AUTHOR'S NOTE: 'Bare Your Teeth' contains the following: crude language, sexual content, mentions of the Occult (Spiritualism, Louisiana Voodoo, Black Magic, Wicca). I am in no way trying to show disrespect towards any of the subjects/religions/followings. Anything within the Occult that sounds stereotypical is on purpose. There are also biblical themes throughout the story, mentions of demons in different cultures along with vampires. Vampires are different here, though some things are the same as in the cannon universe. I'm bringing more of a gothic twist to vampires, instead of a whimsical Fae aesthetic. Some of the characters are the opposite gender from Twilight, so they are from the gender bent version 'Life and Death'. Some of the vampire turning stories are different, when it comes to the time period, because Stephenie did not research properly about those time periods. Oh, and some of the characters are a different race, and or numerous sexualities.
I have decided to write this story every other week. It will be posted every other week. The chapters are either in Bella's point of view or Edward's.
Please enjoy the story, and review.
-it'semmynotemma
CHAPTER ONE| BELLA
It was Mid-January in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the weather was sweltering.
If one were to focus on the air around them, they could see the heat waves vibrate.
On the outskirts of the town, which held a population of 220,899, there was an old plantation manor not far from the swamps.
The Spanish Moss circulating the property swayed softly.
There was barely any wind at the moment and sadly, the wind was not the refreshing cool I had hoped for. I was instead hit with more heat, which in return made me fan myself with the 19th century elegant fan Marie had given me for my birthday a couple of years ago. A present for me, it was pure white lace that was in the pattern of flowers and with the perfect swish of my wrist the air would make me sigh in relief.
Downstairs soft conversations were going on, along with the clinking of bone China and antique utensils, all of which were of the greatest quality. I sat on the railing of the wrap-around whitewashed wooden balcony, while wearing an obsidian mourning dress one of my ancestors had worn long before me. The sleeves were long, and the fabric was thick. My shoes were on the balcony next to me, I wasn't wearing them, they pinched my toes, and I was already in a sour mood. I didn't want to think about the reasoning of the conversations downstairs or how I was to be expected down there before long (I could only claim I was going to the bathroom for so long), since it was my grandmother who had died.
The French doors that led into my bedroom were thrown open, and the ceiling fan was on, but it didn't matter. I hated this heat; I had never felt comfortable in Baton Rouge when it came to the humidity this God-Awful town suffered. I blamed it on global warming, it was only getting hotter and hotter each year. I couldn't get away from it no matter how hard I tried. I also knew I would have to take this all in, since I would soon be moving from this weather to the exact opposite.
"I thought I'd find you up here."
I turned my head; thankful I hadn't decided to steal Marie's cigarette holder she had since she was my age and had been smoking. The long, black stick had golden flowers engraved throughout the stick. I loved it immensely; it was one of the things she had left in her will for me though I knew the person standing in the doorway would throw a fit. The very thought of his precious daughter smoking since she was fourteen and had no problems continuing since then was incomprehensible.
"I can only stare at my own grandmother's dead body in that casket for so long. There's also the fact she's allowing her precious friends to divide her ashes to do whatever they want," I remarked, rolling my brown eyes at the fact that I knew exactly what those precious friends of hers would do when they would spread her ashes across their naked bodies and dance around a bonfire near the plantation.
An orgy would happen most likely, and others would eat her ashes to feel even closer to her.
"Don't speak like that, Isabella. I won't stand you speaking so crudely," the man hissed, his similar brown eyes showing nothing more than disappointment and annoyance towards this whole conversation.
I knew he would blame this whole attitude problem on Marie, especially since Renée (my mother and his ex-wife) had disappeared. Marie had gotten custody of me. She would be the one who would let me know it was fine to speak what was on my mind, no matter how crude or inappropriate it would sound to the other person. Marie was his number one enemy, and her teaching me this behavior would always rile him up.
I wisely kept my mouth shut as I turned my attention completely onto the man standing in the doorway.
The man who helped bring me into this world, the man who I saw I inherited details from but that was all.
He was out of his chief of police uniform, wearing a nicely tailored suit I was certain he rented from one of the multiple Christian thrift stores throughout the town. The old women were probably devastated when he learnt he wasn't a religious person, they had heard the rumors of what went down at the Higginbotham Manor. They had hoped they would have the exact opposite view when it came to my father, but he was as Agnostic as they came.
