A New Dawn
Disclaimer: All that is Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
The rest is mine. I apologize in advance for any mistakes...
Chapter Eleven
I looked myself over one more time in the mirror.
Good enough, I reasoned. I was never very pretty, just average-looking. Ordinary.
But that was okay. Today wasn't about looks.
I wore a hyacinth blue dress my mother had bought me last year on my seventeenth birthday. It was simple yet perfect for an occasion like this. It clung to my body in a flattering way and stopped just above my knees. I played it safe with the shoes: black flats. No need in tripping across the stage and embarrassing myself in front of nearly the whole town.
My cap and gown was laid out across my bed waiting for me to put it on.
I'd done it. I'd graduated high school hell.
And through my second time at Fork High, Home of the Assholes, I'd managed to make only one real friend: Angela, and wreck the friendship I'd made with Jacob. I hadn't spoken to him since he showed up at my house a couple weeks ago. I'd waited for him to call. I'd thought about calling him, but, of course, that 'fuck him' voice always overpowered my rational one.
"Bella?" I heard Charlie ask from behind me, knocking lightly on my door.
I looked up from my shoes and saw Charlie's reflection behind me in the mirror.
"Yeah, Dad?" I asked.
"You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," I reply truthfully.
His eyes twinkled with pride. He was happy for me. He was even happier that I'd received my acceptance letter into Dartmouth only a few days earlier.
I was doing it, pushing forward and getting out of Forks, Washington for good.
I glanced up at his reflection again to find him watching me intently.
"What?" I asked, turning to look at him.
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face and crossing his arms. "Well, you'll be going off to college, Bells. I'm gonna miss you."
"I'll miss you, too, Dad," I said, and I meant it. "But we'll be in touch, I promise."
"I know, but it won't be the same, you know. It's gonna be weird . . . not having you around this place," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and motioning to the house. Charlie never was good with emotion. I guess he's where I got that from.
Neither of us was good at good-byes either.
I sighed. "I wish Mom was here." Suddenly, my chest felt too small, and I could feel my eyes sting with fresh tears.
"Me too."
Silence engulfed the room.
*0*o*0*o*0*o*0*
Cheers erupted as Principal Mallory called my name for me to accept my diploma.
I stood and walked across the stage, focusing mainly on getting across the flat surface without tripping on air or my own two feet.
Brandon, Cullen, Hale, and McCarthy had already walked. Whitlock was the last one of the Cullen gang to go, but I'd be gone before he walked.
I got my diploma and scanned the crowd for Charlie. He stood in the third row, clapping and smiling his crinkly-eyed smile. I could have sworn I saw his eyes tear up a bit, but I'm sure he'd never admit to that if I ever asked him about it.
I made my way off the stage and into the crowd to find Charlie. I passed Angela's parents and made sure to wave to them. Angela would be attending Dartmouth as well, and I was hoping I'd see her around there, too.
I smiled as I finally spotted Charlie but quickly stopped dead in my tracks and froze when I saw who he was talking to.
None other than Carlisle and Esme Cullen stood there talking to my father. What they were talking about I could only imagine. None of them appeared to look angry or tense, but Charlie sure did look awkward.
What the hell was going on?
I chewed on my bottom lip nervously and was prepared to turn around and walk away until the coast was clear, but Charlie turned his head and saw me. Cullen's parents copied him and caught sight of me as well.
They smiled.
My stomach churned, but I gave a polite tight-lipped smile as I made my way up to them. That was the best I could do.
"Bella," Esme Cullen smiled warmly at me, and it seemed genuine. Then again, I had no reason to believe it wasn't. Cullen's parents had never given me any reason to hate them, but I still felt incredibly uncomfortable talking to them.
"Hello, Mrs. Cullen. Dr. Cullen," I greeted them awkwardly, feeling extremely uneasy and out of place standing here talking with them. Luckily, their son was nowhere in sight.
"Call me Esme, please," Cullen's mother smiled.
"And you can call me Carlisle. Charlie tells us you're going to Dartmouth?" Dr. Cullen asked.
Calling them by their first names seemed like an odd request. It's not like they were old family friends or my in-laws (God forbid).
I nodded, a little confused as to why Charlie and the Cullens were suddenly buddies.
"That's an excellent school. You're grades must be impeccable," Dr. Cullen praised, smiling.
I shrugged.
"Yes, that's quite a big deal to be accepted there. You have a full academic scholarship too?" Esme asked.
I nod.
"That's wonderful. Edward told me you were an excellent tutor, by the way. Thank you so much for helping him. He passed English because of you," she said, smiling again. "Maybe you and Edward will see each other around the campus."
I froze.
"What?" Charlie and I demanded in unison, although for different reasons. Charlie still hadn't known about my tutoring Cullen, and I had no idea Cullen and I would be attending the same college.
"Edward's going to Dartmouth?" I demanded, panic stirring in my chest and my anger rising.
Mr. and Mrs. Cullen exchanged a glance. Their smiles fell off their faces.
What the fuck was happening?
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