A/N: Alright my lovely followers, here is the new version of chapter 1. Only a few small changes for this one! However, it has now been beta'd! That means no more cringing at my horrible use of grammar! Thank you to the awesome Shadowlynx for offering her time to correct my messy work, you rock!
CHAPTER 1:
The cool air felt good on my warm skin as I climbed out of my piece of crap car. Inhaling, the scent I had longed to smell hit me. The ocean smelled of ancient infinity. The salt smell was irresistible to me in this moment. It had been so long since I had been somewhere where the amazing salt smelled covered everything and anything. It was the smell of my happiness.
That feeling was amplified when I removed the shabby sandals I wore and stepped onto the sandy beach. Most people hated the feel of sand between their toes, but not me. I took a moment to bury my feet in, wiggling my toes before lifting my feet to replace my shoes. Sighing from the euphoric feeling I was experiencing, I continued on my journey towards the shore line. Stopping a few feet from where the water was casually covering the land, I examined it for a dry and relaxing spot to sit.
When my eyes picked out a location, my feet automatically began to carry me there. As I arrived at my destination, I sat. A sigh of contentment left me as I watched the water do its thing.
No matter my age, I always found the sea to be peaceful, relaxing and quite mysterious. The way light waves rolled around, occasionally toppling each other, brought me a form of tranquility. Even during a storm, when the waves and water itself turned brutal and ugly, it had a calming effect on me, which seemed a little strange at times.
After a moment, I felt my entire body relax, I felt like I was home for the first time in my life. Smiling at that, I began to ponder what ancient mystery this ocean and beach held. What secrets lay in the scattered driftwood, roaring cliffs and desolate beach? My eyes closed for a moment, then suddenly I saw an animal sitting on the cliff, it looked like a massive wolf, howling. In the distance I imagined more howls following the first, then more wolves joined the one at the top of the cliff. One by one, they became people who suddenly dove from the cliff, into the awaiting water beneath.
My eyes shot open.
I mentally chastised myself for imagining something so impossible. Even though I grew up with stories of things that went boom in the night, I knew that they were not real. Stories of vampires, ghosts and ghouls were my mother's favorite. She enjoyed telling tales of supernatural entities. But even at a young age I knew that they were false. No such beings could exist. If they did I figured they would be more than just stories told to children, for scaring them or for imaginary purposes. Though, I do sometimes wish they were real. I imagine what life would be like to meet someone who claimed you belonged with them, someone who would whisk you off your feet into a fairytale romance. Maybe it was because I was alone, or maybe I just wanted to feel loved, but I knew that it was never going to happen.
Sighing at the slight downshift in my mood, I turned my head to look down the left side of the beach. I noticed a man running. He wore a pair of black shorts and a tank top, with a pair of white running shoes, or so I guessed. As he got closer, I noticed his skin was a beautiful russet-like color. Considering I was sitting on a beach that was part of an Indian Reservation, I really didn't expect much else. Focusing back on the man, I saw that his hair was a jet black color, cut short. After a moment, he was getting much closer so I turned my gaze back to the water.
I could hear the pounding of his feet on the ground as he came within earshot. My eyes stayed focused on the ocean before me. When I could tell he was past me, I turned my head to see his retreating form. As I watched, I saw his run slow so I quickly snapped my head back towards the calming water. The sound of his feet on the ground got closer once again, making me wonder why he stopped.
"Are you okay?" He asked. His voice was husky with a deep baritone. Those simple words he spoke brought warmth to my lower body.
I nodded before speaking. "Yes, I just came here to relax."
"I suppose the beach and ocean can be relaxing sometimes."
I shrugged. "It always is for me. But one of my favorite things to do when I want to relax involves rain. I just love to sit outside on a patio or deck with a blanket and watch the rain fall."
He remained silent for a moment. "It is supposed to start raining this afternoon; it'll probably last a few days."
"Yeah, I saw that on the weather forecast. Sadly my hotel room doesn't exactly have a good setup for watching the rain and staying dry while doing so."
After a moment of silence, I turned my head to look at him. My breath was taken away at how this man looked.
His eyes were incredibly dark, almost black. He had amazing looking lips that I wouldn't mind feeling on my body. The structure of his face was simply amazing; it was what one might call perfection. There was one word to describe this man who stood over six foot five, and that word would be sexy. He just oozed sex. My god, I thought, he should be immortalized in stone and worshipped.
Removing my eyes from his body, they returned to his face where our eyes met. He was staring at me with a look I had never witnessed before. Though as the staring contest continued, my heartbeat started to increase until I was sure my palms might start sweating. Never had I been scrutinized by a man that looked so delicious. I managed to clear my throat and we both looked away.
"I have a covered porch, if you really want to watch the rain later, you can do so at my place."
