It's been a long time coming but I've finally got up the strength to do this. I've been toying around with the idea for months, writing and rewriting and I feel as if this was the best decision. If you guys don't like it , tell me and I'll scrap this story for good. This is Howl, rewritten and hopefully better.
It has been two months since I received the news and I still hadn't come to terms with his death. It was like being hit in the face with a brick, it stunned and shocked me. My nerves froze and I became numb to everything in the world. But like a light switch, it changed. My numbness was replaced with burning rage and confusion, fueled by the suspicion surrounding his death. I knew it was a lie, all of it. A hunting accident, my ass. If it was simply a hunting accident, how coincidental was that Harry died too.
I knew they were lying, something just wasn't right. The timing, the place, the accident; all of it was wrong. But why would they lie to me? What could they be covering up? What was so secretive that they would lie to me of all people?
So that's why I'm making this trip, I have to know the real story. I need to now what happened to my father.
This was probably the longest trip I've ever made. MapQuest said 16 hours but 3 gas stops, food and sleep breaks had but the total well over a day. I should've just taken a freaking plane for this crap. Hell, if I had ran the whole way I would've got here earlier. But I'm sure that'll raise too many questions.
I reached over to the passenger seat to scour through the groceries I was smart enough to pick up. I smiled once my hand landed on what I was searching for...Sun Chips. Oh these babies were a freaking godsend to me. I would eat any flavor but the harvest cheddar was too damn good for words. I opened them with one hand and sat the bag between my legs so I could focus back on the road. It wasn't like I would crash anyway; my reflexes were like a fucking cat on steroids.
As my eyes turned back up to the road, my heart stopped in my chest. There standing in the middle of the road was a woman. Her skin was pale as death contrasting dramatically with her waist-length red hair. She stared back at me like she could see right into my soul and her lips curled back into a vicious smile. My foot slammed hard on the brakes to keep from running her over, my tires screeched loudly in protest. And if I wasn't gripping the steering wheel for dear life, I would've flown right through my windshield.
Picking my jaw off the dash and ungluing my ass from the seat, I ran out to see if I had somehow hit the girl. There was nothing there. No sign that she even was there at all. She had disappeared entirely. And I didn't believe in ghosts, so either I'm finally going crazy or that woman had actually been there and somehow had escaped the wrath of my car. It wasn't possible for someone to move that fast, to disappear into then air without a trace like that.
I brushed the whole incident off with a dry laugh and blamed it on my lack of sleep. But I looked around just in case some shit was about to pop out the bushes. I'm paranoid as hell.
Walking back to my car, I was trying to overlook this little hallucination and focus on the reason why I'm back in Washington. Father, lies, cover-up, family. A chilly wind crept out of the trees, rustling my already unruly hair. I raised my hand to brush it out of my face when it hit me. My stomach heaved and I felt my nerves straighten in a heated rush down my spine. I knew the smell. Not entirely but I could identify it anywhere. The sickly sweet smell that tore my nostrils wide open and put my senses on high alert.
No wonder the chick could move so goddamn well. She was a vampire.
Damn! Not now. I was already here for something important. I didn't have time to play Buffy: Wolf style. I revved my engine as I sped down the highway, my Sun Chips and hunger all forgotten. I couldn't freaking believe it. Here in the most boring, uneventful corner of the States I run into a vampire. What the hell could a vampire be doing up here anyway, taking rainfall surveys?
I had to calm down before I busted a blood vessel or something. I slowed my speed once the first few buildings of La Push came into view but my pulse, abnormally fast, pumped heat all over my body. I wanted to do it right here and now. My wolf was growling and snapping inside and I once again pressed the gas to the floor. It would be better once I finally made it home. I would be able to hold it in and calm myself down once I saw my Sue, Leah and Seth.
But once night fell I would have to get out of this body and let loose of all this energy inside me. I had to look for that vampire. And though I wasn't a killer, my wolf was sure as hell one. She wanted to tear her teeth into granite flesh and rip that female limb from limb. Hear the tormented cries of that blood sucker until they died out into utter silence. I pounded my fist across the steering wheel and hissed. All this damn talk about killing wasn't helping at all.
When I turned into the driveway of my childhood home, the vampire was all forgotten. In a matter of seconds I had pushed it from my mind and tried to concentrate on the present. I smiled seeing the familiar small brick house. This was the one place in the world that didn't seem to be corrupted because within those four walls the best memories of my life were created. I didn't have to hide who I was here; I could shed off my layers and be who I really was.
My eyes flickered to a movement out the corner of my eye. An older man with long black hair that laid upon his shoulders in all its glossy glory smiled at me. Wrinkles appeared around his dark eyes more so than I remember, but I instantly knew who he was. I would know Billy Black anywhere, even if I was blindfolded and deaf. My eyes fleeted to his wheelchair and I cringed. I hated seeing my dad's best friend like that. I could still remember when he walked around, running after Jake when he got to close to an incoming tide.
"You've sprouted up like a weed, Naomi. How old are you now? 30." Billy smiled once I mustered up enough guts to get out the jeep. I smiled and switched my bag of groceries to my hip.
"Yeah thirty sounds about right. Give or take a few years." I tapped my chin like I really was thinking about my age. Sometimes I did fell a little old.
"Well this is one heck of a welcome committee. I guess they really didn't want me back up here." Billy was the only one out here and mind you I felt a little neglected. But hell I didn't much care, Billy and I could have a ball all by ourselves. That's how much I loved the guy.
"You know that's not true. Sue's been driving herself crazy trying to put your surprise party together." Billy laughed and rolled up behind as I neared the front door.
