Chapter 7.

Nessie – a bad drive

What had I done to deserve this? The end result of my intervention on the beach was that I saved a stranger's life and found myself, at two o'clock in the morning, in a hospital waiting room with no ride home.

My one stroke of luck was that we weren't taken to Forks hospital. At least this way, my exploits might avoid being broadcast to the whole town. I had to think quickly, to escape having any thorough examinations. The doctors would think I was suffering from palpitations and a deathly fever, if they took my pulse and temperature. Fortunately, I looked so well that no one bothered much about me.

The girl, Trina, showed every sign of recovery, but was staying overnight for observation. I kept out of the way when her hysterical parents arrived, unwilling to draw attention to myself. After a couple of hours hanging around the stark hospital waiting room, I was told that I was free to go.

Being registered as eighteen, I didn't need to have Grandpa come and sign me out. Unfortunately the doctor insisted that I call someone to pick me up. He thought that I might go into delayed shock. This was a spanner in the works. I had considered just running home, but now I couldn't. Crap!

Grandpa would probably have a heart attack if he was called to collect me from the hospital at two in the morning. And even if he was lucky enough not to have a coronary, he would never forgive me. He might even send me home to mom and dad, so that idea was definitely out!

I decided to try Seth's cell phone. He slept in the extension, at the back of the house, so the ringing phone would be unlikely to wake Grandpa or Sue. And I knew that he would forgive me. I used the phone booth in waiting room. I had some change in my pocket and dialled his number. It only rang twice before he picked up.

"Hello?" He sounded surprised.

"Hey Seth, it's Nessie, I'm sorry to wake you…"

"It's ok, I'm at La Push and I haven't gone to sleep yet." That was a relief, he was still up. Maybe he wouldn't mind driving to get me.

"I'm sorry to call you so late but…" I hesitated, unwilling to confess what I had really been doing that night.

"Nessie are you ok?" He sounded concerned and I was about to reassure him, when I heard another voice on the end of the line.

"Nessie!" I had completely forgotten that Jacob was probably with him. This just got worse and worse.

"Oh! Hi Jake…"

His voice was alarmed. "Nessie! What's wrong?"

I tried to calm him. "Um, nothing… I'm fine."

"Then why are you calling Seth?" He still sounded really tense.

It was going to take some skill to explain this away.

"Oh right...! Um…" Skill that I apparently lacked. "I needed a lift and I thought that Seth wouldn't mind. I forgot that he was at La Push. They won't let me out by myself."

There was a long pause and it sounded as if Jacob was struggling to keep his composure. "Who won't let you out? Where are you?"

My attempts at playing the situation down seemed to be failing dismally.

"At Port Angeles hospital…"

"WHAT!" He yelled. Clearly his grip on calm had been lost.

"Wait! Let me explain," I interrupted quickly. "I'm fine, I just pulled a girl out of the sea; she was drowning! And then they brought me in too, because I was soaked and now I'm stuck here until someone comes to accompany me home."

There was more silence and then Jacob spoke in a slightly more controlled voice. "Why were you in the sea?"

"I was at a party at Clallam Bay," tiredness was starting to take its toll and I couldn't think of an imaginative excuse. "Look I'll explain everything later, but please come and get me."

"Stay where you are, I'll be right there." The line went dead.

I knew that Jacob would be a while, so I found myself a seat in a corner of the empty waiting room. I must have looked like a mess, my clothes were still damp and clinging to me and my hair was tangled by the salty water. I was exhausted. My eyes started to close in spite of the hideous fluorescent lights.

I don't know how long I had been waiting, but I was startled out of my stupor by the sound of footsteps. I recognised the sound and sighed with relief, I knew it was Jake. He came into the waiting room just as I stood up, my wet shoes squelching on the linoleum floor.

I looked into his face and received a severe shock. Very, very occasionally I had made Jake irritable, but I had never seen him look at me with this expression before. He was angry, I mean really angry. His mouth was drawn in a tense line and his frown was so deep that his eyes were lost in shadow. I gasped and dropped my eyes.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked in a deceptively cool voice. I nodded nervously.

