20
June 26th – Friday
I go thru my morning ritual as usual I put on a pair of the pants from the LA trip and new matching underwear. I put on 1 of the tank tops and grabbed an Emmett dress shirt from my mysterious appearing pile of Emmett cast off clothing that appears each morning. I put on my flip flops and head to the kitchen to make my breakfast. There were the remnants of a roast, a 3 egg omelet and 4 pieces of toast with peanut butter.
"You're wearing those with that? Put those back and get a pair of the shoes you bought yesterday." It's punk Tinkerbelle again.
"You bought yesterday. And NO. I'm wearing the flip flops," I counter.
"You can't. Listen, yesterday I purchased 2 pair of shoes for you. Wear 1 pr
today." Alice just wouldn't stop.
"What part of the word 'NO' don't you understand? You bought me 2 pr of high fashion flats. Today I'll probably end up at the crime scene. So which pair do you want me to ruin first?" Crime scene. God, I hate the thought and this bitch wants me to dress like I belong on CSI - Forks. "Or are you gonna carry me so I me so I don't get dirty?" I finished.
"Leilei, listen to me . . ." Alice started.
I cut her off "I'm done. Shut UP!" I said loudly and clearly.
"Ladies, please!" It was Carlisle. "What is the problem?" He was actually concerned.
I just looked at Alice. I wasn't going to say anything. She was going to have to explain to her 'father' I was being a bad dog. Carlisle and I both just looked at her.
"Well . . . never mind," she said finally. She walked away. I'm sure everyone would hear all about me defying her will. Again.
"Leilei, are you ready to leave?" Carlisle asked. Oh, I was so ready. Get me out of this house.
"Yup. Let's go," I answered him.
"You'll need a jacket, Leilei. Alice said it will rain today." It was Esme in full fledged mother mode.
"I don't have a jacket," I said. Then I fought and lost the fight against the grin that was coming. Alice had taken me to LA to go shopping and I didn't have anything to wear in the rain. In Forks, I didn't have any rain gear. Fucking A.
"I have some jackets you can choose from," Carlisle offering.
"I'll be fine. Really. I'm like half wolf anyway. I don't care." I'll just shake off the water doggie style when I get back. Esme will just love that.
I started to walk toward the garage, "Do you have your phone with you?" Carlisle again.
I'm getting tired of him, "Nope. I don't know its phone number and I don't have a charger and I don't know your number. I'll just have Charlie call Esme when we're done."
"Have Charlie call Emmett," he said as we went into the garage. "Leilei, it's the Mercedes." Of course it is.
I stood near the right rear passenger door. "It's open," he said. Then he kissed Esme goodbye. "You can get in the front. Seatbelts please." One quick wave, from him and we were off.
"Leilei, why am I always apologizing to you?" He was starting again. I was hoping for a quiet trip to town.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied again. I wasn't going to say anything. Why should I?
"What was happening in the kitchen when I walked in?"
"Nothing." I wasn't being a good dog and Alice was trying to get me to heel. Not gonna happen.
"What? Please, how can I help you if you won't talk with me?" he pleaded.
Ok. You asked for it, "Alice was objecting to my choice of shoes. She thinks that $200.00 handmade Italian flats should be worn to a crime scene when it's going to rain. And I'm too dumb to know she's always right about EVERYTHING!"
"What happened yesterday?" His tone apologetic.
Carlisle you are so a glutton for punishment. What do you want from me? Ok. "Nothing good." The only answer that I'll give.
"I don't like the sound of that. I know you and the girls are having problems and you don't get along."
I started laughing. Problems? Really! The problems will be solved soon – I promise. "I'll be leaving after the inquest. Problem solved."
"What? What about Jacob?"
"What about him? I haven't seen him in a week. Or was having Alice drag me to LA to go shopping an excuse to get me out of the house so Jacob could come by and see Bella?" Carlisle seemed shocked. He didn't even say anything for like 2 whole seconds.
"What are you talking about?" Carlisle finally stammered.
"Are you really that blind? Jacob was and is still in love with Bella. And since she picked Edward, he's been hanging around like a stray dog looking for a bone. And you all treat him like he's your pet. So he's waiting for your permission to act all grown up. He wants your approval to move on in his life. He keeps comparing Bella and I and I don't measure up. That's why Alice keeps trying to turn me into Bella, so maybe Jacob will like me more. He's 6'5" tall and weighs 260 lbs. He's a pack leader and he's scared to bring me to meet you and you excuse his behavior. WHY? You don't consider him to be an equal. He's the poor wolf boy you make excuses for. Would you accept that behavior from Edward, Emmett or Jasper? I don't think so, but you accept it from him. If you want him sitting around your living room like a Pekinese, then fine. I'll make my own way with my people without him." During my little speech Carlisle kept driving. He wasn't paying any attention to what he was doing. I pointed and looked at him hard when we passed the police station. He did pull a U turn and drive back.
