Chapter 2 The First Day
It was just a dream. It was a just dream. It was just a dream.
Quinn kept repeating this to herself as she lay there in bed with her eyes squeezed shut tightly. She refused to open them, because she didn't want to have to face reality just yet. But she knew it was inevitable and that eventually she would have to get out of that bed and meet her new life head on. And as much as she wished she could just stay there and pretend she was back home, there was only so long that she could do that. Besides, the longer she hide away, the more awkward it would be when she finally did emerge. So that was why she forced open her sky blue eyes and sat up, looking around the room and feeling the heaviness hit her in the chest. The boxes holding all her possessions came into view as did the foreign room with it's bare walls and strange furniture that wasn't hers. The room wasn't hers and this home wasn't hers.
"I'm not going to cry. I am not going to cry." She muttered to herself as she threw back the sheets and set her feet on the floor. She ran her hands through her long dark brown hair and walked across the wooden floor to the window and pushed back the black curtains she had hung up, the only thing she had unpacked from the night before. She was pleasantly surprised to see the sky was free of gray clouds and the sun was shinning down on the house. It was only now that she actually took in her surroundings and saw the beauty of the reservation that she had not paid attention to on the drive here. The mountains were off in the distance and stuck between them and the house were miles upon miles of trees. It was a pretty sight to look at, and it almost made her heart stop aching. Almost but not quite.
"Quinn? It's Emily. Can I come in?" Came a voice which had been preceded by 2 short knocks.
"Yea, it's ok." Quinn called out quietly, turning away from the window as the door creaked open and Emily appeared in the doorway holding a tray with a plate of food and a glass of juice on it.
"I was downstairs cooking when I heard you walking around up here and I thought I would bring you some food." She explained, walking across the room and setting the tray down on the desk. "I figured you wouldn't want to face breakfast with your brother just yet."
"Thank you." Quinn managed to articulate. She wanted to smile to show her appreciation, but her face just wouldn't work that way. Emily didn't seem to care though and took her answer as appreciation enough.
"You're welcome." Emily replied, leaning against a pile of boxes and watched as Quinn walked across the floor to the desk and sat down.
"Is he still here?" She asked, reaching for the enormous sized muffin and began breaking it into pieces.
"Your brother?" Emily asked, and when Quinn nodded, she continued speaking. "He was when I was down in the kitchen, but he had some things to do today, so he is most likely on his way out."
"Ok." Quinn responded, looking down at her plate.
"Did you want to talk to him? Because you can probably still catch him before he leaves."
"No no, it's fine." Quinn insisted, shaking her head rapidly. "I don't really want to talk to him. In fact I would rather avoid him entirely."
"Do you really dislike him that much? He's not a bad guy, Quinn." Emily told her, a frown settling on her face.
"I don't know him. I've only seen him in twice in my life before he showed up at my mother's funeral. And he knew I existed, knew where I was, and didn't ever come on his own to see me. Not once in all those years. And now I'm expected to just forget that and treat him like a brother?" Quinn asked, feeling the pressure build up behind her eyes as she spoke more now then she had in over a day. "He may be my half brother, but he's still a stranger to me."
"Maybe you should be saying this to Sam." Emily suggested, now looking at her sympathetically. "I mean, I'll be here to listen too. Just because I'm engaged to your brother, don't feel like you can't come to me to vent. Because you can. I just think that maybe you should talk to him too."
"I don't think that's going to happen." Quinn mumbled, propping her elbow on the desk and setting her chin in her hand. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Ok, that's fine." Emily said, standing up straighter and turning towards the door. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."
"Hey Emily?" Quinn spoke quietly, watching the older woman stop and look back. "I'm sorry that I wasn't talking yesterday. I know you probably thought it was weird, but I just couldn't do it."
"It's alright. You've been through a lot. So I understand." Emily nodded, brushing back her hair. "Just know that we're here for you. Sam included."
"I'll try to remember that."
"Ok, Sam, what was with the 411? Why are we here?"
"Because I told you to show up here, that's why." Sam grumbled, walking into the clearing and spotting the other members of his pack sitting around against the trees waiting for him.
"Yea I get that, but for what reason?" Paul questioned, never one to back down from anything. "There's got to be a reason, there's always a reason. You never just call all of us together unless something serious is going on."
"He's got a point. So something must be wrong." Jared piped up, shaking his head. "What's the crisis now? Did the Cullens get themselves into trouble again?"
"Yea, do the blood-suckers require our help?" Embry laughed along with the others.
"For once this has nothing to do with the Cullens or any Vampires." Sam announced, making sure to use the Alpha tone in his voice to let them know he was serious. "This is about Quinn."
"Ah, the mysterious half-sister, you've hardly ever mentioned." Paul nodded in agreement with him. "What about her?"
"Well she arrived yesterday." Sam explained, grimacing in remembrance of the day before. He hadn't remembered ever seeing anyone that...empty before. The way she looked at him, or more accurately looked through him, like he wasn't even there. She just didn't give off any kind of emotion. It was a strange thing to encounter someone like that. Here he was, this tall, broad, muscular guy and she was this tiny, short , teenage girl and yet she made him feel uneasy. He attributed it to the fact that they didn't know each other.
