Author's Note:
Hey guys, here's my story, I hope you enjoy it! If you haven't read my other stories, go check them out, and if you have, thanks for all the support. Many of you requested a Paul/Rachel fanfic, so here you go. And those of you that wanted a Jared/Kim one, don't worry, that's next on my list. Make sure you let me know in a review if you like this chapter and if I should continue. Please and thank-you!
Happy Reading! :)
I do not own Twilight. All other generic disclaimers apply.
Chapter 1. Hot Brother
The clouds were dark, suggesting possible rain, as Rachel Black drove into the miniscule town of La Push, Washington, a small Indian Reservation for the Quileute tribe.
It had been over three years since she had been here, or even remotely close to the area. Her identical twin sister, Rebecca, and Rachel had stayed away from this town for many reasons, the main one being their mother's unfateful death.
Sara Black had lived here her whole life, and now her lifeless body was buried in the local cemetery, six feet under the dew covered green grass. Rachel cringed as she drove past the wrought iron black gates, and her hands started trembling, loosening their grip on the steering wheel.
She couldn't stand the horrible memories this place brought back. In fact, the only reason she even contemplated coming back to town now was to see her younger brother and father, who both still happily resided in a tiny house just outside of the town limits. That, and the fact that she had just finished college in Seattle and needed somewhere to crash until she got on her feet and found a job.
Her father, Billy, had been left in pieces after her mother's death, but being wheel-chair bound made it a lot more difficult to consider moving elsewhere to avoid the everyday reminders. Plus, being a Quileute tribal leader, he would've had a hard time leaving behind his heritage. Jacob, Rachel's younger brother, on the other hand, was too young to leave by himself, without a parental guardian. So he ended up staying back in La Push as well. Rachel and Rebecca both took the first opportunity they could to leave.
As she neared her destination, Rachel started internally coaching herself. She didn't want to start bawling in front of them, bringing back all the haunting memories of her mother's death, after they both had somewhat moved on. She was going to try avoiding the waterworks at all costs. She just needed to give herself a little pep-talk to prepare for the constant reminders of her mother that would surely be present everywhere she looked. It would certainly be difficult to walk into her childhood home again.
Rachel drove down the slick, gray road, finally reaching the narrow gravel driveway leading up to the familiar shack-styled house. It looked even worse than when Rebecca had left for Hawaii, and Rachel for college a couple years ago. Destroyed shingles needed replacing, rusty car parts were scattered all over the un-mowed yard messily, some of the red clapboard siding was rotted, needing replacing, and not one living flower bloomed. Her mother had always had the green thumb...
She parked her compact car on a muddy patch of ground, and heard a startling knock on the car window within a second later. A huge, russet man was smiling widely at her.
Jacob maybe? Although, the Jacob Rachel remembered was a gangly thirteen-year-old with wavy, pitch black hair down to his shoulders. The man looking at her right now was incredibly tall, muscular, and had his black hair cropped short. But if she looked closely enough at his copper face, his wide ivory smile, dimpled chin, and chocolate eyes gave away his true identity immediately. She opened her car door and felt her body fly multiple feet off the ground, spinning in speedy circles. The fast movements made her stomach churn, like a washer on spin-cycle. She felt nauseous, and the ham sandwich she had ate for lunch threatened to make a reappearance.
"Jacob, I am excited to see you, too, but please put me down or I'll barf all over you", She almost wailed, as her insides stirred with the repeating circular movements.
"Sorry, I'm just so glad your home!" He bellowed, his voice deep and very...pubescent. God, how long was I gone for?
He smiled brightly and set his older sister down carefully, dusting some dirt off her narrow shoulder in the process. Rebecca and her were both pretty tall for girls, both standing about 6'0 in height, but this new Jacob towered over her by at least seven or eight inches. And that was the least of the changes.
Compared to the lanky arms of the thirteen-year-old boy Rachel had left behind, this man in front of her looked like he had stuffed grapefruits into his biceps. They were barely contained in the short-sleeved shirt he wore, almost like they would tear it at the seams whenever he moved his arms in the slightest way.
And his face, oh his face. What happened to the dimple-cheeked, round-faced little boy? His face was full of sharp angles and hard lines now. His jaw was square, his eyes hardened; he looked like a fucking man!
