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After wandering through the depths of La Push for forty-five minutes, I finally found Aunt Sue's house. She was standing on the porch, almost as if she had yet to move, giving me a sad smile. It was her smile that made me realize that Seth had most likely told her about my encounter with Jake.
"He wasn't that good of a guy." I spat when I walked up the steps, my anger suddenly bubbling to the surface, "He was a jerk. A horrible, terrible, rude jerk who had no right to speak to me the way he did! I didn't even do anything but say hello to him and now I'm never allowed back to his house. What is his problem?" Aunt Sue didn't say anything, she just let me rant, "If I never see that boy again it'll be too soon!"
When I was finished, she led me into the house. I followed her into the kitchen where there were two cups of tea waiting for us on the table.
"Seth?" I questioned.
"He was worried about you but he stayed at Jacob's to yell at him, I believe." She gestured for me to sit down, "I know this is the last thing you want to hear right, but Jacob really is a good guy. He's just having…a rough patch right now. A lot has happened to him in these past few months, and, well, he's still trying to cope, he's just not very good at controlling his anger."
"Well, I don't care what has happened or what he's going through, nothing gives him the right to talk to anyone like that. You should've seen the way he looked at me, Aunt Sue, he was just so, so cruel. I've never had someone look at me with such hatred."
"You're right, and I promise you, he will face the consequences from the way he spoke to you. I'm just asking you to not give up on him just yet. Give him the chance to make things right, I think you'll find out soon enough that you're happier with Jacob in your life. It takes a lot more energy to hate someone than it does to care about them. The bonfire starts in the two hours, you might want to get some rest before we go." She rose from the table, her cup of tea in her hands, "Your room is down the hall, the last one on the right." She disappeared leaving me alone with her lingering words.
XXX
I found it was a lot easier to fall asleep than I originally thought. I was sleeping within minutes of my head hitting the pillow, the day's events finally catching up with me. I slept dreamlessly for an hour before getting up to get ready for tonight.
I showered quickly in the bathroom I was now sharing with Seth and Leah. I assumed Seth was still with Jake because he had yet to come home and I had no clue where Leah had been all day.
I let my hair fall in its natural waves as I applied a light amount of makeup. Then, I dressed in a simple yellow V-neck and a pair of shorts. When I was finally finished, it was time to go.
Aunt Sue drove the two of us to La Push beach, telling me that everyone was going to meet us there. She had made three huge bowls of potato salad as well as three bowls of pasta salad. She was worried it wasn't enough, I was convinced it was too much.
The beach was in full swing by the time we arrived. I could see the fire licking at the crowd around it. I could feel my hands starting to clam up.
"Are you alright, dear?"
"I didn't realize that there would be this many people here." I whispered.
Aunt Sue put a comforting hand on my knee, "Everything will be okay."
I took a deep breath and climbed out of the car. I jumped when I realized there were two guys standing in front of the car. Like Jacob had been earlier, they were tall, shirtless, and wearing cut-off shorts. The only difference between him and them was that they were smiling at me.
"You must be Scarlette," One of them sauntered over to me and held his hand out, "The names Ateara," He smirked, "Quil Ateara."
I smiled slightly as I shook his hand, hoping he wouldn't notice how clammy it was. I flinched at how hot his hand was; it was a heat I had never experienced before. I pulled away before he left a burn mark.
The other boy snorted out of a laugh, "Smooth," he moved towards us, "I'm Embry Call. We came to help you and Sue carry the food to the beach." He gave me a genuine smile, it helped me relax a little.
"I'm Scarlette Clearwater." I shook his hand quickly, trying to cover up the pain I felt at touching him, "The food is in the back seat."
The two of them managed to carry all the bowls without my help and it was then that I noticed Aunt Sue was already at the beach. She winked when she caught me glaring.
"How do you like La Push so far?" Embry asked as I walked between him and Quil.
"Today hasn't been the highlight of my life," I told him, "But La Push is my home and I'm glad to be back."
"Oh yeah, we heard about what happened with Jake. Don't let him bother you, he always been a dick." Quil said nonchalantly.
I stopped walking which caused Embry and Quil to look at me with questioning glances.
"What's wrong?" Embry wondered.