"Leilei, is that what you believe?" He was confused by my reasoning but I knew more than he did about this.
"I have all of his memories and a different perspective on what has happened since I got to town 5 months ago. You can't judge what you don't know." He sat trying to figure out what to say. I decided to confuse him more, "How many times did you and Esme come to the farm stand and not introduce yourselves to me? You did know who I was right?"
We sat in silence for a second. He was still in shock. Then I said, "Oh look. There's Charlie. I'll get out now. Thank you for the ride." I got out of the car and left him with his thoughts. Charlie walked into the police station. Carlisle drove away. I stood there for just a moment, enjoying the quiet and the wolf smell. Did they patrol in town? Sure. Why not?
I crossed the street, walked into the station and asked for Chief Swan. I sat and waited and then he came out of his office. I stood so he could see me. All of me. I wasn't the 5'6" kid he'd seen about 5 months ago. That Jacob blood transfusion made me fill out and up in ways I was still learning to be comfortable with.
"Leilei?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes, Chief Swan," I smiled.
"Just call me Charlie, everyone does." He answered trying hard not to stare.
"Yes, sir." This was not going to be easy. I shook his hand briefly. I knew I was warmer than I should be. He didn't need to know anything more than he knew already. And that was a lot. Jacob – you really did go fuzzy in front of him? Really?
"Would you like some coffee?" Charlie asked. "I was gonna go to the diner and get a cup."
"Sure. Thank you. The Cullens aren't much for coffee in the morning. Wait a minute, maybe not," I said. I searched my pockets in vain. Empty. "I'm sorry. I don't have any money."
Charlie just smiled, "Don't worry about that. It's on me."
As we walked to the diner, I could see him looking at me. Like I was from Mars. Stranger in a Strange Land, but I never spent much time in town anyway. He got a cup of coffee, I got a 3 shot grande extra hot latte. He nodded toward an empty booth near the back of the diner. This wasn't going to be any fun.
"I'd like to talk with you before we go back to the station," he started. "First, I'm so sorry about what happened please accept my condolences on your loss. I can't imagine what you're going thru. Is there anything I can do?"
"No sir, there isn't. But thank you." I swallowed hard. I thought I was ready for this. Well, maybe not. "My people are coming to town soon. They'll take care of everything."
"Who was that who called me?" he wanted to know.
"My mother, Nona." I could hear my voice start to crack. Not a good sign.
"No. I was talking about the man?"
"Man? Oh, that was Trini. My uncle."
"Oh, ok." Then we sat there for a minute. He was worried, hesitant about something. I didn't know what. Just spit it out. Then he did, "I don't know how to ask this so here goes, what are you going to tell me when I ask you what happened on the record?"
"I don't understand what you're asking?" I responded. He was conflicted and confused. There was pain in his voice.
"Carlisle and I know each other. He told me that Jacob brought you to his house and not to the hospital." He paused like he was drinking acid, "Did Jacob do this to you and the others? I need to know what happened, truthfully. Leilei, please don't feel you have to cover for Jacob. There are things about Jacob you probably don't know." There. He'd said it. He was relieved and I wanted to laugh.
"I know everything about Jacob. Really," I said.
"Leilei, there are things . . ."
"Charlie," I held my hand near enough to his hand so he could feel the heat come off my hand. I looked him in the eyes. No blinking or crying, "Jacob was the hero here. He saved me. If it wasn't for his trick, I'd be dead too."
"His trick?"
"He showed you, 'poof' furry." I said letting my hands blow apart like a cherry bomb went off between them. "He saved me from some of my people. They came here to kill me. He saved me."
"But . . ." Charlie leaned back on the banquet to think. Then forward, "Jacob is the hero." I took a sip of my coffee and let him process. I don't know what took so long. He should have been used to this by now, or did he not know about Seth and Leah? I decided not to go there. "Ok. But did you know that Jacob was a 'furry' before he saved you?" He finally finished.
"Yes. I knew it the first time I met him." Since the first time I looked into those big brown eyes.
"And you don't mind that he's a furry?"
"Nope."
"Are you a furry too?"
"No sir." If I was, I might have been able to save myself. Usually I could almost hear wheels turning in humans' heads when they were thinking. With him I couldn't. It seemed a bit strange to me but, I still wasn't quite myself.
