True to her word, Joy showed me up to my room after dinner. I was on the third floor, in the second attic room. As we walked up the stairs to the attic, I was greeted by a small room laden with boxes and other old knick-knacks, that smelt suspiciously of mold. A path had been made through these, leading to a door around five feet from the stairs. This was the door that led to my room, and although I wasn't too happy about being shoved in the attic, I wad glad that I actually had a door to shut people out.
My room housed part of the roof, meaning that around halfway the walls started to slope up. This didn't seem to be that big of a problem, because all my items that were on these walls (a bed, small dresser and desk) fit on the bottom half that didn't slope. It was also relatively small and cramped; most of my furniture was only around four or five feet apart. On the same wall as the door, a large oak wardrobe stood. I was told that it had been in the family for generates, but was too big and too old to get out of the attic without damaging it. Now, it was mine to use.
My desk was situated on the right wall, facing onto the drive and road at the front. My bed was on the opposing wall, facing onto the back garden and forest beyond. On the slope above my bed, a large window was placed, having a small platform to allow access onto the roof. If I was to stand on my bed and open the window, it would be easy to pull myself onto the ledge and sit looking out. My dresser stood at the foot of my bed, seemingly bare without any of it's usual pictures and perfume bottles on the topic it.
"Some things still haven't arrived yet," Joy admitted, folding her hands together.
"These came just yesterday; Quil and his friends spent the whole day putting them up!" She laughed at this, making me smile.
"I'll remember to thank him the next time I see him." I laughed too, looking to her.
"And thank you, for the lovely meal and for letting me stay in your home. Really, I can't thank you enough." I alway became quiet and bashful when thanking someone like this. Heartfelt things always made me feel weird.
"Nonsense! You're family, my dear. I'm sure you and your mother would do the same for Quil if I asked." She winked at me, and pushed my suitcases in through the door.
"Oh! I believe the rest of your things are coming this week, so don't worry about them. Deliveries around here usually take longer than you're used to." Smiling at me, she gave me a one armed hug and turned towards the door.
"Now, you should be resting from the long flight. You must be exhausted!" Joy began to exit back through the door, pulling it closed as she went.
"The bathroom is the door farthest from the stairs going down, and you can call me if you need anything. I'll be out at work before you're awake, I'm sure, but my mobile number is by the house phone if you need anything." The door shut, and I could hear her walking towards the stairs.
"Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, too!" She called, descending the stairs. I yelled a meek 'Thank you' back, and proceeded to turn to face my room. The light that flickered from a cord in the ceiling was incredibly dim, making everything difficult to see. I could see black paper underneath the netted curtains, which further contributed to the darkness. I remembered Joy saying I could take them off, so I shuffled over to my bed and climbed onto it.
Ripping the paper off, I was immediately greeted by the bright white of the moon. It was only 8pm, but the long nights of winter were gradually beginning to fade away in the small La Push reservation. Even though it was nearing the beginning of April, the days were already starting to get longer and sunnier. I opened the window, letting a gust of cold air sweep around the room, blowing dust off of the old floor. It had stopped raining all together and the night looked relatively clear. Sighing, I pulled myself up onto the ledge, looking out into the forest beyond. The trees looked almost black; and they merged together as if they were one living being. I couldn't see any movement for miles.
Still, I left the windows open as I ventured over to my bags, pulling my favourite pillow and pair of pyjamas out. I locked the door to my room before getting changed; pulling on my kitten-themed nightware before and throwing my worn clothes into the corner. I quickly deemed that the 'washing' corner and continued searching through my bags.
Now, don't think less of me when I tell you this.
I sleep with a teddy.
Yes, I know it's childish and silly, but I literally cannot sleep without something to hold. It makes me feel safer, holding something at night. And not in the 'oh no it's dark and the monsters under my bed will get me if teddy doesn't protect me' way. Think more along the lines of 'if someone comes into my room during the night I have something reasonably hard to hit them with'.
