Keep on Living

It had taken me an hour to set up everything in my room to my liking; casting the five sheets and comforter (plus seven pillows) on my new bed, setting up all of my posters, putting away all my clothes and shoes, and adding all the little touches took a lot longer than expected. Strange enough, Lucy didn't hover over me like she would have, though that was probably just because she and George were too busy getting all of her stuff set up. People often question who's the teenager, me or my mom. She, like most girls my age, has an almost frightening love for clothes and the like. It probably took two hours alone just to put all of her clothes away.
I fell back on my bed, sighing when my bad met with the soundless, soft material. I was so used to my bed creaking and squealing when I dropped onto it. I rolled over onto my side, curled my legs, and clutched my body pillow against my chest as I buried my face into it. I didn't want to be here.
Yes, I know, I sound like a brat. And it's only worse that I'm stuck in a scenario where I'm a big city girl moving to a small town. I know I'm making Lucy and George feel bad about it, and I know they're trying their best to help me adjust, but that's just it. I don't like change. At all. I don't adapt to new places very well, and it takes a long time for me to get used to change. And there was another thing: I didn't want to get used to this. If I did, I'd be betraying the home I was born and grew up in. That's what I told myself, anyways.
New York City, New York, the city of lights. The city where no one sleeps, and where everyday is a party. La Push, Washington, a small town where everyone knows each other. A town of never ending clouds and rain. I loved everything about New York, and La Push is the exact opposite, so I guess it's easy to say that I dislike/hate everything about this place. Weird logic, I know, but that's just me.
"Theeeemi~ Theeeemi~ Theee--" I heard my mother's skipping footsteps come to a stop just outside my room. "Oh Themitra..."
I breathed into the pillow, trying to suppress my irritation, and rolled over onto my other side to face her. "What?"
Looking at my mother was like looking into a mirror -- only the reflection was a little taller and a lot prettier. Tanner and I take after Lucy, inheriting her brown eyes and hair, while Jon got Dad's black hair and blue eyes. When it came to personalities, on the other hand, everything was switched around: Jon's exactly like Lucy, and Tanner and I are exactly like our father Roger's. People have told me that I look exactly like Lucy had when she was my age, save for the fact that she was always beaming and grinning. They always left that part out, though.

"Sooo, how do you like you room?" She dragged out her 'o's playfully as she slid into my room and took a seat on the edge of the bed. I had picked out the smallest room, mostly because I don't have very much stuff and big rooms intimidate me.
"It's okay," I mumbled.
My lack of enthusiasm didn't faze her. "And isn't the house just beautiful? I'm amazed that George managed to keep it so clean and nice all by himself. It all seems like something out of a storybook."
"Mhm."
Disappointment flashed behind her chocolate optics. For once, her full lips twitched into a frown. "Themitra Katheryn White." I hated when she used my full name. "Things are always going to look bleak if you don't try to make the best of them. Take advantage of this, hunny. I mean, isn't it even slightly reassuring? Knowing that you can start all over..."
"But I didn't want to start over in the first place, Mom," I groaned, throwing my pillow to the side. "I loved my life in New York."
She wrinkled her nose. "Baby, your life in New York was nothing but dance, acting, and school. And, yes, the Broadway shows and the plays, but there's so much more to life than that! Okay, yes, you had your friends, and they were sweethearts, but you're sixteen-years-old, a junior in high school, and you've never been on a date!"
I fell back on my bed again, groaning as I slapped a hand to my forehead. "I don't want a boyfriend, Mother!" If you haven't been able to guess, we've had this conversation several times, and it's always began and ended in the same way.
"Owh, you don't have to have a boyfriend! I'm just saying that it wouldn't hurt to date! You know, it's in your high school years where you start searching for your soul mate," she said as-a-matter-of-factly.
I rolled my eyes. "That's so lame, Mom. Like you said, I'm sixteen and a junior in high school, but that doesn't mean I'm like every other girl in America. I'm not always horny, and I'm not always in need of a guy. I don't even want one right now."
She sighed and shook her head in disappointment. "You're so weird, Themi."
I snorted. "Looks who's talking."
"Somehow everything's gonna fall
right into place;
If only we had a way
to make it all fall faster everyday."

