Chapter 2 - Monsters of La Push

Chapter summary: The Swan family visits La Push, and Bella makes a weird discovery.


"Think you're warm enough, Bells?" Charlie asked, arching a brow at her choice of clothing. They were sitting outside in Bella's truck, and he was about to show her how to drive it. She was swaddled in his old down jacket, which she'd insisted on wearing while her coat dried. He pointed at the sky, "the sun is even out today."

"It was 90 degrees when I left Phoenix, dad," Bella grumbled and gestured emphatically at the white mist that trickled out of her mouth as she spoke.

"Suit yourself." Charlie shrugged and started the car. It was loud, and Bella wondered why she'd thought that this rusty orange beast could be remotely inconspicuous.

She still loved it.

"Alright, you need to double pump the clutch to shift the gears. To put it in reverse, you pull it towards you - like this - and up." Charlie demonstrated and looked over at Bella to see if she was listening.

"Yes," she said with a nod, straightening to attention.

"First gear, pull it towards you and down. Second gear, just let it fall into neutral and then push it straight up. Third gear, same but push it down," Charlie continued. Bella tried to memorize everything but blinked when he asked her if she was ready to change seats.

"Can you drive for now? I want to see how you do it." She wasn't prepared to make a fool of herself in front of their neighbors. Word traveled fast in small towns, and Bella did not want to back into Mrs. Geller's prized begonias and be known as the Chief's incompetent daughter. Better to do it someplace where nobody would recognize them, which was across county borders in Fork's case.

"You can drive us home," Charlie agreed and put the truck in reverse. They pulled out of the drive and were on their way. It was a twenty-minute drive to La Push, and Bella cranked up the heater when her fingers turned numb, ignoring Charlies mumbled protest of it not being that cold.

They drove onto the highway that ran through Forks, past the Tillicum Park, and over the Calawah River before they turned onto the La Push Road. Bella eyed the modern lodges that framed the road. They all had gravel driveways and manicured lawns that marked the perimeter to the unkempt forest.

Most of the traffic lay towards Forks and soon they were on a quiet road once they were past the gas station. Driving along the endless stretch of country road with her dad felt soothing. Bella swore she saw a herd of elks at one point, but they vanished into the trees when they heard the thundering of their truck. They passed small resorts and crossed the Bogachiel River, to be greeted by the sign that welcomed them into La Push. Bella caught a glimpse of the sea through the trees. Charlie knew the way, and Bella was bummed when he turned off the main road before they could see the First Beach. She hadn't seen it in years. They reached the red house of the Black's residence, and Charlie parked next to Billy's truck.

"Hey, Charlie, Bella," Billy said when he opened the door after Charlie knocked. He backed out of the doorway. "Come on in."

Bella wiped her shoes on the welcoming mat. She could hear the sound of sports commentary coming from somewhere inside the house.

"You watching the game?" Charlie asked, hanging his jacket up and rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"You know it," Billy laughed and beckoned them to the living room. Baseball was playing on the screen, but Bella didn't recognize any of the teams, which wasn't surprising considering that she didn't even know the rules of the game. Charlie had tried to explain them to her on multiple occasions, but Bella forgot them straight away.

"What's the score?" Charlie asked, accepting the can of beer Billy handed him and took a seat on the couch. Bella looked around and noticed that Jacob wasn't there. She'd preferred talking to him than suffer through an entire baseball game with her dad and Billy.

"Is Jacob out in the garage?" she asked.

"No, the boys came round a while ago, and he ran off with them," Billy said apologetically, and Bella wondered if she would find him outside. She decided that she would walk to the First Beach and look for the tide pools Jacob had shown her when they were kids.

"Uhm, is it okay if I go for a walk?"

"Sure, thing Bells," Charlie said absently, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Just don't wander off too far. There are wolves in these parts of the woods," Billy said with a strange smile like he was sharing a private joke. Bella wondered what could be funny about there being wolves in the woods.

"I'll stick to the trail," she reassured them.

Bella walked down a trail in the woods that started by the side of Billy's yard. She took extra care in watching where she tread, knowing that with her luck she would earn herself a trip to the hospital by tripping over a root and bashing her head on a rock. Luckily, that didn't happen, but she did step on a twig and somehow managed to trip when her other foot got trapped underneath it.

"What the hell," Bella breathed.

She'd fallen in a crouched position, her knees sank into the mud as her hand gripped dead pine needles. Next to her hand was a giant footprint. At first, she'd thought it was a bear's due to its size, but it was distinctly canine. It was much too large to be a wolf. When she stood up and compared it to her own footprint, she saw that it was even bigger than her boots. No freaking way! There were no animals that large in Washington and Bella decided that it must be some prank — like those fake Bigfoot tracks.

