Life's Little Storms Ch. 8
~Melody~
Days with Jacob passed by quickly. We spent most of our time in his little garage or his bedroom. The more time I spent with him, the more I became addicted to him. His happiness was like a drug. Bella and Anna seemed to slip from our minds the more we became involved. We were lazying around in his garage once more. I had my head on his arm and my legs dangling out the window. I had a book propped in front of me and I was slowly reading it to Jacob. It was something that we both enjoyed doing. I loved reading, and Jacob loved hearing me talk to him.
I read softly, as the tears slipped out the sides of my eyes, "'I love you present tense,' I whispered, and then put my hand on the middle of his chest and said 'It's okay, Gus. It's okay. It is. It's okay, you hear me?' I had- and have absolutely no confidence that he could hear me. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. 'Okay,' I said, 'Okay.'"
I sniffed slightly and marked the page with a sticky note. It took me a moment before I could ask, "How did you feel about that chapter, Jake?"
"Sad. Aren't romances supposed to end with babies and weddings?" His warm lips pressed against my forehead. "I also don't like that it brought my girlfriend to tears."
I smiled and tilted my head back. His lips skimmed the bridge of my nose, the tip of my nose, and finally our lips met. Warmth blossomed in my chest and spread throughout my body. The kiss short lived because a loud, piercing howl sounded in the woods. Jacob shot up and out of the car. I quickly sat up and slammed the door behind me.
"Jacob?" I yelled, chasing through the rain to get to him.
"Melody, you have to stay right here."
"What? No! Where are you going?"
Jacob stopped abruptly, and I slid in the mud straight into his back. He turned back to me,"Go back inside, Melody."
"No, Jacob."
When I tried to follow him again, he pushed me back. "I don't want you near me, I have to go."
"You don't want me near you?" My pace slowed.
Jacob groaned and spun back to me. He took me in his arms and whispered softly, "I don't mean it that way, this is dangerous and something you don't need to be involved in. Go back inside with Billy before you get sick."
When Jacob felt sure that I wasn't going to follow him, he jogged into the woods. I waited a few seconds before chasing after him. His footsteps were light, but I could see where the branches were knocked away by his huge body. I crouched down and watched as he peeled back his wet t-shirt. I kneeled into the wet grass. When Jacob dropped his shorts, I averted my eyes to the back of his head.
Wolves began to line the inside of the clearing. Jacob seemed frozen as they came closer. Why wasn't he running? Cold dread trickled into my stomach as they moved closer to him. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move.
Jacob's body began shaking until he had to bend over. It all happened slowly. Jacob's body began to deform until he was stretched out. Red fur sprouted from every inch of his skin. When what used to be Jacob stood up, I screamed.
I pushed up from the ground and sprinted from the woods. My hands shook as I tried to stick my key into the ignition. Eventually, I managed to get the key in and start the car. I didn't drive home. Instead I kept driving until I reached Forks. I pulled into the parking lot of a small diner.
"Hi, how may I help you?" A waitress smiled at me when I walked through the door.
I scratched my head. "I am actually looking for someone. Her name is Bella."
The waitress perked up. "Bella Swan?"
"Yes. Do you know where she lives?"
"Yeah, sweetie. She lives right down the road. The house has gray roofing and a green porch."
I told to woman thank you then headed back out. It wasn't hard to find the Swan residence. It was the only house for a few feet. And it was the only house with an ugly green porch. After locking my doors, I hesitantly walked up to the door. I didn't even have to knock. The door flew open to reveal Edward and Bella.
Edward muttered with his face clear of emotion. "You know."
"I know about you, I know about Jacob. What else is there?!"
"Melody-"
"What?! Is the Easter Bunny going to be sleeping on my couch tomorrow morning?!"
Edward attempted to not look amused, but he remained serious. Bella gave me a bored look. "We can help you understand."
"Understand what? That the world is full of monsters?"
"My family can help explain it to you, please let us help you understand."
I pressed my lips into a line. "How am I supposed to trust you?"
"My family and I are nothing like Victoria."
I thought back to the redhead in the woods and how she tried to attack me. Who else could he be talking about? "The red head?"
"Yes. You can even ride in your own car. If you get uncomfortable, you can leave."
