Imprinted
'I have always loved him but he had never noticed me. So why now? Why would he pick me? Of all the people in the whole world he chose me!'
I looked out across the bay; the sun was setting casting a golden glow over the sea. There was a gentle breeze rustling the trees behind us and the deep blue waves were lapping on the sandy shore. He leaned over to brush a piece of hair out of my eyes "cold ?" he asked as I shivered at the warm touch of his hand on my face. I looked up into his deep dark brown eyes as he put his jacket around my shoulders. Oh how I loved him, he moved his face towards me I could feel and taste his warm breath as he got closer. Then just before he kissed me he whispered my name, "Kim."
"Kim, Kim KIM!" I looked up at the black board; I was back in biology with the rain hammering on the windows and Mr Clark sitting at his desk marking work. "Day dreaming again?" My annoying but best friend Jenny was sitting next to me. "Let me guess it wouldn't have been about Jared would it." She asked. "No of course not" I replied blushing how could I lie when things like that betrayed me. Of course Jen knew I was in love with Jared she knew everything about me as I did her. We have been best friends forever like sisters. "You're too good for him Kim I don't know why you waste your time on a jerk like him?" she told me as she checked her lipstick in a hand held mirror. "You can talk glaming yourself up for Nick again." Just then the bell rang for the end of the day. While I packed up my books she was still checking herself in the mirror. "He is my boyfriend and he loves this new lipstick especially the strawberry taste." She told me flashing a big grin before making sure her short auburn hair was perfect just like the rest of her. "You look beautiful Jen come on he will be waiting for you." On the way out of the classroom I tripped over something and landed on my knees, I could feel the blood rushing to my face. "Hey look Jared there's your girlfriend!" someone sneered as the rest burst out laughing. My face felt like it was on fire and I could feel the tears filling up. I heard him laugh as I grabbed my stuff and hurried out of the class room as the first of the tears started to spill over.
"Kim wait up you know I can't run in these shoes." The sound of her tottering behind me as the tears started to roll down my face. The sound of laughing was growing dimmer and I rushed along the corridor. It was getting more and more crowded as I reached my locker, just as Jen caught up with me. "Kimmy don't get upset." I wiped away the tears with my hand "everybody knows? Did YOU tell someone?" I managed to get out in between sobs. "Oh Kimmy, of cause not, but it is so obvious. You stare at him all the time, you mention him as much as you can and always go the long way round to geography just so you can catch him on the way to gym class and just look at your folder." Jen said putting her arm around my shoulder as I looked down at what I was holding, my folder with Jared's name scrawled all over it. "Is it THAT obvious? I am SUCH a looser." I wished at that moment that I could just curl up and die. "Its not that bad I mean you know Kyle yea well he actually stole Charlottes hair brush out of her bag so he can hold it at night and stoke the stands of hair I mean you are not that obsessive yet, are you?" she said giving me a little nudge. Some how Jen could always make me feel a little better. "Come on Nick will give us a lift home," she said straining her neck over the crowded hallway to see if Nick was on his way. "You know I think I'll walk, I look a mess and my grandmother will only ask questions I don't want to answer." I said grabbing my coat out of my locker and looking at the red streaks under my eyes in the mirror Jen had made me put up. "It's still raining Kim and you know you shouldn't be walking around by the woods alone some hikers have gone missing you know". Jen said with a worried look in her eyes. "Don't worry I WILL be fine no bear will get me and the rain will make me feel better and I give you a call when I get home. I promise" Just then I saw Nick walking down the corridor I swear it was like Moses the sea of students parted as he and 'his crew' strutted towards us. Jen couldn't help giving out a sigh, they were a great couple and he was not like the typical Jock once you got to know him. "Fine but make sure you do call and don't forget about tomorrow," "oh yea... I will come round about 9.30 see you tomorrow. Bye Nick." I called over my shoulder as he reached us." Bye Kim, don't you want a …" but he was cut off no doubt by Jens lips. I nearly ran to the doors wanting to feel the cool damp air on my hot face.
Finally I was out of school. Dam! I had forgotten about tomorrow, prom dress shopping with Jen. She is making me go with one of Nicks cousins form Seattle who is here for that weekend. I don't mind shopping with Jen but it will be an all day trip and I didn't even want to go to prom especially with some random guy, I mean if I was going with …No I can't think about him. Oh my gosh how stupid did I look today, hopefully everyone will have forgotten about it by Monday. I looked at the huge grey clouds in the sky "It looks like it will rain all night, great." I said to myself as I walked along the road. I had not noticed how close I had got to the forest. I have always loved the forest going for walks and exploring. It reminded me of my mother and father we would always go for day trips in the forests around La Push when we would come and visit my grandparents. That was before the car crash. My parents had moved from La Push when they got married. They never wanted to move back my mother said they were fed up of the rain, so they ended up in California. We only came for visits around Christmas and a week or so in the summer, but they always seemed happy when they were here. My dad knew all these amazing places that were so beautiful and trees that we could climb and hide in. our lives were perfect that was until when I was eight and we came to visit. My grandfather and dad got in a huge row about something and we left. It was raining which is not unusual but the roads must have been wet. When I came round in the hospital a few days later my grandparents told me my parents had died. The car had gone over the cliff by La Push beach; somehow I had escaped before the car went over the edge with the two of them inside. My mother was burred in forks cemetery but they never found my fathers body. Since the crash 9 years ago I have lived with my grandparents. I tried not to think about them to much but today walking past the forest got me thinking about them again and it made me wish I could have one more day with them exploring the forest. A happy family again, just one more day.
