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chapter six.

( CHAPTER SIX )
SWAN GIRL

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17 FEBRUARY 2008

"ROBYN, I SWEAR TO GOD, if you order another pizza for dinner for the fifth time this week, I will murder you. I'm actually beginning to hate pizza because I've eaten it so much," Carter complained, sitting at the small two-person dining table in their tiny kitchen. Robyn smiled sheepishly and put the phone back on the wall.

It had been four months since Carter had returned to Forks. Even though she was now settled in, she still was having trouble getting used to being back. Carter had long since forgiven Robyn for the whole airport ordeal, but their relationship still wasn't back to the point it used to be, which saddened Robyn greatly. Carter knew it upset her aunt that she wasn't the same little girl she was when she left, that she returned a broken teenage girl with trust issues, scars, and a police record―but it's not like it was Carter's fault. Things happen, they change. People change over time and sometimes certain events change them instantly. Carter was never meant to stay pure, to stay unharmed and untarnished. She was meant to be hurt and do the hurting for the sake of good. It was in her genes. There was nothing she could do to change that about herself.

"Alright, alright, we'll get something else," Robyn said, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms over her chest thoughtfully. "How about Chinese? Maybe Mexican?"

Carter waited a moment to reply. "Mexican, definitely."

With a smile on her face, Robyn grabbed her car keys and threw Carter her black jacket, which she put on immediately.

"Come on. There's this Mexican restaurant in town that just opened up a couple months ago and I've heard it's pretty awesome," Robyn stated, opening the front door and walking out with Carter in tow. Carter quickly locked the door behind them and continued following her aunt to her vehicle. Before climbing inside the car, Carter glanced across the street, seeing the sheriff of the town, Charlie Swan, pulling into his yard. Her eyebrows furrowed when Charlie exited the vehicle with a young girl, who for some reason was holding a tiny cactus plant in her incredibly pale hands, soon climbing out as well. Carter watched Charlie grab a couple of suitcases out of the trunk of his cruiser and the awkward interaction between the sheriff and the girl seemingly grew more awkward as they walked up to the house.

Before she walked into the house, the girl Carter didn't know and had never seen before turned around, feeling Carter's eyes on her. Carter narrowed her eyes at the girl and the girl quickly walked inside after their gazes met. Carter wanted to know who the girl was, but Mexican food was calling her name and she was gonna answer its call. So, without wasting another second, Carter climbed into Robyn's car and buckled up, watching the Swan house in the side-view mirror as they backed out of the driveway.

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Two hours later, Carter and Robyn were finally returning home. Listening to some old rock song on the radio, neither of them spoke a word as they drove through the light rain that had begun to fall. Carter watched the scenery they passed through her window, feeling content in the silence and gloomy environment.

"So, when are you going to buy me my own car? Riding the bus home from school every day gives me major migraines, you know," Carter spoke nonchalantly. "Plus, getting dropped off by my aunt every morning is kind of embarrassing."

"What? I'm not embarrassing! I'm a cool aunt! Emphasis on the cool part!" Robyn exclaimed, pointing a finger at Carter briefly before putting both hands back on the steering wheel. Carter simply chuckled and shook her head.