Wildflowers

Permalink Reply by AMLemons {fanfictions} on September 30, 2012 at 7:37am

P R O L O G U E

I was the middle child. Justin was eighteen, I was seventeen, and Mimi was just turning eleven. My mother never wanted us to grow up without someone, which was why were weren’t always that far apart from each other in age. Everyone I knew thought that their families weren’t ideal. Mine was perfect. Justin was my best friend, and Mimi was my everything (there was nothing I did where she didn’t tag along, and I loved it). Our family was indescribable – camping trips every other weekend, game nights, bonfires in the back yard. In every single photo we took, there was never a frown, never a fake smile. They were perfect.

So when they died, my idea of perfection shattered.

The accident was so vivid in my mind – etched into my memories like a bad tattoo that would never be removed with time. We were coming home from a family trip to Seattle; home to Portland. Justin had been accepted to Dartmouth, and he would be leaving soon, so we thought we’d take one last trip while everyone was together. Dad was driving, paying attention to the thick sheet of rain. I was never afraid of the road, so I didn’t think anything of it. Mom was playing with our puppy, Judo, our Golden Retriever. Mimi was asleep, her head resting on my shoulder, in her most relaxed state. Justin and I were talking, low, about school. It was about Jeanine, my friend, and how she had asked Brent – Justin’s older friend – out on a date. Justin was okay with it. I wasn’t that much. This was my last, untainted, memory of them. It would be the very last time I saw my parents’ loving glances at each other – the last time Justin smiled. The last time Mimi was at peace.

Because it was then, in a sudden instant, that the sixteen-wheeler hit us.
I remember it all going black for me, and then waking up, dangling from where my seat belt held me. There was a lot of searing pain, I think, traveling up and down my right leg. I could feel that the calf part of my jean was wet and I could feel air along my leg. My eyes dragged around the overturned suburban. I remember thinking, if I’m alive, then so are they. But the odds had been against me. The driver of the big rig found me, screaming, trying to wake up my sister. After about twenty minutes, and falling into the pool of their blood when the seat belt gave, I realized the truth.

I was all alone.

{ comment please }

Permalink Reply by Summer Love on September 30, 2012 at 8:58am

aww poor her. I like this so far, please keep me updated as I want to see where this goes

Permalink Reply by AMLemons {fanfictions} on September 30, 2012 at 9:16pm

Thank you. If you want to receive updats for the story, just add me as a friend. I send updates via PM.

-- Lemons

Permalink Reply by Seugnet du Toit on September 30, 2012 at 11:42am

What a dramatic start! The poor girl lost her whole family, and they seemed so happy too!

Permalink Reply by AMLemons {fanfictions} on September 30, 2012 at 9:16pm

Thank you. If you want to receive updats for the story, just add me as a friend. I send updates via PM.

-- Lemons

Permalink Reply by Annette Ward on October 1, 2012 at 12:11am

Hi. I would like to be friends. My name is Annette, 64 y/o, married and living in Pensacola, Florida. I would lik updates on your story. Annette

Permalink Reply by AMLemons {fanfictions} on October 1, 2012 at 8:50pm

Chapter One: Breathe Again

A month and a half had passed. Friends had taken me in while my parents’ lawyers figured out what exactly could be done with me. My grandparents – on both sides – were too sickly to care for me. My aunts and uncles couldn’t afford another child, let alone a teenager, living with them. Anyone else in my family couldn’t handle me, the only survivor in the horrific car crash – unless you count Judo – a month ago, and my numbness. So, it was off to Forks to live with yet another family friend. Charlie Swan, a sheriff.

He offered to drive up to get me and Judo, but I refused, politely. I haven’t set foot in a car of any type, even if it was a police cruiser. With some of the money my parents left me, I bought a train ticket. I had to buy Judo a dog carrier for him, but he was going to stay by my side. He suffered a small cut just above his ear during the collision, but it was my Mom who saved him from meeting an early death. I cringed at the memory. I cut my leg and bruised my face up pretty bad. My face looked yellow-ish now, but it was slowly healing. I stared out the window, trying to ignore my mind’s flagrant regard for my emotions. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a day without some kind of memory hurting me more than my injuries.

In the hospital, I cried and screamed as they wheeled in my family, the white sheets covering their faces. The police officer that stayed with me throughout the night had to listen to my crying. I thought it was just me, the only one who walked out without a scratch. Even the truck driver had a few broken bones. But me, I had to be spotless, injury free. Why couldn’t it have been Mimi that lived? Or Justin, or Dad, or Mom? Anyone but me. I didn’t deserve it. Mimi did. I cried the most when they buried her. I remember when she was born, me and Justin fought over who would take care of her, who would take her to school, who would brush her hair in the morning.