I might have basically a nonexistent relationship with my own father, and it was quite obvious earlier this week when he had come all the way from Northwest Olympic Peninsula to stay at the manor for a whole week. The burning need for me to call him just by his name, Charlie, was ever present and unneeded because I would only say his name in a sarcastic manner. I had to keep my tongue in cheek, and I knew I especially would need to do so when it came to moving away from Louisiana all the way up to Washington State.
"I know things are not going to be easy when you come up to Forks with me, but we've got to try to be a little bit better when it comes to this. You need to get away from Baton Rouge and I know Forks is not the place you want to be, but a change of scenery will do you good…and you'll be away from all of this and all she did."
Sighing I leant my head back against the column of the wrap around balcony and craned my head to the side towards him. My hair was a complete mess, and I had done the whole dramatic thing of standing in my bathroom with a pair of scissors not meant for cutting hair. I had hacked away all I could find before a friend of Marie's came and cut my hair a little bit better since she was a hairdresser.
Marie had merely given a raspy chuckle from her Victorian eggshell chaise loveseat.
She wasn't any better with appearances either, the multiple amulets and stone encased jewelry she wore all were references to her life as an Occultist that dabbled in multiple things (including but limited to: Spiritualism, Louisiana Voodoo, Black Magic, Wicca and much more). She even held séances throughout the property, hoping to get help from those on the other side. Her nails were always caked with soil underneath the nail beds, and she always wore thick makeup around her face. Her wigs were extravagant and old school, but still beautiful. She wore what she wanted and did what she wanted, and she didn't give a shit about what others thought.
The last thing Charlie needed to know was I was an Occultist too, only I tried to keep it from being obvious. I had followed in my grandmother's footsteps, and she had never been prouder than me. She also expected me to wait until I was closer to her age before showing off my knowledge on the forbidden and the archaic worlds. Well, that and I hadn't found the person who I would want to explore these subjects with. Marie had my grandfather, but he was a professor on Religious Studies, so it was a given he was as into the whole Occult life like Marie was.
"Come downstairs, please. I'm sure you haven't had anything to eat all day. I'll stay next to you and give them a look to leave you alone," Charlie pleaded.
I let my eyes look out at the swaying Spanish Moss and think of the swamp not too far away I was certain was filled with bodies from rituals Marie and the rest of the little cult had killed.
"Fine. It's too fuc–" I paused, knowing it was probably best if I didn't continue the cuss word before I finished my sentence - "I mean, it's too hot here. And I'm starving, so there's that too."
As I hopped from the railing of the wrap around balcony, I was glad Charlie didn't touch me. I would never allow anyone to touch me, even Marie knew not to touch me unless I gave her all clear and even then, it was quite rare. Charlie would get an attempted crushed hand from me but despite me thinking I could manage to crush someone's hand I knew that isn't realistic. Charlie would merely pull his hand away and rub his wrist.
I barely paid attention to the inside scenery around me, since the house hadn't been updated since the beginning. All the original furniture was still here, and I would keep this house in the family as long as possible.
The house was actually mine, or it was going to be mine, and would be handed it off to me when I would turn twenty-one. For now, there were going to be private owners that happened to be in the same social circles as Marie and me. They would be fine with handing the house off to me but if I decided in the end, I didn't want the house by then I would give it to them.
By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, which had a staircase runner down the middle of the stairs, the hue of a warm green, I was once again greeted with the multiple followers of Marie's Order.
They were all wearing similar amulet necklaces, non-gender specific, and the women were wearing veils partly to show respect and not to show any of their features more than they wished to. Charlie had made this even more needed for them, even if he was the chief of police in another state all entirely. He could still try to dig up our dirty little dead secrets that needed to stay at the bottom of the swamp. Those bodies would be skeletons by the time he'd get to them anyway.
At least the Order didn't come up to me and put their hands on me to bless me.
Marie was the only one in the Order allowed to touch me, but that was only because she was my grandmother. She also wasn't someone who liked touching either, so it was a mutual understanding between us. She was gone now, but my aura around me allowed them to know I was more dangerous than they thought before. I could easily take up the mantle as the head of the Order, but I was still in high school and honestly, I was planning on attending college.
