Chapter 3
Trying to keep Zach busy did not work as much as Rosalie hoped it would when they returned to the island. Between Alice's wedding planning for Kate and Garrett, Seth willing to play as much as possible, and the others trying to take Zach's mind off of his best friend not wanting to be around him, there was plenty to do on the island, but Zach did not care. A week passed by without Joshua contacting Zach and everyone noticed the way it affected him. The usually chipper boy that they loved was sullen and depressed. He did not want to play video games or even hunt. He just wanted his best friend back. Instead of hanging out in the main house with the others, Zach stayed in his room in the cottage he shared with his parents. He dialed Joshua's phone number yet again and was not surprised when it went straight to voicemail.
"Hey J, it is me again. Just calling to see what's up. I beat Seth in another video game. I even beat my dad's high score. You should come over and play it with me. You don't have school so you could even spend the night. Well, just calling to say hi. Bye." Zach hung up and tossed the phone on his bed as he placed his face in his hands. Rosalie watched her son from the doorway for a moment before formally knocking on his bedroom door.
"I know you have been there the whole time mom. I am sad, not deaf," he grumbled and she sat down on his bed with him. She reached out to stroke his curly hair and at first he shied away from her touch, but it was too comforting for him to deny. He rested his head on her lap and she kissed his forehead as she continued to lovingly play with his hair. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about his best friend ignoring him.
"I thought it would be better when he became a wolf. Why does he hate me?"
"Sweetie, he doesn't hate you. He is just going through a hard time."
"Then why won't he let me help? We are friends, best bros, but he won't even answer my calls."
"This is a very hard time for him, but he will come around." Zach sat up and thought for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Yea, it is a very hard time for him. He needs a friend, his best friend. I am going to La Push." Rosalie crossed her arms and smirked at him.
"Did you really just try to tell me you are going somewhere instead of asking me," she challenged and he smiled sheepishly as he knelt down in front of his mother.
"Mom, please, I just want to see him. I have to try. If he hulks out on me then I will leave, but please. I am begging you." She mulled it over in her head as Emmett leaned against the doorframe to look at his son.
"Your car isn't fixed yet and you aren't taking one of ours," said Emmett and Zach shrugged.
"I will swim and run. It will help me blow off some steam. Please mom and dad," he pleaded and Emmett winked at his wife. She slowly nodded and Zach hugged her tightly.
"Do not make me regret this Zachary Carlisle McCarty Cullen," she warned.
"I promise. I just want to let him know that I am here if he needs me. I will leave if he really doesn't want me there. Will you call Jake and Leah and tell them I am coming?"
"I'll do it," offered Emmett and Zach raced out of the cottage. Rosalie watched him from his bedroom window and Emmett kissed her forehead.
"He needs to do this. He has your determination. He has to at least try," assured Emmett and Rosalie slowly nodded.
"I know. I just need to go ask Alice to…."
"Already on it," sang Alice as she skipped into the cottage. Rosalie smiled as her sister closed her eyes to search Zach's future.
"Hmmm, Josh is still new to me in wolf form and since he is a new wolf, his paths are erratic, so he is still a blind spot in my visions, but Zach will be safe," assured Alice. Rosalie hugged her husband as she silently hoped that Joshua felt well enough to see his best friend.
Emmett called Jacob to inform him that Zach was on his way and Leah had mixed feelings. A part of her was concerned about Joshua lashing out and saying something to Zach that he would regret. Another part of her wanted her son to have to get out of his rut. Ever since he phased, Joshua refused to deal with his emotions properly and preferred to only sleep. He was stubborn like both of his parents and did not want to face his issues yet. Leah hoped Zach could help him. Jacob entered Joshua's room and pulled the covers off of him as he grumbled that he was still tired. Jacob was not listening however and turned on all of the lights in the room.
"Dad, get out," whined Joshua, but Jacob threw a shirt at him.
"Time to get up, Zach is on his way."
"I don't want to see Zach. I told you that already!"
"I am about sick and tired of you screaming at me Joshua so you better watch your tone. Your mom and I have tried to be understanding. We both get it. You are pissed off and don't know why, but I'll be damned if I let you sulk around here any longer when you have a pretty good thing going here! You have a family that loves you and that you can talk to about this. You have a best friend that you can run around with all you want, but what are you doing? Sulking like a spoiled brat. Get up," demanded Jacob and Joshua looked down at the floor.
