Chapter Seven

Cheri

"Thanks for taking me out, Dad," I said with a smile, picking up my fork. Dad smiled at me and took a sip of Sprite.

"Anytime, sweetie," he answered.

I don't know why, but my heart fluttered at the name 'sweetie.' Sure, the Pack called me that…Sometimes. And Leah, and Jacob, and Sue…But it felt different hearing it from someone else. Someone who wasn't them.

Someone who was my actual real father.

Lord, I still get chills every time I think about that.

"How's your pasta?" he asked me.

"Perfect," I smiled back, and ate a big forkful. I covered my mouth with my hand afterwards. "Excuse my ugly eating."

"'Ugly eating?' I don't think that there's such a thing," he chuckled.

"There is when you're fat like me," I put down my fork and sat back.

"Cheri, how could you…You're not fat, okay? If anything, I'd think you're underfed. Is Sue feeding you enough?"

I know that it was his attempt at a joke, and I did laugh. I also kicked him under the table after, too.

"Ow," I cringed. He raised his hand apologetically, as if taking the blame for something.

"Werewolf," he muttered.

"I know," I rolled my eyes. "Why do you guys have to be so damn hard all the time? Isn't there such a thing as a soft werewolf? For real."

Dad laughed, and I smiled, happy that I was funny to him.

"I feel like a freaking comedian. You laugh at, like, everything I say."

He laughed again, and I fist pounded the air triumphantly and laughed, too. Dad picked up his glass and took a sip, then set it back down.

"Abby and I were talking," he said, and I nodded. His wife was pretty cool. Me, her, and Zara—Dad's other daughter (Not that I'm jealous or anything. Please, how juvenile would that be?!)—went shopping the other day. It was nice to be able to pick out anything, and Abby would buy it.

They were just that rich.

"Yeah?" I slowly twirled my fork in my food, and then took a bite.

"Maybe you'd like to come to Kansas for a bit? Just for a little while. I mean…You don't have to, but—"

I smiled, my eyebrows raised with surprised.

"Really?!" I squealed. "You want me to stay in Kansas with you guys?!"

How fucking awesome would it be to get away from this hell hole of a small town? …And they actually want me!

"Just for a few weeks, or so," Dad grinned. "Abby and Zara really like you."

"I like them, too. I honestly thought having a sister would be a pain in the ass, but she's really cool for a twelve-year-old." I smiled, and he chuckled.

"'Pain in the ass', huh?"

"Oh…Did I say 'pain in the ass…?' I meant…grain on the…mass! You know, that mass, though," I laughed nervously.

Fuck, did I seriously just say that?!

He chuckled again, and I looked down.

"Why don't you continue eating, and I'll go to the bathroom, okay?" I asked. "I really gotta pee," I said.

"Cool. Don't fall in the toilet."

"That would be smart," I pointed at him and nodded. He laughed again and I walked to the bathroom, taking my phone out of my pocket.

Hey, hey girlfriend! –Nami

I texted her (being very careful to call my dad my uncle), uncle Kaden wants me to stay with him in Kansas for a few weeks!

I went into the stall and did my business, then walked back out after flushing. Nami had texted me back.

That's cool! You're lucky you get to get away from the rez for a bit though –Nami

I'll be sure to get plenty of Kansas key chains for you and the ratchets! :P I texted back with a smile. After that, I slid my phone into my pocket and washed my hands. Afterwards, I looked into the mirror and fixed a few fly-away hair pieces. I brushed away a little chunk of mascara and just as I was about check my nose for boogers, I noticed that the third stall was open.

All of the other stalls automatically close after you leave them.

The third stall was open, and someone was leaning against the door.

I focused in on a drop dead gorgeous face, completely blemish free.

Whoa, must be a dermatologist, or something.

I almost said it out loud, but I couldn't. Our eyes were locked in the mirror, and her blood red orbs stared deep into mine with such an intensity it was hard to look away.

And I felt like I knew her. I know her.

Still keeping eye contact with me, she pushed off of the door and walked to the sink next to me. She didn't wash her hands, though. She turned and stared right at me.

I swallowed as memories from my past came flooding back into my mind.

"Natalie," I muttered. She grinned.

"I knew you'd remember me."

That was when she pressed a cloth to my face. I thrashed around, trying to get her away. But the cloth smelled funny, and I slowly began to stop fighting. My eyes began to droop closed and I felt weak.

Like weaker than Marlon trying to twerk weak.

Only it wasn't the laughing kind. It was the Oh-Fuck-I'm-Passing-Out kind.

And I did. Pass out, I mean.

Well. I guess this is the night bitches die.