I signed myself out at the reception desk and trailed behind him as we crossed the dark parking lot. Neither of us said a word. Every second the atmosphere became more charged. Jake was visibly fuming and I was kicking myself that I hadn't taken a chance and run home.

He unlocked the car and I climbed into the passenger seat. He didn't even look at me as he got in. We had been driving for about ten minutes before he spoke. I was so nervous that I jumped at the sound of his voice.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" He said in a clipped tone.

"I could show you?" I had never asked for permission to touch him before, but I wasn't going to take any chances now.

"Sure."

I sighed with relief and touched his face. I stuck to the important memories. Being invited to the party and saving the drowning girl. He didn't say anything, so I took a deep breath and started to apologise.

"I know that I shouldn't have lied, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag you out here at two in the morning."

"I'm not angry that I had to pick you up." He snapped. "Do you understand you scared the hell out of me?"

"I didn't mean to." My guilt made me defensive. "Don't I even get points for saving someone's life?"

His reply was blighting. "Trust me, Nessie. That's the only thing stopping me hauling your ass home to Charlie!"

I cringed at his words. "Where are we going?"

"You can stay at my house tonight. I'll drive you home in the morning."

Neither option was particularly appealing right now. A furious Jacob or an enraged Grandpa. I hung my head and kept my thoughts to myself.

"What were you thinking?" He burst out. "I didn't realise you could pull a stunt this dumb..!"

Jake had never spoken to me this way to me before. Tears of humiliation sprang into my eyes. I was stung into an angry response.

"Come on! Don't you think you're overreacting a bit..? I went to one party, that's hardly crime of the century. Isn't it something that every teenager does?"

"I can't believe that you lied."

"Are you telling me that you've never lied to Billy about going out?" I argued.

"I've never lied to you." I was momentarily silenced by the edge in his voice. He continued grimly. "You're too young for those parties. Anything could happen."

"I can look after myself." I snorted rebelliously and showed him a memory of my dance floor dealings with the would-be Romeo.

Unfortunately, this snapshot of my evening only seemed to make Jacob angrier. For a moment he couldn't even speak, he just clenched his teeth and gripped the steering wheel. We didn't say another word to each other for the rest of the drive. I just kept my face turned towards the window, fighting back the tears.

It was nearly four in the morning when we arrived at Jacob's house. The reservation was peaceful and still. The only sound was Jake's car engine. I hoped that we wouldn't wake Billy. We both got out of the car and I tried to shut my door quietly. Jake slammed his angrily, so my effort was wasted. I followed him into the house.

Jake turned on a side lamp, though neither of us really needed the extra light to see in the dark. I stood awkwardly in the front room as he stalked into his bedroom. He returned, carrying a clean t-shirt and shorts, and tossed them to me.

"Rachel left these. You can wear them, she won't mind."

I caught the clothes and murmured a thank you. He looked at me thoughtfully.

"You look like you could use a shower. You're a mess." He went and fetched me a towel. "There you go."

I shuffled into the bathroom and locked the door. Jake was right, I did look a mess. My hair was matted and my clothes were clinging to me. They had been partially dried by the heat of my body and looked terrible. There was a chance that the jeans could be salvaged, but my crumpled silk top was a complete right off. I peeled them off and got into the shower.

The warm water did make me feel a little better. At least the dank smell was washed out of my hair. I didn't take long and when I emerged, I found Jake throwing a pillow and blanket onto the couch. He had taken off his shirt and was dressed in just shorts. The lamp threw shadows across his muscular frame, and I was suddenly reminded of just how strong he was. He looked up and I turned away, feeling self-conscious.

"You can have my room tonight, I'll sleep here."

"You don't have to do that." I protested feebly.

"It's not up for discussion, ok!" With these words he curled up on the sofa and closed his eyes, effectively ending the conversation. I realised that this was my cue to go to bed. I crept out of the room and closed the door behind me, sinking onto Jake's bed with exhaustion. I lay under the covers and tried to get some sleep, but somehow it evaded me.

