Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, only Scarlette
It is important to know that in this story takes place around the time of Eclipse. Some of events will be the same but some will not. As of right now, Jacob is still in love with Bella.
It had been ten years since I had set foot in La Push. Ten years since my parents divorced and I had been forced to move away with my mother. Ten years since I said goodbye to my family and friends, but as I stepped off the plane in Port Angeles I had the comforting feeling that I was finally going home.
"Scarlette!" I could hear someone calling my name before I could see who it was, "Scarlette! Over here!"
Even after ten years, I could recognize my cousin anywhere.
"Seth!" I cried when he was in my line of sight. I raced towards him, occasionally bumping into the people around me. When I was close enough to him, I launched myself into his arms. When we were younger, we had been more of best friends than cousins. Even though we hadn't seen each other since the move, we spoke all the time.
"How are you?" he questioned as we embraced each other. His smile was infectious.
"I'm great!" I grinned back, "It's so good to see you again!"
"It has been way too long!" he said as we let go of each other.
Together, we walked to the baggage claim and waited for the last of my belongings to wind its way around the belt.
"How is everyone?" I asked hesitantly, "I'm sorry about Uncle Harry, I tried to come back for the funeral but…"
"I understand. I remember how Aunt Abagail can be, it's not your fault." There was pain evident in his eyes. The death of Uncle Harry was still fresh, his wounds had barely started to feel.
I laid a reassuring hand on his arm, "I'm here if you want to talk about anything."
He gave a small smile but didn't say anything. We waited in silence for a few minutes until, finally, my luggage rolled into view.
Seth quickly gathered everything I owned and headed for the exit.
"I can help carry some of that, you know." I called as struggled to keep pace with him.
"Don't worry about it. You've have been on a plane all day," He said over his shoulder, "I don't mind."
I kept quiet as I ran behind him. A couple of people snickered at the sight of the two of us. Seth seemed to have no idea that I was struggling to keep up.
He led me out of the airport and into the nearest parking lot. By the time we reached the small, red car that he told me belonged to a friend of his, I was exhausted.
"When did you get so fast?" I asked, between deep breaths. I couldn't believe I was actually winded after that.
"Sorry," He said, sheepishly, "I guess I didn't realize how fast I was walking. You okay?"
"I'll live," I told him.
He laughed as he unlocked the car. I climbed inside while he put my belongings in the trunk. He, then, climbed in the driver's seat, started the car, turned to me and asked, "Are you ready to finally be home?"
XXX
The ride to La Push was peacefully silence. Seth seemed to be lost in his own thoughts while I muddled over what it was going to be like to be back in La Push. Would people recognize me? Would I recognize them? Would I like being back?
When Seth's house finally came into view, I smiled at the familiarity of it; it looked exactly the same as it did when I was younger.
Seth grinned at my reaction. We pulled into the long driveway, where Aunt Sue was waiting. I jumped out of the car before Seth had even stopped it and ran to the front porch. Aunt Sue had tears in her eyes as we embraced each other.
"Welcome home." She said to me.
We spent the next few minutes on the porch catching up while Seth brought my luggage inside. I tried to help but both he and Aunt Sue refused.
"I'm going to Jake's," Seth declared as he came back outside, "I have to bring his car back. Want to come, Scarlette?"
"Um…" I was suddenly nervous. I wasn't sure I was ready to meet people.
"You should go," Aunt Sue encouraged, "Jake's a good guy and it'll be nice for you to meet some people on the Rez before you start school on Monday. Just don't be late to the bonfire." She caught Seth's eye.
"Bonfire?" I questioned.
"We have a bonfire with some other families on the Rez every Friday night." Seth must have sensed my slight panic, "Don't worry, they can't wait to meet you."
"Okay." It came out like a squeak.
"There's no need to be nervous," Aunt Sue put a comforting arm around my shoulder, "You're family. They just want to welcome you home."
I nodded but no words came out. I didn't like meeting new people, I wasn't good at it. I would sweat, my hands would get clammy, I would stutter, and trip over my own two feet.
