✓ | 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍, j. hale [1]

II. A New Home

It took Evelyn a couple hours to completely unpack, and by the time she finished she felt exhausted. She threw her empty suitcases under her bed, and stood to survey her handiwork. All of the clothes that had survived the fire had been folded neatly into the dresser. She would need to make a trip to Port Angeles soon to go shopping; the drawers weren't really anywhere near full. Her small collection of books occupied two of the four shelves in the corner bookshelf, and her pens and sketchbook were the only occupants of her desk. A throw blanket made by her grandmother was draped over the rocking chair, while another blanket Evelyn's mother bought her rested at the foot of her bed.

Although the room's furniture seemed plain, it was the walls where Evelyn's personality began to shine through. Countless drawings covered the fading blue paint, most of them done in the past couple of months. She had lost most of her work in the fire, and drawing had become an escape from the intense emotional turmoil inside her. Two paintings also hung above the bed, both done by her mother, who had been an artist. One was a family portrait, when her parents were young and Evelyn couldn't have been more than six years old. The other was a landscape painting of the lake where Evelyn's father had proposed to her mother so many years ago.

There was a string of fairy lights above the window, courtesy of aunt Marie, and Evelyn had used clothes pins to hang up the few family photos that she had in her possesion. She also hung some pictures of her favorite places in Chicago, her old friends, and her childhood home. The room still felt slightly unfamiliar, but as she looked around at her photos, belongings, and all of the little touches that made it hers, she knew that it was a place where she could feel safe. And right now, she needed somewhere where she could feel safe.

She glanced at the clock on her nightstand, noting that it was a quarter until 4pm. Her aunt would be at the diner until 6, and since staying here alone with her thoughts for 2 hours didn't particularly appeal to her at the moment, she slipped on her coat and boots and flew down the creaky stairs. She grabbed an umbrella as she walked out the door, closing it and not bothering to lock it since she knew her aunt never did. No one in Forks locked their front doors; that's just how things worked here.

Evelyn opened the black umbrella and set off down the sidewalk, slowly making her way towards her aunt's restaurant. It wasn't very far from the house, and she remembered the way from going to visit with her parents so many times in what seemed like  a lifetime ago. The rain was light and steady, and Evelyn focused on the sound of drops hitting the umbrella above her head to calm her racing mind.

She passed cars and people on her way, and of course many of them stopped and stared. She felt like an anomaly on display at some kind of museum; people didn't bother to hide their gazes as she passed, instead choosing to stare directly at her as she clunked loudly down the sidewalk. She couldn't really blame them, either. It was rare that someone new came to town, let alone someone with a story as compelling as hers.

"They could at least try to be stealthy," she grumbled, hopping over a particularly large puddle as she rounded the corner of the street that the diner was on. Evelyn could make out the bright yellow Carver Cafe sign and awning as she approached the modest white building. The parking lot was about half full, the cars standing out the most being a police cruiser and an aged orange truck. A few customers milled about around the doorway as she approached, giving her curious looks as they leaned against the building or took a drag from their cigarettes.  Evelyn did her best to ignore them as she closed the umbrella, shaking the water from both the object and herself with wet droplets flying every direction. She wiped her shoes on the worn welcome mat, opened the door, and stepped into the warmth of the diner.

The doorbell jingled as she entered, and Evelyn quickly scanned the dining room for her aunt. She spotted her bringing food to a table in the corner situated between two windows. Ignoring the stares from the other customers, she weaved her way between the tables towards Marie and her two patrons.