Marriage…eh, it wasn't something I had always thought about when I was younger.
I knew Marie and Grandfather Higginbotham were obsessed with each other, in a sick and disgusting way that was not healthy in the least. They both shared the same deranged thoughts, the same deranged emotions. They were quite impressive when they were together, so it was not a pleasant time when Grandfather Higginbotham had passed away. It also happened to show the devotion my grandfather had, since he had taken her last name instead of him keeping his.
He thought her surname held more power than his own.
Entering the parlor room, I barely let my eyes land on my grandmother spread out onto the surface of the table before she would be put into her casket again. She wore one of the elegant dresses she had kept hidden away unless during a special occasion. Every inch of the fabric was expensive, I believed it was a dress Grandfather Higginbotham had come across in China when he was over for work. Grandmother adored the dress, but she had the dress since before I had been conceived.
Marie wore one of her brunette wigs that fell around the dip of her breasts, there was lightly done makeup that didn't add to her features but made them more unique (especially when her blue eyes had become even more striking after she had lost most of her vision). Her warm tan skin was slightly wrinkled but nowhere near the state it should be from her old age. She was older than many believed she was, people often thought she was at least a decade younger than she was. She hadn't even had Renée until she was about to go through menopause. Children weren't a priority when it came to Marie, but she still raised and took care of her daughter and eventually raised and took care of me.
Turning away from the body, I went into the kitchen and to the kitchen wooden movable island where there were plates upon plates filled with Louisiana cuisine. I barely paid attention to the more exotic meats (crocodile and alligator and frog legs) except for the Boudin. Boudin seemed tempting but I wasn't really in the mood for it, even if some of the women in the Order made some delicious Boudin. I instead grabbed some chicken and some vegetable casserole.
Sitting on one of the kitchen stools I began to eat, noting how Charlie hadn't been surprised as he grabbed a good bit of the crawfish and other assortment of seafood. He had to chug down some drink, since he was not accustomed to the intense number of seasonings they put onto the food. It almost made me crack up as I forked some more of the chicken.
I was nearing the end of my meal when one of the African American women came forward to me, a descendant of one of the numerous slaves throughout the South. Her hair was braided in tight individual braids, pulled and tied together in a high bun with an assortment of animal feather pins here and there. She was drenched in fine silks and jewelry; her family had risen from being slaves and became one of the richest African American families this side of the bayou. She was a Liberté, her family had decided they would embrace their French roots and the end of their enslavement.
"Voila, mon enfant (there you are, my child). Je me demandais quand vous alliez descendre (I was wondering when you would come down)," Ms. Liberté proclaimed, speaking in French because she couldn't trust Charlie. Her striking green eyes, poisonous in a way, let themselves scan me over before she turned and focused completely on Charlie. She shot him a warm, charming smile.
"I'm fine, Ms. Libby," I assured her, thankful she was fine with me calling her Libby instead of her full surname. She narrowed her eyes, lined with charcoal and ash, towards my father before she slammed the bottom of her walking stick, she was holding against the old and worn-out wooden floorboards of the kitchen.
"Marchez avec moi (walk with me) …say goodbye properly," she commanded, and I nodded my head before getting off the kitchen island stool and wrapped my arm around her free one.
She began to pull me away from where Charlie was, and towards the walk around porch on the ground/first floor of the manor. Those around her bowed their heads, her family would take over the Order here in Baton Rouge. Her family always held the highest respect towards my family, and Marie would never allow anyone other than a Liberté to take over the Order. We were always deeply connected to each other, our ancestors were friends, allies and I would not be surprised if I were distantly related to them.
Stepping out to the wrap-around front porch, Ms. Libby clenched her jaw as she went to the railing and peered out at the Spanish Moss that lined the front driveway of the property (which was nothing more than a dirt path). She patted her hand upon mine as I helped her to sit down on the rocking chair Marie often sat in when she was alive. It would only be fitting for Ms. Libby sitting here, not only to use this chair, but to also be a part of this house…after all it was her family that would be taking care of the manor while I would be away.
"Je n'aime pas votre père (I don't like your father)," Ms. Libby informed me quite bluntly, and I merely gave a noise of agreement towards her assessment of my said father.