"So, your people are coming to town and you don't mind that Jacob is a furry. So, are some of your people furry too?"
"Yes, some of them are." Well, you did ask for the truth. "They won't do anything in town that will worry you. They'll be here for the funeral and the luau."
"Oh, that's your people. They want to rent the community center."
"So, will that be ok? Will you allow it?"
"A luau is a party right?"
"Yes sir."
He sat back again. I could hear the gears grinding, but couldn't see any sparks. Then my lights went out, "What about Jacob? You two broke up. Billy told me."
I was crushed. I didn't want to talk about that. "I'm going to leave when my people do. He's not over his last girlfriend, so I'll just go."
"But that was . . ." his voice trailed off. He was quiet for just a second then, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes sir."
We walked back to the police station in silence. He didn't know what to say. When we got back there, he asked me what happened. He heard the story I told Carlisle I'd tell him. We stopped only once. He got a phone call. When I finished I was ready to go, thought I was done, but wrong again. He asked me if I'd take a ride with him, out to the farm. I wasn't ready for this but we went anyway.
"I'm really sorry but there were so many questions and so much damage I couldn't keep the lid on this. The people are from the DEA and ATF. They have questions. I told them you probably didn't know anything. This shouldn't take long," he said as he drove me back to my Forks home. The farm.
The rest of the day was a game of bad cop vs. good cop. Charlie, Sam and Elaine Stewart from the state police were the good cops. All the rest were the bad cops. Elaine got into the good category because she knew that Pacific Islanders tend to run big so my height wasn't a problem with her. I identified all of the people in the pictures they'd salvaged from the fire. When I asked dumb questions like where the animals were? She told me they'd been adopted by a petting zoo in Port Angeles and a few went to other local farmers. She was ok.
Sam's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw me but he didn't say anything. We knew each other from before. My new size was a surprise. I needed to talk to him and I was sure he wanted to talk to me. That was convenient.
Charlie stuck close to me when the DEA and the ATF guys wanted to talk to me. And they wanted to talk a lot. They accused me of just about everything except the Unabomber killings. Cooking meth, growing pot, blowing up the house myself. I did the only thing I could, I started crying. It's wasn't hard to start. I stood in the wreckage of my home, yellow crime scene tape everywhere. Little pieces of my past life all burned and wet and melting into the mud. The burned trees. The empty barn. The picnic table. Where the hell was my truck?
"You want the confession of a 16 yr old? You've confiscated all of the computer hard drives and what did you find? Lots of facebook chats about boys' butts, rap music and homework." That was Charlie hard on the case.
"Who is she staying with?" Mr. ATF wanted to know.
"Dr. Cullen and his family," Charlie volunteered. "You've met him at the morgue when he was identifying bodies."
"That pale guy who you met at the morgue. He gave me the creeps. She's staying with him. Why?"
"Carlisle is married and has other kids at home her age," Charlie lied.
"She has to know something."
"You're going to risk your career investigating a 16 yr old girl for surviving a tragedy. The insurance company came to investigate and saw that the connections from the propane tank to the stove in the outdoor kitchen weren't done properly. And accident waiting to happen."
"Why did they have two kitchens in the first place?" That question from Mr. DEA. "One for cooking meals and the other for cooking meth maybe? Leilei, is that it? Any answers?"
"Talia wanted to have a commercial kitchen so we could make things to sell at the farmers market in Port Angeles. Apple pies, apple butter, apple cider. This is an apple farm," I said.
"I'm leaving and I'm taking Leilei with me. It's starting to rain." Charlie said as the sprinkling turned heavier. Alice was right about something after all, it was starting to rain. If it wasn't hard enough to walk on the damp mud and debris, wet slippery and soggy debris was even harder to walk on.
So we went back to town. I was with Charlie and the ATF agent who just didn't believe I was 16.
"Are your parents coming soon? Why aren't they here now?" Mr. ATF started in again.
"They've been in touch. My mom had to tell lots of relatives. They're coming. They'll be here around the 4th of July. It's hard to make arrangements from half way around the world," I told him.
"Where's half way around the world?" nosy SOB.
"The other side of the rim." I said. He looked at me like I was speaking Samoan. So I continued, "The other side of the Pacific rim. My mom was in Japan. My father was seeing relatives in Samoa. Talia and Phil's people were from Tahiti and the Philippines. The other side of the world."
"So, you're making them make the arrangements?" Won't he just stop? Fine.
