I walked toward my truck, my jacket pulled tightly around me. It was now pouring down rain, I noticed that the shiny Volvo next to my truck was still parked, there was music coming form the slightly opened windows. I looked at the driver's side and realized it was Edward inside the car, he looked up and half shuddered, he rolled down the window slightly.
"Thank you, for earlier I mean." He smiled tightly at me, I didn't really understand why he seemed so tense, but I brushed it off attributing it to his not feeling well.
"No problem, really, glad to help." He smiled a bit bitterly at this; again, I had no idea why. "Well, I should get going, oh, do you know where I could buy groceries?" He smiled a bit more friendly this time.
"You should ask Eric, I'm sure he'd be happy to help." He smiled, a crooked grin at this, and seemed to be holding back a laugh as my face fell and I shrugged.
"I'll just wait until I can ask Charlie… Well, see you later." I waved as I walked away; he waved in response as he rolled his window up. I walked to my truck, not trusting myself to run, lest I slip and fall… again. I pulled the heavy door shut behind me and turned in time to see Edward's family getting into the Volvo and him pulling out of the lot, speeding away from the school. I shook my head slightly and turned the key, starting up the roaring engine of the truck and pulling carefully out of the lot, heading for home.
I'd arrived home around three, having taken my sweet time driving home, avoiding any kind of unsafe situations on the rain slicked roads. I walked up the stairs on the front porch and stopped for a moment, feeling the odd sensation of being watched, I spun around in time to see a deer dart into the trees. I sighed and walked into the small house, locking the door behind myself. I walked slowly up the stairs to my room, kicking off my shoes and socks as well as my rain soaked clothes, changing into dry ones and curling up on my bed with my books and homework, mostly assessments to make sure I didn't need any help catching up with the class. I was finished in a matter of minutes and flung myself back on my bed, gazing up at the ceiling. I frowned slightly, thinking that I should add more of my own touch to the room. I stood, pulling slippers onto my feet as I walked down stairs to grab the house phone. I called the police station, asking after Charlie. When he picked up his phone, his voice was tinged with worry.
"Is everything okay, Bella?" I smiled, touched by his worry, even if it was unwarranted.
"Yeah, Dad, everything's fine, I was just wondering if I could paint in my room some, and if you had any paint lying around that I could use?" I laughed a bit as he sighed on the other side of the line.
"Yeah, that'd be fine. There's some paint in the closet under the stairs, and brushes too, call me back if you need me to pick anything else up." I could hear the smile in his voice and couldn't help smiling in return.
"Thanks, Dad, I really appreciate it. Talk to you later."
"Yup, no problem, Kid. See you in a few hours." We both hung up at the same time, something we used to always do when I'd talk to him when I was little. I sighed in contentment and walked to the closet under the stairs, rummaging around until I'd found all the painting supplies I could. I brought them upstairs and left them outside my door as I rearranged my room, pushing my bed to the center of the room, shoving my desk and dresser up against it. I spread the old sheets I'd found with the paint around the bases of the walls, pulling in the unused plastic tarp to cover my bed and furniture. I then pulled in the paint, setting a few cans on my now protected desk. I grabbed a small can of black paint and one of the smaller brushes I'd found with it, carrying it over to the wall directly across from my bed, where a small window rested, almost perfectly centered. I stared at it for a few moments, a movement outside my window distracting me for a moment; when I didn't see anything, I dismissed it as another deer. That was something else I was going to have to get used to; all the wildlife. I laughed at my own thoughts for a moment then went back to staring at the wall, trying to plan out some sort of design for the wall. I'd never been a terribly artsy person when I was younger; I hated getting messy and especially hated using markers, but even more so when Robert had moved in, because I was always getting yelled at for 'writing on myself'. I'd started using only pencil, constantly sketching when I was overwhelmed by everything going on. I dragged the now wet brush across the wall, making a gently sloping line from the top right corner of the window to the baseboard about a yard away. I went on like this for a while, sweeping the brush one way, and then another, eventually the wall was covered in an intricate weave of lines and swirls. I then went back to my desk, re-covering the black and walking to the bathroom to rinse off the brush. I walked back into my room and grabbed an indigo shade of blue, dipping a slightly larger brush into the fairly large can and walking back to the wall. As I stared at the wall and the semi-thick lines that now covered it, I realized it almost looked like stained glass. I smiled and glanced over the design, wondering what I might be able to make out of the array of shapes. I went at painting until Charlie arrived home. He'd apparently stopped at the grocery store and picked up some pasta and sauce.
