sparks fly~ paul lahote

ⅵ. new friends and old memories

Embry walked around the boys on the ground and joined the girls, "I got five bucks on Quil."

"You're on." Bella chuckled. Diana nodded, smiling slightly as Embry sidled up next to her. The more they talked that afternoon, the more she came to like the boys' company. Which was strange, since they were all wolf shifters.

⎿✶⏋

Diana had walked back to the Cullens' household late that night. She and Bella had watched a couple of movies before Diana finally left. Bella tried insisting that she drive her friend home, but Diana was persuasive and she convinced Bella to let her walk.

The house was particularly cold this evening, so Diana ventured out to the woods for some firewood. She had managed to find a sizable tree trunk and she broke it, then chopped it with an ax and before long she had taken a seat in the living room in front of a large fire.

Loneliness was something Diana was very used to. She didn't have many friends growing up, and when she had turned into a vampire she had even less. When she had lived with the Volturi, she thought maybe Marcus was her friend, they had become rather close, but he did nothing to help her when she had tried to leave.

She remembered the training with Demetri, the torture with Alec and Jane, but through all of her memories, she didn't regret anything. Except for the part where she left them all alive. She sighed longingly, wishing that if she had an opportunity to kill any of them, she could've killed Felix. The man was Diana's actual living nightmare.

She didn't want to allow herself to remember the nights of torture with him, but for just a moment she glimpsed the desperation and the gloom overtook her senses. When she looked up again, the fire had gone out and the sun was coming up, shining through the windows.

She got up from her seat and headed to the bathroom. She turned the water cold and washed away her thoughts and sadness. Afterward, she had dressed and packed her things. She didn't want to stay at the Cullens' anymore. So, she loaded her things into her jeep wrangler and hopped in. She drove for longer than necessary, taking longer routes to her destination.

She didn't know if she was sure about anything anymore. This unknown boy was causing a lot of stress and he probably didn't even realize it. He had thrown Diana's life to pieces, just by glaring at her. She pulled up to the driveway and parked. With a deep breath, she got out and looked before her.

Diana stood in front of the small cabin-like house, unmoving. The light wood exterior brought back memories of the person she built the place with, so she was too scared to even open the door. She hadn't moved a step when the house disappeared from her view and his face was all she could see, his laugh was all she could hear, and she yearned for his touch.

She swallowed a sob, grabbed her bags out of the back of the jeep, and slowly made her way to the porch. Diana unlocked the door and stepped back for a moment. When she had gathered herself and stepped forward again, her hand hovered over the doorknob for a split second longer than normal, then she pushed it wide open.

She was greeted by the stale smell of emptiness. It was dark, so Diana walked into a small hallway that led to the living room, flicked the light switches, and was surprised to find everything fully furnished and renewed. She walked all through the tiny house; off to the left of the living room, there was a kitchen and off to the right was another hallway with two doorways on either side, one led to a bedroom and the other led to a bathroom.

After her inspection, she went back to the kitchen and found a note on the counter. It read;

Dear Diana,

I thought you might need your own house to feel like a home once again, hope you don't mind.

I'm sure you'll love it, I had special help from Alice. I miss you, darling, and I hope to see you again soon. Thank you for helping your brother with this, I'm sure he hasn't thanked you properly but, I know he is forever grateful.

Love, Esme

Diana sighed and looked around once again. She didn't mind, in fact, she loved that she didn't have to do any re-furnishing now, but she had never felt more alone. Maybe she should've tried to stick it out with the Cullens, maybe things would've gotten better. She quickly shook herself of these thoughts. As an immortal, with oh so much time on her hands, it wasn't safe to dwell on the past.

She took her time with her second walkthrough, admiring the cozy brown couches, the plump armchair, the glass coffee table, and the big wooden bookshelves- filled with books of all different sizes and colors: the paintings in the hallway, the rugs on the floors: the beautiful blue bedding and fluffy white throw blanket, the dark wooden desk and nightstand. Esme was spot on, Diana loved every inch of the place.

It felt a little bit more like home.

Even though she was all alone, she felt comforted, she felt content. She brought her bags inside and began unpacking her clothes into the closet in her bedroom. She unpacked her books onto the shelving above her desk and put away her shoes. It only took her about an hour, but she felt busy like there wasn't any time to drown herself in her sorrows.

It was only 4, and Diana had been wanting to go hunting, so she did. She spent the entire evening in the wilderness, hunting a bit, but mostly running and climbing and breathing in the cold forest air. She heard the shifters howling and running and barking, that was when she had decided to go home. Now, hours later, she smiled at the house from where she stood at the bottom of the driveway.

She walked inside, bathed herself, and cuddled up in her new bed. She felt peace, she felt at home, she felt content. She breathed in and out, steadily. Enjoying the quiet, enjoying the peace, she felt- she was steady.