"Promise?"
He nodded gently, "I promise."
,*.
The Cullen house, needless to say, was the most beautiful house I've ever seen. It was mainly glass with a huge balcony on the far right. If this house were on the beach, it would be perfect.
"This house is amazing."
"Thank you. My parents take a lot of pride in it." Edward chuckled slightly.
We walked in and I was immediately scared to move. There were glass vases, glass tables, high dollar lamps, and a flat screen tv. If I tripped over the rug, I could successful knock over the tall vase that could hit the tall lamp that would swing into the tv. Which would most likely end in tears and an embarrassing amount of babbling apologies.
"It's okay to move, Melody."
I took a hesitant step forward. I couldn't take another step because I was tackled by a small blur of white and purple.
A deep masculine laugh rang throughout the house. "Alice, if you hug the girl any tighter, she'll collapse."
The man who spoke was huge. My eyes widened when he looked at me. "Besides it's my turn to see who Bella has been complaining about."
Alice gave the man a nasty look before backing away from me. He looked over me and stepped closer. His golden eyes held curiosity. He walked in circles around me. "She's so tiny. Is she clumsy like you, Bella?"
"I don't know. We aren't exactly best friends."
Getting annoyed, I snapped, "Yeah I don't talk to girls who go around kissing other guys when they have a boyfriend."
"Jacob kissed me."
"If that's the story you want to live by."
"Melody came here to learn about us. She saw Jacob shift into a wolf today."
Another man and two women walked in after Edward pointed that out. I knew their beauty was fake. Bella must have seen these people as beautiful and kind. Not the monsters they were created to be.
"Your thoughts are so much like Jacob's that it is scary."
"Which is odd because we don't talk about any of you." Especially Bella. I thought back to the kisses and small touches that Jacob and I had shared over the past few days. My heart ached. Would we be able to be that way again?
"Melody, this is Carlisle, my father. And my mother Esme, my sister Rosalie."
Rosalie scrunched her nose, "Another human, Edward, seriously? Please tell me she doesn't want to be turned too."
Turned? Into a vampire? The thought repulsed me to the point where I flinched. I thought about being covered in Anna's blood once more. Then it occurred to me that if I were going to be covered in blood while being a vampire, it'd be because I attacked someone. I shivered.
Carlisle led us to a table where we all sat. They explained to me their diet of animals instead of humans because they don't want to become the monsters they have been made out to be.
"So you don't burn in the sunlight?"
Carlisle smiled kindly at me, even when I interrupted to ask questions, he remained calm and kind. "No, we sparkle."
"That's ridiculous." Ridiculously stupid. "What else do you guys have that's different about you from the other myths?"
"Edward can read minds." Shit. "Alice sees the future once it is decided. Jasper can sense and shift emotions."
"Let me guess." I looked at Rosalie and smirked. "Your super power is being a bitch."
Emmett tilted his head back and howled a laugh out. "She got you, babe. I like her. Bella you should take some lessons from Melody."
Bella shot him and I a glare and it only made me smile more. The family seemed to split into their own thing. Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett went into the living room. There was a slick black piano in the room opposite of the dining room. I sat at the bench and brushed the keys with my finger tips.
"Do you play?"
I looked up at Edward leaning against the doorframe. I smiled slightly. "I haven't since my mother left. She taught me that the arts were the way to live life. We spent hours at a piano, a blank canvas, and in front of a mirror. Whether I was being forced to stand on my toe forever or singing until my voice was raw, I made my mother proud. That's all I wanted."
Edward moved to sit next to me on the piano bench as I began playing a soft tune. "But?"
"But it wasn't enough. I act as though she doesn't exist, like she disappeared. A few years ago, I watched my mother hide her bags in a bush out by the beach. Then in the middle of our annual Christmas party, she ran off with a guy. He asked her what about Melody, what about Jack? She replied we can start a new life, forget them. She couldn't forget me, I guess. I've received so many calls, texts, emails, and letters from her." I looked at Edward sadly. "Esme loves you so much. I can see it when she looks at you. My mom could love me, but she wanted to forget me. If she wants to talk to me, it's to ease her guilt."
