The sun is shining through my window for once, waking me up with the soft glow through my window. I lie in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, unmoving and unfeeling. My chest still feels empty where my heart should be.
He left. They all left. And I'm here, alone. I have Charlie, which is really the only reason I try to get up and live a mundane life. Wake up, take a shower, eat a granola bar or piece of fruit for breakfast so Charlie can see I'm eating, go to school, avoid everyone, go to work, then go home and make dinner for Charlie before I do my homework and go to bed. That's been my life for five months now. No hanging out with friends after school, no movie nights, nothing. I just, I can't gather the strength to do more than the minimum.
Something is different today though. I can feel it. And it shouldn't be, today is just like any normal Saturday. Charlie will go fishing because he can't handle seeing me waste away and I will lie in bed until my body aches from not moving for hours. That's how it always is.
I hear a knock on my door, and I let out a small sigh.
"Come in," I said. Charlie opens my door, and there is something different. His face is twisted slightly, his body is slightly rigid. I sit up and look at him, somethings wrong.
"Bells, you have a visitor. Come downstairs," he said in his gruff voice. My mind started reeling. Who is it? Who would visit me that causes Charlie such a reaction? My heart started thumping. Was it a Cullen? Has one or all of them returned? I stumbled out of bed quickly, throwing on an oversized T-shirt and changing my shorts and rush to meet Charlie and whoever is here downstairs.
I come to a stop at the stairs.
"Uncle Tony?" I ask bewildered. Uncle Tony hasn't been around for years. I think I last saw him when I was 9 years old with my mom.
"Hey Hell Bells," he said with his signature smirk. "I hear you needed some setting straight." I looked at him confused, then to Charlie. He made eye contact with me and shook his head slightly, indicated he hadn't called my uncle.
"Um, Uncle Tony, I'm really happy to see you," I said quietly. "But why are you here? Really?"
He sighed slightly and walked over to the fireplace, touching some of the pictures resting on the mantle. He let out a little hum as he picked up the picture of me with Renee and Charlie when I was about a year old.
"Bella, your mom called me. She is apparently worried about you, and looking at you here and now, I can see why," his eyes trailed over me, landing on my eyes with his scrutinizing eyes. "Kid, you're a wreck."
I bristled. Who was he to come here and judge a single thing, he hasn't seen me in nearly a decade.
"Well Uncle Tony, I don't know why mom called you, but I assure you, I'm fine."
"Hold up," he held his hands out slightly. "Bella, I came to make an offer. I know you graduate soon. I think you should come to New York with me."
Is he fucking insane?
"Tony, she can't just pick up and leave for New York. She has school, a job, friends-" Uncle Tony cut Charlie off.
"Friends she never sees anyways because she spends her days wasting her best years away in her room, pining over a boy. School that can be completed in New York. A job that is a dead end job anyways and I could help her find a job leading to a career in New York. She'd have more opportunities, Charlie. She'd have space away from here, she'd get to explore a new part of the world, and she'd get to meet my friends," Tony smiled his signature smile that led her to knowing something was up.
But...it did sound appealing. There was a slight panic in the back of her mind though. What if the Cullens came back and she wasn't here? What if...what if he came back and she wasn't here?
As Charlie and Tony argued back and forth, I stewed over what Uncle Tony was offering. A change, a new home, a fresh start where no one knew her or who she dated, no more pity glances, no more people walking on egg shells. I'd always wanted to go to New York. I wanted to see the busy streets and the bright lights and see the culture.
"Dad," I said, effectively stopping their arguing. "Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea." His face crumpled a little bit.
"You wanna leave Bells?" His voice was quiet. I reached out and touched his shoulder.
"Dad, every day, being here, is a memory I just want to forget. It hurts. I've always wanted to travel, and maybe some space will help me," I pleaded. His eyes sought mine, and he was silent for several minutes. His shoulders sagged as he let out a deep breath, and he rubbed his face with his hand.
"Tony, I swear to god, if she gets hurt, or uncomfortable, I will shoot you. I know how to make it look like an accident," he threatened. Tony smirked.
"Noted."
Charlie looked at me softly. "Well then Bells, I guess you better start packing." I smiled for the first time in a long while, a real smile. I hugged him tightly.
"I love you dad," I whispered in his ear.
"I love you too, Bells," his gruff voice whispered back.
I pulled away and looked at Uncle Tony.
"When do we leave unc?" I smirked. He chuckled.
"I can have the jet ready in an hour," he said. I nodded.
"I'll get packing then," I said and turned to the stairs.
New York, here I come.