Chapter Four

"I'm sorry, what?" She did not say what I thought she did. She couldn't have said that. No sane human being could ever kill their own brother.
Clara lifted her blue-grey eyes to gaze steadily into mine, face carefully blank. "I killed my brother," she repeated. "I killed him with my bare hands and watched as he faded away." Clara pressed her lips shut firmly, clearly done talking. She watched me for a few seconds, and then with a final glance at Kim on the bed behind me, she exited the room and closed the door softly behind her. My mind was whirling with confusion and shock. Why would anyone kill their own brother? It was completely insane. Was it even safe to be around Clara – The-Girl-Who-Killed-Her-Brother? Would she kill each of us in turn, too? I shook my head to clear it, feeling a headache coming on. She had to be safe otherwise Jason would've kicked her out long ago. With one last glance and a kiss on Kim's forehead, I exited her room and slowly walked back to mine, my feet dragging. I fell down onto the bed, noticing that it was getting light outside. I wonder what Jared is doing? And Seth and Paul and Embry? Have they seen my room yet? Did they think us dead?
When I opened my eyes again the sun outside was hanging low. It was nearing twilight. I lazily climbed off of the bed and stretched, wincing when I moved a sore muscle. For a moment I was confused; where was Kim? But then I remembered that she was changing into a vampire. It was strange to think that, less than a year ago, I would've done anything to be one of the Cold Ones, and now my best friend was slowly changing into one, and I was the enemy. If only the Cullens could see me now. Shaking my head, I opened the small wooden closet. Inside was brand new clothes; they still had their tags on. A smile tugged at my lips as I mentally thanked whoever it was that bought them, before grabbing a simple jean and a t-shirt. I also grabbed a towel and ran to the bathroom. I opened the door and quickly closed it behind me. But when I turned around I let out a scream, which was quickly followed by the room's other occupant's girlish scream. Drake was sitting in the bath and was staring at me, open mouthed. He had absolutely no bubble bath to cover his privates, and I, unfortunately, saw more than I ever wanted to see of him. I quickly slapped my free hand over my eyes, grimacing.
"God, knock much, Bella?" Drake tried to sound threatening, but really his voice sounded a little squeaky. I laughed and bit my lip as I shook my head. "You could've locked the door, Drake," I pointed out.
He mumbled something and I heard the sloshing of the water as he climbed out of the bath. After a few seconds, he said, "You can open your eyes now."
When I looked at his face I nearly burst out laughing again. His eyes were downcast and his russet skin was flaming red with embarrassment. "Stop laughing," he snapped. When I didn't, he grabbed his clothes and stormed out of the bathroom, bumping my shoulder on his way out. I couldn't even bring myself to feel annoyed; instead I drained the bath of its water before climbing into the shower. The water was nice for all of three minutes before it suddenly turned ice cold. I let out a shriek and jumped out of the shower, banging my elbow on the glass accidently. Shivering, I grabbed my towel and started to quickly dry myself off, all the while feeling grateful that at least there was no conditioner in my hair at the moment, or any soap on my body. After I was dressed I turned to look into the mirror only to take a startled step backwards when I saw myself. The Bella in the mirror looked nothing like I did. She had thick dark brown waves that reached just past her – surprisingly broad – shoulders, framing her heart-shaped face. Her skin had darkened a bit so that she looked rather tan, and she had developed some muscles. It also seemed that she had grown a little bit taller. I frowned at my reflection who copied my motions. Where was the old Bella; the one that I've been for most of my life? For some reason I felt a pang of loss in my chest, but I shoved that thought to the back of my mind and walked out of the bathroom. My stomach was growling and it felt painfully empty, so I followed the smell of food down the stairs and into the kitchen. Strangely nobody was inside except for the unfamiliar guy that had brought Kim into the house. He looked miserable seated at the table with his head in his hands and his eyes closed. I slowly made my way to him and sat down in an opposite chair. I hesitantly reached over the table and softly laid my hand onto his tanned arm. The touch was so soft it was barely there, but the guy felt it and his muscles tensed before relaxing completely after a few seconds. My heart ached for the guy even though I didn't know what the matter was. After a few minutes he sat um straight, avoiding my eyes. His eyes were dry. He cleared his throat and asked meekly, "Want some coffee?"
