Bella sat in the surprisingly cozy chair that was in Esme's office while the woman sat in her own chair behind her desk. Bella's never been in a job interview before but she was fairly positive that this was not how they typically went.
"How are you liking Forks so far, dear?"
"Uh...it's cold and wet. Far cry from Texas but it's okay I guess."
"If you don't mind me asking, but why did you and your brother move here?"
Bella exhaled heavily, feeling a tad bit uncomfortable. It was clear that the news of the exact reason Chief Swan's long lost kids suddenly came back to live with him...or maybe they did and they were being surprisingly polite about it. For now. Isabella knew first hand how cruel high school could be, she hasn't participated in the bullying but she's seen it more times than she could care to count. And she's gotten into more fist fights trying to defend some freshman from getting their face smashed into some metal lockers and losing a few teeth on their first day of school.
"Personal reasons really, like a fresh start."
Esme smiled at her sweetly nodding as she accepted that answer, "Fair enough, dear. I understand that all too well."
"Do you?"
A flicker of sadness flashed through the Esme's eyes but it went away so quickly Bella was sure she probably just imagined it, "Oh yes. Life is beautiful but it can also be very cruel when you least expect it."
Understatement of the year, Bella thought grimly, "Yeah, well..." she trailed off, not knowing how to follow up on that statement but she didn't want them to fall into an awkward silence, thankfully Esme picked up the slack from the teenager who was obviously holding in more than she was letting on.
"Why do you want to work here, Isabella?"
"Uh," Isabella blink, attempting to gather her thoughts...this interview was beyond weird, "It's sort of my thing right now...athletics. I played a lot of sports in Texas and I know a few things about the equipment here...figured I could use my know how to help people work out better."
"Would you be comfortable handling cash?"
"Sure, I'm good at math."
"What about an irate member? Would you be able to handle that if I'm not here?"
Isabella shrugged, "I don't have a lot of work experience but I have 101 experience dealing with bullies, Mrs. Cullen."
Esme raised an eyebrow at that and proceeded to ask Bella a few more questions for the next 10 minutes or so before told Isabella that she had the job on the spot and that Esme would be more than willing to work with her school schedule. And that she would be calling her soon with more details when she was put into the employee log. Bella was so shocked that she got hired on the spot (a first since it was her first job) that she forgot to ask about her brother.
When she and the owner came back to the front desk, Paul was standing there leaning up against the counter like he owned the place. He looked between Esme and his sister mildly suspicious.
"We employed or what?"
"I'm employed." Bella smirked as she walked past Paul, "Good luck. I'll be waiting outside."
Paul mumbled something under his breath but Bella paid him no mind, knowing that her twin was just talking his usual shit.
At least the drizzling outside had stopped, and it was just slick on the ground, the air was wet and cold. It kind of reminded her of winter in Texas. The sort of winter that lasted all but a day in Texas but she was positive she'd have to force herself to get used to this. She walked over to her car and leaned against the passengers side and pulled out her cellphone.
Bella stared down at the picture the she, Paul and her mom took before her last...work trip and getting arrested. They had went to the beach, a spur of the moment mini vacation day. It had been random but it was fun. Even went to the amusement park that was on the pier and had a late dinner.
Her brief trip down memory was interrupted but not by anything in particular but more like a feeling. Like she was being watched, and the goosebumps that raised on her arms and the hairs raised on the back of her neck only confirmed the fact. The 17 year old slowly put away her phone as casually as she could and adjusted her position on her car but her eyes were darting left and right. Looking for anything out of place but she was so new to the area, it could've been anything.
"Hm," Bella spotted two old ladies across the lot chatting away and neither of them were paying her any mind. Their mother always told them to never ignore their gut and Bella's gut was telling her to run. She pushed off her car, fully intending to go back inside and wait for her brother...but stopped short as he was coming out, smirking cockily but that quickly fell when he saw the alarmed look on his sisters face and ran over.
"Bell? What's wrong?"
