Melanie woke up the next morning to the sound of nothing. The sun came in through her window and gently woke her up. She was so used to the sounds of a big city that the sound of nothing was so strange to her. She took her time showing and getting ready for the day. The summer warmth made her pick out a pair of jeans shorts and a tank top. She slipped on her converse, grabbed her sketch book and went to find Jacob. Peeking in his room, she saw he was still asleep so she let him be.
The brunette walked down the hall and into the kitchen. Billy was sipping a cup of coffee and skimming through the newspaper.
"Watcha doing, Melbell?" he asked using an old nickname. Melanie smiled and gestured to her sketchbook.
"I was going to go for a walk and find something to draw. I want to explore La Push again. I'll be back later," Melanie explained, walking to the door.
"Take an apple with you!" he called. Melanie turned and catch the pink apple her dad tossed to her. Saying a quick thanks, Melanie bit into it and closed the front door behind her. It was still early, and it seemed like everyone was still snoozing. Melanie found a dirt path a little ways from her house and decided to take it.
After a few minutes of walking through the trees, Melanie sat down not caring about the dirt and opened her sketchbook. She looked around and started drawing the trees around her. She added in all the small flowers and insects her saw. It was a nice change to draw something other than buildings or cars. Chicago didn't have much greenery...
Melanie was about halfway done with the drawing when she was interrupted.
"You're good," he mumbled. Melanie looked over and shoulder and saw Paul watching her draw. She wanted to sign in relief that it was at least someone her brother knew and not a complete stranger.
"Jesus, you scared me. Paul? What are you doing here?" she asked, feeling that strange pull in her chest again. He shrugged his shoulders but made himself comfy next to Melanie on the ground.
"I was bored and went on a walk but saw you. Just decided to see what you were doing," he grumbled. Embry was right about him being a kid at heart. Melanie held a smile back while she watched Paul look all around them.
"How about you stay still and I draw you?" Paul raised an eyebrow but did so anyway. He leaned against a big rock and crossed his arms over his chest which was covered by a white, cotton v-neck. He stared off into space, and Melanie flipped to a new page and began to draw him.
"This could take a while," she informed him. He let out an airy chuckle; it's not like he had anywhere else to be today.
"So where did you move from? I kind of missed all that yesterday. Sorry, by the way, for being an ass." He apologized. Melanie grinned and worked on the rough outline of his body.
"It's fine. We all have those days. And I'm from Chicago." He was about to turn his head to look at her, but she stopped him.
"No, don't move or I'll have to start over," she threatened. Paul chuckled again but obeyed her orders. It was hard for him to not want to please her. They talked about everything. He's an only child, and he only has his mom left because his dad died a few years back. He'd always wanted to be a doctor, but he couldn't afford to go to any good colleges to get his degree so now he's working as a mechanic.
"Well, you already know my mom died because Jacob is my brother. I moved to Chicago with my aunt because I wanted to escape La Push. I felt suffocated at the time, and I wanted it to all go away so I just left. It was annoying how many people wanted to tell me they were sorry for my loss... I came back home for many reasons, one being I missed everyone. I'm going to U Dub in the fall for graphic design. I didn't know whether to major in that or art education, but I'm leaning more towards the first." Melanie put the finishing touches on the portrait of Paul and smiled.
"Okay, all done," she said and turned it around to show him. He stretched his long arms and crawled over to take a look at it.
"That's awesome. It looks just like me."
"Well that is the point of a portrait," Melanie laughed, causing Paul to playfully roll his eyes. She closed the book and set it down on a patch of grass next to her. The two were suddenly quiet, not knowing what else to talk about. Melanie had the sudden urge to reach out to Paul, but she didn't want it to come off awkward.
"I don't want to freak you out, but I really just want to touch you," Melanie blurted out. Paul barked a laugh and reached for her hand. He gracefully intertwined their fingers. Melanie blushed prettily but quickly became concerned. His skin was burning up!
"You're burning up! Are you sick?" She asked, taking her hand away and feeling his forehead. It felt like he was on fire.
"I've always been like that. My body temperature is abnormal I guess," he joked. Melanie calmed back down and took his word for it. He didn't seem to be concerned ro show any kind of symptoms of being sick.
"Mel! Melanie!" Said girl groaned and stood up. Jacob was yelling for her and it sounded like he was getting closer. Paul stood up too and handed her the sketch book and pencil.
"I'm over here!" She shouted back. Jacob appeared in the small clearing looking worried.
"I woke up and Dad said you left like 5 hours ago," he scolded her. Melanie's irritation spiked; she was older than him. She shouldn't be getting on to her for leaving the house. Jacob noticed Paul standing next to her, and it sounded like he growled at him. Melanie was caught off guard; was he wanting to sound like an animal now?