"I assume it didn't go well." Quil stated with a shrug.
"It went fine." Sam retorted, his nostrils flaring. "She just doesn't talk to me."
"Well, she did just get here, so can you blame her?" Embry pointed out.
"I kind of figured she would be happy around family." Sam said, honestly believing what he said.
"Can you even really be called family?" Paul asked, earning a glare from Sam. "What? Is no one going to say it? You don't talk about her. You've hardly ever mentioned her, so barely any of us remember that you have a sister. So how can you even call each other family when you don't know her?"
"That's not my fault." Sam insisted, not liking that his mistakes were being thrown in his face even though he knew he was at fault. "It's not."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I kind of agree with Paul." Jared replied hesitantly. "You knew about her all these years, and you still rarely talked about her. And we all know you only met her a few times. How else are you supposed to treat her?"
"She's my sister. That should be enough." Sam scratched his head thoughtfully. "Why isn't that enough?"
"Because this isn't a situation where you can nail down a plan of attack." Embry interrupted. "There's no war going on. No enemy coming to get us. No one is dying or getting hurt. There is no big scary monster that needs to be destroyed. She's not the enemy, Sam."
"Then why do I feel like I need to do something?"
"Because for the first time, you don't have control over the problem."Quil told him. "This is a first for you. You just have to deal with it as it happens."
"I don't like this." Sam growled. "I don't like this at all."
"Well tough. Deal with it."
"Easy Paul. Remember who you are talking to." Sam reminded him, turning his gaze on the shorter pack member.
"Sorry." Paul apologized, turning his attention to the ground. "So, when you we get to meet the little sister?"
"I was thinking some time later today. After we run patrol." Sam instructed his group. "You should all know what she looks like and her scent so if she ever gets in trouble, then you can find her."
"Should be mentioning this to Leah and Seth?" Embry asked.
"No. I will speak to them myself some other time." Sam answered, still feeling a sting at the mention of his ex. He never truly forgot what happened between them.
"What about Jacob?" Quil wanted to know.
"No. Do not involve Jacob in this."
"Wow. It's beautiful out here." Quinn said quietly to herself as she looked around at all the trees surrounding her and sighed easily. It was the most calm she had felt since being here.
After Emily had left her room that morning, Quinn finally began to eat the breakfast that had been in front of her and as she did, she looked around her room at all the boxes that were waiting for her to be unpacked. It was a little hard to deal with, knowing all the reminders of her old life were in those cardboard containers waiting to be brought out into her new life. She didn't want to deal with it just yet. She wanted to leave them where they were, frozen in time until she was ready. And today wasn't that day. So when she was done eating, she had pulled on a pair of jeans and a red tank top and brought the tray downstairs to the kitchen. It was then that she saw the forest through the open window and informed Emily that she was going out for the day. She went back upstairs to grab her black zip up hoodie and her messenger bag and then she was out the door and disappearing into the trees. She hadn't thought about following close to the outside perimeter of the forest and ended up going further in then she first anticipated. But she wasn't afraid. After what she had been through, there wasn't much that could scare her now.
Quinn continued hiking through the lush and green forest, lifting her face occasionally when the sun broke through the tree branches overhead. There was no noise at all coming from miles around. Only the sound of her feet hitting the dirt floor broke the silence. She climbed up short hills and hopped over fallen tree stumps that looked like they had fallen down long ago. Everything looked like it was covered in this velvety looking moss, making it appear almost magical. It had a surprisingly calm effect on her. She felt like she was in a different world. Different from the one she was in back at the house. Only this world she chose to walk into. She wasn't being forced. And she felt a strange relief wash over her the longer she walked. She was away from that house full of strangers and by herself. The only way she felt comfortable. She didn't have to put up a front when she was out here amongst the trees. She didn't have to worry about how people looked at her or what they were thinking. All she had on her mind was the beauty of this forest. Her mother would have loved this place.
"No no, I can't think about that right now." She told herself as she walked into a small clearing that had a nice view of the blue sky overhead and a giant spot of sunshine shining down onto the dirt. She walked into the middle of it and just stood there with her eyes closed for a minute. When she opened them again, the trees seemed to grow more serene and mystical. She sighed again and looked around, spotting a tree with a slight indent that looked like it would fit the concave of her thin back just so.
"This is perfect." Quinn said, dropping her bag at her feet and then kneeling down to pull out the small towel she had brought with her and spread it over the ground before sitting down. She just sat there for a minute and then went into her messenger bag and pulled out the leather bound journal her mom had bought her for her last birthday. Quinn ran her hands over the hard cover, feeling the softness of the material on her finger tips and opened it, watching as her handwriting appeared on the pages in front of her. She let the words sink in before flipping to a new blank page and gently picked up the pen that she had stored there the last she had written, which happened to be 3 months ago, right after her mom had died. It had been a long time and it was only now that she felt the strength to begin writing again.
