Disclaimer: Sadly, Jacob, Billy and all other twilight characters belong to the oh-so-wonderful Stephenie Meyer. The rest in this story are MINEEE!! Enjoy! and please REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!! Tell me what you think :)
Chapter 1 : The Meeting
I was lost. Lost in this hideous, damp, moss-covered forest. Wandering and wandering for what seemed like days, but for what must have only been mere hours.
"That's what you get for traipsing into a forest in the middle of nowhere," I muttered angrily to myself.
Squish, squish, squish. The only sound to my ears was the squishing of my feet in the moist ground as I stomped around, trying fruitlessly to find somewhere to rest that wasn't wet! It was all too green– everything looked too similar for me to even try to navigate. Sighing, I gently sat myself down on a rock that seemed to have slightly less moss covering it. I looking around me, hopelessly trying to remember what little camping skills I had been taught from the one summer I had gone camping with my father. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since then. It hurt too much to think about him.
If only I hadn't yelled at him that night, I thought bitterly to myself.
My thoughts wandered from that to the visit we had received that night from the police. The visit that had changed our lives forever.
I sighed. There were too many "if only"'s. Far too many, and none of them would bring my dad back.
Frustrated, I stood up. I had come into this wretched forest so that I wouldn't have to think about him, or about my willful mother who has it set in her mind that moving to Forks was the only way to forget. Can't she see that we can't forget – he will always be with us, no matter which state we're living in. She can't hold onto this charade forever, and one day she will have to stop trying to deny that he's dead.
But moving, of all things! I don't want to leave my home, all my friends and memories that I've made. No one cares about what Sarah wants – oh no, definitely not. I have to pack up and move on a whim to this rainy, dreary place in the middle of July, all because of what she wants. I sighed. Never had I thought I'd be living under a dictatorship.
The loud boom of approaching thunder spooked me out of my daydreaming. It had gotten awfully dark in such a short time, and the rich sea air reeked with the scent of an approaching storm. The forest was almost silent, calm before the tempest. The ominous clouds were approaching faster and faster, and the wind had picked up from a friendly breeze into a thrashing monster. The trees bent from the strain of the gust, and then the rain began.
"Shit, shit shit." I muttered over and over, running now, trying to find shelter. In seconds, my sweater and jeans were drenched through and through, and it was impossible to see more than a few feet in front of me because of the downpour.
It was then that I heard it. The deep roar that definitely wasn't thunder.
My heart began to pump erratically.
"Stay calm, Sarah, stay calm. It'll all be okay…" I kept chanting that mantra over and over out loud, trying desperately to calm myself, my voice nearing a hysterical shriek. I was terrified. The most terrified I had ever been.
And then I saw it. Walking towards me, far taller and larger than my slender 5'7" frame. At first, all I saw was a blur of rust-coloured fur amidst the pouring rain, and then it emerged, standing not five feet in front of me. It could have been mistaken for a gigantic bear from a distance, but from my close proximity I could see that it resembled a wolf. The only difference though, was that it was not the size a wolf was supposed to be – it had to be as tall as a stallion!
I screamed, and took off blindly, trying to run as fast as I could in what I assumed was the opposite direction of the wolf. Stumbling through my tears and the rain, I tried without success to keep my feet steady, and found myself tripping, and then tumbling down a steep slope and into the river below.
"Blurg….kjhg…hel..helpp…glup…." I splashed as I choked on my scream, swallowing water as I became submerged into the angry darkness of the pulsing river. I was an experienced swimmer, but no amount of training could have prepared me for the strength of it. All I could do was try to keep my head above the water and stay conscious. The current bashed me into sharp boulders, knocking the wind out of my lungs and filling them with icy water. My vision began to cloud over, and I was completely sucked into the cold blackness. I vaguely wondered why something against my back felt warm amongst all this cold, but then my vision went black and I tumbled into oblivion.
--
" Uhg…." I moaned deeply, trying to remember why I was in so much pain. Everything ached with such intensity that, for a moment, I believed that I had died and gone to hell.
Painfully, I swallowed in an effort to clear my raw throat, and slowly opened one eye and then the other. I found myself in a small, dimly lit bedroom with an old quilt over top of my throbbing body.
"You're finally awake." I jumped at the sound of the husky voice, not realizing that anyone else was with me.
Looking over my shoulder, sitting comfortably on a chair beside the bed, was a boy. A man, really, but something about him was youthful, and I could see from his face that he was no more than a few years older than me. He had dark, russet coloured skin, and I knew instantly that he must be from La Push, the Quileute reservation in Forks. He was huge – not just in stature, but also in height. Even sitting down, it was extremely obvious. He was wearing a pair of dark cutoffs and a black t-shirt, his large muscles rippling as he slowly stood up and approached my bedside.
I was amazed at how… how downright beautiful he was. I stared at him, and looked up to find him studying me just as intently.
I blushed, looking away.
Suddenly, a fit of coughs erupted from my throat, and I had to fight the urge to throw up. At once he was beside me, one arm around my shoulders, and one scalding hand on the side of my face. His body temperature was unexplicably high - almost feverish, and i felt my face tingle beneath his touch.
"Easy now… just breathe…breathe….Here, have some tea," He handed me a mug of warm earl grey, and I sipped it gratefully.
"There now, that's better, isn't it? It wouldn't make any sense to choke right after I saved you, does it?" He smiled down at me as he removed his hand from my face.