I didn't like him either, but then again Marie never would have even given Charlie a chance to know me well until after she'd be dead. She had made sure to dig her feet into the dirt of this town, and curse anyone who thought they would take me from her.
"He's taking me back to Forks with him. I'm not going to be gone too long, I'll stay there for a year and come down to LSU and Major in Education. I don't mind following in Grandfather Higginbotham's footsteps," I answered, as if wanting to gain her approval over what I had planned. She kept a good grip on that walking stick of hers, despite sitting in the rocking chair.
"Victoire a vu quelque chose, ma fille. (Victoire saw something, child). Démons (demons). Vous trouverez une correspondance dans l'un d'entre eux (you will find a match in one)," she told me, my stomach becoming sick when she mentioned her great-niece, Victorie.
Victorie was one of the best fortune tellers in the South, she was invited to multiple parties by the elite so she could tell them what they wanted to know. She was accurate and although she came from old money, it was obvious her being an Liberté meant more than just reputation. She had to prove she was worthy of the name.
If she didn't succeed by the time she was forty she would be cast out of the family, and she would be without the family name. She would also be possibly killed if she didn't decide to go quietly. She drank absinthe despite it not giving hallucinations, because that was just a vibe she related to, and had multiple lovers from multiple countries, with multiple genders and sexualities.
I also knew Ms. Libby was protective of her family, her kin, her clan. She was the head; she was the one who called the shots. If she thought Victorie was not able to do what some of their ancestors could do, then she would have made sure to put the girl in her place. Only, Victorie had saved the family multiple times with visions from the other side, informing her of their future and saving them from many deaths and sometimes arrests due to sloppy work during work in the Order.
"If that's the case then maybe I should have been named Lilith instead," I joked, Ms. Libby reached her hand up and swatted away the joke. She might not be Jewish but she and the majority of those who were interested in the macabre and the odd knew Lilith was the original wife of Adam but when she did not obey him, she had been cast out of Eden and turned into a demoness.
Ms. Libby reached into one of the pockets of her dress and pulled out a beautiful necklace, one that made me catch my breath. The pure silver chain held a round glass amulet filled with crimson blood, and I was certain also Holy Water. She held the chain loosely but still strong, letting the amulet twirl in a gentle swaying circle. It was almost hypnotic to look at, thankfully Ms. Libby dropped her arm that was holding the amulet and let her hand that was holding it rest against her lap.
"Cette amulette est destinée à être portée par vous. Elle est remplie de ce que vous attendez, du sang humain et de l'eau bénite. Du sang de Marie, si vous voulez bien le croire. Elle a passé un accord avec l'autre côté pour que vous obteniez l'immortalité. L'eau bénite fera en sorte que toute personne autre que vous s'affaiblisse et devienne folle," Ms. Libby informed me, as I took in what she had said to me:
"This amulet is for you to wear. It is filled with what you expect, human blood and also Holy Water. Blood from Marie if you would believe. She made a deal with the other side for you to obtain immortality. The Holy Water will make sure anyone other than your intended to grow weak and eventually insane."
I almost told her I didn't need the amulet but knew better than that. Marie had raised me better than that, she was making sure she could protect me even in death. She wanted to make sure death wouldn't get me and so made a deal for me to have immortality. I didn't know what type of demon she had me matchmade with (not that I was that thrilled with learning I was already being set up with a demon, especially one I hadn't accidentally summoned), but there were multiple creatures out there which fell into the category of demon.
I took the amulet from her, putting it around my neck and hiding it underneath the neckline of my dress, right before the thudding of Charlie's shoes came closer. He poked his head out, reaching one of his hands up and rubbing the nape of his neck. He was shy, socially out of his element and did not know French. He also happened to be at the Wake of Marie Annette Higginbotham, his ex-wife's mother. The woman who hated him…well Charlie claimed she had sent him a curse during his own wedding to Renée. A way to let him know she would never support this marriage between her only child and a man unworthy of her. (How dare her daughter marry someone who was in law enforcement!)
I barely paid attention to the progression of events that happened the rest of the day, nor how Charlie had made sure I wouldn't leave his sight for the rest of the day. Even when he was ushering the Order out of the manor as night came, he didn't want me to say goodbye to Ms. Libby.