There was also the fact that this was the teddy my grandfather had gotten me when he, my grandmother and I had returned to his old house in Germany when I was around three. I couldn't remember much of the visit, only that I was scared at night so he got me a teddy to sleep with. It was already pretty old when I had first acquired it, but even now it's white fur had been worn to the point of near blackness, and it's eyes we're dull and scratched. Nevertheless, it smelt like home; and that was a welcome comfort in the dark and cold bedroom I was to be living in for the next two years.
A chill suddenly swept around the room, blowing my hair around and disturbing the elasticised curtains. I shivered, and hurried over to the window to shut it. The moon was still out, but now it was blocked by a large number of clouds; making the forest outside seem eerie and dangerous. I shut the window, blocking images of savage bears and wolves from my mind. I was on the third floor of a house, for gods sake! If a wild animal got in I think it may have some trouble navigating two locked doors and three sets of stairs.
I quickly shuffled over to the light switch, pulling the cord to shut the lamp off. The room was suddenly cast into utter blackness, making me jump and dash towards my bed. I landed on it with a loud thud, hoped that Joy hadn't heard me, and began to worm my way down into the covers. The sliver of moon that was visible through the clouds cast haunting shadows through the windows in my room, dancing across the walls and on the ceiling. With a frown towards my own childishness at thinking the shadows were somehow alive, I pulled the duvet over my head, hugged my teddy closer, and tried to sleep.
I awoke the next day, with half of my body on the floor and half on the bed. My covers seem to have been discarded during the night, as they were balled up at the bottom of the bed in a mound of both pillows and duvet. Both my legs had slid off of the low bed. They were now currently resting on the floor, halfway under the bed. They felt like static; a clear indicator of the fatal condition called pins and needles. An oddly strangled groan escaped my mouth as I tried to bring life back into my legs.
I slowly woke up and climbed out of bed, rubbing my arms to get them warm again. My legs had two long, red marks running down the length of them from where they had been resting on the wooden floor, along with the fading remnants of static. I frowned, stretched out my back, and glanced up through the window above my bed. It was daytime, but as the night before the clouds covered the majority of the sun. Not that I minded, I was going to be staying inside all day anyways.
"What time is it..." I wondered out loud, lurching off of the bed and towards my bags. Shuffling over to my carry-on, I knelt down on the floor with a thud and started to rummage through it, trying to find my phone. It rested at the bottom, along with my IPod and Nintendo. I pulled all three items out before tapping the start button on my phone.
The welcome screen appeared and I began to remove other items from my bag as I waited for it to load up. Deodorant bottles, spare clothes, sketchbooks, pencils and two pairs of headphones were pulled out one-by-one and set on top of my dresser. Other items, such as my games case and various books, remained in the bag for the time being; mostly because I was too lazy to find a place for them.
By the time I had sorted through the bag, my phone had turned on and its glaring screen displayed three missed calls. Two from my mother and one from my friend back home. I sighed, knowing I probably wouldn't be able to talk to them properly for maybe a month. The Ataeras didn't have Internet service, and my phone didn't cover calls from America. I would have to use the house phone, and even then the calls would be extremely expensive.
I glanced at the screen. The time on my phone read 2 : 27.
"Shit!" I hissed. I had slept for over 18 hours!
I jumped up and grabbed some clothes from my bag. I had to get a shower before anyone came home, they couldn't see me looking like a bum! I would die of embarrassment.
Opening the door to my bedroom, I looked around to check if the coast was clear. I couldn't hear any noise in the house, and it seemed as if I was the only one home. I crept down the stairs; shampoo in one hand and my clothes / towel in the other. Please don't let Quil be home, please don't let him see me in my pyjamas...
Luckily, it seemed like no one was home. I breathed a sigh of relief as I passed Quils bedroom, glancing in to find it empty. The bathroom door was open too, showing no one inside.