I picked up the piano tempo and sang softly. "Laughin' with your pretty mouth
Laughin' with your broken eyes
Laughin' with your lover's tongue
In a lullaby
Where do you go when you're lonely
Where do you go when you're blue
Where do you go when you're lonely
I'll follow you
When the stars go blue..."
Edward's cold hand brushed away a tear that escaped my eyes, and I flinched away from it. "She couldn't accept me. I don't want Jacob to feel the way towards me the way I feel about my mom."
"Jacob will forgive you for being scared and running away, Melody. It isn't everyday you see your boyfriend shift into a dog."
I smiled and chuckled. "You know, for a vampire you're not that bad."
"For a wolf lover, you're not so bad."
"I guess I need to get back home. I've been here for a long while."
Alice popped her head in the door way, a pout set on her pretty face. "But you can't leave."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't have your number yet."
I rolled my eyes and tossed my phone in her direction. She typed in her number before tossing it back. "You also can't leave until you agree to come to the party I'm throwing."
"Text me the details and I'll see what I can do."
Alice sent a satisfied look towards Edward then trotted back to the living room telling Bella that she should be more easy going like me instead of being stubborn. Edward and I shared a laugh before walking to the living room where everyone except Rosalie and Jasper, who assured me it was nothing personal, hugged me goodbye. I promised Esme that I would come back to bake with her, while I promised Alice could pick out my outfit for the party.
I went home feeling as though I was leaving a family holiday, full of life and love. Max was passed out on the couch when I finally got home. Feeling generous, I placed one of the throw blankets over him. I locked my bedroom door behind me then placed my keys on my dresser.
"Melody."
I turned around and gasped. "Jacob!"
I ran into him and wrapped my arms around his middle. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I kissed the center of his chest. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have run away like that."
"It's okay." He pressed his lips to my forehead before flinching away. "Baby, you smell terrible."
I sniffed my hair. "I smell like I usually do."
Jacob shook his head. "You smell like one of the leaches."
"Leaches?"
"The vampires. Have you been with the Cullens?"
I stepped away slightly. "Yeah, I went over to Bella's to ask her about you, but Edward said that his family could explain and they did. They weren't that bad actually."
"Go shower and we'll talk about this when you're out."
~Jacob~
Melody emerged from the bathroom wearing plaid shorts and a baseball tshirt twenty minutes later. She sat cross legged on her bed next to me on her bed. Melody lifted my hand onto her lap and played with my fingers.
"Are you mad at me, Jake?" She looked down at my hand caught between her own. Melody bit down on her bottom lip without looking at me.
"I'm not mad, Mel, but I am upset that you went to the Cullen's house."
"Why? I never felt in harm's way when I was there. I even had a moment with Edward involving you. They were so nice. It was nice to have someone else to talk to besides you."
"I'm uncomfortable with you being friends with them."
She sighed. "I know, but I like them. Just because I like them doesn't mean I want to be one of them. Besides I'm uncomfortable with you being friends with Bella, yet here we are."
She collapsed next to me, and she placed her head on my shoulder. I felt her gaze on me, so I finally looked at her. Her golden eyes were shining at me as she whispered. "I want to be with you. No one, or in our case nothing else. Please respect that I want to be friends with the Cullen's. I respect that you don't want to be friends or even like them, and I'm okay with that. Just please let me be friends with them."
I sighed through my nose. "Fine, if it makes you happy."
"Thank you, Jacob." She kissed my cheek softly.
"There's something else to the werewolf thing. It's called imprinting."
"Imprinting?"
I swallowed. "Yes. It's when a wolf see's someone, a girl or guy, and everything in their world shifts. That person holds you to the ground and they become your everything. Your protector, friend, and lover."
Melody tensed in my arms. "Did you imprint on someone?"
"Yeah," I laughed, "I did. I saw this girl in a cafe one day. She was tired and worn out from her first day, but I've never seen someone so perfect."
"Oh." Melody shifted away from me, but I wrapped her into me.
"She's you, Melody. I took one look at you, and I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life by your side."
Melody leaned into me. "It isn't forced, is it?"
"No, sweetheart, I'm falling for you because you're you."
Melody propped her head on my chest and smiled at me. She didn't say anything, but I knew what she was thinking by the look in her eye. She felt our bond just as much as I did.
