Chapter Six: Phone Calls and Making Plans
"Because everyone would rather watch you fall…"
"Is that her?" I nearly ripped the phone out of my dad's hand, and then I sighed heavily with disappointed when I heard Sue Clearwater's voice.
"Jacob, calm down. I haven't seen you get this excited over a phone call since Junior High. You're stressing too hard, son."
Billy was trying to be thoughtful, but he was only angering me.
I knew I had been freaking out every time the phone rang for the last week, and Paul was especially enjoying it. He would secretly dial the house from his cell phone while we would watch TV, then answer the phone pretending it was her. He would keep the phone away from me, and I'd kicked his ass. We've had eight fights since the night I gave her my phone number. He really was an asshole.
But I couldn't help it. This was something I couldn't control. I just couldn't wait to hear my angel's voice again. I actually went to the video store and rented every movie she's ever played in, just to see her again in a way. She was really talented. She had so much going for her, so much she didn't even know she had. She was truly special. And I couldn't stop thinking about her. I couldn't stop thinking about that night. It meant everything to me. It was the only slice of heaven I had left to hold on to. I remembered every detail about her, every feature and every preference. She was a fascination to me, and it didn't feel wrong. I wanted so badly to let her know that everything and anything she ever wanted or needed, she would be able to find in me no matter what. I would always be there for her. I would try to give her anything she wants. I was already madly in love with her, and I didn't know what to do with myself.
She finally called when I was watching her movie "Love Struck", where she played a model who decided she wanted to be a normal person so she sneaks off and ends up falling for a guy who loves her too, only he breaks her heart when he finds out she was lying to him the entire time. She was crying on the screen, and I was crying watching her crying. I grabbed the tissue to wipe my tears away, and answered the phone groggily.
"Hello?" My tears could be heard in my voice.
"Hello? May I speak to Jacob Black?"
I instantly straightened out and put on a macho face clearing my throat, as if she was sitting right there in front of me. She probably would've laughed.
"Yeah, this is him."
"Hi Jacob…its Chelsea. We met about a week ago…" It was clear from the way her voice trailed off that she didn't want to go into details about the night she was almost…well god, who knows.
"I remember. How have you been?" She sighed and I could hear the exhaustion in her voice, she didn't even have to say it.
"Extremely tired. I haven't had a break from filming since Friday. Luckily, tomorrow we get the entire day off." She sounded only a little excited about this.
"Well maybe we could do something. I mean, if you want." I didn't sound too desperate, did I?
"I wish I could, but they keep me on a pretty tight leash. I was lucky I got out that night. They weren't too happy about that. They don't let me do much of anything. Sylvia's not letting me out of her sight now." She sounded so sad.
"Well, I could break you out. We could stage a whole prison break if you want." She giggled, I sighed silently enjoying the sound of it.
"That sounds lovely. Just how do you expect to do this, Mr. Black?" She asked jokingly.
"Trust me, it wouldn't be my first time." I remembered back to a darker time in my life, when I had to break someone else free who was on lockdown under constant supervision. I shook my head clear of those memories.
"So what have you been doing all week?" I thought back on all the activities I'd done since the last time I saw her.
"Oh, you know. Hanging out, the usual stuff. Nothing major." I said casually. I think mentioning that I had been obsessing about her nonstop would freak her out.
"I would love to do nothing major, you should never take doing nothing for granted." She said laughing, but I could tell she was serious.
And that's when I really realized how life for Chelsea was. She was constantly supervised, unable to do much of anything. She felt like a prisoner at times, unable to experience life as a normal teenager should. She really didn't get to hang out with friends, just relax, or go to the mall. Anything she did was always such a big deal, and inside she really hated it. She was in desperate need of an escape. She needed a break, and soon.
"That's it. Tomorrow I'm kidnapping you, and you can't say or do anything about it. You need a break, and you and I are going to hang out. You can come and hang with me and my friends."
"I don't think that's such a good idea. They would freak if they knew, and—"
"So then they wont know. I'll sneak you out, don't worry. Nothing will happen, I promise."
"Okay, but if something happens. I'm holding you solely responsible." I could tell she was smiling.
"I take full liability if the world shall end while your in my custody tomorrow, Chelsea." I laughed back. "I'll call you in the morning around 10:30 alright?"
"Alright. Bye, Jacob."
