Chapter Text
Forks was exactly how Sophie remembered it. Dark, wet, and gloomy. Mist curled over the road as Charlie, her quiet but well-meaning father, drove them south from Port Angeles.
Sophie rested her forehead against the cool window and watched the pine trees blur past. The ride was silent. Bella, her younger sister, fumbled with her cactus the whole way. Charlie did not speak much either.
Sophie was older than Bella, if only by a year and a month, but the difference felt larger than that. She was a senior now, eighteen and standing on the edge of something unnamed, while Bella was still easing into seventeen, quieter and more uncertain. Bella shrank inward when things felt unfamiliar. Sophie noticed everything, absorbed it, carried it with her. They had grown up close, but they had never been the same. Where Bella endured, Sophie questioned. Where Bella adapted, Sophie resisted.
At last, a faded sign welcoming them to Forks slid by.
“Almost home,” Charlie murmured.
Home. The word felt strange. Sophie missed the heat of Arizona, the brightness, the sun that never hid behind clouds.
As they drove deeper into town, a tight pull gathered in her chest. Nerves. Anxiousness. Dread. She could not decide. She only knew something inside her felt unsettled, as if the air itself had shifted the moment they crossed into Forks.
She barely remembered the town from when she was little. They passed the diner, the police station, and the small line of shops. But when Charlie turned into the familiar driveway, a rush of nostalgia washed over her. The house looked exactly the same as she remembered. Small. Quiet. Waiting.
“Here we are,” Charlie said as he climbed out of the truck. Bella and Sophie followed.
Inside, Charlie showed them to their rooms, grateful they did not have to share.
“Bells, you like purple, right?” he asked, scratching the back of his head as he moved toward the next doorway. “And Soph, your favorite is green? The sales lady helped me pick them out.”
“Purple is cool,” Bella said, stepping into her room.
Sophie looked around hers. The comforter was her favorite shade of jade green, and the furniture was dark wood. Simple. Clean. Warm enough to feel like someone had tried.
“Thanks, Dad,” she said quietly.
Charlie nodded, pleased, and left them to settle in.
Sophie watched her father walk away before turning back into her room. She wished Charlie lingered more, but he never did.
She dropped her duffel bag onto the bed and began unpacking. Notebooks and her laptop went onto the desk. A few shirts were hung in the closet. The familiar motions helped steady her, grounding her in something normal.
The sound of a truck pulling into the driveway broke the silence.
Sophie crossed the room and peeked out the window. A beat-up red pickup had stopped beside Charlie’s cruiser. Billy Black sat behind the wheel, broad-shouldered and calm, his dark hair streaked with gray. Beside him was Jacob.
Jacob Black was taller than Sophie remembered. Taller than she expected. His long black hair brushed his shoulders, and his skin was a warm copper tone that stood out against the gray afternoon. He smiled easily, wide and unguarded, like the weather did not bother him at all.
“Bells,” Sophie called over her shoulder. “It’s Jake.”
They hurried downstairs together and stepped out onto the porch.
“Hey,” Sophie called, lifting a hand.
Jacob’s grin widened when he saw them. “Hey.”
Charlie gestured toward the truck. “You girls remember Billy Black. And his son, Jacob.”
Bella waved, a little hesitant. “Hi.”
Billy smiled kindly, his voice calm and steady. “Good to see you both again. Do you like the truck?” He nodded toward the faded red paint.
“Yeah,” Bella and Sophie said together.
Charlie shifted, suddenly looking a little proud and a little unsure. “It’s for you both. To share. It’s old, but it runs well. Good mileage.”
Bella’s eyes went wide. “No way. Thanks!”
Jacob laughed as Bella climbed into the driver’s seat, immediately examining everything like it was already hers. He leaned against the door, watching her with easy amusement.
Sophie stayed back, nudging Charlie lightly with her elbow. “Thanks, Dad,” she said, smiling up at him.
He nodded once, pleased but trying not to show it.
From the driveway, Sophie glanced at Jacob again. He caught her looking and offered a small, friendly smile.
After a while, Sophie retreated to her room and began getting ready for bed. It still felt strange to think she would be starting at a new school as a senior. Most people finished their last year surrounded by familiarity. She was beginning hers in a town that felt like it had been waiting for her.
The thought left her feeling both uneasy and quietly excited. So many endings and beginnings tangled together, impossible to separate.
She flopped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling as rain tapped softly against the window.
“I hope I meet a cute boy,” she whispered, barely loud enough to hear herself.
The thought made her smile, and she let out a quiet laugh before rolling onto her side. The day caught up with her quickly after that, pulling her into a deep, dreamless sleep as the rain continued to fall outside.