“Bella. We’re here.”

I cracked open one eye to glare at whoever dared to disturb me as I came out of my trance, yet another one of my half-dreams, my face still pressed against the window of the backseat.

Charlie shook me gently again. “Come on, Bella. Get up. Look outside, we’re here.”

I rubbed my red-rimmed eyes and stretched my cramped limbs. I stole a quick glance at the house we had pulled up in front of in Charlie’s police cruiser and unbuckled my seatbelt. The car ride from the airport had been long and silent, and I had been wide awake and a little too jumpy on the plane. I reluctantly stepped out of the car, blinking in the grayish light of the early afternoon, thankful the weather hadn’t changed much since I was last here, and would be consistently gloomy save for a few weeks of sunlight year round. I looked at my surroundings – the house, the empty road, the woods next to the house – yes, this was Forks as I vaguely remembered it. And now this was home.

After I had meticulously unpacked my belongings into my old room upstairs and taken a much-needed shower, I went downstairs looking for Charlie. He was, as expected, sitting in the living room, sifting through a photo album from many, many years ago. He looked over at me and I came and sat next to him on the worn-out couch. I silently watched as he slowly went through each page with tremendous care, tracing his index finger along the edges of the faded photographs. He had stopped at the last page, his finger poised on the edge of a Polaroid of him and Renee in front of a beautiful mountain view, her arms wrapped around his waist. He was grinning hugely as though he had just won first prize in the county fair, Renee looking blissful.

Renee. I felt a little ache in my chest and looked away.

After several minutes, Charlie sighed and closed the album, tucking it carefully back in the sparsely stocked bookshelf beside the couch. He turned to look at me.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been here, Bella. I always hoped you would come and stay here with me, to keep me company. I guess now I got my wish,” he gazed at me sadly and lightly rested his hand on my forearm. “But I didn’t want it to be like this. For you to…”