All the day's events circled in my head, keeping me awake. I could hear Billy and Jacob snoring gently. At least they could sleep! I thought indignantly about Jacob's ridiculous overreaction. His harsh words came back to me with a vengeance, as I lay in the darkness. I just couldn't believe that he was so angry. He was never angry with me. I replayed his words in my head over and over again.

Finally some understanding filtered through; he was angry because I had scared him, far more than I had realised at the time. When I considered our conversation from this new angle I had another uncomfortable insight. I had behaved like a selfish, inconsiderate idiot. Added to which, I had lied to Jacob and hurt him. I had hurt Jake!

I rolled onto my side, squirming with guilt. A second later I rolled onto the other side. I then sat up. It was no good, I couldn't just lie there, I had to apologise properly. I got out of bed and padded out into the front room. It would have been more considerate to wait until morning. But I didn't think I could hold out that long.

His long, brown arms and legs were dangling over the edges of the sofa as he lay in an undisturbed sleep. Well, it wouldn't be undisturbed for long! I crept over to him and knelt down by his head.

"Jake," I whispered. There was no response so I tried again. "Jake, wake up!"

He was completely out. I put my hand on his bare shoulder, he felt nice and warm, like me. I shook him and whispered urgently.

"Jacob! Wake up… please."

After a lot more shaking he finally responded by lifting his head and groaning.

"What's going on?" I wasn't sure he even remembered that I was in the house.

"It's me. I want to talk to you."

"Nessie?" He sat up slowly to face me. "What is it?"

He didn't sound angry, which I took as a good sign. So I sat down next to him and rested my face against his chest.

"You don't hate me do you?" I sighed.

"You know I don't." He sounded surprised and put his arm around my shoulders to give them a reassuring squeeze. He blinked and looked around the dark room. "What time is it?"

"I don't know, maybe five thirty. I couldn't sleep; I was worrying that you were still mad at me."

"I'm not mad anymore." He sounded more like his usual self. "Sorry I got so angry," he added apologetically.

"No, it was my fault. I promise I won't lie to you again. Say you forgive me."

He just laughed and kissed my head. "Sure, if you forgive me." I nodded and hugged him, as he added. "You should try to get some rest; you've had a busy night."

"I know. I'm sorry that I woke you."

"It's fine, just get some sleep."

I kissed him on the cheek and headed back to bed, sinking into a deep sleep the minute my head hit the pillows.

I was woken a couple of hours later by Jacob. He wanted to get me out of the house before Billy saw me and told Grandpa. I grabbed my clothes and was out of the door in about ten seconds flat. He got me to Forks in record speed and I arrived home just before Grandpa and Sue got up. I snuck into the house and ran to my room, to dump my damp things and change into some clean clothes. Then I quietly crept downstairs and banged the front door closed.

"Hi Grandpa, hi Sue!" I called up the stairs, before disappearing into the kitchen to wait for them to come down to breakfast. As I waited, the phone rang in the hall and I rushed to pick it up. It was Kristy. I could only thank my lucky stars that she hadn't called five minutes earlier.

She wanted to know if I was ok. I told her that I was fine and had got home with no problems. I didn't go into further details. I reminded her not to tell to anyone. Thankfully, she was in full agreement and so was Leanne, who was still at her house. I said we could talk at school, the next day, and ended the conversation when I heard Grandpa's footsteps on the stairs.

"Hey Nessie, I didn't expect you home so early." He popped his head around the kitchen door, clearly pleased to see me. "I thought you girls would be sleeping 'til noon, like normal teenagers."

"Yeah, I know, but Kristy had to run some errands for her mom, so we cleared out early."

He accepted my story and started talking about something else. I sighed with relief. My only moment of panic came when Seth arrived home; would he dump me in it? But I guessed that Jacob had filled him in, because he just gave me a look and said nothing.

By the end of the evening I finally relaxed, I couldn't believe that I had somehow got away with my Saturday night escapade.

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