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.
"I just can't get over how grown up you are, and so gorgeous," Marie cooed, setting the two plates of food down. As Evelyn came up behind her, both the man and the teenage girl's eyes lifted to observe the newcomer. This caused Marie to turn around, and Evelyn couldn't help but smile at the way her aunt's eyes lit up when she saw her.
"Oh, Evelyn! Charlie, this my niece, the one I've been telling you so much about! She just got here this afternoon!" Marie pulled her niece into a sidearmed hug as she gushed over her.
Evelyn smiled at the kind-looking man, who offered a friendly grin in return.
"I remember her," he said gruffly. "She used to play in the plants and dirt when Anthony and I would go fishing together. It's such a shame about what happened, I'm so sorry Evelyn." The chief said, his eyes sad as he remembered his old friend.
Evelyn bristled at the sudden mention of her father. Marie, ever observant, squeezed her waist in an attempt to comfort her. Evelyn squeezed back, using her aunt to keep herself upright. She blinked back tears as she took a deep breath in an effort to regain her composure. "Oh yeah, I remember now. I always had so much fun out there with you guys." Her eyes shifted to the girl sitting next to him. "Who is this?"
Marie chimed in before Charlie could. "Sweetie, this is Bella. She's new, too. She just had her first day at the high school today. You and her are the same age, how wonderful is that?"
Charlie raised his eyebrows and sighed, but otherwise remained silent. Evelyn supposed he was used to Marie's erratic and talkative nature. Bella smiled as Evelyn reached across the table to shake her hand. "Well it's nice to kind of know someone before tomorrow. I'm Evelyn Masen."
"Bella Swan. I'm glad there's someone here to take some of the attention off of me. It's weird being the freaky new girl."
Evelyn grinned at the small girl. "Well we can be freaky new girls together, then."
Bella laughed, and Evelyn couldn't help but notice how pretty she was. "Sounds like a plan. But trust me, everyone will pretty much be all over you tomorrow. They don't get new students very often."
Evelyn pursed her lips. She supposed that was to be expected, but she didn't have to like it. Attention wasn't really her favorite thing, right now.
Charlie cleared his throat as he turned to his daughter. "Hey Bells, why don't you give Evelyn a ride to school tomorrow? I'm sure Marie has to be here for work, and it's not exactly a close walk to the high school..."
"Oh yeah, of course! I'll pick you up around 7, okay? My truck is that one." She pointed out the window at the ancient truck Evelyn noticed before she came in. "Bright orange, really loud. You can't miss it."
Evelyn laughed, the sound now unfamiliar to her ears. "Alrighty, sounds good. Thanks, by the way. I appreciate it."
"And so do I! This place doesn't run itself, you know," added Marie, bumping Evelyn with her hip. Evelyn rolled her eyes, but she was secretly happy to be able to joke and laugh again. It had been so long, and it felt really good.
"Hey, Bella!" Evelyn jumped, whirling to face the man that had just walked up behind her. "Hey Evelyn! Do you guys remember me?" The man glanced at both of them expectantly. "I played Santa one year."
"Waylon, they haven't spent Christmas here in years. Bella hasn't since she was 4," Charlie sighed, glancing back and forth between his daughter and Evelyn.
"I bet I made an impression, though, didn't I?" Waylon grinned as he spoke, nodding to Charlie and Bella.
"You always do," said Charlie, sprinkling salt and pepper on his food.
Marie rested her hand on Waylon's shoulder. "Good ol' Buttcrack Santa," she teased, squeezing Waylon's shoulder while offering him a winning smile.
"Hey, the kids loved those little bottles though–"
"Okay, Waylon, let the girl eat her garden burger. Come on, let's go." Marie ushered Waylon away, glancing back at the trio with a grin. Evelyn watched them go with a faint smile on her face, turning back to Chief Swan and his daughter.
"Well, it was really nice to see you again, Charlie, and it's great to meet you, Bella. I should go see if Marie needs any help though. So I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
Bella nodded enthusiastically. "See you tomorrow. Bye Evelyn."
