Sunset Stars
PREFACE
All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy, for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.~ Anatole France
I never thought that it would happen to me. I never thought that I would experience something that would touch my heart, my mind, my soul itself. I never was one for harsh change. I always wanted to go through change smoothly, peacefully, happily. I detested change that was like jumping of a 50 foot cliff, and took me maybe months to recover and adjust. But that is something I must do, for if I don't, I will eternally reject what I have become, and never truly be awake and alive at once. This is what I thought as the vampires were one day away, coming to kill us.
Without change, something inside us sleeps, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.~Frank Herbert.
Chapter 1
I got into my car, trying to hold back the tears. I really thought I liked it here. But I don't...I needed my friends and my school and my life back. I couldn't take it. The tears were streaming down my face, and I had my hands on the sides of my head, trying to hold myself together. I swallowed my pain, and put the key in the ignition. I drove home, and lay on my double bed, moping. I pushed homework out of my mind, and decided to get outside and enjoy the scenery without precipitation. I grabbed my sketchbook, charcoal, and eraser, put on my hiking boots, and headed out the door.
Not really sure where to go, I headed to the edge of the forest, finding a neglected old path. I walked along the trails for what felt like hours, not knowing where I would end up, or if I would get lost. I finally came upon a cliff, and I immediately sat down on a rock and started to draw what I saw. The charcoal flew across the page so fast, I could barely see it, only the marks it left.
The scenery, I had to admit, was gorgeous. The cliff must have been around 100 feet, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There were islands off in the distance, which meant that it wasn't just a cliff I would be drawing. Forest covered the rocks, and there was a curtain of fog in the middle of the bay. Wind blew past me, taking my breath with it, and I shivered. My charcoal met the paper again, making more marks, adding to the ones I just made. The new pencil stump I had brought became black, and my fingers were dusty and dark gray. After about an hour or so, I got up to stretch my legs from sitting so long, and to look off the edge of cliff.
I walked over, and looked down at the water. It was probably freezing. All of a sudden, I heard voices coming from the trees behind me, and a group of people popped out of the trees. There was about five or six of them. They were all tall, with black hair and russet skin. One of them was a girl, the rest boys, with the oldest looking around 25, all very muscular. I was so startled by the group, I slipped off the edge of the cliff.
I let out a shriek of terror. I knew that you could seriously injure yourself if you didn't properly know how to dive off high places. My hair got in my face, flying up, as my head was going to be first to hit the water. I didn't want to break my neck. I wrapped my arms around my neck, bracing for impact. Crashing into the water was like hitting frozen glass. Wrapping my arms around my head hadn't been enough. My head snapped back, almost feeling as if I had a concussion. Landing on my back had knocked all air out of me, and I plummeted down like a stone. The water was freezing and suffocating. Immediately, sensation in my fingers and toes left. Blood in my veins became icy water, and after half a minute, energy abandoned my limbs. I had no strength left; the water getting colder and colder; darker and darker. Vision blurring, I screamed inside as I started to feel my lungs ache and burn. The water taunted me, pulling me down, with hands around my neck, laughing like a clique of mean girls. It started to go black.
Suddenly, a loud sound came from above me-splashing of water, air rushing up to meet whatever water had been displaced. Warm sensations filled my arms, causing me to flash my eyes open. I stared at a person in front of me with wide eyes. Lingering for a moment, then grabbing my waist, he surged forward, toward what I assumed was the shore. Surfacing was like entering a different world; A world with air, light, wind. I lay on the beach with my face in the gray sand, breathing in and out deeply. The taste of salt water burned in my mouth.
"D-dd-am-mmn salllll-t water," I chattered. As my rescuer resurfaced, I noticed that he didn't have a shirt on, or any shoes. "Are y-y-you crazy? The water, is like 35 degrees. You are l-l-l-ike, half-n-n-n-ak-k-ed."
"Doesn't bother me," he said. He flashed a smile, and his white teeth gleamed. "Are you okay? We better get you out of the water, or you'll freeze. I'm Jacob, by the way."
"Oh-h-h-h, h-h-i," I stammered.
"Yo Jake, is she frozen or something?" A voice called from above. I looked up, and saw that a boy that looked a lot like Jacob was staring over the edge.
"Don't lean any farther, or you'll fall too, Embry, and I don't think you'll get any help," Jacob yelled. There was laughter from the others above, and I couldn't help but laugh as well. "Gosh, you better get out of the water, you're lips are turning blue."
"Y-y-y-yeah, I'd lik-k-ke that," I snapped. I stepped up, my clothes clinging to my body. "Why the hell did y-y-y-you have to freak m-m-m-me out that much?" I yelled at him, suddenly turning around. My hair whipped around my face, water flinging everywhere. Jacob just laughed at me. For some reason, his laughter made all my anger melt away.