"Wow, Jake! What happened to you? I leave for three years with a scrawny kid brother, and I come back to a WWE wrestler!?" He chuckled, his low voice startling her once again and wrapped one of his bulky arms around her neck, directing her up Billy's wheelchair ramp and into the familiar, tiny red house. Billy was waiting on the other side of the door like a puppy when they entered. His already humongous smile increased in width with their approach. Rachel barely got through the doorframe before she was wrapped up in his fatherly embrace. He smelled like her father always did. Pine needles, peppermint and aftershave.
"How's my baby girl? I've missed you so much, Rach." He whispered so softly as he embraced her, that she could barely make out the words. She thought she saw a few tears glistening in his dark eyes.
"Good. How are my two best boys doing?" Rachel redirected the main attention to the two men she had missed a lot more than she had recognized over the years. Rachel always loved the spotlight, and was fairly outgoing, but she really didn't feel like being interrogated tonight, she was just too tired for it.
"We're doing." Jake's bass voice came from behind her, and she turned around reflexively. His smile was true, but something in his eyes was off. They no longer showed the joy and delight they had when he first saw her arrive. Now they held something different, and Rachel just couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Would you like something to eat, honey?" Billy's voice snapped her back to real life, and she nodded her head, despite her lack of hunger. She needed something to distract her from her own thoughts for the next few hours. She figured if she had food in her mouth, she might not have to answer as many questions, and she couldn't let her mind linger to memories long put to rest.
Billy wheeled himself to the kitchen, and she heard a thunderous crash followed by pans clanking together nosily. Rachel looked to Jacob with concern, thinking that Billy might need some help reaching up to higher shelves and such. Jacob just shook his head and grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him. Then he leaned down to her ear, cupping his large hand to mute whatever he was about to say.
"He's been really frustrated lately. He wants to be independent, and insists on doing everything, even when it's close to impossible for him." He leaned away then, giving her a final warning stare to not mess with Billy's self-imposed struggling.
"I'm gonna go get your bags from the trunk and bring them in before it starts down-pouring." She handed him the keys with a grateful glance, before taking a seat on the rickety, old couch. Rachel had been driving for a long time, what with all the bad storms along the highway, and she was utterly exhausted from the extended traveling. She rested my eyes for a few minutes, letting her breathing steady, and her mind relax.
Minutes later, she could smell freshly cooked tomatoes and garlic tinge her nose. Rachel knew exactly what Billy had made for her 'welcome home' supper. Billy's secret famous spaghetti recipe. Although, Ragu wasn't exactly what she would call 'secret', it was absolutely delectable, so no one ever complained.
She opened her brown eyes to find Jacob sitting across from her in the rocking chair, reading a book. Wait, a book? Since when did her video-game-addict-brother read books?
She gave him a puzzled look, lifting her eyebrows to her hairline border, but his gaze didn't rise to meet her face. He didn't seem to notice her eyes, so she yawned casually, hoping to attract his attention without using words. He finally glanced up, his face still displaying an emotion from a scene in the novel.
"Your...reading?" It sounded just as weird as he looked.
Jacob reading... ha, well this is one for the record books. Mark the date. Call the news reporters. Notify CNN.
"Yeah, I uh, like it now, I guess." He chuckled awkwardly, and she could sense his nervousness. He was lying to her, and she knew it.
"Hmm. Something tells me that's not true." He shot his sister an irritated glare. "So what are you reading anyways, huh?" She asked, hoping to lighten the conversation. Rachel just got here, and she didn't want to get into the sibling bickering so soon into the visit.
He didn't answer, giving her the 'silent treatment' and just went back to reading it, whatever it was, studying with thick furrowed brows. She reached over, gently turning the cover towards her to see the title quickly before he could stop her. Rachel let out a full-blown snort when it came into view.
"Wuthering Heights? You're reading Wuthering Heights? Are you fucking kidding me? Jacob, are you sick or something?" She could barely make out the words in between laughs, and the blush that came across his russet face as she giggled was priceless.
"No. I'm perfectly normal." His thick lips were now pulled into a pout manner and his black eyebrows were furrowed up in annoyed way. Rachel couldn't even breathe correctly with all the laughter that was shooting out of her.
"Jacob...why...why on earth...are you...reading that?!" She managed to ask between her loud spurts of laughter. She hadn't even read that book. It was too dramatic for her.
His face reddened even more.
