battle scars // jasper hale fanfiction

chapter one

Breathe.

Such a simple thing to do.

Then why was I struggling so much right now?

I was never good with change. When my dad told me he finally got a job, I didn't think it would move us across the country. I left all the familiar in Connecticut. My thoughts raced as I drive behind my dad's truck in my mom's old minivan packed with all of my stuff.

In . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

Out . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

Why can't I calm down? I had time to overthink everything that can go wrong. I guess all of the unknowns aren't known yet.

I drove past the sign that welcomed me to the place I'll now call home: Forks, Washinton.

I'm a little excited to get a fresh start. Or at least I'm pretending that I'm excited. Maybe I'm just really excited. That's why my hands won't stop shaking.

We pulled up to our new house. My dad had a trailer full of stuff on the back of his truck, so he just pulled up on the street. I pulled my car into the driveway, so we wouldn't have to bring all the stuff that far.

I turned off the car and hopped out, stretching a little from being in the car for a while. My dad does the same. I frown at the empty passenger seat. My mom passed away when I was younger. It's been just me and my dad for a while. We've always been pretty close. He throws himself into his work, so I rarely see him. I don't mind being alone, but I hate feeling lonely.

"Well," my dad started, "this is it."

We turned and looked at our simple two-story house. It had some chipped paint here and there. It's nothing special, but it felt homey.

"It's perfect," I said.

"We better start bringing stuff in before it gets dark," he said. "Or worse. Rain."

That's one thing that I liked about the move. I love the rain, but it would not be fun to move all our stuff in.

I sighed and opened the door to the trailer. There's so much stuff in here. I was not looking forward to bringing it all in, especially with just us two. I grabbed a small table off the top of the pile and started walking in. My dad did the same. We made a couple of trips before we were both stopped.

"Need a hand?" asked a middle-aged man with a mustache. He was walking from the house across from ours. "I saw you moving in from my living room."

"An extra set of hands couldn't hurt," my dad replied. "I'm Kevin Hewitt, and this is my daughter Violet."

I made a small wave, thankful that my dad introduced me.

"My name's Charlie Swan. I live with my daughter Bella, but she's probably off with her boyfriend Edward. Are you the Hewitt that's supposed to be starting down at the station?"

"Sure am."

"Well, I didn't realize you were the one that bought Mrs. Johnson's old house."

I started to tune them out. I brought in more boxes as they continued to talk. Eventually, they started bringing in stuff. I began slowly organizing things here and there and made sure boxes were at least in the right room.

The hours slowly passed and soon enough we were all getting a little tired and hungry. I ordered a couple of pizzas while my dad and Charlie set up the TV to watch some game that they were babbling on about while moving. We ate in silence. Well, I ate in silence while they talked about their favorite teams.

I liked Charlie. He didn't talk much to me, which I didn't mind. He wasn't a hard person to be around, and I think he and my dad would make a good pair.

When it was late enough, I snuck up to bed. Today was a long day, and I was drained, mentally and physically. Tomorrow will be just as exhausting. I will be starting at my new school. People make me anxious. New people make me even more nervous.

In . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

Out . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4

Tomorrow is going to be a long day.