0000000000000000000000000000

Leah

"Carlisle said to take these. He doesn't want you to end up like the last time," Jacob muttered, and the next thing I knew a bottle of pills was in my face. I turned away, and Jacob sighed. "I don't want to fight with you anymore, Leah."

"Then go," I whispered.

"Do you want to die? Is that what you want? Do you want to go before your time? Take the pills, dammit!"

"How does he know those won't come back up, too?"

"Because…He's…Fuck, Leah, you're so difficult!" he placed his hands on his head and looked up. "But I love you too much to give up, okay? So…B-before I flip a shit, I'm going to set this bottle of pills right here. I will also put a granola bar here, too. Now, I'm going to go on patrol. Feel free to eat until you burst. Just don't…Dear God please don't…Puke. Okay?"

"No promises," I muttered, turning away. I glanced at him, noticing that he looked like he really didn't want to leave me. Finally, I heard him close the door, and leave.

For a good eight minutes I sat in that spot. Then I got up and went to the kitchen.

And I ate until I felt I was going to burst.

And…Dear God, I puked.

I put two fingers down my throat, and I emptied out my stomach because it made my anxiety go away. And after that I went to sit back down in my spot. And I stared at the granola bar and bottle of nutrition pills on the coffee table.

An hour or so later, Jacob came back. I looked up at him, and he looked at me and then at the objects that were still lying patiently on the table. I returned my eyes to the ground, not wanting to meet his eyes.

He'd know for sure.

"I'm not stupid. I…" He paused. "I know what you did. Paul told me."

"Oh, so now you have spies watching our house?"

"It's not like that, Leah, I-"

"Oh, I suppose he just so happened to be walking by, or something?! Yeah, because that's totally believable, Jacob."

"Leah-"

"Oh! I know, he was just stopping by to-"

"LEAH, HE WAS TRYING TO BRING WILLIE BACK OVER, DAMMIT! He thought that it'd make you feel better if you spent some time with your son," he said slowly. "Paul didn't want Will to see that," Jacob's eyes glossed over, and he swallowed hard. "He had to go and lie…He had to lie that no one was home."

I sat back down, suddenly noticing that I was standing up.

"He saw you through the window just as you bent over the sink," Jacob sat down and his head fell into his hands. "Dammit, Lee, I hate this. Why are you doing this again? You were doing so good. You were…You were doing so good," he started to cry.

I pulled my legs up to my chest and laid my head on my knees.

"Even if it's just for a while, it makes me feel better," I answered quietly after a few minutes. "I feel…I feel like just for a little bit everything will get better after I get rid of all the old. But then I'm kicked back down again. And I start over."

Jacob sniffed, "God, Leah, I love you. I love you so damn much, you know? But you can't keep this up. You can't keep doing this to yourself, okay?"

"Mhm."

"I lost my Mom when I was ten. I'm thirty-two, Leah, and it wasn't until recently that I got over it. You're my imprint, my wife…Mother of my son, and the love of my life. I don't know how long it'd take me to get over losing you," his voice cracked into a whisper, and he rubbed his temples.

"I'm scared to get better again."

"I swear, we're going to get through this, okay? Together. Remember that."

"No feeding tubes this time," I said, my voice quivering. "Please."

"Of course. I don't ever want that to happen again," he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap. He kissed my cheek. "Never again."

I turned to kiss him, but my door banged open. Seth stood there, looking frantic.

"Cheri's been kidnapped."

000000000000000000000000000

Cheri

I've never been so scared in my life.

I'm going to die here. I know it.

It's so dark, and so cold. I can't call anyone; my cell phone's gone.

My body feels so…So like…Stiff and rigid. With all the strength I had, I managed to scoot myself against a wall I can't see.

I raised a hand to my face and brushed my hair back, feeling my body begin to shake with sobs.

I leaned forward and began crawling around, not knowing where I was going.

"Help!" I screeched. "Help me, please! Natalie's…" I sobbed some more. "Natalie's back! Help!"

I fell onto the floor; my body was so weak. I sobbed into the ground.

Suddenly, I felt light on myself, and I sniffed and looked up slowly. The silhouette of a woman was standing in a doorway. Her heels clacked against the floor as she walked towards me; with each step, another light came on.

With one swift tug she pulled me up and threw me onto a chair.

I heard the ding of a camera, and turned to see Natalie bent over and putting on lipstick. There was a wire going from the camera to a computer, which was plugged into an outlet in the wall.

"I've decided to finish what your uncle started," she said, smacking her lips together. She grinned, still staring into the camera. She fluffed out her hair.

"Took me twelve years to grow the balls to do it, though. But now…" She stood up and turned. "Here I am!" she grinned at me. But then, just as quickly as it came the grin vanished.

"I've decided to try a new tactic. Instead of using someone to gain your trust and friendship…I've decided to lure your little wolves over here…With you. Brilliant, isn't it?"