I laid in bed for the remainder of the day, just staring up at the off-white ceiling. Mom had called me down to dinner, but I wasn't hungry, and George eventually convinced her to leave me be. (Thank you, God for George.) I thought about checking my e-mail on my laptop, and I thought about texting some of my friends to see how they were doing, but nothing in my body wanted to move. I'd try to stretch out my arm or kick my legs over the side, but none of my nerves were functioning. I wonder if this is the real meaning of being depressed.
Or pathetic.
"This time we're not givin' up, let's make it last forever~ Screamin' Hallelujah~"

I looked over at my green Sidekick on the nightstand, which began to vibrate as the ringtone went off. I stared at it for a while while the verse repeated, and finally managed to reach over, press the button, and bring it to my ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Them."
At the sound of the familiar voice, I suddenly sat up straight, now fully alert. "Dad!"
Roger's a big shot business man, who's always been extremely studious and serious, which really makes you wonder how he fell in love with Lucy, a happy-go-lucky actress. Anyways, the two divorced when Jon was two, and when Tanner and I were seven. Dad's job caused him to be away a lot, and I guess Mom just couldn't handle it, so they split. They're still pretty close friends, I guess, though since my dad's socially retarded they don't speak as much as Mom would like them to.
"How are you guys doing? Have you settled in yet?"
I hesitated before answering. "We're alright. Jon's adjusted well and Tanner's the same as ever."
"That's good."
"Yeah... How are things in New York?"
"Same as always. Actually, I'm leaving for a business trip in Spain in a couple of days."
"Oh, cool."
If you haven't been able to tell, I, unfortunately, gained that gene of being socially retarded from my dad. It's okay when we're together in person, because our silences are mutual and therefore not awkward, but over the phone... Well, you see how it is.
"Sorry, babe, I gotta go. Business meeting starts in a couple of minutes. I'll try to call you back before I leave, alright?"
"'Kay. 'Love you, Dad."
"I love you, too, Them."
I waited until he hung up before I did so, and tossed my phone to the side. Like Lucy, Roger also lives in an apartment, though it was only about ten minutes away so that me, Tanner, and Jon could visit him on the weekends. Normally kids would be worried about how lonely their other parent was when they moved away, but I didn't have to worry much about him. Seeing as how he's out of the city so much, we rarely got to see him anyways. But still, I'll miss the times I did get to spend with him, even if it just meant sitting on the couch and pretending to watch TV.
Hearing a knock at my door, I glanced over my shoulder, where I found Tanner leaning against the doorframe. I raised a brow questioningly. "Some of George's friends came by to visit, and Mom wants you to meet them," he answered gruffly. Obviously Mom had forced him into meeting them, too.
"Alright." I swung my legs over the side of the bed and joined him at my door. We exchanged a glance, sighed simultaneously, and forced ourselves down the stairs.
"Wow, so Bella's getting married? And to think the first time I saw her was eighteen-years-ago, when she was only a couple days old!" Me and Tanner stopped at the head of the stairs at the sound of George's voice.
"Yeah." A second, unfamiliar voice joined him. "I wasn't sure what to say at first. Hell, I still don't know what to say."
"Edward Cullen... Huh, I never would have guessed."
I looked over at Tanner, who just shrugged and sauntered down the stairs. "Tanner! Themi!" Lucy walked out of the kitchen, just in time to see us on the stairs. Needless to say, that gathered the attention of everyone in the living room. Lucy was holding a tray of hors d'oeuvres, grinning like always, and George and Jon were seated on the couch, with the company of three others. One was a middle-aged woman with dark hair and russet-colored skin, another was a man with curly brown hair dressed in police officers' clothing, and the third was a heavyset man with copper skin and black hair tied back into a ponytail, though he was in a wheelchair.
"Hey guys!" George greeted cheerfully. He turned to his friends. "These are the twins, Tanner and Themitra." Tanner nodded his head politely and I smiled shyly, raising a hand to wave. "Tanner, Them, this is Sue Clearwater," (the woman smiled warmly), "Charlie Swan," (the police officer raised a hand), "and Billy Black." The man in the wheel chair nodded and smiled.
"Nice to meet you," I managed. All I remained on me for a while, and I shifted uncomfortably. "... I hope I don't have bed hair." Fortunately, George brought up a new topic, and the attention was averted again. I sighed as I slipped into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.
When I looked at Charlie and Billy, there was something on their faces that I couldn't distinguish. On Billy's face, curiosity or something related to that, and on Charlie's, nostalgia and... sorrow? Which led me to wonder what they had been talking about earlier. Bella? Edward Cullen? What was that all about?
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. It's not like it mattered anyways.
"If only time flew like a dove;
God make it fly
faster than I'm falling in love."