Chapter 1
The sun was shining into his room when he awoke the next morning. It was like a reminder that he was now a prisoner to this town with the most ridiculous weather that ever existed within the entire United States. He glared at the sun. Walking over to the closet he remembered the wet spots that were in the carpet the night before, and with his foot, Brook traced the carpet where he thought the water had been yet found only the same dry carpet that lined his entire room. It was like it was never wet at all. He stumbled into the hall and toward the stairs when his mother called from the kitchen. Her warm voice reminded him of honey.
“Brook?” she asked in a soft voice, loud enough to hear, but soft enough to sound just as warm. He stepped down the stair for a few steps and smiled at her. She stood quietly by the kitchen window looking out at the sun sprayed lawn with admiration and a cup of coffee in her hands.
“You should go outside today and take a look around.” His face grew sour though he knew that his mother meant well, he still felt the suspicion that she was attempting to rid him from the house so that she could mourn alone, rather then the silence of her own bedroom. Her eyes had pink touches that Brook could see underneath the make up that covered her face. She still missed him. She still hurt because of him.
Brook smiled at her, hoping to comfort her stress and prove that he was surviving through all of this. She accepted her son’s pseudo-happiness and let him console her.
“I will go out.” He said. He could already tell that she was mentally preparing how she would spend her day alone in this big house.
“How long will you be out?” she asked. He knew. He knew well. She was figuring how much time it would take her to clean herself up before she would look presentable for her son. He looked down at the floor. Gazing at a small spill of water upon the kitchen tile by the sink then he closed his eyes, trying to find a way to answer. What to answer.
“I’m not sure. I will probably go over to the park and read for a while. Then stop and get an ice cream from the parlor.” He still could not bring his gaze to his mother. She nodded, and he saw out of the corner of his eye that she was done with the conversation. So slowly he turned and walked up the stairs to the shower.
After his shower, Brook cleaned up his room quickly. Only to pause and stare at the carpet once again where he knew it had been wet. He rolled his eyes at the mystery and grabbed his back pack. On his way out of the house he kissed his mother and exited through the garage so that he could get his bike. As soon as he was riding off toward the direction that he had seen the park at, his whole mood shifted. He loved to ride, to feel the wind passing by his face. And so each time that he rode off, he was relaxed.
He got to the park in no time and was almost sad that he had made it there so soon. None the less, he swung his leg over the bike and tied his chain around a tree trunk. He scrutinized the park, which looked like every other park in the rest of the United States. There was a children’s area, a hill, and of course, a lot of grass and trees. And on a day as sunny as this, the park was filled with people.
Brook walked over to a quiet tree and sat pulling his back pack off his shoulders. He sat staring at the clouds that were known to play tricks and decided against his pessimism. The first book that he pulled out from his bag was “Twilight.” A friend back home was reading it and suggested it to him, so he figured, since he had nothing but time this break, he would get around to reading it. In fact, he had been so sure that he was going to have a lot of time that he bought the whole series and them some. Brook was always reading. His mother’s ex-husband use to tease him for this. His name was Gage. He was the reason that his mom was always crying these days. Brook shuddered each time that he thought about him. And a taste of disgust would run through his mouth at the sound of his name. He was not a very faithful husband. And why his mother had fallen in love with him in the first place, was completely unknown to Brook. But he has let that go, and has been attempting to help his mother rebuild her life since.
Brook opened the book and ran his fingers over the pages, finding his place marked by a thin book mark. He read for a while, then stopped and wondered how his life had been different from the character in the book, Bella Swan. They both were new to their towns, and they both seemed to hate it. Yet he felt a knot tighten his stomach as he read on. Bella was growing to like Forks, and Brook still hated this town. He closed his eyes and laid his head against the tree. The sunlight was growing weaker, though it had only been about an hour or so. Yet Brook remained resting in the shelters of the tree. He felt safe here for a few minutes. It was only when a drop of water tapped him on the nose that he realized it was now raining. His eyes shot up in horror as he shoved his book back into his back pack and began to run from the park. He had made it half way down the street when the rain was growing so hard that he worried about the book that was in his back pack. He looked up and saw a gas station out of the corner of his eye and ran into its shelters.
The man behind the counter greeted him warmly and smiled at his wet appearance. He was not so old, but looked it. It may have been the bags beneath his eyes that gave him this appearance. He had long hair that touched his shoulders and soft, tired eyes that were a light blue. Brook turned and ignored him. He walked over to the freezer doors and grabbed a soda from the rack. Slowly he walked back to the counter and set down the soda. The clerk was still smiling as he rang him up.
“It’s getting pretty crazy out there” he noted as he pressed something on his register. Brook stood there silent. He pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and removed a five dollar bill. After setting it onto the counter he stared out the window at the approaching clouds. He grumbled something alone the lines of “thanks” when the clerk handed him the change.
“Have a good one.” The clerk called after Brook as he headed for the door. He decided that he was going to make a run for it the rest of the way home. His attempt to wait till it slowed did not work, it only got worse. So he would run. He moved over to the door and prepared for a sprint. As he broke free from the door he felt something in the way. A person.