"What can I do? I'm 16. I don't have a credit card. I don't have WA state driving license, mine is from New Zealand. Would you let me make funeral arrangements without any ID? Let me start to make plans to rebuild and stuff without being legal in any way? Really?" Just leave me alone Mr. Mr. I'm so done with you.
The DEA agent decided that we should eat lunch, so we all went to the diner for lunch. Charlie left after he finished his sandwich, paperwork he said. He told Sam to bring me back to the Cullens' when we were finished. Elaine Stewart gave me her card, just in case I remembered anything, then she left. The FEDS left angry, right after they paid the bill. There were pissed off that I didn't know anything. Oh well.
On our walk back to the police station Sam couldn't control himself any more and just said, "God you stink! Girl, what happened to you? Did Carlisle do something to you?"
"I know it's Cullen stink. I'm sorry. And no, Carlisle saved my life."
"But you're so different. What the hell happened?"
"Say it louder next time," I whispered. "The DEA want me as a poster girl anyway." We got in his car and started back to the Cullen house. "I have Jacobs' aspect. I got hurt that night so badly that Carlisle gave me a blood transfusion from Jacob to save my life. I'm here but different."
Sam said, "Damn. Seth said you were different. He just didn't say how much. So, you're half werewolf now or what?"
"More 'or what' than wolf," I shot back. He looked at me like I needed to be smacked upside my head. "What I meant is I'm like human plus. I'll heal the way you do if I get hurt. My body temp is up and I won't age."
"WHAT? I never heard of anything like that?" Sam responded.
"How much do you know about your kind anyway?" I said next. I waited a few minutes before I asked him, "What else did Seth say?"
"Well, he said you don't get along with the Cullens at all. You sleep in a tree. Your people are coming. And he said you'd like to talk to the council about a trial. What's that about?"
"I'd like to ask your council for permission to allow my people to hold an inquest. An investigation into what happened at the farm."
"Leilei," Sam started, "You don't need to ask permission. You won't be on the rez right? No problem."
"I have to ask. My council rules require that I do. And later the Kai Pack Council will want to come and formally meet you. All you guys, just to say hi."
Sam thought for a moment before turning up the Cullen driveway. "Ok. We can meet you tomorrow morning. Say about 11 am. Will that work?"
"Can you have someone come and get me from . . . the bench across the street from the police station about 10 am? I hope that's not too much trouble."
"No trouble. I'll send Paul and tell him to leave the windows open."
"Thanks, Sam," I said standing in the rain outside his car.
"Take care Leilei." He smiled and drove away.
I waited for him to drive away before I walked around the garage to the backyard. I put my feet under the gutter to clean them. Making sure to include the bottoms of the pants I was wearing. I decided to stand on the porch until my clothes were mostly dry before I'd venture back into the house.
"God, you stink!" he said as he walked into the kitchen. I felt the tension in the house go sky high. "I mean even more that normal." It was Emmett, so I didn't mind.
"Yeah – I know. Sam dropped me off. I don't know who he had in his car before me. Sorry." I said opening the fridge door snickering. You Cullens stink too.
"It was Paul, I'm sure," he said as he sniffed me. Wrinkling his nose he stepped back while I was pulling more food from the fridge. "You didn't call me?"
"Sorry. No phone or money to call you. I'm sure Rosalie would have killed me if I did anyway."
"So, they starved you did they?"
"Nope. But you don't want to sit in front of a bunch of men and eat twice as much as they do. It looks weird and they were looking for something to pin on me anyway."
"What did they try to pin on you?"
"God, you need to get out more. Are you really that naïve?"
"Me, nope," he smiled a dopey smile. Then he continued, "But explain it to me anyway."
"Well, it all started with Charlie. He wanted to know if Jacob caused the incident at the farm since he didn't take me to the hospital."
"Charlie thought that Carlisle was covering for Jacob? Jacob saved you."
"I know. That's what I told Charlie. If it wasn't for Jacobs' ability to go all fuzzy I'd be dead."
"You told him that!" Emmett seemed shocked at that revelation.
"Yup. He knew already. Jacob took him outside his house and fazed right in front of him like 4 yrs ago. Right after Bella had Nessie. You are out of the loop aren't you? Well anyway, then Charlie started to ask questions like was I a fuzzy too? Were my people, the ones coming here, fuzzies? He wanted to know when I first knew that Jacob was a fuzzy. I told him I knew the minute I looked at him he was a fuzzy. Then Charlie gets all weird."
"Then Charlie got all weird." He laughed, "Wasn't he at weird already? You just admitted that you could spot werewolves and you were related to more than 1 werewolf yourself."