As our eyes met, dazzling blue meeting piercing black, it was as if my world stopped. There's no other way of explaining it. All I could see were his eyes, and I felt something I'd never felt before. It was the longest moment of my life, and after what seemed like hours, I broke his gaze and stared awkwardly at my lap.
"I…I have to go," he whispered as he stood up. Quickly, he strode through the door.
"NO! Don't- " I had no idea why, but I felt a physical need to have this strange boy with me. I must have hit my head pretty hard.
I tried helplessly to get up and follow, but my weak body wasn't cooperating. My head spun dangerously, and before I knew it, the ground was rushing up to meet me. Just before I hit the ground, two strong arms caught me.
Surprised, I looked up to see the boy's eyes looking down at mine with such tenderness and concern that I could do nothing but stare as he slowly righted me and spoke.
"Sarah..."
"How….wh-.." I stumbled, confused.
"Shhhhhh…. Just lay back down and rest."
"But…how… I can't…." I paused, trying to form a coherent sentence. " How did you catch me? I mean, you were gone….and….." I sped up, rambling on. "And how do you know my name? We haven't met before…and I just woke up… where -"
Gently, he placed a finger on my lips to silence me, and I couldn't understand why my heart chose that moment to speed up.
Gently, he lowered me onto the bed and pulled the quilt over me.
"Sleep now, we'll talk later."
"But-"
"Sleep, Sarah. I promise I'll be here when you wake. There's nothing to worry about."
I was not going to let him leave before he answered my question, no matter how tired I was feeling. I glared up at him, and slowly mouthed the word "no" with my lips. He ignored my, turning once again towards the door.
Annoyed, I raised my voice. " You have to tell me what's going on! I think I've made it clear that-"
Sighing, he turned around and crossed his arms as I glared at him angrily.
He gave me a tight smile. "Fine. What do you want to know?"
"Oh…I don't know… EVERYTHING maybe? Like, who the hell you are, and where I am?" I felt anger bubbling inside of me. How could he possibly be taking this so calmly?
"Alright, alright, don't have a coronary " he grinned as he approached my bedside, "It's like I said, there's nothing to worry about."
I looked at him expectantly, and he rolled his eyes.
"My dad and yours," he began, looking at me, "they used to be friends. Best friends." I felt the hole in my chest twitch angrily at the mention of my dad, but I nodded for him to continue.
"They were virtually inseparable, and even when your parents married and moved away, they still kept in touch. Until… you know…" He looked away as he spoke.
"So my family knows yours" I asked quickly, changing the subject.
The boy smiled. " Yeah…you could say that. My dad has told me all about you" He grinned. "That's how I knew your name."
"So," I continued with relief, "my mom knows I'm here?"
A strange look flickered across his face, but before I could tell what it was, a mask of calm replaced it.
"Yeah."He answered. "Billy – my dad- called her as soon as I brought you home, and we've been taking care of you. Your mom's been so busy lately, getting her apartment ready-"
"Her apartment?" I couldn't explain the anxiety I felt. It was almost as if I knew what he was about to say.
"You mean our apartment, right. As in, mine and hers?" I met his gaze, confused.
"Don't you know?" He looked back at me, just as confused as I was.
"Know what?" My voice was almost inaudible.
He looked uncomfortable as he spoke, and suddenly the quilt became very interesting for him to study.
"Your mom…well, don't you know about her job?" He looked up at me with curiousity burning regret in his eyes.
I shook my head.
Akwardly, he shifted his position and spoke quietly.
"So she hasn't told you about us?" About the…situation?" What was going on? What hadn't I been told?
"For God's sake, I have no idea what you're talking about! She hasn't told me anything!" I was chagrined at being left out of the loop, and scared out of my mind.
He sighed, and met my steady gaze with his dark eyes.
"She accepted a job in Seattle before you moved here… that's when she called my dad. The job is really demanding, and she said you weren't getting along well together anymore after the accident… and she asked if you…er…"
He paused. "She…well, she asked if you could live here with us for a while."
I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach, all the wind knocked out of me. I felt my jaw drop.
"What?" I whispered slowly, enunciating the word with excruciating slowness.
"Are you saying that she- that I'm - that I'm not living with her?" I couldn't believe the words I spoke them, even as he nodded slowly.
"When?"
"When what?" he asked quietly, meeting my gaze.
"When was I supposed to come and stay with you?"
His face darkened. "The day after you had your accident. Since I found you and you were already here…she thought it best to just….. go...to spare you the...confrontation."
"No...I can't……. It's not poss- I just can't believe-" I tried desperately to keep the tears from falling.
His arms reached out to hold me, but I pushed them away.
"No! Don't touch me! Don't… touch…me…" I sobbed hysterically, frantically trying to move away from him. He simply pinned my arms to my sides and grabbed me, pulling me into his lap like a child.
After a few moments, I succumbed to his warm embrace and threw my arms around his neck, burying my head in his shoulder.
I cried even harder as I dissected what had happened. My father was dead, and my mother had left me with people I didn't even know, without even planning to tell me. I remembered her calling Forks a "fresh start". Had she meant for both of us together, or just for her?
I clung to him, this boy whose name I didn't even know, as sobs racked through my weak body.
"H-how could she do that? She's my mom and-" The crying continued, making my sentences incoherent.
All he did was hold me until the tears had stopped, and I fell into a restless sleep.