7.
BPOV
As soon as my feet hit the pavement in the 7-Eleven parking lot, I'm home. The sights and sounds of my childhood come rushing back to me as I look around the desolate dark lot.
Times when Lauren, my childhood BFF, and I would ride around this place on our bicycles in search of something better to do. We soon realized, there was nothing to do and that's how we'd eventually ended up smoking cigarettes behind the grocery store.
I smile at the memories of Ben and Angela hooking up in Garrett McCormick's garage and Lauren telling me how she'd lost her V-card to Paul Wolfman, one of the hot, older seniors.
My childhood wasn't that bad. I wasn't a bad kid. I think whatever I did was pretty normal and none of it left lasting scars, only good grounds to make me want to come back here permanently.
"Hey, kiddo. What're you smiling about?" Dad's voice scares me and I jump, the air leaving my lungs.
"Christ, Daddy. Don't do that." I smile and run to him, hugging him instantly. "I missed you." My smile is so big, my cheeks hurt.
"I missed you too, baby girl," he says and lets me out of his strong grasp. "Now, let's go home. You look like you need a good night's sleep."
Nodding, I take my bag and follow him to the cruiser. "Still driving this thing around, huh?"
He chuckles. "Crime doesn't sleep, Bella."
Nodding, I get into the car and we drive off.
"How was the trip?"
"Long... Exhausting... Fun... Life altering." I giggle, thinking about the fun I had, and then the tightness in my chest comes back because I realize that the last two things were because of Edward. "It was great, Dad, but I'm not doing that again, so...don't worry."
"That's...all I wanted to hear." He parks the car in front of the house and I can't help but notice how it looks exactly the same as it did the last time I was here.
"So I guess I'm gonna go to bed," I tell him once we're inside. I can tell he's tired as well and from experience, I know he has to be up in a few hours to start his shift.
"Alright, kiddo. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He hugs me and disappears up the stairs to his bedroom and I walk down the hall to the laundry room where I empty my bag and start up a load. No use in procrastination of the inevitable.
Taking the rest of my things upstairs to my room, I'm glad to see that Dad's left my boxes of clothes in the room instead of bringing those to the basement with the other few boxes. I'm not in the mood to go picking through them in the dark right now, but I do want to find a fresh pair of panties and a clean T-shirt.
Taking a shower where I don't have to worry about creepy dudes spying on me is heaven, but then my mind wanders to those other times where Edward watched out for me and I can't help worrying about him.
I'm glad his mom was right there. He's such a momma's boy, but it's cute as hell. I can't rag on him for that since I'm admittedly a daddy's girl, hence my moving clear across the country to be closer to him.
Stepping out of the shower, I redress in the oversized T-shirt and panties and head straight to bed. I'm exhausted and ready for my new journey to start. Looking at my phone, I quickly set my alarm for ten AM. I don't know if I'll sleep in that late, but I don't want to sleep away the whole morning either. Once the alarm is set, I look at my address list and see Edward's name. I know he said the ball was in my court, but I know that whatever we had won't happen again since we're too far away from each other. Either way, there are plenty of other nice guys around and it's not like I have that much time to date anyway.
Turning off my phone, I decide that I need to put Edward behind me and whatever happened between us. We were friends on a one-way journey together, nothing more. He is very attractive, but chances are he never saw me that way, I mean, I'm a girl and I'm cute, but that flirting he was doing could have been his way of making friends.
I don't even believe myself when I think that, and end up debating it for another hour before succumbing to sleep.
Blinding sunlight streaming through the curtainless window wakes me at an ungodly hour. I struggle to get back to sleep for about an hour before deciding to start my day.
Sleeping in my old bed is weird, but what's weirder is looking around my room in the bright daylight and noticing how absolutely nothing's changed. I'm immediately transported back to the time when I was twelve years old and pining for Samuel Uley. Ah, he was so hot, with his dishevelled jet-black hair and olive complexion, but he was no Edward.
Edward. Crap, I'd come close to forgetting about him, but no. My mind conjures up his image - all tall, broad shoulders and bright green eyes. I wish we'd met under different circumstances.
I refuse to let myself go there again today, though, I have too many things to do, one of which is to circle the morning paper in search for a place to live.