"Well anyway, then Charlie wants to know what was going to happen to Jacob and I? He knew we broke up. I told him that I was leaving after the funeral. Then he got all, WHY? If you don't mind that Jacob is a 'fuzzy' then why leave? I told him the reason that I am leaving is Jacob hadn't gotten over his last girlfriend. Then he says that he'll talk to Jacob for me if I want. I told him not to bother. I'd just leave."
"So, you're going to leave your imprint. Just up and go. I thought once you got all imprinted, it was all perfect and wonderful."
"You do spend too much time in your room . . . come up for air sometime," I said shaking my head. They didn't need air. "Just because you get imprinted doesn't mean all everything is all hugs and kisses. This is real life and there aren't many perfect Disney endings in real life. My mom imprinted on Akini. He was already married so they, my mom, Akini and his wife Lorena, decided that my mom would be wife #2. Lorena had 4 human kids and my mom had 2 human kids with Akini. Then she had my brother, Kolohe. She knew he was pack from the moment he was born. He had 1 blue eye and 1 brown eye. Akini wasn't having it. He hated the pack thing from the beginning. His father was a pack member and he hated his fathers' involvement in their activities. So he started to take out his jealousy of the situation on Kolohe and my mom. So when Kolohe was 10, my mother tried to find him a placement in a run. A run is a place where the boys could faze and learn to be a pack. She was going to give away her 10 yr old son to someone in an attempt to keep her husband happy. Harkoni, my dad, welcomed them both. He imprinted on my mom. So Akini, my mom and Harkoni agreed that she would have a child with Harkoni and she would give that child to him since he was imprinted on her. If she wouldn't leave her husband for him, then all Harkoni wanted was a child with her. But then I was born, I was just as telepathic as my mother. She knew she couldn't leave me with Harkoni. I needed to be trained. She knew she couldn't go back to Akini with me, so she stayed with Harkoni. That's the story and there isn't a singing teapot or tweeting bird in the whole story."
"I see what you're talking about. That's f'd up. You can't control any of it."
"No. Not really. People get hurt. The kids on the rez think its all butterflies and singing birds. What happens in 20 years? When all of the 16 yr old girls will be 36 yr old women married to 36 yr old men in the bodies of 16 yr old boys. Add another 20 yrs to that. Then you'll see what I mean."
"But you said you aren't aging because of the blood transfusion. They can all get transfusions can't they?" There was urgency in his voice. Like he wanted the problem solved already.
"It doesn't work like that. If it did, then all of my people would probably still be alive. We have prohibitions on blood transfusions from active shifters to people because the shifter blood kills people. I was just lucky."
Before Emmett could say anything I added, "How many of the wolf boys will give up fazing to be with their women as they age? They think it's all a fun and games. We know it's not."
"I see," he added. Then he said, "Is that why you make the distinction between your mothers' human children and your brother?"
"Yup. And my fathers' human children. I've met my mothers' other kids but just in passing. And now I can't see them ever again. I've got His aspect. Physically I've changed and they'll notice. Charlie almost didn't recognize me. Sam flat out asked me what the hell happened. I told him I'd explain at the council meeting tomorrow. Oh by the way, can you please . . ." I started.
"I'll take you anywhere you need to go. What else happened?" I'm sure he wanted me to finish with the bad news.
"Outside of me almost ending up in jail?"
"What? Jail! Why?"
"When there are explosions and fires, there are questions. Always questions. Drugs. They thought the explosion was caused by a meth lab. The ATF and the DEA were at the house when I got there. It was fun trying to explain to the cops that I was 6ft tall and only 16."
"I'm sorry. It was probably hard for you to be there in the first place and then to get hammered by the cops." I felt him stop himself from hugging me.
"It's not your fault. I'm glad that Charlie was there. He basically told them to leave me alone. One of the police officers knew that Polynesian natives tend to run on the large size –- that helped. I just need for all of this to be over. And it's not even close to being finished. I need some peace and quiet. I'm sorry to lay all this on you Emmett."
"Hey, I've got big shoulders. I can handle just about anything. Are you gonna be ok?"
"Well, someday maybe. Just not now."
"Have a good night Leilei," he paused. Then he turned quietly and left me alone in the kitchen to eat.
"Oh yeah me! Another night in the Cullen house," I whispered to myself. I went through my obsessive cleaning ritual when I was finished eating. I turned the dishwasher on and left the kitchen. It was raining outside. I curled up outside on the porch next to the window to my room. I sat listening to the rain. Each drop had its own sound. The splishing and splashing differed if the drop hit a leaf or a blade of grass. I wondered why I'd never heard this before. I let that sound lull me to sleep.