"Not much of surprise anymore, huh?" I quirked an eyebrow at him, though I was mentally praising him for telling me about this "party" before hand. I really didn't care for surprises. It was just one of those things. I rather you'd tell me "Hey I'm throwing you a little shindig this weekend", rather than just springing one on me.
"Oh, I figured I'd just give you a heads up. My gift to you." I shook my head with a chuckle and unlocked the door to let us in. I stepped into the foyer and immediately felt at home. I took in the dark wood floors and colorful tribal rugs. The smell was just like I remembered. Spicy potpourri, a bone-dry fireplace and a hint of sawdust. Nostalgia hit my like a freaking runaway train. My clouded thoughts faded as Billy rolled in behind me.
"Sue cleaned up a bit for you, but everything's the same." His voice was low and he looked around the place same as me. "How've you been holding up?"
"Now Billy..." I really didn't want to talk about this now. He cut me off with a frown and his russet hand rose. "Naomi, you don't have to pretend with me. You're allowed to grieve in your own way but you don't have to put up a show like all is fine. We are here for you." His wrinkled hand squeezed mine and I held on before I carefully pulled back. His hand was colder than mine, like all normal people.
"How's Sue?" I tried to change the route of this conversation and headed to put up my food.
"She's strong. If she's hurting she isn't letting on that she is. Leah and Seth are coping in their own way." The way he said that last part made me pause after placing a box of cereal in the cabinet. In their own way. That didn't sound very good. I just hope they were doing better than me. I took to the bottle for three days straight and didn't emerge from my room in over a week. In theory it should have alleviated some of my pain but I just ended up feeling shittier than before. Change the subject. Now.
"Oh..." I said, starting to put up the rest of my food. It seemed like I could eat food faster than I could put it away. "So when is this lil' party going down?" I turned around to lean against the counter with my arms on either side of me.
Billy chuckled and glanced over at me with an amused expression. "Whenever you show up, doll."
….
After Billy told me that Sue was having the party at her house, I decided we could walk over. Partly because driving the relatively short distance was stupid and a waste of gas (I do care about the environment), but also because walking put me at ease. It was the closest I could get to running at this point so I had to deal. Billy didn't seem to mind either. We chit chatted the whole way, gotten in a few good laughs at Jacob's expense. Billy told me he hadn't changed much since when I stopped coming up on summer breaks. I wanted to see the little mop headed boy and how well he turned out.
I remembered when he followed me and Leah around like a freaking lost puppy. He was 2 years younger than us and Leah saw him as an aggravation but put up with him. His sisters were too old to play with him, so when Quil and Embry couldn't play he was stuck with us. I actually like the boy, and I knew Leah did too, though she'd never admit it.
"You sure there's no way to get out of this?" I asked as we walked up the drive of my aunt's house. Billy shook his head and chuckled. "Afraid not. Sue would kill you and me both if we tried escaping."
"We can take her." I said seriously. Billy only cracked up more, I missed his laugh.
"Nah, I don't think I can agree to that."
I sighed and ringed the doorbell; I could already hear about 30 voices behind the door. Why, Jesus? Whyyyy?
I heard quick footsteps to the door, they were light and excited. I knew it was Sue. Who else could it be that was this excited to see me, a person that damn near abandoned this place for four years? I counted the seconds off in my head and planted a smile on my face. 5, 4, 3, 2…
"Naomi?" Sue looked at me with wide eyes then I felt her arms wrap around me. A genuine smile crossed my face as hugged her back, I was sure I was near choking her and she didn't seem to notice or care. I couldn't believe I even joked about backing out. I needed to be her with my family; it was only fair to them and me.
"Hey Aunt Sue." I pulled back from my arms, remembering how hot I felt to normal humans. It was sad that I couldn't even be around my family without still hiding from them. The height could be explained, "Oh just a growth spurt", but I couldn't explain the heat. Who the hell runs a fever in June?
"Gosh... you've grown so much." She stepped back and took me in. I was a little wary of what she might be seeing. My hair was surely in its unruly state, but I had somewhat tamed it in a bun. My clothes were a different subject all together. My cropped tank top was showing more skin than what was appropriate; my old high-waist black jeans were a little tight showing how much weight I had gained in my ass. And I was sure my face looked like shit too.
I took Sue in too. Though her face was smiling and she seemed happy to see me, you can tell she was hurting inside. Maybe no one else saw but I could, there were dark circles under her eyes that were invisible to the human eye. And her shoulders slumped down a bit, not in defeat but more in restlessness.
"Did you find the house alright? You didn't have any trouble did you?" Sue went straight into her mothering role. Like I really needed another one of those. My mom and Sue were like the same person when it came to their children and other people's children for that matter. Worry warts to the death of them, I tell you. Sometimes I thought they were the siblings and not my dad and Sue.
"Sue, the girl hasn't been gone that long." Billy wheeled into the house with me following. I laughed as she swatted his shoulder with a dish towel she'd been holding.
"Oh hold on there lady. Don't make me get out this chair." Billy said in a playful tone which only made Sue laugh. "You're just a bunch of talk old man." Sue threw back with her hands on her hips. They both went in the direction of the kitchen, I was tempted to follow them. It smelled so freaking good in here; all I wanted to do was eat till my stomach burst.
"The kids are in the living room. Go on and say hi." Sue said as she saw me taking steps toward the archway that led to the kitchen. Damn it.
"Oh… Sue?" I tried stuffing my hands in my pockets but my jeans were too fucking tight. I left them limply at my sides.
"Yeah, hun?"
"I'm sorry about Uncle Harry." I mustered up enough strength to look her in the eyes. She stared back at me before sadly nodding.
"We all are."