I nodded and stood up from the table and made my way to the kettle. I filled the kettle with ice cold water and watched it as it boiled. The guy prepared our coffee and put the two mugs in front of me. "So do you have a name?" I asked him as I filled the mugs with the steaming hot water. "Jacob," the guy mumbled as he accepted his coffee. My insides clenched at the familiar name but I shook the feeling away. "Are you okay, Jacob?" I asked him, brushing my hair behind my ears. "Fine," was his short reply. Shrugging, I made my way back to the table and took a seat. I was struggling to remember the names of all of the people I've met the last…wait, how long has it been? A day? Two days? I made a mental note to ask someone later. I couldn't help but wonder about the Pack back at La Push, and poor Charlie. Last I saw him was Friday morning when I yelled at him for treating me like a little girl. What will he do now that I was gone? I was broken out of my thoughts by the new pack as they entered the kitchen, all laughing. Jason held ten pizza boxes that he placed onto the table in front of me. He picked three up and handed them to Damian, Tyler, and one to share for Clara and Mandy. He then handed one each to Tyler, Callie, and Drake, and took one for himself. He left the room then and paused long enough to call that there was one for me and one for Jacob, who had been so silent the whole time I totally forgot his presence. I grabbed a box and followed the laughter outside into the back yard. It was lit up with a lot of little light bulbs placed all over and from the light of the house. The pack was seated all over the place on logs that were placed in seemingly random locations. Jacob was seated next to Damian and they were talking quietly to each other, seated the furthest away from everyone. To my far left were Jason and Callie, who were making out. I quickly averted my eyes. To my immediate right were Clara, Drake, Tyler and Mandy. They were laughing loudly at Mandy who was glaring down her nose at them. When they didn't stop laughing she gave them the finger and stormed over to me. Her pale face was flushed red with anger, and I could tell with just one look at her eyes that she was seething mad. She grabbed me by my arm and dragged me to a log opposite to Damian and Jacob. "Damn guys," she huffed, "Think they know everything."
"Hey, I'm not a guy," Clara yelled from where she was seated. Drake and Tyler laughed loudly as Clara mock glared at Mandy.
"Whatever," Mandy growled, sitting down with a huff.
"What happened?" I asked her as I took a slice of pizza out of my box. I took a bite and nearly moaned at the deliciousness that was BBQ Chicken.
"Those three idiots over there" – she nodded at Tyler, Drake and Clara – "are laughing at me because I don't want kids. I mean, who does? Who in their right minds would want to go through the pain of giving birth? Not me, that's for sure. And it's not like I want to ruin my perfect body just to have a little crying baby – not to be vain or anything! My body is perfect as it is, and I won't ever give it up.." and that was where I tuned Mandy out. I stared blankly at her as she babbled on and on and on about babies and how much she hated them. That girl never stopped talking, did she? After another five minutes I couldn't take it anymore. "I agree with the no-baby thing," I told her loudly.
Her emerald eyes brightened and she yelled to her boyfriend, "See, I'm not the only one who doesn't want children!"
The sudden silence was deafening and I winced. Clara and Callie's mouths were hanging open with shock, and the guys were staring at me as if I was crazy. "You...don't...want...children?" Callie asked me slowly, her gaze disbelieving. When I nodded hesitantly she released a scary (and pretty convincing) growl before pulling something out of her pockets. She stood up and marched until she was stood in front of me and held the item in front of her as if it was some precious trophy. It was a cute, tiny little sock. It was black with little cartoon fish on it. "Sock," she said and looked at me expectantly.
"It's a sock," I repeated in a steady voice that belied the fact that I was melting inside.
"Isn't it cute?" Callie asked me with wide puppy-dog eyes and a smile on her lips. I tried to remove my gaze for the sock but I couldn't. It was the cutest thing ever! Finally admitting defeat, I nodded and said, "It's a sock. A cute baby sock. It's adorable!"
Callie stood up with a pleased smile. "See? It's cute," she said, then firmly added, "Babies are cute."
I pulled a face at her. "The sock may be cute, but babies? Not as cute."
Callie narrowed her eyes at me and was about to open her mouth, but Damian beat her to it. "Why don't you want to have children?" he asked.
"Because I used to date a vampire." I clapped a hand over my mouth. OH. MY. GOSH. It just slipped out! I hadn't meant to tell them this, and they were probably going to hate me now!
"You what?" The whole pack yelled in unison.
"Nothing," I said, drawing out the word. I could feel my traitorous blush creeping up my neck. "I was only joking?" It sounded more like a question than a statement. Darn it.
"Was he good?" That was the most unexpected question, especially from Callie. "Was he hot?"
"Callie," Jason hissed in the background.