I showered in peace, wondering where everyone was. Quil was the same age as me, so maybe he was in school? I knew Joy was at work, as she told me yesterday she would be home late because she had to take a trip to Port Angeles to get some documents regarding my living arrangements. Even so, knowing that I would be in the house alone for a few hours unnerved me.
I finished showering and dressed quickly, returning upstairs to blow dry my hair. Since no one would be home for a while, I ventured downstairs to fix myself some lunch. The cat I had spotted yesterday was laid out upon the kitchen floor, asleep and snoring. I had always been a cat person, so my first instinct was to approach it and begin to play with it. Smiling, I reached out my hands to stroke it's stomach, lunch momentarily forgotten.
In an instant, the cat was awake. A loud hiss escaped it's mouth as it lashed out towards me, it's claws dragging down my right forearm and giving me three long scratched. I winced, and retracted my arm as the cat scampered off.
Douchebag cat, I was only trying to stroke you!
"Well fuck you too." I muttered at it's retreating back, going over to the sink to wash the blood off. I didn't really think a band aid was going to cut it, so I just wrapped some kitchen towels around the wound and hoped it would soak up the blood. I'm used to cat scratches (among other types of animal scratches) so it didn't bother me much. I just hoped I wouldn't get blood around Joy's nice kitchen. Remembering my growling stomach, I looked through the cupboards for some cereal.
I didn't recognise any cereals in the cupboard. Like, at all. I was forced to settle on the old-man bran flakes, as that was the only thing I vaguely recognised. I poured the flakes and some milk into a bowl, grabbed a spoon and began to make my way upstairs. I had ventured into the hall with the spoon in my mouth when there was a knock at the door.
Oh shit. Oh shit shit shitshitshit-
What do I do? What if it's the moving company bringing all my stuff over! I can't miss that, I would have to go for weeks without my laptop! Oh crap, what do I do?
I hurriedly set down my cereal on one of the stairs and frantically began looking on the key rack to see what key could open the door. I grabbed the one closest to the door, and shoved it into the lock. It seemed to fit, but I had to jiggle it around for awhile before I finally heard the click of the lock opening. Gripping the handle and pulling it open, I stepped back to greet the person on the other side.
The woman on the other side was definitely not the delivery man.
She was smaller than me, about 5"6', and appeared to be in her mid forties. Her short hair framed her face, and was cut into a rather harsh style. She had the dark, russet skin that the tribe was known for, and as I assessed her she stared right back at me with her black, almond shaped eyes.
"Hello!" She smiled, her eyes crinkling in at the corners. She held a large casserole dish in her hands, and the smell emanating from it was not a good one.
Ew. Fish.
"H-hello." I answered uncertainly, confused as to the identity of this woman. The Rez was a pretty small community, and it made sense hat they would bring each other food, but what are the chances of someone other than the delivery man arriving at the house on the second day I had been living there?
"Oh, you're Joy's niece, aren't you? It's nice to meet you, after everything she's been saying about you!" She laughed, and I felt my face contort into a look of utter horror.
"All good things! All good! Don't worry, she thinks you're the 'bees knees'." She assured me, nodding her head to reaffirm the statement.
"I'm Sue, by the way. Sue Clearwater. I live just a few blocks away and Quil Senior had asked me for one of my fish pies, so I thought I would bring it round in the day rather than barge in at night. Is he not home?"
"Um, no, I don't think so. I haven't seen him yet, really." I admitted, trying to smile and seem friendly. Hopefully now that she knew Quil Sr wasn't here, she would leave.
"Oh, that's quite alright. Do you think you could take this and out it into the fridge ...?" She hesitated, which I took as a prompt for my name. It's a wonder she didn't already know it, after how much Joy was supposedly talking about me.
"Yeah, sure, I can do that! And um, my name is Charlotte. Charlotte Grimes." I told her, taking the lukewarm dish out of her ands and holding it like it was made of glass. She faltered for a second, obviously spotting my paper-towel-clad arm, before smiling and nodding again.