"I told you not to go near him, Mel," Jake said in a dark voice. Shivers ran out Melanie's spine at the sound and ended up stepping a little closer to Paul in the process. It wasn't intentional, but Jacob's voice and demeanor were scaring her.
"And I told you not to get my sister involved in any of this!" Jacob yelled at Paul. Paul started trembling again like how Melanie saw him doing yesterday. She wanted to reach out to him again, but stopped when Paul quickly retaliated to Jacob.
"Do you think I can control this?! It's not like I can just avoid her forever! Just wait until you imprint and then try to stay away from that girl!" Paul yelled right back at the younger male. What the hell are they talking about?! Melanie was getting fed up with all the secrets. They obviously weren't telling her something, and she was clearly involved in whatever it was.
"She's my sister!"
"She's my imprint!" Melanie slowly stepped away from both of the shaking boys. It looked like they wanted to rip each other apart, and she didn't want to be in the middle when it happened. Two arms wrapped around her from behind, and she turned to see Embry holding her. Jared, Quil, and Sam were running towards Jacob and Paul. Embry pulled Melanie away from the scene and back towards her house.
"Embry! What is going on here?!" She cried, feeling scared and upset.
"We'll tell you soon, but for now just go inside and try to relax." He begged her. She nodded and clutched onto her sketch book tightly before walking inside and going straight to her room. She decided the best thing to do was get her mind off of what was happening outside. Embry said they would tell her what was going on so she just needed to sit tight and wait.
Melanie grabbed one of her empty black frames and put Paul's portrait in it. Then she hung it up on the wall with the rest of her artwork. It did look nice, one of her best.
"Melanie? Are you home?" She heard her dad call down the hall.
"Yeah Dad, it's me," she called back not taking her eyes off of Paul's portrait.
"Okay, Jacob is staying out tonight so he won't be back home today." She didn't bother responding; of course he wouldn't come back and explain himself. Melanie gently touched Paul's face on the paper and traced his jaw line all the way down to his chest. What was it about him that kept drawing her to him? She pulled her hand away and mentally scolded herself. She was touching his picture for Heaven's sake. Sighing, she fell backwards onto her bed and tried to think about what else there was to do in this little town.
"Dad!" Melanie yelled and jumped up. She ran down the hall and met Billy halfway. He looked panicked like there was some kind of emergency.
"Where's First Beach?" She asked, feeling giddy.
"Uh just past Sam's house, through the trees." He answered. Melanie thanked him and ran back to her room to get ready. She threw on a light blue two piece and covered it with the clothes she had on earlier. She put her sunglasses on the top of her head and put her sketchbook and towel into a bag. Melanie told Billy goodbye and left the house, heading for the beach. She could barely remember what it looked like. The last time she was there was when her mom was still alive.
Melanie made it there without any problems and watched as the waves crashed against the shore and were slowly sucked back into the water. She set her bag down and took off her clothes. Smiling, she ran into the water and shivered. It was a little cold but not freezing. She sunk into the water and let her body get used to the chilly temperature. Floating on her back, she looked up and stared at the cloudless, blue sky.
"Melanie!" The brunette stood up in the water and saw Jacob standing on the shore. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his eyes were focused on the ground. She walked back onto the sand and wrapped her towel around herself. Jacob didn't say anything so she broke the silence first.
"What?" She asked still irritated with him. She didn't understand why he was so mad that she was hanging out with Paul.
"I'm sorry, but I'm just really protective of you. You left when I was little and now that you're back, I'm scared you might leave me again," he admitted. She sighed, not able to stay angry with him, and leaned over to wrap her arms around his neck.
"I love you, Jake, and I wouldn't leave you again, promise." They pinky swore and he smiled at her.
"But tell me, why are you mad at Paul for hanging out with me?" His smile disappeared in an instant. He ran one his hand through his short black hair and made it look messy like he just got out of bed.
"Paul is a womanizer, and I just didn't want you two to get close because I don't want him to hurt you."
"Jake, I've handled a lot of guys worse than Paul. Hell, I broke up with my last boyfriend because I walked in on him and our cousin, Lola. Trust me, Paul is an angel so far compared to Dylan." Jacob smiled at her a little and looked away again.
"So, can I see Paul again?" she asked.
"Why do youwant to see him so bad?" he asked staring straight into her brown eyes.
"I don't really know. I get this feeling around him where I feel like I need to touch him, and then there's this pull in my chest whenever he comes around. Is there something wrong with me?" Melanie asked, a look of dread on her face like she just found out that she was a terminal illness. Jacob groaned and let his head fall a little.
"No, there's nothing wrong with you, and now it seems like it's useless to try to keep you away from him."
A/N: Chapter two! Thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews. It's just a few, but I love getting the notifications and seeing that some people are enjoying it. Keep it up! It helps me get the chapters out faster!