❝ WHEN YOU THINK THE FINAL NAIL IS IN, THINK AGAIN. DON'T BE SURPRISED. I WILL STILL RISE. ❞
IN WHICH A DEMIGOD MOVES TO FORKS, WASHINGTON AND EXPECTS A NORMAL LIFE. (SHE WAS WRONG.)
|| INCOMPLETE | UNEDITED ||
It has been years since Ruth O'Connor had been to her hometown. She left so long ago, she forgot how dreary the small town of Forks was. The rain had failed to cease since she'd gotten off the plane. Her mother's girlfriend had picked Ruth up from the airport, explaining that her mother got caught up at work. When Ruth had left all those years ago, Ms. O'Connor was a free spirit and couldn't be tied down to a job for too long. Since then, she'd calmed down and realized that she needed a steady income to live the way she wanted to. Jamie O'Connor returned to school, majoring in business management. After graduation, she opened a moderately-successful shop in town.
Ruth and her mom's girlfriend, a lawyer named Eden, drove into Forks. Eden was chatting excitedly about how much fun they had, how excited she was that they could actually be a family. Her excitement was so contagious, Ruth too began to feel the same way as Eden did. Maybe moving back to Forks would be a good thing. Maybe it wouldn't end in a disaster, like it did last time.
Eden pulled into the driveway of a large, navy-blue house. The windows were adorned with bright, white shutters and wooden window boxes hung beneath them. The front porch held a variety of chairs, none of them matching, and a large swing was suspended in the corner. A small, stuffed bunny sat in the middle of the swing and, despite the wear and tear, it was exactly how Ruth left it when she ran away all those years ago. Ruth felt a pain in her heart, realizing how much she must've hurt her mom for her to leave Ruth's things where they last lay, hoping that her daughter might one day come home to her.
She tried not to stare at the bunny as she made her way to the front door, but she couldn't help herself. She grabbed the bunny from the swing, setting it on top of her suitcase, deciding all it needed was a good wash or two. And maybe sew a few patches on it. And maybe put some more stuffing in it. A new button eye wouldn't hurt, either. Okay, so maybe it was more work that what it was worth, but she owned Floppsy that much.
"Your mom should be home soon," Eden said, shutting the door behind her. Ruth looked back at her, seeing that her eyebrows were furrowed. "Um, I hope you don't mind, but she, uh, told me about you."
"Why would I mind?" Ruth asked slowly. What was she getting at?
"What I meant was, she told me what you are."
The color drained from Ruth's face. Her eyes were impossibly wide as she stared at Eden. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she could hear the blood pumping in her ears. Her chest was tight, she was holding her breath for far too long.
"I won't tell anyone, I swear," Eden added quickly. "And I know better than to say what you are out loud. Your mom old me that brings nothing but trouble for you, and I'm not going to test that."
"You can't breathe a word of it," Ruth said. "Just a hint at it, just a hint that my life is in danger again, and I'm going to run again. It was a big enough risk for me to come here. I'm not going to hang around if things go south."
Eden nodded. "I understand. I promise I won't tell a soul. You have my word."
"Good."
Ups! Tento obrázek porušuje naše pokyny k obsahu. Před publikováním ho, prosím, buď odstraň, nebo nahraď jiným.
When Jamie O'Connor got home, she was surprised to find Eden and Ruth not ripping each other's heads off. As much as she loved them, she knew that the two most important people in her life were also the most impulsive people in her life. And she knew that Eden wouldn't be able to stop herself from talking to Ruth about her deepest, darkest secret. And she knew Ruth would struggle to not rip off Eden's head for even mentioning it. God, why couldn't she have been there to mediate?
Lucky for her, no heads had been ripped off. She did, however, notice that Floppsy had gone missing from the swing. She hoped the neighbor's dog didn't try to run off with it again. She knew how much that bunny had meant to Ruth when she was a baby.
When she walked inside of the house, Ruth and Eden were seated at the dinner table. Spools of thread were scattered about, and Ruth's fingers were adorned with bandaids. Eden was laughing as Ruth struggled to sew a button on the stuffed bunny. A smile stretched across Jamie's face as she realized what was going on.
"I see Floppsy's going through some pretty extensive surgery," Jamie laughed.
Ruth and Eden laughed, the sound echoing off the walls. Jamie's smile widened. Finally, after all these years, her family was together.