"Does everyone know what happened?" I groaned. Having to meet everyone for the first time was embarrassing enough, I didn't need the Jacob incidence looming over me too. I contemplated turning back.
"Well, yeah," Quil said. I could tell he regretted bringing Jacob up, "But don't worry, no one will say anything to you about it."
I noticed Embry make eye connect with one of the guys standing around the fire. Even from a distance, I could tell that he was taller than everyone else at the bonfire. I could sense authority radiating off of him, like he was the ringleader of everyone. He nodded at Embry.
"No one wants to embarrass you," Embry said, almost as if he was reading my mind, "We just want to get to know you. How old are you?"
We started walking again. I was actually starting to feel somewhat comfortable around the two of them. If everyone else turned out to be this nice then maybe, just maybe, tonight wasn't going to be so bad.
"Seventeen. You guys?"
"Eighteen." They said together.
"Where did you move from?" Quil fired off the next question.
"Near Chicago."
"Did you like it there?" Embry continued.
"It was okay, but I'm more of a small town girl," I explained, "I've been begging my mom for years to let me move back here."
"What made her finally agree?" Quil again.
"Embry! Quil! Let the girl breathe!" Someone barked.
"We're just trying to get to know the girl, Sam." Quil said with a smile on his face.
"The girl has a name, you know," A female voice cut in. She appeared behind Sam who had turned out to be the one Embry had been nodding at a minute ago, "Scarlette, right?"
I could only nod. It was rude, I knew it was, I knew I shouldn't have been staring, but I couldn't help to look at the three long, prominent, red scars that turned half her face into a permanent grimace. I stared until Sam cleared his throat.
"Sorry!" I cried, blushing crimson. Emily smiled which made her look extraordinary beautiful, "Yes, I'm Scarlette, Seth and Leah's cousin."
"I'm Emily," She didn't seem bothered by my staring. I assumed she was used to it, "I'm Seth and Leah's cousin from the Makah reservation, it's so nice to finally meet you. Seth has been talking about you coming for weeks now." I could distinctly remember Leah talking about her.
At the mention of his name, Seth popped up behind Emily, "Scarlette, hey, are you okay?"
I was then met with the sympathetic stares of Seth, Sam, Emily, Embry, and Quil.
"I'm fine," I said curtly. I turned my attention back to Emily, "It's nice to meet you too."
She seemed to sense that I was uncomfortable so she said, "Let me introduce you to everyone else."
I smiled gratefully at her as she linked her arm with mine.
"What did I say?" I vaguely heard Seth mumble as one of the guys—I was pretty sure it was Embry—smacked him in the back of the head.
"Don't let them get to you," She whispered as she led him to different group of guys, "They're boys, they really don't know anything."
I laughed. It was easy to tell that Emily was a genuinely nice person. It was hard to be uncomfortable around her.
"These are the rest of the guys," She told me when we stopped next to a group of guys playing foot, "Hey boys, come meet Scarlette!"
I was amazed to see how exactly they seemed to listen to her. They dropped the football and gave her their full attention.
"What's up, Emily?" One of them asked.
"This is Seth and Leah's cousin, Scarlette, she just moved back into town," She told them, "Scarlette, this is Brady and Collin," There were the youngest people I had met so far, "Jared," He smiled at me, "and Paul." He wore an annoyed expression, I assumed it was because we had interrupted his game.
"Aren't you the girl that Jake-" Paul began to say before I finally lost it.
"Yes! I am the girl that Jacob yelled at earlier the today!" I could tell that I had everyone's attention even if I couldn't see them all, "I am the girl that he took one look at and decided he couldn't stand! Now, I know all of you know what happened and I'm sure you all think that Jacob is this great person, but you'll have to excuse if I think he's an ass and don't want to talk about him anymore! So, please, I'm begging you, stop bringing him up." I was breathing heavy by the time I finished my rant. At first no one said anything, but after a few seconds Paul's face split into a grin.
"Damn girl!" He walked over to me and threw his arm around my shoulders, "I'm impressed, I didn't there could be such a pistol in such a small body. Even if Jake was an ass earlier, he's damn lucky to have met you today. I almost wish I had met you first."