Still, Bella wasn't going to risk the chance of meeting a mutant Wolverine and backtracked to walk beside the road her and Charlie had driven on their way to Billy's. She was glad she'd worn a hoodie underneath Charlie's coat because the wind picked up on the beach. Watching the ebb and flow of the sea hitting the sandy beach was soothing, and Bella took a deep breath to calm her nerves, still feeling spooked about the strange animal tracks.

She was tempted to take a seat on one of the large driftwoods that were scattered around the shore, but they were still wet from yesterday's rain. Instead, she tracked along the side of the beach, nodding to a family sitting around a bonfire as she passed. She didn't have a direction in mind and paused to watch the foamy waves eat the footprints she'd left in the sand in slow sessions.

The faint laughter traveled with the wind and Bella looked up at the cliffs to see three men egg each other to jump over the edge. They were only wearing shorts and Bella shivered in disbelief. She was still cold despite wearing three layers and thick winter boots! The water must be freezing as well.

"Go on!" one of the yelled but Bella barely heard him over the cresting waves. The guy the other two had been pushing took off at a sudden run and vaulted himself off the cliff with a yip. Bella's heart was in her throat, and she almost took off at a run into the sea, convinced that he was about to break his skull. His laughter mixed in with his scream of jubilation as he somersaulted in mid-air as he plummeted. He hardly made a splash when he hit the water.

The other two cheered, jumping around with their hands in the air. Bella sighed with relief. Now that the threat of terror was over, she could admit that it looked kind of fun. She wondered if Jacob would ever jump with her.

"Hi!" Someone whispered in her ear and pinched her waist from behind. Bella jumped in fright with an ear-splitting scream that echoed across the bay, and she fell backward onto the sand. Her attacker, who she now recognized, roared with laughter.

"Jacob Black, you almost gave me a heart attack!" she complained, thrusting her hands to her chest. She heard laughter coming from behind them and looked over her shoulder to see two boys laughing at her. They were Jacob's age and had the same long silken hair.

"See ya, Jake," they called from the sidewalk, waving to him as they left.

"Bye, guys!" Jacob called before turning back to Bella. "Sorry, Bells. I didn't think you'd be that scared," he laughed, completely unrepentant as he pulled her up. "You sure have a good pair of lungs on you. I'm surprised I didn't go deaf with your hollering!"

"You're such an asshole!" Bella cried as Jacob stuck his finger in his ear and gave it a shake. She pushed him, and he pretended to stumble, holding onto his chest as Bella had done before. She dusted the sand off her jeans and pretended to ignore him, face heating from embarrassment at having made a fool of herself in front of his friends.

Jacob was still laughing at her, and she looked away. It hadn't been that funny. At least that's what her heart insisted — it was beating wildly in her chest, but Bella knew that it was those giant paw prints putting her on edge. She looked up at the cliffs and was disappointed to see that there was only one guy left. The other must have already jumped, and she'd missed it. It didn't take her long to spot the two in the sea.

The boy who'd jumped first had just splashed the other in the face and was now making a break for it. He was the stronger swimmer and the second one spat water out of his mouth, shouting something as he gave chase. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she was sure it wasn't pretty. Bella smiled when the faster one made it onto dry land and immediately sprinted off towards the cliffs. The other wasn't far behind, but he'd made the mistake of swimming straight to shore and had a much farther distance to run.

He looked their way, and Bella flushed when her eyes accidentally made contact with him. He was handsome with broad-shouldered and tanned skin, his wet hair was sticking up wildly as he ran his hands through it. Bella was amazed to see that he wasn't shivering in the cold.

He froze when their eyes met, the smile slipping off his face, and Bella was taken aback when his eyes widened in unmistakable horror. Her stomach plummeted with humiliation at having been caught staring. She seemed to have provoked him in some way, but he was too far away to make out his exact expression. Bella couldn't tear her eyes from his as adrenaline coursed through her veins, urging her to take action but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what she was supposed to do.

It was in equal parts terrifying and intriguing.

It wasn't until an even taller man swam up to the beach and joined him, that she could look away. The man put his hand on his shoulder and lent down to speak urgently in his ear, worry etched across his face as he spared Bella a glance. The younger man tried to shove the hand away, but the other turned him around and grabbed him by the shoulders.

Curiosity was quickly taking over now that she was free from whatever trance that had trapped her. The young man was trembling like a leaf, and Bella wondered if she should run over and offer them help. She darted a glance to Jacob and saw that he was watching them as well, though his smile was gone.

"Who are they?" she asked him. The wind nearly drowned her words, and she thought he hadn't heard her for a moment.

"Paul Lahote," he finally answered with uncharacteristic grimness as they watched on, "and the older one is Sam Uley."