Stupidly, I asked, "What's with the camera?"

"Ooh, wonderful question! Boys?"

Natalie turned and looked at the door as three men came in. Their faces were just as beautiful as hers…Eyes even redder.

"Don't hurt her too badly. She's still a human you know."

One of them grinned. My heart pounded as another one walked behind me and pulled the chair out from under my body. I landed on the ground with a smack, and I heard Natalie's heels clicking away. A few lights turned off except for the one on me and the three vampires.

"She looks so delicious. I want to bite her."

"We can't. Natalie's orders."

I was picked up and thrown back on the ground.

I cried out in pain, and tears streamed down my cheeks. After that I was punched, kicked, and thrown around more like a rag doll. My whole body was numb, and my limbs felt bigger than they were before. They throbbed over and over again, and I felt blood oozing down the side of my face.

The vampires left after that, but I knew that they'd be back again.

I lay on the ground, unable to move. Even so, I turned my head towards the camera, who's red light was still on to signify that it was still recording.

What it was for, I didn't know. But still, I stared into it silently, sniffing and crying.

She would probably give it to the Pack after I was dead.

It would probably be the only thing they had left of me.

000000000000000000000000000000

Seth

"How the fuck do you let her get kidnapped?!" I growled, gnashing my teeth at Kaden. He looked away guiltily.

"She went to bathroom, okay? I asked for the check, paid, and waited for her to come back. That's when I saw something out the window. There was this…I dunno, this lady walking into the forest, and she had Cheri hoisted over her back. And I did what any father would do, I ran out to catch them. And then-"

"What the fuck kind of father are you?!" I growled, pacing the ground. Sam barked at me.

"Calm down. He didn't mean for it to happen."

"Oh, so now you're taking his side. After he's only showed up for, what?, three days now, and you treat him like nothing's happened!"

"Kid, calm down. I don't feel like breaking up another fight," Jared rolled his eyes.

"Guys! Guys, Emily's freaking out. This weird thing just popped up on the computer, and it's a video of Cher!" Quil exclaimed. I glanced at Kaden before phasing and pulling my clothes back on. After that, I ran to the house as fast as I could.

Emily was crying on the couch, turned away from the computer on its desktop. I sat down in the chair and stared at Cheri laid on the ground. She was crying…And bruised, busted up all over.

"Cher!" I cried stupidly, knowing good and well that she most likely couldn't hear me. Suddenly, there were sharp taps and a woman's body appeared in view. She pulled Cheri up onto a chair.

"Sit up," she snapped. I swallowed, watching as Cheri tried desperately to sit up. "Sit up!" the woman slapped her, and I growled. Someone placed a hand on my shoulder.

I watched as the woman walked closer to the camera and picked up something off to the side. I got a glimpse of her face.

"T-t-that's that vampire. That one that Jazmyn used to be with," I said, pointing to her. I felt a stab of pain in my heart at the thought of my dead imprint, but willed myself to stay watching the screen.

Natalie turned, facing the camera. It seemed she was staring straight at me as she lifted her arm and pointed a gun straight at Cher's head.

"No. No, no, no, no," I started to shake. Natalie pulled the trigger, but it just clicked.

The safety was still on.

My head fell into my hands in relief.

I heard laughing, "Just kidding," she said. "Listen up, dogs. I'm giving you three days to grow a pair and turn yourselves in to me. It's either you die, or…Baby Cheri over here does."

I watched as Natalie picked up Cher by her chin then let go roughly.

"We don't even know where they are," Jared growled. "How does she-"

"Hint one. The light definitely don't shine here," she grinned. "Three hints for every day, puppies. But if you haven't figured out where we are by the third…Bang. Baby's dead. And we'll just pick you off one by one until you're all alone."

She stuck the gun into her back pocket and turned to her left, her eyes following another vampire as he walked over towards Cheri.

"Oh, and did I mention the motivation?" Natalie giggled. "She's all yours, Romeo." Her heels clacked away, and the vampire left with Cheri moved her hair away. He leaned down and licked her. All the way up to her ear.

I couldn't bring myself to watch what would happen next. I had to leave.

I heard Cheri whimper, but then she went silent.

"Wakey, wakey, Juliet," he chuckled maniacally. I growled and turned, just as the camera turned off.

"We need to find her. We need to find her fast," I said. With that, I stood up and left the house.

00000000000000000000000000

Cheri

My whole body was numb as the vampire from earlier licked my skin all over. I couldn't feel any muscles. Not a finger…Not a toe moved. The only thing I did was cry.

I knew what he was going to do.

And I was silent. I didn't move a muscle.

I didn't even cry as the vampire pushed me to the ground and raped me.