Now the forest was a dark and eyrie place. Even more so with a killer bear on the loose. Even my grandfather has warned me to stay away for a bit, so there must be something. I looked out into the trees I could hear the faint rustling of the leaves in the wind. What was that? I'm sure I just saw something move! No it must just be a squirrel or something. I shoved my hands in my pockets and carried on walking along the path. Just then a tree branch snapped I turned my head to see where the sound came from. I saw two glittering eyes surrounded by brown fur staring at me. This was no bear I started to back away slowly. "Please please don't hurt me." I was shaking, tears welling up. I started to move a little quicker. My bag fell to the floor. The grey eyes were still looking at me "I just want to go home." I cried to myself. I closed my eyes wanting the scene in front of me to disappear. I heard a soft growl coming from the animal. Slowly I opened my eyes not sure what I was expecting to see? Was this great animal about to attack me. But when I forced myself to open my eyes fully it had gone. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. I grabbed my bag and ran as fast as I could away from there. My legs felt like they were going to give out on me. The mud on the side of the road was so slippery a few times I felt my self go I put my hands out to stop me. By the time I reached the end of my road my hands were covered in scratches, blood and mud, my jeans were soaked up to my knees and were so heavy. "Great I look so much worse know I should have had a lift." I said as I saw my reflection in the window of the door.
"Where have you been!" my grandfathers voice bellowed it was loud even behind the glass of the front door. "Jennifer has rung wanting to know if you have got home. That was over half an hour ago. She said something about you walking home. How many times have I told you not to walk round the woods at the moment Kim? Just look at you, what have you been doing? Your grandmother has been sick with worry" "I…I saw one." The words came out in a whisper. "What are you talking about?" My grandfather walked over and put his hands on my shoulder. "A bear. I think… but it was too big for a bear and it looked more like a… a wolf. A GIANT wolf!" "I think that your imagination is getting away with you Kimberly. Come on lets get you inside, warm and dry and you will feel better." My grandfather guided me into the house "you must be mistaken." "I know what saw Granddad." He turned to look at me "That is enough! I don't want to hear about it anymore. It will upset your grandmother. Ok Kimberly." "Fine." I said tuning to go into the house. He had this strange look in his eyes.
Something is not right I thought as I locked the bath room door. Why doesn't he believe me? And why would what I saw upset my Gran? I turned the shower on to heat up. I looked in the mirror my face was red and blotchy and my hair was a mess. "A great end to a perfect day!" I said to myself as I started to untangle my hair with the comb. Hopefully I will look better after I have had a shower and washed my hair. I undressed and stepped into the warm water.
I did feel much better when I got out of the shower. I picked up my dirty clothes and placed them in to the laundry basket on the landing. Then I went into my bedroom. My grandparent's house was not huge but was bigger than the other houses on the reservation, one of the few with an upstairs. There was a large kitchen dinning room downstairs which had a sitting room at the back with huge windows overlooking La Push beach. Also off to the left are my grandparent's bedroom and bathroom, as well as small bedroom which my grandfather now uses as a study. He is writing a book about the historical stories of the reservation and has been working on it for as long as I can remember. It is the one place I am not aloud in, even my grandmother doesn't disturb him while he is working. When he was younger my grandfather worked as a builder so he decided to turn the attic space into a bedroom with a small shower room when my father was about fourteen. I have seen some pictures form when he was that age and it looked like he had a growth spurt so he need more space. Now it was my room and I loved it especially the views the two huge windows overlooked La Push bay and the other one looked into the woods. I spent hours sitting on the window seats reading or sketching.
I quickly changed into a clean pair of jeans and a t- shirt. Then I sat down on my bed to brush my hair. It was dark brown and was down to my waist straight which curls at the end. I tried talking my grandmother into letting me cut it, but she wouldn't, telling me that our hair is part of who we are and should be proud of it. I didn't mind it really but sometimes it would be nice to have a change like Jenny. Her hair was always changing length and colour and maybe if I could then Jared might notice me. I left it loose to dry and picked up my school bag I had a history project that needed to be in by the end of the week and had hardly started it. It should be easy though 'the legends of our tribe', which my grandfather has told me the stories for years. After my parents death it was the only thing that would help me get to sleep. My favourite stories were about the cold ones, apparently as the stories go my great grandfather knew of some who were found hunting on our land and would only feed off animals and not humans. Whenever a cold one was close by it would cause members of the tribe to turn into wolves. When I was growing up I uses to look for people who could be 'cold ones' anyone new in the town or visiting I would be convinced that they could be one. But now I know they are just old scary stories used to keep children away from strangers a bit like little red riding hood and Hansel and Gretel nothing but fairy stories. But that is what Mr West wants for our history project. I got out my note pad and pen and sat down on the window seat overlooking the forest and started to write.
It started to get dark; I put down my note pad at stood up to stretch. I looked out of the window it was still raining lightly. As I was looking out into the forest I saw a car pull up it was Mr Atera, Mr Clearwater and Mr Black, I had forgotten that it was a council meeting to night, grandfather must be having it here. I was just about to go downstairs to see if my grandmother needed any help with dinner when I saw someone emerge form the forest. He was tall and muscular and was only wearing a pair of cut-off jeans. He looked familiar. I looked closely at him, he seemed to be walking towards our house and waved to the three men getting out of the car. "It can't be" I whispered to myself I looked at him again it definitely was him "Sam?" I ran downstairs to see him to check that it really was him. Sam was my cousin our mothers were sisters, his father wasn't round much so he liked to spend time with my dad …when he was alive. He had been missing for a few weeks nobody knew where he was his mom or even his girlfriend Leah. But since he came home he was different changed some how. He was always happy and joking around but now he was moody and seemed angry all the time.