Bella had no way of knowing what Sam had just said, but Paul wrenched out of his hold and barreled past him, heading towards the woods, away from Bella and Jacob. Sam stayed close on his heels, shoving him forwards whenever Paul slowed.

"They're nothing but trouble." Jacob turned to her and said, "I was never close to Paul, but he's changed after he started hanging out with Sam and Jared." Jared must have been the guy who jumped off the cliff first.

"Changed how?" Bella frowned. They hadn't seemed like bad people. Strange, yes, but not enough to warrant the scorn in Jacobs' voice.

"Paul was always getting into fights when we were kids after his parents divorced, but now he's just downright mean." Jacob rubbed his neck, but Bella couldn't help but feel a sea of empathy for the guy. Her parents had an ugly divorce, and it had shaped her, especially affecting her confidence, while growing up. Jacob continued when she didn't look convinced. "Drugs, most likely."

"That's so sad," Bella murmured after a moment of silence. There had been a girl in her year back in Phoenix who'd died of an overdose last year. Bella hadn't been close her, but the shock at hearing about her passing had felt like a sucker-punch to the gut. It was the first funeral she'd ever been too, having gone with her classmates to show their respect. It seemed that drug abuse was present wherever she went, even in the sleepy Clallam County. "Isn't there anything that can be done?"

"Nah, best to not think about it. It's Paul's choice after all," Jacob dismissed. How he could say something so heartless was beyond Bella, but she didn't want to waste her time by arguing with him. Besides, Charlie was a much more reliable source of information if it really was drugs.

"Wanna come with me to the Clearwater's? Sue said she had a casserole for dad," Jacob asked hopefully at Bella's continued silence, and she felt kind of bad. He was just a kid, after all, she shouldn't expect him to have more tact when it came to discussions like drugs and the tragedy they wrought.

"Yeah, I'll come," she sighed. They walked along the gravel road along the side of the bank and past the harbor to a small neighborhood that sat at the edge of the woods.

The Clearwater house was quaint, built in the same style as the Black residence. Its timber walls were a dark brown and their front lawn was neatly kept. Jacob hopped up onto their porch and knocked on the door. Bella stayed on the steps, sudden shyness holding her back. She hadn't seen Sue in years, and they'd never been close. They'd only met through Charlie's friendship with her husband, Harry.

The door opened to Sue's familiar face, her warm eyes lighting up and a smile crossing her face at the sight of them. Her hair was cut short and the crow's feet by her eyes told a long history of smiling and laughter.

"Jacob, I was wondering when you'd be here. Oh, and I see you've brought Bella with you! Come in, come in." She opened the door and ushered them in. "Charlie told me you'd be coming to live with him."

"Hi, Sue," Bella smiled. It seemed that Charlie had told everyone and their grandmother of her coming to live with him.

"We're here for the casserole, Sue," Jacob cut in, but Sue brushed past him, leading them to the kitchen. A young woman sat at the table, nursing a mug of coffee. She looked up with a frown at their entrance but said nothing. Bella recognized Sue's eyes and nose in her attractive features. This this must be her daughter.

"Do I look like a drive-through to you, Jacob Black? Sit down. I want to talk to Bella." Sue pulled out a chair and pointed at it in a clear message. "I haven't seen you in years, dear."

"It's nice to see you too, Sue," Bella said and sat down facing Sue's daughter.

"Would you like some tea?" Sue asked her and Bella nodded, afraid to do anything but accept. She placed a kettle and a bowl with an assortment of tea bags in front of her and told her to pick whatever she liked. "You remember my daughter Leah? Seth's with Harry at the moment."

"Yes, I remember her," Bella greeted with a timid smile. Leah grunted and took from her mug, sparing Bella a dismissive glance. She was a little intimidating. Alright, very intimidating. Bella studied Leah covertly as she prepared her cup of tea. There was a lazy sort of confidence in the set of her shoulders that Bella admired and her eyes were stunning, dark like smooth mahogany.

Bella couldn't help but notice that they were bloodshot like Leah had been crying recently. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked in a hushed voice when Sue was busy cutting bread, and any vulnerability in Leah hardened to a flint.

"No," Leah snapped with a look that told her to go fuck herself for having asked. Bella blushed a deep crimson and busied herself with pulling the teabag out of her cup. She took a sip of her drink and winced as she burned her tongue.

Leah's chair screeched when she stood up. Bella was surprised when she didn't storm out as she'd anticipated. Instead, Leah placed her mug gently in the sink and gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek before opening the fridge and took out a carton of milk. She plunked it down in front of Bella and left without another word. Bella glanced at Sue and saw that she was hiding a smile. She silently poured some milk into her piping tea, thinking that this day couldn't get any odder.