"What if Caleb comes after me again? I hate him being in my head," he confessed and Jacob sighed as he sat down on the bed with his son.
"Is that what you are scared of?"
"He is creepy dad."
"It can be scary when someone forces their thoughts on you huh?"
"Yea," mumbled Joshua and Jacob slowly nodded.
"That's one of the reasons I didn't want to be in Sam's pack. I hated being forced to do stuff and told what I could say. I hated hearing everyone's thoughts and it was great to go my own way. When your mother and uncle joined my pack, I still wanted that freedom. That is another reason why your mother and I don't phase unless we have to. You are so much like us, so I understand, but Joshua, you cannot fear him and let Caleb hold that kind of power over you. That is what he wants because he fears you."
"He does?"
"Of course he does, you are the descendent of Ephraim Black. You are the son of a great alpha and beta. You are rare and no one can say that they have your lineage. Caleb knows that so next time he tries to get into your head, remind him of who you are. You can't be afraid to stand up for yourself because you are the true alpha, not Caleb. Now get dressed, I am sure Zach will be here shortly." Jacob stood up, but Joshua grabbed his hand.
"Dad, what if I get mad at him and do something stupid?"
"You chose a great friend, not only because you two get along so well, but because he is very powerful too and virtually indestructible. Zach can handle himself and as far as getting mad, well just remember to breathe and focus on the good stuff, okay?"
"Thanks dad."
"You're welcome. Go take a shower too. You stink." Joshua chuckled and ran to his bathroom. Jacob went downstairs and smiled at his wife, who heard their conversation.
"I think he is going to be just fine," assured Jacob and she hugged him as she nodded in agreement.
Zach raced through the forest on his way to La Push. It was dark by the time he arrived in front of the Black Residence and he was surprised to see Joshua sitting on the railing of the porch waiting for him. Zach grinned at his friend and Joshua hopped down from the porch. He shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry about not returning your calls. It has been a weird week," confessed Joshua.
"Yea, I'm sure phasing into a large dog for the first time qualifies as weird," teased Zach and Joshua chuckled.
"Definitely, so where's your car?"
"Well someone hulked out on me and took off the passenger door, so it is getting repaired." Joshua winced.
"Oh yea, sorry about that."
"I mean jeez J you could have at least kicked off the roof. At least that way I would have a convertible." Joshua snickered and walked over to Zach with a sheepish smile.
"Did you get grounded?"
"No, but I almost did. My mom didn't like that I got into it with Caleb, you know the treaty and all."
"Sorry about that too."
"So, how have you been?"
"Weird."
"I think we covered that," chuckled Zach.
"I am still getting used to phasing. I am not sure if I like it yet. When my parents are in wolf form too, I can hear their thoughts."
"Gross."
"Yep."
"You wolves have some creepy side effects when you phase. You can hear each other's thoughts….."
"So can your Uncle Edward."
"Yea but not like that and my Aunt Bella can block his mind for him. Plus, you have to admit, the imprinting stuff can get complicated."
"I'm not worried."
"Well you should be. Your dad imprinted on my cousin when she was a baby."
"He couldn't control it."
"And that is what worries me so for now on, keep your eyes straight ahead. No eye contact."
"Shut up," laughed Joshua.
"Hey, I don't want you to get the wrong impression. No mixed signals from me," joked Zach and Joshua nudged him.
"Maybe I will imprint on Nina."
"Now that would be cool!"
"My dad says that it will be interesting to see what kind of wolf I am. My mom is the fastest and he is the strongest, so maybe I inherited that."
"Because of your alpha-ness?" They bumped fists.
"You know it," chuckled Joshua and Zach smiled mischievously at him.
"The fastest huh, well we can find that out now."
"Oh yea, how?"
"There is an entire forest to play in. Seth and I used to do it all the time when we lived in the region. Now we prefer Alaska though, but we will work you up to that. You are still a lightweight." Joshua began to shake and Zach's eyes widened.
"Dude, I was just joking," warned Zach. Suddenly Joshua phased and shook out his fur as Zach put up his hands in defense.
"Don't attack me J!" Zach eyed him cautiously but then glared at Joshua as the wolf shook with laughter.
"Oh, you think that is funny? You think making me think you are hulking out again is funny?" Joshua nodded and ran into the forest as Zach smirked.
