Chapter 2
I woke up the next day and looked at the alarm clock on Leah's nightstand. 9:30. Rubbing my eyes I realized Leah wasn't next to me anymore. I decided to get up and make my way to the kitchen to rustle up some breakfast. I found Seth sitting on one of the bar stools by the counter. Someone was waiting for me to make their breakfast.
"Morning Seth." I greeted him "Have you eaten yet?"
"No." He smiled hopefully at me.
"I'm thinking french toast sounds good. You want to help?" I began rifling through their cabinets to find the necessary ingredients. Cinnamon-check. Bread-check. Vanilla and Nutmeg-check. Now to find some eggs and milk.
"Where's Lee?" I asked moving over to the refrigerator.
"I'm not sure. Sam came to pick her up early this morning for some stupid date thing." He said, getting up off his stool to come and inspect what I was doing. "He was acting really weird when he came into the house. He looked like someone died or something."
"Sounds like he's been acting weird a lot." I responded, trying to keep my tone level. "Here, you have to whisk the ingredients together in a bowl with a fork like this." I demonstrated the wrist movement and then gave the fork to Seth for him to try. He was slow at first but eventually got it down.
"Yea. A month back or so he disappeared for a week or two straight. Lee was worried out of her mind. Sam's mom didn't even know where he'd been and then he just showed up like nothing had happened, although he was a lot bigger and moodier." Seth told me while beating the eggs and milk.
"That's definitely odd." What on earth could cause such a transformation? Had he gotten into drugs? Alcohol? "Next you have to heat up the pan." I grabbed a flat skillet from the rack and turned the knob that controlled the heat. I set the pan down on the burner and waited
"Yea no one's really sure what's going on with Sam. Him and Leah have been fighting a lot lately. She thinks he's hiding something from her and that really bothers her. I think they used to tell each other everything."
"They'll work it out. Ok so now you have to coat the bread in our mixture. Mix it quickly again. There you go. So you just take the fork and gently set the bread in it. Then turn it over. And now I'm going to put it onto the pan. Pretty easy huh?"
"Yea I guess so." Seth said
"So what about you Seth. Do you have any hot dates for today? Going to leave me all by myself?" I asked, elbowing him playfully
"Nah, no plans. I was thinking we could maybe go to First Beach around noon. That's where a lot of kids hang out. Can I flip it now?" I handed him the spatula in response and he flipped the piece over.
"That sounds nice. I'll pack us a little lunch."
Seth and I made quick work of the french toast. When we'd finished cooking it we took it into the livingroom and parked ourselves in front of the TV. The rest of the morning was spent lounging on the couch eating occasional bites of breakfast and talking about the stupid stuff on TV.
When it was close to noon I began assembling sandwiches and snacks for us to bring to the beach. I wasn't sure how long we'd be out there so I wanted to be sure I had enough food and drink. When I finished gathering supplies Seth and I made our way to the beach. It looked exactly like I remembered. Stones and driftwood were scattered across the tan grass and the small strip of sand by the water. The beach was empty except for a couple with their backs to us that seemed to be having a very serious discussion.
"It's Lee and Sam." Seth said "Let's go say hi." He began running towards the pair. I reached out to hold him back but I was too slow.
"Wait Seth! I don't th-" I hissed after him
Leah turned to face us at the sound of my voice, her arms wrapped around her midsection, tears streaming down her face. She looked miserable, her eyes red and swollen. They'd obviously been here a while.
"Lee-lee I'm sorry." I heard Sam say, gently touching her shoulder. She shook his hand off and glared at him.
"Don't call me that!" She screamed "Go to hell Sam." Sobbing, she turned and ran down the beach, leaving us in the dust.
"Lee wait!" Seth shouted. He glanced at Sam and then ran after his distraught sister.
I was left standing a few feet away from Sam, feeling extremely uncomfortable. The two of us stood there for a long time in silence. Neither willing to break it. Finally I gathered enough courage to speak.
"What happened?" I asked, uncomfortably shifting the picnic basket between my hands, avoiding eye contact.
"I don't see how that's really any of your business." Sam replied, straightening and staring at me intensely.
"It is if you're upsetting my cousin you asshole!" I glared back at him, crossing my arms angrily across my chest.
"Whatever." Rolling his eyes he turned from me. "I don't have time for this. I need to go talk to Harry."
He began walking in the direction that Seth and I had come from. Not wanting to follow directly behind him I found a spot on the beach and settled the picnic basket I'd packed beside me. I watched the gulls chase one another around for a while until enough time had passed. I made my way home but neither Seth or Leah was there. I felt anxious and upset so I did what I always do when I feel this way. I began baking. Sifting flour, measuring ingredients, mixing. There's something cathartic about it. My hands began the familiar motions to create chocolate chip cookies, Leah's favorite.