"Personal reasons." He gave her a rude glare and walked down the hall to put his book away. He came back a few seconds later, his face back to it's normal shade of tan. Rachel had composed herself in his absence, and prepared for an apology.
She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Jacob.
"I'm sorry Rachel. I know you don't understand why I'm reading it. My reasons are just a little personal, and I'd think you'd laugh at me if I told you them, anyway." He gave her an apologetic look, and she couldn't believe what he had just said. Here she was, poking fun at her younger brother, and he apologizes to her?
I could get use to this new Jacob...
"Don't worry Jake. It's fine. I shouldn't have laughed", She apologized. She did truly deep down feel bad that she had teased him, and he was being so kind and thoughtful in return.
"Dinner's ready!" Billy's low voice boomed from the joint kitchen/dining room, and they both headed towards the familiar, appetizing aroma that lingered through the small house.
Jacob and Rachel both reached the doorway at the same time, and nudged each other playfully to get through first. Rachel won, but judging by Jacob's new body, she figured he had most likely let her win. She reached the table first, opting to grab the biggest meatball. Billy laughed at their childish manner, heartily, as he plowed some noodles down his hatch.
She took her first bite, letting the sauce soak into my taste buds. Rachel had really missed her family. Clubbing was a real riot, but it got old after awhile, especially if you went every night like she did. College in Seattle was great, what with all the frat boys and hot bachelors, but nothing compared to sitting at home and eating dinner with Jacob and Billy. Her favorite boys.
The meal was mostly filled with sounds of clanking forks, because in the Black household, they eat first, talk later. Rachel was planning on dragging out the meal as long as she could though, to avoid her father's pesky inquiring, so she ate slower than she usually would.
When both her father and brother had finished, stuffing their licked-clean dishes into the vintage dishwasher, she started twiddling with her fork. Billy wheeled back to the table, and Jake sat down again, too. Here comes the interrogation, she thought.
"So, how's school been? And that roommate of yours, what's her name..."
"Lily", Rachel interjected, swirling some more noodles around her fork to stuff into her mouth, disabling her from answering another question.
"Ahh. Lily. How's she been? You two throw lots of parties?" He playfully suggested, wriggling his eyebrows, knowing she would never give him an honest answer.
Billy had been quite the overprotective father in Rachel and Rebecca's high school years. Rebecca and her had hard times getting dates, after they met Billy. And his shotgun.
She swallowed the chunk of noodles.
"Good. We study occasionally. She's not in the dorm very often though, she spends the majority of her free time with her boyfriend, Cole." Rachel could hear the gloominess leaking into her own voice, though she attempted to mute as best she could.
Despite how much she liked to go clubbing and partying; the single life, she had always expected to find her true love in college, get married, and get a job. That had always been her plan, and now it looked like she would have to rearrange it.
"Oh." Billy whispered, obviously following the same line of thought. Although it probably hurt to see his baby girl grow up, he knew Rachel wanted to find someone at some point. And what made her sad, in turn, made him sad.
"Well, who's up for some rocky road ice cream, 'cause I know I am!" Jacob interrupted, making both Billy and Rachel explode into laughter, releasing the unspoken tension built up in the room.
He ran to the freezer, and reappeared with a large bucket full of the creamy goodness. He loaded three bowls, two small ones for Billy and his sister, and one serving bowl full for himself. If he ate like this on a regular basis, Rachel couldn't understand why his body was so fit and lean. It sounded bad... but her brother was hot! Gross, maybe, but it was the truth.
They ate the ice cream for a bit, reminiscing on old memories from Jacob and Rachel's childhoods. The three didn't talk about any memories involving Sara, thanks to Jacob's redirection every time the conversation veered in the direction of talking about her.
Rachel went to sleep that night, in Jacob's bed, despite her offers to sleep on an air mattress. Jacob had insisted she take his bed.
She honestly didn't know when he became such a gentleman... it was creeping her out a bit. He had changed so much, she jokingly wondered if Billy accidentally switched kids while she had been gone. It seemed to be the only realistic explanation.
She slept soundly that night, gazing up at the round white moon through Jacob's rectangle window. This visit hadn't been a completely bad idea. She had forgotten how much she missed La Push. But still, she wouldn't stay here for long.
She couldn't.
It reminded her too much of her deceased mother.
What'd you think? Worth continuing? Let me know in a review! :)