Bella shook her head, still looking around warily despite the presence of someone familiar calming her greatly, "I just had a feeling...you know the ones I used to get a few years ago before mom started training us with—"
"Yeah, yeah...I remember, " Paul cut in, a scowl set into his handsome features as he too sensed something off around them but whatever it had been was long gone now, "I'm not seeing shit but trees and too much green."
"I know." Bella sighed heavily, then looked at him with a small smile, "Did you get it? The job I mean?"
"Hell yeah, hired me on the spot." his smirk was back and Bella matched it perfectly.
"She hired me first though."
The Lahote twins spent the rest of their morning and afternoon doing a little bit of school shopping on their own and buying appropriate clothing for living in Forks. By the time they were finished and had unpacked everything in their shared room at Charlie's house, they were both just sitting side by side in the living room with a bottle of water each and sharing a family bag of chips.
Paul finally stopped channel surfing and settled on some random cartoon, "I'm getting kinda hungry...we meeting these losers at the diner or what?"
Bella shrugged, "You can but you're not taking my car."
"Yeah, yeah...no one drives the beast except you, I know." Paul grunted, rolling his eyes. "But I'm still freakin' hungry."
"Do you wanna go to the diner?"
"Not really, no?"
"I don't think there's much in town to eat really, maybe we can drive to Port Angeles? It's only 4...you in?"
Paul opened his mouth to answer but he was cut off by the door bell chiming and Bella looked at her brother in total confusion when he suddenly starting grinning like an idiot and jumped off of the sofa and practically ran to the front door. Bella rolled her eyes and followed after her brother, suspecting why he was suddenly so goddamn giddy.
And her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a girl about their age standing in the door way...she wasn't anything of note but it was the typical girl that Paul often went after. She was pretty enough and the way she dressed told Bella that the girl was part of the popular clique at Forks High...but how popular could one actually get in Forks was beyond her.
Paul threw an arm over the girls shoulder and winked at his sister over the girls head, "Bell, I'm just gonna catch dinner with my new friend, don't wait up, 'Kay?"
"Don't worry, Bell. I won't have him out too late." Jessica smiled at Bella but it was more like a smirk and it was a little too cocky for Bella's likes, this girl was trying to establish territory. Already? Wow. Does she not know he's my brother? "I'm Jessica Stanley."
Bella scoffed, rolling her eyes as she came closer to the door, "It's Isabella, and Paul?"
"Yeah sis?"
"Don't ever introduce me to any of your booty calls ever again. They get sadder and sadder, but I'm really disappointed with this one." skanks.
"Excuse me, bit—" Jessica took offense to that and tried to step up to Bella but Paul held her back. Not because he didn't think his sister couldn't hold her own—he knew she could, and he knew she would put Jessica 10 feet under in 3 seconds flat. No, he held Jessica back to avoid having to deal with a crying girl with a broken nose because his twin decided to slam the door in their faces.
"Jeez, what's her problem?"
Paul shrugged as he led Jessica away from the front door, "She's not a big people person. Don't worry about her baby, it's just me and you tonight, right?"
"I know a pretty good diner in town that has some good burgers and shakes?"
"Uh," Paul hesitated thinking that he would rather not be seen by Charlie and his family...or in public with this chick more than he actually had to. Because his sister wasn't wrong...this was just a booty call to take the edge off his nerves. And the he wanted was this chick thinking they were going on a date or something. "How about we just go to McDonald's, I'll pay, and go to your place?"
Jessica looked like she was about to insist on the diner but Paul pulled her closer and opened the drivers side door to her car, and offered her his trademark bad-boy smirk and it worked. Like always. "Okay yeah, sure. No problem, my parents don't get home 'til later anyway."
"Sounds good, girl."
Bella plopped heavily back down on the sofa and continued munching on her bag of chips and watching whatever was playing on the TV. She didn't have a problem with her brothers...bad habits, she was used to them. It amused her greatly to piss them off though...she just hoped that whatever woman that gets stuck with Paul is strong because brother or not...he's an asshole.