I realized that everyone at this point was smiling at me. A few people were even laughing.
"You are going to fit in just fine around here with an attitude like that." Embry laughed.
After a few more of the guys cheered me on after my little rant, I was feeling a lot more comfortable. Seth and Aunt Sue were right, they were extremely welcoming people.
After meeting all the boys, I met Jared's girlfriend Kim, Emily's niece Claire who seemed rather attached to Quil to my surprise, Quil's grandfather, Old Quil, and Jacob's father, Billy.
"Sorry about calling Jacob an ass," I blushed sheepishly, embarrassment crawling its way back into the pit of my stomach.
"Nonsense," Billy shrugged it off, "From what I've heard, he was an ass. And trust me, I know from experience how difficult the boy can be. I apologize for any pain he caused and I can promise you, he'll have me to deal with when he gets home."
I smiled, Billy seemed easy to get along with. I couldn't believe he and Jacob were from the same family tree.
"Thank you, I appreciate it."
Billy winked at me, "You can always come to me when that boy of mine is being thick-headed. I'll straighten him out for you. Now, go enjoy the evening with your friends."
I didn't have the heart to tell him that I never wanted to speak to his son again, but I smiled when he said the word friends.
I walked back over to the bonfire where everyone was roasting marshmallows and hotdogs. I sat between Embry and Quil, and watched in amazement as the boys devoured every scrap of food available. I spent a good hour talking and getting to know everyone; I couldn't remember the last time I felt this comfortable or laughed this much. Leah had finally shown up wearing a scowl on her face. I tried talking to her but she only glared at me in response; Seth told me it wasn't worth the time so I left her alone. The night had turned out to be so fun that Jacob was almost completely erased from my mind.
Almost.
Embry and I were arguing over who could have the last marshmallow when Paul's anger voice sliced through every conversation.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." He snapped as he rose to his feet.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Seriously?" Jared groaned, "Not this again."
"He should know better by now." Quil chimed in.
Seth emitted a small growl.
"What's going on?" I turned to Embry for the answer.
He gently grabbed my hand as he pulled me to my feet. He was glaring at something off in the distance that I couldn't see, "Jake's here."
"What?" It suddenly felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. I couldn't face him twice in one day, "I have to get out of here."
"Scarlette." Embry's face softened.
"I can't be around him again, Embry. I can only take so much cruelness in one day." I whispered.
"You're not going anywhere," Sam said, authority in his voice, "He's going to behave or he's going to be the one leaving."
I didn't move.
Paul and Embry shifted so that they were on either side of me, shielding me slightly, when Jacob came into view.
It wasn't until he was illuminated by the fire that I noticed that Bella was with him. A jealous sensation bubbled its way into my stomach at the sight of her. There was slight part of me that wanted to dislike her, hate her almost.
"What are you doing, Jake?" Paul growled, "You know the rules."
"Screw the rules." Jacob bit back, "I'm not hurting anyone."
"Are you sure about that?" Jared countered.
That was when Jacob noticed I was there. His eyes narrowed at the sight of me.
"What is she doing here?" He demanded.
"The bonfire is for her." Quil said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"She shouldn't be here." Jacob snarled, "I don't want her here."
"That isn't for you to decide," Sam stepped in, "She's family now, and she's welcome wherever we are."
"So she's welcome, but Bella isn't?" I noticed he was starting to shake again.
"Bella isn't family." Embry spoke up while shooting Bella an apologetic gaze.
"She could be, if you just gave her a chance." Jacob snapped. Bella looked uncomfortable by the direction the conversation had taken, but I really didn't care.
"Maybe I should go." She said. I hoped she would.
"I'll go with you." Jacob said. He laced his fingers with hers and there was a stab at my heart.
I almost didn't want him to go.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked before I could stop myself. Everyone looked shocked that I spoke, "What could I have done to make you hate me so much?" He didn't turn to look at me. I was getting sick of this bullshit, "Dammit, Jacob, if you're gonna be so cruel, I deserve to know why."
He turned to me his eyes blazing. His lip was pulled back exposing his teeth. He looked terrifying and I almost backed done, "You took away my freewill."
I couldn't move as he stormed away with Bella.
