs for the nurse and the cop, and my God, I had never felt more like a third wheel in my life. It was like I was sixteen again, and the grown-ups were talking. I threw myself into the sofa, switching on the TV, while they both spoke. My mom was asking about Charlie's daughter, Bella, who had just moved to Forks three days before me.
Talk about timing.
I pulled into the small parking lot of the tiny supermarket, no shortage of spaces available for me to take up. I managed to get a spot right by the front door, which was good news for me considering it looked as though the sky was going to open up and pour with rain.
The open sign hanging from the door swung as I opened it, a quiet bell dinging, alerting everyone to my presence. And by everyone, I meant, well, no one. The shop was empty. It would have been completely silent if not for the music playing from the muffled speakers. I stood awkwardly, kicking the ground slightly as I slowly moved further into the area. To my right, there were two tills sitting side by side, unmanned, with the rest of the room broken down into aisles.
"Uh, hello?"
I heard a curse from somewhere near the back of the shop, "Just a minute!"
A squeal quickly followed, and the sound of boxes falling echoed through the room. I slid along one of the aisles, following the noise, eyebrow raised. I came to a halt just as my foot was about to step on a bag of marshmallows. A small blond was kneeling on the floor, reaching to retrieving all of the escaped mallows. I reached down and grabbed the bag by my foot, moving forward to lean down beside her.
"I mean, we could just ditch work and make some smores?" I smiled as her blue eyes connected with mine.
After a moment she smiled widely, her two front teeth slightly bigger than the rest. "I wish." She took the bag from my hand with a thanks, closing the box back up. "You must be Clara then?"
"That's me." I stood, lifting another box from the ground, following the girl to the front of the shop, "And you must be Addy?" I eyed the small name tag that was pinned to her uniform, reading 'Adeline'.
"You'd be right," She set the box down on the counter and I followed suit. She stuck her hand out toward me "Adeline Rowe, though everyone calls me Addy. Adeline makes me feel old."
I laughed, placing my hand in hers, "Clara Miller, reporting for duty."
She eyed me, smiling slightly. "Jesus, you look just like your mother! Well, a much taller version of her."
"Yeah, I've been told that a lot. I consider it a compliment."
"And so you should! I love your mom, she's so lovely. Never any trouble."
"You get a lot of trouble around these parts?" I glance around, eyebrow raised.
"You'd be surprised at how much free time people have on their hands. Expect people to shout at you as though you caused every problem they've ever had."
"Not really selling this job to me Addy."
She smirked, "From what your mom told me, you were desperate enough to take what you could get."
"Traitor," I whispered under my breath.
Addy laughed, "I'm just doing you a service as a good citizen and preparing you for what's ahead. But hey! If we start to question our existence, we can take turns hiding in the storeroom. That's what I do. Though don't tell Marian, the manager. She has a massive power complex."
"Duly noted."
Addy walked me through the day to day of running the store and gave me my new uniform and name tag. After a few hours, the store began to gain a bit of a buzz. I had worked in a small corner shop back in Alberta, so I took to my new role quite well, my social skills had developed since my awkward teenage stage. Addy also informed me of the three other people who were my new colleges: Joe, who was around the same age as both Addy and I (who had just turned twenty-three the week before), Ron, an elderly man who apparently just refused to retire, and the manager, Marian. Someone you don't want to get on the wrong side of. Thankfully, said woman, was on a week-long holiday at the moment, so it was one less thing for me to worry about.
I was currently stacking cans, bobbing my head along with the music coming from the speakers. I chuckled as I listened to Addy's attempt to talk to an old woman who had obviously forgotten to wear her hearing aid.
"Mrs Keen," Addy spoke slow, loud and clear, frustration bubbling within her, "the frozen yoghurt is where it always is. It hasn't moved since you were last here!"
"What? Listen Adeline, dear, would you just take me to the frozen yoghurt. It's moved since the last time. You really should get some sort of system in this place."
I giggled, just imagining the steam coming from Addy's ears. If there was one thing I learned about her in this short amount of time it was that she had the patience of a toddler. It was quite amusing. I tried to hide my smile, unsuccessfully as Addy approached me.
"Could you please watch the till, while I take Mrs Keen to the storeroom and murder her?"
"As long as you clean up after yourself. We don't need any ghosts haunting the shop."
"Funny."
I rose from my knees and made my way to the tills, greeting the elderly man that stood waiting. He was a pleasant enough man, though he was quite the talker. In the space of five minutes, I knew the entire history of his three marriages and the names of all five of his children. I noticed a woman standing behind him patiently, a trolley full of food. I tapped on the counter, breathing deeply as I waited for the man to take his bag and leave, worried the woman would be angry with me. I would probably start to cry if she began to shout.
My fears were quickly squashed as she finally approached me, pushing the trolley forward, the kindest smile I'd ever seen painted across her heart-shaped face. Caramel-coloured hair hung gracefully around her beautiful features.