She brought her hand up and waved at him with an occult sign he wouldn't know. I brought my hand up and pressed it against my chest, feeling the amulet underneath the fabric…an odd goodbye from Marie, and a reminder from Ms. Libby I couldn't just automatically be like everyone else. I was meant for this life; I was meant for what went bump in the night. I was meant for the life Marie had; the life Renée had left behind. I was to be the one who cheated death.
Two days later we buried Marie, it was just me and Charlie along with Ms. Libby and a few of her family members. All of them spoke in only French, while Ms. Libby spoke in English to be a peacemaker during the funeral. There wasn't a preacher or religious man who blessed Marie, we merely had the men at the funeral home put her into the family above ground mausoleum on our property. She was to be buried with the rest of the Higginbotham's (until the Order would sneak in and take her body to do what they wished with it).
Hopefully the last person in our family to be buried away, I would not be ground food and filled with embalming liquid.
I swore when I turned and headed towards his police cruiser he had driven all the way from Forks in, I heard him say, "goodbye, you old bitch," but when I turned and looked back he didn't show any scowl or annoyance. He merely had his hands stuffed into the pockets of his suit he would return the next day, his brown irises showing nothing in particular over this event. He turned on his heel and came up to me instead, putting his hand onto my shoulder and ushering me into the police cruiser.
Now, well now, I was arriving in Washington State.
I had immediately wanted to turn around and walk away, and stay in Baton Rouge with Ms. Libby and her family but I knew I had to be realistic. I was still eight months away from being legally able to be away from Charlie. I couldn't throw some hissy fit over the whole thing, I couldn't just turn and scream into the abyss. I wanted to, trust me, I really wanted to. I didn't, also not only because of me being seventeen still, but also I was concerned about the whole being bound to some demon I'd find up in Forks.
I sighed as I sat awkwardly in the purple parka coat Charlie had gifted me with.
I had on a graphic sweater of the band MUSE, dark washed jeans that had seen better days, and black Converse with black and white checkered laces. I was keeping my hair short; I was not going to grow it out because I caved to Charlie wanting me to. I had gotten quite used to the short hair; I saw no reason why I shouldn't cut my hair short anymore just because my father wanted me to grow it out. I also saw it as a reason to say fuck you to all of this.
Charlie had rented a U-Haul right before we left Louisiana and through the multiple states, we had traveled I was glad he had rented it. There were things from the manor I wanted to take with me up to Forks, such as Marie's famous purple Victorian velvet armchair. She promised me this armchair would be one of the first things I would inherit when she died, and it was the very same armchair she had sat in and worked in the shadows for the Order in.
I barely paid attention to the sound of the radio station, which was turned to some sports' announcer channel. I had told Charlie I couldn't care less what he turned the radio to and he really did decide to test me when it came to what he had picked out. The police scanner was just as annoying but that was a given, anyone who wasn't a police officer or weren't trying to avoid the said police officers hated the sound and thought it was nothing more than white noise.
When we arrived on the outskirts of Forks I had fallen into a deep sleep, with nothing in particular in my mind or any dreams. I was gently shaken awake and after stretching some I peered up at the population sign of the town.
3,120.
They have got to be fucking kidding me.
"Language, Isabella Marie."
Oh yeah, I wasn't the only one in the police cruiser.
My sullen father sitting in the driver's seat of the police cruiser let his brown eyes flicker from the green sign to me. He studied me for a moment and as his lips pressed in a thin line I knew what he was thinking. I was spoiled, I had been ruined, any chance of him being able to wipe me clean and start from fresh was not possible. I was taken from him and no matter how many times he took Marie to court for me it only made him bring out more loans and for her to laugh at him while secretly paying for his loans so they could do this all over again.
"So….I got you something as a Homecoming present."
Charlie, who had pulled off to the side of the road for me to wake up and see the population sign, drove back onto the main road and in the direction of where the town was. I craned my head to the side to let him know I was intrigued with what he had gotten me. He perked up, a sense of pride radiating from him, at how he had gotten my attention. He thought he had one upped whatever gifts Marie had given to me.
"It's not some armchair or a plantation manor. It's something that's more practical for you," Charlie started off, making me nod my head.
An armchair was practical for me, I was a bibliophile, which was a fancy word for bookworm.
