Chapter Four
Bella's Point-of-View:
When I woke up, I felt rested. I hadn't felt rested since Jacob and I had left Forks. It was a wonderful feeling; I felt as though I'd slept for a month, that I'd gained some type of health points and peace of mind, and I felt... stable. I hadn't felt stable in a long time. Since Edward had left, really. Since he'd left me in the forest, everything about my life had been up in the air. And everything had only gotten worse when the La Push wolves disowned Jacob and left him stranded.
We had been somewhat dating for almost two months. Stolen kisses that were soft and mostly innocent, light caresses with finger tips that were afraid to touch too much, and nights of lying in my bed or his, staring at each other and speaking in hushed tones. We had bonded and Jacob had fallen deeper in love with me, but I hadn't changed. His kisses felt out of place and wrong, like they didn't belong to me. I hadn't told him that I felt nothing when he kissed me. I wasn't cruel. So, I endured the strain and emptiness of an almost-relationship with Jacob Black.
I sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I looked around and found a small alarm clock on the bedside table. It displayed in angry red numbers: 11:45. I tossed the sheets away from my body and stiffly got to my feet. My body ached from sleeping so late, but when I stretched and rolled my shoulders, I felt better. My dirty mud-stained clothes still hung on my body, but on further examination of the bedroom I'd been assigned, I found a pile of clothes on the stout dresser.
Men's Nike shorts and a woman's tee shirt displaying the University of Alabama at Birmingham insignia were folded neatly, a note lying on top of them. In feminine, pretty scrawl, it read: 'I hope that these clothes fit you. We'll have to get you some new ones soon. The bathroom is across the hall. –love, Allison.' I smiled at her generosity and gathered the clothes, creeping across the hall and locking myself in the bathroom.
I turned and set the clothes pile on the bathroom counter, then made the mistake of looking up at my reflection. The girl that stared back at me had lank, dirty hair and she looked gaunt and exhausted; too pale with eyes that looked too large for her face and a dark smear of dirt on her cheek. Faded black makeup rubbed down below her dark eyes in an unattractive way, and lips chapped and cracked. I licked my lips and then turned from my shameful reflection, embarrassed that other people had seen me that way.
I turned the knobs for the shower, testing to see which was cold and which was hot. Finally finding a good medium, I peeled my dirty clothes off and carefully laid them on the bathmat, not wanting smears of dirt and grime to mar the pearly white tile floor. I took a long shower, letting the warm water flow over my body and loosen my muscles while simultaneously calming me and putting me at peace. Afterwards, I shut off the water, dried off with a towel that was folded on the back of the toilet, and dressed.
Tucked between the shirt and pants had been a bra and panties, which I silently thanked Allison one hundred times for. I looked at my reflection in the slightly foggy mirror and smiled. My hair hung around my face in long, damp, loose waves. My eyes didn't look as dark against my pale skin. My face didn't look as tired or gaunt. I looked refreshed and I felt as so. I exited the bathroom and ventured down the hallway in search of other people. It didn't take me long to find someone.
Nathan, the boy who had been with Caleb the night before, lounged on the couch, his eyes closed and his jaw lax in sleep. A football game played on the television, on mute, and I noticed that Alabama was beating the hell out of Arkansas. Leaving Nathan to sleep on the couch, I found the kitchen, where Caleb and Allison were scrubbing and drying dishes. Jacob sat at the table, somewhat awkwardly.
"Hey, you're awake," Allison said brightly with a kind smile that filled the kitchen with even more light. Jacob smiled too and stood, walking over to me and wrapping his arms around me. I understood the seemingly unnecessary display of affection: he was so grateful that he'd been accepted into the Black Warrior Pack, for now at least, and he was happy to see that I wasn't turning tail and running. I wrapped my arms around his back and laced my fingers together behind him.
"Jacob." Caleb's voice was a soft warning, one that had Jacob backing away almost immediately. A sad look washed over his features and it would've had more impact on me, but I heard the front door open and a chorus of whoops and hollers. We all peaked around the corner of the kitchen to see Ben and Noah, two of the wolves from the night before, along with two more wolves, dressed in football garb. They'd woken Nathan, who snarled violently at Noah when he flicked his ear.
Something about Nathan's lips pulled back over his teeth caught my attention. He looked so menacing, but I didn't feel any fear at all. When Jacob snarled or growled, a thrill of fear would race down my spine, but seeing Nathan's snarl only made me want to kiss his mouth back to normal. I physically shook my head and went to plant myself next to Jacob at the table, crossing my arms over my stomach.
Allison set a plate of food in front of me. "I kept this plate hidden and warm. Wolf boys eat like horses." She rolled her eyes in mock exasperation and spun back around to continue cleaning up the kitchen. Scrambled eggs, sausage links, two pancakes, three bacon strips, and two pieces of toast were all piled onto the plate. It looked like the leaning tower of breakfast and the smell coming off of the food was so inviting and mouth-watering that I tore into the meal without caring who witnessed my savagery.
"Hungry?" a voice asked with a laugh. His voice made my head snap up. His laugh made a colony of butterflies erupt into flight inside my stomach. Nathan stood across the table from me, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "We were convinced you'd sleep forever."
I smiled sheepishly and blushed, setting my fork down. He frowned, opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted when one of the two new wolves hooked his arm around his neck. "Yeah, we've all been waiting to meet the little girl that runs with wolves."
A feral instinct rose in me to pull my lips back over my teeth and snarl at him. My mouth twitched into half of the gesture and surprise lit Nathan's and the boy's face. "I'm not a little girl."
Nathan smirked and I found myself fighting the colony of butterflies into calmness again. "I beg to differ." He walked further into the kitchen and snatched an apple from a fruit bowl. He took a deep bite, the crisp crunch of his teeth against the skin making something tingle down my spine.
"I'm eighteen years old – I am not little," I insisted. I glared at him and he grinned at me around his apple.
"You're so tiny. How tall are you? 5'2"? And I bet you barely weight 110." That comment earned a sharp smack on the arm from Allison, who was wielding a wooden spoon. "Ow! Dammit, Allie, you know I didn't mean anything rude by it!"
"Never discuss a girl's weight," she scolded, waving the spoon in his face. She shot me an apologetic look and continued to clean.
"Regardless," Nathan continued, his eyes meeting mine again, "You're tiny and female; therefore, you are a little girl."
I clenched my fork in my hand and growled – actually growled – at Nathan. He looked taken aback, and then he smiled fondly, like he was proud of me. The expression was so blatant and pure that I blushed and turned my attention back to my plate. Jacob shoved away from the table and stomped outside. Caleb and Noah followed him quickly, shutting the door tightly behind them. Nothing was said about the exit.
"So," one of the new wolves said, sitting down beside me and holding out a large tanned hand, "My name is Liam. That shithead over there is Connor, and you've already met Caleb and Allison, as well as Ben, Nathan, and Noah." I nodded and shook his hand, almost surprised by how little I cared that Jacob had just stormed out of the house without an explanation. Nathan sat down near me, but not directly beside me, and I yearned for him to sit closer. I said nothing, just ate my breakfast and watched the mid-day banter that went on between the pack.