"Oh it is on," called Zach as he ran after his friend. Leah and Jacob walked out onto the porch to watch them run deep into the forest. Jacob glanced at his wife.
"Do you think I should go after them?"
"No, let's see how they do on their own. I trust them….a little bit," she admitted and he winked at her.
"I do too….a little bit." They walked back inside with big grins on their faces, simply happy to see their son interacting with his friend again.
Caleb shook his head in disgust as he watched Joshua and Zach run into the forest. He was waiting for the rest of his pack so they could have a bonfire on the beach below the Black Residence. He hoped by moving the bonfire closer to Joshua's house, it would lure the wolf to want to join him. He tossed a piece of driftwood into the fire and rolled his eyes when Sam approached the fire.
"You are a long way from your usual spot with the pack. Any particular reason for that," questioned Sam.
"What's it to you where I meet with my pack?"
"This wouldn't have anything to do with Joshua would it?"
"Sam, go home." Sam crossed his arms and looked Caleb directly in the eyes.
"You don't order me around and it would do you a world of good to remember that."
"Funny, I could say the same for you."
"I am an elder and Chief of this tribe."
"And I am alpha of my pack, so you see we aren't going to agree, but right now you are meddling in my business so I would appreciate it if you would move along, elder."
"You are playing with fire Caleb, leave Joshua alone."
"Playing with fire?"
"Yes."
"Then I guess it is nice to be 108 degrees with the ability to regenerate with ease," taunted Caleb and Sam shook his head.
"I don't even know why I bother," muttered Sam as he stormed off and Caleb smiled slyly at him.
"That makes two of us," called Caleb. He tossed more driftwood into the fire and waved some of the pack over as they arrived at the beach.
Zach's booming laugh echoed through the forest as he sat in a tree swaying his legs teasingly back and forth while Joshua barked up at him.
"You are horrible at tag, J! Come get me, I am right here," taunted Zach and Joshua growled at him.
"Fine you big baby, I was just teasing you. I will be right, whoa!" Zach leapt out of the tree as it plummeted to the ground. He gracefully landed on his feet and quirked an eyebrow at his friend while Josh stood on top of the fallen tree.
"Real mature J, that is not how you play tag!" Joshua barked at him and Zach chuckled.
"I was just teasing you before. Gosh, when did you get so sensitive? You can't go around knocking over trees for fun. Unless you have Ben around and then you can knock down as many as you want and he will fix them for you. Maybe your parents will let you come to Alaska with me and Seth later. My dad loves to play games with us. Oh and my mom can make these huge avalanches." Joshua snickered and Zach winked at him.
"Come on, we better get back to let the parents know we are alright. We will finish this later." Joshua nodded and the two of them ran back toward La Push.
By the time they returned from their run, Rosalie and Emmett had arrived at the house. Zach could sense his parents inside and ran into the living room while Joshua ran upstairs to put some clothes on. Rosalie beamed with happiness at her son's huge grin.
"Did you two have fun," she asked and Zach happily nodded.
"Yep, it was so cool. J is just changing since he ripped his clothes." Jacob winced.
"I knew I forgot to tell him something. I will show him how to carry around some shorts later. I am glad you two had so much fun," said Jacob and Zach looked hopefully at his parents.
"Can we stay a few days here? J and I want to catch up on our video games and he wants me to show him how to wrestle too." Rosalie looked at Leah, who nodded.
"I think Josh would really like that," said Leah and Emmett pumped his fist.
"Good that means I can beat Jake in some video games," taunted Emmett and Jacob rubbed his hands together.
"I will take that challenge," agreed Jacob.
"I suppose we can stay for a couple of days," announced Rosalie and Joshua ran over to hug her when he entered the living room.
"Awesome! Thanks Rose, come on Z. Let's go play some video games," suggested Joshua and Zach followed him up to his room. Emmett and Jacob headed for the game room while Rosalie and Leah smiled at their sons as they went upstairs.
"He seems to have his anger under control. I am impressed. I prepared for the worst," admitted Rosalie.
"I did too but he is handling it much better than his father and I did."
"Well he has more people to talk to about it than you and Jake did. Speaking of which, Seth and Kaya will be here tomorrow to check up on him."
"Good, I am sure Joshua will love having his uncle and best friend around to play with." The sounds of their husbands laughing in the game room and their sons whooping and hollering upstairs made them grin from ear to ear. Their boys were happy and that made them blissfully happy.