Charlie nodded, his mouth already full of food, and Evelyn offered the pair a final smile before making her way to the counter. Marie was waiting for her, glancing back and forth between her niece and the table in the corner as Evelyn sat down.
"Well," prodded Marie, raising her perfectly plucked eyebrows. "What do you think?"
Evelyn shrugged, quickly turning to look at Bella and Charlie. "They seem nice. I hardly remember him, though."
Marie grabbed her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I know this is hard, Ev. But just know that you can trust Charlie. He already told me to just ask if we need anything, and it seems like you and Bella got along really well. Maybe you could be friends?"
Evelyn started at the brunette in the corner, who at the moment was awkwardly shaking a ketchup bottle as she sat in silence. She definitely seemed nice enough, and the fact that she now had a ride to school was a plus. Having a friend here wouldn't be so bad, Evelyn decided. And since they were in the same boat, she figured that they could rely on one another in adjusting to Forks.
Evelyn smiled at her aunt, the hope in her eyes clearly visible to the older woman. "Yeah, I think we could."
***
Evelyn's arm ached as she finished wiping down the last table. Instead of leaving at 6, she and Marie decided to stay and close out the dinner rush since Brenda, the restaurant's cook, had to get home to care for her husband. He apparently was suffering from a nasty case of the flu, and so Marie didn't even bat an eye when Brenda asked to leave early. Evelyn admired that about her aunt. She was always giving and willing to sacrifice her time and energy for someone in need. Evelyn felt incredibly lucky to have someone like her in her life; although it had been a while since she had stayed with her, it was comforting to know that she was in good hands.
Once the table was clean, Evelyn stood up and leaned back, stretching her lower spine and raising her arms above her head. Her body ached and her eyes dropped from both the long flight from earlier and being thrust into waitressing duties while Marie ran the kitchen. It was nice to stay busy, though. She didn't have time to think about school tomorrow, or the fact that she was an orphan, or that she was in a new town with new people. Instead, she got to focus on burgers and cobbler and how many creamer cups someone wanted in their coffee.
Marie entered the dining room then, having just finished closing up the kitchen. Hands on her hips, she surveyed the dining room with a pleased expression on her delicate face.
"Not bad, Evvy, not bad at all. I could use your help sometimes, if you're bored and want to make some money. You did really well for a first time waitress during a dinner rush."
Evelyn threw the dirty rag in a plastic bucket by the storage closet, nodding enthusiastically. "Actually, I'd love that. It'd be nice to have something to do after school."
Marie pursed her lips in thought for a moment before she spoke. "Okay, I think two nights a week should be good to start with, at least until you get settled in. I don't want anything to get in the way of your schoolwork. That's your first priority, always."
Evelyn wrapped her aunt in a hug, shocking both herself and Marie. She couldn't help it, though. It had been so long since someone had actually taken a parental role in her life. Most teenagers probably wouldn't miss that, and Evelyn didn't think she would either, but knowing someone cared enough to parent her made her heart swell.
"Thank you, Marie. Thank you so much for everything." The words were muffled by her aunts sweater, but that didn't stop her aunt from batting Evelyn away and wiping under her eyes.
"Stop it right now, or you'll make me cry! Okay, okay, enough sappy talk. I'm sure you're as exhausted as I am. Let's go home."
As Evelyn followed Marie out the door, her mind was stuck on one word. Home.
Although this town was fairly new to her, the people unfamiliar, and her life completely different than what it used to be, Evelyn decided that her situation wasn't as bad as it could have been. She still had a place to live, family, and she was still herself (however broken she may be). As she rode home in the passenger seat of the yellow Beetle, her aunt's singing drowning out the light sprinkle of rain on the windshield, Evelyn couldn't help the soft smile that graced her lips.
It definitely wasn't perfect, and it would take time, but maybe, just maybe, Forks could become her home after all.