"I'm sure you don't remember him, but I have an old friend named Billy Black. He's a Native from the neighboring Quileute Reservation. His son, Jacob Black, is a few years younger than you but he's actually your godbrother…" Charlie started off, and I made a small sound to let him know I was still listening to him as we reached a part of town, he branched us out from.
"Well, when you were in preschool Billy got diagnosed with Diabetes…by the time you were in middle school he ended up in a wheelchair. He still has his favorite truck and since he can't drive and Jacob hasn't gone a whole six months after getting his permit Billy decided he wanted to give you his favorite truck," Charlie informed me, a large smile upon his lips and looking so much younger than he was, not that he was old.
Charlie and Renée ended up meeting each other when my dear mother decided she wanted to experience life outside of Baton Rouge. She traveled throughout the country, briefly did whatever recreational drugs people handed to her, and ended up here in Forks of all places. She laid her eyes on Charlie, had a few crazy weeks with him and then randomly got married to him when he said he was going off to become a police officer. He barely even finished the Academy when she ended up pregnant with me…and by that time she had wanted to leave Charlie and Forks because she was bored of the housewife lifestyle.
So, they were twenty when I was born, and now he was at the end of his thirties.
He should have had the chance to remarry by now or at least be open to dating again.
He could have had children with the said woman, he could have decided to change his job if he wanted to. He loved his job, claiming being a cop was his calling despite the multiple times I had heard Marie yelling at him in French on the landline about how pathetic his job was.
Marie had no problems reminding him how her daughter knew things weren't going to work out with him and her, it was one of Marie's proudest moments when it came to Renée. She thought she was finally acting like a true Higginbotham, putting herself and her blood family ahead of the family she had married into.
When we pulled up on the street where Charlie's house was I noted how all the houses were not in the best state. I wasn't being snooty or anything, it was just an obvious assessment.
The weather had worn down the houses, paneling needed to be replaced, and power washed.
The cars were mostly old models, some most of which had been passed down from previous owners to the newer ones. The trees had their branches cut back so there would be no problems with branches falling onto power lines. I couldn't say any different than how it had been in Baton Rouge, there were worn out houses and worn out cars and trees with their branches cut back for weather emergencies. It wasn't completely the same but it held the same general aesthetic.
Arriving at Charlie's house (the one he had bought when he was married to Renée) I studied the house in front of me.
The two story, white paneled house with green shutters built on either side of the windows. There was a rickety front porch with boards that needed to be replaced. The large oak tree in front of the house almost seemed to drape itself over the property, and in front of the only window upstairs that had a bedroom (my bedroom). There was also the truck that was sitting parked on the grass next to the gravel thrown driveway.
I wasn't good with car companies or anything related to cars. I didn't know the latest models or any models to begin with. If someone asked me to describe a car all I could say was the general shape of the car and its color. God forbid if they asked me to tell them the exact model.
The truck, which I would learn was Chevy, had been bought in 1984.
It had been new in the early 1960's at the latest and the late 1950's at the earliest.
It had an bulbous cab, big, rounded fenders and the red paint on the truck was beginning to rust.
A dream catcher was hanging on the arm of the review mirror of the truck.
I wouldn't be surprised if either one of the Black ancestors owned it or it belonged to Billy and he had put it there for good luck. There was even a beaded car seat cover placed over the front driver's seat, reminding me of those taxi drivers that had them despite the fact they were probably uncomfortable.
"What do you think about it?"
I didn't know what to say, to be honest.
I wasn't one for charity, and to know Billy had decided to give me the truck made me feel as if I owed him something. I should have been excited, to use this as an excuse to head off to the Reservation and visit his residence, learning more about my godfather and my godbrother but that wasn't the case for me. I instead felt annoyance prickle and rise to the surface but I managed to push it down. I wasn't going to be sour towards the whole thing, like Marie would have been.
So, I came up with a generic thank you, before Charlie pulled out my luggage from the trunk of the police cruiser. It wasn't much but then again, my standing wardrobe had been brought from Louisiana, and I would soon have it in the bedroom, tomorrow since that was when some movers would come and help put my things upstairs. Charlie most likely would supervise the process to make sure nothing would happen that could upset him.