After I finished baking a few dozen cookies I checked the clock and realized Harry and Sue would be home in an hour, give or take a few minutes. I decided to begin dinner for everyone. Something else to keep my mind occupied. I was worried about Leah and Seth. I hadn't seen either of them over the last several hours.
At last I heard the front door open. I walked into the living room to greet whoever had come in. It was Leah and she was alone. Her eyes were still swollen from all of the crying, but the tears were gone, at least for now.
"Hey." I said simply "Are you ok?"
"No." She returned. "I'm not ok."
I walked over to her and put my arms around her. She in turn grabbed me tightly and began crying again.
"I just can't believe it." She sniffled "We've been friends since middle school, and our relationship just seemed like the next step. I thought he was happy. I was so happy I thought my heart was going to burst when we were together. God I'm such an idiot."
"Leah, honey, you're not making any sense. What happened?" I guided her towards the couch.
"Do you know why I thought he was taking me to First Beach this morning?"
"Why?" I asked, rubbing her back gently
"I thought he was going to propose. He looked so nervous when he came up to the house, I thought for sure today was going to be the day. Instead we got to the beach and he started with we need to talk. I knew something was up. Then I thought he was going to tell me where he's been disappearing to lately so I asked him what was up. He told me that he couldn't be my boyfriend anymore. I wanted to know why he was saying this. I thought it might be because he's in some sort of trouble. With all of the disappearances and the way he's been acting I thought... Well I don't know exactly what I thought but I told him he needed to tell me what the hell was going on. He wouldn't say, just kept telling me that he wanted us to stay close and be friends. Then you and Seth showed up."
"I'm sorry we were there. I didn't know that's where he'd taken you. Seth said he took you on some sort of date so I thought you guys went to Forks or something to get breakfast." I pulled back to brush the hair out of her face. "Speaking of Seth, where is he?"
"I yelled at him. I'm such a horrible sister. I told him that nothing he could say would make me feel better so he went off somewhere on his own. He was just trying to make me feel better and I bit his head off."
"Do you think he's ok on his own?"
"Yea he's probably fine. He usually wanders around on his own a lot. He should be back some time soon. Can I ask you something though? I went looking for Seth after I'd yelled at him and I saw you talking to Sam on the beach. What was that about?" Leah asked, her eyes boring into mine.
"Well." I started, unsure of how to respond. Should I tell her the truth or lie so that she isn't even more upset? "We didn't really say much. He was actually kind of rude to me. Told me he didn't have time "for this" whatever that means. He said he needed to talk to your dad and then left."
"That's so weird. Emily I don't know what's wrong but I'm really worried about him."
"How about you go and take a bath before supper. I made lasagna."
"You always know how to make me feel better." She hugged me tightly, told me I was the best cousin a girl could ask for, and made her way up the stairs to the bathroom. A few minutes later I heard the water running through the pipes hinting that she'd followed my suggestion. I returned to the meal that I had been working on, prepping a salad to accompany the pasta.
"Hello?" I heard a voice from the front door
I walked back into the living room to greet my aunt and uncle.
"Hi aunt Sue." I kissed her on the cheek in greeting
"Hello dear. How was your day?" Sue asked, stepping in the door with Harry close on her heels.
"Umm. Fine." I said giving my uncle a quick hug. When I pulled back from him he gave me a strange look, holding me for a second longer than necessary as if sizing me up. "I made lasagna for dinner. Leah's had a bit of a rough day. She's upstairs taking a bath right now. Seth hasn't come home yet and I'm a bit worried about him."
"He'll turn up." Harry said, moving towards the scent of the cooking food.
"Since you've already made dinner for us, I'll set the table. How much longer until it's ready Emily?" Sue inquired
"I think about 10 minutes tops. 5 until it's out but it needs a few minutes to set before we can cut into it."
Sue and I got to work getting everything ready for dinner while Harry went upstairs to change out of his work clothes. Once everyone was ready we settled around the dinner table, waiting for Leah to join us.
"Sorry I'm late. I just needed a few more minutes in the tub." Leah said sitting down in the empty chair on my right. I squeezed her hand in response.
"Yes Emily said that something had happened today. What's wrong baby?" Sue questioned
A tear dripped down Leah's face.
"Sam broke up with me today and I have no idea why. I thought things had been getting better lately. Ever since he disappeared a few months back things haven't been quite normal but I really thought that we were getting back on the right track." She sobbed. "We've never broken up before."
I placed an arm around her shoulders and she nuzzled her face into my neck. What the hell was Sam's problem?
"Well clearly he's not worth your time if he's going to be this stupid. He'll regret it." I murmured into her ear. She sniffed loudly.
"I don't think I can eat right now after all. Sorry Em. I just can't." She got up and ran upstairs to her bedroom.
An awkward silence fell over the table and I caught Harry giving me another strange glance. Was there something wrong with the way I was dressed? What's his deal?