“Ouch.” She said as she rubbed her nose. She was sitting upon the floor one hand to balance herself and the other to sooth the pain in her face. She was not bleeding, simply wounded. Brook helped her to her feet and felt a wave of embarrassment overcome him. This feeling he was so familiar with.
“Are you ok?” he asked anxiously. He rubbed his hands together and fidgeted with his fingers. He never was good at talking to girls, except his mother of course.
“I will be ok.” She said smiling. She had long brown hair that was tied into braids and freckles that danced across her face. Her eyes were a faded brown but beautiful none the less. She stretched her hand out to him. “My name is Talise.” He shook her hand and blurted out his name in return. “I’m new here.” She said in a shy tone. He blinked quickly.
“Me too.” He said, almost too eager to make conversation. She looked more comfortable by this, and eased her expression. She laughed. It was a pretty laugh, almost childlike, but beautiful.
A clap of lightening interrupted their conversation. Brook’s eyes shot to the sky. And the girl turned slowly. It was raining harder. A look of sadness draped over his face.
“I know this might seem like an odd question, being we just met, but I take it your walking home in this.” She said, it was not really a question, but something she wished to be sure of. He nodded his head slowly, sadly. She looked down at the ground. And Brook though it was a waste for her beautiful eyes to rest upon something as ugly as the concrete. No one can enjoy them there.
“Well, would you like a ride home?” she asked delicately. Brook thought momentarily and considered his options. A- walk in the rain, catch phenomena, never see this girl again, get my book wet, and wish I would have accepted, or B- accept the ride with the possibility that she could be some crazy killer who would cut out my eyes and feed them to her pet cat. Brook smiled then. She doesn’t seem like she has a pet cat.
“Yeah. Sure.” He said, Feeling a little awkward by her kindness. She nodded then spoke in her small innocent voice.
“Ok. Let me fill my tank first. My car is the white one by pump six. You can climb in and wait there till I get back.” She said. Then she frowned. “Oh, and there is really nothing to take, but please don’t make me regret this if you take something anyway.” With that she walked into the gas station. The friendly clerk seemed even friendlier when he laid eyes upon her. Brook turned away from the window. Surprised by his own jealousy for a girl that he had just met, who shows no serious interest in him. He walked over to white car on pump six. The passenger door was unlocked, and he felt almost rude climbing into her small sedan. The interior was unbelievably nice. The seats inside were leather and a sun roof hid allowed the rain to make faces upon the glass. It was clean and smelt new still. She had a stack of CDs resting in a holder upon her visor. He pulled down a couple of them to see what she liked, and they were all people and groups he had never heard of before.
“Know any of them?” She asked as she climbed into the driver’s side. He was surprised by her presence in the small car. He had not noticed before, but her scent was so alluring. It reminded him of the smell right before it rains. It comforted him.
“Actually, no.” Brook said almost ashamed by his lack of knowledge. Before his father died, he collected CDs and knew almost any artist, even the ones that he didn’t like. But that was then. Talise just smiled at him.
“It’s ok.” She laughed aloud, still beautifully. “Not many people do.” She let her hand out in front of him and smiled. “May I?” She asked warmly. He handed the CDs that he had been holding, back to her. She grabbed the first one on the stack and inserted it into the CD player. The rest she reinserted into the holder. Then she started the car and pulled forward. Brook eased in his seat, next to a girl that he just met.
“My Bike!” Brook exclaimed as the beautiful girl pulled up at his driveway. It was still raining hard. “Crap!” he yelled. “Sorry. I left my bike at the park. Sorry I yelled.” He looked ashamed of his childish out break. She laughed softly at his apology.
“Did you want me to take you to go get it? It’s still raining, and might rust up.” She said. Brook smiled. This girl was so kind. “It’s no problem really.” She said in addition.
“Well, I already feel bad for wasting your gas anyway.” He said. She laughed at this greatly.
“Its just gas.” She said lightly.
They drove down to the park to retrieve his bike. When he climbed out of the car and unchained the lock the rain faded to a light drizzle. A look of panic crossed the girls face. When he returned to the car he noticed her face was growing pale.
“Are you alright?” he asked, anxious by the look on her face. She just nodded.
“Hey, since it’s clearing up, do you think that you can ride home? I’m not feeling so well and need to get home.” Her proposal surprised Brook.
“Yeah. Sure.” He nodded, still scared for her. “Hey are you sure you are ok?” he asked again. She just nodded softly.
“I will be as long as you promise not to forget me.” She teased. He was shy by her words but smiled as handsomely as he could and said he promised. She laughed. But he could tell she still was not feeling well.
“See you later.” She said, almost a whisper. Brook assumed it was because she was sick. He just smiled and waved as she drove away. He stared at the white car as it pulled down the road until she made a turn further down the street.
“Good bye.” He mouthed.
Creative
Created on 4-9-08
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Story Rating G
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