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RUBY

2. Beginnings

For a few more minutes, I kept my eyes shut. I was aware that I was lying down on a couch, wrapped in what felt like ten blankets. The only thing I could really concentrate on was the warm feeling throughout my body. I was about to drift back off to sleep, but then the events on the mountainside came back to me and I sat up with a gasp, my eyes wide.

As the blood rushed to my head, I started getting really nervous as I realized that I didn't recognise my surroundings. I had no idea where I was.

I got off the unfamiliar couch I was on, and looked around. I was in a dimly lit living room that seemed very homely. I stared around me for a few more minutes. How had I gotten here? This wasn't my house; there was no smell of new paint here.

"Oh you're awake! Are you feeling alright?"

I whipped around to see who had spoken. It was a copper-skinned woman with long black hair, and she seemed just a few years older than me. Maybe about twenty-five? Her beauty was really striking, though I only saw one half of her face as her right side was covered in shadow. I looked at her carefully. She wasn't the one who had taken me to the mountainside. I remembered her very clearly, and this was definitely not the same woman… if that had even been real. But should I answer her? She was a stranger…

The woman saw my hesitation and seemed to understand it, because she began to speak more.

"My name's Emily, and I think somehow you got lost on the mountainside. Come here into the kitchen and tell us what you remember," she said kindly, and as she turned to face me full on I saw she had three scars running down the right side of her face from her hairline to her chin, and running down to her right arm. I was luckily able to stop myself from staring at the monstrous scars that made the right side of her mouth into a permanent scowl, and nodded at her. After all, what else was I going to do? And she seemed friendly…

I followed her into the small kitchen, and there sat an auburn skinned man waiting in a wheelchair. He had a heavy build, and his cheeks spilled over his jaw. He looked a bit older than my father… then I remembered; I had no idea where I was.

"Um sorry… Would you be able to tell me where I am?" I asked in a small voice.

The lady named Emily smiled again, as if relieved I was able to talk. "We're in La Push. Do you live in this area?"

"I live in Forks, we just moved there last night." La Push, I'd heard of that place before. It wasn't too far from Forks, which was good because I wasn't sure how long I'd been gone. What time was it now? I'd sneak a look around the kitchen to hopefully find a clock when these two people weren't staring intently at me.

"Well, don't worry. We'll be able to find your home no problem," the man said, and he and Emily both chuckled. His throaty laugh mixed with her delicate one seemed to mix in with the small house perfectly, as if it belonged there.

Then he said in his low gravelly voice, "I'm Billy Black."

He offered me his big hand, and as I reached my hand forward, I got a better look at his face without being rude about it. His brown twinkling eyes made me think I'd seen them before, just slightly different. If I'd known him better, I would've asked about them. Too bad I didn't.

I did, however, remember my parents talking about a Billy Black on our way over to Forks. They'd said how he was very well known throughout La Push and had a lot to do with the La Push Council, and I think my dad had already met him through his company work. I assumed that would mean my parents wouldn't have a problem with me shaking a well-known man's hand.

"Ruby Grant," I said as I gave a small smile back at his benevolent face.

As my hand was lost inside his, the warmth of his skin made me feel welcome. I felt like I could trust these people.

"So Ruby," Billy began after Emily had offered me a seat, which I had taken gladly. I was still tired from lying down, funnily enough. "Would you like to tell us what actually happened?"

What had actually happened? I hadn't really thought over all of it until now. And no… I didn't think I did want to tell them what had happened, since it didn't even make sense to me. But I could tell them what I had seen without making it sound too crazy. Well, I could try.

I took a deep breath before I began. Then I didn't really know where to start. When I admitted this, Emily told me to start with the beginning: why I'd been on the mountainside.

"Well, since we moved here last night, I didn't really get to see what the area looked like. So, I figured I would start with around my house. I started going into the forest because we live just on the outskirts, and then I…"

I paused here. I thought it was because I wanted to see Billy and Emily's reaction, but I realized it was because of fear. Fear for what I thought had happened…and fear for my sanity. An image of dark mahogany hair flashed across my eyes, causing me to shiver. At that moment, I knew I couldn't continue. Though these people were very kind, I was pretty sure they'd think I was completely mad, and after only one day I'd be classified as an insane person around here. They waited for me to go on. I did what I had to.

"Well I don't really remember much to be honest," I said, dropping my eyes to the floor so it would be harder to read the truth. I couldn't tell them what I'd seen. "The last thing I can remember is being on a mountainside."

It was silent for a few seconds until Billy said, "Well, I think you might have blacked out. But don't you worry. We'll be able to keep an eye on you."

When I looked at him questioningly, he only winked and said, "I know your dad."

Suddenly the door opened. Standing there was a tall boy. He had beautifully tanned skin, which perfectly matched his short black hair. For some reason, I felt that I had seen him before.

I couldn't really move, though I was aware my mouth was slightly ajar in awe. The boy was so beautiful in such a unique way. He was also… staring at me very deeply. I couldn't think of a word to describe the expression, but it was giving my stomach butterflies. I felt my cheeks going red, so I looked down quickly. Was he not wearing a shirt?

The boy stayed in the doorway, as if not sure what to do. But still I felt his intense gaze on me. I wanted to look at him.

A few seconds later, I looked at Billy to try and see the boy from the corner of my eye, and he was still looking at me. Then Billy cleared his throat, and I jumped. I realized it had been completely silent until Billy had made a sound.

"Ruby, this is my son, Jacob," Billy said in an introductory tone. I saw his eyes twinkling again, as if trying to suppress a smile.

Jacob walked slowly around the table, his eyes still on me, and came to hold his enormous hand out to me. He was in fact, not wearing a shirt. His skin looked evenly coloured, and his abs…I could feel my face going red. I internally screamed at myself to look away. Instead, I looked up into his eyes. They were the eyes I had been reminded of in Billy's. Had we met before? As I shook his hand, I nearly gasped aloud. His hand was so hot; I was surprised steam wasn't rising from it. All that gave away my shock was only shown as a little twitch of an eyebrow, which I quickly covered with a small smile. He started to smile, too, even as I gently pulled my hand back so he would let go, though it felt rather good on my chilling hands.

Emily began talking, with a huge grin on her face. "Jake, why don't you take Ruby home? Billy and I need to… uh, well… I-I need to get back to Sam and see how he's doing, and Billy needs to… go into town, so I'll drop him off."

Emily seemed to be making excuses. She wasn't very good at it. Why would she need to make excuses? Whatever the reason, her suggestion made me feel like my stomach was doing back flips, which was possibly because of the chance to know this beautiful boy or because of teenage insecurities. I decided it was a little bit of both.

I saw from my peripheral vision both Billy and his son rolling their eyes at the same time. The corner of my mouth twitched into a smile as I looked down yet again.

"Right, well, you two go along. Jake will be able to find your house, don't worry Ruby," Billy said.

I slowly stood up; I was a little nervous about falling. Jacob was now standing beside me, and I guessed it wasn't just his hands that were abnormally high in temperature; I could feel the heat radiating from his body.

He let me go first to the door, and before I opened it I smiled gratefully at both Emily and Billy as I said goodbye. They nodded back at me kindly, and then looked at the boy and I got the feeling that they all knew something I didn't. But I didn't want to intrude, so I went out the door.

As I stepped out into the cold day, I started to get nervous. This was going to be a little bit awkward. I didn't know Jacob and he didn't know me.