I looked Callie in the eyes and nodded, feeling heat creep up my face. Curse you, blush! The guys made sounds of disgust and told us that they were going to patrol, and left us in a hurry. Clara left with them. Callie took my arm and pulled me back into the house, up the stairs and into her bedroom. It was a pretty room, decorated all over with pictures of the pack. It made me miss my friends from La Push even more than I had been before.
I took a seat on Callie's large bed, sitting so that I was facing her and Mandy. "So where are you from, Bella?" asked Callie as she grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest for warmth. I pushed some hair behind my ears as I answered, "I'm from Forks. I live with my dad Charlie."
Callie's mouth dropped open with shock. "You can't be from Forks! I have, like, a million friends from Forks! How did you even get here?"
I shrugged. "Um, it's a long story.. Hey wait, where is "here", exactly?" I asked with a frown.
"We're on Markham Reservation, a half an hour's drive from La Push," Mandy said. "You didn't know?"
I shook my head 'no'. "I was attacked by a rogue vampire, and that is how I got here."
The two girls nodded their heads, seeming to understand that I didn't want to go into detail, for which I was really grateful for. We chatted a little more about me so that they could get to know me better. After about an hour it was Callie's turn. "So, tell me a little about yourself, Callie," I said with a smile.
Callie grinned excitedly. "I'm from here, and I've lived here for my toddler years. When I was thirteen we moved to La Push because my dad got a new job teaching at Forks High School. Four years later I came to visit one of my friends and decided to stay with her for a year. I met Jason five months later and lived here ever since."
"That's nice," I said with a smile. "And your parents? Do they still live in Forks?"
Callie nodded. "Yup. I'm visiting them on Friday, and I can't wait!"
I smiled at her. "Can I go with you?"
Callie suddenly turned serious. "No."
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"She said you can't go, Izzie," Mandy said seriously.
I felt my temper flare. "Why the hell not?" I demanded.
"Because you may lose your temper and phase," came Jason's voice from the doorway. I spun around to face him, forcing myself to calm down. "I will never hurt my friends!"
"You may do so accidently, Bella," Jason replied, watching me warily.
My anger spiked again and I could feel myself shaking slightly. "Ah, Bellie has got a temper," Damian said playfully as he appeared next to Jason. I narrowed my eyes at him and let a warning growl slip through my lips. He immediately stopped smiling and gave me an uncertain look. "Don't mess with me, Damian, or you won't live to regret it." With that said I pushed passed him and Jason and left the house with my supernatural speed. I kept on going until I found a grocery store. It was rather large; definitely larger than the one La Push had. I entered the store and walked around for a bit. After a few minutes I walked to the sleepy looking guy sitting at the till. He looked to be around fifteen and also rather cute. "Hey," I said lamely, hoping the guy wouldn't find it too random.
"Hey," he said, looking awake again. "I'm Keith. Need some help?"
I nodded sheepishly. "Do you maybe have a cell phone I could borrow? I'm here visiting and I lost mine." I guessed it wouldn't hurt to lie. Surprisingly Keith nodded and handed me an old looking LG. I accepted it with a grateful smile and walked a little away for some privacy. I punched in the numbers I knew by heart and pressed the green button. I pressed the phone to my ear, praying that he would answer. Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring . . . Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring . . .
I was just about to give up when he answered. "Hello?"
I released a shaky breath and closed my eyes, drinking in the sound of his voice. "Embry?"
There was a moment of silence on his side, and then, "Bella? Oh my God, are you okay? Where are you? What happened? Where's Kim? We are all worried sick!"
My heart nearly stopped. Kim. I had completely forgotten about my best friend who was busy changing into a vampire. How was I supposed to tell Embry that one of the Imprints was now a vampire? The answer was simple: I wasn't telling. "I'm safe, Em," I whispered finally, my voice choked.
He was silent for a moment, and all I could hear was his heavy breathing. "And Kim?" He asked it slowly with a forced calm voice that told me he knew something was horribly wrong. My only answer was a sniffle. "Bella, what about Kim?" he repeated, his voice stronger now.
"We're both safe," I babbled out, silent tears streaming down my face. This was it. This was my final goodbye to Embry. I had to stay strong. "Listen Embry, you're never going to see me or hear about me again. None of you will. So please look after Charlie for me, okay? And tell the Pack I love them." I paused as a sob passed through my lips. "I'm going to miss you, Em. Love you," I said, and pressed the 'end call' button. This was it, I repeated in my mind. This was my final goodbye to Embry, maybe forever.