My eyes snapped back to his face. "You don't even know my name and you're inviting me to your house? What if I am some psychotic killer who wants to eat the skin from your bones?"
Half a smile appeared on his face. "I'm a lot bigger than you; I think I could probably overpower you if you tried to kill me. Though we are in La Push, serial killing isn't really a big problem here. My name is Jacob by the way."
"Alright, I might consider your offer." I conceded. "My name is Madison but everyone ends up calling me Maddie or Mads."
"Well Madison, it is a pleasure to meet you. Even if you do turn out to be a crazed psychotic killer." He smirked, "If you have a cell phone or pen, I can give you my cell number in case you decide to come kill or hang out with me."
I couldn't help but laugh as I dug into my back pocket to pull my phone out. With a smirk, I tossed it to him and allowed him to enter his number. Surprisingly, he even used my camera to take a cheesy picture so he would have a caller ID photo if he was lucky enough to score my number. Though, I wasn't completely opposed to allowing him to score between my legs. Thinking that way caused a small flourish of heat to reappear in my nether regions. When I looked back at his face, he had his eyebrow raised as he tossed the phone back. With a quick wave, he began to run once again.
When he was a distance away, I fell back onto to the beach and closed my eyes. After about thirty more minutes I finally decided to head out because my stomach was growling. I remembered a small little diner in Forks where I decided that I would eat lunch. As I got to my feet, I couldn't help but glance up at the cliff where I had imagined animals turning to humans. At first glance, I thought there really was a wolf, but I blinked and there was nothing up there.
Walking at the pace of a snail, okay maybe a little faster, I finally made it to my car and got inside. My mind wandered to that god-like man named Jacob. There was just something about him, not just that he was probably the most gorgeous man that I had ever met. After he had left, I felt like something was pulling at my chest but I just had no idea what.
Most of my life I had avoided men, they always left you broken and sad. My mother was a victim to that with my father. He screwed her, knocked her up, then left days after she told him she was pregnant. The scumbag admitted he was already married and never had any intention of being with her for a long term commitment, even though he had led her to believe otherwise. She was devastated and never did marry after him, in fact as far as I knew she never really even dated. Instead, she kept sleeping with married men and left me with a life no child should have had. That was why I was here, I wanted to find the sperm donor and confront him.
My thoughts took a dangerous turn, threatening to ruin my good mood. I did my best to push them away as I arrived at the quaint little diner. When I walked in, a Native woman greeted me with a warm hello, her nametag read Sue. I smiled at her and took note that there was only one table occupied in the back, several Native men sat talking and joking. Wishing that I had a friend here, I took a seat at a booth near the door. A few moments passed when a younger woman entered the diner. She shot her middle finger to the group of guys as she walked towards Sue, they resembled each other.
After a few minutes of the two women speaking, the younger one turned towards me. "What do you want to drink and are you ready to order?"
"Leah!" The older woman exclaimed as the younger one rolled her eyes.
I closed the menu. "Ugh, a burger and fries with a coke."
"There you go mom, now can we finish our conversation?" The younger one, Leah, asked with a hint of annoyance.
I diverted my eyes to the group of men sitting at the back of the place as Sue and Leah returned to their conversation. The group of guys were smiling and laughing, occasionally throwing light punches into another ones arm. They all looked older, and they were all undeniably good looking. What did they put in the water on the rez? One of the slightly older looking men noticed me staring, he nudged another guy and they all turned their attention towards me.
I felt a hint of embarrassment as I looked back towards the spot Leah and Sue had been talking a few minutes prior. Sue was gone but Leah was carrying a drink and plate of food towards me. She glanced at the men who were still staring and now whispering as she sat the food and drink in front of me.
After a moment, she slid in the booth in front of me, distracting me from the group of men.
"Don't let them bother you, they are idiots." She shrugged, grabbing a fry from my plate.
I studied her for a moment. She had beautiful black hair that was cut to her shoulders. Her eyes were dark, not as dark as Jacob's though. She had such a beautiful face and I felt bad for staring. I did also take note that she was tall and lean when she had been talking to Sue.
"I'm not really bothered they are staring and whispering, but I feel bad for staring. I've been doing it a lot today for some reason."
"Well, I don't mind them staring at you, it takes the attention away from me. No offence."
"None taken, they probably stare at you because you are so pretty. And, no I'm not hitting on you," I blurted.
She looked at me with a strange look for a moment. "Thanks and no, they are definitely not staring at me because I'm pretty. It's a long and painful story really."
"I have a lot of time on my hands." I smiled, hoping to possibly make a friend in this little town.
