Troubled Minds | Quil Ateara [2]

Vingt-Quatre

It was odd how the weather often reflected the way she felt, or perhaps the sky that looms over the dreary town of Forks, Washington was simply always prepared for the sadness that hid in her soul.

With death lingering in the air and pain clawing at the hearts of the people on the reservation, Andy oddly felt like this was where she belonged. Her heart had been fortified in the little years that she has experienced. Pain was something that she took in stride, death was an old friend that teased with gentle caresses and welcoming hands.

It was a familiar that should never have been familiar.

Andy sat alone in the corner, shaking under the weight that scorched her skin. Emotions were never gentle, the were harsh tendrils that whipped at her skin with little remorse to the amount that she could bare.

It was entirely fitting that the sky cried with them, sharing in Andy's burden because had she been given the choice, she would not have picked this lifestyle. She was weak, lost at sea with no anchor; a deadly combination that she couldn't right.

People glanced her way, few attempted to approach her but all were deterred by her empty eyes. Her father was even hesitant to near her.

It made her feel like a wild animal that was backed in the corner. She grew an unnatural fear towards these people, or perhaps it was their fear that she felt? In her current state of mind, she was uncertain. It was a troubling mess that resembled an endless rabbit hole of nonsense.

"Andy," Charlie called to her gently. The young Swan tensed slightly as his grief knocked into her with renewed force. She looked at him slowly, meeting his eyes.

"When did this all happen?" He questioned her quietly, gesturing to the ugly abuse to her skin. "Where's Bella?"

"I got lost in the woods trying to reach the cliffs," she laughed shakily. She had little trouble lying to her father, it was the influence of Sam, Jacob and the other boys that made her uneasy. "I guess I got little beat up."

She shrunk a little under his scrutinizing stare, only relaxing when he shook his head. "God, Andy, you need to be more careful. I don't know what I would do without you."

Her body relaxed completely and her empty eyes lightened ever so slightly. She softened for her father, moving towards him and pulling him in for a comforting hug. It was common knowledge for the people of Forks and the surrounding area to know that Charlie Swan was not a man of affection, but when it came to his little girl he could melt in a heartbeat.

"It's okay daddy. I'm always going to be here, even when I'm not," Andy mumbled into his shoulder. "That's how love works. It is limitless, without distance and boundaries. You are my dad, no matter where I am or who I am."

Charlie pulled his girl tighter, not minding the few glances that he was receiving from the mourners around him.

"When did you get so smart?" He teased his daughter.

"When did it take you so long to notice the obvious?"

He let out a gruff chuckle before pushing her in the direction of the door. "That boy of yours, Quil. He's outside and could probably use some words of comfort from the little genius."

She hadn't moved so fast before. She felt like she was flying past people until she was reaching the boy in question. Standing to the side of the house, staring at the truck that she had driven to get here. A rusty red Chevy that belonged to her sister that was currently somewhere on her way to Italy.

He was perfect, no matter the circumstances; he always would be, without a doubt the most perfect person she would ever meet. It was so hard for her to put him into words because she had never loved anyone the way she loved him.