"Sorry for the wait," I said sincerely, smiling as she began placing her items on the counter. I lifted them one by one, ringing them up then bagging them.
"Oh don't worry about it," she waved the apology away, "I don't mind the wait."
I laughed, "Most people wouldn't agree with you." I looked up at her, pausing my scanning movements.
Those eyes. Gold, and kind. Almost shining. I furrowed my brows. Is this what Deja Vu felt like? I scanned her perfect features quickly, she seemed familiar, yet I had never met her before, of that I was sure. Her smiled remained, but I noticed the question forming in her mind. It was then I realised I had been staring, and flushed. I was sure my face was blotchy and red. Perfect.
"Uh sorry," I squeaked, trying to ignore the feeling that grew in my gut, grasping for something to say. "This is an awful lot of food. Are you throwing a party?" I gestured awkwardly.
She laughed gently, "No, I just have quite the family."
I was confused as to how someone so young could have a large family. She didn't look much older than me. I pushed the questions forming in my mouth away. Stop being nosy!
She watched me for a moment, eyes quickly flickering to the name tag. "I don't think I've seen you around before?"
"No, I just moved here, back with my mom. She's lived here the last few years, she's a nurse at the hospital." I added that last part, knowing almost everyone knew everyone in this small town.
"Oh!" Her eyes lit up, as she handed me the cost of her groceries, "My husband is the Chief doctor there. What's your mother's name? They surely must know each other."
"Sally Miller. I'd say so, she works more than she should. He probably can't get rid of her." We shared a quiet laugh, as she lifted the last of the bags into her arms. I looked at her curiously, "And your husband-?"
"Clara." Addy stormed up to me, what looked to be melted frozen yoghurt splatted all over her, Mrs Keen hobbling after her, two tubs clutched happily in her arms. "Would you please deal with Mrs Keen, while I clean up the mess in the frozen food aisle."
I decided not to ask what had happened, instead just nodding at the blonde with amusement.
"Thank you." She huffed, before noticing the woman standing beside her. "Hey, Esme."
Esme smiled warmly, "Hello, Addy, Nice to see you, as always." She looked at me, giving me a kind look. "I think that's my cue to leave. It was nice to meet you, Clara. Welcome to Forks."
I paused, something poking my brain, telling me to wake up. Instead, I pushed that curiosity aside, and smiled, "Thanks. You too."
And then she was gone, replaced by frozen yoghurt.
The rest of the afternoon went by quick enough. I got out of work at around 13:00 PM, so I had the rest of the day to myself. I met Joe, as he took over for the next shift, and exchanged phone numbers with Addy, who promised to take me hiking at some point. I stopped at the small diner near the store, treating myself to a nice lunch. I was always very comfortable sitting in places like this by myself. I enjoyed people watching, and would pull out the sketch pad I carried with me everywhere, drawing anything interesting that caught my eye. I was no expert by any means, but I enjoyed drawing and painting as a hobby. It was certainly one my mom encourage more than my supernatural interests.
And yet, the entire drive home I couldn't help but think about the beautiful woman, who had 'quite the family' and bright golden eyes. I regretted not asking Addy about her, though she didn't seem to be in a talking mood the rest of the day. What was this feeling of foreboding I couldn't quite shake?
A woman is nice and friendly and that means what? BAD! DANGER! RUN!
I took a deep breath, shaking my head as I closed my car door, leaning my head against the cool metal.
God, I really need to stop reading true crime stories before I go to bed.
I looked up at the deafening rumble that filled the air as the noisy truck that lived across the street came into view, taking its spot outside the house. The engine cut off, and then a moment later a pale brunette, who I assumed was one Bella Swan, jumped down out of the car. I had yet to meet her, but something in my mind told me that I should. I had heard a bit about her the night before, and it seemed like she could use a friend. Before I could stop myself my feet began walking toward her.
"Bella!" I called out, smiling reassuringly when she turned at the sound of her name. I didn't blame her for the awkward, confused look she gave me, a hesitant smile coming to her face.
"Uh, hi?" It came out like a question, causing me to chuckle.
"Hi. I'm Clara! I met your dad yesterday, I'm not sure if he mentioned me."
Recognition flooded her face, and she flushed red, shifting. She indicated behind me to my new home before speaking, "You're Sally's daughter, right?"
"That's me. Forks gets two new girls in the space of a couple of days. Imagine that."
He let out a breathy laugh, "Don't remind me."
We smiled awkwardly for a moment before I cleared my throat continuing. "So maybe this is really weird because this is literally the first time we're meeting but I was thinking of going for breakfast in the morning, I don't start work until the afternoon. And uh… well, I was wondering if you'd like to join me?"
She flushed once more, looking at me with those big brown eyes "Oh! Um…"
Oh God, now it's awkward. Now I was blushing too.