Entering the house the first thing I saw was the oak wood staircase that led upstairs. Then I noticed how there were eggshell white walls around me that were in a desperate need of repainting. The ceiling of the first floor was popcorn texture, signaling there might be asbestos in the house but hopefully that wasn't true. The furniture was outdated in the sitting area of the first floor, with a navy blue and forest green plaid four-seater sofa and a matching recliner that had a pull-out footrest. The floor was carpeted and there were stains here and there, ripped spots. A floor lamp had a deep gray lampshade and the lightbulb was on, the chain that pulled the lightbulb on was silver. Photographs were here and there in the sitting area of the room, some of them were of the local landscapes while others were of family members (Grandma Swan and Grandpa Swan). An oak coffee table sat in front of the sofa, with a bunch of sporting magazines, and the 1970's inspired brick fireplace was lit. The fireplace was a real old-school fireplace where one had to put real logs into the fireplace before getting a fire starter to light the fire. It wasn't anything surprising for me.
Upstairs there were only two bedrooms, the master bedroom and the spare bedroom where I was meant to be. There was only one bathroom to be shared between us and it was cramped, I was certain that was going to be hell to deal with. I hoped he would clean up after himself when it came to cleaning his mustache or I would be having to take care of the hair clippings in the sink along with him forgetting to put the toilet seat down.
My bedroom faced the West side of the house and happened to be quite larger than I expected.
Nothing close to the large bedroom I had back in Baton Rouge but enough I wouldn't feel claustrophobic. The walls were white, while the flooring was the same oak as the staircase. The ceiling was peaked with redwood paneling, while the only window in the bedroom had white curtains. A window seat sat empty, it was mere wood, and I knew I would have to buy some cushions and pillows to make it where I could sit comfortably and stare out the window if I wished to. There was a full-size mattress on the floor along with a lamp that was hooked into one of the outlets. An antique desk was in the corner of the room where the window was, with an older model of a computer. The cable and modem phone line was in the other outlet.
"The ladies in the Lutheran Church were going to find some furniture to put in here but I told them you were bringing yours up here. I don't know your style that well and I didn't want them to get you anything you didn't like," Charlie confessed as he stood in the doorway of the bedroom, while I hummed to let him know I heard him.
He came forward and sat my luggage down onto the mattress and gave one glance around the room. It was almost as if he was expecting for me to pick up my luggage and head straight to Port Angeles so I could buy myself a ticket to head down to Baton Rouge again. It was too much trouble, and a little too late for that, so he was safe from these thoughts.
He had me now.
"I'll leave you so you can get settled in. Harry Clearwater had given me some of his Fish Fry for us to celebrate your arrival, so I hope you're okay with that for dinner."
"Yeah, that's fine. I have no complaints about that. I love seafood, I must have inherited that from you," I joked, even though the both of us knew it probably had more to do with the environment I had been raised in. I wasn't a picky person and the people I was around growing up always made sure to have the freshest seafood straight from the waters surrounding our town.
Charlie gave me an awkward smile and I returned him one before he turned around and headed out of the bedroom. I waited for him to start heading down the staircase to the first floor before I sat down on the mattress and plopped backwards. I peered up at the ceiling fan above me and thought about how Ms. Libby and her family were probably settling into the manor. Victorie might possibly be settling into the séance room, putting her own things there.
I was at least glad I wasn't going to appear in Forks High tomorrow, the school that had 357 (now 358) students. I knew the teenagers would flock around me and learn as much as they could about my life. All they knew was I had lived with my grandmother, and I was from the South. Nothing to do with the state or how the reason I was living with my grandmother was because she was Satan's mistress (Charlie's thoughts on her most likely).
I went downstairs when it was time for dinner and saw the dreary kitchen.
The dark wood paneled walls, the linoleum flooring that needed proper mopping, along with the square wooden kitchen table with three mismatched chairs. The old appliances that probably came with the house and the pathetic excuse of an attempt to put some cheeriness into the kitchen because dear Renée painted the upper kitchen cabinets an ugly yellow. Something that definitely one wouldn't find in the Higginbotham Manor.
As I ate the Fish Fry and acted as if I paid attention to Charlie as he explained the game plan for tomorrow and information about the high school, I couldn't help but think more about the amulet that was around my neck. Soon I would meet the demon my grandmother had me tied to in order for our family to finally achieve immortality.