"You're pretty feisty for a...how old are you, 18?" He asked
"No, no. I'm actually only 16. How old are you?" I said.
"I'm 17." My jaw dropped and I laughed.
"No. No you are not! You're lying, aren't you?" He shook his head and I laughed, then sneezed. The wind was cold. I started to shiver again, wondering how I could get home without getting hypothermia.
"Do you need a ride home?" He asked me.
"Yeah, that w-w-would be great, thanks. I just need to g-get my sk-k-etchbook." I ran up to the cliff, where I found that the rest of Jacob's group looking at it! "What ar-r-re you d-doing?" I ran and tried to grab it from Embry, but he just held it above my head. I jumped, and he held it off to the side. I finally gave up trying to grab it, and stepped back. I looked at another boy, saying: "Do you think I could jump on him and get it back?"
"No, that wouldn't be the best idea," the boy laughed. He looked younger than all the others, yet still older than me. Was Jacob really only 17?
"I was just kidding. Here." Embry tossed it over. I caught it, then playfully glared at him.
"Thanks," I muttered. I walked down the hill to the shore. Shivering, I ran down, eager to go home and sleep.
"My house isn't to far from here. Come on, this way." Motioning for me to follow him, I quickened my pace to keep up with him.
"You're so weird..." I whispered to myself, observing him.
"And getting so freaked out by someone sneaking up behind you that you fall off a cliff isn't weird at all?" He said, turning to smirk at me.
"Well, you jumped into that water wearing basically nothing but shorts and you aren't turning blue or anything. Who are you guys-some kind of Polar Bear group? Plus you sneak up on innocent people."
Raising a thick black eyebrow, he stared at me. "Polar Bear group?" The expression made me giggle.
"You know, those groups of crazy people who swim in 33 degree water for fun. Like Polar Bears."
"I am happy to say that I am not part of any Polar Bear group, although I think you might be. I actually never heard your name."
"Because you never asked until now," I answered plainly, brushing my wet hair back behind an ear. "It's Hayley."
"Are you new around here? It's a small place, you get used to knowing faces." Jacob asked me, but then suddenly looked off in another direction. I noticed that he was clenching his fists, bitting his lip.
"Yeah, I moved here from Maine, so I traded snow for rain, go nuts." Half muttering it to myself, as if saying it normally would upset him.
"Nah, we get snow once and awhile." He seemed to have recovered from whatever had bothered him. "Look, here we are," he said, pointing at a small, red house with a dirt driveway. The wind suddenly gusted, freezing my skin.
"SCREW IT!" I screamed, and sprinted into the garage. A second behind me, Jacob strolled in behind me, walking casually, a smug smile on his face. Bursting out laughing, I doubled over. Maybe I was kinda dumb. Oh well. The deep laugh that came from Jacob made me smile. It warmed his entire face up, the laugh lines cracking off his hard mask on his face, revealing a whole different person underneath. Smiling, I leaned back on something, covered by a sheet. In my peripheral vision, there was a smooth bit of black paint. Curious, I pulled off the sheet. A black motorcycle- a Harley-with a gorgeous finish, whoever built it must have put a lot of time into it.
"Did you build this?" I asked Jacob. The warmth in his face almost extinguished a bit.
"I did..." He whispered. The simple question seemed to have broken his happiness apart. Taken aback, I threw the sheet back over the bike, trying to cover up my mistake.
"Sorry, forget about it." I said. "I won't ask again."
"No, it's fine. I actually haven't ridden it in awhile. I miss it." He looked down, and gently pulled the sheet off, staring at it deep in thought with a sad expression.
"You know what this means, don't you?"
"What?"
"You have to teach me how to ride it obviously! I've always wanted to learn how! When I was a little kid, I wanted to have a biker jacket instead of a Barbie doll!"
"No way."
"Yeah, don't judge. I can still be a girly-girl. I liked princesses all the same," I laughed. He laughed with me again. I grinned, then shivered again hard. My teeth chattered, and I noticed the sky. "Shit, it's getting dark.." My mom didn't notice much, but she would care now.
"Right, gotta get you home," he said. He opened the door to an old car-a Rabbit-a motioned for me to get in. The ride back was shorter than I thought. We arrived to my house without a car in the driveway- a good sign. "Thanks for the drive." I said as I started to walk up the front steps. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, that'd be cool," he said. "Start your lessons."
"Right..." I said. He started to turn to walk away. "Jacob!" He turned around again. "I...um...thanks for saving me today, Jake." I leaned in and gave him a small hug. His body was scalding hot. I backed out quickly. Maybe I shouldn't have done that.
"Thanks," he whispered, and turned to leave. What did he mean by 'thanks'?
All the same, I had a feeling this was going to be a great friendship.