"I mean it's no problem if you don't want to. I know I must seem so old or whatever, plus it'll be a Saturday so you probably already have plans. It was just since we're both kind of in the same boat- I thought… uh-"
"No, no," She cut me off, giving me an awkward smile, "I was thinking about going to the library tomorrow, so maybe we could kind of, I don't know, do both? If that's something you'd be up for, of course!" She added hastily.
I laughed at her worry, which seemed to help her relax a bit, "No that sounds perfect."
"It would be nice to get to know someone. I feel a bit, out of place, I guess."
I looked at her warmly, "I wouldn't worry, you've only been here like a week right?" she nodded in confirmation, "Give it some time, you'll find your footing."
She bit her lip and nodded her head again, though she still looked quite unsure.
I ran a hand through my hair, "I'll see you in the morning then? Say at nine o'clock?"
"Yeah, that sounds good."
"Okay cool." Giving her one more awkward, reassuring smile I began to walk away, "See you, Bella."
"Clara?" She called hesitantly.
I turned back, a question in my eyes.
"How old are you, exactly?" She said the words carefully, as though I might be offended she asked.
I laughed, "A spry twenty-three years old."
She laughed then, and I was almost surprised. She was such a quiet mouse, but the sound suited her.
"That's not old, Clara."
"Sure feels it when compared to a high schooler. Has the potential to be creepy."
We decided to quickly exchange numbers, gave a quick goodbye and then retired into our respective homes.
My mom soon text me to let me know that she would be home within the hour, so I spent that time, unpacking my things, earphones in. It was nice to be surrounded by my own things again, making the neat, but plain room feel much cosier. I covered the white walls with my horror classic posters and packed my clothes away into the drawers and wardrobe, that had lain empty. My mom didn't have much time for reading, so she cleared out the small bookcase downstairs, and brought it up to my room (with the help of Charlie). I packed the shelves full of everything weird, and monstrous, along with the occasional cheesy romance. I stored my mini easel away beside the small desk that was situated under the window, placing the box of art supplies on top of the bookshelf.
It was raining outside, cold and wet, and the perfect night for some movies. I grinned, digging through the plastic box that held all of the DVDs my dad and I had gathered over the years. I knew exactly what my mother and I would be watching.
I bounced down the stairs, turning on the few lamps that were scattered about the room, and lit up some scented candles, inhaling deeply that intoxicating, cocoa butter smell. Looking at my watch I knew that my mom would be home any minute, so I grabbed the takeaway menu that was stuck to the fridge and ordered a large Hawaiian pizza.
I was sitting on the sofa when my mom entered the house. She looked tired, and I questioned whether or not to make her sit and watch these movies that I had seen a thousand times, but my mom insisted.
"Trust me, Clara, there's nothing I would love more than to have a chilled out night with my favourite girl."
Well, there was no arguing with that.
"What are we watching then?" My mom descended the stairs thirty minutes later, snug in her pyjamas, arms full of pillows and blankets.
I grinned, "Well…" I lifted the two DVD cases, holding them up for her to see.
"Oh no." she groaned.
I snorted with laughter. "There is no Dana! Only Zuul!" I put on my best creepy voice, waving Ghostbusters I and II wildly in the air.
"Oh, Christ. That's all I'm going to hear for the next week." Though she said it with disdain, I could see the corners of her mouth curling up into a smile.
"Back off man," I said in my best Bill Murry impression, "I'm a scientist."
My mom ignored me as I continued to throw quotes at her, various bad impressions pouring from my mouth. She cuddled into a blanket, picking up a slice of pizza, humming in happiness. "I can't remember the last time I had pizza."
"That's the saddest thing you've ever said, mom. " I pushed the DVD into the DVD player, before throwing myself into the pillows.
"Oi! Careful! You'll get pizza sauce all over my nice clean blankets."
"Oh shush." I moaned in delight as I bit into a slice of heaven. Perfection. I hummed as we watched the trailers play, "I asked Bella Swan to have breakfast with me tomorrow."
My mom looked at me, eyes wide, chewing. "Oh?"
"God, you don't think it was a weird thing to do, do you?"
She swallowed, sitting up, smiling. "No, no! I think that's a great idea. I know Charlie was concerned she was maybe a bit lonely, he would really appreciate you looking out for her. She probably misses her mom."
I smiled, relieved, feeling a little more sure. As the movie started, I cuddled into my tiny mom, who seemed to drown in the layers surrounding her.
It was only later when I had settled into my overly pillowed bed, that I remembered the mysterious Esme, who had awoken something inside me. I should have mentioned her to my mom. I decided not to think too much on it as the sleep weighed down my eyes, and I sunk into the bedding.
That night I dreamt of a tall, gorgeous, blonde man, all of his features seemed hidden to me. All except those golden eyes.
