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The birds softly hummed in greeting as the sun slowly came up. Madelline groaned and tossed before realizing she had to get up. She doesn't even know why she was up early. She felt as if she got beat up, proceeded to fight back, then was beat up all over again.
Every part of her body ached, begging for more sleep. Yet, after mindlessly staring at a certain corner of her ceiling, she slowly sat up and stretched her arms over her head. A smile appeared on her lips at the weirdly satisfying sound of her bones cracking before she stood up and reached for her door.
The eerie silence greeted her as soon as she left her room. She dragged her feet behind her as she navigated the entire house until she reached their kitchen. A lazy smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she spotted a steaming cup of coffee her father had left for her. Silent thank-yous were uttered inside her mind before she enclosed the cup with her cold hands, silently sighing in contentment at the warmth.
Taking the coffee with her, she went back to the room, where the feeling of fatigue still enveloped her body like home. However, the moment she placed the half-drunk coffee on her table and pulled the soft comforter around her, she was out like a light once again.
The sun shone down harshly on her face like a reminder, prompting her to wake up with a groan and an arm covering her eyes. Attempts to fall back asleep became futile, so she decided to get up and begin fixing her bed while still out of it.
Deciding to spend her day being productive instead of binge-watching movies in her bed while there were unsettled corrugated boxes waiting for her outside, she spent her entire morning dragging and carrying heavy boxes along the stairs while still clad in her pajamas as jazz music played in the background.
Madelline Smith held a soft spot for her vinyls and, of course, her turntable that her father gifted her for her thirteenth birthday. She ensured that there were shelves on which she could store her vinyls and even searched for ways to properly take care of them when she was younger. Next to her vinyls were her books. It provided her with an escapade—a sense of comfort with a little bit of magic sometimes—which she needed when life suddenly became too much.
"Hey, Maddy!"
She furrowed her eyebrows and made her way to her turntable to stop the music. She went back to her window to peek out, just to see her father, fresh from work, standing on their doorstep with his hands stuffed inside his pockets. Before him stood Charlie, and beside him was a long-haired man in a wheelchair. She also saw Bella standing beside them with a boy who looked to be around their age; his black-colored hair lay flat against his back.
Despite the confusion, she opened her window to respond. "Yes, dad?"
"Come out, sweetie! I have something for you!"
She glanced at what she was wearing, debating whether to change. After a minute of attempting to make up her mind, she pulled her dad's shirt off her body and changed into a fresh shirt before splashing some water on her face.
Upon reaching outside, Bella instantly sent her a smile, slightly waving at her. She returned the smile before giving her father a side hug. She faced the two older men with a smile and slightly bowed at them as a greeting.
"Good afternoon to the both of you."
"Such a polite kid you have, Elijah!" the long-haired man exclaimed in glee. "And a splitting image of you and your wife at that one!"
Elijah chuckled and looked down at her daughter adoringly. He begs to differ; however, Madelline was more like his wife. The stubbornness, the short temper, and the lack of tolerance for other people—that all came from him, if he was going to be honest.
The long-haired man extended his hand out toward her with a cheery smile. "Hi there, I'm Billy Black, and that's my boy over there, Jacob," he introduced, motioning the boy, who silently stood beside Bella, with his head.
"Pleasure to meet you and Jacob, Billy." She gently shook his hand before pulling away. The contact suddenly sent her tingles as if it were telling her something, which caused her to immediately pull back. Billy, however, remained composed and seemed to not notice her action.
A connection. Something foreign yet incredibly familiar, like a distant memory she had now completely forgotten.
"You okay?" her father whispered to her ear as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Gratefully, she sent him a small smile and curtly nodded. She decided it wasn't worth thinking about, and it's the jetlag talking. You know what they say—you're not you when you're tired and hungry. At the very moment, she was between the two.
"I have something for you," he told her. She looked up in confusion, only to see her father smirking at her knowingly before nodding toward something in front of them.
Her eyes followed where he nodded, only to freeze. There, in all its glory, stood a Volvo P1800 in black. It was beyond what Madelline had imagined; she couldn't help but beam up at her father, who chuckled at her expression before gently ushering her over to her new vehicle.
"Please, please tell me that sexy-looking car over there is for me," she asked, trying her utmost not to jump in excitement.
Elijah threw his head back as he burst out in laughter. "I did just say that I have something for you, didn't I?" he quirked an eyebrow at her jokingly.
Madelline playfully rolled her eyes at him before running over to her new baby, blowing her father a kiss as she did so. The four of them watched in amusement as she took her time encircling the car, her hands skimming every nook and cranny as if she were studying such a complex matter.
"Before anything else," Elijah started, catching her attention. "No drunk driving, young lady." He narrowed his eyes at her playfully while pointing a scolding finger at her.
"So," she drawled out as she made her way back to her side. "I could get drunk as long as I don't drive," she implied, raising her eyebrows up and down at him.
"The kid's got a point," Charlie muttered by the side while Billy hummed in agreement.
Elijah deadpanned at them before meeting his daughter's eyes with warning eyes. "No drinking unless you're with me," he said, ensuring that he got his point across clearly.
The two older men chuckled while Madelline let out a laugh before she pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you," she mumbled against his chest, tightening her arms around his waist. He only responded by hugging her as tight as he could without suffocating her and looking up to blink the tears away.
"Are you... crying?" Madelline held back a laugh when she felt him sniff, pulling away to get a clear vision of him.
Elijah snorted and looked away. "Me? No, who's crying?" he scoffed, not so discreetly wiping away a lone tear while Billy patted his thigh, holding back a laugh.
"You are!"
"You should go for a drive!" Elijah interrupted her, forcefully turning her around by her shoulders and pushing her toward her car. "You can bring Bella and Jacob along." He motioned over the two with his head.
Elijah went back to the two as Madelline grabbed herself a coat, leaving a peck on her father's cheek before pulling along Jacob and Bella, who both shared a look before smiling amusingly at her giddiness.
"Damn, my baby's all grown up."
"Come on, you just gave her a car. It's not as if she's going to go out of the country."
"Coming from you who cried when Bella started her first day in school."
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"Is it not weird that you only just met me and you're taking me out for a drive?"
Madelline Smith glanced at the boy in the rearview mirror. For the first time ever since she started driving the three of them, only then did she truly give her attention to him. She couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at his question.
"You make it sound like I'm taking you out on a date, Black," she lightly teased, winking at him from the rearview before focusing back on the road.
Unbeknownst to her, Jacob fought back a blush and looked outside, pursing his lips. The Smith girl was indeed straightforward when she wanted to be—too straightforward, which he found refreshing and unexpected.
Well, he does not mean to compare, but the two girls who sat before him were polar opposites. Bella was timid and had tendencies to keep to herself; Madelline was the complete opposite. Confidence dripped like honey from the girl, and she had this natural pulling factor for everyone that surrounded her. Yet, something about them seemed... so balanced.
"What was it like before you moved down here to Forks?" Jacob asked, leaning toward their seat.
"Well, I do miss the heat terribly," Madelline remarked. "Forks is not so bad. I mean, nothing ever happens here, right?" She glanced at them.
For some reason, the statement itself rubbed Madelline the wrong way. It was true, though. Nothing bad could possibly happen in Forks, right? Yes, Forks could be a bit mysterious at first glance, and the number of towering trees behind every establishment and house was a bit eerie, but she doesn't think there could be some creatures hiding behind those gigantic branches.
Right?