"It'll be great, I promise," Seth vowed, "Now, come on, Jake will kill me if I don't get his car back to him soon."
I followed Seth wordlessly to the car. After a few short minutes, we pulled up to a small, one story house with an attachable garage.
"Ready?" She wondered.
"I guess." I mumbled, folding my arms across my chest.
Seth laughed, a big, booming laughed, that echoed off the trees as we stepped out of the car, "I don't know what you're so afraid of, we don't bite."
I gave him a dirty look, he gave me a lopsided grin.
"Just relax, Jake will love you." He threw his arm around my shoulder and led me into the garage, "Hey Jake! Brought your car back in piece just like you asked!" The first thing I saw when I entered the garage was a red, dingy, decrepit looking truck with a pair of tan legs underneath it, "Oh, hey Bella! I didn't know you were gonna be here! How are you?"
"Hey Seth," Her voice was quiet but she smiled at him, "The truck is having some problems and Jake offered to look at it for me."
"Don't you think it's time for a new truck?" Seth joked. Bella glared at him like this wasn't the first time she had had this conversation. He winked at her, "Here's your keys, Jake." Seth gently tossed the keys towards the ground and just when I thought they were gonna hit the cold pavement a hand reached out from underneath the car, grabbed them, and stuffed them into the pocket of a cut-off pair of shorts, "By the way, Bella, this is my cousin Scarlette. She just moved back to the La Push from Chicago. She's gonna be living with us now." I blushed at the life story Seth had just given Bella.
"Nice to meet you." She gave me a delicate smile.
"Nice to meet you, too." I all but whispered.
"Jake," Seth barked, "Get your ass out from under the truck and meet Scarlette."
Jake mumbled something in audible and reluctantly, it seemed, rolled out from under the car.
I realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt and I turned my head away from him before he caught me staring at his perfectly chiseled chest. I could feel a blush rolling across my cheeks.
"Hey, Scarlette." His voice was deeper than I was expecting.
I turned to face to him to be polite but was caught off guard by how tall he was. He stood almost a head taller than Seth and practically two feet taller than my five foot frame. My mouth dropped open slightly; I couldn't believe he could fit underneath the truck he was working on.
My eyes darted across the garage, "Hi." It came out an octave higher than normal. This was why I hated meeting new people.
"It's nice to meet you." He chuckled at my reaction to him which caused my eyes to finally meet his.
"It's nice to meet you, too." I said, embarrassed.
However, he didn't seem to be listening to me anymore. He was staring at me with this vacant, yet slightly adoring gaze. He seemed transfixed, like he couldn't move. I cocked my head to the side, hoping invoke some kind of reaction out of him, but he remained still.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Jake?" Seth gripped his shoulder, shaking him a little. Then, his eyes widened, "Oh my God, Jake, did you just-"
"Jacob." Bella's fragile voice broke through Seth's.
That invoked a reaction out of Jake. He jumped away from me and shook his head, almost as if he was clearing it.
When he finally met my gaze again his eyes were hard, angry, not the adoring ones he had only moments before.
"No," He growled, "Not now, not you."
"Excuse me?" I gasped.
"Jake." Seth's tone was warning.
"You've just ruined everything!" He roared. The tool he was holding in his right hand was suddenly hurdling towards the wall of the garage. I flinched when it left a dent. It was then that I noticed his shaking.
Tears were in my eyes before I could stop them, "What did I do?" My voice was barely audible.
"Cool it, Jake." Seth was in front of me, then, shielding me from Jake's murderous gaze.
"Jake, let's take a walk." Bella placed her small hand on Jake's forearm, which seemed to calm his shaking a little.
"Get out," He snarled at me. I recoiled at the harshness of his words, "Get out and don't ever come back here."
He didn't have to tell me twice. I was running out of the garage before he finished his sentence. I didn't know the direction I was heading in, but I pushed myself to just get away from Jacob. Although the farther I ran, the more pain I seemed to feel.
In the distance, I could vaguely hear Seth screaming my name.
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