"Alright, Charlotte, I can remember that." She muttered, seemingly more to herself than me.
"It was nice to meet you, Charlotte! I'll see you around, I'm sure." Sue called, retreating down the path and onto the street beyond. I called a quick 'you too', before pulling the door shut with my foot.
Rude fucker, the least she could do was shut the door. I obviously have my hands full!
I walked back to the kitchen, quickly sliding the tray into the fridge and shutting the door. I raced back to the hallway, only to discover my cereal had soaked for too long and was now a soggy brown lump. Cursing quite violently, I went back again to throw it into the bin, and made my way upstairs again to wait for the delivery van.
The next two days passed the same way. I would wake up late, find everyone gone, bring lunch up to my room and finally go downstairs for dinner. After that, I would retreat straight back up to my room.
Just as I was begging to get used to this schedule, Old Quil finally decided to make an appearance.
I met him on the fifth night of my two-year-long stay. He was sat at the dinner table as I came down for food, and promptly began staring at me with his old, mahogany eyes. Those eyes seemed to be a family trait.
I can't deny the fact that when I saw him sitting at the table I almost crapped myself. He was hardly threatening, as he looked like if you so much as touched him he would break. His eyes were the things that scared me most.
They looked so old and so severe that I was honestly dreading sitting near him for dinner.
"Hello." I greeted pleasantly, walking over to the table. He replied with a blank stare and a small noise of disapproval.
He probably doesn't like that you're the result of an affair his father had, you idiot.
I sighed, and shuffled past him to greet Joy in the kitchen. Quil entered, and we sat down to eat dinner. I think he might have sensed the tense atmosphere, bless him, as he tried to make as much conversation as possible. His grandfather wasn't having any of it however, and as soon as he finished eating he retreated back outside.
"He lives in the basement." Quil whispered, wiping his mouth ith the back of his hand.
"I know it might seem weird, but it's easier for him. The shed out back is his too, but he mostly uses it to dry fish and deer and stuff."
I nodded in response and continued with my meal.
To my utter delight, the day after my awkward encounter with Quil Sr, all my larger items arrived in the delivery. My laptop, television, kindle and Xbox came in one, neatly packaged large box. I almost cried when I saw them, and immediately rushed to my room to set them up in the appropriate places.
Maybe this place isn't so bad after all.
Just after lunch on the very same day, Joy approached me in my room.
"Feeling like home yet?" She grinned, walking in and sitting on my bed.
"Oh yes, thanks! I'm glad to finally have all my stuff." I smiled back at her, plugging in various cables and wires.
"I bet you're glad you don't have to stay cooped up all day anymore! It must have been terrible, being inside all day." I was all but ignoring her at this point, so I made a sound of agreement to make her think I was interested.
"Actually, I wanted to clean the house tomorrow, so it would be a perfect time for you to go out and explore the Rez!" Joy exclaimed, jumping up and clapping.
"I'll let Quil know you won't be in tomorrow. Oh, the fresh air will do you good!" She laughed at my expression of shock, and then exited back out of my door and down the stairs.
Me? Go outside? I prayed that she would forget about it before tomorrow. The outdoors and me just don't mix. Pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to relax, and leant backwards, quickly hitting the floorboards.
This would not end well.
Hi guys! Tei here, just wanted to thank you all for your lovely reviews and all the follows / favs! It really means a lot to me to have people liking my stories!
I was actually active on this site a few years back, writing awful self inserts and mary sue fics. I've since improved quite dramatically (four years of GCSE English does that to a person) and wanted to start posting again.
That being said, I still make many mistakes in my chapters. If anyone would be interested in being a beta reader for me, just send me a PM / review and I'll contact you from there.
Also, sorry this chapter is more of a 'filler' chapter, if nothing else. I enjoy being thorough with my stories c;
Thanks again and have a lovely day c: