Be ready to be dazzled!
Chapter One
"We're here Remy."
I stared out of the car window at our new home. A small yellow cottage, it looked like it belonged more in a Disney movie then it did in Forks, Washington. I resisted making a face and gave my mother a small smile.
"It's nice", I murmured.
My mother beamed at my words and preceded by rapidly talking about how I wouldn't regret moving, how I would learn to be happy here and make new friends. I merely grunted out something intelligible and slipped my ear phones back on, turning the volume a little bit louder. Getting out the car proved difficult – the temperature was at least 30 degrees Fahrenheit and each puff of breath seemed to momentarily solidify before my eyes before being blown away by the frigid wind. My mother, still incessantly chatting, seemed immediately at home amongst the snow and began freeing the large boxes from our car's confines. I allowed myself a smile at seeing her so excited for the first time since the divorce.
My mother had first discovered that my dad was cheating when his girl friend had called our home phone and slurred with hiccups interrupting her every now and then, "Josh, izzat you? Mm, come over, I wannsh youse. I wansh you to fuck me like youse did lash night."
It wasn't difficult to put two and two together.
When my father came home that night, my mom was deceptively calm. She had cooked dinner, just like she did every other night. They talked about their day, my mother giggling whenever my father made another sad attempt at mimicking his boss. Then he went to go throw out the trash, just like he did every other night.
My mother locked him out and promptly began throwing all his possessions out the second floor window, in between screaming obscenities at him. It only seemed fit that it rain, and so the skies did. While my father hollered and pleaded, my mother simply smiled, viciously slamming the window in the process. The next day she filed for divorce.
The actually course of the divorce took much longer than a dinner and an evening of rain. It took at least half a year; six months of watching my mother undergo heartbreak.
I was simply numb. She cried enough for the both of us as it was.
Los Angeles suddenly seemed too large for her and as a result, here we were in seemingly the middle of nowhere. I mindlessly kicked the snow with the tip of my boot. It was so white. I had seen snow before – in the TV and movie theaters. But actually seeing it in real life felt very, very different.
It felt cold.
I sniffed and rubbed my nose, almost positive that my entire face was flushed from the bitter air nipping at my skin.
"Rem, can you help me out here?" My mother's arms were trembling as she attempted to lift one of the large boxes. I quickly rushed over and together we shuffled towards the main door. It only took seven or eight steps, but by then my lungs were already on fire. Depositing the weight, my mother began rummaging through her bag for the keys while I shifted from one leg to another in a sad attempt to keep warm. So far it was not working.
"M-mom, hurry up."
Not very mature, but I was freezing here.
She finally found the keys and opened the wooden door with an eerie creek – another thing about my new home that belonged in a fairy tale. We didn't even bother picking up the box and instead pushed it in with our feet, leaving a wet trail of snow in the front foyer.
If the outside of the cottage looked charming, then the inside nearly had me gagging. Thick floral curtains framed the frosted windows, and the couches looked like something my grandmother would've thrown up. I nearly closed my eyes from the horror but managed to resist last minute. My mother took one look at my face and burst out laughing. She leaned against the wall, chortling and through tear stained eyes caught a glimpse of the wallpaper, which had numerous tiny fairies dressed in ridiculous costume. A fresh new wave of laughter had her clutching her stomach in pain and she managed out between wheezes, "I can't wait to see your room."
Huh, funny, I could.
Still, seeing my mom so happy, even if it was bordering hysterical, was a relief and I found myself giggling along. Soon we were both on the ground, crying whether from the sheer ridiculousness of the house or the bitter after math of the divorce I'm not sure. So immersed in our laughter, we didn't notice the knock of the door nor the door being opened by the knocker himself.
"Uh, you ladies alright?"
I was the first to recover, my neck snapping up so quickly that I immediately experienced whip lash. Wincing, I got up and blushed from being caught in such an embarrassing situation. My mother was still on the ground, shaking silently with tears streaming down her cheeks. Looking up, I caught eyes with the stranger and found myself flushing an even deeper red.
Once you lived in California, gorgeous quickly becomes something rather generic. But really, there was no other word to describe him except for just that – simply and utterly gorgeous.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, something I did whenever I was feeling particularly distressed. It didn't help that he was currently burning a hole through me with his intense gaze. Instead of feeling flattered by such a display of attention, I felt myself shying away.