"Well Emily." Harry cleared his throat. "I don't know if you were looking for a job, but the High School is looking for someone to teach some summer courses for the community on traditional crafts. I know that you are not Quileute, but the Makah are our close neighbors and often our traditional ways are similar to your ways. I thought that you might be interested in the position. I know how talented you are in basket-making and weaving."
This actually sounded like the perfect opportunity for me. I did love working in the traditional art forms and this would give me a chance to make a little money.
"That was very thoughtful of you Harry. I think that does sound like a good fit for me. How do I apply for the position?"
"Just stop over at the tribal school tomorrow some time and fill out the application. If you happen to have any samples of your work you should bring them along. That might help them to see your abilities."
"You would be a wonderful teacher Emily." Sue smiled at me, grabbing another piece of garlic toast.
"I think I'll do that!" I felt excited at the prospect of trying something new. "Wait, does it matter that I don't have my college degree? I know teachers usually have to have some sort of degree."
"On tribal lands, each tribe decides the qualifications necessary. In this case it doesn't matter because it's a community class. They don't expect someone that has a teaching degree. They just need someone who's talented in these artforms that would be capable of working with others to improve their own skills."
"Well I'm not sure I'll be qualified enough but it's worth trying. Is the school offering any other summer courses for the community?" I asked
"Yes there will be a few tribal history courses taught by one of the high school teachers and then a folklore class taught by one of the tribal council members although we're not sure who at the present moment."
A few minutes passed in silence which was interrupted by Seth crashing through the front door. From the sounds of it he was still upset about his fight with Leah earlier.
"We're eating dinner. Your plate's in the kitchen." I called out to him
"Not hungry." I heard him shout back while darting up to his own bedroom upstairs.
We quickly finished dinner. Harry offered to do dishes since Sue and I had gotten everything ready for dinner. I wasn't about to complain. I absolutely despised washing dishes by hand and they didn't have a dishwasher. I put away the remaining lasagna and decided to bring Leah and Seth a plate to their rooms. Hopefully they'd feel better so that they could eat something. A kid Seth's age is hardly ever not hungry and Leah really needed to be sure she took care of herself.
I knocked on Seth's door first.
"Seth, I brought you a plate of food." I stood patiently at the outside of his door.
The door cracked open and Seth's big brown eyes greeted me through the slit in the door.
"Thanks. I was getting kind of hungry but I didn't want to sit with Leah. She's in a horrible mood."
"Well I think it's understandable that she's upset but she shouldn't have taken it out on you. Here. Make sure to bring your plate down when you've finished. Dirty dishes in your room are gross." I offered him the plate and he grabbed it out of my hands
"Thanks Emily. Smells good."
"I'm going to go bring some to your sister. We should watch a movie later tonight."
"Ok!" He brightened at this "What do you want to watch?"
"I don't know. We can figure it out later. I'll meet you in the living room around 8?"
"Ok."
I made my way down the hall with my second plate of lasagna and knocked on Leah's door.
"Lee honey, I brought you some dinner." Silence "You need to eat Leah. Don't let yourself waste away because of a stupid boy."
"Come in." I heard her call through the door, her voice still thick with tears.
I pushed open the door and entered to find her laying on her bed face down, crying. The poor thing. I can't imagine what she's feeling right now. She looked completely devastated.
"I'm going to sit here until I see you eat this entire piece Lee." I sat down next to her and held out the plate
She moaned loudly at this but still sat up and reached for the plate. She tentatively took a bite, chewing it slowly.
"It's good." She grumbled
"Yea. Do you want to talk about it?" I asked gently
"No. I want to talk about anything but that."
"Your dad may have found a job for me." I tried, hoping it would distract her.
"That's great." She said hollowly "Where?"
"Apparently they're hiring a traditional arts teacher for some community classes over the summer. Your dad thought I might like to do that as I do a lot of weaving and basketry."
"That's great Em. You'd be really good at that." She wiped her eye on her right shoulder and took another bite
"Yea I think I would really like it. I don't know how much it pays but it would be a fun job and I could always get another if I needed to."
"Mmm." She replied
"Seth and I are going to watch a movie in a bit. Would you like to join us?"
"I don't know if I can right now." She said taking another, bigger, bite. "I think I just need some time to think about everything that's happened today. Sam said that he would call me later tonight."
"Well that's good. He's important to you, at least maybe the two of you could stay friends through this."
"Yea. He just texted me a few minutes ago asking if he could call me later. I told him I had to think about it. I don't know if I'm ready to talk but I don't want to completely lose him."
"Well you can hear him out and see what he's got to say." I noticed that she was done eating her lasagna. Mission accomplished.
"I'll take your plate down with me now so you can call him. Let me know how it goes!" I gave her a quick side hug and exited the room with the empty plate. I went into the kitchen and then dropped the empty plate into the sink that Harry was working in.
The rest of the night was spent watching movies with Seth, enjoying my time with my little cousin.