After 30 minutes of sitting there bored out of her mind, Bella cleaned up her mess and left the house once again. She was going to Port Angeles anyway. She wasn't even sure what the hell was there, she'd probably have a better time in Seattle but she was too lazy to actually make that drive today.
On her way out of town, Bella stopped at a gas station for gas and snacks.
"You must be Chief Swans kid...one of 'em at least."
Bella looked to the left to see who the gruff voice belonged to and saw some scruffy looking man with long black hair with some silver here and there that was pulled into a ponytail topped off with a black cowboy hat. He was filling up his own vehicle, a true beast in Bella's opinion. It was a rusty old red Chevy truck.
Bella smiled at him politely but it was a little forced...there was something about him that made her a little bit uncomfortable. A lot uncomfortable, really. "Yep." she didn't know what else to say to the man.
"You're beautiful, just like your mother if my memory serves correct."
"Uh, thanks I guess." Bella refrained from rolling her eyes and mentally willed the gas pump to pump faster but she had the throttle pulled back as far as it would go. Damn it.
"Renee was always a spitfire, stubborn too. Never thought I would ever get the chance to see one of her offspring, not after the way she booked it out of here all those years ago..."
Bella sighed heavily and turned back to the cowboy hat wearing man, unable to hold back her own temper...yet again, "Look dude, if you have something to say about my mom then freakin' say it, okay?! I don't wanna hear your bullshit reminiscing or whatever it is you're trying to do. I don't know you, don't care to. End of story."
The older man just grunted, and shook his head slightly, "Temper runs deep in the Lahote genes, I see. Your mother was a firecracker too, among other things."
Bella chose not to respond, literally biting her tongue to keep silent as the pump finally finished and she carefully put it back in it's place. She moved around to the drivers side, but the man calmly stepped closer, speaking before Bella could escape into the solitude of her car.
"Your mother, Renee, pissed off a lot of people girl. A lot of powerful people."
Bella stopped...her blood running cold for a split second, and turned back to the stranger, "Fuck off, old man. Ever hear the saying of the apple not falling too far from the tree? Yeah, that's me...I'm the apple."
He ignored her empty threat and took another step, "I was surprised to hear that she kept you and your brother...it's not customary for your kind to do that sort of thing.
"Excuse me?" Bella laughed humorlessly, "My kind? Look asshole—"
"I can sense a lot of your mother within you girl, and so I'm only gonna say this one good time because your father is a good man and he's one of my best friends...stay in your own business and don't rock any more waves than you and your brother already have. Got that?"
…"You fucking nut." Bella sneered then got into her car, her engine roaring too life cutting off whatever the man had shouted after her and she took off without looking twice. She had no idea what that old man was about but she shook it off quickly. Her mom had warned them of people like that...that they would be everywhere.
She had apologized for it time and time and time again over the phone and in person (the two times that they were actually allowed to see her).
As Bella drove out of the town and away from that creepy old dude, she began to relax a little more the empty two lane road, and all the green all around her made her feel free. The most free she's ever felt since leaving Texas. Isabella had just put on her favorite playlist starting with Drake when something bright caught her eye. And when she shifted her head to look, it was as if time had slowed down just for her.
"What the fuck!? Whoa!" she dropped her phone and slammed on her brakes when she saw a woman with long red hair running through the forest, around the trees from three very large wolves. Bella wasn't at one with nature and all that jazz but she knew that wolves should not be that big.
Bella caught hold of her steering wheel, controlling her car until it came to a complete stop. When she looked back, there was nothing there...her vision blurred before it corrected itself and Bella wasn't even sure if what she saw was even really there.
"What the hell was that..." Bella looked all around her but everything was all quiet and she had enough sense to stay in her car. Bella rubbed her eyes and put her car back in gear and kept going. "I seriously hate this town."
Please forgive any grammar mistakes.
Peace!