"It started with a guy; it always starts with a guy." She sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the group of men. "When I was a freshman in high school I met this guy named Sam. He was amazing and incredibly hot. It was this whirlwind romance and I was on cloud nine. Things were so wonderful and I never felt more alive when we were together. It literally hurt to not be near him, it was so strange but I'm sure you know what teenage love is like."
I nodded and waited for her to continue.
"Everything was great but it all started to change halfway through our junior year. Sam started to change, it was scary. He was so angry all the time, he would blow up for no reason and he would shake so badly, it looked like he was going to shake right out of his skin or something. Anyways, he got so angry over nothing one day and left school. I went to his house after school that day but he wasn't home. No one saw him for two weeks I was terrified that he wasn't okay. I kept pestering my father and the Tribal Chief, Billy Black, but they just said not to worry and that he would probably be home before I knew it. It made me angry, he was missing and no one cared but me."
She seemed so sad as she spoke, I could only imagine the pain she must have been feeling.
"One day, he was just back. No explanation or reasoning as to where he had been or why he left. He didn't come to me or try to talk to me. As much as it broke my heart to do so, I simply gave him the space that he seemed to want. I was so distraught that my cousin, Emily, came to visit and make sure I was okay. We were walking one day when we ran into Sam. He glanced at me but kept staring at Emily, it was uncomfortable. When she looked away, he turned and walked away without saying a word to me. It was so painful and I cried my eyes out that night." She sighed. "Sorry, getting a glass of water really quickly."
I gave another nod as she climbed out of the booth and made her way towards the counter to get something to drink. My eyes glanced to the group of men who were all looking down, and talking amongst themselves. It was like the atmosphere had changed for them. I didn't understand how or why, but I didn't ponder about it because Leah had returned and took a seat once more. She stole a few more fries before continuing.
"A few weeks passed after that and Emily had stayed around for awhile, but I she spent less and less time around me. I thought it was because I was such a mess and she couldn't stand it. That wasn't it though; I'd learn that soon enough. It was a Thursday night when no one was home that I heard a knock on the door. It took me by complete surprise when I saw Sam standing there soaked from the torrential downpour. The look on his face and in his eyes told me what was coming. I started to cry when he broke it off. It hurt so badly but I had felt it coming, it was one of those things you just feel."
"The next few days were hell. Emily looked so sad when she learned things between Sam and I had ended. She tried to comfort me, but ended up telling me that he had been pursuing her. It was devastating but I couldn't really be angry at her at the time, she had been there for me through the hardest parts and she certainly didn't ask for it to happen. Like anyone in my situation, I expected her to deny him. Well imagine my surprise when I learned from random people in town that they had begun dating. A lot of time has passed but I still can't look at them the same. The reason those guys stare at me is because they are friends with Sam and I both, as well as my younger brother Seth. We are sort of a deranged family so to speak. They pity me, they know what happened and they feel sorry for me."
"I don't feel sorry for you." I shrugged, eating a fry. "I mean, I feel bad that you had to endure something so painful like that. But I don't pity you or feel sorry for you because things happen to everyone and people have to deal with it. It seems like you are dealing and that you are managing, which makes you a strong person on the inside. It isn't hard to see that it is still hurting you when you talk or think about it, but love does that. If you ask me, broken hearts mend in time but I don't think that they ever really heal completely. There will always be a soft and painful spot."
She sat back and stared at me. "You are honest. It has been awhile since I met someone honest and who doesn't pity me."
With a smile, I took a sip of my almost empty coke. "I never want to be pitied and therefore I refuse to pity anyone. You know, the whole do unto others as you would have them unto you mumbo jumbo."
She smiled at me as she stood up, taking my glass with her to the counter to refill. She returned and we fell into easy conversation. Time flew by and when I looked at my phone, it was almost three in the afternoon. I was enjoying talking to Leah, but I knew I probably should head back to my hotel. Plus, I still hadn't decided whether I was going to take the sexy Jacob up on his offer.
Leah and I said our goodbyes, exchanging numbers since she'd conned me into going to Port Angeles with her tomorrow. She needed to do some clothes shopping and really didn't want to go alone. I argued that shopping wasn't fun, though she agreed I still ended up saying I'd go with her.
When I made it back to the hotel, it had started to sprinkle, no doubt that it would turn into some heavy rain. As I entered the room, I couldn't help but wonder if the rain was a sign. Maybe it was telling me to go and spend some time watching it fall with a very attractive man, who I may or may not throw myself at like an animal. A smile appeared on my face when I thought of him, but I had no idea why.
For the next twenty minutes, I kept going back and forth between what I wanted to do. Deciding to keep thinking on it, I hopped in the shower. Barely wet, I reached out and grabbed my phone, sending a quick text asking for directions, before I changed my mind again. It wasn't long before my phone beeped with a reply. As a safety precaution, I grabbed my razor and began to shave my no-no spots, as well as my legs.