With my coffee in one hand and the paper in the other, I decide on five places to call and visit. Today is Friday and I've got plenty of time before Dad comes home from work. I want to make him dinner to thank him for picking me up in the middle of the night. I'm a lousy cook, though, so this should be interesting.
After getting dressed, I get the keys from Dad's old pick up, my purse and the paper. It doesn't take long before I've visited all five places and decided on an apartment. It'll be available in about a month, which is great. At least I won't be moving in the middle of winter, but then it's not like I have that much furniture anyway.
I may need to work on that.
Armed with a new lease and some groceries, I head home and start dinner.
At around five thirty, Dad walks through the door and his face lights up instantly once he spots me. "Oh, you didn't have to do that, honey," he says, but eyes my homemade turkey casserole like it's his last meal.
"It's no big deal. How was your day?" I set our plates on the table and have a seat while he takes off his gun belt and shoes.
"It was great. I meant to ask you something, though. My deputy is getting married tomorrow and I thought it would be nice if you came with Sue and me to the reception." He takes a seat and gulps down half his glass of water before digging into his food.
I purse my lips in thought, but then I figure it would be nice to see some locals and maybe even meet some of my future students. "I guess. Wait, so you're still dating Sue?" I grin and take a bite of my meal, humming in contentment once it hits my tongue. Restaurant and greasy roadside diner food for almost a whole week makes this simple casserole taste like heaven.
He smiles softly and nods. "Yup, going on three years now."
I hum. "Wow. So, when are you two making it official?"
"Well, we've talked about it, but with Jacob it's hard to do anything. He's going off to college in a few weeks, so we'll see after that. I think I'm going to ask her to move in here with me," he says.
The thought of him having someone in the house to take care of him makes me all gooey inside. "That's great, Dad, but why do you need to wait for Jacob to leave the nest?"
"Sue just wanted him to finish high school without too many traumas. You remember how hard it was when Billy died?" I nod and he continues. "Well, I can't replace his father, and he's made sure to let me know. I love that boy, but he's got some growing up to do."
I nod. "Ah, I see. Well, I can't wait to see Sue again, it's been ages." We go on to discuss his work and then he tells me about Mr. McCarthy, his new deputy.
When we come back to this wedding business, he tells me that this reception is on the outskirts of Port Angeles in a cabin somewhere in the middle of the woods. He also informs me I need to bring an overnight bag because we're staying there. I argue a little and tell him I won't go because I've spent enough time away from home, but he reminds me he hasn't seen me in ages and I need to get out of the house a little. Apparently, Angela and Ben are going to be there as well as Lauren and her husband Mike. I haven't seen my old friends in ages and I agree that it's not a totally bad idea.
When he mentions that Mr. McCarthy's wife's name is Rosalie, my ears perk up and my heart beats just a little quicker. "Wait, his wife's name is Rosalie? Does he ever call her Rose?"
Dad's eyebrows knit together. "I don't know, sweetie. I've only heard him call her Rosie. What's this about?"
I shrug and tell him it's nothing and we spend the rest of the evening catching up.
When I finally go to bed, my head spins with about fifty different scenarios. My brain goes a mile a minute as I process the information I've gathered today.
Could I really be this damn lucky? What if he's there? What if he's not? What if he's there and all this was a lie and he's got a date? And even if he has a date, why am I being all possessive and why does it make my chest hurt? What if it's all a giant coincidence and I'm just overreacting and this Rosalie person isn't Edward's Rose?
Ugh!
Tossing and turning in my bed after spending way too much time—again—pondering the what ifs, I finally fall asleep only to wake up way too early to the sound of a fire alarm blaring downstairs.
Seems Dad's attempts at cooking bacon haven't changed over the years and when I go downstairs, I'm greeted by the smell of bacon and the sight of Dad, attempting to make the thing stop beeping by flagging a towel underneath it.
When it finally stops, he notices I'm there and gives me a sheepish smile. "Sorry, honey."
I shrug and take out a plate. "It's okay, as long as some of it was for me."
We joke around and it's light and easy. Dad and I have always had this kind of easy, comfortable relationship. He doesn't pry or hover and I don't feel the need to hide much from him. I never did.
We spend the day catching up and around dinner time, we each go off and get ready. I pack a small bag with basic necessities, and of course a nice dress, still not believing the odds could possibly be in my favor, though, hopeful that maybe I'll see Edward again.
…
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Yeah... Maybe... So...whatcha think?
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xox
Missy