Disclaimer: My name is not Stephenie Meyer, therefore I do not own Twilight.
I landed at Sea-Tac Airport about one o'clock that afternoon, I decided to take a cab to the nearest car dealership and go from there. After forty five minutes, a few pathetic attempts at haggling, and my case worker faxing her co-signature, I was the owner of a new (to me) '06 Chevy Malibu. I decided that I wanted to live in my parents' house, I thought I might run into my brother there, but the second set of keys were never collected. Just because he hasn't been there yet doesn't mean he never will…right?
I stood outside the house for what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes. I was about to walk into the last place my parents ever lived. I'm about to walk through the doors of the home my parents wanted to raise a family in. I finally made it to the stoop, but couldn't go farther. My courage was waning on me and I had to get a hold of myself before I chickened out altogether. A few seconds of mentally slapping myself and I unlocked the door.
The house was filled with nearly sixteen years of dust and it wasn't doing much for my allergies-allergies I didn't have until I opened that door. This house was going to need a very thorough cleaning and when I was done I hoped I could find the comfort I was looking for.
After a trip to the Thriftway, I was ready to get started. I probably should have taken this time to relax or rest, but who can rest on mounds of dust, besides cleaning can be therapeutic. I decided to start in the kitchen, work form back to front.
An hour after I started scrubbing I could see yellow cabinets that I'm sure were my mother's doing, a polished table that had hardly been used, an off white fridge, mismatched chairs, and yellow linoleum. There were pieces of paper held up by magnets, reminders to pick up everyday items. Renee, we need milk and bread. Charlie, don't forget Bella's diapers.
I felt tears stream down my face. I cried for the parents I never got to know. I cried for the lives they would never have. I cried for the brother I don't remember. I cried for the life I never had. I cried because I was alone and had never felt as lonely as I did when I realized the happiness that was taken away from me. For the first time my parents felt real, they had existed and I missed out on knowing them.
I finally calmed down and worked my way in to the hallway. I dusted pictures of myself with Charlie or Renee. I uncovered pictures from their wedding day, one of my mom in a hospital bed holding a blue bundle. Pictures of different sceneries, calla lilies in vases-my favorite flower- and a large ornate mirror, just above a dark wooden table. Looking at myself in the mirror and pictures of Charlie I realized I look a lot like him. I had his brown eyes and brown hair, he looked a little awkward something else I got from him, and in one picture he's blushing, another one of my attributes. I blush at the drop of a hat, something I obviously get from him. I'm also very emotional, but I don't like to show emotion.
My mother on the other hand looked like she had red hair and blue eyes, a confident smile, and a crazy amount of laugh lines for someone that young; it looked like she spent her entire life laughing, she looked like a free spirit.
These pictures also brought tears to my eyes, I always had that last picture of us, but the people in had never felt real to me. They felt like they were just two dimensional objects, like they barely existed. Having been in their home, looking at their handwriting, and seeing them in varying scenarios, it's like their lives had finally touched me. My father had walked through that door after coming home from work. My mother had carried two brand new babies into this house. I had a family a real family that at some point, occupied the very space that I am standing in. My mom checked her makeup in this mirror, the same mirror that my dad probably straightened his badge in before work.
I eventually realized that if I kept thinking too much while cleaning I was never going to finish, I decided to clean first and investigate later.
I found a vacuum in one of the closets and vacuumed the living room and hallway eventually making it upstairs. I found a door with a blue wooden 'E' on the door and went inside. There was a police car bed with superhero sheets, toy trains littered the floor, and tiny clothes were tossed haphazardly into the hamper. There's no mistaking the fact that this room belonged to a boy.
I eventually moved on the room with a puffy 'I' on the door finding the room intended for a baby girl. The room was painted pink, with bunnies around the border; there was a white crib beneath a pink bunny mobile. The sheets were white with pink roses and the small blanket had a tan bunny smelling flowers. A pretty lavender colored sleeper was lying against the railing and a pile of clothes was lying on my white dresser, with pink flowers carved in the drawers.
When I finished my room I could feel the tears pricking again and decided to clean the upstairs hallways before doing the most difficult room of all. All too soon I was finished and ready to move on. Two calming breaths and I pushed the door open.
Their room was spacious and comfortable; they had a queen sized bed with dark green bedding. Their bed and dressers were made of the same dark wood almost all the other furniture in the house. I liked dark wood it gave a certain warmth to the rooms.
I could feel the tears streaking down my face and sobs catching in my chest. I just curled up in their bed and cried until I fell asleep.
A/N I hope you enjoyed this, it's getting pretty emotional. Bella's nursery was actually what my youngest daughters room looked like, it was adorable. I wanted to give Bella a more reliable car that the truck she had in the series, but I also wanted to stick with Chevy, so there you have it. I'm not going to beg or bribe you into reviewing, but it would be nice. :)