"How are your sisters?" Bella asked Jacob, searching for a way to cut through the tension. He was slouched in his seat with a definite pout on his lips, and his mug stood empty. He brightened at the question, happy to have her attention again.

"Oh, they're doing great. Rebecca lives in Hawaii with her hubby. He's a surfer — I think — but from what I've heard she's happy; she's a painter like mom was," he grew animated, sitting up in his chair, "Rachel just graduated from college, and she's traveling the world right now with her boyfriend. They're pretty serious about each other. I heard dad tell Sue that he was thinking about proposing soon — he's such a gossip."

"Hush!" Sue slapped him with her dish towel, but she didn't hide her amusement.

"Oh, wow! Congratulations," Bella said. They had never been close, but Rachel and Rebecca were only a year older than her. She could hardly wrap her mind around both of them marrying so soon. Bella didn't have much faith in marriage, but she was happy to hear that they were doing well.

Sue sat down with a mug of her own and turned to Bella with a line of questioning. "So, do you have any plans for the future, Bella? You're a senior now?"

"I was thinking about getting a degree in English literature," Bella answered as truthfully as she could. She hadn't made any definite plans yet, but she'd given it a little thought. "Maybe I'll become a teacher. I don't really know. I just like to read," she finished lamely, feeling like she was talking out of her ass, but Sue smiled kindly.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea."

They stayed over for so long that it was getting dark when Harry and Seth return with Charlie and Billy in tow. Bella was surprised by how fast the time had gone. Sue turned out to be excellent company. She was both kind and stern, keeping the conversation alive with the help of Jacob. Bella had forgotten about her initial reticence when Sue had started recounting all the stupid things Jacob had gotten up to throughout the years. They took great delight in his embarrassment.

"There you are, Bella!" Charlie slapped her on the back, his cheeks appearing a little flushed. "You missed the game."

"Did you drive here?" Bella asked in alarm.

"No, Harry picked us up, said he had dinner."

"Have a seat, Charlie. Dinner is almost ready," Sue said as she stood up to check on the casserole she'd put in the oven.

Dinner with the Clearwater was nice. Even Leah had loosened up a bit, but she didn't say much during the meal. Harry and Billy had taken up Sue's storytelling, and Bella's cheeks were flushed with laughter. Seth didn't seem to mind them sharing his escapades, laughing right along with them. It wasn't until Charlie started to tell them about Bella's misdeeds that she stood up. As much as she wanted to stay, it was getting late, and Charlie had an early shift tomorrow morning.

"Alright, alright, I think you've had enough fun now, dad. We should head on home," she urged, and Charlie stretched to check the time.

"Aw, Bells. You may be right, but I'm in no state to drive us," he warned, getting up unsteadily. He'd had at least four beers with dinner, but Bella had no idea how many he'd had at Billy's.

"I gathered. I'll drive us, but we need to go get the truck."

Harry hadn't tasted a lick of alcohol that evening and was fit to offer them a lift to Billy's. Jacob and Bella sat in the back with Charlie, while Billy played with the radio up front.

"Billy, if you're going to play that darn thing so loud it better be good," Harry complained against the fizzing of white noise as Billy surfed the channels in search of something good.

"Stop!" Charlie shouted when they heard the starting riff of 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. He started riffing to the air guitar, mustache twitching in glee, and Bella placed a hand over her mouth to quell her laughter. He looked absolutely absurd.

"Oh, yeah!" Billy cheered as he turned up the volume. Bella and Jacob were breathless with laughter as their fathers started belting the lyrics at the top of their voice. Their laughter only egged them on, and they became even more ridiculous when they'd lost their inhibitions. Even Harry joined them, stone sober, and he sang like this was his national anthem. Middle-aged men were apparently helpless in the face of an ABBA sing along.

"Take it away, Bella!" Charlie shouted when the chorus started playing. Bella had inherited his singing skills, meaning that she couldn't hold a tune to save her life, but she was having too much fun to deny him. She was embarrassingly off-key, and she almost stopped, but they hadn't stopped singing and were even worse at it than her. Besides, Jacob's laughter drowned them out, and Bella feared that all of La Push could hear them as they rattled down the path to Billy's house.

Sadly the song came to an end as they turned into the driveway. Harry and Jacob helped Billy down while Bella dug the key to her truck from Charlie's pocket.

"See you, you crazy bastard!" Charlie waved as Bella held open the door to the truck for him.

"Come back soon!" Billy hollered after them, and Harry joined in with Charlie's laughter.

It took Bella two tries to start the truck, forgetting to double clutch and all that. Charlie clapped when she finally got it going, and they rode home to the tune of his mumbled melody, 'you are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen, oh yeah!'.

Bella couldn't have been happier.


A/N: I'm on Tumblr at forksofwisdom!

Next chapter: Grocery shenanigans and more Leah lovin'