Now there wouldn’t be any of that.

I held Judo closer to me as we waited for my train to show up. Everything seemed different now. I was just a mirror image of myself before everything. I was dead on the inside. I couldn’t honestly remember the last time I had smiled about anything.

I sifted through my pocket for my ticket.

Forks, Washington, my temporary home until the lawyers found a new place for me to live. Charlie Swan, I barely remembered him. I’d seen him in some photos, of when Mom and Dad used to live in Forks. This was before Justin and I were born, of course. Dad moved here when he got transferred to the precinct in Portland. I didn’t know what to expect in this new place. It was small. I knew that, so I knew that my moving there would not go unnoticed.

And that was the first thing I had hoped for.

###

On the train, I had tried to sleep. But sleep was so difficult lately, that I ended up staring out of the window at the blurs of trees and wildlife. Judo was sleeping on the makeshift bed I created atop the table in the booth I sat in. I used my parka that once belonged to Justin, and a sweater. He was able to sleep after all that happened. I hope that Charlie was okay with having a dog running around the house. I mean, Judo was trained to go outside, but sometimes Judo played rough. I scratched his head, the warmth emanating from his skin like a radiator, and listened to the soft rumble of his breath.

I thought back to when we had first gotten Judo. Justin nearly flipped when Dad told us about our surprise present. We had to choose between two black ones, a brown one, and Judo. It was originally Justin’s present, but I couldn’t help myself. The moment I saw Judo, I knew that he was the dog for us. Justin agreed at the moment Judo let out a little yip of joy. He was the only person I could trust at this point. Even if he was a dog. All of these memories hurt me like a knife to the heart. I wiped away a few tears, staring back out the window.

I saw wildflowers.

###

Staying away from the memories hurt worse than looking at them. I flipped through the pages of my journal, reading through my compositions. I remembered a time where they were joyous to read. Now, they seemed to show the emptiness. The poems didn’t seem right anymore. It looked as though I was reading poems from Edgar Allen Poe – twisted and demented poems. Nearing the end of the journal, I came across the section with music sheets. I wasn’t very good at writing down the symbols, but I could write music quite well. Mom taught me the piano, so I know a bit of it.

I closed the journal. Over head, I heard the conductor say on the loudspeaker, “Port Angeles junction, five minutes.” It seemed too soon that I would make it.

Judo was happy now that he was no longer in the dog carrier. I put him on the leash I had bought him, the carrier in my hand and my duffel bag on the ground as I waited for Charlie. I could hear that it was raining outside. This caused me to panic a little. Charlie was going to be driving in the rain. Rain caused accidents.

Ever since the accident, any thought of being in a car caused some type of panic in me. As well as driving in the rain. It was because of the rain that the sixteen-wheeler hit us; he had been hydroplaning. And right now Charlie was going to be driving. My chest was already on the verge of tightening at the thought. I didn’t know him very well, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t cause me to worry. But then again, what didn’t cause an anxiety attack from me nowadays? I was most definitely the least relaxed person these days. But I had a lot on my plate now.

I sat down, before I had to result to taking medication to relax my nerves. Charlie would be all right. He was in law enforcement, so that should mean something. He was a safe driver and when anyone saw an officer, they would slow down in his presence. At least, that’s what Dad would do. I felt a pang of guilt run through me. Everything reminded me of them, or him, or Justin.

“Rosaline Isaacs?” I looked up, to find a man in a police uniform staring down at me. I grabbed my duffel bag from the ground, juggling the carrier and Judo’s leash. Judo started barking, a simple reaction to a stranger. I shushed him.

“It’s Roe,” I corrected slightly. Rosaline was a name that didn’t seem to suit me as much as my mother had hoped for.

He smiled, or frowned, I wasn’t sure. His mustache seemed to offer me the confusion. “Right, sorry. Well, I’m Charlie Swan.” He offered a handshake.

I stared for a moment before accepting the introduction. “You went to school with my parents.” That was about as much as I knew.

His gaze lowered for a moment. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

That was all anyone could offer me at the moment. Their condolences were all they could give. But they didn’t know the half of it. Everything was gone, taken away by some stupid truck. If only…

“Thank you,” I mumbled. “This is Judo, I hope you don’t mind.” I pointed down to Judo, who was waiting anxiously to be pet or acknowledged. Charlie bent down to scratch behind his ears. Judo was thankful for the moment.