I couldn't stop smiling when the phone call ended. I sat smiling at the phone for a few moments, completely dazed by what had happened. The more I talked to her, the more I learned about her without her even having to tell me these things. I knew she had a tough exterior, she had to in the industry she was in, but for some reason with me she was an open book and I was able to read her perfectly. I picked up on everything about her, and she was letting me. It felt good to be the one she sort of opened up to, even if it wasn't fully yet. But I knew one day, it would be. Hopefully one day soon. I tried to stop my heart from wishing that day was tomorrow, but I couldn't. I was so excited for the next day I didn't know how to sit still. I phased behind my house and went for a run. Why is there never a time where I was the only one phasing?
"What are you so excited for, lover boy?" Leah asked sarcastically.
She picked my mind, and heard the entire phone conversation we had and the great news. She huffed, which was equivalent to her rolling her eyes.
"You know you're excited too, Leah. You like her movies, I know you do. You think she's cool."
"She's alright. She actually seems okay. But I can't guarantee I'll be nice."
"You can, and will." I said sternly.
"We'll see." And then I couldn't hear her anymore. I really hoped she wouldn't embarrass me in front of Chelsea tomorrow, but I was thankful she was giving me some time alone. This was too important. I stopped in my tracks when I thought about being embarrassed. Leah could embarrass me, but she was nowhere near capable of the damage Seth and Quil could do. They were like screaming little fangirls on the beach. What if they freaked her out? Maybe this was a bad idea. Oh no.
I ran straight for Embry's house, and phased behind the big tree at the edge of his backyard right at the forest. I knocked on the back door and let myself in; I figured his mom must've been at work. He was sitting on the couch watching a football game and he gasped when I walked in. It was nearly impossible to sneak up on a werewolf, but apparently I was really good at doing it.
"Dude! You can't just walk into my house! What if I would've had a girl in here?" He shouted.
"Em, the only girl you would have over is Maya and she's at work."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you're right." He returned his attention to the game.
"Embry, I sort of need your help." He turned the TV down and turned to me as I sat in the chair.
"What's the problem?"
"I talked to Chelsea earlier, and—"
"You did? How did it go? What did you guys talk about?" He asked, excited for me.
"I'm getting to that. I invited her to hang out with us tomorrow, but I didn't think about how the rest of the pack would react to her."
"Dude, you already know how this imprinting thing works. You meet the girl, we meet her in your head, and we all already love her. I doubt you have anything to worry about on that front. What you should worry about is if she'll feel comfortable around us. After all, she is famous."
"She's not like that, Em." I clenched my jaw, feeling angry he was talking that way about Chelsea.
"Whoa, chill Jake. I'm just saying. What if she's the one that doesn't like the pack. Maya will like her because…well, I just know she'll like her. Emily will love her because Emily is Emily. Kim will like her because she's funny. Rachel will like her because she makes you happy. Claire will love her because she'll have a new friend to play with. And Leah will…well, I don't know about Leah. She likes her movies, but she'll probably be a bitch just because."
He made valid points. "I guess you're right. I would really hate to fight Leah right on First Beach because she upset Chelsea."
"But we'd all love to watch." He smiled and stuffed an entire ball of popcorn in his mouth, and swallowed the entire thing without chewing. How was that even possible?
"So what do you think we should do? A bonfire? Cliff diving? Cliff diving would be cool—"
"NO! NOT CLIFF DIVING! ABSOLUTELY NOT! Maya is NOT cliff diving! It's too dangerous! And you should feel bad for even suggesting your imprint do that!"
I chuckled. Same overprotective, over worried Embry. "Dude, you've gotta lighten up. Cliff diving is fun. And they'll love it. We do it all the time."
"Jacob, they are not invincible-unable to age-vampire destroying-super quick-super awesome-werewolves! They are fragile, beautiful humans whom we love and hold dear to our hearts! How could you even fathom events where harm could come their way? Where they could be in danger of getting hurt?" Embry could be really poetic when he was upset.
And it was probably an asshole move, the Paul coming out of me really, but I pushed him even further.
"I think I'm going to push Maya off the cliff. No way she'd jump on her own. She'd be too scared at first—"
Before I could even finish, Embry had tackled me to the ground and we wrestled. Playing around, like the good old times.
Okay, so cliff diving was definitely out. Maybe an activity for a later date. But the bonfire idea was on. What could be better? Food, fun, and the love of my life. What could be more exciting? Now to go home, and figure out how I will break her out tomorrow. That's the rub.