Dear Journal,
I can't believe it has been this long since I last wrote anything. I used to write everyday, but ever since mom died, I just haven't felt the urge to write or do anything at all. I feel like I'm stuck somewhere between my old life and my new life. It's a dark place, and it's a cold place. I don't feel much of anything now. Once in a while I will get hit with an urge to cry or scream, but it never happens. And at this point, I doubt it ever will.
So much has changed in the last few months. My head still spins just thinking about it. It's a little crazy to look back and see how things are different. I never imagined that I would lose the one person who had been there my entire life. I never thought that the brother I hardly even knew would come out of the woodwork and try to save the day. Especially after ignoring me most of the 17 years I have been alive. I just don't know what to think about Sam...
Emily was sitting on the couch doing paperwork when she heard some commotion going on outside and she was about to stand up and seeing what was going on, when Sam walked through the door. An instant smile spread across her face when he came over and took a seat next to her. "Hey, what's with all the noise?"
"Oh sorry about that. It's just the guys horsing around outside." Sam explained, his face looking tense as he spoke. "I told them about Quinn."
"Ah and that's why you brought them home." Emily finished, knowing where he was going with this. "You wolves are just too damn curious for your own good."
"That's what makes it fun." Sam shot back, bringing her hand up to his face and kissing her palm. "Besides, I figured, it would be good for them to meet her so they could see what she looks like and know her scent in case something happens in the future. And because she doesn't know anyone else here besides you and me."
"That's a good idea, but you know she can't be told everything. So just be careful how close she gets to them." Emily reminded him of the rules.
"I know that." Sam replied, shaking his head. "I don't want her getting involved in any of this stuff. And since most of the members of the pack have imprinted, there's no way any of them can tell her about us or our world."
"That's true." Emily said thoughtfully.
"So is she still upstairs? Has she come down at all?" Sam questioned.
"Well, she did come down to the kitchen, but then she left." Emily said hesitantly, not sure if she should say what happened.
"So she is back in her room." Sam stated, starting to rise, but she grabbed his arm and made him sit down.
"Actually, she's not upstairs."
"Well where is she?"
"She kind of said she was going for a walk after breakfast and then she was disappearing into the forest."
"And you didn't stop her? You let her go off by herself?"
"I'm sorry, but she was actually talking this morning and I was just so relieved that she was interacting at all that I didn't question it." Emily explained, watching the tense look return to his face. "Don't worry, she doesn't know these woods, I doubt she has gone that far. I don't think she is lost."
"That's not what I'm worried." Sam grumbled before jumping to his feet and racing out the door.
"I can't believe this place." Quinn whispered, her voice barely reaching her own ears as the sound of waves crashing nearly drowned out the sound.
After her time spent in the forest, she had gotten back to walking and within 20 minutes, she had followed the sound of the ocean and reached the edge of the tree line and there in front of her was the water. She hadn't wasted any time in running down the path to the sand and walking across it still in her sneakers. Once she was halfway across the beach, she simply stopped and just looked. Watching the waves splash and send droplets of water into the air was captivating. There was a peacefulness from being this close to the ocean. She couldn't remember the last time she had been to a beach. It must have been when she was very young, because she hadn't gone after the age of 6. She must have loved it then, because she felt this old sense of joy fill her up as she looked across the water. It felt like that emotion had triggered a memory that had been lying dormant in her heart for a long time.
Quinn immediately dropped her bag and towel on the sand and kicked off her shoes. She unzipped her hoodie and threw it down on the pile while she rolled up her jeans to her knees and then took off towards the shoreline. She slowed down when she got closer to the water, not sure what the temperature of it was going to be. She hesitantly stepped forward, allowing the water to lap at her toes, finding it to be pleasantly cool. She moved further into the water until the waves were crashing against the middle of her skins. The coolness of the water took her breath away, but it was in a good way. She felt like a kid again in that moment. Something she hadn't felt like in a while. She wasn't quite happy . It was more like contentment. It may be short lived, but she was grateful that she had it at all.
Quinn had just turned around to face the beach when she felt like she was being watched. Her eyes immediately turning to the forest edge and scanning the trees for something. Her focus landed on a distant looking figure standing at the edge of the woods. She could tell it was something male but she didn't know who. He was tall and tanned with short black hair and he looked to be her age or maybe older. She didn't know if Sam had pointed him out on the drive here or not. But then his eyes met hers and she found herself immediately forgetting everything she had just thought and her pain was briefly halted as she stared at this good looking boy. He seemed to have had the same reaction, except on a much larger scale. His dark eyes went wide and his mouth fell open like he was shocked. She didn't know how it happened, but she found herself coming out of the water and walking across the beach, her eyes unable to look away from his face. He too seemed to unaware of where his feet were carrying him and before she knew it, she was standing back where she had left her things and he had meet her there right in the middle of the beach.
She looked up at him, he was taller then her, and even better looking up close. Quinn didn't know what was going on in that moment, or what kind of force it was that was bringing them together like this, even though they were strangers. But she didn't question it when he reached out his hand and she accepted it, not knowing the connection she had just forged by intertwining their hands together. Not knowing she had sealed not just her future but his future as well.
"Hi, I'm Jacob Black."