“House trained, right?” He looked up. I gave a quick nod. I set down my stuff to slip on my parka. Charlie took that as a sign that I was ready to leave. I had to take a deep breath first. Being in a car terrified me now. It wasn’t just a simple idea of being in an accident – it was knowing the tragedy that an accident brought. I didn’t want to deal with another devastating incident. Charlie walked us to the cruiser. I didn’t expect anything else to be picked up in.

During the trip, Charlie said nothing. This seemed to be a perk in arriving to Forks. Judo sat in my lap, looking out the window. From my observation, Forks was different than Portland. Portland was a big city, and so there was very little green. Here it was like staring at a green alien planet.

Charlie looked over at me. “So, will you be needing a ride to school? If so, I can get you some decent transportation.”

I shook my head. “I have some money; I’ll buy a bike or something.”

He nodded, but didn’t seem finished with his conversation. If he expected me to get into any type of vehicle, then it would have to be indestructible. Otherwise there isn’t a chance that I would ride in it.

When we arrived at the two story house, I was finally able to breathe again. Judo ran around the front yard, once I freed him from the leash, and got used to his new home. The rain was now just a trickle. I had just two bags, so it was easy for me to take everything in myself. “Welcome home,” he said cheerfully. I didn’t say much to Charlie as I followed him up stairs into the home.

My room was a pale blue, somber, with a small desk and rocking chair in the corner. I looked around, and saw a wrapped box lying on the edge of my bed. Charlie smiled. “I thought you would need one, for research and stuff.”

It was a laptop, with a light lavender tint. It matched the covers on my bed. I tried to smile, but it was meager. “Thanks.”

He nodded. “I’ll let you get settled in.”

This was a good thing, I guess. He didn’t seem to talk much.

I spent the rest of the night, looking around my room and putting away clothes and setting up pictures. Sure, the pictures reminded me too much of the emptiness I felt, but it didn’t seem right without it. Judo made a little place for him to sleep on the corner of my bed, and after my shower, I took my place as well.

###

I didn’t sleep that well.

It was the crash again, causing me to scream even more. This time, it was different. Someone else, someone other than the truck driver, had pulled me out of there. A man with bronze hair and a beautiful face. Strange eyes, though – golden. He pulled me out with such force, such quickness, that I didn’t even have enough time to breathe, let alone scream. He was pulling me away from the crash site, and I screamed and kicked for him to let me go back. I have to save Mimi, I have to save her.

I woke up, screaming her name. Judo was digging away at my blanket, trying to get close to me. I exhaled sharply, ashamed that I had scared him more than anything. This wasn’t the first time that I had dreamt of the accident. But it was the first time that I had dreamt of that man. I couldn’t remember much from him, just the eyes. I have never seen eyes as golden as his. Did it mean something?

I wasn’t sure, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. I looked at my nightstand. Staring back at me was a picture of Justin, Mimi and me, all covered in snow. It was taken last year, when we traveled to go to hang out in the snow. I would have won that snowball fight, if Justin and Mimi hadn’t ganged up on me. I held my breath, thinking that maybe it would stop the tears from coming.

They didn’t.

{ thank you for reading, and I hope to enjoy reading your comments }

Permalink Reply by Summer Love on October 2, 2012 at 7:45am

aww poor her :( she feels so out of place and not her self anymore. Any would do so if they lost their family like she has, at least she has Charlie who took her in. Mhh Interesting nightmare, she's dreaming of Edward? right. It's intresting how she dreams of him when she has not met him yet

Permalink Reply by AMLemons {fanfictions} on October 2, 2012 at 4:22pm

Thank you so much, Stay! Charlie certainly was nice enough to let her in, huh? XD

-- Lemons

Permalink Reply by Summer Love on October 2, 2012 at 4:27pm

welcome and yeah :) Charlie is understanding

Permalink Reply by felicity talbot on October 2, 2012 at 2:54pm

http://www.fanfiction.net/ is a better place to put fanfiction because it is specifically designed for it. It also has a bigger group of readings.

Permalink Reply by AMLemons {fanfictions} on October 2, 2012 at 4:21pm

Thank you for your advice, but I'd prefer to stay away from fanfiction.net as it's a bit chaotic.. I prefer this site much better, thank you.

-- Lemons

Wildflowers

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