"I wasn't really sure what I should get, but I figured this shouldn't be too hard to do, the recipe's right on the back of the sauce." He smiled, holding up the jar. I smiled back at him, taking the noodles and sauce from him.
"This will work just fine, oh, and where is the grocery store by the way?" Charlie smiled as he gave me the directions. I'd already pulled out a pot and started boiling water, setting the noodles beside the stove, and then finding a smaller sauce pan to heat the sauce in. Charlie had stood for a short while, watching me, then he smiled guiltily and walked into the living room, turning on the TV to some sports channel. I finished cooking and brought a plate of Spaghetti out to him, and one for myself, we sat in front of the TV together, though I wasn't really watching, he asked how my day had gone and if I'd made any friends, the typical first day of school type things. I'd told him that it was fine, and I thought I'd made a few friends. When he mentioned Mike I grimaced, causing Charlie to chortle. I fake punched him and stuck my tongue out at him. When we'd finished eating, I washed the dishes and excused myself to go finish painting. I'd left the window slightly ajar, just enough for air to escape without any rain threatening to enter. I finished coloring my array of 'stained glass' which had turned slowly into a scene of a meadow, flowers covering parts, rich green grass covering others, the half circle of open space ringed by trees that padded back to a lush, almost black green. I smiled at the work and then moved myself to the opposing wall. I stared at this wall too, trying to let some image come to me. I started with a soft blue this time and the image slowly turned into a mural of a setting sun, falling over a horizon of endless water, a rocky beach edging the water. I smiled at the work and replaced the cap on the paint, stretching as I walked toward the bathroom, rinsing out the brushes I'd used in the past few hours. It was only 8:30 and I still wanted to ass more to the room, though I wasn't really sure what at the moment. I walked back into my room, pulling the tarp off of my bed and throwing it over the paints that were resting on my desk. I pulled my laptop out of one of the drawers of my dresser and started it up. I watched the screen slowly come to life, my email opening with a pinging noise, notifying me of new messages. I glanced over the four messages, all of which were from my mother, I sighed and opened each of them. She'd updated me on her whole day, as it happened, the three of them, Renee, Robert, and his son, were driving to Florida, they'd apparently passed through Texas already, stopping several times as they drove, mostly sight seeing. I typed up a quick reply, telling her mostly the same thing I'd told Charlie and wishing her well on her trip, then sending the message and closing my email. I went searching then, through my old pictures, trying to find one I'd be happy with having on my wall. I passed a half-hour in this manner then panicked suddenly as I realized it was almost nine. I rushed to my bathroom, washing up and then running downstairs, giving Charlie a quick hug and saying a quick goodnight, I was part way up the stairs when I fell. Charlie walked up to me, a worried look on his face as tears started running down my cheeks.
"Sorry…" He stared at me, confusion evident on his face. I shook my head slightly. "Old habits…" He frowned then.
"You don't have a bed time here, Bells. That was his thing, not mine. You never have to worry about that sort of thing here." His brow was furrowed now. He reached out and pulled me up, hugging me awkwardly for a moment. I squeezed him back and smiled reassuringly at him, changing the subject to get him to stop worrying.
"Do you want to see my room now?" I asked, somewhat excited at having been allowed to paint it; it was something I'd never have been able to do with Robert around. Charlie smiled and nodded, following me up the stairs and into my room.
"Wow. This is really good, Bella." I smiled; thrilled that he was pleased with it. "This is the kind of stuff people'd pay to have painted on their walls." I blushed now.
"It's not quite done… but I think I'll finish after school tomorrow, I really am tired." I smiled sheepishly and gave him a quick hug. He smiled and walked out of my room, I shut the door quietly behind him, turning and leaning against it as he left. I slid down the door, tears once more running down my face. I wrapped my arms around my legs, leaning my head against my knees. I spoke aloud, barely above a whisper. "God I hate that man… bad enough to have done this to me… but even Charlie…" I thought back to the selfish way he forced me to be in bed by nine every night, threatening me with harm if I didn't. I cringed slightly, hating that I had ever cared for Robert, hating that I'd let him hurt me, hating everything he'd ever done to me, hating everything he'd ever deemed 'wrong'. I shoved myself away form the door then, falling into bed and pulling the light switch before curling into a ball under the covers and falling into a fitful sleep. I dreamt of Edwards tight, dark eyes, watching me as I walked through the school, trying to find a classroom that simply eluded me. He seemed to be saying something, but I couldn't hear him and that only frustrated me more. I woke in the morning to a gray sky, but it wasn't raining yet. Charlie had already left for work and I ate a piece of toast for the second day in a row before walking to my truck and leaving for school.