Discomfiture was quickly becoming annoyance.
I cleared my throat and he seemed to realize that he was staring as he quickly looked away, running a hand through his shaggy hair, the black strands curling defiantly at the ends. By then my mom had gotten up, still slightly out of breath. She seemed to have noticed that we had a guest, and her eyes lightened with an understanding that I had yet to undergo.
"You must be Jacob!"
Jacob grinned ruefully and tucked one of his hands in his back jean pocket.
"Yeah, um, Sam said you might be needing some help unpacking. Didn't mean to interrupt your little laughter fest just then."
He was cute when he was bashful like that. Suddenly he looked away from my mother towards me again, and our eyes meet for a second. I quickly tore mine away and, feeling way more uncomfortable then the situation called for, excused myself. Nonchalantly, I headed for the stairs that would lead me towards my room. When I was out of sight, I speeded up my pace until I reached the top.
Closing the door behind me with a quiet click, I chased thoughts of Jacob away as I critically assessed my new room. It was small, much smaller than the room I had in Los Angeles. The walls were also adorned with wallpaper, but it wasn't as nauseatingly florid as the pattern downstairs. Instead it was a cream color with small vines of ivy decorating the sides. The floor was slightly dirty, but underneath the dust was a warm, almost chocolate, colored wood. There was one window, slightly jutting out so that there was a convenient place to sit. Luckily no flower curtains were to be seen. I sighed and settled on the floor cross legged, not minding the dust that rose.
Well. It really wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. My mother would surely be disappointed.
I hadn't noticed that Jacob had entered my room and it wasn't until he let out a quiet cough did I turn around, my heart thumping madly in my chest. We both stared at each other in silence.
"You're really tan."
I did not just blurt that out.
Jacob blushed and mumbled something about doing a lot of sports over the summer. Why was he embarrassed; I should be the one mortified. What a silly thing to say. But really, it was strange how tan he was. And even should he have been an outdoors type of person, which he looked, it was the middle of winter and I doubt he could have retained such a superb tan for that long. Even the Barbie dolls of my old school couldn't manage such a feat without the help of tanning booths. Still, I had made a fool out of myself enough and choose to stick with safer conversations.
"Uh, thanks for coming over to help us." I managed not to stutter despite the fact that he was doing that intense stare once again. It was unnerving, that resolute gaze being directed at me.
He didn't seem to have heard what I said and leaned forward, sniffing the air.
What? I resisted mimicking him and speculated whether I forgot to put on deodorant this morning. Then again I was wearing layer upon layer of clothing.
No longer did he seem to be holding reservations, and he was soon within touching distance of me. I tried not to shuffle away.
He was looking at me closely, his cheeks dimpling at my obvious uneasiness.
"Your name is Remy right?"
I settled for a nod, not entirely trusting my voice not to crack. I once again noticed his hair and how long it was, nearly tickling his chin. It made me wonder whether I should be embarrassed that my hair was only somewhat longer than his. Having too much hair always gave me a headache and I liked to keep my style simple.
"Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?"
And here I thought city boys were supposed to be the forward bunch. I felt my heart do a mad flutter and almost immediately afterwards mentally scolded myself for getting so flustered by a boy I just met.
"Why?"
He must have heard the wariness in my voice because he began laughing.
"You're not very friendly are you?"
"Well you're a bit too friendly", I retorted.
Jacob grinned wolfishly, taking a step closer towards me. I stood my ground, staring defiantly up at him, but inside I was a quivering mess. What an intimidating boy! We stared at each other, our breaths mingling, and I idly wondered whether he playing with me. It seemed reasonable, ask the new girl out then ditch her. Something his friends would goad him into doing, and then howl with laughter about afterwards. I felt anger simmering in my blood.
I just wanted to settle into my disgustingly cutesy cottage – was that too much to ask for?
Letting out an irritated sigh, I stepped back and then proceeded to walk around him and slammed the door after me. Walking down the stairs I allowed myself a smug smile at the memory of his mystified expression.
Writing this was much more enjoyable then I had originally assumed it would be. Which is always a good sign :)
Some tips - or straight out flattery - is always much appreciated.